Futuristic HIREATH

[corlapis]

THREAD FOR RUBYMILK & KAEDE
hireath - a home which maybe never was
​

 

[RubyMilk]

Magic. Sorcery. Witchcraft. Enchantment.

Regardless of the term used, it was undeniable that whatever followed would be mysterious, unknown, or anything within the realm of that which could not be understood. For years, humans strived to comprehend the source of the mysterious powers that present within certain subjects of the population, their abilities unlike anything they'd ever seen before. After countless years of tireless research and the hushed carrying out of experiments, they finally arrived at their answer: Thaumamine.

A mineral present throughout the galaxy, and coincidentally, a rock that flourished on their very lands. The very Earth's core was thriving with the substance that gave way to the previously inexplicable happenings. With their newfound knowledge, it was only a matter of time before they learned to harness it, advancing their society and allowing those with even the lowest of magical aptitude to be able to perform the impossible.

Everything was going as they should have gone, until one day they didn't.

Countless years of harnessing magic and bending it to their will, despite it not being in the inherent nature of many users, were rendered absolutely meaningless. Up until that point, no one had really bothered to acknowledge that, just as any resource, thaumamine could one day run out. After all, the very earth itself was imbued with the substance, that wouldn't happen for millions of fo years. To humans, anyway.

Those from another planet invading was on the last list of expected occurrences, but happen it did. Millions lost their lives in a war raged on the previously flourishing planet. It was all humans could do to gather up their rich and strong, stuff them into a life-supporting space station, give those remaining empty promises of eventual salvation and leave the rest to die.

It had only been two years since then. For those on Earth, it felt like it had been much longer.

___________________

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Zava tucks a few loose strands of hair behind her ear as she follows closely behind Irene, her head hung low and her hands tapping against her thigh as the two women head toward an orientation of some sort. They'd been woken up earlier that morning by a spaceship-wide announcement that asked for all passengers to report to an auditorium of sorts for an important message. As the two walk along the halls, they're a bit squished between others filtering out of their rooms to head toward the meeting. Zava has mostly been looking around the already familiar ship, looking for something of interest to rest her eyes on as Irene babbles on and on about how much of a nuisance the captain of the ship is.

All her eyes could find were faces with varying expressions of annoyance or tiredness and the dull gray walls of the ship. Frankly, there weren't very many windows, which made it a bit hard to find any sort of diversity in the environment. It was all the same: walls, bolts, screws, etc. Even the few glances Zava got of the stars were no longer all they were cracked up to be back on Earth. She'd never cared much for space anyway. There was far too much of it for her taste.

"I mean, really, who does he think he is? It's seven in the morning, there's absolutely no reason to schedule a meeting right now. And look at all these people! With all this sweat and mouthbreathing, it's muggy in here! How am I supposed to- Zavani, are you listening?!"

Zava would have flinched in response to being called her full name if she wasn't used to it at this point. She'd asked the woman to call her "Zava" and not "Zavani" on numerous occasions, but she never listened. Zava has always wondered if it was a purposeful power-play thing or if Irene just didn't care enough to ever correct herself.

"Yes, I'm listening. I'm sure the captain has a reason for all this, ma'am," Zava responds with a soft voice, Irene huffing about not believing her for the next few minutes. Thankfully, they soon arrive in the auditorium and take their seats. Irene taps her finger impatiently on her chair's armrest as Zava waits patiently for the gray-bearded man waiting at the podium to begin speaking.

"Good morning and thank you all for coming," the man starts with a cordial tone, everyone shifting in their seats as they notice the tenderness of his words contrasting with his face.

"As you all are well aware, this community is currently drifting through galaxy NGC 4414, where there are no nearby planets that can support human life nor where we can land to restock up on supplies of any kind. For the past two years, the valuable team members of this spaceship have been trying to remedy this situation aboard this ship, but it is time we face the facts: We cannot sustain ourselves on this ship," the man says with finality, the room quiet for a moment as the passengers process his words. It only takes a few moments for them to retort with words fueled by confusion and fear.

"What are you talking about?!"

"Can't sustain ourselves? Well, then what the hell else are we supposed to do?!"

"Maybe if you lazy bastards looked hard enough, we'd have an answer by now!"

"Everyone, contain yourselves!" The man bellows, his voice bouncing off the walls of the room. Everyone quiets down so, before they can get riled up again, he takes that chance to continue his speech.

"While we have realized we cannot remain on this ship, we do have a possible solution. We must return home and take back what is ours! And finally, after some much needed time spent on reviewing summoning spells, a new summoning spell has been discovered," the man says, the crowd erupting into whispers of concern and curiosity. The captain of the ship steps aside and gestures for a blonde-haired man in a lab coat to step forward.

