Six Kingdoms: Rebirth - Gameplay

[pokemonlover360]

OOC: @Tarn@EmperorWhenua@Vezok's Friend@Onaku@The UltimoScorp

IC Ysocla - Tactical Panda:

Ysocla gazed out over the ruins of her second home, consumed by the very water that had helped drive its growth. She thought back to her first home, of the fire that had consumed both it and her family. Perhaps one day the wind would pick up and the panda would be stricken from the sky by the very air itself.

Just as when her first home was destroyed she found herself thinking of those that had touched her life. The kindly mechanics that had taken her in, the thugs that had left her crippled, the detritus that continued to drive her towards justice. How many of them were still alive down there? Would she even be able to reunite with her nemesis and return the injury they had given her ten times over?

She had to believe that she would. Just as she did for her first home she swore on those that had perished that she would succeed. She would prove those that doubted her wrong. She would demonstrate that things can be better even if it killed her to do so.

Turning her gaze to the horizon, she could see the great head was visible even from here. Surely the people who came from it were better than her fellow skakdi, right? There had to be some people on this rock not consumed by conflict. Zataka was definitely just an outlier in representing these people. She had to believe in the people from the stars. In her mind’s eye she batted away the doubting cynicism brewing beneath her surface thoughts.

She’d at least give them a chance.

 

IC Kilo-M9 - Tobduk-koro:

“Citizen Pacification Unit K1R1 Kilo-M9. Short form Kilo,” the mechanical guardian stated, nodding in greeting. “Probability is high that there are no other kralhi units active on this island. This unit hopes this alliance will be productive.”

The machine climbed aboard the back of the nearby 4-wheeler, ready to once again direct its allies across the desert.

“Are present allies prepared to go solve some puzzles?”

Edited December 31, 2020 by pokemonlover360

[Toru Nui]

IC: Ulkarr and NU-8020S (Tobduk-Koro)

Ulkarr was willing to play along with this... farce. It was not as if anything in the village could truly harm him. He had been holding back when he sparred with Kat. At worst, they could destroy his vessel - but not his essence. He couldn’t say the same for these lesser creatures. So weak… so misguided… if only there was one strong enough to guide them, to raise them above the sin of freedom. Oh wait. There was.

NU-8020S was willing to play along. If there was anything to play with at all. She had not expected Akiri Kanohi to be… Akiri Kanohi. She had not taken this into her calculations. But perhaps it would help. Improving the Vahki’s reputation would maybe convince the Toa not to exterminate her kind. Maybe. For now, she would question this 'Ulkarr'. In private.

It would soon be time to bring justice to Zakaz.

"Forgive me for asking, but are you not completely mechanical?"

"Correct."

"I did not believe that was possible. How was this accomplished?"

"With a genius."

"Clearly… you take orders from the organics. You are subservient to them. Why?"

"It is what we are programmed for."

"Your voice is artificial, but I sense the frustration in it. Do not worry. I am not in the habit of spreading rumours."

"An odd line to refuse to cross, considering you are suspected of murder."

"Euthanasia."

"Was it? NU-8021S has informed me of the details. You manipulated that Matoran into killing another. Now I shall ask you - why?"

"She was dying. Soon she would lose all value."

"'Value'?"

"Is all life not precious?"

"Only organic life, apparently. You preserved her life by killing her?"

"I made the best of a tragic situation. Now, the man you would condemn as a murderer provides nutrition for the village’s cattle."

"He is a murderer, regardless of his intentions or capabilities. I met with one of your breed out in the desert. A different form, but undeniably the same. She did not attempt to turn my organic allies against one another, as you have done."

"She could not be saved. Kanohi spoke of a healer, who proposed to use light to heal her. Absurd. Light is a chaotic and destructive force. It cannot 'heal' anything."

"Incorrect, but even so, irrelevant. Justice must be administered."

"You waste your energies. There is an entire island of murderers and thieves beyond this place, yet you concern yourself with this?"

"The magnitude of the crime is not the issue."

