[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 Aions may develop new abilities at any time, however; intel from the mission in Venera and Godsblood may very well be outdated by now, so do not assume anything we go over in this address as the extent of what they can do.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

[cutlery]

Of that, I had little doubt. Pleroma will always be naturally opposed to me, philosophically speaking, at least... And so, to avoid the complications of presumption, I shall say it simply that I am a demon. I may well have come from the abyss itself, for all I know.

[ sometimes you're just so old you have no idea how long you've existed, yknow ]

So to the matter of my ability, it is also somewhat complicated and based upon your definition of magic. All that I am able to do is an extension of what I am, so I would call it physical. But humans often call it magic. It is perhaps somewhere in between, though practically speaking for this sort of situation, I would say my talents lie in the physical. My "magic" is catered to granting human desires, so it is not of much use in bloodsport.

[galdorleod]

[ a demon? There's an immediately pang of surprise that transfers through the communion space much faster and clearer than the responses coming from others, and Sebastian will be able to instantly recognize it as Howl. Howl can't even control the way his reaction transfers over, it being a side effects of sharing the same Legacy.

Howl does not say anything though, and the surprise wanes into quiet contemplation. Another demon... really. ]

[cutlery]

[ It still feels strange to him, this connection and its empathy, since his own emotions come so mildly by comparison... But he's at least glad that it's Howl's surprise he feels first, since it's familiar. It also feels somewhat clumsy to him to essentially reach back out with a sense that's not quite solidified yet, but it does feel important to him. ]

So indeed. My apologies for not being straightforward when we first met. I hope that you can understand that it is something that I feel the need to be a bit guarded about.

[ though clearly, not completely, considering his casual talk of meals... but. ]

[galdorleod]

...Ah. Yes. [ So, Sebastian did feel that just now. It's a bit embarrassing, to have had his spontaneous reaction broadcasted so clearly. Has everyone else been dealing with this the entire time...?? ]

There's no need to apologize. I understand. [ More than you even realize. Thankfully, their connection does not work to share memories Howl does not want to be shared, at least not at the moment. ]

[cutlery]

Then thank you very much for the understanding.

[ a beat, and then he does end up adding with a little wry humor in his voice: ]

...And I must give a partial apology myself, as a result. With how the pieces have fallen, it was a somewhat regrettable introduction. My caution perhaps got the best of me, a bit, though I have also not been in such a situation where my existence would be considered anything but an affront.

[galdorleod]

Is that so?

[ Howl does his best not to blast the peals of emotion going through him as he listens to all that. Sebastian is far from being the only demon among the Aions, but a lot of that hits far closer to home than anything the others have said to him. It's a... weirdly open and honest thing for a demon to comment on aloud, at least based on what Howl knows of demons.

Ah, but there's hardly any point to thinking too hard on it. It's not like Howl is capable of talking to him about his demon. ]

You will not find any judgment here. One look at your Shard and the locals will venerate you like a god. We are like demi-gods here, to a certain extent.

[cutlery]

And what a thing that is. Normally, I can only even appear to mortals if someone choses to forsake their god completely.

[ To be a demi-god, he means. It's delightful in its irony to him, and his amusement is clear enough through his laugh, no empathic connection needed. ]

...Not that I am complaining, mind you! Even with circumstances as they are, I much prefer to move and speak as I wish. It is a luxury I was only ever afforded in my own realm.

[galdorleod]

Is that so? I can imagine.

[ Could the demons of Sebastian's world resemble those of Howl's so closely, or is Howl getting ahead of himself? It's hard not to make comparisons to what he's saying and the sorry state of existence Calcifer was doomed to have, even after Howl saved him by giving him his heart. The memory of his sitting in the hearth, unable to move from that spot unless Howl picked him up, gives him a gentle, sad feeling of nostalgia. ]

Perhaps you're one of the few of us who will actually enjoy living in this world, then. I certainly don't wish my misery on others. [ Howl's tone is light, like he might just be joking when he says that. but maybe not. ]

[cutlery]

Well, so far I have few complaints, but I also do not want for very much.

[ Which might be weird for a Celebrant to say, and especially one who openly admitted to being a hedonist... But his expression of it is atypical (and bad)... ]

Horos is quite unlike my own realm and certainly not like any time or place I had been summoned, so the novelty alone is definitely something I am enjoying thus far. [ He continues just as lightly, but he's also not sure if Howl's comment was a joke at all ] Granted, with an invasion on the horizon, there is ample opportunity for that opinion to change, but I shall hope it does not slip to misery!

1/2

[galdorleod]

[ Howl's spirits dampen upon the mention of the incoming invasion. It's spontaneous and strong enough that it transfers clearly over their communion, before Howl has a chance to keep it to himself. The wizard is worried about what's coming their way, and although he's doing a mixed job at hiding it from everyone else, he can't hide it from Sebastian.

