Revision as of 00:08, 25 January 2019

Participants

• Cassidy
• Flora
• Jendayi
• Rokarion
• Terry

Date

24/1/482

Log

As the guests are ushered into the room, they're not only greeted with tables laden with aperitifs and entrees to whet the wheels of conversation, but also a curious object of interest in the center of the room. Though it's presently covered with a mantle and guarded by a pair of attendants, the general size and shape of the object is unmistakably a golem.

The room fills with more and more luminaries and sponsors of the arts and sciences. There's plenty of elbow room, and as the attendees start to mingle it becomes ever more obvious the invitatons were very selective. Many of the researchers and craftsmen present rub elbows with colleagues from far and wide, experts in their respective fields reunited after months or years pulled apart by work and duties. The murmur grows in the room as more gather, but it looks like no actual presentation will begin until the doors to the research hall are closed.

There's Flora, of course, currently accompanied by a single guard, a slender minx-girl. Even so, she makes sure to stay out of people's way, and both Lady and guard are dressed appropriately for the event.

So far, Flora's first few moments have been spent getting something light to eat, before trying to spot anyone she might know, or anyone that might have interesting information to share...

A particular jasmine, who has not been seen around these parts in a while, steps into the room. The plant-being known as Rokarion, no doubt invited due to his own studies into mathemagic...or maybe just got sent instead of a more accomplished family friend, seemed to completely ignore the food on display, instead taking out his notebook and slowly starting to examine the various items on display.

Of course of particular interest to the jasmine flower was the golem hidden behind the mantle that is his main reason for him being here, given that he had a new interest in golem crafting now. Otherwise, he would have remained in Andrussya with his lovely salamander.

Doffing her hat at the door, Cassidy had come alone today. Or at least presently. She wasn't much of a golem crafter, not since her initial interest which has since faded, but she was a magician, and rather liked keeping abreast of progress and innovation. So it was that she was here today, sipping on a drink and observing the covered golem as she pondered the specifics of what might be underneath. A mining golem, perhaps? Something more industrial? She could hardly wait to find out.

Jendayi is already there off in her own little corner, delicately waxing her creator artefacts and giving someone a suspicious eye every so often. Seems like she's pulling a bit of security for the event, though in general, the huge sphinx seems to regard the golems and their controllers with very thinly-veiled distaste. Especially the one under the covers. She looks at it like she expects it to burst out and go on a rampage. "Had enough for a lifetime," she mumbles under her breath as her focus returns to polishing the surface of her divine shield.

Near the statue at the center, a small cluster of beings wearing what is clearly church regalia have gathered in a little circle. They converse between each other, some excitedly, others reservedly. They are a stark contrast to the rest of the room, the only ones already discussing what might happen tonight rather than idly wondering what all this is about.

Two Academy researchers linger near one of the tables, munching on aperitifs while looking at the statue with reservation. They conspire to each other in hushed whispers, looking concerned and hesitant.

Security dots the gathering, here and there, kindly guiding guests around the room while keeping a careful eye on any who might want to disrupt or cause a ruckus. As the last few guests file in, two of the Academy's own staff start to close the doors, and some may note they stay outside to keep watch rather than within the room itself.

Rokarion idly juts down notes in his journal for a couple of moment before noticing the beings clad in church regalia. Realizing from the snippets that it appears that the group of beings know what is going on, he heads towards them with a purposeful stride. On his way, the jasmine being quickly goes over his own priestly training in his head. Planning on relying on his own church education to be more personable in case the group was not interested in talking to 'outsiders'.

With a smile, polite if not warm, the young bud nods respectfully towards the circle of...priests? "Blessings of the Creators upon you, I am Rokarion Aeneanas. I was invited to this gathering, but I was not giving too much information about the central display. Is it possible to ask for some enlightenment on the subject? " The plant being says, adressing a couple of beings on the edge of the circle, his voice as usual polite, yet cold, and he is clearly not dowing much to hide his Cliffside regalia or accent!

There's a little flick of Flora's tail, a scratch behind her ear, and then, the feline makes her way to the center, trying to mingle with the various church-beings, and somewhat gravitating towards the badger among them, offering a smile. "Flora doesn't suppose Mister Alfred can tell Flora what has the Church so interested in golems?" the feline offers, before flicking her ears lightly. "Flora admits, Flora is suprised Miss High Priestess isn't here, with how many of the church are around."

Cassidy raises a brow and pushes a lock of hair back, sidling over towards the church group. She wasn't a priestess by any stretch, but it seemed like people were gathering there, so what was the difference between sipping in one spot or another? Standing closer to the inquisitive minds might let her overhear something interesting regarding the event.

