aionchat | PLEROMA | FRIENDS LOST (END OF SOVISERI)

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PLEROMA | FRIENDS LOST (END OF SOVISERI)

[Estinien can be felt in the communion space, after having essentially gone missing during the final days of the mission. He's only just now returning to Greentruth in the company of friends. The tone of his psychic transmission is fraught with sorrow and anger in kind.]

Himeka and Abel have been taken by the Kenoma. They... are the Regent's prisoners.

[His presence becomes distant for a few beats after, like he has to steady himself.]

The creature of Innocence we found in Venera... its hold on me is far greater than I ever realized. I was drawn into a battle with the Kenoma, in the defense of other Pleroma, and when I found myself outnumbered and trapped... it came to my aid. Yet, 'twas at a cost I would not have willingly paid.

Angered by their broken "promise", it lashed out at those that bore its mark. 'Twas this moment of weakness that allowed them to be captured. It struck Ryunosuke and Alphinaud as well... Ryunosuke is safe. Alphinaud... has vanished somewhere I cannot reach.

[He's doing his best to give an objective account, something he became skilled in doing as a soldier. It's clear how much this is weighing on him, though.]

The... creature has been attempting to enthrall me. To change my body and steal my memories... it told me that Alphinaud was 'among the light', and that he had no further need for me. That Himeka and Abel had chosen to suffer in this world. I...

[And finally, the anger takes precedent, a fire wrought with misery.]

I will take them back. No matter what it demands of me. I... will bring them home.

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[No.

It's hard to overstate how obvious Himeka and Abel's absence has been. And it's been harder and hard tp not worry about what could have happened that resulted in them being so silent and unseen after... whatever happened in Godsblood. But he isn't prepared to have the worst confirmed by Estinien.

It's too hard to find words in the start of his response, fumbling to even get his thoughts straight as fear and alarm crowd his head and filter through the connection.] Abel and Himeka are...

Where were they taken? Achamoth?

[ the reverb of anger in this particular connection.

living with ernesto means that he isn't hearing this information for the first time. but it's still new, and it's still dreadful. ]

You won't be alone in bringing them back.

[ it's as much a promise in the general sense as the personal. of course, abel and himeka are so loved by so many people. hard to imagine many, any, would be willing to let this be. but also: he, himself is ready to do what it takes to have them brought to safety, to settle this score. ]

[Gods dammit. He hadn't been sure what to make of the fact that Himeka hadn't returned, and the dread coming from him is obvious.

At Innocence, at the fact that one of his dearest friends was captured, at the fact that Alphinaud is gone, at his own helplessness...]

....If we destroy it, are we handing this world to the Regent? Must we slay both of them...? It seems no matter what the star, Primals drain the land and its peoples.

[He'll not bother trying to talk Estinien out of it, but his uncertainty is obvious.]

How will you get there?

I know naught for certain... but 'tis the only outcome I can imagine.

[He tries to keep himself steady, but his heart continues to sink.]

We know what the Regent intended for those of us that chose the Pleroma.

[There is a silent kind of acceptance on Estinien's side of thing, followed by tentative gratefulness. He didn't think the rest of the Pleroma would forsake them, but it's different to hear it for certain.]

To penetrate the defenses of the Citadel... I know not where to begin. I went hunting for a Kenoma I could question on its interior... and I found one, in a sense.

Meteion has changed her colours.

Yeah. [He cracks, overwhelm at once by grief. Like he already has to mourn them because--what can they do if the Regent already has them? Are they going to next find Himeka and Abel, standing against them with the Kenoma?

... No. They're both too kind, too full of hope for that. But the alternative is no less grave.]

[ A ripple of something... violent. The losses seemed to keep stacking up. They may have been victorious in some ways, but Akua was aware that there was a price to be had for that. ]

Do you have a plan yet?

[ No personal anecdotes here. Of course, Akua was...close to the both of them, hence the thread of violence, hotter than a flame and quick to lash out, but no, she wouldn't do so yet. They were friends, but that only meant they had to prioritize getting them out of there -- but not without a plan. ]

[ Well, this is some shitty, awful news. Dokja's normally not one to deal with Communions if he can help it, but in this case, he can't help it. ]

I'll go with you.

[ He owes both Abel and Himeka a great deal. They reached out to him and showed him a kindness that was more than what he deserved, and to hear that both of them were captured is making him sick to his stomach.

But there's just one more thing. If the plan is to step foot into Achamoth in a rescue attempt, then... ]

About this creature. What if it shows up again? If you can't control it, there's no telling what might happen the next time you're cornered.

[...

He and Abel had impressed upon each other the need to be careful. They should have kept closer tabs on each other. Perhaps someone else would have gotten there sooner, had they known a little sooner than asking for rumors around docks.

Quietly, almost to himself:] So that's the nature of the promise they made.

[Great, so they really have two of these mad, godly powers to contend with.] Their lives are not only on your shoulders, Estinien.

[So, he hopes he isn't planning to go without the rest of them.] That entity... does it speak to you now?

[ dextera had been so absorbed in his own problems. it’s not the first time his selfishness had completely blot out the world around him, and he’s horribly guilty with the realization.

the sickness tinges even his response, despite his best attempt to keep it to himself to avoid rattling estinien further. ]

…I’ll help. I’ll fight.

