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
[ Heartbreaking, is what he means. It truly takes a toll on the soul. ]
This situation would bother me less if we could help these people through the change, you know? If we truly had the chance to minimize casualties and make sure innocents were unharmed. But as soon as we get the orb, we're gone, and there's no stopping that. After what happened with Welford Branson, I asked Viveca if we could go back to Scorpion's Bend or even bring people form the plants tot eh station but she said that the teleportation mechanic made it impossible.
What if Entr'i too, has other personal reasons for doing this beyond seeking equity? Something more personal than just seeking justice, like vengeance or wanting to be reunited with a loved one...What if those reasons end up clouding her judgment as well?
I don't have any ill feelings towards her, I'm indifferent, to be honest, and I really hope she is as sincere as everyone seems to think. It's just that war is a too big 'What If', with too many chances for things to go south and for people to suffer.
Revolutions are needed to stop injustices, that I agree, but we can't be blind to the bloodshed they cause. Wars are not quick, so... What then? Are we hoping that we will be able to get to The Highest One and break his contract with the orb in a matter of hours? Of days? And after that, we're blindly trusting that Entr'i will give up full orbs instead of keeping them to ensure 'peace'?
We should at least have a contingency plan to take her down if that's the case. And I don't mean killing her either, just restrain her.
no subject
We have to hope that they truly believe in justice and equity. I am not yet so cynical that I think no one is truly what they appear and can only believe that I am doing what is right.
Such a contingency does need to be planned for. Can we simply restrain her? How far are we willing to go to get the orbs?
no subject
As for a contingency plan...I have in my possession my girlfriend's sword, its name is the Godslayer. Take a guess about what it can do.
[ There's a pause, not for dramatic effect, but because Peter is pondering what to say next. ]
I already made it clear that I don't want to kill anyone unless it is strictly necessary, not the Highest One, nor Entr'i. If we could restrain them, either with magic wards or using brute force, I'd like to do that first. But if the two orbs are reunited and things take a turn for the worst...I suppose we have that ace up our sleeve. I don't know even if the sword would work in this world, though, since it comes from a different universe.
no subject
[ The war taught him that and despite everything, it's a hard mindset to shake when Megatron has a job to do. ]
I will hope the sake of your own conscience that you don't have to use that weapon or test it's moniker. You're a reliable person, Star-Lord. I'm glad to have you here.
no subject
You're right, it's just...it's hard. When I came to the station, I wanted to fix mistakes, not make bigger ones. Now I am no longer sure if we're doing what's right.
But thank you, Megatron. We will see how things go, then. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best, they say.
no subject
As always, that is all we can do.
no subject
[ The problem is that they are a big group, and finding consensus is always hard. Mostly everyone here wants the orbs to undo a past mistake, Peter is starting it think they would be destroyed. It won't be a popular idea if he ever brings it up. ]
Yeah. Take care, please.
no subject