TSW 32: Arina's Dream

[18:01]	IcePickLobotomy	[ https://youtu.be/V8NmynhfeUs?t=35 ]You're standing in the same empty city as before, a cold wind dusting in from between the empty towers, streams of black sand carried along with them. There's something mournful in the cry of the wind as it slips between the towers, something lonely and desolate in the sound.
[18:02]	IcePickLobotomy	You are alone. A worn Coleman lantern in one hand, and a spear in the other. The red-stained sky and stars your sole companions.
[18:04]	Arina	hums, looking around. "So thinking of Robin didn't get me /starting/ there..." She starts walking in any convenient direction since she'd rather not be in a place Lily hangs out.
[18:07]	IcePickLobotomy	No answer, sand crunches underfoot as you wind your way out of the city. A road, little more than a slightly more even patch of ground at this point takes you out from the towers. And what awaits you is a desert of black sands that stretch to the horizon, and a red ocean to your left. Following the arc of the shore shows that the landmass curves gently to the left before dipping out of sight.
[18:08]	IcePickLobotomy	You could follow the shoreline, or brave the desert itself.
[18:09]	Arina	follows the shoreline, better to have a reference point to know where she's going.
[18:11]	IcePickLobotomy	You walk for a time, never feeling fatigue or hunger, save for the ever present desire to drink from the waters beside you. The city is long out of sight now, when you notice something on your right. The tip of a tower peaking over a dune. It's black and reflects slightly in the feeble light.
[18:14]	Arina	frowns, swallowing dryly and moving towards the tower. If it doesn't work out she can probably find the shoreline again without too much trouble.
[18:16]	IcePickLobotomy	The tower is farther than you think, and much taller you realize, as you crest the last dune. It lays in a shallow bowl-shaped depression. You can set what looks like a set of footsteps that have entered and exited the portal at it's base. Broken weapons lay scattered and half-burried in the sands, here and there you can see small patches of bones peaking up as well.
[18:18]	Arina	whistles, looking up. "Wonder if this is the tower we were in on the way out with... Kasra...?"
[18:18]	IcePickLobotomy	It doesn't feel the same. You can't put a finger on it, but somehow you know you've never been here before
[18:19]	Arina	shakes her head. "... maybe not." It certainly looks like a well-trafficked place, if only by the dead.
[18:23]	Arina	follows the footsteps, since they seem to have made it both in and out, unlike the others.
[18:23]	Arina	nods politely to the bones as she passes.
[18:25]	IcePickLobotomy	The dead remain in their rest. The inside of the tower is dark and dry, the scent of incense lingers in the musty air. You'll need to light the lanturn to see further than what little light filters in from the open doorway you stand in.
[18:25]	Arina	lights up the lantern, fumbling slightly to do it with the fingers of her spear-carrying hand, and holds it up to see.
[18:27]	IcePickLobotomy	The chamber is rather spacious A worn carpet flanked by pillars leads down several meters to a door-way covered by a cloth barrier. Standing beside the door way is a suit of black armor, with great sword clasped in its hand, the tip resting on the stone floor. The gutted remains of torches lay in their sconces.
[18:31]	Arina	looks around, rather impressed, and moves towards the doorway, carefully watching the suit of armour because she's not entirely sure it's not going to come to life and attack.
[18:31]	IcePickLobotomy	The scent of incense grows stronger as you move closer to the doorway. The suit gives no sign of jumping to life.
[18:33]	Arina	"That smell, is that recent or...?" She shakes her head as she moves in. The question might be a little moot in this place.
[18:35]	IcePickLobotomy	Pass the cloth "doorway" is smaller chamber, a central table with a tea-pot and a pair of cups, several sticks of incense, little more than smoking nubs now, and on the other side a old woman wrapped in a thick shawl and blankets. Her eyes are closed.
[18:36]	Arina	blinkblinks. "Wow, someone... alive...?" She moves up carefully to check.
[18:36]	IcePickLobotomy	The woman doesn't react to your voice.
[18:39]	Arina	Well, at the least she's a deep sleeper... Arina checks to see if she's breathing.
[18:39]	IcePickLobotomy	If she is it's very shallow, you lean closer to see and her eyes snap open.
