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[ PERMANENT. ] a (k)atch-all log for kenos
WHO: Set ( ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
redsoil ), Bondrewd ( dawnlord ), Drizzt ( twohand ), et. al
WHAT: i actually can't stand month-by-month logs so i'm gonna crush my boys into one perma-log for anything outside of events
WHERE & WHEN: Listed in comment headers, or under the cut.
WARNINGS: General warnings for violence, vulgarity and unethical science. Will update/comment with warnings!
I struggle so hard w/ month-by-month logs, so y'all have to deal with my weird organization...
— [MARCH | SET] GOT NO SHAME, GOT NO PRIDE
redsoil ), Bondrewd ( dawnlord ), Drizzt ( twohand ), et. alWHAT: i actually can't stand month-by-month logs so i'm gonna crush my boys into one perma-log for anything outside of events
WHERE & WHEN: Listed in comment headers, or under the cut.
WARNINGS: General warnings for violence, vulgarity and unethical science. Will update/comment with warnings!
I struggle so hard w/ month-by-month logs, so y'all have to deal with my weird organization...
— [MARCH | SET] GOT NO SHAME, GOT NO PRIDE
[JULY] closed, liem talbott.
Which leaves him free to finally, finally, chase down something he has been eager to since months prior. Since before the Iconoclast Oracle had awoken, perhaps since the moment he had assisted the explorers in locating a particular plant in the Beyond, only to come across an abandoned shrine and begin to wonder — who were the gods of Kenos? Who was worshipped here, and where had they gone? Asking Yima for her guidance had been a calculated effort, to remind her of his potential in her eyes and to glean the measure of her. Where would she point him, and why?
Liem is the only other individual he asks with him, on the adventure. There had been other considerations, of course — any of the individuals they had traveled with into the Beyond initially, Hayame or Ruby, even Jonathan Sims, who had expressed his empathy toward the creatures of Alenroux and the Beyond, and the desire to know of the past, the lost generations of Shardbearers, and the history hidden behind a veil of unknowability to them. It is Liem he asks to go with him. Because Liem is cutting and insightful, and will not stray from difficulty. Because, some part of him knows now, he can likely trust Liem — he can tether himself to their friendship, and resolve himself to let Liem know what he does, where he goes. The dealings he has.
They're already a few days into their journey, when Set finally confesses to him — not like that — while hovering near to the lake that Liem had found on his half of the exploration. They have a while to go yet, but Set is conversing with plants all the way, in search of the temple. They're heading in the right direction. ]
For my work with the Mnemosyno Gathering, Hieropoios Natalia gave me a boon. I asked her to strengthen my relationship with the Church. Knowing what we know about it, there is a high likelihood that it is poised to take drastic measures to ensure Meridian's victory. The sale of shards, the gathering of shadows that John Gaius told me of. Hieropoios Natalia knows she was present for the previous Oracle war, but her memories — and perhaps those of anyone else involved in it that is still alive — are muddled. I think having an in within the Church is vital and,
[ He pauses his clambering, hefting a rock as if preparing to skip it across the lake. ]
I would rather uncover whatever they're up to before any Zenites do, and ruin us. What do you think?
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But he makes time for this. Because it is a mystery, and he does not think the current generation of shard-bearers will be able to succeed where their forebears failed unless they discover the secrets of this world's past. And because it is important to Set, who he knows will not rest without answers.
As on their previous excursion into the Beyond, Liem comes armed with his brass-and-darkwood crossbow and a long, dark-bladed dagger. Unlike before, however, the serviceable leathers he'd bought in Springstar are traded out for robes of charcoal-grey trimmed with gold. The fabric falls in stiff lines and heavy folds, suggesting sturdy functionality despite its ceremonial appearance. He navigates them without difficulty as he accompanies Set along the rocky shore of the lake.]
It is worrying that those poised to tell us more of this war we have been summoned into do not remember any of the details one might expect them to know.
[He is reminded of Manon, who had also expressed that his memories seemed muddled and unreliable when he was being questioned about his flight from Zenith. Just who is getting their hands on these people and affecting them in this way? And for that matter — why?]
