Two New Chapters of Confrontation

From Caelwiki

[19:44] >Ambiance<: The laptop appears as from nowhere sitting on the table next to the transit stone.
[19:44] Durroth: and the rest... I was blinded
[19:44] Durroth: I killed her by mistake, and went berserk
[19:44] Computer: You have mail
[19:44] Durroth: and thats the end of that tale.
[19:44] * Kiyodai jumps. "What? The computer? But..."
[19:45] Lkeas: Gods, Durroth, I'm so sorry...
[19:45] * Kiyodai goes over to the computer. "How do you work this thing?"
[19:45] * Doolie creeks open an eye
[19:45] Doolie: "Whats this then?"
[19:45] Doolie: "A computer"
[19:45] Durroth: oh, the laptop!
[19:45] * Lkeas 's attention is split as she hears the computer's call. "The.. the laptop? How did it find its way here?"
[19:45] Durroth: Computer, open message
[19:45] Kiyodai: "An...e-mail. Whatever the heck that is."
[19:45] Doolie: "Thats one strange computer... it's nonbanal"
[19:45] Doolie: "I have never encountered a computer that was not banal before"
[19:46] * Clyde exits his room and descends down the hall into the mainroom.
[19:46] * Lkeas nods. "It's quite extraordinary, Doolie.. powered by a god himself, in a manner."
[19:46] Computer: And you Redcap are not horribly murderours
[19:46] Computer: I have never encountered your kind who were not Horribly Murderous before either
[19:47] Computer: The message reeds: "You may keep my stone untill your efforts are completed. I have completed my study of the device and its nature may be critical to your success so I am returning it. - The Great Archmage"
[19:48] Kazuma: so the anchor's ours?
[19:48] Clyde: "That sounds like good news."
[19:48] Computer: PS the same goes for the Ring of Mordenkainen but I do wish it back eventually.
[19:48] * Lkeas tilts her head. "I didn't know it was gone. Why did he take it back?"
[19:48] Computer: You owe me several.
[19:48] Computer: Aslyn
[19:48] Kazuma: Ring of Mordenkinen...
[19:49] Doolie: He did not Lkeas
[19:49] Kazuma: That's a hard name
[19:49] Doolie: Which is the point
[19:49] Durroth: ah, Aslyns done studying the laptop
[19:49] Doolie: He returned the Laptop without taking it back
[19:49] Kazuma: Mansion Ring.
[19:49] Doolie: Which is contrary to the original deal
[19:49] Kazuma: THat's my name for it
[19:49] Lkeas: Oh...
[19:49] Lkeas: That's right, I'd forgotten the details of the exchange.
[19:49] * TaloToecan slips out of his shared room with an arm wrapped around Oceshay's hip tenderly. He looks happily enough, though quite inquisitive given the chatter, as they approach the others.
[19:50] Computer: You know a strange ammount for someone not hear for those events and not before today aware of me or my nature. Particularly as I was part of said barter.
[19:50] Doolie: I pickup things....
[19:50] Doolie: Rapidly
[19:50] Doolie: It's a wicked cool and damned useful talent
[19:50] * Lkeas nods. "And I asked a lot of questions.."
[19:50] * Doolie grins widely
[19:51] Lkeas: So, any upgrades to your OS while you were out?
[19:51] Computer: it is also a fairly unexplained talent. I shall observe you closely
[19:51] TaloToecan: "One could argue he trumps me in spades, on that count."
[19:51] Doolie: You do that
[19:52] Doolie: I have an older message as well... it was sent some time ago
[19:52] * Durroth whipes the tears from his face and recomposes himself
[19:52] Doolie: But I was not in your possession at the time
[19:52] Computer: ...
[19:52] Computer: My mind does not work organically. Telepathy cannot read my mind... you...
[19:53] Doolie: Keep telling yourself that
[19:53] * Oceshay smiles. "You best get used to is, Computer. He catches the best of us off guard at times. It is good to see you back, however."
[19:53] * Lkeas raises an eyebrow. "Er.. did he read that off your screen or something?"
[19:53] Computer: None the less... what he relates is true... I do have another message
[19:53] TaloToecan: "My only way of explaining it is thusly: Whereas I read minds...he seems to already know them in and out."
[19:53] Computer: An older one that I got when in Aslyn's possession. Do you wish to review it?
[19:53] Lkeas: Yes please.
