festivals and mur--ahem, investigations 🎊🔍

[beleos]

COMMUNION WITH YIMA

After given some time for recovery and for Yima to hear reports of what transpired at the Tree of Life last month, a Communion message gently flows through the minds of each Shard-Bearer. They will have to choose to accept this message, and once they do, they will be greeted by Yima’s voice resonating pleasantly in their heads. She first apologizes for their harrowing experience with the Dryad, and that she hadn’t anticipated such a violent reaction from the Tree; she believes that their experiences point to an imbalance within the Tree itself, most likely brought about by the soon-to-come arrival of the Oracles.

She has spoken with Cyrus, and they have jointly decided that an investigation into the matter - and potentially the destruction of the Dryad - may be required to purge its influence from the Tree. Yima requests that any who would willingly seek out the Dryad volunteer to do so and will be outfitted with a ward against any tampering to prevent them from falling into the creature’s clutches a second time. It will take her a bit to fashion enough of these wards - but she anticipates being ready toward the end of the month.

She concludes her message with another heartfelt apology for your suffering, that she would not have sent any into such a situation she believed were truly dangerous. That being said, she takes responsibility for your ordeal and asks that if there is anything she can do in recompense, you have but to ask.

Yima will be available for Communion chatter here!

FESTIVAL OF REMEMBRANCE - HIGHSTORM

Takiltu is a month cycle the natives of Kenos regard with some amount of reverence and a hearty helping of excitement: the first part of the month (November) is spent reflecting on and celebrating the differing cultures and worlds each Kenosian represents. The second part of the month (December) is spent celebrating unity and togetherness, to come together with friends and family, to be kind to others and share in one’s wealth - whether that comes in the form of knowledge, monetary gains, or the exchange of gifts and one’s time.

Each city celebrates differently, the flavor of their festivals a reflection of their people.

In Highstorm, the first thirty days of Takiltu are spent in Remembrance. The city is decorated with string lights, paper lanterns, candles, and torches to illuminate the streets in beautiful colors and shimmering magical illusory shapes. The focal point of the festival takes place in The Court, where the reflecting pool has been especially decorated with arrangements of flowers and lights. Festival stands erected around the Courtyard peddle paper lanterns as well as refreshments, fanciful decorative items, and enchanted jewelry that is said to make one’s recollections of the past temporarily clearer.

The pool itself is the main attraction, here; citizens who approach its waters and gaze into its depths will find its normal abilities to reflect memories enhanced. The images are surreal for their clarity, vivid - and normally, one is requested to look into the eyes of those most precious to them whose souls remain lost, to pay homage to their memory and sacrifices, and to wish them rebirth in the new world to come. A purchased lantern is then lit and sent skyward where it floats into the moonlight, joining the others hovering above.

But this year, there is an addition to the usual fanfare. Emet-Selch has been asked to assist with the festival; as long as he is given permission, he can recreate the memory displayed in the reflecting pool. Yima has granted him a temporary blessing which enhances his natural creation abilities - a gift for their people she is grateful for. Your character can choose what it is they see in the water - whether it’s a place, a person, or the feelings of a certain point and time, he will temporarily recreate it around you. Everyone will be able to see this conjuring and interact with it while it is functional. It will last between 15 to 30 minutes before dissolving into beads of light that slowly trickle skyward before disappearing. You’ll be told to light a lantern, send it adrift, and that this will give peace to the part of you and your Shard that surely aches. But does it…?

Elsewhere in Highstorm, the High Theater has been painstakingly decorated and aglow with magical floating motes of light; the interior has been transformed into something of an Art Gallery. The pieces within are dedications to parts of worlds long gone, as well as the people in them; some are beautifully painted landscapes of exquisite, far-away places beyond the imagination. Some are more mundane and familiar snapshots of life in a home world not too different from your own. There are portraits of families, loved ones, and those the Zenites long for most. This is their time to mourn, to grieve, and to appreciate their pasts - the pasts that will lead them to a brighter future, one day. They must move on into the future, but treasuring that which came before is equally important to them.

