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[weenwoon]

HYTHLODAEUS

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OFFICE 413, BUREAU OF THE ARCHITECT, AMAUROT
LEAVE MAIL ON HEAD

© EFRYNDIEL

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[scension]

[Sagi laughs a little.] Only if you want stick figures. I never had to learn.

[He kind of likes the stick figures, sometimes, but he has to be honest.]

[weenwoon]

[Hythlo gives an interrogative hum.]

Ah... are children not taught the arts in your world? 'Tis quite a pity... Mayhap I could teach you some, should you have the inclination?

[scension]

Wait, you're an artist? [He regards Hythlo with genuine wonder.] I had no idea.

[He isn't sure what he envisioned Hythlo doing, actually. Probably not crying. If anything, he would have thought... soul things... were a full-time job, considering how common it is for people to die. Then again, he wasn't good at any of his full-time jobs.]

[weenwoon]

[Hythlo laughs and waves a hand.]

I would not go so far as to call myself that, but I do enjoy the arts quite a lot. 'Tis not uncommon among my people. Of course, after the promotion I've had less time to engage in it... Mayhap I should pick it up again now that I am here.

[scension]

You should, if there's time. I'd like to see it.

[But since there aren't any art supplies here, and he isn't really thinking about whether Hythlo can create those or not...]

OK, count of three? Three, two, one...

[He hesitates for just a barest instant too long before going with "gator" again; it's not that he's trying to cheat so much as, yeah, he's used to having someone else help him decide at the last second. Oops.]

[weenwoon]

[Hythlo is sufficiently distracted by the fact that Sagi started counting backwards instead of one-two-three, as he is used to, and ends up with... paper, because he didn't think to form his hand into anything else.]

Oh dear. Well, I suppose the honour falls to you first, Sagi! You said I remind you of Marno, yes?

[scension]

[Hythlo's revenge comes in the form of throwing Sagi off immediately, because he'd assumed the winner would get to decide, and he would have chosen the topic that seemed, you know, interesting. He's not put out, though. He just scratches his chin for a moment.]

A little, yeah. In some ways. You're a lot more talkative.

[It's not an accusation. It's just true.]

[weenwoon]

[He laughs. Well, it's not wrong...]

'Tis an accusation oft laid at my doorstep, that much is true. But if not my eloquence, then what is it? My general disposition?

[scension]

Hmm... maybe? He does like making strange jokes sometimes.

[Again, no value judgement there. It's just the way Hythlo seems to be when not crying.

He could leave it at that, but he's clearly still thinking. He wants to pin it down a little better for his own peace of mind, too.]

The world was a different place when he was alive. I don't know if he ever got... culture shock. I never asked. You just made me wonder. That's pretty much it.

[Yeah, that works. Thinking time over. It's now time to absently poke at his boba cup with one finger until it starts to turn around.]

[weenwoon]

[Hythlo gives an inquisitive hum.]

Are my jokes truly strange? I thought them to be rather good!

[That's obviously the most important part there... or, well, he's aware there are more serious things to tackle here, but look, his sense of humour is supposed to be good!

He leans back in his seat to sip his boba, looking thoughtful but not at all disturbed.]

Hmmm... I would guess that he must have been shaken at first, too. Abrupt change is always scary, is it not? Particularly when it is so drastic... and when there is little and less you can do to change the world, only submit to the new laws.

[He stares out the window. Fortunately, it seems as though the earlier crying helped ease the burden on his mind and while he's not happy about the things he's talking about, he's more philosophical about it.]

[scension]

I don't know. I think it depends.

[But when he said that was pretty much it just now, he really did run out of coherent philosophical commentary. He takes a potentially unwisely large gulp of his boba, instead. Glug.]

[weenwoon]

[He actually ponders that answer for a little while.]

I wonder... Mayhaps the people of this world, too, would be shocked and scared should they find themselves in mine, even if there is naught to be afraid of there.

[He takes another sip of his boba, too, but more moderate, unlike Sagi.]

I believe 'tis my turn now? Mayhaps it would be easier if you asked me what you wish to hear more about.

[scension]

Mmf.

[With a little difficulty, he manages to swallow without choking. It only took him three visits to this particular boba shop.]

I was just curious what kind of place it is. Is it an island? A city?

[weenwoon]

[Hythlo nods. Basics are easy enough to cover.]

Ah, yes. Our world is a star, like many others, [he makes a circle shape with his finger], - a sphere with immense energy at its core. Amaurot is the capital of my people, the biggest and most illustrious city on the star. 'Tis where I have abided all my life, but there are many settlements out there.

[scension]

[It may be basic to Hythlo, but the blank look on Sagi's face suggests that Hythlo has already lost him.]

You live on a star? Wow... I've never heard of anything like that.

