15[20:13] Anyone schooled in the Dynasty knows the dangers of Wyld zones. Strange creatures, lingering mirages that fool all the senses, and in time, corruption, mutation, even death. But the pilgrims making the long, hot trek up the Wyld-tainted slopes of Hamoji seem unconcerned. Are they stupid? Are they mad? Are they protected? 15[20:14] Seiri has recovered, and the hearth journeys ever upward, across long cliffside paths and up hundreds of ancient stone steps. [20:14] 4Two out of three ain't...okay, it depends what the third one is to tell if it's bad. [20:16] 10The last of these is playing a role, surely. It's also sometimes said the tempering influence of earth on the Wyld prevents its most noxious changes from settling in. [20:17] 07Dryas is more concerned with the people in the crowd following them, trying to watch them. The Wyld is a concern, but she trusts in Daizo's skill to keep it at bay or at least warn them of imminent danger. [20:18] 4Piu is kind of regretting the combat wraps at this point. I mean they preserve her modesty but, like. Come on. [20:18] 4Modesty is a lost cause. [20:18] 6Zhangyu would place his bets on the former two before the last, but he's keeping an open mind and a closed fist. [20:19] 4Better than the inverse! 15[20:19] At least, shortly before noon, they reach the last gentle slope of the mountain, a preternaturally smooth clifftop that bends over the caldera from which light so thick and golden pours forth that it's as if a second sun has nestled in the heart of the mountain. The breeze and thin air carry the heat away, and bring the scent of smoke and lilies to replace it, though no fire burns and 15[20:19] no flowers grow. [20:19] 4Piu is no expert, but sweet-smelling places with lava sounds like cult shit. [20:20] 07Isn't that the whole point of this pilgrimage? [20:21] 4Just saying! [20:23] "So this is the Feathered One's domain…" 10As many of the earthly homes of the gods are reputed to be, it is beautifully inhuman. 15[20:23] At the edge of the cliff, directly over the caldera, are the drummers in their feathered garb, and their apparent leader, who Seiri called 'The Feathered One', a tall and broad man whose scalp and shoulders are thick with naturally-growing multicolored plumage. Behind him is a chain-gang of men and women, eight in all, aged from maybe thirty to sixty, bound by dried vines. 15[20:24] The pilgrims stop well short, a respectful if not safe distance back. [20:24] 4Leaning over to Daizo: "So they're gonna jump right into the soup, huh?" [20:25] 10Daizo: "That's a rather brutal way to put it, don't you think?" [20:26] "Although they don't exactly seem to be volunteers." [20:27] "It's certainly not what..." 07Dryas trails off before she makes an impolitic remark about the Cynis remit. [20:27] 4Piu shrugs. "Yeah, I guess. But also true." 15[20:27] By his shaved scalp and scarred back, Piu and Zhangyu recognize the man who once held Zhangyu's Hinokuni medallion among the sacrifices-to-be. Chases-Waterfalls is his name. [20:27] "Religiously and seriously going into the soup." [20:28] 14Her eyes don't register a hint of recognition. That's training. [20:28] 4Guy seemed like a dick. [20:29] 6Huh. So that's what happened to that guy. Zhangyu briefly wonders if he had anything to do with what Chases-Waterfalls is doing here, but then... well. Shouldn't have been holding a medallion there. [20:31] "What crimes did these men commit?" 07Dryas asks the others. 15[20:31] Seiri seems to have recovered quite well, and managed the final leg of the journey at the new, gentler pace. "Those are the ali-ki," she whispers to Daizo, before pointing out the man he already met. "That's the Feathered One." [20:33] 4Piu: "That big guy's a dickhead." [20:33] "Which I don't think is a crime, but it probably led to one." [20:33] "You know him?" 07Dryas asks. [20:33] 6Zhangyu: "He had a medallion." [20:33] 6Had. [20:34] 4Piu: "Me? Hah, no." [20:34] "I just saw him get his ass kicked once!" [20:34] 07Dryas: "You mean, for the Hinokuni?" [20:34] 6Zhangyu nods. "As I said. Had." [20:34] 4She looks at Zhangyu and grins. [20:35] 6He's trying very badly to hide a smirk, himself. [20:35] 