I'm liking that we've got Diethard's interest, but a Solar is ultimately our foe as long as we play Reclamation Loyalist. I'd prefer to keep to that route, so we need to co-opt him somehow.
As a Solar, he'll eventually become capable of breaking any oath, magical or not, that we bind him with. Having him make promises is useless in the long run, and may cause him to dislike us if the terms are onerous.
Killing him and somehow dragging the exaltation back to Malfeas for Infernalization is a tasty idea, but I've got no idea how to go about doing it. First thought is that we'd need to get either Ligier or a Yozi to personally forge us a containment device to use. May require chatting with the Neverborn for schematics.
Another idea, and the one I would suggest, is that we work to convince Diethard that he's incomplete. That the urges he feels and the short stints of madness he undergoes are symptoms of a flawed exaltation, which needs to be repaired by the Yozi. Then we get him into Malfeas and have him make the Akuma deal. Then we have a perfect deniable asset with Solar powers for false-flag operations.
Another idea, and the one I would suggest, is that we work to convince Diethard that he's incomplete. That the urges he feels and the short stints of madness he undergoes are symptoms of a flawed exaltation, which needs to be repaired by the Yozi. Then we get him into Malfeas and have him make the Akuma deal. Then we have a perfect deniable asset with Solar powers for false-flag operations.
Referencing a particular book might help your case, if you can find the relevant page.
Anyways, I do recall that just as Abyssals can redeem themselves and become Solars (or at least die in the process and cleanse their Exaltation) that Solars can take a particularly dark path and become Abyssals without being captured by the forces of the Underworld. This process is mainly possible because Solar and Abyssal Exalts are two sides of the same coin - the changes made to an Abyssal Exaltation are far less significant than those made to an Infernal one. Abyssal Exaltations are basically just Solar Exaltations that channel the energies of Oblivion - all of their Charms are pretty much just death themed Solar Charms.
A big reason that Abyssal Exaltations can be redeemed into Solar ones is because Resonance means that an Abyssal cannot stay as they are if they want to save the world. Page 213 of Infernals expounds on this:
GREEN INTO GOLD
If Abyssals and Solars are two sides of the same coin, epic leaders who destroy or build worlds with their deeds, then Green Sun Princes are paper money. The alterations to the Exaltation involved in creating an Infernal go far beyond the scope of the simple inversion process performed on the Exaltations of the deathknights. Accordingly, Green Sun Princes can't be changed back into Solars while they live. However, these complex changes are also much more fragile than the deeper mutilation of deathknights—an Infernal Essence outside of a host body could almost certainly be restored by Lytek, Autochthon or the Unconquered Sun if they could find a way to capture the Essence and immobilize it long enough to ritually cleanse it.
The truth of the matter rests with Storytellers. By default, redemption is not as important a story arc for Green Sun Princes as it is for Abyssal protagonists—largely because Infernals retain the capacity to express their strange power in a heroic fashion while deathknights tend to spontaneously combust from Resonance when they attempt the same. For Storytellers who want Infernal redemption to play a role in their series, the challenge of capturing an Essence reverses the situation of the Primordial War, during which those titans desperately sought to capture Celestial Exaltations for study. This reversal should prove unsettling to those who note it, but it presents a concrete objective that Creation's defenders can work toward as part of an overall strategy to overcome the new champions of Hell.
As for whether the Deathlords might be able to fashion new Abyssal Exaltations from captured Infernal Essences? The first attempt is likely to explode the test Monstrance in a truly spectacular fashion. Of course, there is no telling what would happen to all the members of an Infernal caste if their patron joined the ranks of the Neverborn.
Holden Shearer, one of the guys who wrote the good parts of the Infernals book, also had this to say:
Infernals and Leashes
Specifically because they're "not that terrible," as you put it. A Green Sun Prince can save the world (or, hell, forge new worlds) as he is. An Abyssal can't. He can't truly, effectively oppose the Neverborn the way a Solar can. Not as an Abyssal. The only way to realize the heroic potential some Abyssals strive for is to quit being Abyssals.
Infernals are not in that position. They have a leash, but they can jerk it out of the hands of their masters eventually. They have more freedom than Abyssals, and more self-determination. They don't need redemption into a different kind of Exalt to change the course they're on.
