A Well Earned Celebration

[bravenewmods]

[The battle was over and the god Reshiram defeated, driven away by the aid of Union and its allies. The city was safe, by and large, and as the news spread throughout the peoples of the tundra, they began streaming back into the settlement in droves. Dirty, ash-coated faces were filled with relief and gratitude when they saw that it wasn't just a rumor and that their home had indeed been spared. Not everyone was so lucky, but they'd weathered worse, of course. The people of Glacier endured, as they would always endure, and they were also a people that repaid their debts. And they most certainly all agreed that they owed their rescuers a debt.

So, as night fell after the battle, a great celebration was prepared in the center of Glacier. A wide square was cleared away in a matter of hours, and the people gathered what they could in a show of thanks. Tables of food, bonfires towering into the night sky to keep out the autumn chill, and throngs of cheering wellwishers lined the area. Warriors of glacier, men carrying swords and women all bearing axes offered enthusiastic handshakes and claps on the back. Music of all kinds was played, though tribal tunes full of horn and percussion, chanting and yodeling, and even some brass groups dominated the soundscape.

A platform for various elders was set up, and they offered speeches, of course...but those were somehow dwarfed by the presence of the divine beings that were waiting silently for the proceedings to end. Some of the gods that had come to the aid of the war parties had apparently decided to stay, though their reasons were as mysterious as they themselves. The humans would have their time, and the Servants would mingle freely throughout the evening.

Food, of course, is set out in piles. Meat, fish, arctic berries, and various pastries and the like line table after table. A smorgasbord of Glacier specialties, each with a new and unique flavor all their own, and some (such as the stew) possessing a smell that only a native could probably endure. Akutaq in particular seems to stand out among the worst offenders, but the Glacier natives seem rather fond of it, and offer it to their rescuers with great gusto.

And the rewards do not stop at simple meals. either. As the speeches begin to wind down, a woman some might find familiar walks up onto the stage carrying a singularly massive trunk and dropping it down onto the wood with a heavy thud.]

Southerners! You have done a great deed this day! We, the people of Glacier, would like to thank you and honor your sacrifice! Few would do as you have done, coming to the aide of strangers against the might of that dragon...and you have accomplished something we did not think possible. To that end, we would like to present you with the first of many gifts, a token of our gratitude and a promise that should you need it, we will come to your defense in a time of need!

[And then with a sharp kick, she cracks open the trunk and reveals a veritable treasure trove of three different stones to be distributed by her subordinates.]

Rest well, and enjoy the festivities! You are welcome here, for as long as you like! Eat, drink, and be merry within our halls!

Comments

[wise_maiden]

Thank you. I'll admit that my knowledge of you all was fairly limited until now. For all of you to come together like this, out of myth... the implications are that even this isn't the worst of what's ahead.

[bnw_wighty_npcs]

Certainly... the time has come when we can no longer sequester ourselves and observe humanity in isolation.

But it was not always like that. Myths are born from seeds of truth, after all. Once, we dwelt amongst you.

[wise_maiden]

Before the calamity... things must have been very different back then. And yet there's so little we know about the world around us now.

[bnw_wighty_npcs]

I am afraid I cannot enlighten you on the dynamics of this continent. We come from distant lands...

But if you have any besetting questions to which you seek the answers, now is the time to ask.

[wise_maiden]

[There are so many questions, and implications made by that statement - but how to choose the right ones?]

I understand.

You came from distant lands to aid us all the way here... there's still a danger, isn't there? What's happened here will have a rippling effect, and yet... was this the first time that Reshiram has acted on his beliefs? Something must have prompted that reaction...

[bnw_wighty_npcs]

[Articuno pauses for a moment before it nods.]

They gained the strength and the impetus to carry out their goals. I do not know what that impetus was...

This is indeed the first time it has acted. For five hundred years, all of us have respected the agreement we made.

[wise_maiden]

[She nods, taking that in. It still seemed strange, but she would have a lot of work ahead of her if she hoped to learn more.]

Has... something been changing in the world? Something that would prompt... the people of this region to be tested.

[bnw_wighty_npcs]

Many things have been changing in the world.

[Articuno responds vaguely.]

You have seen it already. The humans rediscover each other and come together as one. The cities of man fashion terrible creatures of their own creation. The gods reveal themselves, and the myths of old, as you say, return.

Who can say what has prompted this?

[wise_maiden]

When you put it that way, it sounds like a cycle. Humans grow, change, and their desires and achievements become twisted through time. If they progress so far that they forget the past, then... it only makes sense that an intervention is called upon to take place. Humans are rediscovering one another, but are still unaware of the... scope of what's taking place in the world. Is disaster truly inevitable...?

[bnw_wighty_npcs]

Indeed... I have found it to be the case.

[Articuno nods to itself.]

Humans are short-lived and quickly forget the mistakes of their ancestors. And yet, even so... this is only the second iteration of the cycle. And already, the pattern has begun to change.

[wise_maiden]

If it's a change you and the other gods are willing to believe it... the deeds of some of the humans of this time must already have made an impression. And yet, there will be more tests to come, won't there? The end of a battle like this is bound to make waves.

[bnw_wighty_npcs]

Certainly so.

But these are not mere tests any longer. The days of testing are over - and what bodes in the future is not liable to be so simple.

[wise_maiden]

[A confrontation of this degree hardly seemed as if it was something that could be filed under 'simple'. Unless the god was referring to the results...]

The peace here right now seems very... temporary. [Especially so, for someone who grew up under occupation.] Is it just a matter of... waiting for the next blow?

[bnw_wighty_npcs]

[More to the tests that had occurred in the past.]

There is a human idiom - you could 'take the fight to them', I believe. But that would be folly, yes... without any knowledge of the lands further east.

[wise_maiden]

Indeed. I don't know if any of the others here have plans to do that... or even ways to do that, considering the levels of danger we've already seen. There's also the fact that any amount of time we spend regrouping... is also the amount of time the opposition spends as well.