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lunaecalamitas2024-05-18 12:19 pm
promittere) wrote in lunaecalamitas2024-05-18 12:19 pm
thousand dreams, lotus boats upon the waters
NEW MOON ADAGIO
Between the constant requests from the North and the sense of tension that pervades the manor, Sage Tatara makes an executive decision: we're going North, baby.
Of all the things that have happened thus far, let this be the ultimate test of your magic. Even as we near summer, it's frigid. Protect yourselves and your allies from the cold. Protect yourselves while also fighting off monsters (or other territorial wizards, should you make the terrible mistake of wandering into another's territory), flying through the vast wilderness, or protecting the poor humans who need your help to survive. Time to blow off some of your steam. Just be sure to obey Tatara's one rule: don't kill each other.
One particular problem of note is in the Forest of Dreams. Without its guardian, many of these rogue monsters and dangerous predators, displaced from their normal habitats, have found their way into the forest. Many of them, however, are unable to survive against the fatal toxin, and there are plenty of animal corpses and mana stones that litter the forest. It might be best to clean these up before the forest guardian returns...
That said, the toxin is yet another thing you must protect yourself against in addition to the cold. While you can likely keep yourself from dying from the toxins, you may not be immune to its effects. This deadly toxin causes anyone who breathes it in to dream and hallucinate vividly, be it images of the past, imagined futures, thoughts of the present processed and warped...
Strangely enough, those nearby may end up sharing in your dreams... Did you want the darkest recesses of your thoughts, hopes, and fears unearthed for others to see?
Those who decide to venture far past the more populated (in relative terms) parts of the North may find themselves stumbling upon what looks to be an abandoned bandit hideout. It seems it's been abandoned for quite a while—nothing to loot here, sorry!—but there sure are a whole lot of monsters that have decided to make this hidden corner of the North their home.
While you're at it, you may find a nearby cave. Beautiful crystals dot the walls and the floors, and there are small pools of hot spring water free for relaxing. It seems to be relatively free of monsters, too. So maybe this wouldn't be a bad spot to relax, away from everything else?
However, there's one thing that makes this cave truly unique, and it isn't the vistas or the springs—it's the bats. These bats hear echoes of the past and replay them for visitors. Should you stay a while and listen, a bat may pay you a visit. And when it does, it may play for you the voices from the memories of visitors past, whose stories may hold a clue or two to your circumstances...
Of all the things that have happened thus far, let this be the ultimate test of your magic. Even as we near summer, it's frigid. Protect yourselves and your allies from the cold. Protect yourselves while also fighting off monsters (or other territorial wizards, should you make the terrible mistake of wandering into another's territory), flying through the vast wilderness, or protecting the poor humans who need your help to survive. Time to blow off some of your steam. Just be sure to obey Tatara's one rule: don't kill each other.
One particular problem of note is in the Forest of Dreams. Without its guardian, many of these rogue monsters and dangerous predators, displaced from their normal habitats, have found their way into the forest. Many of them, however, are unable to survive against the fatal toxin, and there are plenty of animal corpses and mana stones that litter the forest. It might be best to clean these up before the forest guardian returns...
That said, the toxin is yet another thing you must protect yourself against in addition to the cold. While you can likely keep yourself from dying from the toxins, you may not be immune to its effects. This deadly toxin causes anyone who breathes it in to dream and hallucinate vividly, be it images of the past, imagined futures, thoughts of the present processed and warped...
Strangely enough, those nearby may end up sharing in your dreams... Did you want the darkest recesses of your thoughts, hopes, and fears unearthed for others to see?
Those who decide to venture far past the more populated (in relative terms) parts of the North may find themselves stumbling upon what looks to be an abandoned bandit hideout. It seems it's been abandoned for quite a while—nothing to loot here, sorry!—but there sure are a whole lot of monsters that have decided to make this hidden corner of the North their home.
While you're at it, you may find a nearby cave. Beautiful crystals dot the walls and the floors, and there are small pools of hot spring water free for relaxing. It seems to be relatively free of monsters, too. So maybe this wouldn't be a bad spot to relax, away from everything else?
However, there's one thing that makes this cave truly unique, and it isn't the vistas or the springs—it's the bats. These bats hear echoes of the past and replay them for visitors. Should you stay a while and listen, a bat may pay you a visit. And when it does, it may play for you the voices from the memories of visitors past, whose stories may hold a clue or two to your circumstances...
