Finis Chaldea

In receiving thanks, Gilgamesh waved off the orange-haired girl. He'd be dealing with her in a few moments, but first... there was another recruitment act in effect. Gilgamesh set his eyes upon the tiny woman attached spiritually to Francis, and he heard the latter's confusion. He could easily bypass the causal way she addressed him. indeed, the king could hold no grudges against this woman who aided him for a thousand long years. He could, however, free her of a parasite. He didn't have to answer her curiosity directly; the little woman connected to her found the will to unveil herself. Three centuries she spent as a stowaway on the Sea-Devil's ship, unnoticed and unbothered. "H'oh? How incredibly boring," Gilgamesh stated. "Though I suppose I won't have to be worried about you yammering without purpose while under my employ."

Ever so casually did Gilgamesh address the purpose of this summons. This harvin girl was going to be his newest worker, mere days after the one called Orihime. How would he manage such a thing to one he'd only just met, though? Well... he'd do so the same way he did everything: with utmost audacity! "It is not that you shouldn't have come here. You should not have bothered hiding. I see all things; there are no exceptions to this. Begone from the pirate, halfling. Your place is in Uruk. I have need of someone who can discern the location of things as you do. You shall become my soothsayer, and work for the glory and prosperity of all Chaldea. An ideal position, is it not?" he questioned with the surest of grins upon his face.

The little woman behind Francis spoke up and doing so drew Francis' attention straight to this girl. She'd literally never laid eyes on her before and she'd been in her care for some three hundred years?! "Oi, it's outrageous that you've been hiding out there!" Francis said. She was a tough soul, but she wouldn't have been so heartless as to harm someone so small. "Three hundred years of silence wasn't bad. It was like watching a one-sided play. Besides you have a large presence, it is easy to disappear behind you..." she said seeming to be a bit sheepish. She was picking at the gloves on her fingers anxiously. This man before them, made several claims not the least of which was that the small girl would be in his employ. She seemed to go a bit wide eyed at the words. 'Why would he want me here?' There was immediate suspicion in her soul.

He sees all things, and claimed that she shouldn't have hidden. She disagreed, emphatically. For the whole of her every life she was given every reason to hide. All of her skills were even put together to avoid her own capture and free herself from others. They allowed her to disappear in crowds and seamlessly murder attackers all because she was small and people were apt to take advantage of her. "It does not sound bad, but what is the catch? You aren't the first to propose such a thing and I am not keen to repeat my past after three hundred years of peace," she stared up towards the man still picking with her fingers before looking away. She'd become strangely distrustful given her own history and she was not keen to move into the position of being slave, or worse to some random man she'd just met. She'd already been the resident pack mule supporter, being abused for her size to crawl dangerous dungeons. Being used as bait for a gang of robbers, not able to help anyone at all. She'd picked up the Book of Restraint and it'd tied itself to her, and she'd been able to escape that... Only to return home and be persecuted for being 'cursed'. Yeah, if she could only look forward to that sort of thing, she'd rather Francis Drake know she was hiding in her shadow and remain a silent but helpful navigator. "Damn kid, you are making me feel bad for not noticing you. I was a bit miffed for a second that there was someone who could have helped me navigate. Considering it isn't exactly a natural skill of mine," claimed Francis. "Well... you aren't bad at navigating. You are only ever a little off... I nudged you closer to your targets when it was obvious what you were trying to do," she explained of herself. Francis could only shake her head, a helpful hidden halfling had been helping her through her trying times for three hundred years suffering in silence from the bad of the world.

