RP:Signed and Sealed, Yours Truly

Part of the Dissonance Theory Arc

Summary: Brand recalls Lionel to the Tranquility. There, she catches her friend up on all things Viera and enacts a scheme to ensure that certain memories aren't erased twice.

The Tranquility

It had been bugging him like a bad rash. Why had Lionel temporarily forgotten the existence of one Brand Herzegler, only to remember Brand all over again? It wouldn't have bothered him as much if the selective amnesia had been permanent, and not just because he wouldn't have thought about it and thus be bugged in the first place. At least a permanent spell, however bizarre, served some unknown purpose. Villains and morons — and villainous morons — had done that sort of thing to him before. But what purpose could possibly be had in making someone forget a friend only to remind them again later on? The crux, the thing that really tilted all this for Lionel, was that it wasn't even a matter of someone mentioning Brand's name in passing that triggered the recollection. It was as if a switch had been pressed and then summarily unpressed at seemingly random intervals. The busy streets and seedy back alleys of Cenril were exactly as Lionel always knew them, as he'd always seen and heard and smelled them. The salty tang of the sea soon followed. Familiar fishermen from near and far carried about their business and it all felt perfectly ordinary. Even the Tranquility looked as notable as ever, and not a bit more. But seeing Brand again was going to feel weird. He just knew it. Stepping across the wooden pier and climbing aboard the ship, Lionel gave Sundance a wave and asked, "Whereabouts can I find the captain?"

Brand [1 of 2] || “Well, there’s a sight for sore eyes!” Sundance seemed as happy as ever to meet his prince again. At Lionel’s question, however, his eyes darted awkwardly to one side, where there stood a woman who could easily be Brand’s twin sister. She wore long hair up in a braided bun and a practical black dress that looked straight out of Khitti’s wardrobe -- probably because it was.

Brand [2 of 2] || “You’re lookin’ at her,” said the woman, sparing Sundance the burden of explaining. “We’ve, uh, certainly had a time of it lately. Lots to share. Thought it easier to do in person, maybe over a drink or five.”

Lionel was thrilled to finally meet Brand's sister. Had Brand ever mentioned a sister? Lionel wasn't sure. But certainly there she was, sisterly as could be, at least until Brand spoke up and proved otherwise. Was it possible that Lionel had forgotten Brand because Brand was now wearing a dress? No. That didn't make sense, nor would it have made sense to suddenly remember the captain as such. The mystery remained. Regardless, Lionel was full glad to see his friend again. "I'll settle for three drinks, nice and evenly in the middle of those two numbers," Sundance's prince chimed back. "Want to lead the way? And may I hopefully be just the second person to say, that hair looks good on you." Whatever it was that compelled this rather blatant change in appearance, Lionel figured Brand would either include that in the 'lots to share' or opt not to. Either was fine. It was just… sudden.

Brand || “Ha. Thank you.” She’d talk no more about her appearance just then, preferring instead to take them somewhere with less bustle and noise. Sundance parted ways with them at some point on the journey, presumably to do whatever Sundances did. Maybe he’d come back later? But Brand paid the absence no mind. She opened the double doors to the library and poured two glasses from the decanter that lived there before settling into a chair, one leg crossed over the other at the knee. “So, I suppose it goes without saying that your memory’s returned, at least for how things were before. Do you still remember when you came here and met Viera?”

Lionel sipped his drink before gulping it down. The sip was to taste it; the gulp was to experience it as the gods intended. Lionel sat down as casually as ever, his left leg twitching up and down periodically because he was one of the most jittery Catalians still breathing and that would likely never change. "I'm relieved to hear that my memory is on your mind, because yeah, one second my brain said you didn't exist, and then bam, you exist in my brain all over again." Maybe not quite as he remembered, but hey, whatever. "Vaguely," he answered Brand's following inquiry. "I think I saw a rabbit on my way to meeting Viera. I remember the damnedest things sometimes. But… yeah, I'm quite certain I did, actually. And Viera was... " A few words almost erupted before Lionel selected something more appropriate. "Relatively attractive, I thought."

