Scene #6060: Eat Like The King Day

Owner	Pose
Gilgamesh	It cannot be said that the King's hospitality is lacking. The Preserver of Life waits at the docks of Vale, in Remnant. It is a massive thing that stands out clearly from the rest of the ships docked there, an ill-fitting black monstrosity that the sun does not touch and that casts no shadow. The ship is wood, not metal, but it is a wood of such deep darkness as to almost exude a negative light, like something that has been cut out of the world. And yet it is not an ill or unsettling darkness but a pleasant one, the curtain of darkness that hides from prying eyes and protects from predators beyond the fire, the curtain of gentle night. The ship does not look like a boat, though it sits upon the water, but rather is immediately identifiable as a spacecraft, with a sweeping prow that tapers to a point, long black cannons that pulse with red light, and a decidedly triangular design overall. Similar lines of red light criss-cross the ship; magically-inclined people might be able to call them 'propulsion', but how they work is a Mystery unto itself. The deck of it comes to an abrupt stop once passengers climb aboard, like the observation deck of some luxury liner, leading directly into the cabin. The outside of the ship has a few deck chairs scattered about for those who might wish to lounge about outside. The real party is through the elaborate double doors. It is a single, very large, hall, like the throne room from an ancient tale. Lights shine from mystic configurations across the ceiling, glimmering like lightbulbs set within stone moorings. They illuminate a vast table lined with ridiculously comfortable-looking chairs, covered in golden plates of food and golden jugs of wine and beer. At the end of the table is a throne of gold on a high dais, raised above the other chairs and lit with a glittering golden backlight from the wall, on which the King himself sits. On the walls are draped elegant banners of red silk and gold with Sumerian writing stitched in. On the floors are rugs that exude comfort at the touch, soft like a cloud and fair like the evening stars. All throughout the room are strange clay-and-stone things in the shape of humans without all the fine details like 'hair' and 'eyes' and 'facial features', dressed in simple robes and attending to various tasks. Some of them are playing music on shimmering, soothing instruments. Some of them are singing, though they have no mouths, a wordless praise to the Great King. Most of them have the look of attendants waiting to take coats and hats and bring food and drink from another room. Some of them stand near other pedestals and tables, where what can only be described as ancient board games sit, waiting for players.
Gilgamesh	The King himself is on his golden throne, clad in fineries, rippling with glory. He wears no armor on his chest, exposing the torso he calls perfect to the world. His lower half is covered in a shining gold armor with red silken belts that drape across the throne. His hair is down, and his red eyes are fixed on the door like a proper host. There are no scepters, no crowns, no swords of rule, and in truth he does not need them, and set here, it is clear that he does not need them; he outshines every parcel of wealth and glory in the room, even his own ostentatious throne. He is the King, and the King is him, and they are two halves of a whole. The food is on a whole other level. It is splendid in the utmost. Warm bread as if freshly-baked sits, with hard crust and light and fluffy insides that tastes of a far-off fertile land. Juicy marbled meat of unidentifiable type lies on platters, waiting to be cut with gilded knives. Huge fruits and vegetables, as mysterious and fine as the meats, sit as elegant garnishes and cornucopias. Bowls of rich soup waft still-steaming fragrances of exotic spices towards the door. Jugs of wine and beer sit along the table with a divine sheen. Even the goblets and jugs of water are fine, sparkling like crystal and tasting of some mysterious sweetness. None shall say that the King of Heroes' hospitality is wanting.
Mairead Sandilands	Mairead Sandilands accepted an invit from the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh and arrives in her uniform for the IS Academy, only it is very clean. She has little make-up on and her hair is straight and she has her clan clasp on her shoulder and adjusts her skirt as she knocks on the door. After entering the hall, she curtseys to Gilgamesh, "You lordship" she states.
Thomas Alva Edison	The door opens, and in comes... PRESIKING THOMAS ALVA EDISON, KING OF INVENTERS, FATHER OF INVENTIONS. With him are some agents in Black colored glasses, and suits. They move with efficency, spreading out and do what secret service people do. Watch, be forgetable, and professional. The presiking himself is quite the figure. A large Barrel chest, with a clinging uniform made out of RED WHITE AND BLUE colors. His chest contains some sort of device, though people who have seen him fight know it's a cannon. He can't remove it. On his shoulders are two lightbulbs, shining as always, though he is not spouting the flag as a light cape today. He's not here, after all, to clobber Gilgamesh, that would be rude. That cape only comes out when he's putting on maximum effort. Edison, cuts a figure, and this is before you even consider that his head is a lion, instead of a normal head. Edison himself is actually more curious about the main dish, and how it is prepared. He is also, honestly, interested in how this babalonian tech even WORKS...and how in the hell was it lost?! This rankles his jimmies...not because it existed, but because it was somehow /lost/. "King Giglamesh, I thank you for your invitation to this event." he says, waving his hand around to the food prepared. He says, moving from the door way to let others move through. Even Edison, a spirit who doesn't need to eat, still feels a tinge of hunger at the spread prepared.
Theo Morrison	Theo shows up. He's not dressed especially finely for the occasion. Is it because he's unimpressed, or because he's making a statement, perhaps...? (Well, no, it's just that his only nice clothes got shredded by a Deep One a while back and he keeps putting off getting new ones.) "I'm not even gonna question the ancient Babylonian starfighter," Theo comments to nobody in particular. "But this is..." He gestures at the grand hall as he walks into it, then lets his hand drop. This sort of richness and finery is probably the definition of extravagance, actually. Would the King of Hero be the source of such an idea, too? Seems kind of up his alley, Theo thinks. "Impressive," he eventually says. Theo eyes the golem-things a little, and then finds his gaze inexorably drawn towards the games awaiting players. That'll have to come after dinner, he decides. Kickotron pads in after him. He's wearing a tall hat with a wide brim in rich colors. It's a Babylonian style. Where the myr got it is anyone's guess.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone has known one thing Gilgamesh lives by and may have set the rules of hospitality in his world. She's here she's also made sure to dress up for the occasion. She has a nice china dress she uses for formal Paladin related functions and other formal occasions she thinks would be good for tonight, she's cleaned up and does not look like she's off to go work in a garage or slink around in the shadows hacking things. It is not hard to find where Gil is throwing the party even if she had not been aware the man has a style and well? It's hard to miss. She will soon find her way in. The golems? AndroidS? She's not sure what they are but they serve the same function as those on her world, she also muses this could be where Gil's whole comment about clay dolls regarding the vast majority of mankind across the multiverse may come from. She's not here for that tonight, nay she's here to take him up on his offer of food which never existed upon her world. Her eyes widen at the food the only time she's seen some things remotely close to this were several multiversal diplomatic functions in terms of the food. She enters a moment after Thomas Edison, that was still a very strange thing to think of. Given how much of her own era's foundations were set by this man. She gives Gil his due and bows formally. "King Gilgamesh thank you for this invitation, I never have seen a feast on this level before."
