thefarshore | Heaven's BBS

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Heaven's BBS | Text

Posted: 29th of May
Sender: Athena

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Hello to whomever might be reading this. My given name is Lara, and I am the current incarnation of Athena.

I've gathered I am not the first to bear her name, and I'd be interested in learning more about my predecessor. What sort of god was he/she? As I've begun settling into her temple here, I've found quite a lot of things that they probably left behind, and I also thought that perhaps it would be right to return them if any were on loan.

And I would also like to ask about the community's feelings on something. Truth be told, I've only recently begun to accept that the supernatural is real and there might be a higher power(s) at work. At least, until I woke up here and was hit in the face with it. It's a lot to absorb.

I'm feeling a touch overwhelmed and I'd like to know what role you believe a god should play. I've my own ideas, naturally, but I'm curious what others think. Do you want to live up to the legends of who came before? Do you want to change those legends into something else? Or is there something else you believe about divinity? I'm curious, so please, let me know your thoughts. It may help me better sort out my own.

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Both. My first goddess's soul was among them.

It makes me wonder... [He hesitates for a long moment before continuing, slowly.]

If it was part of the same event that is bringing our souls into the Heavens. To bring so many souls from so many different places, and have them be familiar to the new gods? To have at least one of them have been a god? It can't be a coincidence.

It can't be. No. There's someone or some thing that wants to mess with Heaven's plans.

The man I saw, Alex Weiss? He's been dead for three years. Which begs the question, how did whoever or whatever did it get his soul?

I think some of the people here among us have been dead for longer than that. Time doesn't seem to matter as much as it should.

Fair point. I met a samurai I knew from history lessons the other day, so there's that at least.

Still, how did those souls get here? Is whatever brought them here able to take them from Heaven?

Or the wheel of reincarnation, for instance?

[Or places involving more creative torment, and possibly also demons!]

But regardless of what normally awaits the dead, there's no denying that whatever or whoever brings us here can steal souls away from their intended fate.

I meant our employers more than any grand harps and halos sort of place, but yes, essentially.

Anyway. So we have someone taking the dead from local morgues and mortuaries. Giving them souls of people we know to animate them. For what? To unsettle us? It hardly seemed an effective military force.

The floats were inhabited, too, and I couldn't find any signs of deliberate reanimation.

Or of their being taken out from the outside, either. I almost wonder if this was some kind of...

[He hesitates, and makes a face, unwilling to let go of the idea of deliberate enemy action. Yet, there's no point in looking in the wrong places for an enemy.]

... accident?

[Lara's frown probably carries over into her voice, but she can't really fault him for thinking it.]

It's possible. We really can't rule that out. Though that's a lot of power to have an accident with. And, I guess more to the point, they were rather focused on getting into the temple. Would the temple just draw them in like that?

It is a lot of power to have an accident with, but bringing all of our souls here and installing some of us in the places of gods -- no insult intended, but you are not the real Athena, and neither was your predecessor -- must take a lot of power, too. We know someone's interfering with those forces. If they tried to change something, or their control isn't perfect...

[He trails off, and says, after a moment:] I can't prove anything.

There didn't seem to be anything about the temple that would explain why they focused on it, except that the parade is a normal part of the festival proceedings, and they followed the normal route.

Excuse me, I'm just thinking out loud: how could it have happened if it were an accident? We were all sent to the festival well before the parade began. I think we can discount coincidence there. Either the Heavens knew something strange was occurring in advance, or it was our presence all together that triggered the event. Once the event began, in that place on that day, in the middle of an existing religious ritual, could the souls have been caught up in enacting the parade to its end, and only set free to cause mayhem when it was complete?

[He doesn't know enough about magic to judge which of those guesses is plausible and which isn't, but gods' power comes from belief and ritual -- that much he knows. Magic based on those things can even control gods against their will. It had happened to Gojyo. Surely it could compel mortal souls.]

Oh, no offense taken. I'm not a god. I'm an archaeologist, and I have no lofty notions that I'm anything but.

