Novelux Teardrop Island

[Jackie Cat]

"Geneticist?" Articuno seemed to play with the unfamiliar word in their mind. "An 'originator of life'. Induced speciation? Fascinating."

They cleared their throat.

"I can't reasonably speak to the underlying reasons, if any, for the unusual properties of human souls in Forlas, nor the mechanism by which they may occur. However, it is a self-evident fact that something of that nature is the case, whether our ignorant assumptions accurately describe the reality or not. It is neither practical nor ethical to conduct serious scientific enquiry into the matter – there are inordinately many variables to control for, to put it succinctly – but your theory is a reasonable hypothesis, and quite common among natural philosophers. I myself have long-assumed that humans simply possess a quality which spurs the development and heightens the potential of pokémon auras, both their own and those of their close associates."

Articuno's mild frown, accentuated by a re-folding of their wings, was enough to communicate a stoic stort of apprehension on this topic.

"Many in the Covenant consider this strength something to be regulated, in the same way as one might wish to regulate alcohol and narcotics, firearms and ammunition, dungeon artifacts, substantial financial wealth, or land and property. Their fear, often going unspoken, is that cavalier treatment of one's 'light' – that is, one's 'potential to catalyse strength', or 'aura volatility', or 'nascent Radiance' – could lead to creating more Tamuks. Or more Valeres. It is not a spurious concern, though you may consider it chauvinistic, or paranoid.

"For my part, I worry that it incentivises an excessive insularity in the society. Whereas several founding members were native pokémon, there are now relatively very few to balance out the aggregate identity of the larger, modern Covenant. Concurrently, there have been relatively few humans of any significance on the continent who are not Covenant-aligned to at least some degree, at least until the arrival of the Wayfarers. In having sponsored your mass-admission, I admit I feel great trepidation at having just facilitated a return to that status quo, but I believe it was a necessary step nevertheless."

Articuno was responsible for the Taleska branch of the Covenant, and probably the most influential member west of Landsverd. Was it possible that their reserved approach to recruitment in the region was motivated by their concern about a Covenant 'monopoly' on humanity in Luctemar? Would Matthias have even been sent to abduct Sparkwright if Articuno had pressured the Rotom harder into signing up?

 

[Butterfree]

"Geneticist, from 'genetics'. It's, uh, the science of inheritable traits and how they work. Greenbough's working on an early iteration, but it's a lot more advanced in my world. I figured the Covenant had some geneticists, actually, given the ARK thing. Creating a chimera Pokémon would be genetics, where I'm from. Actually, geneticists in my world created an almost identical chimera some years ago. I've stopped even trying to make any fucking sense of why these different worlds all coincidentally wound up with the same Pokémon species."

Dave glanced up at Articuno. "Do you get a lot of humans from worlds more advanced than this one? Like, the natural philosophy department of the Covenant - is that mostly based on summoned humans bringing over knowledge from back in their own worlds and others trying to pick that apart and apply it, or are they doing much original research? What about Sparkwright, is he a summon?"

He took a breath. "Anyway, I'm generally not a huge fan of the concept of treating people as guilty because they theoretically could hurt someone. I mean, yeah, it's pretty fucked when you've got a class of people who are basically untouchable if they should get it into their heads that they want to pillage and murder. But if they're just born that way, I mean, they're still fucking people. And what about Saints? What if you became a Tamuk? Is the Covenant keeping tabs on Saints in case one day they misuse their power?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

Articuno's beak curved into a thin smile.

"Well, yes."

It seemed that Dave hadn't exactly hit upon a contradiction for Articuno to reflect on – one could reasonably assume that a member of the Covenant was essentially being checked in on regularly and often. Articuno themself, at least, would certainly catch the organisation's attention if they went rogue.

"We do sometimes have fallers from technologically advanced worlds, but amnesia makes it difficult to recall what technology they left behind, let alone how to recreate it. And of course, very few fallers were experts in any advanced technological field during their previous lives – they are as like to be cobblers, or carpenters, or children, or drunkards, for instance. Those that were engineers in 'futuristic' worlds lack the industrial base on Forlas to supply them with their needs."

