TDM + GAME OPENING 🎉

[beleos]

Who: Shard-Bearers, new and old
What: Seeds take root
Where: The Tree of Life, Highstorm, Springstar
When: October 14th and onwards
Warnings: Potential for (mild) body horror, death, dismemberment

I. BEARING FRUIT (new characters only)

It starts out as a pleasant dream. You’re in your favorite place, with your favorite people. It’s a moment of idyllic comfort.

And then, it goes wrong.

The sky turns dark above, and as you look up, you see the black expanse of space spotted with faraway pinprick lights of stars. Yet, they’re not stars. You’re certain. They’re watching you. A billion eyes all looking down, and they spill forth as if sky itself was a dam holding back those dark waters. You reach back to the people you’re with, but they’re frozen in place. Their eyes are black, reflecting only the expanse of dark eyes.

So you run, even though you know you won’t escape it. You glance back and see it not overtaking, but consuming. The landscape around you is being devoured, and you can see it cracking apart. The world itself is breaking, and it cracks under your feet. You fall, and the billion eyes chase after you until the darkness swallows you whole. There’s agony as if you’re being ripped apart, and then—

You cannot see. You cannot feel. You simply are. Yet even so, impossibly, a woman’s voice speaks gently.

I’m sorry it couldn’t be saved. But, come, it’s time to wake.

You wake with a start, cradled by soft, velvety plants, and sticky with a sap that smells faintly of honey and iron. You can see the veins of the leaves that hold you, lit warmly and gently by what looks like a crystal embedded above you. Yet, it’s odd, because that crystal calls to you. When you reach out to touch it, it’s warm. Familiar. Important. You don’t know why, but you know you must hold onto this, because now it feels wrong for it to be suspended in these leaves. So, you pull it out.

The light starts to fade, but only in time to see as the leaves cradling you immediately start to soften and crumble, and with it comes a torrent of dirt. Soft, loamy soil starts to fill the space around you in the dark as you’re buried. Or, rather, you already were. You reach out through the dirt desperately, and your hands finds a root, so you pull while you clutch that precious crystal so close that it almost feels like it sinks into you (in your panic, you don’t notice that it does). You reach out again, and this time, your hand hits open air and plenty of sturdy roots around to grab.

From a seed you’re born, and like a sprout, you make your way out of the ground.

And once you’ve clawed your way out of the soft earth and the roots, nearby, you see the soil shift. Another hand comes up to grasp desperately for something, anything, just as you had been.

II. MORAL HAZARD

There are new Shard-Bearers at the Tree of Life, and Yima has asked that the earlier arrivals go to greet them and help them. These aren’t people from Horos, after all, so they’ll have many, many questions. As Yima explains, the roots of the tree rise up to create caverns underneath, and it’s there you’ll find the new Shard-Bearers. And indeed, with careful steps to not slip on the mossy roots, down you go. Perhaps Communion will help you find the new Shard-Bearers, but it might be a confusing process for them.

The roots all start to look the same, to the point that you’re sure that you’ve already been through this passage. You turn around, and most of the people you had come here with are gone, if not all of them. It’s confusing and unsettling, and strangest of all.. You’re starting to feel ill, even if that wasn’t something normally possible for you. But continuing forward, you do eventually find an unfamiliar face of a new Shard-Bearer. They look no better than you feel.

Before introductions, however, roots around you shift suddenly until you’re enclosed in a room together. From the roots, a face forms in the wall. It speaks in a creaking, uneven tone, as if it weren’t used to speaking at all.

Give to take. A sacrifice. To live.

---

LET'S PLAY A GAME...

As the Dryad will explain, characters are now trapped in a room and have been poisoned by the spores that the lichens underfoot release. An antidote lays beyond the roots the dryad has curled around you, but to access it, you must make a sacrifice.

Characters can pick one of the following options, but the decision must be made unanimously. If one character takes a drastic action (such as murdering another), it’s counted as a failure for the group.

