The Missing Constellation

I think I'll take you up on that. Thanks for the code, Bella.

Head to the Lore Building.

Riley:

You casually stroll down to the Grand Archives, a building whose interior isn't quite what you had expected. Rather than some giant room filled with shelves upon shelves with books, it is instead a place where many people are interacting with floating nodes that branch off into networks in order to access information. Quite sophisticated technology you note to yourself. The head librarian acknowledges your arrival and approaches you. "Welcome to the Grand Archives, is there anything you are looking for?"

Yes, would you happen to have any mythical history I could look into? All the better the more legendary it is.

Riley:

The librarian's fingertips begin to glow as he places his hand in mid-air. Lights begin to form and a screen appears as he uses a visual wheel to scroll through its contents.

"Ah yes. We have plenty of information in that department. Which mythical history in particular are you looking for? We have mythical beings, mythical wars, urban legends, and mythical relics and artifacts."

Mythical Beings would be quite interesting.

Riley:

"Certainly, here's all the information on the category that we have as of now."

>Cultists of Nafirunalis
>Aberration of Friguria
>Thunderclap of Denpirn
>Depths of Rivana
>Vice of Auruportum

Depths of Rivana

Riley:

"Ah yes, a fine choice. We have the article written by one of our volunteer lecturers, Isabella Valentina. I will display the text now."

[Mp3 is here. chrome waht r u doin chrome STAHP]


"A long time ago, there once existed a lush island full of trade and commerce, the island known as Rivana. The society was run by the royal court with the house of Magali and the house of Sihilos. Though led by two factions, the island continent was united as one, and in order to maintain the harmony one son of one of the houses would marry a daughter of the other house each generation. Rivana remained prosperous until one day, the great beast of the ocean appeared and created storms and dangerous tides. The royal court sought audience with the creature in order to see how they could assuage its wrath, and the beast demanded a tribute: the royal daughter of Magali. The head of the house of Sihilos wanted to agree to the stipulation, however the house of Magali was outraged. They refused and both houses declared vendetta, and the island of Rivana was in a state of anarchy. The storms continued and chaos plagued the society until the daughter of Magali herself offered herself as sacrifice to the beast. Upon the exchange, the creature dragged her into the depths of the ocean, never to be seen again. Mournful and angry of their loss, the house of Magali hired the help of the sky pirates and their fleet of flying ships to attack the house of Sihilos until they were inevitably driven out. Being greedy and untrustworthy as the pirates were, they were unsatisfied with their payment and raided the house of Magali as well, until they had complete control of Rivana. The land began to die out and become depleted, and the oceans waned leaving behind deserts, now giving Rivana the name of 'Sands In The Sky'. Rumor has it that in the desert there is a fallen ship containing the royal treasures of the house of Magali and Sihilos, and that one day when they are found, the ancient beast of the ocean will return."

Cultists next please.

Riley:

"Very well. Although the file is somewhat corrupted, and the author's name will not display. I'll allow you to read the entry anyway."




"When I was a little girl, my mother would always tell me stories... stories about two great inventors in the distant land. They were Leonid Astherur and Gerard Thorley, and two cities were founded by their great minds. They had visions to change the world with their technology, and brought wondrous and groundbreaking gadgets to the people. They quickly became hardened rivals and competed with each other to produce bigger and better inventions, and soon they began to hate each other and the citizens of their town no longer traded or communicated with one another. There were however, a number of people that worshiped the old ways, and they saw the inventions as a sleight against humanity. They believed in a higher power, the higher beings known as the 'Simulacrum.' The Simulacrum were mysterious and frightening apparitions of unknown origin that had strange and mystical abilities, and they in turn worshiped a greater king, the great emperor of the Ginnungagap, the Cosmic Emptiness. The worshipers called themselves the 'Inquisitors,' and they slowly destroyed the works of Leonid and Gerard. The Inquisitors sought to become closer to the spirits they revered, so in their own confines they created a chamber, and from that chamber they performed a ritual to birth their own artificial deity, which they christened 'Miose, Goddess of The Dreamscaped Frontier.' They used the power of their creation to ravage the cities with her might and declared death to all those that defied them. Eventually, they killed the great Gerard Thorley, and conquered his city. Leonid was informed of his death, by his son, a man who was forced to become an Inquisitor who also became killed for treason later on. Fortunately, Leonid was able to abscond before ever being discovered, and his whereabouts to this day are unknown. As for the Inquisitors, Miose's power was too powerful and unstable for them to maintain, as they could not reason with her in her infant state, and she crippled the ranks of the cultists and had to be sealed back into the chamber. Time passed and the cities rebuilt, but some say the Inquisitors have planned their return in the shadows and will soon rise again..."

