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

LINK.

[redsoil]

The little one who lost his will — we share a connection, as Savant.

He and another long-eared individual were caught spying on us in the Beyond, and while handled, I heard the echoes of a warning he sent out to all of Zenith. And his thoughts of an individual he holds dear to him, but that is only as important as we decide it to be.

Anyone who still harbors hope that he will find his way back to us, dispense of it. He's chosen to place more importance on the well-being of a Faction that harbors individuals like the assassin, Amos Burton, the murderer, Silco and weak-willed naysayers who think they have the power, the fortitude or the ability to wield the Authority of a god. [ yawn, zenith is full of delusional fools ]

He has essentially said to me he only wants solutions, on his terms. Real, workable things — yet, had he asked any one of you for aid? No, I bet not. He simply closed his mouth, his eyes, and his heart to his world because he did not have a solution — and chose the path of instant gratification, as all Zenites do. He is small, deeply guilt-ridden and morose, and prone to shouldering things on his own. Make sure he finds no comfort in companionship, keep him isolated and confused and insecure by asking him difficult questions such as oh, say — why he chose to stay with the reprobates of Zenith, over his proven friends in Meridian, and he will be no threat to us.

[hauntedking]

It is not a hope I will put aside.

Hope is important.

[redsoil]

Dimitri, be sensible about this. He turned his back on friends when he despaired, instead of relying on them.

And he chose to remain with Zenith, after the murder of the Tribune and Quetzalcoatl — both who offered him their faith, love and charity. Do you really think you are ever going to win him over, when he is electing voluntarily to remain with someone like Silco over you? Some friend he is, to accept a Faction of liars, murderers and fiends more than those who tirelessly supported and openly loved him.

[ if Set is scathing, it's because Link hit a REAL SORE SPOT with him ]

[hauntedking]

We may do things in the grip of despair we come to regret later. I certainly did in my own time. It would be the height of ignorance and folly for me to not offer him the same chance.

[redsoil]

Well, I will not. Regret does not resolve anything, and feeling poorly for one's actions does not earn forgiveness. He made his choice.

[ Coldly. ]

He warned them. I advised him against it. I will have my due for his actions. I care not a whit for his reasons.

[hauntedking]

And what is your "due"? What do you think is owed to you?

[redsoil]

I told him where the line was, and he willingly crossed it.

[ which, to him, means he has full liberty to decide the punishment <3 ]

If Yima lives, she may have heeded any warning received — meaning, we have walked away with TWO dead members of Meridian to their none. Because your "friend" obviously picks and chooses who he will stand by and trust in, and it was not you.

[hauntedking]

That does not answer my question, Set.

[redsoil]

That's because I have not decided what the answer is. Yet.

[hauntedking]

Then I will not allow it.

[redsoil]

You do not "allow" me to do anything.

[ The mere idea of Dimitri trying to rise over him causes Set to rise, too. From sensible discussion of someone's costly action to personal ire. ]

Besides, what he did was against Meridian. Maybe we should put it to a vote from Meridian, if you will not let me pick a suitable punishment for taking our secrets to Zenith and acting against us. Is this how you treat all your opponents at home?

[hauntedking]

Even my direst enemy, the woman I felt I had no choice but to kill in the end, I gave a chance for a final parley. So yes, it is something I extend. If I can avoid more death, more war - and if I cannot, I fight with all my strength.

[ Dimitri, on the other hand is icily calm. ]

Allowing you to simply do what you will to someone I considered a friend is not something I can countenance. Know that.

[redsoil]

You still killed her. What meaning does such an honorable intention have, if it was not enough to reach her? What good does it do the rest of us, who have to pick up your slack because you will not conceptualize that winning this war is more important than anything we want!

[ Meanly said, perhaps with a shred of deep, deep insult to something vital inside of Set. Some tempestuous, injured part of him. ]

I am not saying to kill him. I am saying that "friend" of yours may have cost us Yima's death, Dimitri and you need to recognize that you can be a friend to someone and still hold them accountable. He has to be. He has to make up for this.

[ There is,

the softest hint of something desperate in his voice. As though Set really, really wants someone to blame. ( sorry it's link he's been through the WRINGER already ) ]

[hauntedking]

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?

[redsoil]

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!

[hauntedking]

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?

PRIVATE.

[redsoil]

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.

[wolfish]

He did reach out, more than once.

[ The words come with a melange of guilt and resign. Had he not failed to protect Link's shard in the moment, perhaps he wouldn't be tormented with the belief that he is a failure — that he can only fail.

Will he ever let go of that self-imposed responsibility? Who's to say... ]

I don't want to believe a man can't be saved simply because he's lost his ability to hope. I did once, and someone returned it to me without ever knowing he'd done so... Yet I've been unable to do the same.

[ He wants to save Link, he does. And he genuinely believes the future Link was shown was not the whole story, though he has no proof. It's only faith — the one thing he has never loosed his grip on. ]

[redsoil]

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.

[wolfish]

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. ]

[leicesters]

He's isolated, no doubt about it. He told me he was living by himself, and he seemed lonely. Offered to smuggle some stuff out of Highstorm for me, so my guess is his loyalty is still very shaky.

Maybe he's doubled down on his beliefs since then, though. I can't say whether he held either Cyrus or Yima in particularly high regard to be affected by either of their losses.

[redsoil]

He was proud and happy for Meridian's victory, once. It excited him. Whatever changed — well, even I recognize it was dire enough to mar that joy.

[ which doesn't mean Set will empathize with him, just that he saw it, catalogued it and will not let it affect his resolve ]

Everyone knows a man like you is better suited for personable work.

[ 8) because claude is LIKABLE ]

Will you keep trying to reach out to him? I think keeping him from depending on the core Zenites and gentled to us is a sound strategy. Anything to keep his mind staggering.

[sheezit]

... that was on me. If I had intercepted him faster, he wouldn't have gotten the chance to warn Yima or anyone in Zenith.

[ And while the sense of guilt crossing over Communion comes mostly from a place of failure, he can't say he was happy about killing a friend, least of all one who used to be on their side. ]

But is it really fair to judge their faction for harboring an assassin and a murderer when Meridian is the same? All of us from Fodlan have killed before, and that's what we were trying to do with Yima and your weapon, right? Are you calling us bad people for that?

[redsoil]

Oh, do not misinterpret. I do not feel Meridian are good people, any more than Zenith are. In the end, we are all working to win and deny one another a life that we desire.

[ good and evil don't matter too much to a war god, when it comes to this ]

I am saying that I could put money down on it mattering to him. He is the one who has struggled with his choices and has been isolated by them, and that weakens him.

[sheezit]

Yeah, I dunno if that's about thinking us bad people, either. Honestly, he didn't even seem like he wanted to fight me if I'd given him the chance to talk. Who would try to waste any time on anyone they thought unworthy?

[ So should they really just give up on him? Meridian is all about hope, isn't it? ]

Anyway, he's pretty isolated as it is, but I wouldn't say that weakens him. He may have lost hope in his old world, but I get the feeling that person whose Shard he carries? Right now, that's his whole world. [ bro... ] So in a way, there's still some of that Meridian fight in him, even if he's a loose cannon at the moment.