[Closed] June Catch-All

[locumstudentesquire]

Who: Ryunosuke and Uh... Various!
What: Catch-all for June shenanigans
Where: Greentruth (mostly) but also Godsblood
When: 1st-25th of Visoseri
Notes/Warnings: Shouldn't be any warnings but they'll be marked by starter down in the comments if that changes!

Hit me up on plurk at awkwardpossum if you want to plot something to add here! Or if you don't have plurk my plotting comment on the OOC planning log is over here.

Comments

[coerthantorment]

"...Then our worlds were much the same."

He need only consider the Inquisition and its constant search for heretics, many of which were subjected to unjust fates like trial by ordeal.

"Thankfully, our situation provides us with a certain lack of ambiguity in that regard. Those taken by the Kenoma must needs be cleansed of it... or kept in such a matter that they can cause no further harm. Would that we could find a way to more reliably do the former."

[locumstudentesquire]

It's a relief, to have found some common ground here, and Ryunosuke nods understandingly at that. The idea of a prison will never sit well with him, but he can acknowledge the necessity for one. He might even help manage it, if permitted. Negotiating with and advocating for the incarcerated is something familiar to him, at least.

"Hmm..."

Ryunosuke's gaze grows distant again, his hand resting thoughtfully at his chin.

"...Didn't you once tell me that it took a certain strength of will to resist the Kenoma? You said the Regent's forces tortured you all... Did their utmost to break your spirits. If the Kenoma and Pleroma truly exist opposite to one another... Well, to me, it would make the most sense that some manner of opposite treatment might be the key to releasing them from its hold."

He sighs, letting his hand drop. "Of course, lifting a man from despair requires far more effort than letting him drop into it. And some may be, as you suggest, beyond reasoning with."

[coerthantorment]

"It has always been easier to destroy than to heal."

That much he knows very well. The destruction of a person can happen in an instant, while recovery may take the rest of their life, if it happens at all. This he knows to be true. After all, he was one of the lucky ones. He lived long enough to find a semblance of peace.

"I know not what particular qualities spared our souls over the others. Sheer bull-headedness, mayhap. But in the end... we were not alone. There was... a presence within us, that expelled the Kenoma's poison and empowered us to claim our freedom. The Pleroma, I believe."

Their deaths had been all but certain. That they were saved by the Pleroma is something he will never forget, no matter where this path leads.

"Perhaps our will to persevere earned its attention. Regardless, if there is any cure for the Kenoma's affliction, I believe that is where it lies."

[locumstudentesquire]

Ryunosuke cocks his head thoughtfully.

"You make it sound almost as if it has a will of its own... A consciousness, even."

Maybe they're teetering on the edge of taking this discussion way too deep into the realm of religious speculation and philosophy, but he's curious if Estinien has anything further to say about that.

"Do you think it actively chooses those who it deems worthy of its influence?"

[coerthantorment]

Estinien falls quiet, clearly unsure about how to phrase whatever he's thinking. He lets himself muse over it for several seconds before answering.

"Nay... I believe that certain actions, certain choices, may welcome its presence."

He doesn't necessarily think that the Pleroma is a person that analyzes them to consciously make a decision about who passes and who doesn't. Just that it knows where it's wanted, more or less.

"I believe that perseverance makes one's soul fertile ground for the spirit of life."

[locumstudentesquire]

Ryunosuke thinks about that a moment, then nods, smiling slightly.

"I think I would agree with that. Though it does make one wonder..."

He's lost in thought again, for a moment. Trying to put words to this questioning feeling he has.

"I do wonder if the Kenoma... Not the power itself, but the Aions who align with it... Do you think they could exist, just... As they are? Without the Regent to lead them?"

That question probably doesn't make any sense but he's trying here, ok,

[coerthantorment]

"A fair question," Estinien murmurs. He's wondered the same himself. Is an Aion attuning to the Kenoma natural, or an aberration caused by the Regent. "From my experience... all that is Kenoma is rooted in the Regent and their schemes. That poison of theirs... 'twas nothing natural."

He leans back, finding a tiny bit of solace in the thought. That this illness might be excised with the elimination of an individual.

"If they were destroyed... who knows what ails we might cure."