While the Forest of Dreams is a memory/dreamshare free for all, the aural memories replayed by the bats in the Cave of Time will come from one of the original wizards only. If you'd like an audio replay of a perhaps significant moment either in their personal life or a clue as to what happened to them (it will be randomized), then please reply to this comment!
JOB BOARD
Clean-up and repairs. While thanks to the hard work of your Eastern friends the worst was prevented, the City of Rain emerged from their short ordeal a little worse for wear.
Buildings need repair, blood needs to be cleaned off the streets, the injured need help. This is, perhaps, the only time you will be allowed to use magic openly in the city (you've been given permits and everything!), but you still are not allowed to talk outside of designated zones. Please, please don't get arrested...
As for the scrap that litters the streets? Unfortunately, you'll have to take it back to the scrapyard. But this time, there's a big, roaring bonfire out there. Just chuck all the scrap and debris in the fire. The city isn't taking any second chances—extreme situations call for extreme measures.
Buildings need repair, blood needs to be cleaned off the streets, the injured need help. This is, perhaps, the only time you will be allowed to use magic openly in the city (you've been given permits and everything!), but you still are not allowed to talk outside of designated zones. Please, please don't get arrested...
As for the scrap that litters the streets? Unfortunately, you'll have to take it back to the scrapyard. But this time, there's a big, roaring bonfire out there. Just chuck all the scrap and debris in the fire. The city isn't taking any second chances—extreme situations call for extreme measures.
Reverence. Several Northern villages are currently outside the protection of a wizard, and have requested the sage's wizards' presence. They're terrified of the monsters and worried the barriers for their villages will fail sooner than later. They don't simply ask for help for free, however, and these smaller villages are steeped in their tradition—they'll pay you their respects, praying to you, offering you gifts, groveling at your feet, in hopes for a modicum of your time and protection. Do their offerings please you? Then assist them with what you deem appropriate for their worship to you: kill a few monsters for them, or a lot if you're pleased. Strengthen the barrier a lot, or not at all if you're displeased. It's up to you! You have the power here. What's it like to be a god for a day?
Ladies' night. The monthly lady officers' gathering is coming up in the City of Affluence—it's an exclusive meetup for the women involved in and related to Western military and bureaucratic affairs. Anyone is welcome, so long as they meet two requirements: they are outwardly presenting feminine, and they have an invitation to the gathering. Here's your chance to flex your transformation and glamour spells! Infiltrate the meetup with a disguise and a fake invitation, mingle, enjoy the drinks, the jazz, the entertainment, and find out what you can... What's the Western army up to? Be careful, though—don't get caught and kicked out!
The attendees seem to be excited about the new phantasmagoria technology and the upcoming display, and many whisper about the upcoming Venator meteor shower...
The attendees seem to be excited about the new phantasmagoria technology and the upcoming display, and many whisper about the upcoming Venator meteor shower...
G'RAHA TASKS
Greetings, new friends! I am G'raha Tia, and while I hesitate to call myself a mentor or a replacement for the one you had, I am eternally grateful for the assistance I received and will do my best to help your cause in any way I can. To that end, I feel I may need to be caught up to speed on the events and get to know all of you.
We can have some tea and sandwiches and have a discussion! That's the best way to learn, sometimes.
We can have some tea and sandwiches and have a discussion! That's the best way to learn, sometimes.
TATARA ACTIVITIES
Even if we're not here for very long, I think we should leave our mark (not literally! Don't paint on the walls!). I got paint and big paper in the dining hall, but no brushes... Do you know what that means? Finger paint! Finger paint a portrait of yourself with your name and I'll hang it up in the library when they're all done!
Thanks to Cid and Khun, my camcorder works now. The thing is, what's the point of filming anything if we have no way to watch the film?! Could you guys work together to make some kind of projector? Or like...VHS player? We could have a movie night together!
OOC NOTES
🌙 Welcome to your fourth event! It's your dreamshare and memshare event! Ready to open up with your deepest and darkest secrets?
🌙 We're halfway through the game. How do you feel?
🌙 Back at the manor, Kurapika and Maya have set up a bulletin board! Leave comments, argue with your neighbors, have fun. Be nice. Don't set it on fire.
🌙 On the admin side of things, Lav has swapped out Wanderer for G'raha! Please say hello to your new mentor NPC.
🌙 Your OOC plotting post is here! Remember to keep all wider plotting to the post, and remember to check back frequently, since not everyone checks plurk or discord all the time.
