W͜͏̶Ę͏E͝͠K͝͞ ̧1̵͟

[strangerpeople]

W͜͏̶Ę͏E͝͠K͝͞ ̧1̵͟

[The national council just announced the blight to the country.

There was no sugarcoating it anymore. This was a critical time. Saving all of the vines is paramount, but what does one do when the blight hits? It keeps encroaching on the grapes, day by day. Entire clusters, entire bunches, dead and rotting, while allowing the blight to spread, and the leading botanists and viticulturists cannot identify the origin or the cause. They can't even successfully isolate the culprit in their labs; it seems to disappear like air no matter the precautions taken.

It is a catastrophe that seems to be beyond science, and it will result in the complete collapse of the entire country's wine industry. Already, embargoes on this year's crop have forced other grape-growers to close shop for the year after they'd sold their previous stock; it is all too possible that no grapes might ever be grown here again if a cure cannot be found. The tourists have stopped coming. The towns have grown silent.

You, meanwhile, are devastated. With the way your business is going, it will be on the brink of bankruptcy within the year. You will soon have no choice but to close shop and let every grapevine die, let the land go fallow. There must be a cure for this, there must be. Yet everything that can go wrong is.

Then, as you watch the news, it happens. Breaking news. The blight has been found in another country.

It is a pandemic-and it is only getting worse.


-

Well. This is...what else can can anyone say? You all know the deal. You all know what situation you're in. All that is left is to figure out what you can do about it. If there's anything that can be done.

You still feel that compulsion to distrust. To know you cannot win. To know that only the hosts have your best interests in mind. It would be easy to just do all that. But would it be the right thing to do? You can't be completely sure. Indeed, nothing is certain here, except for that damned ticking sound. If only you could stop it.

But you can't stop it. It is inevitable.


There are 15 strangers in this place.]

Comments

[byanyother_name]

Hmm. That's interesting. I wonder if kitsune actually exist in his world or are just a myth like in some others. Perhaps I'll find time to ask.

[katzenpfote]

He's a good person to talk to. ... And he has a good family waiting for him to return.

[So don't get any ideas.]

I'm afraid I don't know what a kitsune is... though I've heard him yell it at the statue before.

[byanyother_name]

[Ideally Kurama got all his ideas out of his system last time around, not that he's inclined to go around mentioning that part to anyone.

The mention of good family makes his expression go sad and distant for a second, though. Before he latches onto the next part as a distraction.]

Worlds can differ greatly, but as I know it, kitsune are fox spirits that gain more tails and power as they age. They're commonly known for illusions but some have different abilities.

[He gestures at the statue.]

Nine tailed foxes are the oldest and most powerful and tend to be the most often depicted in stories.

[katzenpfote]

Interesting. We have many different kinds of monsters and spirits and different kinds of creatures... when I was taken from home we were about to fight some stone giants.

I'm interested in this kind of thing, but in terms of ones that people make shrines of that is more Caduceus and Beauregard who know that sort of thing.

[Jester might, but she's... Jester. So who knows.]

[byanyother_name]

My world has many, too, but most people aren't aware of it. I've never met anyone I would necessarily classify as a giant, however. How large are they?

[Kurama nods thoughtfully.]

I know a bit when it comes to deities but those would be my world's deities and there might not be any overlap.

[katzenpfote]

About eighteen feet high, I believe. It was a bit difficult to tell with the odd perspective from the forest.

My family worshiped Erathis, the Lawgiver, if that is familiar to you?

[byanyother_name]

Impressive. And they're not mindless, I assume?

[Kurama shakes his head slightly at the name.]

No, not at all. So Koenma or Inari would likely be equally unfamiliar to you.

[katzenpfote]

Correct. There are many gods, but some are not recognized and some are outlawed by the Empire. People don't stop worshiping them, but they risk being fined or thrown in jail if they get caught.

[byanyother_name]

Really? Why have they been outlawed?

[katzenpfote]

Shortly after the end of the Marrow War, there was a rebellion within the Julous Dominion against the Empire and Emperor Manfried Dwendal, led in large part by many priests of the various religions using religion as their cause. As a result, Mannfried sought to abolish all religious worship within the Empire, but this crackdown further fueled the rebellion. When the rebellion was eventually quashed, a handful of gods that... fit within the overall goals of the Empire were chosen as "approved".

[byanyother_name]

Ah. Politics. I suppose I should have guessed as much.

[He sounds so jaded right there.]

[katzenpfote]

It's always politics of one form or another, isn't it?

[byanyother_name]

It really is. Unfortunately. I'm good at politics but I'm not especially fond of them.

[He doesn't exactly mind that he lost his chance at becoming King; he didn't really want to be, anyway.]

[katzenpfote]

The last place like this we had to deal with talking down an Empress, and a few days ago from the perspective of my world I also had to talk down an Empress. It's not exactly my favorite thing to do, but I'm also good at them, apparently.

[byanyother_name]

Mmm, I was mired in politics before my last game, and thanks to the results of it, I'm going to be mired in more politics when I get back to my world.

[Kurama pinches the bridge of his nose lightly with a grimace.]

I just hope I can handle it all through Koenma and not have to deal with his father.

[katzenpfote]

Who is this 'Koenma', anyway?

[byanyother_name]

A rather young god but he's been maturing well recently. He's the son of King Yama, the ruler of the spirit world.

They see to it that the souls of the dead are judged and reach their appropriate destination.

I used to work for him and we're still on good terms.

[katzenpfote]

Ah. The Raven Queen's domain, then. She's the one who ferries the souls of the dead to the afterlife they go to.