Aberrations, if you would be so kind.

Riley:

"As you wish. I will display the text now."



"Friguria was the result of a nuclear war that occurred when the governing council refused to sign the Unification Treaty between its neighboring provinces. Many lives were lost when the final warhead was dropped, and those that lived became something other than human. The land has been deemed dangerous and uninhabitable, and all hope for reconstruction of the cities have been abandoned. However, researchers have indicated that beneath the frozen surface somewhere, there lies an enormous cavern home to what possibly may be the fabled creature of Lamia with speculations that if such a place exists, then radiation may have seeped into it causing unpredictable results. Chances are we will never know for sure, until the day comes when our technology is advanced enough to explore safely through the frozen wastes."

Thunderclap please.

Riley:

"Ah, yes. We just received a submitted article by a man named 'Vinnie the Scarecrow', apparently he's a reliable source, even though he got his source from his own mother."



"Alright, gather round bambinos and bambinas, it's story time from an ol' tale passed down from generation to generation, badda-bing. Back in da olden days Denpirn was actually a land in da sky, get what I'm sayin'? Nobody dere but a buncha wacko native folk, not an interestin' bunch if ya ask me. Dey were like da bunch of nomadic tribes ya read in yer history books that ya check out atcher local library. Now anyhoose, dese natives worshipped and appeased a supernatural being, dis recurring theme I'm seein' in dese articles is catching me on to a pattern here. Da supernatural being was a giant, larger-den-my-aunt-Celeste's-mustache freakazoid dat had ten heads, each of a different creature, yeesh. Legend sez it's the lord of thunder, lightnin', and all tings weather related or some bullcrap like dat. Fer a while all tings were alright, da natives would hunt their food in peace and make offerin's daily fer the big-ass ugly ting. Den later a buncha foreigners showed up and started colonizin' all over da place, see? Dey didn't make offerin's like da natives did and dat pissed off da nasty summabitch. Freakface decided to tear up da joint wit his powers and whatnot and eventually cast everybody down to da erf. Ages past since den, yadda, yadda. Da land below was recolonized by the foreigners, yadda, yadda. Point is, dey say dat if youse is able to find da ancient garden in da sky, youse can make an offerin', and da giant bad boy will appear and test your worthiness. End story. Dat's it, stop readin', ya numbskull. Dis ting done recordin' yet? Da fuck all youse lookin at?"

The node is followed by an audio clip of what appears to be the sound of screaming and gunfire from a Thompson submachine gun.

An interesting source indeed. The last choice, if you would be so kind.

Riley:

"The final piece in this category was written by one of our own in our travel representative department, I shall display it now."



