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

[bindsthedead]

I agree. If we can get the orbs to Entr'i and have her merge the worlds before battle breaks out, that would be best.

If Ruvilor is really on Entr'i's side, he's highly ranked enough that he could help people get to the Highest One. And if he let you keep your weapons, he's either on your side or staggeringly incompetent, and so is the Highest One for putting him in a position of such power.

As for killing the Highest One- Remember Braccia? Physically having the orb isn't enough- the Highest One either needs to yield it willingly, or have the contract terminated by some other means.

[And the most likely method for that is going to be killing the one who holds the orb, unless they're able to learn more about whatever deal was made.]

[hatejakku]

[ Yeah, he knows, but- ]

I remember that Cheri lived. Killing the holder of the orb on any mission should be our absolute last resort.

I sympathize with Entr'i so far but not to this extent. We managed in Gyeongje without killing those in power and letting the people decide. If it's possible, I think we should strive to do the same here.

If it matters at all, I support learning more about the deal, all of the deals involved, before making a decision like this.

[construing]

I agree. Jumping directly to killing the holder means closing ourselves to other possibilities. We may yet find more information on what deal was made and under what conditions.

[ shaking off the apathy enough to vouch for anything that isn't immediately jumping to murder. ]

I don't believe the fate of those here is our call to make, either. It should be the people part of this system.

[bindsthedead]

The problem is that everything we've seen suggest that the Highest One supports the status quo and is willing to kill to maintain it. I think expecting them to be open to negotiations is optimistic.

I think most people in Sedorum support Entr'i's plan to merge the worlds. The problem is that the powers that be in Taeum object.

[construing]

There are still several fucking steps between negotiation and murder.

[bindsthedead]

Stealing it isn't an option- we learned that in Braccia. Coercion would imply we have something they want, and that we're strong enough that they can't overpower us.

The other option is trying to do what we did in Scorpion's bend deliberately, but we have no idea what the conditions of the contract are. My only idea is to get someone who was sent to Sedorum to set foot in Taeum, but that's just a guess, and it will put whoever goes in danger if it fails.

[construing]

So you agree. There are other options we can explore.

[bindsthedead]

Potentially. But all of them involve either being willing to kill them if things don't go according to plan, or having information that we lack right now and do not have the means to get.

Besides, what concerns me is that Entr'i does not seem particularly bloodthirsty or vengeful- and yet she sees killing the Highest One as something necessary.

[construing]

[ arguing with someone who only likes to hear themselves talk is a losing battle, and gwen is particularly unfit these days considering how easily she spirals out of control.

so instead,

read ✓ ]

[hatejakku]

And killing them removes all of that intelligence and those possibilities.

[ Hello, person he doesn't know. Finn likes you already. ]

Agreed. We already know that this system is part of their culture, religion, entire social structure, everything. Removing it completely will create a ripple effect, not to mention it could remove the possibility of reincarnation

Oh

Oh wait was that the deal

[ That-... Uhhhh- ]

Um
Anyway
Right Yeah I agree

[construing]

[ right back atcha, guy being reasonable. ]

I can't think about that right now. [ please don't make her, her brain is not at capacity. 🤧 ]
We've been here…a month? A little less? We're not experts. I mean, we're talking about their lives. Their afterlives. Not just the ones who've passed, but everyone currently alive on Giva.

[ they have the capacity to supremely fuck things up here. that comes with the responsibility of weighing every option, not just going with the first or the simplest. ]

[hatejakku]

[ Yeah, he can't think too well either. His head's still killing from the whole Suddenly Losing The Force thing.

It's a long story. ]

I know.

I understand rallying behind a cause, and the structures of Sedorum and Taeum isn't right. It's just not ours to fix.

It's complicated, though.

[construing]

[ coming from someone who was held in the cells too…deeply empathetic, bud. neither she or venom were having a good time. ]

Nothing's ever simple.
It'd be nice for once. Just to switch things up.

[hatejakku]

Tell me about it

[ He's chained up in a dungeon for trying to break through the ceiling to talk to God. Yeah, no, his life is never simple. ]

[laviny]

Are we sure this specific system is the one they built their culture around? Or is it a construct put in place by the orb? Because this system as we are seeing it honestly doesn't make a lot of sense.

