Welcome to Gaia! ::

It had been a few months since Tempesti had last had a non-civilian visitor to her homeworld, and given that Joy had been kind enough to assist her in the revival of the Primordial Tower she hoped that she could give the knight a proper impression of the planet. It only seemed right after she’d hosted the Joyous Tournament for all of them.

With the Wellspring restored the constructs had been nothing if not cooperative as they repaired themselves, showing little interest in her during her visits to maintain the place. Still, she doubted that Joy would be interested in making their acquaintance a second time to see their newfound docility.

The sound of the other woman’s voice brought a bright smile to the senshi’s face, “as it ought to be seen” definitely made it sound like her decision to omit the automata was a good one. “Hello, Joy! It’s been a lot quieter since we took care of the tower, so we shouldn’t have any trouble today. I could show you some of the new animals, or some of the work I’ve been doing on the island in the harbor.” She figured it would be better to let the other woman have her pick, especially considering that she’d had no say in the constructs’ presence. Holding out her hand she continued, “I’m ready to go whenever you are.”

Tempesti nodded, summoning her phone from her subspace and pressing the button that would carry them upward with…whatever magic it used. She still couldn’t claim to understand any of it but at least now she was reasonably certain that it didn’t disintegrate and reintegrate them as she had once feared.

The sound of crashing waves greeted the travelers as they found themselves on a quiet street beside the mouth of a wide river. A timeworn fortress seemed to gaze imperiously down upon them from the top of a sheer cliff. Even from this distance it was clear that its architecture is strikingly different from that of the rest of the city, built from larger, heavier stones in a cruder style than the airily delicate spires of its counterparts.

“I still can’t get in there,” Tempesti gestured upward before turning her attention to a small but unusually fortified boathouse. “There’s an old ferry in there that will take us to that island over there. It’s safe, by the way. Even though it’s old.” She pointed toward a land mass in the distance, its flattish geography dominated by a soaring tower in pale stone topped with what appeared to be a crystal beacon contained within an unusual golden contraption.

“But first,” the senshi scanned the brushy plants around what appeared to be a dilapidated marketplace before brightening at the sight of a group of strange little animals. The small, flying creatures resembled nothing so much as fat leopard geckos with feathered wings, their metallic scales flashing in the sunlight as they swooped after the insects that served as their lunch. Her voice low so as not to spook them, Tempesti continued, “These fellows are some of my favorite animals I’ve seen here.”

A gleeful expression crossed Tempesti’s face at Joy’s enthusiasm for her new friends, she really did adore them and to see someone else appreciate the fact that they were precious chubby baby angels made her happy in a way that few things could. “Aren’t they sweet? But I don’t know, I really liked your accolades. The one I met was so sweet, though Bacchus’ wasn’t happy with his…er, well…how much room for improvement he has in jousting. He had fun anyway though, that aside. How is Pal by the way? I really enjoyed meeting her.” She hoped that some of the other animals would be willing to put in an appearance before Joy left, it would be nice to introduce them. The fat little birds at least were pretty curious about people.

“Thank you,” her cheeks pinkened slightly. She didn’t quite define herself by this world, but she felt a deep pride in its will to recover now that it had a bit of help. “That’s the Tower of the Winds, it’s what I’ve been working on lately. It used to be where a lot of the old Sailor Tempestis lived.” She knew that “lived” implied a degree of choice that they didn’t have, but that was beside the point for the moment. “I’ve mostly been working in the library with a friend of mine, and my sisters have helped me clear a lot of the lower floors, but I’ve also been getting the old greenhouse back in order. When we get it cleaned up enough I hope it can be sort of…just a safe place for people to go when they need it or even if they just need a break from everything in the city.” She smiled a bit at the daydream, “But that’s a ways away yet.” Inclining her head in the direction of the boathouse she walked over and with a bit of effort pulled open a set of heavy bronze doors. Though relatively well-preserved, the salt-pocked doors bore clear signs of age, the face of the winged woman in the central image was worn and the soldiers behind her almost faded entirely into the background. The softly lighting of the boathouse illuminated the form of a small ferry formed of pale golden metal, intricate engravings of natural maritime scenes covered its hull. Four long, crystalline wing-like attachments extended from its sides, clearly serving as some manner of mechanized oars.

“I’ve ridden this a lot over the past few months, it can only go on a set route, but it’s safe.”

“I’m glad to hear that, I liked her a lot.” She’d found the unusual creature to be very charming in her unique way. Her joy in taking part in their game had been infectious, after all.

