beleos: (Default)
beleos ([personal profile] beleos) wrote in [community profile] kenoslogs2023-05-12 05:00 pm

The Seeds of Unrest: the Iconoclast Oracle


RUNNING OUT THE CLOCK
The situation is bleak.

The Blight - and the massive labyrinth of roots tearing both cities asunder, spreading deadly flowers wherever they penetrate - have progressed to a point beyond catastrophe. People are dying in rapid numbers. Bearers are having difficulty keeping up with the spread of infection - even among one another. The collapse of Kenos seems inevitable; a cure will not come in time. You can do nothing but watch as each new day brings further disaster, ticking down the seconds until it all falls apart.

And then, you feel something seize your Shard. As if physical fingers have wrapped around it, as if it is being clutched through you by invisible hands, you feel invaded. You feel wronged. But before you can panic, a voice enters your mind through Communion.

Excuse the dramatics, but there isn’t much time for pleasantries. The Trees are about to hit the point of no return. But there's still work to be done. The Tree of Life will take you where you can find it: the Oracle and the creature causing all this mess. Fix this when you find them. However you'd like.

Have you heard Aetos’ voice before? Perhaps it is the first time; perhaps it is familiar to you. Either way, the last thing you will remember is a confusing jumble: a spell of immense and incredible power, one utilizing the Tree’s strength to shelter you. The sensation of every cell in your body coming alive, yet seeming to break apart and render you into billions and billions of tiny pieces, all hovering in different times and places across all the different iterations, timelines, and realities in which you have ever existed. A voice that speaks not through words asking your forgiveness, unspeakably sad.

And then, there is nothing.

AWAKENING
Your eyes open, gritty with the feeling of a long, deep slumber.

Perhaps it takes a moment to shake off the heavy veil of exhaustion, to recollect what you were doing before you fell into this state of hibernation - but as soon as you do, you feel an immediate sense of foreboding around you. It is thick in the air, oppressive and pervasive, and you aren’t left long to wonder at its source. You lay beneath the branches of the Tree of Life, but as your bleary eyes focus… you see it. The Tree is all but bereft of life. Its bark has withered down to gnarled wood, the soft lichen dried up, and the grass that should be alive beneath you is long dead and gone. There is not so much as a single leaf on its decaying branches.

It has been this way for a long, long time... you realize this with a feeling of intense dread as you see it - the beautiful expanse of stars, of the cosmos, of universes scattered like starlight above the tree's boughs, gone. In its place hangs a sickly, ominously low-hanging, and dying sun ready to sing the end of everything.

You can't help but wonder how long Kenos has been in this state, but a sense of gratitude fills you as you realize that the Tree expended the last of its energies to protect you, the Bearers, during your state of rest. Had Aetos worked with the tree to see you sent here?

The next question comes quickly: how much time do you have left…? And can you find the Oracle before that time expires?

ABANDON HOPE (DAYS 1 & 2)
The cornerstones are still active and will take you to whichever city you wish to see.

Highstorm and Springstar sit like empty monuments to the cities that were once filled with life - yet the first thing you will notice is they are strangely absent the signs of the Tree’s overgrown roots, the Blight, the catastrophic damage that you can recall all too easily. Instead, each city sits as those they were summarily abandoned overnight, leaving nothing but their shells behind. There is a stillness in the air that is unnatural and unsettling. Despite the lack of any sign of the citizens of either city, you cannot help but feel… watched.

Something terrible happened here. Best you find the Oracle before something terrible finds you, instead.

The burning of a dying sun beats down on you wherever you go, unbearable heat sending waves off the aged cobblestone streets. Perhaps it is your instinct to seek refuge in the shade - but linger too long about the shadows and that feeling of eyes on your back, of being unable to breathe, of your world closing in around you will grow untenable and drive you back into the light. If you hope to explore the ghostly shell of your city in search of the Oracle - or to sate your curiosity, some problem-solving might be in order.

