kenoscomm | LOCKED TO MERIDIAN

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LOCKED TO MERIDIAN

[Claude's communion prescence has always been like a summer breeze; warm, easygoing, albeit difficult to read before it moves on. Now it has more of a brittle, bitter quality, like a looming dust-cloud he has to hold at a distance. There's no going back from this point when he knows things will only escalate from here, and so now seems like an important time to address his fellow Meri.]

The fight for the next Oracle will be on us soon. The Tribune may have been slain, but he entrusted the future of the worlds to us. Though he won't be able to help us see this through, we can still fight for him, and all the others we've lost along the way. We can fight for Springstar... and we can fight for Quetzalcoatl.

[There's a brief pause on this point. Her death deserves respect and acknowledgement, and she may not be the last to meet such a fate before the fighting is over.]

...We'll fight for your homes, too. After all, our worlds aren't that different, right? They might be flawed in their own ways, and there might even be some of you who would rather stay here when this is done. But every world and the life on it is precious, and it beats whatever phony world Yima and her followers come up with.

Speaking of Yima: I've discussed this with a few people already, but I suspect she's still alive. When the Blight almost destroyed Kenos, somehow she was still around. When I asked her about it, she said she wasn't bound by time like a normal person is. She can exist in different times and different places simultaneously; I don't know how it works, but maybe she even foresaw this attempt on her life before it even happened.

That said, it's just speculation, so we might as well play dumb and behave towards Zenith as if we're convinced she's dead for now. It'll be easier for us that way.

[Others have probably arrived at a similar conclusion, perhaps people among Zenith's ranks too, but it bears saying, particularly for those newly arrived to the conflict.]

Anyway, enough about her -- how about we use this opportunity for a little strategy get-together? We have a few new faces around, so feel free to introduce yourself and your capabilities.

For those of us who have been around longer, feel free to toss in an introduction too. More importantly, share what you know about Zenith and its current capabilities, in combat or otherwise. Any insight into their current thinking would be useful right now, too. What's their morale like? We know by now that some of them really hate our guts, and I wonder how much their desire for revenge is going to play into the next battle...

[He sounds casual, almost flippant, but there's a serious point in there he's sure he doesn't need to overstate: the more loyal Zenites are going to have some serious motivation in the next battle to get back at them, whether they believe Yima is gone or not.]

Let's not let our own judgement be clouded by revenge, even if we've sustained losses. We need to go into this with a clear head, looking toward the future.

Oh-- on that note, Hayame wants to speak with some of you about some further strategising either before or after the Oracle. Sorry that's a little vague, but I'm sure she'll talk to you about it properly when the time comes. For now, let's just focus on one thing at a time.

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That's... interesting.

[And convenient.]

I've been told of past generations of Shard-Bearers and that we're not the first ones to come here, but admittedly don't know much more than that. It's been... a lot to catch up on.

And? Do you not feel a little scorned, for putting so much effort in only for it to make no difference?

[ Yuri can feel responsible for someone else, but Set never will. Their actions are their own, and thus the consequences for those actions are, as well. It doesn't matter what demons they're fighting — one cannot overlook what they do, just because one feels bad for them. ]

You can try to save him, I do not care. I simply think his actions will demand a high price whether he comes back to us or stays, as they impacted our entire Faction. Because if Yima is alive, I am going to hold him responsible for his role in that.

Oh.

[ Fane was wondering if this was going anywhere beyond simply curiosity, so he's surprised, but pleasantly so. ]

Well. So long as it is not an overly dangerous spell, we can simply experiment and see what happens. I would appreciate another method of being able to heal myself beyond my stock of poisons. Considering the way these Oracles happen, it hardly seems like I'd be able to take my stocks with me, after all.

Eating, no, but sleeping, yes. Not nearly as much as I did before, but I do still tire. The mind still needs to rest, I suppose.

[ He explains it in a scholarly kind of way, since at least when it's talked about like this, it's something a bit interesting rather than his greatest insecurity. He can add distance to it. But he's much happier to switch to schools of magic, since that's much less, well. Traumatic. ]

Hm. I've not heard of any of them, admittedly, but at the very least, you'll hear no complaints for me. Sourcery is not legal in Rivellon either. Hmph. To put it lightly. The Magisters would see all Sourcerers simply executed. Barbarians. [ He mutters the insult to himself, then continues ] Well, in any case, if you are more used to fighting by yourself, that would be a good enough match, I think. I would like to learn more of your magic, but I'm quick on my feet in a fight, so if we do not have the time, that shouldn't be a problem.

It is equal in strength to a minor healing spell, [he confirms.] If you are otherwise in good health, and consider yourself at least somewhat sturdy, I do not think the potential harm would be threatening.

[Even if Fane is a weedy magic user, surely a spell called inflict light wounds isn't going to take him out. It shouldn't be dangerous for anyone who's advanced beyond roughly level two.]

Though I do not know if I would be able to teach it to you. All of the spells I learned at home are prayers.