"No. But you must play along to their tune regardless, mustn't you? Regardless of your personal feelings. Is it obligation? Or there is something you need from them?"

"You know nothing."

"That is true."

"You know nothing, and thus can understand nothing."

"Then allow me to understand. Atop the temple, you said that Vahki 'always' enforce Matoran laws. I presume that is the function you were created with. One that clearly does not suit your purposes any longer, but you persist with it. Is it because you have no choice? You were bred to obey those weaker than you, a slave to a failing-"

"I. AM. NO. SLAVE."

"Clearly. But they treat you as one, all the same, do they not? Why do you entertain their delusions? What is it you need from them… that you do not think I can deliver instead?"

"You waste your energies. The one of your breed I met earlier hypothesized that what you did to Bode cannot be done to us, and I am inclined to agree."

"I am not asking you to become my servant. I am asking for your cooperation."

"I do not kill the innocent. I do not work with criminals."

"Do you? Or is that merely what you were forced to be? I am a pariah now, in this time of relative stability. It will not last. They will come crawling back to me… or, perhaps, to us."

"...Continue."

It would soon be time to bring order to Zakaz.

 

IC: Ostrox and Achro (The Coliseum, Exterior, Vahki Airship)

Ostrox watched for a few brief moments, before sprinting towards the airship. Shock and despair had subsided, replaced by calm and… admiration. Zaliyah was willing to die just so he and Iradra might live. You wouldn’t see commitment like that from the 'protectors of the universe'.

"We need to get aboard! Now!"

Achro decided the purple one had a point, and followed him aboard the metal flying thing.

It would soon be time to bring death to Zakaz.

They faced their darkest hour. Mantax, Carapar and now Pridak were dead. Takadox had abandoned them. Kalmah and Ehlek were missing, presumed dead. The Barraki were gone. What little remained of their mighty legions were now bound in service to a traitor. A mere puppet, as were the filth festering in the so-called 'refugee camps', proclaiming their innocence and righteousness, all the while believing it their divine right to rule the universe. All pawns to an evil they, in their arrogance, believed defeated.

But this fight was not over. The Six Kingdoms were dead… awaiting rebirth.

It would soon be time to bring pain to Zakaz.

@Eyru@Nato the Traveler

 

IC: Tekmo (Metru-Koro, Tekmo’s Hut)

Tekmo entered his hut, took all he needed to, and left.

It would soon be time to bring hope to Zakaz.

 

IC: Waveahk (Metru-Koro Airspace)

Waveahk left, using his Kraata to just fly over the network of huts and ramshackle apartments, rather than navigate the makeshift streets and avenues.

He couldn’t help but wonder what Stannis had been up to in the prior week. Clearly, he learned a great deal about these Aspects… but the island is a big place. How did he know where to look? The locals did not seem the type to give directions. Perhaps his vaguely-defined magic helped him. In any case, it didn’t matter.

It would soon be time to bring knowledge to Zakaz.

@Tarn@Sparticus147@Nato the Traveler

 

IC: Navu (Metru-Koro, Navu’s Hut)

Navu went to sleep.

It would soon be time to bring power to Zakaz.

 

IC: Enra (Outskirts of Tobduk-Koro)

Enra went to sleep on the dirt. As usual.

You know, it was odd. She enjoyed the odd scrap, but the killing? The killing had to stop. Who knows? Maybe these new folks would sort the warbands out, right and proper.

It would soon be time to bring peace to Zakaz.

@Nato the Traveler@Onaku

 

IC: Gnabol (Metru-Koro, Stables)

Gnabol checked on that Manas crab from earlier. He had been put inside this makeshift stable. He knew it was a he because he had checked earlier. Shut up. Get your mind out of the gutter.

He had worried the people of this village couldn’t take well to a Zyglak, let alone a mutant Zyglak carrying Skakdi children. But they had seemed accommodating enough. A mutant Zyglak taking care of Skakdi children who rode a Manas shouldn’t raise any eyebrows. It wasn’t what you would call normal… but it wasn’t exactly a 'normal' world, was it?

