Re: Reliquiæ Antiquitatis [Hilana, Raithen]
Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 9:53 pm
When the Rex Draconum made his exit, Hilana offered a bow, knowing it would be unacknowledged and not worrying about it. Proper manners and some level of deportment and decorum were expected, and it was far better to be unremarked upon for adhering to the appropriate standards than noted for failing to do so. But when Valaera motioned for the portals to be made, she offered a deep, sweeping bow of her long skirts to those that remained at the dais - Princess Cithaera and Prince Vraedyn - before heading to the portal. She would let Raithen go first, as he outranked her, even if this was her quest, bringing her rucksack and satchel with her.
It was everything that the projection had shown them, and more: she let out a quiet sound of awe and delight as they appeared in the hanger, her eyes enormous and her hands on her rucksack's straps. She knew better than to even consider touching anything until she was given permission to do so - she'd learned that lesson the hard way on Wolf Island when she had been investigating the Crystal Tree, and she wasn't forgetting it. While she looked around and inspected and observed, she stayed quiet and listened. There was a lot to take in, and she needed to learn as much as she could in the meantime. There was a lot riding on her, and she was relieved that Sentinel Phocion had clearly a good deal of experience in the Callidus Victoris, and she needed that in her Captain. She was a fast learner, at least, and while she wanted to get her notebook out, she was going to have to listen and memorize as much as she could now. She would have time to go over this, with luck, while the team assembled.
Her gaze went from Sentinel Valaera to Sentinel Phocion, as solemn as he had ever seen her, at least, which was no small change in her usual demeanour. "If we are going like this, then there's not likely to be much point in giving them time to aim anything at us... unless it would be to root out any defenses," she was thoughtful. But all of that could be hammered out and discussed. She would get their opinions, because they had far more experience than she did in missions, and it was important for her to listen and learn from those who had experience. Using this Arcane Array, she had a feeling someone like Valaera, a Grandmaster Sembler in her own right, would be able to pick apart Insula Celatium like she was reading a book, possibly at a distance. Hopefully. The less surprises there were, the better it was for all of them.
"Yes, Vigilia," she nodded when Valaera mentioned her Semblance Rune. She knew it wasn't worth mentioning that she was likely only to be considered a journeyman at it in terms of ability, because the Vigilia likely already knew that and there was no need to say it aloud. Hilana did move where directed, stepping into the chamber and inspecting it. When she was linked up to the Array, the Vastiana opened her senses with her Semblance Rune, and was utterly amazed by the result. She breathed, letting the information flow so that she could absorb it before becoming overwhelmed by it. Some part of her wanted to ask how it was that she instinctively knew whole parts of this without ever having been in here before, or even in an airship before, but she trusted that it was part of the arcane wizardry and technology that was at hand. She had to trust the process.
She found that she innately understood what she was able to experience through her Rune, and chose to focus on the layout first. By understanding the ship, it would (hopefully) make more sense as to the operations and the sensors. Her awareness spread like wildfire, and she felt as though she was looking at an architectural plan, the blueprints. She was no architect, but she was an expert when it came to subjects like navigation and maps, and they weren't so far apart once you understood what you were looking at. Room by room, Hilana investigated the Callidus Victoris, from the bridge that they were in through the halls, storage, and everything else that she could see. Her Rune, combined with the Arcane Array, showed her more than she could have just walking around investigating it.... and while she would like to later, and if they were successful, she would surely get the opportunity to do so. Everyone would have their part to play in this, and it would be wise to understand as much as possible. It was plenty big for what they needed, and she could link that back to what Valaera had said about it being suitable for war if the need came. She found, too, that she could find people on the ship that way, which was decidedly helpful in knowing where the crew was, or if someone was there that should not have been.
Once she had gone through the layout and felt confident with the knowledge of it, Hilana turned her attention to the operations of the ship and what all that entailed. This took more doing and focus, but with patience, she found that she could understand the controls, sensors, the Arrays and who was inside and linked up to them. This gave her information about how well the Callidus was doing, and just as importantly, what it was doing. What was active, and what was not, and what the status was of these aspects of the airship. And if she could find this with Semblance, she could only imagine how much more Sentinel Phocion would be able to grasp with his Emblem of Supremacy. She was certain that a Master Sembler would see and understand that much more than she could, and probably much faster... But this would not be her role in what was coming; it was to allow her to get a feel for it. And this, she knew, was an honour and a privilege.
Satisfied with her exploration of the operations of the ship, she turned her attention to the outside of it. The external sensors showed her that with the appropriate focus, she found that she would know how high up they were, the temperatures around them, the directions of the wind with the Callidus, and what sort of resistance and speed she could expect. That would be interesting, though she would certainly hope that they wouldn't be sensing too much with the kinetics defensive barrier that her Lux was investigating at the encouragement of his elder siblings... but they would face those challenges as they came.
She finally emerged from the Array, seeing the bridge they were on with new eyes. "That is incredible," Hilana was blinking once she left it. She chalked it up to hiding that which didn't need to be taken out of here - a solid defense against subterfuge. "And I can only imagine how well it would handle with Masters and Grandmasters."