Jendayi holds the divine shield up in the light, turning the little sphere over a few times to make sure she's properly tended to it, then pockets it in a pouch which hangs from her ropebelt. She's about to start working on her twirligig when she sees people approaching the priesthood. Including what looks like... a CLIFFSIDER. The fur stands up on the back of her neck. Anxiety compels her to stand and walk her way over there with a delicateness that contradicts her stature, and she smiles and nods at some of the other priests and priestesses. "Ha ha, yes, hello, welcome my little friends," she greets the other soulless hurriedly. She turns towards the priests and gives them a meaningful look. "Remember to tell me if you require anything, yes? Yes."

The five priests break up their circle a little as Rokarion approaches. There's a natural moment of pause as they regard the newcomer, but a doe at the center of the group breaks the awkward moment by smiling at the jasmine and extending a hand in greeting. "Blessings of the Creators, Rokarion Aeneanas. I am Tabitha, and these are my colleagues-" She gestures to each in turn as she speaks their names. "Jeanette, Alfred, Hewett and Fabius."

Flora's approach and direct calling out to Alfred, the Badger, has the group turning almost in unison and greeting the familiar face affably. "Highlady." Alfred greets with a slight bow of the head. "A delight to see you, as always." He smiles. "The High Priestess should be with us shortly. We won't be starting without her. She insisted in overseeing the proceedings given the.. material being displayed today."

The burro, Fabius, snorts derisively, and rather uncouthly. "It's an abomination. We should dispose of it." This earns him a quick chastisement in the form of sharp stares from his colleagues, and he deflates quickly. Tabitha smiles, and tries to disarm. "Highlady, and Mister Aeneanas, we're going to be revealing a discovery made by a joint effort of the Church and Academy. A unique specimen that has us all both concerned and hopeful, to say the least." She turns to Rokarion, specifically. "And if you are here, it means you are either a friend of the Church, a friend of the Academy, or a respected researcher in your own right. Perhaps you'll be the one to help us identify what makes this specimen so special.

Hewett, the Hedgehog, turns to Jendayi and smiles. He'd seen the sphinx at work before, and knew of her involvement with the specimen in the center of the room, and he opens his mouth to start replying kindly, but-

At that very moment the doors open once more. A crane walks in, dressed in the garb of the Church. Many heads turn, and the look of recognition is obvious in all the church members as well as a few others. This is the High Priestess of the Church of the Creators, the Chief Machine Priest herself.

A little nod from Flora, a flick of the ears. "An abomination? Flora... Sees," the she-cat offers, clearly not entirely convinced she understands, and soon enough, the first, small question-mark starts popping up on her fur. There's a mystery to be solved here... Right now, that's the mystery of trying to figure out what's hiding under that tarp. Especially considering there are a lot of prominent golem-researchers around, too.

Rokarion nods to the Highlady as she approaches the group as well, the plant being recognizing her of course from their many dealings. With a smile, the plant being listens to the offered explanation. "Well, it will be my pleasure to aid you in this endeavour...but I presume that means that this golem was discovered, not made, otherwise we would know what made it unique. Is it...of Creator design?" The plant being asks politely, but is interrupted by the entrance of the High Pristess herself. Well, at least this means that he can finally see what's underneath.

Something that has the priests concerned? Well that was certainly interesting. Maybe it doesn't reveal any specifics of what was under the cover, but it gave Cassidy new things to think about. One arm folds over her chest, the other elbow propped in a hand while she strokes her chin. Only time will tell, perhaps. "Whatever it is, I look forward to seeing it."

Jendayi raises her brows and gives Fabius a look and a shrug that suggests she doesn't entirely disagree with him. She turns to Tabitha and offers her a Creator-faced smile, speaking with that Shralestan accent as thick as her arm: "Respectfully, my concern outweighs my hope about that... thing, but perhaps the brilliant minds here will tip the scales in favor of hope. It is why I brought it here, after all."

The moment she sees the High Priestess come through those doors, Jendayi offers another broad smile and bows her head respectfully, clasping her enormous pawhands behind her back and standing as tall and proud as she can manage. If there was one person she was certain was worthy of her respect among Sweetwater's cloth, it had to be her.

The High Priestess slowly walks towards the center of the room, moving with an almost unearthly grace. She smiles politely as she spots Flora, and almost seems to glide over towards the gathering group flanked by two attendants. "Highlady Longtail. An expected and always welcome pleasure to see you." She nods her head politely at the others around. "I'm sure we all have questions." She speaks calmly and collectedly, addressing the collective whole while her gaze falls upon the statue. One of the academy researchers is starting to walk towards the display at the very center of the room, being let in closer by the security flanking it. "And all will be revealed in.. fifty two seconds." She says, the barest hint of a smile curving her lips.