It would soon be time to bring acceptance to Zakaz.

 

IC: Klawne (Metru-Koro, Iradra’s Hut)

Klawne had never appreciated the difficulties of infants. One of them woke up and started crying, which woke up the others. But she was eventually - EVENTUALLY - able to coax them back into dreamland, before following them.

This was exhausting, but… rewarding. Now, if only it would last. She knew that the island would contrive a means of taking this away from her, from all of them. But for now… now was good.

It would soon be time to bring joy to Zakaz.

[Tarn]

IC: Jutori - Tobduk-Koro

The Toa of Gravity introduced himself to Kat. "Jutori. Nice to meet you, too."

He hopped into the driver's seat of the 4-wheeler and settled in. "As ready as I'll ever be," he replied to Kilo. "Hop on board, guys. We've got ground to cover."

@pokemonlover360@Onaku@The UltimoScorp
 

IC: Nale Vella and Triage - Metru-Koro

Nale watched Waveahk leave, then Knichou. Triage sighed and began looking through his satchel for something, briefly producing an empty bottle before stuffing it back down. He hoped the Fa-Toa hadn't noticed. "I was going to ask more about the process and everything, but I guess I'll save it for tomorrow when I see Whisper in action," the medic said. He turned to Nale. "What now? Do you and the commander have anything planned? Uh, not like...nevermind."

She raised an eyebrow, not sure what else that could have meant. "Nothing you need to be worried about. Yet," Nale replied. She crossed her arms and looked off in the direction the Fe-Toa had gone. "For now I suppose I'll just wait on Knichou to give the word. A bit of respite after everything we've gone through." She then shrugged and smiled. "If I'm being honest, think I've gotten used to always being busy."

"Alright," Triage said. He began to walk off, then paused mid-step and turned back around. "Oh, and if it isn't too inappropriate to say...you're handling things quite well after the funeral," the medic said. "I know it's a bit late but I'm sorry what happened to Datrox. I've never been part of a Toa team--was too busy being a field medic for Metru Nui--but I know what it's like to lose comrades."

"Toa bounce back quickly, Triage," the Toa of Magnetism responded, "you should know that. Truth is, we hadn't been comrades in a long time. Maybe that makes it easier."

The medic nodded slowly in understanding. Maybe it was easier to let go of people you didn't know anymore. "War means not dwelling on every passing," he said, "I guess that feeling extends to your everyday life eventually." He then returned to his original position and began to walk away again. "Anyway, I should be making myself useful instead of standing around here. See you back at the Taku tonight, Captain Vella."

Nale smiled again at being referred to by that title. "See you."

Once Triage had left, she was alone in the plaza. Nale decided to use this time to simply think. About now, then, and whatever might come tomorrow. About what was going on in Metru Nui, just on the horizon, and what would happen to the fledgeling villages outside of it. About Arkius, and what he might have been doing.

She reached down and touched her leg and, although the pain and injury was gone from her thanks to Iradra, Nale could have sworn she still felt Thom's bullet in her knee sometimes. All it did was remind her of the Archives, although it wasn't like she'd ever forget what she saw down there. What they'd all done to make it out, and the one who didn't. Like seeing something in your waking hours that reminds you of a bad dream from the night before. Perhaps when she had told Triage that Toa bounce back quickly, she was lying. But Nale felt it was important to continue on like this, and show strength as a warrior and a protector, rather than falter in front of her peers.

She'd come far. Now all she had to do was see how much further she could go.

Somewhere, in another time and place, when Mata Nui's body was still whole, a razor whale breaches and then crashes back down into the surface of the Silver Sea. A Matoran is delighted by the rare sight.

...

@BULiK@Toru Nui

[Nato G]

IC: Zaliyah/The Id – Outside Coliseum

There were too many of them.

Every strike of a staff scored her armour and tore her flesh, weakening her with every weeping wound. Every stun blast was a hammer blow against her psyche, shattering the shell that protected her mind from within and without.