• Each of you must offer up a personal/treasured memory. The memory will be shared in Communion with all characters assembled, and then will be destroyed. No character will retain the memory or memory of its Communion.
• Each of you must offer up something physical. A finger, a toe, an ear, it’s your choice. The dryad will offer a knife if this is chosen that will sever the body part of choice cleanly and immediately stop any bleeding.
• Offer up another. Kill one person in the room.
• Refusing is also a valid option. Characters will get more ill as they debate until they start to find it difficult to breathe, and they’ll die quickly after.

The following is OOC knowledge that will not be known IC: The consequences of this game are about intent, and thus are not real. When characters are freed from the tree’s thrall, they’ll have their memories/body parts/life intact.

This can be done in groups of 2 to 4 players, and Loremasters recommend three if you can swing it! It’s more fun when you get in philosophical debates, right? Regardless, when your group comes to a decision, please record it here. These don’t have to be fully threaded out to be recorded, so the conclusion can be discussed OOC if you prefer. Actions can be submitted until October 21st, after which groups will be informed of what comes of their choice…

When a group receives the antidote, they'll be released from the tree's thrall... But will have a hard time waking up. It feels like something has grabbed onto their spine.

III. DREAMING OF HOME

You may wake with a start from your deliberations (or arguments) with a jolt of pain from the base of your spine as something is pulled away rapidly. A dark-haired man who looks to be in his thirties or so holds you carefully, but as soon as you start to regain your senses, he sets you back and holds up his hands.

Woah— Woah there, it’s fine! The tree was, uh, trying to take you back is all. You’re fine now.

As long as you’re not going to attack him, he offers a friendly smile and a hand to shake.

Name’s Cyrus. Sorry about the rude awakening. Let’s get your friend here unhooked too.

And indeed, glancing over, you can see the person you met in that room laying nearby, and it looks like a vine has snaked underneath them to exactly where something had just been pulled from you… Best not to think about it, maybe. Or if you've been unlucky enough to be one of the last people rescued, you might find vines and roots starting to grow into your skin. It's fine!

---

CYRUS, THE TRIBUNE

Cyrus is the NPC heading up the Meridian Faction, and is available to thread with under this header. Cyrus has come to the Tree of Life to help rescue the Shard-Bearer’s from the Tree, so he’s not going to be inclined to explain too much right away, since he’s on a mission, but he’ll stick around once everyone is successfully freed from Prompt 2 to speak with anyone that wants to. The following is just an OOC summary of information in case you do not need to thread with Cyrus:

Cyrus will gladly introduce himself to everyone, and will further explain his position in Meridian and Springstar (see the NPC Page) and the goals of Meridian itself (see the Faction Page, save for the italicized section). But most importantly, he’ll explain that he knows it sounds like something overly optimistic. It’s fair to be skeptical. He’ll produce a small glass bead from a bag he’s carrying. It looks like the necklace he wears, though not lit up. He’ll explain that the force of Meridian is a gift and can be a tether to your home, if you let it. As his fingertips light up, the energy is infused into the bead, which he’ll hand to you.

Taking the bead into your hands, you’ll take a bird’s eye view of your home world as if your consciousness is split, since you’ll still perceive standing in front of Cyrus at the tree. Rather than a vision, the view of your world is absolutely real, you’re certain. It’s a glimpse at the world that you thought destroyed, and if you focus on a particular place or a particular person, you’ll find the view shifting rapidly to it. No one you watch is aware of your presence, but simply continues about their daily life, whatever that is. But after about a minute, the view will fade as the light in the bead also fades.

That’s an iliachtida, a sunbeam, and when infused with Meridian’s light, allows someone Harmonized to it to check in on their world, he explains. It also acts as an anchor that tethers their soul to their world in the Timestream. With it, their world can’t entirely disappear, so eventually, they can go home. It’s a gift he’ll allow anyone that wants it to keep it, but indeed, they’ll be unable to use it again without first Harmonizing to Meridian.

To help manage threadload for the Loremasters playing Cyrus, we ask that you only tag him with the character you are most likely to app. Similarly, new tag-ins will not be accepted after Monday, October 17th.