Priscilla	It isn't hard for Priscilla to dress fancy or look impressive. The latter just kind of happens unless she actively tries not to, and the former just sort of happened when she got stuck with royal tailors and artisans and such after taking the throne of Anor Londo, to say nothing of the necessity of her image as First of the Concord. There's no 'cleaning up' that needs to be done. The sole difference from the usual, more casual social occasion, is that she doesn't make her number one concession of convenience for others. Gilgamesh is hosting this aboard a giant ship from ancient myth supposedly able to shelter humanity (of the time) as a whole, not in some estate or hotel, so there's plenty of room for it. When Priscilla makes an appearance, it is as she does at home: pushing past 15 feet tall, silver tinged at the edge of her face, and surrounded by a palpable, unsuppressed aura of power, subtle, cold and dark as it may be. Of course, there's no actual need to show off to the host; she'd met him once before already at the castle in Denmark, and once or twice between. Any necessity for flexing is long past. The method to this is to not place herself equal amongst the crowd coming to sample from a table they'd otherwise never be able to dream of in their lives, as she mostly shows up as an acquaintance of the King. It also means that a clay doll is going to have to get her a big chair, so she can sit at one end and be artificially 'higher up' than the others without an actual platform or throne like Gilgamesh himself has the right to on his own ship. It's theo showing up in plainclothes and Kickotron having procured yet another local hat that immediately draws her attention, with some level of apparent amusement. "Sir Morrison. Thou almost appear as if here on business, and yet I cannot imagine thee refusing free food." Then "Lady Yamakawa, I believeth such is the point. Such is the purpose of displaying it to modern man." And then finally a look at Thomas, mostly because: "And Sir Edison. Well met. I hath heard . . . about thee." The brief pause in the middle sounds as if she was going to add some qualifier like 'much' or 'interesting things', but frankly she'd only seen his name dropped in reports that cross her metaphorical desk for Reasons.
Gilgamesh	Everyone greeting the King gets a nod of acknowledgement. He doesn't /say/ anything to 'yes hello's, but he nods to show that, yes, he sees them, yes, they are welcome, yes, they are covered under the laws of hospitality. The laws of hospitality are something Gilgamesh takes extremely seriously, probably far moreso than most modern people are used to. If he's offended by dress codes not being met, he doesn't show it. He doesn't seem the type. Gilgamesh seems like the sort of person who, if he got offended, would do so either easily and with great force, or do so only after some extremely great wrong, and since he's never expressed any particular offense at insults hurled at him, it's probably the latter. "Of course," the King says to both Theo and Kotone at the same time, "I am Gilgamesh, King of Heroes, King of Uruk and of Babylon. As if I would waste my time with something less than the opulence demanded of the King of the greatest and richest city that has ever been." Priscilla does, indeed, find the ship roomy. It's bizarre how roomy; maybe there's some space-bending miracle at work, or maybe the ship's just big to carry its cargo of men and beasts. She also finds the seat justs...adjusts to her as she tries to sit, expanding to fit her without a second thought. The chairs are soft, and offer a gentle massage to the sitting. Once everybody is actually present he sits forward, his arms wide. "Sit, eat. Feast of hydra and of auroch, of leviathan and kraken. Drink the finest of drinks and taste the finest of grain, and know the wonders of Babylon." Symbolically, he breaks a piece of bread (his own plate is sitting on the arm of the huge throne, obscured by his shine and its own) and takes a bite, then sips from his goblet. "You here are protected under laws all men follow, laws even the gods would not dare break. Bread has been broken; for this evening you are welcome, and no blood be spilled without the harshest of curses and reprisals." There's no trouble talking down the table, either; it carries voices across it no matter the distance. Gilgamesh adjusts himself in his throne as he tears a slice of bread off with his teeth, and snaps his fingers, and the ship lifts off. The only visible sign of it lifting off is the windows, which go from the bright lights of Vale to the darkness of space; there's not a bit of unpleasant motion. "So, then," Gilgamesh says, "Speak to me. Speak to me of far-off places and far-off lands. You sit in the court of the King; tell me of adventures and treasures, as those who sit in the court of the King should."
Mairead Sandilands	Mairead looks and nods to everyone as she sits as well, "Thank you," she says as she looks at those in attendance, "The food look wonderful and smells amazing sir," she says to Gilgamesh. Looking over at Thomas, she studies him as she looks at everyone else. As she sits, she thinks on how the people here are of various status and skill, and knows not how they are in a fight, having only met two in person and talked to others on the radio. As she adjusts, she takes the napkin and unfolds it, placing it on her lap and bowing her head, says a simple small prayer and than using her right hand does the sign of the cross and waits for everyone else to begin as per how she was raised. Thinking as she looks, She sees Kotone, "How have ye been Kotone?" sheasks her.
Thomas Alva Edison	Thomas Edison sits down, looking at the food arrayed before them. This is...well, simply something he never could experience in life. This is one of those times that he was glad to have been brought as a servant. There are hard times, that only make these times sweeter. However, Priscilla makes her greeting, he is aware of who she is...but also aware that her hand is in the happenings of another world. Edison, does not lose his statesman voice, or his charm. Turning towards her, he engages the leader of the Concord evenly, and respectfully. "Greetings to you as well, Miss Priscilla. On the topic of hearing things, I hope it has all been good. It is nice to know my reputation proceeds me. As does your own, it is a pleasure to finally meet you in person." To Theo showing up like he has, this only gets Edison respect...you have to be bold to ware whatever you want to a fancy place like this. Kotone is not ignored, but she seems focused on her rounds of greetings, and Edison is a polite man. Lion. Lion man. He starts eating as Gilgamesh opens things up to do so, making sure to eat only after the host has done so first. This is good, not the same as the various cuts as back home...the bread noticibly different. The hydra was...something you'd probably only experience once in a normal life time. The Auroc...again, not bad, different than he was used to. Very good, comparing it to modern food was also different. He takes a drink, eyes only widen slightly, able to make a good poker face of things. "Ah, delicious." he says, mustering self control, as is a statesman of his calibur demands. As the place takes off, Edison takes more time to survey the surroundings...the ship, and one thing comes to mind. It truly was a 'prototype'. It was a creation of magic, of the age of the gods...and not something humans made. This puts him a bit at ease...but also reminds him that there is a reason why the ships of the age look similar. Mankind is want to always reach higher, until everything is in their grasp. "Well, I can tell you of America...home to hundreds of millions. Buildings that shoot into the sky, a land of learning, of culture, and of democratic values...though it might not please the host to hear that last part." he says, cutting a small joke. "Of great industry, and wealth. There are many cities of America that have their own unique culture and life to them. From New York, who professes to have the tallests of buildings, to Chicago which sits on the great lakes, and is a shining jewel in the central states. All the way to Hollywood, which is a center of culture and entertainment."
