IC INBOX: WATER

[thankgods]

   IC INBOX: THE WATER

The Water can be found anywhere that is not on Ensō or its islets. To speak to the Water, one merely has to situate themselves at any of the other island shores and be physically touching the ocean waters while verbally asking to speak to them. The Water will oftentimes respond promptly, usually by manifesting in the shape of a dragon made entirely of water, though this shape may vary.

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

code by photosynthesis

Comments

sometime early january before flower hell v2

[deathfindsaway]

[Kravitz isn't entirely sure how he approaches a god about something, after all this time. He thought he had a more familiar beat with the Storyteller, but after... well, messing that up, he's not certain what his approach should be. But he's thought a lot about what Harv said to him and how little sense it made, and he can't shake the fear of not understanding what happened. With the other islands staying in the archipelago, he returns to Nudian specifically to contact the Water, stepping into the edge of the surf and addressing the horizon ahead.]

Hello, is-- is it alright if I refer to you as The Water? I'd like to ask you a question, if you have a moment.

[thankgods]

[Within a few moments, the water has gathered into a familiar shape - wyrmlike and large and twisting, their horned head dripping as they lift it to regard Kravitz evenly.]

You may call me what you wish. We all have so much time...or so little, depending on perspective.

Ask me what you will.

[deathfindsaway]

[He steadies himself with a breath, the formalities set and his question still feeling scattered.]

When we returned to Nudian, I have on good faith that only a year or so passed for us between the last time we were there. While we all appreciated the bountiful harvest, I spoke to Harv there... and for them, an incredible amount of time had passed. Centuries alone, and-- even more concerning, they didn't seem to be able to know. Every time they focused on it, it would... corrupt, and escape them.

[Kravitz looks up at the wyrm, not with blame, but with suspicion.]

We have had an extensive problem with gods forgetting their own histories in the places we've seen. Do you know anything about this? Why it's happening?

[thankgods]

Time has never been linear here. Perhaps it has now become apparent to you.

[It's difficult to read the Water's expression in their current form. But the words, low and watery and whispery as they are, nonetheless possess some sort of intensifying focus.]

Tell me. Have you noticed things being out of place before? Perhaps objects or people or even...

...memories?

[deathfindsaway]

[The sincerity and attention to detail immediately sends a surge of hope and fear through his chest, a thought that he may finally get some straight answers. Not that the Water just gave him answers before, but... well, all information is worth something.

Kravitz nods, just as attentive.]

Yes. Yes, quite frequently-- there is much in the timeline that does not add up, in our histories and that which we have discovered from the world. It's always just enough for things to be confusing, but-- why is it that only Enso seems to travel at a linear timeline, in a predictable function to most home worlds?

[thankgods]

Tell me:

Does a story always progress at a linear pace? Or does it often skip ahead, or jump back in time, as the narrative suits it?

[Here's hoping that you've read enough stories to make sense of that question, Kravitz.]

[deathfindsaway]

[He's had a lot of time to read here, which is good. Instead of answering immediately, Kravitz narrows his eyes, squinting as his brain gets ahead of his mouth.]

But in that case-- sorry, uhm-- yes, it does, but typically as it follows the protagonist. Is that... us? The Storyteller? And if so, why are we visiting these islands after their breaking, after the calamity, following scraps of information when we could be shown the truth?

[He looks up to the wyrm again, a solid stare signifying that he is nowhere near done with his questions.]

Whose story are we experiencing?

[thankgods]

A good question. Many good questions.

[Said in a tone that implies that the Water has been wondering that precise same thing themself.]

I have my theories. But they must be proven, if you will indulge me answering your questions with one of my own. Tell me of the other gods you have met. What were they like?

[deathfindsaway]

[He blinks, almost in surprise. This was unexpected, to be asked anything of him and his findings, but he hastily retrieves his notebook from his bag and flips it to the correct page.]

Well, there has been-- been quite a few. There was Balance on Monsun, who, if I recall, was trying to get things back into sync. Harv of course, but we have discussed that change. Bliss, who was... quite fractured, and did not survive the ordeal. Anbaki seemed quite patient, as did Eleu until we... reformed them? However that means--

[Hm. Kravitz looks back up at the wyrm before him.]

All were damaged in some way. Even the Storyteller, missing many, many memories. Fractured, as if pottery fragments ground away from it's original piece.