[ he hasn’t been the most proactive about the inevitable violence of the divide between their sects and surely estinien knows that, but this is one of the few things that will bring him to the necessary battle. ]

[ there's a little sense of reassurance, to that gratitude. an unsaid: of course. ]

She's one of us now?

[ with open surprise. has he heard of something like that happening before? but if there's a time for it, now is a good one. ]

Has she told you anything?

[Ryunosuke isn't chiming in, but he is listening. Even if he doesn't speak, his presence can still be felt. A soft murmur in the background.

It speaks only of an immense sense guilt; a sensation which he's trying and failing to rein in entirely.]

I do not.

[He won't even pretend he does - or rather, he won't refuse the notion that one would be useful. He only knows that, even if he doesn't come up with any ideas, he's going to smash himself against the rocks rather than do nothing.]

I... to be effective is of more value than my pride. If there is anything... anything you can do...

...

[The comparison is terrifying - that he might be caught in the thrall of a primal. He's been afraid of the possibility for so long now, and for it to be realized...]

If it is as our world... there were souls that... they could make use of a primal's power...

[He tries to remember Ysayle, but the image doesn't form properly. The knowledge of this phenomenon comes cruelly detached from the woman herself. There is only a feeling of absence.]

...

[He's thankful to Dokja for saying so, and it comes across clearly. It doesn't quite hide the almost maddening helplessness and rage that fuels his next statement, though.]

If the creature need consume me to defeat the Regent, to bring them back... so be it.

[Pure, furious desperation is speaking now.]

Let me die on its altar. I care not.

...Aye.

[He doesn't know for certain, but it seems like more than a distant possibility. There's intense sadness from Cid. He has first-hand experience in just how twisted by a primal a person can become.]

It's... true that there are those who can control it. we... did come up with a cure to tempering, too. There must be a method here, as well.

[...]

I'm coming with you. I'll not just pilot the airship to escape.

I...

[He has to pause to think on it, lost in the terrible idea that it might be affecting his thoughts on some level he doesn't understand.]

Nay... I do not hear it. I had gone to its shrine in hope of appeasing it, to ask for its succor... it only took the opportunity to ensnare me in its power. To make the place my prison.

If Hayame and Ryunosuke had not come to my aid I would be there still.

[For some reason hearing Dextera say this, who he remembered being so unsure, heartens him a little. Surely, if they could all fight for anything, it would be Himeka and Abel, ones that had been so kind to so many.]

If the Pleroma are all of one mind... then mayhap it can truly be done.

[Estinien understands that guilt, because he feels it also. He can't help but think that if maybe he had done something different, this could have all been avoided.

If he was feeling more confident, he might say that there was no point in dwelling on the past. As it is, though, he can only offer his sympathy.]

I see. [So he has some reprieve. Syrlya thinks it would be best to cut the connection, but at this point his only idea for that is to kill the entity. And they have bigger concerns.]

The Regent's forces have cleared out of Godsblood, so they likely aren't being held where they were captured. Achamoth does seem most likely... high value prisoners are surely kept somewhere well guarded, I would guess not far from the Regent themselves.

[ A sharp exhale, a ripple of frustration. Not at Estinien, but at the...situation. ]

I can help -- will help, in a way that I can. I don't suppose we know anyone that has plans for Achamoth?

[ The problem is that they are unprepared. That they are in the dark, and the Regent has all of the cards, and that they need to pull each and every one from the Regent themselves. ]

I'll try to talk to some people, perhaps with our newfound... willing allies, someone will have traveled to the city, and we can get even a rough map. As much as going in as fast as we can is... preferable, I think that would have dire consequences.

[He has asked Himeka about that possibility early on - if she knew if she could replicate the spell that had cured the tempered. She had admittedly that she was lacking the tools to do so here. Estinien was never the best at understanding these things to begin with.

Yet, he at least knows that with the likes of Cid and the others here, there could be a chance. He's willing to take the risk, one way or the other. Cid is too, from the sounds of it.]

She must needs be saved. After all she has done, 'tis only what she is owed.

Bloody hell. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

[Caitlyn's voice takes on a resigned sort of resolve, her entire being at once feeling energized and drained.]

You're certainly not doing this alone, Estinien. When you've got a plan, keep me informed.

[And...]

...You need to be careful with the entity. Surely I don't need to tell you that, but it sounds like you're playing with fire.

I’m sorry for wavering.

[ dextera knows estinien isn’t the person who can forgive him for that, and in the end, only dextera can forgive himself… but he has to say it out loud, an assurance that he is devoted to seeing their friends rescued. ]

Your memories… do you still have them? Do you know?

[He does know, and it comes across silently. It's less about whether or not it's fire, and more about whether he's ready and willing to set himself ablaze to see this done.]

When I was cornered by the Kenoma, I feared for a moment it might be my end. In response... the creature overtook me, taking me as its vessel, body and soul.

It dispensed the Kenoma trivially, with power I barely understand... if it could be utilized, even briefly...

[He's willing to do it, and he's willing to pay for it.]

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PLEROMA | FRIENDS LOST (END OF SOVISERI)

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