And while you acclimate yourself to your circumstances, you cannot help but note you feel wrong inside, somehow…

EXPLORATION

  • If your characters choose to explore previously unreachable areas, please use THIS TOPLEVEL to report when they get there in the thread! We will get back to you with what is discoverable in that location.
  • The following areas are off limits for exploration: below Yima’s Manor; below the Church of Heliopolis; Alenroux; Kowloon.
  • The Great Trees of both Highstorm and Springstar are in a similar state to the Tree of Life and will not respond to Communion.
  • Generally speaking, items will be of poor quality. Most will look as though they’ve aged thousands of years. Others will be in half-decent shape, but sparingly so. Oddly enough, it doesn’t seem like the whole city has aged at the same rate, so especially diligent rummagers can find worthwhile supplies. Please consider this should be rare and don’t go overboard!

NOTES

Here are some prompt reminders - see the full thing at the OOC Summary!
  • Characters will have a diluted connection to the Zenith or Meridian.
  • There will be periods powers are weakened or non-functional during days 1-2 (up to player discretion).
  • The sunlight results in scorching; the shadows cause claustrophobia and fear while outdoors.
THE RITUAL (DAYS 2+)
The place you started your journey to Kenos is also where it seems it will end. As soon as the first Bearer makes contact with the Iconoclast effigy, you are collectively drawn to the roots beneath the Tree - like a pang sent through your Shard. Your objective has been found. The Oracle awaits.

Trusting Aetos seems like a fool's errand, but you must put your hope in the Tree. What choice do you have left? It's time to find what lies at the end of this.

Bearers descend, your steps echoing in the dark, cavernous space. Once brimming with life and vitality, the roots are now dried and brittle like the bones of some ancient leviathan that died long ago. As you make their way deeper into the earth, the deadened roots twist, leading you to a vast chamber deep within it; the air here is thick with the smell of decay, and the faint glow of luminescent fungi and mosses barely illuminates the space.

To your left, the Bearers will notice what has drawn them here - and the object of their search.

An effigy sits on the ground between two darkened tunnels. The effigy is made of gnarled, dead branches woven together in a humanoid shape; its hollow, empty eyes are sightless, yet you cannot help but feel it is watching your every move. Branded on its forehead is the Iconoclast symbol carved into the rough wood.

Once all Bearers are present, the Ritual will begin. Your means of exit have been sealed off, and you are trapped, slowly deteriorating together…

NOTES

  • Bearers will have access to the Ritual Chamber which is a very wide, open space with the effigy situated against the far wall from the entrance. Several smaller tunnels off-shoot from the Ritual Chamber. They all run to dead ends; some are very small or narrow. This may afford you meager privacy away from the group.
  • Once a Bearer steps into the Chamber, they can no longer head back out the way they came. They’ll find themselves automatically walking back into the Chamber as if of their own volition.
  • For brevity’s sake we won’t list them out again here, but the complete description of effects Bearers will experience days 2+ is available in the OOC Summary.
  • The effigy is impervious to damage.
  • It Is Watching You.
  • In a dead-end root tunnel attached to the Iconoclast’s Chamber is the Blighted statue of an Otter that may be familiar to some… Please see THIS TOPLEVEL for more information!
THE PURGE (DAYS 5+)
The sap has festered in your veins for what feels like days. It’s impossible to tell how much time has passed; this place has no sunlight. The effigy watches as you remain trapped, huddled together around it, unable to leave as you find yourself sick with the affliction of the Meridian, Zenith - or both.

And then… something finally gives.

Though it does not move and speaks no words, you feel the effigy offering you guidance. Knowledge. Much like the Tree speaks to you in impressions and feelings, you are conveyed wisdom you did not have before: a way to take what you want and rid yourself of what you do not. A way to make your convictions known to all who would hear them. A way to be known. To write your path in blood, be it yours… or theirs.

When all is said and done, only one force - Zenith or Meridian - will gain its favor.

Show it who you are. Show it what resolve looks like to you - and what you are willing to do to attain it.

NOTES

Here are some prompt reminders - see the full thing at the OOC Summary!
  • You can Purge your alignment through various methods: Trading, Corrupting, or using the Effigy itself.
  • All characters will understand the end goal is for everyone to Harmonize; the alignment with the higher rate of Harmonized Bearers alive when time’s up wins the Oracle’s favor.
NOTES
  • A reminder that the Harmonization tally will take place on Friday, the 19th and be open through Monday, the 29th. The results will be released on Wednesday, the 31st OOCly.
  • Don’t forget to submit any deaths to the Death Tracker, with a gentle reminder characters will remain dead until the event conclusion!
  • Reminder to fill out the SETTING POLL ASAP if you haven't already!
  • Have some MUSIC if you'd like. LYRICS here!
  • HAVE FUN!!
CODING
vapour: (pic#15103300)

+1 spare unless they can eat him.

