In the meantime, you needed to make decisions on how to move forward. Ari was as stable as she was going to get, but the fact remained that she hadn't woken up yet. Given the Luna Delegate's stated purpose for being out here was to kill any, and everyone related to Dryad... Taking her with you could very swiftly go badly. Even more out of the question was bringing the Oakenrue along. That said, was letting either of them out of your sight after you'd finally found them a good decision?

Then there was the question of what to do with Tim and Elly. As the representative of Dryad, bringing Elly with you would all but ensure her death, but sending her back to the Shrine of Dryad was only delaying it. Still, if you were going to go punch Elly's brother in the face, having Elly around to help rub it in might help.

Then there was Tim, who had thrown in his lot with you, no matter what decision you made.

"Everything's set. What are we doing, 'Rue?"

>Provide a party composition!

>Destinations: [Luna Delegate] / [Shrine of Dryad]
>Party Members: Elly, Tim, Ari, Oakenrue.

>Is there anything short to take care of before leaving for the delegate?

Previous Threads:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Valen+Quest

Where things are said: https://twitter.com/Riz_QM
Where things are asked: http://ask.fm/RizQM

Assorted Supplemental:
Current Abilities - http://pastebin.com/PchcdWpw
A List of Forgotten Things - http://pastebin.com/kPEscJ3h
Irue's Memoires - http://pastebin.com/sWnicrK7

Write-ups:
Kara's Day Out - http://pastebin.com/8ZbiSKLs
Adventures with Asche - http://pastebin.com/RNviCBJu
The Reclaimed Doll - http://pastebin.com/n6miP1qT
In Your Shadow - http://pastebin.com/EfeeHFAE
Friends Forever - http://pastebin.com/Yn0QaTVB
The Woman Beneath Steel - http://pastebin.com/pMGgiHC3
Paper Flowers - https://pastebin.com/Pk0W7rEm

Misc notes:You've grown. When? Why? Weren't we always together? What changed...?

New write-up is up! Memoirs are not fully updated, and what has been updated aren't uploaded yet. Do any of you have any preferences on using pastebin vs google docs for these things?

>>1897435
Welcome back! You've been missed. Did you weather the storms ok?

>party
I don't think we should take anyone to visit the delegation, there's too high a risk of kill/capture. I'd like to keep Oakenrue nearby in case things get nasty, but I suspect that isn't practical. So, let's send everyone back to the Shrine.
>anything else?
I think we're good, let's do this.

>>1897448
We've been growing for a while now. You hadn't noticed?

I'm impartial to the hosting, but you've got a theme going with pastebin.

>>1897486
I was excited for the hurricane because I've always loved big storms and high winds. Unfortunately by the time it reached me, the winds were so uninspiring that I've legitimately had stronger gusts from regular rain showers.

>theme going with pastebin.
I mostly used pastebin because it was what the QM advice in qtg mentioned doing waaay back when Valen started. If I moved over to googledocs, I'd probably move everything over.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vvM3_UYxd-J6se8j7i_N5LjJ4-q4AOqzO6ilbKHZo3E/edit?usp=sharing Here's an example of the memoirs on googledocs though, with some of the editing and formatting it allows. Honestly the memoirs are the primary reason I've been considering it, because the organization was really phenomenal.

>>1897486
Well then, I'll just support this.

>>1897486
>>1897574
Going with this, then! Writing!

>>1897580
> But you knew already, that the nature of an Atelier wasn't so kind. A crystallization of its creator's greatest regrets and flaws. The things that held them back from the Clarity of the Mana, clouding their place and purpose. The atmosphere was different, the presentation unique, but no Atelier was made to be concerned with anyone else. They were selfish sanctuaries, constructed for the express purpose of giving form to immaterial chains that shackled the occupant from Clarity.

> You knew that. You knew that, and still you stubbornly closed your eyes and refused to accept it. Too eager to be deceived, just because the people within spoke back. Because they lived as more than just recordings, and icy sculptures, waiting for someone to parrot the right lines.

If we're leaving ithe Oakenrue we should grab some of the sap.

Not sure what we'll do with distilled Dryad but it could come in handy if we face the Guardian. Might let us hide from it if we coat ourselves in it.

Also the Luna Delegate might have some ideas on how to use it to put Dryad to sleep.

Regardless

You'd spent enough time here already.

you looked Ari over one last time, reassuring yourself that she would be fine. Her status hadn't changed any since you found her, and the wooden golem had been doing a good job of guarding her so far... It was probably safe to let it keep doing that. "Elly, you found the delegate again, didn't you?"

"Yes!" She beamed at you, almost radiating a sense of pride at her accomplishment. "Let's go meet my brother!"

You blink once, fixing your crimson gaze on the easily teased woman. It didn't take long for her to notice the hesitation, and with that realization her smile weakened. "That's why Tim wanted me to find them again, isn't it? So we can all go talk to him and get this misunderstanding resolved?"

"...Right." You sigh, preemptively giving up on trying to argue with her. "I'll be going back to talk with them and ask some questions, but I'll be going on my own."

"I... I want to go too, though?" Elly protested in confusion, "Do you really distrust the delegate that much? I'm sure it's-"

You held your hand up to forestall the obvious conversation, shaking your head as the cogs in your head turned easily. "I'm going because I have questions I need answered, but I don't want to bring Ari with me. I need you to take her back to the Shrine and make sure she's alright."

"Couldn't Tim do that?" Her brow furrowed indecisively. She looked towards the man in question. He shrugged in response, backing up your reasoning with an faltered self-appraisal. "I could take the girl, but there's no guarantee I'd get her taken care of at your Shrine. Probably better if you came with me, right, 'Rue?"

"Preferrably." You nod thankfully at the man, seeing Elly's opposition begin to crumble. "Even if the delegate could tell me what's wrong with her, I suspect we would need to take her to the Shrine for their resources anyway. This should work out better for all of us."

"...Alright. I'll make sure she's taken care of, then." The Dryad Representative finally relented. "Hurry to the Shrine, alright? I'm sure she'd feel safer if you were there when she woke up."

"Yeah." You steal a final glance at Ari, doubt briefly clouding your expression as to whether leaving her was a good decision. You'd thought this over, and it was the best course of action you could think of, but you still worried. "I'll send the golem with you two as well, to keep you safe."

Tim blanched, looking doubtfully at the flesh-covered murder abomination that was currently curling around Ari. "...I'd feel safer if you didn't, honestly."

You smiled apologetically, but said nothing else. Even if he didn't like it, the golem was her devoted guardian. You were anxious enough letting her out of your sight, much less without something to watch over her. His uneasy groan was all you needed to know that Tim would put up with it... Even if he wasn't happy about it.

"Well, whatever. Don't do anything dangerous out there, you hear me?"

The clopping of that inferior beast of burden was fading into the distance, leaving you to watch on uncertainly as Ari was carried away to the Shrine. Armed with the rough direction of the delegate, and a small cloth satchel stained in dryad sap, it was time for you to do your part and... Walk.

A crisp wind blew through the trees, providing a refreshing backdrop to the growing discontent as you started trying to estimate just how much walking that actually entailed.

Not like you haven't walked all the way through this forest twice already. You grumble at nothing, spitefully scuffing a root as you turned and started to hike. At least there weren't any giant snakes this time. Or Oakenbears. Or psychotic wooden golems.

Yep. Just a peaceful walk through the woods.

...Yep.

You ruthlessly quashed the traitorous whisper of boredom in your mind. This was too slippery a slope to entertain; You needed less danger in your life, not more.

"...Maybe I should visit the Shade Dominion when we get back to Carona. This can't be healthy."

You would go on to spend more time talking to yourself during this trip than you would ever admit.

The night had nearly fallen when you finally stumbled upon the delegate. For better or worse, you found entering camp covered in sweat, with no shortage of twigs adorning your hair. If looks alone could kill, you'd have felt considerably more well armed right now.

Unfortunately, this couldn't even be blamed on misfortune. You were just out of shape; Aside from that time you'd been travelling with Rinnier, someone, or something, had always been there to carry you. Just trudging through the woods by yourself, without anyone around to keep pace with or try to hold up appearances for...

"Ser Valen! Are you injured? What has become of the Dryad apparition?"

...You didn't really look that bad, did you? Urgh. Even if they weren't real, you refused to let your standards slip this far. The incident with Tim was one thing, one dreadfully embarassing thing, but this was another.

"I dealt with it." You've no idea just how accurate to real Luna Adepts this delegate may be, but if you were going to be tangling with them for information, then there wasn't any room for mistakes. "What were the casualties?"

"A handful dead. Many more injured." The delegate reported after a moment, "Follow me, the leader will want to speak with you."

You nodded tersely, glancing at the still marching group as you moved. If they were going to set camp for the night, they should have already done so at least an hour or so ago... With this kind of pace, were they planning to push forward even at night? What about their wounded?

"Ser Valen." Elly's brother greeted you, luring you from the mounting distractions as you observed the delegate. "I admit, I didn't expect it to take you this long to come back."

"I didn't expect to get carried that far, either." You deadpan, lacing half-truths through your words. "Not stopping for the night?"

"Not completely, no. If Dryad has spawned an apparition to oppose us, we can only assume it knows the real purpose behind our arrival." He frowned, "We've left behind everything unnecessary, and moved up the timeline. If we don't make our move soon, we may not get another chance."

...You figured that was the case.

"You're not going to do yourself any favors if you show up exhausted." You observe critically, not favoring the idea of having finally gotten here, only to be told you were going to be marching through the night. "When are you stopping?"

"Four hours from now, when this round of oil burns down." He nodded towards their lanterns, "Most of the camping kit was left behind, but it's temperate out. We can handle sleeping under the stars."

"Care to take up our conversation where we left off, then?" Four more hours of walking. Being heir was going to make you athletic, or kill you trying.

"If you're still capable of moving, certainly."

>What questions do you have?
I'm going to regret this, aren't I?

Yes

Now gimme a sec to read through

>>1897696
>What is the plan of attack? You have injured and casualties so are you still able to set up encirclement to stop anyone from escaping?

>Are you all planning to fall on your swords afterwards or am I to be your executioner too?

Start professional, I suppose.

>I met your sister out there, she used her power to help orient myself and show me the direction of the camp. She insisted in coming with me but I sent her back to the shrine, hopefully she was the only straggler. She's such a sweet person, I... couldn't just brain her right then and there.

I'm not one of those who wanted to go back here, I don't really know what kind of answers you seek. Best you guys show up before this is locked in

Who else knows about this infection?

>>1897742
I am pretty sure that when we first met, he said that only the people here in this camp and Luna. That's why it's an actual suicide mission.

>>1897742
Who knows about the corruption? You can assume at least some people in each Dominion. It was mentioned that their actions are Shrine sanctioned, after all.

Who is affected by it? >>1897743 is mostly correct. Everyone who was infected is slated for death. That's why this is a suicide run. I believe Elly's brother also mentioned it being one of many, being done in concert.

Anyway, the skyfire rises so I'm going to leave this open. Maybe some of the anons who voted to come back for questions will drop, in the meantime.

>>1897696
Who ind Dryad would know about the corruption?

How do we recognize it?

Am I supposed to die here too since I know about it?

If not, why can't whatever protects me be used on other people?

Can't Luna seal away memories?

What's the backup plan if this fails?

Do we know anyone in Dryad that might help us?

Are we on a time limit?

Do they know everyone at the Shrine will be there and who is supposed to be there?

Do they know about Tim? If not, are we supposed to help him escape or make sure he doesn't? Could he have been the Shade we fought in the actual ruins back then? Does betrayal run in our blood?

>>1897696
>Does the corruption really exist? It very much seems like a coverup.

>>1897740
Plan of attack!

>>1897740
How are you guys dying?

>>1897740
Also we met Elly.

>>1897798
....Most of this!

>>1899108
and doubt!

Suppose we'll write this!

"You're moving up the timeline on the attack, but you're more disorganized than ever." You fall in with Elly's brother, "When you told me about this operation before, you stressed how important it was going to be to tie up every loose end."

"It is. And I'm well aware that we've been put in a position where that's going to be difficult, but the plan itself hasn't completely changed. We have contingencies, so it's not something you need to concern yourself with."

"I disagree." You scowl, "If this plan fails, I've still sided with you. I'm not part of your suicide-march." The last thing you wanted was to find yourself outnumbered and surrounded by an entire Shrine of adepts you had just tried to genocide. Maybe if Kara were here, but with only the wooden golem as back up, and Ari's condition...

"You part in our plan is to utilize the late Queen's relic to neutralize Dryad." He shook his head, "We have spaces you could aid us in an actual fight, but there is nothing more we want from you unless more apparitions appear to impede us. So long as you handle the Mana, we will take care of the humans."

"In other words, you want me to watch the bloodshed from the side until it's time to end it."

"Should nothing else go wrong, correct."

"And afterwards, what about your survivors?" You looked the marching delegate over. Their faces were familiar, even though you didn't recognize any of them. It was the same feeling you'd had moving with your Knights. They held the same awkward tension when they glanced at you; Forced to rely on your aid, even though you knew nothing of each other. There wasn't a single individual in this mob that you knew, but their identity as a group left a bitter taste in your mouth. "In the event you succeed, you're still corrupted the same as they are."

"That is the exact reason we're here, yes." He agreed, "We all understand what must be done. Once our job is finished, we'll eliminate ourselves as well. We've prepared a medicine to ensure it."

At least they didn't expect you to be their executioner as well. "Tell me more about the corruption. Last time you mentioned it wasn't a virus, so much as some sort of... Mental contamination? An idea?"

"Something similar, yes." Elly's brother tapped his head. "It's difficult to explain it to someone who hasn't experienced it... But considering what we're here for, it's probably better that you don't understand."

"That's it? There's no better way to recognize someone has been affected than seeing if they understand?" That kind of nebulous criteria seemed to ill suit the Luna Delegate. You refused to believe they'd move for an action this drastic under such a vague pretense.

"Is that so odd? It's not unlike sharing a similar language, or recognizing a shared meaning behind an image." He smiled grimly, "You could very well work alongside someone contaminated for years and never realize it, unless they were so far gone that they tried to spread it."

"If it spread from the Dead Zones, shouldn't I understand it as well?" From everything you'd heard, the Founder had been nearly at Ground Zero when they were created. By all rights, if anyone was affected by this, it should have been them.