🌙 The next country to go on their mission is North. Do you think a PVP-enabled mission will go well?
no subject
The eye color isn't exactly something that immediately gives to an easy confidence, though the vibes he can tell is that it isn't a threat after he visually assesses the situation properly. Especially since he knows Robin is essentially a strategist and would have reacted accordingly himself. ]
...Is this a familiar of yours, Robin?
[ A fair question to ask, considering everything, and it kind of looks like that since he wasn't here for the beginning of all the experiments — but in the midst of this one, sort of. ]
no subject
[ though it certainly resembles a tame hound when it puts a paw into robin's hands for him to examine. he'll do so, briefly, before setting it back down and having it sprint another circle around them. ]
... convenient, though, when one wants to work on knitting together a wounded body without having to slice someone open for it.
[ because imagine how that would go down. 'hey, need to stress test and work on healing, you wanna get beat up a bit for me?' anyway.
the reanimated wolf isn't autonomous, can't move on its own without robin making it so. still, some notion of whim has him pacing it up to jing yuan, tail wagging— before a sighed gesture has the light fading from its eyes as it lowers itself down again, well and truly dead.
... faintly, though. is that the march of soldiers, baying of horses, hoofbeats of cavalry resounding somewhere in the distance around them? do some of the patches of snow now more resemble blades of yellowing grass? ]
no subject
[ Too dead to truly be considered alive...is it? Simply puppeteering the corpse to act in turn? It does make him think of certain creatures potentially encountered back home, but there are obvious differences. Though enough that he keeps an eye on it still, at least somewhat still wary even for a moment if it is not going to attack.
But, Robin's motives for it are understandable, and this is not the power of the Abundance of work, even if it is inherently similar. Not that it matters much either way because it suddenly falls dead; when it did come close, tail wagging in nothing less than friendliness, he didn't find himself seeing that as a threat. It may even be docile enough for a head pat; not that it matters, since it falls dead once more.
Indeed, not the same as the Abundance after all.
In the midst of his questioning, he also does notice that he hears something, and temporarily turns his attention towards it. ]
...An illusion?
[ Mostly to himself. The way this place brings about unreal phantasms isn't an unknown or abnormality to him by now. Is there more to this sound of a marsh and the horses on the move? To the change that shifts beneath their feet even now? ]
no subject
[ their resident souths are so industrious in that regard, after all. ]
Better to find out now than in a more dire situation...
[ he trails off because he also hears the sounds of the battlefield. he's been here long enough that he knows what to expect from this place, and by now mostly— mostly only harbors a faint, wry curiosity for what the forest will dredge up next. this particular scene... ]
... Well, I suppose it could be worse. [ he remarks, musing. ] This field and climate ... Northern Valm? —Ah. I see.
[ what he sees is made starkly apparent once the rest of the illusion finishes painting itself into being: a siege on a fortified keep, defended by the most powerful cavalry in the world. around them battle has already broken out, faceless soldiers meeting each other in fatal clash.
but one man stands out for the bloody red of his armor, eye catching by design. he rides out to meet them rather than hide away.
"you do your sister's legacy proud, little king!" his voice booms out, cutting uncannily through the din. memory is a strange thing, what it etches into permanence, what it allows to fade. this man is the focus of the memory, that much is clear. "but humanity already has a savior. a conqueror who broke stronger men than you when they refused to bow. warriors of valm! ride with me now! together, we will stamp out this final pack of insurgents and unite the world!"
a god amongst men, that's how his followers see him. simply a man, and yet, at the same time...
two phantom figures dart through the battlefield, navigating its dangers deftly; the divine sword blocks the sharp bite of an axe that means to maim the mage. a spell-wrought tempest handles the foes who would think to strike them down from afar. a younger robin in regalia the current no longer seems to favor, shadowing a man clad in shining armor and wearing the marks of his station. it's all a blur, weapons clashing in a dangerous dance ...
up until the man is in front of them, the sanded edges of the memory giving way to a sharper clarity once more. all parties have their weapons drawn, but for now they speak.
"why do you resist me, your grace? did your exalted sister not want peace? yet here you stand, betraying her cause."
