TO: EVERYONE [mid-event #20]

[aquaveiled]

[ This message is sent for all Summoned to see about a week after the dreams and Heralds made their presence known. ]

Hello everyone. I know we're all dealing with a lot right now, but I thought this was worth the surprise eyeball-script.

The Heralds of War likely need no introduction at this point, but some of us still remember when they first arrived a few years ago after a poorly performed ritual in Solvunn. During that time, I'd managed to make contact with Koth and have tried to maintain some communication.

[ Not necessarily advised--Himeka did this of her own accord and curiosity. Those who are aware of her tree-form may have noticed that some of the limbs have been wilting and rotting the more time she's spent reaching out to Koth. But that's neither here nor there. ]

She's not always easy to understand, but when we spoke when they first appeared, one word came through:

"Mission"

For years my friends and I have been wondering what this meant. Now that she's back, I sought clarity. Or...I guess confirmation.

I understand her more easily these days so I reached out to her earlier today and she did confirm that this is that mission. What's happening right now in all of our communities. I'm not sure if war itself is inevitable...but she seems to believe that what she's doing will help there to be peace afterwards.

I know many here have seen war in their own lives and on their own stars before this place. If you'd like to share your stories, I would welcome them. I don't think peace is ever as simple as we want it to be, but as for if this is the only path forward...

I'm rambling a bit. This may not be a grand revelation, but I thought it important to share that what is happening now may have been building for the last few years and mayhaps some time before that as well. Only now, we may have a part to play.

Please take care,

水


[ ooc; This is Himeka's interpretation! So it may not be 100% accurate. Based on the mod response here. ]

Comments

[archiholic]

Sorry- I must admit I'm new here so I don't have all the required context, but isn't this a bit too vague to be basing our response on? From what I understand the gods here don't work the same way as the ones in my world, but even then you'd think that if they were going to ask us to accept this chaos as necessary for their 'divine mission', or what have you, they'd have the sense to be more direct about what it all entails.

[aquaveiled]

No apologies are needed. And honestly, I agree. The gods aren't perfect and are prone to their own biases, strengths, and weaknesses.

I can't speak for all of them, but I do at least believe Koth is honest in her intentions. That doesn't mean what mortals have to go through makes them better, though.

What are your gods like?

[ushiri]

Feels like forever ago now that we first talked about this.

It's hard to believe that this is... what is meant to be.

[ but he isn't able to dismiss the heralds, whatever his feelings on the gods after their shared future ]

[aquaveiled]

It does, doesn't it? So much has happened since then.

Do you believe that? In fate?

[ She knows that he has an adherence to a god from his home star. ]

[ancunin]

Gods do so enjoy to speak with such high and mighty authority from on what yonder ethereal hill they reside on.

Fuck them, I say. They can do their own dirty work.

[aquaveiled]

I suppose it's not surprising that the Heralds of War aren't really worshiped, is it?

It sounds like this isn't the first time you've had gods interfering in your life.

[divinityfrompain]

I talked to Endrborrin. She believes that what is happening is inevitable and not right or wrong, but something like winter before spring. She's a goddess of renewal so she didn't want to get involved. I think the Old Gods might just feel this way in general about it.

[aquaveiled]

I see... I suppose there's some solace in the fact there doesn't appear to be ill-will, but at the same time, if things could be changed, aren't they the ones who have the most power to do so?

Unless they are just reflecting the true desires of mortals.

Private

[cryptsleeper]

Thank you for investigating this and tugging on the thread you have.

The perspective here is an interesting one, even if I don't like it. She didn't give any sense of how long it might take to complete this mission, did she?

private forever!

[aquaveiled]

Of course. Even though the answer isn't very comforting, I'm glad to have one all the same.

She didn't, no. But she seemed to believe I would understand her perspective and asked me to think about it.

[furibund]

[ It's Himeka so she listens (well, reads). Rhetorics on why devastation is necessary for ones own good isn't foreign to her - no, it's far more a part of her upbringing than anything else is. The universe is cruel, so get used to it, be cruel yourself. That's the essence and if this is their mission - ]

[ Hunting after uninvolved (and children) she doesn't see how it'll truly stop anything. ]

They're using their influence to manipulate and harm the lives of others.

[aquaveiled]

Yes, they are. And they seem to believe that this is for the greater good. Or, at least, that it's simply how things are.

[cointosser]

Oh, thank god you're still alive, Himeka, it's been a while! I'm always glad to see you alive and well, even if your choice of conversational partner is, frankly, deeply concerning.

What I mean to say is I think many of us, if not most, now know intimately how bullshite most of the gods' motivations are, and I personally do not think they're worth thinking about longer than a moment.

The gods are bastards, just as men are bastards. It's fairly simple.