"It is something tied to the Mana, and those beloved by them." Elly's brother explained. "Not everyone present at the Dead Zones became afflicted, and not in similar levels of severity. If you lack the affinity with Mana, then you would be deaf to the song, or blind to the signs."

"Then what about L͘u͢͠͞ņ̧̛͟͞à̷͟? The Mana of Knowledge should be capable of sealing away something like that. Why go through the extent of killing all of these people instead of treating them?"

"Your answer is correct, but your conclusion is not." He favored you with an impressed smile, raising a finger as he began to lecture. "It can be treated, and death isn't necessary to do so! The problem is not in removing the contamination, but in ensuring it stays gone. In this case, both Dryad and its Dominion have become infected, and their connection serves as a two-way tie. Were we to treat the Dominion, Dryad would simply reinfect them time, and vice-versa."

"You can't just treat all of them simultaneously?"

"Can you imagine the level of organization and coordination which has gone into preparing this murderous purge?" His smile strained, "We are the primary task force for their Dominion, but there are countless other cells preparing to carry out similar operations across the continent. Even this plan is still composed of multiple, sequential steps. What you are suggesting would require a synchronization that is completely impossible to achieve."

"...Then this is the treatment." Your teeth grit as his previous comment clicked into place. "One side of the connection needs to be closed, in order for you to treat the other."

"Precisely. The deaths of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of people is still the lesser sacrifice. Setting aside the implications of what killing a Mana would do to this world, we're unsure if it is even possible for Dryad to die. Mana are more than a force of nature, Ser Valen, they are nature. Salamander does not command fire, it is fire. In the case of Dryad... It is oxymoronic to declare Life itself to be dead."

"So closing that side was never an option." Your fists tightened. "You said the timeline was being moved up, but won't this mess up your other cells?"

"There is some leeway to be found in execution, but no more than 24 hours, at most. Even that will make the overall operation more difficult. Ideally we will arrive at the Shrine by tomorrow night, or the morning after... And from there, we make our preparations."

>Other questions?
>Skip to arrival.
>Other? (Write-in)

>>1900665
Shame we can't get him to properly explain the idea behind the infection, but it is understandable. Well, if we can't dig further into the infection, maybe we can look into its source.
>Ask about the event that caused the Dead Zones, and by extension the infection.
Who or what triggered it, what actually caused it, etc. Maybe there's something useful buried in it's history.
Unless I've Forgotten that we've asked about it before.

>>1900916
Pretty sure this has been gone over, but it was a result of the Dead Zones. Said Dead Zones were created in East Heaven when a cataclysm was triggered after something was unearthed - As far as anyone has discerned, it was caused by an Atelier of sorts.

The Dead Zones themselves are referred to as such because all of the Mana outright abandoned them, and all but refuse to return. The only reason it didn't spread further was because the current Queen of East Heaven managed to halt the damage at the source. The Founder was supposedly there with her when it happened, but the accounts you found in the Valen Archives suggested that they split up at some point during the event.

You also learned about some fragments of what the Shrine believe to have been the Atelier in question which survived the otherwise absolute desolation of the Dead Zones.

It does seem kind of peculiar that the people who voted to come back for questions aren't around to ask the questions, though. I hope Irma didn't consume them as sacrifices to the sea gods.

>>1900916
Sounds fine

>>1900947
I'm not in a hurry myself, I'm fine with giving them a chance to show up before we move on

>>1900947
Ah, I remember that now.

Yea, I was against coming back here due to the risks and lack of questions I had. Hopefully someone that had a reason to be here chimes in at some point. I looked over previous threads, but couldn't find anything useful.

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>>1901003
Alright.

Well, this >>1900916 was already handled before, so we don't really have any votes on where to go from here. We'll give it one more day for the people who had questions to show up, and then I guess we'll just skip ahead to the Shrine and get to the Solving.

And if people still don't show up by then, then at least we managed to finish the Atelier. Maybe I'll look into rebooting FoxFire.

>>1901191
I would be terribly sad to see this quest go after so long, this is one of my favorites. Your characters all feel like people, instead of machines or characteratures. The setting is unique and complex. Your writing is weighty, full of feeling and hidden meanings. You would be missed.

Unfortunatly, if you build it and they don't come, there's not much you can do. /qst/ has never been a fast board, but best I can tell it's has continued to slow down over its brief life. Most quests in the catalog have less than 3 threads to their name. I'm afraid as you lose a player here or there for whatever reason, they aren't being replaced due to the low board player count. You could jump ship to akun (or "fiction.live" as it's now called), but that'd come with it's own problems. But at least you wouldn't have to stop for lack of players.

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>>1901242
It had a decent run, and I've learned a lot from running it! I keep repeating this, but Valen was my first quest, so I've made a lot of amateur mistakes and screw ups running it. I'm appreciative of everyone who's stuck with me through it while I learned things.

This isn't the fist time it's nearly been shelved due to inactivity though, and /qst/ probably didn't help, but it was never particularly successful. To be honest, I always kinda figured it would end like this rather than finish the full 3 story arcs I had in mind. It's why I promised I'd go ahead and disclose most of the details and mysteries so whoever was left at the end didn't have to wonder about things indefinitely.

But on the same hand, it's also not the first time it's nearly been shelved, and it's clung to life so far. Maybe it's just been a busy couple of days for people, or they zoned out hoping more interesting decisions would show up.

We'll see how things go. I was considering trying to start something on akun a while back, but didn't have any conclusive ideas. I figured after Valen, I'd try to focus on FoxFire to completion, or at least see if it was viable to run again, then poke at another cute child I've been slowly piecing together for a few months.

>>1900947
You run late on a Sunday bro. Most people gotta got to work.

I just got off.

My questions got answered mostly.

But I just want to get this movie over with. Let's go kill the faceless data.

>>1901357
You run in the middle of the night for me either way, but I'm going to be here until valen reaches the finish line. I'm >>1901003

>>1901658
Samesies.

I am the one who loves Irulens suffering.

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>>1901357
I've been lurking on my phone but I honestly don't have anything to contribute this time. No offence but this arc has out stayed its welcome by a good few threads. I just want namek to end but I'm also resigned to the fact that once it does we're going to lose a lot in the ensuing fallout.

The fae woods is the peak, the very pinnacle of suffering!

>>1901757
>No offence but this arc has out stayed its welcome by a good few threads.
I completely agree. We're almost there, anon. We're ending this Atelier this thread, one way or another. I refuse to run another thread of being stuck in here.

Once we get out of here, we're not going back into another Atelier the rest of this story arc. Even if if we have to spearhead a civil war to prevent it happening.

I would by lying if I said I didn't find it funny that literally no one wants to be here anymore, though. Not you, not me, and especially not Irue.

>>1901761
It has been very long, taken a lot of time both in the game and IRL but we were never just treading water. I mean, aside from going back to ask questions no one seems to know, we've moved forward at a good pace and learned a lot not that it'll matter when we fail to remember....

I like the ateliers, the concept of them and the puzzle they present. Honestly I'd like more of them but yeah I'm itching to get out of here. I was so mad when you told us that it was an atelier, mostly because there was so much I wanted to do that we had to put indefinitely on hold since we're basically stuck in a prison.

Spearheading a civil war would've been so much easier if it hadn't been for those blasted nightgaunts... well we are used to fighting uphill battles, how much different can it really be?

Why didn't we sass and guilt Elly's brother? I wouldn't be surprised if Irue ends up coughing up small shade apparitions like a cat coughing up hairballs if we start acting like a decent, tactful person.

>>1900665
>that pastebin
it confirmed some of my sudpicions. It was also heartwrenching

>what does he know about the atelier fragments and what was written on them
>what does he know about the goddess
>how do they intend to keep this secret from future luna adepts
>who is going to work on the cure for dryad

>>1901357
Posting here is the first thing i'm doing after getting to the hotel's wifi. I haven't even taken the shoes off.
don't think even for a minute we don't cherish this quest.

>>1901761
as for me, i don't generally contribute to the threads because i spent most of them in a state of amused confusion. still enjoy reading it though.

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>>1897448
>Paper Flowers
Jesus.

This is fine. I didn't need to be happy today, anyway. Let's just finish this atelier and break the rest of my heart so I can die inside completely and cry myself to sleep.

Which one of you fuckers voted for the most obviously depressing write-up title?

>>1902019
Questions!

Writing! Also I hope you're in a hotel for reasons that aren't hurricane related, anon. And what kinda suspicions, anon?

>>1903268
No, i'm on a work trip
that Valens descend from East Heaven royalty

"Once Dryad's contamination has been treated, that's it?" Your calves were long past burning. You'd be impressed if you could even walk in the morning, at this rate. "And until then, your plan is to seal the Mana off from the outside while the rest of you research a cure?"

"In broadstrokes, that is the overall goal." He affirmed, "And lest you've forgotten, we will need your aid in lulling Dryad into that seal."

"Using the Relic." Your fingers clench together experimentally, feeling the dual ringed bands snugly upon your wrist. "From where I'm standing though, your own Dominion is at the greatest risk of being contaminated. I doubt you're planning on this seal being public knowledge, but if the Ĺ̸̸̀ư̢ņ̵͟a͟ ͟Ḑ͟ơ͠͝͡ḿ̶̨͞i̸̕ņ͜͠i̧̡̡o̸ǹ̢͜ is responsible for finding an eventual solution, then what stops it from spreading again through the researchers?"

"I must admit, Ser Valen, I didn't expect many of these questions from you." Elly's brother eyed you appraisingly. "The division that has been put in charge of handling the ongoing research has already been designed and implemented. Rather than staying among the rest of us, we believe the best option in a case like this is isolation. As such, the Ḑ̧̧̡o̵̡͞ḿ̴͠i͞n͢͢į̴̀̀̕ó͟͝ń ͜o̸̢͜f̧ ̀́͜͠͝L̴̷͢͡ù̧͘͟n̵͢͠á̴͘͡͞ has secured a study of sorts in the distant west."

"Forgive me if I doubt the wholesome use of a secret cabal of Adepts researching a contamination that already warranted one purge." You deadpan flatly, crimson eyes narrowing in suspicion. "I suppose the fragments you retrieved from the Dead Zone will be held there as well, then?"

"...Naturally." His smile hitched briefly, surprise coloring his face before the man could reign in his expressions. "We have reason to suspect they could be used to shed light on the contamination, given their unique properties and proximity to the Dead Zone."

"I heard you were one of the ones responsible for reconstructing and attempting to translate it. Something about a Goddess?"

"It seems my sister has talked quite a lot about me." He groaned bemusedly, "Though I find it curious you bring this up now, rather than before you were carried off for several days. Was it really distance which delayed your return?" The veracity of his curiosity was flimsy at best. From the moment he had mentioned your late return, you'd assumed he was already suspicious of you. Unfortunately for him, you had been willing to bet on the necessity of your cooperation over whatever mistrust confronting him would have caused. Perhaps more unfortunate was the fact that your bet had paid off, thus landing you in a position rather unusual to you of late.

Absolute Impunity.

"That doesn't answer my question." So long as your assistance was assured, you didn't actually need to be polite at all. You'd poked at it gradually until now, probing a little more with each question, but there was little reason to keep up a charade of amiability now that you'd confirmed where you stood. "How is this Goddess related to the contamination? I want to know everything about those fragments."

Your lips raised maliciously at the discomfort in his face. It was... Petty, to enjoy the minor signs of squirming he displayed upon realizing you fully intended to push the envelope, but it would have to suffice. Even if you were working with him out of necessity, you held nothing but resentment and bitterness for this man.

...The more you thought about how hollow this sort of punishment actually was, the less you found yourself enjoying it.

So you'd stop thinking about it.

"I don't know what you're already aware of, but the fragments we located in the Dead Zone were... Peculiar. They continued to exist, when all else had been reduced to a sea of empty ash. Specifically speaking, it's almost as if they aren't part of our world." He paused at your face, raising his hand to begin lecturing once more. "...Er, Let me rephrase. Our world is created by the Eight Mana. They are the Pillars which support everything. This is common knowledge, of course. The Dead Zones are proof of what would happen if the Mana were ever to abandon us - An absolute desolation."

"...But not the fragments." You supply pointedly.

"Correct. Faced with that, we are forced to look at several possibilities. One being that, perhaps there is a ninth Mana we were previously unaware of- "

You stared blankly at him.

"-Such a thing is patently ridiculous, of course." He waved your concern off, "Another, far more likely explanation being that the fragments were made with the absence of Mana in mind... Which poses its own fascinating problems, and doesn't quite explain how it exists in the first place, but is supported by the way it seems to react to the people who interact with it, and the application of Mana."

"I'm not interested in the science behind this, what do they do?" You cut off the brewing lecture when you felt the warning signs that it would develop into a seminar which required sub-lectures simply to understand the overarching topic of. You were not a Luna Adept.

"Succinctly speaking, it's almost as if they're empty." Elly's brother answered after a moment's thought. "Or perhaps... Malleable, would be a better term? Their nature will shift to accommodate whatever Mana is put into concentrated contact with their surface. Otherwise, it showed a remarkable tendency to return to its original, fragmented state whenever damaged."

Your brows furrowed in confusion. "So they were fragments even before the calamity?"

"We suspected as much, but I don't believe that's true." His smile dimmed as he spoke, growing in consternation with each additional detail that was relayed. "You are already aware I was in charge of reconstruction at the time. We discovered that it was possible to meld the pieces together - Hence the continued efforts to repair it. In a way, it was quite similar to meditation."

"So you made progress in putting the fragments back together. What about the translation of what was on them?"

He shrugged. "There wasn't a clear understanding of it when I left, nor did we have much luck in the reassembly... L̢u̕͢͡͠n̸̸̸͘͢a͘͜ only knows how many pieces there are still unaccounted for. What little we did manage to piece together and agree upon spoke of your 'Goddess'. Or Mother. Child. The interpretation varies. Whatever the case, this fragments professed the entity to have been alone, until it grew so lonely it formed of itself either children, or perhaps toys, with which to keep it company."

"And then?"

"And then I cease being of any help to you." He admitted blandly, "I'm certain the translation and reconstruction efforts have continued in my absence, I am not privy to the results."

You sighed tiredly.