10Daizo: "Ahh, I see now. I thought the ali-ki might have been spirits themselves. But they're more of a priesthood?" [20:35] 07Dryas: "Is he here because he lost? Or is this the penalty the islanders give for participation in the Hinokuni?" [20:36] 6Zhangyu: "If it's for a crime, fighting in the street is probably frowned upon." 15[20:36] Seiri: "That's right." [20:36] 4Piu shrugs. "Like I said. We don't know him." [20:36] "I was only around him for maybe five minutes. Pushover." [20:38] "Do you think this is just?" 07Dryas asks. [20:39] 6Zhangyu shrugs. "If that's why he's here, he should have won. If it's not, it's irrelevant." [20:39] 4Piu: "Babe, I don't really care if it's just." [20:40] 10The conversation happening around him finally trickles through to Daizo. "Is it our place to intervene, Dryas? The Governor and the local branches of the Order have clearly sanctioned these sacrifices, or they wouldn't be occurring at all." [20:42] 14She's a difficult woman to read, when she wants to be. [20:45] 07Dryas is asking for a reason. Or is she? Certainly she's not letting on what the reason, if it exists, might be. 15[20:46] Among the pilgrims making their way up the mountain now, Dryas recognizes a local luminary - the merchant prince Ialtagan, a rival of Nn Tloc's, currently locked in a struggle with him over picking up Mnemon Dusk's philanthropic work while the Immaculate Order makes arrangements for her replacement. [20:46] 14It's probably money. Or prestige. Those are kind of the same things in the end. [20:47] 14But, hard to tell. 15[20:52] Dryas catches the merchant prince glancing in her direction more than once. [20:54] "Where else have I seen that fellow before?" 07Dryas wonders aloud. "That's Ialtagen, one of Nn Tloc's mercantile rivals,"07 she points out to her compatriots. 15[20:55] When he sees that she's pointing him out to the others, Ialtagan inclines his head somewhat stiffly in acknowledgment. What's not apparent to Dryas is that Piu recognizes him too. 15[20:55] Iselsi Lao: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBftDgIhIVs - ‘Cause in the dark, even the blind can feel a speck of light. [20:55] 10Dryas doesn't pursue her line of questioning about justice. Is this because they gave satisfactory answers or unsatisfactory? Points to ponder, sometime. "No idea." [20:56] 14Mm. 15[20:57] The drumming reaches a crescendo, and the Feathered One turns sharply on his heel to face the assembly, arms and shockingly white smile spread almost wider than seems possible. 15[20:58] The Feathered One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meJP410N9Gg - I tripped on a cloud and fell eight miles high. I tore my mind on a jagged sky. [20:58] 14She's glad she brought the Chain now, for some reason. [21:09] 07Dryas: "Anyway - I don't know if I like it. Those prisoners could work, that big one could fight. Can't they do more than feed a hungry god?" 07She runs her hand through her hair, finding one of the white orchids that grow there. With a gentle twist, it comes loose. [21:09] 4Piu: "...No?" [21:09] "I mean, this entire ceremony says 'no,' right?" [21:11] "It feels like barbarism," 07Dryas murmurs. "We don't do this on the Blessed Isle." [21:12] 14She keeps a straight face on that one, because she's a pro. [21:17] 6Zhangyu doesn't reply. If they didn't want to be there, they should have fought harder. [21:17] 10Daizo: "We don't, there. But becoming civilized is not an overnight process." [21:18] 6Well. Fought better. You don't get extra points for effort in battle. [21:19] 14Big question is: why is Lao here. Can't make contact though. Too dangerous. [21:19] 14Annoying! [21:19] 14Probably just bureaucracy and appearances. Probably. 15[21:20] When the Feathered One speaks, none of the hearth can understand him. Zhangyu gets the closest, catching an inflected or out-of-place word of Seatongue in the speech. Luckily, Daizo brought a translator. [21:21] 10Daizo: "What is he saying, Seiri?" 15[21:22] The Feathered One sweeps a muscled arm over the crowd, encompassing them and, beyond and below, Abalone itself, speaking in slow, booming syllables. 