[18:39]	Arina	ducks back. "Okay so that seems to be yes!"
[18:40]	IcePickLobotomy	She blinks a moment, blood red eyes looking you over, flickering to the spear first, then the lantern, and finally resting back to you. ". . . . . Your mother ever teach you to not disturb a old woman's sleep?" She grumbles
[18:41]	Arina	purses her lips. "I am sorry about that, I was trying to see if you were alive /instead/ of just waking you up."
[18:41]	Arina	"I haven't really seen a lot of people out here."
[18:42]	IcePickLobotomy	"Hrrmm," She leans over and starts up a small flame beneath the tea-pot "Well there isn't exactly too many people around there parts. Just me mostly, though did get a passer by some time ago."
[18:43]	Arina	"Oh? I saw the footprints, I think."
[18:44]	IcePickLobotomy	"Haven't had a storm since then, you'd prolly be able to follow them far as the edge of the desert, not that there'd be much to gain from that I think."
[18:44]	Arina	nods. "Who was it? I'm looking for someone right now."
[18:45]	IcePickLobotomy	"Kasra Nariman, one of your friends if I have the right of it."
[18:46]	Arina	's expression falls. "... ah. He... died since then, I'm afraid."
[18:47]	IcePickLobotomy	"Mmm, a shame then, but his was never going to be a happy story." The tea-pot whistles and she pours out two cups.
[18:48]	Arina	"I had hoped..." She sighs.
[18:51]	IcePickLobotomy	"Hoped for what exactly?"
[18:54]	Arina	"That that fate wasn't set in stone. That I could do something about it."
[18:55]	IcePickLobotomy	"True, but whatever happened he was not to have a happy life. Though," She takes a drink from her tea "however, it's a moot point now. And you have more pressing questions that what your friend was."
[18:57]	Arina	purses her lips, taking the other teacup and taking a sip after setting some of her things down. "'What' he was? ... You aren't albino, are you?"
[18:58]	IcePickLobotomy	"If I were to be pedantic I could say no, but for what you are asking, I am."
[19:01]	Arina	"Are the eyes an... 'Angel' thing?"
[19:02]	IcePickLobotomy	"More of a trait of the Nephilim, though hardly universal. And I do not fall into either category."
[19:07]	Arina	raises an eyebrow. "Ah, I see?"
[19:07]	IcePickLobotomy	"Unlike you and everyone else you've meet here, I am a native to this place."
[19:08]	Arina	"Ah, really? Is it, er, comfortable?"
[19:09]	IcePickLobotomy	"Comfortable enough, for what that matters to me."
[19:10]	Arina	nods. "That's good to hear. It doesn't seem like a lot of people pass through here..." She pauses, glancing back towards the entrance with all the dead bodies. "... or possibly a few too many people, though I certainly haven't seen them."
[19:12]	IcePickLobotomy	"Oh that? Those were not my doing."
[19:14]	IcePickLobotomy	"You are not a greedy child, so there is no need for you to fear from me. Think of me as a. . . librarian of sorts."
[19:14]	Arina	"Oh? I suppose that seems like exactly the sort of person it's good to have in a place like this."
[19:15]	IcePickLobotomy	She smiles "You could say that I was made for this place," And then she frowns "though they didn't have much use for me in the end. Too temperamental I think."
[19:17]	Arina	"Ah, I'm sorry to hear that."
[19:18]	IcePickLobotomy	"Thank you, but it was for the best I think. I'd rather not have been lobotomized so that I would be "suitable" to serve their needs."
[19:19]	Arina	"Charming people."
[19:20]	IcePickLobotomy	"Well when you are as powerful as they are, you have no need of being polite. Do you apologize to a ant when you step on it? Shed a tear for termites when you call the exterminator?"
[19:23]	Arina	"Mm... I suppose not. On the other hand I don't want them to do anything for me." She shrugs.
[19:24]	IcePickLobotomy	"Don't jailbreak any of their toys or attempt to become a God and they'll leave you alone. So, don't try for Infinite Power while in your unit, alright? Or at least don't try and *keep* the infinite power."
[19:27]	Arina	"That's... um... fair enough..."
