A Truce of Trust

Just note that Rand’s 19, Leanne is 17, Cynthia is about 12, and Wendy’s about 11. So if Cynthia and Wendy are acting like kids…that’s why. Because they are. Also, I will admit that this story just throws you into the fold. I have 30k worth of worldbuilding for ancient Oblivia. Leanne already knows a lot about it. I’m not going to explain a lot about it. You'll need to go to my AO3 profile and hit the Series title (Pokemon Ranger Stuff) and scroll to the top to find "Ancient Oblivia Worldbuilding." I am open to the idea of translations. Please contact me if you want to translate this work. However, I only want translations on sites I've already posted to, so this means they must be posted to AO3, SquidgeWorld Archive, or this site. You must fully attribute me and send me a link.

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Leanne looked out of the window of the plane and grinned widely. It had been a long flight and she pointed down. "Cynthia, Wendy, I see Oblivia!" She could see a few of the larger islands form where she sat. She was so excited. She'd been learning about Oblivia for years at this point under Lucas and Kira. She had wanted to see the region for so long, but getting approval from the Ranger Union had proven difficult. She was under an NDA so as to not talk about a lot of the stuff she saw in Oblivia. Wendy and Cynthia were a bit too young to sign NDAs like that, but they had promised not to share what they'd seen in the region. They all knew the stakes should they reveal the truth to the world about what Oblivia and its history contained. "Aww, lucky! I wish I could see!" Cynthia pouted, folding her arms. Leanne laughed. "You'll see soon enough, Cyn! I promise." They would be landing within the next twenty minutes, so it wasn't like she wouldn't be able to see the islands forever. The ski plane landed and everybody piled out: Leanne, Cynthia, Wendy, and Lucas. The tropical heat hit them immediately and Leanne fanned her face a little bit. Summers in Sinnoh tended to be a bit on the cooler side due to its northern latitude, so stepping from the Sinnoh summer to the Oblivian summer was something else. Still... She was glad to be here. She'd been to Fiore before to meet Lucas' wife, Kira, but it still wasn't as hot in Fiore as it was here in Oblivia. She knew it wasn't too far from Alola, but still... Oblivia was a unique region due to its completely forgotten history. However, she frowned as she spotted somebody. A woman with darker skin dressed in what was essentially a tube top and knee-length skirt. Her dark blue hair was pulled back into a ponytail, her features severe and a hand resting on the hilt of a sword. Leanne froze as she realised this woman meant them harm. "Who are you? I've never seen you in Oblivia before." She bore a strange accent, the same one that Kira had. She had to be one of the legendaries that had survived the various cataclysms that had befallen Oblivia in its long history. "Uh..." Leanne shifted onto her back foot and Lucas came up. "N-No, it's all right Beventi! These girls are with me! They're not a threat!" The woman looked at Lucas, her red eyes studying him, but she gave a terse nod. "Professor Franks... They are with you?" "Leanne is more or less my apprentice in Oblivian studies, Cynthia is her little sister, and Wendy... Well, you already know." He placed a hand on his granddaughter's head. The green-haired girl puffed her cheeks out. Thankfully, that was enough to get Beventi to relax. Her hand dropped from her sword hilt and she stretched a bit. Well, that was a terrifying first encounter for their arrival in the region. "An apprentice you say?" Beventi approached and Leanne tensed. The woman's red eyes bored into her blue ones and Leanne held her head high despite her terror, not blinking due to not wanting to appear weak. Kira had told her about Beventi before as had Lucas. The shiny Suicune was a fighter and had refused to let go of her ancient ways. All of them had. But still... Beventi looked ready to take their heads off. After a few moments of studying, Beventi blinked and pulled back, giving a nod to Leanne. "She has a good heart and a sharp mind. She will be welcome here as long as she keeps our secrets." "I've already signed the NDA that prevents me from saying anything. Plus, Kira's told me enough about all of this for me to know that I can't say anything. Who knows what would happen if it got out Oblivia had magic?" The NDAs were standard to anybody entering the region for the first time. Generally, only adults were allowed into the region due to that. Sometimes younger people moved here and had kids, so the kids learned the importance of protecting Oblivia's secrets