redsoil | IC INBOX ( KENOS ).

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IC INBOX ( KENOS ).

█ To Commune with Set is to stand barefoot in an endless, scorching desert. The sun illuminates all, scalding the shadows themselves out from underneath whomever enters his dominion; the arch of gentle, distant, waves of sand mask the precarious chasms, towering dunes akin to mountains. The sense of vastness, timelessness, is of particular notice, lending itself to the alien, eldritch quality of his mind. There is a dark storm in the distance, and you know intimately that this divine being is far from benign. You cannot bargain with a force of nature. You can only survive it.

COMPATIBLE WITH: Exalt, Iconoclast
REPELLED BY: Advocate

♠

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Yo, cuz.

[ There's absolutely no preamble to the other god reaching out, just the usual impression of dark smoke, but today, there's also excitement in it. It's a toothy grin just from feeling alone, and it's the sort where Set might be able to guess what this is about just from the kind of familiarity that comes with it. It's a bloodthirsty sort. ]

Felt like fair's fair, so wanted to let you know in case you didn't. Can practically smell it in the air, by which I mean try as it might, this World can't totally cut me off from my omniscience. If it's not one of those Oracles comin' up soon, then something real hot's about to kick off. But, considering the timing, figured the former more than the latter, but either is great, yeah? I'm thinkin' the next week. Maybe two.

[ But of course he's not warning him out of the goodness of his heart! No! He's here to do a little pre-gossip post gossip! ]

So! Got a question for ya! This is the first time I'm gonna be pittin' myself against your people... So, who's needin' a good wake-up call the most?

[ Dark smoke ( tendrils of shadow ) happens to be something that Set responds to quite well; a god of evil things, however young and unwilling he'd been to take on that mantle, he's embraced the freedom in being a lot less moral than the rest of his family. Operating on a different wavelength, calling into the depths of darkness and chaos for companionship — though he stands in Meridian's light, it is only so that he casts a greater shadow upon the world. As Tezcatlipoca's smoke invades his mindscape, he slips his hands through the scent of it and gives it a little cupping-waft toward his nose.

The other god is familiar to him, but also very different. Quetzalcoatl and he are of the same root, but their godhood was at odds; still, Set feels an immediately kinship toward the deities of the Azteca, for he was invited into their by their slain hero-god as "family". Which means he dives right into that smoke to try and grapple Tezca's core in a delighted embrace. To rub his cheek along it like a cat scenting at a favored herb. ]

Mm, that would put it right on schedule! They tend to wake up after we're all relaxed and ready, but this time? It's great to hear that an Oracle might be rousing based on how much we've shaken the world!

[ Actually, he hates Oracles. They tended to stray towards contests of will, and Set was a creature who's willpower had been crushed into dust long, long ago; his mind is sharp, his ability to stand against erosion? Nonexistent. ]

I keep track mostly of the Zenites I wish to see targeted, to inspire them to do more than just concede their rights to their leader, but. Among my chosen side, I would say there are a number of unblooded [ the new hires among Meridian ] who would benefit from a good challenge. Some others still cultivate a mentality that "innocents are innocents" in this world, as well. I suppose then, you must tell me what kind of people you give this wake-up call to!

[ He’ll find the smoke does have a distinct smell of copal. It’s the cousin of frankincense across the sea, but rather than the rich, earthy tones, it’s lighter and more like pine and citrus. However, much more importantly for Set’s catlike affection, diving into that smoke does encourage the core to appear without complaint.

…Well, much complaint. Since it’s very much just a case of wrapping his arms around the (smaller!) god, though he’s at least forgoing the sunglasses here. Since he tends to wear those to obscure his unnatural eyes from mortals, there’s no need to do so from Set. But cool-tempered god he is, he’s immediately thrown off by Set’s warm, sudden affection (?).

He can see why Quetzalcoatl had latched onto this god for sure. ]

[ But he doesn’t attempt to pull away from the embrace, even so. He just kind of accepts it… Truly he is just another flavor of cat. ]

Oh, I’ll be doin’ my best to put Zenites through their paces too, don’t worry. But them I’ve got time for every day, which isn’t the case for Meri, ‘specially with how things are kickin’ off.

