EVENT #7: THE SIGHT

[abraxasmods]

Event #7 - The Sight

go to the OOC event info and plotting post

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The night before APRIL 18, your dreams are disrupted by a vivid image of the same eclipse that occurred last month. The black sun seems to be an endless void in the sky, growing ever darker - until it suddenly opens into an eye that stares straight at you.

When you wake up, much of your night seems a blur except for the vivid dream of that eye. Whether you find it unsettling or try to ignore it, the image is something you cannot get out of your mind. If you ask, you will discover that none of the locals of your faction saw another eclipse. Speak with your fellow Summoned, however, and you may learn that while there was no eclipse that formed over the world, you were not the only one who had this dream.

Of course, dreams don't need to mean anything. You can't feel or see any immediate effects, and nearly everyone around you is going about their day as usual. Maybe you should do the same.

The Awakening

It might happen that very morning or a day or two later. You could be discussing the dream with a fellow Summoned or perhaps you simply brush shoulders with them as you walk by. Whatever it is, as soon as you make brief physical contact, one of you is struck with a sharp pain in your temple that grows into a terrible headache. It's disorienting and painful as the world around you shifts to someplace you may or may not recognize. Like an old film reel, you watch the events of the past play out before you: the past of the other Summmoned. It might be something they would rather hide, a moment of failure or despair, or something they are immensely proud of and brings them great joy - or even a jumble of several images over the course of a person's life. But you see it as if it were real and right in front of you all the same. When you come to, you'll likely find yourself on the ground or bent over, possibly with one or more people around you to see if you're okay. It'll take you a bit to gather your bearings, and the subsequent pounding in your head could last from minutes to hours.

Or, maybe you aren't the one who receives the vision. Instead, as you watch, another Summoned might grasp their head and crumble in front of you. They may go silent or groan in pain. They'll be impossible to shake out of their stupor until it's over. If you ask what happened, they may be inclined to tell you the truth - that you, you were what happened to them.

Or, if your Arcana signs happen to line up in a specific way, you'll see each other in the shared memory itself. You may also find that for certain Summoned, you can help soothe the effects, calm their emotions, or help draw them out of the memory before it consumes them for too long. It's not entirely clear what determines which effect, but one thing is for certain - within each memory, every Summoned as they appear in the past seems to wear the mark of their Arcana somewhere on their person.

For some, they might experience this only once. For others, they might experience it multiple times: with the same person, with several other Summoned, or with a different memory each time. Over the next 7 days, you'll find the Summoned around you are all receiving a glimpse into each other's past, as if the Singularity has awoken an eye within each of you.

Flee for the safety of the Horizon if you want, but you'll find that in there, it's much the same. In fact, inside the Horizon, the other Summoned don't even need to be anywhere near you - just existing in the Horizon space itself together will be enough to possibly set off a headache-inducing vision.

The Factions

What has occurred between the Summoned will not go unnoticed within the factions. While it's difficult to say how faction officials have picked up what's happening, it'll be obvious they do know.

In THORNE, characters will be asked to remain in the castle walls until further notice. Characters will not be allowed to leave the castle grounds, not even to go into the surrounding city, and anyone who is already outside will be requested to not leave again as soon as they return. If asked, they will be told it's for their own safety, given the Singularity is behaving unpredictably and the Summoned have a unique connection to it. Soothing potions and healers are on hand to offer assistance, if anyone is particularly suffering from ill effects.

In the FREE CITIES, characters will find the army by the outposts show more activity than usual. A higher number of guards will patrol the streets throughout the event, particularly in areas frequented by the Summoned. Anyone who publicly and visibly experiences the effects of the memory share (pain, doubling over, etc.) will be offered assistance by the guards. They are generally there to help, but they are also there to maintain order and ensure anyone behaving erratically due to this incident is properly contained. This might include confinement for a day or two if anyone is especially posing a risk, but no one will be punished except in the most extreme cases, as the locals are aware this is not within the control of the Summoned.