"don't you dare use my sister to justify what you've done. you enslave the weak and kill the able. you are the enemy of peace."
watching all this, both robins, older and younger, remain silent. his hood shadows his expression as he settles into a guarded stance, sword drawn, at his king's back.
this is not a place for tacticians to speak their thoughts. this is a conversation for king and conqueror only, ideologue against ideologue, beliefs brandished like steel. this triumph will only have any meaning if they break the valmese belief that walhart the emperor is a god among men. ]
no subject
The sudden vibrant of red etched into what he can see feels like somehow the first thing he sees, above all else, even if the background before the starkly imposing figure certainly seemed to catch his eye first. The boldness is characteristic of nothing less than a leader who believes himself assured victory, who believes that he is to claim less losses than gains than his enemy.
His words, proud yet complimentary, are another indication — he blinks at the volume, and the arrogance dripping in every sound, every tone. Still, it isn't like he is going to go unchallenged...he hears the dark-haired man bristling in his condemnation as his gaze falls upon Robin, silent as death. ]
A man that only thought of conquering, hm?
[ He has heard only just a scant words from him, and his position is obvious — his cares clear-cut.
While it seems like the kind of memory that gives to a significance of sort, he recalls still Robin's unworried reaction. ]
no subject
[ a pause, as he collects stones still from the in between earth. ]
Well. His motives, you'll yet see.
[ the memory isn't yet finished, after all.
around them the battle rages on, and robin must have taken action back then, relayed formations and called out orders, parried blade and spell alike from fatal consequence, but in this illusory recreation of a memory, the confrontation between the two men seems to exist separate from the world around them.
"i would end the reign of the gods, and you object on moral grounds?" the man— walhart— scoffs, shaking his head. "blood is spilled in any new birth, your grace. and in many a just cause, as you know..."
"there is no justification for what you've done," insists his opponent.
"by whose laws do you judge me? yours? your sister's? the gods'?" derision drips from every word.
"you cannot—"
"look at you!" rebukes walhart. "are you not ashamed? your mind is filled with nothing but secondhand beliefs. you dance upon the stage of your gods like a mindless puppet! that is what i reject: being a slave to tradition, to obligation. the old ways. the ways those of your continent cling to so blindly!"
"and your response is to force your own beliefs on those who would not want you?!" snarls the dark haired man in retaliation. "at least in ylisse we choose what we believe in!"
"you claim the freedom to choose when belief lies at the very heart of the foundation your country was built on? even your own title is dependent on your absent goddess!" and that is true, of ylisse and plegia both, but walhart continues before any response can come, making a grand, sweeping gesture with a hand. "damn the gods! damn their fates and their destinies! i will have true freedom! and any man who offers less is my enemy."
"enough!" snaps the king. "i don't require every detail of your twisted philosophy, or the things you tell yourself to justify what it is you do. you're a villain and a murderer, plain and simple, and i am the justice you deserve."
a death on the battlefield, being felled not by the gods, but simply another man. exalt and conqueror, steel against steel.
walhart seems to agree. with a laugh, he declares:
"better. much better! be not an agent of someone else's justice, but justice itself!" his eyes blaze. his steed snorts and paws at the ground in impatience. "now, let us fight as two great men, freed of their gods." the man briefly looks to the younger robin, who squares his stance and heightens his guard, but the moment passes as he once more addresses the exalt: "i grant any challenger the chance to test his will against my own... but you, too, shall be found wanting!"
with that and a whinny, the destrier charges. ]
no subject
Though, I will find myself surprised if they are ones worth thinking over.
[ Robin's voice echoes on two fronts — between his battle commands, but also the one who is merely picking up stones ever-so-casually between the flashing of memories before his very eyes.
Though that seems to pale in comparison to the grand stage presented by the two fighters going head to head with their convictions and weaponry. He has to admit, Walhart uses the exact kind of tones that can very well easily stir up his fellow countrymen into action. As for how Jing Yuan personally thinks of them? He compares it to the sound a man who is far too bigheaded would definitely make when he has the chance to use his lungs at full capacity.
In order words, this is the kind of charisma that has negative effect on him. It seems to be the exact same case for this other man who is facing him down; most certainly because for the most part he is his enemy, but likely values as well. ]
I have heard his motives indeed, though his execution is rather basic.
[ What a man.
And that is all he is in the end — just a man.
Though, he does idly wonder what Robin thinks — even if he was on the opposing side. ]
i'm sick of how much red there is in this damn room, /has a ch20 video open as reference
Quite. The end he speaks of may be a pretty thought, but no matter how he dresses it up, the reality is that he's invaded countless nations and spilled no small amount of innocent blood in his crusade to rid the world of gods. He would try to lay claim to the title of revolutionary, of humanity's savior, and perhaps he was able to sway many to follow him, but... I wonder.