The otter being walks to the center of the room to stand by the statue, and clears his throat to get the attention of the room. In a propagating wave, beings around the room quieten down and turn to regard him, hushed conversation being drowned by silence.

"Esteemed guests, fellow researchers, hallowed members of our clergy, and friends. Welcome, and thank you for accepting our invitation tonight." His voice is calm and weary, the otter standing straight to project his voice. "Before we begin, I would like to recognize one member of the Church of the Creators, and two members of our very own research teams, for making it possible to recover the specimen you will be shown tonight." He pauses, to let the momentum of his words sink in. "My own brother lost his life in the Creator Ruin from which this specimen was collected, and I would like to extend my renewed appreciation to Machine Priestess Jendayi both for collecting his body and returning him to us, and for returning the golem you will be shown tonight."

He pulls the cover from atop the 'statue', drawing a collective gasp from some of the beings in the know. In the center of the room is a golem, for sure, but the unusual characteristics are immediately obvious. This golem was not carved from stone, wrought from metal or forged from purpose built parts, but rather stitched together from the parts and components of various Servitors. A mixture of elegant curves of Creator Steel and crudely welded iron and brass components, with cables and wiring tucked awkwardly behind sleek and gleaming plates of metal. Strange runes dot its surface, clearly identifiable as mathemagical symbols, but hitherto unknown to any.

"And there we go." Says the high priestess, turning to Flora to gauge her reaction most of all.

For just a moment, that singular question-mark disappears, the mystery solved... And yet, mere seconds after, five new ones, far more prominent, appear on the tigress's fur. A blessing and a curse, both, those spirit-contracts.

Her eyes are wide, and for at least a moment, the tigress is absolutely dumbfounded, unsure of what to make of all of this.

"This is... Quite a find, yes... Does miss High Priestess mind of Flora takes some photos, or has some photos taken, later?" the tigress offers, already quietly shuffling forward to try and figure out -just- what she's looking at. "Flora didn't bring a Camera..."

"Ah, no wonder the priests do not like it," Cassidy muses to herself, tapping her cheek. She imagined most of them would see it as perverse or blasphemous, but she could only see it as... Innovative. Creative. A peculiar reuse of parts and creation. A resounding, "Neat."

Not a moment after the golem is revealed, did the jasmine's book open. The plant being began writing down notes, apparently unfazed by whatever creation is in front of him. The jasmine began slowly circling the golem, eyes darting off to inspect any piece in particular that seemed to be a key section in this golem's make, but while he was looking for it, the jasmine main task now was writing down all the mathemagical symbols, attempting to decipher them first, and trying to figure out if they are Dark mathemagic or not.

The high priestess nods. "That is a most welcome idea, Highlady Longtail. This finding should be documented and archived." She clenches her hands in front of her chest, looking thoughtful. "No doubt we will need to dismantle the specimen to truly and fully understand where its capabilities come from, so it should be done before then." She turns to the moose being, Jeanette, and smiles politely at her. "Make arrangements for the Highlady's picture machine to be brought here under guard. We will document this tonight after we vacate the hall." She turns to Flora, regarding her serenely. "Is this acceptable, Highlady Longtail?"

"Is it within our remit to touch the golem, or is too unstable to study it more closely?"

Jendayi's smile fades at the mention of the otter's body. Bringing the dead home to their family is a task she has never enjoyed, but she takes pride in it nonetheless. Better than he rot there, at least. When the servitor-golem is unveiled, Jendayi's distateful expression returns all at once, and she refuses to look directly at it now. It's about as pleasant for her to look at as any pile of mutilated gore might be, especially after what she had to go through to get it.

The sphinx addresses Flora directly, noticing her curiosity. "The other golems like it- which I unfortunately could not recover even one of thanks to looters- were designed specifically to capture animals and beings, and... I am not sure what from there. Study them? I cannot fathom why, since they are clearly made by the blasphemous hands of heathen beings." She shrugs broadly, rubbing at her chin with a pawhand. "Anything they wanted to learn there, they could just as easily have learned from dissecting similar corpses. I still do not understand. The only other thing worth noting was the jarringly fluid movement the golems possessed."

The otter being speaks up in answer to Rokarion's question. "I would ask to refer from touching it without appropriate equipment.. " He looks at the High Priestess, before returning his eyes to Rokarion. "But if you require physical contact to properly analyze the specimen, so be it. We just ask that you be respectful and careful."

