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[aeviternitas]

∞ The Murmur          (IC INBOX)

« the forsaken »

as an apparition within the Murmur that vessels share, the Forsaken most often appears sitting in a plain wooden chair with a low rounded back, gazing despondently into the distance. reach out?

thought     ∞     voice     ∞     vision

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[aeviternitas]

Yes. When our existence begins, it is not known what our purpose will be. [ The sweet brandy of the banquet had reminded him of that - of walking among humans who celebrated the birth of a new god, who tied blessings around his wrists with hope for the future. ]

At least, that is how it was for me. I was the youngest, and there were no more after me.

There was a shepherdess of death; a god of love - and their children, each the steward of love of different sorts; a god of war; the ocean; and the wind. I cannot remember all of them.

[ Even though, once, they had been his family. He had asked once, though no one remained to answer, what sort of family would turn on one another in such a way.

Eventually, through the Lost, he had come to learn many families did just that.

The Forsaken realized that he'd hunched in on himself, arms wrapped tighter around himself still, shoulders drawn high. He wasn't sure if it was the wind or the conversation, but, eager to speak of anything but himself, latched on to the mention of Ironeye's gods. ] What are the gods of your world like?

[markingnight]

[ He placed a hand on the Forsaken's shoulder for a moment, as if to assure him that his companion would take on the rest. ]

The Outer Gods are enigma and our understanding of them is rudimentary. Those that make contact with them claim divine epiphany. But how can one of this world fathom the will of something so vastly outside it? I doubt their thoughts, if they have them, would be recognizable as such to any of us.

The old god of the Golden Order lived as ruler. Her allies crushed underfoot all who dared stand in the way of her reign. With her Lords, she conceived her many demigod children and stepchildren. She chained even Death to ensure the radiance of gold, undying.

It is the collapse of her reign that shattered the world I lived in.

[aeviternitas]

[ In a furtive glance, the god's eyes lit on the other's hand, as though to ensure it was truly the touch of someone he trusted - or perhaps that the touch was there at all. The curve of his shoulders slackened slightly, though it was almost as if a controlled facsimile, rather than truly relaxing.

Still, he listened. The Outer Gods reminded him of the Earthen Mother, a goddess said to be responsible for the molding of the human and god realms from the formless clay they had been. The Forsaken had never seen her, but he imagined her gone with the rest of them. Vaguely he recalled that someone had told him the Earthen Mother was always present, all around them, but that had seemed unfathomable to him, too.

The Forsaken's brow furrowed. ]

Chaining Death- is that how the rules of your world came to be shattered? [ and how the Ironeye - and his shades - came to be alive even in death? ]

[markingnight]

It was involved. Someone stole a piece of the Rune of Death from its confinement, and used it to fell Marika's favored child. Godwyn the Golden, First of the Dead. [ This title seemed to have some significance to Ironeye, though he did not immediately explain. The Forsaken hadn't asked about his kind in particular, after all. He lowered his hand from the Forsaken's shoulder to lean it again upon the railing. ]

Soon after, the Elden Ring, and the Order it represented, was broken. The demigods fell upon each other in a great war to claim its fragments as inheritance. And as the chaos continued, the conditions in the Lands Between grew worse.

...it is a long story. But suffice to say, disaster led to disaster. In my time, most of Marika's lineage are thought to be gone. The ones I have met have been... disagreeable.

[ Hello, yes? Marika? He'd like to make a complaint about Godrick and his bullshit whirlwind spam. In any case, though Ironeye's phrasing was more polite, his tone suggested that an altercation had broken out. Apparently, he had survived these encounters, and he did not seem to bear them any particular reverence. ]

[aeviternitas]

[ Recognition dawned at the Ironeye continued. ]

...Our homes are more similar than I had realized.

[ Were there worlds where the pantheon of gods lived in relative harmony, as his once did? Or did they all fall to squabbling at the expense of their charges? ]

Still, the demigods have remained, in your realm? Among the humans? [ Or, among Those That Lived In Death, perhaps, as Ironeye had said previously. ]

[markingnight]

They remain. Godwyn the Golden was once a great hero. And the demigods once ruled as lords, generals, and the like. But there's not much left to rule over now.

I've only met one who bothered speak to me. He accused me of looting.

[Ironeye's delivery was a dry one; he supposed the accusation had been true. Yet he had been looting for the greater good. ]

[aeviternitas]

I see. [ The Forsaken's voice softened to something thoughtful. Ironeye did not sound particularly appreciative of the gods or their war. But that they remained meant humans had not forgotten them.

He could not help but wonder what it would be like if the gods of his own world had not left.

...No, it didn't bear thinking about. They had left, and thinking about it would change nothing. Besides, even the Forsaken now had left, hadn't he?

He pulled himself from his thoughts, voice lighter than he felt as he teased: ] You did tell me you have a knack for finding things.

[markingnight]

[ The assassin bowed, adding a little flourish with his cloak as he played into the role. ]

And, as luck would have it, I had just found the most pristine regal scepter. Imbued with the power of the moon, it was, and a starry comet, besides...

[ There was a glint of mischief in his blue eyes, as if inviting his questioner to guess how much of his tale were true. ]