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

[dreamflowers]

...I see. This is the first I've heard of it. Do we know any significant places or artifacts or whatever connected to this "past chief"?

[hauntedking]

Ah, my apologies I meant the past in general.

[dreamflowers]

Okay, okay.

Well, in my experience, knowing more about the past can sometimes help in learning more of what's to come. But my world operates in... Cycles, so it was often useful back then for that reason. Reoccurring events and figures and all that.

[hauntedking]

Well... we've been told this place does as well. Or something to that effect.

[ Hmm. ]

So that may be more useful than you think.

[dreamflowers]

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.

[hauntedking]

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

[dreamflowers]

Huh.

[She pauses.]

Is there any information about the "generations" before us? I know they fought over these Oracles, and that no side has really won. But do we know what they were fighting for?

[hauntedking]

Very little. You might try talking to Liem, maybe... or Claude, potentially. Ask around. I know some of us have found bits and pieces, but there's not much to go on.

[dreamflowers]

Figures. There wasn't much left on the previous Cycles in my world, either. Most were dug up from old excavations and whatnot, but my visions helped with some.

[Hahaha, "helped".]

[hauntedking]

I'm not sure there's much excavating we can do... although there are certainly strange things buried underneath Springstar and Kowloon both.

[dreamflowers]

Excavating probably won't be necessary at this point, if I can just be there and see something.

Of course, Kowloon doesn't seem so hospitable towards Meridian, but I've ways around that.

[hauntedking]

Yes... at least for now. We may have to try to fix that.

[dreamflowers]

Easier said than done, depending on how you intend to "fix" a situation like that.

[hauntedking]

Yes... but we can't just leave it, either. Difficult or not it must be handled.

[dreamflowers]

I agree, but I've seen how many situations like those get "handled".

For now, I think I might still be enough of a nobody that I'd probably have a good chance of not getting recognized by the people down there... unless they have a way of somehow knowing I'm with Meridian now.

[Wouldn't surprise her.]

Alternatively, I can do reconnaissance pretty well without being noticed. Just a thought.

[hauntedking]

They might be able to tell... but in either case any information we can get is welcome. I believe some of us are already working on the issue... Although I admit I don't know much about such things. Spcraft is not my specialty...

[dreamflowers]

Yeah, I figured there'd probably be efforts for something like that, if it hasn't been done already. I assume attempts at actually infiltrating Zenith itself have been done before?

[hauntedking]

Infiltration is difficult, if not impossible... The attunement requires a genuine pledge of allegiance.

[dreamflowers]

Thought as much. I can probably play spy among the common rabble, but I'm guessing trying to get into the group itself is unlikely. Not to mention there are a couple folks over there who know which side I was inclined towards now, even if they didn't seem like rats.

[She just had "business" down in Kowloon with its local establishments, so.]

[hauntedking]

Yes, that is also an issue - shard bearers are a relatively small population. Eventually we know one another, if only because we've spent time around each other... still, any information gleaned is useful.

[dreamflowers]

Indeed. I haven't been around long enough to gauge how awkward it's gonna be. I won't be labeled as a "traitor" or anything simply by talking to one of them, will I?

[Asking because of. Reasons.]

[hauntedking]

That... will depend on who you ask.

[ Dimitri admits with a bit of a rueful little laugh. ]

I won't label you as such, certainly.