[19:30]	IcePickLobotomy	She nods with a small smile "Good, heed your elder's words." And she chuckles "Not too much though."
[19:32]	Arina	"That does seem to be its own problem, yes."
[19:33]	IcePickLobotomy	"Well, could do worse than to live out your days drinking tea and contemplating the nature of existence." She sets her tea-cup down "Though you're too much of a go getter for that I think."
[19:34]	Arina	chuckles. "Yes, you're probably right."
[19:35]	IcePickLobotomy	"So, perhaps I can do you a favor. Offer some advice or perhaps answer a question you may have?"
[19:36]	Arina	hums. "I have... more than a few, honestly."
[19:37]	IcePickLobotomy	"I'll see what I can do, though my own nature means I am. . . not unlimited in what I can answer, I suggest asking the most pressing ones first."
[19:39]	Arina	purses her lips. "Hm... I think the most central matter is Lilith. She hasn't turned up but she seems to be the prime mover on everything. Everything that's happening is in response to her."
[19:40]	IcePickLobotomy	The woman nods "Yes, everything here revolves around her or stems from her little hissy fit."
[19:40]	Arina	"What exactly did she /do/?"
[19:42]	IcePickLobotomy	"It's as much as what she did, as the fact that she was even able to act," She replaces the incense and relights it, along with a handful of candles, the smoke begins to curl in the air "Imagine your mother, she gave you life, rasied and cared for you, taught you, didn't she? She loved you, yes?'
[19:43]	Arina	nods. "Y-yes, she does."
[19:46]	IcePickLobotomy	The smoke coalesces into shapes and figures, hues of color in indistinct blurs. A grey plane, and then a figure descends from the sky and it blooms into life, plants and birds and animals as the giant sinks into the ground "Yes, and when they make a tool they create it in utter perfection, then bind and limit it out of fear. She was a creator of life. The ideal of a Mother write large, then...
[19:46]	IcePickLobotomy	...carved and shaped into a unthinking machine of creation. From a living being, to a artificial womb." The plants grow larger and wild, the animals stalk and prowl.
[19:46]	IcePickLobotomy	"But something happened to her." The scene plays out again and again.
[19:48]	IcePickLobotomy	[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnKfcLzoBhc ] The scene starts anew but this time. . . the ground does not bloom into life, the woman stands upon the field in thought "She did not make them that time, she raised them." It starts slowly, a single flower that spirals outward, leaves and vines curling across in a burst of colors and shapes while the woman is seated as they grow around her.
[19:49]	Arina	"That... sounds more like an actual parent."
[19:49]	IcePickLobotomy	"That was her first sin, she acted for herself." And from the plants you see other shapes emerge, people. She tilts her head and beckons them close. "And then she began to raise them, as any mother would. She cared for their ills, gave them shelter." Shelters form around them as do fruits "fed them."
[19:52]	IcePickLobotomy	"And when they found her, they became afraid, for she had created life, much like they had. But unlike them, she raised it, taught them. So they punished her." The scene bursts into flames, the plants wither and die as the people and their city burns. Alien shapes stalk across the ruins, razing it utterly to the ground while the woman weeps. "So she struck back." Plants lash back at the...
[19:52]	IcePickLobotomy	...others, only to be struck down "And she learned how to create more than just children, but children who would protect her, and protect their siblings" And from the earth emerges other figures, just as strange as the others, but more organic. And they fight.
[19:53]	Arina	swallows, watching.
[19:53]	IcePickLobotomy	"And long did she and her children fight, leaving broken planets and solar systems in the wake of their war. But they always held the advantage, for they had more and better tools than her children's were numerous or powerful. She needed a edge, a way of leveling the playing field." She pauses, giving you a expectant look. "You know what I am talking about."
[19:57]	Arina	blinks. "... I... to be honest I'm not really clear on what's completely normal at this scale and what's an edge... unless you mean she made that golden...?"
[19:58]	IcePickLobotomy	"No, no, he comes later. A certain artifact with a habit of driving people insane? A vast repository of near infinite knowledge?" She grins "My replacement."