But ultimately, as far as the subject of converting more Solar Exaltations to Infernal ones, the fact that the Exaltations need extensive modification means you have to actually capture the Exaltation itself once its host is dead, and that's damn near impossible to do. The only reason the Sidereals managed it in the first place was because they were resting in Lytek's cabinet, and then the forces of Hell and the Neverborn managed to snag half that were stuck in the Jade Prison. You can't just kill an Exalt and then capture their Exaltation - it just doesn't work that way. Whatever the Neverborn might do to change a Solar Exaltation into an Abyssal one, it isn't capturing the Exaltation itself.
I'm liking that we've got Diethard's interest, but a Solar is ultimately our foe as long as we play Reclamation Loyalist. I'd prefer to keep to that route, so we need to co-opt him somehow.
As a Solar, he'll eventually become capable of breaking any oath, magical or not, that we bind him with. Having him make promises is useless in the long run, and may cause him to dislike us if the terms are onerous.
Killing him and somehow dragging the exaltation back to Malfeas for Infernalization is a tasty idea, but I've got no idea how to go about doing it. First thought is that we'd need to get either Ligier or a Yozi to personally forge us a containment device to use. May require chatting with the Neverborn for schematics.
Another idea, and the one I would suggest, is that we work to convince Diethard that he's incomplete. That the urges he feels and the short stints of madness he undergoes are symptoms of a flawed exaltation, which needs to be repaired by the Yozi. Then we get him into Malfeas and have him make the Akuma deal. Then we have a perfect deniable asset with Solar powers for false-flag operations.
1. I've never heard of Solars being able to break any oath - I haven't heard of a charm that does that outside of the Oath Breaking Fist of the Infernal Monster Style, but that's an Essence 10 charm which is way, way outside of the scope of the story, so if Solars need to be Essence 10 to break an Eclipse oath I wouldn't worry about it.
2. It's a falsehood that Solars are ultimately foes if we play Reclamation Loyalists. Solars don't receive instructions on what to do from the Unconquered Sun or Yu-Shan - there is no leash that keeps them bound to the Unconquered Sun's instructions. They're free to do with their powers as they like. Given that the Unconquered Sun has done jack all to help the world due to his addiction to the Games of Divinity, it is easy to conceive of many Solars viewing him with disgust. The fact that aside from Zeniths most of them will never even meet the UC or get any knowledge about him by default whatsoever also means that they are vulnerable to having their perspectives skewed by other people giving them a version of history slanted in the favor of the Yozis. That's basically what we'd be doing with Diethard here. Alexander has also stated that Lunars can be convinced to join the Reclamation as well, which is helped by the fact that nobody who was alive during the Primordial War is around to tell them they shouldn't.
3. Long term for keeping our other Celestial Exalts in line, Isla Proudfoot exists. "You're cursed, Mr. Diethard. Why do you think you act so strange every now and then? But don't worry, the Yozis can fix you when we get them free!"
2. It's a falsehood that Solars are ultimately foes if we play Reclamation Loyalists. Solars don't receive instructions on what to do from the Unconquered Sun or Yu-Shan - there is no leash that keeps them bound to the Unconquered Sun's instructions. They're free to do with their powers as they like. Given that the Unconquered Sun has done jack all to help the world due to his addiction to the Games of Divinity, it is easy to conceive of many Solars viewing him with disgust. The fact that aside from Zeniths most of them will never even meet the UC or get any knowledge about him by default whatsoever also means that they are vulnerable to having their perspectives skewed by other people giving them a version of history slanted in the favor of the Yozis. That's basically what we'd be doing with Diethard here. Alexander has also stated that Lunars can be convinced to join the Reclamation as well, which is helped by the fact that nobody who was alive during the Primordial War is around to tell them they shouldn't.
3. Long term for keeping our other Celestial Exalts in line, Isla Proudfoot exists. "You're cursed, Mr. Diethard. Why do you think you act so strange every now and then? But don't worry, the Yozis can fix you when we get them free!"
EDIT - I've fiddled with the stunt a bit to use the new thematic way of using FSDD.
Referencing a particular book might help your case, if you can find the relevant page.
Anyways, I do recall that just as Abyssals can redeem themselves and become Solars (or at least die in the process and cleanse their Exaltation) that Solars can take a particularly dark path and become Abyssals without being captured by the forces of the Underworld. This process is mainly possible because Solar and Abyssal Exalts are two sides of the same coin - the changes made to an Abyssal Exaltation are far less significant than those made to an Infernal one. Abyssal Exaltations are basically just Solar Exaltations that channel the energies of Oblivion - all of their Charms are pretty much just death themed Solar Charms.
