locked to zenith

[bakedapple]

[ Link's mental space feels like being outside, so depending on where you are, you might not realize that someone has started Communion with you. Since joining the Zenith, the landscape of Link's mind has gone from idyllic, sunny forests to icy, overcast mountains. A frigid wind blows against your face, carrying the scent of firewood and meat roasting over an open flame. The diminutive Hylian is not sitting by the fire, but standing at the edge of a rocky ledge, his back turned. ]

There's going to be another Oracle soon. I can feel it. The rest of you can feel it too, right? That... pulling feeling.

[ He sighs. ]

If we lose this one, it's over. The Meridian isn't going to go easy on us. I know them... I know how badly they want to win. To them, the stakes couldn't be higher.

So let's talk. About what we're going to be up against, and... well, planning ahead isn't really something we can do, but at least we can warn each other of the dangers that individual Meri pose.

And I... I want to say something, too.

[ He sits down where he stands, his feet hanging off the cliff. There's a sense that he knows this isn't going to go over well, but it's important enough to him to say it anyway. ]

Killing the other guy before they kill you is what war is. That's normal. But Kenos is different. Death doesn't work the way it should here. We don't die permanently. You can neutralize someone threatening you by just dissipating them. There's nothing to gain by destroying their soul after you're no longer in danger.

So, I don't think any of us should shatter anyone ever again.

If you claim someone's Shard, you should protect it. If you feel that you can't do that, give it to someone else.

...I'm not stupid. I know a lot of you aren't gonna agree to this. And the Meris probably won't either. I'm sure they want revenge for what happened to Quetzalcoatl, and those of you who lost the Shards Yima gave you probably aren't feeling very merciful right now either...

But if we don't come to some kinda agreement now, that's going to become normal. Things are gonna get really bad. I don't want that. So... can we talk about it, at least?

Comments

[semicharmed]

[ All right, Matt's still not the best at concealing his feelings and thoughts over Communion. But when he has a little time to prepare, he's found he can meditate and submerge certain topics to the point that they won't arise spontaneously. So maybe you clocked his mental presence for a moment, only to find it gone on closer inspection. He's back now, though! And he's ready to not discuss:

Sebastian's collar and potential implications thereof

What Dimitri told him about Rin sending him magic spyware

The extent of his negative feelings about Yima

The memories and emotions he gleaned from Silco in the alley

That should do it. ]

For the record, I agree about destroying Shards. Especially if it's really true that destroying them has a fundamentally subtractive effect. Like, even if you have no sentimentality about the preciousness of life or anything, I'd still say it's a bad idea. Kinda seems like doing oblivion's work for it.

I just don't think we can afford to lose souls at this point.

Also, I'm interested in chasing down a lead about the Oracles. What have people learned about them, apart from "they possess and/or influence people during sadistic tests"?

[bakedapple]

I don't think we really know anything about the Oracles. Asking the locals doesn't get you anywhere, and the contests so far have been about winning them, not learning about them...

They do seem to have... identities, if that's the right word? They each ask us to do specific things for them. That's what makes each one different, and why it's so impossible to prepare or plan ahead.

[semicharmed]

Identities, [ Matt seizes on. He spends a moment fretting about whether Florence or Kathova will be able to overhear this conversation, or whether Link will tell them about it himself. He tries to chart a narrow, but honest path. ] Yeah, that's exactly what I'm wondering about--if they have distinct identities, or personhood. If there's something in them that could still be reached.

My understanding is there's something called an effigy, and that's not actually the Oracle per se? But I'm wondering if I got close enough, if I could run some kind of magical scan and get a glimpse of their deal.

[bakedapple]

There's an Effigy in Highstorm. Zenith won the Iconoclast Oracle, so its Effigy is sitting by Highstorm's Tree, near the Manor.

The two that Meridian have won, they're also around the Tree in Springstar... but you're going to have a much more difficult time traveling to see those now.

[semicharmed]

Ah--yeah, I'd guess that's true. [ A frown. Matt's so focused on the words he wants to use (and not use) that he's kind of forgotten to come across as embodied via Communion, so the sense of frowning is more of a vibe. ] Hell, if it were me, I'd put up some kind of ward or something against Zenith energy ... keep us from getting too close.

