[ She scoffed. ] No, my Role was to serve as an intermediary between the Gods Below and Mortals, and keep villains from making the same mistake I once made.
And if they persist, I kill them. [ Was to be her role, anyway. The Guide to help usher in a new era of evil. ]
It is not exactly something I can enforce here, with no will of the Gods Below to back my authority, is there?
[ She neared him, instead of staying away, and leaned a hip on his desk, arms crossed. ]
I do not think of choosing our factions as wrong, or right, regardless. Perhaps... I may not agree with the logic, but...
[ But... ]
Well. You made your choice, did you not? It is not the end all things, for you to change whom you support.
[ john isn't sure what he was thinking. how he'd interpreted her Role probably felt much worse at the time โ as everything had while they were suffering in that place โ and had stuck in his mind all wrong. he hates what it says about him and all the ways he feels exposed by people knowing too much. ]
The logic is a bit different now, anyway. Death was eye-opening.
[ better to pivot to something easier. ]
Maybe questioning what we believed was the point. I would still be wasting my time pursuing a useless territory dispute otherwise.
[ and he has already directly undermined his own efforts in that dispute at this point. ]
[ It also doesn't help that Akua describes things like her world, her Role, and Names as if they are something that exists here, baked into the fabric of every reality, instead of simply hers. It's a fundamental logic to her, the same that her magic is, and the same that breathing, or gravity is. It simply is, and that it is not a building block to reality is... difficult to separate from the world at large. ]
I think it was. Perhaps to... challenge our convictions, to perhaps challenge where we had ended as inevitabilities.
I know that I chose the same as you, without events in my past. Perhaps the weight of yours are not as... [ Guild-inducing... ] Weighted in Meridian's favor. There is no shame in that.
I did not press you then to hold you to us, you know. [ A sad smile. ] Only to make sure that it was you who chose it.
[ shame? he scoffs at that before he can stop himself. ]
That's not it. Both outcomes mean the same. The cost is the same. My enemies die, and then I die. When I die, so does the sun.
[ he imagines she can figure out what happens to anyone still alive after the sun dies for herself. ]
Choosing a world that's not my own is enough to Harmonise, but that's all it means. I want the truth. I want to know why the Tree tells us one thing and the factions tell another. I won't decide the fate of worlds on faith, which is what they want us to do. That's the part I can't abide, not the choice itself.
[ john won't admit that the events in his past are why he feels so strongly that what he's doing is correct. the Tree gives them life and protects them. it mourns them when they die. it tries to guide them in its way, which is sometimes strange and inhuman, but it's not the Tree's fault that they have limitations.
he looks at her intently, placing the full weight of his awful gaze on her. he means for her to know what he says next is serious: ]
You need to be careful. There is a lot more going on here than it seems, and it's likely you won't expect where the danger will come from.
[ he can't say exactly what โ half-bound to secrecy and half-simply lacking the information โ but john knows beyond a doubt that there is something worth warning her about. he's sure that akua is always looking out for a plot, but it's different when you know the danger is there but hidden. ]
[ He truly does remind her of Neshamah, for he, too, waited to see -- to survive -- the last dawn, and escape the pattern.
She offered him a sharp, knowing smile, and does not shirk from his gaze. She meets it, and tipped her head slightly, to give him the full Weight of her golden, ever-haughty gaze. ]
You think I do not expect danger from an unknown source? Don't insult me.
[ It may sound aggressive, but there is a measure of good humor in her tone, as if the thought that she would not plan for such things was laughable. ]
I take antivenoms and antitoxins daily to prevent poisoning. I set wards when I rest, and when I am distracted. If there is anyone here prepared for a knife in the dark, it is I. My people, the Sahelians, were the First betrayal. If I were not prepared, I would deserve my fate.
[ She understands, though, what he means. That there is something lurking. That they cannot know the shape of yet. ]
The factions seem to be a tool, to serve an end. Whether it is the tree that is correct, or them, I do not know. If there is something else ready to give us a new... "direction", then I anticipate disseminating it, finding the cracks that it leaves in both Zenith and Meridian's arguments.
