TEST DRIVE #6

[fairyfoes]

TEST DRIVE MEME

Considering apping to EACHDRAIDH? Why not give the setting a test run here! OPTIONAL SCENARIOS 01. ARRIVING IN THE DRABWURLD. The Seelie and Unseelie courts welcome you with mirthful revelry and hearty food. After you have been briefed on your purpose here, you will find an endless feast and a night filled with entertainment to placate your concerns. Mingle with new arrivals, sneak down the castle halls and make sure your eyes are always on your glass; fairies and imps have no bias when it comes to tricks! 02. THE STATION. Looking for a little slice of home? The Station gives you all that and more. Take advantage of the wifi, have a cup of fairy-brewed coffee (the one they didn't spit in) or sit back and relax on the patio. You can even move your things into one of the available rooms! 03. WILDCARD. Your own scenario! Explore the Drabwurld or simply take advantage of your Locket!

Comments

[aslandish]

[ A True Beast he may be, but he is so very much more than that.

Aslan rises as well, no small measure of grace and poise in that simple motion. He smiles again, brighter than before. For all that Gilgamesh may be guilty of posturing, it is clear something about the other has curried the lion's favor.

He likes the man and will gladly accept these terms. ]

My name is Aslan.

[ As to the rest - ]

Your name is your story. It is not mine to tell.

[ To know, perhaps, but never share. If Gilgamesh would prefer to be called by his title, Aslan will gladly abide by that wish. ]

[babbylon]

[Gilgamesh has enough ego left in him to huff, but Aslan has gotten the better of him for now and will enjoy some lenience while his pride recovers. It's not everyday he gets his mind read, after all, and he hasn't been challenged in this way for centuries. Perhaps millennia.]

Very well, Aslan. We walk.

[And it is the truest sign that Gilgamesh has been humbled, for walking beside rather than ahead.]

[aslandish]

[ Sometimes, a little blow to the ego is needed. It provides some measure of perspective.

Padding quietly beside the other, his paws seems to make no noise at all as they make their way towards the exit. His steps should be heavier, louder, perhaps, given his size, but they are not.

It is only when they reach the outside of the walls that he speaks again. ]

What more would you ask?

[ He does not often invite such questions, but if they are to be frank with one another, he finds he does not mind. ]

[babbylon]

[Gilgamesh settles against the stony wall of the castle, glancing up with arms crossed. To most this would appear an average scene, but Gilgamesh does not often entertain companions and does not often engage them in serious conversation.

But now that they've got their respective introductions out of the way, he has the time and the space to consider what's happened.]

Great magic binds this realm. I cannot be the only one to have sensed it, to have sensed a... presence.

[Gilgamesh glances over and asks nothing. The question is implied. Does this concern you as well?]

[aslandish]

[ Not one to lean against stone or wood, Aslan sits in the grass and contemplates the other openly. It is a rather odd sight, perhaps -- a man clad all in gold, and a lion whose appearance may very well match it.

His tail swishing lightly, a soft rumble sounds in his throat. He has felt it also, though he can see far less than he would under ordinary circumstances. ]

There is great power at work here, the likes of which I have not seen.

[ To seal a world thus - it is indeed concerning. ]

My world is no stranger to visitors -- Sons and Daughters of Adam and Eve who came from a world like unto your own. They came by magic or doorways that connected our worlds together.

In the past, I have opened such doorways and shown them the way home. [ However: ] I cannot do so here.

[ The way is shut. ]

[babbylon]

[The way is shut. The same thought runs through Gilgamesh's mind, too, and this troubles him. It troubles him there are things he does not know and people who would claim there are things he does not possess. It is troublesome and it is blasphemous and so such a system must be struck down, he decides, or else taught a very serious lesson in humility.

But that can wait. Gilgamesh breathes the air of this land he does not recognize and believes it can wait, an end to the great war in one decisive blow.]

Do you come on a mission, then, as its gardener? To spread the word of the Holy Book and reap miracles wherever you might walk?

[Gilgamesh smiles. It makes him look dangerously wry.]

To tell me you would idle about like some peasant would be to tell me lies, Aslan. You know this.

[aslandish]

My presence was requested here.

[ Though he did not fully understand why (a rarity in itself), with matters settled in Narnia, he saw no reason not to investigate. It was only after his arrival that he realized there was no way back.

Golden eyes settle squarely on Gilgamesh's red ones, and his gaze is unflinching. ]

The Holy Book you speak of was written by Another.

[ They are archetypes, incarnations of the same idea, but different in other aspects. Gilgamesh would be one of the few who might understand such a distinction. ]

I am not come to challenge and rend asunder a world that is not mine.

[babbylon]

You find yourself fortunate, then, as I have no taste for gods or the mindless supplicants that worship them.

[He'd put many heretics to the sword during his reign, and had no qualms slaying another. But for all that raw power he senses, there is little aggression to follow it. Aslan says he would not challenge his authority, and Gilgamesh believes him, as with everything else he's said.]

I refuse to entertain the reign of the fools occupying these thrones here... their audacity in assuming any form of power over me, and asserting claim over what is rightfully mine, is punishable by death.

[However. Gilgamesh curls his lip back, as if to endure a particularly foul smell.]

...but it may be so that I must watch and wait while the dust settles. [Nodding to the horizon.] Would you do the same?

[aslandish]

[ It's an answer he expects, his expression unchanged as Gilgamesh declares his thoughts on the subject of gods. It takes a great deal more than arrogance and disdain from others to rouse his ire, and whatever others may think, Aslan is and always will be exactly what he is. Belief has never held any influence over that, and so, there is no need to challenge or prove himself to anyone else.