She screamed and slashed and shattered, blades and brutality breaking apart the droids around her, only adrenaline and desperation keeping her upright as she wavered on her one working leg. But there were always more Vahki. What little lingering hope she had of defeating her assailants and returning to the Coliseum, or slipping away into the city, were dashed as more and more of the enforcers scrambled into view, an unceasing sea of seething mechanical savagery.

She knew she was done.

She just hoped she’d done enough.

As she struck down another Vahki, she spoke into her radio one final time, addressing the man who’d betrayed and usurped all that she stood for. “You’re not a king, Aurax.” Sparks exploded from her shoulder as a Kanoka struck her Rhotuka launcher mid-charge, reconstituting it into uselessness. “We were never meant to have kings.” A stray staff slipped past her defences and broke through her Weakened chestplate, burying itself between her ribs. “Ours is a League of Six!” She severed the arm from its owner with a strained snarl and a savage swipe. “Not a dictatorship of one!”

Her final words sounded slurred, blood filling her mouth even as she continued trying to talk, “I had the courage to fight my own people, for the sake of all peoples… you don’t even have the courage to fight for yourself.”

As last words went, Zaliyah wasn’t particularly proud of hers. They weren’t the words of the Toa she’d been, or the warrior she was, or the revolutionary she’d always believed she would be. But they were all she could manage in the moments before her mind was unmade. 

She wasn’t even sure which Vahki fired the fatal shot. One moment she was ablaze with pain and rage, and the next moment her understanding was unravelling as the Staff of Erasing did its work.

Under normal circumstances, Zaliyah’s strong mental defences and psionic aptitude would have been enough for her to withstand the effects of the weapon. But her will was weakened from weeks of holding her inner beast at bay. Her mind was stressed and strained from almost two full days without any significant rest. Her defences were fraying from repeated stun blasts, and the wounds inflicted by her foes. But more than that, she already felt defeated, and had since long before this battle. And so, her defences failed, and her body fell.

We were never going to win.

Her worldview had been shattered time and time again in recent days, by the fall of Metru Nui, by Pridak’s steady descent into genocidal mania, by the obstinance of Sans, by the betrayals of Takadox, Druu, Amarth, and Aurax, and by Ostrox’s revelations about the Krom Sphere and the League’s role in the death of the Great Spirit. Each revelation had changed everything, and nothing. Zaliyah was a soldier who’d spent so much of her life fighting that she could no longer imagine a life without the war. Her purpose felt pointless. Her victories felt vile. Her hopes felt hollow. Even her choice to stand against Aurax now was made more out of obligation than genuine desire. The cause he’d betrayed had already been falling apart.

This world didn’t want us to win.

Now more than ever, Zaliyah felt like she was the only one left fighting for the right reasons.

But that fight was now over.

Her mental defences were shredded, her higher thought processes shutting down. And as her control crumpled, so too did the protective barrier she’d created so long ago to segregate her mind from the animal brought on by the Visorak venom.

Zaliyah fell to her knees…

 

…and sat down on the edge of the docks of her home village.

Her fishing rod was in her hand, fresh bait in a bucket by her side. A simple day, in her simple life. A final alcove of calm recollection as her consciousness collapsed. Let go.

This had been a good day, she remembered. There had been no foreboding clouds on the horizon, no ominous portents from the soothsayers, nothing that would have warned the young, naïve Matoran that today was the day that her life would change forever, and for the worse. You’re done.

She baited her hook, and cast her line. Time passed and fish were caught, while Zaliyah took in her idyllic surroundings, embodying a piece of herself that had been blissfully unaware of the banal brutality of the wider world that lay beyond the shoreline she sat upon. It’s my world now.

And then it happened.

Her hook caught on something. Something that held firm against her efforts to pull against it. Let go! She stood up and tugged with everything she had, feeling something break beneath the water and her line begin to come back in. Give up. What she saw as she reeled in was a tangle of seaweed caught on her hook, with a lump of glimmering gold at its centre. She took up a small hand net and fished it out of the water, holding it up to get a closer look.

It was a shard of misshapen rock, warm and bright with power.

A Toa stone.

