[Kenoma] Discussion

[lachtara]

( 🟣 - Emet, 🔵 - Ciel )

Good Evening.

There are some within our ranks who we have not had the pleasure of meeting. I am Emet-Selch. Ciel and I serve as tacticians and teachers to the Kenoma.

I function as acting counsel for devising strategies. Additionally, some of you may find yourself in possession of new magical abilities that you did not have before. I am available to assist you with honing your newfound magical skills. To those of you who find yourself injured, I can provide my magic to heal your wounds so that you may be hale and whole once more.

[ He sighs. My, is this a mouthful. ]

My name is Ciel. I am versed in martial arts and am proficient with most types of weaponry. There are various means of developing melee combat prowess across Achamoth, but if you would like personalized instructions at any level, please contact me and we’ll arrange for a schedule. I can also perform magical healing along with Father Paul.

Unfortunately, We do not have much time for pleasantries. The Pleroma will soon be at our doorstep. Their goal is to retrieve their allies who remain captive inside our walls, and our goal is to lure them deep within the Citadel where we may enact our own plans. You will be provided assignments once it is closer to the promised hour. Prepare in your own way meanwhile; The Citadel is host to all manners of weaponry and the army's training grounds.

[ It’s kept a little vague and unspecific. Though they do intend to give adequate information, there is also no question that they have had traitors in their midst as of late. Everything will be doled out with due caution. Although, there will be a silent message sent to each person asking them to respond with some information of their abilities. ]

We are at war, bloodshed is inevitable. We will be attacked soon, and we must defend our keep. Consider this communion address a formal hub for discussion and organization of the battle to come. We will begin with information sharing of the Pleroma: knowing their names, appearances, and capabilities will better prepare us in dealing with them in combat. Aions may develop new abilities at any time, however; intel from the mission in Venera and Godsblood may very well be outdated by now, so do not assume anything we go over in this address as the extent of what they can do. Anything you may have witnessed at the shrines can be helpful, including other newcomers you may have met that did not return to Achamoth..

To the third wave of newly awoken Aions, it is regrettable that we cannot welcome you better, you’ve unfortunately arrived at a tumultuous time on Horos. If this is all too much for any reason, that’s fine. Contact me privately, and we can at least arrange for you to be somewhere safe during this. To those used to wielding great power, please get some practice in and verify your new limits. Becoming an Aion may have weakened you, do not let that catch you off-guard on the battlefield.

To those who are new, introduce yourselves and ask any questions you have. We will answer your questions as best we can, and I encourage our fellow Kenoma to chime in where they may. Do try to keep your questions interesting enough to be worth reading.

Comments

[expiera]

...Mm.

[It's not hard to imagine, but hearing him go on, she does get a few ideas.]

Well, no one here makes the weather as far as anyone knows, we're all on Horos now. So why not start with the weather? [Since he's clearly talking about someone from home, with that "we had someone who made the weather" part that she's wise enough to not ask.] Achamoth doesn't grow its own crop, but we do receive imports from the rest of the continent. You could also look into the sort of produce and their quality that the Citadel's kitchen will receive for the next few days, or on which day we'll get what, maybe? Would that work?

[It's strange why he thinks what he's said wouldn't be helpful. It's plenty?]

[fallingsand]

[ Considering they're about to go to war, it's hard to consider it useful. He's never used it to do things like predict enemy movements or otherwise help some kind of violence. He can't imagine he'd be comfortable doing that, either, which is why those ideas are blatantly missing from his suggestions.

Checking the weather, seeing what the kitchen will be getting, though... ]

Yeah? Yeah, that would work fine. I could do that.

[expiera]

[Despite sounding like the aide to their running strategist, Ciel has also made sure to clarify several times they're not expecting newcomers with no combat experience to fend for themselves. Anything battle related would have stayed off the table. Ideally, they should be acclimating the new Aions through explanations, shard demonstrations, and guided tours, rather than talks of war.

