audio; un: Sabriel.Abhorsen

[bindsthedead]

This is Sabriel. Xichen, Alina, Rhys and I did some investigating, and I'd like to share what we found, along with my own thoughts.

We know that Entr'i has an orb, and wishes to merge Taeum and Sedorum... and frankly, I think that really is the best course of action. My suggestion is that we offer our assistance in that goal, in exchange for the orb. It's a strategy we've employed successfully in the past, and to be honest- I want to help Entr'i anyway. Unlike everyone else in charge, she seems to care about people, regardless of whether they're in Taeum or Sedorum.

[Entr'i has the cause that Sabriel sees as the most just, and is the person most concerned with justice that she's met in this world. The Highest One seems most concerned with their own sanctimony, and as for 'Him', well...]

There is a problem though. Xichen, Alina, Rhys and myself worked together- Xichen and I spoke to Entr'i, and Alina and Rhys tailed V'rizz. We wanted to learn more of Him and the Highest One.

What we found is that the oldest memory of either of them dates back to little over a hundred years ago- there are no souls who have been in either realm longer than that, and any older souls have since moved on. There is no memory or record extending past that, and it's possible that neither realm is as ancient as they seem- orbs are involved, after all.

But what's worse- V'rizz and He are planning to betray Entr'i. From what was overheard... Entr'i and the Highest Ones both have orbs, though they called them 'amulets'. The reason Entr'i was forbidden from killing the Highest One was because He didn't want her to have the entire orb and become too powerful. So they're planning on waiting until Entr'i kills the highest one and collects- and then kill her while she's weakened, so He can have both. Obviously, we warned her about this- Entr'i's the only person in this world who I'd trust to hold an Orb- the Highest One is a hypocrite who doesn't care about people suffering, and 'He' is no better.

Let me repeat- we have warned Entr'i about this and offered our help. Let's trust her to act as she deems best with that information.

[And oocly, see what the mods say in response to the followup search request.]

Of course, that also raises the question of how to collect both orbs and get back to the station. If we side with Entr'i, given her plan seems to involve obtaining both orbs, we could request both in exchange for helping her, taking them back with us after her bargain is concluded.

However, we don't know what Entr'i's bargain is- Entr'i does not seem the sort to use innocents as collateral, and she's not displaying any of the symptoms So'Yeon did in Gyeonje, so I don't think she's using herself as a sacrifice either. I suspect her wish is to merge Taeum and Sedorum, I just don't know how how she's planning to pay for it.

[Sabriel actually has her own theory about Entr'i's bargain- one she'll supply if asked, but it's too optimistic to voice. Besides, there's still another person with an orb- one far less benevolent than Entr'i

There's a long moment of silent hesitation, as Sabriel remembers the previous mission, the way everything had fallen apart, the town dissolving to nothing but ruins and death, pervaded by a cold that stuck to her bones, even in the heat of the day. And she thinks of Gyeonje, of people twisted into monsters, slowly losing their minds because of one man's selfishness.]

I have no evidence either way, so what follows is purely speculation, but if this 'Highest One' made a bargain with the orb to create Taeum's present state, it is possible that there was a condition that souls from Sedorum, or perhaps simply that 'sinners' not be allowed in.

[This could explain the absolute refusal to compromise, in any way. Or they're just a bunch of hypocritical snobs. Really, Sabriel could believe either, given everything she's heard.]

It is also possible that the Highest One is somehow using Taeum's inhabitants as payment- as the ruler of that realm, the orb would consider the denizens theirs to bargain with. The problem with that theory is that there's no clear sign of that happening- no crewmember in Taeum has reported people disappearing, unless Taeum's 'quick return to the Giva' is really a cover for something more sinister.

But regardless of what bargain the Highest One made, we need to get that orb, along with Entr'i's, and there are multiple ways we might do so.

Simply stealing it is off the table, as we learned in Braccia that physical possession of the orb is not enough, unless we want to play keep-away while they chase us until they give up, or hope that the Highest one is actually far more reasonable than we've been led to believe and we can reason with them.

[So not really an option, unless the crew is feeling either wildly optimistic or incredibly masochistic.]

We might also try to understand the bargain made, and use some clause in it to end it- this is what we did during the last mission, albeit unintentionally. Except we don't know for sure what bargain was made with the orb, or what the cost was, so this method is also unlikely to work.

