[X] "Its bows were broken and splintered upon the field."
[X] It is definitely humanoid, the stone worked to give its head an open-faced helmet with a mohawk-shape on top. Each cheek bears a single spike that curves upwards, and it is holding a second platform in its upturned hands. Another bonfire is roaring in its lap.
Broken Systems.
2 votes for [X] "Its bows were broken and splintered upon the field."
Turn Unit.
2 votes for [X] It is definitely humanoid, the stone worked to give its head an open-faced helmet with a mohawk-shape on top. Each cheek bears a single spike that curves upwards, and it is holding a second platform in its upturned hands. Another bonfire is roaring in its lap.
Seeing as this vote is really important, it will remain open longer than usual.
[X] "Its wings were torn off and its chariot splintered, forcing it to face its enemy on foot."
[X] It is definitely humanoid, the stone worked to give its head a fully enclosed helmet with a pair of feathers that curve backwards on top. It appears to be sitting on a throne, and there is a second platform is held in place in its left upturned palm. Its right arm ends in a stump, however, requiring a scaffold to hold that side in place. Another bonfire is roaring in its lap.
[X] "Its bows were broken and splintered upon the field."
[X] It is definitely humanoid, the stone worked to give its head a fully enclosed helmet with a pair of feathers that curve backwards on top. It appears to be sitting on a throne, and there is a second platform is held in place in its left upturned palm. Its right arm ends in a stump, however, requiring a scaffold to hold that side in place. Another bonfire is roaring in its lap.
[X] "Its bows were broken and splintered upon the field."
The second vote is a tie, so I'll just roll a 1d2.
EDIT:
The winner is: [X] It is definitely humanoid, the stone worked to give its head a fully enclosed helmet with a pair of feathers that curve backwards on top. It appears to be sitting on a throne, and there is a second platform is held in place in its left upturned palm. Its right arm ends in a stump, however, requiring a scaffold to hold that side in place. Another bonfire is roaring in its lap.
[X] "Its bows were broken and splintered upon the field."
"Its bows were broken and splintered upon the field." Sochie recites. "Its enemy broke all of them during their battle."
Interesting.
[X] It is definitely humanoid, the stone worked to give its head a fully enclosed helmet with a pair of feathers that curve backwards on top. It appears to be sitting on a throne, and there is a second platform is held in place in its left upturned palm. Its right arm ends in a stump, however, requiring a scaffold to hold that side in place. Another bonfire is roaring in its lap.
You can easily understand why primitive tribesfolk would worship the White Doll, even you find yourself impressed. The White Doll almost matches the statues in the royal park back home…
Sochie is saying something, but your ears are deaf to it as you unconsciously lean forward towards the White Doll in an attempt to burn the details of its armor into your brain.
Was it made before the Calamity? Why? A monument? The style of the armor doesn't look like anything from the few pictures you found in your studies…
Maybe a people who lived here before the Amerians came built it, but what happened to them? Why would they portray their guardian deity maimed? What were they-
"You there!" You almost jump out of your skin as a man shouts at you from the side. Sochie lets out a frightened 'eep' as you turn your head towards the voice. Judging by the two feathers in his hair he's one of the men who were helping the adults to be carry the platform up here. "Scram! You'll get to see it in a couple of years anyway!" You scramble to follow Sochie as she runs down the slope, the man angrily lecturing your retreating backs.
You decide, after the two of you stop to catch your breaths near the foot of the mountain, that you'll make sure that nobody else is there to get angry at you the next time you're looking at the White Doll.
The Return is still a few years off, so you should have more than enough time to study the White Doll as you read yourself up on Inglessa's history. As soon as you find a library that is.
Nobody seems to have noticed that you and Sochie went up onto the mountain, to your mutual pleasure. Neither were you keen on explaining why you went missing together to Mr. and Mrs. Heim.
The celebration down here is still going on, if in a much calmer fashion compared to the hooting and dancing up by the White Doll: The adults are talking around the food tables and drinking some odd Earth beverage while the young adults and the children are either stuffing themselves with snack foods, playing games by the firelight, or have fallen asleep on mats laid out by the side of the building.