15[21:24] Seiri: "'A tree is felled, to make a canoe. We pray to Hamoji. A beloved friend passes, their body commended to the fire and the sky. We pray to Hamoji. A woman plants root vegetables in the cool of the moonlight. We pray to Hamoji.'" 15[21:26] The Feathered One draws his arms tight to his chest, and his voice grows plaintive. 15[21:30] Seiri: "'What could be more natural than to pray to our god when crops are planted? For Hamoji is the god of our rich, dark soil. What could be more logical than to beg the mountain, from whom all our rivers flow, for clear clean water to drink? What could be more fitting than to ask permission before taking fish from the sea? Hamoji's shadow makes the ocean dark and fathomless.'" [21:31] 4Ugh. Temple. 15[21:32] The Feathered One's voice grows solemn and stern. He seems to admonish the crowd. [21:32] 10In a generation, perhaps two, these local rituals will be no more. Hamoji, or its protector, will receive all their due worship through the prayer calendar. These unfortunate few "jumping in the soup" (thanks, Piu) now, will be among the last. If, that is, order holds sway. 15[21:35] Seiri: "'What logic it is, what sense. But what ingratitude! For our god cannot eat the crops he gives us, or drink the water that runs through our fields and down our throats. To pray pleases Hamoji, but it does not nourish him. We must give of ourselves as he gives to us.'" [21:35] 07Dryas steps towards the volcano. [21:35] 4Ah crap. Here we go. [21:38] 6Zhangyu listens to Seiri translate, impassive, though he does raise an eyebrow when Dryas steps forward. This should be good. [21:39] 10Daizo: "Dryas! What are you—" 10He trails a step behind Dryas, not quite ready to lay hands on a comrade yet. [21:39] 07She throws the orchid plucked from her hair into the fire and addresses the crowd, the mountain god, the hidden blood ape, all - in High Realm. "I, Dryas of House Cynis, give of myself to Hamoji. Life will pay for life. Consider this a -" [21:39] 14Piu strips off her top to reveal the fully bandaged torso beneath, and starts to get loose. [21:41] 07Dryas cannot help but speak these words extra slowly and loudly, as if doing so will make it easier for the assembled to understand her - "A 'D o w n p a y m e n t' in return for the lives of these wretches. I offer to Hamoji, and to you, o Feathered One, sweeter prizes than the blood of these men." [21:43] 14She pointedly ignores whatever look Lao is shooting her. [21:43] 07Dryas pauses, knowing that she has caused grave offense, her mind rapidly concocting a scheme that will either see her doom or supremacy. [21:43] 10Daizo: "Have you gone mad? If you take one more step, I will stop you." [21:44] 14Piu: "Let her work." 15[21:44] The Feathered One is briefly stunned by Dryas's interruption. [21:44] 14Piu: "If he throws her into the soup, then we're set anyway. But I think she's got more leverage than that." 15[21:44] One readily gets the sense this doesn't happen often. 15[21:45] All across the mountaintop, eyes are on Dryas. [21:45] 14Cò dares a bhuannaicheas. [21:45] 07She stands ramrod-straight, chin thrust forward, defiant. [21:45] "Do you understand me?" 15[21:46] The Feathered One enunciates, slowly and clearly, mirroring or mimicking her own speech, three words of heavily accented High Realm. 15[21:46] "Not for sale." [21:48] "Then I will rent," 07she suggests. 15[21:48] At this, the Feathered One laughs mightily. [21:49] 6Once cults have reached the volcano stage of human sacrifice, it's rare they can be bought off. [21:49] 14Ehhhhhhhh. [21:50] 14The volcano stage makes them intensely transactional. [21:50] 10At least the Feathered One seems to have a sense of humor about the whole thing. [21:51] 14Laughing doesn't mean they think you're funny. 15[21:53] The Feathered One: "What is given... can not be returned." [22:00] 07Dryas approaches the lip of the caldera itself, shielding her vision with one hand. "Death may come from any quarter at any time. But I will make a greater sacrifice - soon - for these eight lives today." [22:01] 14...This is gonna get stupid, isn't it. 15[22:04] The Feathered One: "Hamoji hungers NOW!" 15[22:05] As if on cue, the mountain trembles. 