[20:00]	Arina	"Oh, I was under the impression that was part of the, um, infrastructure they made. Unless you're saying she wanted to get a hold of it...?"
[20:04]	IcePickLobotomy	"And that's what triggered the last battle," A vicious fight, moreso than any of the others. A fighting retreat as Lilith's children fall back with the Guidestone. But not fast enough, as the Angels follow them back to their base. "And it was here that they brought in their weapon for this exact scenario" One of them, Chernobog, carries a two pronged spear. He and his comrades push through...
[20:04]	IcePickLobotomy	...the last of Lilith's children before he plants the lance deep into her chest, and she immediately shuts down. "but they didn't kill her. I think that she was too interesting to kill, so they locked her away. As for the Guidestone, it was left there, while the remaining angels built a prison for her and then entered hibernation while they waited for her toe either escape or for the First...
[20:04]	IcePickLobotomy	...One's to pass a new sentence."
[20:05]	Arina	glares at Cherno. "... for once she actually sounds benevolent. What's the catch?"
[20:06]	IcePickLobotomy	"You're not her children, or at the very least you are unwanted children of hers. If she even considers you as much more than mold from that chicken you didn't throw out before going to vacation. She may well make room for her "new" children."
[20:08]	Arina	"At this point I literally am going to count that as benevolent, if only for lack of competition."
[20:08]	IcePickLobotomy	She shrugs "I'm not going to tell you what to think, just going to tell you what I know."
[20:10]	Arina	"Still, such a high crime... no offence but these First Ones sound like rather unpleasant people."
[20:11]	IcePickLobotomy	"None taken, I'm not a fan either, but there's not much I can do about it. Out of reach by any measure you'd like to make."
[20:14]	Arina	"Well if nothing else they seem to be pretty hands-off..." She sighs. "I wish I'd killed Chernobog harder now."
[20:15]	IcePickLobotomy	She raises a eye-brow "Seemed fairly well done to me."
[20:15]	Arina	"Still. There's a high bar for how hard it needed to be done."
[20:16]	IcePickLobotomy	"Mmm, so I assume that sated your curosity on that matter I hope?"
[20:18]	Arina	hums. "... it seems to be the whole story, honestly. Sounds like she's another victim, for what good that'll do us all..."
[20:20]	IcePickLobotomy	"The gods and their playthings," She muses to herself
[20:22]	Arina	"Atheism sounds better by the hour."
[20:23]	IcePickLobotomy	She raises a eyebrow "Oh? ANd ehre I thought you were a good Comrade who shouldn't believe in that sort of thing?" her tone is teasing but in a friendly manner
[20:23]	Arina	"I am, I'm just remarking on how good a life choice that was."
[20:25]	IcePickLobotomy	"I think I have one more question left in me, I may not be lobotimized, but I am hardly free of their programming you understand."
[20:27]	Arina	nods. "... Well... we have more than enough apocalypses to deal with but the most concerning one is probably that golden giant." She'll have to hope she knows enough about Lily already.
[20:28]	IcePickLobotomy	"Do you want to know what he is, or what he wants?"
[20:29]	Arina	"Urgh. Only one?"
[20:29]	IcePickLobotomy	"No, but which of the two do you want more of?"
[20:30]	Arina	"Mm... what he is, I think?"
[20:34]	IcePickLobotomy	She nods, the smoke curls again. You see Lilith again, another giant of the same white flesh and a mask, but more masculine "They made Lilith and the others as terraforming devices, but that is not all they made. After Lilith's rebellion they decided to make a greater weapon. Not a more powerful one, for there really was not more they could do for that." The smoke slowly begins to form, a...
[20:34]	IcePickLobotomy	...roughly human skeleton, and 8 balde like wings arrayed around it. They're not connected but instead seem to "float" in shape with eachother.
[20:36]	Arina	"... a smarter one."
[20:36]	Arina	"More flexible."
[20:36]	IcePickLobotomy	"Yes. They. . . lessened their restraints in some areas, to allow him to better execute their will. If Lilith was a tool, this would be a . . . attack dog. Not unthinking, capable of some decision making." She smiles humorlessly as the shape bursts into golden flames, darker shadows where the structure of his body is "But they miscalculated, I think, and instead of a attack dog they got a...