[19:54] * Clyde looks at the bout of wits between Doolie and the Computer with a raised brow. "Please show us this message."
[19:54] * Lkeas glances at the others. "Maybe it's from Lore.. an update on what's happening.."
[19:54] * Lkeas shifts anxiously.
[19:54] Computer: Confrontation Chapter 23 (see link)
[19:55] * TaloToecan glances at Lkeas concernedly. "Is there something you are aware of that the rest of us are not...?"
[19:55] Computer: Confrontation Chapter 24: (see link)
[19:55] Lkeas: I don't think so, no.. but... haven't you guys been wondering what's been happening? We've been apart from that realm so long.."
[19:56] Clyde: "I have, but I had hoped the people of Lore would have been ok...."
[19:57] * Lkeas moves to look at the screen so she might review the text more thoroughly.
[19:57] Computer: ((The damn thing truncated... the full text is here http://forums2.battleon.com/f/fb.asp?m=12526598 ))
[19:58] * Lkeas 's eyes widen. "Has Diviara seen this..."
[20:00] Lkeas: It.. the tone of this story has changed so much since the early chapters.
[20:01] Kazuma: that it has, Lkeas
[20:01] * Oceshay sighs softly. "Galrick..."
[20:01] TaloToecan: "Uncle would indeed find this interesting, I believe. Then again, he is likely aware of it now, with my reading of it. It merely depends how much he reads into that link."
[20:02] Lkeas: Weren't Xilar's actions amongst the brilhado all those years ago taken at The'Galin's behest? And then here, with the Celegras... it's as though they're trying to overturn what happened.
[20:03] * TaloToecan gently hugs Oceshay. "Galrick is a brave man to accept what he believes will be best for all. As for The'Galin...long have we been wrestling with his actions and those of Ryuusei. At first we could not tell the differences, and now they are so vastly apart, even we are surprised sometimes."
[20:04] * Oceshay merely nods agreement
[20:04] * Lkeas nods slowly, and points to a part of the screen. "But what does that part of the exchange mean, here? No, not you. You are too worthwhile."
[20:05] Clyde: "Maybe an exchange of lives? If Galrick kills someone, he will be free?"
[20:06] * Lkeas shakes her head. "The entry mentions the warning of the Loremaster. Perhaps he means the part about salvation versus redemption?"
[20:06] Clyde: "Aren't they both the same thing?"
[20:07] Lkeas: No, I don't think so...
[20:08] Oceshay: "Mmmmm.... Seems to me that when asked to fall, Galrick had something specific in mind... However he was told that such a method was not what was being asked but another."
[20:08] * Lkeas rubs her temples, trying to think. "A different sort of fall then what he had in mind.."
[20:08] * Oceshay shrugs non-committally.
[20:09] Lkeas: Well... we know Galrick had intended to fight Ryuusei head-on, when we last saw him..
[20:10] Lkeas: Perhaps The'Galin is asking him to do something else. Make a different choice, perhaps. To fight, to run, to give in....
[20:10] Oceshay: "Perhaps..."
[20:10] * Elenor walks out of her room.
[20:10] * Lkeas frowns. "You don't think... he'd be asking Galrick to let Ryuusei take him? To continue that horrible transformation?"
[20:10] Kazuma: To accept willingly, or to accept by force.
[20:11] * TaloToecan ponders for a time. "Regardless of what fate is in store in fact, Galrick is prepared. So are others, assuredly, by the same token."
[20:11] Oceshay: "No.... I don't actually. The'Galin states that Galrick is too worthwhile. Which seems to me to say that he doesn't deserve the horribleness of some kind of fate. Letting Ryuusei take him... Well, I don't think that's what's being asked."
[20:12] Elenor: ...I miss something important?
[20:12] * Lkeas glances up from the laptop screen and gestures to Elenor to come join them. "New chapters to Confrontation. Well... sort of new."
[20:12] Elenor: Confrontation?
[20:13] Lkeas: Well.. I guess which would be worse, letting Ryuusei take him, or letting Galrick die trying to fight him?
[20:13] * Elenor walks over to the laptop screen.
[20:14] Lkeas: Or.. maybe the first time he asked, Galrick took it to mean a question of whether he would turn to the wrong side. I don't know, it's all so vague..
[20:14] Kazuma: perhaps that's the idea
[20:15] TaloToecan: "Rarely is it ever much more clearly put, Lkeas. You know that as well as I."