In SOLVUNN, the locals will be watching what's happening with a mixture of trepidation and curiosity. Host families and neighbors will be on hand to help with charms meant to offer protection, as well as general care and assistance (soup, blankets, and so on) if your character seems to be especially under the weather or afflicted by the event. Towards the end of the event, more elders and mages will be out and about to check up on the Summoned to make sure they're doing okay. If asked, the mages will say they aren't sure what's going on, but that they are currently divining with the gods and hope to have a definitive answer soon in the upcoming days.

None of the factions appear to be doing much more than keep a watchful eye on the situation - but as the week comes to a close, officials will start making a decision as to what they want to do and how to handle the Summoned who have demonstrated this unforeseen connection to the Singularity.

Comments

[blackeyedprince]

Codependent? Kell has no idea what that word even means - and no way he's going to admit it - but if he did, he'd recognize the situation right away. At least, Jayce and Victor are like that by choice. Not a luxury he has been given. Not that he'd changed anything much in his relationship with Rhy - apart from the obvious of not having to save his life by illegal means - but the choice was never there.

He nods through the explanation. That's what you can do when you use magic correctly. It makes sense. The teleportation feat is impressive though. To achieve this using technology and not a conscious mind steering and controlling the process. It IS fascinating. The combination is fascination. His people do not bother with technology much beyond the basics.
When magic is so wide spread and accessible, there's little reason to put time and effort, all the trials and errors of the process, to come up with a piece of technology.
When magic is so revered, people with ambition flock there. They're not filling the ranks of inventors, but magicians. It makes him wonder what it would do for Arnes to have at least one inventor like Jayce.

"You don't learn magic without blowing a few things up, either. So I see the similarities in the process. If handled incorrectly or by the inexperienced, even our simplest elemental magic can do a lot of damage."

He knows. First hand experience.

"I am glad that you didn't blow yourself up then."

[wiedzminka]

[ Ciri visibly stiffens, her hands tightening around the cup. She watches him intently, eyes locked on his, watches him remember and try to sort through what he's seen-- and by the end of it, she is convinced that this jumble he saw is mostly indeterminate from his side, without context. Unless he is hiding something -- and Ciri doesn't think he would, that he would understand enough to hide even if he were the type -- he poses no threat.

It's just... unpleasant.

Her lips press together. ]

I'm not that girl anymore. If you let what you've seen affect your demeanor toward me in any way, I will not hesitate to remind you of that.

[ A pause, considering. She takes another drink. ]

What was that about Geralt?

[wiedzminka]

That declaration has Ciri raising her eyebrows.

"Hm. Lucky you." She doesn't know very much about Gideon, except she's from some shithole that doesn't even have enough water for baths apparently, so for all Ciri knows, that's just how she's always been built. Now's not the time to question it; if Gideon says the wound should be closing and it isn't, bleeding's going to be a problem. Hopefully nothing more serious than what a quick bit of pressure won't fix.

"But since that particular trick appears to be failing you-- I've supplies nearby, with my horse. Wait here. Keep pressure on that wound. Won't be long."

[nightwash]

It's been a miserable week. Ronan hasn't gone this long without Kylo's touch since the first time they were together. He'd been furious with Kylo for abandoning him back then, too, and they hadn't even been much of anything to each other. He hadn't really had a right to feel so betrayed. But that was a year ago, and he'd thought things were different now, and it turns out he was wrong. If this week has shown him anything, it's how wrong he was about everything.

At this point, Ronan suspects it's not about the memories at all. Or rather, they're a very convenient excuse for Kylo to withdraw now that Rey's here. He's ghosting Ronan — as much as anyone can ghost a roommate — and waiting for Rey to come around. Maybe Kylo doesn't even realize he's doing it. Maybe it's just the kind of thing other people see, the way Bryde had seen what he was doing with Adam when it was something he couldn't admit to himself.

When Kylo speaks, Ronan draws his shoulders up and braces himself. This is probably where Kylo tells him they need some time apart. Further apart. Like, separate rooms apart. Yes, they don't know how long this could last. Maybe it's a forever kind of thing. It's been nice knowing him.

