techalaniani. [cw: dr...ugs...]

[fursuit]

[ It’s about two weeks after the chaos that’s hit Highstorm and Springstar both. The dust has had time to settle and people have started to pick themselves back up. And in that busy time, the Shard-Bearers of Kenos are touched by someone new. It’s a mind that gives the impression of vastness in the way that other gods and similarly supernatural creatures have. There’s dark, fragrant smoke of copal, and the humid heat of a rainforest. It probably feels faintly familiar to some, since there’s just a hint of that warmth that feels similar to a certain sun god(dess)…

But as it focuses, that warmth seems to be coming from a campfire, perhaps oddly. The logs around it offer you a “seat”, whether proverbial or not, and it’s only if you take one that the speak themselves will come into more focus. But the introduction that comes with it is much cooler (in both senses of the word) than the bubbly Quetzalcoatl. ]

Yo.

[ …Is that how the newest god is greeting the masses? Yep. Apparently so. ]

I talked to enough people when Kenos was jerking me around [ no, that was me, the player, ] that Communion is just more efficient. So, for those I’ve met and for those I haven’t, consider this a more formal greeting. You’ve removed my brother Quetzalcoatl and allowed me to descend in his stead.

[ And even though he’s identified Quetzalcoatl as his brother… The smirk in that statement is unmistakable. He’s pleased that Quetzalcoatl is dead. For those that know the mythology of the Aztec pantheon even faintly, this wouldn’t be a surprise at all, since Quetzalcoatl only has one enemy that would be glad to see the feathered serpent fall. ]

Name’s Tezcatlipoca. Tloque nahuaque. [ The Nahuatl is spoken with a sense of power that’s subtle, but still raw, even though there’s no one that would understand it. Still, it conveys the idea well enough—this is no minor god of that pantheon. ] If you know me, great, and if you don’t, well. Met your god Set one of the times I was stoppin’ by, and our whole deal is similar enough. I am conflict, so in the spirit of fairness, I’ve thrown my lot in with Zenith. Can’t have two gods that oversee war and conflict on the same side, yeah?

[ There’s humor in his tone that makes it seem like it’s a joke, but… No. It’s not. That’s a pretty significant part of his rationale for picking Zenith. Thanks Set!/Don’t worry about. ]

Anyways. All that formal shit aside, easy one to follow it all up. Ain’t often that I got a human body to enjoy getting fucked up. So, if you’ve got a preference for weed, hit me up. Workin’ on somethin’ artisanal there, but I wanna know the poisons of preference for the locals. Let me know what you get fucked up on, and I might even make it worth your while.

[ …So. You know. That’s one way to introduce yourself. ]

Comments

[redsoil]

If you want to join Meridian, you will. But, I have no desire to rekindle your world whether you do or do not. It can stay dead. What will be affected is your suffering — it will be as intense as your resistance.

[ He beams, a predatory animal that seems utterly unbothered by where Zenith-aligned want to die. It can be in Kenos, or it can be in the world he will condemn them too. ]

But no, that corruption cannot be resisted. It will take everything you are from you in exchange for power. I have seen it — in fact, one of the Oracles appears to be the result of embracing Zenith entirely. It is just a friendly warning. I would hate a man as vivacious as you to be brainwashed into passivity.

[eightfoldfiend]

[The star burning in the void slowly begins to cool. Yuber tries to hide his wariness but he's never been good at concealing his emotions.]

...What happened to this Oracle?

[redsoil]

I only know of the alleged fate of the Iconoclast. A Shard-Bearer and king who sought to return to his homeland, who embraced Zenith far enough that it twisted his yearning toward satisfying that wish through the lens of another.

[ He states this as fact, not opinion. ]

Meridian Shard-Bearers have been founded twisted into monsters. At least one Zenite is an Oracle. Be circumspect about the depths you would like to go, is all I am saying.

[eightfoldfiend]

What about you?

How much do you intend to embrace the light of Meridian?

[Set is a god, so Yuber assumes his presence must carry a lot of weight.]

[redsoil]

It has my heart no further than my first pledge.

[ Which is not a lie, but is definitely a fey-like twist of words from the T3 Meri. ]

I am deeply invested in the war itself more than the outcome. Provided Zenith's victory does not involve Lady Yima's hand in it at all, I could live with it. But, I also like to win and I can only do that if I devote myself to one side or the other.

[eightfoldfiend]

Well, I am invested in both the war and its outcome! I want to embrace the conflict and watch the destruction then construct my perfect world out of what is left.

[He projects an image across the Communion: A cracked, gray, and barren world. It isn't a desert; nothing lives here and nothing will live here ever again. It is a sterile wasteland.]

See, where I'm from Dharma is consuming everything. Soon, all Chaos will be snuffed out. Who needs a world like that?

I will not allow Zenith to hollow me out but there's far too much at stake for me to let Meridian win the war.

[redsoil]

Oh, do not worry! Like I said, I have no desire to remake your world. It will remain dead and gone. It would even if you were with us, 'cause we let people fuck off to wherever they want!

With the caveat that I am pushing our new leadership to adopt thanks for that by the way: if you fail to recant Zenith or fall on your sword when Meridian does win — I will make sure you go somewhere as equally awful.

[ Declared with the brightest of cheer! ]

This will be fun! I am Set, by the way. God of war and deserts, here to compete.

[eightfoldfiend]

[Yuber resists the urge to snap that nowhere is worse than his world, the world where he was condemned to thousands of years of suffering.

Instead, he responds with nearly equal exuberance:]

They call me Yuber.

[No declaration of godhood despite his oppressive presence, just a name.]

[redsoil]

"Sup", Yuber!!

[ Didn't travel far from home, did you, buddy? ]

We should be seeing an Oracle soon. If there is room to make while fulfilling its criteria, we should have a fight during it!

[eightfoldfiend]

I would enjoy testing the strength of a god.

[Against a god he might even be able to use most of his power, he thinks to himself. Humans have a sad way of dying whenever he does that.]

But what makes you so sure an Oracle is about to appear?

[redsoil]

It happens like clockwork. Whatever this war is meant for does not want us dragging it out over years — which, disappointing.

[ He's actually quite excited to throw himself into battle against someone eager for it; someone who speaks of domains Set, himself, embodies. ]

We have competed for three thus far, with three left. Meridian will take them all in the end, though! Eat that!

[eightfoldfiend]

Sounds to me like the war will drag on regardless, then.

Every Oracle captured by Meridian will be reclaimed by Zenith and on and on it goes.

[He doesn't seem worried about it.]

I just hope the conflict is entertaining.