Augury: Hate’s Creation

[Archer he/him]

"It was worth a shot," Tion grunted. "It says it is a Concept, and implies that its the one who spoke to you previously."

Are you a remnant of something, he thought at it, unaware that it wasn't a telepath. Are you some accidental by-product of an even greater magic? 

The god blindly maneuvered himself over to one of the rocks. He could feel it humming to his touch, like the purr of a kitten. To say that he was disappointed would be an understatement. This hadn't just been the plan, it had been a test run, for when they faced a similar foe. Himself. 

Now he was spent, mind operating on autopilot. Naturally, that made him prone to rambling. "Quite convenient that you can only appear to one person at a time. Makes it hard to tell if you're real. We went to the hole you came up out of. That place was bristling with power too. My only conclusion was that you intended to make a spectacle, to draw some influential attention."

"If that's what you were going for, you've done it. You've won an audience with a god, well done. Better yet, you've piqued my curiosity! So tell me Last, where do you fit into the Augury and how might I use you to my advantage? In case you hadn't seen it already in my mind, we have a few powerful enemies to contend with, lest this realm be crushed into oblivion. You do have some supernatural abilities, right?"

[+Sorana she/her]

A concept. Sagitta helped Tion lean against a rock, keeping quiet. Now that Tion mentioned that part she remembered. She had asked that question, had wanted to know who Last was when he'd appeared to her in her dream. She let Tion speak, ramble, noting the exhaustion on his face and in the way he held himself. His words were grand, as if Last was someone who should enjoy being in his presence, as if he was stronger. Which he wasn't.

Augury. Filing the word away for later use she tilted her head to the side, considering a question of her own. Last was a concept. An idea. And he had come to her, because she fit, somehow his concept. Because she ended things, destroyed. The thought felt familiar again and she allowed herself to follow it. She destroyed, she didn't create. It was true she suspected. Her path was the path of a weapon, the path of war. Contrasting a few weeks, probably months before, the thought didn't hurt. Not everybody could be an artist, there needed to be those who walked a rougher path as well.

And it was fine in the end. Tion created, he wove magic, he was intelligent, she prefered to use brute force and if that wasn't enough to apply more of it. Somehow that made them a good team.

"Are there others like you?" she asked into the air. "Concepts? War, Love, Warmth, Pain, Death, " no Last Probably covered death. "First. If you're Last, then is there a First? What else? What is your role. You're not gods, you're something else." Otherwise Tion wouldn't be talking the way he was. That meant there was a third power. Something humans didn't even know about. "And what does all of this have to do with the world ending?"

@AonEne

[AonEne he/him]

“I’m sorry, what?” Last said to Tion, pushing confusion into its voice. “I came up out of - what? I don’t know what’s in your mind. And it’s not that I can only appear to one person, but that her mind is too stable, too whole, still holding fast to reality. Yours isn’t as close.” It visibly frowned, face moving instantly from one expression to the next. “Which provides an explanation for some of your behavior, I suppose.” It sighed. “And that would depend on what you mean by supernatural abilities. Nothing so impressive as yours, Sensation.” 

Last turned to look at Sagitta, but still addressed its words to Tion, regretting that it was necessary. “There is a concept for anything you can think of, just as you listed - very good thinking there - but only two of us, as far as I am aware, have the power to think. Myself and, yes, First. We don’t know why the world is ending, but we want to stop it, of course.” 

[Archer he/him]

Tion relayed the message in a verbatim monotone while he thought. He knew he was going insane. But having a stranger discuss it so openly was disconcerting. The concept apparently had a specific, but useful skill-set, including unusual insight into the minds of others. "Entropy is a problem. As is Intensity. Both have embraced their destructive sides. As, I suppose, have I, by proxy."  

"We need to... deal with some errant gods. There's other disasters brewing, but they'll be what burns us first if they're allowed to go unchecked." For the first time, he opened his eyes to really study the being in front of him. He didn't glean much, it was like looking at a child's Sensation illusion, always wavering and blurry. He made a mental note to track if the concept started to solidify its form. "You're a lot like my Dark Side. Physically, rather harmless. Merely chock full of power and ambitions. I don't suppose that gives you any ideas how to confront him? Or any of the other gods? I'm sure they'd argue that I'm just as bad as they, but better the fiend you know, right?"

He was flailing. He should have had better questions prepared, or some strategy to share. Conveniently, his companion was well versed in military strategy. "Sagitta, perhaps you can help with this. We appear to have found ourselves a new ally. One capable of spying, psychological warfare, offering knowledge... how do we suggest we use this asset? And Last, you are an asset. I don't trust you, but if our goals genuinely align, it's in your best interests to let me and my advisor take charge here. Otherwise I may see the need to deal with you too."

He let the threat hang in the air, hoping his aggressive confidence would conceal his utter ignorance. 

[+Sorana she/her]

Sagitta considered his words for a while, took her time to view the situation from different angles. Tion had a dark side, who represented his urge to destroy. She hadn't met that part of him, but if it was true, she had to be careful. Ensure she wasn't taken by surprise should his behaviour change. It happened sometimes that people went crazy especially after they had fought a few battles.

