[For a brief moment Alisaie hesitates, but then she shakes her head.]
Naught I've learned comes from the dead--at least, not directly.
At any rate, sharing Uriel's gift is the most important thing I wished to discuss. We had spoken of keeping our silence until we were certain who we could trust. I would like to give my sources this information, but I am unable to provide you any details about them in return.
I can show you once we've figured this out. I have a question first, even if you can't answer it. Is your source Yuri? Cause if it's not, I heard he's the one coordinating between those who can't speak on their own.
[ This is perhaps a ridiculous statement (and faux question(?), but he does want to see how Alisaie responds. ]
I...found some stuff out. About the dust angel that visits people and makes them kill. But keep it quiet for now, yeah? I don't wanna make everyone panic.
Apparently when the dust angel approaches people, it makes them think that they have to kill someone from the other team, otherwise something bad'll happen. It's like...a curse, maybe? Rochalizo said he believed it until Xie Lian accused him of murder at the trial. And that it felt like "A necessary evil."
So like, the killers we haven't caught yet? They might still be distrustful of whatever team they're not on, because of that effect. So if we do tell people about the tree, we gotta be careful to make sure they don't do anything to the tree because of the dust angel effects.
I've already told you that I told Yuri about the cutting. If he is truly coordinating between those who cannot speak on their own, then good. We must needs work together to solve these mysteries.
We will be careful. This is why I wanted to speak with you before I said anything to them, so that we would know to keep our guard up. I do not think any of our number would seek to harm the tree, but we must needs protect it if they should.
...if Rin's right then there's a group of people who we shouldn't share this with. The angels don't help any with figuring out who's on what team, though.
Unless you're saying the killers are more aligned with the dust angels?
[ He crosses his arms and breathes out, flexing and unflexing his hands. ]
No, I think they're on our side. They might just act weird if they're still affected by whatever the dust angel did to them.
...if we're going to tell everyone though, we should find a way to hide the tree safely before then. And we should all spend curfew together next week, so that if one person dies then the other two can take care of the tree.
It's simply a theory, Akira, and one I do not personally believe. But it will do us no harm to ensure the cutting is protected.
I had wondered if it might be wise to hide the tree during the week. If we identify a safe place for it that the three of us know, we will not risk it should something happen with the spectres again. I'm willing to commit to spending curfew together as well, though with the understanding that my brother will be with me.
My sources comprise four individuals who do not know of the cutting so far. I am vouching for their ability to be discreet and can promise that their knowing will do far more good than harm.
...at this point it makes more sense to just tell everyone. I have an illusion use on my coin like Susato had if we need it. [ He won't outright say he agrees with telling the four other people, but good enough. ]
Looking at how many people we've told, and if we tell four more, that would be most of the people still alive yeah? Akira has a point, maybe we SHOULD just tell everyone. That's how we've been making the most of the information we have, yeah? ...but yeah, I'm okay with telling four people if we don't tell everyone.
And as for hiding the tree cutting, there's a key in my world that like...you stick it in a lock and unlock it and that door opens to whatever you need most at that moment. So if we used it on a drawer and threw the tree cutting in there, then only someone with the key would be able to get it back, and they could stick the key in any drawer with a lock to get it to open up to the magical drawer the tree is in. And then we keep the key a secret to just the three of us, so nobody else knows how to get to the tree but us.
[...oh, Rin's definitely getting a look that's both startled but pleased. That's brilliant, hello.]
Ought we to request it from the Watchers tomorrow?
But I caution, we should ask them to provide more than one key if we do. A singular key risks losing the cutting forever should whoever holds it be pulled into another venture. Yet if they could indeed provide it...
[That would make protecting it so much easier???
But then she'll nod to Akira.]
Very well. I do want to share this knowledge with my sources, so we shall tell them all at the next meeting. By then, the three of us will have found a place to keep it safe.
Yeah! At least two copies of the key, or maybe three so we each have one? Though we should probably make sure to keep everything out of the magic locked spaces on Sunday when we move to new worlds, just to be safe.
And what if we take some time now to write copies of the letters, so those can be shared instead of the originals? I can write down what I've learned from the killers I've talked to too, if any of that stuff will help.
I cannot help with transcribing yet. But I will share with you what information I can.
[Oh, wait, actually--]
--Ah. Actually, there is one other question I would ask of you both.
