LOCKED TO MERIDIAN

[leicesters]

[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.

Comments

THE LIST

[hauntedking]

While I have been reluctant to speak of or contemplate turning this into a war to the death, I no longer think it is possible to win this fight and restore what has been lost without grappling against those who hold ideals utterly opposed to our own. No matter if they have good reasons for them or not...

[ There's a moment of silence and thoughtful regret. ]

I have had to kill before and in this case... some of the individuals serving Zenith I believe are too dangerous to be allowed to continue as they are. While I believe shattering a shard, especially here, is the equivalent of killing... in war we must be prepared to kill. Especially if the ideals our opponents cling to lead them to a barren and fruitless place.

There are several among Zenith who should be shattered if you find yourself capable of doing so - whether because they are too dangerous to be allowed to oppose us or because there is no compromise or peace possible with them.

[ As he lists names, indistinct mental images filter through the bond. Although probably clear enough to make these people recognizable. ]

Amos. He is utterly dedicated to Zenith and has no compunction about killing.

Gen. He is... lost in his own misery and willing to take it out on everyone around him. Likewise dedicated to the Zenith cause.

Sebastian. A rather dangerous demon who has no compunction about inflicting pain and harm on others.

Silco. A egotistical madman - there is little more to be said about him. He publicly shattered the shard of one of our own only a few weeks ago.

These four come to my mind most strongly... and I would rather avoid shattering others unless it can absolutely be avoided or unless they prove themselves utterly intractable to reason.

[a_noble_flame]

[What a heavy thought, particularly for Amos. Not that she knows him intimately of course but that wounded heart of his ... a cycle that just keeps repeating itself. Gen ... well, she's not quite sure what to make of him.]

Understood.

[hauntedking]

Thank you. I'm sorry to have to make such a list, but...

[ He shakes his head in that fuzzy mental space. ]

Perhaps it was inevitable.

[a_noble_flame]

[There's a sense of grim understanding. She doesn't offer him the comforting shoulder pat she might her troops but --]

Death is an inevitability, whether by the blade, age or illness. At times justice even calls for it, though I have rarely enjoyed seeing it.

[That said, she adds:]

If anyone is unable to crush their Shards in the end then come for me. I will.

[She will bear the sins as she wishes to bear the weight of justice for others.]

[clockpunk]

...I spoke to Amos. There's still some kind of understanding in there, but it's like a switch gets flipped every time he hesitates even a little.

[ their conversation hadn't been exactly pleasant, but it was enlightening. ]

Weirded me out, because it felt like reasoning with him was somethin' that could be done, but it got blocked out.

[hauntedking]

Yes. It's unfortunate, because there is someone who might be reasoned with there... but not when it comes to any of this.

[damnpire]

Amos is a man with a background in taking orders. He does not really question them.

He values personal freedom, and he isn't unkind, but he flourishes with leadership. It's easy for Yima to use someone like him.

[escardos]

Yima is important to him.

[ therefore, ]

It’ll be impossible to convince him otherwise.

[ and that’s just how things are. there’s no reason to waste time and energy on that, flat thinks. ]

[fishfearme]

Perhaps it is time to put together an assassination pack for the more dangerous Zenites...

[hauntedking]

Perhaps. We could dedicate specific teams to hunting them in the Oracle...

[redsoil]

Amos Burton and Silco are fully entrenched in Zenith. They will never consider Meridian, nor respond ever again to our beliefs — do not treat either of them as someone you can parlay with. Attack them, eliminate them.

They both killed our own: Tribune Cyrus and Quetzalcoatl, to establish themselves to Zenith. Remember that.

[redsoil]

More than that! I have targets to name — you can thank me after. I enjoy wine, beer and fresh grain as tokens of admiration. Or a little prayer to my glory.

[ Anyways. ]

I have it on high Authority [ divine authority, even ] that the individuals known as Drizzt, Rin, Link, Matt and Demeisen are all Zenites insecure or unsure about their role and place among their kin. They are the weakest links, so prey on their minds and pressure them hard, they'll probably shatter long before they figure out how to survive the consequences for their choice.

[ ur welcome tezca ]

[hauntedking]

Quite true. And worth remembering should you encounter them...

[warmare]

I agree with every name listed here.

There might be some value to capturing for the sake of execution, in order to restore Springstar's morale with the death of those who carried out the assassination...

But if there is any risk detected, it is better to just shatter them.

[hauntedking]

Agreed. If it is to be war to the death, then we have no other choice.

[kaientai]

Well, I commend you on your spirit, but I can't help but disagree with a few points.