Theo Morrison	A gathering of co-workers, and... Priscilla. Huh. Theo didn't see that one coming. (because she can turn invisible. eh? ehh?) "Free food /is/ my business, Lady Priscilla," Theo replies, grinning up at her and sketching a polite bow. He thinks he probably likes her more than Gilgamesh, and he's pretty sure he's going to have to deal with that knife and that scythe on a personal basis sooner rather than later. Some days he wonders what his life would've been like if he never sent in that resume. Less dangerous, at least. "Actually, my nice clothes were the casualty of a case a while back, and a recent and unexpected expense at the hands of a smart cat with an incendiary set my budget back." He probably shouldn't refer to Staren like that, it's rude. "Didn't expect to see you here, though. You look nice." Kickotron looks (way) up and waves silently. He plods along across the room, wandering around to examine the clay people and the ship rather than to eat, what with the lack of a mouth and all. Theo takes a seat. He looks up and down the table, collecting bits of everything brought near, and nodding to each of the other guests in turn. He's not sure how to address someone with the fame and demeanor of Edison, and, frankly, he's not really sure what to say to Kotone and Mairead. Theo is less awkward than he used to be, but he's still a nerd. "Adventures and treasures? Hmmm... there was that dance-off with a frog for an ancient hoard, but I didn't even place. I don't really hunt much treasure. Adventures I've got, though." Edison offers his piece on America, and Theo nods along with him. He's an American, so he appreciates the shout-out. Inwardly, though, he wonders why most of his adventures happen in places without wi-fi, and, in a fit of irrational behavior, sets the Ecto on his wrist to see if the Babylonians had discovered it.
Kotone Yamakawa	Lady Priscilla makes an excellent and obvious point. "You are correct now that It think about it Lady Priscilla." It had been some time since she' seen Priscilla, though their normal lives didn't have them cross paths very often in the end. She also feels kinda tiny as she looks up to Priscilla while she replies to her. She had forgo6tton just how tall Priscilla was naturally. Soon the King is getting her and the rest of the guests in short order. Of all the creatures listed she can only confirm the Auroch existed on her world, while Gilgamesh's city did as did Babylon, there has never been a trace of any wonders on the scale of this ship. Writing? The first City? Farming and the like? Heck ya and are feats all of mankind owe the long lost people of that nation a debt for. Speaking of debts she turns her attention to the man that was one of the pillars of the tech needed to make her era possible. She grins a little bit at Thomas for a moment. "It is good to see you as well Mr. Edison, how has the repairs to Boston been going and is help still needed?" As Gill ask his question of his guests? She has to wonder about his Babylon what was it like? If this is any indication it would be something akin to some of the galactic civilization she's heard of or encountered remnants of. She'll move to seat herself and seems very keen on the meat and she thinks for a moment what would he like to hear about. She also thinks aside from her home of places she's been and thing's she's seen in her travelling of the multiverse too. She takes note of Theo as knows he's a nerd and admittedly Kotone is one too she did like card games at the local hobby shop when she was younger. However first a reply to their host it's only right? "I am from a nation forged around the same time as America it's northern Neighbour known as Canada. A nation large in size but much smaller in population. Vast swaths of the country remain untouched by man and are filled with raw resources but we are not without our own cities, One of our largest ports is in the area where I call home a city of a dozen cultures nestled whose buildings are only dwarfed by the massive mountain rage they are built up against known as the Rockies. It is also still a land of vast evergreen forests teaming with life. What is most unusual about my homeland is, it was at the end born via Diplomatic with the nation which founded the colonies rather than by force of arms."
Priscilla	Well that's convenient, or so thinks Priscilla, understandably. Actually, basically everything about the place is convenient. Perhaps 'convenient' isn't even the right word, less something designed to accommodate, and more a place where little unnecessary difficulties aren't allowed to exist. If there can be a ship like this, fit to take presumably hundreds of thousands into space just like that, and protect them against some kind of primordial quasi-apocalypse, annoyances like 'being hard to hear over a long table' would indeed seem like strange oversights. Whatever. It's hard to overthink a chair that comfortable after a long day, and Priscilla sinks into it gladly, though not to the point of 'taking a load off'. Her eyes linger on Gilgamesh himself at this point, having seen him dressed for war and dressed impromptu as the idol of a random European city, but never on his home territory, so to speak. Present naturally as one of Lordran's giant beings replete with souls, the slightly weird nature of said eyes is harder to miss, equally arguable as draconic and catlike in just that way that is at slightly uncanny crossroads. She finds it at least immediately clear that he hadn't gone around in golden plate as a confidence booster. "It hast certainly been unique." Priscilla says to Edison. "In as far as Heroic Spirits and Americans both. I had certainly never expected to heareth the title 'Presiking'. Thou shalt hath to forgiveth a certain lack of familiarity with thine works. I am of neither Earth nor a century of thine or beyond. Thou art an inventor of some sort, yes?" It's a bit of an understatement, but Lordran doesn't have lightbulbs, so who'd expect otherwise? "I see. Upon suspicion that it may be counterfeit, then?" she then says to Theo, facetiously enough to tell, even though her tone of voice rarely strays far from the soft, unhurried, and slightly stilted character of windless snowfall. "Once again, I hath overestimated how well compensated thou art for thine efforts. Do tell, if at some point thou decide to seeketh employment where the cost of clothes is of little concern." And where Staren is marginally less likely to burn them, but that can just be assumed.
Priscilla	It genuinely takes Priscilla a minute to try and recall which portion of what she'd been up to since she'd last seen Gilgamesh. Having a really long memory means relations of what came after which take a little brainpower. "Let us see then. Outside of mine own, various quests hath seen mineself most recently a visitor to a land of the dead where all the living in the world hath died, and the gods of the deceased left for an age; to a world shattered into countless drifting fragments brought only together by old memories, wherein we crushed the armies of a nation and turned back time itself with the last work of a brilliant inventor; to an ancient capital in which the people toil at the behest of a petty king, working in deep and old mines, but whence they mine for books rather than ore; to scattered isles ruled by intricate webs of bloodthirsty outlaws who seeketh independence from the empires across the seas and yet feud violently for who shall be their king of thieves; and . . . to a certain place very old and familiar to I, though the very antithesis of treasure couldst be said to be held within it." She pauses for a second to consider her options, looking to Theo and Edison and back. "I hath also at least familiarized mineself with a city made of brass and gold, remade completely every decade by the passions of a thousand architects, where men hath rights to metal and their light and heat is spirits drawn from the air, however I believeth Sir Morrison and Sir Edison art familiar with such as well." She did decide on leaving the Grail War out completely though. Rather than waiting for a cue to take her turn comparing stories or something though, she laces her fingers under her chin, asking something with some level of unexpected curiosity. "Thou shalt forgive mine query, however, as to these laws of hospitality. It is a phrase I am used to encountering somewhat frequently, never quite meant the same twice, and yet held universally in eager reverence by most -or else eager intent to spite them by others. I believeth it not to be something mine homeland possesseth quite so equivalent of an idiom." Priscilla says, because she doesn't ever visit normal countries where normal humans do normal things. The laws she's used to are laws set out by Gwyn a couple of thousand years ago, that all figuratively end with 'or get the fuck out'.