But these times are not ideal, and it's only a matter of when until the Pleroma come, not knocking, but busting down at their doorstep. Which still shouldn't be tomorrow, thankfully, so until that time comes.]

Then let's go with that. Do you need any special material or equipment for your visions, Bruno?

[fallingsand]

Special material? W-well, sand, matches, open space you really don't mind getting a lot of sand in? Although, uh, I guess someone else is already helping with that?

[ Wow, he should actually ask Makoto what his name is. That's awkward. ]

[expiera]

[...]

M. That man, a demon, goes by M.

[She supplies, since Bruno is thinking about M which is transmitting M's... voice? Characteristics of a soul? Mind DM caller ID? Something like that. Bottom line is she recognizes it, so she can ID him for Bruno.]

It sounds like you should have what you need shortly, that's good. [And that's that.] Now then, you also said you write?

[They WERE talking about what else he could do, too.]

[fallingsand]

[ And he's surprised that she can. Was it really that easy to do? At first, there's a moment of relief with the surprise because now he has a name to use, only that's soon followed by— ]

Wait, wait, what do you mean demon? [ Alarm? Alarm. This place had demons? Demons?! Ciel, what?! ] Hey, you can't just... just say that and then ask about writing, that's!

[ Maybe Ciel's used to demons. Bruno is not. That's a concept that exists in stories only. ]

[expiera]

[Oh. Hm.

Oops.]

You may... ask him himself, he makes no secret of it. It'll be obvious if you ever meet him in person too, he's not human.

[...]

You can think of him as someone from a different race, it's a little like that?

[This is why she doesn't advertise her ties with the church anymore... Terrible fake nun, smh.]

[fallingsand]

Uh, I... guess. I. Will? Or maybe I'll just trust you on that one, ha... ha. Yeah.

[ The whole trying not to freak out vibe is really strong right now. Demons. The guy offering to help get him sand is a demon. ]

[expiera]

We did get a man named "The Archangel" a while back too, though he's gone now. There's also other fantastical races among the Aions, they just take a bit getting used to.

[Let's NOT mention that all the priests on Horos are also vampires, haha, that's DEFINITELY for the best,]

[fallingsand]

[ The Archangel... what... ]

Huh. Okay. That's. Yeah, that's going to take some. Work. [ Wait, what about— he's suddenly thinking of a dragon, though the memory is hazy and dream-like. A black dragon. Or was it green? He remembers something about green, anyway, but whether the dragon himself was green or... oh well. He can't remember, not entirely, but it does lead to him asking, ] Are, um. Are dragons real? Here? Like, as a kind of. People.

[expiera]

[No one on Kenoma side has angel wings at this point in time, that may be true of the Pleroma too actually. But M definitely has demon wings, and, uh... Hrm,]

I haven't been myself, but there are documentations that indicate reptile races of many varieties exist on Horos in the jungles of Lohkimareen. [tfw they're expecting an attack by the Pleroma, but definitely not one led by a giant dragon even if it's already known that Estinien has a dragon form.] This is a land of magic, so any flavor of fantasy you may have experienced through fiction before may very well be real here.

[...]

You said you wrote, before. What genres have you worked on, if you don't mind me asking?

[fallingsand]

[ The irony is that it isn't even a prediction, he's thinking of a completely different dragon altogether. Talk about accidental prophecy. ]

Horos has a jungle?

[ There's a spark of interest there, a faint image of a peaceful little village in a mountain valley, surrounded by jungle on the outskirts. Why does so much keep reminding him of home? Will he ever stop being homesick, he wonders. ]

Oh, uh. Right, that. It's kind of like... romance and drama, I guess? I don't write a lot of fantasy, if that's what you wanted to know.

[expiera]

The continent isn't that big and travel is limited to a set distance within the Legacy shrines, but the climates and environments here are surprisingly diverse, yes. The jungles are rumored to potentially hide the Pleroma however, so please have someone with combat experience accompany you if you'd like to explore someday. The shrines of the Seeker and Wanderer are within that region.

[He's still new and this month may not be a good time, but it's certainly an option he's free to explore in the future.