[ will the memory continue? for how long?
blows are traded; the bite of the noble rapier the king handles scoring superficial strikes at best on the red armor, walhart's wolf berg striking into places quickly vacated by his would-be opponent- and on at least one occasion, parried and deflected by the younger robin himself, expression determined, though not without effort.
in the end, the clash isn't decisive, but walhart comes off the poorer of the two sides. the man retreats into the fortress capital, a clear invitation to follow— which the king and tactician and their army take him up on.
the memory doesn't follow them, instead fading to blank whiteness ... and then into the vast, open halls of a keep, carpeted in red, light streaming down from the windows high above. again, it comes to a duel,
and again, there is a final exchange of words.
"walhart! will you surrender?"
the man looks haggard at this point- both of them, chrom and walhart both bear the proof of their weariness, in truth- but his spine remains unbowed, the proud jut to his chin making his answer clear before he even speaks it. "don't waste our time with questions you know the answer to, boy."
"it did not have to be this way," says the exalt, simply. his eyes are resolute, even if he speaks of alternatives to the scene playing out now. behind him and to his side stands the younger robin, again watching their backs for any who would dare interrupt. "you believed in mankind's strength, as did my sister. you believe that we are masters of our own destinies, and so do i. you could have joined with us, instead of ruling by strength, and strength alone."
"pretty words!" once again, the man scoffs, not a single word making a single dent in the shield of his convictions. "will we just talk, or will we fight? me, join you? does a pegasus join with the flea on its back? a dragon, with a cow it eats? you forget your place, boy. look where you stand! you stand within the halls of an enemy's castle, ready to paint the stones red for your cause. for all the borrowed ideals you parrot, you're little different than i, save for the strength needed to see your convictions through."
he sneers, his next words a challenge.
"but i am the conqueror, and i will see this world united!"
"not you!" the king retorts, the force of both parties' declarations cracking the air like a thunderclap. "i will. and not by forcing all the people to choose the sword or the knee! i would stoke their hearts, for peace cannot come about in a land ruled by fear!"
(if jing yuan thinks to look at the robin of the present, who has straightened up from collecting mana stones and instead is now watching his king speak, he may note a distant, solemn expression on his face.)
the world seems to come to a standstill as whatever forces bidding them not attack seem to shatter, sword flashing up to meet axe. it is there that the memory ends, reality bleeding back in before any sure end to the clash of ideals, but robin's words, likely, eliminate any doubt that might exist of its outcome. ]
... Is that where it ends? I suppose his dying moments were just that unimportant. [ a harrumph, even if he can't quite clear his expression of the pensive cast it's taken on. ] When Chrom defeated him ... he held onto his beliefs to the last.
Still, I suppose it must be that strength of conviction that led to many to support him such that they would rather die than surrender, that day we marched on the capital.
help help
...Humanity's savior, hm?
[ A man like that, who is so conceited to spill blood even long after the goblet has overfilled with innocents who died at his hands. A man who begrudges the gods and is made blind for all the horrors he commits in his crusade. And he dares believe him humanity's savior? Who did this man save? His own condemnation burns in his throat, and in the place of the man, he sees something else instead — those who would dare call themselves saviors. Disciples of the Sanctus Medicus — Abominations of Yaoshi. Scum that slither out from the shadows and think themselves glorious for it.
He thinks, above all, he dislikes those who parade themselves as saviors and kill and distort their fellow men.
(It's all the same...isn't it?)
The man continues to speak with arrogance still — declaring his previous words with the air of the one who is just and subsequently undermining them as he looks at his fellow man like he is ant beneath his shoe. Such it is that for a moment it causes his gaze to tear from the sight, and fall upon Robin — the sorrow and distant gaze surprising him a bit. But he follows it to his King, his own gaze softening in contemplation.
And then it ends. ]
This is where it ends, so perhaps so.
How unfortunate those people believed his drivel to be taken as sacred to throw their lives away.
[ A sigh. Quite a pity. ]
...Chrom is the one who fought valiantly against him, yes? The one you supported. I would be correct in assuming he is quite a noble man, is he not? He seems strong, not just in his combat capabilities, but his beliefs — of what is right, what is wrong.
no subject
to the end, walhart believed himself true. he cannot have been the only one of his kind, for him to have amassed such a following. on an academic, purely utilitarian level, robin can understand walhart's logic, but not the means.
chrom, though. now, there's a topic both more and less fraught. ]
... Chrom was my friend. He wanted to be nothing like his father, a man who he later related to me must have greatly resembled Walhart. [ says robin, carefully. ] I supported him, yes. I swore to, when he threatened to waver and break in the wake of his sister's death.
