[ Y'shtola asks that they meet in the relaxation nook, and when they arrive they'll find that the fireplace is on, casting warmth around the room. There are plenty of snacks on offer, too, and tea set on one of the tables with three full cups. ]
Thancred, Urianger. Forgive me for keeping this close to my chest. 'Tis... harrowing, and I did not want to subject either of you to more despair.
Now that I have a clearer picture, however, I know I can tell you of what has transpired with an undercurrent of hope.
[Urianger settles in one of the open seats at the table, quick to busy his hands by holding onto his cup. He's been thinking about what this meeting could bring, and...worrying about it, as he is wont to do.]
Y'shtola, thou knowest I could ne'er judge thee for this.
[In contrast, Thancred keeps the same stiff upper lip as he always seems to do, the knot in his brow the only familiar tell of his attention bending towards concern and caution.]
Aye. Regardless of what chose to separate us, bringing us all to a similar mind will be for everyone's benefit.
[Firstmost being the most obvious discrepancy in the room. But he doesn't address it immediately, sliding into the remaining seat and settling his forearms against the table, fingers laced and attention drawn to Y'shtola.]
My own questions can wait. Urianger is right - I would hear what is on your heart.
You know now that the infection reached our realm. It ripped through populations, and many in Sharlayan were working towards a cure, but we were unable to uncover any real solutions.
[ There's something going on with time here and what Thancred and Urianger have experienced as opposed to Y'shtola, it seems, but she won't mention it unless they ask. Maybe they would rather not know.
But there's one important thing she needs them to both know immediately and it's— ]
Meteor is one of the infected. He lives and has yet to transform as far as I am aware, however...
[ It's still one of the worst possible outcomes. ]
[Twelve preserve... It's like a horrific retread of the fate that befell the Source in G'raha Tia's original timeline, only this time it's already come to pass. Right down to Meteor...
...
Something cracks in Urianger's composure and he can only stare down at his cup in disbelief.
Hopefully Thancred can pick up his slack and ask about the timeline thing because he uh. He needs a minute.]
[The tension in his brow only deepens when Y'shtola continues. And though his heart drops at the mention of Meteor, the contradictions at least keep him steady and his voice even.]
...How long ago was this infection?
Y'shtola, unless this was some mad and distasteful offshoot from the Final Days, neither myself nor Urianger were in a position to be anywhere near knowing of a situation like this. And as far as we both remember, neither were you.
It has not been long, but I am certain that time remains of great import. We averted the Final Days, only for us to be struck by something similarly despair inducing mere weeks later.
[ Reprieve did not last long, not as long as they had all hoped. Then again, their star is ever so prone to crises, isn't it?
Urianger's silence speaks volumes, and she lets out a soft breath. At least Thancred is here to pelt her with questions. It makes her feel better. ]
When I realized that you and Urianger were from the past, I realized that this is not unlike the Exarch's situation, though entire eras have yet to pass for me.
[Thank goodness for Thancred holding fast. Urianger looks up with wide eyes when he brings up the obvious discrepancies, then to Y'shtola. What she goes on to explain really does just feel like talking to G'raha Tia on the first all over again.]
We averted... [He looks over to Thancred, floored.] Then that meaneth Meteor was successful.
[Gods is he relieved, even if he wishes he could be happier about it than he is. Hard to celebrate saving the universe when another calamity has taken its place just as quickly.
Still...if they yet live, then there is surely something to be done. For those they can yet save.]
[The exhale Thancred makes is a slow and measured one, but there is unspoken tension slowly unravelling as it sinks in.
It was worth it, then. The sacrifice. And even then, Y'shtola had somehow survived, despite Urianger's testimony of their fate.
It's a sliver of hope, magnified. One he needs to hold with care - if this is truly like the Exarch, who knows how their times might branch away from one another. But it was possible, somewhere, for this Y'shtola.]
Sorted out one gloriously impossible issue, only to step right into a whole new set of problems... that does seem to fit our stubborn friend. [He wants to believe Meteor had it in him to fight a transformative experience after what had happened in the First. But with the tone Y'shtola sets, this sounds like something that's had to start from scratch yet again.]