I do not doubt that there is something to watch for, lurking, and waiting for the right moment.
Yes, well, call me thorough. I don't doubt your capacity for vigilance, but I prefer knowing the warning is superfluous.
[ he doesn't need anymore guilt. ]
But, since you mentioned it, I wondered about your wards. This might be a Magic 101 question, but do you know of a reliable way to prevent someone from being observed or tracked from afar?
[ because he's just going to forge ahead with business before he might leave an opening for anything more personal. that seems reasonable from his perspective. ]
Preventing scrying? [ She asked, the term perhaps not something that John might not know, or he may. It's half a test, and half an explanation. Preventing scrying was basic of course. At least for a person, though as he brought it up, she wondered... perhaps this was an opportunity. ]
Yes, I know how. Are you interested in only yourself?
[ Her eyes darted to the rest of the room, one of many rooms within the gardens, and they were all had sensitive tests and subjects within. As he said it, she wondered if there was not greater opportunity here. If he had the sensation that someone was watching, perhaps there was a need to do something more. ]
If there are those who can scry on us, we may be better served not only warding ourselves... but the Gardens here as well.
[ john has heard that word before, but better to confirm before he goes throwing technically fictional words around. akua probably wouldn't know any better, but still. ]
I was thinking the same thing about the Garden, not only to protect what's here but to make it more difficult for anyone to track movements in general. I doubt someone can be tracked after they use a cornerstone, after all. This place should be impenetrable.
[ whether or not he means that literally is debatable. ]
[ She said, outright. Her finger tapped at her lip, considering. ]
It is... not difficult, but the process is also not short. It is not a snap of the fingers, but I could have the foundation laid within a few hours. The real issue is finding enough power to maintain it.
[ She looked around the room, considering. ]
Normally, we engage in sacrifice for such things. [ Human sacrifice, mostly ] But I think if our fellow shard-bearers found out, they would likely... be uncomfortable.
[ Look. She knows how they be. ]
Perhaps we could siphon it from elsewhere and store it.
The efforts from Ryad, perhaps? Or from the offloaded energy with whatever it is that Bondrewd is doing?
[ john's nearly automatic response is to roll his eyes because he's had to deal with "uncomfortable" Shard-bearers for as long as he's been here, and their nitpicking remains a thorn in his side. turning a couple of souls into batteries would probably be the least terrible thing he's used a soul for, all things considered. ]
Aw, what they don't know won't hurt them...
[ but if akua didn't think it was worth the trouble, then she's probably right (so he's only half-serious). ]
But, fine. You'll have to refresh me, though. I doubt I'm up to speed on either of those things.
[ She snorted. ] Until they find out, and then there's another lecture. "My! Why would you do this, Miss Akua? Please, can you not try to do things without human sacrifice for once in your damned life?"
[ At some point, her tone shifts to sound like someone she knows, though it wouldn't be familiar to John. She's heard this lecture a lot, clearly. ]
I'm not sure what he is involved in, but I'm sure he has plenty of... creatures. He has so many experiments, I'm sure there would be something of merit. [ Bondrewd is a Producer. ]
And Ryad, well. Perhaps a few well-placed runes, and whenever someone dies, and we could find the energy pulled for other uses.
Hm, perhaps the owner would agree to an arrangement if we offered some of the energy toward them. I think there is no lack of deaths there on any given day.
[ he can't help but smile a little at that, a sad and crooked thing, as her words retrieve some memory from where he'd tried to bury it. that's what you do with dead things.
john dismissed the thought as quickly as it had appeared, his thoughts turning to the matter at hand, starting with bondrewd. ]
If we're going to lock this place down, it wouldn't make sense to exclude him from the conversation.
[ weak links bring everyone down. ]
As for Ryad: that's doable. [ and john can't help but think getting in good with the overseer of a place like that can't be a bad idea. ] Deaths generate a lot of energy. We should be able to cut them in and have plenty to spare.
