| The Fulcrum begins to Shift. | ||
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With such thoughts in mind, Magus paces back and forth from doors to podium, over and over. Not floating, but actually pacing. His hands are locked behind his back and his eyes are cast downwards. Holes being blown in cathedral walls do not take long to filter back to the ears of Guardia's First Knight. Especially not when the cathedral in question is occupied by /the/ Magus. Children brave enough to find their way there often dare each other to see who is willing to get closest to the walls. Soldiers patrolling nearby see things. Whatever the instance, with the recent invasion of Porre, news tends to filter back to Glenn faster than ever. The former frog slowly pushes open the cathedral doors and strides in. If it had been Lavos... Zeal... ... that /thing/... The cathedral would not still be standing. And anything short of that would not be enough to likely harm his former nemesis. However, it is still something to be concerned about. He walks in slowly, noting Magus' pacing, and closes the doors behind him, rather then letting them close on their own. Afterwards, he strides towards the other man purposefully, keeping his eyes on him, but not saying a word, just yet. Of course, Magus takes note of Glenn's presence immediately. Even though he had not seen who came in, he did not have to ask. There is a certain presence that the former frog has. No one would know that better than the mage himself. The one who once turned him into that very same frog. "... The days grow darker, old knight," states Magus as he walks forward towards the sigil he had painted on the ground. "I fear if we do not come to a conclusion soon, this world will fall. We will be stuck in this vortex of twisted time forever. If not worse." He expels a heavy sigh as he states this. He is now facing Glenn, still on his feet. He looks as though he has not slept for days. Heavy dark circles sag under his eyes. "We will bring them to a close." Glenn says this as he begins to walk towards Magus, noting with dismay the fact that the other man is not floating. He's /always/ floating. Or flying. Or doing something much less mundane than walking. That, and the reports that drew him here, lead Glenn to believe that Magus is ... very unhappy. He doesn't even need to notice the circles under the other man's eyes, though he does as he draws closer. But as to why... "...What has happened?" "... Too much," states Magus as he moves to sit on the edge of the raised platform where the pulpit stands. "Enough to make me burn with rage even more great that I felt against Lavos." Which he had plenty of. The mage reaches into his shirt and produces the tattered scraps of Marle's garments. The bloodstained mess of the other Marle. Not the Marle that is currently here. He holds them out towards Glenn. "... This is the reason." The knight stares for a moment, but he is not as slow on the up-take as he appears. "..." The muscles in his neck tense up, as do the muscles in his jaw, and Glenn stops where he is, not taking another step. It is painfully clear that he is upset, and as his jaws clench down tighter, a vein on his forehead begins to stand out, though the knight remains silent. After a few moments, none of the aforementioned things change, but he speaks, his voice low and quiet. "... I see." There are a great deal many things that a knight cannot stand. The greatest among those are the deaths of friends and loved ones... and the death of the queen. For /BOTH/ to happen, even if he realizes in an instant that Queen Nadia still exists... his shaking is visible from across the cathedral, and his voice sounds... ... dangerous. The mage slips the torn scraps back into his shirt. "Regardless of what they say about me, I do care," Magus states as he rises back to his feet. "If it was not for her, I would most likely be dead myself. The conflict with Johnny, the dagger... there is no telling what the result would have been had she not been there by my side. Even if my intentions were at first nefarious... but that was the dagger. Not me. ... Marle did not take it well when I spoke to her about this. As I would expect." Whether Glenn believes that or not, that is his choice. Magus walks down the aisle towards the former Frog. "The impostor will pay for her misdeeds. As will the black hand that guides her. If my suspicions are right, I am sure we both know where the real power is. Certainly not Porre." Tired though his eyes may be, they still burn with anger. There is a nod from the knight, but even still, he says nothing. A gloved hand clenches tight, and he lifts his head to look up at the cathedral ceiling. Only then, after moments of casting his eyes upward, does he speak. "...Be cautious." Glenn's hand slowly unclenches, and he closes his eyes, his head still canted upwards. "...You and I are the only survivors. I am not certain why." Slowly, his head drifts downward, and his eyes drift open. "We are the only ones who remember the cause of all this." He speaks the truth, but... does he have a point "... Some 'King' Crono is. Disappearing the way that he does. No explanation. Especially to Marle. He will feel my anger if he shows his face again." Magus knows that such a remark will make Glenn's temper boil, but at