Gilgamesh	Gilgamesh's face twists at 'hundreds of millions' and 'democratic values.' It's clear that neither of these words are words he likes, but he's clearly holding himself in to be a gracious host. "So you have many countries in your single country," he clarifies, "And you rule them all yourself, or you let them all rule themselves?" Theo gets a gesture of 'well, go ahead, come on, give me an adventure, then.' The frog dance-off receives surprisingly less...eye-raise...than one might expect. Gil's apparently been through some weird shit. Kotone's description of Canada also gets a look of displeasure, but, again, it's not /that/ surprising, Gilgamesh has often and loudly dismissed the idea of democracy and massive amounts of people. "And that is unusual, is it? Your colonies are often marked and born of war and rebellion?" Gilgamesh's eyes meet Priscilla's. His own are a deep and alien red, a glittering mystical /something/, like perfect rubies. The statement of /perfection/ from him is not, at least physically, any kind of joke or ego-trip; finding a flaw or imperfection is impossible. It's a little bit eerie. He's like a machine-made thing, or a well-drawn prettyboy character in a high-budget anime. He's looking into hers with the sense that he's /looking/ for something, not just gazing into them because they're there and they're pretty. As she talks, he listens. In fact, he listens to everybody. Somebody who's normally so loud-mouthed and egotistical just shutting up and /listening/ probably seems kind of weird, but since he bade them talk, he's evidently perfectly capable of shutting the fuck up. He's a good listener, too, of the sort you don't see often, the sort where he's just paying attention and it's obvious that he is. It's the last bit that pricks his attention. "Tell me of this /antithesis of treasure/." His fingers drum against the golden armrest. As Priscilla asks of the laws of hospitality, Gilgamesh leans slightly to the side, resting his chin against his fist in what might elsewhere be called the Genome Sitting Position. "It's simple. When you break bread in a man's home, you are his guest. He is obligated to protect you from harm and to feed you and offer you the amenities you are owed as a traveller invited in, as he can spare according to his wealth. To break those laws and refuse to defend someone beneath your roof is the height of foolishness. To kill a man under your own roof after inviting him in and granting him safety is to invoke the highest of curses. Even I would not dare. Even the gods would not dare."
Mairead Sandilands	Listening as she gets a few of the items ont he table, she smiles as she hears of America and is aware of it, but her world is different but still nice to hear. "I have not much in the way of tales of treasue and adventure. I have been in a few battles, but nothing of late, outside of helping a place with a giant skeleton king that threw large spears, but that was months ago," she comments as she thinks. "Although that time I went to another planet on a starship and fought a ... Sith I think was interesting," she adds. She is not mentioning about that temple that showed fears of people and how she got more scared and picked up another phonbia, but yea, she is not mention that. Looking at Theo, she grins, "Sounds like ye have have had some fun times," she comments. Taking a risk, she looks at the wine and ponders as she takes a sip and coughs a bit into her hand. She is not use to drinking wine or other beverages of the sort. For the most part, she sits and listens to everyone as they talk and explain their own adventures. Mairead has a pretty boringlife, with school and all taking over a lot of it. Plus, the only neat thing she has is her IS, and that is nothing compared to others. Looking over at Priscilla, she has seen people as tall as her, but not ones who have given off an aura of power yet grace. Mairead has never talked ot Priscilla as far as she can remember and glances at everyone here as she has told Gilgamesh about her world. "Me world is a few years into the future and we have tech that has helpped school and wars are not as much worried, but the power has shifted to women in control of the countries of the world," she comments.
Nobunaga	The hall's far doors open, and two small creatures shuffle to hold the doors open. A third one skips in, its feet making little 'pip' noises with each step. All three are identical, large-headed human-like things in what might be an ornate military uniform, but has obviously been simplified at some point. The leading homunculus, for that is quite obviously what it is for those familiar, stops. A scroll is removed from under one arm, unrolled, and lifted. It coughs gently, then opens its mouth: "Nobubu! Nobu, nonobu!" It turns and gestures, "Nobunobu!" Framed by the door at that point, backlit by the twilight stars, is a substantially more human shape wreathed in a billowing cloak, crimson eyes shining like jewels. When they smile, light from within the hall glints off teeth with notable fangs. When the Demon King, Oda Nobunaga, enters-- the mock entourage quickly disperses back outside at a scurrying pace. A warlord in a grand hall aboard an ancient ship owned by an equally ancient king. She feels out of place, but she won't get the fact that only one presence here is familiar dampen her enthusiasm. She's clearly gone for full ostentation...despite how ridiculous said escorts might appear to the casual observer. The Great Fool of Owari is in full swing, today.
Theo Morrison	Theo laughs. "Nah, this was a Heaven or Hell thing. There were fish-men coming up through public restrooms and one of 'em caught me with my pants down. Figuratively speaking," he hastily adds. "I got it, but my wardrobe took the hit, and my date never called me back after that." He sighs deeply, shaking his head a little theatrically, then peering up at Priscilla again. "I'm not in it for the money, but thanks for the offer. I'll be sure to give you a call if I decide to move into the private sector." Theo takes a minute or two to sample the food. It's... well, 'divine' is an appropriate word, so we'll go with that. He's a mere mortal who eats mere mortal foodstuffs, and so it's a sort of unique experience to be having hydra and auroch and things. He takes his time with it, cursing his unrefined palette a little each time he has something more neutral and then tries something new. It lets him listen in on the stories the others are offering up. "Yeah, I've been looking into a pretty messy murder of a government official there," Theo adds to Priscilla's comment, eyes flicking towards Gilgamesh and then back to her. "It's not really a great story though, unless you like hearing about peoples' vital forces exploding out of their bodies while under attack from some invisible assailant. Not exactly dinner conversation." He doesn't /quite/ stare at her. It's impolite, so he looks back to Gilgamesh instead. "Wellll... I've been all over. I'm a Planeswalker, so world-hopping is sort of my jam. I've got kind of a history of fighting giant monsters, though," Theo starts. "There was this one enormous, hunchbacked thing with poison blood that stomped up out of the Pacific and got into a fistfight with a robot as big as it was. I helped kill it with an army of like-sized bunny-goats. A while after that, another world I was visiting had this sea monster come up and throw a tsunami at a city, so I froze the water in time in mid-air while everybody was fighting off the monster itself. Not too long later, its brother showed up, bipedal and covered in fins and scales, flinging lightning and burning people from the inside out when they got near. So I assembled a giant wooden golem, ensorcelled it thoroughly, and sent it to punch it into submission." "That's not even getting into the eldritch monstrosities I keep getting thrown at. Oh!" Theo looks like something just occurred to him. "I actually /do/ have a little treasure. Let's see..." He fishes around in his pockets, eventually coming up with what looks like a fragment of a dragon's scale, grey and black and shot through with veins of blue-white crystal. It fits comfortably in his hand, and he holds it up for Gilgamesh to see. If one of the dolls wants to bring it over to him, he'll let him take a look. Theo reaches for his glass of... something. He's not sure what it got filled with. He takes a sip when the nobu-ing begins, looking quizzical at the display. Kickotron, presently examining one of the board games, turns his little robo-bird head towards the Nobus and narrows his optics dramatically.
