15[20:07] It feels like the earth is buckling. 15[20:10] But the ground isn't giving way beneath the Four Fangs, beneath Garnet, or the Jadeborn servitors who have already fallen prostrate and pleading behind them. What they feel is the crushing pressure of their interlocutor's anima, a sense of overwhelming gravity that is simply too much for anyone to stand against. [20:10] 07Her most Imperial Highness, Herself! In the flesh! And she does not look happy to see us! 15[20:11] Her features are only dimly visible in the wash of scarlet light, but they're features the Fangs know well, having lived and traveled closely with Garnet for months now. The shape of her face, the tilt of her mouth set with rage. The clear, bright, burning red eyes that at this moment fix directly on Dryas. [20:12] 6I mean. Would you be thrilled to, after a long period away, wake up to a bunch of goons? [20:13] 10It's like returning to Old Mionzi, but a hundred times worse. And the pressure is alive, vital—not stagnant and still. The difference between a ceiling caving in on you and being ground on a millstone.  [20:14] 14The bitch herself. [20:16] 07Dryas stares in amazement - the hunt has succeeded! We did it! Victory! Then, like a child playing in the surf, she is swept off her feet-- 15[20:20] They fall to their hands and knees all at once - Dryas, Piu, Zhangyu, Garnet. Only Daizo resists the Scarlet Empress's world-weighing will. The country boy from clan Anaya stands alone. [20:21] 10Daizo looks for the briefest moment as though he might waver—but then plants his feet firmly, even if if it feels like his legs will be hammered through the ground like posts in soft dirt. He shoulders the pressure. He's got this. [20:26] 10He looks the ruler of a quarter of mankind in the eye. "Your Highness. Your empire is falling to ruin. The Water Fleet is shattered. Only chaos reigns. Why did you abandon us in our hour of greatest need?" [20:27] "What is this—who is it for—" 15[20:38] He stares the Empress down; as the last one standing her attention falls to him. He asks his question. She stares. The moment draws out like a blade as she looks down from Dryas, to Piu, to Zhangyu, to Garnet. [20:40] 14Piu glares back from the floor. 15[20:41] After what feels like ages, she responds in Garnet's voice, without a trace of her accent or warmth. 15[20:42] "For a thousand years, the Thrones of Heaven have stood empty, and their advisors have bled Creation a generation at a time." 15[20:43] "That is why I am here." [20:46] 07Dryas pauses for a moment - her eyes tracking from the machinery, up above, then back to Her Royal Majesty. [20:46] 07Then she gasps. 15[20:46] Then: "Why are you here?" 15[20:46] "Who do you represent?" [20:47] 14Piu: "I'm with her." [20:47] 14She inclines her chin at Garnet. 15[20:52] Garnet: "Murderer. Torturer. Slaver. Empress." 15[20:52] Empress: "Sssh." [20:52] 14Piu: "You severed tie with my House years ago." [20:52] *ties 15[20:53] She says, "Thank you for returning this to me." 15[20:53] She extends a hand, fingers spread, and the jar dissolves into a spray of motes. [20:54] 14Piu's eyes widen then narrow in fury, and she makes a hiss. 15[20:54] Garnet herself cries out in pain, dissolving as the jar is. [20:55] 14Piu: "NO!" [20:55] 10Daizo: "No! Garnet— Xia Lan—" 15[20:57] The jar is gone. The bleeding stops. 15[20:59] Garnet sinks lower to the earth, gasping, panting... but alive. 15[20:59] The Empress: "!" [20:59] 14Piu: "Garnet!!" [21:02] 10Daizo: "Piu, get her out of here1" [21:05] 07Dryas stares in shock. This changes things. Or does it... 15[21:07] The others being rooted in place gives the Empress a moment to think. Her eyes drift out of focus slightly. Behind them, the Jadeborn don't move an ilm. Behind her, hairline cracks are already opening in the focal chamber from the crushing weight of her uncontained anima. 15[21:09] Finally: "Tell your masters that, for all their meddling, they are too small to stop me righting their mistake." 15[21:09] "Tell them, if they had a drop of the vision they claim, they would beg that I succeed." 15[21:10] "If wisdom strikes... reassure them that I will." [21:10] 14Piu laughs. "Hey Dryas. Zhangyu. Daizo. Who the fuck are our masters?" 15[21:11] Any reply to Piu is drowned out by the rumble of the cavern collapsing as the Empress sinks into the earth with a continent-splitting crack. [21:12] 07Dryas: "[... .... ...!]" [21:12] 14Well, shit. 15[21:12] The hearth snaps back to reality - ope, there goes gravity - and they can rise and run again. Perhaps they should. [21:12] 14Piu: "Everybody out!!" 15[21:12] Garnet is too weak to stand unaided. 15[21:12] Who's got her? [21:13] 6Zhangyu. 15[21:13] She's a little heavier than the jar. But not that much. [21:13] 10Sounds good. Let's get the hell out of here. [21:13] 07Dryas: "Get up, you idiots!" 07she shouts at the jadeborn with a sweep of her hair and a twirl of the Earned Nemesis for effect. [21:14] 14They'll be fine. Worst comes to worst, they can eat their way out. 15[21:14] Merciful Dryas permits the Jadeborn to scatter. 15[21:23] The chamber buckles and crumbles, with huge chunks of hardened ruby falling and crashing apart. No one escapes the collapsing ruins into the jade mine proper unscathed... but everyone does escape. The mines themselves are damaged: signs and fixtures have fallen and broken, the ground is carpeted with dust shaken loose by the earth's spasms. But the damage is ultimately minor. [21:25] 14She'd bleeding if she wasn't wearing Silk Shadow. As it is, she'll be able to pass it off the bruise with some scandalous implication. 15[21:26] As they approach the surface, they hear the rattle and chatter of the Cinder Hearth militia in the higher levels of the mine. Do the Fangs want to try and get out of here unseen? [21:26] 14Yes. [21:27] 6That's going to be tricky. [21:27] 14Garnet can play the Empress card if they get caught, but let's not do that. [21:27] 10It is what it is. Daizo's the last one out, having shored up a couple of minor rockfalls with his own body. And yeah, if we can avoid it, that would be great.  [21:28] 07Dryas cradles an arm, bleeds from her forehead, and is limping - but this time, she will follow rather than lead. [21:28] 10Also, it's now a verifiable fact that Garnet isn't just a copy of the Empress. [21:29] 10Still working through the ramifications of that one. [21:30] 6Yeah, well, you aren't the one holding her while you both process that. [21:30] 6Literally holding. [21:34] 14The demon-masked killer is hurt, confused, and at least residually furious -- but she's also in her element. She has a perfect map in her mind of the route they took in and the two routes they didn't, and she knows that the militia doesn't. Guiding the Fangs out is a matter of precision, patience, and three or four swift, decisive, silent moves to get past the bumbling outriders, [21:34] 14around the main group, and back out the abandoned mining shafts to the one closest to a climb-down near a post she's betting the guards will have pulled away from. [21:34] 14Her bets pay off. 15[21:38] The storm they came in under is stronger now, lashing them with wind and hail. 15[21:39] Where to? [21:39] 10What a mess. Do we head back to the village, or straight to the ship? One vote ship.  [21:39] 14Ship. [21:39] 6Ship. [21:39] 10The ships have it. 15[21:41] The ships have it. The Prolix & Terse is slick and steady in the storm-tossed sea. Boarding without trouble, their first interlocutor is the daimon. "Well well well - what have you gotten up to?" [21:42] "You know us," 14Piu mutters. "How's Garnet?" 15[21:43] "Dire. Shall I awaken Lady Caxi?" [21:44] 6Zhangyu, to the others: "We might need her." [21:44] 07Dryas pads at her wounds: "Disaster." 07Not intended as a commentary on Caxi. [21:44] 14Piu: "Do it." 15[21:44] "She won't be happy. It's not even noon," says the daimon with evident delight. "But it will be as you command." [21:45] 6Zhangyu: "She can deal." [21:46] 14To Dryas: "Well, she didn't summarily execute us, and she's not aiming her power across the whole of Creation anymore, so it's not as bad as it could be. What is she now?! Is she even human?!" [21:47] 07Dryas: "Noon!" [21:47] "Not the important part." [21:48] 07Dryas: "The most important part! An empty throne! We have to go back!" [21:48] 10Daizo, tiredly: "It's fine. I think her cuirosity will be satisfied enough to make up for the early rise. Let's get Garnet to her cabin." [21:49] 14Piu: "Daimon, prepare for the possibility that someone -- or a number of someones -- on shore might decide they don't like us much anymore, possibly with their elemental anima. Be ready to put out from port at a moment's notice." 15[21:49] "Naturally." 15[21:50] Caxi meets them in Garnet's room. She doesn't look like she just rolled out of bed. "What on earth happened?" she asks them as she enters the room with her medical bag. [21:50] 10So, how much do we want to tell anyone about what 10really 10happened down there? [21:51] 14Senior staff only for now. [21:51] 6For medical purposes? We might want to tell her. [21:52] 6These meaningful glances are incredibly meaningful, by the by. [21:54] 07Dryas: "Either incredible success or a terrible defeat. Perhaps the second." [21:55] 14Piu: "We found the Empress. Or whatever it is she's turned into. And she's let us live, for now." [21:55] "Garnet needs your help." 15[21:56] "Fuck." [21:56] "Yeah." [21:56] 10Daizo: "She destroyed Garnet's vessel and tried to, I suppose, reincorporate her, but couldn't." [21:57] 07Dryas: "Her Imperial Majesty is wrapped up in whatever Gu Len is planning, with ancient sun-demons and the thrones of heaven." 15[21:57] Caxi examines Garnet, who by this point has fallen unconscious. Checks the pulse, the breathing, the chakras. "It's like you brought me a lamb with a freshly cut throat from the altar." 15[21:57] "How did she survive?" [21:57] 6Zhangyu shrugs. "Magic?" [21:58] 14Piu: "You're not going to like the answer. It'll disgust you." [21:59] 6He looks to Caxi. 'I tried' is hard to convey, but, well. [21:59] 10Daizo: "Her experiences since the Maw regarding the Empress and the Empire have been nothing but repulsion. If she'd just been woken up, I think the Empress might have succeeded easily. " [21:59] 14She winces as she rotates her shoulder. Nothing's clicking, at least. Seems like it's still in its socket. "Power of friendship." [21:59] 10Daizo: "That's another way to put it." 15[22:03] "That's a novel application of the power of love, I'll concede." For several minutes of examination Caxi floods Garnet's body with her own essence, dropping the temperature of the room like a beckoning ghost. Garnet's breathing stabilizes. Her face relaxes. "She needs to stay in bed. I've done what I can for now." 15[22:03] "Where did she go? Is she coming for us?" 15[22:03] "How dead are we?" [22:05] 14Piu: "If she wanted us dead, we'd be dead. Maybe she'll want us dead later. Right now, we need to worry about our local cultists, who might have been squatting on the immense Essence engine that she was running in their basement, and siphoning off power." [22:05] 10Daizo: "Sank into the earth. I can guarantee we haven't seen the last of her." [22:06] "They're not gonna be too pleased we've fucked with the program. And while they didn't catch us in there, well. C'mon. It's us. Bad shit always starts happening to bad people after we roll into town." [22:06] 6Zhangyu: "I'll take the first shift guarding her." [22:06] 14Piu nods. "Thanks. I'll be by when I can. Where's the commodore, daimon?" [22:06] "Probably no one's coming for her but I don't want to bet on probably." 15[22:07] Caxi: "With our local cultists." [22:07] 14Piu: "Well, fuck." 15[22:07] Caxi: "Maybe they'll be really stupid, and not make the obvious connection." [22:07] "Maybe we should get over there right now, just in case." [22:07] "No bet." 15[22:07] "Or maybe they'll be really smart, and realize that the Commodore is just eye candy." [22:09] 10Daizo: "Don't feel like wagering tonight." [22:10] 14Piu: "Then let's go." 15[22:10] Caxi: "Go on. I'll stay with Garnet." 