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

YIMA.

[redsoil]

At the least, she is at a distance from any new Zenites. I feel she is still alive, too. I actually like his idea of "playing dumb", so bravo to him for proposing it. Faux ignorance is a wonderful tool to use.

[ actually, he Knows for #reasons ( he sussed it out ) but he's not saying this ]

Claude and I had a discussion once, about who she could be. More important than that, is how best to kill her and remove her from Zenith's future. They cannot rely on her to create their world, as many have said they will. This could destroy their desire to pursue this path, and hopefully they will just lay down and die as a result. Not like any of them have the fortitude to take on the divine task of Creating Life.

The facts are laid out as this:
— She is one of, if not the oldest, individual in Kenos. Perhaps the first individual to ever arrive.
— She arrived from a destroyed world, and her children were lost to her in a way that she could not bring them as she brings Shard-Bearers.
— I once asked for her guidance and was lead to explore the depths of the Beyond — the place where I built the weapon that destroyed her Manor was the location she directed me to. It was the temple of my sister, Isis, long-destroyed by both hand and time.
— Claude spoke with her, and like he said — she said she was not bound by time like a normal person. This is my experience as a divinity, too. Though, I am confined to a single moment by Kenos's rules as a Shard-Bearer.

[ex_fend346]

I agree that there are advantages to feigning ignorance. Knowledge is a strength, and the weaker an attacker thinks you are, the less cautious they tend to be... At least in my experience.

[ Subaru is but a small, unassuming-looking creature. The assumptions those who can't sense his true nature will make based on surface qualities have often been convenient, if not outright advantageous.

He and Kamui may have made a practice of avoiding anything or anyone overly troublesome to contend with, seeing as a hunter was on their trail, but they'd lived long enough to know. ]

I also can't imagine she'd be capable of creating a world, no matter what was given in exchange for it...

[ The cost would be too dear, and he doubts she has such power. ]

Thank you for explaining all of this. There's a great deal I don't know, but in my time in Highstorm, I felt the promise of loved ones...even in stone...was too alluring for many. It isn't a state I could inflict on my brother.