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 Aions may develop new abilities at any time, however; intel from the mission in Venera and Godsblood may very well be outdated by now, so do not assume anything we go over in this address as the extent of what they can do.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

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.

[galdorleod]

Yes, it is. And it's mostly new to me as well, despite how long I've been here.

[ Dionys being the only other Celebrant Aion in Horos until recently. And the experience he's had sharing a Legacy with her is... very uniquely different from this.

Howl hesitates, thinking. ]

Sebastian, I wonder if you would be interested in seeing some of the sights around Achamoth before everything gets dicey. I could show you around.

[ then, explaining: ] If we're going to be stuck with this problem, we may as well get to know each other in a more voluntary way.

[cutlery]

[ It’s a suggestion he’s surprised by, but absolutely not because he’s opposed. Quite the opposite, in fact. He gathers information wherever he can no matter the circumstance, so merely an offer of orientation is more than enough to soften his mood again. ]

…Why, that is very much something I would enjoy, in fact.

[ Though most of his surprise is because he had been concerned about the first impression he had made. It admittedly wasn’t his best showing, but such is the tragedy of getting called a hedonist by someone named Ciel, apparently. ]

It would be to our benefit, I would think. Ah, and certainly to mine to learn the city better, of course. I would greatly appreciate that, in fact.

[galdorleod]

[ To our benefit indeed... For someone who rarely finds himself motivated to do anything but perfect his appearance and practice magic, Howl is feeling unusually eager to figure out this Legacy thing as soon as possible. ]

I'll contact you with a date and time.