[ and here he gives her a sly, conspiratorial look. ]
And that's not technically harvesting sacrifices for power. The deaths still happen whether or not we use them as batteries.
[ She says, knowing the power of her own blood magic. Her tone, teasingly, suggests: "of an enemy" but it is more than that. She is Praesi, and paranoia is in their bones, their very blood. She was of the first betrayal, and it was no small thing, to ask for enough biological material to see her, watch her, or kill her, with enough power.
It is an extension of trust, even for an ally, and not one that she would give readily. ]
May I watch it, at least? I do not enjoy pieces leaving my sight.
[ Paranoid.
She plucks a small, fine hair from her head, and held it up. ]
Lest your wards be destroyed when I step in next.
[ Because she would test their power with hers, and see which came out the victor.
The loser, presumably, would be the Gardens themselves. ]
[ a dumb little science joke, given what dust is made of. ]
That really is a thing, though, isn't it? Luckily for you, I have no interest in making love potions.
[ because that's what usually happens in movies?? ]
In any case, to alleviate your concerns, the piece is less important than what it tells me. Souls are all a little different, which affects the body, but it's very subtle.
[ the kind of thing you'd only pick up on when you've been in contact with enough individual souls to notice a difference. all unique snowflakes impacted (literally) by their experiences and in some cases, other souls. ]
The easy way would be to use some physical signature that's uniquely yours, but that's actually not very secure. What if someone hijacked your body or something? We had to stop using biometrics because it's too easy to grow identical body parts.
[ it could happen. ]
I figure this is much less invasive than asking to examine your soul, at least.
You're welcome to put them to the test later, if you like; if they're unravelled that easily, they aren't good enough.
[ She laughed. ] I sear every surface multiple times a day. There is a ward I have, that carefully scours anything I touch periodically.
[ Praesi paranoia was legendary after all. Multiple moving parts, scaffolding of paranoid caution to protect against subtle knives launched from behind while one smiled at their opponents at the front. ]
Though I appreciate the caution. My soul is not...kind to interference.
[ The girl had made a phylactery at 13 years old, and used sait phylactery to extend her existence after her heart was ripped out. The girl whom had placed it in a new, regrown body, and continued her life. Her soul was, perhaps, not as finely crafted as John's โ she did not have ten-thousand years of experience, merely twenty or so โ but it was still constructed in such a way. ]
One of these days, I should like to see what Wards we could craft together. My sorcery and yours.
Perhaps we'll find something worthwhile of the task eventually.
[ john is careful, but that is thorough even by his standards โ he'd been joking, after all. still, he gets it; she came from a place where she had competition. different methods for a different game. john had only needed to bury his secrets. ]
I'm sure I could've managed with little fuss, but Shards complicate things more than I like.
[ which is to say the risk of any contact with someone else's soul becoming a two-way exchange of information is more than he's willing to take without a very good reason. ]
I'd be interested in answering that question myself. [ he imagines a joint effort in that area would result in something horrible (affectionate). ] If you come across something suitable, let me know.
Bored? Never. Even if I get to the bottom of the essential problem with this place, there's a whole other set of questions that could stand to be answered.
[ but first, john needed to know what the factions weren't telling them because that's a problem that is considerably more dire and time-sensitive than the things he's merely curious about for curiosity's sake. ]
Don't forget you get more bang for your buck if any deaths are involved. Dissipation counts. It's one way to brute force the interference problem.
[ external thanergy to boost the efficacy of his theorems because his Shard marinating in Zenith energy seems to dampen what he's able to draw on internally. Meridian had felt like trying to pull thanergy out of something too rich in thanergy to be effective. either way, it's a headache. ]
I'm also sure no one else will appreciate it. [ except maybe bondrewd. ] But, I'm sure that won't discourage you.
No, they do not. You saw how they protested when we were curing the Blight, and that was their very lives on the line.
[ No, she does not think most will be ok with it, but between John and Bondrewd, she knew she had good company between the two of them. ]
And... no it certainly will not discourage me. I have been using blood sacrifice since I was but a girl. If I had qualms with it, I would not have been able to stomach the very food we ate.