III. SPRINGSTAR, αιώνιος ήλιος

After your ordeals at the Tree of Life, perhaps you’re drawn to Springstar, the city of eternal sun and the seat of Meridian.

It’s currently (and fittingly) Spring in Springstar, and the bustling city is coming back to life after finishing up winter. It’s not as if the winters are especially harsh here, but you’ll quickly get the sense that the people of Springstar are vivacious and happy to celebrate. You’ll find the Entertainment District to be the liveliest, whether it’s at a rowdy bar or a brothel, but no matter what, you’re welcome with open arms and without question.

Of course, if you’d just like to use the chance to explore the city alongside your fellow Shard-Bearers, that’s fine too. It’s easy to get lost in the crowds of Springstar and see all the city has to offer.

IV. HIGHSTORM, луны-близнецы

Or maybe Highstorm, the city of twin moons and the seat of Zenith is more to your liking. It’s certainly the quieter of the two cities and is a relaxing, meditative place if that’s what you prefer. The chill in the air is constant, since it’s Autumn in Highstorm and the eternal night doesn’t help keep things warm, exactly. Snow isn’t out of the question at this time of the year, but it’s beautiful in the moonlight.

Because of the cooler weather than Highstorm is prone to, you’ll find many of its delights inside rather than outside. Libraries and museums are popular in the more introspective city, though it’s easy enough to find something that might please you. For example, the indoor hot baths are popular at this time of the year too. You’ll find the people are kind, if cool-tempered, though if you mention the fact that you’re a Shard-Bearer or allied with Zenith, they’re more likely to warm up.

Though much like Springstar, it may just be more interesting to explore the city with a fellow Shard-Bearer. And as a resident may warn you, it’s best to stay in the city. Wandering out into the marshes and forests isn’t advised. Of course, if you do, just contact a Loremaster to find out why. ♥

NOTES

Welcome to Kenos! As a reminder, all players are required to fill out an application, which are now open. This does include characters/players from Aion Teleos, so please don’t forget to fill one out! Any character/player that does not submit an application will be swept from the communities and the Discord after applications close.

Activity Check is optional this month, but is highly recommend so Christy can check her fancy program so that you can earn Activity Reward Tokens! Activity will be able to be submitted shortly after applications close. You can find more about how we do AC here.

This log is Game Canon. Any characters who are not apped to the game will disappear. If Cyrus or Yima are asked, they’ll explain that this happens sometimes, since not every soul has a strong tether to Kenos and sometimes return to the Timestream. They’re fine and may even return to Kenos one day, but for now weren’t able to make the full journey.

As a reminder, your character has a Shard somewhere on their body that encompasses their soul, so keep note of where you're sticking it on their person for reference! Additionally, they have a tattoo of their Aspect somewhere on their body. Please be mindful this Aspect will be assigned to you upon approval and whatever you choose for the TDM may be temporary (for new characters)!

For the Highstorm and Springstar prompts, both cities will be fully open and accessible to all characters once they are saved from their rather harrowing ordeal at the Tree of Life. For prompt ideas and any general information about the cities and what you can find there, please see the Navigation page and check out the locations!

FOR NEW PLAYERS:

New players are welcome to join our Discord Server if you haven't already!

When they emerge from their cocoon/the ground, characters may be wearing their normal clothes, or they might be nude. Up to you!

At some point in the days after leaving the Tree of Life, new Shard-Bearers will have a dream, even if they're usually not capable of sleeping. All new players should read this post, since this details how they'll learn about both factions and their goals and should help them make a decision in which Faction they'd be drawn to.

New characters will not have access to any canon abilities on the TDM.

Your character will be offered temporary housing either at the Heliopolis district or Yima's manor for the first few weeks after their arrival. They will also be given a stipend for basic supplies like clothing and personal effects, and food is served in the cantina (Heliopolis) and at regular meal times in the Dining Room (Yima's manor). Once they Harmonize, they will get personal permanent chambers and a fancy retainer in their Faction's city. Wow! 🌈

FOR OLD PLAYERS:

Characters may be Harmonized to their Faction (if that makes sense for the character, of course!) by the time of this log. This is more for IC reference, and just wait until application acceptance to do the OOC paperwork!

