SPRING TEST DRIVE

[thespaceopera]

THE SPRING TEST DRIVE MEME
(Or Fall Test Drive for you Southern Hemisphere folks!)

Got someone you want to try out before you app? Well this is the post for it! Feel free to use anything that fits in the setting of Drift Fleet! Want to play bumper shuttles? Want to go wild in a med bay? Play around with the current plot? Have at it!

Threads from the Test-Drive may be made game "canon" but DO NOT count toward AC!

FOR NEW PLAYERS: You DO NOT NEED an invite to participate in the TEST DRIVE! If you decide to APP into the game, ONLY THEN will you need an invite from a current player!

Helpful Info for Ideas!:

March's Star System

Game Details

Test drives are posted SEASONALLY, so the next one will be in June!

Comments

[luxoraculi]

[ His words have her tilting her head slightly, eyes narrowing just a bit. ]

Insomnia? I do not recall a fight between you and King Regis--

[ She cuts herself off, though, eyes widening a fraction when she realizes just what he actually means. Back in Insomnia... His Majesty. Noctis. She's quick to recover, and she finally looks away sharply. ]

...The only good thing about you being here is the fact you cannot wreak any more havoc at home.

[maledictus_semper]

[Oh, wouldn't that be a fight to remember? He didn't have to fight the King himself. Someone else took care of that. Ardyn was always behind the scenes, working, scheming, planning to bring plans to fruition. All this time he had been working in the shadows to bring the line of Lucis Caelum crashing into ruin.]

Perhaps. Who's to say I won't wreak havoc within this place too? Wherever this is. Do you know?

[luxoraculi]

[ She's really having to fight the urge to ball her small hands into fists right now, because composure is everything and it is something she prides herself in very much. She lets out a breath she hadn't even realized she's been holding, her expression still just as unchanging as it's been the last few moments. ]

I say you won't. [ Her tone holds no room for argument as she steps even closer again. After everything that's happened at home, she deserves this, to be able to prove to him that she's not like she was when he killed her. She's not sickly or weak and he won't be taking advantage of her or the people here, either. ]

So help me, Ardyn Izunia, you will do no such thing. Not here. And I do know, but since you are so very intelligent, I will leave it to you to figure out for yourself.

[maledictus_semper]

[He let out a low chuckle at her fighting talk. Such passion burned in her eyes. He could see it. Walking towards her slowly and carefully he faced her, just a few feet from where she stood. Would she strike him? He would be ready for the hit if she did. Her family were known for being fighters and were often stubborn. If she were anything like her brother then Ardyn knew she meant every word she said and more. He almost regretted killing her back home.]

Such power, my lady. Tell me, do you wield the power of the Oracle here in this unknown world? Do people know of your healings powers?

[He tilted his head, curious. It was as if he were contemplating a move in a chess game.]

You would abandon me with nothing more than angry words? I am wounded. Just like you, it seems I am stuck within the confines of this cold prison. Do you believe the Gods placed us here?

[luxoraculi]

[ It's tempting. He's close enough now where she could, in fact, ball her hand up into a fist and just sock him. Maybe even a little slap, a little pay back for what he'd done to her as she lay on the wet ground bleeding out in front of Noctis. Even still, his words have her frowning deeply because she's gone to great lengths thus far to keep her powers and status quiet. She's enjoyed being a normal, every day civilian, and to think that this man has the power to just take that all away... ]

I would not know. There is no Starscourge here, nor are there Gods to communicate with.

[ She refuses to answer his last question, though -- she knows that he must know that people here have no clue about what she can do. ]

I would abandon you in the cold depths of space if I could... but unlike you, killing does not become me. Not in that sense, at least. [ She's talked a man into using the Ring of the Lucii and she'd watched him burn to death for it -- she can take credit for killing that one, but really, killing people isn't directly in her nature. ]

No, I do not believe the Gods brought us here. They are not that cruel.

[maledictus_semper]

[Her last comment caused him to smile bitterly. Oh, she had no idea. The Gods were cruel beyond words when they wanted to be. He had found that the hard way when they had abandoned him after he had saved so many. They deemed him unfit or tainted.]

You have no idea how cruel the gods can be. They abandoned me. They cast me out as if I were nothing!

[His anger rose up in him as he spoke. He slammed his fist against the cold solid wall and sighed in frustration. He clenched his jaw as he spoke. His voice bitter and angry.]

Thousands of years I have lived in the shadows knowing I was not good enough for them. After saving the lives of innocents from the daemons, they cast me away. They are cruel. They can decide whether you are fit enough for their wishes or not.

[His eyes flashed dangerously. He shouldn't be here and she should be dead. It was all going wrong. How much did she even know about the gods? Sometimes he wondered.]

[luxoraculi]

[ ...Well, this is news to her. For a few moments, she looks genuinely shocked at his outburst, before her stance returns back to what it was: absolutely furious. Whatever he had done, she thinks, he must have really deserved it if the Gods had truly tossed him aside like trash. She can almost picture it, really, considering how he is now. She doesn't flinch or move a single step when he slams his hand into the metal wall across from himself, nor does she tear her gaze away from his own. ]

The Gods are not cruel. Destiny is cruel. Everyone has one, and whether they like it or not it is something they must accept and face full on. I've no idea what your past was like and I do not wish to learn about it either. But I will pray for your soul, Ardyn Izunia. You need all the prayers you can get.