Articuno paused, and made an awkward movement with their beak that remembled biting one's lip.

"There are some worrying exceptions, however. Sparkwright, as you rightly mentioned – he is not a summon, but a faller, and he had the fortune to retain a great deal of technological insight and to manifest in a body exquisitely suitable for electrical engineering. His knowledge is positioned precisely far enough ahead of our own that he can 'invent' countless technologies with immediate commercial application. He has already made himself grotesquely wealthy, and he is a... I believe the term is 'patent dragon'. He hoards them. I have written to him to warn of the dangers arising from centralising innovation around himself in this fashion, but he... holds firm to his own opinions. He is a consummate capitalist, Mr. Ambrose. He insists that his conduct is merely rational self-interest, and that it can only benefit society in general. His mind cannot apprehend that he has built a dam across the river of invention, and if he could, he would only think it splendidly industrious."

This was very unlike Articuno. They were always so careful to remain measured and unbiased when they spoke of almost any subject, but this was a point of deep and lasting frustration for them. They'd already implied earlier that Sparkwright was of 'high concern' to the Covenant and that they'd been pressured to pressure Sparkwright in turn. The Saint was between a rock and hard place, as it seemed they were time and time and time again...

 

[Butterfree]

Dave frowned. "You think that's why Matthias tried to kidnap Sparkwright? The Covenant thinks he's bad for society, and you're not pushing him hard enough, so his faction goes let's disappear him? Or do you think they just wanted his invention?"

Honestly he liked the Rotom. He'd been nothing but helpful back at the Duel Dome, keeping Dunsmuir's ramblings on point, taking an interest in finding Brisa, and distrustful of the Covenant and its obsession with ancestry. Hoarding patents on 'innovation' that'd come cheap with his offworld origin did sound pretty slimy, but then again he was also plainly inventing genuine new tech, unless he'd been a human in a world that'd also had dungeons.

"If you're keeping tabs on Saints, at any rate, you missed Zapdos and Moltres cheerfully vandalizing things out west. They got better, or at least Moltres did, but we had to kick their teeth in and play therapist first."

Actually, hadn't Articuno been in one of the visions of Moltres's past? His eyes narrowed. "Wait, was it you who told Moltres something about how she shouldn't 'lower herself' by mingling with common people, or was that a previous Articuno?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Perhaps it was part of how they justified it to themselves, but I expect the invention was the true target. They may even have succeeded – I have received reports by way of Weezing Dunsmuir that design notes and prototypes are since missing from Sparkwright's workshop. He did not even discover their absence until recently."

In that case, the Wayfarers may only have delayed Matthias' faction with their efforts. Either way, the purpose of the rift-mender in their hands might not even relate to Whisperwind Comb specifically, or at all...

"If you're keeping tabs on Saints, at any rate, you missed Zapdos and Moltres cheerfully vandalizing things out west. They got better, or at least Moltres did, but we had to kick their teeth in and play therapist first."

His eyes narrowed. "Wait, was it you who told Moltres something about how she shouldn't 'lower herself' by mingling with common people, or was that a previous Articuno?"

Articuno raised a brow, then sighed mildly. "I do recall meeting a Dark Moltres many years ago, yes. She was, and I suppose is, an emotionally intense person... and I am confident my measured and rational perspective was relayed to you filtered through decades of rumination and psychological ill-health. I expect the advice I gave her was more along the lines of cautioning her about overlapping professional – that is, 'divine' – and personal relationships. There is nothing wrong with a legendary pokémon maintaining affectionate or familiar relationships with mortals, but a Saint could easily abuse that enormous power imbalance, even unknowingly..."

They shook their head and closed their eyes. "There are many considerations for a legendary pokémon to make in their relationships with mortals. It is not a simple or straightforward topic. In any case, I did hear reports of her making a public appearance in Blaguarro, Prosper – and that a squad of Wayfarers had successfully fought her the same night. Is that correct?"

Articuno was based near Novelux, and they represented the furthest part of serious Covenant influence west of the Commonwealth heartland. Without information-age technology, and with Covenant influence so limited west of Novelux, they wouldn't have been aware of Moltres until after she was dealt with.