You speak sense, though, about investigating the Church. Those of Zenith who might uncover its secrets would, at best, reveal what they had learned without care for how it would destabilize Meridian. At worst, it would be an opportunity for them to cripple us from within our own ranks. This is something we must deal with ourselves; any dangerous elements within it must be ferreted out.
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Liem deserves that honesty, from him. ] I agree, though. And I know I cannot accomplish this work alone. The Hieropoios and I have an accord, in a sense. She has allowed me to begin to serve the Church, to wear its vestments and attend its more clandestine services — the ones led by her. If you would do this with me, I would be the one to invite you in. I think she would be agreeable to that.
[ It would mean working directly together. A priest of order and a god of chaos; to Set, it feels right. Liem is one of the few people he would admit to trusting with his vast machinations, so much so that it is Liem he brings to the Beyond. That he has now told the reason for his interest in the temple in the North; that he asked the Lady herself for wisdom, heedless of the cost, and it was she who gave him the vision of it, of "being" a burned and monstrous Meridian Shardbearer.
It is Liem he confides in, of so much information en route to the temple. Between the vision that the man was shown and Set's tracking of paths via his spellwork, they will inevitably find it. He continues his path around the lake, at a calm stroll — a cooling down, after their sprint through a nest of monsters neither wished to immediately tangle with. He has told Liem of his intentions with the Church, that he could have asked for information about the great machine burning flesh in the Springstar warehouse — but, that he had chosen to enter her fold to gain access to that information by making himself valuable to her. ]
I am willing to do whatever it takes, to reach the depths of that place and its secrets before Zenith can find their way. If you are with me, we will become the arch you spoke of to one another — whatever comes.
[ He does pause, to finally reach out and touch the stiff folds of Liem's raiments — they're much darker than the ones that Set now wears during his service, in the beautiful gold and white of a distinguished priest. It is a new look for Liem, and one that had surprised him to see, when they had met up at his Shrine to strike forth into the unknown. ]
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I will do this with you, if the Heiropoios will allow it.
[Liem slows for a moment in the wake of that brush of Set’s fingers. Despite the bright gleam of the golden key hanging against his chest, his sunbeam set prominently in its bow, he holds no hesitation for conducting such an infiltration. He has insinuated himself close to powerful nobility and penetrated the depths of cult strongholds in order to find the fatal secrets they kept hidden from view. The Church has proven itself to be worthy of suspicion; if someone must descend into its depths to learn of its sins, it may as well be him.
After all, the vestments that Liem wears now are not a priest’s robes, but rather those worn by the inquisitors of the Judge of the Gods; the traditional flawless white replaced with dark greys that will not easily display the stains of violence and hardship. They are garments made not for worship, but for anonymous work, and during the most loathsome of assignments, veils and masks are worn by Abadar’s inquisitors so that the spite of the citizenry will not follow them into their daily lives. This type of work is more honest for him to devote himself to than his hobby pursuits as priest and civil servant.]
It is typical that such a well-established Church would have connections to other people and establishments that may be of use. I am interested to know of those that may be more… clandestine in nature.
[Aetós. That warehouse where no-one is allowed to enter.]
My main question is how siloed are these connections? The inquisitor’s branch of the Cathedral of Coins had many connections that were not shared with the main body of the temple, as their roles differed greatly. We could be looking for corruption that extends throughout the upper levels of the Church, or just one specific division.
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[ ...... nat????
As an evil god, he knows he inspires a certain degree of maliciousness in the hearts of others; to function in any way that works against that parameter imposed upon his divinity would be to invite his own ruin, so naturally he cannot purge poison from an institution. Someone else he's brought into the fold could, but not him, not personally. That is why he seeks followers. People to counterbalance his movements, to maximize the potential for victory — or pure anarchy, in the end.
Balance holds no greater meaning than chaos, and in fact exists with authority because chaos gives it reason. It is a little concept spoken of by scholars, in the books he has read about his kin and kind — written centuries upon centuries after Egypt had diminished, transformed, and evolved anew. It is why he thinks to invite Liem, a man of order with the spine to dive into the darkness with him, to join him. ]
See? You are already asking questions I would not think to. I have never infiltrated an entire Church before, but I intend to allow my presence to be utilized as a tool by them. It was said that Greece and Egypt were bound together to create a whole new era, after all — why not evoke such might here, in a place where my home and Springstar's capital curiously share a name. Heliopolis!