>Other questions?
>Proceed to Shrine.
>Other? (write-in)

>>1903803
Hmm, layered Gods then? God created children who in turn created children? Either this knowledge was buried with Dryad, or Luna is concealing it in modern times.
>"Or perhaps... Malleable, would be a better term? Their nature will shift to accommodate whatever Mana is put into concentrated contact with their surface.
This is an important clue, though I've no idea what it's saying.
I've been imagining These fragments a parts of a stone tablet, but shifting nature with Mana contact disputes that. Actually, didn't we hear something about "something like an Altier" found?
>L̢u̕͢͡͠n̸̸̸͘͢a͘͜ only knows how many pieces there are still unaccounted for
If we had a better idea of what the fragments actually looked like, I suspect they'll start showing up when we get back.

>actual questions:
Ask about what the fragments looked like and/or how they changed when exposed to Mana.
I've got plenty of vague ramblings, but few actual questions, unfortunately.

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>>1903844
You're going to look back on this one day and be very upset.

>>1903803
>Proceed to Shrine.


Can't post much, at work.

>>1903803
>>Other questions?

Wait. Is our bracelet related to this?

Also, what would happen if we put Dryad into it? Can it safely contain the infected Mana?

Where exactly "out west" are these people and do they have a name/title? Just in case we need to find them? Artemis?

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>>1903886
From the memoirs.

>Artemis is an order founded, and run primarily by, Adepts of the Celestial Mana. Initially one and the same as the Shrine, gradually increasing disputes as to how to handle the management of Ephlesia eventually led to a cessation which would be felt through out the continent as the City of Scholars was usurped into the hands of the newly formed organization almost overnight.

>While Ephlesia currently serves as their home base, Artemis spread its wings through out every line previously held by the Shrine itself. From an official stand point, Artemis is considered to be under the jurisdiction of Luna's Dominion within the Shrine... However, these ties are commonly understood to be a simple formality. In reality, the relations between those of the Shrine and Artemis have remained strained since the conception of the Luna-centric organization, with many of the Adepts of Luna who chose to remain loyal to the Shrine being placed under extreme scrutiny by the rest of their peers.

Irue was created by a fragment

>>1903886
>Bracelet
I thought about that as well, but that'd mean it was created by/during whatever caused the Zones. But the founder's history with it, and Luna's awareness of it, makes that seem unlikely. Though... have we ever actually taken the bracelet off? Shadowrue refused to wear it, but we still had it.

>spoiler
They're more a "information wants to be free" sort of group. If they knew about something like this, they'd be shouting it from the rooftops.

>>1903874
That's nothing new.

>>1903905
That'd require a "Mana put into concentrated contact". Could be, but I doubt it at this point.

>>1903910
Faedka

Phoneposting so I can't expand right now

>>1903910
Who says the Zones didn't happen before?

>>1903844
>What do the fragments look like?
>How do they change when exposed to Mana?

>>1903886
>Where out west?
>Do they have a name/title?
You can't put Mana into them, but this ties into one of the above questions, so wait warmly.

Writing!
---

>>1903910
>have we ever actually taken the bracelet off?
Willingly? No. Asche did take it from you briefly, after the Carona incident. Also technically speaking, you spent Irue's entire life pre-quest without wearing it.

"What do these fragments look like, exactly? I got the impression they were like stone tablets, but..." You trailed off uncertainly. You had just wanted information on the Goddess, and instead you ended up talking about magic rocks.

"You're not too far off, but the answer is a little complex. In the state we found them in, they almost resembled shards of crystal. The problem is that there's no way that I can say for certain that's their default state. As I mentioned, exposure to concentrated Mana caused fascinating results, which appeared to alter their properties; Saying nothing of the reconstruction process itself."

"How? Did it absorb the Mana, somehow?" Trying to wrap your mind around this was just going to give you a headache. "Would it be possible for Mana to reside inside of it?"

"A wonderful question!" Elly's brother nodded alongside you, "We could ascertain that the fragments were capable of existing without Mana due to their presence in the Dead Zone, which would imply that they don't exist in a manner which relies on needing Mana within them." You blinked once, mentally running that statement through your head again to make sure you understood the rhetoric. "There are very few ways deliberately insert Mana into something, however. Wisp Adepts are the most proficient at it, given their unique expertise, but in our world... If something exists, Mana is already inside of it. In other words, most would-be containers are already spoken for."

"And you said these fragments were.. 'Empty'?"

"In a way. Experiments with Wisp Adepts in the Dead Zones resulted in them describing it as their Mana washing over the fragment. Despite holding no Mana of its own, it shows no signs of being capable of holding anything. Instead, it changes its own nature to reflect Mana that interacts with it, almost like a mirror - Or perhaps a form of mimicry. Which goes back to your earlier question of their appearance..."

"...If it shifts to resemble Mana, then there's no way to discern it from the rest of the world?"

"Correct! To an extent. The shifting process requires a concentrated amount of Mana to fully affect the fragments, and so I doubt they would change so easily just laying about. However, if they were to find themselves within the Throne of a Mana's domain, or elsewhere more abundant, it's likely they would become indiscernible."

"Will they change back eventually?"

"Well, theoretically I would assume so, given that we found the fragments in the first place... However, the circumstances in which they were discovered implies that the necessary pre-requisites to accomplish that reversion would be unfeasible."

"Right." You doubted anything would be worth the creation of more Dead Zones. That seemed like it was a course of action begging for disaster. "Where were the L̵̨̢̨͘ų̶͟͝ǹ̸̨a̷̡͢͝͞ Adepts taking the fragments?"

"That, I can't tell you." His jaw set tightly. "Grateful as we are for your assistance, make no mistake; Your role in this ends with this operation."

>Am I Forgetting Something...? (write-in)
>Am I Forgetting Something...? (write-in)
>Am I Forgetting Something...? (write-in)
>Other Questions? (Some may be infeasible)
>Proceed to Shrine
>Other? (write-in)

Yes, there are at least three you could get here.

>>1903997
> Do they share any similarities with Mana cores?

>Am I forgetting something

The sound like our Dopple-rue. Or like the opposite of it.

Also we have pure Dryad essence in the sap, is that strong enough?

Something about those nymph trees being exposed to dryad?

Could they make a fake Mana with enough of them?

We ARE in the Throne of a Mana's domain, aren't we?

And the Fae are some sort of reflection?

Would one of these mimicking Dryad be able to be experimented on or treated like Dryad without the corruption?

Can the Mana tell the difference between it the fakes and real ones?

>>1903997
Also

> Forgetting something

We've seen one of these before haven't we.

>>1903997
Reflecting Mana... Isn't that kind of what the bracelet does when we medita- cause disasters with it?

How long is this vote open? I've got a few hours before I can go home

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>>1904004
As it's a Forgetting, I'll probably leave it open until I wake up later today. There are at least three different answers you could feasibly get here. I say at LEAST three, because you could make other valid connections as well. Lots of things are connected.

And no, none of them are the special Forgetting. Though at this point, I have absolute confidence that everyone will get that one when it shows up.

I'll be hanging around the thread for another 2-3 hours though, since there's some time before the skyfire murders me. If you've got any questions for me, I might be able to answer them.

>>1903997
>Am I Forgetting Something...? (write-in)
>within the Throne of a Mana's domain, or elsewhere more abundant
Like, say, an Altier? Perhaps the artifacts found in them are actually fragments? Or maybe Altiers themselves are built using them?

>almost resembled shards of crystal
We've been somewhere with an abundance of crystal I think.
>almost like a mirror - Or perhaps a form of mimicry.
This sets off all sorts of alarm bells. Shadowrue mimicked us. Oakenbears mimic life. Oakenrues mimic us. The thrown away dolls mimicked their former owners I think.


>>1904009
>I have absolute confidence that everyone will get that one when it shows up.
Dunno why you'd think that, we have a miserable track record.

>>1904009
Fucking Asche is some weird mana thing isn't she. Or sensitive to it. Could she detect those things?

She's all wonky.

>>1904837
Never trusted her, personally. She's been loyal, sure, but in that sort of "doing my job" sort of way, like the only reason she listens to us is someone told her to.

>>1903997
>other questions
are the other mana in on it?
>malleable fragments
sounds like what nymph's wood did in our home. And its vitality in teranford, could it be related to fire mana?
>surviving kids
they didn't need mana either. Fragments?
Results of wisp experiments?
>hollow
irue is pretty manaless. If not dryad adept, maybe a fragment?

Could salamander shun teranford royals becaue they're contaminated?

>>1904928
>are the other mana in on it?
in on the removal of Dryad? Yea, this whole operation was sanctioned by the Shrine itself.

>kids
hmm, maybe.
>they almost resembled shards of crystal. The problem is that there's no way that I can say for certain that's their default state.
That does leave them being fragments as a possibility, though now I'm curious about the result of the Mana experiments.

>Could salamander shun teranford royals because they're contaminated?
Shun the royals, sure, but abandon the entire country?

>>1903997
>questions
expand on "exposure to concentrated Mana caused fascinating results, which appeared to alter their properties" please.

>>1904837
>>1904923
Asche is some kind of superhuman, iirc she hasn't shown any abilities beyond stoic silence, super strength, anime grade maid efficiency and telling the fae to fuck off. They, for some reason, listen and obey while promptly ignoring what everyone else says.

>>1903997

>>1904004
First things first, the bracelet is perhaps a fragment or of a similar nature. It doesn't do anything special until we meditate with it as a medium, where it reacts by causing inadvertent magical disasters. If fragments shifts to resemble mana it could explain why the shit we summon is so damn violent, they're not mana but fascimiles.

The other thing I thought was, looking at the reclaimed doll, what if Irue is a homunculus fragment. She's been unable to gain favor from mana except from one that no one knows even exist, that's been locked up inside of an atelier with no reach outside of it. She beat up an Oakenbear with her bare hands and weathered its attacks with ease plus we got into that weird third person viewpoint when it happened. None of that is normal people things that happen. As for the concentrated amount of Mana to cause the shift we have the unending supply of faedka and regular benders on it where we don't even know how or why we're drinking the shit.
Then there's also the stuff of the old Carona custom of child dolls. It was already spooky but now it's getting real weird.

As for Artemis, their nature as an off-shoot group of Luna and their geographical location fits with what Elly's brother is describing.
>>1903910
>They're more a "information wants to be free" sort of group. If they knew about something like this, they'd be shouting it from the rooftops.
But what if Artemis were, say, corrupted by their research? Or less dramatically their research has led them to believe that a) it's not possible to stop the spread b) it's not actually that dangerous, and c) the real solution is to spread awareness.
It's entirely possible that they made a breakthrough and their current actions, prophecy included, are correct. The Luna Dominion and mister Jenseits here are wholly convinced that the Goddess is dangerous but that's not necessarily true is it? What's happening in Teranford is bad for the people right now but re-foresting deserts isn't inherently bad. It fucks with the flora and fauna but it's not like grass meadows and dense forests aren't good for humans.

>>1903844
>>Hmm, layered Gods then? God created children who in turn created children? Either this knowledge was buried with Dryad, or Luna is concealing it in modern times.
>>"Or perhaps... Malleable, would be a better term? Their nature will shift to accommodate whatever Mana is put into concentrated contact with their surface.
>This is an important clue, though I've no idea what it's saying.

>>1903874
... Far fetched idea right here! It's about demihumans. Elly's brother says in no uncertain terms that Dryad is life itself. What is full of life essence, aka mana? Spunk. In a recent thread another anon theorized that demihumans are actually favored by Dryad and I think we've all suspected that the Dead Zone children are the progenitors of demihumans. Presume that to be true. Presume that these kids are favored, infected or whatever, by the Goddess. They all grow up and have children of their own except when they knock someone up their sperm or wombs are suffused with this ninth mana and react with Dryad's mana/life force inherent in living beings to create these abominations.

>>1903997
I wish I could write something smart.
>Am I Forgetting Something...? (write-in)
Something, something...demi-humans related to Dryad, it's sealed therefore they're like they're are.

>>1903997
>Other Questions
Describe demihumans to him, see what he makes of them.

What does he think the Goddess is? Something older, more primal than the eight Mana? Does he reckon the children it created ARE the mana? A simple interpretation is that this goddess created the world out of boredom and the dead zones aren't inherent malign or benign, only primeval like they reverted to a state before the mana themselves were created and began to influence the world. Do they have a date for the creation of the tablets, what kind of language are they written in? If they're able to translate and interpret them they can't be that very old or Luna has access to writing that predates the shrine's establishment.

Raise the idea that ateliers and guardians are products of the fragments.

>>1905064
>She beat up an Oakenbear with her bare hands and weathered its attacks with ease
Are you talking about the ill-advised fight we got into with an Oakenbear where we were one vote away from dying permanently? Reiner had to rescue us from that.

>Artemis
Surely after all the trouble Luna went to to keep the corruption contained they'd have some serious safeguards in place to prevent exactly that. But if they were corrupted, that would make sense.

>re-foresting deserts isn't inherently bad.
The upheaval it's caused is bad, of course, but the real issue is why it happened in the first place. A Mana abandoned it's home country; that's what got everyone so worried and confused.

>>1905137
Hmm, so the reaction between Dryad and the Goddess caused the beastial features, hightened abilities, and lack of empathy? That'd imply the entire lineage of demihumans are favored, without exception. Reiner's family affinity makes it possible, but as far as I know they are the only example. Also, If Dryad is inherent in all life, but has no special considerations despite the power they wield, I wonder if all Mana are inherent in all living things to some extent.

>spunk
While not an unreasonable assumption, there's no backing to it. Magic is celestial; there's no particular reason to believe it would have special properties.

>>1905344
>Are you talking about the ill-advised fight we got into with an Oakenbear where we were one vote away from dying permanently? Reiner had to rescue us from that.
Yes, that one. Rinner saving us doesn't change the fact that Irue took a lot of hits but trucked on regardless and was able to tear through it like paper with bare hands.

>The upheaval it's caused is bad, of course, but the real issue is why it happened in the first place.
We got the timeline from Rinnier didn't we? I can't look it up right now but I'm pretty sure she said the country gradually filled up with migrants, Salamander shunned the royal family and then they turned out to have been infiltrators and started planting trees or whatever it is they did. It's not a real stretch to think that one of these people got involved with the royal family in some way and contaminated them to kickstart the events.
Perhaps can't exert any influence at all where a Mana is present which is why that was a necessary step. The tree sapling we bought turned our mansion into a dryad horror show but in Teranford they "only" re-forested and Rinnier never mentioned anything about haunted forests, it was all normal relatively speaking.

