locked to meridian + ota

[warmare]

[Hayame had plenty to say about this disgraceful farce the moment she had regained consciousness... But she waited. She waited, so that her emotions would be as locked down and as under control as she could manage. Until only harsh anger and the burn of judgement come through- at least, for now.

First, she addresses only Meridian.]

I hope you are proud of yourself.

Those of you who have been too weak to commit properly to this cause, content to let those with drive and will do the winning of Oracles on your and your world's behalf.

Those of you who claim allegiance to Meridian but have been content to play "neutral" and hide like a weak little bug in the shadow of those more powerful than you.

Those of you who could not draw a single line in the sand and loved playing friend or whore too much to break off relations with people working to ensure that the lives of everyone in your world are snuffed out permanently.

Those of you who have refused to shatter the shards of our enemies, whining about the sanctity of a soul, even though that is the only way to kill someone properly in this twisted world.

Mourn that sun goddess for the power she possessed that our faction has lost. Mourn the kindness she showed you, if you so wish. But I will impart a lesson unto you- If someone is kind to everyone, then their kindness means absolutely nothing. That empty-headed fool of a woman had her shard shattered by the very man whose shard she protected, after I and another killed him in the labyrinth of the Harbinger Oracle trial. If she had given that foul thing back to us so that I might crush it beneath my hoof, then she would be alive today.

That is what kindness of that nature will reap you. A disgraceful public execution at the hands of a wizened, corpse-gnawing gaki barely managing the veneer of a man.

If you wish to dedicate yourself further to the actual cause you claim to serve, or if you wish to train and empower yourself, I will gladly help you. It would be my honor.

But if your plan is to continue living the sort of shameful existence that helped allow for the assassination of Springstar's Tribune at his own godsdamned home, then either purge yourself of that treacherous weakness... or I will try to find the time in my days to do it for you.

[Maybe this is where she could stop, take a breath... But she does not. The rest, cold and hateful and roiling with anger, is said to everyone, Zenite and Unharmonized alike.]

To all those who still claim allegiance to Zenith... I will not waste breath trying to convince you of anything at all, let alone now, after what your faction has wrought upon countless innocents. Whether you are a poor thing who would abandon every life in your world simply because you were treated badly, whether you are a pathetic thing who cannot muster the will to hope for anything but that sacred bitch on high and a committee of degenerates making a new world for you to exist in, or whether you are a sick thing who delights in watching worlds burn and people die... I, Hayame of Echigo, do not care, and I will not show mercy to one any more than the other.

Unlike, it seems, the many dishonorable among you, I say this to you plainly and clearly.

I will disable you if I see you step foot in Springstar.

I will hunt down your cornerstones and smash them to pieces.

And I will kill you if you put yourself between me and the possibility of returning to my world and my duty.




... Ah, yes. To those of you who have still not chosen a side, even after seeing what has occurred this moon... My advice to you is to stay Unharmonized, to pick up a hoe, and to go tend crops in Alenroux. You obviously lack the determination required for this conflict... and the people require food. Go on.

If you need a recommendation for a farmer looking for labor, I know plenty. Do you fancy turnips, or buckwheat?

Comments

[warmare]

[Well, one of the most knowledgeable people here who can give their account firsthand... keeping in mind that she is not a magic-person or a particularly clever strategist...

So far, though. She can answer.]

What was he like?

[Whether it is what she considered important or not, now that he is-]

I did not work daily with him- he was the leader of this entire city, and I was but an archery instructor to the Legionary troops. I dealt more directly with General Zaman. But when he spoke to shard-bearers we exchanged words, and he has gifted me at times with role and with rank.

He was, I suppose it would be simplest to say... a good man. He and I disagreed many times about how best to handle Zenith and Highstorm, and to this day I still wish he had been firmer in taking a stand against our enemies... But. He was not a tyrant or a general. He was the Tribune.

[Some people, she thinks, would accuse her of not being able to know why that mattered. But even if she became heated in the moment... She did know. She did.]