[ With that, he plants a kiss right across Liem's nose, before seizing his hand to plunge on. He never truly stops walking, even while talking, as he is eager to find the temple within the next day's journey or so. Still, the trip is a great time to catch up with the priest, and discuss their plans where no one else can overhear them. ( Except maybe Yima, since she apparently exists beyond time and space?? ) ]
Cyrus said he's more of a Tribune of the people, than one of the Church. I suspect they might be behind one of the candidates looking to depose him, especially if what was found by Link and the others in the Tribune's quarters during our Oracle battle was true — Voreen replaced him as Tribune in that timeline. Cyrus informed me that a Tribune is Tribune until he dies, too. Naturally, I suspect they may be in contest with him, among their other black marks.
[ Really, a lot of investigations — the warehouse, supporting Cyrus?, the Shards — come back to the Church being at the center of things. ]
I only wish Zenith was as easy to fxck with.
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Liem knows next to nothing about either Egypt or Greece, but he can see the benefits readily enough of Set joining with the Church during their time here. The god has a knack for sticking his nose in all sorts of places, and setting off events that don't seem immediately related to his actions. If they investigate the Church together, things are bound to shake loose, and he'll be able to rifle through whatever does.
Just as long as Set can rein in his excitement when they're actually in public. (But here, in the forest, Liem voices no complaint as he allows Set to pull him onward.)]
It's true; I cannot easily imagine anyone would be brazen enough to campaign against Lady Yima for control of her city.
[That two different men have taken the cue to do so despite the Tribune's youth and good health is both concerning and suspicious. Regardless of who, he is certain that someone behind the scenes must have encouraged this turn of events.]
Springstar does seem rather more precariously positioned than Highstorm, for all its strength in numbers. It rests over the Below, as well, and I fear the influence that underworld might have on it if it swayed against Springstar's favour. Perhaps that is all the more reason to plumb the Beyond's depths, since this place is the only part of Highstorm that seems not to be immediately within the Matron's control.
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And see, Set could have been doing something to keep Silco in check all this time — but, why should it be his responsibility? He benefits from the arrangement between himself and the Zenite doing goodness-knows what with the city living below Springstar. If anything, Set wants Meridian to get control of the machine before he does — because Set has every belief that the combination of Silco and Sebastian will, like, blow it up and cave in half the city. It's what he would do. Perhaps it is why his head tilts curiously, dark pupils thinning into catlike slits,
when Liem's voice carries words that are deeply similar to the unspoken thoughts that Set harbors. ]
Even if Kowloon falls to Zenite influence, having a foothold as close to Highstorm as we can may be enough to keep them in check. I do not mind aiming weapons at their throats, even if they will simper and cajole about only doing what they must in response to is. In fact, I hope they move on the Below. As I told Jonathan Sims — they have plenty of rope to hang themselves with, and I will enjoy ripping their credibility to shreds in the eyes of their more moderate members. They are the ones we must continue to curry favor with. They will keep the fanatics in check.
[ Arguably, it's how Zenith could maintain the same over Meridian. ]
Destabilizing Zenith is now our most important task, in my opinion. A hard task, when its Lady seems to exist outside of linear time, and likely knows the strongest moves she could make well in advance.
[ Deeper still, they travel. Into the depths of the Beyond, with the lake eventually coming to reside at their backs — the furthest they have traveled, or seen. Set pauses to place his fingers to another lush, aged tree and speak with it about activity in the area, about the great structure they are looking for. At least, he knows, they can confirm they are walking in the right direction. He also murmurs to questions about any creatures that have passed by recently, to ensure that he and Liem do not run afoul of an ambush ( or another nest ). ]
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Navigating the Beyond, however, is well within his capabilities. From the lake, and the site of the camp he’d made with Childe and Sooyoung, Liem is able to provide some guidance as they seek the temple from Set’s vision. His own vision when he’d last camped here still lingers in the back of his mind, whispering to him as they make their way through the woods: turn north-east at this ridge; follow this stream; cross this ravine and climb the slope on the other side. The memory shadows him, almost as if he’d come this way before. Though of course, this is the first time his feet have trod this far into the Beyond at all.]