General reminder that your character won't have access to their powers until they have Harmonized.

CODING

Comments

cw: eye stuff

[warmare]

[Hayame has the dubious "pleasure" of being one of the last woken from the clutches of the tree. That, and the fact that removing the roots from a very long jinba spine had left her temporarily twitching and half-paralyzed on the mossy floor spares the man who introduces himself as Cyrus from an immediate interrogation. He can finish his work. But once she's up, once she's ascertained with a confused press of her hand to the side of her head that what she'd thought she'd sacrificed wasn't even gone...

Her hooves sink slightly into the plush moss and roots as she struggles up, a dark eye and an empty socket where an eye should be locked onto their rescuer.]

You-

[Despite having seemingly been "saved" from their fate by this man, Hayame locks on to him as if he were a potential enemy instead, pointing accusingly in his direction, yet unswayed by the easy smile and warmth radiating off him. (The only smile she wanted to see was already-)]

What are you?

pats hayamyams...

[kenosnpcs]

[ Cyrus is careful as Hayame starts to get up, and he even takes an extra step back, since, well, she's just kind of larger than everyone else he's rescued. Plus, he figures she might need or want a little more room for her equine half. Seeing the distrust in her eye, he holds up his hands again disarmingly to show that he means no harm. His smile stays in place, but it shifts to one that's sympathetic briefly, before the question turns it to surprise instead. ]

Uh... Human?

[ Clearly, not the question he was expecting, but he at least moves past it, since he adds without much of a pause: ]

Are you alright? Feeling okay? The vines can really latch on, it looks like.

[warmare]

[Seeing no weapon in a man's hand would be reassuring to her... If this were her world, or one even remotely like it. But if there is one thing Hayame has learned since she had been ripped from the only place that made sense to her... It's that just because she didn't see a blade didn't mean her enemies weren't capable of some strange magic or foul influence on her mind.]

Here.

[Is she weakened by her repeated ordeal in the dryad's lair of tests, or is she always this articulate? He was wise enough to give her space, at least, she is taking a bit longer than some two-legged victims to get her back legs to regain feeling. Her hip slumps suddenly and her flank knocks up against the wall of roots, where she stays for a moment and tries to disguise it as a choice and not clumsy weakness.

She'd already killed one man today, and even if it apparently hadn't been real...]

What are you to this place?

[What was real, then?]

[kenosnpcs]

[ His smile slips again to concern, but he is indeed wise enough to tell right away that she's the sort that's going to be happier with space. He looks like he's considering something for a moment, but it slips away at her question. If she has questions, those are easier. He can answer those, and so his voice is warm and patient. ]

The Tribune of Springstar and leader of the Meridian. Though if you mean here-here— [ He looks up to the roots above with a shrug, then back to her. ]

Well, nothing. The Tree is where Shard-Bearers show up unless Lady Yima does whatever she does to pick 'em. I was told new people would be showing up, so I'm just here to help. The Tree doesn't always like to let go.

[warmare]

[A lot of those words don't mean anything to her. "Tribune". "Springstar". "Meridian". Sure, she'd... heard them, in the haze of her recovery, but they still didn't possess actual definition in her mind. But despite how casual he acts, he identifies himself as a leader... and he was, at minimum, a man of action.

So she will ask (demand), a back leg twitching.]

That woman sent us here knowing what might happen?

[Teeth too sharp and incongruous with both her human-looking and equine features are bared by the sneer that twists her lip. Being "picked"...]

[kenosnpcs]

Probably not exactly... But it's never simple, that's for sure. The Tree has a mind of its own, very literally. Sometimes it just lets people go, sometimes you get it trying to keep you here, essentially. I've never gone through it myself, but I've pulled out Shard-Bearers before. Last time around, they told me it was offering them something they wanted to stay.

