Aion Teleos Network

[After speaking with Yuya, Ryunosuke suspects this message may not be well received by some. Maybe it's simply not the right time... But if not now, then when? He can't keep sitting on this information.

After pacing restlessly in his quarters and fretting over his decision, he resolves to take the plunge. A deep breath, and a quick slap to the face later, he pulls his shard out, closes his eyes, and focuses, his spirit reaching out to all the other Pleroma across the communion.]

This is Naruhodo speaking. I... I have some important information to share. And I hope that you'll all indulge me a moment to speak. I considered waiting a bit to relay this information, but after everything that has happened...

[There's a wavering emotion on his end, deeply mournful and angry. It's a righteous anger; the restless sort that won't allow him to sit idly by while evil still sits atop its thorny throne, content to think that it's won the day. He hardens his heart, thinking of that, and plunges ahead:]

Before our infiltration of Achamoth, Sakaki-kun and I were able to... To speak with the Innocence once more. I know many of you may think that ill-advised, and I don't disagree; it was a risk, to be certain. But I considered it a necessary one, because whatever that thing is... Whoever she is... It's been abundantly clear for some time now that she has far more knowledge of this world, more knowledge of the Regent and their plans, than any other source we've been able to tap into so far. The Innocence constituted a lead that I couldn't ignore, and I... I don't regret following that lead. I hope some of you will agree, once you hear what I've to say.

The Innocence can be difficult to speak to, but there can be little doubt about what it imparted at the end of our discussion. The truth we all need to be aware of is this: the Regent's strength, their power, the force that will lead them to realizing their goal of destruction on a cosmological scale: it's despair. Literally, our misery feeds them. It makes them stronger.

Perhaps that's not surprising to hear, given what we already know of the Kenoma, but please consider the implications: Horos's entire history, particularly the last hundred years... The suffering caused by the Regent's tyrannical rule; it's not just the behavior of a despot, typical as it may be for leaders of similar ilk. No, everything they've done in the past... From the suffering they continue to cause to the civilians of Horos, to the way in which they continue to bait us and antagonize us, instead of letting us live in peace... It's all a means to an end! The ultimate end! The Regent mistreats the people here and spreads misery across the land simply because breaking souls and leading them to despair literally gives them strength.

[His anger has intensified, a bright flame burning at the center of the cloud of grief enshrouding his heart.]

I am not asking you to forgo mourning. I am not telling you that you should not ever feel pain, or sadness. Gods know I've had my share of both. But I implore you: grieve, but do not wallow in it. If you feel yourself slipping into despair, be defiant. Remind yourself that it's exactly what the Regent wants. And if you can't do that on your own, reach out. We must come together and support each other through this.

...Yuya and I suspect that this truth about the Regent is what drove the Innocence to spread its touch around Horos as she did, back on the moon of Inoseri. She felt the suffering of the Horosians, of the Venerans particular, and saw how their misery gave that bastard strength. That's why she infected the people with apathy as she did, to interrupt the thing that was feeding the Regent power. Horos suffers, and so the Regent grows ever closer to winning. The Innocence sought to ease the people's pain, I think largely out of compassion but-- but also, to buy time. Time enough for us to fight back and avert the destruction.

[He knows this has been running long. Assuming anyone is even listening... There's something he's taken away from all this, and it's the point he wants to drive home.]

As long as one of us still holds hope, the Regent cannot win. The Innocence's methods were deeply flawed, but... She had the right idea, in some sense. Which brings us to the heart of the matter, the thing I wish for you to take away from this more than anything else:

The people of Horos need hope. Going forward, if we can give it to them, if we can help them to fight back against the Regent's rule... I suspect we will take away the very thing that makes the Regent strong. And if that's true, we CAN beat them. I'm certain of it. We have a new advantage now, knowledge that we didn't have before. We can use that to direct our efforts. We can start truly fighting back.

We can prove to them that hope never truly fades.