She is the most salient target, certainly— but also the most challenging. I do not doubt that she must have secrets aplenty, including those that would unsettle even her own people were they to be unmasked, but they are surely buried deep.
[It truly is frustrating that Lady Yima doesn’t seem susceptible to the same kinds of threats that Cyrus is. How does one attack the credibility of a peerless, probably-immortal being who purports to have founded not only Highstorm, but probably all of Kenos?]
But yes, Zenith is certainly not short on unscrupulous members, who might attract the ire of others if someone were to shine a light on their activities.
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It is an impossibility to fulfill everyone's dream. Some of them will either have to perish, for the sake of others. Some of them will find their dreams unimportant to others. For a people focused on the future, they do not seem to think about what it will ask of them.
[ Or, he thinks, with his inhuman mind — everyone can have their dream in a new world, if they live in a world where they are forever dreaming under the control of a singular leader. The Lady might not be lying, but she is certainly bending her truths, too. After all, he knows she misses her children, and she is very, very patient. ]
She does not have moving pieces as Springstar does. There is no Church in Highstorm, there are no competing factors who seek to usurp her and take control — so, to assail her is the only thing to do. Which is why we will begin to take the Beyond, I think. To uncover what she hides in is depths and prepare wisdom to use as a weapon.
[ His favorite!
Still holding onto Liem's hand, he seems alight with joy. A man possessed by the simple happiness of having someone to chat about these things with; certainly, he has spoken to Akua about doing terrible things in the future, but to have Liem now? It feels even better, to think that maybe, he is not so alone in Kenos as to have to tackle every avenue himself. To watch over every potential path being built by scores of Shardbearers, over time.
From the lake, they are able to re-enter the forest, following the path Liem had witnessed. Less than a day it will take them to reach the temple, it seems, at their pace. ]
This area looks familiar to me, now. The vision I saw the temple in — a burnt Shardbearer, Meridian, looked to the north. If I were to take to one of the trees, I would bet we could see it from here. Would you like to join me, or shall we save the reveal for later?
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Likewise, if those in Meridian are ever to effectively weaken the unity of their opposing faction, there is no easier target than that presented by Zenith's members themselves. Yima claims that her followers will all have a hand in creating the new world that they will live in — but is that truly acceptable, when peace-loving humans must create their world alongside monsters and killers? Even when Liem had been swayed to Zenith, for those few long weeks, he had believed in the back of his mind that he would need to cull some of his own brethren before the final hour, for the sake of that peaceful new world. He wonders how many of Zenith's current members might share that sentiment.]
If we can use the Matron's people and the Matron's land against her, then so much the better.
[They will use what they can, to chip away at the foundations supporting Yima's grand scheme, and plot their own destiny instead. Such was the burden and gift that Aroden had granted his world when he had died, leaving Golarion without its god of Destiny, all those years ago when Liem had been only a child. In this crumbling world between worlds, Liem feels confident that their fates must be every bit as unmoored.
His attention turns to the trees around them: immense things, untouched by saw or axe for untold generations. They would need to find one taller than the rest to see any real distance away, but he concedes that it would be nice to have a better idea of how much distance they still need to cover.]
We can look now, [he agrees. Glancing around at the surrounding trees, Liem uses his free hand to point at a particularly gigantic specimen at the top of a nearby slope.] Perhaps that one?
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A new spell: with it, a nose for the weather and the ability to grow small things. A desert god bearing a domain that ought to be anathema to him, but was from then on in his reach. The Beyond might as well be his, he thinks arrogantly. Knowing what he could do with creation, why not begin to kill the land and create a desert to reflect the power of the sun upon Highstorm? ]
I agree. Crippling Highstorm's Shardbearers by separating fact from whatever fiction they have been fed by her will be one such way to further sow animosity among them. They are likely not to convert to Meridian — but, for as long as hope's bearers touch their hearts still... we cannot lose them too far into it.
