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futurologists) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
epidemiology2016-05-07 02:50 pm
futurologists) wrote in epidemiology2016-05-07 02:50 pm
Entry tags:
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CHARACTERS: NPC, Rin, and whoever comes along with her.
DATE: May 11th.
WARNINGS: n/a
SUMMARY: A brief NPC encounter.
There is a quiet place within the gardens at the city center, already discovered by at least one recruit marooned on the island. This empty, carefully maintained stone garden with its level, clean sand and complete absence of coral or other incidental sea life was empty then, but it is not so now. Now a figure sits on the stone bench in the middle, head bowed.
She is a Dakal, that much is apparent. But while the Dakal in the broadcast shown by Koltira had been primarily colored in shades of brown and orange, this one is a stormy bluish gray, as if the colors had all been washed from her. Her eyes glow with a steady deep blue, as a light seen shining up from the depths of a dark sea.
She will not move if approached, not even to look up from staring evenly and distantly at the beautifully smooth and undisturbed sand underfoot.
DATE: May 11th.
WARNINGS: n/a
SUMMARY: A brief NPC encounter.
There is a quiet place within the gardens at the city center, already discovered by at least one recruit marooned on the island. This empty, carefully maintained stone garden with its level, clean sand and complete absence of coral or other incidental sea life was empty then, but it is not so now. Now a figure sits on the stone bench in the middle, head bowed.
She is a Dakal, that much is apparent. But while the Dakal in the broadcast shown by Koltira had been primarily colored in shades of brown and orange, this one is a stormy bluish gray, as if the colors had all been washed from her. Her eyes glow with a steady deep blue, as a light seen shining up from the depths of a dark sea.
She will not move if approached, not even to look up from staring evenly and distantly at the beautifully smooth and undisturbed sand underfoot.
no subject
She walks forward into the garden, continuing to be mindful of her surroundings. Of course, the invitation could be a trap; when they're almost all this weak, she doubts their ability to withstand an attack, but there's really no choice.
It strikes her that she could ask if the Dakal is able to speak, or if she can communicate with them in any way at all—telepathy or the like—but one question seems important: "Did you bring us to this place?"
That might reveal some truths. Unless she is stopped, she'll advance until a comfortable distance sits between her and the Dakal.
no subject
"Yes." Her voice is low, a rumble, and sounds faintly distorted by a waver, a sound heard from underwater.
no subject
"Can I ask why?" Rin gently tests, her ears piquing for the sound of the voice. She presses her hands to what remains of her worn ALASTAIR coat. "I want to thank you for saving us, and looking out for us—if that's what you were doing—"
The windswept protection from the red creatures.
"—but though we're trying to do our best for everyone, it appears we've reached a standstill on this island."
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"I wanted you to see." Her gaze lifts again, this time directed to each visitor in turn to linger on them. "You did see, didn't you? What she did to us." Her words are a little louder toward the end, and one clawed hand grips at the edge of the bench.
no subject
Keats finally speaks up, his voice a little strained. He was the type of man who thought he could witness anything the world threw at him, but even then, seeing the video that Koltira shared made him shudder. So many of them destroyed in one go, like a force of nature had set them in their sights for automatic destruction...
There really aren't any good words to describe the full extent of something as terrible as that.
"We saw what happened to your people. What their god did to you." He pushes his glasses up, a serious look on his face. "...Let me guess. Do you want revenge on them? On the thing that did this to you?"
no subject
"Revenge," she starts, and she sounds out each syllable heavily, drawing the word out in those haunting tones, "Yes. But revenge... would not fix anything." The wind dies out as her eyes dim once more. Quieter again, she adds, "I want to bring them back."
no subject
"Is there a way...?" It's a question she usually wouldn't ask, but anything is possible in a new world. Only Keats and Yukimura will see her go soft, here, and the situation sort of demands it.
Honestly, a handful of recruits would agree with that desire for revenge.
But there are two sides to every story.
"You're right, you know. At a certain point, revenge will do absolutely nothing for you even if you wanted to carry it out." That part is delivered raw, as though she's speaking from experience. "I doubt a god would act without reason, however poor the reason is to us. Did Nalanni retaliate against you and yours for some perceived slight?"
no subject
"We were at war, what answer do you want? We fought them as they fought us. But I don't know what slight could have been worth the death of..."
The growl fades away along with whatever anger had been building, and the Dakal's figure slumps. One hand rises as if to reach and touch what only her eyes can see, at the height of a child's head.
"My children...? All of my students, all of them, dead. What could have been worth that?" Her voice catches as her eyes half-lid. "Even now, she cannot tell me that."
no subject
Keats frowns - "all's fair in love and war", as the saying goes, but even so, he can't help but feel that all of this...it went too far. It's one thing to have losses in battle, but to wipe out an entire race in on go?
But even so, he's now concerned as to what sort of idea this Dakal has. Death drives people to do extreme things, terrible things, he knows that from experience.
"How do you plan to bring them back? Is there something or someone that allows you to subvert death?"
no subject
The Dakal stands suddenly from her seat, tail thrashing behind her as her eyes once again brighten in a glare at the three of them, challenging.
"And that," she adds, in a strengthening voice, "Is why I have called you here. You must not interfere with Nalanni. Do not seek her. I need her to right the wrongs she has brought against us. I need the time, Ryba's gifts do not work swiftly."
no subject
That this was all connected to raising the dead is a surprise. Bringing the dead back to life is... well, everyone wishes to cheat death and attain immortality. Whether it's a good thing or not is the big question. Regardless of how much the Dakal wishes to bring her friends and family back, she will not get far if she tries to threaten them physically. That's why Yukimura is here, as far as he's concerned.