[personal profile] vapour 2023-05-15 07:03 pm (UTC)(link)
...oh hou, is this what you ultimately have give on and achieved with that sand of mine? [he knows it has nothing to do with this, but clearly the otter ultimately squandered the gift since he's now here and Blighted. ]

Yikes.

[ bummer. he's going to take out the stones he got from Tibbs at the Scorched Isle that he has kept in his pockets since he got them and will just very carefully place them down in front of the statue. No use keeping these things if it's a bad little dude with no morals that gave them to him.

He was going to give them to Zhongli for a rock garden with the Blight flowers they've been growing,
but looks like that opportunity went up in flames.
]

Well, at least none of the failure here should be too upsetting for you if you were doing what Mimsy would have wanted you to do, right?

If that's not the case... you will have plenty of time now to reflect on it. Or, at least until this place is swallowed by that looming sun in the surface.

Here you go. Maybe Mimsy will ultimately be less disappointed in you, but I really doubt it.

[ Childe sighs, and gets up from his crouch. can't believe the apocalypse is going on because of a selfish babyface otter and it didn't even have the decency to die normally so they could at least eat it as emergency food.

yeah they don't need food to survive, but Childe wants some B(
]
Edited 2023-05-15 23:45 (UTC)
vapour: (pic#15709327)

[personal profile] vapour 2023-05-15 07:07 pm (UTC)(link)
[ hey hey ;) ]

He's giving us the mental equivalent of the middle finger. We don't have means here to extract info if he won't talk when he's like that, right? So, any idea how we would bring him back? We can't exactly carry him.
redsoil: (pic#16270624)

VORYN.

[personal profile] redsoil 2023-05-15 07:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The doubts crawl, like beetles below a thin layer of sand.

It is difficult, for such a selfish god, to take time away from attending to his own vulnerabilities to watch over his own. They are losing Meridian, he has seen many of them turned and swayed, darkened and lost to acceptance, to the urge to allow all things to pass into the shadow, and create anew. Even Set considers it, in a way that is distinct from all else — save, for perhaps Quetzalcoatl and Voryn; he is endeared to Zenith, promised to its Lady, yet he disdains them. Their dream to create new life is a lie, pitiable and insulting in the same vein.

He would much rather embody purity of entropy, the beauty in the heat death of the universe. Mortals are disgusting little things, that think themselves capable of divinity — they think they can attain the perfection required of them to create, and the idea of it enrages him. Captured between Meridian's light and Zenith's dark, he is maddened by his own authority, his ego battered by another's hands and contempt of all others palpable. ]


Get up.

[ He seizes at the crown of Voryn's head, fisting his fingers in the sheet of beautiful, scattered hair to wrench his head up and away from the dirt he had been digging in. They are ailing and weak, plagued by their own madnesses, and he will not see Voryn Dagoth broken and yielded to Zenith, if he must sacrifice himself to assure it.

He drags Voryn's head back, forces his spine to bow and leans over him — biting rough and ferocious against the chimer's mouth, tasting sap instead of blood, dragging nails along his skin as if he can dig beyond flesh and force Meridian's light into him. ]
baltimores: (120)

[personal profile] baltimores 2023-05-15 07:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Fuck—

[ It comes out as a hiss through his teeth, Amos' barrage faltering for a moment as that Meridian energy hits him. He's expelled his, given that foreign substance and the bullshit it inflicted on him to Hayame, and to feel it creeping into his psyche, his soul again brings a feeling of intense discomfort. He has to stop, hand braced against a cavern wall to retain his balance, fingers digging into it out of agitation, for support.

And then he doubles back on his efforts, sending another wave of Zenith energy towards Dextera looking to encircle him, submerge him. Because he suspects him to be a vulnerable target, easy pickings in order to boost Zenith's numbers; because it doesn't matter if he'll hate him afterwards; because maybe after the Scorching Isles it is a little personal. Not in that Dextera took a memory from him — when he'd gotten it back he'd been bemused; nice to remember it again but was doing fine without it — but that he'd assaulted him, made him vulnerable, and that.