[ He looks back to Liem, then. A drawn and severe gleam in his brow, however softened the lines of his expression become in that moment. Thinking, mindfully, of his friend's own potential to descend into Zenith and embody it. That Meridian had lost him for a time, but that Set had not deemed "Liem Talbott", or his heart, lost to him. ]
That was my rallying cry after the Oracle, at least. Hope may not be what they desire, but as people like them — Meridian can still reach them.
[ As Liem's eye is drawn to the trees around them, he follows his gaze to the tall one atop the slope. A grin settling upon his face as he turns into the priest, reaching his hands down to gather the back of Liem's thighs into his palms. To heft his weight, and all that of his equipment, up and into his arms. Without reservation, nor warning, only the pure savage delight of someone who lives for the moment, the disturbance he can cause.
He hops, bounces once, and drives his heels into the earth before leaping into the air on a trajectory towards one of the broad branches of the tree Liem had point out. Alighting upon it, with an animal cry of delight. ]
— ah! Like that! Gaze out, see in the distance that which we seek!
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Set—?!
[There is not much on Set to grab; Liem’s steadying hold on his bare shoulders becomes a koala-like death grip as the god leaps straight up to the branches of the tree that he’d pointed out to him. He has become one big coil of tension, gloved hands digging claw-like into the muscle of Set’s back. The whole maneuver is over so suddenly that, he thinks, his stomach is still somewhere down on the forest floor where they’d been standing. It takes him a breathless moment to even recover the ability to speak.]
— Not like that!
[You animal, he doesn’t quite say — but the huff in his breath and the flush high in his cheeks might suggest it. How is he meant to focus on the view when he’s being hoisted up above the treeline without so much as a warning?
He does glance out, after all, but definitely not with any amount of patience.]
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You liked being manhandled before!
[ Thank goodness they're in the middle of nowhere, and Set can so boldly say such things. He'd say them in the middle of the city, too, but at least out in the Beyond, Liem will not have to suffer the mortification of someone overhearing it. Like his nosy neighbors, for example. Who knows if they've yet written him off as a lost cause, given the number of times Set has invaded his home via the front door ( and now, periodically through the cracks and seams of a window ).
He perches on the broad width of a branch, all pirouette and graceful limb, holding Liem without a hint of strain in his arms. A great predator animal resting at height, balanced high enough up that they can peer out across the tops of trees — the majority, at least, for the Beyond is dense and rife with oddities that will endanger them without fail — to seek any sight of the temple in the distance. And in the distance, there is something. The sign of something among the trees, dark and eclipsing even the natural shadow; it has sharper angles than the natural, organic spread of the native foliage, and Set's eyes pick it out after a moment of carding back and forth across the northern horizon. ]
— I can see it. It looks much like the one you saw in your vision, Liem. Can you confirm? The pillars, the overgrowth?
[ He seems to grow antsy, as he speaks. Arm tightening around Liem as he points in the direction of the small temple awaiting their arrival. ]
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If there is any silver lining at all to his nervous preoccupation with the drop between them and solid ground, it is that he cannot spare the energy for more than a small, indignant huff at the freedom with which Set mentions his personal proclivities. Perhaps he does like being manhandled — when he is comfortably indoors, instead of several metres up a tall tree. It takes him a few moments to reply, perhaps in order to master his irritation at the being who is still in charge of holding him up while they maintain their perch.]
The structure looks correct, and the growth overtaking it.
[Perhaps the greenery (purplery?) is even a bit thicker now, given that it was some weeks earlier in the season when he “visited” the place in his vision. Even so, the shape beneath seems correct, at least at this far distance.]
We will know with more certainty when we arrive. The interior was distinctive.
holds liem like an egg
Never let it be said that Set was an easy read. Especially when he looks across the Beyond and says: ] It is an amazing place. Deadly and dark, beautiful all the same.
[ He says it quietly, his eyes wandering from the temple in the distance — out, and across the Beyond. Into the far horizon where he cannot tell if the world of Kenos continues on or dips off into the dark fall of starlight and cosmos, wondering what else is hidden there, what lives and breathes and exists in a land like this. If he can make it his. The curl of his lip bares the jut of a sharp tooth, nose lifted into the wind as if to catch the scent of anything. ]
We will proceed with caution. Who knows what may have taken up residence in or around the place. Though —
[ With a beaming smile, he bounces off the limb and into descent, adding with a bold cry: ] I am sure together, we will handle it all!