You still have some questions about the White Doll, so you decide to follow Sochie. "Miss Heim?"
"Yes?" She seems to be looking for something. Or someone, her parents maybe.
"Do you have any more stories of the White Doll?"
"That's all you wanted?" She grumbles, sounding disappointed. "Fine. The legends say that the White Doll could reach out and speak to people over large distances and see through their eyes, or even control them like puppets. It could also use magic to move mountains and build invisible walls, but only one story mentions that one."
Interesting. "Why does the White Doll only have one hand? Did it lose it in battle?"
Sochie sniffs and stops walking, turning on you in full lecture mode. "No, that's just the Blaze Gauntlet. The only thing the White Doll lost in battle was its bows and arrows."
"Blaze Gauntlet?"
"Are you-oh…" She deflates a little. "Sorry, I forgot that you're foreign. The legend goes something like this: 'The right hand of the White Doll was blazing bright! Its shine demanded victory!'…"
"It's one of my favorites…" She adds hesitantly.
"I see." You nod at her.
Sochie then goes on tell the story about the White Doll using magic to move a mountain, but doesn't get far before Mr. and Mrs. Heim find you.
"There you are." Mr. Heim looks like he's enjoying the festivities, smiling as he sips from a cup filled with that strange beverage the adults around here are drinking. It doesn't look like Mrs. Heim approves of the drink, because she grimaces when she glances at the cup. Some kind of alcohol? "Are you having fun, Sochie?"
"Yes father." Huh, she is a lot calmer when speaking to her dad. "Though I'm still looking forward to my turn."
Mr. Heim smiles and pulls her into a one armed hug. "Good to hear. What about you, Loran?"
"It's interesting, sir. We don't really have anything like this back home." This seems to surprise Sochie, but you continue talking. "Sochie has been telling me some of the stories about the White Doll. I'm a bit of a history enthusiast, so I very much appreciate it."
"Very good." Says Mr. Heim. "But now I would like to talk with my daughter. Be sure to be ready by the cars when Kihel and the others come down from the mountain." He then walks off with Sochie and Mrs. Heim.
Having been politely shooed off, you go grab a bite to eat. You haven't eaten in several hours and it is starting to take its toll on you.
Kihel and the others come down from the mountain after an hour or so, where she is immediately embraced by Sochie and Mrs. Heim. To your surprise you are joined in the Second car by Mr. Heim, who comments that he was kicked out.
It is a quiet ride back to the Heim mansion, and when you arrive you are quickly ushered into a room in the servant's quarters. You fall asleep the instant your head hits the pillow.
"Mr. Cehack!"
You shoot out of bed, a reflex triggered by being woken by a shout. "I'm awake! I'm awake!"
"What?"
You suddenly remember where you are, and realize that you just told the maid you were awake in your own language. "S-sorry." You tell her in Amerian. "I meant to say that I'm awake."
She doesn't look amused. Not amused at all. "Breakfast is ready." She tells you while giving you a suspicious look. "You better be done in time for when Mr. Heim introduces you to Mr. Samuel."
Mr. Samuel? Oh, right. The mine foreman. "I'll be right down, Ma'am!"
Mr. Samuel is a middle-aged, heavyset man with a toothbrush mustache and a weathered expression. Mr. Heim had you come to his office to introduce you to your new manager. "Who's this, Boss?"
"This" Mr. Heim begins. "Is Loran Cehack, your new mechanic, and the person who helped me with the car yesterday."
"Really…" Mr. Samuel trails off, looking you up and down with an appraising eye.
After Mr. Heim leaves Mr. Samuel leads you outside and drives you to the main mine in his work car. He is a bit rough around the edges as he shows you around the tunnels, but as he finishes showing you the machines you are expected to maintain and repair you feel that you could work together with no trouble.
Eventually you end up at a workshop set up right outside the main tunnel. A motor belonging to one of the trucks lies on the workbench. "I think you'll fit in 'ere just fine kid. Now patch this up so we can go home."
What? "Sir?"