Kotone Yamakawa	Well her nation had a reputation for not messing up everything it's far from perfect but a lot of it has not been paved over, but that might be due to the black fly and Mosquito horde. Or just the hellish winter only Russia's winter could love. "Most nations on my earth have been born by force of arms as far as we can tell from what records we do have, and what scholars have dug up about our own past." She wonders if there is anything form her homeworld that Gil wouldn't look down on. Is it out of a desire for his approval? No to prove there is worth in the modern era. Maybe it will happen maybe it will not, for now, though her mood can't be ruined not with a meal like she's having now. "If there is one thing I do take pride in is the advances in medical understanding. We have surprised civilizations who control entire worlds and star systems with what we have done. My own body is an example of such, I'd be a bedridden cripple without it. I since used it to my advantage in the multiverse as a whole. I'd nearly died because someone with a small mind and a power trip wanted something I had. So, I took to the multiverse trying to find myself as trite as that sounds and set off to explore." It's funny her first run-in with Staren nearly made her turn around and go home to never come back. It's a good thing that didn't happen she muses. "Though I do owe you an adventure as well don't I? Give me a moment to recall one you might enjoy hearing of."
Priscilla	Whatever Gil is looking for in Priscilla's gaze, what he's going to find is 'human' enough to at least guess the sort of feelings people presume to be able to see in one another's eyes, in this case calm and interested. Despite having the classic gold iris of the noble line of Anor Londo's sun gods and the slit pupils of an Archdragon, the word still remains, in the strictest sense of the word, 'uncanny'. The combination is not regal or beautiful or fearsome, but very slightly perturbing, like a glittering, pretty facade over a dark, haunted crevasse. It's easier to get the sense, without her suppressing anything, that she knows some kind of secret she perpetually isn't telling. There is quite quickly a sense of surprise there, though, when his interest immediately hits upon the opposite of treasure -treasure a being thing of his, by her knowledge. "I admit, I had not expected thee to be most interest in such a thing as opposed to all else." She pauses for a second. "Art thou perhaps so inured to treasure itself, with thine overflowing vaults, that it is simply the certain idea of something thou possesseth not? I had thought thine attraction to things of value." There is then something of a more mysterious pause. "Though, that is not to say that an antithesis to a treasure is something worthless." "Treasure is something that is made, by men or gods or otherwise, to bring something of worth into the world. Whether its worth lie in its utility, its power, its beauty, or otherwise, treasure is something that is defined by the fact that one wouldst naturally desire it. The more potent a work's beauty or power or desirable function, the greater a treasure it is. The lack of a treasure, wherein nothing exists, is of no particular worth, but not its opposite, merely its absence. A creation that is useless or hideous and desired by no one is certainly fair to describe as worthless -refuse rather than treasure- but once again, it is only an absence of worth. A treasure may be destroyed, diminished, stolen, or torn down, but even then, men art only capable of bringing themselves closer to an absence of treasure -a state of emptiness or worthlessness, but no further."
Priscilla	". . . I am afraid I cannot share everything I knoweth of it." Priscilla admits after a moment of tense silence. "Partly due to sensitive matters, but moreso that much of it lies beyond what words may describe. In basest terms, there was . . . a land that once belonged to mineself and was lost, that was rediscovered and . . . that I didst conquer anew. Within it lay something I had long ago attempted to discard, but been unable but to keep a small part of it with me. A thing that I once possessed and yet desired only to be rid of. A thing which no sane being wouldst wish for, despite its apparent and obvious wonder and power. It is something that in order to taketh possession of it, one loses something." She looks around at the table for a second, briefly lost for metaphor. "Such as 'gaining' a bite loses a part of the bread." she settles on. "Those present all lost something of theirs which they did not yet own, simply to lay their hands upon it. Yet, in taking it back mineself, I found that I didst regain a part of mineself instead." Trying to communicate it at all is becoming evidently vexing, with little to compare the strange object of discussion to. It's Gilgamesh himself that she takes inspiration from next. "It is as thou art King. Regardless of time and circumstance and opinion, thou art the King and the King is thee, and by its nature, the authority of King is thine, and thus art all of the things the King owns. Thine Treasury is inextricable from thine being, as something only the King couldst ever possesseth. Without such a Treasury, thou wouldst remaineth King, yet be diminished in a sense." "What I speaketh of is something similar. Something that emerges from a form of Being, as ownership naturally emerges from Being King, and something which cannot be built or given otherwise. It is certainly something of use, and of power, and of its own beauty, indisputably enforcing its own value . . . but not in this world. Not to men nor the gods nor even the dead. Its worth, in their hands, only inverts their own. The greater and grander the bearer, the greater anathema it is to them. As all the things of value in this world art found beyond the Gate of Babylon, all the things of value in that other place art found beyond what I clumsily speak to, and the two were never meant to meet." Apparently reaching the end of her obtuse descriptive energy, Priscilla sits back, takes a deep breath, and then slowly leans forward again, somewhat impolitely putting her elbows on the table, in what might elsewhere be called a Gendo pose. "However, that is not to say that I do not ever force the matter. This modernity is no place for thine treasures -not meant to behold them- and yet thou grace it with their presence, so as to wield thine power as King, as is thine prerogative. Consider it not quite so difficult were I to grace it with further wonders that do not suit men as they art now."
Priscilla	That taxing effort over with, Priscilla can return to the actual socialization part. Theo's cat and mouse absolutely counts as socialization, because if he expected some kind of telling reaction or smooth and professional brush off, he'll be disappointed by the fact she seems only further amused by him. "I enjoy hearing of a great variety of things, Sir Morrison. Of course, thou must enjoy seeing them for thineself, else why wouldst thou maketh it thine business to so involve thineself with them?" From there, she settles in to eat some of her graciously provided food. It'd be kind of rude not to. "Thou hast spoken of the rules the host must obey, but what then of the guest? Certainly they must be obligated something in return, for earning such obligation to be provided for and protected."