[ Catherine, the Warden, had hated it though. Mass ritual bloodletting was certainly off the table these days. At least non-consensual. If some wanted to give their lives for the cause, though... ]
Although, for now, we have the wards, hm? Would you like me to let you get back to work?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
And if they persist, I kill them. [ Was to be her role, anyway. The Guide to help usher in a new era of evil. ]
It is not exactly something I can enforce here, with no will of the Gods Below to back my authority, is there?
[ She neared him, instead of staying away, and leaned a hip on his desk, arms crossed. ]
I do not think of choosing our factions as wrong, or right, regardless. Perhaps... I may not agree with the logic, but...
[ But... ]
Well. You made your choice, did you not? It is not the end all things, for you to change whom you support.
no subject
The logic is a bit different now, anyway. Death was eye-opening.
[ better to pivot to something easier. ]
Maybe questioning what we believed was the point. I would still be wasting my time pursuing a useless territory dispute otherwise.
[ and he has already directly undermined his own efforts in that dispute at this point. ]
no subject
I think it was. Perhaps to... challenge our convictions, to perhaps challenge where we had ended as inevitabilities.
I know that I chose the same as you, without events in my past. Perhaps the weight of yours are not as... [ Guild-inducing... ] Weighted in Meridian's favor. There is no shame in that.
I did not press you then to hold you to us, you know. [ A sad smile. ] Only to make sure that it was you who chose it.
no subject
That's not it. Both outcomes mean the same. The cost is the same. My enemies die, and then I die. When I die, so does the sun.
[ he imagines she can figure out what happens to anyone still alive after the sun dies for herself. ]
Choosing a world that's not my own is enough to Harmonise, but that's all it means. I want the truth. I want to know why the Tree tells us one thing and the factions tell another. I won't decide the fate of worlds on faith, which is what they want us to do. That's the part I can't abide, not the choice itself.
[ john won't admit that the events in his past are why he feels so strongly that what he's doing is correct. the Tree gives them life and protects them. it mourns them when they die. it tries to guide them in its way, which is sometimes strange and inhuman, but it's not the Tree's fault that they have limitations.
he looks at her intently, placing the full weight of his awful gaze on her. he means for her to know what he says next is serious: ]
You need to be careful. There is a lot more going on here than it seems, and it's likely you won't expect where the danger will come from.
[ he can't say exactly what โ half-bound to secrecy and half-simply lacking the information โ but john knows beyond a doubt that there is something worth warning her about. he's sure that akua is always looking out for a plot, but it's different when you know the danger is there but hidden. ]
no subject
She offered him a sharp, knowing smile, and does not shirk from his gaze. She meets it, and tipped her head slightly, to give him the full Weight of her golden, ever-haughty gaze. ]
You think I do not expect danger from an unknown source? Don't insult me.
[ It may sound aggressive, but there is a measure of good humor in her tone, as if the thought that she would not plan for such things was laughable. ]
I take antivenoms and antitoxins daily to prevent poisoning. I set wards when I rest, and when I am distracted. If there is anyone here prepared for a knife in the dark, it is I. My people, the Sahelians, were the First betrayal. If I were not prepared, I would deserve my fate.
[ She understands, though, what he means. That there is something lurking. That they cannot know the shape of yet. ]
The factions seem to be a tool, to serve an end. Whether it is the tree that is correct, or them, I do not know. If there is something else ready to give us a new... "direction", then I anticipate disseminating it, finding the cracks that it leaves in both Zenith and Meridian's arguments.
I do not doubt that there is something to watch for, lurking, and waiting for the right moment.
no subject
[ he doesn't need anymore guilt. ]
But, since you mentioned it, I wondered about your wards. This might be a Magic 101 question, but do you know of a reliable way to prevent someone from being observed or tracked from afar?
[ because he's just going to forge ahead with business before he might leave an opening for anything more personal. that seems reasonable from his perspective. ]
I'm sure you can imagine why I ask.
[
it's trouble.]no subject
Yes, I know how. Are you interested in only yourself?
