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eastbound2022-04-25 09:54 pm
blackscales) wrote in eastbound2022-04-25 09:54 pm
un: Black Prince; video
[ The arms-folded image of Wrathion appears to be in a very bland, dark room, stone with nothing much more than a few cushions.
Anyone who's spoken to him there will realise he's still in his cave, anyone else who's noticed he's been missing might be surprised he is actually still around.
He looks subdued, thoughtful, as he tries to get through what he wants to say. He's less tired than he was, more focus returned to him, but there's a faint air of frustration that wells up the further he gets into what he wants to say. ]
It seems we are running out of time to solve this mystery, given we're likely not long from the eruption now that earthquakes have started. The volcano is surely at the heart of it, and this House of Ravens they speak of.
So, what do we know?
The volcano itself appears to have strange, humanoid antlered residents. They're armed, hungry and violent -- but somehow reticent to truly reveal themselves, they only hunt those without a torch to ward them away. They have a camp in central chamber. Some manner of mutation has touched them, perhaps, from the waters? I hear they can cause that, although the dark waters erupting from the earthquakes also heal. I'm unclear what causes one reaction over the other.
Waters touched by the White Wanderer seem to ward the Beastmaster's influence, as do pieces from his shrines, but he was said to be sick. Is there something of his influence in this contrast of effects? Sickness and healing combined both? Or something else entirely going on here?
The camp made by the creatures in the volcano held a pile of skulls, from previous offerings. We removed them and buried them, although if that will truly do anything to delay this eruption I cannot say. The messaging here is mixed, many say Ke-Sanwon does not want sacrifices, although some clearly believe otherwise if recent events are anything to go by.
[ He frowns, lifts one hand to rub at his beard as he decides how to go about describing the next part. ]
The volcano itself is also strange. It has an... environmental effect, of sorts, allowing those within it to hear each others thoughts -- and the thoughts of those who went before. That it is a source of power is unsurprising, given that is why the Beastmaster and the Huntress both anticipate its eruption. The previous victims brought here were unwilling, and suffered -- cursing the villages and their families as they they died. Given the state of things, I would imagine they were successful.
In strange contrast to that, it seems locals suggest the Beastmaster doesn't like any sort of superstition -- that he doesn't approve of the sacrifices to Ke-Sanwon. So what happens to those he takes, then? It sounds as if they're unnaturally calm, I would guess subdued in some way. Perhaps they are taken to the House of Ravens directly, or away to some other location the undead lords use? Similarly, where do the missing children from the village go? There were no recent looking bones in the volcano, and they appear to vanish regularly -- every two to three years in small numbers. Less frequently than the Beastmaster's visits. The peculiarly snakelike creature who has been seen here doesn't appear immediately violent toward children, at a test, although villagers suggested she ate them none could admit actually seeing her do so. Her head is human enough but her body is not, exactly, flesh. More a composite of hair and bone. She flees quickly rather than staying to fight.
These pieces all fit together somehow. The sooner we find what we are missing, the sooner we can stop any more harm being done -- and stop ourselves causing any inadvertently.
Anyone who's spoken to him there will realise he's still in his cave, anyone else who's noticed he's been missing might be surprised he is actually still around.
He looks subdued, thoughtful, as he tries to get through what he wants to say. He's less tired than he was, more focus returned to him, but there's a faint air of frustration that wells up the further he gets into what he wants to say. ]
It seems we are running out of time to solve this mystery, given we're likely not long from the eruption now that earthquakes have started. The volcano is surely at the heart of it, and this House of Ravens they speak of.
So, what do we know?
The volcano itself appears to have strange, humanoid antlered residents. They're armed, hungry and violent -- but somehow reticent to truly reveal themselves, they only hunt those without a torch to ward them away. They have a camp in central chamber. Some manner of mutation has touched them, perhaps, from the waters? I hear they can cause that, although the dark waters erupting from the earthquakes also heal. I'm unclear what causes one reaction over the other.
Waters touched by the White Wanderer seem to ward the Beastmaster's influence, as do pieces from his shrines, but he was said to be sick. Is there something of his influence in this contrast of effects? Sickness and healing combined both? Or something else entirely going on here?
The camp made by the creatures in the volcano held a pile of skulls, from previous offerings. We removed them and buried them, although if that will truly do anything to delay this eruption I cannot say. The messaging here is mixed, many say Ke-Sanwon does not want sacrifices, although some clearly believe otherwise if recent events are anything to go by.
[ He frowns, lifts one hand to rub at his beard as he decides how to go about describing the next part. ]
The volcano itself is also strange. It has an... environmental effect, of sorts, allowing those within it to hear each others thoughts -- and the thoughts of those who went before. That it is a source of power is unsurprising, given that is why the Beastmaster and the Huntress both anticipate its eruption. The previous victims brought here were unwilling, and suffered -- cursing the villages and their families as they they died. Given the state of things, I would imagine they were successful.
In strange contrast to that, it seems locals suggest the Beastmaster doesn't like any sort of superstition -- that he doesn't approve of the sacrifices to Ke-Sanwon. So what happens to those he takes, then? It sounds as if they're unnaturally calm, I would guess subdued in some way. Perhaps they are taken to the House of Ravens directly, or away to some other location the undead lords use? Similarly, where do the missing children from the village go? There were no recent looking bones in the volcano, and they appear to vanish regularly -- every two to three years in small numbers. Less frequently than the Beastmaster's visits. The peculiarly snakelike creature who has been seen here doesn't appear immediately violent toward children, at a test, although villagers suggested she ate them none could admit actually seeing her do so. Her head is human enough but her body is not, exactly, flesh. More a composite of hair and bone. She flees quickly rather than staying to fight.
These pieces all fit together somehow. The sooner we find what we are missing, the sooner we can stop any more harm being done -- and stop ourselves causing any inadvertently.
un: man's greatest treasure (text)
When Wen Qing and I were guarding the merchant's home, it was a slither we heard. The lady followed the creature and I followed her, but when I caught up she got caught by a naga. So - altogether different, but I had thought perhaps it had been that snakelike creature instead.
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Still, I'd wondered that -- or if she had a child who was trafficked or sacrificed. Either that, or there may be an element of curse and atonement at play. Perhaps she had been involved in it before and is now undoing it.
Or, of course, she may be stealing the children for the undead. We have yet to disprove that, as much as we've yet to prove it.
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[ Some particular act that spurred a culture of atonement in this fashion. ]
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Maybe they were haunted? I have a feeling, judging by our curses, that there were a lot of unhappy spirits at one point, perhaps they converged. Plus superstition - it's easy to say that the spirits are to blame for the crops, and so the villagers should repent.
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Speaking of the volcano - there was a slithering creature that tried to break into a merchant's house. The one I mentioned? It left behind ashes, volcanic ashes. The servants said they thought they came from the volcano or the fetters.
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[ Hermione, what have you been up to. ]
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Some of us went to find out what Sairen was up to early on, and stumbled into a gambling fest. It was barbaric - everyone was drunk and playing very poorly some game I barely understood and yet I still won a round!
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There were some drunkards who were being obnoxious about not being able to join the party, and they mentioned that Sairen's got control over the farmers because he hoards the substance that keeps the fields in a condition to give fruit. The same substance was, presumably, designed and shared around by the white wanderer who blessed the temple stones as well...
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