Okay, but the effigy-- [ Of the Iconoclast Oracle. The same one Set mentioned. ] --is the Oracle in there? Or does it visit, like a god or a spirit might visit a dedicated shrine?

[bakedapple]

I really don't know. We don't even know what the Oracles are, exactly. Or what it means to claim them... or where the Effigies even come from.

[ There's a reason a lot of the Shard-Bearers who have been here for a long time have given up on trying to find out what's really going on. Even if you could try devoting yourself to unraveling Kenos' secrets... The Oracles come anyway, for the two sides to fight over. ]

[semicharmed]

Sure, [ Matt says immediately, a hint of sheepishness permeating his mental presence. ] Yeah, that makes sense, given how much we don't know about this whole conflict in general.

[ Something he continues to view as deliberate, and potentially sinister. ]

I appreciate the pointers. Honestly, you're already saving me a lot of false starts.

[bakedapple]

[ It's clear from the ambience of Link's Communion that he has an exhausted, numb, and mostly hopeless attitude about their situation in Kenos, but hearing this, he smiles weakly at Matt. ]

I'm glad. I'm not very good at figuring out stuff like that... I'm not good with magic, or dealing with people... but I wanna support the people who are. You're our only hope if we want to try to crack those mysteries.

[youngprodigy]

I don't believe there's been anything to learn about them. Not really.

They have enough awareness to pass judgement, to decide who "wins" in their eyes. Each Oracle so far has been tied to an Aspect, so I'd be surprised if there are any that aren't.

Unless something changes, it's wisest to assume learning more about them is impossible.

[And after hesitation long enough to indicate he's quite uncomfortable.]

...and I agree. About destroying Shards. It's a bad idea for many, many reasons. We can't stoop to that.

[Again.]

ciiiiid!

[semicharmed]

[ Okay Cid, yeah, yeah, he totally hears you about the Oracles. Nothing to learn, not wise.

Buuuuut-- ]

Actually, it's the Aspect thing that has me wondering. The Aspect angle combined with some evidence of personality. [ There's a bit of fuzziness in Matt's thoughts, as he tries to figure out in real time what to filter out and what to share. ] I can't imagine I'd learn anything by chatting with it, but there are magical techniques I know to read something's mind, or its nature. Learn its history.

[ But if this bad idea doesn't pan out, don't worry, he has at least three more in the works. Anyway! ]

There's a lot of reasons not to destroy Shards, [ he agrees. ] A bunch of which I'm sure I don't even know yet. I know I kinda skipped over all the moral ones here, but that's just because--

People on both sides of this thing seem to have different moral codes than I do, sometimes.

it's been a while!!

[youngprodigy]

I suppose it's worth the attempt. At worst, you learn nothing, and we're in the same position as we were before.

[After all, it's become increasingly apparently that both sides have been intentionally kept in the dark. The looming predator is just the most apparently one.]

People are far, far too quick to jump to murder as the solution.

[Not surprises here from his earlier discomfort, but he hates it.]

From a numbers game, the odds are already stacked against us. Any newcomer is going to hear the news, and go with the side that didn't slaughter a dissipated person, furthering the numbers against us.

:D

[semicharmed]

[ Matt appreciates the clarification of Cid's views. He'd clocked his discomfort, so he hadn't planned to push too hard, but there's something of a relieved psychic sigh at the idea that people are being too quick to jump to murder.

(Also, he's totally taking Cid's lack of condemnation as license to blaze ahead on his dubious Oracle experiments, and that is not Cid's fault.) ]

And the side that committed war crimes, [ he adds uneasily. ] I mean, again, everybody's moral codes are different, but where I come from targeting civilians would have one thousand percent gotten you dragged to an international court.

I know Zenith wasn't the first to destroy Shards, though. To be totally fair.

\o/

[youngprodigy]

...Aye, that's true. I'm sure the defectors want to ignore that little fact.

