Part 38: 25.B: Among Friends - Part 2

: As always, let’s see who wants a word first.



: Volfred looks up as you approach, and smiles.

: I never thought that I would say such things, my boy, but it is good to wear the raiments in the Rites once more. The march of time does have a way of healing certain hurts.

: Besides… the Nightwings of today, we are a very different beast than the triumvirate which took me in almost a decade ago.



: I have mentioned my predecessor, Brighton, and my former companions, Erisa and Oralech. Perhaps naively, I had hoped my time with them would not be relevant, directly, to what we now attempt.

: But, seeing as our stories are now intertwined, do let me know if there is more you wish to learn of them.



: Oralech is the most immediate threat, and Erisa and Brighton have mostly only been mentioned in passing. But, Erisa so far has been the wildcard here – she shoved Oralech to his presumed doom and tried to steal his freedom for herself. I’m interested in learning more about her, and her motives.



: You ask about Erisa, who you understand betrayed Oralech at the moment of his liberation, but then perished in the Simmer-Pool.

: I’m afraid you know the brunt of it, my boy. But, I suppose you ought to know something of Erisa’s past, lest you be quick to judge her solely by her actions.

: I mean, they seem pretty cut-and-dry, but, go ahead.

: Mind you, I would never make excuses for the terrible choice she ultimately made, but… her life, I understand, was very difficult.

: Erisa had been exiled for the foulest of acts… you could see it plainly branded on her face, such was the heinousness of what she did, in the eyes of the Commonwealth. She was an apprentice blacksmith in her youth, taking up the post left by her brother. He had fallen in battle on the Bloodborder, despite wielding their father’s own lance and armor.

: Her father never quite recovered after this, and had grown cruel and detached. It was Erisa who took the brunt of his fury. He expected the impossible of her.

: Hot poker to the neck, I’m assuming?



: When they came for her… her father was gone, and… she was not herself. She was promptly cast into the Downside for the crime, where her hatred for the Commonwealth only grew.

: Erisa always was intense in her demeanor. Haunted by her father’s memory. More than that, her chief motive for wanting back her freedom was, in hindsight, not a healthy one.

: She longed to join our nation’s enemies. To build for the Highwing Remnants a great siege engine that could shatter the defenses of the Commonwealth, and forever end our fued….

: What she ultimately did to Oralech… it was an act of pure and thoughtless desperation. I do not think that it was simply evil. Nor do I think that it was personal. I often wondered, though, if… in her final moments in the Shimmer-Pool… she understood what she had done, and the depths to which she had fallen.

: For years I must admit I hated her, but now… my only hope is that she found a peace untenable during her relatively short life in the Downside and the Commonwealth.

: Furthermore, I hope the life of Erisa offers some perspective yet to those of us who have not made the same mistakes. …Now then, where there something else…?



: When a person is liberated from the Downside, the game goes through lengths to explain that the prisoner is ‘absolved of all misdeeds.’ Murder is a pretty serious crime; we’ve run into war generals, deserters, smugglers, and two witches down here, but never a murderer.

: Like I said before, Oralech is our more immediate threat; we don’t even know who Brighton is, so I’m not as concerned about him. We can ask about him last.



: You ask about what Oralech was like when he and Volfred first became acquainted. Volfred remains silent for some time.

: …I was very, very sick, you know, when I first landed in the Downside. The long trip down the river must have been a little much for me. It was Oralech who found me. He could not have known of my capacity to read before he revived me.

: He was a physician. Intolerant of the sight of suffering, of any kind. Not just any physician, mind you. A gifted, highly decorated one. He served on the front.


: Back then, skirmishes erupted frequently, and those such as Oralech, they had to deal with many casualties on either side. In time, he said he grew repulsed by what he saw. This sowed in his heart a yearning for an end to all the bloodshed. So, he tried to use his status to negotiate a treaty with the Highwing Remnants.

: For a doctor, that wasn’t a very smart move.

: It must have gone about how you’d expect. He was given direct orders to return to the front. But, when he refused to soil his hands again, they cast him to the Downside.

: Here, he gained the notice of the Nightwings, and before long, he grew to be one of the finest Rites conductors anyone had ever seen. He was instrumental in the liberation of his companions, whose roles in the triumvirate were later filled by Erisa, and me.



: However… on the evening of his liberation… well, you know the story from that point.

: Volfred breaths a heavy sigh.

: He and I were kindred spirits for a while. I could not bear to think that he was gone. And now… I still cannot entirely believe that he is back.

: He is our adversary now…. Transformed. Grown cold.

: Still, part of me is happy that he lives.

: Make no mistake, of course… I shall not be swayed against our Plan. Not by Oralech, or anyone. As I have said before, we share a higher calling now. As for Oralech… he wants his freedom, still, although I wonder if he still remembers why….

: Uh, probably because the Downside is a hellish, unforgiving hell-scape where nothing and nobody can thrive.

: Anyway… was there something else, my boy?



: Now that my main curiosities have been quenched, now’s a good time to talk about Brighton. Who is he, and other than the fact that he was a previous Nightwing, why should I give a damn?