Gilgamesh	"Demon King of the Sixth Heaven," Gilgamesh says as Nobunaga enters, an egotistical smirk crossing his face, "You are late. I understand that is fashionable in modernity, though, so I'll forgive you this once." He waves his hand like he's making a seriously merciful gesture. "Welcome to the finest dinner you will ever attend. Help yourself to whatever you like. This is the decadence that comes from attending to the King of Heroes." One of the dolls tromps over and takes the scale from Theo as Gilgamesh listens. The King holds it in his hand, examining it. It glitters in his red eyes, and there's a hint of the all-consuming greed that surely led the King to reach this kind of opulence to begin with as he examines it. Theo can almost see him thinking, but, indeed, he holds the laws of hospitality true, and hands it back to the clay doll to walk back over to Theo. "And that is a scale from that creature, then?" Gilgamesh asks, before levelling a finger at Theo's belt. "What about those? Are those not also treasures?" Gilgamesh's eyes stray to Kotone. She describes what was done to her, and he looks her over. It seems like something's on the tip of his tongue, but he decides, again, to be a good host. "It takes a strength of self to challenge fate," he decides upon, a much more neutral response. "Yes, you do. Tell me of an adventure." Priscilla's surprise elicts a wry smile. "Something without value has a value of its own. Something of a nature such as that cannot help but draw the attention of the King; if it has no value, if it purges value, then it is something unique, and thus precious." "Gaining absence. Yes. Gaining debt. The negative, added to the positive. I understand entirely." A hint of greed glitters in his beautiful eyes, just like with Theo's own treasure, but he again tamps it down as Priscilla goes on, that it robs things of their wealth, that it steals from their value, that it takes from all who are not her and destroys all that is not her. This is something he understands surprisingly well, and whatever flicker of impossible greed lies in those eyes disappears for good as she says that the two are not meant to meet - something he agrees with by the end of her speech. No, they are not, but it satisfied his curiosity. She asks again of the laws of hospitality and he in turn satisfies hers. "The guest is under obligation not to strike the host or any other under his roof; to behave as if it were his own home and his own amenities. Were two bitter enemies invited to a poor man's house they would be expected not to draw blades until they had stepped outside. A great curse upon them if they did. Were the killer of a man's father and bride to sit down across the table from him while a guest in another's house, the victim would be wrong to lunge across the table with a blade, and the host would be obligated to protect the murderer. That is what hospitality demands of you - that you behave civily and act as you would within your own home." "Gifts are often customary," Gilgamesh adds, but waves his hand dismissively, "But not expected. I am the King of Uruk and of Babylon; all the wealth in the world is mine. There will be gifts for you, as visitors. Such is right and proper." As Kickotron examines one of the board games, there is the vague sense of absolute familiarity. It's one where little pieces go around a board and collect treasures. According to a helpful rules card (in stone) (written in English) (by somebody not Gilgamesh), if two people land on a space at the same time, they can duel or bid for the treasure, throwing ox bones to... and each time they go around the board the King gives them some gold to spend on... It's Ancient Babylonian Monopoly.
Mairead Sandilands	Looking at Nobunaga, "Greetings Miss Nobunaga," she says as the little ones arrive first and she just loves them, they are so cute and she so wants one for her own. AS they talk she smiles and nods to the leader of the pack and than turns to Kotone, "I am glad that ye are better now," she says to her. "I guess I am the lucky one and have not had much happen to me, outside of a being hurt to the point of a coma for six months," she comments as she eats some of her food and says nothing more. Only a few, namely two know about that and no one else. "But I am better now," she adds as she ponders what to talk about as she takes another drink of the wine. Mairead looks atThomas as he has been quiet and would liek to know more about his America, but see he is enjoying the food and so will ask another day. As Priscilla speaks, she blinks and looks "Wow," she says to herself as she looks at Gilgamesh and than back to Pris and than to Gil. . o 0 (Well, that was interesting,) she thinks as she waits for a reply. Than as Gilgamesh talks, she listens as well, "All I can say is I have not had that experience before," and she stays quiet.
Nobunaga	Well, someone knows her name! It should at least be clear by the creatures that introduced her. If one squints a bit. As Nobunaga approaches the table, she properly introduces herself without the aid of such simple attendants, "King of Heroes. My thanks for your invitation. Truly not a ship I have ever seen before. It's really quite marvelous." Once she reaches the far end of the banquet table, though, she sweeps an arm to draw her cape over her body. With a gesture, she flips the cape outward again-- and is now holding a flat-ish disc shaped pot with legs and intricate spider engravings on its surface. This, she places on the table in front of herself. The cape is shrugged out of, and a pair of those little homunculi scurry off with it, folding it as they run for the exit. Nobunaga herself seats herself crosslegged upon the chair, rather than 'properly' how one should use a chair, resting a hand on one knee and gesturing with the other, "As thanks for your hospitality, it is customary in Japan to bring a gift. I know not if this masterwork kettle will be of any value to you, but the meaning of the gesture is pure." The Nobbu that accompanied her don't spend much time actually within the hall, instead preferring to dash in to fulfill her whims and make a quick exit. A behavior not even rooted in Japanese customs for servants or soldiers. Just a quick of the curious homunculi. Which at least means Kickotron doesn't need to suffer their presence. Nobunaga herself begins setting out ceramic teacups in front of herself. Black on the outside, a stunning mix of blues and indigos melted together on the inside, "I believe each man has his or her own definition of value. One can care little about all the gold of a kingdom, but fight a war over a teacup, no?" Instead of insulting her Host by pouring out the kettle, though, Nobunaga uses her teacups for some of that fine Uruk wine from the table. No, the fine green tea blend in that hiragumo is for the one it's been given to. At least it's not filled with gunpowder this time.
Thomas Alva Edison	As conversation swirls around, Edison is asked a question. He decides to pause to allow some of the over conversations to finish first. He is polite, and was interested in seeing where the conversation between Gil and Perscilla ended. "It is not so simple. There are three houses of government. Each house performs a function, and is in turn balanced by the other. The Legislative branch consists of two houses. The house of represenitives, and the senate. The first is made up of individuals elected in their home state, and each state is given a number of represenitives based on it's population. The senate is another house, created from two represenitives from each state. Both houses do various functions, but important among those are bills and laws, which much be passed by each house before sent to the next branch to be signed into law." "The legistative branch is the branch I preside over. This branch is primarily the face of the country to the world, it handles foreign affairs, passing laws, and moving more nationally. It signs bills into laws. The next is the Judicial branch, which handles trial and setting the bar for how laws are enforced...as well as determining if a law is constitutional based on a document that was created to assure all citizens have certain, unalienable rights. If it's determined that a law is against this, it is declared unconstitutional and removed from being a law."