[ Though he doesn't ask what she'd gone through, not wanting to pry. It's personal usually, and he feels that if someone wants to tell him, that's an gift. It shouldn't be forced. Cyrus does look at her back leg, but then back to her face before he offers gently: ]

If there's anything lingering, I can use some magic to heal you, if you want. It might at least take the edge off, so to speak

[warmare]

Do not touch me.

[That response to his offer comes out first, sharp as a cornered dog snarling at an offered hand-- nevermind that she looks far more equine than canine. Even if she felt comfortable with the invasive feeling and idea of magic, another's spirit and powers flowing into her body and forcing it to do natural things at unnatural speeds... The last time someone had touched her it had been that Yima woman, and the gentle stroke of her fingers through her hair had seemed to rob her of the energy to fight and rage.

She would not have it stolen again.]

You expect me to believe you? To get myself in to your debt even further? And for what? Do you want our loyalty as well?

[The Regent, the rebellion, Yima... And now one more? Why not three, or ten-]

[kenosnpcs]

[ The wrong thing, then. He nods, understanding, and doesn't flinch at all in the face of her ferocity. He seems to understand it, because she's not the first opposed to magic that he's met. He can understand the distaste, just based on stories he's heard from others, so he nods. ]

I won't, I promise. Not unless you give me permission.

[ He has a bag at his side, and with a gesture that says "wait a second", he reaches into it and grabs something, though he doesn't show it to her yet. ]

But no, I'm not here for your debt or your loyalty, I promise. That's not how Meridian does things. That's not the way I do things. [ The slightest of digs at Yima, sssh ] Did Lady Yima tell you anything about Meridian? About what we're trying to do?

[warmare]

[A promise means nothing to her. The only promises she had ever trusted in came from two people she has not seen since she was robbed of the death in her own world she had chosen for herself, and the words of others have never meant much to her. Action was what she believed in... But at the very least, he keeps his present distance.

The movement towards the bag he carries is watched with the wariness of a woman who would attack at the briefest glint of steel, but it must be something small enough to fit in his palm, so for now... She listens, her remaining eye narrowed, her hand moving to try and pull the half-dislodged strip of cloth back more properly over the raw socket where the other used to be. That woman... She had said some things, but her mind had been so splintered in that moment, and her cracked shard kept her convalescing for days after...

But she won't admit it. Instead, she fires back,]

You tell me.

[A moment ago, she'd had blood streaming from a severed ear, her teeth and tongue stained with demon's blood, and yet now she stands as if none of it had ever happened. What was possible for him to say now... It was beyond her capacity to understand or guess.]

[kenosnpcs]

[ It’s probably better that way, he decides, and he nods. There are ways in which he and Yima are similar, and the biggest one was how they both were able to see other peoples’ pain. Yima’s was more literal, so far as he could tell, because she just had a way to know what people wanted or needed, but he isn’t anything as special as that. It’s just… obvious, sometimes. He’s not careful with his words, exactly. They don’t feel measured or rehearsed, but something deeply felt. ]

Well, it always feels corny to say and, y’know, while I get into it, trust me for just a minute, okay? Then I’ll show you proof.

[ It’s not a plea, exactly, since he says it with a little humor, but it’s just a slightly long explanation, or at least with how he tells it. She seems like an impatient kind of woman, so it feels like a fairly important caveat to give up front. ]

Meridian is light. It’s the force of life itself, of creation, birth, and beauty. There’s something out there eating all the worlds that you came from, and it’s everything Meridian isn’t. I can’t claim to know what that’s like, I’ll be honest, and I won’t insult you by trying. But I love my home and my people, just as I’m sure plenty of the Shard-Bearers that come here do too. The Meridian isn’t just a force that wants to stop that destruction. It wants to return people to what they’ve lost. It’s hope.

[ He reaches up with the hand that’s not holding whatever he grabbed from his bag to touch the glowing necklace he wears. It’s not overly bright, but it is a lot like looking at the sun itself. ]

This is an Iliachtida, a sunbeam. It’s proof of what Meridian can do, because just you being here is proof that your world is still out there. This is my ancestor’s, and my family has taken care of it ever since they were pulled into Kenos and learned to channel Meridian’s light.