[So the kind of star he's talking about is... a sphere? Is it constantly on fire or something?]

[weenwoon]

[Cultural misunderstandings ahoy... Hythlo looks confused, too.]

... Hmmm. What do you call your world? As in... how is it structured?

[He's trying to... pose his questions so that Sagi doesn't misunderstand them...]

[scension]

Structured? Well... it's the sky.

[He picks up his unused straw and gestures vaguely above the table.]

All the islands, floating. The stars, somewhere above. [He points a little higher, above the top of his cup, then lower again.] Below us, the Taintclouds. Then below even that, the earth.

[Punctuated with a tap on the table. Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised if he's not explaining well even with the gestures - he remembers how overwhelming it was to see the earth for the first time, so he expects it's equally hard to wrap your head around the reverse. Still, he's trying his best.]

[weenwoon]

[Hythlo listens with interest. That's a very unusual setup, indeed... but one that sounds fascinating.]

Hmmm... If the islands float, they must needs have a particularly strong source of energy, am I correct? 'Tis not too hard to overcome gravity with the aid of magicks, but doing so on such a grand scale with such massive structures... truly impressive! I would love to learn more.

[scension]

[A little crease forms in Sagi's brow. It didn't occur to him that Hythlo would wonder about what keeps the islands afloat, considering how long he went without ever questioning it.]

It's... magic, yeah. Left over from the bodies of gods a thousand years ago. Nobody could lift entire continents like that today. ...That's basically how Marno got up there.

[Well, it's the truth. He's beginning to realise since a couple days ago that even his lies by omission aren't very good.]

[weenwoon]

...Bodies of gods? Ah.. the remains of Marno and his family?

[Hythlo looks sad at that. It's not exactly something he wants to talk about, but Sagi deserves honesty from him in turn, as well.]

...'Tis true that such things possess great power. Enough to save a world.

[He looks down at his hands. That sure sounds like someone talking from experience.]

[scension]

You mentioned something like that before... It's the other thing that made me think of him.

[He admits that with a weaker smile, but stops short of actually pushing to find out the details. Hythlo is fragile enough.]

[weenwoon]

[Hythlo tries to smile at the sentiment of him being similar to Sagi's friend - but the truth is much worse, and his smile is pained, bitter.]

...I wish it had been me. But I would not have made a fitting vessel. A different task fell to me instead.

[scension]

[Never mind, there he goes again.

Sagi says nothing, although his own attempt at a smile fades pretty fast. He resists taking offense to the idea of wanting to be a god's vessel, since they certainly aren't picturing the same thing. Whether Hythlo elaborates or not, it won't be on him.]

[weenwoon]

[Hythlodaeus takes a couple slow breaths, balancing himself out. No, he won't cry about it. That would be simply selfish of him, in face of everyone's sacrifices.]

...Our world fell into ruin suddenly, you see. Much... much like what happened here. Creation magicks running rampant, birthing monsters that would devour people and raze cities. To stop it... we had to change the world itself. [He takes a deep breath, trying to distance himself from the things he's talking about.] Unfortunately, that was no easy feat. We had no time, nowhere else to turn. So... we decided to create a new will for our star. Zodiark, who would rewrite the laws of our world anew. Bring it peace again. He... is what I meant when I said that we had need of a god once.

[He falls silent for a little while, rests his elbows on the table and leans forward, still keeping his eyes on his hands.]

Yet we could not create life. Someone needed to become the heart of Zodiark. To be his core. We volunteered, all of us, but in the end the one judged most fitting... was only one of us. One of my friends. As for myself... and many others... the core was only a start. To grant Zodiark the power he would need to save our world... we offered to give our souls. The mightiest source of energy we had left. [He swallows thickly, his voice dropping to quiet monotone.] I would have been one of them. I had no regrets. But--the separation of the soul from the body is a delicate process still. One that requires skill. One that requires precision. Good sight. Like mine.

[scension]

[Sagi listens quietly the whole time, the way he does when he knows he has nothing to contribute. He doesn't immediately react when Hythlo's voice falters, either. His expression only darkens.

When he does speak up, the words come out at least as flat as Hythlo's - but softly, because he deliberately reins them in.]

You killed them. And it didn't save you.

[He isn't judging. It isn't pointed. It wants to point, to bite - how twisted must this home of Hythlo's have been, that a multitude of people just like him would buy into all these justifications, would give up their lives for some cause that didn't even work? And he thinks someplace like that is less traumatic than anywhere else?

But no, something in his heart stops him. That isn't reasonable. Hythlo was alive in the wrong place at the wrong time. It clearly didn't leave him unaffected. Maybe he - like Sagi - just thought he saw a chance to start over here, that turned out not to be there.]