"As for Zapdos... I am aware of his behaviour, yes. I can hardly approve of his habit of goading pokémon into challenging him, nor of his fatalism... but while I personally find the way he chooses to conduct himself of late to be distasteful, unbecoming of any Saint, he does not meet the requisite threshold of justification for intervention, last I was aware. Provoking battles and engaging in hooliganism are unfortunate, but they don't represent a serious threat to civil society. If he were to cause unwarranted deaths, or were to demolish several residences, for instance, then I would certainly parley with him... but it is not our business to use force to avenge damage done to private property."

In other words: they'd step in if Zapdos became a real problem.

As with Rotom Sparkwright, it seemed like it took Articuno a great deal of restraint to remain impartial and speak neutrally about their counterparts. It clearly didn't sit easy with them that they had neither the justification nor the means to address every issue and every concern in all of Forlas – like any 'mon, they had to prioritise.

 

[Butterfree]

Well, wasn't that just fucking great. All that effort fighting Matthias and then they just stole the thing anyway.

He exhaled through his nose. "Any idea what they might want with it? Clearly not Brisa, since she's not holed up in a dungeon anymore. Anything going on at the Sable Office that's to do with dungeons?"

Articuno's explanation of whatever they'd said to Moltres didn't sit great with Dave. "I mean, Moltres had been vandalizing people's homes for a while before she made a 'public appearance', but I guess nobody technically knew a fucking Saint was behind it until we got there. But apparently her deal was long ago she was manipulated into giving the Blazing Dawn's relic to some shithead nobles, and then they refused to evacuate a town when she warned them, so they sat there and told her to simply stop a volcanic eruption and then got killed and buried along with the relic and anyone who'd listened to their bullshit when she couldn't. That doesn't sound like affectionate relationships with mortals getting out of hand, it sounds like her getting duped by a bunch of shitheads who then chose to get themselves killed. Which, I mean, not great decisions getting duped in the first place, apparently she was young and had no idea what she was doing because the shitheads in question had also murdered the previous fucking Moltres who was supposed to mentor her, but if you ask me, the failure in all this sounds like the fact she was left to figure shit out on her own with nobody but these chucklefucks to check her off."

 

[Jackie Cat]

At the question of dungeons and the Sable Office, Articuno's expression communicated that it wasn't something they could shed much light on. Not their department, and dungeons were a fact of life probably relevant to most departments in any case.

The bird listened to Dave's thoughts on the matter of Moltres with their head at an inquiring angle.

"No, that does not sound like a problem borne out of affectionate relationships – unless one were to count the elder Dawn's trust in the nobility to begin with, but that is hardly the Twilight's error. I was not attributing those tragic events to fraternisation in any case. It was simply advice I gave her at some time well after they had come to pass. My encounter with her was not especially... coherent. I don't believe I was in any position to successfully mentor her in the Dawn's place, if that is the intended inference I am to make. It would have been... a poor match."

The saint sighed, more deeply than usual. The weight of the world seemed to hang on their shoulders, the pale lavenders of their feathers strangely grey in the cold light.

"My temperament and perspectives were offensive to her, and hers a mystery to me. It was for the best that she did not linger."

It was pretty hard to imagine Moltres receiving any of Articuno's advice terribly well...

 

[Butterfree]

"Well, if not you personally, aren't you saying the point of the Covenant was meant to be to make sure the powerful use their power for good through the magic of community? Not leaving an anxious mentorless Saint with mental health problems to try to figure shit out on her own after she seeks help sounds like low-hanging fruit, there." Dave frowned. "Or was this all before the Covenant was founded? What's the timeline here?"

He took a breath. Articuno did at least look like they regretted however this shit went down with Moltres. He didn't exactly know how accurate the visions from Moltres's past had been. Maybe Articuno's words had been twisted. Maybe. Or maybe Articuno just wanted to save face in front of him.