[ and perhaps, what may not be a surprise to jing yuan, who has already noted the traces of sorrow in his gaze earlier, and may now note the continued used of past tense: ]
He has, however, been dead for longer than I actually ever knew him for.
no subject
Well, he has been assuming that the topic concerning Chrom would not involve discussion of the man having passed away. But those assumptions are simply incorrect; evidenced by the way the other refers to him in the past.
Though what truly is the ultimate confirmation is the final statement Robin makes afterwards, regarding his state. ]
...Even though it must have been for some time, as I certainly don't know how long you must have known him for, I extend condolences for such a loss.
Losing a dear friend is never easy; and no matter how much time has passed, there will always remain a hole where they once were. Even if moving forward every day without them is a necessity.
[ Speaking from experience, really. ]
no subject
It really wasn't that long at all, in the end. You spoke of his strength, moral and physical, but ... Beyond that, he was human. Terribly, terribly human.
[ and grima can't escape from the humanity in him, the fact that he is as much human as he is fell deity, down to the very blood that runs in his veins.
but he can't live with humanity either. that much was made clear when first they feared and sealed him. that much was made clear when they venerated him as a god in unequal coexistence. human enough to hurt. not human enough to count.
his younger self doesn't understand. if bonds are their strength, then it is a wretched thing that they are all meant to wither away, as fate so decreed.
("have you considered what happens should I fall? these followers of naga will spurn you now that they've learned what you are. kill me, and you incur the wrath of the grimleal as well... would you truly choose to be so utterly alone?"
different words, to a different robin. but validar wouldn't know how true the words really were, if he didn't have the proof of it in his hierophant.)
the way he calls chrom human doesn't sound like an insult, even if it seems to be worded that way. on the contrary: it is tinged with the weight of a dirge, the regard of an elegy. ]
no subject
Such as it is, when Robin also speaks of Chrom's humanity, it does certainly seem potentially insulting on the surface of it. But, he already thinks otherwise, given the fact Robin has already showed in more than one way how much he valued the presence of this man, and what he meant to him. So, now it sounds more akin to a hint of his own lingering feelings on his mortality. What it means to exist as a human who may easily find himself easily in the throes of death; though he wonders if Chrom ever fell easily.
So, indeed, perhaps it sounds more like an echoing of longing; of mourning. ]
Human in the way that all humans are, but...perhaps in how mortality is something that is usually swiftly upon them, yes?
[ Jing Yuan questions, no less serious than before, contemplative gaze writ upon his face.
He easily thinks of Baiheng who too had passed away; though she was certainly less human, but still quite very mortal. ]
no subject
(it's been a while since he's seen chrom like that, hasn't it?)
in the end, it is the transient and impermanent nature of all things that has him allowing the words free from their cage. it matters not. these moments matter not. their time in this world will come to an end eventually, so whatever he says now will have no meaningful, lingering weight once they've all been returned to whence they came. ]
Quite. It might not have been entirely apparent, in that particular memory... but he suffered lasting injuries from the same attack that killed his sister. I stuck close to him because he had a terrible habit of pushing himself recklessly.
[ amongst other recklessnesses he might have possessed. ]
Still, I suppose they aren't what killed him in the end.
[ ... recklessnesses like an insistent, adamant kindness, despite all arguments made to convince him otherwise;
recklessnesses like putting his trust in the wrong person. ]
no subject
So while Jing Yuan finds himself believing that it was undeniably out of concern...he thinks he might imagine what other potential happy moments of conversation the two might have had, without any dialogue to fill the pieces.
It is not, perhaps, a universal kindness. But, Jing Yuan has always found those who can treasure their loved ones ardently as noteworthy. ]
Well, he had to have someone to watch over him. Better it someone who knew him than a stranger, and one who knew how reckless he acted.
[ At least that's what he thinks. As he speaks of this, the surroundings about them begin to alter, ever so slightly, all the same. The area darkening slightly in general lightning. Then, spots of strange green-yellow colors not too unlike ghost lights hanging dreadfully in the background, positioned behind Jing Yuan as he speaks.