Fuck this guy, actually. ]


Stop that. [ His communion is harsh, bits of anger starting to slither in like roots seeking somewhere to take hold. ] Just get the fuck over here.
redsoil: — PLEASE CREDIT! (Default)

1/2

[personal profile] redsoil 2023-05-15 07:11 pm (UTC)(link)
[ ???????? ]

Manon is a Shard-bearer. This is an otter. How hard is it to keep track of a fxcking otter.
Edited (fixing html dont look at me froot) 2023-05-25 01:39 (UTC)
redsoil: (pic#16459222)

[personal profile] redsoil 2023-05-15 07:13 pm (UTC)(link)
You would have my vote of confidence, Lord Dagoth.

[ always ]

The option to commit him to his final death is always on the table. Decapitation is how we ensure our humans are denied a proper afterlife, in Egypt. I have other methods, as well.
bakedapple: (screenshot // glare)

disciple

[personal profile] bakedapple 2023-05-15 07:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Last time Link passed through his corridor, it was Dark slumped against the wall, arms crossed and head bowed, seemingly asleep. Link slowed, sparing a moment to consider Dark's vulnerability. It would be easy, perhaps, to kill him right now. Easier than when the dark sorcerer had the full breadth of his magic at his disposal, that's for sure. A possible plan comes to his mind very quickly: he could find a sizeable rock nearby and take him out with a single, hard hit, or wind one of the hardened roots around his neck and choke him out from behind. The taint of the Zenith in his head makes it worse, turning the intrusive thoughts into tempting impulses.

But... no. He can't. He just can't attack a defenseless person in cold blood. So Link takes a deep breath and keeps walking. But it's a few hours later, when he's coming back in the same direction in an effort to avoid the violence, that he is forced to stop from sheer surprise alone. Dark is nowhere to be seen, seemingly having been replaced by a boy. Figuratively, that is — how silly it would be for the imposing man to be literally replaced by a child. Right?

The child is in a pitiable state. And Link can intuit, just by looking at him that he's an Effigy, too. A Shard-Bearer, this young...?
]

Are you alright?

[ He shuffles closer to the boy, frowning with concern. ]

It's okay. Take a deep breath. Nobody is going to hurt you, okay?
vestments: (Default)

i, highstorm

[personal profile] vestments 2023-05-15 07:21 pm (UTC)(link)
( marc's met gamora before. it'd been a brief thing given the way that marc solidly, absolutely does not go into space but for special occasions (indeed, two of the handful of instances had been tangentially moon related), but it'd been enough for gamora to not leave a lasting impression per se, but an impression.

(the second time marc had encountered gamora, he'd had no idea who she was and had needed to be prompted by spider-man, and that—
—well, that had left slightly more of an impression.)

he thinks there are differences — age, maybe? — something that doesn't quite marry the woman in front of him with the woman he remembers but then, he hasn't always been the most trustworthy in that regard. he meets her gaze, his own expression not quite as neutral as hers — it's not that he doesn't trust her, it's more that his default expression, his default state of being, is encompassed by a pensive frown.

as she speaks, both his posture and expression relax (minutely), and he looks towards the small knife she holds out between them. he eyes it, just for a moment, lips quirking momentarily.

in another life, he'd trusted her.

he holds up a hand and gestures loosely at their surroundings. it's not that he doesn't appreciate her wariness of their situation, but in much the same way that marc's the first person she's encountered in A WHILE, so too is she the first person he's encountered. )


I appreciate your optimism. ( breath of a pause; sidelong glance, questioning— ) Gamora.
redsoil: (pic#16220622)

[personal profile] redsoil 2023-05-15 07:21 pm (UTC)(link)
I imagine once one of the factions obtains the Oracle, it will restore us. Aetós and the Tree conspired to put us here, for that end. Accomplishing it will return us, and the otter as well.
vapour: (ujty)

[personal profile] vapour 2023-05-15 07:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[ If she couldn't kill him right now with one excellently aimed back hoof he would get up and follow her, to be honest. She just made him get out of her way and then she goes and moves on her own? Last time he grants her a request.