>While not an unreasonable assumption, there's no backing to it.
Throwing things at the wall to see what sticks.

>>1905570
>Irue took a lot of hits but trucked on regardless and was able to tear through it like paper with bare hands.
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/40762018/
combat starts at >>40763656
We did some damage, but only really by bullfighting it and a stint or two of heavy repeated kicks in one place.

>Terraford
That sounds familiar. I always thought the royals did something stupid and hacked off Salamander at a really inopportune time, but if they spread the corruption to force Salamander to leave, that'd make more sense.

>Throwing things
Sure; sometimes working through why something doesn't seem right helps refine my own thoughts. Sorry if it came out harsh..

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>>1904979
>expand on "exposure to concentrated Mana caused fascinating results, which appeared to alter their properties"

>>1905208
Ask about Demihumans
Ask his opinion on the Goddess
Ask about creation date/origin of language

This is a unique phenomena where the playerbase wants to leave the Atelier, but also doggedly refuse to let go of the rare opportunity to just ask questions.

---
>>1904365
>Dunno why you'd think that, we have a miserable track record.
Because I believe in you, anon! You're always doing your best, and I have faith you'll not miss the thing that would disappoint me.

Although in completely unrelated news...

>Forgetting 1!
Got it.
>Forgetting 2!
Got it.
>Forgetting 3!
Got it.

Writing. This may take a while.

>>1906318
> Nobody likes my quest

16 posters later.

>>1906318
And a ridiculous amount of wild theories as we desperately try to get the forgettings.

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>>1906318

>Forgetting 1!
Got it.
>Forgetting 2!
Got it.
>Forgetting 3!
Got it.

WE FUCKIN DID IT LADS

FOR ONCE WE DID IT

>>1904979

You missed one question there, >>1906318
>expand on "exposure to concentrated Mana caused fascinating results, which appeared to alter their properties" please.

>>1906661
I don't doubt that people like Valen, anon! Otherwise it wouldn't have gone on this long.

I do doubt that the rate at which the quest retains/gains players will outpace the rate at which people who do like it get burned out from stress or other factors, which would eventually lead to the aforementioned "death by inactivity" thing.

From my point of view it's mostly a matter of time, and it's not something I can blame anyone for. I may be wrong, though.

Regardless, I intend to run Valen until we reach that point.

>>1906674
I got that question! It's at the top of the post.

>>1906682
I've been here since we decided to play as a bookworm.

I will always be here, whether we're punching Priests or yelling at children.

I probably could vote to set everything on fire less often. But it just solves so many problems I feel.

>>1906318
>Got it x3
Did we get better, or did Riz's standards get lower?

>>1906735
We've come up with so many possible theories by now that dome of them HAVE to be right.

Well you were in the Throne of Dryad now, so you suppose it would be impossible to find fragments here. The only other possible place that naturally had a concentration of a specific Mana would have to be an Atelier. There was little and less you properly understood about the nature of those places, other than the way they were all but intimately connected to their occupant, and existed to reflect their most strongly rooted memories. The regrets and fervent desires which tied the Aeon to humanity, and prevented them from reaching Clarity.

'It changes its own nature to reflect Mana that interacts with it, almost like a mirror.'

Oh.
...Oh.

If that were the case, then the crystallization of the occupant's legacy - The Relics sealed deep within those long abandoned Ateliers - were... fragments? Ones that had been completely painted in the colors of the Aeon's most intimate aspects.

'It seems to react to the people who interact with it.'
'In a way, it was quite similar to meditation.'

But even if that were true... The bracelet still didn't match. There's no doubting it was a Relic, and if you were right, and Relics were formed of fragments, then it still left the question of why your late sister's bracelet was capable of interacting with more than one Mana.

Even when you made a step towards understanding it, it didn't feel like any questions had truly been answered. This heirloom Relic, and its history... Even its origin and purpose remained stubbornly out of reach.

"How did you manage to translate the fragments?" Still, progress was progress. You'd find a use for this information eventually, if you kept digging. "Were they mostly images? Like pictographs?"

"No, runic mostly." He corrected, "We recognized a few of them as being in close resemblance to the script on some artifacts the Dominion had recovered from some ruins in the Northern Wastes, and so we began from there. There were some inconsistencies, of course, which led to the uncertainties in the translations I mentioned."

"An ancient civilization, then?" Your brows furrow, "The people up there are barely even tribes. They've never been civilized, have they?"

"As far as we can tell, no." Elly's brother hummed in agreement. "It's a mystery, and one that I don't expect will be solved any time soon. Even entering the Northern Wastes is an ordeal, and it's become even worse with that rogue Aspiration running wild recently. To be honest, I'm quite curious about your experiences up there."

"...My what?"

"Playing coy? We're well aware that you and the late Queen travelled extensively through the region some years ago, before the Aspiration's grip had strengthened. I'd love to know what you found during that time, and I'm sure I'm not the only one."

Something else your Founder had done, then. The list of things they had done only seemed to grow. Unfortunately, the truth of that matter were lost to you. Perhaps lost to everyone, now.

On the other hand, he didn't need to know that.

"Grateful as I am for to you for answering my questions, make no mistake;" You echoed his earlier sentiments sarcastically. "I hold nothing but resentment for you, and everyone else involved in this."

"You speak like you're not involved in this as well, Ser Valen."

"My statement remains unchanged." You deadpan.

"...Understood." He answered with a reluctant click of his tongue, "Have you any other questions, then?"

You still had questions. In fact, the more you asked, the more you seemed to have. It was rare you had a chance to just keep asking questions, and what's more, actually get answers! Though you can't say it particularly helped that the only information you were getting out of here was centuries old, the experience in general was a novel one.

Something else was niggling at the back of your mind, though.

'In our world... If something exists, Mana is already inside of it. In other words, most would-be containers are already spoken for.'

"When you said that everything in this world had some form of Mana residing within it, would that include us as well?"

"Yes. We're all beloved children of the Mana, after all. The fact we're alive at all is a blessing owed to many of them, starting with Dryad. Many people used to pray to the Divine Mana for fertility, or in hopes that their friends and family would return alive and safe."

'the fragments were capable of existing without Mana... which would imply that they don't exist in a manner which relies on needing Mana within them.'

"So anything that could survive in the Dead Zones would share some sort of similar properties to those fragments?"

'Have the children shown an affinity for any of the Mana yet?'
'No, but they're young still.'

"Yes, most likely. Normal people are capable of being within the Dead Zones for a while, but the longer you stay, the worse it becomes. You start to... Fade, for lack of a better word. Your memories, thoughts, motivation. Will to live. Adepts are more resilient to it, but they also suffer the most, as they eventually begin to lose connection to their Mana."

'No, it's nothing they've done, exactly. Many of us try to spend time with them, but after a while, it just starts to feel like something is missing.'

You'd been suspicious that the orphans had been the progenitors to demihumans, but was there more to it? A reason behind a demihuman's inability to garner an affinity with the Mana?

Your role ended with this operation. That was probably true to him, but this was never your role in the first place; Just one you happened to be playing.

There hadn't been a cure. Generations later, Dryad remained an unknown to the world, and your contract with its Fae apparitions remained as strong as ever. Those orphans almost certainly owed their survival to the fragments, but how? Were they fragments? What in Shade's name was the connection?

What had happened to the division of Luna Adepts who had been responsible for it all? The present was glaring proof to you that they had failed, and their journey to the west had been futile. Even if he refused to tell you what happened to them, it wasn't as if it was a question you could just leave alone now. You'd need to find them eventually.

The only possible saving grace you still had was how improbable it would be that where they eventually settled would be outside of La'Fiel's borders. The only thing further west was Ephlesia, and-

'I have some friends in an organization... I'm trying to make sure the rest is running smoothly before they arrive.'

Dirt scuffed into the air from your abruptly halted gait. Your teeth grit down violently, reflexively sealing themselves shut as you felt sheer indignation erupt.

Ephlesia, the City of Scholars. Isolated as far west on this continent as you could possibly go. One that had once belonged to the Shrine before an organization of Luna Adepts broke away from the Dominions and established themselves. Where that same organization made its headquarters, and strictly monitored those who, and what, could enter or leave.

'Artemis is already in La'Fiel, he's aiming to rendezvous with them inside the country.'

This was their start. The reason they had been that far out. The division of Luna Adepts that had been meant to find the cure was Artemis... Which meant they were also the ones in possession of all the fragments recovered from the Dead Zones. If they had made progress in translating them in this Atelier's time, then by now it should have been finished, right? Everything about the Goddess would have been translated.

'Everything has gone exactly like the prophet predicted for the last ten years! Even before then, these events have been in motion for who knows how long? Everything led up to this, as the Goddess willed.'

"Ser Valen?" Your nostrils flared during a single, deep breath. The deliberate act of sucking in air tightening every muscle in your body as the blood within began to boil. "Is something the matter?"

That Bitch.

'The fragments professed the entity to have been alone, until it grew so lonely it formed of itself either children, or perhaps toys, with which to keep it company.'

'Dryad is... Different from its siblings.'

Your contorting face was cradled in one shakily raised hand, nails digging into the skin as seemingly unrelated memories flowed through your mind. Things from months, what felt like years, ago snapping back into place to reveal the strings between them. The Mana had always been referred to as siblings, from the very start. It was that same bond which had made Dryad so vulnerable to Luna's betrayal, and why the wound it caused still festered to this day.

Dryad had become contaminated-

'It's... Almost like a song, I guess? It feels like reunion.'

'It's more than just us, though. If you think about it, it's a time for everyone's reunions. Dryad's beloved returning to the Shrine, my brother coming to visit again after so long, and even you. We're all returning together.'

-and the other Mana had agreed to strike down their own sibling rather than risk the contamination spread further. With Dryad sealed, and forgotten by the world, from eight siblings that left...

'Chosen by a mysterious Goddess who stands above all, destined to fight seven great evils and bring the crippled world to light?'

A single word escaped your constricted throat; An utterance so thickly laden in seething fury that it more resembled a rabid beast's growl than human language as it ripped free.

"Maran!"

>?
>Proceed to the Shrine

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>>1906674
Only now do I realize you were a time traveler, sent to warn me.

>>1907074
> Ari is known to Maran - as a fragment? A beloved of Dryad? Have they been hunting down people like Ari?

> A spiders Web - What happens if we cram it full of Dryad?

> That book that changes our appearance. Is it a fragment?

> Nymph wood. How does that relate? Anti-fragments?

>>1907084
> That book that changes our appearance. Is it a fragment?
It's a Relic, so yes.

...I'm not sure what you want me to do with the other things, though. No one here would know the answer.

>>1907074
So Dryad was the original Mana and the rest were supposedly made by her, and this revelation results in them being absorbed back into her or something?

Also, clearly this whole thing Luna did was for fucking nothing and didn't work.

>>1907085
> link the Book to the Oakenrue with A Spiders Web.

I'm sad we killed both ShadowRue and Oakenrue 1.0 so we should make Oakenrue 2.0 out of the Artifact and the Golem.

I feel certain this will work if we can imprint ourself and Ari into it with Dryad.

It'll be like our child.

And then we will have a reason to burn the entire goddamn world if anyone dares
Fuck with it.

>>1907091
Jeez. Were you one of those people who thought Zukhdeep was a good idea in Snakecatcher?

>>1907094
Where you one of those people who thought Snakecatcher was a good quest?

Whoops! Here I go, genociding again until Ouro writes himself into a corner because his players are autistic faggots that continuously pick the worst choice because first girl syndrome.

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>>1907106

>>1907074
>How does the research team intend to prevent contamination?
>Did the fragments say anything for the Goddess' plans regarding her children?

Who wants to bet that Caylen was choswn because Artemis thought he was the holder of the Fae contract?

>>1907116
Who wants to bet that our Aunt let things happen the way it did to make it like that.

Also, then who killed our parents? Including our mother who had connections with the Empire to the East.

Artemisia probably could have at least saved out family. But they didn't.

Gonna shank a bitch.

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>>1907091
...You don't have the Diary of Reflections, anon. You've not had it for a couple months, now.

>>1907116
Questions!

Writing!
Also, I liked Snakecatcher.

The Luna Delegate came to a halt around you, murmurs of concern spreading through the night forest like wildfire as you stood rigidly rooted to the ground. Each haggard breath filling your chest for only a moment before it escaped. There was nothing to describe the sheer hate which coiled through your veins, pumping madly with each furious heartbeat. That bitch was part of this, and she was manipulating Caylen into assisting her at that.

Was it too late to stop her now? Caylen had already vanished into the night, en route to meet with Artemis. If your aunt didn't manage to catch them in time, then what? Was there nothing else you could do?

"Ser Valen?" Crimson eyes shifted to regard Elly's brother. Eleanore Jenseit's brother. A throbbing pain dully pulsed its way through your fury, forcifully making you aware of how high your blood pressure had risen. It took every ounce of will power you possessed to not take out your frustrations here and now. "What's happened? Perhaps you should rest?"

Why? Why did this side of the Jenseits family survive? Why not Elly's? Elly was the good one. This piece of trash was willing to murder his own sister just out of a sense of duty.

Your levelled glare bored into him, with moments ticking past frozen in time. He hesitated before you, uncertain whether to approach or retreat... And for what it was worth, you spent those self-same moments wrestling your own blinding rage back into check. It would be too easy for you to slip into that tempting realm of detachment; Back into this stage of shadowed puppets. He was a memory, a recollection of that bitch's ancestor, but ultimately just a memory. Erasing him now wouldn't change anything.

But when you met his many-times-great grand daughter next...

"What else did those fragments say about the Goddess' children?" The first thing you regained control of was your breathing. It was a tenuous grasp that held it in check, but you focused on it until you had calmed enough to bring something else into line. Piece by piece, until you could wrench open your mouth without wanting to scream.

"...As I said, very little progress was made when I left." Useless. "If the fragments held anything of that sort, it's something that would be discovered in the future."

This bloodline had a knack for making their faces enticing to tear apart.