[ But it’s also not the best explanation. It’s just words, not action, and so he opens his other hand to show a roughly hewn glass bead. It’s not completely clear, showing little specks of color and imperfection in it. But as Cyrus places his other hand’s fingers on it and closes his eyes, it starts to glow. It’s slow at first, but builds until it glows like his necklace. And with an open palm, he holds out his hand to offer it to her. ]

Here. It’s my Meridian inside it, so it won’t last very long, but take a look. Through your hand, it's your home.

[ And indeed, if she does take it, it’ll only take a few moments for her to experience the vision of home that the beads offer. ]

cw: slavery, abuse, etc.

[warmare]

[For what it's worth... Hayame does listen. She doesn't trust him, she won't do it for even a minute, but she does listen as her her body remembers what it's like to be in control of itself, shaking out the vestiges of the dryad's work and the roots that had attempted to twine themselves around her spine with a last series of twitches and an aborted kick.

What she hears... Is more than difficult to swallow.

Hayame had almost hoped once... but that foreign, weak and newborn feeling had been extinguished by harsh reality not a few days later, before it had properly fledged. What did a woman born owned from an armless broodmare know about hope? Any chance as a child to feel such things had been extinguished once she became old enough to know what happened in the breeding stalls each month, once she'd seen what the flensing posts were for. Perhaps she had hoped to be sold as a warrior and not for her use as a woman, but even that was buried in how much actual obsessive work went in to trying to assure it, rather than simply wish for it.

So how do you do it, when you don't have any power or means to actualize the thing that you hope for? How can she feel something like that when she is so lost, so weak in worlds that run on magic and systems she cannot comprehend or find a place for herself in?

She should be more concerned about the implications of the word "ancestor", that it sounds as if this man is claiming that he is descended from someone who had come here like she had, and who then may have lived and died on this floating land in the stars without ever setting foot back in their home. Is that what he's saying? She opens her mouth to ask...

Then he offers her a... bead, one that he claims will serve as a look at her home. Before she can stop herself her hand almost reaches out to take it, desperate for proof that her world survived or news of the fates of the few people she cared for... But she catches herself at the last minute and curls her fingers inward and snatches her fist back as if she'd almost burned herself. What a fool she had become, no-]

Your ancestor's? What do you mean?

[The demand for more information on that point rings more hollow, now that it is obvious what she actually wants to do... If she could just trust him for a single minute.]

[kenosnpcs]

Exactly what it sounds like. My family is descended from a Shard-Bearer that was brought to Kenos, uh... [ He stumbles as he tries to think of a more specific number, but ends up laughing with an apologetic shrug. ] Well, a long time ago. I could look at the family records to see when exactly, I guess, but I don't know it off the top of my head. Centuries.

[ He places his fingers back on the bead to continue to infuse it with Meridian while they talk, since it'll fade naturally, and he wants to be able to give her the full look. ]

But if it's the time you're worried about, you won't be waiting centuries to restore what's in here.

[ Not literally in here, he hopes she knows, but he taps the bead for emphasis all the same ]

When this many Shard-Bearers show up at once, it means the Oracles will too. With Meridian's light, they can restore the worlds completely. Anyone that wants to can go back to their home.

[warmare]

[So it is as she feared. Centuries. This man expected her to believe that his family had waited in this place for that long, that many generations, without losing hope? That he could smile like this, that he could give such a speech after all that? How could he understand how she felt, or feel a connection himself to a world he had not been born to? Her one remaining eye darts between his face and the bead in his hand, glowing anew beneath his touch. He sounds so confident, but then again… so had that woman called Yima.]

How do you know that is true… ?

[If he said it had been centuries, how could she trust such a claim? Oracles, or whatever they were, could restore what was damaged? Could send them back where they belong? Was there anyone here yet alive in this place who could claim to have seen such a thing with their own eyes? Were there records? All of these questions swim through her mind, but only the most important one makes it out.