[maledictus_semper]

Yes, destiny is cruel and so are the people involved in it. For years I have been destined to seek justice for myself on the Lucis Caelum line. They treated me like dirt, so I wish to wipe them out.

[He spoke with a rasp in his voice. His eyes bitter, hurt and full of emotion. Unbridled pain and hatred within his heart threatening to overwhelm him all the time. It's the only reason why he wanted to kill Noctis. To end the line. Gain his revenge on those who smite him down before.]

If only a prayer could change what happened to me two thousand years ago. All the daemons I absorbed into my body from those cursed. To become one myself.

[At the time he was a hero. A national icon. A respected man. Now, a shadow of himself. A twisted monster of a man.]

[luxoraculi]

Revenge... you would take down the entire line of Lucis and the entire world to seek so called justice for yourself?

[ If there had been any sympathy for him before, it's receding once more. It's understandable that he would be upset about such a thing -- she would be, too. But as far as she's concerned, the past cannot be changed. One must continue to look forward and keep moving regardless. ]

All of the pain and suffering of the people that you helped accelerate... all so that you could find peace within yourself?

[maledictus_semper]

After what they did to me and caused me to go through for ever so long?

[He offered her a long stare. A deep meaningful one where his gaze was unwavering. His amber eyes showed years of pain and suffering.]

Yes. They deserve it. My name isn't Izunia either. It's Ardyn Lucis Caelum.

[He swallowed hard. The words coming out harder than he had expected.]

[luxoraculi]

Everyone has to go through things for the good of mankind sometimes, you know.

[ She stares right back, not at all amused. Except she IS a little taken back for a second when he blurts out that last bit, and it shows on her face. ]

...Ardyn Lucis Caelum. [ It's almost like she's trying it out for herself, because it just... doesn't sound right. How could someone so evil be part of such a pure bloodline? ]

Why have I never heard of you before, then? My duties required for me to study up on the Caelum bloodline when I was a child, and your name was never mentioned. How do I know you are not lying?

[maledictus_semper]

If there were another way I would gladly take it. Alas, there was not.

[He had already made his mind up years ago. The line of Lucis had to die. There was no other way.]

I disguised my name with Izunia. You believe I would lie after all this time of living within the darkness? Centuries of pain, suffering and deceit thrust upon me. No. I am not lying to you, Luna. Nor anyone else. I am over two thousand years old now. The Daemons inside me causing me to be immortal. Believe me, it would be a great pleasure not to have the blood of Lucis Caelum running through me but it does.

[He could tell she was sceptical and rightly so.]

[luxoraculi]

[ And now he thinks he has the right to simply call her Luna. Isn't he cute. ]

What good would it do to destroy your own bloodline? To bring the populace of the world with you? That has got to be the single most ridiculous plan I have ever heard in my entire life. What good would it do for you to plunge the world into darkness and chaos? To kill Noctis?

[ Luna steps even closer, visibly straining at this point. She's really biting her tongue here, trying to remain calm but she's having a little bit of a hard time. ]

You have already killed his poor father. You have ruined Insomnia, you've killed me. What else can you do to torture him?

[ Except now something else is coming up in her mind, something she has yet to question Noctis about. ]

...What did you do with my brother?

[maledictus_semper]

Your brother?

[Ardyn found himself smiling at that thought. Ah, dear Ravus. The boy was in deeper water than he knew and Luna was oblivious to the fact that in his timeline Ravus was dead. Murdered by the Empire for treason after the rampage caused by Leviathan. Not Luna's fault of course. The boy was fated to die, just as she was.]

Who's to say I did anything with him? Dear Ravus is old enough to look after himself.

[luxoraculi]

Because you are you. Please answer my question... after everything you have done, do I not at least deserve an answer?

[ The fact that he's purposely ignoring said question isn't so much annoying as it nerve inducing simply because she's got such a bad feeling it isn't even funny. ]

...I meant what I said, you know. Back at home as you were departing Altissia.

[maledictus_semper]

[Sorry, Luna. This man is such a bastard at times.]

I have done nothing to Ravus, my dear. He chose his fate when he chose that arm fixed to his body. Everything comes at a price and he chose to wield power he could not control.

[Oh, if only she knew about the whole truth. The fact that Ardyn resurrected her brother as a daemon to fight Noctis and his crew.]

Your brother is likely dead back home in our world. Killed for being a traitor to the Empire. Unfortunate, indeed.

[luxoraculi]

After everything he did for you and your ridiculous cause...

[ That STINGS. It hurts and she doesn't want to think about it. She had hoed her brother would give his pride a rest and that he would not go back to them. Had her death really impacted him so much...?

Slowly, she reaches out and takes one of Ardyn's hands within hers. Just like at home on that fateful day her own hands begin to glow a soft, warm yellow. He hadn't liked her doing that at home, but it's enough to get her point across. ]

...Even a dark creature such as yourself deserves to know peace. One day, that peace will come to you.

[maledictus_semper]

It was not so ridiculous, my lady. Trust me it wasn't.

[The last word almost hissed out in anger. What did she know? He had suffered in the dark for too long! She was but a child compared to him. Centuries of hatred and revenge had caused him to become the man he is today. A man infested with daemons, festering inside him like a stagnant pool of algae.]

Dark creature? You believe I am one.....perhaps-

[He couldn't pull himself away from the light from his hand. No. He couldn't let her do this. How could she heal him now? It was pointless! He snatched his hand away but didn't strike her.]