"Perhaps we should rest for the night." He continued slowly, his voice raising to address the surrounding delegate even as his eyes remained riveted to you. The fact he never showed you an opening was a great help in your own efforts to not bodily fling yourself at his throat. "We'll make up the distance in the morning, when Ser Valen is in a better state."

"One... Last thing." You choked out, exhaling heavily through your nose as the tension in your shoulders burned. "The ones researching this cure. Translating those fragments. How are they going to avoid becoming contaminated, themselves?"

"...Why would they become contaminated?" He asked slowly, "As far as we've been able to discern, it's a side-effect of the Dead Zones. There shouldn't be a problem so long as they stay well away."

And just like that, it felt like the ground had fallen out from under you.

There hadn't been any preventative measures.

>Final questions before you arrive at the Shrine (What?)
>Arrive at the Shrine
>Murder Him
>Other? (write-in)

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>>1907136
>spoiler

>>1907136
Snake Catcher Quest was a good quest with terrible people that made worse choices. The didn't deserve Ouro, and that's why they ruined Firecatcher as well. IMO.

>Arrive at the Shrine

>>1907160
>What concrete danger does the contamination pose?

The skyfire has risen, so I'm withdrawing. I'll leave this open in the meantime for last minute questions, and after we see which ones can be answered, we'll move on to the Shrine!

And from, the Solving.

>>1907160
Laugh in his face, the whole point of this is to quarantine an infectious idea. They're willing to purge who knows how many people and a fundamental pillar of the world but they didn't put any thought into how to prevent another outbreak among people capable of infecting Luna beyond "don't go in the dead zones lol“. How do you know that's the only vector?!

I mean Luna has told them how infections work right? And he's admitted to not having a clear idea how this contamination works so there's no excuse as I see it. I kind of want to trample on his resolve by pointing out that he could be killing his sister for nothing but we need him to go through with this so pushing him too much might be a bad idea.

>>1907160
>There shouldn't be a problem so long as they stay well away."
Mmm, that feel when your first Forgetting solve is accidental. After all the trouble they went to to contain this, they didn't take precautions against alternate transfer options, even though they were uncertain of the infection vector? That's like wearing a gas mask and nothing else to protect against a new plague.
I really want to
>murder him
but that won't help anything. Despite my initial misgivings about coming back to Luna, it has definitely payed off.

>Arrive at the Shrine

I missed the logic jump to Maran. She's always been a mysterious pain, but it's been so long since we last interacted with her..

I wonder if we're ever Remember something that doesn't make us want to tear our hair out, or even, dare I say it, Happy?

>>1907136
>pic
imagining you as her deeply amuses me for some reason.

>>1907330
>That's like wearing a gas mask and nothing else to protect against a new plague.
>>>/k/35211774

>>1907160
>Punch him in the face.
>"We're not stopping, the sooner you murder the people who believe you are their friends the sooner I can watch you all die. If anyone stops here I will put you to the sword myself."

>Arrive at the Shrine

>>1907330
extending

>>1907074
Ah, I see now. The corruption changed Dryad and its followers, making them lonely same as the Goddess, thus the desire for "reunion.

What I'd originally dismissed as more mysticism by Maran was actually important: references to the Goddess. That links her to the fragments, and thus the corruption.

>Final questions before you arrive at the Shrine (What?)
>>1907184
This. We know the corruption is an idea, that it spreads through the fragments (at least), but we don't know the symptoms (besides maybe loneliness), and we don't actually know why it is so dangerous in the first place.

>>1907136
Where is the diary then? Does Asche have it?

>>1907366
We passed it off to her at some point for a sneaky mission, but I don't remember if we got it back from her. It's either with her, with reiner (given to prevent loss on this mission), or with us, but inaccessible but to the nature of this Alteir. We have been in here for at least a month each loop.

>>1907366
>>1907422
Well we better retrieve it. We used it to change our face when we sold the story of the Ice Queen's Atelier to the Shrine for the promise of future friendship and support. I don't recall us tipping our hand of this, though Mim might have learned I honestly don't remember. If Maran and her other goons are trying to destroy the Mana, I'm sorry the "seven great evils" then we are going to have to call in quite a bit of that favor. I mean, assuming we're going to stay involved with this.

>>1907498
Or we could use it to turn ourselves into a mana and just blow Maren up.

>>1907357
>We know it spreads through fragments
When did we learn this, actually? We know there were fragments in the deadzones, and we know the contamination affected the people who were in the deadzones, but he never actually implied a connection between the two.

So it sounds stupid that they didn't have preventative measures, but why would the Luna Adepts be that stupid? Anyone else I might believe, but them? That doesn't make any sense, and it's ridiculously out of character for them. It's clear they understand how scary something like this is, I can't believe they'd be so flippant about the spread of the contamination after how much effort they put into neutralizing it the first time.

>>1908002
I was extrapolating "know" from
>This was their start. The reason they had been that far out. The division of Luna Adepts that had been meant to find the cure was Artemis... Which meant they were also the ones in possession of all the fragments recovered from the Dead Zones.
and
>There hadn't been any preventative measures.
but you're right we haven't actually confirmed it yet.

>I can't believe they'd be so flippant
Right? They were willing to put a Mana in a coma via a massive, highly coordinated operation that ended in the death of all operatives, all to stop the spread of the contamination, but they didn't properly examine how it spreads?

The contamination is an idea, right? And "it comes from the Dead Zones"? But the only thing recoverable from the Zones is these fragments /with information on them/?

>>1908055
>The contamination is an idea, right?
Right, it's mostly been described as some kind of apocalyptic meme, but we're not sure what spreads it other than having been in the deadzones. I would actually maybe argue the fragments aren't part of it, because if im reading it right they're everywhere. Our relics are fragments, ateliers are probably fragments, our demihumans are somehow related to fragments, etc. It's gotta be something specific about the deadzone.

Remember how ellen told us we'd need to ask her brother what was on them? Aside from the rumors going around, i don't think many people even knew what was on the fragments, but they still got contaminated somehow.

>>1908082
Fragments without Mana "almost resembled shards of crystal." (assuming that is their default state). Presumably the info they got off of them was readable in that state, but once taken out of the zones, they would presumably eventually reabsorb ambient Mana until they were no longer recognizable as fragments.

Elly was in the Zone for a while; she could have picked it up off a fragment, Dryad's infection could have spread to her, or you could be right about it being Zone-specific.

Im also concerned about how angry we are. We've been upset before, but this is the second time since weve been in here that we've been given the option to just kill people. this atelier is werding me out, i just wanna leave before something bad happens.

>>1907164
>>1907330
>>1907354
To the Shrine!

>>1907184
>>1907357
What danger does the contamination really pose?

>>1907354
>>1907239
Punch him and be generally angry!

Writing!
---

>>1907366
Asche still has it!

Since we're all doing really great on figuring things out, has anyone remembered why you should be worried about Carona?

>>1908592
>spoiler
You mean besides all the Faedka to a trader to sell there? What else is wrong with that miserable excuse for a town?

>>1908109
I think it's largely stress accumulation. Rue has had 1 break in the entirely of the quest: the time she drank herself into a coma for a month following the Testament trial.
She can't trust anyone: everyone has something thing want, and are willing to take advantage of the unwary to get it.
She believes she must do everything herself, even if someone else offer to help, as a way of proving she's worthy of her birthright, not that anyone notices.
Failures weigh heavier than successes mentally, and she's got more failures anyway. Some in particular are almost unbearable on their own. And some mistakes of others will never be forgiven "I don't... Want to experience this again."
More recently, she's had several world-changing revelations of the unpleasant variety, including a reaffirmation of not trusting anyone (Luna, who we've been somewhat friendly to, have been forcefully hiding a world-ending secret)

I don't blame her for being angry; I would have cracked ages ago.

>>1908747
>You mean besides all the Faedka to a trader to sell there?
There is no trader though, you know?

"You keep repeating how unacceptable this 'contamination' is, but of all the supposedly infected people I've met, it seems harmless."

"In a way, it is." He agreed with a grim smile, "But if we don't stop it from spreading to the Mana, then we have no future." You feel your eye begin to twitch stressfully. "Or, so L̵̨̢̨͘ų̶͟͝ǹ̸̨a̷̡͢͝͞ warns."

"You... Don't know what it does?"

"We barely know what it is." He answered your stammered incredulity, "What we do know is that its existence stirred fear in L̵̨̢̨͘ų̶͟͝ǹ̸̨a̷̡͢͝͞. The Celestial's whispers carry are despaired, yet resolved... And we move as we do, drawing our own strength from them."

"After all of the effort that's been put into this operation, and all of the lives that are going to be lost before it ends, you didn't bother to take any precautions against it just... Breaking out again?" The latter part of your question hitched om your throat.

"We've ascertained it to be unnecessary." He shook his head, as your vision tinged scarlet. "While the contamination itself can't be allowed to spread, there shouldn't be another outbreak of it once we've quarantined what currently exists. Not unless a repeat of the disaster in East Heaven were to occur... You seem tired, however. We should stop for the night."

"Haha..." Hollow mirth escaped quietly, lips curling back even as your teeth ground together. "Stop?" Your voice cracked, "You want us to stop? After everything you've told me, you think we have the luxury to stop?"

"Ser Valen, it's clear you've been disturbed by our conversa-" It takes less than a second to plant the seed of your fist in the fertile fields of his face. Your body had been coiled like a tightly wound spring for some time now, and for the briefest of moments you let the slip the strained control you'd garnered over your emotions. You expected it to feel sweet. An indulgence of stress relief. Like justice...

"You've recruited me to cut down innocent people like animals, and you want to stop?"

...But the crack of your knuckles when his head snapped to the side meant nothing to you. A thick smear of blood adorned your aching hand as reward for your violence, echoing the sensation of folding cartilage through your arm... And it didn't mean a damn thing. You didn't want to hold back any further. The act which was meant to tide you over sung traitorously instead; A siren song of the anger you felt writhing just beneath the skin.

"No one stops." You bark viciously, swiping your hand through the air as you stood over the shocked man. "It's far too late to stop." Your eyes raise towards the surrounding Luna Delegate, glaring across their unfriendly faces. It was a crowd of people you'd never know, all of them waiting for some sort of sign from the man you'd just assaulted.

"..." Elly's brother gingerly wiped the stream of blood from his lip, before clearing his throat to address them. "...No one stops. We'll keep moving."

The delegate would walk far into the night, and well into the morning. You managed to keep pace with them out of sheer disdain too, until, in the end, you'd reach the Shrine almost a full day ahead of schedule! You couldn't even be happy about that, though. It was a minor relief to be able to finally split apart from the delegate, but you were anything but relaxed. Time was running out before the moment of truth, and you'd have to see how things played out... And more importantly, you had to be certain you were prepared to Solve this Atelier.

After everything you had put on the line to see this memory through, you couldn't fail now.

>Meet with someone (Who?)
>Meditate (How?)
>Skip To Solve
>Other? (write-in)

>>1909298
>>Skip To Solve
Fuck this place

>>1909298
>"We've ascertained it to be unnecessary."
How... clinical. All their eggs on one basket, no safeguards. They don't even know /what/ it does, nevermind how it spreads. Any sympathy I had for them for making "hard but necessary" sacrifices is gone now. Morons.

>Meditate (How?)
Shade
no, not really.

>>Skip To Solve
It's time. We've finally run dry on questions for now. Let's get out of here.

>>1909298
>solve

>>1909315
>>1909566
>>1909574
Solving.

Give me some time to get all of your information together. Good luck, anons!

>>1909579
Prepare for the pain, anons.

>>1909641
already got the morphine

Where is the post

I'm dying

>>1909763
I had to reread 9 threads to compile information. After I finish that, I start actually making it readable and coherent.

You're free to get some sleep though, this window will be open for at least a full day while you all work to figure it out.

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Alright, information compiled! Now to make it a post.

>>1909787
>>1909764
Thank god because I have to spend all day out.

>>1908592
Besides the flood of refugees and the fact that slaving is apparently legal?

BESIDES ALL THE OAKENBEARS FROM THE DEAD BODIES WE FORGOT ABOUT?

>>1908747
To be fair, Irulen's failures are pretty much "Nobody could be expected to have fixed this" levels of problems.

She has a seriously high standard for herself.

Valen Quest - A Girl who thinks she is God and is pissed when she doesn't live up to it, a Narcissists tale.

>>1909848
Slaving is illegal anon! Which really just means that any government standards and ethical overseeing has been removed from the practice.

Also you don't have an Oakenbear problem, anymore. You, personally, signed a handwritten letter from Marchovic authorizing him to engage in Sanctioned Asskicking where ever he wants in the name of aiding the Carona recovery effort. He keeps this letter on his person at all times, and flashes it at people who try to object to him picking fights with horrible abominations, drunken mobs, ornery demihumans, and aforementioned murderous apparitions.

This letter has caused the Shrine Representatives no shortage of headaches since he received the completely legally binding authority to kick the ass of everything that looks like it would be fun, and there have been no less than 4 separate operations conducted by various agents of the Shrine attempting to relieve him of it. To date, all of them have failed.

>>1909856
Marchovich sounds like a really fun person.

>>1909856
>>1909869
I motion that we recruit him and put him on retainer once we're out of here.

>>1909856
. . . >>1909869 >>1909886 I motion we give him the right to deputies people for one off fights.

>>1909886
>>1909898
I'd wager that if we try to even get close to him, the Shrine will do their best to keep us separated for this exact reason.

You spent the remaining time tending to your own devices, and watching the exhausted Luna Delegate be welcomed into the Shrine of Dryad. It made you sick to see them embraced so readily. To see the trust that was so easily given to the very people who had come all this way for the sole purpose of stabbing each and every one of their hosts in the back. It was a greeting filled with a warmth that you could barely stomach, and did little but affirm that they never had anything to fear from being discovered.

The plan after plan that had been created as back-ups incase something went wrong would have been wasted entirely had you not been here. This Atelier was unlike the Ice Queen's, or any you'd heard of before, in that it almost seemed willing to tolerate your selfish insistences. They were, first and foremost, spaces which weren't meant to care about anyone but the occupant's will and memories... So to see even the most minor details distort to your comfort was unsettling, to say the least.