15[22:12] The daimon chimes in: "They should have just been sitting down to a working lunch when someone broke the earth." [22:12] 07Dryas: "Speaking of a working lunch-" 07she dumps the contents of her bag across the table. 15[22:13] Caxi: "Hahaha what the fuck." 15[22:13] "Does the Empress eat gemstones now?" [22:13] "No, but Jadeborn apparently do." [22:13] 14Piu: "It's a long story." [22:13] "Little freaks." [22:15] 6Zhangyu: "It's been a long day." [22:15] 07Dryas: "This is their idea of simple fare. Perhaps, when we have more time, we can find what they value. Strange little things. But - what was the Empress doing down there? Was she trying the same thing as Gu Len? Are they working together?" [22:15] 14Piu: "The Empress doesn't work 'with' people." 15[22:15] Caxi: "Maybe you can ask him." [22:16] 07Dryas: "Good idea." [22:17] 10Daizo leans in to give Caxi a quick peck on the cheek. "Will do. Wish us luck." [22:18] 6When they're relatively alone: "Nice." [22:19] "She hurts you, I break her back." 15[22:19] The Four Fangs leave the ship (and Caxi blushing), still injured and winded. Cinder Hearth is thick with those black stone jade elementals, clearing rubble from the earthquake, mending stone buildings, and the like. [22:20] 14Let's try not to get in a fight with them if we can avoid it. 15[22:20] At a glance, the villagers are huddled in the most stable structure around - the temple. 15[22:20] But it's upward the Fangs must climb, to the Perihelion where they themselves met those who seek ignition. [22:21] 10So they've still got a grip on the elementals. Having an incredible locus of earth Essence nearby might just explain how they were able to pull off mass summoning. 15[22:21] As theories go, it's pretty good. [22:22] 07Dryas will simply pretend that she has not been injured in some sort of scheme. 15[22:22] Of course, then, one wonders... how much longer will it last? [22:22] 14We can end this war at a glance and a cutting word...if we can get Garnet on her feet, and if that's the role she wants to play. [22:23] 14But she might not want to, we might not be ready -- and a settlement doesn't give her Cathak Budokan's head. [22:25] 10If this settlement loses its elementals, Budokan will come straight to them. And he'd probably quite gladly char the lot of us to ashes along with. 15[22:26] Militia and elementals line the way upward, but do not bar it. The Fangs come upon a tense congress, as the rebel Immaculates confer with the Commodore and the Chief Petty Officer. Gu Len raises a finger to interrupt his own thought as the hearth comes into view. The center of the round table is dominated by a an artifact that wasn't there before, a rapidly spinning pillar of alabaster 15[22:26] stone, covered in markings. It seems to reshape itself slightly as it spins. Rikai ponders it with a dour expression, not even looking up. 15[22:26] Caedus looks relieved; Ratel looks alarmed. "Report." [22:28] 07Dryas certainly looks the worse for wear. "Zhangyu, brother, do you want to tell them?" [22:28] "Absolutely I do not." [22:30] 10Daizo: "I volunteer Dryas and her silver tongue." [22:30] "Seconded." [22:30] 14Piu, to Dryas: "I'll do it if you don't want to. But if I do it, I'm ripping the bandage off." [22:32] 07Dryas: "Master Gu Len, Commodore Ratel. We enjoyed the hospitality of the jadeborn. And we were greatly, if briefly, entertained by their most serene Imperial guest." 15[22:33] Ratel: "What?" 15[22:33] Gu Len: "Hwhat?" [22:33] 07Dryas looks at Rikai. 15[22:37] Rikai: "There's no time now. Our window is closing." 15[22:37] "But I have seized the Lathe of Heaven. The eclipse is imminent." [22:37] 07And smiles. "Your window is shut. She has departed." 15[22:38] "You think I don't know that?! You think I don't know what you did?" 15[22:38] Gu Len: "What did you do?" 15[22:38] This is to Rikai. 15[22:39] Caedus is shading step by step to bridge the distance between Ratel and the Fangs. 15[22:39] Rikai: "My hedge against your hedge." [22:39] 10Of course they were working at cross purposes. Of course.  15[22:40] Gu Len: "The Empress? Architect of all the world's misery? You thought you could use her? You're a damn fool." [22:40] 07Dryas: "Ends against the middle," 07she offers as commentary to the other Fangs. 15[22:40] Rikai: "Oh? And your bargain with the Bodhisattva?" 15[22:41] Gu Len: "A tactical alliance-- simple, material, mutually beneficial." 15[22:42] Rikai: "Okay. Sure. You want to tell that to the villagers? You want to tell that to Szalony?" [22:42] 14Piu has The Chain wrapped around one hand. "Oh for fuck's sake. Unless we plan to have a grand melee right here and let that insane old war criminal Budokan sweep up the survivors and burn us on spits, we don't have time for this." 15[22:42] "Because they're dead now. In minutes." 15[22:43] Rikai shoots a look at Piu: "Those Skullstoner freaks are going to see their odds shaved down to nothing, cut their losses, and leave a shadowland to come back and harvest later." [22:44] 07Dryas: "Can you believe it! How he sacrificed everything you worked for?" 07she asks, to no-one in particular 15[22:53] In near-unison, Rikai and Gu Len respond: "Yes, I can." [22:53] 07Dryas: "He's betrayed everything holy. And not just that. Your own trust," 07she is still not singling one out. But it won't matter, now. 15[22:53] Rikai: "You have never held anything higher than the sound of your own voice." [22:54] 14Piu actually almost hits her sister, but a supreme force of will merely has her shaking with fury. How is she going to get Budokan now?! 15[22:54] Gu Len: "You never gave a gods' damn about these people." 