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[crouching_sin]

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[belheir]

[During this thread:]

Congratulations. You're an example of how to send a text message to a new guy.

[crouching_sin]

... All right? Should I know this person?

[belheir]

No. He's from some world without electricity to power things. Apparently they use magic there.

[crouching_sin]

I see.

I really should make a post of 'technology for newbies', shouldn't I?

[belheir]

That would imply they know how to use the network first. You're likely to encounter them bumbling around first.

[crouching_sin]

Post it on the message board, then.

[belheir]

That would make much more sense.

drinkies

[ktizo]

Would you like to meet somewhere? I can bring you back to my cottage, as Lahabrea is out. I have whiskey already, unless there's aught else you'd prefer?

[crouching_sin]

I'd love to come over. Just give me directions and I'll be there soon. Whiskey's fine by me.

[ktizo]

[Hythlodaeus offers up directions, and sets about getting the whiskey out of the cupboard and setting two glasses on the coffee table in the living room, humming as he goes. When Naoya knocks, he opens the door with a grin and steps back to let him inside.]

Welcome!

[The house is decorated nicely, with an Amaurotine flair to it given who currently lives here. Hythlodaeus in particular has been busy creating items to furnish the place. He leads Naoya through to the living room, and gestures to the couch.]

Make yourself at home.

[crouching_sin]

[The style reminds him of art deco, which in turn reminds him of Egypt. It's fascinating to see just how the style is different from what he's been working on or his cousin's place.]

[He settles on the couch and tilts his head to the side, grinning at the Amaurotine.]

You've been busy - how long have you been in this particular cottage?

[ktizo]

Around four moons now, but decorating is much easier when you have creation magicks at your fingertips.

[He sits himself down as well, reaching out to pour himself and Naoya some of the whiskey.]

Though my living creations disappear after a while, 'twould seem inanimate objects are safe.

[crouching_sin]

I see. I suppose that makes some amount of sense - I imagine that the living beings would require constant amounts of aether in order to stay alive.

[He takes the glass offered and sips it - hm. It's been a bit since he's had this, but it's as good as it usually is.]

[ktizo]

Indeed. A pity, I was quite fond of Daisy.

[Ah, well. He shouldn't have let himself get so attached to a creation...]

Never mind that, though.

[He sips at his own whiskey contentedly.]

How have you been faring the past few days?

[crouching_sin]

I suppose you could always remake them, though it wouldn't be the same...

[Probably not, but it makes sense.]

Ah... I've been all right, for the most part. It's been a little... well. Let's just say I got a 'friendly warning' from my cousin about staying away from his new housemate.

[ktizo]

[Something tells Hythlodaeus there was nothing too friendly about that warning, actually.]

His new housemate, hmm? It sounds like he's protective. Is it somebody he knows?

[He lounges back against the couch, folding one leg over the other idly.]

Or are you simply a bad influence?

[He grins as he takes another sip of his drink.]

[crouching_sin]

Both - not someone from home, but someone he met here. But yes, he considers me a bad influence.

[Another sip and he grins slightly.]

I've no reason to scheme here - as far as I know the God we're familiar with isn't here so the only thing I could do is try to get information on how to break my curse. And I've little reason to do that subtly thanks to what the network revealed.

I have time. I've waited thousands of years. I can always start again when I get back.

[ktizo]

Ah, yes. 'Twas the first time the network caught me off guard, as the first time Sleepr came around I managed to input my own profile. Alas, it caught me whilst tired and more than willing to put my device down for more rest. What a mistake that was!

[He shrugs, clearly not that bothered.]

But aside from the suggestion that somebody should wipe the smile off my face by punching me... well, it could have been worse, I suppose. Nobody has punched me yet. I consider that a success.

[He wonders how one would go about breaking such a curse placed upon themselves, though...]

Might I have the full story behind your curse? Better that you tell me now than for me to hear it from another source in the future, surely?

[crouching_sin]

Oh... hm. Where to begin...

[He sets the glass down and nods.]

It's said that in the beginning, God created the world. It's not quite true, but He did create a paradise with a single rule - not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But the first man that He created and the woman He created from that man broke that rule, and so they were cast out from paradise for the sin of curiosity.