The revelation of what kind of author he is is met with no judgment, just a pensive hum.]

I see... It's a hobby you can still practice here, though maybe you can turn that into an ability somehow too, since you're familiar with it. Make use of the common tropes in some way, maybe? Or assign yourself or other people certain roles...

[This must sound nutty and extra nebulous, but it's an attempt at brainstorming, if nothing else?]

[fallingsand]

Iiii don't think anyone would want to be assigned the backstabbing aunt role. I mean, that's a neat idea, but. Huh. I'd. I'd really have to think of how that would work.

[ Only he's no professional. He could easily imagine writing things into existence but would they be any good? What if they were shoddy if he wasn't descriptive enough? Oh, no, everyone would be able to judge his writing visually instead of just reading it in that case and—

Look, he's going to bleed anxiety over basically anything at all right now, even this. It's silly but it's true. ]

But noted on the whole jungle thing. Maybe if anyone else wants to take a look around, sometime? I mean, I don't know what else is in there. I'd probably die if I went alone even without the Pleroma being there.

[expiera]

A backstabbing aunt must have traits that make her like that though, like being cunning, maybe? [Or just violent, but who knows.] It could work like inspiring someone else to be more of that, kind of like a personality boost of sort?

[Yeah this just sounds more strange the longer she goes on, especially hearing herself "out loud". It's just a suggestion though, so she won't mind whether Bruno takes up the idea or not.]

You're more than welcome to make a communion call of your own to ask, once things are less hectic around Achamoth. We do lack information about Horos in general, and it would be interesting to explore further away from the cities of Venera and Godsblood. ['Fun' and 'dangerous' are also valid descriptors, she vaguely also considers tagging along. Checking out the jungles of Lohkimareen, huh? That sure does sound a lot more appealing than preparing for a Pleroma invasion... Alas.]

[fallingsand]

[ inspiration? ciel, are you suggesting he becomes a bard? ]

Oh, well. Sure. She'd be sneaky, manipulative, turning folks against one another for her own gain. I guess that counts as cunning? [ Although those are only traits that might be seen as "useful", awful though that may be. ] Only she's also greedy and thinks only of herself.

[ Less useful. It's an interesting idea, at least, if he could imagine a way to make it work. The thought that he can simply forge new gifts based on self-concept was still an odd one to wrap his mind around after having only one for the majority of his life. ]

Other cities... What are those like? Venera and Godsblood? Are they as big as this place?

[expiera]

[ ...well, why NOT? ]

Someone mainly motivated by self interest is also easy to sway, if you know what they're after or can convince them what they want isn't worth the risk. There's a lot that could be of use there with a bit of imagination, I think!

[She thinks. She has no idea. But it's a start?

Oh, but back to more tangible things! She's happy to TLDR exposition at him, being a tutorial infodumper had always come to her naturally.]

Venera is to the west of here. A city of agriculture and arts, it's the breadbasket of Horos where most grains are growth. [The city's creativity has been largely stifled if not choked out thanks to the Regent's occupation, but that's a detail she doesn't need to tell Bruno straight up.] Godsblood is at the northwest corner of the continent, in a mountainous region right next to the sea. The seafood there is allegedly the best on Horos, it also has a focus on mining, smithing, and engineering. I think Achamoth has them both beat in number of population, but the atmosphere there are very different! [Thankfully, because do we really need every city to run off zealous death cult vibes, really?] Venera is peaceful and sleepy, Godsblood is outspoken and lively.

[Would be interesting to visit, wouldn't it?]

[fallingsand]

[ because he's the one madrigal who doesn't sing, ciel! ]

Next to the sea... [ Oh. ] I've never seen a sea in person before.

[ This means there's an immediate interest in Godsblood, which is unfortunate since it's the farthest away and likely the most dangerous to make a trip to. Solo, anyway. Then again, he probably shouldn't travel anywhere on his own. ]

Venera sounds nice, too. If it's a farming city, it, uh. Might feel more like home, if I'm gonna be honest here.