[if april showers bring may flowers, then july showers bring. . .?]

[sevenhorrorsmods]

Who: everyone!
When: July 31st throughout the day
Where: outside, but also wherever you want to be!
What: a general all-purpose mingle with flavor
Warnings: nada

[Today, for the first time since your arrival, dark and angry clouds gather in the sky above to block out the sun. It is sweltering outside, so when those clouds eventually open up in the early afternoon, showering everyone with cool rain, rolling thunder, and a few flashes of lightning. . . it probably feels good!]

[It seems to be normal rain, for the most part. Look at it from the wrong angle and some if it may seem to be tinted red, like blood. And sometimes, when a drop spatters against the ground, a spider lily suddenly blossoms in its place. The flower dies almost immediately upon springing to life, its petals dissolving into dust that is quickly washed away by the rest of the water]

[dwbi]

[. . . things have been awfully quiet since your arrival. It feels almost a bit like the calm before the storm, doesn't it? Are you still waiting for that other shoe to drop. . .?]

[What else are you up to today!]

Comments

[ratiocinations]

Oh, I try to make myself as knowledgeable about London as possible — I have all its streets and shops memorized by now, unless something has changed between then and now.

[As knowledgeable as it pertains to his work, anyway.]

But if they are as similar as you say, then yes. I can relate, at least in the way that only a native can.

[presgarddihellis]

I've never been to London, but... I think Backlund would strongly remind you of it.

[ratiocinations]

Truly? Why don't you tell me a bit about it.

[presgarddihellis]

[... time to join a man in sitting at a shabby school entryway.]

Let's see... of course, the East Borough is rather large and poor. Squalor and crime running rampant... though... in recent years, it has gotten better. Though that is mostly because the upper classes' hands were forced after a certain disastrous event cost the lives of tens of thousands.

[says it oh so mildly, but quickly continuing,]

It's a port city, so there are many people from many places. Foods and enterprises from different regions. The nobility lives more on the west and north ends, of course, away from the industries.

Ah, the weather... it rains quite a bit. And rarely dips into freezing temperatures, though that does not keep one warm in the winter. Many middle and upper class take their holidays at Desi Bay for the warmer weather. But others also venture out to the countrysides.

... there's a neighboring city, Tingen. It's known for its universities. I'm actually--or, at least, in that life I am--from there and attended university there.

[ratiocinations]

[This is fine, it's comfortable down here.]

Already, there are differences and similarities alike. The weather sounds the same. [Hmphs!] And you have your own Cheapsides and Mayfairs, too, the residents of either never intermingling.

Though, what was this "disastrous event" you mentioned?

1/2

[presgarddihellis]

Cherwood and Empress Boroughs respectively. [amused.] Though the West Borough lies between them, of course. Rarely do you find the first two interacting much at all. Cherwood is much too close to the East Borough, after all.

[so dryly... he has So Many Class Opinions.]

2/2

[presgarddihellis]

[but then he sobers, recalling the disaster.]

Ah, the Great Backlund Smog. Something similar happened in my version of Earth--but much later in the technological timeline. And was caused, in part, by a ritual. A plot between the nobility and two sects of Beyonders.

... the smog rolled into the lower lying areas. Carbon emissions... a lack of fresh air. People suffocated. Those who had no means to flee died at their work, in their crowded apartments, in the streets...

[yeah, he's still pretty haunted by it, actually.]

[ratiocinations]

[Yes, he can tell from his tone — and even if not that, that sort of tragedy would haunt anyone who had to witness it.]

What an awful thing. I am sorry. [ ...He is not good at consolation, but he at least means that.] You didn't lose anyone you knew, did you?

[presgarddihellis]

... there was a man. He'd lost his family long ago to illness and poverty. Lost his job. I'd picked him up one day to get a better idea of things in the East Borough. Even paid him to show a journalist around. He was one people would consider a tramp, but he just wanted to work and live off of a pittance.

There weren't many names attached to the memorials. But I was able to find his and give him back that much. Old Kohler is what he called himself.

There was also a young girl whose mother and elder sister worked as laundresses in their apartment. They had managed to get the girl to attend a grammar school in a different Borough, so she was not at home when the smog rolled in. Her mother and sister, however...

[trailing off, but then there's a smile on his face.]