from a young age. The fact Cynthia had been allowed in was shocking since she was too young to sign anything like that legally. "Good. You understand the need for our secrets. Professor Franks has chosen a good apprentice." She paused. "Would you like a tour of Bragivol?" Leanne tilted her head and Beventi sighed. "Renbow is its current name." These legendaries really were stuck in the past... Leanne was fluent in the language thanks to Kira and Lucas, but even so, it was her first time using it with the legendaries. She didn't know the language as inside and out to use it daily or understand every location they said. Kira always used the islands' modern names when talking about them, so she hadn't had the chance to pair them with their more ancient names. "I would appreciate that." Leanne smiled warmly. Beventi nodded and started walking. They picked up their bags and followed her. She started pointing out several locations that had obviously existed in the past, though almost nothing remained in its previous location. Only a well-trodden dirt path lay beneath their feet with thick, dense forest around them. Eventually, though, they reached a small village. "This is Cocona Village where you'll be staying. If you would like, I can bring my siblings and other family members around this evening after you're settled." Okay, she seemed pretty hospitable now. At least the threat of having her head hacked off seemed to have faded into the distance. "I would love that." She wanted to get to know the legendaries. They would be wellsprings of information once Leanne got to know them. Though from what Lucas had said, they tended to be a bit standoffish for people investigating Oblivia's history. He hadn't gotten much out of them despite his years of spending the summers there while on digs. Beventi bowed to them then transformed into a shiny Suicune, disappearing within a few moments as she headed off at top speed. The people of Cocona didn't even react, continuing on as they went about their daily routines. Cynthia and Leanne grinned at each other. Oh, this was going to be a fun stay. They had heard so much about Oblivia that they were incredibly excited to see what the region had to offer. Though they weren't too excited about the heat. Thankfully, once they entered the house, air conditioning greeted them and Leanne sighed blissfully. "This feels so much nicer than outside." Cynthia nodded. "Yeah, it's a lot better! Let's go get unpacked, Li!" Leanne smiled as her little sister grabbed her hand and they headed to where the rooms were located. None of them were particularly large, but the pair of girls chose their respective rooms then started to unpack. It took Leanne a little while to fully unpack, but once she had, the sun was noticeably lower on the horizon. There was still time in the day, but they would definitely have limited hours to explore if they wanted. She could only imagine what would happen if they got lost in the dense rainforests at night. All she could hope would be that Pereli or one of the other legendaries would find them. A knock came on Leanne's door and she answered, smiling when she saw Lucas. "Oh, hello! Is it time for dinner?" THe time change was really going to screw with her as would the equal hours of daylight. Oblivia was tropical, so the days and nights would be roughly equal. Then again, she'd been in Fiore for the past two months with Professor Franks, so she would be a bit more used to it than she otherwise would be. At least she wasn't going straight from Sinnoh to Oblivia. Fiore was a pretty good layover. Though she'd be going from Oblivia to Sinnoh at the end of the month. "Yes. The legendaries brought some food with them--samplings of ancient Oblivian food." Lucas smiled a bit nervously and Leanne's eyes widened. Kira had tried to make ancient Oblivian food for them before, but she had never gotten far enough due to the lack of native ingredients. It was amazing to think she'd get to taste the authentic dishes themselves. "They want us to eat outside with them." "Okay!" Thankfully, her entire wardrobe was nothing but shorts and t-shirts (some tank tops) so she wouldn't be overly hot. She followed Lucas out of the house and the legendaries had set up a veritable feast for the newcomers. A few neighbors walked over and the legendaries waved them over. There were seven noticeable legendaries in the crowd. Their relatively uniform outfits of knee-length skirts and tops that only covered their breasts (and equivalents, sometimes with shoulder straps) stood out pretty starkly among the modern people. The colors matched their natural Pokemon forms aside from one she couldn't quite pick out. He was shorter and looked a lot younger than