His responsibility was the citizens of Springstar, and though he attempted to help the shard-bearers claim Oracles and advance Meridian's cause... It seemed to me that he thought first and foremost of his charges who were alive here, in this world. In that, he seemed devoted. And though he took much slander for our early losses in the Oracle trials, despite it having been nothing to do with any lack of his, he remained that. And never renounced us either. His hope, naive or foolish, as it may have been, was bright.

... He did not deserve to be killed that way, by cowards at his godsdamned door.

[dreamflowers]

[Jade is quiet while Hayame speaks.

[Regretfully, she's reminded of her conversation with Jespar in the undertrain -- about the "qualities that have the tendency to drastically shorten one's life". One could rant and rave about how unfair life is, or just accept that there are actions and there are consequences to those actions, whether they be noble or dishonorable.]

If it's one thing I've learned in life, it's that no good deed goes unpunished. But the same can be said for bad deeds as well -- it's just that some punishments take a little longer to catch up than we'd like.

[She pauses.]

You have my condolences, though. I've... lost a lot of good people recently, too, in our mission to save my world. All the more reason why I wanna know more about this one and the people living in it.

[Because whatever choice she makes, there will no doubt be consequences to follow. Such is the way of war and most things, really.]

[warmare]

[...]

If I have my say, punishment will catch up with his assassin sooner rather than later.

I promised I would stay my hand before displaying my enemy's heads again... But the circumstances have changed.

[... Is she- ?]

If you were already... "saving your world"-

[It is so crazy to her still, the idea that some people were involved in such earthshaking things before coming to this place, but-]

Then you wish to continue doing so, do you not? Keep asking me whatever you require to know that Meridian is the right way of things in this place.

[dreamflowers]

[...Say what now?

[Okay, Jade really isn't one to judge. That kinda shit is pretty commonplace in her world, and her magic specializes in dead people. So. Glass houses and all that rot.]

Can't say I'd blame you if you did.

[And then she just scoffs.]

Yeah, some "world savior" I am...

[What she means by that, she doesn't elaborate. Judging from this woman's earlier speech, she doesn't seem the type to be humored by further self-flagellation. But the truth is, whatever forces brought Jade here could've done better -- just like how it could have chosen a better "Prophetess". For as much as she makes excuses for her inaction during the massacre, she knows there could have been better people who wouldn't have hesitated to step in to help people when the killings began. Jade wasn't like Calia, so noble and self-sacrificing.

[They all could have done better. But what's the point in dwelling on it further? What's dead is dead.]

I guess I mostly wanna know how legitimate you think Meridian's effort to save our worlds really is. I've known my share of assholes who can talk a bloody good talk to rally support, but at the end of the day are only out for their own interests. If you've been at this for as long as I assume you have, I would hope you'd have sussed out some bullshit by now.

[She can't help that she's a skeptic when life has given her plenty of reasons to be one.]

[warmare]

[She really doesn't enjoy the act, but it's supposed to be a deterrent and theSE ZENITES NEED DETERRING.

... And yeah, Hayame does not at all ask the other woman to elaborate. If she was going to, or wanted to, she would have. She is not here to indulge in some sort of pity party, she is here to answer questions.]

"Legitimate".

[The word choice...]

I would not be fighting for a group that I did not have any trust in. The people of Springstar... many are content with their lives in Kenos, but others long to return to their worlds, or are descended from exiles and wish to go to where they came from. Meridian itself is the power of life.

Have you seen yet into your sunbeam bead?

[dreamflowers]

[It's certainly one way of sending a message, that's for sure. Displaying the corpses of your enemies to deter others is a Vyn staple.

[At the mention of the bead, Jade grimaces.]

Not yet. I'm aware of what it does, but...

[Fuck. How to say this?]

Things were not... great, with the people I left behind when I was brought here. That isn't to say I'd abandon them...

["Except you did, didn't you?"]

Just knowing that they still exist is enough for me right now.

[She pauses.]

Guess I'm at a loss for what I can do here. I'm pretty sure that my skills can probably help, I just wanna make sure it's for the right side.

[warmare]

If you choose Meridian... you will know they exist because you will be able to see them. It is not always certain people... I know some who claim they see a certain place, more than person. But it is a window into your world despite.

