Reunion: The Old Guard

[opius]

Alastair frowned. Deeply. And after giving Alain time to just breathe in the space he let out a sigh. The molds could cool, for now there was hot brass to hammer out.

He took to a tiny anvil, the kind for precision bends, and summoned one mercurial hammer into his dominant hand. The first strike was far harder than he intended- the giant 's bracelet prototype made it too easy to overdo it. He made note.

"Well now I understand that letter. And why neither you nor Rose would speak about lily." Another strike, again too hard. Rein it in. There's -work- to do.

The alloy took quickly to the shaping as he continued, pushing back. "As much as I look up to the wisdom of the older generation, I can't abide by the idea of letting sleeping dogs lay on this one. Ignoring it, deferring it, pretending like it -can't get you if you run and hide- isn't a solution. And even if it isn't on us to have the solution, it's our problem." He looked to Alain and pointed blandly with the hammer's head. "And my inheritance, apparently."

He tapped away, creating a texture of tiny round dents as he formed the domed lantern bottom. "I don't -want- the Gunslingers to go run off half cocked and get themselves hurt and normal folk killed. But this world is getting smaller every day, and the man in black is part of what's becoming a very visible war. Deschain is going to find out one way or another, and sooner rather than later. I think it's better to give people information and hope they do better. It's a choice to be terrible, and I don't think it's right to make that choice for someone else."

He puffed. "Sae's driven. But there's no way she'd let kids get hurt. She'd die first- I like that about her, as much as I hate the idea of doing that kind of math." And then again he looked to Alain.

"... Once they know, we won't be part of that conversation, Alain. Secrets can't stay secret forever- gods, if there's anything I've learned it's that." He looked to his work, mumbling. "... Like this summer has been one giant allegory for just that..."

[CautionCat]

"No... between ourselves and the things we have found out... sometimes keeping secrets hurt more than just letting people know." Konane frowned, and watched Alastair start work, while she went and put more ingots into the fire. Sighing, she went over to Alain, and placed her gloved hands onto her hips.

"And as for optimism, if I did not have that, I would go insane. I need to see the better side of a situation, and drive myself to do what needs to be done. You would not have seen that out of me three months ago. I was a coward." She puffed her cheeks, and dropped her hands on her sides.

"Now I am... flying and falling. As well as other things. But if you do not think the Gunslingers should know, and are telling us, with our heads full of optimism... what makes you think we will not do it ourselves? Sae spoke to the Man in Black, if I recall... And she has quite the vendetta against him for it."

[Ancelas]

Alain watched Alastair struggle with a burden that he was resolved to deal with, even if it wasn't his. "The trouble with false equivalencies," Alain murmured, "is that for someone of conscience, they are not easily dismissed."

He sighed and began to button up his tunic and lower his sleeve. "I don't know. On the one hand, I agree with you - what people do with the truth is their decision to make. But there are still truths that could unleash terrible things, were they known. Consider the conflict between Preservation and Ruin - that truth could instigate wars between Mobian faiths if it were widely known and believed. It is not difficult to imagine that it could even drive some Mobians to fight under Ruin's banner. Were such a thing to occur, would we really bare no responsibility for the outcome, having been the ones to provide them with the truth?"

Alain leaned back and looked at Konane and Alastair. "Valor Company is... strange. Your actions create far-reaching ripples of consequence that, so far, has made the world a better place. Perhaps if I were to work toward your same end, I might accomplish the same. Help create a better place."

And become a better man.

[opius]

"There's something to be said for leaving the world a better place than you started with." Alastair shrugged, and having hammered the disc into a dome he moved on, directing konane to move things, bring them, sit the follow along when she could, as he moved to work on the finer details.

"I've grown to dislike secrets. We've had that conversation- and though Drummond did his part to set me right, I keep finding issues with them. Not... Enough to make me angry, but enough to vex me."

He began hand-riveting smooth fasteners into place, his words broken up by the creak of leather gloves and the click-snap of the metal that followed.