Brand || “Right. That was more or less what I was expecting to hear. Viera is...” Brand’s gaze lifted to the bookshelves, searching for the right words. “She and I were involved, some twenty-odd years ago, while I was still in the Crystal Daggers. Less than consensually on her end, I regret to say. She served the Daggers for a time, and then she died -- or rather, I killed her -- the circumstances around which are their own rather lengthy tale. And I thought that was the end of it, for a long time. Until after we went to the Demon Archipelago, in fact. I didn’t realize it at the time, but her spirit must have come back with me then, and she was bent on vengeance, as I understand one usually is if their soul is still around this plane twenty years later. And… what you saw, what you see now, is part of that.” The talking was thirsty work, particularly on such a subject. Brand, too, gulped her drink down, then immediately poured herself an encore and drank a good half of that, as well. “Khitti’s fine, I should mention, since she’s not here at the moment. Her memories are back, as are mine and… everyone else’s, as far as I’ve been able to determine. That was just a piece of Viera’s magic.”

It was really coming back to him now. Lionel recalled a Warrior's Guild meeting that had ended with a confused Khitti wanting to know why people were messing with her by bringing up a name like 'Brand.' Lionel had endeavored to get to the bottom of it but lost his own memories of his fellow Catalian soon thereafter. Courtesy of one Viera. "That's something," he stated the obvious. Now it was his turn for a second drink. Afterward, he shook his head and sighed. "I think what confuses me the most is that as far as I'm aware you didn't receive an obvious boon in the Cave of Regrets like many of us did. At the time, I figured yours was something less than obvious, but I never would have suspected it'd be something — someone — dubious. How is that helpful?" If the answer was right in front of him, Lionel remained oblivious to it.

Brand [1 of 2] || Brand blinked, and then blinked some more. “Was I supposed to? Oh, well then, I suppose it’d have to be this.” She waved a hand, and from it popped a puff of aether that became an illusion of a man in jester’s clothes and a collection of colorful objects. He juggled them for a time before catching each object in his mouth, swallowing them down, and vanishing again. For such a fancy trick, Brand certainly looked less than amused.

Brand [2 of 2] || “I don’t quite understand the technical aspects of how it happened, but I assume that, because Viera spent so long inhabiting my body, I somehow inherited the ability to perform her magicks, at least to a degree.” Brand sighed and slumped further back in her chair. “When she was done playing pretend as Khitti’s love interest -- I can only guess at what purpose that was supposed to serve -- she let me have my body back, only to shapeshift it into what you see here. Khitti became a male version of herself, and we had our memories warped -again-, so we’d think we’d always been that way. I carried what I thought was a child, for a time -- and Viera must have warped our sense of time, too, because the calendar doesn’t agree with how much time I thought had passed -- only it turned out to be some kind of spell to grant Viera a body of her own. So now she’s alive again, out there, somewhere. Khitti and I still have memories of our ‘other lives’, despite now remembering the ones we actually lived. I have Viera’s illusion magic, and her shapeshifting magic, and presumably her ability to frak with people’s memories too, if I could figure out how.” Another sigh. “There’s a lot I haven’t been able to figure out, yet. Not least of all -- I can shapeshift others just fine, apparently, but not myself. Hurts like hell every time I try. Might be I’ll figure it out with some more practice… might be I’m stuck this way. Lots of unanswered questions, still.”

It took a few moments to process all of that. Somewhere along the way, when Brand mentioned believing she'd been with child, Lionel's nose twitched; it twitched again when mismatching calendars came up. Probably because that seemed to happen more often than it didn't in Lithrydel and Lionel would never understand quite why. "For what little it's worth, I barely have a handle on the powers locked inside that shiny new sword of mine." He knew it wasn't worth much, given that said sword hadn't possessed him, or erased his memories, or presented itself as a persona, or made him think he was pregnant, or half a dozen other things. He knew that Brand knew, too. But it was something. At least they shared an incomplete grasp of what they'd been given. "I'm happy to help you suss out whatever's in need of sussing. I guess my first ponder here is: do we go find Viera? Is that something you want? And/or think is needed?" He did in fact verbalize the "and/or."