[aquaveiled]

You as well, Jaskier!

I figured that if she was willing to speak to me when we first met, she might be willing to keep talking to me. What better way to understand the Heralds and try to counter their abilities than from the source, right? (Granted I hadn't gotten very far with that last part...)

Certain gods and certain men can certainly be, but not all. I don't think you're a bastard, for example. Though I did hear that you held some sort of culinary festival and didn't say a thing to me about it?

But (BIG BUT) even if this is, in their eyes, the best of intentions or a necessary evil...it's our evil to live.

[princessvegas]

Where I come from, they used to teach us that the final judgment and the end of days would come after the Four Horsemen appeared. Each one was its own terrible thing that was supposed to happen to the world before the return of the Messiah for the battle at the end of time.

The Heralds remind me of them. Like, a lot. A lot a lot.

[aquaveiled]

The Four Horsemen...I think Alucard mentioned them to me before. Are you from the same star?

Do the Horsemen have similar powers to the Heralds?

[judgmentbolts]

Appreciate the update for those of us who aren't as in-tune with the Gods of this land.

I've seen more war than most, so I'll give you my opinion, if you care for it: whether or not a war is inevitable, beings so far removed from humanity have no business involving themselves in our conflicts, even if their mission is exactly as they say.

Peace can be hastened by their intervention, aye, but so too can it be hastened by our own.

[aquaveiled]

I'm happy to do so, even if it isn't the best news.

You put it so perfectly! Yes, Cid, that's exactly what I believe too. People should be the arbiters of their own destiny.

[ If pinning comments were a thing (and if she even knew how to do it), she would pin this. ]

[sophos]

Gods don't always see things the same way regular mortals do. We kind of lived that perspective too, even if it was fake.
I feel like that's especially true for war.

What was it like the last time they showed up?

[aquaveiled]

Yes, it does seem that time tends to remove that sort of...connection? Is that the right word?

The last time was a few years ago during an Autumn festival. It's normally a time of contemplation and remembrance for the departed while the seasons change. But, supposedly, the Elders made an error in a ritual and rather than offering blessings (I think?) they incidentally summoned three of the four Heralds of War.

At the time, we had all fallen under their effects. For some reason, that doesn't seem to be the case this time.

[aquilus]

Did she speak only one word, or was it only one word that you understood?

[aquaveiled]

It was the only one I understood. I couldn't tell if what else she was saying were actual words or simply just a language that I didn't know.

[krakened]

All I'm gonna say is, when I was a god, I put on a fantastic musical for us all to enjoy, and I think that's a much less poisonous and far more productive way of going about your day as a deity.

[princeofruin]

It was one of the few moments of that life that were truly enjoyable.

[blackeyedprince]

How nice that you girls could have a pleasant little chat.

I certainly didn't enjoy my first encounter with Koth. Nor do I the second one.
Rare medicinal herbs are awfully difficult to regrow. Especially when everything around rots away.

[aquaveiled]

You've every right to be upset, whether with Koth or with me for not striking first.

[ Her original intent in connecting with Koth was to figure out how to negate the effects of her abilities...but she'd gotten side-tracked with nothing to show for it. And even if Kell had that knowledge, she still wouldn't blame him. Koth has only ever appeared and caused harm. ]

If there's aught I can do from Solvunn, I will.

[thedevilwhorose]

War is always inevitable.

The real question you should be asking is how long will their so-called 'peace' last afterwards? Months? Years? Centuries?

[aquaveiled]

Until we arrived, it seems like they hadn't been seen for some time. So I would assume years to decades or more.

But...how long will that peace take to build? Recovering from war feels like it lasts longer than war itself.

[erosive]

How did you contact Koth?

[ She's new. Sorry. ]

[aquaveiled]

Well, the first time I tried to talk to her I kind of just threw myself at her in the Horizon.

But these days I do a standard ritual offering but use dead plants since she seems to like those. Or bugs if I can find any. I realize I should maybe try spoiled food at some point, but I don't like letting food go. It's best to hand it out before it would go bad than waste it.

[ Himeka is both the best and worst person to ask for instructions from. ]

[funbreaker]

[ Thancred doesn't really like it — that level of communication with a so-called Herald of War. But he isn't Himeka's keeper, for all that he now feels a sort of sibling-like protectiveness toward her, so he quashes that down. ]

It doesn't quite make sense, does it? Invading people's minds and making them believe things that are untrue — how does that bring about peace?

[aquaveiled]

[ She figured the gods were her business as soon as she arrived in Solvunn, back when she believed they might be more like Primals. It's all just part of the job, right? ]

I think it's less that they believe those specific actions bring peace, but more that they bring war...which will bring peace after.

We know how well that works.