"This war -exists- because Adonai lied. The young gods are powerless to aid because Kokinyu omitted whole truths. The Ilyians faced strife because the older generation tried sweeping the reality of a massacre under the table. For as many helpful- when necessary falsehoods I come across, there's just as many avoidable bigger issues." He looked to Alain.

"And before you say it, I'm -not- on a crusade against secrets. But it really does seem like everywhere I go, a lot of problems would be solved if some old fart told the truth somewhere down the pipeline." He looked back to his work.

"Even despite that, despite, I think we're in a position now where If secrets got us into a mess, then maybe secrets will get us out of it. I know War won't- you can't fight fire with a clumsier, weaker fire." He placed his tools down a moment to retrieve the green book from his things.

"You talked about Morrigan like she was even more secretive than you. Even you don't know how to stop the ghost bloods, maybe she might have figured it out in time. That book is... Something."

[CautionCat]

Konane, only a little distracted, would go back to working with Alastair when he directed her to get what he needed.

"Sometimes secrets are needed, yes. There is a reason why I do not go around like a fox woman all the time, unless I feel very comfortable doing so. Back at the refuge, there were all sorts of people there. I felt like I could be, well, me, without judgement or fear. But, now that we are back in the city, closer to Otori, I have taken on my human state again. But, some secrets get too big to keep. This feels like one of them, with the Ghostbloods."

She handed Alastair rivets as he snapped them, pulling them from his supplies. "Mmmn... Speaking of secrets..."

Konane looked to Alain. He wasn't there when they killed the vanyar hunter. He didn't know what Sae and Jennar did. "The ring I wear that Alastair made me, you know it is a protection spell, yes? To keep the vanyar hunters from finding me easily."

[Ancelas]

Alastair's indignation at the nature of secrets, and Konane's acceptance that some were necessary, brought another smile to Alain's face. "Don't misunderstand me, Alastair - I value truth far more than secrets. I also fear truth far more than I fear secrets. That is why the truth needs to be handled far more delicately."

Book, ring - the two members of Valor Company just provided him with two objects of extreme interest at the same time, and he looked between them, not sure which to address first. "The book is a weapon," he said, choosing the one he was more familiar with first, "but not a conventional one. Morgan was able to pull information from it wherever we went, and we were able to use that knowledge to plan our actions. It may not have cut particularly deeply, but it helped us to know where to position out blade."

To Konane, he nodded. "I think that was a wise idea. I imagine being presented with such a ring by Alastair must have been... quite a joy."

[opius]

"I'm like a magpie. I bring my friends shinies. Except, y'know, magpies don't build things, they steal them. And... Maybe this analogy isn't so good." He looked the tome over.

"I'm no wizard, but I can probably make use of this thing. And if you're right, well, knowing information is the first half of using disinformation. Sae's a bit better at the later."

He rubbed his chin. "I've got some decisions to make. And making any real plans is predicated on whether Deschain is willing to give me the time of day. But in the mean time I should have some time to get acquainted with this thing. Maybe then I can pivot into problem solving- like that ring." He looked back to Alain.

"Did Morrigan ever say whom this relic belonged to? How she came about it. Was she also a member of the white tower?"

[CautionCat]

Konane raised a brow at Alain's response. "Yes, not being tracked down by people who want to take me back to Otori is a joy to have. What you do not know is the reason why he made this, was because one did find me. That did not end well."

She looked to the book Alastair spoke about, and tilted her head, then looked to Alain for his answer.

[Ancelas]

"I've no doubt," Alain said to Konane. "Valor Company is dedicated to one another's protection - that is a level of defense unto itself."

Looking to Alastair, Alain nodded. "Indeed she was. Morgan was known in our circles as the Third Sage - she had made a study of Valinor, although it was more academic than devotional. She was an incredibly intelligent woman, and had mentioned the book being an ancient relic, but not who originally created it. Although she knew the answer, of that I'm sure. I have my suspicions, though...The book could provide knowledge on whatever region we visited, and occasionally on individuals as well. That speaks of a deity who valued exploration as much as they valued knowledge, to my mind."