The final possibility is we help Entr'i do what she wants, and kill the Highest One. One problem with this, as seen from the mission in Braccia, is that owners of the orbs can be incredibly powerful- we would need to send our strongest, and it might not be enough. And I know some of you object to killing, but this isn't someone like Welford Branson, an innocent who made a bargain he didn't fully understand out of grief- this is someone even worse than Cheruvia, someone who's been maintaining an unjust system even when given the chance to reform it. We just need to keep Entr'i safe in the aftermath, and make sure V'rizz and his master don't lay their hands on the orb. I think this option has the best chance of success, and is the one I support.

[Mostly because Sabriel likes Entr'i, and has little love for the powers of both Sedorum and Taeum. The fact that it also seems the most likely to result in mission success is a happy bonus.]

So, to summarize all that, I think we should help Entr'i kill the Highest One, collect both orbs and merge Taeum and Sedorum, and make sure the forces on either side don't try to stop or sabotage her.

[ooc: feel free to threadjack, if you want!]

Comments

Audio; un: belova

[laviny]

Yes, I agree. I would love to help Entr'i destroy this whole system.

[bindsthedead]

Exactly- even Entr'i doesn't know who's sorting souls, or why they're letting people buy their way to a better afterlife. So making there be only one, where everyone goes- that seems more fair. Especially since souls in Sedorum have to wait longer to return to Giva.

audio :

[aurable]

That poor woman. Still, we never know how people will react when suddenly in possession of everything they want.

We should help, with caution.

Re: audio :

[bindsthedead]

True. The orbs don't corrupt people, but power can do things to people's heads, and the stupid things certainly know how to prey on people's desires.

Although I'd still trust her with the orbs more than either Him or the Highest One.

audio; un: navigator

[droide]

First off, I want to state for the record that I am vastly unqualified to kill a god. That said, I support this plan.

[ It sounds like the plan most likely to get them the result they want, and also... It sounds fun. ]

One question, though. What do we do about 'Him?' if we're focusing all our efforts on helping Entr'i kill the Highest One, won't 'He' see that as his golden opportunity to swoop in and claim both orbs for himself?

I like our chances against one god, but I think even the strongest asking us will struggle with two.

[bindsthedead]

Neither am I, but I'd like to try anyway.

[Sabriel's no stranger to walking into fights against vastly more powerful opponents- and as a mage and necromancer, she's hardly weak.]

As for 'Him'... I don't think he'll be on the battlefield. He seemed to expect V'rizz to collect both orbs and bring them to him.

So he's apparently too much of a coward to step onto the battlefield.

un: dragongirl

[catchatting]

You realize if we take the orbs, this whole place might completely fall apart anyway, right? If it's like the last place, it'll at least be missing a lot.

[ She sighs and bites her lip for a moment. ]

I can't help thinking the orbs did all of this in the first place.

[bindsthedead]

Then we'll need to confront whoever has them, and allow whatever is supposed to happen after death in this world to happen.

[The idea of the ultimate destination of souls being unknown isn't particularly frightening to Sabriel- it's what she grew up with, after all.

Accepting death, in all its mystery and terrifying finality, is what Abhorsen is supposed to do.]

Besides- while it wouldn't surprise me that Taeum's prosperity is due to the orb, Sedorum was able to exist without one, until Entr'i arrived.

text; un: finn

[hatejakku]

[ PHEW THAT'S A LOT ]

I don't know what the right or wrong path is here but
Getting to the Highest One after what we pulled is probably going to be very tricky

Daisy and I managed to breach the walls, but they kept constantly healing themselves as we worked. We had to keep the pressure on. It's reasonable to believe they probably heightened security or even moved, and it's best this be carried out with that in mind.

A few of us have reason to believe that Ruvilor, one of highest ranked here in Taeum, knows Entr'i and is our ally. If we can make sure, he may be our way in.

Better than demolishing a ceiling
Twice

[bindsthedead]

V'rizz and 'Him' seemed to think the Highest One would take to the battlefield in this war. And they specifically wanted Entr'i to kill them then, in a fight likely to wear her out, rather than assassinating the Highest One before then, and avoiding this whole stupid war.