He tilts his head slightly, as calm as collected as he's been from the start. Gilgamesh is a curious one, no doubt about that, and his conceit might put off almost anyone from conversing with the man. Thankfully (for Gilgamesh), Aslan's patience very rarely runs out. ]

I will watch.

[ A quiet confirmation. ]

There is much to be uncovered here, and I would know more about the world itself.

[ Wars and rumors of wars are common, after all. He is more interested in secrets that may be found elsewhere. ]

[babbylon]

[Good, he thinks, you will not impede me. Not that Gilgamesh has any real, pressing concern for a life other than his own, but at the same time he would believe it a shame to slay a one-of-a-kind creature. Especially if all that fruitful wandering can be twisted to his ends.

And it did promise entertainment, observing this beast's travels and how others would react to a power so greatly beyond measure. Powerful friends he does not keep, but powerful allies... well, if worse came to worse, he'd consider it. Maybe.

Gilgamesh smiles again, and it's notably more settled than before. It seems they've reached an unspoken understanding.]

Speak to me its secrets and I shall compensate you accordingly.

[You've done well, Aslan. Gilgamesh is pleased.]

That is, if such a thing as "desire" exists within your heart of hearts... Aslan.

[aslandish]

[ More than likely, no, he will not. Aslan believes in the agency of humanity and others who fall under the agency of Free Will. He does not intervene in the affairs of other unless he truly sees no other recourse. In all things, balance must be kept, the foundations of the world protected and secure.

Aslan weighs his answer before he gives it, and when he speaks, it is solemn yet decisive. A pointed statement that will not be repeated. ]

There is no compensation you might give me that I would accept, King of Heroes.

[ A simple truth and nothing more. ]

Our natures are very different.

[ The desire of Aslan's heart is for others, his children most of all -- for their betterment and success. At the moment, Narnia is very far away. ]

[babbylon]

[Gilgamesh looks more curious than affronted, hearing Aslan's reply. What compensation existed beyond his reach, what treasure did he not already count in his endless vault? If Aslan saw Enkidu, he must've seen him past the Gate, too. He must've known that he was the King of Heroes, the highest king of humanity, therefore...

No. It was likely just as he said. Their natures were very different, perhaps beyond reconciliation. Even so, Gilgamesh is stubborn, and all but asks for Aslan to repeat what he will not repeat:]

You long for no treasure? No amount of coin or company might please you, no drink might sate your thirst?

[No greater the loss for him, if he doesn't have to give anything to assure compliance, but Gilgamesh can't wrap his mind around the concept. How can you live life without wanting?]

[aslandish]

[ There truly isn't any better way to explain in than a fundamental difference in who and what they are. A Heroic Spirit Gilgamesh may be, but a man driven by selfishness does not create with his own to hands. He claims, and he conquers, believes he owns everything, and it encompasses all that he is.

Aslan, perhaps, is not so different in that aspect. However, his approach to Kingship is that of a Creator. He does not desire a world under his heel or material possessions, however grand. His is a love for life and for people, not objects or high ideals.

He'll not repeat himself, but perhaps he can offer perspective. ]

What would you have given to keep the life of your friend?

[babbylon]

[Well, no answer counts as answer enough in itself. He won't press, not out of any inherent respect for the matter but out of inherent dislike for wastes of his time. And this conversation is beginning to feel like a waste.

Then Aslan has go bringing up him again, and the resulting wave of aggravation would've knocked any lesser creature off their feet. With Aslan, the displeasure will only be felt through that rise in temperature in the air, the subtle curl of his lip. He treads dangerous ground now.

But Gilgamesh does reply, after a time.]

I would have given nothing. I would have taken everything, from those whom I harbor no mercy for, and those whom I would put to the blade for their crimes. So vividly I would spill their blood and claim their heads that the ground beneath would flood red forever, and the sun itself would never shine again upon that desecrated land.

[He can put his own perspective no better way.]

[aslandish]

[ Indeed, he does tread dangerous ground, but it is a point that must be made. Aslan listens to his answer, accepts it without so much as blinking an eye.

The words hang in the air for a moment before Aslan answers the other's question. ]

I long for no treasure, Gilgamesh, because my treasure is the world and those who live within it.

That which was Nothing, a cold darkness before light was brought forth and the first living things were made. I would not see it burned or desecrated, by my will or any others'.

[ He lets those words sink in for a moment before finishing his thought. ]

My enemies have all fallen but not by a vengeful hand.

[babbylon]

Hn.

[Not an ounce of insecurity or insincerity in this beast. Not like Saber, who clings to her bloody sword on that bloody hill and would claim she lives and dies for her people, who have all but left her behind in her callousness.

Gilgamesh brushes past Aslan and, for a moment, considers snapping his neck, just to see if it would bend like any other lion's. But words are weighing heavy on his mind and distracting him from what would've otherwise been a violently indignant response. He refrains.]

Idealism, soft-heartedness, and purpose only onto itself... I cannot condone these actions. I cannot spare the lives of thieves or traitors. As King, this is not the path I walk.

[But... he glances over his shoulder.]

I have only one friend in this life, and any other. In defense of that life, and honoring the sacrifice made on my behalf, none shall be spared.

[aslandish]

[ He is certain, and he is sure. All he does, Aslan commits to with every fiber of his being, and this is no different. ]

Walk your path, Gilgamesh.

[ Again, a statement without judgement. The conversation draws to a close, and there are others he must see. ]

Time will tell what comes of it here.

[ Aslan rises, and it seems in only a few quiet steps, he melts away into the night. ]