Should you touch any of the motes of light that are around the art pieces decorating the Gallery, you will find yourself able to feel, hear, see, and taste a piece of the world the piece represents. Some of these are warm gatherings over a dinner table with family; others are heart-wrenching expressions of loss and bitterness and pain. Be cautious which you choose. Oh, and do be careful not to stand too closely with someone else when you touch one, or one accidentally touches you - the experience is absolutely contagious through Communion.

CELEBRATION OF CHERISHMENT - SPRINGSTAR

While Highstorm’s Festival of Remembrance is a more demure and reflective time, Springstar takes a much different approach to the season. In true Meri nature, the Celebration of Cherishment encapsulates celebrating life in all forms - and that means parties! The Psychagogía is the main hub of excitement considering, but festivities can be found in almost every single district of Springstar. Wherever you go, something is happening and someone is trying to rope you into having a good time.

The city has been decorated with bright and colorful multi-purpose magical ivy-like vines that sprouts buds that bloom over the course of the month into gorgeous flowers. These flowers are considered sacred, and their blooming is a momentous time of joy and good fortune. Each flower is left intact; disturbing one is tantamount to a war crime by the natives, so don’t get observed if you try to pluck one!

The Psychagogía is incredibly lively, teeming with people and events; almost every venue is peddling some kind of ‘Cherishment’ celebratory sale or discount. The first portion of the month includes what the locals call “the meri-ment” (and seem quite chuffed about that pun), in which Kenosians are encouraged to go bar hopping and taste the wide variety of specialty ales and liquor unkegged only around this time of year. Participants are highly encouraged to share stories of their worlds and cultures, to tell those they mingle with tales of the worlds they will one day return to and why they’re special, unique - to celebrate their one-day return.

Alongside this comes a great deal of outdoor grilling, fresh meats and vegetables sending tantalizing scents everywhere you go once the evening hours arrive. Some of these food and drinks can cause… interesting… effects if you consume them in excess, especially at the Emotional Damage - so try to show restraint. It would be a bit embarrassing to find yourself strangely infatuated with the first person you lay eyes on after your fifth night out on the town, or feeling compelled to express warm feelings aloud you wouldn’t normally commit to another. Luckily, it only lasts a short period of time - but beware the wicked hangover afterward. Strangely enough, if you’re suffering, you feel oddly compelled to seek out a little TLC from someone else - someone with whom you might have some unresolved feelings toward, positive or negative. Is it longing? Anger? Jealousy? Unspoken affections? Love? Whatever it is, you're more likely to seek them out for some care.

At the Coliseum, nightly brawls between Meris take place and the usual assortment of monsters are temporarily taken out of offer. This part of the festivities is one where each Kenosian is encouraged to settle any differences or misgivings with others and to get it out of their system, cleansing them of bad mojo - “leave it in the ring,” as it were. Despite beating each other bloody at times, most combatants willingly stop before it gets too serious and fighting to the death is not permitted. You must embrace your adversary before you leave, and your ‘bad blood’ will be considered purged and settled so you can start anew.

The Empório district is celebrating consumerism, because of course it is! All the usual goods are on a considerable discount, and for a brief time, gardening tools and supplies are free! The reason for this is that Springstar’s citizens are encouraged to plant one seedling in the gardens in Katoikitikós once the flowers lining the city have gone into full bloom. It is said this honors gods across cultures and time as well as invites good fortune. You are encouraged to plant a seedling in a group or pairing, as space is limited - and there are superstitions regarding this togetherness resulting in more favorable results. Should you plant a seedling with someone else, you might indeed find that something is beginning to blossom between you… Based on your Aspects, you might find yourselves feeling closer and more connected - or repulsed depending on your compatibility. This effect will last through the month after planting. Should you check on the seedling later, its health will be reflected in the state of your relationship. Friends will find the little plant thriving; enemies will find it is sickly and dying.

