nexus_sages | (no subject)

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A young man sits on one of the many couches in the Forum, and sighs at a notebook in his hands. The page is full of scribbled-out text, pages and pages of it. The pages are dog-eared and a bit ragged, indicating he's been using this notebook for a while.

"How can it be this hard to think of a good name for a secret identity?"

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"The first step in an invasion," he answers. "They are doorways of fire and stone which appear, and through which daedra may emerge to conquer in the name of their master. The gates may only be closed from our side by passing through to an interstitial realm, where stands a fortified keep. Within the keep lies the sigil stone maintaining the gate's existence, and seizing it allows the gate's closure. The interstitial realm collapses, and Nirn-native matter in proximity to the stone appears to fall back through the gate to the Nirn side."

Not all of that makes sense, but he thinks he's got the gist of it. "These... daedra things... they're trying to take over?"

"They are. My working theory at this point is that they intend to sufficiently anchor their realm of Oblivion to Nirn, and then use those anchor points to drag the world into that realm, and their master's grasp."

"Yeah, that definitely sounds bad. And you get to lead the defense against it? Lucky you."

"I seemed, initially, to stumble into the situation entirely by accident," he confesses, "but from what I have seen, it may well be the work of divine providence. Certainly, I have seen evidence enough of godly works in recent days."

Jon doesn't necessarily know if there's any god where he comes from, but he's seen enough from other universes to know that deities are very real in some places. "What's your god like?" he asks, curious.

"That... is a simple question with a complex answer." He considers for a moment, then prefaces any further response with, "how much do you wish to know?"

Apparently it's a super complicated explanation he's stumbled into. "Just the basics would be fine, if that works. Call it academic curiosity."

"The basics, yes." He draws in a breath, ordering his thoughts. "As a Saxhleel, I revere the Hist, the wise trees of the swamp with whom we live in communion. The broader empire, being composed mostly of men and mer, have no tie to the Hist, and instead revere the pantheon of the Aedra--the eight Divines who created the world, and a ninth, a mortal man who ascended to join them. Also worthy of consideration in this discussion, and subjects of worship in their own right, are the lords of the daedra, the assembled spirits of Oblivion who did not participate in the creation of the world. Their number is somewhat greater."

"So there are a lot of different belief systems. That's similar to where I come from, too."

"Oh? Who are the gods of your homeland?"

"Depends on who you ask. Most people in the country I live in believe there's only one god who created everything. There are lots of religions though. Some worship spirits of nature, or believe there are all kinds of gods who are in charge of different things. There are also a few religions where they don't believe in any gods, just ancestors. It's pretty diverse."

"It sounds so. I imagine substantial friction between the adherents of the single god and the adherents of the many."

"There can be. There used to be wars fought over whose religion was right. Still are, just not as much. Most people try to just mind their own business these days, at least where I live."

"A happy equilibrium," he muses. "I am sorry to say that I have been somewhat embroiled in a war of religion myself, of late." Unspoken is that yes, this was in addition to fighting necromancers and accidentally becoming the head of a guild of people much more qualified than himself.

"Sorry to hear that. Those kind of conflicts are pretty much impossible to resolve quickly or peacefully."

"Peacefully, no, and I regret the casualties, but..." He pats the pendant hanging around his neck with an air of grim, quiet pride. "This is one conflict I may confidently say has reached its end."

"Oh. Well... congrats on winning?"

He gives a rueful chuckle. "Thank you. I would have preferred no fight be necessary, but the slaughter of clergy in their sanctum could not be ignored."

"Yeah, I can see why that'd be unacceptable."

"Do I understand that you will enter battle, in the name of your cause?"

"That's one way of looking at it, I guess. The Justice League is more a... peacekeeping force than an army. We hope that we don't have to fight anyone, but if we do, it's for a good reason."

"Ah? That is well."

"Both my parents were founding members, so it's pretty important to me that I follow their example. Not all of my brothers are sisters share that opinion, but that's fine, they can do whatever makes them happy."

"Do they share your, hm, capacities?"