15[22:54] "They were just props for your grand design!" [22:55] 07Dryas, quietly: "Are you going to let *him* speak to you that way?" 15[22:55] Rikai: "You don't know what you're talking about. You never did. They're dead, and we've failed. Thanks to you." [22:55] 07She turns towards the rest of the Hearth, and Ratel - stage whisper - "Get them out!" [22:57] 07Dryas: "The children!" [22:57] 10Daizo: "On it." [22:59] 6Zhangyu assists, but... 15[23:14] With Ratel and Caedus, Dryas and Zhangyu book it out of the room, down the mountain. The storm has broken, and the noonday sun shines down, letting the rich and rainsoaked earth glitter like fresh snowfall. The moon is uncharacteristically high in the sky as well, approaching the zenith along the same axis the daystar takes as it begins its afternoon descent. 15[23:15] In Perihelion, Gu Len and Rikai stare each other down, as between them the Lathe of Heaven continues to turn. [23:15] 07Dryas whistles urgently - calling for Diamond Weapon! [23:19] 14This is about to turn into a fight, probably one to the death, thanks to fucking Dryas. Maybe it was even the right call. All Piu can do is try to figure out who's the right side to back. 15[23:19] Gu Len: "Step back from the Lathe, Rikai. We need to command the elementals to crush the invaders." 15[23:20] Rikai: "That's right, we do. Budokan is on the march even now." 15[23:20] Gu Len: "We can deal with him after. Those people are our responsibility!" [23:20] 14Why did she fucking do that?! 15[23:21] Rikai sneers. "You think Budokan will spare a man, woman, or child if he crosses that threshold? They'll wish the Skullstoners got them." 15[23:25] Diamond Weapon makes it to Dryas's side just as she and Zhangyu make it down the mountain. By the time she mounts up, and they rush towards the village, the sky has already begun to dim. They race towards the temple, where the air is already chill, and the water pooling in the cracked streets already brackish. The elementals are frozen in place, arrested entirely by the loss of commands 15[23:25] from the Lathe. 15[23:27] The scene, as they see it: a dozen or so statues in the temple garden, of villagers with mining tools raised as weapons in a charge, of innocents raising their arms to beg for mercy, and a heretical icon of Nellens Szalony frozen and shattered, an expression of defiance forever fixed on a stone face. 15[23:28] One of the deathknights has their arms around Sadako, pushing her down, face-first, into a well overflowing with rust-colored water. [23:29] 10Zhangyu is going to tear these fools apart. 15[23:30] Almost everyone else is inside. 15[23:30] The temple is barricaded by elemental stone. 15[23:31] Dryas sees two other figures standing in ankle-deep bilgewater. The first is the one she recognizes from the temple school. The one in the blindfold, called Victor. 15[23:32] The other is wounded, wet, and weary, clothes dripping, short hair matted, gasping for breath. 15[23:33] Seiri: "Tribute. We can talk." 15[23:33] "Whatever you want." 15[23:33] "7Please." 15[23:33] "14Please." [23:34] 07Dryas glances to Zhangyu. It's only polite that he get the first choice. 15[23:34] Victor: "You are paying even now." [23:36] 6He looks to Seiri. He thinks of Sadako. He looks to Seiri again. 15[23:36] "But..." 15[23:36] Seiri's voice quavers. "Y-you never even asked." [23:36] 10Daizo takes a step forward. "Master Gu Len, stand down. You made your deal with the walking dead. Clean up your own damn mess with your own two hands. Rikai, we need to prepare for Budokan—" [23:37] 6Zhangyu: "You have the floor, Seiri." [23:37] 14Piu is already circling towards the man's...weak side. 15[23:37] Rikai: "Three to one, brother. Just how vain are you?" [23:38] 07Dryas: "Unhand her, cretin!" 07She spurs the horse into a charge and lowers Harrow. 15[23:38] Gu Len: "I will not allow everything we have built - everything we've sacrficed - fall to nothing because of your arrogance!" 15[23:39] In the temple garden, Seiri raises her voice. Half-wail. Half fury. "We never even talked." 15[23:44] Victor makes an impatient noise and, with an intricate gesture, pulls the blindfold away once more. Above: syzygy. Moon intercedes with Sun. Seiri lifts her eyes to the heavens in confusion mouthing silent words, and gasps. 15[23:54] Rikai: "He won't listen to reason. He never has!" He points out the window at the darkening sky. "You think one infant Anathema is going to save your people?" [23:55] 10Daizo nods to Piu. 10He's all yours. [23:59] 14Piu: "Everyone shut the fuck up. This is what's going to happen. Daizo is going to pick up the Lathe of Heaven. Rikai is going to advise him on its use. Otherwise I'll gut him like a fish. But not before I deal with you, Gu Len. I have between my hands a moonsilver chain. When I twist it just right, the wire barbs. It gives me absolute control over how painfully and how quickly [23:59] you die. I've done a half-dozen kills with it since I reached these islands, and I need you to know that you won't be the one that's special. You'll just be another job. And you'll be handled the way I've handled every other Deathknight collaborator from Abalone to Brightwork and back." 15[00:00] Rikai's not about to ruin this by opening his mouth. 15[00:00] Gu Len: "And then what happens?" [00:03] 14Piu: "There's always another job." [00:03] 10And then you die a pointless death as a traitor to everything you once stood for,10 thinks Daizo. 15[00:06] There's a beat - just a beat, where Gu Len's defeat is visible on his face before shock is thown in relief by harsh white light. 15[00:07] The view is better from the mountaintop. From the ground, there's a light that sears the eyes, a pressure that rushes outward like a great exhalation of breath. From above, the pillar of fire reaches from rain-slick earth to violet sky, so dense and white that it seems to erase everything around it. 15[00:07] But whatever the fire is consuming for fuel... it doesn't burn clean. 