Those were my parents.

I was their firstborn child after they themselves had been cursed with... relatively minor things, things that humans now accept as part of their lives. Childbirth pains, the need to grow food for themselves... things such as that. But I was a farmer and I worked the field. My brother Abel was a shepherd and tended the flock we had. And then God asked the two of us for a sacrifice. I provided the fruits of my labor from the field and Abel provided portions of the firstborn of his flock.

[He pauses and takes a deep breath, trying to not let himself get angry.]

God chose Abel's offering and rejected mine. He wanted blood - but He asked the impossible of me. Blood does not flow in crops! And so I decided to offer the most precious thing I had. ... I called my brother out to the field and I slew him. I didn't know what murder was. I barely had a concept of what death was. And so when He called to me and asked where my brother was, I told Him I wasn't my brother's keeper, and that I didn't know.

... So I was cursed, used as an example of what would happen to people if they killed someone else. I was cursed to be a wanderer in the world, to never have peace. To be reborn over and over and over with all of my memories. It's useful, yes - but it's also torture, as I end up with horrible lives. Tragedy not of my doing, disease and famine and wars and...

[He sighs. No, he isn't... going to go into details about all of his terrible lives. Not now. And there's the matter of what happened to Abel... but he promised. He promised Kazuya he wouldn't say anything about him having a shard of Abel's soul.]

But yes. That's the long and short of it.

[ktizo]

[Hythlodaeus listens quietly, drinking slowly as he takes in the story. Naoya is older than he truly thought, for although Hythlodaeus is old he wasn't amongst the first of his kind to grace the star- not even close. Still, being history's first murderer isn't something Hythlodaeus would call a good thing.

And yet, he doesn't seem to be all that affronted. Killing one's brother is... horrible, yes. He wouldn't hesitate to say as much if asked. Still, is it any worse than what Emet-Selch did? What Eren did? The two men he loves the most would be called villains by those who came after. Perhaps it would be deserved.

Hythlodaeus ultimately is in no position to judge Naoya harshly. And so, he won't. It seems somebody else has already judged him, anyway.]

And so you seek to free yourself from the cycle of endless torture...

[Understandable. Hythlodaeus is surprised that Naoya is as composed as he is now, actually. So many lifetimes of suffering would have taken their toll on many others, he's sure.]

You cannot offer anything more than what you have. Would that He had been pleased with such a generous offering from your fields to begin with... but that is, I suppose, an argument that helps nobody now.

[crouching_sin]

I do. ... And it's not an argument that would move Him. I tried in the beginning, of course. But neither He nor His choirs of angels were listening.

Or if they were, they simply didn't care.

[He takes another long sip and closes his eyes. It's... just frustrating.]

I've tried all manner of spells and rituals, but generally curses end when their originators are killed. So that seems to be the last resort.

[ktizo]

Indeed. Well, for what it is worth I hope that you find a means to free yourself.

[Some punishments are necessary, yes. Some, however, are cruel and unusual. Hythlodaeus doesn't think he could ever have killed a man to appease somebody else, but he also couldn't have inflicted several thousands of years of torture onto somebody either, so really neither Naoya or this God is coming out of the equation smelling of roses.

Still, he lifts his glass and holds it out to Naoya in a toast of sorts.]

To freedom, then?

[Even if freedom is just having the ability to rest after one's life.]

[crouching_sin]

[He nods as he looks at Hythlodaeus, holding his drink up to clink against the other's.]

To freedom.

[Aaaand a big swing of that booze. It burns but it's a good burn.]

... Time for you to tell me a story, then.

[ktizo]

[He drinks, before chuckling.]

Ah, what kind of story? Is there aught you're curious about?

[He knows he's talked about his own life far less than Naoya has talked about himself, but given Naoya's lives have all been full of hardship he'd almost feel badly for talking about how wonderful his own was. He doesn't really like talking about the Final Days, though... but if Naoya asked anything that meant it had to come up, the least he could do was explain it. After all, Naoya trusted him with the story of his curse.]

[crouching_sin]

Hm... tell me one of your favorite memories.

[He can probably learn a lot just from what the other picks, after all.]