Theo Morrison	Theo would rather have a relaxed social engagement in the same way some people have spars to shake the rust off than be brushed off. Priscilla isn't the type of person, as far as he can tell, who would admit guilt by nonadmission. She'll verbally fence or she'll lay claim to what she (allegedly) did without so much as batting an eye. "The Consulate asked for expert assistance on the matter, and I'm an expert on Kaladesh and accustomed to dealing with supernatural violence. I wouldn't say I enjoy /seeing/ it," he adds, after sipping from his cup of what is easily the best wine he's ever had and ever will have, "so much as I enjoy stopping repeat performances. Heroing. You know how it is." "-You were in a coma for half a year?" Theo suddenly asks Mairead, blinking. "Holy crap, are you okay?" Kickotron examines Ancient Babylonian Monopoly and commits the rules to memory. The little myr continues making the rounds, hat bobbing as it tromps along on its robot legs to peer at each of the presented amusements, one at a time. Theo addresses Gilgamesh, saying, "Yeah, that's right. One of the smaller ones." He blinks, looking down. "These? They're... tools, really. Uh..." He starts going through his literal utility belt's pockets and pouches. He places a round metal object like a pocket watch on the table, made of polished brass with a face of red, yellow and blue panels like stained glass showing a stylized red dragon with wings outstretched. There's some white decoration around the edges. Another joins it, this an equilateral triangle of some kind of white stone, with blue metal on the face and rings of gold inscribed with fine script set around a white gemstone in the middle. It makes the design look like some kind of maze. "Signets of the Izzet and Azorius guilds of Ravnica. I got these for helping fight off a horde of world-consuming monsters once. They were coming out of a hole that led between planes, but we... sealed it up." The brief pause makes it seem like there's more to that one, but he doesn't volunteer it. A thin white rope with a series of small feather and leaf charms along it comes out. "This was from there, too, when we had to go up a giant city-tree, in case we fell off." Next, a pair of objects made of pitch black metal: one, a flat disk as wide as his palm, and the other a polished egg-shaped nugget. Both are ringed by glowing lines of bright gold that hover away from the surface, like a picture of atomic orbits or a planet's rings. Both make a sound of a much heavier object clicking against the tabletop when he sets them down. "Got these from the metal plane of Mirrodin when I first left my world; they're Darksteel, and they're indestructable once they've been cast into a shape. I've got a book on how to work it, but I haven't gotten around to learning the argot and the skills it takes to get to the point where you can even try, so it just kind of takes up space on my shelf." Theo keeps fishing. He puts a small wooden bowl, more like a flattened cup, next to the rest. It's carved with twining knot-like shapes, and five slightly different twists at the bottom. A clear glass prism joins it, and a plain ring of polished gold that gleams with the pure light of the sun. The light casts through the prism, leaving a beautiful ring of rainbow color splashed across the tabletop. "The cylix is from a woodsy world a friend of mine likes, Lorwyn, and the prism and the ring are from Kaladesh. The stories behind those aren't as interesting." Theo looks up from his pile of stuff. It isn't even all of it. He looks down the table at Gilgamesh, and shrugs. "I guess someone might've considered them treasures, but I've just been accumulating all of this, and it's... they're useful. I always thought of treasure as something else."
Gilgamesh	Gilgamesh accepts the kettle with the reverence one might expect someone getting a gift. Whether he cares about it or not is impossible to tell, but the King of Heroes at least apparently knows how to get a gift without being a smug self-righteous jackass for all of ten minutes. He nods approvingly. He'll pour himself a cup later. For now, the kettle sits amidst golden goblets and plates, not quite fitting in but not quite out-of-place either. The wine is something as if out of Heaven, and sits well in the teacups, rich and delicious. "I would be surprised if you had ever seen it before. It is the Preserver of Life, the ship that carried humanity through the Great Flood. When the firmament was opened and the dark waters came forth it sailed through the chaos and fought the monsters sent by the gods. It is treated wood that even Shamash's rays cannot pierce, powered by my own strength, responding to my own commands. It needs no crew nor soldiers to man its cannons, which turn the magic into beams of killing light." "It's merely something I had lying around and forgot about. I was reminded of its presence during my time solving the Line." Gilgamesh waves his hand idly. He knows /exactly/ how it sounds; 'I just kinda forgot about the Ark of the Flood.' It's something only Gilgamesh could say. Edison speaks, and Gilgamesh looks on with a mixture of horror and revulsion. "That sounds incredibly pointless. What happens when they disagree? You would get nothing done. Nothing would move. Nothing would change. You would have the government fight amongst itself." Kickotron gets to see a lot of amusements. There's ancient Babylonian card games, ancient Babylonian board games, ancient Babylonian toys; Gilgamesh has put out the works. Each of them is weirder than the last, but each of them has the spark of familiarity to them. The cards are reminiscent of Tarot and the standard 52-card deck that grew out of it. The board games are similar to Go, and Chess, and Backgammon, and a number of other familiar things, though with slightly different twists. The toys are all familiar children's toys of surpassing quality, probably magical in some way. It lends credence to a lot of Gilgamesh's claims; even though he's from an utterly different world there's still a /spark/ of similarity, enough that...well, that it's just kind of odd. As Theo starts piling out his treasures, Gilgamesh listens, leaning forward. These are things he hasn't seen, and though they bear familiarity, again, there's the flicker of unmatched greed in his eyes. He watches as Theo empties everything, the pile of stuff growing on the table. Gilgamesh raises an eyebrow at 'I guess someone might've considered them treasures.' He opens the Gate of Babylon. Really opens it. As in, for a brief, shining instant, everyone at the table gets a look at the Gate of Babylon's interiors. At the mountains of gold. At literal rivers of silver. At gemstones as far as the eye can see beneath a roiling red sky. At swords, spears, blades, weapons of all stripe. At ancient stone magical vehicles sitting in various positions. It just...goes on, and on, and on. The mere glance of it is enough to see that even that brief glimpse is barely the start - there's a horizon, and it keeps on going. Then he snaps his fingers, and it shuts. "Everything in that vault is something accumulated to be useful. Even gold is a tool. Value is itself something to be used, a tool to get what you desire." "That vault is what /I/ accumulated." "And my gift to you all as host is a glimpse of it." He smirks, leaning back in his chair. "Tell me more about these other countries of Multi-Vars, this Mirrodin and Ravnica and Kaladesh. Tell me of their treasures."