There was little doubt in your mind that this Atelier was painted in any other color than Dryad's. So was it due to the contract with the Fae that it was so willing to accept you? The capricious apparitions of the long forgotten Mana had welcomed you with open arms, and even acquiesced to your demands. The fact you were even still here was a result of them accepting your selfish decisions.

But they had warned you from the start that your presence here was anything but safe. Something lurked within this Atelier that even they apparitions feared to stir. An ominous, violent thing with an incomprehensible ire. Was it the yet-missing Guardian that was enough to frightened the Fae? Or something else entirely? The distortions which had persistently harried you were capable of shredding the deceptive veneer which painted this world as genuine... And beyond that masquerade had been a void; Featureless and vast, save for a single voice of desperation pleading for company.

You had learned swiftly that there was a limit to what the Atelier would tolerate of your whims. It may have rewritten itself to humor you, but it wouldn't hesitate to reject something it deemed taboo, even if it meant fully unravelling the cage which kept you isolated from that lifeless abyss.

Unfortunately for you, one such taboo subject happened to be Luna... And every casual mention of the Celestial Mana had been met with resentment.

The days you'd spent wandering the Atelier weighed on you. Your Doppleganger had once described them as monuments built to loss, but only now that you had personally experienced the unresolved emotions which seethed beneath the surface did you understand how true that was. Even the slight taste you acquired from walking through this recollection of echoes was a bitter venom in your veins.

You hated this place. Standing from afar, with only your thoughts and disturbed heart to keep you company, you would admit that. Your doppleganger had railed against the Ice Queen's Atelier back then, and it was only willful resolution which prevented you from doing the same now... Yet even that had slipped more than once.

You had walked this Atelier and seen its contents. You had talked to the echoes left within, and grown immersed for what felt like a year in their struggles. They were more than the passing impressions left immortalized within the Ice Queen's Atelier, and you had all but fallen for the lie that they weren't figments of a memory.

You were there to hear Eleanore's doubts on whether she was fit to be Representative, and her dreams of starting an orphanage. You had spent yourself trying to argue her brother out of his fratricidal commitment to duty, and witnessed his resolve to see his sin wrought by his own hand. You'd taken for granted a man that would lay down his life for you, only to break down yourself and be supported by him time and time again. You'd not even had the strength to tell him the truth that he already knew, and the way he'd accepted even that was just another fang of bitter venom to seep into your beating heart.

The Atelier had known them all, so intimately as to recreate every spark that had made them human in the first place. So thoroughly that it had felt as if you could have grasped those same emotions which drove them in life. Even after you knew for a fact that they were puppets made to play the part, you couldn't bring yourself to forget who they were, or discard the dreams and bonds they shared.

Even in these final days, you couldn't bring yourself to tell Tim what decision you had made. He'd sworn to follow your lead, no matter what you felt was the correct path... He'd pledged himself to you, replete with faith that you'd know what was the right path, in the end.

You could only hope that was his reason. The alternative haunted you; A disappointed whisper that taunted you for lying to yourself. For avoiding Tim, even as you avoided the simple truth that the man likely hadn't cared if what you chose was right or correct. Damning you with the memory of his distressed pledge to be your support, simply because you needed it.

What the fuck was wrong with you? That even after all of that, you still couldn't tell him the truth. That you'd sided with the Luna Delegate in the end, and thrown in your lot for the sake of duty and necessity.

Yet what frustrated you even more was that you weren't sure where your own discontent ended, and the subtle venom of the Atelier's cursed ichor began. You'd immersed yourself so thoroughly within the stream that the two had mixed into a singular, insipid solution, which gnawed at you hungrily.

There wasn't a choice, though. Not anymore. Your presence here was in the shoes of another, and they had made your choice for you, a long time ago; You could only follow suit. No matter how tolerant this Atelier had been of your whims, some things remained inviolable. You'd witnessed that first hand when the loop had reset with the death of the Luna Delegate, throwing you back to that forest clearing and undoing everything you'd accomplished.

Ari's wooden golem was proof of how pointless such a struggle was, in the end. No matter how many times it may have slaughtered the delegate before you arrived, this world would always reset. It had bled itself dry in a desperate attempt to protect her, fighting a futile battle, with only inevitable failure as its reward... Though, even if it was pointless, it still felt the need to do it. For whatever reason it had fed Ari its own blood, and allowed her its very body as armor, to buy time until she could be saved. Was it because it knew you would come? Or simply because it was something it felt it had to do?

Whatever the case, you knew it couldn't go on like that. The cycle would reset over, and over, until it reached its end... And perhaps even after that. If you hadn't come, then Elly would have never left the Shrine, or had doubt cast upon her brother. If The wooden golem hadn't been here, the scouts and delegates would never have been discovered.

If everything had gone the way it was meant to... Then the memory of this betrayal would ring true, as your ancestor fulfilled their role in lulling Dryad to sleep, allowing the Luna Delegate to seal the sleeping Mana away from the world; Trapped within it's own dreams, deep within the Fae Forest.

So in the end, that was the part left to you to fill. You'd bite down and stare into sins of the past.

As the final night dawned, you'd already seen Tim taking the orphans out into the forest. Met his eyes from afar, as he had smiled... As if to tell you to leave this much to him. That he would take care of them, at the least.

Is this enough, Elly? Will you die without regrets if they're safe?

When the purge began, you felt the itch upon your wrist. The confusion and incredulity of the Shrine of Dryad was a chorus in the night, and one which would swiftly turn to fear as they understood they had been betrayed. In the end, there was no one to stop you from making the executioner's stroke.

Not Tim.
Not Elly.
Not even yourself.

You approached under the moonlight, blood flowing from a bitten lip as your resolve was made.

"̴̧̡͜͞I̧̨͠ ̀ḑ̵̸̨͡o̷n̨͜'̧ţ̷̀̕ ̛́͜͡w̷͞a̵̴̡͢͞n̵̛͝t̷̷̡̡͞ ̡̛͟͟͜t̶̷̷͟͟o͝͡ ͝d́͝o̢ t̴̡́͡͠h̸̨̀i͟͜͞s̴̨͘͟.̵̧̛͟"̴͞

Crimson eyes remain riveted on the empty archway at the top of stairs, the Shrine's grand tree towering towards its ceiling from within. Its branches creaked plaintively in the night, whispering the familiar woodland song which had lulled you to sleep since you were a child.

"But.. But this is how it's always been. Why not now?"

Each stone hewn foothold illuminated under the palemoon's glow. Every heavy step bringing you closer to the top. Don't resist. Don't make this any harder than it needed to be.

"̨̕͡B͢e̵͟͜͡c̶̢̧̛a̶̡͢ú̡͟s̴̕͝e͞ ̸͟͜e͢͞v̴̸͟e͢͝r̵̕̕͡y̸̢̢͞ ̢͜t̡͜͡ì͞m͘͘͢͠e͢ ̷̧̀͢͞i̴̡t̴͢͞͠'̵̶̛͘ś̷̵̴͡ ̵́͡h͞a̴̵͟ṕ̷̕p͜͡ȩ̷̶͘͢n̨͞e̸̡͜d̢́͢,̴͞ ̷̴̕͞w̵͟͟͞è̴̷̸'͘͜v̵͟͟͞͝è̸̸̴ ̴͢͢͝h̶̨a̢̧̛͜͠ḑ̵̡͘ ̷̛͟͟͜t͜͟͠o̵̶̡͜ ̡̛͜s̨͞t̴̵̨͠͝a̷͟͞r̴̸͡t̡̛ ̢́͞ó̡͘v̶̴̷̛e̷̕͜͝r̷͠͞.̛̀ ̀͢͝͝Ì̶͞ ̴̢̛͠ḱ̸̨͘͟ņ̶͞o̧͜͡w̢̢͢͟ ͡ỳ̢o͟ư̷͡'̛̕͞r̷̕͡ȩ̕ ̧̀͢ţ̷̵̕h̸̵́͝ę̵̴͠ ̴̨c̡͞ļ̴̸o̵̧͘s͝e͘͜s̷t̡ ̧̕͟t͜ó̴ ̶̶̨͘h͞͠ȩ̸̶̀͝r̶̡̛,̧̛ ̷͞b̵̶̨͞ù̶̢͢t͡ ̧͠ý̡͘͘ơ̸͢u̢̕͘͜ ̛͜͜͡h̶͜͠a͢v̨̕͜͜e̸̛͢͝͝ ̕͜͝t̶̸́̕͡ớ̧̛ ̷̕͟͞r͢͝e͡͡͡a̕͝ļ͞͠į̵̧̕͡z̷̸͢͞ȩ̶̨ ́t̷͜h̵̡á̛͡t̛.͘͡"̶̡͝͡

Many had already taken refuge within the Shrine's roots, but you knew it didn't matter. The fearful creaking of the wooden trunk echoed the myriad whispers that had welcomed you back as their beloved friend... But now they pleaded with another. For an explanation. For understanding. For a chance.

"I... No, even if you say that."
"I'm just..."
"I've never been like the rest of you."
"The others have always had to take care of me, but you're the only one who's been with me."
"It's time, you know it's time, why can't we tell the others?"
"We can talk to her, if you're worried, she'll listen, she loves-"

For something that would never come.

"̵̸̛̛͘H͢͝͞e͜͝r̶̀͘s̡͜͝͝͝ę̸͞l̸͟͠f͟͡͠.̨͜͠͞"̸̡̡

Every nerve in your arm prickled as you raised the bracelet and tried to clear your mind. The Dryad that Elly had told you about wasn't at all the one you were familiar with. Its boundless love, and acceptance... Maybe it had been like that, once upon a time. Maybe it had embraced its beloved in featherlight ivy, and wrapped flowers in their hair when they worried.

"̨͠͡I̡̛f̶̷̧̛ ̷̡̧́͠y̸̢̡͜͠o̸͠u͘͢͝͡ ̸̢́͢w̷̴̕͢o̡͠ń̸̡'͜t̷ ̢͟s̢̧̀e̛̛͘ȩ̴̵̛͟ ̴̢r̷̛e̵̸̢͘a̴̕s̴̴͜͠ò̷̶̕͞n͘,̴̡́ t͠ḩ́̀͠e̶͢n̷͡ ͟w̧̛͘e̸̢̡͞'̸̨r̴̡͢ȩ̵͟͝͠ ̛f̷̨͘͜i̢̡̕͢͡n̡̕i̧͡ś̸͘h̛́̀͜e̡͝͝d̴ ̛͟h̛͘͝é̴̶r͟͡͝e̢̛.̶̢͜͠ ̡́I̸̧̢̨t̀ ̷͟w̶͘o̧͢n̡̢̧͢͠'̶̵͢͟t͜͢͟͞ ̵̸́͞h̡̀͢͟á̷̵p̢͝p̸̷̡͢e̢n̸ ̵̧ą̨͟͝g͞a̵͢͞͞i̢̕͟͞͝n̸͢͢͠.̵̵̶ ̧͜͞Ì̷͘͠ ̶̶̛͜w̴o̴̢n͜͜'̷͢͢t̴͟ ̵̶̧̢̀ĺ̷͟͝e̵̕͜t̵̶̢͘͝ ̸̵̀i͡t̡̧͢͞ ̷̵̧͞͡h̶̨̛͠a̢̕͢p̕͞p̵͝èn̵̡͢͠ ̷͢͟ą̷g͜͞a̢͘i̢n.̷̨̀͞͡"̶̀́͘

Dual rings glimmered under the pale silver rays which slipped through the foliage of the towering tree before you; A single metallic jingle echoing from them as you laid your palm against the bark. Your eyes drifted shut as they watered, sealing in the stinging heat of unshed tears. You swallowed thickly, dry lips parting without a word to speak.

"It's alright, Master."

>P̶rơ͘t̛͝ę̢͝ct͢

Frail fingers clung to your arm, clutching at your shirt as a familiar frame nuzzled affectionately into your chest. Her voice barely rose beyond a whisper as the Testament you had come to save embraced you... Yet those whispers continued unabaited; A soothing sound that had lulled you to sleep since you were a child.

"I knew."
"You would protect me."
"You wouldn't let it hurt me."
"You would come."
"You would save me."

Ari craned her neck back, tugging at your clothes to gently beg your attention. Luminescent amber-rimmed irises staring up at you trustingly, shimmering molten tears that you hadn't abandoned her.

"Master, I don't want to be down here anymore..."

>Wer̵e you̡ ̀re͘a̷l̴l͡y ̀s̡o̢ ͞d̸ifferén̛t̷?͡

>>1910207
Let's see if I can pluck the relevant bits out of this:
>created as back-ups incase something went wrong would have been wasted entirely had you not been here.
>This Atelier was unlike the Ice Queen's, or any you'd heard of before, in that it almost seemed willing to tolerate your selfish insistences.
>The fact you were even still here was a result of them accepting your selfish decisions.
> An ominous, violent thing with an incomprehensible ire.
>there was a limit to what the Atelier would tolerate
>one such taboo subject happened to be Luna... mentions had been met with resentment.
>They were more than the passing impressions left immortalized
>you weren't sure where your own discontent ended, and the subtle venom of the Atelier's cursed ichor began.
>Your presence here was in the shoes of another, and they had made your choice for you, a long time ago;
>the loop had reset with the death of the Luna Delegate
>The cycle would reset over, and over, until it reached its end... And perhaps even after that.
>If everything had gone the way it was meant to... Then the memory of this betrayal would ring true
> In the end, there was no one to stop you from making the executioner's stroke.

cleaning: "̴̧̡͜͞I̧̨͠ ̀ḑ̵̸̨͡o̷n̨͜'̧ţ̷̀̕ ̛́͜͡w̷͞a̵̴̡͢͞n̵̛͝t̷̷̡̡͞ ̡̛͟͟͜t̶̷̷͟͟o͝͡ ͝d́͝o̢ t̴̡́͡͠h̸̨̀i͟͜͞s̴̨͘͟.̵̧̛͟"̴͞ => I don't want to do this.

>familiar woodland song which had lulled you to sleep since you were a child.