For those Shard-Bearers who have already harmonized with the Meridian or who have quarters in Heliopolis, you will find the communal meals much more lavish and indulgent than usual. There may even be a taste of home waiting for you among the spreads on offer, or some comfort food you haven’t had in a while. It is encouraged to share anything to your taste - or even to share why it is meaningful to you via Communion. Or you can just eat. You do you, man.

Once the flowers have bloomed and the festivities reach their peak, one might find the city loud and boisterous and sleep a little more difficult to come by. Springstar is absolutely thriving and alive - and you, too, feel more invigorated and energetic despite any lack of zzz’s. Should you leave the city, however, this effect will vanish and you might find yourself unnaturally fatigued and in need of more rest than is customary. Returning to Springstar will slowly build up your stamina again. This effect lasts until the end of the month.

THE MYSTERY OF ALENROUX

Once celebrations are in full-swing in the cities, some characters (i.e., any characters that choose to participate in this prompt) will be contacted by Cyrus or Yima, depending on their faction or whichever they feel a stronger inclination towards if they are currently Unharmonized. Both will explain that there’s something that they’d like you to investigate, but also to prepare and be careful, since this request doesn’t come without danger… A Shard has been lost in Alenroux, and they both hope you’ll be able to retrieve it.

MERIDIAN

“I’ve gotten word that a Zenith Shard-Bearer was sent to Alenroux a little bit before you arrived, and they haven’t come back yet. Normally, none of our business, but based on what some of the farmers have been saying, I think they’ve gotten hit by Discord. If it gets high enough, well… You don’t really have your mind anymore. We can help them through Purification. Even if it’s just for long enough to calm them down, it’s better than them being trapped in madness. It might be easier to dissipate them first, though, then Purify their Shard. They were last seen heading to the Northern forests. Let me know what I can give you to help, and make sure to help each other. Good luck.”

ZENITH

"Please heed my request, though I do not ask this of you lightly... One of the Zenith's children has been lost among the fields of Alenroux come nightfall and I fear the worst has befallen them. There are dangerous elements attracted to the presence of a soul, and the likelihood our brethren has been lost... it is great. Seek out the Shard - and if you are able to retrieve it, please do so. If it has suffered corruption too great to be saved or would place you in too great a danger to take back, then... I trust you to make the merciful choice. I place this in your hands and will give you whatever you require to see it through. Look out for your fellow Zenith and work together, as I do not want to lose more of you. Be well."

Both factions will offer their recruits access to standard weaponry and armor/protective clothing. If a character asks for more, they’ll be given a weapon or a piece of armor with minor magical properties which would normally cost 1 AC token to purchase. Magical weapons are on loan however. If your character takes these and/or chooses to keep it, please note this in your Committed Actions! If they choose to keep standard weaponry, Cyrus/Yima will just be disappointed in your dishonesty. :(

When you arrive during the day cycle, you’ll also find horses and magic hoverboards to use (they go the same speed tbh), because heading North to the forests is a bit of a trek, and you might not make it there in time on foot! As the sun starts to set, you’ll see the people in Alenroux start to leave, going clearly your opposite direction. Once night falls (Nov. 9th OOC), it doesn’t take long for things to change.

There’s just a sliver of a crescent moon in the sky, which makes the rolling hills and forests much more ominous than they were during the day. And as the stories say, it only takes an hour or two before you start to run into strange creatures. Closer to the Cornerstone, there are indeed strange creatures, and while they may not all look scary, they might present different kinds of dangers such as…

• A light in the dark looks like a fairy, but stare at it too long and you’ll find yourself hypnotized by a ghastly fish will lead you to a body of water to drown you.
• An innocuous puddle may form up into a mass of corrosive goo, complete with the bones and items of the last person it came across. When you slice it, it simply creates a copy of itself, so hopefully you realize this before you’re surrounded.
• A strange straw poppet (sans pins, of course) that possesses you once you touch it and will use your body to try and fight anyone else while your consciousness is trapped inside the doll. To be freed, you only have to destroy the doll, but you’ll feel the pain of how its destroyed even if you don’t bear any injuries from it.