The act of murder has been referred to as making a "sacrifice." There is a consideration that in order to achieve neutrality and prevent either side from winning, there need to be an equal number remaining on each side. We've yet to learn whether Yukio, Nanaly, and Rochalizo were Celestial or Temporal. Know you any of these?
[Looks........... at Rin........... do not tell her you didn't know your brother's side she will not believe you]
...I never asked them, but if Nanaly can tell me I think she would if I ask her this week. Dunno how you want me to try to read these out loud cause there's a lot of blacked out parts.
I don't think that second letter is going to be of much use.
[All those censor bars...]
Yukio was a Temporal, and I'm pretty sure Rochalizo was one too. When we talked after the trial, he explained the stuff I said earlier about feeling like he had to kill someone from the other team. And we know Susato is a celestial, so.
[A pause.]
Um. Don't ask me what my team is. I already told somebody else this week and I don't think I can tell the two of you without getting in trouble.
Do you have a count on how many have died from each team? It might be worth asking the Watchers how many living people we have for each team too.
You can tell Akira if you like. I can guess yours easily enough.
[She is 100% holding these letter copies down for Taf to read.] How certain of Rochalizo are you, Rin? If we must needs ask the Watchers for clarification, we can do so. They've never refused me this information before.
[But with that said, she runs a quick tally before...]
If Rochalizo was a Temporal, that means there are ten from the Temporals' side and seven from the Celestials. Should Nanaly turn out to have been Celestial as I've guessed, that would be eight. And I expect that van Zieks does not count, since he was lost to the Spectres.
In which case, we've lost nine Temporals and eight Celestials.
I'm pretty sure. Like I said, killers thought they had to kill the other team. Rochalizo and Susato were friends, he wouldn't have killed her unless he was forced to by the dust angel. I'm pretty sure they were on opposite teams.
So if lawyer-guy doesn't count for the Temporal side, then it's nine and seven and Nanaly will add to that...huh. It's pretty even then.
[...oh. Oh, Rin. That phrasing gets visible discomfort from Alisaie, and after a moment she clears her throat, looking to the side.]
--Yes, well. There...
[Sigh.]
There was more to his choice than that, Rin. He killed Susato because it was she who killed Rex.
The reason she refused to let go of his death in the following weeks was because of her anger that we did not suspect her that day. She thought our sympathy for the situation was coddling her as a weak, helpless girl in need of rescue.
By selecting her as his victim, Rochalizo sentenced her in the same way as the others: a duel to the death. It allowed him to fulfill the angels' directive while giving Susato the judgment she thought she deserved for her crimes.
And when I talked to Rochalizo, he said that part of the reason for picking Susato was because of the effect from the dust angel, but he wouldn't talk about the other part. And when you put it together with the kind of person Susato is and kindly he treated her at first only to have a brutal fight after...yeah. It makes sense.
[It's a bit foolish of her to do that, to him, but he gets it.]
But the dust angel is what pushed Rochalizo to act in the first place. He'd known about what she did for longer, and they hadn't done some fight like that before. So I still blame the dust angel for setting things into motion like that.
I suspect she said we shouldn't talk about the old cases because she wanted to protect the other killers. [Alisaie touches her hand to her chin in thought.] I cannot know her exact reasons. But were I to guess, I would say Susato wanted to be caught and held accountable herself, but she was not willing to force the other killers to face the same.
At any rate, talking about Susato's death has little to do with the information I would share with you. Some of it you will likely already know, but allow me to repeat it anyway.
[She takes a moment to order her thoughts--this sort of explanation really is Alphinaud's thing... But here we go:]
The Lord Regent we fled is a being known as Metatron. He is supposedly acting on behalf of the Authority--God--and is the head of the Temporals. The Celestials are led by another being called Xaphania. I don't know how long the two of them have been fighting, but we may assume based on other information that it has been some time. The battle we're fighting is just another round in a cycle that has gone on many times. Both Metatron and Xaphania have destroyed realities in their wars.
As I said, the murders that are being committed may be thought of as "sacrifices." And we've all seen how at executions, the killed become Dust, yes? One of the notes discovered this past week stated that committing more "sins" causes one's soul to collect more Dust. Should this be true, the reason we're forced to try and find the murderers is to force us to kill them and grant the angels their higher level of Dust.
