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kaisou2023-11-21 12:08 am
lapislazily) wrote in kaisou2023-11-21 12:08 am
Entry tags:
video; un: freelancer
WHO: Zhongli and you
WHERE: The network
WHEN: A few days after the Azhdaha plot wraps up
WHAT: The thrilling tales of dragon sealers.
WARNINGS: None, will update if necessary.
[video;]
[Normally, Zhongli addresses the network via text because that's the preferred way. But for this... as a courtesy, as a sign of respect and gratitude, he should give the announcement the weight it deserves.
The camera feed opens to a once-lush garden where the gold leaves of the ginkgo trees are still clinging to life despite the impending winter. The hardier bushes have not changed color and have retained their leaves. There's a good mixture of plants around (if not an abundance of flowers), and the stone picnic table and 'chairs' along with the tea set give a sense of serenity.
Zhongli's expression is difficult to read, stony and almost impassive. He's wearing his usual distinctive brown coat, recently mended, and cradling a teacup in his gloved hands.]
Greetings. I know it has been some time since I spoke to the network at large. For those who have not met me, my name is Zhongli.
I wanted to thank everyone who answered Shroud's call to help subdue the dragon a few days ago. His name is Azhdaha, and he has been a close companion of mine in every life I can recall. Yet the memory of rocks is only for a short time. As an elemental spirit, Azhdaha could do little to escape that fate. Eventually he forgot himself, and only remembered the pain and rage of lifetimes ago, when humans disturbed his slumber and caused him great pain.
For those of us who are exceptionally long-lived, time whittles away our bodies and minds like the waves and wind swallow the cliffs overlooking the sea. This phenomenon is known as erosion. It affects all of us differently, but it leaves us forever changed and missing something of ourselves, until naught remains.
All things have a beginning and an end, no matter how long the life lived. This is the truth of the world.
Now Azhdaha has been sealed away inside a golden dream, where he no longer suffers the pain that drove him to madness. His suffering is ended after hundreds of years. I... cannot overstate my gratitude.
[He sets his tea down. When he looks up again his draconic eyes are sharper, an intense amber framed by the gold leaves behind him.]
I am no longer with the cruel organization that chained me. I will aid those who wish to be free of their bad faith contracts, just as I will protect this city where my heart has come to rest. This is one way I may begin to repay such a debt. You have my word—not only as Rex Lapis, but as myself.
I hope you will keep it in mind.
[He reaches forward and shuts the feed off.]
WHERE: The network
WHEN: A few days after the Azhdaha plot wraps up
WHAT: The thrilling tales of dragon sealers.
WARNINGS: None, will update if necessary.
[video;]
[Normally, Zhongli addresses the network via text because that's the preferred way. But for this... as a courtesy, as a sign of respect and gratitude, he should give the announcement the weight it deserves.
The camera feed opens to a once-lush garden where the gold leaves of the ginkgo trees are still clinging to life despite the impending winter. The hardier bushes have not changed color and have retained their leaves. There's a good mixture of plants around (if not an abundance of flowers), and the stone picnic table and 'chairs' along with the tea set give a sense of serenity.
Zhongli's expression is difficult to read, stony and almost impassive. He's wearing his usual distinctive brown coat, recently mended, and cradling a teacup in his gloved hands.]
Greetings. I know it has been some time since I spoke to the network at large. For those who have not met me, my name is Zhongli.
I wanted to thank everyone who answered Shroud's call to help subdue the dragon a few days ago. His name is Azhdaha, and he has been a close companion of mine in every life I can recall. Yet the memory of rocks is only for a short time. As an elemental spirit, Azhdaha could do little to escape that fate. Eventually he forgot himself, and only remembered the pain and rage of lifetimes ago, when humans disturbed his slumber and caused him great pain.