[ And by the sound of things, as usual, he's going to be the unpopular opinion, but Ryouma has never shied away from that. ]

First, shattering souls is not like killing. When you kill someone, their soul still goes through the cycle of rebirth. That soul and everything it was isn't lost forever and wholly wiped from existence. We aren't doing Oblivion's job for it when we kill.

When someone is shattered, they're just gone. Quetzalcoatl came from my world. She meant something to the people there, and that is a loss that can never be repaired. What has changed as a result, I wonder? You all felt it. What happens when something that vast just stops existing?

This brings me to my second point — we don't know the true consequences. We have several more Oracles ahead of us, yes? As I said to Hayame when we had this discussion, what if one of the Oracles judged our worthiness by how willing we were to welcome Oblivion by tearing more holes in what's left of reality? Have you felt particularly hunted lately? What could potentially slide into the vacancies left behind by those souls in their desire to consume us?

[ He might be laying it on a little thick, but he figures the only way to get people to listen is to make them ask themselves what they're personally willing to risk by opening that particular door. ]

Do I have to remind you what happened when they tried to revive the Tribune? How "We never would have been able to Enter without the Choices that have been made"? Something is trying to get in.

No one even shattered the Tribune, but something is clearly not right. We shouldn't be taking more significant risks out of fear.

[ And he's sure that's all this is. It's not a strategy; it's because people are afraid. ]

Right now, Zenith is leading in irrevocable sins against the natural order thanks to Silco, so why not let them lie in the bed they've made for themselves? I've met Gen, if only briefly. If we can't win this war without destroying the soul of a sad teenager, we should be ashamed of ourselves.

Dissipate every Zenite on sight and make the Tree revive them a hundred times if you must. Destruction is in Zenith's nature. That can't be Meridian's way, too.

[hauntedking]

[ Hmm. Dimitri has to pause and listen to this for a long few moments. It... makes sense to him. And while he's used to violence, war, killing, there's something there about souls that does give him pause. ]

...you do make a compelling point in that regard. We don't quite know what this oblivion is or what it is that lurks outside of our circle of light here. If destroying shards does open the way for more such creatures or the creature then it probably should be avoided. The only issue is that we still know so little about it or even about why things are the way they are.

[ There's a soft sound or sensation of a finger tapping against a desk or table. ]

Dissipation, then. And keeping their shards somewhere where they cannot reform, possibly.

[wolfish]

[ There's a bit of quiet gratitude over Communion, yet no words to accompany. Even so, since they're both Harbingers, Ryouma might know who it is just the same.

This isn't an argument he felt equipped to make, so he appreciates that Ryouma did. ]

[ex_fend346]

[ He's very new here, but considering what turned him away from Zenith— ]

...Thank you.

[ It's oddly heartfelt. ]

[warmare]

“Something that vast”?

Good thing for us, then, that the names on this list now are not wonderful, loving, almighty gods whose presences would surely be missed in the future of their worlds.

We’d be doing the inhabitants of that demon and that rat’s world, in particular, a charitable favor.

[Unfortunately, Ryoma about to learn that Hayame doesn’t like her name being dropped in conversations she’s not in. You drop it, you get her.]

[dreamflowers]

While I'd be hard-pressed to say that all souls are worth going through some "cycle of rebirth" or whatever garbage theologists like to think... I do believe that destroying a soul has more fucked up implications than simply killing a living being. Killing I can do, easily and without equivocation. Destroying a soul, unless provoked, is another.

[Spoken like someone who knows quite a few things about souls.

[Jade is quiet for a moment, thinking about something else he just said -- "Something is trying to get in" -- and sets it aside for later.]

Either way, I agree. It isn't the kinda thing that should be taken lightly when dealing with our problems. Not all of them, at any rate.

[wolfish]

[ He wants to say he thinks there's some good in Gen, feeling he's seen it himself. It's been a while, but they'd spoken about their reasons for choosing their sides. And Yuri may not get it, the need to see one's world destroyed, finding it irredeemable, but there was surely something behind it.

Even so, Dimitri isn't wrong that this is a war. If someone has taken in too much of Yima's influence, it may be the only mercy they can afford them. ]

Best save the honors for Hayame, if Sebastian's dissipated.

[ He begins with that, because it's simplest and easiest. Much less complicated and messy than the rest. But Dimitri knows him, and for that reason, it may be apparent there's much more thought than there are words. ]

...You know I have experience in this department. [ He says it more for others' benefit than Dimitri's, though it's those from home who best know what he really means. ] If stealth can't be employed, it'd be unwise to engage solo.

[hauntedking]

Going "solo" would not benefit any of us, it's true. Teamwork, working alongside one another, becoming a unified force - that will bring us victory. I trust your talents and your perspective Yuri - and I welcome them.

[umurice]

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?

[hauntedking]

Several times. He's skilled - and prepared to exploit every advantage.