One side wins by killing all of those on the other team. When that happens, we believe the angels of the winning side will take the Dust generated by the sacrifices their team made and visit an Inquisition, which will eliminate all of those on a list having to do with the "enemy." This may have been what happened to Krankaz, which aligned itself with the Temporals, as well as to Otamo, which aligned itself with Xaphania. Both suffered Calamities, which Uriel said came about due to the Inquisition.
Needless to say, we cannot allow this to happen. Our own worlds are at stake should this happen. Roxis and Ulrika appear to be working on some sort of weapon, but I know naught about it so far. Whatever it is, they seem confident that they can use it to break this cycle once and for all.
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no subject
Naught I've learned comes from the dead--at least, not directly.
At any rate, sharing Uriel's gift is the most important thing I wished to discuss. We had spoken of keeping our silence until we were certain who we could trust. I would like to give my sources this information, but I am unable to provide you any details about them in return.
The question being, do you trust me?
no subject
[ This is perhaps a ridiculous statement (and faux question(?), but he does want to see how Alisaie responds. ]
no subject
[But as for Alisaie's question.]
I...found some stuff out. About the dust angel that visits people and makes them kill. But keep it quiet for now, yeah? I don't wanna make everyone panic.
Apparently when the dust angel approaches people, it makes them think that they have to kill someone from the other team, otherwise something bad'll happen. It's like...a curse, maybe? Rochalizo said he believed it until Xie Lian accused him of murder at the trial. And that it felt like "A necessary evil."
So like, the killers we haven't caught yet? They might still be distrustful of whatever team they're not on, because of that effect. So if we do tell people about the tree, we gotta be careful to make sure they don't do anything to the tree because of the dust angel effects.
no subject
I've already told you that I told Yuri about the cutting. If he is truly coordinating between those who cannot speak on their own, then good. We must needs work together to solve these mysteries.
We will be careful. This is why I wanted to speak with you before I said anything to them, so that we would know to keep our guard up. I do not think any of our number would seek to harm the tree, but we must needs protect it if they should.
no subject
Unless you're saying the killers are more aligned with the dust angels?
[ He crosses his arms and breathes out, flexing and unflexing his hands. ]
no subject
...if we're going to tell everyone though, we should find a way to hide the tree safely before then. And we should all spend curfew together next week, so that if one person dies then the other two can take care of the tree.
no subject
I had wondered if it might be wise to hide the tree during the week. If we identify a safe place for it that the three of us know, we will not risk it should something happen with the spectres again. I'm willing to commit to spending curfew together as well, though with the understanding that my brother will be with me.
My sources comprise four individuals who do not know of the cutting so far. I am vouching for their ability to be discreet and can promise that their knowing will do far more good than harm.
no subject
...at this point it makes more sense to just tell everyone. I have an illusion use on my coin like Susato had if we need it. [ He won't outright say he agrees with telling the four other people, but good enough. ]
no subject
And as for hiding the tree cutting, there's a key in my world that like...you stick it in a lock and unlock it and that door opens to whatever you need most at that moment. So if we used it on a drawer and threw the tree cutting in there, then only someone with the key would be able to get it back, and they could stick the key in any drawer with a lock to get it to open up to the magical drawer the tree is in. And then we keep the key a secret to just the three of us, so nobody else knows how to get to the tree but us.
no subject
Ought we to request it from the Watchers tomorrow?
But I caution, we should ask them to provide more than one key if we do. A singular key risks losing the cutting forever should whoever holds it be pulled into another venture. Yet if they could indeed provide it...
[That would make protecting it so much easier???
But then she'll nod to Akira.]
Very well. I do want to share this knowledge with my sources, so we shall tell them all at the next meeting. By then, the three of us will have found a place to keep it safe.
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Did you want the info from the letters? I don't care if you share that, but I'm keeping the originals. Just keep my name out of it.
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And what if we take some time now to write copies of the letters, so those can be shared instead of the originals? I can write down what I've learned from the killers I've talked to too, if any of that stuff will help.
no subject
You have my thanks--both of you.
I cannot help with transcribing yet. But I will share with you what information I can.
[Oh, wait, actually--]
--Ah. Actually, there is one other question I would ask of you both.
The act of murder has been referred to as making a "sacrifice." There is a consideration that in order to achieve neutrality and prevent either side from winning, there need to be an equal number remaining on each side. We've yet to learn whether Yukio, Nanaly, and Rochalizo were Celestial or Temporal. Know you any of these?
