Backdated to Week 2, around nov 20

[theflyingone]

[ It is his duty to the rest of the Travelers to make known (at least some of) the information he gleaned when conversing with the Emperor and the Magician. His psychic "voice" is cool and clear, as he attempts to present his findings impartially. ]

I was taken to that room which is separate from Liminal Space. The Emperor appeared as a beardless man from the Far East in opulent clothing. He behaved as you would expect, believing in his divine right to rule, eager to prove he is right, and expecting his orders to be followed without question.

The Magician was a blue-haired woman in bright paint. She was more capricious than him. She claimed to be both information itself, and the Titan, Prometheus. Um, not... the Titans Eren may refer to. In my world, they are myths. Prometheus stole fire for humans. The Emperor said the Magician also gave us wands. For all her gifts, the Magician believes the Arcana have an indisputable right to... everything and everyone within their reach. The computers in the wall, called 'servers,' belong to her. Disrupting them may disrupt this very space. Memories may be forgotten, the color blue may cease to exist, et cetera.

The Arcana fear dying. One, called Star, was 'lost.' Star was weakened, and the actions of Travelers lead to her death. The others were killed. As for us, the Arcana have... an interest in our safety. However, they care nothing for our freedom or peace of mind. They hardly understand us at all. For instance, the Emperor does not understand why we communicate by speaking.

That we do not embody 'archetypes' is a foreign thing to him as well. He claims that only one Arcana is truly malicious, but it is in... he used a strange pronoun that I forget... it is in that Arcanum's nature. The Arcana refuse to change their nature, insisting that their actions are right because they follow their archetype. An Arcanum Marks someone because the person is 'suited' to their archetype. The Mark indicates an alliance to others bearing the same one. We may learn to use it to our benefit, the Emperor claims.

The Arcana call our time here a Mystic Journey. Theirs is called Synodiporia. That word does not exist in my world, but... in Latin, synodus is a meeting. Porus means passage. I have made notes of all this in the Workshop's library. I will finish and include drawings as well.

Comments

[awitchdidit]

Oho. You had a nosy neighbor.

ROSE didn't mention anything about what the computers are for, possibly because I had no idea what they are. She did mention the idea that individuals that grow and change rather than embody an archetype are foreign to all the Arcana - we "take each other by surprise a lot".

She also mentioned that she, in particular, was looking for us to figure out the nature of the Arcana's game, but most aren't. On the other hand, she also assured me that few of them were interested in watching us fight to the death, which I think most of us had in mind as a worst-case scenario. She rattled off quite a few hints about individual others, but suffice to say they all have different interests and goals. I didn't ask if only one could be the winner of their little contest, but I'm fairly certain it is a contest, and they all want different outcomes...

Oh, and the 'truly malicious' Arcana is probably Devil. I would say Devil or Tower, but the Magician portrayed the latter as more aloof and mysterious, at least from her perspective. And the picture on the Devil card more or less defies gendered pronouns.

[theflyingone]

I thought Rose was the child of two Travelers here? Do they share the name?

I do not even know why she told me their function, unless it was a lie. She said they even contained the necessary knowledge of how to walk. It could have sounded like either a warning or a threat.

The Arcana wish for different outcomes because they each take after a different archetype. And, as they implied, they will not or cannot deviate from it. By this way of thinking, alliances can only be made if it does not go against their archetype.

Are you referring to the illustration of the Devil in the version called 'Rider-Waite?' That is the one I know.

[awitchdidit]

ROSE is the identity the Magician used during her Jaunt, and the name for the particular avatar she spoke to me with. Presumably the one she spoke to you with if she was still insistent on storing information on computers. Rose Washburne is unrelated. There's also the unrelated Rose Magic from Dolorosa and Misericordia, in case you weren't confused enough.

And yes, that's the deck I'm referring to.

[Once again, Beatrice wishes she had Image Projection to assist her with exposition, but c'est la vie.]

It's based on a famous painting of Baphomet. The original is a tad more explicit in its depiction of the Devil as both male and female.

[theflyingone]

[ Roses are from his world, too; he knows how popular they are, oh boy. ]

That... name sounds like something entirely different. Like the French Mahomet. [ He doubts there is any point appending peace be upon him, being somewhat apostate and not in the company of the faithful besides, but the habit nags at him just slightly. ] It may not be from that, but, coming from Europe, I cannot say I would be surprised... They could have just gone with calling it Shaytan or the Devil, it is not as though these are unfamiliar to two religions who share the same root.

[ He just has a lot of salt about the stupidity of the Crusades, ok. He'll focus in a minute. ]

[leftbehindagain]

I'll agree with Beatrice-san that the outright malicious one is probably Devil. They... pretty soundly did not make a good impression, on the Grid, and I know ROSE did her level best to keep unmarked people away from them. Whether that was out of genuine concern for any of us or just trying to block them out of things, I couldn't say.

[Even Naoki, who is one of the more positively-minded people here about the Arcana as a whole, doesn't really trust ROSE as far as he could throw her logic probe. Table. Whatever. Still, better her than Devil.