the others, but he still moved with a purpose that defied his seeming tender age. Leanne walked over, amazed to see all the different dishes that they'd brought. "Wow... How long have you guys been cooking?" This couldn't have been done in the time since Leanne and company had arrived. They must have been cooking all day. It was all vegetarian based which was good because she didn't eat meat... She had heard the ancient Oblivians were fishers so they relied heavily on Water types for their diet. But she wouldn't have been keen to eat Pokemon. Eggs and stuff, fine, but the actual bodies of Pokemon? No way. A man with blond hair and red eyes approached, offering a flashy bow to him. "We've been cooking all day. It's traditional for us to welcome researchers with a showing of what Oblivia has to offer." He smiled at them warmly and Leanne found herself smiling a little bit despite herself. She didn't exactly have clear images of all the legendaries but his outfit was cream, black, and yellow... "Would you happen to be Hideron?" The colors matched Raikou especially with the cream colors. From her understanding, Kabosul, Ludeos, and Nubehis were still under the effects of the sleep magic that Ravios had put them under to keep the ancient fortress from rising again. A pity. She would've loved to pick their brains to see what all they would be willing to tell her. Though, from what Lucas said, getting the legendaries' trust was an uphill battle... All of them were horribly traumatised from losing Oblivia that they didn't like to speak about it. The man smiled and nodded. "Yes I am. It's a pleasure to meet you, Leanne. Professor Franks has been an...interesting man to get to know. I look forward to fostering a relationship with you as well. Please, eat to your heart's content. We can speak of matters of the past in the coming weeks." He motioned to the food and Leanne nodded. That was fair enough. They had been cooking all day, so she didn't want the food to go to waste. It wasn't really often that a lot of researchers were let into Oblivia due to the legendaries. Their nature as incredibly rare Pokemon meant they had to be protected, so only a handful of people were allowed into the region. Not to mention what would happen if it got out that magic existed in the world... With that, Leanne excused herself and started building a plate for herself. She was really looking forward to this. The way Kira described ancient Oblivian food... Oh, she had always wanted to try it! After she made her plate, though, she looked around for a place to sit. The legendaries had broken off into groups--the three beasts no doubt, what she assumed were Pereli and Taerin, then two more more. She walked over to the two unknowns and smiled at them. "Would you mind if I sat with you?" She offered a hesitant smile. Getting to know them on a personal level was going to be hard. She wasn't exactly sure how to treat legendaries... They weren't human but were they that different? She really had no idea. The man smiled and nodded. "Sure." He patted the spot next to him and Leanne settled down. She couldn't really place his species simply by looking at him. His hair was white with reddish-brown eyes. His outfit was generic blue and white which didn't exactly tell her who he was. And the woman's outfit next to him was completely white too. Her hair was white and her eyes were amber. That didn't exactly tell her what species either of them were. The man had a cane next to him though... Oh. That told her who he was. "So you're Sunivel and Luseli I take it?" Kira had told her that 'Lady Luseli' was a pure white Ho-oh which...made sense since she was the patron of White magic. It was an unusual color scheme for the legendary Pokemon as far as she was aware. But then again, it wasn't like there had been many sightings of Ho-oh in recent years. Like all legendaries, they had basically faded into nothing more than myths--there was a reason they were called legendaries, after all. She barely knew of any sightings of legendary Pokmeon in recent years outside of Oblivia where they were a fact of life. The man nodded and smiled. The woman gave a small nod, smoothing out her long, white hair. "Yes... It's strange for me to be out, but I figured I would welcome you." Luseli's voice was quiet and her eyes didn't quite meet Leanne's. Even her voice sounded...broken. Her body language was extremely withdrawn and she looked around nervously as people milled about. It wasn't even that many people. Maybe twenty? Compared to somewhere like Hearthome City, this was just a drop in a bucket. But the people were mingling and obviously having fun which was good. The people of the Ranger regions were incredibly friendly and