As soon as the moment passes, Howl knows he's given his anxieties away. Immediately, this does not sit well with him, and there's another wobble of something that follows, a mix of frustration and uneasiness. He doesn't even know this — this demon, and yet he's likely picking up on a whole host of his thoughts and feelings, just like Calcifer used to be able to. But at least with Calcifer, they had a contract, and they were used to it, and they were friends... ]

2/2

[galdorleod]

[ ...the pause here is way too long now. He has to say something. ]

Apologies. I got... distracted.

[ How much of his mental swarm just now did Sebastian pick up on? Howl really has no sense for how this works, having the same Legacy. ]

[cutlery]

[ For a creature that naturally runs quite cold when it comes to emotion, the way Howl's flood into him is something he finds viscerally unpleasant, and it's a feeling that's likely mirrored back to Howl. It's akin to suddenly placing your hand on a hot stove, where the sharp intensity of the feelings strike Sebastian more than anything else, though it's just as quickly followed by trying to stifle the reaction. In part, it's an awareness that Howl is likely to get the feedback as well in a loop, but it's just as much trying to return his own emotions to the placid calm that he normally runs at. ]

So I— [ See, as the idiom would go, but he sighs before using the term that's more correct. ] ...Feel.

[ Normally, this would be something he would be deeply irritated by. He plays his cards incredibly close to his chest, especially when it comes to his true thoughts, so the way another Celebrant is able to bypass that in part is objectively something he dislikes. But that bond they share also tempers his reaction enough. The sigh isn't audible this time, one more felt than anything else. ]

My apologies as well. It is our particular connection, is it not? It is quite... a bit more intense than others.

[lachtara]

A demon? [ He shrugs. Of course. ] My, what an eclectic assortment of individuals we have here.

If your talents truly lie in the physical, then seek out Ciel. She may help you test your abilities to the fullest.

[cutlery]

[ Brightly, ] Oh, to say the very least. I have not encountered a more eclectic group in all my years, and I have not met all that many.

[ And there's even a bit of a laugh that comes with it, but he moves on easily. If it's not questioned or challenged further, he doesn't see much of a need to elaborate. ]

I shall, in that case. I am happy to lend my aid, naturally, but it would be quite inconvenient to discover an arbitrary limit while engaged.

[lachtara]

Yes, I can't imagine that working in your favor.

[ A pause, Then: ]

Is 'long life' also among your abilities? We've precious few within the Kenoma that have claimed to live for centuries.

[cutlery]

Really?

[ He surprise is genuine, but it comes with a thoughtful noise before he continues. ]

It is indeed. I have lived thousands of years. Long enough that I truly do not know how long. Tracking the passage of time simply was not of interest to my kind. We only began to do so once humanity started to do so with any consistency. [ a shrug ] I may have been alive for a few thousand years, or it may be a geological age.

[lachtara]

One tends to lose track after so much time passes, regardless of intentions.

[cutlery]

Oh, certainly. Tracking the passage of time to such minutia is a mortal phenomenon, in my experience.

[ There's another shrug, but this one is definitely more emotional than literal ]

But I suppose on a related point, should there be need of human history, I also am not inconvenienced by faulty memory. Most of it will be quite irrelevant except to other Aions, circumstances as they are, but the way things are named here is quite familiar to me, for example. Kenoma, pleroma, Æon—they are words of a long dead philosopher whose works were considered heresies and destroyed. There is similarity enough in their concepts that it certainly caught my attention.

[lachtara]

Perhaps you would care to elaborate on the topic in the future? Philosopher's quintessential longwindedness aside, it is always intriguing to hear about supposed "heresy".

[cutlery]

At any time. I had something of a vested interest in learning quite a bit about religion, so I took up quite a lot of reading when I could... Though the actual heresy itself is not that interesting, I must say. In short, it was a disagreement on a technical matter of one its key figures. To be honest, I think destroying everything related was a bit of an overreaction.

[lachtara]

Isn't it always. [ Sigh.. ] How disappointing. They always preface dull content with truly enticing words, don't they?

[cutlery]

Oh, quite. It is why I tend to be quite a voracious reader when I visited! I learned rather quickly that there is no guarantee that any work would survive until my next summoning, especially anything of a controversial nature... Ah, well. I suppose it mattered little, in the end.

[ what with the universe getting destroyed and all, but whatever ]

[subsist]

[ a demon... how intriguing. there isn't so much a sensation of surprise but rather one that feels like things are clicking into place. a feeling of someone marvelling over the revelation.

it's no wonder that exchange at the shrine went down the way it did. at least the kenoma continues to have no shortage of monsters. ]

[cutlery]

[ wow how dare you say (think??) something absolutely true ]

[subsist]

[ hey, at least there's no judgment!! maybe there's even a sliver of fascination mixed in. ]