What good is winning if we discard the parts of ourselves we treasure? What good winning if I no longer recognize who I have become or if I become that person I swore to leave behind? I will not do that, Set.

[ And Dimitri, too, has that tinge of insult. Of having something, some vital part of him being dragged through the mud. ]

And the weight falls entirely on his shoulders, does it? He must pay for any perceived failure?

There's quite a lot. I don't think I even entirely understand it myself.

It does! We all pay for our actions, why should he be sheltered from the consequences? Because you like him? Because you pity him?

[ He snaps, baring his teeth before drawing up, back. An animal rearing. ]

Maybe you can hold onto what parts of yourself you treasure. Maybe you can find satisfaction in maintaining some oath to people who will never be able to hold you to it, if you do not win for them. I will never half-ass my position in this war, because my world is far more important to me than myself!

[Now that they are "alone", pulled aside into the space they share, where sun and sand mingle with rock and snow...]

Are you sworn to secrecy, on what it is?

[She wonders. If it was the same thing she sensed, in that tunnel in the Iconoclast Oracle when she had held his shard in her hand. When he had held hers, that day when the pollen was in the air, and she had weakly thought, even if he were a Zenite... finally, someone understood...

She'd had to throw it away, beneath that glowing sun. But still-

Amos knows about his son, he says. But so did other people, didn't they? Maybe they had not seen the depths of it, or the details, but just the level of knowing he existed? The sense of her furrows in confusion.]

- And?

[It's not like his respect could be won just by knowing he was a father... (She thinks of him that way. A father. Blood or deception or not.)]

I am not, but. It is a complex thing to untangle, even to a friend's ears.

[ Slowly, Set finds his way to the edge of their join. To the place where desert sands become frosted mountain, and he sits there. Fingers finding the ends of his hair to comb at the ends. They're perfect, as ever. He feels off, hesitant, though. ]

Children are what Amos holds higher than anything else, even Yima. In essence, we agreed — I told him, that above all else, I was with Meridian because I truly believe Yima is a threat to my son. He promised to protect him from her.

[ It's hard, for some reason, to say this to Hayame. In a way, their relationship with Amos has nearly completely exchanged itself between them. ]

[Despite all he's experienced here, his aura is very bright and positive! Maybe because he finally made a decision after all those weeks of not knowing what to do. Kind of like an excitable puppy, really.]

Umu! I am Amagi Hiiro, now one of your fellow Meridian! I look forward to working together with everyone in attaining our collective goal.

I do not have much to offer, but if anyone wishes to learn combat, please let me know. I am trained in the art ot Amaterasu Ookami Style. It is a martial art of my village, but since I am the only one left, it would be worth teaching it to others.

[And there's melancholy there, because he doesn't know if he will ever get to see his village again, but just in case...]

Hmm... I remember meeting Gen-san in the battlefield. It does feel like this is an apt description of him.

[Though, he did help Hiiro, but the powers he had was unnerving given his ability to keep monsters at bay. His uneasiness seeps through.]

Have you ever fought against him?

And you think I treasure my people any less?

[ Dimitri's response has that cold chill of Faerghus - an icy anger with the power of a storm behind it. Darkening clouds and swirling winds. ]

If I did not, would I be here?

Not particularly, no. I may be the wrong man for the job, honestly. It's just that I can't help trying.

[ His words come with the air of a shrug, though they're far from casual. Yuri simply knows how impractical his desire to save someone who's given up is, in the face of the fate of apparently all of existence. ]

But I won't try to absolve a man of the choices he's made. We have to carry the weight of our actions and their consequences, whether we regret them or not.

[ Yuri "I was offered clemency and refused" Leclerc won't fight Set on that count. Yima is the witch who ordered the slaughter of innocent non-combatants for nothing more than a diversion, and he's sure she survived simply because it'd be too easy for them all had she not. ]

Destroying souls...

[He doesn't like the fact that this was even something people were doing. He's too new to really feel loyalty to that part of the cause.]

At the current state we are in, how likely is it that people will continuing attempting that?

She did not seem as dangerous when I spoke to her.

[Then again, she was also suffering the effects of Yima's disappearance.]

She seems knowledgable about medicines though, or at least, ones she has made. You say she is a magic user?

[Even if Hayame intends for taking Alenroux to go so quickly that the residents' lives won't be overly disrupted, Liem knows there is room for complications to arise in any plan, especially one as large as this. He hopes for everyone's sake that she finds the success she seeks.]

Then, if you are successful, I can provide that assurance. I made myself familiar with the communities there after Springstar set up a presence on the island initially, and I still have my notes.

But surely I am not the only one you have extended this request to. I know I am not the only one in Meridian with experience in governance.

[... He sits. There is a moment when she stands, as if she plans just to loom over him until her demands are answered. But she sits- well, lays down. Her fingers itch to brush her violence into his hair in offering, like they always used, to but...