Unfortunately, this is Hayame Power World Tour Event where you must respect those physically bigger and stronger than you... so he's just gonna shrug it off.
]

Oh? It would be great to know if you're getting somewhere, but okay, I'll ask something else:

Don't you ever get tired being in a nasty mood?
dawnlord: (pic#16275699)

[personal profile] dawnlord 2023-05-15 07:34 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Connecting to Bondrewd is akin to the most gentle of ego deaths. A calm, bottomless abyss that seeks not to challenge or usurp the mind of another, but instead aligns the sharpened edge of his attention against them. ( Papa, a voice calls out in the darkness, Papa is the best, a hero! He will save everyone, that's why he works so hard. ) Connecting to him is to find oneself unmoored, free-floating in a state that lacks gravity, lacks a point upon which to fixate,

whatever he is, it is unfathomable. ]
A valid choice, sir. Neither Meridian nor Zenith are incorrect, if the power of the Oracles are spoken of truly.

[ Bondrewd believes in the Oracles, even if he does not care to quest for them. An Oracle is a medium through whom advice or prophecy was sought from the gods. An Oracle was a thing regarded as an infallible authority or guide. The Oracles would guide one side, or the other, to what was true — in essence, it is obvious that Bondrewd believes the Oracles exist not to prove Meridian or Zenith's belief true, because both are true. They are simply out of reach. ]

You have chosen Kenos itself, then? Not just your past, or your future? Tell me of it, if you please. I want to know.
cutlery: (when ya upload a fight icon for a kiss)

[personal profile] cutlery 2023-05-15 07:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It’s not so sudden that he couldn’t dodge it at all, but again, there’s resignation that putting this off would just be delaying the inevitable. He’s at least quick to bring his hands up to dig in at the edges of her grip directly over his throat. It’s not for needing to breathe (whatever was happening down here didn’t change biology, or whatever Sebastian has passing for it), but for what he laughs out, if strained. ]

Yes, strangle the person you are demanding an answer out of. A brilliant plan.

[ Really… Were he just a man, he wouldn’t be able to answer at all. Truly, she’s a brute with no brains at all. Though he’s tempted to dig his nails into her skin just to feel it split, he refrains. He doubts that Set would mind or consider it a violation of the deal that had been struck, but he’s still overly cautious, as well as perfectly aware of how this looks. He doesn’t fight back from her grip, only keeping enough space between her hand and his throat to talk. ]

I did not strike the deal, so I do not know, as I have been trying to tell you. Presumably, he wished to defang Zenith, which would have been much a much more shrewd deal were this more similar to the Isles.
vapour: (pic#16055422)

[personal profile] vapour 2023-05-15 07:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh.

Do we have to? I'm not defending him but he looks like a kid's stuffed toy and the mental image I'm getting at the idea of you and Mr. Voryn torturing him for information is Not Great. I don't think he's any stronger than a normal otter physically, either, so you guys will have to be gentle while extracting information.

[ aka an odd condition that Set and Voryn do not have access to in their character kits judging from their commentary thus far. ]
dawnlord: (pic#16049727)

[personal profile] dawnlord 2023-05-15 07:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Aah, you misunderstand. This is my choice.

[ It is said in a way that could sound kind, if Bondrewd's voice was anything but detached from all emotion. It resonates, sonorous and impassive, with forced pitch and flow that give him the atmosphere of someone with infinite patience, someone generous — for, he had no ego to get in the way of what he would accept from another. In essence, he does not doubt, and submits to the form of Effigy freely, openly. There is no fear in him, no concern that he could be tugged to one side or the other, lead to Harmonize with Meridian or re-Harmonize with Zenith. ]

I find this to be an excellent opportunity to learn about you all. You are so very adorable, and what I wish for most is your happiness.

[ Too many are ready to kill, ready to die for their beliefs — Bondrewd is nightmarish, in his clarity of will and his ease in subjecting himself to the power, the whim, of others. ]

What I desire of the Oracle is inconsequential, for I will be proud no matter whom attains this prize. So, I am here for my fellow Shard-bearers, above all else. I will listen, all you must do is speak.
warmare: (軽蔑)

[personal profile] warmare 2023-05-15 08:03 pm (UTC)(link)
[Mutually assured destruction. There is a moment when Hayame almost turns hard again, when he implies that she might be the one to expose their secrets first whe he was the one who had already proven himself the one to do so... but she is tired. She has had no rest from the beckoning call of Zenith's despair, the visions of her world's worst, and what Amos describes as... something to barely be understood. Hopelessness and rage were no strangers to her, and yet the way she felt it now was so wrong, the product not of her own usual mourning but the energies that had unbalanced in her shard.