As Joy spoke, Tempesti’s eyes widened in delight at the idea of Joy turning the Garde into a haven, its natural beauty would be perfect for a peaceful escape from the city.

“That would be amazing! The Garde is so beautiful, the forest alone would be a gorgeous retreat. I’ve never actually been camping to be honest, but it’s always seemed nice.” She smiled excitedly as she spoke. “If I can do anything to help let me know, even if it’s just being part of the cleanup crew. I’d love to see you make that happen.” She wondered if Nail would be around too. What sorts of things did ghosts like? Music maybe? Music that old seemed more like Ronan’s area of expertise, maybe she could ask him.

“These repaired themselves thankfully, I wouldn’t know where to begin on any of that. I did find a partially built construct and I have a Mauvian who’s going to help me finish it. Snowball, if you’ve met him. He’ll help me make sure that it’s cooperative from the start, it’ll just be around to protect the Tower in case anything unwanted somehow gets in.”

The ferry glided across the water, easily passing through the bay on its ancient route. Sometimes she wished she could figure out how to make it go someplace else, but she certainly wasn’t complaining about something that saved her the trouble of making that swim again. After fifteen minutes or so, they arrived at a small dock on the island not too far from the Tower itself. The land was clearly not suitable for much plant growth and the scattered scrubby vegetation couldn’t claim any particular vibrancy, but hopping along through the brush came pops of bright white, flashes of red and black, and unusually, flecks of something golden floating through the air.

After a few seconds of rustling several plump white birds hurried out, apparently eager to see their visitors. Their appearance bore a vague resemblance to California quail, though the majority of their plumage was pure white, with red and black tails. The most striking difference, however, were the showers of golden sparkles that trailed behind them as they hopped and flapped closer.

Tempesti smiled and nodded encouragingly at Joy’s approach to the birds, “They’re friendly, I don’t think they have any natural predators around here.”

As though to confirm her words, the bird tilted its head at Joy’s hand before hopping on to get a better look at her face. “They like it if you give their necks a scratch.”

“Ooh, if they come back I’d love to see them, Earth quail or not they’re adorable. As for the cuteness, most of the ones I’ve seen have been but I also saw some very large leeches that I wasn’t particularly fond of. I’ve also seen art of gigantic crabs chasing people but I’m not sure if they’re real.”

Tempesti nodded, “I don’t blame you, these guys are hungry. They’re kind of pretty, they pulse this blue light, I think they’re trying to lure something to bite. But one of them tried to eat my boot.” Her smile indicated that she found this incident far more amusing than annoying. “Do you think everything will come back? Eventually? Doesn’t sound like you want the boar there though.”

Tempesti wasn’t sure whether or not she wanted the crabs to be real. It would be a unique experience to be certain, but they were definitely chasing people in the mosaics she’d seen. “I’m just not sure if they’re real or not, they might be. They’re just huge, and they look like they eat people.” She laughed softly, less at the idea of people getting eaten by a giant crab than at the idea of crabs that size roaming the city. “Would you like to go inside?” She gestured at the Tower. “I’m actually pretty sure I saw an illustration of the crabs in an animal book…bestiary… in the library.” That was a new word for her, definitely not something she’d had any application for before all of this.

As the birds lost interest in her, lured off perhaps by the flitting of one of the local insects, Tempesti began the short walk toward the Tower, casting a final fond smile in their direction. Approaching its base, the meticulous craftsmanship poured into the pale stone became apparent, every inch intricately carved inch reflecting the builders’ vision. Tracery resembling tongues of flame accompanied the botanical elements that seem interwoven with Tempestine aesthetics through the ages. The presence of elaborate stained glass windows adorning most of the Tower makes their absence from the top three levels all the more glaring, solid stone within a series of detailed blind windows.

Gesturing toward a pair of monumental bronze doors, Tempesti began to speak. “These doors had all kinds of debris in them the first time I came here, thankfully my sisters and I managed to clear it out so they actually close now.”

The image of a harpy in high relief stared back at them from a starry sky, all contained within an ornate frame encompassing the pointed arch of the doorway. As the senshi pushed open one of the doors a large antechamber revealed itself, the room itself centered on a shrine with three large glowing crystals on its altar. At the apex of the vaulted ceiling an enormous plume of pale purple flowers grew impossibly from the stone.

An affectionate smile playing across her lips Tempesti continued, “The library is on the third floor. We can take the lift, or the stairs if you’re more comfortable with that. My friend Ronan hates the idea of the lift.”