May I say I am glad you are not repeating all of his footsteps, or I would worry if you were the same woman at all. [Y'shtola had not been silent about her distaste for some of the Exarch's more evasive choices in communication.] But it does leave me to wonder in his wake of whether you seek a cure, or a reversal.
[ She can hear it in their voices, the relief that laces their words and it eases the tenseness that had gathered in her shoulders and back. With a soft sigh, she leans back against her seat. ]
Meteor was indeed successful. Once he had made it to his destination, he summoned us back through Azem's magick.
[ And she hopes that provides a clearer picture for them both, as well as a confirmation. They aren't dead. Not yet, and not if Y'shtola has anything at all to say about it.
She closes her eyes for a moment, shaking her head. ]
I believe a reversal to be impossible, though I certainly intend to do my part to repair the damage that has been done. I aim to fix what plagues our star. As it stands, the Scions are on Etheirys, aiming to mitigate the damage and search for a cure that may be buried somewhere on our star.
[ So imagine her surprise when Thancred and Urianger appeared... ]
So Azem's magick did work, as thou theorized. 'Tis heartening to hear.
[Urianger will just politely remain quiet when it comes to the obvious jabs at the Exarch's way of handling this similar set of circumstances. He was part of all of that, so, you know. But both Thancred and Y'shtola are well aware that he'd never want to repeat that stratagem anyway, so there's no need for him to say anything.
Hearing about the Scions in Y'shtola's timeline sure is something. He has to imagine that includes Thancred and himself.]
How didst thou come to learn of this realm, and thy new comrades besides?
[Sorry, Urianger. Thancred has had Opinions about Y'shtola's dodgy behavior up until now and has not been particularly quiet about it precisely BECAUSE he saw what it did to people like Urianger, complicit or not.]
I'd also like to know what progress, if any, was made back home before you resorted to such a choice as this.
We learned of one another when we arrived and discovered that our purpose was the same—to find the cure to what ails our stars.
[ They regarded one another with suspicion too, and it wasn't until they realized that they could work together that they decided to form some sort of alliance. It isn't like the Scions, nowhere close to it, but it was something in an otherwise empty world.
An empty world when she had just left one full of destruction. ]
I knew that the journey here could result in great danger, but I was offered the opportunity to make right what had gone wrong, and so I came alone after notifying our allies... as well as the two of you. We made little to no progress on Etheirys in spite of our best efforts, and so I felt that this was our best option. When presented with this opportunity and in light of the danger that our star and our very own champion are in, I could not let it pass me by.
[ Her eyes drift towards the floor. She isn't proud of her choice to do this alone, and she isn't proud of the secrecy either. Though she's the sort of person to never regret her decisions... she feels a heavy weight in her chest over it.
This is an opportunity for knowledge, yes, but at the end of it all what she truly seeks is saving those she cares about. ]
When I first heard your voices... fear struck me. I knew naught of how you would have arrived, or if you may have been infected. I thought, perhaps, that the realm itself sent you here to taunt me.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
week 3, monday afternoon
Thancred, Urianger. Forgive me for keeping this close to my chest. 'Tis... harrowing, and I did not want to subject either of you to more despair.
Now that I have a clearer picture, however, I know I can tell you of what has transpired with an undercurrent of hope.
no subject
Y'shtola, thou knowest I could ne'er judge thee for this.
So long as thou art now ready, we shall listen.
[He looks to Thancred. Right?]
no subject
Aye. Regardless of what chose to separate us, bringing us all to a similar mind will be for everyone's benefit.
[Firstmost being the most obvious discrepancy in the room. But he doesn't address it immediately, sliding into the remaining seat and settling his forearms against the table, fingers laced and attention drawn to Y'shtola.]
My own questions can wait. Urianger is right - I would hear what is on your heart.
no subject
[ There's something going on with time here and what Thancred and Urianger have experienced as opposed to Y'shtola, it seems, but she won't mention it unless they ask. Maybe they would rather not know.
But there's one important thing she needs them to both know immediately and it's— ]
Meteor is one of the infected. He lives and has yet to transform as far as I am aware, however...
[ It's still one of the worst possible outcomes. ]
no subject
...
Something cracks in Urianger's composure and he can only stare down at his cup in disbelief.