"At any rate," he went on, "if this organization was still more constructive support group for outcasts with superpowers and less of an elite secret society of the arbitrarily privileged, I'd have a lot less of a problem. Suppose we successfully infiltrate and root out whatever shady shit's going on at the Sable Office. What are you actually planning to do about all the other bullshit going on? It seems like you of all people should be in a position to speak out against the paternalistic attitudes and the whole unsavoury entanglement with politics."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Articuno gave Dave a rueful look. "I came to Luctemar and joined the Covenant as a result of the soul searching that encounter prompted, David Ambrose. However, there's really no forcing a Saint to do anything much that they don't care to. Especially one that has previously only frequented the Old World – my encounter with Moltres was in Akkairos, not Luctemar."

Akkairos was, from Dave's impression of Forlas so far, the 'cradle of civilisation', akin to the Levant and eastern Mediterranean of his own world.

"At any rate," he went on, "if this organization was still more constructive support group for outcasts with superpowers and less of an elite secret society of the arbitrarily privileged, I'd have a lot less of a problem. Suppose we successfully infiltrate and root out whatever shady shit's going on at the Sable Office. What are you actually planning to do about all the other bullshit going on? It seems like you of all people should be in a position to speak out against the paternalistic attitudes and the whole unsavoury entanglement with politics."

"Proper separation of powers and influences would be a priority, I should think," replied the bird, evenly. "The code of conduct is outmoded, little-updated since it was written for a handful of members with little in the way of political background. I am currently giving consideration to how best to reform the society – both in terms of what form the changes should take, and the most practical means of achieving them. Whatever happens, I am hesitant to, hm, 'swing my stuff around', as it is said? Still, I have begun to fear that such a thing will be necessary, and that my relative seclusion allows only for less considered voices to be heard without my own to oppose them..."

 

[Butterfree]

No forcing a Saint to do anything much that they don't care to? Hadn't Moltres come there asking for guidance only to be turned down?

Whatever. It sounded like a long fucking time ago, and clearly Articuno wasn't exactly thrilled about how it'd played out. Moltres now was at least improving, slowly.

Dave exhaled through his nose as Articuno answered his questions about what next. Separation of powers, yeah, sensible. Code of conduct, a token effort, not exactly going to work magic on its own, but sure, it'd be a start.

"Well, clearly some of the voices that have been getting heard are pretty fucking questionable. Nolan the Inteleon, the guy I mentioned earlier, was going on about Pokémon 'leaching humans' power' so they shouldn't mix, which is some segregationist bullshit. I mean, A, from everything I've read there's no indication there's any leaching, just the Pokémon getting stronger, and B, if some people are born more powerful than others, it's pretty fucking dodgy for them to be doing everything they can to make sure they're the only ones who can have it. Like, sure, you don't want that power misused, but what, are humans or their distant descendants supposed to be less likely to misuse it than a random Pokémon? If that sort of shit isn't getting pushback, then those people are just going to sweep up the more gullible average Joes with them."

He took a breath. He'd been meaning to get back on that topic. "Either way, if the Covenant has almost every human and almost no Pokémon, then that's just going to serve to keep power concentrated with humans and away from Pokémon indefinitely, which is not great. How about breaking the thing apart? You've got a science department, make it its own thing and recruit more native Pokémon who know their shit on board, and then have that concentrate on science without being entangled with politics or power games or whatever the fuck."

 

[Jackie Cat]

The snow was getting thicker, now. Articuno wouldn't suffer from it, but they were starting to look concerned for Dave, whose environmental tolerance had the usual mortal limits, powerful Wayfarer or not.

"I am confident that Nolan's view is a minority opinion, and he keeps little company – in fact there is little company to be had, for him. Nevertheless, you are right in that the absence of one voice provides a vacuum for others, perhaps ones less wise..." Articuno once again sounded as if they were taking a mental step towards some vast change inside themself, struggling internally with generations-old convictions. "...in which case, I should be more outspoken."

The Saint frowned, doubtless considering a great many possible responses and angles to the rest of what Dave had suggested. It would naturally be a topic with countless implications, not easily reduced to simple notions. Articuno was, if nothing else, averse to reductive ideas.

"David Ambrose, if you would – why is it that you believe power like yours should be shared, and how? Is that really something you imagine would be free from politicking and 'power games' as you put it?"