Ronan doesn't say anything. Kylo already knows what he wants and he's been perfectly happy to deny him every night.

[photophobic]

Kylo's jaw works on reflexive, angry responses to the accusations Ronan doesn't loose on him in words— he doesn't need to use words to get in his blows, when Kylo is so desperately focused on finding a way to reconnect— but ultimately, he accepts the punishment without contest. He has wounded Ronan. He hadn't meant to, but it doesn't matter.

"I wanted to protect you," he offers. "Us. I thought I could find a way to control it. I have the power—"

But Ronan knows about his ability to retrieve memories so much more intimately now, having watched him employ his skills to tear information about the map from Dameron's head. Scream after tortured scream. Kylo's gaze falls away.

"I can't stop it happening. If I touch you... I'll hurt you, Ronan. And I don't... I don't want to hurt you."

[vixening]

[ she does know - and it is what brings so much validity to her statement. because it is her belief, or perhaps even her truth, that only those who had to fight and work and suffer for these comforts will truly know them. and it is jaskier's years in dirt and failure and her years in muck and pig shit that have brought them to this place. to knowing what these sorts of comforts can mean.

and he is not far off - the calm of this place is pervasive. she feels it with each breath she takes, though it's not overwhelming either. it isn't something she feels the need to push back against. perhaps there is something to that - to pushing your domain to be calm, to be welcoming. yennefer's domain, at present, doesn't feel nearly as dark or heavy as the tavern that jaskier had built up, but it also doesn't feel like much at all.

that is something yennefer feels isn't necessary to dwell on. not now, possibly not ever.

when she turns back to jaskier she can see the giddiness in him, the light in his tone. she ends up rolling her eyes a bit at the pure reaction of it, just because she can already tell where this is headed. that she's given him too much say, too much ammunition. ] And why should I do that? Are you looking to steal secrets of Thornean magic, dear husband?

[ her hand slips back to his arm, and she chooses not to focus on the way that the very movement of it - the steps they take, the pat of his hand on hers - brings more calm to her than even the domain. she follows him back out to the hallway, down the stairs. it's not meant to be a secret and yennefer's brow simply lifts. no? some secretive dungeon that he had specifically avoided upon their first trip through? ]

Let's go, then! At the very least to get your mind off my undergarments.

[ said with a laugh, that easy tone. but as they descend the stairs and she takes note of the cooling air, the warm light of the torches and some glowing flora, it's comfortable - but in a very different way. yennefer's eyes are on the walls, the architecture, though it's not until they hit the floor that she understands what he means - that she'll be loathe to leave.

stacks upon stacks of wine fill the cellar, vintages and bottles that she recognizes from home. he leads her to a small nook where cheese and bread are already set out, and yennefer exhales, really and truly breathes and deflates, sliding into one of the seats and looking around the room once more.

she won't compliment him for the space - she's done enough of that tonight as it is, and she couldn't possibly inflate his ego any more - but gods. the wine. it's not as if her excitement is hard to read on her. ]

Dry- absolutely. [ she picks up one of the olives set out on the plate, popping it into her mouth as she scans the room once more. ] But I'll leave the vintage to you. Impress me, bard.

no worries

[wiedzminka]

[ Ciri's lips thin. Now she is beginning to feel actually annoyed. ]

If you have your own supplies, I've no pressing desire to offer you my own. Eat whatever you have.

[ The annoyance flickers into outright indignation at the next part. She crosses her arms, chin lifting slightly. It's clear you're not an idiot, she says, and proceeds to ask idiotic questions. ]

Of course I know what gravity is. Context is enough for the rest. I'm not a halfwit. Though I'm beginning to suspect you might be.

Your 'modern tech' is only modern in your sphere and particular time. You'd do well not to look down on others from different circumstances.

[princessvegas]

[ When he adjusts his hold on her, her legs squeeze to compensate and help keep the balance, her ankle pressing into the small of his back. Her fingers scrabble at his neck and shoulders, in time with quiet little noises that she can't stop from emerging on every exhale.