"Today's a holiday, kid." He says while seating himself by a low workbench and reaching for the parts of the smaller engine laying on it. "No work for most people, and a short workday for jobs that need to be done." He places a few wrenches onto the bench. "This thing's all that's left, so I'm just gonna have you slap this together and call it quits."
Is that so? That would explain why there are so few people around.
And thus begins your new life on Earth.
[] See what you can dig up on the White Doll and Inglessa's history.
[] Look for Keith and Fran.
[] Focus on your job.
[] Timeskip.
[X] See what you can dig up on the White Doll and Inglessa's history.
After the early hassles of getting your immigration papers in order, saving enough of your wages, and getting your hands on a work calendar, you begin spending your free time looking up Inglessa's history, especially the White Doll.
You begin by purchasing a notebook from a store in Vicinity, then you ask Sochie about it or, when she doesn't have the time to chat, asking her to let you borrow some books on the subject from her. There is also a small library in Vicinity, which leads to you being introduced to one Elder Daniel of Vicinity, who is running it. Elder Daniel a short man well into his seventies who converted most of the first floor of his house into a library. He isn't much of a help, but at least you are brightening his day by visiting.
The short of Inglessa's history is that during the Amerian Migrations southwestward some of the tribes stayed went straight south, the one that would one day form Inglessa among them. The tribal migrations were roughly two thousand years ago.
A few centuries afterwards Inglessa, along with the rest of the kingdoms formed by the Amerian tribes, was conquered by King, later Emperor, George of Nenand. The first Amerian Empire fractured after George's death, splitting into hundreds petty kingdoms, baronies, and fiefdoms that were ever feuding amongst themselves.
After almost a thousand years of this things calmed down with the stronger states absorbing the weaker, militarily or otherwise, until only a dozen remained, Inglessa amongst them. This formed the second Amerian Empire, a union of semi-autonomous nations where an emperor elected from amongst the rulers of the Amerian nations decided foreign policy and mediated between the nations in their squabbles.
The Second Empire lasted until almost two hundred years ago with the death of the last Emperor, Richard Sard Rhineford. Faith in the office of the Emperor had dried up completely after the ruinous war with Gauria, a powerful nation on the other side of the eastern ocean, and the slow recovery after the war. The rulers of the Amerian nations refused to elect a new Emperor, turning the Second Empire into the loose confederation of today.
The Sard Rhineford family, which rules Inglessa, still refer to themselves as the 'royal heirs' in memory of being the descendants of the last Emperor. Not exactly what you would have done, but that's none of your business.
Information on the White Doll is readily available, but any clues to its origins are so shrouded by myth so it is more or less impossible to confirm anything but 'it was there when the Amerians settled here'. Like Sochie said, it used to be the patron deity of the entirety of Inglessa, but time and Inglessan expansion reduced it to a much more local divinity. Most Inglessans know what the White Doll is and the history behind the holiday, but only the people in the Vicinity area bother to perform their version of the ancient ceremonies. More song and dance and less virgin sacrifice nowadays.
As for the historical records of the White Doll during the history of Inglessa, there are a lot more to work with. You even find an illustrated work that compares the ways that the Inglessans have modified the statue over the centuries: The tribesfolk supposedly carved a face shape into the statue, as well as painting its arms with crude paintings of animals if the recreation of an ancient sketch referenced in the book is accurate.
Eventually the warrior ideals of the Inglessans changed, and during the years after the First Empire they smoothed surfaces, evened the rock, and filled gaps until the white doll was clad in plate armor, the feathers on top of its head were carved then. This lasted until the early years of Richard Sard Rhineford's reign, where he had the work on it redone in an attempt to fuel Inglessan nationalism, which didn't take.
*
While your ability to travel around is severely limited compared to the Moon, but you do get the occasional holiday during the year. Most of them are spent relaxing or playing gopher for the Heims (mostly Sochie), as well as the occasional search for Keith and Fran, but you find neither them nor anyone who can point you in their direction.
Mr. Samuel sends you to Nocis one day to pick up some parts he's ordered, being too busy with overseeing the mine to go himself. Nocis is the capital city of Inglessa, and you arrive there by train. The trains here on the Earth are steam driven and noisy, nothing like the electrical trains back home. Nocis itself is smaller than the cities on the Moon, but still sizable.
