kenoscomm | LOCKED TO MERIDIAN

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[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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[ For once, Fane makes his “appearance” in Communion match what he is truly looks like. Considering the confusion it had caused the last Oracle, he’s at least learned to swallow that bit of annoyance and drop his preferred presentation. So, rather than a handsome, elven man, today you’re getting… a skeleton. ]

Well, I am Fane. I am an accomplished scholar of magic, especially that which bound together my world, but unfortunately, much more relevant here is that I am an accomplished magic user as well. I am no stranger to battle, and I’ve both Aerothurgy and Necromancy at my disposal along with Sourcery. I have a variety of offensive spells at my disposal, but a fair amount that are also meant to be supportive of front-line fighters as well. So, I would prefer to accompany someone if possible in this upcoming battle. I’m used to supporting an archer and an assassin, but I can make do with a warrior just as well.

[ A pause, and then with a sigh: ]

And before anyone asks an inane question, yes, this is what I look like. And no, I am not undead. Please save any barbaric aggression for the Zenites we’ll slay.

Huh. Is Necromancy actually a thing people around here are okay with being practiced...?

[She is still new and the vibe check has been a struggle.]

I didn't ask.

[ He says it extremely straightforwardly, so there's no doubting that simply not asking is pretty much the extent of it... But with a light sound, he does remember— ]

Ah, but the spells I've taken up in necromancy aren't the "reanimating the dead" sort, not as... flesh blobs or whatever, anyways. I focus more on supportive spells in my Necromancy, such as creating a Bone Widow or empowering my allies with magic so that they simply cannot die. [ ... ] Well. For a bit. It's not permanent, obviously.

Ah, not much different from my Entropic aura, then.

[One probably wouldn't think Entropy would have such a spell, but such is what happens to a lesser studied school of magic.]

But. Yeah. I wasn't fond of dealing with corpses, either. Too... messy, and short-term.

[Souls are much cleaner and more ethical! Kind of. Or that's what she tells herself.]

Precisely.

[ There's almost a sigh in that word, like he's saying "finally, someone gets it" through the noise alone. ]

Necromancy was something I picked up for its incidental benefits, since otherwise, I find it rudimentary. But considering my... Ugh, I shall just call it condition— It is one way that I can actually heal myself. The healing spells I once used were not effective in the slightest. Quite the opposite.

[ So, as a result, he's also interested in what she mentions. ]

Tell me more about your Entropic aura, incidentally. I've not heard of anything called that.

[It's kind of a relief, really. Considering how careful Jade has to be with her practices in her world, she wasn't sure how well it would take in this one.

[Then again, she still doesn't. But it helps knowing someone who isn't going to be weird about it.]

By your "condition" you mean your, uh... lack of skin? I can see how regular healing would have the opposite effect, since the Thaumaturgy I'm familiar with tends to be used against the undead.

[Yeah, she noticed. It did startle her at first, but she's over it.]

Entropy is used in manipulating the forces of life and death, among other things. The aura itself helps boost the strength of those around me.

Incidentally this type of magic usually drains a bit of my life, so I have to be careful with it.

[ He feels a little relief that someone gets it, at least. ]

Skin, organs, everything but my skeleton, yes. [ SIGHS ] It is an inconvenience, especially when it comes time to fix any leftover damage from battles. I’m at no risk for bleeding out, at least.

[ He’s quite sarcastic as he says it, but he can still joke about it somewhat. ]

Ah, but I’m familiar with some spells with similar effects. Hm… Though one of my spells may work well with that aura of yours. It empowers someone when they aren’t doing well, incidentally.

[ so a mutual benefit, perhaps ]

Are you usually supportive as well or more at the front lines of things?

[She snorts.]

Guess there's that, yes. You don't need to eat or sleep or anything, either, do you?

[Can't imagine he would, without the organs necessary that would require those things.]

Yeah? To be honest, I hadn't really thought of what it might be like to "empower" one of my spells using someone else's, but it's worth a shot.

And, ah, I'm usually solo, save for when I've been able to summon some backup. So most of my skills tend to be on the more aggressive side, with a few exceptions. I specialize in Elementalism, Sinistra, and Phasmalism -- though the latter two aren't very... legal in my world.

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.

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.]

Fane.

[Sorry to come in on the heels of another conversation, but he's never broached this subject before, and Fane seemed a little loath to bring it up.]

Positive energy—that of healing, I mean: the energy of life—it harms you?

…It does, yes.

[ He admits it with a tiny bit of reluctance, but it’s only because he does see it as a large, glaring weakness. ]

Why, I haven’t the slightest idea, and it’s extraordinarily irritating, at least in Rivellon where healing magic was commonplace… But such is the way of the world, apparently. At least more… noxious effects have a healing role for me, just as oddly. Poisons, for example.

[Fane's reply goes about how Liem expects, up until the last part.]

Poisons heal your body? Multiple different kinds...?

[One poison would be weird enough, but somehow it's stranger that different toxins might all have the same beneficial effect.]

That is not what I was expecting.

Nor I when I discovered it by chance.

[ Sometimes you step into a poison puddle and feel better! Weirdly common experience in Rivellon. ]

All of the poisons we tried seem to work just as well as potions would for those with… flesh. My friend Ifan even took up a few spells about making poisonous surfaces for my benefit.

[ There’s a small, soft feeling at that. Don’t worry about it, because Fane is sailing right past it. ]

It is strange, certainly. But I am glad to have discovered it.

[Somehow this is wackier even than Liem's own situation, which he'd already considered plenty bizarre to begin with. He has to take a moment to consider it before finally moving on.]

I see. I ask only because your situation sounds familiar. Where I hail from, the undead were... well, not common, but well-enough known. Like you, they were harmed by life energy—though poison had no effect on them.

[How could it? They had no living processes to interfere with— Oh, never mind. He's never going to wrap his head around that one. ]

In any case, there is a spell I know that is most often used to harm the living, but its energy—that of entropy—invigorates the undead. I wondered if it might aid you also.

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.

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.

Well, I would be interested to learn for the academics of it at least, but teaching isn't strictly necessary. If it works and you're willing to cast it, that would be quite helpful.

[ Since truly just dumping a bottle of poison on yourself isn't ideal ]

It's promising at least, so I'm glad you asked for clarification.

Then sometime soon, when you are available, I will demonstrate it for you.

[He can even use it on himself if Fane wants to see how it works before volunteering as guinea pig; that is why he learned it, after all.]

As I mentioned, it can also be used to harm the living, but since it is not especially powerful, and requires physical touch, I don’t tend to use it for that purpose.

This man is also capable of teaching the methods of magic, adeptly enough that even someone without aptitude can learn well.

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