15[22:05] A sound tears from deep within the earth - something the hunting-shriek of a great raptor. [22:06] 14...How great are we talking. [22:06] 07Dryas peers within, perchance to glance upon the mountain god itself. "Just one, then. That one- the big one." 15[22:07] Hard to gauge, since there's all sorts of variables - the depth of the cry's origin, the density and solidity of the mountain in between... such calculations are interrupted when the mountain shakes again, more fiercely, and the air shimmers with heat as the mountain's brilliance deepens from noontide gold to sunset crimson. [22:08] 4Piu: "Dryas..." 15[22:10] All around them, the common pilgrims fall to their hands and knees, their frantic prayers falling over one another to be heard above the chaos. [22:10] 14Someone should probably clear these idiots out before that thing crawls up here. 15[22:11] As the volcano shudders, thick plumes of black smoke - still smelling of flowers - begin to rise from the heart of the caldera. [22:11] 10Daizo: "DRYAS!" 10He hasn't raised his voice like this in a long time. It scares people. Sometimes it scares him. [22:12] "ARE YOU SERIOUSLY GOING TO KILL US ALL BECAUSE YOU WANTED ANOTHER EMPLOYEE?!" [22:12] 07Dryas takes a step backwards. Perhaps this was foolish. [22:12] 6Well, it's a fair question. 15[22:12] The heat is intense, steaming the sweat from their faces, banishing the breeze. [22:13] 14Piu: "Have more faith in yourself, Daizo." 15[22:13] The Feathered One spreads his arms again. Tears stream down his cheeks as his laughter echoes amid the rumbling. [22:13] "It doesn't make her any less foolish...but have more faith." [22:13] "And if Seiri can clear the pilgrims, she should." [22:14] "They weren't ordained to die here." [22:14] "If they want to watch us die, religiously, they don't need to do it from the blast zone." 15[22:14] Something moves within the smoke. Red light spills forth from splits in the smoke like the opening of two great eyes. 15[22:15] Dryas's chest burns. Not with fear or smoke, she realizes. But her medallion is almost thrumming off her neck. 15[22:15] Hamoji the Mad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiTHipYzD3c - ♫♪♬♪♩ [22:15] 14To supplement that, she'll turn and bark in not-quite-Lao's direction: "Ah! If someone would but get these pilgrims to a religiously safe distance! For sake of commerce." [22:16] 14Advancing to Dryas's side: "Well, babe. You fucked around." [22:16] "Now we find out." [22:17] 10Daizo takes a deep, shuddering breath. "Seiri—" 10It's taking him some effort to speak calmly. "Get these people out of here. Piu's right—they don't deserve any of this." 15[22:17] Seiri seems rooted in place with fear. It's not even clear if she can make out what Daizo is saying. 15[22:19] Piu realizes that at some point as the chaos atop the mountain began to unfold, Lao disappeared. [22:19] 14Asshole. 15[22:20] Though... so did the crowd of common pilgrims he stood among. [22:20] 14Aggravating asshole. [22:21] 6Smart of them. [22:22] 10Daizo's voice manages to rise above the tumult for an instant! "SEIRI! GO NOW! LEAD THEM TO SAFETY!" 10He jabs a finger at the pilgrims, then down the mountain path. 15[22:24] Seiri is shaken from her paralysis and stirred to action. She nods once, and dashes off to see to the others. 15[22:25] Now no one understands what the Feathered One is saying. Zhangyu thinks he caught the Seatongue word for a monsoon. [22:25] 10The time for words is probably well past. [22:25] 14He wasn't particularly legible when we had a translator. [22:26] 6Zhangyu, brows furrowed: "Monsoon?" 6He says it in Low Realm for the benefit of those present, not that it makes much difference. As mentioned, the time for words is likely past. 15[22:28] The smoke splits open entirely, and from that vertical the Wyld-struck god spreads his wings. A dozen colors of fire drip from every feather as smoke rolls off its back. Its wingspan is at least fifty fulms across, end to end. [22:34] 10Daizo: "Well, Dryas? You have your audience." 