[opius]

Alastair watched Konane as she explained, nodding his head along. He didn't see the need to go into detail- neither the gory ones concerning the monk, nor the peculiar but enjoyable companion that was Felix. His attention turned toward Alain.

"I see... I'll admit I'm not, uh, a practicing devotee of any one entity. But I've studied a bit, enough to know a lot of the players." He scratched the back of his head.

"I'm assuming you're talking about Kokinyu. I... Don't really know about any other gods who are associated with travel specifically." He continued scratching. "And even his whole thing was knowledge and trickery- in what little I've read, anyway."

[CautionCat]

"Yes, I was also going to say Kokinyu. The green cover reminds me of the green cloaks most wear." Konane nodded some, leaving the story of the monk at that, and moving on with the conversation.

"Travelers tend to know things. I am not surprised that the book can find out about a person or place, if it is indeed a Kokinyu relic."

[Ancelas]

"Travelers will often pray to gods of nature or protection to guide them," Alain explained, happy to switch to a less emotionally fraught subject. "In Astorea, they probably pray to Helm, or Selune... perhaps Silvanus and Argynvost, although Pelor and Ehlonna are popular as well. There are a number of lesser Gnomish and Halfling demigods that serve the larger pantheons as well. Kokinyu tends to find few followers outside of Aegise, but all Aegiens know that He is the one to pray to if you wish for safe travels.

"He is a trickster and an asshole," Alain said plainly, "but... he likes people. He likes stories. It is said that He has traveled the length and breadth of Mobius, from the darkest depths to the highest heavens, as well as the worlds beyond. He is known to share this knowledge with his petitioners, if they can meet his demands - which can be fickle. Sometimes you need only answer a riddle, or share a story. Sometimes he grants a blessing if you share your fire with a stranger on the road. Sometimes he sends you on impossible errands to do the silliest of things, and only then will point out that you gained the knowledge you sought along the way."

Alain growled softly and shook his head. "As I said... an asshole."

[opius]

Alastair cocked a brow and nodded. There was a slow forming understanding there... And at the same time, a kind of dissonance. When they'd encountered Kokinyu before, the entity had had an air of not just mystery, but also a kind of subtle menace he couldn't quite put his finger on. He glanced to Alain- was it... not malice, but animosity? The relationship seemed complex. He rubbed his chin.

"That... does line up with what the book seems to be all about." With a puff of his cheeks, he slid the book back into his backpack, tucking it neatly against Fenderberrin's old book. He turned his attention toward the task at hand- the lantern, the request, and teaching.

"So.. When exactly did you get involved with a deity? And are there others like him- I mean, On our side. Those who didn't end up on the wrong side of the Veil and all?"

[CautionCat]

Konane chuckled. "It seems you have some personal story with Kokinyu, hmn?" She listened to Alastair, and nodded. "That is a very good question..."

[Ancelas]

Alain rolled his eyes, more about his own relationship with Kokinyu than with the nature of their questions - of course they'd be curious. And their curiosity made him acutely aware of the coin burning a hole in his pocket. Only one last use...

"Mn... A story for another time, I think. I was still a child when I had my first brush with the Wanderer in Aegise. I inherited His surname back in the orphanage." He paused and looked at Alastair, frowning thoughtfully as the realization hit him. "Hm. I suppose that would make you a Kokinyu, rather than a Fields... you are certainly no bastard. Lily and I were wed before you were born."

And then another realization - that was likely to be a very touchy subject for Alastair. Clearing his throat, Alain pushed on, "As for other deities on this side of the Veil, I have no idea. Kokinyu wasn't supposed to be on this side to begin with. It may be possible that someone else is, but I've not heard rumors. To be fair, even clerics of Kokinyu believe Him to be across the Veil, so the lack of rumors isn't really a confirmation or denial..."