Gilgamesh gave a single offer, but it was more a declaration. All the little creature had to do was accept it, but as per usual, things had to be made more difficult than necessary. She looked upon him with skepticism, while his own gaze returned as one that could be taken as ireful to those who knew no better. In truth, her response did not anger the king. Whatever expression he wore, he sported as a matter of focus. Gilgamesh kept his gaze on the tiny woman while looking not to her surface self, but the truths within. Oh? Those gloves were no mere fashion statement, and her skepticism was the fault of mankind in the lower world. The king's eyes closed once more. "It is not proposition. I speak only the certain future. You are the soothsayer," he declared. Gilgamesh's eyes opened once again prior to the indirect sharing of information none should have. "Why do you speak of a catch? I am Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, King of Heroes, Lord of Kullab, Judge of Anunnaki. Tell me, do I look as if I have use for an ass? Does Gilgamesh have the demeanor of a man seeking a scapegoat for petty crimes? Does the king look as one who would claim heresy over some reading apparatus with abilities not understood by men?"

None of his questions were anything but rhetorical, it seemed, as Gilgamesh only continued speaking in the following moments. "Your presumptuous nature shall be forgiven just this once. But, know this. If I were to declare you a target of ill-intent, you could do nothing to make it untrue. My bride has been doing her best to avoid me for the better part of a millennium. Do not make the foolish choice of defying me, for there is no better decision in this world than simply doing as I've said. Any here could speak the same truth to you."

This man before her seemed to have nothing but a anger in his gaze. This small woman did not seem too keen to join him, but all the while Francis Drake could only shake her head. Someone should tell the King of Heroes to lighten up a bit. He was already powerful enough to impose when he needed to, he had no reason to seem to unapproachable all the time. In fact, the list he gave made the small woman shake just a little as she stepped back. Those rhetorical musings told the Pirate Captain all she needed to know about the girl's life down below. She couldn't be blamed for choosing to hide rather than reach out. Those twiddling fingers of hers became more aggressive. What to do? Francis could only sigh and nudge her forward a bit with an open hand against her back. "This guy is pushy and all but if you actually want somewhere to hide this place is safer than others," she said to the girl. "Besides you were on board that last 300 years, you have seen what he stands for at least," she said to the girl who gave it consideration.

She'd seen this man give the order to decimate a place of filth. She supposed if she was going to be somewhere the only place that might have been safer than in Francis' Shadow as in the shadows of one of the others that had been along that day. He spoke of his bride avoiding him for a thousand years and the girl could only look a bit skittish. She looked around at the women here and all of them seemed calm and happy enough. The one she looked to for the longest was Siduri who was standing by the King's throne. Modestly dressed, veil on her face but with light happy eyes. "What or who do you want me to find..." she said, while pushing back her hood. She revealed in the moment a angular face, pale skin and large golden eyes with almost slit like pupils. If she could do her task quietly she would and then she'd disappear somewhere else. She finally released herself from the shadow of Francis Drake and became completely visible to all in the room, her index fingers tapping together a bit anxiously. She was still skittish but she supposed anyone willing to hunt someone down for a thousand years, was not necessarily the type to cause problems if they said they would not.

Pushy? The king shifted his gaze toward Francis Drake for only a moment, seeming to take exception to her specific word choice. Had others not been such snowflakes, he would not have been viewed as such. No matter; his methods were for the best of the world. Moving on, the one he referred to as halfling gave at least some consideration to her new place in the world. What did he want her to find? Well, for starters... "First, a backbone. You will only waste valuable energy by shaking like a wet dog when spoken to," he stated. This one would need a stronger presence, and in time, she would have it. Ah, but there was a more important thing that needed to be located. Once she was properly outfitted, there would be much for her to do. "You will locate many things as needed, of course. Among those things are your own future companions. I intend to assemble an elite group, of which you are the second member. Do you accept the task of finding the ones I have foreseen, but do not have the location of? Keep in mind, that will be only the start of your duties as soothsayer."