Flora nods, her tails twitching lightly. "Pictures before, during, and after," the cat offers, smiling faintly. Soon enough, though, she's moving in as well, looking over the various welded-on formulae, trying to parse them in her head, trying to find matches for anything she might've done, or things she might've seen others do to enchant their golems. "Flora does not... Recognize any of these. It's golem-magic, but... Very different. And not a single kevinscope, no. Curious, yes."

There's a quick glance to Jendayi, a nod, a tailflick. "Does miss Spinx recall any particular things about the others? Easier to find a pattern when there's something to compare, yes."

The high priestess regards Jendayi with that impassive look of hers, and it's hard to factor her emotion as she speaks. "The grand reveal has been revealed." She gestures for the otter's attention, then mimics two walking legs with her hand. The otter understands, and walks off to gather another researcher for some kind of demonstration soon to come.

Jendayi raises an eyebrow in thought and purses her lips. "Hmmm... They respected my face as they would that of a true Creator's, despite being golems. An unsettling level of autonomy for something meant to be so strictly bound, which I assume was the point of adding parts of holy machines and their spirits." Her eyes go a little wide at the High Priestess' words. She shuffles in place, obviously deeply uncomfortable. "... With... With the utmost respect, you mean to actually reactivate it? Here? I was, erm, not informed." She tugs at her collar, then quickly reassures, "Not that I oppose this, of course! H-ha ha! It is just... just... unexpected."

Rokarion nods at the priests as he is given permission to move closer, doing just that, but still circling around the golem. Not yet touching any area, just scanning it from a closer area. "Well...I can tell you that the symbols and runes are mostly Earth mathemagic, yet...nothing I have seen more. It is a lot more complex than most symbols used for golem control. I have yet to discount 3D mathemagic or a form of a personalized, or coded, symbols." With that said, and hearing Jindayi's answer. The jasmine looks at her, planning on asking a question...but when the issue of reactivating the golem is raised, the flower decides to wait a bit on that query. "It could possibly be that those symbols are what increased the golem's autonomy to act as gatherers?" With that, the plant-being begins slowly touching certain symbols, trying to detect if there is something more to them than just sight,

There's a little browraise, a flick of the tail. "Curious, yes... A golem wouldn't do that... Not normally, no," Flora notes, before gesturing for her guard to give her a small clipboard, pen and pencil, scribbling things down and making various pencil-sketches of the formulae.

"Anything else miss sphinx noticed? Anything could help, yes. Where did miss Jendayi find it? Was it underwater, or in the open air?" the tigress ventures, trying to get a rough idea of the timescales involved here...

At the same time, she's nudging a few wires out of the way here and there, trying to see if she might be able get a good look at the insides.

The guards on duty tense as the golem is touched, but since the otter gave permission for this and nothing of worry immediately happens they don't do any more than look appropriately concerned.

The priestess nods almost imperceptibly at Jendayi's question. "We have brought some of the foremost minds of both mathemagic and golem creation and operation to this very room precisely so they can see with their very eyes what it is that intrigues us so." She smiles gracefully. "I am trusting you to subdue it if it becomes dangerous, although I doubt it. There is a reason a blessed sphinx was chosen to e here, even more so than your direct involvement in recovering it."

Cassidy watches the golem from afar and listens to the observations and claims of others, slowly canting her head to the side. "I wonder..." She approaches, leaning up to look at the inscribed runes. Earth magic, Rokarion had said, and other things. Other things... She mostly had knowledge of air and fire magic, but perhaps she could pick something out on it.

"Huh," is all Flora offers, as more of those question-marks start dotting her fur, her ears flicking lightly as she carefully removes a few wires that should be non-essential for most servitors' machine-spirits... And worst case, she can always plug them back in... It should offer a clearer view of one part in particular...

"Whoever did this knew -much- more about servitors than most golem-crafters, yes... But Flora doubt it was a machine-priest," she offers, as she points out the many, many disconnected wires... And the few wires leading to a small, pristine part that is essential for any golem... Or servitor.

"A golem would use golem-magic to make that connection, yes. Like the arms and legs. "This is connected. Like a proper servitor, yes."

Jendayi rubs at the back of her head while Flora continues with her questions. "Well, errr, it was both underwater and not. That is, the ruin itself was under the swamp, but past a clever passage designed to filter out the water, it was more or less dry. It was as an old laboratory, but wrought from Creator steel and filled with their machines, albeit barely functional." She shrugs again, and her attentions turn to the High Priestess.

"Ah... Yes. Of course," she half-mumbles. Her voice lowers and she mutters to herself, "I still think Firmament would do incredibly well to consider a more Shralestan attitude towards the Church."