[Proof! ... Right? Surely there was no way for something or someone to... fake perfect visions of all their worlds and all the people within them acting as they should?]

As for what is "right"- it is not a complicated question.

Which is more right? To save the worlds that are real, and all the souls on them, or abandon them to death or nonexistence in favor of the promise of a "new world" that Zenith promises will somehow be what you desire... while also being what a soul-eating demon or a maniacal madman from the sewers desires.

The answer is remarkably simple.

[dreamflowers]

Where I'm from, planting thoughts, memories, or images into someone's mind is not unheard of. It isn't easy by any stretch, but skilled Arcanists would be able.

[Don't you just love magic, Hayame? It often makes Jade feel like she's already losing her damn mind.

[There's also the fact that the version of Vyn she would see in her bead might not even be the same one she could return to... but she's so not about to explain the Sea of Eventualities to people not even from the same world right now.]

But no, Zenith was never gonna be a factor in my decision. Things are... complicated in my world, but that doesn't give me or anyone the right to simply cut the cord on people's lives simply because they think they know better.

In that regard, I've probably already made my choice not to simply sit on the sidelines for this one. It's just a matter of what to do with it now.

[warmare]

I have heard tale of these spells.

But every single Meridian in this entire city? Every single one of them, replicated perfectly, moving and showing the state of a world, or the day we last left it?

Mine own shows things I was not even present for, what I did not know, and yet there is no sense of lie or manufacture in it. How can magic know what my brother was doing, miles from me? How he spoke to our master, or how many men my master brought in his hunting party?

[She doESN'T BUY IT. That, x The Number of Shard-bearers in Meridian, let alone the citizens of Springstar who had beads inherited from ancestors or friends? NOPE.]

That right is exactly why I say with my entire hearts that Zenith is wrong, and those who follow them are cruel or callous at best. Whether they believe the lies of that Yima woman or not... their attempts at victory condemn us to never even attempt bringing back what could simply be temporarily lost.

I will not forgive it.

So what do you need to know what to do?

[dreamflowers]

Hm. Not too long ago, I visited an entire settlement that was stuck in a shared illusion for several years. Not to say that is the case here, but just saying... with magic, it isn't impossible, either.

[But that's all she says on that matter. Even though it's been a few weeks, Silvergrove is still fresh for her. Chances are it's going to feel that way for a good long while -- you don't fuck up that miserably and just walk it off.]

Either way, I agree. As for what to do... I dunno. I assume there's probably gonna be some retaliation. I'm not a soldier and never had a hand for war, but... I can be useful in other ways.

[Even more useful once she has her magic.]

[warmare]

That is a settlement. This is a city.

[It's literally that easy to her. Because it has to be.]

Magic is not the work of gods. And even the work of gods... Here, gods bleed just as easily as any human. Do not put your trust in your little beliefs about magic and its capabilities.

[She! Hates it!]

As long as you make yourself of use, then I have no issue with you. It is those who proudly crow about their intent to do nothing or to sit on the sidelines who earn my disdain.

So out with what those other ways are, and I will point you at those who are best at bringing you in to the fold.

[dreamflowers]

[Magic is not the work of gods, she says. Jade has to suppress a laugh.]

No, magic is used by frauds who play as gods, and then people spend thousands of years worshipping those frauds who think they know better than everyone else so as to dictate how they live.

Believe me, I am well aware of what magic and so-called "gods" are capable of.

[Maybe it works differently in other worlds, but Jade could hardly consider her beliefs to simply be that -- a belief. Like some god-lamb's faith.]

As for what I can do... These days, I'm an Arcanist myself. [Hence her "little beliefs about magic and its capabilities" are not entirely without merit.] Though if I understand right, my own magic won't be much use until I've committed to Meridian.

[Since Harmonizing with Zenith is completely off the table.]

But I've always been pretty good with a knife, and know how to be discreet as a backup. Infiltration and shit like that.

[warmare]

[Now, see, that! is what she wants to hear when she talks about magic. Good, good, Jade seems to Get It.]

Indeed, if you have abilities, only harmonization will empower them.

But if you are discreet, and not inclined to the front lines...

You could speak with Yuri Leclerc, to begin with.