But a stealthy approach would certainly be the only chance of succeeding before war breaks out- and it sounds like the rebellion in Taeum was not crushed as thoroughly as it appeared.

audio; un: mccoy

[homeostatic]

We're not helping these people kill each other.

Re: audio; un: mccoy

[flickerandfade]

Revolutions are rarely clean and pleasant things, and this place is badly in need of one from what we've seen down here.

[bindsthedead]

The fastest route to ending the war before it starts is getting both orbs to Entr'i and letting her merge Taeum and Sedorum before the battle.

Otherwise, even if we stay out of it, many on both sides will be killed.

audio;

[groupiedrifter]

... I don't exactly like the idea of people dying either, man, but you got any better ideas? They're gonna kill each other either way. At least more of them might have a chance to make it out if we can unify the two.

[Howdy, McCoy, nice to see you alive and fuming.]

[audio: UN Wei Wuxian]

[singlelogbridge]

[If he's being honest with himself, half of this shit is going over his head. Cheruvia? Braccia? He wasn't there, these things mean nothing to him. The apathy that's been creeping in and stealing his attention from everything that matters really isn't helping. But there are a lot of angry people here, and a lot who seem to be absolutely sure that they're right, with no room left for considering anything else. In his experience, it's when people are the most sure of themselves that they're liable to fuck up and hurt everyone around them.

He'd know better than most.

He doesn't know McCoy, but he knows Gwen trusts him and so it's his voice he focuses on in the midst of the chaos, ignoring everything else and trusting in one of the voices of dissent.]

Someone told me the orbs are drawn to chaos. I know I'm new here, but handing over two weapons of mass destruction to any single person seems like a pretty fucking terrible idea. [Is he crazy? Because he feels crazy with the way everyone is acting like this is normal. Is there something he's missing?]

audio; un: megatron

[flickerandfade]

The Highest One sounds as if he needs to be removed.

So do these traitors, for that matter.

[ Megatron sounds grim, which isn't unusual. What is unusual is his apparent willingness to discuss killing these people. ]

If people in these places can even truly be killed. Keeping Entr'i safe may be the best option, of course. The least mess and I believe that her goals are genuinely well-intentioned, from what I've seen of her.

[bindsthedead]

Not a traitor, exactly, just a bad ruler and his minion-remember, Entr'i technically works for Him.

[And Sabriel really doesn't care if they die- or if they live- as long as they're kept far away from the orbs.]

I think they can be- apparently, those who die violently in Sedorum and Taeum are sent to a place called purgatory from which there is no return. Of course, how anyone knows of this place if no one's come back is another question entirely.

voice; un: newt

[groupiedrifter]

Uuugh... Can't any of these be a normal mess to deal with?

Can the next one just be a little girl that gives the orb to us if we have a tea party?

[He's tired, Sabriel. These goddamn orbs and their complicated missions.]

[bindsthedead]

I'd like that. Just stop by to pick up the orb, maybe visit a nice city and see some interesting architecture, or get to see what a beach is like.

[She'd like that too. Just stop by, pick up the orb without a battle or getting shoved into each others worst memories, and get back to the station.]

audio; un: stargirl

[bossily]

As soon as we have the orbs, we're brought back to the station.

[clara pauses there, trying to word what she's thinking very carefully.]

I feel like it's irresponsible to help unleash chaos and then just disappear with the orbs. Is there any way we can ensure that the people are taken care of and in a better position before we get our hands on them? Destroying the system is a wonderful first step, but what's our plan beyond that?

[bindsthedead]

I know. I think the best route would be to leave Entr'i in charge, with both Him and the Highest One- or their lackeys- unable to immediately sabotage her.

But if the orbs are tied up in this, then... I think it's arrogant to think we can get all the information, or arrange it so things go just how we want, and if we try it, it's going to blow up in our face. Entr'i has a plan, and I think we should trust her to carry it out.

Voice. un:Kirigan

[cruelyethuman]

Thank you, for the information and the preliminary plans for how to exchange one dictator for another in a world that does not belong to any of us.

Our priority is to find and retrieve the orb.

[bindsthedead]

We cannot retrieve the orbs without getting involved- or were you not there for Braccia? Simply stealing them isn't an option, the existing contracts need to concluded.