In the midst of this, he is also perhaps unaware of also the irony of his own words. ]
You say you suppose, but...you would know most certainly what would have killed him, would you not?
[ As his tactician, he imagines. ]
no subject
ah, what sort of fanciful images is the esteemed general conjuring up within his imagination? sleepless, candlelit nights in strategy tents, spent both trying to map out the course of wars while also attempting to convince the other to get some rest first? worry, perhaps, over how one or the other constantly puts others over himself? why not an idyllic chat in the armoury, both chiding and teasing the royal about how so many weapons seem to find themselves broken in his hands?
there's a smile on his face, but there's absolutely no attempt to make it reach his eyes. ]
Indeed, I know exactly how he was killed. I was there for the entirety of that sorry affair, after all.
[ but whether he will have to answer the obvious follow up question now depends on the forest and jing yuan, doesn't it? ]
no subject
As it is, he witnesses the smile that sees no light from Robin. It feels different from anything strictly relating to mourning. But he does not doubt that it stems from hurt feelings in relation to such an acute and deep loss. ]
I imagine you would have been...most likely, anyway.
[ It would have been odd if Robin hadn't been. He begins to consider asking, in earnest truth, though he does plan in doing so to offer a way out as well, given the personal nature of it.
Not that he is given much time to present it, since suddenly, a collection of memories wash over them for viewing. Almost completely without warning, but there had been a bit of a herald of it before. ]
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... quite the motley 'army' you had assembled. I would ask if their presentation wasn't specifically encouraged to, hm, induce a false sense of security and overconfidence in this Cirrus ...
Were it not for the fact that you clearly do simply just have that much faith in people.
[ though certainly, whether or not his army really was true in the way they conducted themselves prior to that engagement, he imagines that any competent strategist would be able to take advantage of his enemy's reactions accordingly.
... faith, hope, ideals. he does not in the least sympathize with the heliobi, outside of perhaps the faintest twinges of a detached pity from afar, but one thing in particular... ]
Were you certain that this student of yours would declare his challenge against Apyra?
[ 'or were you prepared to fight, if the child you'd once taught was not ready to and could not find his way on his own?' ]
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You would be correct.
Incidentally, I did at least have knowledge of their respective characters, so at the least it was not blind faith.
[ Though it is indeed something borne of a calculative move as well; expectations of certain performance and also to help influence the ultimate interaction between this spirit and themselves to induce an ultimately positive outcome.
The fact that Jing Yuan is, in general, someone who tends towards an optimistic point of view is not something incidental, however. It just is. ]
I was certain, yes. I taught him well, after all. Though he is still young and has much room to grow, Apyra has only spent mere hours compared to the many years that I have.
His skills of manipulations pale in comparison to the powerful bond between myself and Yanqing. However, I did certainly consider the possibility that his regrets would overflow, encouraging the less likely outcome to occur. But, that didn't come to pass.
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[ poison licking its way through the mind, laying foundations slowly but surely...
until eventually, the person affected doesn't know which way is up without being told. what it seems to robin is that this heliobus played its hand far too soon. ]
How boldly arrogant of this Apyra, then, to think it could so thoroughly subvert someone within a few short hours. If anyone had any strength of will or character to speak of, of course they'd put up more resistance than that. And then it claims to know him, inside and out ... Are they all like that?
[ they continue to dodge the subject of chrom's death, but robin is well aware of the juxtaposition of his words against what happened then. ]
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Furthermore, that is generally how creatures like that prefer to operate. Until, of course, nothing is left of the person they had originally inhabited.
[ So, funnily enough, Robin's observations would not be too far off the mark, otherwise.
But this one certainly did play its hand far too soon and far too foolishly, as it were. ]
That being said, unfortunately heliobi can still possess a variety of differing personalities. I believe Apyra stuck out as a bit of a special sort as remarkably aggressive to the point of holding little skill in regards to the implementation of its strategy. Even if creatures such as them hold weak faith in the idea of their targets being able to provide much resistance in general...which lends to usually quite the giant ego. Though not necessarily always a lack in their method on how to successfully suck the life out of their target.
...I don't suppose you've ever had to deal with anything like that yourself, hm?
[ Jing Yuan asks, humor light even as the point of Chrom's death is, for all intents and purposes kind of still evaded in the ways that matter. Though it isn't like he himself has forgotten; he thinks it is only polite to allow Robin his inquiries in turn as he had for him, after all. ]
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We don't have such beings where I'm from. Malevolent spirits either take their own forms, or none at all.