Rokarion stands back up for a moment, writing down something, while adding a little bit more details to a couple of sketches. "Interesting..." He mutters as he looks back at some of the carvings, inspecting them more closely. The plant being then looks back at the assembled crowd. "It appears that the method of infusing this golem with mathemagic was...haphazard, at best. Almost desperate...It was done by Creator Tools, it was just done by a being's hand..either unskilled or rushed. There is an element of 3D mathemagic in it, as well as some form of mathemagic that I have never seen before." The plant being then stops for a moment of consideration before looking back at the group. "I might be reaching to conclusions a bit early here, but I suspect that depending on how old this golem is, which I have yet to figure out...it could have been made by our ancestors who first settled Promise. That is the only current explanation I can think of so far."

"Interesting... It utilizes fire magic, too. For precision movements." Cassidy'd ears twitch and wiggle faintly as she relaxes her posture. "I have never tried to use two magics to quite this end result before... Hmmm."

The otter being approaches, slowly urging the various beings crowded around the golem to stand back. "Highlady, friends, please stand back. We'll be beginning a demonstration of the specimen in motion shortly."

He waits until the beings finish their examinations and observations before ushering in a machine priest. The short meerkat being approaches the golem shyly, looking to be suffering from a bit of stage fright as all eyes in the room turn to her and the golem.

"This.. worked before, so hopefully it will work again." She says with a nervous chuckle, followed by a clearing of her throat as the High Priestess looks on unamused. "Right, right. Here we go. Running the activation sequence now." The machine priest begins a series of gestures which are easily identifiable as a mnemonic for activating a particular mathemagical spell. She gestures and concentrates, nothing happening for a few moments, and then...

Much like Jendayi had indicated earlier, when the golem starts moving it does so with the grace of a ballet dancer. Golems, while highly advanced constructs with a multitude of uses, forms and functions, have never managed to move with the delicateness and precision this golem is demonstrating. Each of the golem's three legs animates, starting to carry it forward. The legs act in unison, precise to such a degree that the main body seems more like it's gliding than walking.

Gasps are heard around the room as the golem stops, mid-motion. No wobbling, no juttering, it simply freezes in place. Now that it's stopped, the otter being walks in front of it, a box held in his arms. He kneels down and upturns the box, gold crowns spilling out before the machine.

He clears away, and the machine priest controlling the golem sets it in motion again. With the precision of the most skilled surgeon, the being's legs walk over the coins, collecting them one by one and stacking them on top of each other in an exact, neat pile.

The high priestess shows a rare display of emotion, smiling as the demonstration ends, but letting the amazed reactions of the crowd speak for her.

"This is big, yes. Very big. Three-dimensional magic? Old three-dimensional magic? Somoene should tell friend Selena," the cat notes, her ears flicking lightly. And then, she's ushered back, and the servigolem sets to work with a surprising amount of elegance and grace. "It's old, rusted, there are no kevinscopes or hearthstone surfaces... And yet, the magic is more advanced?" she offers, half to Rokarion, half to no-one in particular, trying to parse everything in her head, even as the golem makes its demonstration...

"It's built and controlled like a golem, but autonomous like a servitor, yes..."

Jendayi mostly just looks uncomfortable as the golem moves, whole body tensing up in preparation to snap into action on a moment's notice. She's probably one of the few people in the room who isn't impressed, if only because the last time she saw this it was used to skitter or crawl towards her in the most unsettling of manners. The huge sphinx quietly unhooks the straps binding her crusher to her back and sets it delicately to the floor besides herself just in case, tuft-ended tail flicking in agitation the whole time.

Rokarion stares, stony faced at the demonstration. The plant being showing less emotion than the golem during its demonstration, but Roka certainly keeps on sketching as the demonstration carries on. With the demonstration done, he ponders what Casssidy said, and what Flora just added before moving closer again. The plant being then begins studying the mathemagic symbols again, hoping to glean more as he looks at them from a different angle...what else are they being used for...and maybe there is something in it as well.

As the plant being continues his search, he idly switches off his main gemstone, even thought he is notr trying to hide it, he does seem rather discreet about it.

"It certainly moves... Smoothly. Almost too smooth. It's kind of creepy," Cassidy mumbles, shaking her head. "Quite interesting, though. I wonder who put it together. I wonder who... Applied all this magic to it. Very interesting..."

The priestess nods at Cassidy's question. "That is the key to this whole conundrum, I feel." She offers the fennec a slight smile. "Someone with knowledge that far outstrips ours used it to create something that seems neither Creator Made nor Being Made, but somewhere in between. I pray that we will be given clarity as to what is taking place here. And that perhaps we can reproduce it."