You get ahold of the parts, though you manage to get hopelessly lost first. Without the map of the city they put in one of the parks you don't know what you would have done.
You don't see much of Sochie or Kihel during this time, apparently Inglessa's students don't have as many holidays as its workers, which is a shame, you've started to miss being able to speak with people your own age. You also miss your mother, but that should go without saying. You find no trace of Keith or Fran, forcing you to conclude that, should the worst come to worst, you'll just meet up with them during the Return.
It hits you that you have spent more than an entire year on Earth, you are now sixteen years old.
*
Your employment with the Heim family leads to you meeting one of Sochie's friends: Miashei Kune. She's the daughter of a man in the Nocis area who manufactures propeller aircraft, and is a year younger than you and Sochie. All in all, you find her to be a bit more level-headed than Sochie the few times you speak with her, though they don't come over to the garage very often.
Which is why Miashei inviting you along with Sochie to visit her father's hangar comes as such a surprise.
Her father, who introduces himself as Ladderum Kune, is a friendly man who takes great pride in the aircraft he designs, eagerly showing you his newest model when he learns of your interest in machines. The girls run off to do their own thing while the two of you talk, though you are too absorbed with learning the workings of a new kind of machine to care. You obviously never had any lessons about propeller aircraft back on the Moon.
Most of your subsequent meetings with Miashei aren't as eventful, but you enjoyed them all the same.
*
Two things of significance happen after spring has turned to summer: First thing that happens is that one of the Heim family drivers retire, which gives Mr. Heim the idea that you would make a fine replacement. For the most part this translates to sitting around being available until a member of the Heim family needs to be driven anywhere or sitting around waiting in the car until they need to go home, more of the latter when Sochie finds out. You're not sure why she insists on you always being the one that drives her around, but you are in no place to complain.
The second thing that happens is a personal visit to Mr. Heim from the ruler of Inglessa, Royal Heir Lord Guin Sard Rhineford.
What you catch of their conversation, something about war with Gauria, isn't as interesting as Lord Guin's car in your opinion. You do learn that there is going to be a parade in a couple of weeks to show off the might of the Inglessan Militia, which might be interesting.
The word 'Militia' is a bit of a misnomer, it is a professional armed force in all but name, but one of the Emperors of the Second Empire forbade the Amerian nations from forming their own armies. It was either in CC 1467 or CC 1548 (the calendars changed twice, making it difficult to make sure). They Amerian states responded by loosening their uniform codes renamed their armies 'Militias'. When the Second Empire dissolved the practice was so ingrained that they didn't bother changing it back.
Later the same day you drive Sochie and Miss Kihel to Nocis, specifically a jewelry store Kihel likes. Sochie says she doesn't like the jewelry there, so she remains in the car, leaving you to stand at attention outside the driver's compartment like a particularly fancy scarecrow.
She really didn't have to get so angry at you for complimenting her sister, did she?
You sigh. Nocis is a beautiful city and all, but this is just so unbelievably dull that-Keith?
A quick glance over at Sochie, who thankfully has her attention taken up by a book, leaves you free to go over to the young man dressed like a baker. He's kneeling down to inspect the two-wheel trolley he's using to move what you assume to be sacks of flour as you approach, but you are certain-
He chuckles. "You seem to be doing well for yourself." Keith stands up and faces you with a smile on his face. "Hi, loran. How have you been?"
You return the smile, overjoyed at seeing your friend again after almost two years. Two friggin' years. "I'm alright, thanks. Do you work here?" You point at the bakery that you're standing just outside of.
"Yeah. Fran is working in Nocis as well. She's works for one of the newspapers here." He slips you a piece of paper while gesturing behind you with his eyes. "Nice talking to you, see you around!"
You sneak the paper into a pocket as you turn around to come face to face with Miss Kihel. "A friend of yours, Loran?"
"Y-yes." It is eerie how she looks like Queen Dianna. You could have noticed the difference two years ago if you took a closer look, but now…"He's a friend from my hometown."