[ Her eyes darted to the rest of the room, one of many rooms within the gardens, and they were all had sensitive tests and subjects within. As he said it, she wondered if there was not greater opportunity here. If he had the sensation that someone was watching, perhaps there was a need to do something more. ]
If there are those who can scry on us, we may be better served not only warding ourselves... but the Gardens here as well.
no subject
[ john has heard that word before, but better to confirm before he goes throwing technically fictional words around. akua probably wouldn't know any better, but still. ]
I was thinking the same thing about the Garden, not only to protect what's here but to make it more difficult for anyone to track movements in general. I doubt someone can be tracked after they use a cornerstone, after all. This place should be impenetrable.
[ whether or not he means that literally is debatable. ]
How difficult would that be to accomplish?
no subject
[ She said, outright. Her finger tapped at her lip, considering. ]
It is... not difficult, but the process is also not short. It is not a snap of the fingers, but I could have the foundation laid within a few hours. The real issue is finding enough power to maintain it.
[ She looked around the room, considering. ]
Normally, we engage in sacrifice for such things. [ Human sacrifice, mostly ] But I think if our fellow shard-bearers found out, they would likely... be uncomfortable.
[ Look. She knows how they be. ]
Perhaps we could siphon it from elsewhere and store it.
The efforts from Ryad, perhaps? Or from the offloaded energy with whatever it is that Bondrewd is doing?
no subject
Aw, what they don't know won't hurt them...
[ but if akua didn't think it was worth the trouble, then she's probably right (so he's only half-serious). ]
But, fine. You'll have to refresh me, though. I doubt I'm up to speed on either of those things.
[ what is bondrewd up to these days anyway? ]
no subject
[ At some point, her tone shifts to sound like someone she knows, though it wouldn't be familiar to John. She's heard this lecture a lot, clearly. ]
I'm not sure what he is involved in, but I'm sure he has plenty of... creatures. He has so many experiments, I'm sure there would be something of merit. [ Bondrewd is a Producer. ]
And Ryad, well. Perhaps a few well-placed runes, and whenever someone dies, and we could find the energy pulled for other uses.
Hm, perhaps the owner would agree to an arrangement if we offered some of the energy toward them. I think there is no lack of deaths there on any given day.
no subject
john dismissed the thought as quickly as it had appeared, his thoughts turning to the matter at hand, starting with bondrewd. ]
If we're going to lock this place down, it wouldn't make sense to exclude him from the conversation.
[ weak links bring everyone down. ]
As for Ryad: that's doable. [ and john can't help but think getting in good with the overseer of a place like that can't be a bad idea. ] Deaths generate a lot of energy. We should be able to cut them in and have plenty to spare.
[ and here he gives her a sly, conspiratorial look. ]
And that's not technically harvesting sacrifices for power. The deaths still happen whether or not we use them as batteries.
no subject
There's no reason to have the discussion without, after all.
And I think if Bondrewd would offer enough to power this, we need not even worry about Ryad.
Well.
[ A pause, and her smile turned a touch sharp. ]
Prematurely, at least. If we want sufficient power, it may not be unwise to plan to...farm it at a later point. It's such a waste, after all.
no subject
[ thinking ahead is how he stayed one step ahead of his enemies for a very long time. ]
I'll need material, by the way. Something of you.
[ john knows he should elaborate, but it takes a moment sometimes to circle around to definitions for things he doesn't usually need to define. ]
I'm going to be setting up more elaborate wards internally. I'll need the material of anyone who intends to come here so they'll recognise you.
[ she can probably use her imagination for what would happen to people who aren't recognised because it's nothing good. ]
no subject
Quite the ask.
[ She says, knowing the power of her own blood magic. Her tone, teasingly, suggests: "of an enemy" but it is more than that. She is Praesi, and paranoia is in their bones, their very blood. She was of the first betrayal, and it was no small thing, to ask for enough biological material to see her, watch her, or kill her, with enough power.
It is an extension of trust, even for an ally, and not one that she would give readily. ]
May I watch it, at least? I do not enjoy pieces leaving my sight.