: You inquire about Brighton, who you understand was liberated prior to when Volfred first joined the Nightwings.

: …I never met Brighton in person, but, I know him rather well, by now. Though, for that matter, my boy…

: …so do you.

: He studies your reaction for a moment, then…

: Brighton was born wealthy, but not special, otherwise. You would have no reason to have heard of him. He was exiled for negligent misconduct. I do not know exactly why, and do not care for spreading rumors. I first heard of him through Erisa and Oralech, who found in me a suitable replacement, following his liberation.

: They spoke little of him. Oralech gave the impression they did not see eye-to-eye. But, he assured me I soon would hear from him, myself….

: Indeed… as I became accustomed to the Book which you know well by now, I soon began to hear the Voice.

: Volfred looks at you, as if to see if you yet take his meaning.

: … Surely these two things are coincidences!

: you see, my boy… after Brighton’s liberation, he assumed a new identity within the Commonwealth… and a new responsibility to the triumvirate which liberated him.



: He is no longer Brighton. He is now none other than the Archjustice Androbeles IX, himself.

: He went from some shithead slacker to King Of Everything in the space of a cycle of the Rites. Good for him.

: I wonder why he’s so set on talking down and disrupting the Nightwings, if he truly was a Nightwing himself. Maybe he’s afraid of someone coming from down under to usurp his throne and reveal his true identity? If it’s truly just because of Volfred’s rebellion, that seems like an awfully petty and hypocritical reason – you’d think Brighton would be just as frustrated with the Commonwealth as we are.

: Liberated exiles retain certain burdens to their old triumvirates. They have much to thank for them. Not just their freedom, but their exalted status in the Commonwealth. The theocratic rules of the Commonwealth… they do not wear masks and raiments simply for the sake of ceremony. They are not who they appear to be.



: So, what, is this some sort of dog-eat-dog, survival of the fittest sort of thing? All these ex-convicts get pardoned and are immediately put into high-ranking positions, and the only thing they do with their new theocratic power is make shit worse?

: I’m not sure if this is stretching fantasy, or distressingly realistic.

: Brighton… that Voice… he has no love for either one of us, by now. He knows full well what we attempt to do. Yet… he is bound by the traditions of the Rites.

: He shall always stand on ceremony, and complain. But, I think he knows, deep down, that he is powerless.

: How ironic, that one of such high status in the Commonwealth should be so frightened of some long-forgotten exiles such as we.

: …Anyway… that’s Brighton for you. He must have seen in you the potential to be one of his staunch supporters, for a time. If that’s a path you’d wanted to pursue, I should apologize.

: Nah, I can’t compete in the Rites anyway. Bum knee(…?) and all that.

: Now, then, whom else should we talk about?



: We couldn’t select any of the greyed-out options even if we wanted to, so, that’s enough exposition for now.

: You bid Volfed a good afternoon, and leave him with his memories.

: My pleasure, Reader. Reflecting on the past from time to time helps demonstrate how far we’ve come, yet how much farther we have yet to go.



: So, what we’ve learned: Erisa was convicted for murder, of all things, and she was hoping to be liberated so she can join the Harps in crushing the Commonwealth. She died when she pushed Oralech out of the way to take his spot in the Shimmer-Pool.

: Oralech was a very well-respected physician and a master of his own craft. He got frustrated at having to fix up soldiers all the damn time and tried to beseech the Highwing Remnants for a ceasefire, but the Commonwealth told him to go back to work. When he refused, he was charged with disobedience, and sent here.

: And finally, Brighton was just some rich punk that was charged for ‘negligent misconduct,’ likely meaning that he just got lazy and didn’t do what he was told. He was liberated first, before any of the four (including Volfred), and now he’s the same Voice that’s constantly taunting us and talking down to us.

: If that all seems like a chunk of information for you to absorb, here, maybe read a Book instead.


Gfy






: This update has been going for a while – it’s easily the largest one yet. And we’re still not done! We need to pay a quick visit to Ron and see how it’s going with him.



: You ain’t gonna find a better deal on all this stuff from anybody, I mean ANYBODY in the Downside, you can trust me when I tell you that, OK? So, go ahead, stock up!!



: He’s currently offering a new handful of Stardust, and… something different. It looks like a Sun Serum, but…



: Oh, damn, that’s not a bad buff to have. +1 to anybody’s Hope is, well, it’s better than +0, which I’m handing out like candy.

: Unfortunately, I have twenty-six Pyrebux to my name. Selling the fruit and Jomuer’s Fang will help with that, but it won’t help me enough to consider buying the Fortified Sun Serum.




: That’ll give us a little bit to work with for now, but we’re still not quite out of the hole we’ve dug buying that Flame Leech. Still, it was worth it.

: ‘till next time, Ron.

: You guys have a good day out there!



: Finally we can get started on playing a Liberation Rite against Tamitha and the Essence. It’s been a long-ass time coming, but we’re finally ready to do righteous battle in the most righteous of arenas against quite possibly our worst enemies. Let’s get this started.