[ Sure, he could go over to Springstar just to bully some Meri, but! Now it’s a whole Thing! ]

Anyways. Those with that mindset are a good start. Innocents are gonna have to start dyin’ if we wanna do this right. [ There’s a twinge of bloodthirst again, but it’s brief. ] But most importantly, those that need to change, to put it broadly. The kinda people that are going to break before they bend. They’re the ones that need to get put through their paces. Change or die, yeah?

[ good because set is going to continue to smear himself all over tezca, all arms and cheek and content animal noises; this god is an environment unto himself, and set finds that even though he is the arid expanse of the desert, there is something enticing about the humid jungle to him ( a god who loves foreign lands, who embraces them ) ]

You're the best!

[ he truly means it wow ]

They don't even have to change that much — they just have to learn to be more... flexible. The cost is too high to focus on everything and everyone all at once. I'd say all the newbies then — and there's a group from similar worlds: Claude, Dimitri, Yuri. They're all leaders there. Byleth is okay, he knows what it takes. Ooh, and as an aside!

[ He bites Tezca's cheek a little. ]

Rudbeckia. She serves the seat of war — that'd be me — directly. You'll probably find her very distasteful, considering what you oversee, because she will never respond to conflict or challenges. However, if you do want to target her, you can have me in her place and I will take it as your decision to engage me fully!

[ Even if his response is more stoic, he does return it somewhat once Set starts to give him something more concrete. Set’s excitement does feel particularly feline to him (or maybe that’s just his particular bias), so it’s met with gentle hands. It’s fingers through his hair or a touch on the shoulder, but it’s with the sort of delicacy one gives to a cat they know might bite rather than kind of soft affection that would be given to a person.

It's a correct assessment, considering the bite. That gets him to scoff, and he bites back at whatever’s within reach—his neck, a hand, whatever. They truly are just two cats… ]

Then sounds like I got my work cut out for me. The new folks, yeah, they gotta learn real fast, but these leaders? If you’re mentionin’ them, then sounds like they got a lot to learn from my tutelage. I’m harshest to leaders because they’re the ones that shoulder the future of their people. If they falter in their duties, then they should just die and make way for the next person.

[ It’s very harsh, but that’s the sort of discipline that Tezcatlipoca had always demanded from the rulers of the Aztecs. Their culture was one that seemed especially harsh to outsiders as a result, but it was something that was necessary to ensure their survival, in his opinion. After all, it’s the lesson he’d wanted Izcalli to learn with his second chance.

He’d elaborate on that a bit more, but the aside is actually more interesting. A harsh attitude towards leaders was what it was, but someone spineless serving Set? ]

C’mon, you know it doesn’t work like that. You can’t bear a Trial on another’s behalf. It’s their lesson to learn. [ a shrug ] But you got me curious. War is anything but passive. What’s stirring war in her heart enough to serve it?

[ The soft affection ( not quite meant for a human ) is immediately met with the parting of Set's mind, the ambient atmosphere of his mental space coiling around and around and around Tezcatlipoca's own. Perhaps he is predisposed to be affectionate because this god is like him, perhaps because some part of him — sorry Tezca — is still Quetzalcoatl. Enough of the root of her, that he finds it easy to fall into the other's space and bask in it. To want to connect with him, but for who he is rather than who Set is deeply, infinitely missing. ]

Egypt of my time has no human leaders. Gods rule — my sister is currently God Supreme, who sits the throne of the heavens and of men. I do not see humans as having the capacity to rule themselves, though history I have yet to live indicates they do just that.

[ Ew. He scoffs a little, resolute in his dismissal of mortal ability in the way that only a god like him could be. ]

Her will to survive any outcome of this war, actually. Rudbeckia is anything but passive in that desire, using everything at her disposal to ensure she does. Including me, in my full capacity as a god.

[ That gives him a good indication of when Set is from, at least generally speaking. He might not be the same Set that would have existed in his world, but he assumes it for the sake of simplicity. That would firmly put him in the Age of Gods, and long, long ago for gods to still meddle with humanity that much. Hell, he wonders if that would have still been the Fourth Sun of the Aztecs…?