[hatejakku]

We don't know
But we do know that Taeum and Sedorum have been here over a hundred years
For humans that's what three? four generations?
That's enough time for a culture to wrap around it, right?

[ Also it, uh. Makes sense to him. Bad people just win sometimes. A lot of the time, actually... ]

[laviny]

[Oh, it's not bad people winning that doesn't make sense to her. It's the entire concept of building a life around getting into the afterlife and then the afterlife being built around struggling to live again just so you can continue struggling through the same cycle forever.

Good people just ending up in Hell and staying there forever would make sense. It's the cycle that's weird.]

I don't know. One hundred years is very young for a culture. A religion usually needs a few centuries at least to get on its feet, I think.

Unless it is just a cult. Which it sort of feels like, come to think of it.

[hatejakku]

[ That is a pretty frustrating cycle, yeah. ]

That's a good point

And the cult idea is an interesting theory.
Something big could have happened, too. Like a sudden political shift, a war, whatever. Something that can change people's beliefs on the spot.

[laviny]

It is possible. People can be very stubborn about their beliefs, though, so whatever it was, it would have had to be a very, very large shift.

Something that couldn't be ignored or explained away.

[bindsthedead]

Cheruvia didn't have literal control of the entire city, and it wasn't full of people willing to do anything she said. And if she hadn't given up when she did, if she hadn't cared for her lover more than the orb, many of our number would have died. We were lucky then, but I would rather not trust to luck again if I can avoid it.

The Lord in Gyeonje had already concluded his bargain with the orb by the time we arrived- all that was left was dealing with the consequences.

I think that we should try to understand what bargains have been struck with the orbs, and what the conditions of those bargains were- I suspect Entr'i's is to unite the two orbs, given that we know they want to be whole. As for the Highest one... I have no idea, although I suspect it's tied to the absolute refusal to let anyone from Sedorum in. Whatever bargain was struck, every soul who knows aside from the Highest One has since moved on in the cycle.

But if we're able to overpower the Highest One... perhaps we could force him to surrender the orb.

[And you know, kill him if he refuses.]

[hatejakku]

[ Pretty sure the Highest One is a woman... Gonna keep that to himself for now, actually. ]

We're not going to let any of our own die because of this. That's part of the last resort thing.

[ Also, he's not going to comment on speculation, not with lives on the line right now. ]

Overpowering them is an option. I think we should attempt to speak with them again first, though. We just don't have enough intelligence.

If it comes to killing them, we'll kill them. I don't feel like we're there yet, though.

[bindsthedead]

Unfortunately, I suspect this is going to be one of those missions where we have to jump in without all the information and make our best guess as to what's right.

Perhaps. But I don't think Taeum and Sedorum would be on the edge of war if we were dealing with someone open to compromise.

[hatejakku]

[ wheeze ]

If it is, then it is, but we cannot run on that assumption. If we run out of time, that's a different story, but there clearly is time or I'd be dead right now.

[ What with the whole. Execution thing. Sorry, he's not trying to- He's just-... wheeze ]

Again, this isn't our war. We're someone from the outside. I'm not asking to negotiate or compromise yet. All I want is to talk and go from there.

They wouldn't talk before which is why we tried to make them talk. We can try again but smarter. If the talking goes south immediately, we fight, we kill, we do whatever we have to. But we can't just decide something this drastic with only half the story. It's not right.

[bindsthedead]

You tried to make them talk, and they weren't interested. They weren't interested when Entr'i tried to change things when she lived in Taeum either- they imprisoned her, and killed her comrades.

We're going to rescue you and the others. Even if I have to take Remi's notes and find a way to get a path open from Sedorum myself.

[hatejakku]

I know you guys are. Either that or we will. But this isn't about us.

We don't know the whole story. That's the bottom line. We talk or we find out the bargain through another means.

I'm not going to be part of a plan like this without more information.

[ He'd like to sit it out, anyway, but this is Finn. He'll be pulled in as soon as someone's in trouble and he knows it. ]