Hayame cannot stop looking at the bead. Her gaze no longer waivers. Even if it were a trick… If it were possible that she might be stuck in this place until she died, then this may be a last chance to see even a false version of the place she long to return to. She never knew when a dream or hallucination might take her there, but even so… Even so…

If her nails were not cut to the quick she would have left bloody crescent in her palms by now.]

[kenosnpcs]

Because it's what these are. A soul never forgets its home, and Meridian can guide you back, if only to take a look.

[ He withdraws the hand essentially "charging" the bead to offer it to her again. A little humor comes to his voice too, but it's definitely the more self-deprecating variety and not at her expense in the slightest. ]

If it helps, it doesn't do things like the Tree where it pulls you into a vision. You'll still be here too watching me, so you could still kick my ass no problem if you wanted to. [ "please don't though" is what his expression clearly says... lmao ]

[warmare]

[That's not a satisfactory answer. Just like in Horos, when people had tried to speak to her as if hope and despair were somehow real things that could affect the physical world, concepts like... souls just magically knowing how to get home? How can she believe something like that? Only someone pathetic, someone desperate...

She should ask further questions. Demand more specific answers, pin him on the issue of how it was that he knew that these so-called Oracles were imminent, that they had such powers, but-

He offers her the bead again, and this time... Hayame isn't able to refuse. As he cheerfully assures her that she won't be somehow sucked into another hallucination, she reaches and plucks it from his hand so carefully that their skin doesn't brush even the slightest, pulling back to let the it roll into her upturned palm. It glows, soft and warm, and inside of it...

The image coalesces. Inside, a hidden village on a distant mountain, and there... jinba, almost all of them far too young, eke out a meager living hunting and growing vegetables, gathering herbs, crafting their own tools and building their own homes... her remaining eye dilates as a familiar figure, a man with a coat of rust, passes through the image with a similarly coated woman beside him, and they're... They're laughing. A pale jinba with no arms, only empty sleeves tucked carefully into his obi sash, comes trotting up and makes a joke, earning a squeeze from the woman and a groan from the man, and it's...

For a moment, Hayame doesn't say anything. He'd said she wouldn't be pulled into a vision, but.

It's as if Cyrus isn't even there.]

[kenosnpcs]

[ And that's okay. It's always something he thinks is hard to explain, because it doesn't sounds like something real or believable. Just a fantasy that's supposed to be another trick or something, based on other people he's met. It's why he always wants them to experience it directly, because it's feeling what the Meridian can do directly that helps explain it better than he ever can.

So he drops his hand that had been held out for her and just clasps both of them together as he waits patiently. It'll only last a minute, and he won't interrupt her reverie in the slightest during that time. ]

[warmare]

[She makes it to about forty seconds. There are the scouts, heading out for the day's patrols. There is Matsukaze's son, showing off his father's skills to other children. There are her students, coming back from their lesson... and that is when she knows something is wrong. She's been gone, so who is teaching them? Why did these exchanges feel so familiar...]

What the hell is this... ?

[Finally, her voice creaks out of her throat, opened only as far as she can allow it without risking more than emotion coming out. She tries to thrust it towards him, as if to show him what's wrong with the image, but the glow begins to die instead.]

Bring it- Bring it back-

[kenosnpcs]

[ Cyrus nods and reaches out. If she'll let him, he'll recharge it directly in her hands so that she can feel the light, pleasant warmth of it as Meridian recharges it. But if not, he'll just gently take it back to do the same. ]

I can only give it about a minute at a time, since it's not my world, but as many times as you want, I'll recharge it for you.

[ There's an earnest way he says it where it really seems like he doesn't mind. ]

But, you see, right? It's easier to see it than to try and explain it. That's the proof that Meridian offers. It can light the path back to where you belong, if you'll pardon me using the flowery explanation of it.