However, as you get closer to the Northern forests, they become significantly more fearsome…

• With a roar, a massive, multiheaded beast descends, and each of its mouths is perfectly capable of taking a bite out of you. Watch out for the snake’s head in particular, since its venom will cause you to hallucinate your worst fears.
• As you come face to face with an odd creature, bioluminescence lights up on its skin, and the spins on its back quiver with a sound like a rattlesnake’s. As the spines quiver, you find it exceptionally difficult to take your eyes off them and move as it stalks closer slowly. You can fight blind, right?
• Diving in and out of larger shadows like its water is a slimy beast that’s incredibly fast. Its teeth may be small, but its tail is a razor-sharp whip that could remove a limb if you’re not careful.

These are just examples, however. There are many creatures lurking the wilds of Alenroux, so feel free to create your own monsters with unique effects.

It's a difficult trek North, and you may be tired from hours of running, fighting, or both… But eventually, a few people do find what they were looking for. They might have even missed it, if not for how their Shards suddenly felt like they were burning. From the shadows, a twisted creature of roots and lights which what looks like many crystals in a glowing mass appears and one of its eyes locks on you. It looks like now is your chance.

NOTES

Weather summary for the first 30 days of Takiltu (NOV & DEC):

Highstorm is in late fall, early winter season. Some flurries may occasionally fall and it is getting considerably cold out there! Bundle up!

Springstar is in the throes of early summer; the weather is climate and pleasantly warm for outdoor celebrations (but not sweltering). There are occasional afternoon showers, but they don’t last very long.

Notable city changes:

If you wander the Markets in Highstorm, you might notice some of the peddlers seem a bit wary of you. Hm, guess something happened around here! Probably totally unrelated, but Silco and Vander (or anyone with them) will be treated with nervous suspicion.

Similarly, if you're traveling with Set (or you're Set) in Springstar, you might occasionally find yourself getting strange looks. Ask Set why.

Faction updates:

There are no explicit changes in faction behavior at this time. This will be a staple in all future event write-ups to catalogue the fluidity of the conflict as it progresses, though, so we're including it here for posterity!

Event Notes:

The Reflecting Pool in the Courts of Highstorm can be observed normally with no addtional effects or can bring your memory to vivid life thanks to the help of Emet-Selch (and Yima). If you grant him permission (which can be handwaved), he will breathe life into whichever memory you have chosen to view! If this includes any NPC’s or interactive elements, you will be responsible for playing them out in any tags until they disappear. Please see Emet’s toplevel for any interactions you’d like to thread out with him as a part of this.

For the Gallery in Highstorm, the art depicted in and scenes experienced through the pieces are up to you to create! Feel free to go wild with any associated NPC's in the scene and worldbuild as you see fit. Highstorm holds a variety of citizens from across the multiverse, so you could feasibly go fantastical places, or experience something distinctly profound and beyond your imagination...

The drinks and refreshments in Springstar can be enchanted in just about any way you’d like, including bringing upon minor physical changes of the cute, fun, and flirty variety! Feel free to get creative (as long as you get permission from your thread partner), the Meris would also merrily insist growing extra fluffy, scaly, etc bits during the celebration will only help you party harder! 🥳

As reminders for Alenroux, once night falls, a character is not able to leave until sunrise, which is 24 hours later. If your character is dissipated, you can have a PC retrieve their Shard or the respective Faction they're allied with will send out a search party to find it. Remember to report character deaths!

CODING

Comments

[warmare]

[He does not have to tell her that. What a mess. How foolish she had been that day when the “centaur” girl had invited her to that gathering of those who shared her basic shape but not her world or her culture or her history. To have looked upon the rolling hills and green forests of Alenroux and thought… only cowards would flee this place at nightfall. It surely could not be so nightmarish as that.