 

[Butterfree]

Well, good to know Nolan and his ilk were at least in the minority. Dave shuddered against the cold, shaking flecks of snow from his coat.

"That's the thing. If everyone's afraid to speak out against bullshit, people will just spiral off gobbling up whatever simplistic bigotry and easy answers someone's willing to sell them. You've got to have someone willing to call it out for what it is and then maybe the people who are actually receptive will listen and develop some skepticism. Letting that shit just go unchallenged because somebody might think it's impolite or not your place helps no one."

"David Ambrose, if you would – why is it that you believe power like yours should be shared, and how? Is that really something you imagine would be free from politicking and 'power games' as you put it?"

Dave exhaled through his nose. "No, it's not going to magically solve politics or power games. Nothing's ever going to magically solve every problem. People are going to be assholes and play power games no matter what you do. But at least a more equitable distribution of power would level the fucking playing field a bit, right? If everyone can have superpowers, that's better than a select few with superpowers who can do practically whatever the fuck they want and only the few others with superpowers can stop them, if they happen to be so inclined. I mean, compared to my world, every fucking person here already has superpowers, but you've managed so far. Everyone having more superpowers, you could probably deal."

He took another breath. "What I mean is if the science department is an independent society of scientists, and it's not all tangled up in the same organization and the same social club that's got its claws in politics and law enforcement, then there's at least a bit less of a chance the science department starts just doing the bidding of their politician buddies. And if half the people working at the scientific society are Pokémon, they're less likely to start brazenly doing projects that just serve the interest of humans over Pokémon. Shit like that. It sounds like sharing power happens when humans-slash-offworlders and native Pokémon hang out and mingle together, right? So the more hanging out and mingling with people, and the less insular societies of humans mostly hanging out with each other, the more power equalizes a bit. Logistics of trying to actively spread it to literally everyone doesn't sound very easy or feasible, but trying to break up the insularity at least sounds like a start."

He looked up at Articuno. "I mean, earlier you were worrying about Sparkwright hoarding patents and centralizing innovation around himself, which gives him a monopoly on a bunch of technological advancements. But the Covenant seems at this point like it's hoarding most of the superpowers and centralizing a lot of shit into one monopolizing entity with no real checks or balances, and maybe that all had good intentions back in the day, but right now it seems like a pretty fucked arrangement. And the Sable Office or whoever is taking advantage of that and trying to make it even more all-powerful, which is ringing some fucking alarm bells."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Articuno looked faintly skeptical as Dave spoke of dismantling the assumptions the Covenant was founded on to begin with... but behind that insrutable mask, they were giving it serious thought. Then he mentioned their concerns about Sparkwright, and their cyan eyes hardened with cold understanding.

"You make a salient point, David Ambrose. I have felt concern for Sparkwright's behaviour because he acts a public figure, enriching himself as if he were any ordinary captain of industry, disrupting the course of invention and striving in his city. Whereas, the purpose of the Covenant is to safeguard the common good without doing harm, acting with the mandate of an organisation bound by principles and codes of conduct..."

The Saint sighed bitterly, straightening up and parting their wings. In the thickening snow, they looked every bit the ancient and imposing demigod they were.

"Yet, the Covenant of today acts beyond that remit. Even if we were to purge this dark faction and take measures against such things for the future, the society has been... corrupted, its fellows' efforts bending towards governance without accountability... I cannot allow it to continue."

The bird's beak was set against the chill winds, firm and sharp.

"It is well that you came to speak with me, David Ambrose. But you should now see yourself inside, lest you risk your health."

 

[Butterfree]

Miracle of miracles, Articuno was actually listening, and sounded serious about it. He'd have to see how serious they really were in practice, but this was already a lot more than he'd dared to hope, coming here.

He took a deep breath, shaking out his fur against the cold. "Yeah, that sounds good. At any rate, you see my point. We'll investigate the Sable Office, or anyone else who might be involved, and in the meantime we can all think about how to address the Covenant's other problems."

He looked up. At the Saint. "Thanks for the chat. Good to talk to somebody with sense around here."

On the ferry on the way back, as the chill slowly left him, he felt a lot better about a lot of things.

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