"Auruportum, the infamous sleepless city of glamor. Among the bright lights and flashy outfits, there really isn't anything like the nightlife of the various casinos, underground cafes, and the ocean-side cruise ships. The locals themselves are quite the eccentric bunch, engaging themselves in various activities such as gambling and substance abuse. One form of entertainment seemed to grab my attention the most, as I happened to come across the coliseum, where participants actually engage in fatal combat. I was enthralled at the edge of my seat as I witnessed a well-dressed man in purple savagely gun down an outclassed bowman. Matches are set up by a ranking system that increases payout the further up entrants get promoted. There are also many gated entrances that are no longer used in the arena, and I am told one of them leads to a network of catacombs where ancient gladiators once rested. Rumors say that even in death, the thirst for battle of these savage people could never be sated, and that they await a challenger strong enough for one final clash. I myself have witnessed some potentially promising combatants; among them was a gunslinging woman with a peculiar accent, a hooded man resembling that of a monk, and a man in a white jacket who possessed great skill in both magic and swordsmanship, I am sure there are more, and I look forward to researching more of this in the future."

Head to the Lecture Hall.

Riley:

You leave the archives and head to the large building past the garden to find a classroom where Isabella is already in the middle of giving a lesson. "...And now when you add a dose of lavender oil, you can create a remedy to soothe burns and cuts. Speaking of formulas, In ancient times they say that a select number of people have actually concocted a formula to emulate the very drink of the gods themselves: the legendary Ambrosia. When consumed, Ambrosia grants the drinker heightened physical prowess and enhanced abilities that surpass those of the strongest warriors and wisest sages. In order to replicate the concoction, one must have proficient understanding of life and death, and mastery of the elements themselves, as said by the shamanic elders themselves. Many researchers today have tried to recreate Ambrosia, but have failed due to insufficient technological advances. That will conclude today's demonstration, thank you all for your time."

The scholars applaud and slowly exit the classroom, and Isabella starts packing up her brewing set.

Hai

Approach Isabella

"Did I really only catch the tail end? Shame."

Riley:

Cue gentle yet solemn music.


"It's okay, you didn't really miss much. My lessons are really boring anyway. I trust you have found everything in Candiasper to your liking so far?"

Yes, I have. I believe I should be out for a trip soon. Would you like to join me, perchance?

Riley:

"Certainly. I don't mind, but do keep in mind of the current situation that we're in."

Isabella has officially joined the party! As a party member, she will be dedicated to accompanying you on your journey throughout the game and provide combat assistance as well as out of combat perks. You may only have a maximum of 2 ACTIVE party members at a time that will participate in combat, but you may still have other members of the Zodiac accompany you as well. Your active party members can sometimes synergize their usefulness to create unique advantages. You may now use the command "Speak to [party member name]" to converse with a party member whenever you need their insight and "Conference party" to speak and discuss with all of them at once. You may also use "Check equipment of [party member name" to see what they currently have equipped, as well as giving them new equipment, or sending them off in a safe area to go on their own and bring back new items.

Isabella's Statistical Profile:

About: Isabella is very observant and analytical, she will take note of things that may be of help or importance, and she is also proficient in gardening and knowledge of special plants. Coincidentally, she is a vegetarian. At times she may be rather cold, critical, and myopic, but it is rather difficult to get on her bad side as she takes very little offense to things. On the other end of that spectrum, it is quite a challenge to get her to warm up to you as well. Isabella can use her herbs to provide medical aid for injuries, so all wounds will be more or less recovered after each battle.

Combat Role(s):
Party members have two different fighting styles that may use in combat in which you may command a certain class path for them to take. The longer they stick with a certain combat role, the more efficient it will become until they progress and promote to a stronger role. Isabella's combat role classes are as follows:

Shaman: Under this role, Isabella will focus on healing and utilizing natural magic to defend the party. Her physical offense will be lacking, however her magical defenses may be used destructively as well. When she masters the role of Shaman, she may promote to an Augur.

Paladin: Isabella will take the charge of battle, relying on her sword skills to fight and draw attention of the enemies. Her devotion to the party will strengthen her competence the more they are united, however the unity shall wane should there be bad blood. After becoming a hardened Paladin, Isabella may move on to become a Holy Slayer.

Please choose an active role for Isabella before continuing. You may change the roles at any time out of combat.

Shaman.

Riley:

Isabella has been set to Shaman mode.

"Riley, what are your plans now?"