This man on the throne claimed she should find first her backbone. That was not necessarily an easy thing to do, normally when people addressed her directly some sort of negative reaction was about to happen. Thrown, kicked, beaten... threatened to be eaten as a snack at the end of a particularly arduous day? Unlearning habits like those took time... but it was not as if the girl enjoyed being scared or anything like that. "Hai..." she murmured. Though admittedly she'd have had a much easier time not being so scared if she did not always think her life was in danger. According to the man himself, she'd locate many things as he needed them found. Including of course, some people he wished to make into her companions. He called his group elite and wished to make her the second of such people. She was apparently to find the ones he'd foreseen but did not know where to locate. Apparently this was only the start of tasks as 'Soothsayer'. "I do not know what that word means. But it sounds like you are hiring me..." she said carefully. "I do not mind undertaking such a task..." she said softly. As far as she understood her job so far, she was to provide him her skills to help him procure the people he was looking for. No one here looked unhappy, even the smaller softer people so perhaps it would not be so scary as she thought. She had not been directly threatened either so she supposed she could take on the job he gave her.

"Ah, that's a good lass. Can't have you hiding on a pirate ship forever. As for the fear thing, fake it, 'til you make it~" This was the advice of Francis Drake. She'd once given similar advice to a girl after a bad breakup and it seemed to have worked out for her just fine. Apparently the lass needed a confidence boost and she seemed a bit timid, but people were always like that when they were traumatized. From the perspective of Francis if nothing else, she could always hide behind someone else if need be. It wasn't like the King of Heroes mistreated anyone who did not deserve it in the time she'd known him.

"Its meaning is as I've implied. You will utilize divination to make discoveries. As impeccable as my foresight is, it is an annoyance to me. You will be in charge of the specifics," Gilgamesh proclaimed. In truth, what he sought was a group of capable individuals, though not only for the sake of having their assistance. Gilgamesh had spent a great deal of time away from the citadel, or even dealing with matters beyond Uruk and even Finis Chaldea. A hand-picked group could suffice as his stand-in if such an absence were to occur in future, or if ever his absence became a thing of permanence. Regardless, that was nothing the masses needed to consider. The halfling accepted her duty, and would thus be instated properly with haste. "You may be needing this," he said as a thick belt emerged from his treasury. On said belt was a large buckle, which seemed to be the core of the Artifact, featuring an empty gem set in the eye socket of a hare. Once associated with the mana of its wielder, that gem would take color at last. "It will be of use in many ways. Consider it a multi-purpose tool that will never leave your side. Whether it is weapon or instrument you desire, this Ningal will answer the call."

What Gilgamesh offered this girl was none other than another creation of the gods in this world, confused in some places as a god itself. She did not wish to be enslaved as what the mongrels below called a "Supporter", so by his decree, he would offer her the true supportive Artifact that behaved similarly to his own treasury. It was a single item whose power found its source in the moon, and became that which its master found necessary. "Use it as you see fit, so long as you use it for the sake of enhancing the abilities I require from you. Be warned, as it is a fickle tool. It will imprint itself and take forms as you desire, but those forms will be remembered. Its capacity for those memories is based on your own ability to let it envision itself as something new. Understood?"

According to the King of Heroes, this young girl was to be responsible for the interpretation and specifics of the things seen in his Clairvoyance. She was also meant to use it to discover new things. That was an interesting enough job, and one she was sort of used to in a more hands on manner. She supposed making the transition to working for this man wouldn't be too much. The words of Francis Drake hit her ears strangely though, she was supposed to pretend not to be scared until she wasn't? Hm, that could work. She felt a bit better being visible without hiding already. she nodded her understanding of her duties and opened her hands to accept the object that made its way to her from one of those Divine Gates. Ningal, an artifact which could become any weapon or tool she desired. He claimed it would answer to her call and as she stared into that empty eye gem on a hare she gave it a bit of thought. She could use it for her own sake, but he wanted it used to enhance the abilities of hers he wished her to use. That seemed fair enough. it could apparently only hold so much but that could be enhanced by her own growing power. Well... she still had a ways to go, so that was fair. It was fickle... "I am used to fickle..." she murmured. It was true, she'd managed to survive all the things that happened to her, a fickle tool was far from the worst thing she could possess. She sat down on the floor in the moment holding that belt in her lap and removed her gloves. The palms of her hands with long sharp nails were coated in what appeared to be black ink, but it wasn't ink. It was more like a rune based tattoo unseen in many parts of the world. Underneath that cloak a blue glow began and she placed a strange book with a clock on its face in front of her as well. She touched both and channeled her mana through them. "Ningal... I need to see more. Show me, through the moon's eyes." Rabbit themes were generally connected to the moon. Magecraft worked based on wishes mystery worked based on power. She should be able to expand her sight by virtue of connecting herself and the Book of Restraint to this object.