welcoming, so she was glad for that… "Well, it's nice to meet you, Luseli." Leanne paused for a moment. "If I remember correctly, you administer the Rainbow Trials, right?" She was trying not to be too aggressive in anything, but establish who everybody was. It would give her a good lay of the land for the legendaries, so to speak. She would be interacting with them a lot, but she wasn't sure if she'd ever really get any answers from them about Oblivian history... Lucas had been trying for a long time, but most of his answers came from Kira. Getting the legendaries to speak was going to be a task...if she could even do it. She was only seventeen. What could she possibly do? Luseli gave a small nod. "Yeah, I do." Present tense? But Oblivia had been dead for twelve hundred years. That...was more than a little bit disconcerting. "What do you do?" "I'm a student, high school. Do you know what that means?" As far as Leanne was aware, there were no schools in Oblivia. Children that were born here were homeschooled, though that was difficult without any sort of internet access. Oblivia was truly cut off from the world in almost every sense. The only communications could go through the radio tower and that was mostly reserved for official communications through the Ranger Union. Luseli shook her head. "We've been back in Oblivia for about five hundred years. We've watched life return to it. We don't know much of the modern world. Five hundred years isn't very long but it's long enough that we don't understand the strange technologies that you use. All we know is to avoid those round devices you use to capture Pokemon." She motioned to the Pokeballs on Leanne's belt. "We would hate to get captured like that... Are you a trainer?" "By licensing, yes. I have a few Pokmeon. You can have three if you aren't registered as a trainer. Anybody with a birth certificate in a trainer region can have three. But if you want more or certain species like Luxray, you have to go through the certification process. But I'm not a trainer in the sense of wanting to capture and train them for battle. I'll leave that to other people." Yeah, she just didn't have any interest in battling or anything like that. She didn't even have an interest in Contests. She knew that going on a journey was a rite of passage for so many kids, but it just wasn't who she was personally. She was more interested in the past. Kids could postpone graduation to go on a journey for a year or two, but she didn't want to do that. She was aiming to get her doctorate. She didn't want to put her education on hiatus for any reason. She wanted to graduate on time and go to college to earn her degree as as quickly as possible. She would need endorsement from the Ranger Union to work in Oblivia, but she already had Lucas' endorsement. That would hopefully be enough for Chairperson Erma. If she could befriend the legendaries, that would be an even greater qualification than becoming a doctor. "It's so strange to think that humans subjugate Pokemon like that now... We always lived in harmony in Oblivia and Almia while we were there." Luseli sighed, resting a cheek in her hand. Leanne frowned. "It's not any sort of subjugation. I know the Ranger regions and trainer regions have much different mindsets, but it's the furthest thing from subjugation. A lot of trainers do get their teams through battle, sure, but keep in mind that there's a cultural understanding between humans and Pokemon there that the human is going to guide the Pokmeon's personal growth and bring out their greatest potential. There are plenty of scientific studies that prove that trainer-raised Pokemon are many times stronger than wild ones." She wasn't offended by this at least... By staying with Lucas, she had encountered how Ranger-region people looked down on trainers as brutes that only tortured Pokemon for their own amusement. She didn't even battle, but people still painted her as somebody that didn't care about the Pokmeon in her care at all. Nothing could've been further from the truth... Luseli still didn't look convinced. Leanne did pause before letting her Pokmeon out. A Glameow, a Misdreavous, a Chansey, Buneary. "These are my companions." She smiled and Luseli looked at the Chansey. "This is Alma. I've had her since she was a Happiny." Alma smiled happily and hugged Leanne. Leanne smiled broadly and petted her head. "She was my second Pokemon I captured. Well, actually, I rescued her when she'd fallen into a river and needed help. I was about...eight?" That had been dangerous... Diving into a deep, rushing river in the cold of September in Sinnoh. She had been so stupid. She could've gotten hypothermia and died. Her parents hadn't cared at all. She