Her eyes snap shut and she moans when he sinks in, head falling back again. In that dark, the memories have stopped repeating, corpses and fire and swords, and her mind is blissfully empty except for him right here and now. She murmurs, nothing important, just his name and all manner of endearments between sharp breaths. ]

[chosenfordarkness]

We eloped. [ He shrugs a shoulder, trying that smiling thing again. When he continues, his voice is a little uneven. ] She's the only woman I ever thought of. I never stopped thinking about her, but we couldn't be married publicly. I'd have been expelled from the Jedi Order, and she's a senator..

We made it work...

[ The last part even sounds flat to himself, but he doesn't know whether it's a denial or if he's trying to convince himself that they weren't doomed from the start. He knows he's a selfish man for it, but how could he have ever lived without Padmé?

Maybe because he's thinking about it, or perhaps by unfortunate coincidence, the scene changes around them. The heat stays the same, but the desert sky darkens and gives way to a deep, burning red and a planet made of magma. Anakin and Yennefer find themselves standing on a metal landing platform, a sleek chrome ship parked nearby, the turbulent magma flowing beneath the platform mirrored on its surface.

Anakin casts a nervous glance between the ship and a hooded figure in the distance whose stride picks up seeing the ship. The hood comes down and it's very clearly himself, the dark brown cloak's hem bordered with a repeating Judgement arcana. This Anakin has a more haggard and frantic look about him, dark circles standing out under his eyes.

He comes jogging onto the platform as a heavily-pregnant Padmé runs down the loading deck of the ship and onto the platform. They embrace.

"I saw your ship." They break away but stay close, holding onto each other's arms. "What are you doing here?"

"I was so worried about you! Obi-Wan told me terrible things." She looks at her husband in concern.

"What things?"

"He said you have turned to the dark side..." She pauses, trying to collect herself. "That you killed younglings."

As she talks, Anakin looks away from her, ducking his head. After a moment he looks up with resolve. "Obi-Wan is trying to turn you against me."

"He cares about us."

"Us??" His brow furrows in concern as she nods in confirmation.

"He knows. He wants to help you.."

Anakin's smile is tired and affectionate.

"Anakin... All I want is your love."

His expression turns to one of concern. "Love won't save you, Padmé. Only my new powers can do that."

"At what cost? You're a good person. Don't do this!" She shakes her head in disbelief.

Anakin's brow furrows. "I won't lose you the way I lost my mother. I've become more powerful than any Jedi has ever dreamed of and I've done it for you. To protect you." His last sentence is firm, his face hardening.

Her hands move to bracket his face, moving to stroke the hair at his neck. "Come away with me. Help me raise our child. Leave everything else behind while we still can."

His expression turns hopeful, erring on the side of manic. "Don't you see, we don't have to run away anymore. I have brought peace to the Republic. I am more powerful than the Chancellor. I can overthrow him, and together you and I can rule the galaxy. Make things the way we want them to be."

Padmé backs away, her expression horrified. "I don't believe what I'm hearing... Obi-Wan was right. You've changed."

Anakin scowls. "I don't want to hear any more about Obi-Wan. The Jedi turned against me. Don't you turn against me!"

She starts to cry. "I don't know you anymore! Anakin, you're breaking my heart... You are going down a path I can't follow."

"Because of Obi-Wan?"

"Because of what you've done... what you plan to do. Stop, stop now. Come back! I love you."

As she speaks, his attention is drawn to a figure standing at the top of the ship's landing platform. Obi-Wan stands with his hands on his hips. That scowl turns to an expression of outrage.

"LIAR!!" ]

[chosenfordarkness]

Anakin ducks his head under the praise, rubbing his neck with a gloved hand. "I've always been good at fixing things. When I got him back, it wasn't the best cover job, but it worked. I think he appreciated the upgrade, though."

He looks back up and looks between R2 and Threepio. "Not really, that's just a skill. Anyone can do it with the right mentor and time. My powers are different. There's a lot I can do, and the Force helps me do it better."