Even without our involvement, there will be a war, and either Entr'i or the Highest One will obtain both orbs.

[Given that Entr'i's been warned, 'He' stands little chance of obtaining them.]

un / text: starkov

[peasant]

all of this back and forth is starting to get pointless
everyone wants to argue without actually offering a different solution

we're obviously not going to agree on what to do
just like on kilnan, just like in scorpion's bend

[ more's the point — ]

you know where i stand
that hasn't changed, and it won't

[bindsthedead]

Helping Entr'i is our best chance of leaving someone in charge that cares about people.

So we'll help her, and make the best choices we can with the information we have.

audio; un: alenko

[majorbiotic]

It sounds like a good idea. It does leave a lot of risk since, as you said, we don't know the details of the Highest One's bargain. Since we're in talks with Entr'i and she knows we want to help, couldn't we ask what her bargain is, at the very least?

[bindsthedead]

We can ask her, yes. Although I think we're probably going to have to make choices at least partially blind.

Audio | Un: Star-Lord

[spacedisaster]

Sure, let's help start a war so we can get our hands on a diabolical magic ball, and once we have the orb, fuck off to let other people handle the mess.

The current system is wrong, and I know you meant well, but this isn't a viable idea. We don't have enough information yet. People lie and they are willing to play the long game to achieve their goals. Just because Entr'i seems nice, that doesn't mean she is being sincere. Allowing her to get her hands on two orbs and then asking her to relinquish such power is a gamble, and the odds are against us.

In the same vein,...let's say that the Higher one is a figurehead. That someone else is pulling the strings. Or maybe that He, himself, is being mind-controlled and corrupted by the orb. We know that these fuckers thrive on chaos and only want to spread it, so the orbs might want a war. The higher one could not be a mean entity in itself, and then  we will be killing an innocent person out of a perceived wrongness.

I killed gods before, but I won't help cause a war here to get to the orb. The collateral damage and the harm we will leave behind is not worth it. There must be a better solution. We just need to find a new idea, and for that, we need more information.

[laviny]

"People lie and they are willing to play the long game to get what they to achieve their goals."

You mean like us? We come to these worlds to lie and steal from people. We are not anthropologists, we are treasure hunters.

audio (un: major.yzak.jule)

[coordination]

[ Boy is this whole network discussion a Discussion. ]

While I myself prefer to aid Entr'i with caution, once things begin we need to ensure that we're in contact with each other above all else, regardless of what each of us are doing, and make sure at the very least nobody goes off the rails to do something on their own. We already have enough of our own detained and in danger, and I'd rather prioritize helping them and not adding to their numbers, instead.

Myself and some others who are in positions of command on Sedorum's end are prepared to do what we can within our power if something needs to happen or change in the moment. That's what I've been working on while here, and hopefully it will prove useful.

[Private to Sabriel:]

Is Entr'i aware of who we are and why we're here - our knowledge of the orbs? I understand not wishing to show our entire hand, but if we want to obtain the orbs, we're going to need to know what her deal is with it, and whether or not she's going to be willing to part with them once her goals are achieved, if things head in that direction.

audio (un: major.yzak.jule)

[bindsthedead]

Yes- although Sedorum's lawlessness seems to work in our favor in this- no one on our side has been jailed, and I don't think that's because we've been more cautious. It's because He doesn't care.

[That, and Sedorum is happy to recruit anyone who can fight and is willing to say 'yes'.]

I might have been given a promotion, but you've still got seniority. So, fill me in on what's been happening with the upper ranks.

[Private]

No, we never mentioned the orbs to her. She seems... really, she reminds me of So-Yeon, more than anyone else we've met. But I suspect her wish is to make Taeum and Sedorum whole- and her price will be to make the two orbs whole.

And there are going to be two meetings to discuss strategy. One with V'rizz, and one without. Don't give him any sign you know something's up.

audio;

[yuujyou]

And how do we know merging both worlds won't just completely kill everyone in it? That's a tall wish, and the price might not exactly be what she'd expect.

You said it yourself, we don't know Entr'i's bargain. We don't know the Highest One's bargain. If it's enough to cause two separate planes into one, doesn't that mean that the price to pay has to be seriously high?