She seems to buy it, and you finish the shopping trip without incident.
*
The next day sees you waiting in one of Nocis' many parks, the meeting place outlined in the note Keith passed you being the memorial in the middle. You're sitting on the steps in plain sight, waiting for the others to show up. You are technically supposed to be waiting in the car for Sochie and Miss Kihel to be done with their classes so you can drive them home, but you still have some time before their classes end. It should be alright.
…Is that a baguette?
Keith, baguette in hand, jumps over the stone handrail and gives you a hug before offering you a piece of it. "Made it myself." He declares proudly. Not that he doesn't have reason to, it is very good bread.
His face brightens when you tell him your opinion of his work, and you share a few stories before Fran shows up.
She seems to enjoy working at the newspaper, though she does complain that she constantly smells of ink. No idea why, it's not like it smells bad…
Keith's expression turns serious as you finish telling your stories. "Loran, have you checked on it yet?"
"We buried it in a valley, they won't ever find it." Fran assures him. Personally you're not so sure, there was a small earthquake in the area last year. Had you known that you would be saddled with the responsibility of checking on it though, you would have kept your mouth shut.
When you get back to the car you find Sochie waiting for you, looking strangely guilty. On the drive back to the manor you get drenched by the rain. Fantastic.
Checking on the FLAT that night goes without a hitch, especially since the rain has stopped, though what that other car was doing that time of night was anyone's guess.
*
The next morning you are called into Mr. Heim's office. "You wanted to see me, sir?"
He doesn't say anything for a few seconds. "Sir?"
"You are seventeen now, and I was wondering if you were interested in attending the Coming of Age ceremony this summer." He looks at you seriously. "As you were not born here, you are under no obligation to go, and I want to make it clear that your job is in no danger should you refuse, but I felt that you should be asked nonetheless. The elders have already given their permission."
You blink. You honestly hadn't considered that you might be eligible to partake in the ceremony. "I…"
How could you refuse? A chance to look at the White Doll up close, even in the dark, would be too good to pass up even if you didn't want to participate in the ceremony for its own sake. And as such, it is with a skip to your step that you resume your work the next day.
*
Today's the day.
The time before the ceremony passes in a blur, driving Mrs. Heim and Miss Kihel to an apartment in Nocis so they can prepare for tonight party at Lord Guin's castle, watching the Inglessan Militia parade from the rooftops with Keith and Fran, and finally being told some rather ambiguous things by Mr. Heim. He couldn't have meant it like that, right?
You and the other white-robed adults to be are dancing around the platform with the wooden statue, singing a song in some language you don't recognize and waving a torch to the beat of the drums. Sochie is standing on the platform with the statue, her hands in its own as she gives the command:
"To the Mountain Cycle! Take me to the White Doll!"
You and the other boys put away your torches and grab hold of the wooden beams sticking out of the platform, hoisting it up into the air and marching up the mountain.
When you get to the White Doll you're too occupied with looking at it to pay much heed to Sochie ordering the adults helping you with the platform to leave, there is just something about it…
"Loran Cehack!" What?
Sochie is waving you up to the platform with her and you hesitantly follow. Mr. Heim said something about carving the holy marks into her back, but you're not sure what to think when she hands you a box of-
"Leeches?!"
Your outburst falls on deaf ears as Sochie turns her back on you and disrobes. "Place those on the spots to carve the marks." You hesitate for a second, enough to draw some of her ire. "Just do it already! You know where to put them, don't you?"
"I-I do, but-"
"Then do it! How do you plan on completing the rest of the ceremony if you can't do this?"
You swallow and reach down into the box, deciding to not examine her statement too closely. If you remember correctly you'd just get registered back on the Moon. "Mom," You mumble under your breath. "I'm becoming an adult on Earth…"
"What was that?" Asks Sochie as you place the first two leeches.
"Nothing, nothing." You pluck the third leech from your hand, it had crawled out of the box, and-
The sounds of explosions echo from Nocis, searchlights and anti-aircraft fire lighting up the night sky. A yellow line in the distance blazes through the night, igniting plants and wooden buildings it passes on the as it blazes through one of the villages near Vicinity before it slams into the side of a mountain.