15[00:07] Above the pillar smoke curls like an inkblot, filling the air and standing as a beacon for malms around. It takes form slowly; the four Dynasts at Perihelion are at a level with the shape that coalesces, a shifting mass with the impression of extremity, identifiably human only because of the two white eyes burning in the dark. 15[00:09] Rikai's relief is palpable. "It worked." 15[00:11] Zhangyu and Dryas rush in-- Dryas with her lance raised, Zhangyu with his arms out. They're too late to stop Victor making eye contact with Seiri -- or with the demon in Seiri's body, eyes and hair struck white by exposure, brow burning with the mark of god, king, and law. [00:11] 10Daizo: "This is the Stranger?" 15[00:11] "This is the Stranger," says Rikai. [00:12] 14Piu narrows her eyes against the light. 15[00:12] Seiri - the Stranger - stares blankly forward, eyes meeting Victor's... to no effect. [00:12] 13Zhangyu -- 6Zhangyu narrows his eyes. [00:15] 10Daizo: "I pray that whoever inherited it is up to the task." 15[00:16] Whoever inherited it: "I don't... I can't—" 15[00:16] Then it hits her. "...aheh." [00:16] 14Piu: "Then maybe you both will get what you want despite your best efforts. Daizo, the Lathe." 15[00:16] Deep breath. "I'm so sorry; can we start again, please?" 15[00:16] Stranger Visits Heaven: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90A-spXBJXU - I tried my hand at the Bible — tried my hand at prayer — but now nothing but the water is gonna bring my soul to bear. 15[00:19] NEXT TIME: The Visitor 15[20:15] Searing light from the pillar of white fire highlights every line in the two rebel monks' faces, making them look older, tireder, stonier. Both Peleps Gu Len and V'neef Rikai have the set, quick-eyed expression of men thinking very quickly. For opposite reasons, each man has ceded the initiative at the moment of triumph to the outsider Dynasts Piu and Daizo. Death rots within the camp, 15[20:15] an army is on the move from without, and a terrible divinity has found new flesh below. 15[20:16] Now what? [20:17] 14Now Daizo takes up the Lathe and she hopes neither of these two clowns can see how tired she is after going all-out all fucking morning. [20:21] 10Now what? That's the question of the year. For his part, Daizo is at the Lathe, fascinating and terrible. No point in hesitating—let's try to take control.  15[20:26] Daizo stands before a pillar set in the center of the table, stacked rings of stone rotating in different directions at different speeds, each layer cut with a different number of facets, each facet cut with a different ideogram of Old Realm. If he attunes to it, he can feel the sacred(?) object respond to his transcendent soul. [20:27] 10Attuning to the pillar is indeed the first step.  15[20:22] Searing light from the pillar of white fire highlights every line in the two rebel monks' faces, making them look older, tireder, stonier. Both Peleps Gu Len and V'neef Rikai have the set, quick-eyed expression of men thinking very quickly. For opposite reasons, each man has ceded the initiative at the moment of triumph to the outsider Dynasts Piu and Daizo. Death rots within the camp, 15[20:22] an army is on the move from without, and a terrible divinity has found new flesh below. 15[20:22] Daizo stands before a pillar set in the center of the table, stacked rings of stone rotating in different directions at different speeds, each layer cut with a different number of facets, each facet cut with a different ideogram of Old Realm. As he attunes to it, he can feel the sacred(?) object respond to his transcendent soul. 15[20:22] Now what? [20:22] 14Piu: "You think we can force Budokan to the table?" 15[20:23] At the base of the mountain, the priorities are clearer: one of the Skullstoners embedded among the children has Sadako tangled up in a grapple and is attempting to force her head into a well. The other is face-to-face with that pillar of fire, and the Anathema at its center, who looks back out with blank white eyes and Seiri Gansa's face. [20:35] 10Daizo's closed his eyes and is feeling out the vibes of the Lathe. Piu's question snaps him back to the problems here and now. "If we can, we should. Budokan's the obstacle here, though, he's utterly mad." [20:35] 14Piu narrows her eyes. "I have no qualms resolving that problem." [20:37] 10Daizo: "Do you think you can take him one-on-one, if I can cut him off from the main body of his troops somehow?" [20:38] 14Piu: "...I might need an advantage. But I'm not above cheating." [20:38] 14Little point to having a bunch of powerful boyfriends if you can't ask them for an assist every now and again. [20:45] 10Daizo: "Got it. All right… Eight Trigrams formation to isolate a commander and disrupt communication between units… it's not practical with mortal troops, but with elementals it might work." [20:45] 14Piu nods. "I'll need a bit to prepare. I've stretched myself thin this morning. Are we gonna have time for that?" [20:49] 07Dryas spurs Diamond Weapon forward - she squints in the blinding light and braces Harrow in her arm. Faster, faster - she spurs the warhorse onwards at shield-splintering speeds and lowers her direlance right for the deathknight assaulting her ward! [20:49] 6Zhangyu launches himself towards... maybe Seiri...? Whoever she is, stay still and in control. That was one of the precepts. [20:50] 10Daizo: "I'll make time." 15[20:55] Harrow strikes true, piercing the Starveling through the torso and pinning him to the earth. Sadako throws her head back, black hair flying, as she coughs and gasps for breath. Disoriented, it takes her a moment to cast about for Seiri, who is smothered by Zhangyu just as she's about to step forward into the Victor's gaze. She struggles reflexively against Zhangyu's grip, but he holds 15[20:55] on and gets her out of the immediate reach of the ink-black scythe that flies from his sleeve and arcs toward them in a half-beat hesitant lunge attack. 