to: everyone

[unwings]

Hello, Summoned.

All of us benefit from taking our own steps to investigate the nature of the Singularity — its origin, purpose, and connection to the supernatural powers, ancient legends and gods that came before these warring factions.

We’re an objective third party, or should be. [ those of us not full tilt assimilated already ] We have no real stake in this war, but hold the privilege of close contact with the artifact. I believe we’d be better served sharing information between us, than relying on parties in conflict using us as soldiers to give honest, unbiased reports.

Would any, from any faction, who’ve learned more details than the public provides be willing to share that, in the safety of the Horizon? Or collaborate to seek out these histories ourselves?


Summoned residing in Solvunn territory — would you speak on your faction’s knowledge of the Old Gods?

Comments

[righteously]

You're calling a Horizon Town Hall meeting?
That's a pretty damn good idea, Cas.

[unwings]

Attempting to. If it'd happened sooner, we might've avoided some bloodshed at the crater.

[righteously]

Yeah, I'm not convinced about the glass being half full on that. The impression I got, for some of the players on the field it was less about a difference of opinion on research and more about climbing the ranks with whatever team they were on.

Not that I have a leg to stand on, considering we had to fork ours over in the end too.

[unwings]

I don't doubt it. Care should be taken with who this information is trusted to. Betrayal of it to any side would bring the whole effort crashing down.

Their interest in the casket's energy is unsettling. The Free Cities, I'm finding them nearly as suspect as Throne. What're your thoughts on Solvunn?

[righteously]

I don't trust the Free Cities either. Everything about that casket situation seems shady.

Solvunn's basically medieval Hufflepuff right now. They got the right idea as far as I'm concerned, but their tactic of doing a whole lot of jack squat ain't gonna last. If this war finally kicks off between Free Cities and Thorne, they're gonna wind up having to pick a side, or else one of the other two is just gonna overrun them.

[unwings]

The lead scientist as well, Aleksander, he's... disturbing.

Agreed. To my understanding, they're a modest nation primarily focused on agriculture, with little military power. A handful of Summoned won't make a difference. What've you heard about Nocwich and the Feywilds?

[righteously]

You met him?

Noc enough, apparently. ( ha, get it ) Why? Should I be reading up on Nocwich and the Feywilds?

[unwings]

At the festival. He paid me to hold a rod that became steadily more painful. It was installed like a battery to the teleportation device that took us to the crater.

You misspelled that. [ he gets it, just refusing to give you the satisfaction ] They're home to demons and fae creatures. I imagine they have a greater familiarity with this world's supernatural forces than the human settlements.

[righteously]

Great
Guess I'll add another 20 tomes to my lore research

( He's been getting balls deep in trying to understand basic beast ecology after that Wyvern hunt. New world, new creatures, new behavior. )

It's moments like this I really miss Google.

Also, that Alex dude sounds like a friggin perv. I hope you shoved that rod up his ass.

[unwings]

The research isn't entirely on you, Dean, though the initiative's impressive.

[ pouring over tomes hasn't historically been a task dean's thrilled with, but without sam around as the primary researcher, he's clearly stepped up. still, cas has an extra 8 hours of downtime he could easily fill with some of those 20 new tomes. ]

No, anal insertion wasn't involved. But assault was certainly tempting after ten minutes of it.

[righteously]

Ten minutes?
You held on to that thing for TEN MINUTES?
What the hell

( Yeah, he's a big boy angel and all, but still. Alex is getting a punch in the face if they ever meet, just on principal. )

Anyway, it doesn't matter. I appreciate you stepping up, but this isn't looking up weaknesses for a one-off hunt. This is about understanding the world we live in, at least for the time being. If I run around like a clueless jackass because I don't know a Wyvern from a washing machine, I'm gonna get myself killed.

But hey, if you wanna volunteer to be the one digging through the shelves for this crap, I won't turn down the hand.

[sorser]

Willing to offer up my space in the Horizon as a meet-up if you need it.

Whatever you decide, I’ll be there. I have a few things that might bear more fruit if shared openly across territory lines.

[This is long overdue. It’s not a terribly long reply, but it is signed with Stephen’s name, just in case the impression wasn’t clear.]

[unwings]

Thank you, Dr. Strange, I appreciate both the space and your willingness to share information.

How are you, after the conflict at the crater? Any further healing needed?

[sorser]

Fully healed, no injuries since. I appreciate the concern, but I hope I didn’t give you the impression that I’m an accident-prone sorcerer, running into walls and falling down castle stairs while you’re away.

[unwings]

No, of course not, you seem well capable of bipedal balance, Dr. Strange. [ probably meant as humor but, yknow, text ]

I’m concerned about those Summoned who’ve formed a solid allegiance to their factions. The potential of sharing sensitive information with a militant local, or turning us in for fraternizing with the enemy could be disastrous.

[sorser]

[Right. Tricky business, and unfortunately no real way to get around it if he truly wants to open the floor up to everyone involved.]

You’ll just have to spin it that everyone’s more interested in learning the truth behind the Singularity instead of promoting one viewpoint over another. Not everyone will be on board by default, but I’d like to think getting to the heart of the issue is universally appealing.