: Once more you have gained the Fall of Soliam, where one among you may go free. But first, you shall have to prevail against the Essence, in the Liberation Rite.

: Reader… your companions are gathered there, under the Fall. They shall be counting on you.

: Indeed… as the cycle of the Rites turns ever faster, so, too, is our Plan set in motion.

: My agents in the Commonwealth are beginning to cause a bit of a stir out there. And, word has reached high places that the Rites are ending.

: …This is our chance…. Though, let us not despair, should victory elude us here.

: We shall make the most of whatever the Scribes may have in store for us. That is to say, good luck, my boy. It’s time.




: Wow, that one’s pretty annoying. Take it onto all the other Titan Stars that are pretty annoying. With this, everyone on my adversary’s team gets the Righteous Flame Talisman for free. They don’t even have to wear the Talisman.

: It’s easy, though. I just… don’t let them score on me. Easy.

: In fact, it’s so easy that I’ll not only play with Dolnis The Locket on, but I’ll even turn on all the other Titan Stars too.

: Except Limbless Arizech and Endriga The Widow, fuck those two.





: The Pyres burn, and each of the triumvirates is present and prepared.

: I concur. The Pyres burn, and each of the triumvirates is present and prepared.

: Then, anointed one of the Essence! Come forth, now, and declare yourself, and pay any respects you have unto your adversaries, the Nightwings.

: Tamitha swoops down from somewhere, and unfastens her mask.


: Music: Talon Sheath

: Our long stalemate against the Commonwealth shall soon be ended, should I and several of my sisters manage to rejoin our clan. Then, our vengeance shall be swift, and thorough.

: Your quarrel with the country that cast you into exile is beneath the notice of the Scribes, Tamitha Theyn. Here, you shall be judged under the stars.

: My quarrel with the Commonwealth is all that game me and my sisters strength enough to reach this point. The Scribes ought well take heed of how my people suffer! We are not weaklings anymore, like your Triesta Tithis. We shall not fall in line with flightless fools and their naked attempts to subsume our heritage, our culture!

: Somebody hasn’t read the Book. You’d wish you had half the strength Triesta did, if all her stories are true.

: Speak not again thus of the Saint, or you shall be expelled, Tamitha Theyn.

: Tamitha scoffs, then turns her attention toward your side…



: She signals to her sisters to ready themselves.

: You seek your freedom! But there shall be nothing, save for devastation, should you manage to return.



: So, her Pyre is loaded with 155 Pyrepoints total. I’ll need to get half as many more dunks on her Pyre then I would otherwise.

: Nightwings! Your decision. On whose behalf you shall conduct the Liberation Rite?

: Reader… I would ask you to choose wisely, but I am sure you know no other way.

: And, you, prepare your song, Tariq.

: Of course, Celeste.





: Like our previous three Liberation Rites, we can only choose our three most-Enlightened companions to give their freedom, and be removed from the Downside forever.

Who do we choose?



Mae has a spiritual connection with the Scribes and the world around her that nobody, least of all herself, can properly describe. She meets all challenges and peoples with a warm smile, a hearty dance, and some laughter, and she’s attuned to her companions so deeply that she shares in their misery as much as their happiness. She’s even taken to calling the blackwagon itself her ‘little brother.’ Her crime is vagrancy – she was simply seen as too ‘different’ to be accepted in the social graces of the Commonwealth, and when she wouldn’t adhere to their demands that she change herself, she was cast to the Downside, where they would no longer have to suffer her uniqueness.

Do we anoint Mae?



Ti’zo is a simple imp that was born and raised in the Downside. He has been with the Nightwings since Volfred’s time, and is therefore more attuned to their practices and properties than anyone else in the triumvirate. Imps of Ti’zo’s intelligence and wit are very rare, and it’s been implied that Ti’zo is directly descended from Ha’ub the Swallow, the first Scribe and author of the Book of Rites, himself. He has committed no crime: as a native born in the Downside, he has no home in the Commonwealth and his only aspiration for freedom is to one day see the world beyond the Downside.

Do we anoint Ti’zo?



Sir Gilman is a wyrm from the Sea-Dominion – a race raised in a culture that values honour and glory above all else, and relentlessly demands that any born within it must drive and excel to be the best, the very best among the billions of them. Sir Gilman is loud, brash, and brave to a fault, and he values his companions above all others, even himself, and he can’t stand anyone that would bully and take advantage of anyone beneath themselves. Sir Gilman has committed no crime: he was present at the siege of Spiral Sanctum, and was forced to retreat when his superior, Sir Deluge, fled the battlefield. Despite having done no wrong, he felt himself personally accountable, and demanded he be sent to the Downside so that he may repent.

Do we anoint Sir Gilman?

One of these three candidates must be the frontman for our triumvirate, although any of the rest of the Nightwings may also participate to help see their anointed companion gain their freedom.

Should we succeed against Tamitha and the Essence, our anointed frontman will be permanently removed from the game.

Twenty-four hours. Choose wisely.