But it had been. She is the proof of that. Beneath the hand clutching at her chest, beneath stained fabric and binding, her companion’s shard is proof of that. … The monster’s cracked shard, too.

All she does is gurgle her assent. Lying still… is most all she’s capable of anymore.

In preparation for the sensation she despises, the feel of someone else’s magic flowing into her body, manipulating it to their will even if it were for “good”… No, Hayame cannot even frown or recoil. The blood in her scratched eye keeps her already compromised vision crimson and dark. The wounds in her flank and foreleg keep her legs from doing much but spasm, while the ones in her upper chest make it hard to breathe, her twin heartbeats growing weaker. The only thing she can do is make her hand curl tighter on her bow grip, the hole straight through the middle of her palm welling with fresh blood.

That… and rub her cut cheek into the dirt in what might be an attempt at a nod.]

[lachtara]

[ It's most concerning that she doesn't move or protest. This woman had resisted his help when she could scarcely walk or see upon her arrival, but now there is not so much as a word of objection. It’s palpable that the light within her is beginning to fade.

Not a good sign. And so he concentrates on quickening the spell. ]

Oh, come now. I’m sure defeating this is paltry in comparison to other obstacles you’ve faced.

[ Minutes pass and the glowing green light of the healing spell only intensifies. Each cut knits itself together and each bruise begins to ease back into its usual color. However, he doesn't make a point to heal everything to perfection. There are still other severe wounds that need to be addressed - he would concentrate on those first before doubling back to anything that is minor in comparison.

Emet-Selch stands and makes his way to kneel in front of her where more injuries await. He tilts his head as he carefully examines them; both eyes, a gruesome cut, and bandages soaked through with her own blood.

The wounds on her eyes would undoubtedly obscure her vision, and touching them without warning would be a poor choice for many reasons. The last thing he needs to do is startle her. So he speaks, even if there is a chance she may not be aware enough to hear. ]

I must remove these bandages so that they may be replaced. You are free to express your imminent disdain if you wish, but at the very least do so with clean bandages.

[ So he reaches for the bandage so that it may be remove. Whether or not she would allow that remains to be seen. ]

cw: eye gore

[warmare]

[If she weren’t near death, perhaps Hayame would try and agree, to blister and claim this was nothing. But it wasn’t. She had never been so injured in her life. She may have been raised from birth to fight, but she had not yet been sold to a new master. Her stable had trained her and tested her and used her… But they did not endanger her needlessly, no more than a man with an expensive race horse would overrun their charge. It was an animal to be used, but it was still valuable only when healthy. Even in Horos…

But the pain begins to slowly ease. Flesh rent by sharpened roots and cracks in bone from a dangerous fall knit back together, her damaged organs cease relying so painfully on the other set, and Hayame… coughs, clears the blood from her mouth and inhales clearly for the first time in… hours? She doesn’t know.]

So be it…

[Her left eye hidden beneath the stained bandages has been a lost cause since the raid on Achamoth. The one other time she had debased herself to beg for magical healing, only to be told that it was impossible. If the eye were just damaged, perhaps… but it was gone, ripped out whole by a demon with clever fingers who had then dangled it before her as a taunt. When Emet-Selch removes the barrier hiding it from the world he will only find an empty socket, the insides raw and aching from lack of steady treatment since the injury, the seal of serum that had at least crusted her eyelids shut over the hole broken during her battle.

The right though… yet may be saved. It is colored red with blood, the orb damaged by a cut across delicate vitreous humors and damaged cornea, but it is there. And twitching in attempt to follow the voice of her potential rescuer, despite seeing only a vague dark blur.]

I have to… the tree… I have to reach the tree…

[lachtara]

Ensure you can stand before you set your next destination.

[ He makes quick work of taking the bandage from her face. A few pauses are needed here and there where blood has stuck the bandage to skin, and more caution is needed to make sure he doesn't make anything worse.