15[20:55] Zhangyu's got her, but the pressure's still on...! [21:10] 10Daizo melds his Essence with that of the Lathe and gets to work. He imagines this must be what it feels like to be a spider at the center of its web—except these strands of web are alive, dozens of filament-limbs connecting him to the still-concentrated earth Essence. It occurs to him slightly later that perhaps "a puppet master" would be a better analogy, but by that time he's well enmeshed with the loyalist Imperials. [21:12] 14Piu sends word for Rinca and Caedus to meet her at their convenience -- likely meaning not at the same time, for feelings' sakes -- to talk about the possibly one-way trip she's about to embark on. Ideally, she'd like both of their help; Caedus to help get the general alone, and Rinca to help kill him. [21:12] 14This is, of course, far from an ideal situation. 15[21:12] What's her plan? [21:13] 10His goal is to divide and obstruct, not attack, and the land itself becomes a hazardous maze—although anyone who makes it to the other side will find significantly weaker resistance. [21:14] 14Maybe drag Gu Len -- or Caedus, cunningly disguised...? -- out and give the impression that they're secretly trying to flee with him or something. Send Budokan into a rage, get him out in front of his lines. [21:16] 07Dryas releases the reins and, flexing her legs, leaps into a standing position on the saddle, wheeling the Earned Nemesis into her hands. As Diamond Weapon turns, Dryas pulls back on the bow. When the next deathknight comes into view, she looses another arrow as casually and contemptuously as one might shoot a squirrel - right past Zhangyu! 15[21:19] The arrow passes close enough that Zhangyu can feel it slice the air. True again, Cynis Dryas strikes a blow for nemesis. The blindfolded boy looks around with crystal-blue eyes, grimacing and scrabbling at the arrow in his chest as white smoke starts to rise from the wound. 15[21:20] Seiri continues to struggle against Zhangyu's grip. Does he let her down? [21:20] 6It is entirely seemly for -- No, absolutely not. [21:24] 6Wait, are we counting takedowns that make her easier to manage? [21:33] "You dare! Wretches! I shall destroy you! Zhagyu! Sadako! Assist me!" 07Dryas flips open her second quiver and withdraws one of the deadly jet-black barbs. "Death may come from any quarter. At any time." [21:33] 6Zhangu: "Seiri? Are you there?" [21:36] 07Dryas: "Hold that one still, brother! Seiri, get the hell out of here!" 15[21:36] The voice Zhangyu hears is a little muffled given the angle of the hold and the pressure on her neck. It's funny to consider that from a Wyld Hunt's perspective this is basically the ideal scenario for subduing a Golden Anathema. "I'm right here! Put me down! On the ground!" [21:42] 6Zhangyu switches to a tiger hold -- both arms locked behind the back -- and lowers her to the ground... then lets go. "Hi. Still Seiri?" [21:44] 14Getting him out in front of his lines, at least, is the main goal. He'll probably be moving with retainers -- it would be wildly irresponsible of him not to -- which is what Rinca is for. And then she has to hope she can take him one-on-one, or at least hold out long enough for Rinca to mop up the retainers and assist. 15[21:46] The girl on fire falls to the mud on hands and knees, springing into motion as she makes contact, rolling into a squat that sees her balanced on both feet and one hand pressing fingertips into the earth. [21:47] "No-one is safe. Not even you." 07Dryas draws back the lethal dart and lets one the god-killing arrow go - straight on target. 15[21:49] Sadako also goes nearly quadrupedal as she bounds across the distance between the well and the woman. She tries to sweep her love into an embrace; Seiri reacts like it's another clinch, locking her arms with Sadako's to hold her at a distance. One of her hands ends up on Sadako's face. 15[21:51] The second arrow follows the first, and the white smoke turns boiling black and violent as it erupts from the killing blow. It starts to stream not just from the wound, but from the urchin's eyes, nose, mouth, as the body itself begins to dissolve. But as the smoke purges, it lightens, until impurities burn away, and the flame that consumes the corpse and leaves only a smear of ash in 15[21:51] the dirt burns clean, bright, and gold. [21:54] 07Dryas sniffs and sneers as she turns to face the impaled Starveling. "And now, you." 15[22:00] The Starveling holds his hands up placatingly. "Mercy! Mercy! I'm just a poor waif who's been pressed into service by horrible bastards. I'm innocent! Have mercy!" 15[22:05] Up above, Rikai looks out over the mountain to see the waves of black stone collide with the tides of fire. "This'll work today. I hope we're prepared for something different tomorrow." [22:06] 07Dryas reaches for another one of Hakkai's Rebuttals - slower this time. She's hesitating. [22:07] 07Rule one: no kids. [22:08] 07Dryas nocks the arrow: "You're not innocent." 15[22:12] The Starveling: "You're marking yourself for death too!" [22:15] "Last words." 07Dryas lets the arrow loose. 15[22:15] He goes out the same way. Boiling, blackening, burning gold. [22:16] 6Gross. 15[22:17] Rikai: "But I think you've well and duly made your point, Tepet Daizo." 15[22:17] "Do you want to send the Messenger petitioning for parlay or shall I?" [22:17] 07Dryas slumps back into the saddle. She glances at Zhangyu - he seems to have secured Seiri, so Dryas pushes Diamond Weapon into a trot towards the school doors. "Let's get them out of here before there's any more disasters?" 15[22:18] Sadako and the Anathema are mostly-embracing now, forehead-to-burning-forehead. Sadako's hair hangs enough that it's hard to tell what's passing between them. [22:19] 6Zhangyu: "They stay together. I can carry them, if necessary." [22:21] "But yes. Out of here, as soon as we can." 15[22:22] Are they taking everyone up the mountain? 