An asset. Was Last an asset? He was invisible to everybody but Tion, maybe to the other gods. He could influence dreams, maybe memories. They could definitely use him, but for now there was another information that had caught her attention. That made him an asset, but it also made him dangerous. If only Tion could see him, how could they ensure that he wouldn't betray them, that his actions and theirs would align. Biting on her lip she frowned. There was no way to get rid of that risk. If they wanted to use him, then they had to accept that despite the fact that they appeared to walk into the same direction, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't sacrifice them in the end only to achieve a larger goal.

"Last mentioned, that there is a possibility to replace a god." she picked up a fact from a few minutes earlier. "Would it help to replace the crazy ones? Exchange them for - someone/ something else?" she wasn't entirely sure how that might work, but Last wouldn't have mentioned it, if it wasn't possible. If the gods were sane again, maybe they could get them to help as well, to work against the world ending together. Despite everything, they were still gods. They were powerful, far more powerful than she would ever be.

"And if it's possible, how can we do it? Will it help taking a look at the large picture?"

@AonEne

Edited June 17, 2020 by Sorana

[Archer he/him]

Tion continued to study Last, the way one teacher observes another’s technique. It was an interesting presentation. He seemed almost human with his mannerisms, with subconscious seeming tilts of the head and gestures. And yet, it was an incomplete illusion. He could never be mistaken for a mere human, his form seemed well chosen to set him apart without unnerving those he met.

Meanwhile, from across the circle, a lithe black snake was sunning itself in the sand beside a standing stone, unnoticed as it bathed in the sun’s warmth. As Tion talked, its head slowly bobbed upwards, tongue flicking out to taste the air. Two tiny fangs poked out from its mouth.

The snake moved forward, into the shadow in front of it. Its cold black scales shimmered as it moved, revealing a grey underbelly along its pencil-thin frame. It wiggled at speed, blazing a trail through the grass. Within a moment it would pass Sagitta, but its beady little eyes were fixed on Tion and the energies radiating out of him.

“Yes, we’ve been a little isolated of late. Stuck on an island, you know how it goes. What’s going on in the world? What’s the bigger picture?” the god asked, curiously.

@AonEne

[+Sorana she/her]

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Sorry -.-

Somehow I couldn't get her voice right. Still don't feel as if I did.

Sagitta reached for her knife when the snake darted closer, kept silent for a while to allow Last to speak without ever seeing him. The bigger picture. A good question, although she wasn't entirely sure about its relevance. They needed something else, some hint what they could do about the gods. How to stop them. How to step into their path with a different ending than nearly drowning in a huge salty lake.

"Did he say something about the gods?" she inquired quietly, hoping she wasn't distracting Last from whatever he was doing, not knowing that he was long gone. "About how we can stop them?" They needed some kind of edge, somthing they could use, to help them. Either to strengthen themselves, or to weaken them. The eyes of those nearly starved men and women looked at her again and she shivvered. She had seen death. All kinds of death. More than she ever wanted to see. But this, this willingness, this walking into death without ever knowing what you did. This was something different.

She felt her fingers tighten around the hilt of her dagger, suddenly wondering if they all were like that. Crazy, doing something that went against all logic and reason. Why kill your own followers, when they could add to your power. It didn't make sense. But then, nothing about all of this did. Just accept the facts and go on. Sagitta nodded a little to herself and then made a list of things they had to do. Stop the gods. Find the reason for all of this. The task felt dauting, too dauting. It was too much. So maybe break it down. Find out more about Intensity. They had been to the island, they knew their way around. Go there again, this time with a plan. And then stop him. Weaken him or free the poor souls. Whatever might work. And then, then they could worry about the rest of the world.

@Archer

[AonEne he/him]

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*smacks Augury upside the head with a defibrillator* clEAR

I completely lost Last's characterization, and also forgot most of my plans for them, so...back to them later...

"I am not an asset for you," Last said coolly, and disappeared.

@Sorana @Archer @I think I am here. @Lunamor @Blessing of Potency (if you guys wanna get back in)

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We're also accepting new members!

 

[Lunar Blessing she/her]

43 minutes ago, AonEne said:

*smacks Augury upside the head with a defibrillator* clEAR

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I feel like that’s not how you use that... 

 

also, I haven’t followed this for a while and I have no idea what’s going on...

 

[Lunamor she/her]

1 hour ago, AonEne said:

"I am not an asset for you," Last said coolly, and disappeared.

@Sorana @Archer @I think I am here. @Lunamor @Blessing of Potency (if you guys wanna get back in)

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I’d like to rejoin but have no clue what the heck to do with Zura, she’s kinda just floating in the void right now 

 

[Archer he/him]

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Hm. I don't think I'm in the zone for this anymore. It was fun, but I've moved on. It was too much too handle, especially now that's school is back on. My apologies. 

 

[+Sorana she/her]

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I'm sorry, but I don't want to add to my commitment at the moment. If it works for Archer I would write a last post for Sagitta, something along the lines of the two of them heading off to face Intensity, but that's it from my side.

@Archer

[Archer he/him]

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I'd be okay with that. 

 

[AonEne he/him]

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That’s fair, everyone! 

Po that is absolutely how you use a defibrillator because reasons.