Emet-Selch lifts a palm just off the side of her face and begins the process of healing. The same soft green light springs forth and envelopes her face in the cool sensation of healing magic. Wounds like these are more sensitive in nature, so he is more meticulous about sealing each cut and letting the magic wipe her blood clean. Her failed eye certainly has gone without care for some time. ]

You will find yourself tired as your body replenishes what you've lost. Try to minimize whatever trouble you find yourself in for the next several days. I would rather my efforts not go to waste.

[ With everything healed it is time to rebandage the gaping wound she bears on her eye. Fresh medical supplies are not something he carries with him, so he would have to make do. Emet-Selch glances down at his sleeve and sighs before reaching down and tearing a long piece from it. Then he begins to loop it over the injury.

She's nearly healed. How to address the shard...? ]

Now, what makes your journey to the tree so urgent that you must bait death?

[warmare]

[How it makes her skin crawl, feeling magic coursing through her body and commanding it to do such unnatural things as to heal far faster than any man could or should. She has yet to find anyone else who felt the same, and yet even though she sees it for a boon in this moment, something that has snatched her from the abyss of death and allowed her to complete her duties… She still shudders in discomfort as his healing spell takes effect and her skin, muscles, bone, and even blood heed his call.

She manages (barely) to listen to his warnings, already feeling the second side effect, a deep, full existence tired that threatened to keep her on her belly just as well as her injuries had. Tired, she can deal with. Not flinching away from him as he pulled the bandage from her face to reveal her shame, not flinching away when he had to re-bandage it…

That was hard enough. But the tree…]

A shard…

[Her fingers curl weakly in the crimson-stained grass, struggling to pull a foreleg into position to rise.]

I have to bury a shard… at the tree…

[She’d heard that could bring a body back around the strange crystals that had become “them”… and it is the only way she knows. The only place she can justify going.]

[lachtara]

[ With everything sustained, it's a good of time as any to take a break. Spellcasting at such an intensity takes quite a toll and it would be reckless to exhaust himself in the middle of a potentially dangerous area. Besides... he needs to discern what she intends to do with the shard they came to Alenroux to find. She clearly has it.

Emet-Selch stands and resigns to sit against a tree some distance away. He draws both legs up to his chest and curls both arms around them. ]

You have two shards. Is that your intention for them both?

[ Shards are the embodiment of a person's soul - something he can clearly see - and he can observe two shards here. The muddied presence of Manon is what he followed to this place in order to find her. ]

[warmare]

[At some point in the healing process, as cowardly and risky as it felt… Hayame had closed her eye. (Eyelids.) She couldn’t bear to watch the vision go black, or to barely potentially maybe see a look on her would-be savior’s face that would tell her things weren’t going well. But the pain ebbs. And eventually she hears a sound that is him rising-

And she opens. It’s still a bit blurry from all the blood that had dripped down her face, but she… sees.

She doesn’t get up yet, her body exhausted from the efforts of healing the magic had urged it into, but. She gets half up, supporting her upper body on human-like palms as she breathes, shallow and slow.

But then he says she has two shards… and she hadn’t said it first. Despite the bone-deep weariness her muscles tense. Her fingers grope and then wrap around the bow she’d dragged through the wood.]

No…

[He was magic. Of course he somehow knew-]

That thing was a monster-

[And though she had felt… things, though her head had occasionally filled with overwhelming images and cries and flashes of something that was once a man…]

It should not… so foolishly brought back into this world…

[lachtara]

We've no need for more monsters.

[ It's said by way of agreement. They do not need more problems burdening this world than they have already, but what does that mean for the shard? Emet-Selch shrugs a shoulder and begins to elaborate. ]

The intention of the Meridian is to heal its Discord and revive the soul within the shard. The Zenith seeks to heal it if possible and destroy it if beyond all hope.

The decision of who receives the shard - if anyone - falls on you, it seems.

[warmare]

[That isn’t a decision Hayame had asked to make. How ironic she finds it. Though she and Liem had entered the forests of Alenroux, neither had done so with the aim of glory or claiming the lost shard for their new masters. Hayame had simply sought to understand why it was that she was supposedly unable to live in that place, which was so much better suited to her sensibilities in the daytime than either Highstorm or Springstar.