[ the astral form that certain dragons can take on is a different thing entirely. terrors, though ... come to think of it, the world hasn't seen those in millennia, now has it?
he keeps the subject deliberately grounded from that angle, and not from the one of being subjugated to another's will. ]
These heliobi are truly akin to the flames they resemble, aren't they? Greedy and hungry, only seeking to consume, caring only for their own desires...
[ it's distasteful, but he's known that wickedness lies not in the hearts of humanity alone. still, beasts are beasts, and fire is fire; you would sooner snuff a flame than tell it not to burn.
(if peaceful coexistence were easy, then they'd have seen it at least once somewhere, across all of these different worlds and skies represented.) ]
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Oh? Perhaps I shall consider that nothing less than fortunate.
To deal with spirits that can insight the worst upon possession of others is not something I would wish on anyone.
[ After dealing with such creatures for a multitude of centuries, Jing Yuan knows this best. ]
That is indeed how they are. Mindless, thoughtless creatures who think of literally nothing else. Should one take a casual, ill-advised stroll where they mostly congregate with one another, it is the exact kind of topic they discuss:
How their last meal was — naturally based upon the consumption of their last victim — and how much they desire for their next to be ever the more fulfilling.
[ Not exactly pleasant talk but confirmation to Jing Yuan that these creatures are such base lifeforms. The Xianzhou is welcome to many a variety of lifeforms and species, some of which live in harmony with one another, and some of which would rather drag all of them down into the depths of hell to stand upon their remains, corpses, or the space where they once existed, and now nothing is left. ]
Though, I do wonder if the malevolent spirits you are familiar with are another large source of trouble in your world, even if they differ from the ones I witness back on the Xianzhou.
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[ not a heliobus but excellus, perhaps, as the treacherous grimleal snake twining its way into the valmese war effort; like aversa for gangrel and plegia, and who knows how many others throughout history— but all involved can only be human. nothing so easy to condemn as an entire species of selfish hedonists, just reflections of mankind's worse tendencies that yet seem to inspire little self-reflection.
validar was a man. the exalt before emmeryn, a man. forneus, too, a man. the names and examples are endless. evil can exist without so ready an excuse as 'the spirits made me do it.' to shirk responsibility for what one's own hands committed would be utterly craven. ]
I would wager such obvious and disparate differences in species only really serves to highlight it and put it more in the open. Certainly it is easy when a species all represents themselves like your heliobi— no desire or attempts made to coexist, no care afforded to beings not of their own.
But even so, to know people— is to come into conflict with them. So many differing natures cannot possibly all align. To satisfy some you must neglect yet others. How all that is navigated— that is what makes up the experiment known as civilization.
And so often it is done without any grace to speak of.
[ and perhaps that is simply just inevitable, when it is a truth of the world that one man's happiness can mean the grief of another's. ]
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[ Jing Yuan easily thinking back to, indeed, that man who called himself Walhart, considering himself a champion of humanity when he clearly showed himself as something he recalls considering himself as anything less.
But, as it is...
He can feel a wry smile almost touch itself at his lips, even if that dissipates sooner than later. He does not find disagreement on that matter regarding the differences of species there, so there is a nod there.
As for the other subject, Jing Yuan thinks it too is something all too common; strife existing as a result of civilization...misfortunes, disparities, the hardships, the quagmire that is the nature of people trying to come together, and the like. Even if he would like to see that 'so often' in this respect change. ]
Such is the burden carried upon civilization as a whole, it seems. Grand faults persist, greater still so that disparities and unfairness are bound to exist for long stretches at a time.
Though, it is also true that I believe people should do what they can in order to amend such matters. Quite a burden to bear, perhaps; an insurmountable task that will always need to be pursued, with it feeling like never any guarantee of success. Even that too seems the nature of things as well.
But, it also seems graceless for me to imagine accepting that this will forever be the case. That people cannot one day come together in agreement; even if to acknowledge their differing points of views. But, also so that those who need a helping hand are not neglected; that people are not scorned for their differences, and that even though perfect harmony would be far too idealistic...it would not be so terrible.
Though, I know that in of itself seems too far reaching to grasp and expect it to be universal across different worlds, I believe it's not something too unusual for a leader to strive forward for. But, such sentiments...would you find them strange or idealistic yourself in light of all that's been witnessed so far by yourself, however?
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