[Video]

[neverfeltthatway]

[Armin image appears suddenly, and though his face is composed, his thoughts are both cautious and alarmed.]

Everyone - be alert in liminal space, and avoid the men's bathroom four floors above where the portal let us into liminal space. The sign of the King in Yellow is still with us.

Comments

[shiroganeheir]

I have been wondering if this so-called King is the outside influence Sun spoke of to me. Or at least that influence is related to this entity.

Does anyone know anything at all about it other than the fact that the sign keeps appearing? What is its mythology? Does it have any background other than a mysterious nebulous powerful entity? We know more about the Trumps than that.

[neverfeltthatway]

The influence that killed one of them? It's certainly possible.

...I'm not sure if I'd find that alarming, or comforting. If it's not the King in Yellow, that'd mean there's still something worse out there.

[shiroganeheir]

Not necessarily worse, but at least equal. It does seem that this entity would kill a Trump if possible. The question is, did it?

I apologize for my mis-placed frustration. I do not do well in heat.

[neverfeltthatway]

Circumstances differ, of course - but in the case there's something else, whatever it is has managed to kill a Trump, and the King in Yellow hasn't. The implications are troubling either way.

[shiroganeheir]

Could be something as simple as the lack of opportunity, but that is not important at this time.

I believe we need more information about this entity, but I have no idea where to find that information. It does not seem like it would speak to anyone.

[neverfeltthatway]

Maybe - but there's no way to tell, at present.

...Some of us still have answers promised by the Trumps. But I don't know if this is the one answer that would benefit us most, in the long run.

[shiroganeheir]

Doubtful. There must be some other way to find the information.

We need to keep our eyes open. Something like this should have echoes that we can find.

[neverfeltthatway]

[Armin's frowns in thought.] Echoes? What do you mean?

[shiroganeheir]

I am likely not using the correct word. However, when Sun spoke to me, he said that I should be able to figure out why the Marked are marked in the first place with the evidence around me.

What I am trying to convey is that there must be something that we can find, either through Travelers' memories, or through the spaces around us that will tell us more about what we are dealing with.

This entity is important, of that I am certain. However, where it fits in the larger puzzle, that is unknown, and a bit worrysome.

[neverfeltthatway]

So we should have enough information to figure it out, huh... [Armin trails off, pensive. After a moment, he shakes his head, frustrated - he's been trying to figure these things out since Moebius.]

Even if we do figure out the Marked, though, I have a feeling figuring out the King is going to be more difficult.

[shiroganeheir]

Probably, yes. However, powerful entities can be defeated even without knowing everything about them.

[Been there, done that, been revived from the curse.]

[neverfeltthatway]

Maybe so. But the less we know, the more dangerous it is, and the less likely we are to do so.

[Armin's fought against powerful enemies before too, back home - but more than anything, he's fought against humanity's ignorance about them. Many thousands have lost their lives trying to gain information on the titans. Learning more about them is the only hope humanity has in avoiding extinction, in his world.]

[howexciting]

[Leonardo takes a long while to respond to this. A long, long while. It makes him horrendously nauseous and light-headed, while prickles of angry heat mingled with prickles of terrified despair slowly crawl up his neck and down his spine. Now, of all times, the Yellow Sign would return.

When he finally responds, after fighting with his stomach to not vomit, there is no usual kindness to his mental voice.]

The King in Yellow is one of the most dangerous of the Old Ones, who were said to live ages before the first man walked the Earth. He resides in Carcosa, and can enter the world through a lake which is called Hali. He is clothed in tattered yellow robes, which smell of corpses and putrid moss and damp earth, with a pallid, mortifying mask. To look upon his unmasked face is to know true madness, and none have survived the ordeal completely intact.

But The King in Yellow is merely an Avatar of Innominandum - He Who Is Not To Be Named, for speaking his name three times will summon him, and it will most surely spell your doom. His second avatar is the Feaster from Afar. He is described as a monstrous mass of tentacles and eyes that can drive you to insanity with their gaze, each tentacle possessing razor-sharp claws which can easily pierce into your skull and remove your brain. I do not think I need go into further detail.

What is on the drain is called the Yellow Sign. It is the symbol of his cult, as well as his sigil of power. To wear it upon your person is to give the King in Yellow a conduit to your mind, where he may then speak through you, or more likely, possess you to do his bidding. I highly suggest none of you do so, or I will not be responsible for what happens to you.

... does that answer your question, Naoto?

[shiroganeheir]

Damn.

[There is a long moment before Naoto responds. She still has questions, but this is not the time for them. This... entity does seem the sort to kill a Trump, but she keeps her own counsel for now.]

Thank you, sensei. You needn't say any more. I understand. Certainly not an entity that we wish to tangle with.

[howexciting]

[And suddenly, his mental voice is shaky, quiet, as if he's suddenly lost all his nerve.]

Thank you... I... th-thank you.

[A pause as he quietly collects himself again.]

He is not. But if someone is foolish enough to remove the drain cap again... I will see to it that he returns to Carcosa, one way or another.

[shiroganeheir]

If such things happen, I will help.

[There is no hesitation or question in her mental voice. She is certain of her actions.]

I do have some power of my own.

[howexciting]

... power may not be enough. But should he appear, there are protections I can put in place, if only he can be distracted long enough for me to create them. I will have to count on you all to protect me while I work on these.