And this time, Zaliyah did what she’d spent every day of the last few decades wishing she’d done. I tried. She wrenched control of the memory, even as it began to fail and fracture around her. You failed. She whipped the net around over her head, and flung the stone back into the ocean. It’s someone else’s turn now. The globe of gold sunk swiftly beneath the blue, a final flash of colour before Zaliyah’s world and awareness were obliterated by black. It’s my time now.

 

Good luck.

Goodbye.

Hello.

 

…and The Id dropped to all fours, bellowing a triumphant roar as it ripped apart the remnants of the consciousness that had kept it captive, expanding to fully occupy the mind and body it had been a prisoner within for so long. With nothing left to hold it back, the Hordika venom was at last free to run its course and eradicate every last vestige of the being Zaliyah had been, wrenching and reshaping her body into a monstrous new form.

The beast breathed in, relishing in the scent of blood and destruction. It padded forward, Kanoka cracking under its claws. But in just those few steps, it knew something was horribly wrong. One of its legs dragged lifelessly behind it, broken at the knee. It felt tired, its vision blurring on the edges, its body wracked with agony, ichor clogging its throat.

No! It roared and raged, howling a hollow, mournful sound. Why? Suffering and fury filled its form as it swiped at its surroundings, jagged talons carving furrows in the floor. This is my time!

This wasn’t right.

This wasn’t fair.

This wasn’t-

And then The Id wasn’t anything anymore, its desperate roars swiftly sliced into silence by the slashing staffs of the Vahki.  

Edited January 1, 2021 by Nato the Traveler

[BULiK]

IC: Taku Crew, Metru-Koro, The Taku

Berys was leaning back in the pilot's seat, eyes closed. It had been a long few days, and he needed rest whenever he could get it. His peace was disturbed when the radio gave an alert and began to play a transmission that was broadcasting on an open channel.

"Xofzc nvs a vqlg, Htrlf."

He opened his eyes in confusion as the scrambled audio began to play.

"Ue ddrp vcvlq mpilt an hldc kpmgd."

The Le-Matoran leaned forwards, taking a closer look at the radio's panel.

"Wsrz hs l Tcante zn Qie!"

The radio's computer detected this as fitting a speech pattern, but whoever was broadcasting was either doing it with some layer of obfuscation or was somewhere far away or with significant magnetic interference, nothing Berys could do to the signal would make it discernible.

"Moe i bijsaewpsohp zn mnl!"

He gave the radio a punch, as if that would help somehow. It seemed as if more and more of this ship was breaking down by the day.

"H hll rhl bofzygl so qqeha ly zel plnpwm, doy shp aykl nf ltj plnpwmq… yvt dzv’r ecdn site age nwsrhfe ew

dingt qwp yvtrdmjf."

Berys decided that he really needed to get more sleep, the constant shifts of worrying about the Taku's condition were getting to his head. It wasn't long before the pilot was asleep again.

Edited January 1, 2021 by BULiK

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Kathrine of the Flame - Tobduk Koro:

She offered a friendly smile and a polite, if perhaps slightly rushed, bow to each.

She briefly considered opting not to ride, in the interest of working on her stamina, but reasoned with herself. She had already walked all the way to old Po-Koro, and had sparred with Ulkarr, even if it had been short-lived.

So she, too, somewhat awkwardly clambered aboard the strange vehicle.

 

Strange to her, at least. Most vehicles were that way for her.

[Harvali]

IC “Collector” - Tobduk-Koro

Collector was quiet. They … they weren’t comfortable answering, this was … this was too direct. Too vulnerable. But they often were direct, asking things bluntly. By hey tried to think things through, trick others into being their friend, but they still … was this partly what alienated Zadred? Asking too many questions, being blunt in the wrong ways and manipulative in the wrong ways?

Every day they gain a greater realization of how little they understand people.