He doesn't say anything about the new information regarding Star's death - not to someone he barely knows. Not when so many people here would probably be inclined to try using whatever results. But... hmm. This is putting him in mind of a theory he hasn't reconsidered in a while. It might be worth talking through with some of his friends.]

[theflyingone]

The enemy of your enemy is not necessarily your friend. While you confront one, another attacks from behind.

[ Altaïr grew up as an Assassin, an enemy of just about everyone in the Holy Land. The Magician reminds him of Beatrice. Someone less hostile to him than the Arcana perhaps, but still an enemy. ]

The Magician made it clear that she does not care what we think is right or wrong, or whether we even wish to be here. But, as the... custodian? of the world we inhabit, she would prefer that we remain safe, or at least stable. That is, until she sees fit to change something. She strikes me as the sort of person who would be bored with monotony.

[leftbehindagain]

And then there's the friend of your enemy. Lovers has willingly allied herself with Devil in the past and I'm sure she'd do so again.

[Pretty much no one left the Grid looking very good, really. Devil didn't have to do anything other than be Devil, Lovers rushed to their assistance, and ROSE and SAGE were pretty underhanded in their own tactics.]

She likely would. Looking out for our safety is more credit than I would've given her, I can say that much, but care isn't necessarily benevolence, and even the ones who're trying to meet us halfway probably have a hard time managing it.

[theflyingone]

'Meet halfway?' That is a saying, isn't it? It seems the Arcana are taking turns in meeting us in person regardless of caring, but somehow I do not think meeting in person is what you meant.

[what_do_you_see]

What actions lead to Star's death? [Because really, let's get to the important part. How do we kill them?]

[theflyingone]

[ Yes. Priorities. The Emperor and the Magician, at the very least, have just made his hitlist. Not that he'd tell anyone about this new status. The whole point of assassination is to keep it a surprise. ]

They would not say, for obvious reasons. I do not know when she died, or whether there are any Travelers here who remember how it happened. I was not here long enough.

[neverfeltthatway]

It must have happened before Moebius, if the Travelers were even aware of it at all. Even if our actions lead to her death, it might not have been intentional - after Moebius, it was most of a year before any of us encountered the Arcana directly. Before then, we didn't have more than a vague sense and tangential evidence of their existence. I'm not sure what we knew before Moebius.

Either way, it's not information any of us have now.

[brokers]

It is possible that her death might have something to do with what happened in Moebius.

[theflyingone]

Tell me of this evidence. Is it to do with changes wrought on the worlds in Jaunts?

[acapriciousthing]

They sound... almost like my family. Only with less restraint about their position relative to mortals.

[Which she apparently somewhat counts as now]

[theflyingone]

[ Mortals. Wonders never cease. Someone who speaks like that might have some interesting insights. ]

What do you make of it? What do you think this means for the future? They do not seem to follow any rules or restraints, save the ones that are convenient for them...

[acapriciousthing]

Sometimes my younger siblings take leave of their senses and start playing far smaller games than this. They never bode well for the mortals involved, their lives always become interesting. Beings with such power create ripples that can extend for centuries from the slightest interference. There's a responsibility to be mindful of that.

[theflyingone]

Each world they touch... Each world we touch as well... Of course, our actions have consequences whether we are in our own lands or not, and all we can do is act or not act as we see fit. But if the Arcana are indeed playing a game, rather than just dabbling in one life or two, their wider sight means they have a wider reach... I do not know how far, and I hesitate to guess here.

[prolificarse]

Killed by what, I wonder? If the others were struck down by their fellow Arcana, the fallout might make things unpleasant for us - but if they were killed by an outside force, that may be even worse.

[theflyingone]

The Illuminants were the only ones I know of powerful enough to match the Arcana, and even then, they would have had to band together to do so. And since the Arcana can summon one another for aid... Anyway, the Illuminants tried and failed to do it in Liminal Space. I heard this information secondhand from other Travelers.

[prolificarse]

Ah, but "the only ones you know of" is a very different thing than "the only ones that exist". If there are outside forces that can destroy them, they'd have very good reasons to keep that information from us.

[solvethepuzzle]

[... And yet he only saw gaps in the system for Heirophant, Temperance, and Fortune. Interesting. But Near will keep that to himself for now.]

Hm. Much of this is to be expected. If our safety were wholly unimportant to them, they would not bother to waste energy on reviving us.

[fridgeninja]

There are things they need us for, and if we die or vanish, it's more trouble to get more people than it is to fix us or recover us.

[solvethepuzzle]

Indeed. Much more efficient to work with what they already have. And yet they do still draw more in.

[theflyingone]

I keep my belongings in good condition as well. That does not mean I think of my sword as a person.

[ He wonders if dry humor conveys well over the network. As for the rest, he keeps a different sort of dryness, an academic one. It's what's keeping him from expressing his displeasure too much. ]

The Emperor seemed to think he deserved an accolade for this, that we should not expect more than a measure of safety and the granting of powers. Where we go, the lives we were forced to leave behind, the choice of whether we are Marked... These are of less concern to him than his 'Synodiporia.'

[solvethepuzzle]

Oh, I don't believe I said it means they are concerned for us as people. [It doesn't really convey, but Near is treating it as humour regardless.] That would be optimistic, I think.