[And he may just really have something against merging worlds. He's had enough of other beings trying to solve their issues by trying to destroy one world or the other.]

Can't we try to convince Entr'i to give the orb first, and use that as a way to get the other orb? Make it as a bargaining chip, or whatever it is we can use the orb for. I don't know. If we attempt to kill the Highest One, that's a sure way to start a war-- and we don't even know if there are more people involved here than just these guys. The people we have in prison will also risk getting executed. The risks are too high over an overly optimistic outcome.

Re: audio;

[bindsthedead]

Because the orb doesn't grant wishes in a way that makes people regret making them- that's part of what makes it so dangerous. Ant Entr'i's knows enough about magic that she's unlikely to make a mistake with the cost. Whatever bargain she's entered into, she's fully aware of what she's paying- and I just hope the price isn't her life. It won't be that of strangers, because to the orb, those aren't hers to bargain with.

We know what Entr'i's wish is- and I suspect the cost for making two worlds whole, is to make the two orbs whole. As for the Highest one... No idea, but it's likely that the current state of Taeum and Sedorum isn't the natural state of things.

We can't use the orbs. [Sabriel's voice is very, very firm.]

Entr'i must hand over the orb willingly, and she won't do that unless you can offer her an alternative means to achieve her goals. Besides- as soon as we take one, we'll be teleported back to the station- and eventually, we'll come back to get the other one, but if Taeum has an orb and Sedorum doesn't, what do you think the the outcome of the war will be? For all the talk about not wanting to take sides, we'd be ensuring that one loses and one wins.

[And Taeum's made it clear Sedorum won't be treated gently, if Taeum is victorious.]

Best to get the orbs together, and then take both.

And even if we weren't teleported back- we bargained to undo our regrets. Using the orb for anything else would require another bargain, and another price. It will be something we're willing to pay, because that's how the orb operates, but it would still be costly.

I'm not saying we do it- I'm suggesting we assist Entr'i in doing so, and rescue our friends at the same time, if necessary. Besides, the only place they can escape to is Sedorum, and they can only get there with Entr'i's help.

voice; un: clarke

[romancekiller]

[clarke isn't even surprised that there is a lot of back and forth discussion on this. she has dealt with back home more times than she can count on a daily basis and this mission was no different. she wants to help but she doesn't want to start a war only to disappear once they got the orbs especially when they don't know with any certainty if they can even fully trust entr'i. there is a lot to consider when it comes to weighing their options so she is incredibly wary of it all]

I feel like we're only going in circles with trying to decide on what to do. [she lets out a sigh, sounding incredibly tired already with all this discussion but she does some information to share on top of this] From what we know, it's not the first time that merging both places has come up, right?

I think the concept of merging is a good one in theory if it really is that simple since it would take into account the servants in Taeum. They blend into the background mostly or keep to themselves when they're not cleaning up after everyone because they don't have the same freedoms most people in this place have. From what we learned, they're people who who didn't fully qualify to be without sin and at the same time weren't too sinful to deserve to be in Sedorum either so they stay here as servants but I feel like we're still missing information and don't really have a full picture of everything to really know for sure that picking a side or even getting involved like this is even the right option.

Myself, Raleigh and Ed have been talking with the people in Taeum and the rebellion that happened left a lot of people afraid of Highest One not wanting to risk something similar happening again. They're all worried about the war and their thoughts on it aren't that different from ours with some sympathizing with Sedorum while others think war is the better option. [there's a part of her that does feels it's inevitable in how they'll get roped in to this regardless of what is right or wrong but she wants to at least try to puzzle this out before resigning herself to thinking that what sabriel suggested is their only choice] We tried to see if they would be willing to speak more on it but most of them would rather keep their head down, to afraid to say anything publicly or even risk writing their thoughts down which honestly I don't really blame them for. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we probably need to rethink how we get there because while one of the people we talked to mentioned that if Sedorum is successful there wouldn't be much resistance to the change, there has to be a simpler solution than starting a war.

[bindsthedead]

So there are people in Taeum who symathize with Entr'i's cause, but are too frightened to speak up. It sounds like the Highest One takes criticism poorly.

I'd like to avoid it too, but at this point, I'm not sure if it's possible. Entr'i would like to merge the worlds without a war, but the V'rizz and his master have arranged things so that she couldn't.