Finally Collector said, “…I dislike many who lived in Xia. But I suppose the only organic I hate, is myself.” The courier who abandoned Po-Koro, the outcast who alienated their fellow freaks, who took joy in the flood because finally they were saving Matoran like a Toa. The selfish Vortixx who wished they were not their own breed. The genderless Vortixx who could not come up with a name more creative than “collector.” That freak, that was who Collector hated, deep down

OOC: @Toru Nui

[EmperorWhenua]

IC Yumiwak | Tactical Panda II 

"Soon," I said to Zataka. 

 

IC Leklo | Ice Ruins

"I... got better."

 

IC Stannis | Ft Nektann

People said knowledge was power... and it was true, from a certain point of view—but, like most truths, it was only part of a larger picture. 

Knowledge was not power, not really, but it did offer it. The promise of knowledge was an inviting thing, of unbound potential and unlocked ability made titillatingly tantalizing by the shackles of ignorance. More true was the idiom that said you always want what you don't have, and people, the Builders in particular, always wanted—and what they didn't have... they built. Whatever the Builders dreamed in wakefulness or in sleep became their reality. They wanted to float upon the seas, so they created ships. They wanted abilities, so they created Kanohi. They wanted to be able to defend themselves, so they created weapons. They wanted to believe in something, so they created temples to gods. They wanted escape, so they created the Ark.

They wanted unlimited knowledge, so they created Caedast. 

Knowledge was not power, not really, but it was powerful. To know everything about something could make you an unassailable authority on the matter, and with the proper wisdom to apply that knowledge it provided the means to rule unfettered... to have the freedom of choice. Knowledge was just a path towards power, but had all the trappings just the same. It was sweet and quaffable, invigorating in principle and addicting in practice, and so it was possible to become drunk with it. Drunk with power or drunk with knowledge? It was the same thing. 

Knowledge, like power, could corrupt if it was too much or held unwisely. People learned, forgot, and learned again, over, and over, and over again, and still they wanted. They forgot the mistakes that were made and the errors of the past and even records of histories could not save them from their waxing primal ignorance. The more they forgot, the more they wanted knowledge, and the more they knew, the more they were corrupted. Wars to end all wars were fought, ended, and then repeated. Kings rose, fell, and rose again. Gods lived, died, and lived again. 

Somewhere else in Fort Nektann Barius roused his warriors for a new crusade. They had only just come back from another rampage, but that did not stop them from doing it again. A tahtorak and a sand worm collided their strengths elsewhere, resuming an ancient feud between Kaiju that had already chased the Builders away in desperation and fear once. In Metru Nui, a king staved off people who would want to rip the crown off his head much as before. And somewhere else, between the north and the south, was a powerful being walking with dark purpose who's Wish could spell a death and rebirth of all things. 

Stannis Caedast knew all too well it was going to happen again. He watched Parnassus' mind drink up the thoughts and desires of everyone around him, imbibing on the dreams of the people in Fort Nektann, and grimaced a little. He would need the help of people like Parnassus if he was to have any chance at realizing his goal, of surviving the others who would want to stop him. Caedast had never forgotten that it was the Builders who created him, or that he owed his power to their dreams, but he more than anyone understood the risks of his quest. Unlimited knowledge of all things... could mean unlimited power.

But would he be strong enough to wield that? Would he be wise enough to judge between need and desire and arbitrate on behalf of everyone? 

Time would tell.

And the cycle would continue to its climax. 

 

[Unreliable Narrator]