[chosenfordarkness]

"Funny how that skipped some of the lineages.." How could he not be bitter knowing that the Jedi hid important information like this away and didn't share it? Had Yoda known of these texts? If he had, and hadn't said anything when Anakin came to him for advice... Well. Just another nail in their own coffin, isn't it?

"What did Luke write about?" He pauses for a moment. "Can I read them?"

[funbreaker]

[ With how Wanda speaks of Solvunn, Thancred is almost relieved that he's opted to stay in Thorne. Not that the stuffy castle is much better, but at least there's more to do than herding animals around. He'd likely lose his mind in a place like that.

It does mean that he can only see Himeka in the Horizon, but that's certainly better than nothing, and she has people like Wanda to keep her company.

At the question, Thancred quickly nods. ] The very same. I had no idea then that you knew each other. [ Who knows when it might have come up in conversation, had they not been shown that memory just now.

And then, back to Ryne. As much as Thancred might want to preen at the remark about his age (and he very literally does look younger than he is after his time on the First, but that's neither here nor there), his eyes cast down at Wanda's observation. ]

I already had to leave her, back home. We're from different worlds, and my days spent in hers were numbered. It was five years, long enough to take her under my wing and teach her what I knew, but...

[ He glances up again, wearing a smile that's sad yet sure. ] She's an accomplished young woman now. She'll be just fine without me.

[chosenfordarkness]

If only it were over, there seems to really be no escape from it at this point. Avoiding accidental touch outside of the Horizon is just as much of a pain as someone wandering into a domain. He sees the newcomer at the edge of his territory but makes no move to leave his morbid throne. Not until the stranger starts to apologize only to fall to a knee, hand holding his head.

Anakin frowns and moves forward to help him back up. It doesn't take much to assume he's seen something, though he'll have to wait and see what it was. He doesn't have any sort of inclination as to what might be shared. None of his memories are really things he's happy about being broadcast to the world.

"It seems not. You going to make it?" He offers a hand to help him to his feet.

[funbreaker]

[ As soon as the man dressed in opulent clothing complete with an entourage comes into view, Thancred doesn't require any further explanation. Who else would the target be? While he knows nothing of this person save what the memory is showing him, he naturally thinks of the wealthiest elite in Ul'dah. People like this all have a certain way about them, no matter their stature. ]

That much I could have guessed.

[ Hand braced on his hip, Thancred watches as the memory of Zhou Zishu (who somehow manages to seem like an altogether different man) makes his move. At first Thancred assumes that he stole something in the confusion of pushing through the crowd, but then his mark collapses a few moments later. Naturally, Zhou Zishu has already vanished from the scene, melting into the crowd somewhere.

Thancred's head shifts back in mild surprise before he turns to the Zhou Zishu of the present. ]

Poison? Bold to perform an assassination in broad daylight.

[yeshou]

[ He knows it doesn't matter. Wen Kexing knows, as sure as he knows anything. If Zhou Zishu really cared about who he was, he would have done something about it a long time ago, when they first met. He already knew enough when Wen Kexing scattered the fake glazed armor throughout the jianghu and could have abandoned him then.

But all Wen Kexing can think as he sulks before his zhiji is how unfair it is that this man always manages to shield him at every turn. Even when he isn't looking! ]

When I came to find you at the capital, you had me worried. I thought you were in terrible danger. But actually you handle yourself very well.

[ Instead of the usual rage and madness, Wen Kexing huffs. ]

Why didn't you tell me?

[nightwash]

Ronan, without the benefit of mind-reading and only capable of seeing the evidence before him, scoffs at that claim.

"Ohhh," he marvels sarcastically. "This is for me."

He hates this. He hates being lied to, and especially being lied to by Kylo, who had promised all of himself. All of him except any part of him that's genuine, apparently. Hiding everything from his past to his name to the girl he's been in love with all this time.

How humiliating, to have fallen for it without even questioning it. Ronan had been so eager to find something real, he hadn't stopped to consider whether it was true. And now Kylo's jumping at the first excuse to leave him, to go chase the one that got away.