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa thinks and actually reviews some of her own memories on her internal HUD she does see Gil is being polite and is thankful for that. She grins a bit. "This is while I was quite new to the multiverse a massive void ship The Callidus Amicae a massive vessel when I beheld it looked more to be a work of art a massive space going Gothic Cathedral in space. The vessel itself was a treasure, massive in size and great in age. It had suffered issues with it's Warp drive, I and others including some you might know as such As Alexis Makka, Lady Yuuki Kuran, Staren and Septtette. Sarah Rogers a warrior who has since left this region in search of he home and family and a techno wizard named Valentha whose mastered a form of magic fused with technology. The man who hired us was an alien man know as Death Gaze an oddity for that world to be working with mankind but he proved himself." "It seemed to be a normal job we go in we clean it out what we thought were pests. We would have been lucky had it been that but what awaited in the depths of his massive star vessel was a horror from the warp itself. We worked our way into the depths of the ship we found a horror a twisted monster of flesh and machine who had once been one of the vessels Tech-Priests who maintained such vessels as The Callidus Amicae." "What I did not know at the time was these vessels do not just sail they star to reach between worlds they jump into a space that could be argued to be hell itself called the warp, it teams with all manner of horrors known as Daemons and they seek to corrupt, devour and destroy all life, mortal or otherwise for their dark masters. This ship had suffered a breach ding it's last jump and the horror had taken the Tech-priest as its new flesh. We engaged it horrible tendrils, twisted machinery, those of us who could fight at range did do, for this thing seemed to try and twist whatever it came into contact with at close range." "There was thunder of weapons fire the screech of this beast as we battled it in the depths of the ship. Lady Yuuki fought bravely against the beast and was cut in half...falling to its fury. It only served to spur the rest of us on even harder." "Sarah wielded the hammer known as Mjolnir putting it to use as one of the few of us who could risk close combat with the horror, it did not take well one of the finest weapons of the Aesir, we focused or firepower into it Sarah and others cut into it in close combat but for all the firepower for all the might even as we tore the daemon asunder it kept coming until finally in one last moment. Makka moved to use a grapple line to keep it pinned down and I launched a plasma grenade which burned the thing beyond its ability to keep going and that was but a lesser of it's kind more lurk out there to this day seeking the ruin of mankind and all others. The strangest thing though is Lady Yuuki regenerated from the wounds that seemingly killed her..."
Priscilla	Priscilla sits and listens through the answer to the question she'd just asked. Some people are really bad at this, but she is not one of them (and may also be glad to be done talking). Something about the examples seems to continue to add to the air of entertainment she has been faintly projecting for most of the night, though it's difficult to say what exactly it was. "A means of preventing conflict within another man's home, then, so that one may seeketh refuge and accept charity without fear, or else deign to lend another thine generosity without worry of being taken advantage of." Then her expression suddenly turns very, very dark. "Indeed a curse upon he who abuses the home of another he hath been given as his own." With slightly uncharacteristic speed, she brushes it off, leaving it at that when Nobunaga enters. "Well met, Lady Nobunaga." Her eyes flit to the nobbus. "And . . . company. I had wondered if thou wouldst feel ready to attend. I had considered the matter of a gift mineself, however . . ." she just kind of shrugs vaguely in the direction of Gilgamesh. She actually indulges in some of the wine while Theo starts pulling stuff out of his handy dandy belt of adventure crap, moderately interested in a couple of pieces, largely regarding the cylix and darksteel. She has to hold a hand up to shade her eyes from the Gate of Babylon, gleaming with so much treasure that it causes her vertical pupils to contract to lines, kind of overwhelmed and not having been expecting to suddenly deal with that much interior vertigo while seated at this table, no easier to deal with the second time. When he finishes, Priscilla puts her cup down, then looks over the much smaller pile of treasures at Theo, apparently responding to Gilgamesh's question directed at the Planeswalker as much as she is replying to him herself. She says in a flat, frigid, all-too-serious tone: "Thou yet knowest nothing of violence, Sir Morrison." It isn't quiet enough for only him to hear.
Thomas Alva Edison	"Yet it has been moving for over two hundred years." Edison says, "And is the most powerful country in it's world. It does this because it blends other cultures, adding to it's own as it grows. It does not do so by force, it is a land of oppertunity. You claim nothing changes, but it infact does...making sure the will of the people is best represented. Instead of the will of the one. It still allows a healty competition...and in the end those who desire power rise, and those who do not do not." Edison finishes simply. "There are many nuiances, but I fear I could speak them all for another year if you wanted to hear them all."
Nobunaga	"Lady Priscilla," Nobunaga lifts her wine-filled cup in a gentle toast. As she brings the wine to her lips, she gestures flippantly at the Nobbu scurrying around behind her, "Feel free to ignore them. They're inconsequential." A dismissal she casts even as a handful of the little cretins have settled down with Ancient Babylonian Risk That Somehow Isn't Stupid Boring. The warlord meanwhile tastes her wine, eyes closed while she appraises it. With an approving noise, she hums, "Yes, this is quite marvelous. The spread, the setting, yes." The story of the ship somewhat goes over her head. Though Japan does have its own flood myth, the specific Ark legend isn't part of it. This doesn't mean she can't appreciate the history to it. "Mm..." She swirls the wine in her cup, eyes half-lidding to watch the crimson liquid move, "It is a very interesting way to govern a country," she admits to Edison, "Though not one I would personally go for. Mine was a land of Emperors and Shogun. Civilian and Military rule." Her lips part in a grin, "Though-- the Emperor was largely toothless throughout the Sengoku Jidai. Only upon its end did that position obtain strength again. And with it, a stronger and unified Japan." An eye swivels to the catman, "If only I had survived it to be Shogun myself, what a marvelous country I would have built on the ruins of that warring period. Heh..!" The Gate of Babylon opens, its radiants impossible to ignore. Nobunaga's eyes swing toward sit and-- she almost seems to recoil from the brightness. Almost as one might expect an actual demon to recoil from actual displays of divine power. With her free hand, she tugs the brim of her hat down over her eyes, "Yes, marvelous, King of Heroes." No it didn't actually hurt, it just surprised her. Nobody likes getting hit with the brights out of nowhere.
Theo Morrison	Theo looks up at the Gate. It's really hard to describe what he feels when he sees it. He doesn't have the reaction of sudden, almost draconic greed that Gilgamesh seems to. He has, instead, a moment of shock, of awe, and of a keen curiosity that has little to do with the treasures inside and a lot more to do with what it actually is. Theo leans forward in his seat, opening his mouth to say something, but no sound comes out. He just... Just... It closes. Theo composes himself with a deep breath. His poker face is pretty excellent, all things considered. He sits back, closes his eyes for a span of seconds, and then opens them again. He nods, uncertain if he can summon up the right words. Theo reaches for his cup again for lack of something better to do. Talk about the places he's been? Sure. He can do that. He just... Priscilla gets his attention. He looks up at her. Slowly, he puts his cup back on the table, not taking his eyes off of her. The beginnings of a defiant speech bubble up in his throat. He can taste the syllables of spoken proof to counter her claim dancing on his tongue. His jaw aches with the sudden need to move just so, to square off against her and to put on an expression of heroic resolve for those cold eyes to fruitlessly search. He doesn't do any of these things. "I don't think you really want to put that to the test," Theo says quietly. The Planeswalker starts to collect his treasures and trinkets, carefully replacing them in his kit. The rectangular grey box stays where it is at his side, fastened to his belt, lid held tightly shut. Any warrior worth their salt would know that there should be a proper weapon where it rests, left in easy reach, rather than some case for baubles. But there isn't.