un: sweet lily of the hidden valley; voice

[bearshermark]

[Eleven's voice comes through hushed, yet tinged with urgency]

This one is asking for a mirror.

[A different, fainter voice, words heavy and slurred as through from disuse] Take me to mirror..

[Eleven audibly hesitates, his attention turning briefly away from the network as his voice lowers, softer] Are- are there more of them? The one on the ship shattered..

[A halting pause from the other side] ..End pain..

[Grief, bleeding through compassion] I will. If I can't help you, I promise.

[Eleven takes in a deep breath and clears his throat] ..I know it's probably too much to hope there's another mirror we could easily find, but he seems convinced it would help. It was said the body in the lake had a similar aura. I didn't think much of it then, but now I wonder...

Comments

[somebadnews]

[ Okay. ]

So you thought... what, exactly? That if you could get one of them on our side, we could clear up this whole misunderstanding?

[bearshermark]

..No. I thought if we can help them, we should.

[somebadnews]

And you're hoping some mirror can cure them?

[ Just... rubbing his face. Of course he knows about the other mirror, but thankfully he doesn't think enough people do to bring it up. (Hopefully!) It's in as safe of hands as it can be. ]

Let me answer that. It's a bad idea. You should leave him where you found him, and make sure he doesn't follow you.

[bearshermark]

I don't know what it would do, but there must be a reason he's asking, if the only alternative is a final death.

[somebadnews]

He's as good as dead, so why not experiment?

[ Ugh. It's because El is (actually) young and painfully naive that he's bothering with this. ]

What do you think drives them? They're not people any more. If they're asking for something, it's because they think they can manipulate you into giving it to them.

[bearshermark]

[Tightly] They still have souls.

[somebadnews]

Are you sure about that?

[bearshermark]

Yes.

[Less so, actually, on second thought, Wei Wuxian's mutterings only half-remembered, but he's sticking with it]

[somebadnews]

[ He's not convinced. There's apparently a way to find out, but so far it's inconclusive. ]

Alright then, so you think they have souls. [ He... can allow that concept. ] But there could be a possibility that I'm right. Assuming they're not completely mindless, wouldn't it make sense to appeal to the most sympathetic among us?

[bearshermark]

That sounds like a lot of assumptions.

[somebadnews]

[ It makes perfect sense. ]

Are you just standing there with him now, watching him to defrost?

[bearshermark]

I'm trying to help.

[somebadnews]

[ Is he slightly curious what the mirror would do...? Maybe. But it still seems like a terrible idea to entertain. ]

It seems strange that he would unfreeze in this weather, doesn't it?

[bearshermark]

Yes. Karsa said Unhalad was losing power, didn't she?

[Admittedly, he'd taken exception to her lecture and didn't stay to listen to much of what she had to say]

[somebadnews]

[ Frowns, because he doesn't like to admit to missing things. He has his own problems with Karsa, though he'd use stronger language. There was that bit about Anurr controlling the weather... ]

So you think they're vulnerable, right now?

[bearshermark]

I'd guess that's what's happening.

[A breath] The people in the Citadel that support Anurr are certainly growing bolder.

[It's a little worrying, for reasons he hasn't quite put together yet]

[somebadnews]

Not just there.

[ They're straight up fanatics, that Anurr is apparently calling out to. He witnessed that first hand. ...And now you've got him thinking. ]

They know they've got an opportunity.

[bearshermark]

I guess that makes sense..

[He hums shortly]

I'm glad we left the Citadel. It was never safe there, but it feels worse, now.

[somebadnews]

It's not safe anywhere.

[bearshermark]

It's just a different kind of threat, I think.

[He sighs]

But if Unhalad's power is truly waning, then perhaps this is what becomes of those that the undead warlords can no longer control. Maybe we can't save them, if it's only the curse of undeath that's waning. It might just be that they return to their natural deaths..

But I really wonder what the mirror would affect.

[somebadnews]

[ Is the experiment worth the risk? Probably not. Definitely not with El involved. Who knows if it's even about the same mirror? Some random object he grabbed...

All these damn mysteries. ]

What's your plan now?

[bearshermark]

Hm. Well, I don't see the harm in bringing him to the edge of the lake. Beyond that, I'll look after him.

[somebadnews]

[ He doesn't see the harm. Definitely wasn't listening to him at all. ]

You'll watch him suffer. Who are you really helping?

[bearshermark]

I'm trying to understand what's happening so we can help. I watched the miners deteriorate into undeath. This looks like the reverse.

Unless you already know what will happen if he's brought to the lake or looks into a mirror.

[somebadnews]

[ El is going to do it anyway, he can tell. What he knows is surprisingly little, for all his efforts. Cryptic warnings that don't add up to much more than frustration. ]

I don't.