[Looks........... at Rin........... do not tell her you didn't know your brother's side she will not believe you]
no subject
He makes a face for a couple of reasons. ]
...I never asked them, but if Nanaly can tell me I think she would if I ask her this week. Dunno how you want me to try to read these out loud cause there's a lot of blacked out parts.
no subject
[All those censor bars...]
Yukio was a Temporal, and I'm pretty sure Rochalizo was one too. When we talked after the trial, he explained the stuff I said earlier about feeling like he had to kill someone from the other team. And we know Susato is a celestial, so.
[A pause.]
Um. Don't ask me what my team is. I already told somebody else this week and I don't think I can tell the two of you without getting in trouble.
Do you have a count on how many have died from each team? It might be worth asking the Watchers how many living people we have for each team too.
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[She is 100% holding these letter copies down for Taf to read.] How certain of Rochalizo are you, Rin? If we must needs ask the Watchers for clarification, we can do so. They've never refused me this information before.
[But with that said, she runs a quick tally before...]
If Rochalizo was a Temporal, that means there are ten from the Temporals' side and seven from the Celestials. Should Nanaly turn out to have been Celestial as I've guessed, that would be eight. And I expect that van Zieks does not count, since he was lost to the Spectres.
In which case, we've lost nine Temporals and eight Celestials.
no subject
[ As for the rest, Akira is just
no subject
So if lawyer-guy doesn't count for the Temporal side, then it's nine and seven and Nanaly will add to that...huh. It's pretty even then.
no subject
--Yes, well. There...
[Sigh.]
There was more to his choice than that, Rin. He killed Susato because it was she who killed Rex.
The reason she refused to let go of his death in the following weeks was because of her anger that we did not suspect her that day. She thought our sympathy for the situation was coddling her as a weak, helpless girl in need of rescue.
By selecting her as his victim, Rochalizo sentenced her in the same way as the others: a duel to the death. It allowed him to fulfill the angels' directive while giving Susato the judgment she thought she deserved for her crimes.
no subject
[SURPRISE HE BEEN KNEW]
And when I talked to Rochalizo, he said that part of the reason for picking Susato was because of the effect from the dust angel, but he wouldn't talk about the other part. And when you put it together with the kind of person Susato is and kindly he treated her at first only to have a brutal fight after...yeah. It makes sense.
[It's a bit foolish of her to do that, to him, but he gets it.]
But the dust angel is what pushed Rochalizo to act in the first place. He'd known about what she did for longer, and they hadn't done some fight like that before. So I still blame the dust angel for setting things into motion like that.
no subject
She did a lot of saying we shouldn't talk about the old cases for how angry she was. [ A look at Rin. ]
So they can tell, or did he figure it out too?
no subject
HERE IS UR LORE DUMP i am sorry it took this long!!
At any rate, talking about Susato's death has little to do with the information I would share with you. Some of it you will likely already know, but allow me to repeat it anyway.
[She takes a moment to order her thoughts--this sort of explanation really is Alphinaud's thing... But here we go:]
The Lord Regent we fled is a being known as Metatron. He is supposedly acting on behalf of the Authority--God--and is the head of the Temporals. The Celestials are led by another being called Xaphania. I don't know how long the two of them have been fighting, but we may assume based on other information that it has been some time. The battle we're fighting is just another round in a cycle that has gone on many times. Both Metatron and Xaphania have destroyed realities in their wars.
As I said, the murders that are being committed may be thought of as "sacrifices." And we've all seen how at executions, the killed become Dust, yes? One of the notes discovered this past week stated that committing more "sins" causes one's soul to collect more Dust. Should this be true, the reason we're forced to try and find the murderers is to force us to kill them and grant the angels their higher level of Dust.
One side wins by killing all of those on the other team. When that happens, we believe the angels of the winning side will take the Dust generated by the sacrifices their team made and visit an Inquisition, which will eliminate all of those on a list having to do with the "enemy." This may have been what happened to Krankaz, which aligned itself with the Temporals, as well as to Otamo, which aligned itself with Xaphania. Both suffered Calamities, which Uriel said came about due to the Inquisition.
Needless to say, we cannot allow this to happen. Our own worlds are at stake should this happen. Roxis and Ulrika appear to be working on some sort of weapon, but I know naught about it so far. Whatever it is, they seem confident that they can use it to break this cycle once and for all.
[There's so much going on.]
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[ But yeah that sure is a lot. Akira does listen to all of it but he doesn't have much to comment on as usual. ]