A big reason that Abyssal Exaltations can be redeemed into Solar ones is because Resonance means that an Abyssal cannot stay as they are if they want to save the world. Page 213 of Infernals expounds on this:
Holden Shearer, one of the guys who wrote the good parts of the Infernals book, also had this to say:
But ultimately, as far as the subject of converting more Solar Exaltations to Infernal ones, the fact that the Exaltations need extensive modification means you have to actually capture the Exaltation itself once its host is dead, and that's damn near impossible to do. The only reason the Sidereals managed it in the first place was because they were resting in Lytek's cabinet, and then the forces of Hell and the Neverborn managed to snag half that were stuck in the Jade Prison. You can't just kill an Exalt and then capture their Exaltation - it just doesn't work that way. Whatever the Neverborn might do to change a Solar Exaltation into an Abyssal one, it isn't capturing the Exaltation itself.
1. I've never heard of Solars being able to break any oath - I haven't heard of a charm that does that outside of the Oath Breaking Fist of the Infernal Monster Style, but that's an Essence 10 charm which is way, way outside of the scope of the story, so if Solars need to be Essence 10 to break an Eclipse oath I wouldn't worry about it.
2. It's a falsehood that Solars are ultimately foes if we play Reclamation Loyalists. Solars don't receive instructions on what to do from the Unconquered Sun or Yu-Shan - there is no leash that keeps them bound to the Unconquered Sun's instructions. They're free to do with their powers as they like. Given that the Unconquered Sun has done jack all to help the world due to his addiction to the Games of Divinity, it is easy to conceive of many Solars viewing him with disgust. The fact that aside from Zeniths most of them will never even meet the UC or get any knowledge about him by default whatsoever also means that they are vulnerable to having their perspectives skewed by other people giving them a version of history slanted in the favor of the Yozis. That's basically what we'd be doing with Diethard here. Alexander has also stated that Lunars can be convinced to join the Reclamation as well, which is helped by the fact that nobody who was alive during the Primordial War is around to tell them they shouldn't.
3. Long term for keeping our other Celestial Exalts in line, Isla Proudfoot exists. "You're cursed, Mr. Diethard. Why do you think you act so strange every now and then? But don't worry, the Yozis can fix you when we get them free!"
I disagree with just about every part of that analysis of Abyssals, including Holden's analysis (though given some of his behavior post-2E, that doesn't surprise me). The quest has already drifted a fair bit from the "deathlords are all insane Caligulan rapemurder nihilists" state of canon, and Abyssals deserve to be let out of their pigeonhole of "wannabe Solars"/"CE murderhobos" just as much. Theion knows I've been trying to do that in some of my unfinished writeups.
More importantly, what do we gain by taking this stance? What is added to the quest by making it so that Solars can't be converted into Infernals, even with caveats attached? What is lost by making it possible?
It's almost certain we won't - the Infernals ultimately have no reason to give the Yozis exactly what they want, and eventually they're going to realize that. The best the Yozis would likely be able to hope for is that some particularly grateful Infernals decide that the Yozis can only be let out after some extensive soul surgery ("I'm going to fix you, Ebby!"). We'll see if we actually get to that point, though.
1. I've never heard of Solars being able to break any oath - I haven't heard of a charm that does that outside of the Oath Breaking Fist of the Infernal Monster Style, but that's an Essence 10 charm which is way, way outside of the scope of the story, so if Solars need to be Essence 10 to break an Eclipse oath I wouldn't worry about it.
This comes from the Shards of the Exalted Dream supplement. In the Gunstar Authocthonia splat, the defeated Solars are marched through Yu-Shan bound in chains made from their surrender oaths. At a critical moment, the Solars break their chains and murder one of the Titans.
Bit of a stretch, but the idea exists and I wouldn't put anything past a determined Solar. And if he needs to be E10 to break it, then I'd really worry once our embittered pawn reached that plateau of power. Presuming we don't attempt to kill him and void the oath first (even the obedience geas the Titans put into the gods was deactivated if they were directly attacked by a Titan. Self-defense is a critical component of the setting).
I agree that misleading other exalts as to our ultimate aims is useful, but we can't hide the utter maliciousness of the Yozis forever, and a Solar or Lunar "in the know" would eventually ask "Why are you trying to let these guys out? They're assholes!" Might even try to flip us instead.
I think the consensus is that letting them out as they are is a stupid move. Working out some sort of reformation or soul-therapy is integral to not turning Creation into an "abattoir of vengeful atrocities."
I'm fairly sure that it hasn't been- or at least I don't recall it coming up anywhere. The Yozi may be less flat-out evil here (though still definitely a long way from being the good guys), but the Deathlords? From everything I know, they're still going strong.