Ronan hugs himself tight because the only other option is tearing the room apart. He pulls his knees up to his chest and presses his forehead to them. Not this. Not today. He doesn't want to hear one single other goddamn excuse.

[photophobic]

"Us," Kylo insists, desperation slipping into his voice. "You don't— Ronan, you don't know. Everyone. Everyone, who has ever promised to be with me. Anyone who promised me I wouldn't face it alone."

He exhales shakily, the attempt to steady himself audible.

"I thought I could make it irrelevant, here. But you can have it. If you want it. Not just whatever visions of my past the Singularity decides to show you. I'll give you what you want to know. Whatever you want to know. Right now."

[nightwash]

Ronan's shoulders tense. He takes a slow breath and wipes furiously at his eyes before he picks up his head to look at Kylo again. He can't fully trust that whatever Kylo decides to share with him won't be the Kidz Bop version of his life story, but this is at least more than Kylo's offered him before.

"I want it all," he says, in a tone that suggests he's offended he even has to say it when he's already said it, when he meant it the first time. Either Kylo wasn't listening or Kylo didn't believe him. Both options make Ronan feel like shit.

"I'm not leaving you. Nothing you can show me will get rid of me. You can take that as a threat, Ben. Just because you gave your promise under a fake name doesn't mean you're not mine."

[photophobic]

Kylo doesn't recoil physically, but Ronan doesn't need to feel the flow of the force to sense the way the sound of that name from his lips tears a fresh wound into the very core of him. He sucks in air as if struck.

"I gave you my name," he says.

Ben. It's almost enough to make him turn on his heel. Not just the name, but what it means— it's already happened. She's already filled Ronan's head with her idea, their idea of what he is. What he should have been. And Ronan, faced with two conflicting tales, has decided Kylo told him nothing but lies.

"I gave you everything I am. Everything I choose to be. But I'll show you Ben Solo. If he is what you want."

Kylo towers over Ronan now, close enough to reach out and touch. His chest shudders with every breath, pulse sharp as it slams through his veins, senses violently heightened. This won't be some vague, holographic record of Kylo's past, stripped of its emotional weight. When Kylo takes Ronan with him into his memories, it'll all be there. Everything he thought. Everything he felt. The sheer power and magnitude of the Force, always thundering at his back.

He gives Ronan just a moment of it now. Ben Solo lying awake in the dark, the moment of his execution still years ahead. Everyone else is asleep, and Ben... he's so furious with them for it and he can't even articulate why...

[falcony]

He'll take the opportunity for the conversation to keep moving, especially after sensing something of a rock and a hard-place between the two of them.

Flying, she says, and Sam feels a sort of tension leave him. He laughs a little, nods at the way she says I wish I could do that. The way he misses flying is like a punch to the gut on most days, but in thinking about Inej seeing it, Inej getting feel what he feels.

"They're something. I'm actually talking to some people here to see if they can try and remake them. They won't be the same but...it's hard to stay on the ground this long when you know you don't have to be."

[provenforce]

"I think ideas change, as the years pass," Rey replies, with a small shrug. She heard hundreds of different stories that came through Niima Outpost, sometimes the same information repeated but with very different embellishments.

His question gives her pause for a moment, if only because she hadn't thought anyone else would have cared to read the books. But of course Anakin would. She knows Luke mentions his father in his writings, but she doesn't think he details anything so specific that it might be shocking.

"It's mostly research and encounters he had, I don't see why not."

[aquaveiled]

"Ah, Jesper!" Now that she's made the connection to who Inej left for the Free Cities before, it all falls into place. "I've met him, now. I hadn't realized that he was your fried at the time."

But he seems like a good person. Caring, light-hearted and fun. She's enjoyed talking to him and can see why Inej would want to be closer to such a friend.

Himeka motions for Inej to take a seat on some nearby stones as she conjures up some afternoon snacks. She does want to play a good hostess for the few moments they have.

"I've been well. We've had some new arrivals in Solvunn as well and it is nice to have more Summoned around."