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The view is gorgeous, of course. Unfortunately, his wire-taut nerves continue to demand most of his attention.]
I’ve never been anywhere like it, [he concedes carefully. Taldor’s forests were quite unlike this dark and magical place, so rife with mystery and danger. Even the Verduran Forest, which dominated much of the country’s north and was home to all kinds of magical fey and monstrous creatures, was not so strange and lovely and wild as the Beyond.
The descent back to the ground is worse than the way up. A strangled noise forces its way past Liem’s teeth as they drop, and the landing shudders through every single one of his nerves; somehow, even his trip over Alenroux on Quetz’s flying lizard had been less harrowing than this. If any hint of colour had tinted Liem’s face when Set first seized him, it has fled entirely, leaving him looking perhaps even more pale and grey than usual.]
You can release me now, [he mutters, forcing his own muscles to unclench so he can peel himself off of the other man. Now that he’s been shot full of adrenaline, he wants his feet on the ground so he can burn off his jitters. Thanks to their little jaunt up the tree, he feels like he could probably run the entire rest of the way to their destination.]
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Thankfully, he does let go of the other man. The grasp upon him a possessive, sturdy thing that had brokered no illusions that if Liem were to fall, it would not be because Set's hold on him was unsteady, but because he'd let go purposefully. Now, he trots forward a few paces, and then peers back. Readied and focused on the final push to their goal. ]
It feels right to me, this place. Quetzalcoatl said much the same, when we spoke — with the shrine I took over in the south means that Kenos must have had gods at one point. The temple is proof of that. So, if Kenos had gods — where did they go, if they were native? Or were they Shardbearers like us, perhaps? Yima could be one, for that matter. Or just a woman who has transcended her own mortality, through the power of Zenith.
[ And by the brief quaver in his tone, he seems to have a sort of dread? awe? belief? that it is the former, rather than the latter. ]
Regardless, whatever it is she wants me to see — it is before us, now. Are you ready, Liem? I am sure we will have some answers, and even more questions. I find it exciting.
[ He does wait for his wobbly companion, wanting to share in the moment that they break through the treeline and behold the structure waiting before them, with its dark columns and style emblematic of what he has beheld both in Springstar's architecture, and his readings of the Greco-Roman culture of Earth. Things he had studied, because he had been curious about the Heliopolis connection... and because someone with knowledge had practically pointed him in that direction ( SEBASTIAN!!!! ). ]
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I suppose the structures could also hail from before this island arrived in Kenos. They are plainly old.
[Might they not simply be temples to gods of another world? The Scorching Isles had their own history, and had hailed from a larger world before it was fractured and a piece ended up in Kenos. He knows Springstar used to be a piece of Greece, as well. Might Highstorm not be the same? He intends to keep his mind open to any possibility as they move forward.]
But if Lady Yima came here as a god, or shed her mortality and became one, and this temple hails from a time when that divinity was recognized — perhaps we will learn something new about her.
[He is no archaeologist, but the chance to walk in such an ancient and forgotten shrine sends a thrill sparking down his spine. Who knows what they will find there?]
Let us go see it.
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[ He has a lot of opinions about "Kenos", and the idea of gods, without a doubt.
Kenos, to him, is the core of all things. The gravity around which the shattered islands revolve, the integral momentum that arrests a Shardbearer's fall into the void. Liem's dream had made him consider that they are shattered things — the root idea of their existence was that of a "Shard", implying they were not whole. What, then, had happened to the other pieces of them? Were they only pieces of their souls? Were the other parts of them gallivanting around in time and space?
Were their Shards full of someone else's soul, perhaps? There are too many metaphysical questions for him to answer, but he has less discomfort about the idea of it than most might. After all, he is the summation of his self, all that began and will end, and there is only "one" of him, in his mind. No alternatives, no re-dos, no differing paths. The rest, he keeps his mind open to — eager to reveal whether he is right, wrong, or still learning. That is what entices him, and draws him forth.