It wasn't. I think he's just got very different ideas of how they're portrayed in canon, or he's got some deep misunderstanding somewhere. Abyssals don't have to be evil, but an Abyssal who wants to be heroic is effectively Blessed With Suck - Resonance means an Abyssal is going to be very limited in their means of doing heroic stuff, because they can't maintain normal relationships outside of their Lunar mate and other Abyssals. Redemption into Solars gives them far, far more options.
More importantly, what do we gain by taking this stance? What is added to the quest by making it so that Solars can't be converted into Infernals, even with caveats attached? What is lost by making it possible?
You've got the questions wrong - nothing is lost or added by it not being possible because that's already how the setting is set up. It's the default state of things. If you want Alexander to homebrew things in a direction where you think that Exaltations can be much more easily captured and converted, then you need to convince him (and likely the majority of the players) that it adds good things to the setting. Personally I don't think it's a good idea because then Ligier's orders will become "capture every Solar you can and send them our way, we need more Infernals", which limits things because converting them to being supporters of the Reclamation while they're still Solars is far more interesting IMO.
Personally I don't think it's a good idea because then Ligier's orders will become "capture every Solar you can and send them our way, we need more Infernals", which limits things because converting them to being supporters of the Reclamation while they're still Solars is far more interesting IMO.
Evil is subjective, but that the Deathlords are batshit crazy and unhinged is not.
To those worrying about Abyssals, they may be relieved to know the Resonance used here is not the canon one, but rather the one that appears in Modern Age: less sucky, but still thematic appropriate.
Evil is subjective, but that the Deathlords are batshit crazy and unhinged is not.
To those worrying about Abyssals, they may be relieved to know the Resonance used here is not the canon one, but rather the one that appears in Modern Age: less sucky, but still thematic appropriate.
If they don't go around killing things then their surroundings (which by the end means the entire local city) become more and more of a horror movie setting (starting at stuff like weird echoes and ending at things like bleeding walls, untraceable electronic issues, unnatural shadows everywhere, etc). They hit 10 resonance and it peaks for a few hours or days whilst the Abyssal goes through a limit break equivalent, then the whole thing starts over.
If they don't go around killing things then their surroundings (which by the end means the entire local city) become more and more of a horror movie setting (starting at stuff like weird echoes and ending at things like bleeding walls, untraceable electronic issues, unnatural shadows everywhere, etc). They hit 10 resonance and it peaks for a few hours or days whilst the Abyssal goes through a limit break equivalent, then the whole thing starts over.
To clarify: Abyssals can either dwell among mortals or dwell as a mortal. Joe Abyssal can either be a (mostly) 'normal' hermit living in the middle of nowhere, or he can be a grim shade of the Underworld that stalks the night in Gotham a major city. If you try to do both at once, you start gaining Resonance, because the Neverborn-aspected Essence of your Exaltation rebels at your attempt to ignore the giant festering hole in the world beneath everyone's feet and pretend everything's normal. Even disappearing into self-absorbed asceticism in the wilderness is acceptable over acting like the Underworld doesn't have its hooks in you.
Likewise, it's possible to slowly bleed Resonance by doing things like wearing funereal/mourning clothes, spending a good chunk of the day praying to the dead, or otherwise living up to your role of spooky ghosty man/woman. Of the handful of Abyssals I've got percolating, at least two of them are halfway to being decent people, two are morally neutral, and three others are bad guys in the sense of being either selfish dicks or willing servants to undead dictators. That leaves two who are complete monsters, and both of them were already pieces of shit before they died, and don't really consecrate their atrocities to the Neverborn because to them, the Neverborn are these distant figures that sit in the bowels of the Underworld screaming forever.
To clarify: Abyssals can either dwell among mortals or dwell as a mortal. Joe Abyssal can either be a (mostly) 'normal' hermit living in the middle of nowhere, or he can be a grim shade of the Underworld that stalks the night in Gotham a major city. If you try to do both at once, you start gaining Resonance, because the Neverborn-aspected Essence of your Exaltation rebels at your attempt to ignore the giant festering hole in the world beneath everyone's feet and pretend everything's normal. Even disappearing into self-absorbed asceticism in the wilderness is acceptable over acting like the Underworld doesn't have its hooks in you.