Hopefully Thancred can pick up his slack and ask about the timeline thing because he uh. He needs a minute.]
no subject
...How long ago was this infection?
Y'shtola, unless this was some mad and distasteful offshoot from the Final Days, neither myself nor Urianger were in a position to be anywhere near knowing of a situation like this. And as far as we both remember, neither were you.
[They were all as good as dead, in fact.]
no subject
[ Reprieve did not last long, not as long as they had all hoped. Then again, their star is ever so prone to crises, isn't it?
Urianger's silence speaks volumes, and she lets out a soft breath. At least Thancred is here to pelt her with questions. It makes her feel better. ]
When I realized that you and Urianger were from the past, I realized that this is not unlike the Exarch's situation, though entire eras have yet to pass for me.
no subject
We averted... [He looks over to Thancred, floored.] Then that meaneth Meteor was successful.
[Gods is he relieved, even if he wishes he could be happier about it than he is. Hard to celebrate saving the universe when another calamity has taken its place just as quickly.
Still...if they yet live, then there is surely something to be done. For those they can yet save.]
no subject
It was worth it, then. The sacrifice. And even then, Y'shtola had somehow survived, despite Urianger's testimony of their fate.
It's a sliver of hope, magnified. One he needs to hold with care - if this is truly like the Exarch, who knows how their times might branch away from one another. But it was possible, somewhere, for this Y'shtola.]
Sorted out one gloriously impossible issue, only to step right into a whole new set of problems... that does seem to fit our stubborn friend. [He wants to believe Meteor had it in him to fight a transformative experience after what had happened in the First. But with the tone Y'shtola sets, this sounds like something that's had to start from scratch yet again.]
May I say I am glad you are not repeating all of his footsteps, or I would worry if you were the same woman at all. [Y'shtola had not been silent about her distaste for some of the Exarch's more evasive choices in communication.] But it does leave me to wonder in his wake of whether you seek a cure, or a reversal.
no subject
Meteor was indeed successful. Once he had made it to his destination, he summoned us back through Azem's magick.
[ And she hopes that provides a clearer picture for them both, as well as a confirmation. They aren't dead. Not yet, and not if Y'shtola has anything at all to say about it.
She closes her eyes for a moment, shaking her head. ]
I believe a reversal to be impossible, though I certainly intend to do my part to repair the damage that has been done. I aim to fix what plagues our star. As it stands, the Scions are on Etheirys, aiming to mitigate the damage and search for a cure that may be buried somewhere on our star.
[ So imagine her surprise when Thancred and Urianger appeared... ]
no subject
[Urianger will just politely remain quiet when it comes to the obvious jabs at the Exarch's way of handling this similar set of circumstances. He was part of all of that, so, you know. But both Thancred and Y'shtola are well aware that he'd never want to repeat that stratagem anyway, so there's no need for him to say anything.
Hearing about the Scions in Y'shtola's timeline sure is something. He has to imagine that includes Thancred and himself.]
How didst thou come to learn of this realm, and thy new comrades besides?
no subject
I'd also like to know what progress, if any, was made back home before you resorted to such a choice as this.
no subject
[ They regarded one another with suspicion too, and it wasn't until they realized that they could work together that they decided to form some sort of alliance. It isn't like the Scions, nowhere close to it, but it was something in an otherwise empty world.
An empty world when she had just left one full of destruction. ]
I knew that the journey here could result in great danger, but I was offered the opportunity to make right what had gone wrong, and so I came alone after notifying our allies... as well as the two of you. We made little to no progress on Etheirys in spite of our best efforts, and so I felt that this was our best option. When presented with this opportunity and in light of the danger that our star and our very own champion are in, I could not let it pass me by.
[ Her eyes drift towards the floor. She isn't proud of her choice to do this alone, and she isn't proud of the secrecy either. Though she's the sort of person to never regret her decisions... she feels a heavy weight in her chest over it.
This is an opportunity for knowledge, yes, but at the end of it all what she truly seeks is saving those she cares about. ]
When I first heard your voices... fear struck me. I knew naught of how you would have arrived, or if you may have been infected. I thought, perhaps, that the realm itself sent you here to taunt me.