15[22:22] It is the most defensible position... but it does concede the most possible territory. [22:22] 10Daizo: "You send it, Brother Rikai, I have my hands a little full here. But don't worry, if Piu does her part right, we won't need to fight another battle tomorrow." [22:23] 14If they concede that territory...Piu can stay behind within it. [22:23] 07Before they leave, Dryas plucks one of the blossoms from her hair and leaves it at Szalony's feet. 15[22:26] Rikai starts plucking at the air like a harpist, and spring blossom anima trails from his fingertips. [22:26] 10Of course, tomorrow Daizo and everyone else may also be condemned as traitors to the Realm. But, he reasons, what of the Empress, who abandoned her millions of subjects to crawl into a giant ruby egg for an unknown purpose? What does it mean to be loyal to an Empress like that? 15[22:26] Something other than this, clearly. 15[22:28] Finally, as Sadako pulls away, the fire dims, leaving the young woman with white hair and white eyes, but no demon's brand burning her brow. She turns, not to Dryas or Zhangyu, but to the villagers. "It's almost over. Let's climb the mountain, please. We'll all be safe up there." [22:30] 07Dryas is a bit taken aback. [22:31] 07Dryas: "Sadako, Seiri, you are both alright?" 15[22:34] Seiri?: "You've been through so much. I promise it wasn't for nothing. The day is nearly won." 15[22:35] Sadako: "I'm fine. I think..." She looks at the Anathema, and then back at Dryas with a plainly uncertain, uncharacteristically anxious expression. 15[22:35] "Seiri, are you--" 15[22:35] "Don't worry about me." It's clipped. [22:36] "Can we talk later? At least about names." 15[22:36] "All you like, Master Zhangyu. Help us carry the children." 15[22:37] She moves quite slowly, not quite feeling her way with her hands like a blind beggar, but clearly with an abundance of caution. [22:37] 07Dryas looks back at Sadako. "I'm sorry we didn't get to you sooner. Things are coming to a head. Everything is coming to a head." 07Dryas flops off Diamond Weapon to offer a trio or so of the smaller ones, or if any are hurt, a way up. 15[22:37] Gu Len: "They're coming up the mountain." 15[22:38] The journey takes about half an hour to coordinate the movement of dozens of men, women, and children. It's a surprisingly long time for a straightforward climb. But it's been a long, long day. 15[22:40] The head of the little caravan is Dryas and Diamond Weapon, with Zhangyu shouldering a pair of stretchers behind that. There's a mass of villagers, with Sadako covering the rear and lending the Anathema an arm. [22:43] 14Piu has been resting and waiting. Presumably she's had time to speak with Caedus and Rinca about...whatever their plan is going to be. Things are fluid right now; she has to see what Budokan does. 15[22:44] Gu Len: "Is he there? Where's the Stranger?" [22:45] 14Piu scans the incoming arrivals and frowns. None of the children seem to have gained a golden countenance or are carrying themselves like a reincarnated general. [22:45] 14Hrm... [22:45] 07Dryas is surprised to see Gu Len: "Oh...?" 07she looks at Piu quizzically. [22:46] 14Piu waves a hand. "He's behaving himself. He knows what'll happen if that stops." [22:47] "Where's our new pint-sized 'Solar?'" [22:47] 07Dryas: "Destroyed both of the deathknights. Using the Hakkai's Rebuttal this time. Szalony fell, but the rest were saved." 15[22:47] The crowd parts a bit, to reveal Sadako, and the white-haired Seiri leaning on her for support. "We lost Sister Szalony," is what she says, in lieu of confirmation. [22:47] 10Daizo's sitting cross-legged, facing the Lathe. It's been long enough now that he can keep it in balance without total concentration—probably. "The situation here is well in hand. Budokan's forces are scattered, confused." 15[22:47] "She gave her life to protect the villagers." [22:48] 14Piu just blinks at first. Then: "Seiri, what happened to your hair?" [22:48] 10Okay, Daizo thought he could keep it in balance without total concentration. He was wrong.  [22:49] 14Then her eyes widen. Again: "Seiri...what happened to your hair." [22:50] 07Dryas: "The witch on the far side; your vision, Seiri." [22:50] 10The sight of the transformed Seiri shocks him to the core, and the Lathe wobbles, the earth itself emits a low groaning sound— [22:51] "Oh. Oh wow." [22:53] 10Get a grip, get a grip—Daizo breathes in and out slowly, reasserting control over the artifact. In a tight voice, he says "There's your Stranger, Rikai, Gu Len." 15[22:53] "Master Daizo, Lady Piu, I'm so glad to hear your voices. She makes her wait to the table to rest her hands upon it. She tilts her head left and right, but her eyes stare forward. "After Sister Szalony fell, Sadako attacked the traitors. But there were two of them. I thought, if I got out in front, I could buy time..." 15[22:54] "I just wanted to talk." [22:55] 14Piu, already standing, will walk up -- first hesitantly, but with more confidence if the girl she knew as Seiri doesn't ward her off -- and fiercely embrace her. 15[22:55] She leans into the embrace. "It's okay. It's okay. I'm okay." [22:56] 10Daizo: "...Truly?" 10And she just happened to be in the right place, at the right time, to fulfill the conditions of the ritual…  15[22:56] Rikai: "Behold the Stranger." 15[22:56] Beheld: "It's just Stranger." [22:57] "Stranger." 14Piu tries the name out. 15[22:57] Slowly, firmly: "Stranger Visits Heaven." [22:57] 14She'll let Stranger Visits Heaven go. [22:57] 07Dryas remains silent. [22:59] 07Dryas: "And what did we miss, here?" [23:00] 10Daizo: "Sei— Stranger." 10Damn it, he wants to scoop the kid up into a hug too. Gu Len and Rikai have doomed her to madness. [23:00] 14Piu: "A conversation about boundaries, and violence, and me using violence to enforce those boundaries. I still haven't decided what we're to do with Gu Len but I have another execution to prepare for." [23:01] 10Daizo: "We're going to try and take out Budokan before he can burn anyone else." [23:01] "And then maybe, maybe we can all find some way to come to terms." [23:04] 07Dryas considers this. "That struggle is over. It has all come to naught. What an enormous waste. As for the fates of the individuals -" 07each syllable is sounded out - "Perhaps those will be individual, too." 15[23:06] Stranger: "I don't understand." 