stellafortunalogs | october mid-month event

october mid-month event

October Mid-Month Event
Welcome to Teyvat - a vast magical world of adventure.
Two weeks after the Travelers arrive in Inazuma, the conflict between the Shogunate and the Sangonomiya Resistance begin to intensify. At Forneus' behest, you venture west to survey the battlegrounds and consider your next move.

Heading west from Narukami Island will bring you to Kannazuka, the location of the Mikage Furnace. This furnace uses the power of the Tatarigami to produce high-quality swords for the Shogunate. However, sabotage by members of the Resistance have led to the furnace becoming unstable. The Shogunate's soldiers and the Shrine Maidens have set up camp on the island, but the two factions cannot decide on how to address the problem. That's where you come in. Unfettered by the chains of bureaucracy, you can act as you wish. Venture into the Furnace and stabilize it before it blows the island away.

Yashiori Island lies even further west. Its position means that it is currently the middle ground where the Shogunate and the Resistance skirmish. However, the fighting has died down due to torrential rain that blankets the island, as well as the intense Electro energy within Musoujin Gorge. Once, this island was the battlefield between the Raiden Shogun and Orobashi, with the latter defeated and sealed. However, someone broke its seals during the civil war, and the lingering resentment of the Serpent has possessed soldiers on the island, turning them violent.

Once again, a stalemate that can only be broken from the outside. This isn't anything new now, is it?

State of the World

The Sangonomiya Resistance have declared civil war on the Shogunate after the establishment of the Vision Hunt Decree. As you travel through Inazuma, you will eventually meet them, as well as their leader. It becomes evident that the two sides are locked in equal balance, and that the civil war does nothing good for anyone... which is why the overseer of the Narukami Shrine has asked you to come. You are unbound by any destiny, and thus able to tip the scales. But to do that, you will need a complete picture of the situation, and to solve problems that no one is willing to face.

No one has seen the Shogun out in public for quite a while. It seems that only a sufficiently grave danger will provoke her from within her castle. The enemy of eternity is change, and you are just that.

Questions about this event can be asked below!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[oh hey congrats teyvat said gay rights]

I'd rather avoid being an icicle, so yeah, that's considerate. [It's a surprisingly dry remark lacking his normal sarcasm.

But he stays quiet until Rean finishes, his eyes narrowing just a little bit.]

...I don't get all of you. [It's little more than a mumble, but he continues regardless.] It's not like there's much to talk about. How I expect this world to be is different than what I know. Some things are just... harder to get used to than others.

You and me both.

[Rean's lips quirk up into a smile at that first remark.]

You're not the first person who's said that to me, you know. If that gives you any indication as to how well it sticks.

[Read: He's not getting rid of Rean any time soon.]

What is it you're expecting, exactly? That seems as good a place to start as any.

You mean about the icicle, or just not understanding why you are the way you are? [It's barely a joke - he knows what Rean means, but it's uncomfortable and he has nowhere to run without lashing out. It's tempting.

...

It's odd, that for as long as he has been here, this is only the second person who actually has asked him about home. Pathetic on his part, perhaps.]

Water's not safe where I'm from. Most of it, anyway. It either eats away at everything or molds it into something unrecognizable.

Getting caught out in a storm is a really quick way for anyone to get killed.

Haha. I think I'll leave that up for you to guess.

[It's barely a joke, but Rean can play along. Worse jokes have been made in his general direction.

Rean just listens quietly while Lutha speaks.]

...So that's why you were trying so hard to keep me from going out back in Mondstadt. [It's soft, said without judgment for a change.] If that's the case... yeah. I can understand why this would freak you out so much.

I know we fought that ocean god, but... this still feels somehow worse. Everything here just feels so much more tense, so much higher-stakes.

Civil conflict does that. It's not easy for anyone, walking past places that are falling apart and seeing people lost due to someone else's internal war.

[War had long since ended back home, but it didn't change that what remained of civilization was only holding together by fine threads, and skirmishes happened too often.]

I don't think the rain matters much in comparison. Even if my heart just doesn't feel like catching up... people are truly suffering from something here.

My feelings can wait.

...Yeah. Believe me, I know.

[He's surprisingly quiet with that response, more reserved than he usually is.]

And maybe that is true. ...I know it's how I tend to work. But, if I can be a hypocrite for just a moment:

There's only so long you can put those things on pause. Eventually, it's going to bubble over, and it's going to tear you apart. At least... that's what people tell me.

I don't have that option. Enough eyes are on me right now as it is. [He's already made a fool of himself. Why show his cards as a panicked coward on top of all that?

He'll try instead to flip back on that change of tone from Rean, pausing just long enough to look over at the other man with a tight expression that's hard to parse. A beat, two, and it falls.]

Elliot mentioned your civil war, the one started among your nobility. Didn't go into detail or anything, but he had some passion about it.

I guess war isn't something that can be outright avoided, no matter where you go. Doesn't change that it's horrific, that it needs to see an end. But... I don't know if it's good or bad, to know that nowhere is really a utopia.

