kenoscomm | open | an alenroux press release

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open | an alenroux press release

[A couple weeks after the conclusion of the Exalt Oracle trial, a communion message goes out to all Kenos’s shard-bearers — at a brisk mid-morning hour for Springstar residents, and evening for those night owls in Highstorm. Surely an agreeable enough time for all, yes? The voice will be familiar enough to anyone who listened in on the ambassador talk a Kenos month ago; it’s Liem, ~~mayor of Alenroux~~ Meridian’s resident straight man.]

Greetings, everyone. I have some updates to share regarding efforts to make Alenroux fully and safely inhabitable, which I hope you will be pleased to hear.

Last month, prior to the events surrounding the Oracle, a contingent of Springstar military overseen by several shard-bearers launched a multi-pronged expedition north into Alenroux’s forests, in order to locate the source of the monsters that continue to infest the woods. While I’m sure those of you who frequent Alenroux will have noticed that the flow of especially dangerous, augmented creatures mostly died off after the dismantling of Aetós’s underground facility, we have not been able to expunge the general monster population from the forest despite ongoing efforts, so this was an attempt to remedy that.

These expeditionary forces succeeded in locating three separate cornerstones and portals that were previously disgorging monsters. At this time we think it likely that they were connected to the timestream in some way that allowed creatures from other worlds to come through, but the portals themselves proved extremely hazardous to life attempting to breach from this side. All three have now been destroyed, and while we cannot say with certainty that there are no further portals out there, we are optimistic that this will allow the danger to those living in Alenroux to be further reduced by the joint forces still stationed there.

If you have further questions, you may direct them to me, or to Hayame, Akua Sahelian, Keitaro Miura, Gray, Byleth Eisner, Link, Kim Dokja, or Dee. [He means D.]

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Ah, well, I will offer my congratulations, at least. Politics aside, I am sure it is of the benefit to all for Alenroux to be a safer place.

[ Unsurprisingly, Sebastian... does not exactly care about the overall efforts made here. They're something he understands are important to most, and it is indeed an important bargaining chip when it comes to politics, but it's something he's pointedly stayed out of. Since his nature is very much public, he knew any attempts to bargain for it would have rung as very obviously false. So. It's best left to other Zenites.

However, when it comes to Aetós, he's considerably more interested. He still can't figure out just what that fellow (gender neutral) is up to, and thus it's a bit annoying to him. So that portion is more what he focuses on. ]

Though, I must ask. "Extremely hazardous to life"? How do you mean?

[Liem is willing to bet that Sebastian doesn't actually care at all about how safe or prosperous Alenroux is, but that's fine. At least he's polite.

Anyway, Liem's about to make Hayame even more mad with him by just answering Sebastian's question like it's a normal thing to do.]

Well... I didn't experience it firsthand, but some members of our expedition passed partially into the portals, before withdrawing again.

[He's not saying who. If they want to come forward and spill the beans, that's their prerogative.]

There was a rather immediate and intense vitality-draining effect, as if the body part passing the portal's threshold was aging rapidly. This, combined with the time distortion surrounding the portals themselves, is part of what makes me think they were connected to the timestream, though admittedly that subschool of magic is completely outside my own expertise.

[ There's a feeling of interest, the Communion equivalent of a "huh, weird" ]

A logical conclusion and the one I would come to as well, for what it is worth, though I have no expertise with such a thing either... How strange. And unfortunate, I imagine.

[ He has to assume that's not great for the body, though that's also well outside of what's possible where he's from. ]

How did they fare with such an effect overall?

[It is weird, yes...]

The effect did not seem to progress beyond the parts of the body that passed the portals' threshold, at least during our journey out of the forest. The healer my expedition had with us was not able to treat the ailment, but perhaps such a thing is possible now that the expeditions have returned to civilization. I have no more current knowledge than that.

[He sure hopes Link's withered hand is doing better now!]

I would at least hope that is the case. I assume this is all more of Aetós's doing, what with all the mess with the Iconoclast Oracle, but if he can do such damage that healing does not work on, well...

[ He trails off with a sigh, since that is genuinely concerning to him, but he also just. Doesn't like Aetós, very genuinely. The only solution he can see in this case if healing doesn't work is quite drastic, so therefore best to be avoided. ]

In any case, thank you for sharing this information. I hope I shall not come across any such portals, but if I do, I shall endeavor for anyone I am with to keep their hands to themselves.

It may be their doing. I'm not actually sure.

The magic that we encountered during our explorations of Aetós's facility was of a different signature than that coming from the portal my team found. There were no traces of Meridian or Zenith to be found in the workings. The links between the portals and the cornerstones do suggest that they were created intentionally, but I would not confidently say by whom.

...Really.

[ A rhetorical "really", clearly, but it throws a wrench into the theory that Sebastian had been building up. He'd simply assumed, considering Aetós's use of magic that manipulated time itself and predilection for the monstrous, but perhaps not? So far as he was aware, Meridian or Zenith was required for any ability here, so... Hm. ]

How strange, then. Have you heard of any other cases where something... magical, I suppose, does not bear the markers of the factions? It is the first I am hearing of it, at least.

I have not. In my attempts to understand the magic of this world, I have never yet come across any other example of such a thing, personally or in writing.