A particle beam?! What the hell?!
"An attack?" Sochie whispers, her shock mirrored by the others. "Is it Gauria?"
You don't think of correcting her, Mrs. Heim and Miss Kihel are in Nocis, are they alright? Are-
The platform topples, sending you and Sochie tumbling down. The two of you are somehow uninjured from the fall, but you have to scramble to avoid the falling rocks as the White Doll crumbles.
What?
The rock crumbles to reveal metal, the eye slits of the helmet lighting up as the feathers turn to dust, exposing the antennas underneath. What you assumed to be the back of a throne reveals itself to be a disproportionally large backpack as the White Doll tears itself loose from the layer of stone around it.
It falls to its knees as the ground under its feet collapses, and it stops moving. You and Sochie peek out from behind your cover in time to see the top of its head slide open, revealing the cockpit.
A mobile suit. The White Doll is a mobile suit!
Further explosions ripple in the distance. What is going on?
You grab Sochie's hand and lead her to the White Doll. The ancient mobile suit is through some miracle functional enough to enter a 'enter cockpit' stance on its own, and you aren't going to look a gift horse that might get you away faster in the mouth.
It takes a minute since you're helping Sochie climb up the thing's arm, and because you notice that the mobile suit's elbow is a friggin' ball joint, leading to you staring at it in dumbfounded silence. How does this thing even move?
The cockpit is in the White Doll's head for some bizarre reason, but everything seems like it is functional. It doesn't look too different from the cockpit of a FLAT: There is the seat, the controls, some pedals…but where are the monitors? The keyboard? The secondary screens? The hatch closes as Sochie settles in your lap, throwing the cockpit into darkness.
Something slides across your temples, making you reflexively bring your hands to them. They're dry. "Sochie, was that you?"
"Was what me?" She hisses, understandably frightened.
"Nothing. Just my imagination-." What was that?!
You twist your head to the left as fast as possible to get a better look at-
Nothing.
You could have sworn you saw something...
You carefully lay your hands on where you remember the controls being, something the White Doll seems to take as a signal to switch on the cockpit lights. As well as the main monitor: You and Sochie gasp, the shock of seeing the cockpit walls dissolve into a perfect view of the outside.
"W-what is this?"
"It is- the White Doll is a machine." You reply as you you squeeze the control handles. Smaller holographic screens pop into existence in your peripheral view and around your hands. They would probably be more helpful if you understood what the hell was written there, you have never even seen this kind of writing before-
Suddenly the holograms change, shifting from indecipherable writing to stylized symbols. With a sinking feeling in your gut you realize that almost all of them are yellow or orange, with a sole touch of green on the stubby right arm. The image shifts to what you think is the oversized backpack, which features one green symbol, a pair of orange symbols and five greyed out squares.
All Weapon Systems other than the Right Arm Beam Saber are missing or Irreparably Damaged.
The image shifts again, this time showcasing both the White Doll and its backpack. Curiously, the White Doll is split into…nine! Nine parts! Ten if you count the backpack! The same symbols that were green or orange on the backpack repeat themselves on every separate piece.
Once more the image changes, becoming a wireframe overview of the White Doll. Weirdly enough, here every symbol is green.
All Psychoreactive Systems are in Perfect Condition. All remaining Systems, barring Power Generation, Basic Mobility and Sensor Suite, are Damaged or Heavily Damaged.
Mist suddenly fills the cockpit. Feathery and multicolored, it twirls playfully around you as yet another screen shows up. it is the same image from before, but slightly different. The green symbols are trying and failing to connect to-
I think this is the single pilot/dual pilot thing? Copilot makes it possible that we might not have a copilot in an emergency so we could perform below par, but gives us the teamwork benefits of two people in one unit(and one of them focusing on the special modes/moving while the other focuses on fighting).
The White Doll's psychoreactive systems detect two people in the cockpit, but neither of them are...compatible so the White Doll is taking steps to correct that. The vote is whether the systems target the person sitting the pilot seat (Loran), or both Loran and Sochie.