But the rude dismissal gets him to respond by reaching out to ruffle Set’s hair annoyingly. This is the true older brother move. ]

Yeah, that won’t last forever. And when humans do come to rule, they’ll fuck it all up, eventually. That’s why I try and make ‘em strong. It takes a strong will rule, but it takes a stronger one for ‘em to be harsh and even cruel when it’s necessary. If they can’t, well…

[ He withdraws his hand, and there’s a twinge of sadness that Set likely will find familiar. Quetzalcoatl felt a deep, yearning kind of sadness when she talked about the fate of her dearly beloved Azteca, and there’s a kernel of it in Tezcatlipoca’s feelings too. It’s much more muted, however. After all— ]

That’s the “eventually” part of it. Mortal rulers means mortal civilizations.

[ He’s a nihilist compared to Quetzalcoatl’s bright optimism, ultimately. It might have been a lamentable fate, but it was fate nonetheless. All things are destined to die, even things that are more vague like a civilization.

But it’s not something he dwells on at all. It’s already long dead, so whatever mourning he’d do is long past too. ]

As for Rudbeckia, I get it. I got a fondness for people that strive to survive above all else. [ He nods in understanding, and there’s indeed a warmth that implies it without words being needed. These are souls under Tezcatlipoca’s domain. However. ] You can’t spoil her, though. Usin’ you is practically cheating.

[ Some part of him feels a little vindicated, to hear that the humans will fuck it up. That mortal rulers means mortal civilizations; it's why he cannot trust in whatever Zenith wants to build. Doubly-so, because Yima will have a hand in it. Part of him is a little more contented that Tezcatlipoca and he had worked out their deal, though. Seeing the nihilist on the opposing side was not only reassuring, it was encouraging — all he wanted, despite the way he went about it, was for everyone to give it their all. He wanted them to prove they meant to fight tooth-and-nail for what they wanted, putting in the time and labor to make it real.

Still, the pain that the other god feels... Set wonders if one day he will feel it. He dreads that sort of feeling, the same mourning that he'd felt in Quetzalcoatl's soul. ]

She serves me, in return. [ This is an important thing, for him. Acknowledgement. ] As a priestess, she represents my divinity among the common people.

[ He’s happy to let the topic go, since it’s a gloomy one. Even a fatalist like him doesn’t really love thinking about the ends of things. It’s much more interesting (and fun) to give Set a bit of a hard time about the strange match he sees here. ]

I mean, it’s not like I don’t get it. Having priests and priestesses, hell yeah, but someone that doesn’t want to participate in a war? I dunno…

[ He clicks his tongue a little as if he’s offering a criticism, but it’s toothless at its heart. Set can do what he wants and it doesn’t mean anything to Tezcatlipoca, practically speaking. ]

C’mon, let me at least offer her a Trial or somethin’. I won’t kill her, promise.

She isn't a warrior, Tezcatlipoca. Not one inch of her soul would ever belong to you.

[ Set was a guardian deity once, though. It's in that capacity that he shelters Ruby. ]

I suppose you can, although you will incur my direct involvement no matter what. We have a deal, she and I. And I will be cross with you, if you mess with her. And that includes name dropping her to your team!

…Warriors souls don’t, technically. I just favor ‘em. But they’re not destined for my afterlife.

[ There’s a feeling of… something at that, but it’s hard to place, even for Set. It’s a faint melancholy, but there’s something more to it, however brief it might be before he moves on. ]

My souls are those who struggle to survive, those who faced trials in life. Doesn’t matter whether they overcame ‘em or not. It’s just the fact they had to, and it’s why I grant them my paradise.

[ It’s a simple explanation, but there’s a lot in there. Just like how there’s a nuance in the main domains that each of them represents, there’s nuance in how they express their protection too. But. Since Tezcatlipoca is pretty sure his afterlife duties are on hold at the moment, he doesn’t linger on the topic. ]

Consider the warning heard. [ He will be ignoring it. ♥ ] …And you didn’t ask for my opinion, but I’m giving it anyways. You can’t protect her forever. You’d best make some peace with that sooner rather than later.

[ It could sound like a threat, but that’s not the tone or feeling with it. This is advice offered gently, at least for Tezcatlipoca. Favoring a mortal that much will always be a double-edged sword. ]

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