Likewise, it's possible to slowly bleed Resonance by doing things like wearing funereal/mourning clothes, spending a good chunk of the day praying to the dead, or otherwise living up to your role of spooky ghosty man/woman. Of the handful of Abyssals I've got percolating, at least two of them are halfway to being decent people, two are morally neutral, and three others are bad guys in the sense of being either selfish dicks or willing servants to undead dictators. That leaves two who are complete monsters, and both of them were already pieces of shit before they died, and don't really consecrate their atrocities to the Neverborn because to them, the Neverborn are these distant figures that sit in the bowels of the Underworld screaming forever.
She hummed happily as she worked, the gentle tune helping her keep her focus and ignore the shadows constantly flitting around the room. They were always darting in and whispering, trying to distract her with the most intimate secrets of the Void or warnings about why she should avoid hairdryers, but she'd gotten good at blocking them out when she didn't need them or didn't want them.
Slowly, carefully, she stripped off another strand and began teasing it into place alongside the countless others she'd already threaded. Fitting the dense mesh together like this took a long time- certainly a lot longer than just slapping it in as a single mass- but in her opinion the results were worth it, and her little friend the talking fly agreed.
Sticking her tongue out of the side her mouth in concentration, she cut the strand down to size before gently finishing dabbing it into place, then sealing it in with a flare of cold, necrotic essence. Reaching back, she took another strand and repeated the process again. And again. And again. Building the structure, strand by stran-
-her grasping fingers closed on nothing, and she frowned. Looking up from her work, she clicked her tongue in annoyance as she saw that she'd run out of strands. "Tooo hasty... tooooo quick..." Her watch hissed, taunting her. A quick smack against the metal frame she was working on shut it up, however, and left her free to focus on accessing more of her supply.
Turning the platform her hunk of flesh was strapped onto, she picked up a thin-bladed flaying knife and began carefully carving the skin off its remaining unharvested limb. Darkness flitted over it momentarily as she worked, a pattern only she could see that whispered directions in her mind, revealing the best way to remove the skin without harming the valuable muscle beneath, and she silently whispered a thank you in appreciation.
Before long she'd stripped every last inch of unwanted flesh from the meat's limb, so she set down her blade and began extracting fleshy strands once more. Some of them leered at her, begging her not to touch them, but she easily ignored the distraction and carried on working.
Under her swift yet sure movements, it wasn't long before there was nothing left but a length of stripped bone, barely held together by the remaining ligaments. Sighing, she set down her tools and looked regretfully at the body. It was such a shame, going through such high quality material so quickly, but it was unfortunately inevitable.
Still, at least she could get one more use out of this one.
Carefully, she undid the restraints that had been holding the meat's chest down. It tried to move the instant she released it, perhaps to fight back, or perhaps to flee or protest, but with its limbs stripped bare all it achieved was a few spasmodic jerks. Still, the display was enough to make her frown, before she slapped it across the face.
"You've been such a good puppet…" She said, before bringing a hand up to her mouth to hide a giggle, "And you've got such a good fate left to you. Don't spoil it now~"
Weak and feeble groans emerged from behind the flesh's gag in response to her words, but she ignored them. Instead, her hand began to paradoxically glow with darkness, a cold shadow that seemed to drink and devour the light around it. Pressing her fingers together into a knife hand, she carefully touched the tips of her fingers against its chest and slowly traced a large circle on it, flesh and bone rotting in the wake of her touch.
As she brought her fingers back around to where she'd first started cutting the dark aura around her hand faded. Digging the fingers of both hands into the groove she'd just carved, she grimaced and began straining, pulling with all her might. For several seconds nothing happened, but then she lurched back as without warning its entire chest and ribcage broke off with a sickening crack.
Tossing the worthless chunk of flesh and bone off to one side, she began digging into the now-exposed organs of the writhing lump of meat before her with a frown on her face. After several seconds, however, it stopped moving and her frown turned to a smile as she yanked something deep red from the depths of its chest.
Turning the heart over in her hands, she spent the next several seconds examining it closely before bringing it up to her face and giving a quick, careful lick.
"Perfect." She pronounced, whilst the heart giggled from the tickling touch of her tongue. "Absolutely flawless."
"Hehe, too kind, you are, too kind." The heart replied, blushing bashfully at her comment. Petting it friendlily, eliciting another giggle in the process, she carefully carried it over to the metal frame and set it within a special slot. A few moments work had it attached to several lengths of metal tubing, and then she closed the hatch on it.
"Bye bye." She muttered as the heart disappeared behind the grey metal. After taking a moment to lick her hands clean, she walked over to a button by the now useless flesh and smacked it, causing the platform she was on to immediately start descending. And as it did, she considered the other flesh sacks restrained down below; which one would be the most suitable to use next? As she pondered the question, however, the shadows answered her question for her. Darkness flitted around the smallest of the remaining meat sources, forming into shapes and images that showed her exactly how to incorporate it into her design.