[Lara works her jaw, thinking, grinding her teeth a little like she so often did when presented with a problem she couldn't immediately solve. She makes a little mmhmm of affirmation, listening to his thoughts before sharing her own, equally stream of consciousness...]

If we assume it wasn't a coincidence, then that's possible. Like...I guess our presence was the hand winding up the key on a clockwork soldier. If that was the case then why place us there at all? If they're on our side, anyway. I don't know if I'm willing to say that, yet.

But that first bit. A truly divine source could have seen that coming and placed us there to stop the bedlam a horde of the walking dead could unleash. We didn't necessarily need to know what was going to happen. We'd just be fulfilling our role and playing to our natural inclinations, destroying the horde or stopping whatever mischief was going on. It seems like something we'd want to do, just because. I'd almost be willing to say that's the most likely scenario. That we were put there to stop something, even if they didn't know what. And we were left uninformed for...whatever reason.

From what I've seen, and heard, it's important not to make the mistake of thinking even the real gods are all-knowing. It could be that they didn't know what would happen, and put us there to be sure someone would be on the spot.

We're new and frequently troublesome. I wouldn't be surprised if we're viewed as expendable, in the case of the event becoming unexpectedly dangerous.

I'm willing to assume that the Heavens want a minimum of chaos, and aren't all involved in bringing us here, but whoever is doing it seems strangely well-informed. Someone in a position of trust may be involved.

Some grand conspiracy, then?

[Didn't she just finish unraveling one of those?]

I can't say I'm shocked. I don't know much about the intricacies of politics here, but put this many people in a room and there's bound to be something afoot.

...and admittedly, I agree with you on being seen as expendable. There were children at that parade, and given power or not, they're still children.

Yes. [Hakkai's tone chills with disapproval at that reminder. Treating adults badly is one thing, and annoying enough, when he and his friends are among them. But expecting children to fulfill the duties of gods -- and there are some very young children among them now -- is something else entirely.]

I can understand child shinki. Sometimes, children die young. But it's hard for me to understand why anyone would use a child's spirit to replace a god.

... In any case, I don't know too much about the politics either. Amaterasu is the ultimate authority, and she is still very young. Recently reincarnated, I believe. Her advisers, Suijin, Fuujin and Raijin, may be the ones making decisions.

Exactly. That's somewhat depraved.

[Children drafted into a war, and she thinks of it as such, is not acceptable or appreciated. It violates so many of her morals, it's almost laughable.]

...but Amaterasu, Suijin, Fuujin, and Raijin. The Sun, Water, and the twin storms. I'm nominally familiar with the originals. [Amaterasu unfortunately] Are these new? Or are they the ones from myth?

They are the originals. Myth isn't always accurate, though. I suppose I'd say, "Make your own decisions about them."

Suijin seems to be a very intellectual type. Fuujin is somewhat... abrasive.

It so rarely is. After my last meeting with a living myth, I'd be surprised if there's anything remotely resembling the story in reality.

[Either way, it's good information and filed away.]

How often do they issue marching orders, out of curiosity? Or are they more hand off?

They are mostly hands-off. Occasionally, they'll make announcements -- that's mostly Suijin's role, so far.

When we're given orders, it's usually through shinki messengers. I'm not sure who is behind those, but wherever they send us, it almost always ends in violence regardless of the pretext. Be prepared.

Violence I can handle. It's not my favorite way to pass the time, but I've been in my fair share of scraps.

What about other gods from this world? I noticed a broadcast from a woman calling herself Bishamon.

Yes, you were doing well with that ax.

Bishamon has been trustworthy so far. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to be privy to any more information than we are... I'd trust what she tells us, but as one of the old gods, I don't know if we can truly expect her to have the same perspective we do.

Fair enough.

If you find out more about the morgues, let me know? I'm going to go do some digging, myself.

Gladly. If you find out anything interesting, I'd appreciate if you could let me know about it, too.

Naturally. We're all in this together, after all.

I'll talk to you later.

We are indeed. Thank you, and I'll talk to you later.

[Click.]

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