15[23:06] "What was this in aid of?" [23:07] 14Piu: "I've yet to get a satsifying answer to that question about anything that's happened on this island." 15[23:08] Gu Len: "Dear lady, in our hour of direst need, you've come. Creation stands at the brink of ruin. The Sun's children must take their place to right the world once more, to restore order to the world and legitimacy to Heaven's mandate." 15[23:09] Stranger: "What about the necromancers? How did you not know about the necromancers?" [23:09] 14Piu: "He knew." [23:10] 07Dryas: "A tactical alliance. Simple, material, mutually beneficial." 15[23:10] "Did Szalony know?" [23:10] 07Dryas: "No." 15[23:10] "..." [23:12] 07Dryas: "She was totally unaware that one of her own students was one of them." 07She clasps her hands behind her back. "These two went to some effort to conceal it. They would have needed to." 15[23:15] Rikai: "It was unsavory, but Gu Len judged we needed the protection, and I did not challenge it. The responsibility is ours, and it shames me." He bows his head. "I beg your forgiveness." [23:15] 07Dryas: "You had a hedge, too, Rikai." 15[23:16] Stranger mouths a few words silently, fingers tracing the tabletop. Her fingertips flatten against the surface. [23:16] 10Daizo: "There are a lot of things about this entire operation that I'd like to know who knew what and when. Less time for answers than I'd like." 15[23:18] Rikai: "Loyalty to our Empress is not a hedge." 15[23:19] "But I don't want to mince words. I accept full responsibility." [23:19] 07Dryas: "Your own word." 15[23:19] Stranger: "..." 15[23:20] Gu Len: "We need to marshall our position. With Bubble and her crew, with Temida and the able-bodied militia and the rest of our elementals, we need to be ready in case talks break down, and--" 15[23:20] Stranger: "You're sorry?" [23:21] 10Hoh. [23:21] 14Piu had been looking at the two Blooded co-conspirater rivals; now she spins.. 15[23:22] Rikai: "My Lady, I truly am. Please, tell me what I might do to atone." [23:22] 07Dryas awkwardly looks askance following this outburst. 15[23:23] Stranger: "...alright. I respect your humility. If you're so keen to let me win... let's roll with that." 15[23:23] "All you have to do is unring the bell." 15[23:24] Rikai glances in Gu Len's direction, who responds with a wordless 'all yours, buddy' expression. 15[23:25] Stranger: "Their mothers and fathers. Their teachers and friends." 15[23:25] "Your sister! Rotting! In the MUD!" 15[23:26] "And you're sorry." 15[23:26] "Take it back, Master Rikai. Go down and make them live and love again." 15[23:27] "You feel sorry? I reject your pity. You're ashamed? I don't care." [23:27] 14... 15[23:27] "Mend what you broke! Run the blood back up their mothers' veins! UNRING THE DAMN BELL!" [23:28] 10No wonder they were trying their hardest to make sure this power went into the hands of some malleable child. [23:28] 07Dryas clears her throat. Nice for the young girl to get it out of her system. "The war is over. You, collectively, will make peace with the loyalists. And they will make peace with you. The families of the smallfolk will be reunited. Fortifications will be erected and mining operations will resume immediately. Tribute payments will be redirected to Abalone port, in the care of the Four Fangs." 15[23:28] Stranger: "I am SPEAKING!" [23:29] 07Dryas blinks, leans back, and folds her arms. 15[23:29] Gu Len: "If I might, I think we can resolve this disagreement--" 15[23:29] Stranger: "What disagreement?" 15[23:29] "You chose to live by the sword and I want you to die by it." 15[23:30] "We are in complete accord." [23:30] 10Daizo's expression grows grimmer and grimmer as the Stranger continues her exhortation. 15[23:31] Behind her, the gathered villagers grow restive. They share glances. They look, with coldness, upon the men they believed their saviors. [23:42] 14Piu will step up to Stranger again, keeping her back to the two men who may be about to die: "Hey. Hey. I'm not gonna tell you these guys don't deserve to die; they probably do. I'm not even going to ask you not to do it. I don't know who we're going to be to each other moving forward, but out of respect and love for who we were, I want to give you this advice: You've just been [23:42] born into this world a second time, not as a baby but as a whole...new...you, and this is the time, right now, when you'll set the standard for who you want to be and who you want to become. I talked to Ted about it; talked less with Rinca, but he mentioned it too. The first steps -- the first ways you, I dunno, conceptualize yourself? They matter. Like a higher-stakes cosmic version [23:42] of the first day at school. [23:42] "If you need to do it, then do it. But don't do it if it's just lashing out." 15[23:43] Stranger presses her lips together. Her fingers drag along the surface of the table. 15[23:43] Finally: "Master Daizo?" 15[23:43] "What would you do?" [23:43] 14Then Piu will keep walking away, leaving the men to their fate. She has a kill of her own to prepare for. [23:49] 10Daizo: "These men, Rikai, Gu Len—you are the fulfillment of their purpose. They claimed they wanted a savior to bring order to the world, but they planned for their savior to be wholly within their power. Act as you see fit—but as Piu says, remember that there are bells that you, too, cannot unring." 15[23:53] Stranger contemplates this in silence. She tears up, just a bit, though it's hard to tell if that's an upswell of emotion or her evident, steadfast refusal to blink. 15[23:53] Finally: "You're right, of course. You're all right." 15[23:53] "What's the plan, then?" 15[23:53] NEXT TIME: Kinslayer