The same shard awaiting it's fate in her hand now, exposed and vulnerable. But so was his.

For a moment, Hayame just stares at his hands held out in offer. It isn't doubt that stays her, but a memory. That day, when the pollen had been thick in the air... he had held her hand. The sensation had been foreign and new, yet so... warm. So reassuring. At least, it had been then. When she had replicated it herself, alone in her stall and wishing for comfort, her own hands had done nothing to comfort her, even though she mimicked the lace of fingers and slide of thumb exactly. How foolish of her to think of it now, and how foolish she would be to connect it in any way shape or form with whether he was trustworthy now. It's their very souls at stake.

But she reaches out. Her blood-smeared palm slides over the hand that holds his shard and clasps, trapping the blue lit gem between their flesh. At the same time, her other hand gently presses her own obsidian shard into sap-like blood coating his fingers and oozing from the breaks in the bark on his skin.

And in that moment... they suddenly connect.]
sharmat: ▸ THROUGH THE FURY (pic#13847096)

cw: forced kiss, blood... these two being themselves...

[personal profile] sharmat 2023-05-15 08:18 pm (UTC)(link)
(the soil parts too easily for his fingers. in it, voryn finds nothing alive. this feels like losing everything, so certain after receiving its blessing that the great tree had been their liferaft home. now he is certain that they are lost, untethered, adrift in a starless night.

in his anguish, he does not mind set's approach. he is heard, but he is not addressed. this is a mistake.

hair tears from his scalp in strands, caught between the fingers of an unyielding fist that forces him to cry out in pain and in rage. it is swallowed by set's mouth, insistent on his own, and in two ways voryn retaliates against the taste of bittersweet sap on his ally's teeth: he pulls red hair in a strong mimicry of set's hold over him, then penetrates through the protective dam to enter the god's mind. in an instant, communion is established—compelled—and in comes the flood.

his thoughts are a great, churning sea. as they wash over them, savant connection unable to be severed, one incessant question begins to itch, then chafe, and finally become raw. what are you doing? what are you doing? whatareyoudoing? whatareyoudoing whatareyoudoingwhatareyoudoing

light is introduced into his veins, acting like fire against the zenith sap that makes his muscles tense all at once. this only reminds him of home, which inspires him to fight harder against set, back arching to leverage a powerful body off with his own. there is no pause in their fight that instinct doesn't fill, first a warrior and second a diplomat. using the momentum afforded to him by the raising of his hips to follow through with his knees, he rides set down into the dirt to loom over him.

a hand is raised, and its palm is held flat. with a hard smack, it comes down on set's cheek.
)

Are you mad? (voryn spits to the side, saliva pink.) What is this? You would give your own light to me? Answer me!
sterngaze: (neutral: dry)

[personal profile] sterngaze 2023-05-15 08:21 pm (UTC)(link)
[Diligent exploration throughout Springstar's ruined streets and buildings has granted Liem a shabby bag he's filled with a motley assortment of usable supplies, and a bone-deep weariness that goes beyond even his usual state of fatigue. The glare of the dying sun and the threat of the shade have ground him down to next to nothing, a cloaked figure that skulks wearily from shadow to shadow, face bone-white but for the faintly livid sunburns painting the cheeks and nose with bruise-like grey. He is mainly identifiable by his cloak and boots, which seem improbably beautiful against the city's crumbling backdrop, and the aquiline silhouette of his face when he turns to look at Quetzalcoatl fully. Then, of course, the eyes leave no room for doubt.

But yes. He does look rather bad.
]

Ah— well met, ma'am.

[She, at least, looks hale enough despite the current state of things. But then, Quetzalcoatl is the avatar of a god, and Liem is just an ailing little half-vampire.

Despite his weariness, some of the strain leaves his expression when she hails him. He stands in the shadow of a dilapidated chandlery, braving the shaded half of the street for now rather than creeping back out into the sun.
]

I am ill-suited to this evil glare, [he admits.] It seems to burn off even my cloak of shadows, or else the magic here just runs especially thin. But a little rest will fortify me.