"Wonderful~" She smiled, thankful once again for the guidance and help of her masters as she stepped off the platform and began making her way over to her newest source of useful flesh.
ABYSS
Corporal Carmine whimpered as the happily smiling, blond haired, bloody-eyed woman approached him. He'd seen what she'd done his comrades, and wasn't fooled by her pleasant expression; he knew all too well what fate awaited him. Desperately, he began struggling against the restraints that held him, panicked prayers to whatever god or goddess might be listening working their way past his gag as spluttered screams. Pleas for mercy, rescue... even simply a swift death rather than the torture the woman would put him through.
I mean, my necrotech engineer is at least that fucked up, and he fully acknowledges that he's turning living, thinking people just like he used to be into crippled necroborg horrors - and tries to keep his prototype recipients alive as long as possible to record possible long-term effects of their "enhancements" (and psychologically warp them into becoming either near-mindless bloodbags he can feed on or Renfields who help procure more 'raw materials' for his work).
Basically, necrotech tends to promote unhealthy attitudes toward the Geneva Conventions and other metersticks of basic human morality.
I mean, my necrotech engineer is at least that fucked up, and he fully acknowledges that he's turning living, thinking people just like he used to be into crippled necroborg horrors - and tries to keep his prototype recipients alive as long as possible to record possible long-term effects of their "enhancements" (and psychologically warp them into becoming either near-mindless bloodbags he can feed on or Renfields who help procure more 'raw materials' for his work).
...huh. You know, I'm honestly not sure if that's better or worse than regarding everybody you meet as nothing but unthinking meat puppets containing potentially useful materials.
This is surprising indeed, to finally meet one of your more potentially dangerous enemies (the title of sworn enemy is reserved to the Emperor, while your most dangerous enemy is without a doubt Schneizel: need to set your priorities straight and all that) and in such a matter too!
But! You have a plan even for this!
"I knew I could count on you Boss! So, where's the army of highly-trained killers equipped with the most powerful long-ranged weapons available? This base will get destroyed anyway, but it's a small price to-"
'What? No: I'm going to recruit him.' You interrupt Seyrun.
"-Pay...what?"
'If he isn't a spy of course. Why, do you doubt my ability to do so?'
"Uh, no no no. Of course not." He hastily denies. "Why, I believe it's a holy rite to convert a Celestial Exalt against Heaven. It's just, you know, like managing a very dangerous double-edged sword. When it comes to a Solar, you cannot be sure of anything. Not to mention, having one as a minion may not be received favorably in Malfeas."
You shrug. 'If I'll be ordered to kill him or something else I'll do it in a heartbeat.' Despite the potential uses of Diethard you're not so invested in him that you'll put forth much effort to defend him, if at all. Sure this is a great opportunity, but keeping a good standing within the forces of Hell is more important. You're the Marshal of the Althing Infernal now, and you refuse to neglect your responsibilities.
Doing so would make you no better than the people you despise so much.
"Great. I was kind of worried for a moment...again, I don't doubt your skills. I'm just looking at the broadest picture here."
'That's the right choice.' You mentally nod before thinking of a strategy. First, a normal interview to pick apart his real motivations, and then...uhm... "I'll return shortly." You leave the room and go to the cafeteria, empty at this hour. Luckily for you the fruit section has been just filled, and you find what you were searching for. 'Ready to use that?' That, being a new feature of the craziness within your soul you discovered recently.
"On it."
You concentrate, and synchronize your desires and actions with Seyrun. An alien kaleidoscope of glass shards shining in impossible not-colors and darkness so black it seems to suck in the light appears before you. Pushing the object in your hand inside it you briefly catch sight of one of Seyrun's limb catching it before they both vanish.
"Succe-No Anesidora! This isn't for you! I don't care if it looks tasty, we need it to recruit an enemy of the Yozi-yes, I know how that sounds. But it's the truth!"
{====}
As predicted Diethard Ried's eyes widen when you walk inside the room, your closed cape giving out an intimidating impression as you move closer to him. "Z-Zero?"
"Indeed Diethard Ried." With a flourish of your cape you sit down in front of him, putting down on the table the folder with his curriculum before folding your fingers on top of it. "Why, you sound surprised."
"I am. I was not quite sure my request to join the Black Knights would be accepted, but I never imagined that my first interview would be with you." He replies, smoothly recovering his confidence.