If this thing could do what she wanted, and turn into what she wished for... and he wanted her to be able to search things for him well... she simply needed to be able to expand her own view. That was her current desire, and the buckle and book both seemed to reply to that desire. The missing gem from the belt became blue as her own mana was used to lock her into it. This would make it similar and connected to that book. Those runes on her hands seemed to dance around quite a bit as the buckle itself produced what appeared to be a golden set of darts connected at the center by the same time of chain that bound her book. What did she create? A dowsing pendulum. She held this in her hand and understood them and seemed to be thinking a bit. A twisting motion of that pendulum began as she spun it around her fingers. She seemed to be rather quiet, but in truth she was hypnotizing herself. The sound of those chiming daggers lulling her. Her subconscious seemed to be sinking... so easily into an ocean. Deeper and deeper still, no light could reach her, and she could no longer tell what was ahead and what was behind her. At such a depth, the book in front of her unlocked. All the while... she could see so much, "Determine." A specification made which would narrow the choices, she could see one of those Gilgamesh sought. Having hypnotized herself before him, and his presence being the most overwhelming what he searched for she could see. Ah... a break in that depth as moonlight shown through... her sight was increased far behind the radius of a single dungeon, a single city a single country. She could see as far as the moons' light shown. Everywhere on this planet was graced by the moon's light. No wonder it was so dark. "Show." And what did she see? The image of a girl, as she flipped the pages her hands finally stopped. This girl had teal hair and large eyes with golden attachments on her ears. Tiny though she was, she had large breasts, but looked no older than 11 or 12 in age. Those runes on her hand ran down that page, writing it anew as she took in information. Location, age, species, name, magic, alignment, beyond. That pendulum stopped spinning for a second or two. That little cloak of hers and burned up a bit, those runes acting as magical flames which protected her for the duration of the use of such a skill and was empowered by her connection. "Whoops. That was stronger than I thought it would be..." she said sheepishly. "Yamuraiha, the last of the ocean born serpents... is teaching at the Magecraft Academy, where she was a student a millennia ago." she said looking up. "That is what you wanted to know right?" she asked. She was sure it worked the way she intended, connecting her search to that of the one who wished her to seek something.

She was used to fickle, she said. Oh, he was sure about that. Nevertheless, the actions of fickle people and fickle objects would be quite different in the end. This girl would not be abused by a tool, nor would she be misled by it. Always, it would do just as it was stated... and that was the only problem. "Keep track not of the thing itself, but of your own potential. It will not hesitate to answer desire without first telling you there is something new it can become," he explained. Regardless of her own developments with that Ningal, she did just as he required by first using it for the sake of her new duties. She bonded with that thing quite nicely, just as he expected. Now, how far would her newfound determination take her? Quite far. That otherworldly book she possessed was used in conjunction with the hare charm, expanding and enhancing her existing ability to locate by temporarily linking herself to the Golden King. This was easily going above and beyond expectation. He believed she would have no issue using that thing, but she excelled absolutely. She entered a trance, she visualized goals Gilgamesh had only seen within his own mind, and she pinpointed said target with a pendulum. It was interesting to watch her react to the near-overload of power, and even more interesting to see the results of her ability for himself.