still despised her biological parents... She was so glad that she'd been adopted by Caroline. "Really now? I thought all of this training stuff was only about how you didn't care for the Pokmeon. For a Happiny to shift forms..." She rubbed the Chansey's head, getting a happy coo out of the Pokemon. "Ah, the modern term for it is evolution. The evolve into other species." She wasn't sure if anybody had explained that to them or what... She didn't want them to think she thought them stupid. She was just trying to help bring them up to speed with at least that much. They did speak fairly fluent Unovian, though. She was having a perfectly good conversation without needing to resort to ancient Oblivian. Though...that was gonna be a trial if she ever decided to breach that. She knew she spoke with an accent since Kira had commented on all of them speaking with heavy accents. She did her best. She knew Sinnohian, of course, but she mostly used Unovian since it was the most common language around the world. "I have heard that term before; it's just hard to switch over when I spend most of my time speaking to my family." Luseli glanced around at the handful of legendaries in different forms of Oblivian dress. Yeah, Leanne could imagine it would be hard to deal with if she rarely spoke this language... She still lived her life dealing with the Oblivian Rainbow Trials from Leanne's understanding... Leanne really got the impression that these legendaries hadn't been able to move on from their past as literal deities from what Lucas said. Leanne nodded. "I can imagine. But yeah, evolution is the term we use nowadays. Alma was one of my first companions." She smiled at Luseli, patting the Chansey's head. Getting a Happiny in the first place was a rarity, so to evolve it was a feat on its own. She didn't regret it though. The poor Pokemon would've died had she not stepped in and rescued her. Or some other predator like a Staraptor flown over. Those birds were known for picking off anything they saw as weak. They could be loyal companions but they were definitely pretty merciless as far as predating went. "Do you have plans to evolve her into a Blissey?" Luseli still had her eyes on the Chansey. Leanne shrugged. "If she wants to evolve, that's up to her. I'm not going to force it." She had heard tales of people forcing their Pokemon to evolve. It was terrible when they did that. Unfortunately, not everybody had the best interests of Poekmon in their hearts. Some people just wanted the renown and power that came with being able to train such powerful animals. But for species that wouldn't accept slights like Luxray or Starpator... Well. It usually ended pretty poorly for them. Plenty of Pokmeon didn't accept people pushing them around. But a more peaceful Pokemon like the Chansey line was prone to be abused. Cissy, her Glameow, stretched and plopped down into her lap. The cat yawned then closed her eyes and fell asleep. Leanne smiled. "This is Cissy. She's a big, well, sissy. That's how she got her name. Like is usual for her line, she's pretty finicky and snooty." She did love the cat, but it could be so frustrating to deal with sometimes. She was such a drama queen and diva that demanded only the best respect. She really didn't accept any sort of slights. Leanne had learned that the hard way. "That's...impressive. The line doesn't warm up to just anybody." Luseli sounded thoroughly impressed. Leanne smiled a bit more. Yeah, that was very true. "Once again, I saved her from a bad situation. She was what we call an alley cat. Are you familiar with the term at all?" She didn't want to look down on the legendaries. But it was hard to know if they understood all of the Unovan colloquialisms or not. Alley cat wasn't something that had probably ever existed in ancient Oblivian. From the way it sounded, the cities had never quite been laid out in a grid like modern cities were... Luseli shook her head. "No, I'm not." Leanne explained what exactly it meant and how it related to how cities were set up. "So yeah, she was an urban Pokemon living off trash and scraps and stuff... She was being bullied by other Glameow and a Purugly. I started feeding her until the other clan of cats came up and started bullying her for the food I was giving her. I gave her a choice as to if she wanted to join me or not. For her, though, it wasn't much of a choice." She petted the Glameow's back. She wasn't trying to push the cat into saying yes. It had just been a case of the Pokemon seeing one terrible choice then having a way out of an absolutely awful situation. When faced with continuing to be bullied or having steady food and such, it really wasn't a choice in the slightest. "You seem to be a