[cointosser]

[He barks a laugh.] You'd love if I said yes, wouldn't you? However, you'll be less than impressed to know I've had my hand in far too many tomes in Thorne's library. Perhaps I've already stolen all the secrets Thorne has to offer.

[He can sound cute and coy about it, though if that were the truth, none of them would still be here, would they? Thorne's mages have spread the knowledge of how to bring people here, and it has not ceased. The secret remains theirs.

However, that truth bothers him far less than it had seasons ago. Before they had decided to remain here, no matter what was possible in the end.

His smile is curved at the edges, teasing.] My mind has never been off your undergarments since you were fucking me into your bed. By the by, have you seen some modern garments? Those tiny, lacy things? I'm only suggesting.

[Because he's Jaskier, and it's what he does, even if the flirtations do not strikes as perfectly and as warmly as they once had. Before... well, everything.

But they did not come here to think about everything. He does not wish to, and he is quite sure Yennefer does not wish to, either.

It is enough she is here, maintaining her form. That her connection to the Horizon this time is not a flickering, weak string.

Somehow, even in her exhaustion, the quiet breath that leaves her supple lips, she seems stronger than ever to him.] Dry it is. [He pats her hand before slipping away. Over his shoulder comes:] Please, witch. I haven't failed to impress you for years.

[Or at least, that's what he tells himself. From their frantic first meeting, to her pounding into his ass, to their meeting once again in his tavern as she drifted through the air like a spirit. He's rather sure he's made his perfect mark on her memories.

He selects a dry, heavy white wine, the bottle cooled by the underground air, but clean. The label sports the emblem of Toussaint; a memory of a wine he'd one drank deep in the middle of a particularly prickly-hot summer. He'd eaten it with a light brioche roll smeared in goat cheese, and that's exactly what appears on the table as he returns with two glasses of the stuff. One placed in front of her, one in front of the opposite bench where he slips in -- and then the bottle, placed between them, waiting to refill the glasses far more than should be possible.] They called it the Duchess's Teat. So sour it would pucker like the beloved Duchess's aroused areolas. [He takes his seat, swirling the wine. The sharp, acidic smell of the wine fills the air, with a hint of apples.] Or so I'm told, of course.

[wiedzminka]

...hm. Sounds like a bad omen, indeed. [ One she has not encountered, at least. Probably unnerving. She gives Alucard a look that hints at curiosity, but doesn't press if he doesn't decide to elaborate on his own.

The mention of monsters hunters, however, seems clearly aimed toward having her explore that branch of conversation instead. She indulges it. ]

Monster hunting as a family enterprise. That does make some sort of sense.

Had your own run-ins with them, I take it?

[fourarmedandangerous]

With Shao Kahn's ultimatum given to both his agents, the memory begins to fade, the corners of the throne room growing dark and spreading from there, the voices of the continuing conversation growing muted as it fades away. Goro nods, satisfied and turns away, focusing back on Wanda. Her question causes him to grunt in frustration.

"A pointless waste of time." He concedes with a dismissive wave of his upper arm. "Had we acted with conviction, and sent an armed military delegation, we likely would have uncovered the evidence we needed to prove Solvunn's malfeasance. But Marlo played politician instead." He sneers, lips pulling back in disgust. "So much time spent asking permission and setting dates that of course the necromancers hiding within the settlements had time to hide or destroy all evidence that Eifstide was an attack gone wrong. Pathetic, really." What could Solvunn really have done, if the Free Cities had deployed even a moderately-sized military force against them? If they had acted quickly, they could have seized the Primary Settlement, and made a thorough accounting of any illicit sorcerous materials being hidden there.

"The only thing I learned of value was that the Free Cities lack decisive leadership. Rulers willing to do whatever is necessary to crush threats against them." And Goro's not the only one who thinks that. "But whether or not I aim for war is, ultimately irrelevant." He shrugs his shoulders. "It will come regardless. The situation with the monolith invites no other outcome. I simply wish to make sure that when it does, we are prepared. I am Goro. I do not fail."

Wanda might get the impression by "we" Goro doesn't mean "the Summoned." His repeating of his memory-self's boast only makes that clearer.