PLEROMA | VOICE, ALSO FORWARD DATED TO AROUND THEN

[coerthantorment]

[Estinien still isn't sure how he feels about this method of communication, but now that it seems like something may be on the horizon, he'll sacrifice his mental well-being to get it done. He pushes inexpertly into the psychic realm, reaching out to all of those touched by the Pleroma.

It comes through roughly like his voice, but with a persistent sense of wary anticipation tinging it.]

Hail. This is Estinien Wyrmblood... with any luck, I have been able to reach you.

My dreams have been plagued by queer echoes of the selfsame vision we all had upon our arrival. It feels as if the shrines are once again stirring, and that more lost souls have fallen within their hold. If so, we can be sure that the Regent and their new thralls will one more move to claim the victims as prisoners.

We cannot allow this to happen. This time, I plan to meet the Kenoma's forces head-on, challenging them for the strategic positions around the shrines they took for granted last time. I know that not all of us have the training or abilities required to fight against such odds, but for those that do, I implore you to join me. 'Tis possible that we can spare these new arrivals the same dire fate.

Regardless of whether you join me on the field, I would find great value in knowing everything you can offer concerning the nature of the Kenoma's Aion forces. I fought a handful of them in the caverns, but many more escaped my focus.

For those that will lend their strength, but who have gone to the city... it is now within our power to guide you to our more secure location. There are those we can confer here that will help us plan our best way forward.

[At this point, he will let his message drift. Compiling information and threadjacking are very much welcomed! We are shamelessly ripping off the Kenoma here.]

Comments

[hippocarnival]

Right. [He's been there before, so he thinks... he can help them through it, too. As soon as they can be brought out of whatever the Kenoma is doing to them.]

You're going to the shrines too? When the... new Aions show up.

[inutilis]

...The embodiment of despair?

[ Abel had thought she might be referring to Emet-Selch at first, based on what Estinien had said and his own experiences with grandpa the other man - but this... this seems much more worrisome. ]

'Her'... then-- this person has actually gone with the Kenoma? Someone you know?

[inutilis]

I am.

[ it's gentle, but firm. Abel knows that they are all riding a fine line - one that could easily be tipped off balance any time. should new arrivals be seized by the Kenoma, the Regent's power will continue to grow and more souls will be lost. ]

...And you? Are you thinking of going as well, ah-- ah. Actually-- I don't think we've been introduced, have we?

[hippocarnival]

Yeah, I am. [He's significantly less equipped to deal with the Kenoma that anyone else, though. He'll just have to be in and out.]

I'm Yuya. I helped with the escape ritual, back then. I want to help again.

[superbshot]

She has a talent for martial arts, certainly. I fought with her, briefly, but when my power to create a firearm manifested I was able to force her back.

[Caitlyn's thoughts here are rather...muddled.]

She's a strange person. She went over to the enemy almost immediately, but also seemed to be caring for those of us who were injured or suffering badly prior to our escape. I have a feeling she thinks of herself as some sort of martyr.

[superbshot]

Hello, Estinien. And to anyone else who may be listening to this.

My name is Caitlyn Kiramman, and I will happily help anyone who needs it in this endeavor. I'm a marksman, and a strange power has manifested in myself. I can create a gun out of thin air, so I may be of use in that regard...and I have a fairly analytical mind, if that may be of use.

Silco, the Industrialist

[superbshot]

[Caitlyn can at least offer information about this smug guy. She knows him quite well at this point.]

This man is named Silco, a man from my homeworld. I should note for transparency's sake that he is a personal enemy of mine due to my status as law enforcement at home and his operations as a crime boss.

He is on the aged side of things, getting closer to fifty, and he is in relatively poor health due to a lifetime of smoking and what I believe is exposure to toxic chemicals. Silco is a drug-dealer by trade, distributing a drug known as Shimmer throughout the city of Zaun, and it's quite possible that he can reproduce Shimmer here in this world.

Personally, I would not consider him a major threat to anyone possessing supernatural abilities due to his advanced age, but he is an incredibly vicious man who favors knives. He may be dangerous in other ways. He is also highly intelligent and will attempt to distract you to gain the upper-hand. It should be noted that he prefers skullduggery and backstabbing if forced to fight, and he is faster than he looks. He is an experienced streetbrawler, presumably from his youth.

If Silco manages to recreate Shimmer here, then that may be an issue, as it bestows supernatural speed and strength on anyone that ingests it for a time, but it wracks the body in the aftermath of a high. Shimmer is an iridescent purple and causes the eyes to glow the same way, so if you see an opponent exhibiting such, use caution.

If you are forced to deal with him, don't let him sway you with words. He's got a black heart, and he really only cares for power and profit, outside of a limited circle of associates he regards as family. I do not have evidence of the presence of his associates at this time.

[aquaveiled]

[ There's a feeling of confusion but wonder from her end of the conversation. It doesn't sound familiar at all, but the unfamiliar is always the most exciting. ]

So you all live in the canopy? You must feel pretty at home here.

[aquaveiled]

Yes. I know two of the Kenoma, actually. Estinien has named them both.

[ There's no sense in hiding it. Meteion is someone they should all be aware of, as Estinien has already mentioned. Dangerous in her own way. A different way from Emet-Selch, though she does believe them both redeemable. Both had succumb to despair in one way or another. ]

Her name is Meteion. She is a being that is built of...emotions rather than aether. As such her influence on reality can be in flux with those emotions. When she succumbed to the despair of morality that was brought onto all things, she fell into it in...the most literal sense. If all of our natural abilities have come back to us, I wouldn't be surprised if her ability to sense and absorb the emotions of others has returned as well.