"Normally I don't do this often, yes." You open his folder, scrolling through the first page like you really need it before sharply looking up, straight into his eyes. "Then again Diethard, you're not exactly normal."
"I'm sure that a Britannian joining the resistance force of a conquered Area is quite unusual." He replies with a neutral tone. Not easily shaken: good.
"There is also that." You say, hinting that you know it's more than that. You look back at the folder. "Graduated at the Imperial Britannia Central University, Faculty of Law. An excellent alma-mater." It's the truth: despite Britannia's flaws, the Central University's teachings are top-notch. "Current place of work: Hi-TV, Tokyo Settlement Branch, at the Press Bureau Staff."
"Ex-current place of work." He grins. "I've been politely but firmly told that, if I didn't give my resignation, I would have lost my work in a less painless manner."
"Ooh?" How interesting: to be pressured into leaving, it means Diethard stepped on the toes of important people. "What was the reason?"
He shrugs. "I may have...fanned the Pureblood Conspiracy story more than appropriate. A lot more than an appropriate." He smiles like a kid confessing of having stole the jam. "I couldn't just resist: it was, literally, the most interesting story I met in my career! None of that boring, prepared beforehand stuff. A true scoop!"
So he craves the thrill of being a real journalist. No, what he probably desires is to bear witness to events that will enter history. There is no deception in his voice, but just to be sure... "Why, then, do you want to join the Black Knights when you could be a journalist again, if not within Britannia then in another nation?"
After saying those words you focus on his eyes and wish for opposition!
To witness and present history as it shapes the world, with Zero as the main character. To reduces this wretched mortal's ambition to nothing, your path is clear: to destroy Ze-
The muscles in your face twist painfully. No, it isn't the muscles but your own neurons-!
'Abort!'
Your mind return to normal, only your previous experiment stopping you from taking off your mask and puke out your stomach's content.
"Boss! Are you alright?"
'No, but I'll manage.' You reply, thankful that Diethard is still talking. To experience the desire to destroy everything you so carefully built...just your luck, that the target this time is someone who, apparently, has put you on an almost literal godly pedestal. Too good to be true, yet the power of Ebon Dragon doesn't lie, as paradoxically as it sounds. The experience also swept away any remaining desire to use this power, because holy fuck you felt like your very soul was swallowed, melted and then spit back!
"-Your speech, it was truly amazing." He continues with a faraday look. "When I heard it, it was like a fire was light inside me. I felt like I could do anything, that the word 'impossible' lost its meaning! It was like-"
"You had the power of the sun itself flowing into your veins?" You add, recognizing the chance to steer the conversation where you want it.
"I..." He trails off, blinking in confusion. "Yes. How...how do you know that?"
You chuckle. "All in due time. Consider your application accepted, Diethard Ried: welcome to the Black Knights." You raise his folder and wave it a little. "And for your role...that is a conversation that we must have in private."
{====}
Once in the privacy of your office you have Diethard sits on the other side of the desk. Taking a deep breath you invoke the power of Oramus -oh so much familiar and reassuring- and begin. "You and I are not ordinary men, Diethard Ried. We have powers that allow us to carve our very will into the fabric of reality. Powers that allow for rebellion against Britannia, which is why they see us as an existential threat merely because we exist." You speak enigmatically, implying wisdom that the Solar across from you surely lacks. "Yes, I know the maddening truths of the world, and I suspect you do not. However..." Diethard's eyes widen in shock as an alien kaleidoscope of glass shards shining in impossible not-colors and darkness so black it seems to suck in the light appears before you, your hand reaching as if within your belly, pulling out the apple and gently placing it on the desk before him. You are certain that the metaphor of forbidden fruit promising knowledge will not be lost on this man, and you are proven right as the journalist adopts a manic smile, his eyes gleaming with greed as he realizes what you're about to offer. Steepling your fingers you continue. "Perhaps we might come to an...accommodation to alleviate that?"
"Ah..ahahaha!" Diethard laughs. "Of course you're different than normal humans Zero! For all my life, I always felt as if there was something at the edge of my perception...something that kept eluding me. Until the night of the incident at Lake Kawaguchi."
He raises a hand to his forehead and closes his eyes. When he removes it a golden ring is glowing quietly between his brows. A Night Caste: unusual considering his profession, but if he is someone used to move things behind the curtains it makes sense. "This power...all I know for now is that it makes me better at things I'm good at, so much better it's unnatural. What is this? Do you have the same power? Are there more, different ones out there?"