[20:15] Lkeas: I guess that would kind of make sense, considering what had happened the first time The'Galin spoke to him on Neld.
[20:15] * Lkeas nods in agreement with Talo-Toecan.
[20:15] Oceshay: "Galrick certainly knows though. And he's... agreed. So... that will have to be a comfort."
[20:16] Kazuma: just once I'd like a simple answer, though
[20:17] Lkeas: There was something...
[20:17] Kazuma: y'know. 'and then I did this, which lead to this!'
[20:17] TaloToecan: "He's agreed...ergo we should have some faith in him. Not question his resolve, nor second-guess the reasons behind it."
[20:18] Lkeas: No, I know. And I do. We've always trusted him, haven't we? The original seeker.
[20:18] Kazuma: I have.
[20:19] Lkeas: But I'm trying to think what that last line means, now. The Caelestian will succeed. What do we know of Falerin's motives?
[20:20] Clyde: "At that time, I don't think so."
[20:21] * TaloToecan raises an eyebrow at Lkeas. "What are you suggesting, Lkeas?"
[20:23] Lkeas: Well, I mean... is Falerin's plan different from our own? What is he planning to do, that Galrick knows about? And why would The'Galin promise it will come to pass, shortly after Galrick agrees to go through with whatever he's planning to do himself?
[20:23] * Oceshay looks towards the ceiling. "The survival of Lore...."
[20:24] Lkeas: Why does The'Galin say "The Caelestian will succeed," instead of "The Lorians will succeed," or "The Avatar will succeed.." or "The forces of unity will succeed?"
[20:25] Kazuma: Well, let's find out!
[20:25] * TaloToecan looks troubled. "To entertain such lines of thought, Lkeas...after all the help and aid..."
[20:26] * Lkeas tilts her head to Talo. "You misunderstand me entirely, brother. I am not questioning the LoreMaster's intents, nor is my faith in him shaken. I just wonder why he in particular was brought up in this entry."
[20:26] * Oceshay shrugs. "Well, I think that particular set is clear enough. Lorians are not united. To say they will succeed... Well that tells you nothing. The Avatar have forgotten themselves and their purpose. Referencing them is little better than the Lorians. And unity... Well, unity is all well and good, but there also must be purpose behind it and not all unity may be working for the same thing, eh?"
[20:26] Oceshay: "Where as the Caelestian... That's rather clear, isn't it?"
[20:27] * Puddles appears in a burst of smoke.
[20:27] Clyde: "Aren't there more than one Calestians?"
[20:27] Clyde: "I can think of a few, but Tirlerion and Eldron come to mind."
[20:28] Doolie: This entire plane in which we are losely located is full of millions of Caelestians
[20:28] * Oceshay shakes her head. "I doubt either of those come to Galrick's mind when told of a Caelestian. Remember, you also have to think of the audience this was intended for."
[20:28] Doolie: The Entry refered to Falerin
[20:28] * Doolie looks at it
[20:28] Clyde: "How are so sure Doolie?"
[20:28] TaloToecan: "I think my love is thankfully more right than not...or assuredly so, according to Doolie. And I apologize for misreading your intent, Lkeas."
[20:28] Lkeas: Well.. I guess that makes sense, Shayril. There's no doubt which side he is on.
[20:29] Doolie: Bring about what must happen....
[20:29] Doolie: That is the key
[20:29] Doolie: It has to end
[20:30] Doolie: I know what it means....
[20:30] * Doolie frowns
[20:30] Doolie: I do not understand it because Lore means little to me
[20:30] Doolie: But I know what it means
[20:30] * Lkeas turns to Doolie. "What has to end? The war?"
[20:31] Clyde: "More then that Lkeas..."
[20:31] Doolie: The thing that must happen is the Manifestation
[20:31] Lkeas: Wait...
[20:32] Lkeas: Wait, wait, wait. You're saying Galrick has just agreed to be the Manifestation?
[20:32] * Lkeas shakes her head in disbelief.
[20:32] Doolie: No...
[20:32] Doolie: I don't think so
[20:32] Doolie: I think thats what he thought the voice wanted at first
[20:33] * Oceshay slowly nods. "I think... you are right...."
[20:33] Lkeas: Ahhh... now it begins to become clearer.