present, he does not care. Crono has disappeared when they need him most. There is that other boy that people keep talking about. Serge. But he has been absent as well. So the two supposed "saviors" are away. "That means the burden lies on us. Marle may be stepping up to be queen, as she rightfully is, but she can not do it alone. She will need us. Every bit of power we can muster. ... Much as I might want to, even I am not so foolish to face the impostor alone. The power of Lavos would be too overwhelming." ... Did he just say Lavos? ... "We have to face it. None of us are as powerful as we were when we last fought the monster. We have... grown complacent since then." Magus walks slowly past Glenn towards the doors of the cathedral. A wave of his hand opens the great entrance. "I truly do detest the bloodshed. My goals aside, I want what is best for this planet first and foremost. None of us will survive if that overgrown turtle shell continues to exist. I know it is Lavos, because I have seen the creature. Felt its presence. ... The bottom of the palace is where it resides. The palace which I can no longer access." Glenn is probably the only one he would reveal these answers to. The attack on Crono's character does not go un-noticed, but Glenn does not raise a voice to speak in his defense. With Crono gone, this is not the time for turning his anger onto his allies over such remarks. As Magus passes him by, Glenn turns, but takes a moment before he moves to follow. He is not surprised by the statement of Lavos. He has made his own conclusions. Zeal was capable of a great many things, but ... that destruction... as it rained from the heavens, Glenn had known that he was wrong to believe that... creature... to be Zeal. When Magus speaks of it as though it were fact, he simply nods his head. "...It has grown... strange... different. We have slain it... and yet... like us... it remains." Glenn does not fully understand the alternate realities from which people are being drawn. Magus has a distinct advantage over him in that area. Time travel was enough. Alternate dimensions... it's a bit much. "No, it does not remain. We did kill Lavos. Our Lavos. Well. You killed your Lavos. I in turn helped to kill the Lavos from my continuity. This Lavos... is different from both of them. Think about it. Where do you think the Zealian Palace came from? And why there is so much power there? Does it not feel different from the palace you visited in your adventures? It is certainly not the palace I used to call home." Magus leans against one of the doors with his arms crossed. Blueish hair falls over his eyes a bit, masking them from the gaze of the knight. "This power is unlike anything you have ever experienced. I have tasted it first hand. I know that it must go. If it stays, we will never restore our world. Destruction and chaos will continue to reign and soon even, the last two. You and I. We too will fall. Along with everyone else on this planet." Those words weigh heavy upon Glenn, and the First Knight's fist clenches again. "... Then it shall not stay." There's an edge in his voice, and the knight tenses, before walking towards Magus, and those open doors. "... We shall destroy it utterly." Bold words. But then, Knights are given to bold words. "...I shall not let it destroy everything we all worked so hard to achieve." What, by himself? "... We shall not." Oh, ok. That's better. Magus says, "... It will take the power of all of us. I do not even know at this point what approach to take. ... But I feel that if we all come together, we can figure this out. If ever there was a time that we need to come together, it would be now." Magus knows all too well that his presence would turn many away from such an idea, but he hopes that people can set aside differences for the common goal, right now. "The slaughter at the fair. Marle's death. I will not stand for any more of this. If Porre attacks again, they will be butchered. If the impostor shows her face? We will face her. She will fall into the abyss again. Same place I saw her fall when I obtained the dagger. I refuse for us to be idle about this any more. I want everyone that wants to join our cause to start coming here. That includes you and your corps of knights. From now on, this needs to be our base. There is plenty of room here." The mage steps away from the doors as he turns back towards Glenn. "See to it." ... Was Magus ordering the knight? There is a moment's hesitation at Magus' 'orders'. A mass-scale evacuation away from Truce leaves the village un-guarded. The last haven for normal folk as well as military folk. His responsibility is to them as much as it is to the defeat of this creature. "... I shall see what can be done." The doors close upon the former-frog, leaving him alone in the cathedral. There IS plenty of room here. More than there appears, to be certain. And there is no doubt of how well it can hold out against an assault. Far better than the village, to be certain. However, asking the villagers to leave their homes. After all the attacks, it might be the last blow to all of them. They might not see their homes again once they were left unguarded. He will have to dwell upon this... and as the night grows on, he does just that. | |
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