"I am Dr.Kintan, the head of the Thaumamine Research Team. After calibrating the steps of existing spells, we have discovered a breakthrough for the mage community: bringing the dead back to life," the doctor says, the whispers of the crowds ceasing completely. Zava feels her heart thumping in her chest, the woman squeezing the seat of her chair to calm herself.

'Bring the dead... back to life?'

"Of course, there are limitations," the man continues, his eyes glowing with passion, "With the thaumamine we have aboard this ship, this summoning spell is only possible if the person brought back to life is bound to another, the two sharing their energy to coexist."

A woman behind him leans up to his ear and whispers something into it, the man clearing his throat as he begins to speak once more, this time likey with a clearer head.

"Sorry for getting distracted, those details are not important right now. To get back to the topic at hand, this summoning spell to bring back the dead can be used to our benefit. As long as a belonging of the deceased is on hand and the summoning is done by a strong enough mage, we can summon anyone from throughout history. We believe summoning some of the greatest warriors from our time and working alongside them could be the key to taking Earth back into our hands," Dr.Kintan finishes, taking a step back from the podium to swap places the ship captain.

"We are asking that any capable mages volunteer themselves to return to Earth," the captain says, Zava looking around to see any willing faces. Even though she can't see most of the people in the auditorium, it's hard for her to imagine anyone taking up what is basically considered a suicide mission, despite the fact that if no one goes then they'll all die eventually anyway.

"I don't make this offer lightly, everyone. Even I can see that something like this is not in the least a desirable offer, which is why there are... rewards," the old bearded man emphasizes the last part of his sentence, "I can promise the world to whoever completes this mission."

"What is that supposed to mean?" One young man questions, his voice nasally as he looks at the captain with disdain.

"Exactly what I said. It's no exaggeration to say that whoever completes this mission will essentially be the savior of us all. Without them, if any people even remain on Earth, they will continue to die, and we will all follow closely behind them within a few years. It is only fair that our saviors be rewarded with money, power, or anything that they desire. I can give them money and power. Alongside this, the Holy Grail can grant them any one wish beyond those desires."

"Holy Grail?" The nasally young man asks, his face clearly one of confusion. Many in the audience mirror his expression, wondering what a biblical reference has to even do with the subject at hand. The woman from before who'd whispered to Dr.Kintan steps up to the podium and clears her throat before beginning to speak.

"Before we were forced to flee for our lives, our team was heavily researching into how we could further our understanding of thaumamine. Along the way, we discovered a more powerful version of the substance. It had much more power than we could have ever imagined, but it was unstable and unfit for longterm usage. After careful studying of the sample, we arrived at the conclusion that it is likely only powerful and stable enough to undergo one use before it is no longer a reliable source of magic. However, according to our hypotheses, that one use has record-breaking amounts of power and is almost certainly able to accomplish near any wish you desire," the woman says with a firm voice.

"If that's the case, why can't someone wish on that thing to get rid of those wretched aliens?" One woman asks with a shrill voice.

"We currently do not have the sample. It is locked in a very secure place on Earth," the calm woman replies, "Our former director was in the midst of studying the sample when he was suddenly ambushed. Before he was killed, he managed to secure the sample in a place only known to the four of us. If the Earth is cleared of the aliens, we can return to Earth and gift it to whoever manages to subdue the alien's leaders."

The crowd is seemingly becoming a bit more swayed by the notion of having not only money and power, but their one true wish granted if they can manage to complete the mission. Previously silent audience members were now discussing amongst their seatmates with the possibility of them actually considering returning to Earth. Zava peers over at Irene and notices the woman seems almost entirely disinterested in the offer. Of course, she'd choose to remain on the comforts of the ship and let the conflict sort itself out, even if such a result wasn't assured. Zava imagined spending her final moments on the gigantic tin can, floating through space as Irene talks her head off and feels herself become nauseous, the world swirling around her as it becomes hard to breathe.

In a moment of fear, excitement, and hope, Zava stands up and gaps like a fish, trying to find the words to voice her thoughts. All she needs is a little push. A sign that maybe she can change her life, that maybe there was a least a chance she could do something for herself for once.

"How can you be sure the aliens haven't gotten to the Grail already? And... and how do we know you'll actually give the winner this Holy Grail?"

The calm scientist looks Zava up and down before smiling a knowing smile, likely being able to tell by Zava's expression that the tan-skinned woman has already made her decision, even if she doesn't know it herself yet.

"Magic," the female scientist replies simply.

It's such a basic reply that Zava can't believe the effect it has on her. Or maybe it wasn't the word at all, but at this point, she can't be bothered to care. She knows what she wants to do. She knows she has to do it. Zava takes a seat, the talking of the crowd, the woman at the podium, and frankly eventing to fade out of her thoughts. It's simple enough for her to ignore Irene's incessant tapping and whispering, the heiress meaning for Zava to explain herself and asking what got into her usually meek handmaid.