truly kind person." Luseli smiled. That...was high praise coming from an Oblivian legendary from what Lucas and Kira had told her. Especially Luseli. The woman was isolated and refused to allow anybody into her life. Leanne definitely wouldn't argue with it. She would accept the praise for what it was. So she dipped her head and thanked the Ho-oh for her compliment. Luseli shook her head. "THere's no need to thank me; it's just an observation. Considering you evolved a Chansey from a Happiny, it speaks highly to your character. And you aren't being pushy about wanting to talk about ancient Oblivia unlike the man over there." Her eyes fell on Lucas. Oh... "I mean... I'll want to one day, but that should be on your terms." Forcing people to talk about things they didn't want to talk about was not a good idea. She could clearly see that these people were traumatised from their past. She had heard about Sabios razing the region with the Sky Fortress and how it had forced the region to be evacuated and so many people had been lost. She still didn't understand how people could do such malicious acts. How could one person live with a guilt-free conscience over having killed hundreds, possibly thousands of people? She really didn't understand. People like that made no sense to her. It was awful. Luseli nodded and shifted a bit, almost no doubt uncomfortable by Leanne's honest declaration. She wouldn't push them to talk if they didn't want to though... Kira had offered a lot on the history and culture of ancient Oblivia as far as she'd been attempting to tell them. She was glad... Though Lucas was limited due to her own limited knowledge on things. She had only studied in the Thunder Temple, so it wasn't like she understood a lot of the intricacies of the other Elements of magic that existed. White magic and Black magic were particularly elusive. She hoped that she'd be able to gain Luseli and Sunivel's trust to learn about the two ephemeral Elements. It was then that a young man walked over, eyes a striking green and hair a vibrant orange. He offered a polite bow. "I'm Taerin. It's a pleasure to meet you. I was told your name is Leanne Fewell?" Leanned blinked but nodded. "Yes, I am. It's nice to meet you as well, Taerin." She offered him a polite bow of her head. However, all he did was bow to her, then turned into a Latios then zoomed away into the waning sunset. It was surprising to see just how quick he was. Narinda, his sister, would be equally as fast. But from what little she knew of the pair, they tended to not interact with others much. Lucas had said he rarely ever saw the pair. They preferred to just be left alone. Sunivel cleared his throat and looked at Leanne. "Don't pay him or Narinda too much mind. They're young when compared to the rest of us. They were..." He paused for a moment, obviously looking for something to translate. "I think the term would be translated into 'eternal children.' They failed their early tests and were treated as children as far as Oblivia was concerned. They did help run the messenger cult, but they were still treated as children." Leanne frowned. "That's...horrible." She wasn't sure how old Taerin and Narinda were, but they were obviously very hurt by how Oblivia had treated them if they still retreated despite no trace of the ancient society existing in the modern day. Most people had been assimilated into Almian and Fioran society following the razing. "I don't understand how there can be discrimination like that." The modern world really had no biases like that anymore. People could exist as they wanted to. As long as no laws were being broken, people were free to do and exist as they pleased. They had come a long way in the 1200 or so years since Oblivia had been destroyed. Sunivel nodded. "Yeah. Obrevia was a place of massive discrimination. Even Saveria couldn't escape it and she was still considered a goddess." He shook his head. She really couldn't believe that a legendary would be treated with disrespect in any shape, way, or form especially in a place as devout as ancient Oblivia had been. But history could change things... She knew vaguely of the Civil Flame but it hadn't been a topic of focus for Kira at any point in her studies. It was just used as justification for the hatred of Fire magic users. "While I am interested in it from a historical perspective...is it bad to say I'm glad it doesn't still exist?" The massive scale of suffering caused by the razing Sabios had committed was awful. She wished so many people hadn't had to die in such an awful way. The legendaries hadn't much talked about it, but they had given enough detail to Lucas to establish what the events around the Hero of Oblivia were like. He had