10He's adopted a defensive stance—if this all goes wrong, at least Piu and Zhangyu can get away. 15[22:53] The god's shriek builds to a crescendo, spreading its wings wider and higher as gouts of molten rock arc up from the heart of the caldera. Somewhere high above, as if in reply, Daizo and Dryas hear another bird, almost inaudible against the din. This bird's call is melodic and mournful. 15[22:55] The hearth's trained eyes track sudden, subtle movement through the air. From an assassin's perch, a battlefield, or their own trusty hunt each of them marks the familiar sight of a loosed arrow in flight, curling in a high fat arc from well behind them to plunge into Hamoji's burning breast. [22:56] 14Hhhhhh. [22:56] 14A setup? [22:57] 14...Mmmmmmm. [22:57] 10It was a warning, wasn't it? The Thousand-Year Shrike… [22:58] 07Dryas loosens part of her robe to free her arms for what is undoubtedly a hard fight to come - but she pauses at the mournful cry of a distant, responding, bird. [22:58] 14Piu: "We've got something like a friend in a high place. Let's make it count." 15[22:59] The volcano god seizes up, wings snapping shut and hurling embers and smoke in all directions. Its cry sharpens, painful to listen to. [22:59] 14Piu: "...We're here to subdue it and make it respect us, not kill it? Right?" [23:00] "We've got to," 07Dryas replies. [23:00] 6Zhangyu's shirt flutters to the ground. The pants are a little looser than he'd prefer to fight in, but there's nothing to be done about that now. "The former." 15[23:01] Hamoji drifts downward, seemingly only barely heavier than the air that holds him aloft. Ash falls from his wings in great snowy drifts, and the fire dims and cools bit by bit. [23:01] "I just wanted to see the festival." 10Daizo's own answer sounds as mournful as the Shrike's call.  15[23:02] The emotion in the Feathered One's bellowing voice is hard to discern as he and his priests charge toward their maimed god. [23:05] "This isn't right. There's no respect or honor here!" 10To Piu: "Did you see where the arrow came from?" [23:05] 07Dryas stares at the total chaos she's unleashed. She glances behind her, to where the arrow came from. Is the assassin visible? 15[23:06] No. 15[23:10] Someone does seem to be coming up the mountain, though, if you look. A consignment of armored soldiers, marching doubletime up the mountain, some of them bearing a palanquin of scarlet silk. [23:10] 10Daizo has been surveying the carnage as well, and suddenly a terrible thought strikes him. [23:11] 14Are we being stopped by ship mom here or is this gonna be a fight? [23:11] 10Daizo: "Dryas. Its taste for sacrifices aside, Hamoji isn't our enemy." [23:11] "I think what you've accomplished here is what the blood-ape sent up the mountain was meant to do." [23:11] "Flush out Hamoji so iit could be shot." [23:12] 07Dryas: "W-what?" 15[23:12] Hamoji seems in no condition for battle, but the Feathered One, whose face is a rictus of pain, streaked with tears that are certainly no longer mirthful, may not agree. Light and heat come off him in waves as he bears down on Dryas. [23:12] 14Piu: "He's saying y--we got played." [23:12] 10Daizo:"How else would a perfectly placed assassin be ready to strike? With a bow capable of wounding a god?" [23:13] "Some sorcerer is laughing her or his ass off at us right now." [23:14] 07Dryas' countenance darkens considerably. "I don't - that's not what..." [23:15] 14Piu: "Incoming---" [23:16] "I know that wasn't your intention! But… you played it to the hilt—" 10Daizo will itnerpose himself between the Feathered One and Dryas. [23:17] 07Dryas puts her hand out towards the Feathered One. No time for this. She wheels on her heel and walks towards the contingent of armored soldiers. Are they wearing livery of the Legions? [23:17] 6Zhangyu just steps forward. We can talk after this is over. [23:18] 14Piu hops and shakes out her limbs, and then steps into the big man's path. [23:30] 14To Dryas, presumably behind her: "Stay behind us." [23:30] "You don't need to tell me twice," 07she replies. 