How do you convince two families to lay aside their grief when it is so fresh? Perhaps it needed to happen this soon, so that the hatred would not fester, but it is such a monumental task for each of them to take on. They know the stakes and it will not make it any easier - because those stakes mean absolutely nothing to the parents here.
Marten does not have to convince anyone, he only needs to change what has happened - and he sure does. The filly still dies, though, the parents will still find her deceased body and make assumptions about what happened if the Baltians are there. Will the murder he performed change anything or just make it a little easier to find her body? It ends his personal loop, anyway.
There is no one with Myrna to corroborate her story as she addresses the parents, as every one from Beqanna is alone in these pockets of isolated time. The Baltian looks up with a dazed sort of confusion at the mention of the Roc but the Stratosian seethes with renewed anger towards this strange young mare - thinking she is blaming her daughter’s inability to swim for what had happened. Of course she could not swim - it was an unnatural thing to do.
Glean’s desperate pleas freeze the parents where they are - uncertainty eating away at some of the blinding fury they feel. They see some of their pain reflected in this stranger and though it does not dissipate the fear entirely, there is some easing of tensions.
Rezza’s diplomatic speeches have the same effect, though at first her presence infuriates the Stratosians further - just another one of the Baltians here, fuelling the fire. It is difficult for the parents to see the sense she speaks about the wounds, but her strong and compassionate speech has some effect.
Sleaze’s confession causes a ripple of confusion through the group. But they are so easily swayed in their grief - what is the difference between laying blame on one another with the evidence presented and laying it upon the shadow creature that is somehow even odder than the rest of them? The confession is strange, and maybe some of them sense that there is something off about it, but it feels good to have someone to blame. And, even if only for a moment, the Baltians and Stratosians become united as they turn their fury on him instead.
Assailant’s lecture is somewhat dampened by the use of forceful petrification on the grieving parties. They do not care what is happening centuries in the future, they only care about what is happening here to their children - and the freezing of their bodies is only heightening their fear so that their brains become thick with it.
Famkee takes a gentler approach to her lecture, not forcing them to listen to her but offering warnings and trying to introduce sense into a situation that has so little of it to start. Much of it falls on ears that aren’t ready to listen to it or ones that don’t understand - what does it matter to them what happens to whatever this Beqanna is? - but some of it sticks.
Ea steps in and her shout causes everyone to pause - still furious, still wracked with grief and now annoyed at this interloper. Though it is a short pause, it is enough for their attention to turn away from each other and towards her. The picture woven in the sky through magic that shows what happened draws more than one cry of pain ripple through the group. Some of the anger evaporates because how can it be held onto under the weight of the grief that can no longer be pushed aside.
Glaw’s gentle voice does not grab their attention forcefully, maybe not even completely, but it stands out in its own away against the violence of this morning. Her earnest and compassionate pleas do not entirely diffuse the situation but, like with Glean and Famkee and Rezza, they ease away a little bit of the anger.
Narya sees the ghosts of the children, she speaks to the parents and shares her truth - even if it sounds so wild to them that this is possible. Their world is one of magic and some sense of this exists in these creatures able to live in the sky and the sea - perhaps speaking to ghosts is not so outlandish. They listen through their pain as the mare explains what happened, and a wail escapes the Stratosian mare as her daughter’s name is spoken - it is echoed by the Baltians nearby and adds weight to the argument given, sinking them past anger and back into grief.
Lystra realizes how small her apologies are in the face of all that is happening but she still tries, she tries to explain - her own anguish affecting her attempts. A few of those gathered shake their heads, uninterested in hearing excuses and explanations that are different than the ones they’ve jumped to. But maybe some sense will seep in once they have had time to process, once the grief is not so fresh.
Animus turns his anger on the sprites initially, but they do not take it personally. They would change it if they could but these moments are set in stone, just like Beqanna’s history. He still tries, though - even though he also recognizes the gravity of what has happened and how small it makes his words and explanations. And maybe they aren’t enough to stop these Baltians and Stratosians from going home and explaining who they believe is at fault. But he tries.
And that is what matters for this. Most of them try, the little bit of love and grief they feel for these strangers starts the process of healing. Even though what occurs in these pockets doesn’t matter for Baltia and Stratos, at least not the ones here in the past, it does matter for Beqanna. It sparks some much-needed hope. Everyone went about it in different ways - some with ferocity, some with gentleness - using their own strengths for the betterment of their home, and Beqanna is thankful.
A portal opens around every one of them. Not something they willingly step through this time, these portals swallow each of them and take them back to where they belong. Beqanna. The land that is already beginning to heal from the wounds that have been inflicted.
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Thank you everyone for entering! You’ve all been returned to Beqanna a little different than how you left, which works out nicely because Beqanna is a little different than when they left. How exactly? You’ll find out soon!
Prizes
@
sleaze, @
Narya, and @Ea are swallowed by their portals and feel a tingling sensation across their bodies. When they appear back in Beqanna, they are granted the gift of
Magic (of a type of their choosing).
@
glean ’s portal enhances a personality trait and turns it into a trait, granting her
Empathy.
@
Glaw is now a
Unicorn. She can stay whatever colour she currently is or become the more traditional white, and she comes with the package perks of a horn, lion’s tail, and cloven hooves.
@
Rezza ’s sprite acknowledges her growth in putting aside her biases and grants her
Light healing.
@
Famkee, for her attempts to keep the peace between the past and future, is given
Clairvoyance.
As a nod to Beqanna’s past, @
assailant is granted both
Horn and
Wings.
@
Viszla /Myrna is gifted
Bravery Illusionism
@
animus receives something he already metaphorically had - a
Strong Heart
@
lystra has been given
Love Empowerment
@
Marten, surely to his delight, has received
Hope Embodiment
Although he did not make it to the end of the journey, the sprites gift @
shrykos with a
glowing marking for showing up in the first place.
Please post in updates to have these traits added to your character. They are genetic unless desired otherwise and you can transfer them to another character if you wish, but the exchange needs to occur IC.