"̨̕͡B͢e̵͟͜͡c̶̢̧̛a̶̡͢ú̡͟s̴̕͝e͞ ̸͟͜e͢͞v̴̸͟e͢͝r̵̕̕͡y̸̢̢͞ ̢͜t̡͜͡ì͞m͘͘͢͠e͢ ̷̧̀͢͞i̴̡t̴͢͞͠'̵̶̛͘ś̷̵̴͡ ̵́͡h͞a̴̵͟ṕ̷̕p͜͡ȩ̷̶͘͢n̨͞e̸̡͜d̢́͢,̴͞ ̷̴̕͞w̵͟͟͞è̴̷̸'͘͜v̵͟͟͞͝è̸̸̴ ̴͢͢͝h̶̨a̢̧̛͜͠ḑ̵̡͘ ̷̛͟͟͜t͜͟͠o̵̶̡͜ ̡̛͜s̨͞t̴̵̨͠͝a̷͟͞r̴̸͡t̡̛ ̢́͞ó̡͘v̶̴̷̛e̷̕͜͝r̷͠͞.̛̀ ̀͢͝͝Ì̶͞ ̴̢̛͠ḱ̸̨͘͟ņ̶͞o̧͜͡w̢̢͢͟ ͡ỳ̢o͟ư̷͡'̛̕͞r̷̕͡ȩ̕ ̧̀͢ţ̷̵̕h̸̵́͝ę̵̴͠ ̴̨c̡͞ļ̴̸o̵̧͘s͝e͘͜s̷t̡ ̧̕͟t͜ó̴ ̶̶̨͘h͞͠ȩ̸̶̀͝r̶̡̛,̧̛ ̷͞b̵̶̨͞ù̶̢͢t͡ ̧͠ý̡͘͘ơ̸͢u̢̕͘͜ ̛͜͜͡h̶͜͠a͢v̨̕͜͜e̸̛͢͝͝ ̕͜͝t̶̸́̕͡ớ̧̛ ̷̕͟͞r͢͝e͡͡͡a̕͝ļ͞͠į̵̧̕͡z̷̸͢͞ȩ̶̨ ́t̷͜h̵̡á̛͡t̛.͘͡"̶̡͝͡ => Because every time it's happened, we've had to start over. I know you're closest to her, but you have to realize that.

>But now they pleaded with another. For an explanation. For understanding. For a chance.
For something that would never come.

>The Dryad that Elly had told you about wasn't at all the one you were familiar with.

(cont)

>>1910350

"̨͠͡I̡̛f̶̷̧̛ ̷̡̧́͠y̸̢̡͜͠o̸͠u͘͢͝͡ ̸̢́͢w̷̴̕͢o̡͠ń̸̡'͜t̷ ̢͟s̢̧̀e̛̛͘ȩ̴̵̛͟ ̴̢r̷̛e̵̸̢͘a̴̕s̴̴͜͠ò̷̶̕͞n͘,̴̡́ t͠ḩ́̀͠e̶͢n̷͡ ͟w̧̛͘e̸̢̡͞'̸̨r̴̡͢ȩ̵͟͝͠ ̛f̷̨͘͜i̢̡̕͢͡n̡̕i̧͡ś̸͘h̛́̀͜e̡͝͝d̴ ̛͟h̛͘͝é̴̶r͟͡͝e̢̛.̶̢͜͠ ̡́I̸̧̢̨t̀ ̷͟w̶͘o̧͢n̡̢̧͢͠'̶̵͢͟t͜͢͟͞ ̵̸́͞h̡̀͢͟á̷̵p̢͝p̸̷̡͢e̢n̸ ̵̧ą̨͟͝g͞a̵͢͞͞i̢̕͟͞͝n̸͢͢͠.̵̵̶ ̧͜͞Ì̷͘͠ ̶̶̛͜w̴o̴̢n͜͜'̷͢͢t̴͟ ̵̶̧̢̀ĺ̷͟͝e̵̕͜t̵̶̢͘͝ ̸̵̀i͡t̡̧͢͞ ̷̵̧͞͡h̶̨̛͠a̢̕͢p̕͞p̵͝èn̵̡͢͠ ̷͢͟ą̷g͜͞a̢͘i̢n.̷̨̀͞͡"̶̀́͘ => If you won't see reason, then we're finished here. It won't happen again. I won't let it happen again.

> as the Testament you had come to save embraced you... Yet those whispers continued unabated;

>>1910366
corrupted text is a reference:; full conversation here:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/41165789/
>>41173362

Is... is the original text a reference to Elly losing faith in Dryad?
>"Your... Children?" Confusion, betrayal. "They're hers. They've always been hers. We're just-"

>"She was never here! They've always been ours, and we've let her do as she pleases, thinking otherwise."
But who is she talking to?

>>1910350
>>1910366
Well, are we really so different?

I probably need to sleep on this, but my gut feeling is to not seal Dryad. We've been given free reign in here, why should that stop at the finish line?

> An ominous, violent thing with an incomprehensible ire.
>there was a limit to what the Atelier would tolerate
>one such taboo subject happened to be Luna... mentions had been met with resentment.

>Each stone hewn foothold illuminated under the palemoon's glow. Every heavy step bringing you closer to the top. Don't resist. Don't make this any harder than it needed to be.

Is it Luna urging us on? Is the Guardian of this place in fact a jailer, forcing Dryad to repeat the nightmare. As long as the delegate survives and slaughters the shrine attendants everything is cool.

The moon is present tonight, what if we use the relic to seal it away instead and stop the nightmare. Dryad didn't want to be woken up but nothing says we can't try to change the dream to something better.

I dearly wish I wasn't grasping at straws

>>1910389
I'm pretty sure it's Dryad talking to Luna. As far as I understand, the Goddess periodically destroys civilisations (children), and this time Luna was really against it.

>>1910455
Good eye. I'd assumed it was someone in the temple, because that's where we "saw" it. The corrupted bits would be Luna in that case (except the first line), which does line up.

If this is true, the stakes got a lot more concrete. Not putting Dryad to sleep and containing the corruption would literally cause the apocalypse via cleansing fire. Luna claimed this previously, but there wasn't any backing. But this would be proof.

I am extremely glad we didn't try to wake Dryad up.

It does leave a loose end though: If Artemis is corrupted, shouldn't Luna be hunting them down with a vengeance, considering what they would be a herald of? Or has it been too long, and no one recognizes them for what they are?

>>1910225
>No
We've hurt plenty of good people trying to protect things we care about, same as the Founder, same as Luna. Were we right? Who knows, but the question wasn't about that.

>>1910524
What if Luna gave up the knowledge of this to Undine?

>>1910225
>No

>>1910524
>If Artemis is corrupted, shouldn't Luna be hunting them down
Wouldn't they infect Luna?

>>1910535
>>1910225
This.

I wonder if the voice begging to not be alone was Ari.

Also

> Hug Ari and reassure her that it's almost over.

> Be sad, angry and a little numb.

After we get out of here it's a mandatory shopping trip to Carona.

Which might be infested with Nymph wood. Or razed by Shadows which will really be upsetting because if anyone is going to burn it to the ground it is going to be us. Again.

>>1910225
We wanted to get Ari a gift, but there's a good chance that she isn't walking out of here.

>Give Ari our ribbon

I doubt that the answer we're looking for is a response to a yes or no question but I don't have any insight to offer. Maybe we need to figure out what the pact is?

>>1911567
>was it a ribbon or a hairband? I forget.

>>1911567
>but there's a good chance that she isn't walking out of here.
What? Why? She's not in any danger.
>I doubt that the answer we're looking for is a response to a yes or no question but I don't have any insight to offer.
I'm in the same boat. Ice Queen's was solved with a quote from one of the "echos", I could see that also being the case here.

>>1911870
>Even in these final days, you couldn't bring yourself to tell Tim what decision you had made.
Rue mentions variations of this several times in fairly short order. My instincts say it's important. What is left unsaid between us?

>>1911737
Hairband!

The window for this will be open until sometime tomorrow, so be sure you're satisfied with your decision.

Because Part 2 of the Solving starts once your answer has been locked in.

>>1912225
> Give Ari our hairband.

>>1911985
Wh even IS Tim? Some rando hunter that gets caught up in massively important events?

But yeah we're ultimately way to much like Dryad. We love without reservation but for our own reasons.

Remember how we couldn't figure out true love?

I am satisfied with us not being that different from Dryad after all.

>>1913264
But anon, we're not that different from Luna.

>>1913311
We're really the worst hey. 1 full Beifeng

>>1913343
What?

>>1910225
>>Wer̵e you̡ ̀re͘a̷l̴l͡y ̀s̡o̢ ͞d̸ifferén̛t̷?͡
I /am/ different. I have done and will do terrible things for petty reasons, personal gain, and expediency. Anything that helped others either facilitated that, or was incidental.

>>1912225
Will we be going to the family graves?

>>1913422
I mean you can later, if you want. It's unrelated to what's happening here, though.

Window has about 4-5 more hours or so before it closes. I'll clarify here that the corrupted greentext isn't related to Luna; This is something silly on my part, since I wanted to emphasize the callback to a previous event, but didn't think that some players might have just seen corrupted text and immediately assumed it was Luna which has thus far been the format of anything related to Luna, so I maybe should have seen this coming?

But yes, the
>Protect
>Were you really so different?
bits are callbacks, not specifically Luna related.

>>1913422
It won't really affect anything I do for the remainder of this dungeon due to consistency purposes, but I noticed you took the time to clean up some of the corrupted text. The original purpose behind it was to imply a kind of distortion or static that came alongside Irue hearing it, and emphasize the difficulty that came with making out what was being said. As someone who's taken the time to tinker through washing it off for legibility, do you think it's a practice that met its mark, or annoying/wasted effort?

Anyone else can chime in on this with their thoughts as well. It won't change how I format things for the rest of this Atelier, but if it's not working out, or you have a more interesting idea, I'd love to hear about it. Right now I have some tentative ideas for other methods, but feedback is appreciated.

>>1913448
>but I noticed you took the time to clean up some of the corrupted text
I like corrupted text, it adds atmosphere, I just cleaned those lines because I was hunting for clues and thought someone might have trouble reading it. This is the Big One, we need every advantage we can get.

>>1913448
I like it, but like you said its gotten a life of its own, even though you explained it before. Zalgo is more interesting than colored text anyhow.

You have me at a loss on the vote too, damn you. All this crap, all this time and THAT is the question we have to answer?

>>1910221
>>1913649
The problem is that the answer is yes and no depending on how you look at it.

We save even things we hate, because they're our obligation. We don't just give up and flip the table because we're losing.

I mean.

Sometimes we do I guess. But that's because we're pissed and spiteful and cruel. Also only when it's to save someone else.

We barely care about ourself at all.

So there is that.

>>1913665
Yeah, it looks like this is a simple, binary majority vote which is very odd.

Irue will go to any lengths and stop at nothing come hell or high water, whether motivated by spite, jealousy or obligation. We hate Maran out of jealousy and possessiveness, she's stealing /our/ Caylen from us and everything else on top of that is nothing but gravy and might as well not exist. We murdered dozens and destroyed a town because we felt we had an obligation to Rinnier. We killed an upstanding, honest and honorable man in an act of petty revenge to hide a shameful act. A complete and utter disregard for strangers, if we don't have a personal relationship with someone their lives are worth nothing. We throw ourselves at anything and anyone with a complete disregard for our own well being because we can't bear the thought of not living up to, what Irue thinks are, Ari's expectations of us.
An extremely unhealthy sense of responsibility and a personal standard that is impossible to live up to born of ignorance and a warped idea of noblesse oblige, a pessimistic, critical view of ourselves where every step we take is a monument to failure that take us down the path to self destruction.

Are we really so different?

I've not seen the mana to be described to have taken any such actions or have such motivations. The only thing that comes even close is how they jealously guard their favorite adepts.

>>1912225
Yeah I guess my vote is changed to "Yes we have differences" but that doesn't mean we have no common ground.

For instance, if anyone tries to take Ari away then they're going to get wrecked. But if Ari wants to leave, we couldn't bring ourselves to stop her.

>>1910225
Changing >>1910720 to Yes. We're a broken heap of failures but we pick up and keep going at any cost, we don't wallow in an eternal nightmare because we can't let go of past mistakes. We both flagellate ourselves but for very different reasons, our pain and loss is fuel to propel us forward, unlike they who simply fuel their own funeral pyre.

>>1913800
>if anyone tries to take Ari away then they're going to get wrecked
Gotta admit, I have no idea why some anons are so infatuated with her. She doesn't say anything, she doesn't do anything, unless she's begging for attention like a dog. Her kidnapping has been at least 2 significant plot points. She's always just seemed like a burden to me. One that maybe in time might not be one, but only with a lot of time and effort on both our parts, which we can't really spare.

Is it just because she's small, shy, and helpless?

>>1914015
>unless she's begging for attention like a dog.
>Is it just because she's small, shy, and helpless?
Don't forget that that she is extremely selfish and obsessive to the point where concepts such as morals, ethics and laws don't even register in her head. She wields the Oakenrue like a weapon of mass destruction and as a tool to get what she wants, namely to be near Irue.

You're right she's a heavy burden and little else. To me it's about Irue's sense of responsibility and the fact that if anything were to happen to her, it would be another grave failure to weigh on our shoulders. If she were to die or disappear everything we've done for her has been wasted effort and wasted effort is a deadly sin.

>>1914015
Ari gives Irulen the thing she craves the most and feel she has the least of. Unconditional love.

She's the only one who gives back to us without asking for anything in return, so we're willing to give her everything.

A lot like a dog, yes.


I mean. We came in here for her because she already thought she was coming in here for us. Into a terrible Fae forest, even though she thinks she's weak and worthless.

Damn straight we're repaying that faith and trust in us, that willingness to sacrifice herself.

>>1910535
No!

>>1913980
Half-assed Yes and No!

>>1913800
>>1913422
Yes!

>>1913262
>>1911567
>>1911226
Give Ari our hairband and a hug!

You've made this choice before.
Your answer remained the same.
...And so will the outcome.

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>>1914556

>>1914556
It's a bad outcome isn't it

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>>1914556

>>1914791
What the fuck did you do to Tsukasa

>>1914643
Doesn't mean it's wrong though.

In retrospective, we should have answered "what does the Atelier want to hear from us".

>>1914793
Kagami

>>1914799
She's brown now.

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>>1914815
I don't even know why this genuinely distresses me.

>>1914831
Whatever let's punch a Goddess if she throws down.

Or run. Is running an option?

Were you so different?