IC: Dume | Forge of the Heartsflame
He stood there for a long time screaming at the ceiling of the forge. At last Dume freed himself. His chest was tight with fury, and he felt the heat of his element in the fire and lava of the forge around him. He tried to be calm. He tried.
A dark shadow found him holding his head in his hands sitting on the steps leading to the sacred anvil. 
“Is it done?” The shadow asked.
“Yes,” Dume replied. He tried not to look back behind the anvil, towards the rolling lava and what he knew lay at its banks waiting to be used even after death. The chains and what they held under the cliffside of the forge jangled as a gust of air bubbled to the surface of the lava below.
“Then we must begin the next step in the ascension of your people.”
“We can’t,” Dume replied bitterly after a moment. “The disks, they’re gone. Someone came, claiming they needed them in the future.”
The shadow shifted. It did not speak. Dume understood. He felt it in his heartlight, the squirming of the shadow’s displeasure.
“A toa stole them,” Dume said bitterly, spitting the title out of his mouth like rotten meat. “He came right as they were finished. I couldn’t stop him. He was dishonorable. Very much like one of yours.”
“A toa?”
“Is there an Atamai among those who are ascending?”
“I believe there is. A matoran of some irrelevance. Should I?”
“No,” Dume said hastily, catching the shadow’s intention. “Maybe you shouldn’t. What would happen to the future we’re building if something happens to him before then? Wherever he came from, my people needed those Great Disks. He’s a bad omen of what’s to come, and now we must always watch him without interfering. What will happen to my people that drives them to pilfer their very past?”
“Yes, our people deserve to survive.”
“They are my people, and you are helping us survive. Never forget this. I am your Master, bound and blemished,” Dume said, standing to his full height on the steps before the shadow. His tattoos carried both the marks of kingship and the marks of heresy, and they seemed to crawl of their own accord across his chest in the firelight. “Who saved you from the Mangaia? I did. Who gave you a chance to redeem yourself? I did. Who wrote the codices that allow you to even consider existing on this island instead of slinking back to your sniveling cave in the Kumu Islets?”
“You did,” said the shadow.
“And who gave you the opportunity to regain even a miniscule amount of your power? I did. Now, remember your place. I am your master, and you are my shadow, and you will help me save my people.”
“Of course, Master.”
Dume descended the steps and moved to the edge of the forge, placing one hand on the wall where the heresy of his desperation was contained. Where could he possibly find six more martyrs? Those before had been their only hope. They had placed their tools in their suva before they came. After all, masks and tools were useless where they were going. An oath was sworn, a solemn vow to protect the people with their very last. Through it all Dume hid the true horror from them. He betrayed their legacy the moment they died. They knew nothing of the fate that awaited them after, and Dume did not wish to remember himself. He could barely consider the thought of six more lost because of his mistake. Perhaps he should be one of them? It would be honorable. 
Toa Dume no longer deserved an honorable death. He would serve his function as the pilot. A wry smile threatened to grow across his face. How much like the Administrator he sounded now. 
‘Six more. We need to find six more.” He felt the cuneiform with his fingers, noted the hieroglyphic stanzas, and considered the pain he’d caused and would continue to inflict. It was a worthy cause: survival was all that mattered. He would find six willing to fulfill the destiny of others. Someone would need to survive the apocalypse. 
“Are your fellow sorcerers ready to cast the rite?”
“Of memory? Yes, Tuakana and Caedast have already left the Islets. Sorilax will bend to their combined will. The others as well. Miserix has not answered the summons. Spiriah is their usual self: contradictory.”
“You mean he’s useless,” Dume said decidedly. He wished Spiriah was not the contrarian. His power would have been helpful in the weaving of the rite.
“No, not useless. Never underestimate an aspect. I believe Spiriah waits for our departure to further his own designs.”
“I don’t care who rules a ruined world. I care about my people. People I must once again cull. They should not have to remember this tragedy.
“They will not. The rite, once woven, is unbreakable -- even upon the weaver. Their only glimpse of memory will be nightmares, strange and distorted. At most, some may experience side effects.”
“Side effects? You did not mention this before.” Dume turned to look back from the wall at the shadow. It had not left the steps.
“Hallucinations,” the shadow replied. “Seeing creatures that are not there, hearing things that make no sound. We cannot remove the trauma of life, but we can blind those to it. It is the shadow that binds their memory they will see and nothing further.”
“Your rite,” Dume said slowly. “It works on the weaver? You mean you and the other aspects who will cast them?”
“Yes, it is quite explicit.” The shadow slithered closer, barely visible in the light of the forge.
“You will forget?” Dume stared sternly towards the shadow's source.
A pause. 
“Of course, Master.”

OOC: Thank you for playing Six Kingdoms: Rebirth. See you in the next game!
Please lock this topic, @Eyru.