[So... where could this magic have come from? He couldn't begin to guess.]

The magic of my home, of course, was not aligned to Zenith or Meridian either. Perhaps the lack of such signatures is related to the portals' connection with other realities. Or perhaps not. Either way, it certainly suggests something strange about their provenance.

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cutlery - 2023-09-24 16:33 (UTC) - Expand

[D's familiarly soft, level voice comes in a bit after this.]

The stream of times we saw were different. One was the future and one was the past.

Fascinating. It is something I have no experience with, so do pardon me for perhaps a simple question... But what was it like?

Reliving a memory, only it had been altered slightly.

...Altered? How do you mean?

[ Somewhere out in the ether, Ciel can take satisfaction in knowing there is at least one thing that totally baffles Sebastian and he doesn't have any good grip on. Which is to say, after a moment and a little "ah" of recognition as he realizes what it sounds like he might be asking, he elaborates: ]

You needn't say any specifics if you do not wish to. It is all a rather odd concept to me, so I am trying to wrap my head around it all, so to speak.

[Ciel would take immense satisfaction in Sebastian feeling a bit stupid, yes. A SMALL VICTORY FOR HIM!!

Unfortunately, no matter how cautious D is about slinging information around, he is still very much a nerd at heart, so he doesn't mind the bit of open discussion.]

Energy on the other side passed through the shard. The experience was more like a memory of home, except a small detail had been different than what really happened. Passing through the portal did age my hand.

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cutlery - 2023-09-24 16:34 (UTC) - Expand

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damnpire - 2023-09-25 16:55 (UTC) - Expand

The congratulations of a demon are not needed here.

Begone.

[Is Liem not actively talking to him? She doesn't give af!!!]

Well, seeing as they have already been given, I would say it is too late for that.

[ Why do you have to be such a hater, gosh!!! Though he’s not actually bothered by her harshness at all, naturally. ]

May I not even commend people for a job well done? That is quite sensitive of you.

Commendations have no value when they are given insincerely. They become what may as well be mockery by their very existence.

So swallow them, and begone.

Oh, how cruel. What makes you think my praise is insincere?

[ You can practically hear the smirk in his voice, but that’s because he’s trying to get a rise out of her. His praise is sincere in the sense that he respects good work, and at least Liem had deigned to share useful information. What’s not to praise? But he’ll also gladly make it seem insincere to be a bully, so. ]

I did not allocate the time for an entire series of lectures in my schedule today.

You know why it is.

[Because he is a demon, and he has practically admitted he does not care at all what becomes of any of them, of their worlds, of anything as long as he has his fun. So the words of someone with no real investment in the cause, with no real care for the stakes... It's-]

So take your trash and go. I will not repeat myself.

I will not.

[ Blunt! It's in fact far blunter than he normally is, since he's feeling rather confident when it comes to Hayame. Wonder why! ]

I have my questions, and so long as at least some Meri see fit to answer them, I shall remain. If that displeases you, perhaps it is you who should "leave".

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warmare - 2023-09-19 03:07 (UTC) - Expand

[ A soft laugh. ]

I am sure you can guess, dear. Think of it as a... hazardous one-way trip.

At least that is what I gleaned from observing the traces of magic that lingered upon it.

[ Familiar magic, though she does not say that. She has observed this before. ]

Well... To some extent, but not perfectly. I will be the first to admit that my imagination is often lacking, and especially so with magic. I do not really understand it, so I find it difficult to predict.

[ He can be honest about that, at least! The fact that he doesn't have a good understanding of magic doesn't give much away. It might even be expected for a demon. ]

Did they seem to be simply for bringing foreign creatures to Alenroux?

[ It is to be expected, and yet. She certainly does pack that away. Sorry Sebastian (not sorry) 💖 ]

I do not think there is a simply that could be applied here. That seems to be what they were used for, yes, however...

[ She hesitates, to think of how much to share. ]

I do not think the creator of these portals would be so short-sighted as to create something so limited.

[ Her vision, to her, says that there are deeper purposes, left untapped. Then again, she would not expect senpai to simply do one thing. Her estimation of their creator is quite high. ]

Perhaps... Were they well guarded?

[ Since in his mind, being guarded would definitely support the idea that they were indeed a more lucrative project. But he's still very much out of his depth here. Ironically, he's better at piecing together very concrete, mundane things more than the supernatural. The former are very predictable, after all. ]

Ah, and since my conversation with Mr. Talbott is making me second guess my own supposition, I must ask—Who is their creator, do you think?

Quite so. We found ourselves stuck in a loop, where our steps were repeated, over and over, and yet over again.

We had to find the key to unraveling the magical trap before we could even find it.

[ Though, her amusement holds, when she says: ] It's obviously Aetós. I would know the signature of their magic anywhere, by now.

Ah... That does indeed sound like him.

[ don't mind the misgendering he's victorian and doesn't know better, ]

Well, if that is the case, I would be inclined to agree. Simply from our little... excursion to the Scorching Isles a second time, I confess that their motives are confusing to me. [ Even though Sebastian has actually met them in person, this is still perfectly true. It's why he's so interested, after all. ] Well, not that you need the warning, I am sure, but I would stay aware, if I were you. I imagine that losing three of those portals is hardly something that will be taken lightly.