Sabriel (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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ximilia2022-03-21 03:24 pm
bindsthedead) wrote in ximilia2022-03-21 03:24 pm
audio; un: Sabriel.Abhorsen
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!]
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!]
no subject
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.
no subject
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.
no subject
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.
no subject
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.
no subject
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. ]
no subject
no subject
You said everyone who would have known about the bargain has moved on except for the Highest One but
That's not true
Let's just ask the damn orb itself.
see?
options
no subject
There's one complication though- Unless you can commune with it from a distance, we're going to need to get close, and I don't think the Highest One is going to wait patiently while we ask it how to undo what they've spent more than a century causing untold misery to maintain.
The good news is that the orb will probably cooperate, given that we're here to make it whole, and the Highest one won't be able to use it against us- just all their other powers.
no subject
[ Bad plan. He knows. Moving on. ]
If it's a matter of getting close, it's possible we can fall back on the plan with Ruvilor, if we can confirm he's on our side.
Who in Taeum has the power to reach out to it, anyway?
[ Blue's in Sedorum. Isn't Eleven awake? He thought he saw her on the network, but a lot's been going on lately. ]
no subject
At a stretch, anyone who's supernaturally sensitive and has had previous contact with an orb might be able to do it- sometimes they even reach out on their own, like they did to the Bouldernake leader. Or you could try when we break you out?
If we use Ruvilor for this, it's likely we'll blow his cover if it becomes clear what's going on, because then it's going to turn into a fight.
no subject
[ When he gets back to the station, he's going to hide under his bed for a week in shame. But until then-! ]
That's true. We'll have to be subtle. Either make it look like we tricked him or actually trick him.
Or be straight with him and offer protection if things go bad.
no subject
Or asking Entr'i for help if I can't figure that out, except... she'll probably want to just kill the Highest One.
no subject
Then we'll make sure we have an exit before we try anything.
How does Entr'i travel between the two? Can we recreate that somehow?
no subject
But right now, Entr'i's the only one who can do it.
I suppose we could also ask her why she wants to kill the highest one so much- she doensn't seem particularly vengeful.
no subject
That's a good place to start. It seems like she's in this fight for much more personal reasons than the overall cause.
no subject
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[ Finn was all about the bigger picture in his fight back home, too, but there was no mistaking that it was personal. ]
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Understandable. But we should still try to ask her, though.
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[ ... probably... ]
Besides, if we get the orb, all of this won't matter, right?
no subject
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So long as we can get out of these cells, anyway.
no subject
[ooc: Also, retroactively privating this, whoops.]
no subject
Yeah.
I felt it.
Last time.
[ And Blue told him about it, too, so- Yeah. ]
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