synopsychic | Gathering those Plot Bunnies [very end of week two]

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Gathering those Plot Bunnies [very end of week two]

Alright, so - never thought I'd be sayin' this, but - thanks t'Zed, I think I got a workin' idea 'f what's been happenin' behind the scenes here.

'cos without him, Yakumo wouldn't a' gotten turned back into an Investigator. First thing he done did was find me an' tell me how the Titans're throwin' a coup a' the gods. He ain't got too much info yet - turns out storm spirits ain't got the greatest sense a' focus - but at least one a' them's a Traveller, that English wizard guy.

[you know, the other one]

An' Galen, Tachibana's overlay, said that when he went t'go talk t'em earlier--

[And a memory of Galen's voice, sullenly furious, speaks.]

"Something has bewitched the gods and dulled them to blindness. For the barest fleeting moment there was intelligence in Apollo's eye, but it dulled like embers in ice, leaving only disinterested arrogance in its wake."

[And then back to Kinji's own.]

--so they're doin' somethin' directly t'mess with the gods an' make 'em complacent in their own demise.

So here's where it gets tricky. Yakumo thinks he can get me an in with the Titans - the storm spirits seem t'have all taken a likin' t'me, and they're already in on whatever the hell this plan is with the Titans, so unless there's any volunteers, I'll be goin' an sneakin' into that.

An' that means somebody else oughta try goin' back up the mountain t'try an' talk some sense into the gods. An' I reckon y'all might be able t'do that with some kinda skill that can clear their minds. I know there's a Song fer that, I can pass that on if'n someone needs it, but there's gotta be other ways that work better. If teleportin' or climbin's too far, I can make some kites an' Yakumo an' the other storm spirits can fly people up the mountain. It ain't too safe but it's a right sight faster than teleportin' or climbin' on foot.

...so. Thoughts?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I warn you, restoring the Olympians will not be better. They are also tyrants, or did you not read your myths? When the Olympians took over, the titles held by the Titans were kept in place, but given over. No matter who wins this time, there will still be a moon, a sun. The names of their gods would change, but what the people worship would stay the same.

There are philosophers who say that the legends of the Olympians coming to power mimic the history of the Achaians defeating the people living here before them. The older myths are always more concerned with the land and water, the power of women, and the importance of hunting. They are more raw, yes, but "civilized" men somehow manage to shed more blood in war...

The only advantage to helping the Olympians is allowing this magical Greece to become like the Greece many of us know it as. Think of the people, who always pay most dearly. Is this worth so many lives lost in another war among the gods? The quakes and storms would be ten times worse. You would have to completely cripple all the Titans before they knew what you were doing, to avoid that kind of bloodshed. If you help the Olympians, you touch a hornet's nest. Do not do it.

... All of this depends on if the Titans here are the more reasonable ones from myths, or the more violent ones that I know of. We cannot assume we know what is true here. With how violent things are now without the gods to calm them - with the odd weather, the earthquakes, the massive changes in the natural order of things - do you really think a more wild and chaotic hand is better?

It is probably like where I am from: Neither side of the war would win my support. I am most interested in preventing war. We can only do that if one side can stop the other, or negotiate a treaty, without fighting and bringing about this world's end times.

The odds are better here, because we see the beginnings and have the advantage that no one knows who the Travelers are, what we can do, or how we communicate. Back home, I had to watch and allow the war to rage. I could not face armies head on.

[ Killing the leaders of either side, which was something he could do, would have only subjected the Holy Land to unchecked bloodshed as the armies dispersed or avenged themselves. In the end, he had to focus only on the secret war between Assassins and Templars, free will and order through domination. ]

The same may be true for the Travelers, for we are not as powerful as gods, nor are we as numerous as any creatures allied with them. If we do find a way to prevent war, I know how to work with small numbers such as ours. But we must be careful.

... I'll admit, I'm only starting to really fight in larger scale battles. It sounds like you have more experience with this. I'm willing to do what I can, but I have to... I know the Titans here are probably different than the ones I know. They might be, at least, and I don't want to go after someone who really isn't that bad.

[He has to pick and choose targets and he hates sitting around if he's not distracted by a book...]

I know we have to be careful. It's just a matter of trying to contain things. But there's already so much destruction... it's hard to imagine that this isn't already unable to be contained.

As I said, it will be ten times worse than it is now if they go to war. The land will become uninhabitable, and an entire civilization could collapse. If it involves the whole of the Great Sea, the land I am claiming to come from will suffer as well. I do not know if the gods are alive there to prevent it, though no doubt Ishtar would thrive in a war.

My best advice on fighting in a large battle is not to do so at all. This isn't even our fight. If there is something that needs to be done, and it is wise to do it, do so quickly without being seen.

[ Honestly, he'd taken a gamble speaking directly to King Richard like he did in Arsuf. Even then, he'd avoided the heat of battle. ]

There are those who will try to find out either side's motives. Perhaps that will help us decide if we should do anything.

The pantheon I know best would probably largely be calling for war, but I get your point. And I know this isn't our fight, but I don't like the idea of leaving it to the people here... not when there's so many people who will get hurt.

... I'll leave the motive-gathering things to other people. The skills that I have that would allow me to do that best just aren't working anymore. I'm not entirely sure why, but it's extremely annoying. Let me know if you want backup in a fight, though - I'm pretty good at that. Hopefully it won't come to it, but... the offer's there.

If the people are powerless to have a say in which gods have dominion over them, or if they even want a war, then we must at least find a way to a solution with the most freedom given to them, and the least suffering.

On the mortal side of things, the Heraclides are the ones to keep an eye on. They are most likely to start a fight, according to what I've heard.

... True. I don't want to leave this world on the brink of an even bigger mess.

And... yeah, I kind of noticed. I've already had a run in with one of them - he'll probably be back for more, knowing his type.