gotten just enough details to understand the basics of that era in the region's history. Sunivel glanced at Luseli whose gaze dropped. "No, not entirely. We recognised the awfulness for what it was. But still... It was our home. It's who we were created to guide." He sighed and shook his head. "It probably is for the best that it's gone..." To hea the legendaries admit to that... That was crazy. She couldn't believe it. Then again, they had been around since the beginning of the region's creation. They had guided it and the people. They had had a hand in the discrimination that had pervaded the region's history. So they were all partially responsible. What must it be like to live with that sort of guilt? "I can't imagine how hard it must've been to watch all of that play out in real time." She hoped she wasn't being insensitive. They had watched things crumble bit by bit as human lifetimes passed and things got corrupted bit by bit. It was insane to think just how different the world might be had ancient Oblivia not fallen. But with systems that corrupt...she could almost say she wasn't surprised that someone had eventually gotten fed up and destroyed those systems... She didn't agree with it, but she could see the why and the how. Sunivel nodded and looked up at the sky plaintively. "Yeah. It was hard to watch. It ate Ludeos alive. If it weren't for that damnable magic, he'd be the best person to talk to. We don't really like talking about it too much, but he's the one that's most willing to speak. He would probably be your best resource... Though...there are old text libraries in their roosts." Leanne perked up at that. Text libraries? She hadn't expected there to be any texts from the nation still intact. It had been entirely and completely razed. Only old ruins remained from the plasma canons that the Sky Fortress had had. "I didn't realise there were repositories of ancient Oblivian records. I thought they would've all been destroyed." There had apparently been very little left of the region after Sabios had razed it. She wondered why Sunivel and Luseli were talking to her so openly about things. She doubted Lucas had ever gotten so much information out of them. They had only just met. Was there something special about her? She didn't really understand... Sunivel nodded. "We have a great deal of records in the Rainbow Temple alone...let alone what's stashed away in Ludeos', Kabosul's, and Nubehis' roosts. It's late now, but if you can commandeer a boat, we can head to the Rainbow Temple or maybe Nubehis' roost. I know how to access all of the special record halls. However, Kabosul's is pretty off limits and Ludeos' hard to reach due to having to climb the mountain. Unless you know what you're doing, it's not safe for humans to climb. And plus...hard for me anyway." He picked up the cane sitting next to him. Yeah. She had never been mountain climbing before and the mountain on Sophian Island was pretty tall. She could easily get altitude sickness without proper training or equipment. "Yeah, I'll avoid Ludeos' roost." Though it would be cool to get a glimpse of the Articuno... However, it wasn't worth the risk or anything like that. She was only seventeen; she couldn't do anything in regards to mountain climbing or anything like that. She had heard there were caves inside the mountain, but still... She didn't have anything to deal with the cold, snowy slopes. She could tolerate a fair depth of cold due to living in Sinnoh, but she hadn't brought any winter equipment or clothing since Oblivia was as about as tropical a region as one could get. "We have plenty of records in the Rainbow Temple. Though it's still a bit of a pain to get to without my magic. I'll have to come meet you down at the Aqua Resort." Wow. She couldn't believe they were allowing her into the most holy sanctum that existed in Oblivia. She had done nothing yet, but they were deciding to trust her anyway. She doubted even Lucas had been allowed into the Rainbow Temple. It was the one place remaining with any sort of Oblivian ruins or culture there. She would respect it as much as she possibly could. This might be the only chance she got in order to see it. "Thank you for trusting me to go there. I won't let you down." Or she hoped she wouldn't. She was going to geek out over being allowed to see Oblivian documents. There were none left as far as anybody had known. But it did make sense that there were staches in places that were hard to get to and would be protected... She could only imagine what knowledge they held and how many thousands of years they went back... Her entire body tingled with nt. Sunivel smiled, though Luseli looked ill at ease. "...Do you understand ancient Oblivian?" he