un : dappled pearls of the parted seas (voice)

[beitangmoran]

[No, he still hasn't changed his user name on the network, and no, he is not going to. he's actually grown weirdly fond of it.]

Greetings to all. I come to you with some tidings of the Beastmaster. The information I managed to get is fragmentary at best, but I think will be of interest at some point.

I met with the lady Hyang-tai, the leader of the blind fetters who live outside the village. She was here giving food to the poor, and spoke with me for a little while. I happened to learn a little bit about them through our conversation.

The blind fetters appeared only after there was a big eruption from the volcano. Soon after this, children started being born with the gift of prophecy and they were soon... set aside. She says they chose not to burden their families, but it is quite obvious they were cast out. People spit on them in town, and hide if they go to ask them for readings. In any case, their power appears linked to the volcano in some way. She said she carries a 'Great Ancestor' and the villagers are afraid of him, and by extension of her.

I asked her when the Beastmaster appeared, and her answers were most interesting. Just like Anurr was from Sa-Hareth, the Beastmaster was born here. His name was Hyang-won. He is from the same clan as Hyang-tai, as you might have guessed from their names. He is a distant cousin of hers. 'Distant enough we could have married' she said. I could not parse her age well, but that would make him rather younger than Anurr, at least, although I cannot tell if this says anything in terms of his power.

I could not get her to tell me more how he became what he currently is, but she calls him a gift, and their 'good master'.

[Well, there you go with his info dump, and he is about to switch the communication off when he seems to suddenly remember something.]

Oh, she also mentioned she had a vision about our presence here and that we are going to ruin them. I cannot claim to be very surprised by this. And she hasn't told anyone in the village that because, I quote 'they haven't asked'.

[And honestly, as someone who also sees the future, he thinks that's pretty valid.]

Hopefully, we can make something of this.

Comments

[somebadnews]

[ Call him arrogant for believing otherwise, but the alternative means accepting the apocalypse. Not that he'd go that far for a village that cursed him and his family. ]

You don't think she'd have anything to gain by watching the destruction of the people who exiled her?

[beitangmoran]

In general, Master Five, people who can see the future, do not have any particular stakes in what will happen. But they do tend to get reviled when they speak of it.

She showed no particular animosity towards the villagers. Not outwardly at least. A bit of bitterness, maybe, but not to the point where she'd actually give a hand in the destruction, I think.

She is, however, much older than she appears, I think, so I could be wrong on that.

[somebadnews]

[ Her and everyone else. Here Five used to think he was an anomaly. He doesn't think that it's a coincidence that she happened to bring all this up with him either. Even prophets have motives. ]

Did she know about your ability?

[beitangmoran]

I don't know if she knew beforehand, but I did mention it.

[somebadnews]

Did you. [ Maybe that was the only way to get her to open up, but that still bothers him for some reason. ] Are you planning on going to see her again?

[beitangmoran]

I don't have plans to visit for now, no.

Harassing her with questions will not help.

[somebadnews]

[ He'll let that slide on account of how badly that's gone lately. ]

You don't think that she knows more than she told you?

[beitangmoran]

Of course she does. But that doesn't mean she will tell anyone who just asks.

[somebadnews]

[ Fine. He can pretend that Allison would lend a hand if she knows something he needs. ]

When was the last time you had a vision?

[beitangmoran]

I haven't had any since Taravast.

[somebadnews]

If I remember right, yours are more open to interpretation. Did you predict what happened there?

[beitangmoran]

You do not remember right, Master Five. It's not that they are open to interpretation, it's that lack of context can make them difficult to understand. but in the end, everything happens exactly the way I see it.

I do not get to choose when I have visions, or about what. I was not shown in advance what would happen to Taravast.

[somebadnews]

[ You know, he wasn't his best in Taravast, so he really doesn't remember how relevant his visions actually are. ]

What was the last one?

[beitangmoran]

Some inconsequential thing about some Taravast nobles' wedding.

[somebadnews]

[ Figures. ]

You've never thought about training to get better at them while you've got the chance?

[beitangmoran]

.... That's not how it works.

[Guess he'll have to keep explaining that, though.]

I don't decide when I have a vision, or what I see. It happens when it wants or needs to. I can't turn it on or off.

[somebadnews]

How hard have you tried? [ That comes out snippy, but if Five accepted what he 'can't' do, he'd still be stranded in the Apocalypse. ]

Obviously this prophet you met was able to see something that was actually significant, so she figured it out. There has to be a better way to trigger your ability.

[beitangmoran]

There is not. It would be way too powerful if that was the case. In everything there needs to be balance. This is the limit the constellation of the Aquarius imposes on its Star Master.

Using the ability in any way consumes life force. Even the Star masters who can trigger their abilities do not sue them overly much, unless they want an early grave.

Her power probably works differently from mine.

[somebadnews]

[ All he's hearing is there is a way to trigger them, but he's afraid to. Which doesn't help them. ]

It maintains balance by only showing you cryptic mundane visions that won't impact anything, and you never question why?

[beitangmoran]

[That's absolutely not what he said, but you go off, Five. Yell at the stars and see if it changes something.]

I never said it only gives me mundane visions, Master Five.

In the past it has showed me the exact way my kingdom would almost be destroyed, and the person who would save it.

[somebadnews]

[ He could humor him and say he'll try to work on it. It's more frustrating knowing that he's able to foretell major events but he hasn't since he got here. ]

How far into the future was that?

[beitangmoran]

[But why would he do that when it's not true and he's not going to anyway?]

It was different events that spanned the next several months to a year.

[somebadnews]

That hasn't happened since?

[ Does he have to kidnap a blind woman to get his fortune told... ]

[beitangmoran]

To such a magnitude, no.

[Do not kidnap Hyang-tai, it will not end well.]

I have seen a few things here, and it has helped me in combat a few times.

[somebadnews]

[ He could just jump to the future himself, but that's guaranteed to end worse. ]

Is that it, then? Your visions are more for your benefit?