[ Paranoid.
She plucks a small, fine hair from her head, and held it up. ]
Lest your wards be destroyed when I step in next.
[ Because she would test their power with hers, and see which came out the victor.
The loser, presumably, would be the Gardens themselves. ]
no subject
[ a dumb little science joke, given what dust is made of. ]
That really is a thing, though, isn't it? Luckily for you, I have no interest in making love potions.
[ because that's what usually happens in movies?? ]
In any case, to alleviate your concerns, the piece is less important than what it tells me. Souls are all a little different, which affects the body, but it's very subtle.
[ the kind of thing you'd only pick up on when you've been in contact with enough individual souls to notice a difference. all unique snowflakes impacted (literally) by their experiences and in some cases, other souls. ]
The easy way would be to use some physical signature that's uniquely yours, but that's actually not very secure. What if someone hijacked your body or something? We had to stop using biometrics because it's too easy to grow identical body parts.
[ it could happen. ]
I figure this is much less invasive than asking to examine your soul, at least.
You're welcome to put them to the test later, if you like; if they're unravelled that easily, they aren't good enough.
no subject
[ Praesi paranoia was legendary after all. Multiple moving parts, scaffolding of paranoid caution to protect against subtle knives launched from behind while one smiled at their opponents at the front. ]
Though I appreciate the caution. My soul is not...kind to interference.
[ The girl had made a phylactery at 13 years old, and used sait phylactery to extend her existence after her heart was ripped out. The girl whom had placed it in a new, regrown body, and continued her life. Her soul was, perhaps, not as finely crafted as John's โ she did not have ten-thousand years of experience, merely twenty or so โ but it was still constructed in such a way. ]
One of these days, I should like to see what Wards we could craft together. My sorcery and yours.
Perhaps we'll find something worthwhile of the task eventually.
no subject
[ john is careful, but that is thorough even by his standards โ he'd been joking, after all. still, he gets it; she came from a place where she had competition. different methods for a different game. john had only needed to bury his secrets. ]
I'm sure I could've managed with little fuss, but Shards complicate things more than I like.
[ which is to say the risk of any contact with someone else's soul becoming a two-way exchange of information is more than he's willing to take without a very good reason. ]
I'd be interested in answering that question myself. [ he imagines a joint effort in that area would result in something horrible (affectionate). ] If you come across something suitable, let me know.
no subject
[ She said, with a smile. ]
Your magic and mine are different enough that we may find ways to compliment each other, and use our workings in tandem.
It is something I'm interested in. To use them together in concert to do something great.
[ A smile that was a touch wry. It was almost... almost the power of friendship, though she's not cheesy enough to say it. Here. Now. ]
Between this, the shards... we have enough subjects that I do not think we will become bored, thankfully.
no subject
[ but first, john needed to know what the factions weren't telling them because that's a problem that is considerably more dire and time-sensitive than the things he's merely curious about for curiosity's sake. ]
Don't forget you get more bang for your buck if any deaths are involved. Dissipation counts. It's one way to brute force the interference problem.
[ external thanergy to boost the efficacy of his theorems because his Shard marinating in Zenith energy seems to dampen what he's able to draw on internally. Meridian had felt like trying to pull thanergy out of something too rich in thanergy to be effective. either way, it's a headache. ]
I'm also sure no one else will appreciate it. [ except maybe bondrewd. ] But, I'm sure that won't discourage you.
no subject
No, they do not. You saw how they protested when we were curing the Blight, and that was their very lives on the line.
[ No, she does not think most will be ok with it, but between John and Bondrewd, she knew she had good company between the two of them. ]
And... no it certainly will not discourage me. I have been using blood sacrifice since I was but a girl. If I had qualms with it, I would not have been able to stomach the very food we ate.
[ Catherine, the Warden, had hated it though. Mass ritual bloodletting was certainly off the table these days. At least non-consensual. If some wanted to give their lives for the cause, though... ]
Although, for now, we have the wards, hm? Would you like me to let you get back to work?