Yamuraiha was the name given for his target. He'd seen her as one of the ocean folk of AS-IKU, but only in a future he would be capable of witnessing himself. Belris had been the key to opening the path toward a specific future, in which Gilgamesh eventually met this mage himself. A grin passed the king's face as he leaned forward, visually satisfied with this new development. "H'oh? Good work," he said, the glow of his eyes returning. "It seems you, too, will be in need of outfitting. Sea-Devil, take this one to the dining hall. You and the rest of your crew are allowed a grand feast of the finest quality for harboring such a gem." With that said, the king's gaze fell upon Orihime once more. He'd been leaving her to stand there, but he was far from done with her today. "And you, Princess of Fate, must now receive chisel and tablet." Two more gates produced two more Artifacts. He seemed to be on a roll of handing out treasures, despite his apparent hoarding of them. The first item produced before Orihime was a large golden ring with a single, strangely-warped lens fit inside. It seemed to be a mirror, but it gave no reflection. "Take this memory lens. As you spend so much time rejecting and twisting fate, retain and regurgitate the memories with this," he stated. One might note that around that lens, there were three extensions which each held a diamond similar to the center lens, as well as a smaller diamond farther out. Seven total "memories" could be stored within that device, all of which could be rotated and utilized as needed. As for the second item produced, it was something more for the purpose of completing her duties. Out came a very small item, a golden diamond-shaped item that could fit in one's palm with ease. At its center was a sphere surrounded by the most intricate, yet miniscule cuneiform writing. "And this will be the thing that sends your image to the masses when your messages are delivered. Keep hold of it, for it will soon be used as a template."

Advice. The King of Heroes seemed to be fairly kind of a man with such a generally displeased visage. Whatever the case, he claimed that the tool would let her know when it had other things to offer, that she only needed to track her own potential. She understood this, magical devices were only as good as the mages who held them. And then there was the matter of her actually using the new device while observed, which she did without much problem though she did not foresee how much power such a thing would have put into it... it seemed the results were satisfactory. No that was the wrong word, the results were excellent. She'd found the person the King searched for, and she was praised for her work?! A grin appeared on the face of the King of Heroes as he claimed she'd done good work. When was the last time she'd been complimented on her work? Her eyes widened and she looked up, even more sheepish than she had been in the first place. "Arigatou..." that voice of hers had gotten rather small again as she closed the book and affixed the belt and pendulum to her person. She looked away from a glowing set of eyes not knowing how to react truly. Meanwhile, Francis was given an instruction she'd take to heart, a feast for harboring a kid, in addition to the opportunity to actually introduce her to the rest of the crew? "Aye! Never turn down a good feast, come on, kid. We're introducing you to the boys properly this time. What do we call our secret navigator turned soothsayer?" she seemed to be in good spirits as always, picking up the small child and sitting her atop her shoulder where she immediately clipped onto the woman's head as if scared of such a height. "Belris. My name is Belris." she said trying to sound less skittish than she was but also not being in any position to turn down a meal. The halfling girl was carried off not knowing how to feel but at least knowing she'd been around for meals on Francis' ship so she'd know all the people anyway.

Meanwhile, the other new person... Orihime was referred to as the Princess of Fate. 'He really takes this roleplay seriously...' she thought as he continued to hand out things from his treasury. What would she receive, a large golden ring within nothing in the middle... the understanding presented was strange as well. According to the man she could use it to retain and regurgitate memories. She looked at the time as she touched it and blinked twice. That sounded like it could potentially do a lot more than just be used for recording her broadcasts. Oh... she looked back at this man. She would not know about it fully until it was tried, but this sort of thing sounded amazingly overpowered. If she interpreted his meaning right, this was essentially a copy/paste/save item all mixed together. Surely, it couldn't be that... Actuallly given the thing he'd just presented to the young Harvin girl it was likely exactly that. "This... is so much," she said her understanding already in place. Now she was a bit disappointed she had no reason to dungeon dive. What else did she get? A tiny thing which could be used to actually broadcast with. She was told to hang on to it as it would be a prototype. "Hai, I'll take care of it," she said as she slipped the smaller object into a piece around her neck to dangle there. But only after giving it a thorough inspection as well. Clothes, a giant multitool of editing software and recording. Her streaming set up had been less advanced. "I am going to... change clothes, and uh get more familiar with these, and do my first broadcast. And then... try not to think about how overpowered this ring is," she said content to go about her business and prepare her first broadcast.