And now she has the shard.]

If it can be healed, then they may revive it as they wish.

[He says both groups want that. Fine. But then… it is so hard to think, her brain filled with the residual exhaustion of healing and the caught-up strain of blocking out her pain to drag herself half dead as far as she had, yet… He seems to imply that if it is not healed… If he says that Zenith would see it destroyed, but says nothing of what Springstar would do, then? Even if she asks, how can she trust his answer? He has sworn himself to that Yima woman, of course he wants her to get it…]

It was going to Meridian.

[Is what she says. She does not know much of the man the shard had once been… She doesn’t even know if this shard of the many that had been in the skull of the beast really was his. But if it was… if the strange jumble of images and voice that had invaded her head were real…

Then she’d heard that. I ran to Meridian.]

[lachtara]

The decision is yours.

[ He would make no attempt to argue for either side. But, there is another idea worth bringing up in regard to what to do with the shard. Perhaps she could consider it a stray thought from one rare individual to the next, or maybe a subtle way to coax the shard toward Zenith. That would depend on the individual's interpretation. ]

If I may make a small suggestion?

You could use it as a bartering chip to retrieve the shard of your choosing. "Matsukaze", perhaps.

[ Emet-Selch rests his head on his knees as a wave of tiredness begins to overcome him. ] Though not present in the body, it would allow you to have one of your kind accompany you by way of the soul.

[warmare]

[It’s not like she could stop him from doing much of anything right now- let alone making a suggestion. The way he phrases it like a polite question or matter of permission almost makes her laugh in a way that wasn’t kind at all, knowing as she did that only a threat to her life at that point would be able to muster the energy to do much moving. But she doesn’t.

She listens.

And to anyone capable of reading body language… It would be written there that she wanted what he suggests- at least in some way. Her healed pupil dilates, her fingers spasm around the bow and in the dirt, and her back legs clutch tighter to her belly at the reminder that that Yima woman… She’d offered that. She’d heard others say they’d taken those offers. She could be holding him… his soul… in her hand if she just gave this monster’s shard ti the witch, but what comes out of her mouth is a low whisper of,]

How dare you.

[Blinded by Innocence, she had mistaken this man for him once. She’d seen Matsukaze’s strong form and gentle face, seen him reach out a hand to her and she’d wanted so badly to take it, to be the sort of woman he would smile at, and instead…]

You don’t know him at all.

[To want him was selfish. Even knowing he was the one more deserving to be saved if their world really was dead… Would he hate her for forcing him to become a shard, a soul trapped and unable to exact change or take action? Would he lament and curse her for reviving him and not his pregnant sister or his young son?

She knew him for two, three moons… and it’s not enough. No matter how much she wants him it’s not enough to know. (Her brother, though… an insidious voice whispers that she at least knew what her brother would want… he’d want to be with her…)

But what she says isn’t… an actual refusal, or a condemnation of that idea, now, is it?]

[lachtara]

I don't, no.

[ He looks wistfully out to the horizon. ]

What I do know is that one cannot describe the elation of having another soul that understands.

[ Even now when he would take a meal with anyone other than his dear friend, he would feel a yawning distance between them. People were largely like that. They looked similar, bore the same ability to stand on two legs, walk, and talk, with some small modifications here and there. They could look so similar at first glance - if a little small - but they are so very different.

He had watched them and tried to live with them to understand. None did. There was always a yearning to have someone who could share in his experiences. ]

[warmare]

[... Another soul that understands.

Hayame's fingers dig tighter into the bloody soil. With a monumental effort, the same sort of desperate ability to focus on a goal no matter the damage it might cause that had gotten her out of the northern forest despite her grievous injuries and blindness, she manages to get her forelegs into position and starts to lever up off the ground, grinding her teeth to prevent any weak noises slipping out.]