[He wants to argue the point, but... ugh. Lutha has a point, too, and it's frustrating.

Of course, this is all Lutha's fault to begin with. Maybe if he'd just been more willing to be open in the first place, none of this would have happened?]

...Yeah. He and I both fought in it. And it's not like the fighting ended in that war, either. I'm starting to wonder if it ever ends.

[He sighs.]

I've seen a lot of it. Ruined towns, people lost and begging for their old lives back. ...It doesn't get any easier, no matter what world you're in.

I don't think anywhere can be a utopia. Maybe we're not all human, exactly, but we all have our own thoughts and ideals. They'll never match up exactly, and that means there's always going to be fighting.

There's a bright side to everyone having their own thoughts and ideals, too. That bright side is exactly why we're here. But it sure can be hard to see, sometimes.

Mn. It's the only reason we have a working government back home, despite everything. The monarchy needs the countships to cover their weaknesses and prevent rioting. It's tense, but it's still there.

Still doesn't change that most of our world died out because people got too self-absorbed fighting for their ideals. [It's hard to think of sometimes, now that he knows the truth. Just how many cities were now eroding under the ocean because of hubris?] You have to have backbone to take action as a leader, and that means conflict. But as soon as it stops being for the better good of your people, then it's lost its point.

My world... it certainly isn't dying— at least, I don't think so— but the fighting is constant. My country is constantly trying to expand its borders; take over other, small nations.

...I can only assume that man has a point to it and it's not all just a power grab. [The "that man" is laced with venom.] But he certainly doesn't give a damn what happens to the people.

[Rean shakes his head.]

But that's why we're here, on the ground. Forneus can want whatever he pleases, but at the end of the day, we're mortals. We have no right to be deciding these people's fates, but we can at least try to help them.

Just... wish it wasn't like reading and rereading the world's worst book in order to do so.

[The vibrantly sour note surprises him, but odd enough, it's a comfort on its own to hear Rean audibly angry rather than his calmer tones. It feels more human.]

I mean, it sounds like you've made up your mind how you want to think about his motives, regardless of whether he has a point or not.

What do you plan to do about it?

Oh, he has a point. But I'm just a man like anyone else. I don't have any place messing with the affairs of gods, and who knows how that'll mess with these people? Like I said... I've seen enough of this.

[He sighs at the question.]

That's where I'm a bit stuck, though. I'd love to just be able to talk this out, but if that was going to work, we wouldn't be in this situation at all, would we? But I know I'm not okay with just killing all of them like Forneus wants.

[He looks over to Lutha.]

And you? What's your take on all of this?

[oh rean honey, he didn't mean forneus...

His expression doesn't change at the misunderstanding, however, letting Rean speak his piece. His take, huh.

He turns it over in his head, trying to trim out the snark that he's just too exhausted to expel.]

Killing a god was what killed our water supply. Despite what Forneus says is true or false, I'd rather not repeat that kind of mistake, especially not in something like blind faith.

[Only then does he meet Rean's glance.]

I wasn't asking that about Forneus, though.

[Rean's reaction to that little bit of lore is widened eyes, an expression that can only be read as "yikes." Which, really, how else does one respond?]

...Goddess. I hadn't even considered something like that as a possibility.

[And now that he's heard it, it's never leaving his brain, thanks. He's pretty rightfully horrified!

But oh. Right. That man. Ugh. Does he have to talk about his sperm donor? Rean looks away, more of that anger from before washing across his features. It doesn't seem like it's something he's really in control of.]

...As for that man...

I don't know what his endgame is. At this point, it's hard for me to care. I understood his motives when he was just trying to help the commoners, I could even back him up then. But what he's been doing to expand the Empire's reach is just going too far.

[His eyebrow twitches, his lips forming the barest hint of a snarl.]

He doesn't care who he hurts, who he kills to get his way. And he's too much of a coward to even do it for himself. No, he just commands the rest of us from his throne of blood and iron, and I have to bear the blame while he touts me as some kind of war hero to our newspapers.

[Crow died to rid Erebonia of that man, and it was all for nothing. It's worse than ever, now. And sure, Elliot knows where the future leads, but Rean is too afraid to ask.

He tries so hard to tell himself that there has to be a way where things work out. But with this, it can only get worse before it gets better, and with everything here in Teyvat, besides? He's not ready to hear what the "worse" is.]

[How quickly the emotion colors Rean's entire countenance has Lutha staying remarkably quiet. It's achingly familiar, and if Rean's expecting a surprised reaction, he won't find it. If anything, he has Lutha's full attention, albeit still exhausted in its own way.

Empathy, huh.]

Trying to help doesn't always mean doing what's right. Sometimes you stay blind to that sort of shit going sour until it's too late to go back.

You're important to him. So do you plan on stopping him?

[Crow is here with him now. Rean would have hoped that would have helped with the problem of how Rean seems to hear him everywhere, but no, because here he is again.

"I'm not saying the Chancellor was evil or anything..."

He's not evil, but he was— is?— trying to help. Trying to help doesn't mean doing what's right...