The confusion. The uncertainty. The desperation that drove you to try anything, if it meant there might have been a chance. It wasn't as if you didn't share common ground. You had felt those same things, and shouldered them on your own. There hadn't been anyone there for you, and the ones who should have been, only seemed to grow further away the more you needed them...

...But empathy didn't make you alike. Everything you had done, was done for yourself. To fulfill the obligations you shouldered. Every callous death, every brash plan and every mistake you made- None of them were done because you wanted to. It was your responsibility which drove every action. That adherence to responsibility which, even now, had thrust the livelihood of a city you hated into your hands.

"Master...?"

Just because you could relate, doesn't make you the same.

Literal amber ringed eyes stared up at you in concern, as if having you here was enough to for her feel safe. It lined her hair, and pulsed a faintly glowing spiderweb of veins from under her skin in the darkness. This wasn't just a matter of being covered in it; You'd seen this before. There was no more certain sign of the Fae's presence than this...

Dryad had found someone to share it's love with... And everything that entailed.

If you had to say who you identified the most with, it wasn't Dryad. When was the last time you had done something because you actually cared about that person? That you had a genuine concern for someone, or something, not motivated by some ceremony or the threat of a sword hanging over your head if you failed?

You did things because they had to be done. No matter how many people died for it. No matter how many lives you ruined. It was never about the person, but the responsibility.


If you were similar to anyone, it would have been Luna. Or maybe the founder. Or, not matter how much you hated him...

"Please don't cry, Master." Ari tried to smile reassuringly, but her own confidence trembled. There was concern written clearly across every action she took, and all it took to cause it was the way you were hesitating. "Let's... Let's go home. I'm alright, really."

"If you were to ask me if the thought that 'this is necessary' will keep the dead from haunting me, then... No, it won't."

"...It's almost over, Ari." Your hand breaks contact with the tree, just long enough to slip off your hairband. It'd held in place through the hell that had been your Rite, and you specifically remember having chosen the wine red accessory because it matched your eyes. In truth, you'd developed something of a sentimental bond with it while you weren't paying attention. "Keep this safe, alright?"

You pressed it against the little Testament's forehead, folding back her stiff, sap-ridden hair until you could set the band in place.

"I have accepted that this will be my sin to bear."

Her eyes strained to see it, arms leaving you as probed the newly attached accessory in her hair with open wonder. The growing joy that shyly began to creep across her face as she received her first gift glowed for reasons entirely unrelated to the molten sap which traced her veins.

"Master, is this alright...?" She hesitated to question it, palms covering it out of protective reflex, in case you had second thoughts. "You're giving this to me?"

"Yeah." You managed a single word response, wrapping one arm around the shy Testament as you placed your hand back on the tree; Reconnecting with the bracelet.

You'd learned too much while inside this Atelier to not understand that Ari was contaminated.

"Ari?"
"Yes, Master?"

>Sleep.
>Am I forgetting something...? (write-in)

>>1915011
>Am I forgetting something...? (write-in)

Her memories can be stolen and she can be overwritten with other mana to block her connection to Dryad similar to how Faedeka purges mana from people.

>>1915011
Also just because we're playing out our role in the Atelier doesn't mean we have to do it IRL.

It won't even matter if we kill Ari because it only works if all the infected die at once.

Just. You know. If "sleep" meant killing her.

>>1915008
Also does this relate to the danger still facing Carona?

Anyways Lunas killemall plan failed so I just want to reiterate that we currently have no reason to kill Ari.

>>1915126
>does this relate to the danger still facing Carona?
Not really, no.

Also, sleep means sleep, anon! Maybe forever. Abandoned, and alone, in an eternally looping nightmare.

>>1915169
Just so we're clear that's not an option.

Yet.

>>1915169
Is this the special forgetting?

Besides. We came back to save Ari. We can come back to save Dryad and hopefully fix this extinction fetish. Fuck it let's just save everyone and gods and men wi just have to deal with us.

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>>1915208
It isn't! You will know when that one shows up, though! But you'll get it easily, so don't worry.

You've dealt with this kind of Forgetting before, though.

>>1915011
>Ari was contaminated.
Well then, that's that I'm afraid. The only people that /might/ have a fix for the contamination are contaminated themselves.
>Sleep

And another one bites the dust.

>>1915218
>pic
Out of everything I've done in every quest I've been a part of, that hurts the most. Even after all this time.

>>1915227
Fuck you there's no reason to kill her yet. You haven't even tried to save her.

I guess you're one of the people who voted to be like Dryad.

>>1915250
Try to get the forgetting?

>>1915218
Don't give up!

>>1915227
Lazy shit you aren't even trying to get the forgetting.

>>1915218
Wasn't Ari originally drawn to Luna when we first taught her about Mana? We have to purge her of the Dryad and replace it with Luna. Or use the Bracelet to do so.

>>1915011
Could we make a luna ari the way we had a shadowrue?

>>1915291
>By what? If it's a fault of Dryad's influence, then can't you just purge the affected's Mana to save them?"
>"Purging their Mana is certainly something we've considered, yes."
>"If that's not viable, can't they be flooded by another Mana temporarily?"
>"Perhaps it would, temporarily." He agreed, "In the long run however, what you suggest would only spread the contamination."

>>1915265
>>1915289
There's no need for name calling.

>>1915008
What if dryad views us the same way we view the people in this atelier? As just pretend people that don't really exist?

After all apparently they're replicated exactly here.

> Tell Ari we need her.

>>1915323
Then at least try. We're clearly being given the chance to save her.

Or are you just killing her off for fun?

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>>1915011
I've often been frozen in indecision for choices like this only for what I want to become clear once the vote is made and the post is complete. It happened again even though you warned me, and that makes me feel a little sick. I didn't know what I wanted but it's clear now that this isn't it.

I don't care about Dryad's question.
Do we really have to be so miserable?
Do we really have to suffer like this?
Can't we change?

>tell Ari we love her
>ask her to promise that we'll go home together

>>1915218
I can't imagine it would be that simple but I suppose a hail Mary never hurt.
>you can't give up!

>>1915011
She's been pumped full of sap too right? It might be temporary. And if it is from the Golem then nynymph wood could fix it.

>>1915351
>Do we really have to be so miserable?
>Do we really have to suffer like this?
>Can't we change?

These are pretty much core personality aspects of Rue. They stem from her drive to protect what's hers, her desire for respect as head of house, and her inability to attain either of those things. I don't see her changing any time soon.

>>1915338
Not spamming posts =/= not trying.
Consider the first post a fallback vote if it makes you feel better.

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>>1915011
>>Am I forgetting something...?

>"At least, I think you care more than you let on. Why else would you have kept trying for so long?"

>"It's not something to apologize for... And even if I don't know what all you've been through, Idoknow that you've never left any of it behind. You're still carrying it all on your shoulders. You're a very kind person!"

>'If I fail, these people are the ones to take the fall.'

>>1915377
I think you're wrong, Irue can change if she wants to, we didn't start off like this after all. It sounds to me like you're making excuses for Irue not to try to be happy.

>>1915377
Change and persistence is what Irulen is all about. Heck our Testament was a journey of growth from being a shut-in book nerd.

In fact even before the quest our background was someone who couldn't use Mana but still researched it.

We can handle this.

>>1915466
What part of what I said was incorrect? People don't just change their personality at the drop of a hat. You can't force happiness. Even if you could, you're right, she could be "happy" if she gave up, retreated from all this, and lived out the rest of her life in quiet, rich obscurity. I don't see her having enough time to be happy otherwise.

And I'm pretty sure she's always been this way, or at least since the rest of her family died. The quest started with a vote of spite, and Rue's been on that path ever since.

Although I will confess I do enjoy a PC that isn't perpetually optimistic for no reason, it makes them feel more like a person. A perpetually pessimistic PC isn't any better though. Rue suffers, yea, but it's earned suffering.

>>1915523
Then we shall continue with our spite and be hypocritical and keep Ari with us.

>>1915546
And doom everyone around her, including ourselves? If this infection spreads, it will end the world. That includes those other people we want to protect. Reiner, Kara, Mim, Shade guy, Salamander guy. Are their lives worthless because this one is inflected? We are vein, proud, and spiteful, but we understand the needs of the many; we're just usually on the other side of the equation.

That said, I'm looking for a way to fix this as well. But, if the forgetting doesn't fix her infection, we have to be ready to make the hard choice.

>>1915523
I never said that we should fuck off over the hills and far away or give up on our duty as the head of house valen. I just want Irue to make an effort to connect with the people in her life that care about her and derive some happiness from these bonds. These two things are not incompatible and we're not going to turn into a silly grinning shonen protagonist if we try.

As for being unable to change, that's self evidently not true. Go back and skim through the first two threads, we weren't like this until anons were ground down by our failures. Aunt Clara asked us what we regret because we had changed. Because we're capable of changing, one step at a time.

>>1915606
> Ignoring that we can keep her isolated and purged at least in the short te while we try to find a solution

You are trying way harder to just kill her than anything else. "Backup vote" my ass.

We don't have toake the choice at all yet

I need to sleep on this. When will you call the vote?

>>1915646
Sometime tomorrow, you have time to sleep. There'll be a 3-4 hour warning before it closes.

>>1915610
>I just want Irue to make an effort to connect with the people in her life
The biggest obstacle to that is a mix of paranoia and pacing. I mentioned this above, but Rue has had one break the entire quest, and that was a time-skipped month of binge drinking. The paranoia will be more difficult. We would need someone we could trust, and trust doesn't grow quickly. We had an almost-friend in that barmaid, but then the town got wrecked and we showed who we were and she left us.

>>1915617
You misunderstand. I don't want her to die, I just don't think that she can be saved, even if we get the Forgetting. An entire city's worth of Luna adepts tried for ages and failed.

>>1915685
Ignoring the Forgetting option are you? Just going to lie down and die? Besides pretty sure we established that they're idiots already.

We'll do better.

I bet you're one of the people who voted "give up" for ShadowRue.

>>1915011
>the symptoms don't line up, too obvious and material

>>1916004
and to elaborate: the contamination is supposed to be unnoticiable for years unless the contaminated tries to spread it. It also is supposed to be an idea.
lastly, goddess' followers are likely all contaminated, and did we see anything odd about Yuri? No.

>>1915011
And another one
>recall things we did in shrine ruins that i can't quote because phoneposting
>we'll protect her. We won't let it hurt her. All that.

>also, we aren't allowed to give up on people.

>and furthermore, contaminated people mean zilch as long as dryad sleeps.

>>1915685
> The biggest obstacle to that is a mix of paranoia and pacing.

> Immediately votes to kill Ari despite it not yet being necessary, or being willing to try and sa ve her, let alone that we have no proof this is the real Ari and not one made by the Atelier we're stuck in that can perfectly replicate people

>>1916004
>>1915169

Is this even Ari? Can we check with the bracelet?

Who was that lonely voice we heard earlier? There shouldn't be anyone else in the Atelier.

Can we meditate with Shade to see if I is her?

>>1916763
>lonely
Link me the post? A quick CTRL+F didn't turn up "lonely".

>Is this even Ari?
Yes. The Atelier was noted to have full recreations of people, but this is not to imply that it can just pull them out of thin air, so much as it knew them well enough to fully recreate them from memory.

>>1916770
JFC Namek.

On my phone and drunk so searching is hard for me. But when everything reset didn't we detect another presence in the Atelier hiding in the void? That one.

>>1916780
Oh, that! That's important.
And that's all I'll say about it.

>>1916784
Fuck it let's save that one too.

Meditate on Shade and then use Spiders Web to find it. Shouldn't be anyone here but us and Ari so yeah let's grab them.

Save all the people.

>>1916786
Spiders Web has the effect of disconnecting us from the matrix which killed us. Dryad isn't here reboot us this time so I'm gonna vote against that.

>>1916811
You want us to fail and die anyways.

>>1915011
>Am I forgetting something...? (write-in)
Ari would go where you went, and if you called, she would come, so don't stop calling her.
>Am I forgetting something...? (write-in)
Stick Ari back into a golem/make her "manaless"
>Am I forgetting something...? (write-in)
"I love you, Ari"

>>1916784
Bully Elly if shes still alive into finding it.

>>1916822
Wrong anon

>>1916822
Calm the fuck down already. We're all trying to create the best result in case we can't figure out the right solution.

>>1915011
>Am I forgetting something...? (write-in)

>"You could very well work alongside someone contaminated for years and never realize it, unless they were so far gone that they tried to spread it."
>"As far as we've been able to discern, it's a side-effect of the Dead Zones. There shouldn't be a problem so long as they stay well away."
>"Not everyone present at the Dead Zones became afflicted, and not in similar levels of severity. If you lack the affinity with Mana, then you would be deaf to the song, or blind to the signs."
> "It can be treated, and death isn't necessary to do so! The problem is not in removing the contamination, but in ensuring it stays gone. In this case, both Dryad and its Dominion have become infected, and their connection serves as a two-way tie. Were we to treat the Dominion, Dryad would simply reinfect them time, and vice-versa."

1) Ari isn't trying to spread anything.
2) Ari has never been to a Dead Zone.
3)We can easily ensure that Ari's supposed contamination stays gone with our infinite supply of faedka. Yes, I know we gave it all away but the golems bring it back anyway. If they for some reason stop doing this, East Heaven is still producing it, IIRC. If we get back to Carona in time we might be able to buy back some of the stock.
4) Ari isn't a Dominion, she is a single person. Relatively speaking it's not such a big deal if she is reinfected. Just pretend that it's like herpes, it comes and goes.

Some further speculation and we could always count the possibility that these signs we're seeing on Ari is an attempt by Dryad, via the Golem, to make another beloved child stay in the dream. I bet they are just itching for new stimulation for the rest of eternity. A ruse spurred on by loneliness.

>>1916847
>>1916830
Sorry got a little worked up.

>>1916847
I think that this forgetting is a final opportunity to back out of our previous decision by presenting a forgotten reason for Irue to do so ala doppelrue and the choosing not to pray to Luna by remembering that we didn't come here to fight earlier in the arc.


>>1915218

>>1917155
Honestly I would just like to leave this place now.

I don't care much about solving it.

Question - DID our Ancestors choose to kill everyone? Because it looks like the Luna plan failed pretty hard. We could have just isolated everyone no?