guestservices | AUDIENCE FOR: Alphinaud Leveilleur

Hmm, they are... have you heard of "lucid dreaming," Alphinaud?

[ sorry that joke is funny only to me. anyway. Alphinaud nods. ]

Aye—'tis when one becomes aware of surroundings within a dream, as I know it. Though, I cannot say I've ever experienced it ere this moment.

Mmhm. Some people say if you focus, once you realize you're dreaming, you can affect your own dreams.

Hmm...

Ah! Right, I do recall saying I would show you Old Sharlayan if I were able, had I not? Then... It only takes some focus, you say?

[ :3 ]

That's the theory behind it, anyway!

[alphinaud will find that if he focuses, he can in fact change their surroundings within the dreamscape!]

Then let us test that theory!

[ He nods once before closing his eyes, and thinks, focuses...

... And after a long, contemplative moment, the area around them shifts. Instead of the vast whiteness, they now both stand along a pathway that circles around a short cliff, overseeing a large harbor. Behind them is an entrance to a building; to their right, a small bridge leading into a thicker forest area; and to their left, the pathway leads into the heart of the city.

But right where they stand is quite the scenic view. Alphinaud opens his eyes again, looking pleasantly surprised. ]

... It worked!

It did!

[vulpecula claps their hands together, sounding delighted.]

And what a view this is, Alphinaud. This is amazing!

Isn't it?

[ he beams. ]

This is it—my homeland of Old Sharlayan. When classes were done for the day, back when I was still a student, my sister and I would oft take this path on the way home. [ he gestures out to the wooden seating area ahead of them in view. ] She was friendly with the owner of the local eatery and frequented his establishment, so I joined her plenty as well.

Is that so?

[hm! they stroll forward a little to get a better look at the seating area and looks around.]

What sort of food did they serve, there? What were your classes like?

Classes were challenging, that much is certain, but I would not have it any other way. Those who attend the Studium are fortunate to have the best scholars in all the lands as their professors, and I doubt my knowledge would not be where it is without them.

[ He too takes a few steps forward, instinctively careful not too get too close to the ledge. ]

The Last Stand, it is called, serves a good variety of dishes—its coffee and sandwiches are quite liked by many, and I recall that Alisaie enjoyed the hamburgers, though its crab soup is popular as well. Its owner did attempt to vary up its menu from time to time, as it is the only eatery in all of Sharlayan.

How interesting...

[huh! nerds. well, at least he seems happy about being a nerd.]

The owner must have been a talented chef, to have so many different types of dishes to put on the menu. [...] Although I guess if it's the only restaurant here, he wouldn't have had to worry about competition...

[ He is a very content nerd. ]

Hah! If you wonder, the food is delicious, but it is... very typically Sharalyan for no competition to spring up, indeed. For all the good the city has to provide, it is infamously known to care very little of the culinary arts...

The owner has mentioned to my sister that the Last Stand was established purely because he was so frustrated by the lack of quality food to be found here.

I see! Well, that's admirable, wouldn't you say? He noticed something that bothered him, and he took steps to deal with it himself instead of just making it someone else's problem.

I like people like that. It's a shame I can't sample his food!

[ with a small laugh: ]

I don't suppose I can simply will it into existence here?

You can try to! Although... I don't think it would be very filling?

Oh, no, not at all. The downsides to dreaming, I suppose. Mayhap there is aught else you would like to see, instead?

Hmm... you traveled, didn't you? What was the most interesting place you traveled to?

Interesting? Then...

[ Alphinaud focuses again, and the world around them shifts. I am taking so many screenshots for this game. Anyway, once again they stand near a ledge, only this time it's considerably more steep; there is no ocean below, only the vast expanse of the sky and the clouds floating along. Looking around, it becomes obvious the landmasses around them are floating high, high up in the air, and it's a long way back down. In the distance stands old, crumbling ruins and sparse forests; behind them a cave, home to the local moogles. Perhaps if Vulpecula listens carefully, they might hear the occasional stray kupo...? ]

Never shall I forget the awe I felt as I first beheld this vista.

[floating islands...

vulpecula takes a few steps back from the edge, despite the fact that - well, this is a dream. what are they going to do if they drop over the edge, wake up when tey hit the ground?

...but the ruins and forests off in the distance are fascinating, and as they turn toward the sound of a kupo, they tilt their head to one side and study the cave.]

It's breathtaking, for certain.

[ They'd be falling for a long while... ]

Aye. These are the Churning Mists, a holy ground to the dragons of Dravania. Ere we first stepped foot here, no man has tread these grounds in a thousand years.

[uh. excuse them.]

Dragons?

[why do you sound so stunned, vulpecula. you are talking to a dead elf, in the middle of a murdergame with a bunch of non-human characters.]

[ Alphinaud also looks at them, slightly surprised. ]

Do you find that astonishing?

Er, well... a thousand years of no one being here but dragons, and you were able to set foot here... that's amazing! How did it happen?

Hah… you would almost have me believing that dragons in itself were shocking!

[ yeah. we’ll go with that. ]

How we came to travel here is… quite the story, but the short of it is that we arrived to parley with the great wrym Hraesvelgr. The dragons were, at the time, at war with the kingdom of Ishgard, and we sought a means to end it.

Well, be careful who you tell this story to! For some people, they really would be!

[think of the moderns, alphi...]

I see... so you went to visit the dragons as diplomats?

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