That’s about as much advice as I can give you, though. There’s no getting around anyone who wants to blow the whistle on a cross-factional exchange of info. Individuals will just have to go in knowing the risk.

[unwings]

Well. There's telepathy.

[ skirting on unethical here, but his track record for these calls isn't great. ]

[sorser]

[Okay.]

And what did you have in mind, exactly?

[No pun intended.]

[unwings]

It'd require consent, but I could pre-screen those who meet with us for dubious intent?

Though any change of heart after the fact is out of our hands, and it's been my experience that humans are deeply averse to mind reading.

[ look, it's a long shot but he's brainstorming here. ]

[sorser]

Most people don’t like others poking around in their heads, no.

Anyway, a screening process feels like a moot point when the people you turn away still know that you’re gathering up others to talk about the Singularity. Right?

[unwings]

True. They'd lack any proof, but that's not always required for accusations like this in paranoid nations.

Sam Wilson's also mentioned those unwilling to remain neutral. He's been here longer than most, perhaps he can give us some names to avoid.

[sorser]

Sam's from my world. I trust him. Any information he gives you is worth your trust, too.

Either way, I'm just saying it's a risky venture, one that's inherently dangerous for a lot of reasons. But still worth trying.

[nightwash]

You want a fucking powwow after half you bitches tried to kill us?

[unwings]

Did they die? [ tho ]

You've reached the wrong bitches. I healed some of yours.

[nightwash]

And what about the assholes you're inviting to the show-and-tell? You don't think the guys who tried to murder us for no reason might take that info and go for round two?

[unwings]

No reason, or no reason you understand? Entering a battlefield for no reason at all is absurd.

If you have information that could endanger you, speak with Dr. Strange, he's in Thorne. We can limit how much of it's shared, and with whom.

[nightwash]

Those people want the Singularity to die. The bitch who stabbed me was on some revenge bullshit like the Singularity ruined her life, which doesn't even make sense. Sharing any info with those psychos fucks all of us.

[unwings]

Not all Summoned in the Free Cities believe that. We don’t know enough about the Singularity to understand the risks of it dying, nor the risks in blindly feeding it as much energy as possible.

The one that stabbed you, can you describe them?

[nightwash]

Small and fast? Like a tiny ninja. I couldn't see much of her. She was all covered up. She wasn't even the only one that went after me. There was also some Nordic motherfucker and a guy who turned into a fuckload of bats. Probably a vampire. That looked like vampire shit to me.

[hylife]

What would you want to know of the Old Gods? There are many, from my understanding.

[unwings]

Those centered around the creation story would be best to start with, I think. If we find no mention of the Singularity, we expand further into the legends until we do.

[hylife]

Understood.

[ For some reason, even this brief message has a distinct vibe of 'mission accepted.' ]

[unwings]

[ simple and straight-forward is his jam. ]

Appreciated.

[homeostatic]

I don't think we're getting told the whole story in Solvunn. Call it a hunch.

[unwings]

Nor are we in the Free Cities, I think. The Summoned from Thorne I spoke with had much more dire concerns about a long term weakening of the relic.

Nor did the effort to halt excess energy to the Singularity seem as genuine after the insistence we surrender the caskets to Cadens scientists.

[falcony]

[ oh hey, cas is thinking along the same lines as sam. they should probably team up a bit to at least compare notes, but it is reassuring, even if a lot of what cas is asking feels. very familiar.

he really hopes this isn't the beginning of a cycle. they should all be better about being able to come together. but after what he saw at the dimming... ]

THIS IS A GOOD IDEA CAS
AND I CAN OFFER UP THE HOUSE IF YOU NEED THE SPACE
I ALSO THINK SOME OF US WHO HAVE BEEN HERE A SEC CAN HELP UPDATE
EVERYONE SHOULD BE ON THE SAME PAGE

ONE ISSUE WE'VE GOT IS THERE'RE SOME WHO AREN'T INTEREST IN KEEPING NEUTRAL
SO WE'LL NEED TO MAKE SURE ITS A SAFE SPACE FOR EVERYONE

[ everyone looks at goro. ]

[unwings]

[ not super sure why sam is capslocking this, but maybe it's customary where he's from? angel see, angel do. don't want to insult the man. ]

THANK YOU, SAM.
AN UPDATE TO THE SAME PAGE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED

ARE YOU ABLE TO NAME ANY OF THOSE UNINTERESTED IN REMAINING NEUTRAL?

[falcony]

[ oh no cas....he's sorry that his handwriting looks like that. but there's only so much control he has over his. brain writing. please just don't think he's screaming at you. ]

DONT WORRY ABOUT IT
ITS SOMETHING WE SHOULD ALREADY HAVE DONE AT THIS POINT
ESPECIALLY WITH WHAT HAPPENED AT THE DIMMING

[ he considers this for a moment - considers how safe this is. he doesn't know who is watching and what will come of any of this anyway, or how someone could possibly be listening into magic brain conversations... ]

DID YOU GO TO GORO'S RALLY?