Brand actually laughed at that. “Somehow, I knew that was going to be the first thing you asked when I was done explaining it all. And, well, yes/no.” She did in fact verbalize the ‘yes/no,’ but probably only because Lionel would have done the same. “Khitti and I are pretty sure we know where to find her, and that’s precisely where we left her -- on the Demon Archipelago. Unless she shapeshifted herself into a boat or something. But, given how ridiculously overpowered she is, Khitti and I have already decided to go just the two of us if we decide to go at all. Because if we go look for her, it’ll be because I need her help to sort out this new magic of mine, and so I’d rather not expose anyone else to her frakkery if she decides not to accept a parley.” Just the thought of it required another few hearty glugs of her drink. “But I do want you to keep an ear out for any reports of her sort of magic, just in case she -did- make it off those islands. You know almost as well as we do what she’s capable of, and you’re better connected, besides. I figure, if anyone hears anything quick enough to do anything about it, it’ll be you. And in the meantime… if you find any good experts or tomes on shapeshifting, send them my way. I’m -really- trying not to have to see her again, much less beg for her help after all this.”

Lionel couldn't help but grimace at the thought of being left behind on account of his own safety but he knew not to push the issue. It was good of them, Khitti and Brand, to minimize the risk to others like this. If they decided they needed backup, after all, Lionel at least knew he would be at the top of the list. The grimace was soon replaced with a look of determination. Brand was putting Lionel to task in the smartest way; he was indeed fairly well-connected and fully intended to utilize those connections to the best of his ability. "I uh, I think I do know someone, actually." It came out as a stammer because the notion of reaching out to Quintessa Dragana on his own was a strange one. When it came to family, however, Lionel would do what he must. Besides, Quintessa wasn't his only avenue. There were others who might have answers. "Heck, I shouldn't waste time chasing after potential experts. Ought to get to it before hitting Semper again, even." He stood up, poured a third glass of terrifically alcoholic alcohol, and downed it in one fell swoop. "That is," Lionel breathed out afterward, "unless there's more? I can sit back down." Standing beside the empty chair, the Imperator gestured to it, as if he needed to be specific about something so basic.

Brand || “There is, but not much.” Brand reached into a pocket of her dress (Khitti had dresses with pockets! Amazing!) and pulled out a handful of letters, each sealed in their own envelope and addressed to… herself, Khitti, Lionel, Dozla, and Camina. “I want you to keep these somewhere you would find them even if your memory was wiped… but not somewhere so obvious that anyone could waltz into your place and find them for themselves. It might be best to give them to someone you work with that I don’t know about, even, but I leave those details to you. They’re letters of everything that has happened so far with Viera, written in my own hand. Just in case she decides to toy with us again. And if you think it wise to make out any additional ones… by all means. Though I don’t think Viera would have any reason to go after you unless we give her one.”

Lionel immediately placed the letters into his traveler's satchel for safekeeping. "Excellent idea. I wish I'd come up with it, myself. Then again, if I had it wouldn't have mattered since you already did." He cleared his throat. "I have just the third party in mind." Handing an amnesiac a bunch of letters intended to beat the effects of amnesia was cruel in a way, but Captain Ku Risu of the Maighdhean Mhara was nevertheless his first choice. "Sounds like I've got myself a mission. Wasn't much liking waiting around while preparations were put into place for the showdown with Big X, and it was good to see you, besides." Lionel grabbed a bottle of rum for the road — surely a collection this vast could do without just one. "Demon Archipelago," he sneered the words and groaned. "Unnecessary as it is to say, I'll say it anyway: be careful out there."