15[23:39] The Feathered One curls his hand into a claw that streaks with fire and brings it down swiftly and savagely towards Dryas's skull... but Piu is there to block in the nick of time, and Dryas leaps away! [23:39] 14Here. Here. Here. Duck. Here. Here. Here and here. Just like the standing rack. [23:40] 14Piu: "Daizo I need you to say something to him!!" 15[23:41] Dryas leaps clear off the side of the cliff... landing among the Legionnaires on the winding cliffside path immediately below! Weapons are trained on her at once! [23:41] 10Daizo: "Make it quick-" [23:42] 07Dryas sees it coming - fast, much too fast - but when Piu intervenes, she backflips away - into the midst of the legionaries. She flashes them a winning, rueful smile. 15[23:43] "What is the meaning of this?" comes a querulous woman's voice - High Realm in the accent of a true Dynast - from within the palanquin. 15[23:45] Dryas sees a round-faced woman of indeterminate age seated within. Her face is deep-set with suspicion. [23:46] "Cynis Dryas, your grace," 07Dryas replies with a flourish. "Out for a day at the festival," 07she explains. [23:47] 07In the air around and about Dryas' figure, spectral flowering vines transform to and from sinuous wood dragons as her anima banner unfolds - not yet harmful to passerby. 15[23:48] "And what in damnation have you done?!" she snaps in return. As her vision settles into its shaded depths, she marks the rank insignia of a general of the Legions and an administrative governor. 15[23:48] Governor Ragara Kou: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWgvogRvUfg - You say you want resolution -- I say you want your control. [23:54] "I -spoke out of turn - and offended Hamoji," 07she explains. "Then an assassin struck from afar." 15[23:57] Governor Kou: "Idiot. Move! Back up the mountain with you." [23:59] 07Dryas does as she is told, with alacrity. [00:03] 10Daizo plants his feet firmly. "There's nothing I can say that will reach him, Piu, he's enraged." 10Then to the Feathered One: "Strike me! I will not raise a hand against you except in defense of my friends." [00:03] 14Alright. Well. Let's get dangerous. [00:05] 6Zhangyu gets in his stance. Feet just so. Arms at the ready. He glowers at the Feathered One, but doesn't bother with words - if Daizo couldn't get through to him, neither can Zhangyu. [00:07] 14Piu 4lights 'em up. 15[00:14] The Feathered One proves as adept at blocking Piu's attacks as she was at his. [00:15] 14Yeah. But she's trying a lot harder. [00:15] 14There's maybe a minute left of this, tops. 15[00:17] Before more than the red silk roof of the palanquin is visible up the cliffside, all present hear the Governor's scornful voice, pushing thickly through the islanders' tongue. Zhangyu catches the words for blood and silver. 15[00:18] The Feathered One... well it's not clear if there are *any* words in his roar of inchoate defiance. [00:26] 07Dryas also tries to reason with the enraged hierophant - tries to use her words to turn his anger to sorrow, to anything else. It doesn't hold. [00:33] 10Daizo: "What are you waiting for? This is all my fault, after all! I brought them here!" 15[00:37] The honor guard rushes onto the mountaintop, palanquin in tow, spears at the ready, but not attacking, only moving to surround the high priest. [00:38] 14Some help would be nice [00:39] 10An all-too-familiar situation, for Daizo. But the Feathered One won't break him. He can't. And he can't keep this rage going forever.  [00:39] 6Zhangyu gets a few glancing strikes in while trying to go for one of Mantis's less... crippling holds, but he's barely getting anything on this guy. [00:47] 10Daizo braces. Here he comes. 15[00:48] The Feathered One turns (what feels like) unbearably slowly to fix his gaze on Daizo, tear-streaked face curdled with rage. His entire body ignites with crimson fire as he swipes at the young Dynast, who is almost knocked off his feet blocking... even as the flames leap to his own clothing! 15[00:50] Behind them, Hamoji's fires have gone dim, and the mountain breeze stiffens, revealing the god's corpse to be a perfect sculpture of ash that blows white and black out over the city below. [00:51] 10Daizo stumbles—catches himself—stands again through force of sheer will. But the flame is spreading fast, and before long he'll be completely ablaze. 15[00:51] NEXT TIME: Peace, or something like it