[Gods. Alright, maybe he's... Gone a bit overboard with all this, but what's said is said. He's not going to regret it. He'll just leave things there. In real life, he lets out a long, shaky breath, coming down from his defiant fervor.]

Now, if you have questions... Go ahead and ask. I'll answer what I can. And perhaps Sakaki-kun can help, if he's willing.



[ooc note: the intent is for this information to also be shared at the Pleroma council that will be taking place next month, so no worries if your character is not in a state to listen in on this message! The info will still get around without you needing to sit through Ryunosuke's inspirational speech efforts.]

[ It's everyone's first second maybe third (?) favorite Miqo'te dogman, here to make an updated report on his travels through Godsblood and sounding as perfunctory and business-minded as usual. ]

( portal psa )

( attunement psa )

[ OOC: Just a quick IC PSA about the Godsblood portal and attunement! Feel free to assume that anything covered in those links is common knowledge shared to all the Kenoma via this post. The mods okay'd Eustace gaining general setting knowledge but unfortunately he will not know anything past that, if your character chooses to ask. ]

[ This takes place the evening after the first event described in the Event Wrap Up post, the entity having withdrawn its influence from Venera.

Binghe is in a bit of a bad mood, having had to haul Makoto's unconscious body out of the street when he would have preferred to drop him in the ocean, and as things are currently he can't really be bothered to pretend that he's not. There's some attempt to be polite, but mostly he sounds kind of tired and cranky. ]

My apologies for the interruption. I am Luo Binghe. No doubt many of you have heard at least a little of what has happened lately in Venera. I was there for the event at the heart of it, so I thought perhaps it would be of some use to share a few of the details.

I am sure it will not come as any great shock to learn it seems to have been the fault of that dog Estinien Wyrmblood. The spirit that seems to have been responsible for what has been happening was so angered by his death that it appeared to smite anyone who tried to keep it from... I don't know, I think it wanted his shard. I don't know what it would have done with it. Kept him as a pet, perhaps, in one of its illusions.

If I am honest, whatever this thing was it seemed rather simple, like the ghost of a child, but it clearly possessed immense power. The Aions of Pleroma who were there, their unconvincing promises about—taking care of him in its stead, that kind of thing. That was enough to convince it to retreat.

I think it did something to them, though. I'll show you.

[ He shares his memory of this moment, when the mass of wings demanded that those gathered keep their promise, grasping onto those closest to it with its ethereal hands.

The image fades and Binghe's voice resumes: ]

So the problem has been solved, but only temporarily. The spirit was not destroyed, and it seems if these Aions fail to fulfil its whims it may return with something worse. It might not be so easy to persuade next time.

[ Hello everybody, are you ready for the wildest thing to hit your brain this afternoon? It's Lottie! This time not giving in and resorting to text, and post giving herself the pep talk of her life to introduce this idea to all her fellow baddies™ (literally). ]

Hii! Hope I'm not interrupting anything by posting this since I know we're all busy adjusting. I'm Lottie Person, and I was thinking over some things about the war and all that stuff..

We really need to start working on our image. If we want to make sure people don't leave and join the other side, or think we're bad people, we have to rebrand. Thankfully, I'm pretty experienced in PR [ she isn't ] so I'm putting this thing together for the Regent.

Soo, send me your best selfie!

Thanks. TTYL!

[ Yes, you WILL hear a kissie sound at the end of this post. ]

[ Hello resident Kenomies, guess who???

Actually if you have no idea who this asshole is, that's okay, because rest assured he doesn't want to get to know most of you either. Unfortunately, business calls, and for the sake of not looking like an absolute gaggle of buffoons in front of the Regent a second time, everyone's neighborhood-(un)friendly furry is here to begrudgingly use Mind Twitter™ to make a public briefing.

It's largely voice only, because Eustace prefers to keep things impersonal, and shot through with an undercurrent of business-like terseness. ]

( cut for length )