asked. "Uh, the last incarnation of the language that existed. I know there had to have been more ancient forms, but I only understand the form that Kira knows which wasn't too long before... Well." She didn't want to bring up those bad memories for the legendaries. They had already had it hard enough. They didn't need to be reminded of Sabios on a day that was obviously supposed to be a party. He frowned a bit as he nodded. "Ah, yes, there were more ancient forms of the language. The language was radically changed and altered after a war that nearly wiped out the entire region. I was just wondering." He said something to Luseli in what was clearly an even more ancient form of ancient Oblivian than the one she was familiar with. It sounded similar, but she heard sounds that didn't exist in the language she was familiar with. She wondered if they would teach her that more ancient form of the language or not... It was hard to know. They were still strangers, after all. Leanned yawned. The sun had long sunk below the horizon and people had mostly left to their houses. Only a couple of the legendaries remained. "Anyway, I should probably head to bed. It was nice talking to you." She stood up and bowed. However, Sunivel stood up. "By the way, dunno if they told you this or not, but make sure you grab one of the radios from your house if you plan on venturing out too far. You're fine in the villages, but once you leave them, have a radio on you. Luseli and I can protect you plenty well, but it's still a good idea to have one just in case we do need the Rangers for anything." Rangers.. Right. This region was so small that they only had about a dozen Rangers stationed here. She was surprised she hadn't seen any of them yet. But with there being so few of them, it did make sense. She hoped that she'd meet some of them soon. Leanne blinked and pulled out her cell. "Why can't I just use this?" Even the most rural areas in Sinnoh had some sort of cell service. Lucas had said there was limited cell service in Oblivia but she hadn't expected there to be none. Sunivel shook his head. "Ain't none of that here. Once you come to Oblivia, you have to accept the fact that most modern amenities are gone. You get basic electricity and air conditioning, but grocery stores and everything like that? Nope. Radio is the most complex tech we have here. Which is just fine by us. Plus... Think about what would happen if there was expansive cell service or internet here. I've heard about this 'social media' stuff where you share your whole lives for the world to see." Leanne frowned at that and nodded. "Yeah, you are right about that. I don't really use it myself but..." Yeah. If there was expansive internet here, the existence of the legendaries and magic would get out to the wider world in a way that would be really bad for the region. Part of the reason for Oblivia being so hard to get into was that it was a nature reserve first and foremost. Only a few thousand people were allowed to live there and under pretty stringent circumstances. It was mostly older people that had no real relatives remaining and such... There were some kids and younger couples there, but it really was just mostly older people. It was a retirement place, especially the Aqua Resort. He smiled. "You're a smart girl. I hope you use that well." He walked over and patted her head. It felt like he was treating her like a child, but he was literally an immortal with thousands of years under his belt. She really was going to be a child to him no matter how old she got. He looked mid-thirties at worst, but he had lived and seen so very much history... They were some of the only people that knew of ancient Oblivia and had seen it through its heyday...and its destruction. "I plan on becoming a researcher with a focus on Oblivia. Granted...I do know a lot of the restrictions on what I can and can't say to the public." She was severely limited so it would mean a small career but she didn't mind. She wanted to dedicate her life to this mysterious place and see what treasures it held. Tomorrow would definitely be an interesting trip... She'd have to go over to Sophian Island when they were on Renbow but she didn't mind. It'd just be a several hour boat trip... "You have a good heart. I can see it. We'll meet you out here tomorrow--too late for us to fly back or take a boat back. Sleep well." He helped Luseli up and, with that done, he walked off. Leanne stared after them for several moments until she decided to head back to the house. She got ready for bed and laid down, exhausted by the exceedingly long air trip. They'd had to go from Sinnoh to Johto to Alola to Oblivia over several days. It had been a very, very long trip.