[ But regardless, once it's recharged, he'll offer it back to her. ]

[warmare]

[This time, she lets him, even if it risks the sort of skin to skin contact with others that she tends to shun, even brief or accidental. She waits for the image to return, for her hearts to clench in longing before she steels herself to deny what she desperately wished were true instead.]

And you expect me to believe that... ?

[She thrusts the bead back towards him as if to demand he look. Look at the jinba like her going about their lives... including her. Most damningly, she is there, too, huffing at the armless jinba who seems to be trying to tease her.]

You- You snatched the memories out of my mind somehow, didn't you?

[Her accusation is harsh and doubtful. Nevermind that... she doesn't know how such magic will work, how any of it would work.]

This... This has already happened.

[kenosnpcs]

[ He holds his hands up again, since he won't take it back in this case. He could look, but considering her reactions, it feels invasive. He wants to give her the privacy of her memories, especially since it sounds like she might have one of the special cases. ]

Nope. I have no idea about what you're seeing.

[ He thinks for a moment about how to prove it, then nods as he adds warmly: ]

Think about someone you didn't see that day. Something that isn't a memory, right? You can go see them too.

[warmare]

[He says that, but... How could she believe it? (Never mind that, now that she's thinking about it... if it were her memories, how could she be in them? Not like this, as if seen from apart. Wouldn't she see it from... her own eyes? No, she doesn't know that's the frustrating thing about magic-)

... Like that?

She pulls the bead back, then, desperate to test what he suggests because she wants... She wants so badly for it not to be lies, even though she knows it must be. Someone she didn't see?

The bead shifts, a different image coalesces... and her brother is there, then, miles away at the edge of the mountain wood, leading a group of her master's men through the trees... What if it was just- Maybe it was just guessing? She could have guessed that's what Yubari was doing. But-

But-

Hayame's half gaze softens. Her fingers half curl around the bead.

And she loses her words again.]

[kenosnpcs]

[ And again, he's patient. He does watch as she goes through the motions of seeing a home again, and he can tell, taking his advice. She's seeing something new. When her gaze softens, his warms slightly and he nods. He waits a few moments, to see if she'll say something or if he'd be interrupting, but eventually offers gently: ]

I hope that it's at least a little something.

[warmare]

[Again, it takes Hayame some time to recover her words. She watches her brother move, notes that the bite marks on his throat had started to heal in the time it took him to trek back to the breeding stable from the region of Tsurugi and then return with their master and his men. She wishes she could see him smile, not this taut, serious face...

But eventually,]

Why-

[He has to know... Someone better than her at magics and thinking and other worlds had to know why-]

Why hasn't anything changed... ? I've been gone for months...

[kenosnpcs]

[ Ah, that one's a complicated question to answer. Or, more accurately, Cyrus is just not...the best at wrapping his head around the whole Timestream thing. Time travel is complicated, who knew! ]

Time can work different in Kenos. Or... Well, not differently, it works the same, but it doesn't always flow the same way.

[ He nods to her bead ]

If I'm guessing correctly about the kind of thing you're seeing, then I've seen that happen before. Sometimes when people come to Kenos, it's almost like their world freezes, at least relative to here. You can be gone for months, but it's only a few seconds back home.

[warmare]

[Hayame has never dedicated a single moment of her life to trying to understand how time worked. What need did anyone have of such a thing? In a world that made sense, where time just moved forward and ever onward...

The image in the bead fades away, and she doesn't quite realize she stopped breathing until all four lungs begin burning and she has to inhale just a bit too sharply. If she... If time there was somehow slower than here, if it was if she had never left... There was still time.

She could still get back before her master's men overran the village and enslaved the orphans who lived there-- before Kohibari was recaptured, before Matsukaze either died fighting or became an Armless, before Koume was forced to birth the child in her belly into the hay of a broodmare's stall like her own weak mother had-

She could still get back there to die, to cleanse her honor like she'd promised she would.

But what she wants now... Right now, something more immediate than the insurmountable seeming task of finding her way "home"...]

How do I make it stay bright- ?

[He talked about "the Meridian", he made it come alive with just his touch...]