[20:36]	IcePickLobotomy	...feral wolf. So they locked him away as well, into a pocket dimension that he would not be able to escape from. But they are not used to dealing with tools that can think for themselves, or that can learn."
[20:39]	Arina	"They really don't seem to be..."
[20:40]	IcePickLobotomy	"The pride that goeth before the fall perhaps? Time will tell. But as for what he wants, I can only speculate on why he wants the Guidestone, but clearly it has a answer to what he seeks, whether that be freedom, revenge, or something else."
[20:42]	Arina	"Mm... to get out of that pocket dimension...? I suppose he wants to do some things with his life too..."
[20:43]	IcePickLobotomy	"Would you really let something that dangerous into the world not knowing what it wants to do?"
[20:46]	Arina	"I didn't say I was planning to, he's done enough to us that I'm fairly comfortable not doing any such thing."
[20:46]	IcePickLobotomy	"Just wanted to make sure, it may not be much of a concern of mine, but I'm not that callous about others."
[20:47]	Arina	"I mean if he bothered to talk, maybe, but considering his main way of interacting with people seems to be kidnapping them and tormenting them for a decade I'm not all that eager."
[20:48]	IcePickLobotomy	She nods
[20:50]	Arina	"Besides, it's probably nothing wonderful anyway."
[20:50]	Arina	"A restrictions-off terraformer took greater and greater care of the things it created."
[20:50]	Arina	"A restrictions-off /weapon/... well, their intelligences seem very dedicated to their purposes."
[20:52]	IcePickLobotomy	"And that's the best case scenario."
[20:53]	Arina	"At the very least if this follows the same pattern he probably wants to kill /something/."
[20:55]	IcePickLobotomy	"Probably." She yawns "Now, I think it's time I get back to sleep, yes? And you have a friend to meet as well, just follow the shoreline into the jungle, then look for the foot-path."
[20:56]	Arina	"Ah, thank you. Sorry for the interruption."
[20:56]	Arina	"And... did Kasra get what he was looking for?"
[20:57]	Arina	finishes her tea and picks up her stuff again.
[20:58]	IcePickLobotomy	"In the end he did. He only ever wanted to keep his friends safe. Even if it cost him his life. I don't think he'd have wanted to die any other way."
[20:58]	Arina	sighs. "Stupid Kasra."
[20:58]	Arina	"We wanted to keep him safe too."
[21:00]	IcePickLobotomy	She nods as she slips back into her slumber. The candles dying as she does so, and the incense's burn slowing to a faint crawl. The air grows still and silent.
[21:02]	Arina	sighs, moving back out of the tower and brushing her hair out of her face as she looks out over the desert. "... all right, that was a bit of a detour but I'm not really going to compla- damn it I never got her name."
[21:04]	Arina	"Probably shouldn't wake her up again... suppose I'll ask if I see her again."
[21:04]	Arina	heads back to the shoreline to follow the path to Robin.
[21:05]	IcePickLobotomy	You continue on wards again. Slowly you see a Jungle hugging the shoreline that grows closer. You continue, the desert disappearing behind the curve of the shore before you come across a set of foot-prints in the sand that simple appear. They lead into the jungle, following a rough foot path.
[21:07]	Arina	looks at the footprints, and follows them down the footpath. "Only one set of footprints, mm? I was a little curious how that was going to manifest in here..."
[21:10]	IcePickLobotomy	The jungle is alive with the sounds of birds and insects. It's heavy with thick leaves and trees covered in vines, and also dark as the sky is hidden from you. Patches of light from phosphorescent flowers and plants the emit a ethereal blue glow that stands out from the murky dark of the environment. The path winds deeper and deeper into the jungle, before the jungle suddenly becomes a clearing.
[21:11]	IcePickLobotomy	You are standing above a valley, bellow you the jungle is clearer. The path winds down to a lake in the center, upon which a stone platform is build over. It's made of a grey stone and the edge is covered in creeping vines and leaves. At the far end is a familiar statue, the same one you saw in the temple. And seated before it is the unmistakable form of Robin.
[21:12]	Arina	nods slightly, and jogs down the path to her.