For those of us who are exceptionally long-lived, time whittles away our bodies and minds like the waves and wind swallow the cliffs overlooking the sea. This phenomenon is known as erosion. It affects all of us differently, but it leaves us forever changed and missing something of ourselves, until naught remains.
All things have a beginning and an end, no matter how long the life lived. This is the truth of the world.
Now Azhdaha has been sealed away inside a golden dream, where he no longer suffers the pain that drove him to madness. His suffering is ended after hundreds of years. I... cannot overstate my gratitude.
[He sets his tea down. When he looks up again his draconic eyes are sharper, an intense amber framed by the gold leaves behind him.]
I am no longer with the cruel organization that chained me. I will aid those who wish to be free of their bad faith contracts, just as I will protect this city where my heart has come to rest. This is one way I may begin to repay such a debt. You have my word—not only as Rex Lapis, but as myself.
I hope you will keep it in mind.
[He reaches forward and shuts the feed off.]
no subject
[And whatever it was made Zeus vanish. Forever. ]
We were fortunate that Athena woke up. Once she found us all, we began to remember again. But to have no guidance at all while trying to navigate this would be...difficult.
[Almost impossible, really. She's quiet for a moment, trying to find the right words to say. She's not a natural comforter. The gentle parts she had to her have been whittled away through the millennia by Hades, doing everything in his power to keep her small. The sweet goddess of spring died a long, long time ago, leaving only the stone-cold queen of the dead behind. ]
I feel remembering is the best option. It keeps us strong, even the most painful of memories steel us against what is to come. Better that than to have partial memories you barely understand, I think. [A pause.] Still. I understand the weight of losing someone you love. Even with all the time in the world, that pain is always sharp. I am sorry for you loss.
Hah, it's been a long time since anyone associated me with anything good, but yes, that's me. I have never heard of an Archon before, but it seems we all have our own words to explain what we are. [A considerate hum.] Perhaps you have a little dryad in you. There is a man living in my cottage here who seems to be the same, with an affinity to plants. Though...I think he's mortal? I'm honestly...unsure. [Just what in the fuck ARE you, Vash the Stampede? ] Regardless, well met. I have never had the opportunity to meet others like ourselves outside of my own family. Hopefully, we'll get on better than I do with them.
[It's really not hard to get on better than she does with her family. They're already doing so much better in one single short conversation.]
No bother- it sounds like you were busy. You missed quite the battle while you were gone.
no subject
[It reminds him of the missing memories. He doesn't know who or what exactly happened, but it led to them discovering that they could burn their books in the Great Library to erase themselves.]
It was difficult, but we managed for a time on our own. There was little we could not weather together. As erosion set in, that changed, but... I will likely remember those days for as long as I live.
Thank you for your words.
[Zhongli has long since come to the realization that erosion, for him, means watching parts of him—not his memories, but his loved ones—be chipped away. Still, even if she's not one for comforting, he appreciates her effort.]
My blood seems predisposed to dragons rather than dryads. Those who live here can become more, however, so I cannot completely discount it. [Plants are not his domain, but he's known for a while that the Earth element in this realm's magic can cover Dendro as well.] I cannot say my situation is much better in terms of familial conflict, considering the circumstances...
[She's not trying to kill him outright, so it's already going better than things did with Neuvillette.]
I cannot help but wonder if the moment was chosen specifically because of the absence of Kaisou's known gods. I suppose we will never know.
no subject
[She hates not having answers- and Calliope's words still roll in her head, about how much they used to know that they no longer do. She lets out a soft hum at that. Her family have never been good at that. Togetherness. At least not for her, she's only just starting to allow them near her again. She doubts she will ever trust them fully.
But she's not so closed-minded to not realise that's not always the case. Some really can rely on their fellows. ]
You are welcome. And ah, dragons. Not something that comes up with mine all that often, but still. Unless you are inclined to drive a knife in my back, then you will have already surpassed my family.
Perhaps. It would not surprise me that they picked the moment they believed the city was at its weakest.