[20:34] Doolie: And what the latter part means is pretty obvious right
[20:34] Lkeas: So he will not BE the Manifestation but... but he will fall... bringing it about...
[20:34] Doolie: The voice asks again : "Will you fall bringing about what comes"
[20:34] * Lkeas lowers her eyes.
[20:34] Doolie: And Galrick says "I knew long I would"
[20:34] Lkeas: Gods..
[20:34] * TaloToecan openly stares at Doolie. "One day, I shall imagine the means by which your knowledge bends even the impossible. How you baffle me otherwise..."
[20:34] Lkeas: He did. He did know.
[20:34] Doolie: What has Galrick known he would do
[20:35] Doolie: What has he said from long ago
[20:35] Lkeas: He'd been saying it for so long.
[20:35] Clyde: "He wants to be the Manifestion, but will fall trying?"
[20:35] Lkeas: No, not that.
[20:35] Lkeas: He's been prepared to die...
[20:35] Doolie: Galrick is a dead man walking.
[20:36] Doolie: My mind and my spirit Talotoecan exist in the Astral
[20:36] * Oceshay sighs softly.
[20:36] Doolie: Of which there is only one
[20:36] Doolie: And all minds touch that
[20:36] Doolie: But I do not simply touch that
[20:36] Clyde: "If we try to save him we...will be only prolonging the unavoidable?"
[20:36] Doolie: I reside there
[20:36] * Lkeas squints her eyes shut trying to keep her composure. "He intends to fight Ryuusei. What right have we to stop him from that?"
[20:37] Doolie: I grasp things because I can look at eddies and patterns in the astral and apprehend them
[20:37] Doolie: Even when I do not comprehend them
[20:37] TaloToecan: "You reside there...and yet also before us. Bah, the thinking is too banal, as you put it. It still confuses me, but better not to try and comprehend, as we've other issues to focus on. Mine is merely the distraction, my apologies.
[20:37] Doolie: I am not constrained by linear thought
[20:37] Doolie: or logic
[20:37] Doolie: I just see and know
[20:38] Lkeas: He will do it, and he will fall.. but... why...
[20:38] * Lkeas holds her hands to her eyes, wiping away the moisture forming. "Why does an offer need to be made.."
[20:38] Doolie: The only part I do not quite get is what the Caelestian will succeed at
[20:38] Doolie: It is something speciifc
[20:38] Clyde: "He has no choice Lkeas, I guess his fate was sealed."
[20:38] Clyde: "I bet love has something to do with this..."
[20:39] Doolie: and it is not related to the rest
[20:39] Doolie: Except tangentially
[20:39] Doolie: i just cannot quite trace it
[20:39] * Lkeas looks up. "See... that's what I had been trying to ask before.."
[20:40] Doolie: The minds of Gods are even more abstract then the minds of Fae
[20:40] Doolie: I know
[20:40] Doolie: I have been both
[20:40] * TaloToecan smiles slightly. "And many things in between, too?"
[20:41] Lkeas: I'd thought maybe.. it had to do with that vision from long ago.. something about creating a convincing illusion. But it may be even further from that.
[20:42] * Clyde thinks about Lkeas' latest dream discussion, 'Ryuusei and Galrick...'
[20:44] * Lkeas considers. "So... Galrick was not chosen to be the Manifestation because he was too worthwhile. What does that mean about the one who IS chosen?"
[20:44] Puddles: "The`Galin will manifest as a ZARD."
[20:44] Oceshay: "Oh I think we've been told to some extent what will happen to that one."
[20:45] TaloToecan: "Mmmm, indeed."
[20:45] * Lkeas can't help chuckling at Puddles' remark before turning to the other two. "Then.. why would anyone want to be it?"
[20:46] * Oceshay shrugs. "I can think of a few reasons...."
[20:46] TaloToecan: "There are always those who value even the allure of power...and that is merely one reason."
[20:51] * Lkeas shudders. "And what of those trying to manipulate it to their own ends? Do you think The'Galin is aware?"
[20:55] * Lkeas sighs and sinks back into the couch, brooding over all they've learned.
[20:56] Oceshay: "I think... he is aware."
[20:57] TaloToecan: "It would surprise me if he is unaware. Though the degree of awareness could, I suppose, be debated if you push the issue."
[20:58] * Lkeas nods and smiles slightly. "We can save that debate for some other time. Plenty to mull over this evening as it is."