[Sephiroth had been sitting lotus style at the base of a massive crystal beneath Lorentia Cave in silent meditation. His astral projection wandered Aldrip, listening to snippets of conversation and watching panicked citizens comment on a food crisis. None if it had been interesting. If Aldrip starved to death over night, Sephiroth would have felt nothing.

But then he heard about an expedition being sent out to a nearby settlement, one occupied by Naga. This, he thought, was interesting. Unfortunately his illusions and astral projections couldn't travel so far from his body. If he wanted to see this new people, it would have to be with his own flesh and blood eyes.

So he has come to Rumpitur with the other travelers. He walks silently around the stone buildings, seemingly lost in thought but always very aware of his surroundings. Sometimes, he notices people tucking away valuables and quietly follows them until he has the opportunity to step out into a path or a street, blocking their way forward.

He eyes them and smiles.]

Find anything?

[The journey back to Aldrip is much more interesting to Sephiroth than the one to Rumpitur. All around him he sees, hears and feels the creaks and moans of the forest in a way simple logic can't explain.

Magic, he thinks to himself. Professor Hojo used to chastise him for his fondness for terms like "magic" and "special powers", arguing that every phenomenon could be explained by science. Sephiroth sees things differently. Magic exists and it is everywhere. He knows this as a creature who, himself, exists beyond the limits of scientific reason.

As such a creature, he is insatiably curious about phenomena he can't easily explain. So he quickly wanders off from the group, vanishing into the darkness of the forest.

It is not enough to see how the forest reacts to his presence, however. He wants to know how it will react to others. People might see illusions in the distance: Dancing lights, humanoid figures, shifting creatures, and children running off into the foliage. Whatever the illusion is, it will quickly lead them to the base of a vast tree where, at first, nothing happens. But are those black feathers drifting down from the branches?]