[He could probably use some aloe vera too — but he couldn't find any in his preliminary explorations.]
dawnlord: (pic#16342886)

2A.

[personal profile] dawnlord 2023-05-15 08:21 pm (UTC)(link)
At ease, Miss Sullivan.

[ His hand finds hers gently, as she reaches and seeks someone that has gone before her.

Despite that he is plagued by the tug-of-war between Meridian and Zenith energies, Bondrewd lacks the ability to despair — if anything, he finds it all engrossing. Every moment, he learns something new about those around him. Every moment, he becomes a little more enamored with the structure of the world of Kenos. However, others ail. They struggle and hurt, and the Green Witch he had met so long ago now is wan, exhausted before him. She "wakes" from a difficult vision, it seems. One that he sees in the way her brow knits, the way her mind and voice call for loved ones.

Behind him, the hazy, bright shape of a small girl lingers; her face obscured, her hands fastened tenderly to the end of his coat. To the sway of his tail, which moves solely because it is hardwired to his spine. If he has a spine. He has to have a spine. Maybe? ]


You are unwell. Please, allow me to fix your hair —

[ Even as he says it, he cradles her small hand in his. Folding his other palm over the top of it, awaiting her permission. ]
hyperpotamous: (003)

+1 SPARE

[personal profile] hyperpotamous 2023-05-15 08:24 pm (UTC)(link)
I agree; whatever he knows is sure to be valuable. I'd be very interested in ensuring every useful bit of information is extracted.

[ he doesn't mean that he necessarily needs to do it himself, but john will be a voice in favour of holding nothing back when it comes to the methods employed. ]

I do think there needs to be a stronger punishment than community service in the long-term, though. Even if it's a nebulous amount of time until the end of the world, let's not give the little bastard any more opportunities.

When all is said and done, just extract his soul and attach it to something a little less mobile. The sky's the limit after that.

[ conveniently, he knows an expert in perpetual torment. ]
redsoil: — PLEASE CREDIT! (Default)

[personal profile] redsoil 2023-05-15 08:37 pm (UTC)(link)
so during the ritual,

does communion REALLY REALLY suck for the same aspects, or is it now a blanket of suckage?
redsoil: (pic#16459221)

[personal profile] redsoil 2023-05-15 08:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Trust me, the idea of torturing an otter is ridiculous to me, too.

[ 'be gentle'?? childe, pls. why is 'be gentle' even in your vocabulary ffs ]

Embittered as he is, he seems to feel some grief for what he has done. Surely, we are not all so far gone in our own madness and despair that we do not dream of someone offering us a way back from it?
sterngaze: (neutral: tousled)

+1 SPARE

[personal profile] sterngaze 2023-05-15 09:05 pm (UTC)(link)
I have to agree; he should be required to do penance for the suffering that he caused.

[Liem's addition is quiet, but firm. The judgement of criminals is an area in which he has much experience, at least by mortal standards. He feels no hesitation contributing his thoughts.]

Perhaps, with the power of the Oracle, his assistance will not be necessary to suppress the Blight — but his actions made the Scorching Isles inaccessible to us. His cooperation may allow us to return there as well, and claim what we already paid for.
vapour: (pic#15074526)

1/2

[personal profile] vapour 2023-05-15 09:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[ because he's a big brother!!

he's pretty sure if you squeeze the otter hard enough you could pop its head off. Therefore, there is a need to be gentle...js.
]
Edited 2023-05-15 21:09 (UTC)
vapour: (Default)

[personal profile] vapour 2023-05-15 09:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Is that grief only because he fucked up and made a huge mess? Since, I don't really understand what he was trying to accomplish here other than take the Oracle back to put the spell back on the Scorching Isles.

It doesn't seem like the end of the world was the goal.
hauntedking: (07)

[personal profile] hauntedking 2023-05-15 09:17 pm (UTC)(link)
I wonder if there's anything in there that might be of use.

[ Dimitri is a touch distracted. But... who wouldn't be, in this hellish place? ]

Although the water might be of more importance at the moment. Shall we check there first? Or try the office and then the water on the way back? Kill two birds with one stone.

[ He's trying to stay together. To hold himself up. It's not going as well as he would have liked. ]