"So many questions Diethard. Listen well: I know exactly what you have become, and your very existence now is Anathema to Britannia's rulers. You have done well to come to me, because if your secret arrives to the wrong ears they will kill you."
"They? The Nobility? The...Royal Family?"
"Both. But fear not." You hold out your hand. "I am in fact a similar existence, and I happen to know quite a bit of the world that is hidden from the eyes of normal people. All I require from you...is an oath."
He looks at your hand, eyes narrowing. You can almost see the gears in his brain spinning. "This is not a normal verbal agreement, is it?"
"Correct." You close your hand. "Breaking the oath will have dire consequences, for the both of us. However, we'll know if something we are about to do will break it: so long as we keep to the spirit of the oath, we don't have anything to worry about."
"What are the conditions?"
"I ask that you don't betray me and that you will never reveal my identity without my permission. In exchange, I'll reveal the truths of the world -what you are, the world's real history, and even my identity- as well as bringing you into my inner circle. You'll have a front row seat to witness history being written...or you could write it yourself if that is your wish." You add with a knowing smile, opening your hand again.
Diethard grasps it with his own before you can try to further butter up the deal. "I ACCEPT!"
Charcoal, ethereal chains wrap around the souls of you and Diethard, sealing the oath by the power of Creation's architects.
"You know Boss, I have the feeling this guy is going to be a different kind of trouble than a simple traitor."
Compared to have a viper in your nest, anything else is fine. Mostly.
You have recruited and put under an oath Diethard Ried, Solar Exalt of the Night Caste.
"As expected of Lelouch-sama!" Kaguya claps her hands together. Before revealing the matter of Diethard to the others you have sought her to see if there was any potential problem you have missed and prepare accordingly, but she fully supports the idea. "To grasp one in a million opportunity and acquire the service of a Solar Exalted who was inspired by your ideals...Amazing! Also a bit ironic."
"For that, we should be thankful that the Solar Exaltations don't care about morality or alliance in their selection." The Infernal Exaltations do it even less, you're afraid. At least your fellow peers thus far have been people you could reason with. Not that the Yozi would suffer a pro-Britannia or pro-Heaven Green Sun Prince. "Do you predict objections from the others?"
"No, nothing." She hums before her expression turns serious. "Lelouch-sama, may I discuss with you a sensitive argument?"
You raise an eyebrow before making hand-signals to the Anuhles. They leave the room and take guard outside it. "What is it?"
"About Nunnally-chan. I assume you have looked for possible procedures to restore her legs and sight's functionality?"
A small frown forms on your lips. "Yes, I have. Sadly without...acceptable results." Oh, despite the bloody society of Malfeas they also invented a lot of methods to heal crippling injuries.
Sadly, they are all based around the concept of 'replacing the damaged part with something better'. Better, by Malfeas' standards, always includes things like claws, scales and anything that can make fighting easier. Not something that would allow your sister to have a normal life among humans.
"I thought so. But, among Great Szoreny's gifts there is one that allow me to heal any and all crippling injuries." She stares into your eyes. "And another allows me to give the same power to someone else, albeit temporarily."
You eyes widen in shock. You stand up and slam your hands on the table. This is-! Finally! "Are you serious?! Then, quickly let's-"
"The problem." She continues. "Is that I am not sure it can do something to Nunnally-chan's eyesight, as it is the result of mental trauma." You don't care: just the thought of your sister walking again is- "Also, the effect is incredibly quick by normal medical standards, around a week or so. It's akin to a miracle."
"Yes and..." The words die in your throat. "The fact someone who, even with Britannia's medical science, has been a paraplegic for ten years to regain the use of her legs within a week...will gain a lot of attention."
Attention you don't absolutely need, because the both of you are Royals in hiding! But the classmates of Nunnally will talk! Not only them, but Shirley, Rivalz and Nina!
[] Write-in.
====
If everything remains the way it is, I may be able to go back to a weekly, maybe less update schedule. I really wish so.
[?] Then you'll simply have to speed up your plans. You do not wish for your sister to remain crippled for long, and to restore her without worry you will remove everything that is keeping that from happening!
Hmm...could we somehow slow the effect? If the main problem is that the treatment is so fast that people will become curious, then the most obvious solution is to find a way to slow the treatment's effects without compromising its effectiveness. We could ask our Defilers to look into it with Kaguya's help.
Hmm...could we somehow slow the effect? If the main problem is that the treatment is so fast that people will become curious, then the most obvious solution is to find a way to slow the treatment's effects without compromising its effectiveness. We could ask our Defilers to look into it with Kaguya's help.