Ugh, he's absolutely not in the mindset or mood to try to make sense of that man's actions right now.]

Tch, I'm important to him as a tool.

[...Maybe accidentally letting on a bit more about that relationship there...]

Of course. But I can't exactly do it alone. It would be me against the entire Empire's army, and no matter how strong of a weapon I have on my hands there's no way I'd survive that.

I don't have much of a choice but to play along for now, until I can work together with the people I trust back home to find a way to put a stop to all of this. No matter how much I hate it. At least if I play along, I can try to end his wars faster and see that less people get hurt in the crossfire.

Yeah, and? I didn't say it had to be important for a good reason. But you're obviously not blind to each other. Advantages in that and all, even if it's dangerous.

[It's an easy train of thought to follow, like retracing his own footsteps in the sand. But the flame in his palm dissipates, just so he can fiddle with a string of wooden beads hanging off his wrist just under his sleeve.]

Still. What exactly are you going to do if you do stop him? Whoever he is. A friend, or mentor, or your dad, whoever this jackass is.

What happens if you do it?? Or what happens if you can't? Would it really matter if there was a whole army waiting for you after?

[Rean twitches a little at that response. Lutha's right, and he doesn't like it.

He's been on the receiving end of a lot of talks he doesn't like recently. Lutha would probably find some sense of solidarity in that if he knew.]

...It's not my place to try to put countries back together. I'm just one man. I'm barely even an adult.

[He just sounds tired with that, vulnerable.]

I know some people who are way better equipped for that job than I am. So... the ideal solution is that we depose the Chancellor, and get them back into the positions of power they need to be to make positive changes.

If I fail?

[...]

I don't know. A world war, probably. Things are already tense with the other big nations in Zemuria... all it's going to take is one spark for those embers to light.

I don't mean anything with the world. Like shit anyone can do anything about the world on their own, and if anyone says otherwise then that's a load of bull.

[His voice doesn't raise much. What force comes is with emotion, though he has to struggle to put together his words in little more than a rant.

What would Alfonso have done, had he been sitting here, and heard this shit out of his mouth?]

So you can't put a country back together. So what? What do you do?

What happens to you and all that salt on your wounds if you get what you want?

Edited (Emote) 2021-10-26 03:39 (UTC)

[It has been so long since anyone's asked what it is Rean wants. For a moment, Rean just stands there dumbfounded.

For a very long time, that answer would have been "I don't know." But where he is now...]

I want to be able to teach my classes. I want to be able to take my students out on field studies where they won't potentially be roped into missions that could very well kill them.

I want to spend time with my friends where I can. Go out into town without having to try to disguise myself so people don't fawn over the "Ashen Chevalier."

I just want a quiet life. That's all.

[Disguising himself... he nearly laughs. Nearly. He gets it. Hiding forever is tiresome.

...]

Don't fuck it up before you even get to that, then.

You're furious. You showed your damn hand to me without me even trying, which means you'd be twice as bad when faced with it. And if you can't pay attention to what's more important, between what you want or what you're furious towards?

It's going to bubble over, and it's going to tear you apart. [To quote some dumbass protag he just met.]

So yeah, maybe you are a damn hypocrite. But don't turn into one that's gone completely blind on top of it.

[Is that the point he wants to make?? He isn't sure. He isn't sure why he bothered with any of that. But his Vision glows hot as he withdraws his posture again, letting that flame flicker back up.]

[Every word Lutha speaks is like a knife to the heart.

How can he not be furious? That man, who takes and takes and takes until there's nothing left, until he's trampled everyone and everything in his way. It doesn't even matter how he uses Rean, really— what he's done to Crow, what he's doing to Rean's students—]

[It doesn't even matter how he uses Rean.

It doesn't matter what he wants, in the end, and it never has. It never will. All that matters is that everyone else makes it out okay, that everyone else is happy. It's the same here in Teyvat as it ever was in Zemuria.

And he wants to argue the point for Lutha. Because, like him or not, Lutha is among "everyone else," and Rean wants him to make it out of this okay. He doesn't want to see him miserable.

No matter how he goes about this, he's still a hypocrite, isn't he?]

...I'll keep that in mind.

[He absolutely will not.]

But... it seems like you're pretty much done with me, here. I can take a hint. [He pauses, trying to figure out how to end this. What else can he possibly say?] ...Still. If you ever want to talk about anything else...

I'm here if you need someone, I guess. Even if they are a hypocrite. That's what I was really trying to get at.

[...]

I'll leave you alone, then. Stay safe out there.

[And with that awkward, defeated little goodbye, he'll be on his way unless Lutha wants to stop him]

Oi, no, no.

[It's immediate, and only now does he LEGITIMATELY sound frustrated.]

You and Elliot don't get to spit that empathy bullshit on me only for you to absolutely miss my goddamn point.

[He freezes, turning back around.]

...Then, by all means, enlighten me. Because all I'm hearing is that you're right, I am a hypocrite, and anything I say to try to help you is only going to make it worse.

october mid-month event

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