Is that... what you did?

[What had convinced him so quickly (it seemed to her, who did not realize some had arrived earlier than others) to serve that Yima woman. The shard of someone who understood.

Someone that would make him not... the last Ascian any longer.]

[lachtara]

In a way.

[ It confirms in so many words that they are here in Kenos, and that he is no longer the last of his kind. The mere thought lifts his spirits immensely. After so long of searching for his own, he found the person here that was most important to him. ]

I was provided with a shard upon my arrival. The shard was not given upon request, but rather provided to me as a demonstration of power. I kept it close until they were born anew several months later.

[warmare]

[As the Ascian speaks, Hayame continues to lever herself off the ground, forcing her mostly healed but now unnaturally exhausted limbs to try and bear her weight. Though it obviously is a strain, she does it despite, hauling herself up from her belly to her knees, from her knees to half up, from the half sprawl to a final haul up to all four hooves… and then she’s up, even if she has to lean heavily on the nearby tree and her bloody, tattered clothing hangs off her body.

He might question if she’d been listening properly, but after she pants for breath, her head still heavy and low-]

… So you are no longer the last of your kind.

[Hayame doesn’t say it like a question. Instead, it comes out more like a masochistic request for him to confirm that he has been blessed… while she has not.]

[lachtara]

So it seems.

[ His gaze slides over to her. Oh, she's managed to work her way back to standing already? Someone is certainly pushing the boundaries of their strength. ]

It is a title I am happy to be rid of, and one I should never hope to know again.

[warmare]

[... Of course it is.

For a moment... Hayame forgets that she has spent hours stumbling blind and bloody through the forests of Alenroux. She forgets the pain that had been so all consuming, the exhaustion that keeps her from advancing easily now, and instead-

She feels that familiar, bitter taste in her mouth. In this world... Unlike Horos, when she had felt like truly the only creature there alive that did not wear a human-like body, there are other races in Kenos. There are even people who she thought might be jinba.

But they weren't. They called themselves "centaurs" or "the folk", they came from just as many strange worlds as the rest and so she... Where it matters most, she is still alone. So of course she pushes the boundaries of her strength, like she had to get out of the wood in the first place, her limbs shaking as she tries to move forward, ever onward toward the Tree.]

... Congratulations.

[- Tries. She doesn't get far before her shaky knees start to buckle, and she has to lock them and arrest her progress or risk another stumble into the ground.]

[lachtara]

[ That tone does not escape him. There is contempt on the surface of her words, and in some regard, he knows the feeling that likely lies beyond: The bitter taste of isolation.

The feeling is inescapable. It could be as simple as having a conversation in which no one shares your perspective, or it could be as obvious as walking the city streets. All those in the crowd laugh and engage in conversation with one another while the loneliness swallows you whole. It's an abyss.

So it is with all sincerity that he offers her a few words. ]

I hope that you are able to find the same in due time, for there are few other wounds as deadly as solitude.

[warmare]

[It would be easier if she thought he sounded as if those words were empty. If he had not claimed to her in Horos to be the last of his kind and described the sensation to her in a way that made it clear to her that... He did understand what it felt like, to be alone in that way. But she can't just-]

Do not mock me.

[She tries to unlock her knees, to force her now healed, but weakened, legs to carry her.]

I have done nothing to earn your empathy.

[They had been enemies in Horos. If he served that Yima woman, who she did not trust, they would surely be enemies again, and despite that-]

I... am the one now in your debt.

[For her entire life, her eyesight, her ability to fulfill her duty to revive Liem... despite how it chafed.]

[lachtara]

Is that so.

[ Ah, the indebted. Without being entirely loyal to the 'side' he finds himself on, such allies could be useful in so many ways. It is not an allyship but it could be the frail foundations of one.

He gives her a sidelong glance, but nothing more than that. It seems she's recovering enough to make her own way out. Such a decision could still be perilous depending on what lingered in the woods, but he would not stop her. ]

Then until next we meet.