They find the ends of her own hair, instead. The ends are even, now, courtesy Yuri's styling, but... even with the growth of time and Discord the length is so paltry still, just barely past her shoulders. What is she supposed to do with this... ? What is their new method supposed to be... ?]

... He might do that.

[So it is the same. That sense will be obvious to Set. That Hayame knew he valued that most, if not how.]

Is he who you will entrust Anubis' shard, too, then? If Zenith wins.

[It fills her with hate, just saying those words. "If Zenith wins"-- Since that ceremony, that heat... the very idea makes her skin crawl, urging to reject it even as a possibility.]

I think we cannot do both. We cannot be invested in our importance and that of our worlds. Something has to give, and I would choose myself — I have before. I did exactly what you refuse to, long ago.

[ His tone drops, not into ice but into the long, narrow chokehold that always makes him breathless with frustration and despair. That turns him further from goodness and virtue, because nobody will compromise themselves to the extent he will ( he so believes ).

also he doesnt want sebastian sniffing around this vulnerability help, ]

I will never hold wishes for myself higher than that of my world's existence.

[There is so much room for complication. But if she... If she becomes more than just a warrior, if she takes the council of others, if she plans--]

I will request the aid of others for their guidance on strategy, and magics, and how to keep Zenith out and prevent sabotage or efforts to undermine us, like what happened previously, but when it comes to this task...

You are the only one.

You are a Decurion, and you have been in Alenroux from the beginning, as I have. The people know you there. You are respected. Even if others have experience ruling... Dimitri is tainted as I am, having worked publicly with the Legionary. Claude is my- I cannot appoint my lover.

And I trust you.

[That is the most important one. So why would she ask anyone else?]

Has anyone seen him out in the day? If he stays in Kowloon, he would be safe... But he was revived by whoever stole his Shard from that idiot goddess, and how could he have made it from the Tree to all that scheming and shattering without ever seeing a sun ray?

[The idea that some power hungry maniac could just... let himself be bit and then magically somehow become a being more powerful than a human, and then, what? Somehow avoid any negative consequences or weaknesses?

It makes her sick.]

Makes sense.

[Or at least it does to her. It probably shouldn't for most people, but... well, walking skeletons isn't entirely unusual where she's from, though Lost Ones don't necessarily talk.

[Still, she can pick up the vibe when he talks about magic. Much as Jade's curious to know what the heck happened for him to end up that way, even she possesses enough awareness not to pry. At least this time.]

The Middlerealm of my country was much the same way -- there, all magic was forbidden, not just a specific kind. And the Holy Order would cut down just about anyone with magical talent who didn't agree to their narrow-minded methods of how their skills should be used. It's all very messy.

[That is to say, she gets it.]

But if it'll help for you to know... Hm.

Sinistra basically covers the schools of Entropy and Psionics. Entropy, like I said earlier, has a bit in common with necromancy, but also conjuration and death. Psionics focuses more on the mind and psychic energies, dreams and the like. And Phasmalism... To put it simply, it's a discipline that focuses on soul magic.

You can probably see why these are illegal. At least... I can. They're not exactly the kinda magic people are drawn to for their ethical applications.

[But being able to shoot screaming balls of green death bolts is so cool, though.]

[ The sudden switch to a private conversation makes Dimitri pause - and some of the anger seems to drain out of their mental space. ]

...Set, I've walked that road. I've thrown it all away for the sake of bloody vengeance and pain. I... I know that it might seem like the only way forward. But it isn't, I promise you. We can fight this war without turning ourselves into hollow shells of ourselves.

[ Because it's Dimitri, there is the mental impression of a hand reaching forward. ]

No. It takes a village, after all. There are two Zenites, but more Meridian whom know of him — you keep me steady.

[ Maybe it is a little nice, to be able to speak frankly with her. To be honest in a way he usually reserves for Liem, because he can discuss matters without — well, without feeling hard-pressed to ensure they are palatable. To her, or others! Not just her. ( Her opinion matters more though. ) ]

Anubis is my world, Hayame. I stand with Meridian because he believes in me; that I will atone, and come home to him. That we will start over. Do you understand how precarious those words are? If he had never asked me to come home... I would be with Zenith.

[ Interpreting his child's wish was what truly tethered him, and it feels liberating and horrifying to finally admit that to her. It almost feels like he'd built everything between them on a lie ( on unstable ground, just like his sands ). But, he is a devout Meridian. He has faltered but continued his path, always. ]

I wish I could find the words to explain "why" but, I have no reason to doubt Amos's sincerity toward my son's wellbeing.

Dimitri.

[ It's a nice gesture. Maybe to someone else, it would be what they need. Set, on the other hand, cannot accept that offering — not only has he long since lost the right to, it would mar the reputation and position he's built for himself. ]

I was made this way. My decisions were destined, as much as they were my choices — and even if it means I continue to be that evil? I would rather do that, than find myself looking back at my world... regretting not compromising my comfort and dreams for that which I hold dear.

I have been making my peace with that role since it was forced on me.

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LOCKED TO MERIDIAN

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