I got in touch with that journalist. He'd been so sincerely appalled by the state of the things during that tour of the East Borough... and he'd helped sponsor the young Daisy's education. So. I put him onto her case once more. Young Miss Daisy had already been through a kidnapping and almost trafficking just before this disaster, as well, so...

I may have been able to do more, but at the time, because I interfered with that ritual, my presence in Backlund wasn't to anyone's favor. So I had to step away for a time.

[ratiocinations]

And yet it still seems as though you did your best while you could, before you had to step away. That is the mark of good character, Mr Smith.

This ritual... was this tragedy the point of it, or just the consequence?

[presgarddihellis]

The ritual itself required the sacrificing of many lives.

The cause was just a means to an end.

Unfortunately, even if the ritual was stopped... the things already put into effect could not be.

But if the ritual had not been interrupted, the cost would have been much, much higher.

[ratiocinations]

[Sounds Very Bad, yes.]

So the point of it was...?

[presgarddihellis]

Beyonders and their Sequences and potions are generally controlled and closely guarded by the Churches.

However, if one isn't slumming it and getting those items in the underground markets, then they are supremely privileged individuals.

[bitter smile is bitter, but it's also the smile of someone whose vengeance has already been satisfied in this area.]

King George III of the Loen Kingdom was a Beyonder of the Lawyer Pathway. Well, the Sequence 9 name of it is Lawyer. The Sequence 0 is Black Emperor. The ritual was part of an ascension ritual for him to obtain godhood.

[ratiocinations]

[Once again, Mr Smith's experiences are A Lot to unpack. No wonder the man sometimes feels homesick; he wonders if he misses the simplicity of days bygone.]

Hold on now. So a person can "ascend" to new Sequences to become what those Sequences describe?

[presgarddihellis]

[HE SURE DOES. he misses being able to laze around playing Bloodborne or whatever instead of, y'know, LIVING in a world like Bloodborne's.]

Not entirely correct, but not entirely wrong, either.

It's the other way around.

These Pathways are the Pathways of the Divine--ways to reach the levels of gods. The different Sequences and their potions have different names because those are the acts one must perform in order to progress.

[ratiocinations]

[Okay, Even More To Unpack, but he is just expecting this from Mr Smith by now.]

I see. And I imagine becoming a god itself is a desire for many with ill-intent? You said it was the king himself who was behind this ritual?

[presgarddihellis]

[hashtag Lord of Mysteries]

That first question would be a fair assumption. Power calls to those who seek it out, after all. But there are those who also don't climb up to the higher levels because they are, after all, fearful.

And yes, it was. Though he pinned the blame on a different noble who killed himself. So he escaped justice for quite a time, allowed for a war for over a year... but justice was seen to, in the end.

[a bit of support of regicide is completely valid.]

[ratiocinations]

Hmph! Thanks to you, no doubt.

And you? Do you yourself feel compelled by this level of power?

[presgarddihellis]

... mmmm. My case... is a bit more complicated.

I didn't seek power just for power's sake, but... as the saying goes: absolute power corrupts absolutely. Losing control is always the danger. I'm not immune to certain aspects, but that is why I remain mindful of my own humanity.

It is one of the only ways to combat against it.

[ratiocinations]

That is surprisingly temperate of you, sir. Most would not have that much control.

And the other ways? Having a steadfast system of support, as you mentioned before?

[presgarddihellis]

Your deduction skills remain solid, Mr. Adair.

Yes. Generally, a group of like-minded individuals with similar goals... who best understand my intentions in spite of my methods... something like that is what I utilized.

There is a reason all of the Churches have secret organizations to maintain things for their god--including their god.

[ratiocinations]

[Preens a little with a faint smile. He is not immune to compliments when it comes to his reasoning skills.]

That they do, Mr Smith.

Might I ask, then, what your ultimate goal is...? Is it to return to your world?

[presgarddihellis]

... that was originally my goal when I started on the Seer Pathway.

However... that's no longer possible. Instead, I found a different goal. Something of... maintaining what I can of something in that world I was in.

Though, of course, this place has thrown me several complications I hadn't planned for.

[ratiocinations]

[Hand waggle. Hold on now.]

Now, now, wait. That sounds as though you've simply given up on the notion of ever returning home at all.

[presgarddihellis]

From here? No, returning to Loen is still the goal.

... but I assure you, a return to my Earth as it was is exponentially unlikely and implausible. And even if it weren't so... it's a bit too late.

[that's what hurts the most, really.]