She barely hears Dr.Kitan and his team explaining a contract will be formed between the team and any participant in the game to ensure the proper winner gets the Grail or the fact that the Grail has been sealed where the aliens wouldn't be able to get to it in a million years, not without the team willing present and ready to give them the precious stone.

By the time the gathering is adjourned, Zava has just managed to bring herself back to the present as Irene tries to pull her out of the hall, Zava slipping her hand out of Irene's grasp. She peers over at the semi-large crowd gathering to follow the team of scientists and test the strength of their magic to see if they have what it takes to summon a worthy "servant" as the scientists dubbed them. The term left Zava feeling a little uneasy, but she tucks the feeling away as she looks over at Irene.

"You're not going to be able to summon a good servant, so just come with me already! You're wasting my time and being inconsiderate!" Irene hisses.

"Maybe I am, but... I won't know unless I try. If I can't summon a servant, then I'll just come back," Zava says, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Come back?! You don't get to leave me as you please, then just come back! Pick one and do it now! And you better make the right choice, Zavani!"

Zava is quiet as she draws her hands into herself and takes a step back as she glances between Irene and the crowd forming behind her. She shuffles her feet ever so slightly away from Irene as it takes all of her willpower to turn away from the girl, doing her best to not look her in the eye. She can hear Irene stomp her foot and whine behind her.

"I can't believe you! I... I saved you! I'm the one who brought you out of that wretched dump you called a home and this is how you repay me?!"

Zava still refuses to turn around, knowing that if she does, she might change her mind. She wonders what her decision would have been if Irene had stayed as kind as she used to be when the two were younger. She wonders where their friendship went and how the woman developed a sense of superiority when Zava had her back turned. She wondered if maybe everything turning out so sour had somehow been her fault.

But it doesn't matter now.

Irene hisses about telling her father of Zava's disobedience, then stomping off and likely pushing past a few innocent bystanders as she leaves. Zava sighs to herself, her breathing shaky as she drops her hands to her sides and squeezes her thighs reassuringly. She takes a deep breath and turns on her heel to walk toward the crowd in front of her, the scientists guiding them toward a room to summon their servants, changing their lives forever.

Still completely disoriented, Zava merely follows the people in front of her into a large room, where a large summoning circle is drawn in the center of the room, strange powders and liquids scattered across the ground. One after another, people are called up to recite a chant atop the circle, handed an item from a large pile of artifacts the scientists had apparently brought on board to study, then given space as they do their best to summon a worthy servant.

Some summon servants that look interesting, but at the very least according to their appearances, do not come off very powerful. Others summon no servants at all, their magic apparently too weak to complete the spell. A few summon servants that somehow manage to even have a powerful aura, though such remarkable feats are few in number. Zava's heart begins to race as she wonders if she can even complete the task, the large number of failures before her doing nothing to soothe her nerves.

Had she just given up her life for nothing? Would Irene take her back if she begged long enough? If not, how would she survive on the ship? Would she have to sleep in the halls since no bedrooms are available? How would she even-?

"Hello! Miss? Please step into the circle," one man in a lab coat says, snapping Zava out of her daze.

"Oh. Right, of course. Sorry," she says as she steps forward into the circle, her feet feeling unnaturally heavy and time feeling strangely slow.

She hoped her magic would be enough. She remembered liking it quite a bit when she was younger and she used to practice it very often. She still did from time to time, though she wondered when she'd started doing it less and less.

"Do you remember the chant?" He questions.

"Yes. Yes, I remember," she says, having repeated it near a hundred times over already, amongst her many other racing thoughts.

"Alright. Here is your item. You may begin whenever you are ready," the man says as she hands her a blue stone, Zava guessing it to be a sapphire with her limited gemstone knowledge. She holds the small rock within her hand gently before clothing it like it's her lifeline. In a way, it is.

Zava takes in a deep breath before she begins her chant, enunciating every word with every bit of strength she can muster. The circle glows blue beneath her feet, flashing with blinding brilliance, though Zava can hardly see it since she's shut her eyes tightly for fear of uncertainty. She keeps her eyes shut, shaking a bit as she takes in a deep breath. The spell had sent some chills up her spine and she couldn't help but admit that she felt a bit woozy after the feat, her blood having a strange feeling to it within her veins.

She opens her eyes, staring at the floor and then opening her hands to check for the precious stone. Her stomach drops as she finds her hands empty, the woman wondering if she'd somehow disintegrated the artifact or dropped it somewhere. She bends down to look for it on the floor, then noticing the golden necklace now dangling from her chest, the blue sapphire from before embedded in the jewelry.

"So... that means I did it...?"

She stands to her feet and looks ahead of her, clutching the necklace within her hands tightly.