"How do her gifts work?" Something as big as bringing the dead back to life can't come free. "What is the cost, to you or to others?" She mentioned 'taking Nalanni', but that doesn't cover the extent of what it takes to secure this Ryba's favour.
no subject
"Ryba demands the most dire prices of all." It's not an attempt to answer Yukimura's question over the Dakal's own response, but their teammates who ventured undersea hardly returned with good news about the sea goddess' generosity. Her tone reveals how safe and trustworthy an option Rin blatantly believes Ryba to be—mainly, that there is plenty of room for doubt.
"We will do what we must. A god absorbing the power of another god can very well shatter this entire world."
Ryba is the sea. Nalanni is the land. She recalls the conclusions she was left with from Achilles' and Helga's broadcast to the network, that without either one everything may split at the seams.
Her brow furrows, but for now she remains mostly silent.
no subject
She is aware, dimly, that this means the ebbing of the Gifts of Nalanni in the Nalawi. It is no concern of hers, it hardly registers as anything to note. Her attention shifts back to Rin from Yukimura.
"Ryba will not leave Nalanni dead," she murmurs, "Weakened, mortal. Not dead. And with that power absorbed, she will return my people to our home, as she has me." Her arms spread, a move of helpless beseeching. "Please. Allow me this. I ask nothing more."
no subject
He lets out a sigh, speaking up with a shake of his head.
"I can't imagine the unimaginable amount tragedy you must have gone through. How many people, how many children must have perished in that attack. I can certainly understand your need to set things right."
He then frowns, his tone suddenly becoming stern. His glasses glint in the light, obscuring his eyes.
"...But, tell me, how do you guarantee that Ryba will honor her promise? What will prevent her from sating her bloodlust and dealing the final blow? She may be willing to spare Nalanni, yes, but when the time comes, how will you ensure that when she attacks her adversary, she won't demolish the world in her wake?"
no subject
"I believe. I believe Ryba has no wish to end this world and rule over nothing. She has been kind to me when all I knew burned and washed away, and I believe she will hold true to her word."
She has no choice to believe, as well.
no subject
What she truly wishes to ask, she does not. Is the life you have now really life? Is this unnatural existence better for your loved ones than death?
Instead, she promises, "You can take it as a guarantee that what you've told us will be shared with the rest of our team, and we'll do everything in our power for the Dakal, too." It's not unheard of that returning an entire race to life is somehow in the cards, however it happens. She's familiar with enough great magic to be aware of the feats possible. "We can't come together and help bring you justice when we're separated like this, though. Whatever's happening in this world, we're losing energy, ourselves... Some of us will die, or fade away... It matters little when nothing save our interference would prevent you from realizing your goal."
She doesn't mean to compare their troubles to the Dakal's, so Rin shakes her head as if to prove that. They can survive.
"Earlier you said not to seek Nalanni out. Why couldn't we at least talk with her, too? In the best case scenario, you'll have even more allies on your side."
no subject
"I did not mean for that," she mumbles, lifting a hand to thread fingers through her mane in what might have been a nervous tic in life. "Nalanni's energy is great, it may have transplanted your own... Perhaps that can be undone..."
She trails off, thoughtful, but draws her attention back to Rin again slowly.
"You cannot speak with her. The ritual cannot be interrupted for that. But I can reunite you with the rest."
She lifts an arm, holds it for a moment, and draws it back down swiftly. The storm around the island reacts instantly, dissipating into innocent blue skies in seconds.
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That is... not the most reassuring thing to hear. Yukimura can understand that the Dakal wouldn't care what would happen to the Nalawi, but the effects have been more wide reaching than she'd initial thought. If this causes lasting damage to their own powers, what will that mean for them?
Although his attention is diverted by how quickly the storm is dispersed - leaving behind bright blue skies he'd almost forgotten existed here. He exhales a little sharply, and glances over at the almost eerie peace now reigning over the island. It's true, getting back will be a lot easier like this, but he doesn't feel like his head is any clearer about what they need to do - two gods, as bad as each other. Are they meant to pick a side and throw their support at it, or are they meant to stop one or both of them?
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no subject
"Do what you have to do. And only what you want to do, and what you think is right. If they really don't want us to die, the people in charge of us will just pull us out of here."
It's precisely what it sounds like: she's brushing off the offer of help. In Rin's view of it, their purpose isn't to thread their own concerns in with the Dakal's. No one could compare their hardships or understand all the Dakal has gone through aside from herself. Still, there's another reason why she states what she does.
"... You have to know most of the Nalawi living now are innocent of whatever happened to your kin. They're suffering the loss of their gifts as well, so like us, those innocents are pretty much the same. I've held hands with their children, Dakal."
Even so, when the storm clears, there is a wavering of something in Rin's eyes—some sort of swell of happiness, or pleasant sentiment. Archer. She can see Archer again. She struggles to fix her attention on the Dakal, faintly trembling with her relief, but she manages it. And she suggests an idea that might be out of place—just "Dakal" or "that Dakal" fits weird on the tongue.
"Never mind any of that. Can we have your name? We have to know who to thank."
no subject
She turns away, toward the opposite end of the small rock garden, and when she starts forward in slow steps her feet leave no prints in the sand. "I must return. Please, tell them it is Pomarr who wishes she had not had to impose to bring her message."
Her form fades out before she's gone more than five steps.