kenotebook post | ota | tl;dr

[semicharmed]

[ Yep, this is going to everyone–Matt couldn't think of a way to filter to "only folks who might be interested." Written out in full, it takes up multiple pages of the notebook, so he'll parcel it as needed. ]

Apologies for the long message.

This is twofold: I wanted to share the results of surveying native Kenosians re: which Faction's goal they support, and also share some less organized notes on issues that affect all of us.

[ First up, a section entitled SURVEY, with "special thanks to Gavial, Dimitri, and Ryouma for their contributions." The main points are:

Purpose of the survey, which is to see if residents of Kenos express a clear preference for one Faction's goal or the other.

Limitations, which include timespan (a week), number of respondents, and possible biases due to lack of cultural familiarity with Kenos and lack of trust.

A summary of the survey questions, which include things like I enjoy change in my life, the bigger the better and I often think about regrets I have or things/people I've lost.

Results: Answers track perfectly, with city of origin being the determining factor for alignment with Meridian or Zenith. This held true across Alenroux as well, in contrast to Matt's hypothesis that there might be more variance due to geographic dispersal from centers of Faction power. In a direct vote, Meridian would sweep through population of Springstar alone.

Final notes include the following: The divide in answers is so clean that it represents either serious methodological error or an unusually homogeneous population. On earth we referred to a phenomenon of "political polarization" to indicate deep divides. In this case, I would call the polarization more like that of protons and elections–two forces that repel each other on the level of cells and molecules. ]

SHADOWS/OBLIVION
The groundwork for my understanding is: 1) Our worlds were destroyed or eaten by a vast darkness. Forever? I don't know. 2) When Shards are destroyed, that's for good. My world has a concept of matter and energy converting back and forth, with nothing able to be created or permanently destroyed. But the type of death that comes from Shard destruction is fundamentally subtractive. For the sake of simplicity, I'm going to refer to this concept of subtractive death as oblivion (credit for this term to Set).

Portents:

Shard-Bearers have received at least one vision from the Tree of Life about being forcibly ejected from their bodies while something else walks around inside.

I had a dream recently about being hunted.

Maybe less a portent and more a rumor, but a longtime resident of Kenos has stated that these types of shadows (see below, "Phenomena") are a new occurrence.

Phenomena:

Disappearances across Kenos (not all necessarily attributable to shadows or oblivion)

Shadows (and star/moonlight) of unusual properties that include weird size, burning or slashing, mood changes

I was informed about an oracle trial in which dissipated Shard-Bearers were mimicked by shadow beings who utilized their Shards to do so

My own experience/thoughts:

I have memories of running or fleeing from things made out of darkness before Yima brought me here.

Was almost dragged by shadows into Yima's reflecting pool; subsequent conversation revealed people had died that way and the bodies were never recovered (see above, "Phenomena," bullet point 1).

I saw a facsimile of my older sister at the market in Highstorm. She looked, behaved, and sounded exactly like her. I am not the only one.

I've tried some preliminary attempts to scry into the shadows in Springstar, and wasn't able to find out anything before one of them got me pretty good in the chest. (I'm okay.) I'll update if a future attempt is successful.

There are creatures from my own world that mimic familiar voices/faces to lure prey. There are also creatures that require consent before they can pass certain thresholds, such as those of a home.

Tentative conclusions: Something unique and hungry is coming for all of us. I understand things have been set into motion that can't be taken back, but I would urge anyone reading, if at all possible, to put fighting on hold until we figure out what the hell this stuff is and how to combat it. Or else there won't be a winner left at the end of all this.

Failing that, stay safe. Use the buddy system. Bring a durable light when you go out. Please send any of your own experiences, bad dreams, hunches, clarifications, or corrections. I'll update my own notes as needed.

[ ooc: BLESS YOU IF YOU READ THIS WHOLE THING. Feel free to comment with questions, brainstorming, dragging Matt, whatever. Or equally, feel free to just have your character know the things in here, if you want them to! ]

Comments

[a_noble_flame]

[All of this is a touch over Alice's head in a way. She's in no shape or form adept at magic or anything spiritual beyond the idea of a person's "fighting spirit". When she reads about the facsimile of his sister though...]

When I was leaving Cyrus' ceremony I saw a figure across the street from me. I didn't speak to him but it was most definitely Corporal Randel Oland, one of the men in my squad.

[She'd recognize that big hulking frame of his anywhere by now.]

[hauntedking]

...I admit to seeing familiar faces. And I've heard that some people who died and came back in the last Oracle competition reported a sense or dream of being pursued and overtaken by something large and dark. It's... not a good thought, is it?

[ He doesn't like any of this. ]

[alliterating]

...I thought I saw someone I knew. If there is something coming, I guess we're gonna have to fight it.

[ There's the mental impression of a grimace. She's not that much of a scientist or a thinker or an analyzer except for in a few instances. So she settles for something else. ]

Sounds a bit like... honkai, maybe. The thing that's coming for us.

[kaientai]

Wow, good work! This turned out nicely!

[ Ryouma is generally impressed by this sort of organisation because it's not his strength. ]

I've seen people that I know, but they always disappear before I can talk to them, even when they're the ones who come after me first. It's a little frustrating.

[ Among other things, but there's no way he's admitting to any other feelings about it. ]

[escardos]

Oh, that's a great post! You really worked hard to make it easier to understand. If I were to make a few corrections, I'd say add a tl;dr at the end of it.

[ and then there's a pause in the connection, something like a blip in the connection. ]

Oh, also, they're real people. They're just filled with something weird. I wonder if it's also related to the shadows?

[twohand]

Denying that this danger exists is, at the least, idle fancy. At the worst, it is ignorance that will cost our meager numbers greatly.

[ Gently said, but with a backbone of steel and faith. From day one, Drizzt has not flinched from the knowledge that something great destroyed their worlds — and his firm claim that returning was possible, but a suicidal mission he has no intention of supporting. ]

I understand the value in standing together, for there is strength in numbers — but, the question I ask of everyone is... if we cannot fight it, what then?

[faceripper]

[ ew a zenite :/ ]

[ No, luckily Fane does not know this, so he doesn’t have to come hot right out of the gate. However, being a nerd, he does consider just writing back, since that feels a little more nostalgic for him… But he decides against it. He loves writing, but talking is faster.

The space of Fane’s communion is represented uniquely as well—It’s clearly a library of some kind, but there are no paper books on the shelves. It’s all tablets that gleam with teal magic for the glyphs, and all of the bookshelves, the floor, everything, it seems to be impossibly crafted out of fine stone and crystal. It’s a facsimile of his office in the Academy, the place where he felt most comfortable.

And in addition, Fane himself is much more present when Communing than others are. It is, after all, the only place where he can represent himself as he wants to be seen. He seems to be a rather unique variety of elf just from his ears, but his blue skin, the bony protrusions on his face, and his eyes that seem to be made of starlight definitely make him unique, so far as typical depictions go. ]

I have dealt with these shadows quite personally. Destroying them, of course, since they are not terribly strong. I assume that’s why they take the cowardly route of mimicry.

[ He sighs, and waves his hand a bit dismissively, but he’s just putting on airs a bit. It had unsettled him more than he’d like. ]

I was one of the Shard-Bearers that got caught up by it during the Harbinger oracle. Thankfully, Hayame dissipated me before any real damage could be done, but I can confirm it uses the Shard. It’s unpleasant and to be avoided, naturally.