Liem being eager about the temple, too, gives him great joy. He chases forth, in pursuit of the last leg of their journey, senses peeled to ensure they are not ambushed or walking directly into danger, until they finally, finally arrive at the temple and its obvious disrepair. The stone has weathered, but endured; time has left shallow fissures upon the majestic design, held together in an almost loving embrace by violet vine and gold moss. Whether the temple had arrived to Kenos, or been part of Kenos from the start, it does not matter — it has been clearly held fast by the land, accepted as part of it. ]
— do you smell that? It smells, like... it's faint, but... incense in the air. Old and long burned to ash, but — oh.
[ And with that, Set takes to the stairs, to place his hands upon one of the beautiful pillars and gaze up to the shattered height of it. Something twisting in his chest as he briefly looks back to Liem, to catch sight of him — and then, he vanishes into the dark depths, darting ahead with impatience and a driven urgency to see, embrace, and learn. ]
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The structure is foreign — and yet, the majestic stone construction, the style of the pillars strike a chord within him; like many buildings he’d seen in Springstar, this one hearkens back to his own home, to structures in Oppara that had been built thousands of years prior. What does it mean, that parts of his world should so distinctly resemble those of worlds he’d never heard of? Egypt, Greece, Rome… these foreign names keep appearing, linked with architecture and culture he could have sworn hailed from around the Inner Sea. It only makes his curiosity to set foot inside the temple grow stronger.
It seems impossible that any trace of scent from the temple’s rituals should remain, given how aged the structure is… but when he inhales, the faint smell Set mentions reaches his nose, just as it had in his dream. He wonders what other relics of the past might still cling to existence within, and follows the god inside, where the scent grows slightly stronger.
There is a strange feeling within, as well, like the building itself is holding its breath. It is a feeling he has long associated with holy places, sites of power and ritual, watched over by the divine.]
It’s just as I remember, [he murmurs. The ruined frescoes and mosaics… the mostly-intact relief carved into one wall. He approaches it, gazing up at the procession of figures. Now standing before them in person, he regards the figures with more clarity than he’d been able to muster before, noting the sistrum and the coiled serpents with curiosity. To him, the instrument hearkens to Osirion, and the serpent suggests wisdom and healing, but he is able to glean no further meaning from the relief.]
Is this the place you’ve been seeking?
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And he feels, so deeply for them. THe sentiment pours off of him, raw and wounded, as he traces the scarring upon the walls and trails his hand along the shattered remains of once-beautiful evidence that some god had been here. Had been loved, admired. Morosely, he murmurs to Liem. The cool shaft of moonlight falling upon him a haunting, mourning thing: ] Yes, it is. This is the place the Lady showed me. The one in your vision. I know you described it to us, but to see it in person affirms such. The destruction here is intentional — they did as much to me, when I was cast from the Ennead and history.
[ Hoarse and faint, he follows the line of one of the surviving images. Fingers falling to the sistrum held in the hand of the figure. And his eyes dart along the wall, fingers touching each of the four remaining fresco figures in turn. His mouth moves, expression morphing into a mask of horror, wide-eyed and his mouth soundlessly working. Sistrum. The snake, the scroll of papyrus. ]
— oh. Oh, no. Please.
[ Wordless, he turns on his toes toward the pillars beyond the antechamber full of broken images and symbols, and delves into the dark of the inner chamber. There is a resonant power welling up within, a lingering thing. He abandons Liem, blindly chasing the knowledge that the other man had imparted on them, rushing deeper into the temple, in search of something more. The other thing that had been described loosely to the team he had taken forth into the unknown place — for the headless, armless statue. ]
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But he is not a god, and he does not expect the melancholy that seems to afflict Set when he is confronted with this desecration of the divine. His attention is plucked away from the relief in font of him to return to the other man, observing him as he traces fingertips over the curves and lines still gracing the stone. The horror dawning over his face makes Liem’s brows snap together.]
Set? Do you know this place—?
[His words fall on deaf ears. Heedlessly, the god turns and beelines straight for the inner chamber, with Liem in close pursuit, following Set to where the enormous, decapitated statue still awaits them. And that sense of motionless, held-breath presence swells as they go deeper, making the hair on the back of Liem’s neck prickle with each hurried step he takes over the worn stone.]