[bearshermark]

[He laughs shortly, a bit flustered]

Ah, no. We live in normal towns and villages, but Yggdrasil hangs in the sky above.

[inutilis]

--Mr. Yuya! Yes, yes; we didn't have much chance to exchange pleasantries back then, did we? It's good to finally put a name to the face!

[ oh, feel all these warm, pleasant feelings trickling down the line... budding friendship is a beautiful thing. ]

Abel-- Father Abel Nightroad, at your service...! So, my first service would be to let you know I'm happy to head with you wherever you decide to go, alright? You shouldn't head anywhere alone, and since both of us already know how to use the teleportation spell-- we can hopefully ferry any new souls out of the shrines rather quickly, mm? Teamwork!

[inutilis]

[ Abel's experience with someone who harbored the powers of 'empathy', as it were, are narrow and not nearly as strong as what Himeka is describing. even so, he knew it had been a terrible burden on Sister Noelle; he can only imagine what it was like to be a living being whose battery ran on emotions. ]

...I see...

[ there are so many Kenoma to be worried about... and not because of how dangerous they are - but how dangerous they could be to themselves, how miserable it must be to suffer their fates. ]

Is there anything we can do for her, this Meteion? You were able to bring her back from a brink, it sounds like-- is there any way we could repeat that feat here, you think?

[hippocarnival]

[Father? Father... oh. That's something Christian priests go by, isn't it?

He laughs a little, because it's too they were in too much of a hurry to exchange names. Yuya walked out of that cave not knowing half of what any of the Pleroma call themselves.]

Um--yeah, I'd like that! It's probably better if we go in pairs or groups, like Ernesto said.

[dragon_rider]

I've been working. [ And he has, to the bone. Just ask Estinien and any poor Green Truth folk who saw him half asleep and determined to do whatever he could. It hasn't gone well. ]

There's house repairs needed here all the time and their weapons are good, but old. They lack resources and jumping between gathering them or helping with what I can... It's great. I love that kind of work, always have. Figuring out how to fix a problem is always exciting — And I know no work is too small, but...

I don't want to be someone stuck behind a door somewhere. That's just not me.

[ In more ways then one. He can't sit still, he has to be out there — Doing something more. It's why they went on adventures. It's what his father wanted of him, and that's the thought that crosses his thoughts then, that comes over rather he means them to or not: A chief protects his own. It's not an easy sentiment to forget. Especially now. ]

[inutilis]

Ernesto? [ ...

...

oh-- ]

Ah-- you mean Mr. Tequila! He did make that suggestion, didn't he? And it's a wise one, so we should--

...W-wait. Wait a moment, he-- his name is Ernesto??

[ this is. this is news to Abel. has Ernesto been giving him a fake name all this time........

Yuya... thank you for this knowledge, ]

[hippocarnival]

[Sorry Ernesto, he didn't know.....]

Uh. I assume it's his given name? [He only gave the one, after all.] So maybe Tequila is his... family name?

[There is no fucking way it's his family name but Yuya's gonna pitch the idea anyway.]

[inutilis]

[ so, Hiccup wasted no time in getting to it? that's good to hear, and also speaks to the young man's dedication - not just to his fellows, but to those in Greentruth. ]

You want to be out there and making a difference somehow, I see... and I understand.

[ he can absolutely relate; though a great many of the problems that the Aions face are above him and beyond his expertise, sitting aside doesn't seem like a plan the priest can stomach either. so-- ]

Then, maybe between the two of us... we can figure a way for us to do some good. For you and me both, sir. I don't want things to come to blows, and as much as that might be inevitable considering the situation-- there has to be more we can do, right? There are those among the Kenoma who feel like we do, who would rather use their words than swords. If we appeal to their sense of reason, maybe...

[inutilis]

[ Yuya, bless your innocent little soul, ]

...You know what? It's fine; i-it's fine, maybe it's a-- term of endearment! [ he is deluding himself it's fine just forget it, ]

--Either way, I'm glad you and I are on a first name basis, Mr. Yuya-- so let's make sure this is the start of a beautiful friendship, mm~?

[goldendeceiver]

[ So the good father isn't a fan of being in a position of authority, huh? Understandable though. ]

Probably. But if we're lucky, maybe someone who is ready for the job will eventually step to the plate.

[goldendeceiver]

Mr. Dokja... if I asked you in a straight forward manner not to start a fight with him, would you even listen to me?

[ Because he's already starting to figure out how good Dokja's selective hearing is. ]

[goldendeceiver]

Ernesto rolls off the tongue pretty well too though, no?

[ This is the feeling of sighing right now, without an actual sigh being heard. ]

I didn't realize they'd given you such a rough time at first. Are they even going to be willing to take on more of us?

[aquaveiled]

So...Yggdrasil must be a HUGE tree then. Or else you are normally very small, like pixies.

[coupris]

[The conjured image allows a few things to click for Kim about meeting Silco before he could properly see.]

Ah.

[Unclear if that thought is shared entirely voluntarily, but the weight of contempt and the lack of surprise are very intentional.]

[salvageable]

[salvageable]

Probably not.