Even before that, there has been evidence that Meridian has the power to wipe souls from shards.

[Which is utterly terrifying.]

They go on to "gift" the wiped shards, from what I understand.

Minimizing civilian causalities should go without saying, but they're always the first targets. There's no real international court where I am from, though the Grand Eorzean Alliance would likely make for a fearsome bloc.

[semicharmed]

[ To be fair, Matt's oversimplifying the efficacy of international justice where he comes from. It's just one more thing he'd change if he could start the world over again--if he could be certain that Zenith's path was defensible, morally speaking.

However, more urgent than clarifying any of that: ]

What? [ he says. ] So what happens to the soul inside under those circumstances? Does it move on, or is it like--

Gone?

[youngprodigy]

I... I don't know.

There wasn't a lot of information on what happens to the shards.

[Because surely Meridian never wanted Zenith to find out to begin with. Though he has no doubt Zenith has done similar unspeakable things.]

This is all beyond me. Before I was in Kenos, I was an engineer. Matters of the soul aren't exactly something I've given much thought to, prior to having a shard.

[settingup]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure you ain't actually gonna hear that many of us against you on this one.

[semicharmed]

[ Oh no, now Matt feels like he overcorrected to only speak to the people who don't value life. That's such an unfair thing to do. ]

I'm getting that sense. [ An attitude of apology radiates through his Communion. ] Maybe the people who are pro-permanently-killing are just louder than the rest of us.

[fursuit]

Well, yeah. Can’t get louder than Silco’s apparent psycho killer rant.

[ hi, he’s butting in… This also sounds like he’s complimenting Silco, though ]

[semicharmed]

[ There's a glimmer of surprise, followed by an undeniably warm: ]

Hi, Tezcatlipoca.

[ Silco's psycho killer rant was distinctly not cute. But Tezca's cool, so Matt will let the tone slide. ]

[fursuit]

Hey there yourself.

[ There’s a laugh in his tone that makes this sound a little bit flirty!

…But then he dives right back into the topic at hand, so. Mood killer. ]

But nah, I don’t think wantin’ to crush the Shards is all that popular of an opinion. Hell, even I don’t approve of it. [ Which makes sense in his role as a psychopomp, but as the god of conflict… ] But doesn’t mean people are gonna stop, though. Tactically speaking? Right thing to do.

[semicharmed]

That depends on what your end goal is.

[ Siiiigh. Fine, he'll do wargames stuff with you. But it's clear from Matt's psychic presence that he doesn't find this nearly as fun as flirting. ]

Let's say some enterprising Zenith person shatters every last Meridian Shard. Great, no more competition, very tactical. And then say they're ready to create a new world, only there's a huge ravening void in the way, and the only or most effective way to defeat it is with Zenith and Meridian's combined energies.

[settingup]

They're definitely pretty noisy when they wanna start goin', that's for sure. And I guess to be fair there's some of us here that ain't necessarily kill happy, but'll do it if they think they gotta. I just don't think we gotta all that often, you know?

[semicharmed]

I'm with you one hundred percent, [ Matt answers firmly. A bit more thoughtfully, he adds, ] I mean, I'm not here to say be totally pacifistic in all circumstances. That'd be way too prescriptive.

[ Also, he recently tried to set someone on fire during a conflict, so. Who among us? ]

[settingup]

[ Atsumu certainly doesn't have room to criticize a little rough play as someone who indirectly, but knowingly, helped with an assassination. ]

Well yeah, I ain't sayin' we roll over for them either. Just that was play smarter in ways that won't make them wanna off us when they already have bigger numbers.

[semicharmed]

[ Matt chooses to believe that Amos acted alone, despite the reams of evidence to the contrary. He doesn't trust his Zenith cohort as a group, but when individual members seem nice and reasonable ... clearly they're fine, they're blameless, He Pretends He Does Not See It. ]

Yeah, [ he agrees. ] Um, in principle, definitely agreed. In practice ...

I don't really have a track record where de-escalation's concerned. Back home I was in school, and not even for international relations or politics.

... You wouldn't happen to be a diplomat or anything, would you?