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The sound of his passage is silent and swift, and he vanishes into shadow and silence.
Within the temple, rays of moonlight cast shimmering, soft-silver relief upon the walls and floor. The scent of incense grows sharper, older, sacred. Energy coalesces within, beckoning anyone around deeper, into the waiting embrace of the inner sanctum; to the belly of it all, where Set has preceded Liem by mere seconds, yet those seconds are enough for him to have reached a conclusion ( no, he cannot reach a conclusion yet, he must observe and seek — ).
There, he stands before the great statue of an unknown female figure. Without head nor arms, her identity ought to be unknowable. Ought to be lost to time, and violence, but Set's arm reaches up. Up, toward the lovingly-carved folds of cloth, and he holds the facsimile of draped gown between his fingers — looking, for a moment, like a young child clutching at the hem of an adult in wonder. ]
— Isis.
[ He sighs her name, something raw and tempestuous building within him. Though his mouth moves, the language that comes out is lyrical and ancient — some sort of prayer, perhaps? Stricken as he seems to be, his mind links to Liem's effortlessly, a boundary felled by the myriad of emotions that have begun to rise within him. Careless feelings, as dangerous and scalding as a force of nature, chaotic and dark ( adoration, homesickness, rapture, despair, wrath and love all at once ).
His mind collapses into naught but the raw vibrancy of unfettered emotion, wordless and within intellect, rolling like a stormfront as he tries to sift through a million thoughts and emotions at once. Like someone who's just been given an infinite puzzle, and cannot rest until it's solved, even without all the pieces. It's chaos, and it dives right into Liem's own mind with adoring, hungry familiarity. ]
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Though the defaced statue holds no meaning for him, the significance with which it was created has not disappeared. It only lies hidden.
For a moment he lingers at the edge of the room, still caught up in witnessing Set’s revelation. Of Isis he knows barely more than a name and title. It would not have occurred to him to see her here; but for Set, her likeness must be a reflection of family, for better or for worse. And still, the reasons for the temple’s presence here in Kenos remain a mystery, to anyone except perhaps Yima.
He feels Set reach for him an instant before his tempest engulfs his mind, boundless and unrelenting. He has to force himself not to flinch at the stinging, biting wildness of him, has to resist the urge to shut his mind up tight and force him out. In the face of Set’s hungry, savage curiosity, the covetous wind of his affection, the scouring sand of his anger, the billowing dark of his loneliness, Liem is a steadily-glowing candle that resolutely refuses to go out.
He walks forward to stand beside the red-haired god, joining him before the statue of Isis, and there, he reaches for his hand.]
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It is not quite like Isis's bold fashion; her elegant shift, the bare swell of her breasts at night when she used to gallivant through the temples and palaces and gardens in pursuit of him for one or many annoyances. The way he used to perch high atop the arches and splay in tiny alcoves waiting for her to pass before doubling back on her, to wait for her to come in exhausted and irritated while he lounged in her rooms eating all her sweets. The way she looked at him in the hall, centuries after their foolish, stupid days spent together with naught but hatred in her eyes — how she had chosen not to help him, but to turn all her loathing upon him alone.
He hates her so much.
He misses her intensely.
Thrown into corners of multiple minds, because he feels so much, because he is so big and grand and demanding of them all, he pours into Liem's most immediate and most powerfully. The drop of his weight upon the other man ( lean on me, he had said ) heralds Set's yielding to that vow between them, his fingers twining through Liem's as he turns into his person and pushes his face into his hair. Set's heart thunders, erratic as someone caught between panic and rapture ought to be. He cannot think, he cannot breathe.
He catches at the dark edge of the last petal of Yima's flower within his soul, and grinds it between his fingers until her scent, her power, begins to well within him and cool the frantic spread of his thoughts and feelings. Yet, even as the darkness spreads, he holds Liem aloft like a candle, against the full press of the cold. At the foot of the broken statue, he folds his arms around Liem's shoulders tightly, and shivers as the rush of madness leaves him in place of tranquility. ]
I thought, this could have been so many things. A hint to the Lady's identity among them, but. This is Isis, Liem. My older sister, Isis. I can prove it —
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