vibrafinal | 1st moon [accidental video]

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1st moon [accidental video]

Did... did we fail? Did that being somehow kill us all?

[The video post must accidental, because it shows a naked, pale male chest. It looks like someone is holding his journal against himself in a desperate attempt to ward off the cold.]

I cannot remember him attacking... Perhaps I hit my head? But would the afterlife not heal such wounds? [The sound of rustling hair.] No blood, and no swelling. Perhaps the wound can be healed, but the amnesia cannot? ...I suppose it matters not, in the end.

[His feet barely make any noise on the ground, but his body is obviously moving, even from such a close range.]

I should be thankful I appear to be the only one present at least. Perhaps Ceodore and the others have survived... As long as this crisis is averted, my death is an acceptable price to pay. But still, I’d hoped...

[But whatever he’d hoped, he does not say.]

...I should try to find my sword and shield. This afterlife might not be as pleasant as it appears to be.

[[ooc: As a reminder, tags will come from

puppet_paladin.]]

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That menace is nothing but a few weeks out of decades. Think of it as a bright future, with a small darker period.

Trust you to see it that way.

What else do you need to know about Luceti?

How many prisoners are there? What are this enclosure's strategically important locations? What supplies can we access? How are intruding menaces dealt with? ...I apologize, I have many questions.

That is not something to apologize for. I'm glad I can be of such assistance.

The number of prisoners most likely exceeds two hundred, but I do not believe it reaches three. Strategically, the most important locations are the tunnels, which seal away all powers and abilities, and the various houses, but chief among them the large complexes which house numerous people and families. Supplies are... strange, to say the least. We have an endless supply of food, almost any arms and armor we would need, and if someone decides to undertake a construction project, they've never yet run out of materials. But there seems to be a cutoff point for advanced technology. We could not gather the parts to build an airship here, even if one among us had the knowledge.

And intruders... [He pauses, considering this.] Only once has the barrier around us been breached. There was no set plan for how to deal with that, and there still isn't one for a reoccurance, largely because the enemy that did so has since been otherwise occupied. This leads us to the issue of the drafts. Has anyone informed you that the Malnosso will sometimes take large groups of us to go face an enigmatic "Third Party"?

[As Golbez speaks, Cecil repeats everything under his breath. If only he had a quill to take notes...]

Have those complexes been fortified? If they house many civilians, their destruction would cause countless casualties. What about alternative supplies for food and weapons? One should not rely on anything that is supposedly endless.

[He shakes his head.] You are the first to mention them to me. Why are they attacking us? Have they made any demands?

[That gets a sigh and a shake of the head from him. Whenever he has conversations like this it just reminds him of how woefully dependent Luceti is on the Malnosso.]

Unfortunately not. The plan is usually to evacuate them when they are threatened, rather than reinforce them. As for food and weapons, we do have a smithy and some renewable food sources here, though our access to resources for the former is minimal and the latter isn't often used, on account of what would usually be considered food being able to speak. In addition, some have taken to growing vegetable gardens.

The Third Party... [He clenches his fists. The Malnosso are scum, but they...] They are fanatics. Most of what we know of them comes secondhand, but whenever we've clashed with them they've made their objectives very clear. They despise the world we are trapped on but cannot escape, and have been trapped in an endless cycle of death and revival, a cycle we share. This has caused them to become convinced that the only way out is to break the cycle... by killing everyone on this planet. They have a ritual they use which will break this world's ability to revive the sacrifice, and they intend to perform it on each and every one of us, and most likely everyone outside of this village as well.

This means I'll have to stock up on dried meat, then. I'll get used to the talking after some time. Along with other food that keeps... I know too little about agriculture to provide grains and vegetables, a pity. I'll try to find as many of our weapons as I can, too.

[Big brother, little brother really doesn't like what you're saying.]

They desire death so much that they would impose it on us, regardless of our feelings? What sort of madness is this? Is there no way to stop them, to contain them somewhere they cannot harm anyone?

Stopping them permanently is very difficult, due both to their power and the fact that Luceti revives them just as it revives anyone else, albeit with a new loss every time. The Malnosso are clearly at war with them, but from what we can tell it seems to be a losing one.

This returns us to the subject of the drafts. Every few months or so, the Malnosso will send out a message informing the village that some of our members will be expected to battle the Third Party. Those named will then be escorted to a transporter that will take them to the battlefield, where they will have a night to prepare. While there are many within the village who dislike and actively resist the drafts, and I cannot say I blame them, the fact remains that they are the only way to halt the Third Party's actions available to us.

...This ritual of theirs. Could it be turned against them, somehow? If they wish to die that much... Unless they insist on disposing of everyone else before their own deaths.

The very thought of fighting for our jailers' sake angers me, but at the same time, if it helps protect the civilians of the village... Still, a single night is little time to prepare. How are we supposed to obtain the necessary supplies and intelligence? How are the combattants chosen in the first place?

If... we were to learn the ritual ourselves, perhaps we could use it on them. But it would require time, and the ability to capture rather than kill them until the ritual is complete. They seem to genuinely believe they are doing us a favor by killing us, so it's reasonable to assume they will fight to stay alive as hard as they can.

Those were my thoughts on the matter as well. It is aggravating to be used in such a way, but the alternative is... unthinkable. We are given advance warning about a week before the transportation to the battlefield, and tactical advice is usually provided, so we have that much, at least.

As for how the selection process goes, we don't fully understand it, but we do know that the methods they use to transport us to the field and back are difficult at best to utilize properly, and that only certain members are compatible for each shift to the battlefield. Why this is and the particulars of what is done to bring us there remain unexplained, despite repeated efforts to gain some sort of insight. It all seems to revolve around a form of technology called "shifting".

They could at least ask us about our opinions before they kill us. They cannot possibly believe that every single villager would rather die than stay here until we find a way to return home. It sounds to me like they've given up on everything, and are merely trying to justify their acts.

A week, and some tactical advice. That's better than nothing, at least. But this talk of compatibility worries me. Does it mean that their transporters affect our bodies? Could we not simply be allowed to teleport ourselves? Many here must possess that power.

Agreed, on all counts. But such is the nature of fanaticism.

Given that the barrier placed over the village prevents teleportation, it seems they aren't willing to allow that. Likely they fear that if given the opportunity to leave the enclosure by any means, none of the residents would return.

They trust us enough to ask us to fight their battles, but not enough to let us participate of our own wills. How pleasant. Did we gain anything from it? Did they?

[Bitterly.] Trust has nothing to do with it. They know that if reminded of the consequences of not resisting the Third Party, few of us will refuse to fight.

Prior to one of the Third Party's attacks, there was a desert beyond the mountains. There is now an ocean. Had we not been there the consequences would have been far worse.

How thoughtful and well-meaning of them.

[Bitterness, the whole family can use it.]

They were threatening to drown the village? Or were they merely expecting the waves to go further?

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