February, after the quartzalcoatl start to appear

[forwearemany]

(Their chatter sounds distinctly unhappy, possibly even angry, as they approach the shore and stick their hand into the waves.)

Will you speak to us?

(One might assume they're here to seek the god's cure for the current crystalline affliction. And that person would be wrong.)

[thankgods]

As always. I am available as ever.

[The Water is always here, and manifests accordingly.]

[forwearemany]

Acknowledged. Thank you.

(Despite the expression of gratitude, they really do not seem pleased.)

Do you intend to involve those who have found themselves on Enso in conflict?

[thankgods]

You already live in constant conflict. With your friends, with your pasts, with gods, with each other.

If it is a fight you seek, I suggest you cast aside the rhetoricals and speak your piece.

[forwearemany]

(They growl. Or at least, that's what their chatter sounds like.)

This is not the conflict of which we speak. Do you intend to spark war?

(They chatter.)

Our memories of those who worshiped water involve them attempting to destroy those who do not. Data indicates that betrayal of some form was a likely instigator, however, additional evidence on Umui and Nastrandir suggests additional factors: evidence of illness is primarily present among non worshipers.

Ability to "cure" creates incompatibility with the Storyteller, and those who choose to accept their assistance. Why?

[thankgods]

To your first point: I am not my worshippers. Nor were they originally mine. They turned to me over time, and I saw no reason to turn them aside.

To your second: the quartzalcoatl are repercussions of the Storyteller's actions. Thus, they will only be eradicated by negating the Storyteller's aura. That this may create dissonance among you is a consequence that you will simply have to live with, should you choose it.

[forwearemany]

(Their head tilts to the side.)

They originally worshiped a different God?

(They chatter.)

We will not choose it.

The Storyteller has caused them?

[thankgods]

Yes. And yes. I do not know the exact nature by which this was enacted, but all of our kind leave a trace on our works. These creatures bear the Storyteller's.

february, quartz o'clock

[scourgingstars]

...I'm really not one to entreat the divine. Bad experiences, you see.

[Ardyn stood about ankle-deep in the ocean water, because like hell he was kneeling to touch it otherwise.]

But unlike some, I have been present long enough to know what those things are and that the Storyteller is unlikely to be of aid whatsoever. So...what can you tell me about them?

[Worried? Nah. He's definitely not worried or alarmed or slightly desperate, that would be silly.]

[thankgods]

[The Water forms into its serpentine shape, a rippling draconic representation that addresses Ardyn in a tone of what is best described as "neutrality."]

I can tell you that their power here is far greater than it should be. A god of stories, capable of shaping reality? It is a consequence of what this world is, and how they created it.

But I imagine you seek specifics. What is it you wish to know?

[scourgingstars]

You've caught my interest, even if the form leaves a bit to be desired.

Right now, my questions lie with the caves and those emerging creatures of crystal from beneath it. Might I convince you to tell me what it is you know?

[thankgods]

I know that those creatures are...they are not a natural consequence of this place. They exist solely through the Storyteller's action. I cannot say what action that was - only that it is evident that it is through their work that they exist.

Perhaps they were accidental Perhaps not. But that is why the sigil to ward the Storyteller's influence will eliminate the virus.

[scourgingstars]

Is that so? How interesting, should it prove true.

And what of yourself? I would not assume you came by a Storyteller-warding mark by happenstance. What might be the history of such a sign?

[thankgods]

Any god may repel another, given the correct motivation. I was not the one who devised that symbol. I have vague memories of ones who might have...I suspect that I knew them well. Or that I know them now.

I am not a god of memory. Adequate recall is proving difficult, currently.

[scourgingstars]

I'm not really a person of memory, but I can at least recognize lines in the sand of sorts when I see them beginning to be drawn.

...I will not pretend I have done much else but taken issue with the Storyteller from day one, and neither will I bother to lie and say I trust you or your word completely. That is to say, I would question this--were I to ask to be shown how to use this sigil in a warding capacity against that delightful little illness, what would be the drawback? Must the ailment rebound on, say, the person curing it?

Because as they say, 'been there, done that'.

[thankgods]

It would not be, as you term it, a "rebound." The effects of this ward would persist upon the one it is drawn upon until it could be removed.

The Storyteller would not be able to perceive them. Even to revive them from death.