hauntedking | [KENOS] IC Inbox

[ Since he revived, the whereabouts of Zelda's Shard have never left his mind. He sat in jail thinking about her; he snuck through Springstar after his escape thinking about her. When he lays down, he's hoping she's okay, and when he wakes up, he's wondering when he'll see her again. With everything that's been happening, he has put it off until now — and, maybe, procrastinating. Dreading.

If the Meris did shatter her, it had probably happened before he'd even revived yet. ]

Dimitri... I lost Zelda. I think someone in the Meridian has her. [ pause. ] Maybe... Shez, but I don't know for sure. Can you help me?

Link?

[ There's a hum of something hopeful in his voice. It's mixed with weariness and a sense of resignation. ]

Zelda? I don't know-

[ The shard that Link received from Yima, probably. It takes him a moment. ]

I - yes, yes. I didn't know that the shard was... missing. I can see what I can find.

Please.

[ Link's mental voice cracks, as if he's fighting back tears. He is trying to keep it together, to not let his emotions spill into the Communion and overwhelm either of them, but he is struggling. ]

I don't know where she is. I — please, Dimitri, I... Before all this happened, I heard news that some other Zenites' Shards had been attacked somehow, and... i-if anything happened to her, I don't...

[ It's a little overwhelming, but there's a flood of sympathetic feeling all the same. ]

I'll see what I can find out. And you have my word that I will not allow harm to come to her shard. Not if I can help it.

[ His psyche, washed in Dimitri's tender kindness, begins to calm. Link is silent for a moment, but then there's an impression of him nodding in muted agreement. When Dimitri says he gives him his word, Link knows to trust it. He knows he'll do everything he can. ]

...okay. Th-thank you. Thank you so much.

[ he goes quiet, hesitating. ]

Are you... alright...?

...I'm unhurt.

[ That's not the same thing, though. ]

I'm not injured. But... none of this sits well with me, Link. Zenith - they've done something terrible.

I know. But I — I didn't know. [ he adds, urgently. ] I haven't even been in Highstorm for the past month. I was... I was in the Beyond, trying to find out... what the Meris were building. Set and the others. That's... how I lost Zelda.

I didn't know they were going to do this, Dimitri. I swear it.

...I believe you, Link.

[ He does trust him, even know. Even if hurts because they stand on opposite sides. He doesn't know how to bridge the gap that has opened beneath their feet. Should he even try? ]

But I have to warn you... this is war now. And I intend to fight it and bring it a conclusion, as quickly as I can.

[ Link is quiet. He doesn't know what to make of those words. Where are they coming from, exactly? Are they the words of a noble kind determined to get back to his kingdom... or are these whispers coming from that dark, cruel place within Dimitri's heart?

He doesn't want Dimitri to do something he's going to regret. But he knows he has no place to lecture him, either. Not anymore. ]

...Shez killed me. Before he did it, I told him we didn't have to fight. He killed me anyway. Because firing that weapon at the Manor was more important, I guess.

...what exactly happened?

[ He hasn't heard this yet. From anyone. ]

You found the weapon they used?

Yeah. I tracked it down. They built it in the Beyond, north of Highstorm... it's probably still there.

[ If Link were talking to any Meri other than Dimitri, he wouldn't be telling him any of this. But, thankfully, he is — because now he knows that Shez didn't run and blab what happened to everyone. ]

I got caught spying on them.

I heard rumors of some sort of weapon at one time, but I knew little of it.

[ He sighs softly. ]

...and Shez decided to kill you for it.

[ Which is... well. He can't say he entirely blames Shez. It's a very logical, Shez thing to do. ]

...

So... the Zenith attacked Springstar to kill the Tribune, and a lot of us didn't know about it. And some Meris built a weapon to attack the Manor, but other Meris weren't involved at all.

[ He pauses, thinking. He already knows, from personal experience, that there are Zenites who strongly object to what their comrades did. There's got to be Meris who feel the same way, but... ]

Dimitri... if you did know about the weapon, would you have done anything?

I don't know.

[ He answers truthfully. ]

I would have counseled against its use, certainly. And tried to prevent an escalation of the war to open violence. But now... after everything... it's hard for me to say that there wasn't some propriety in preparing for the possibility of needing such a thing.

Then, does it really matter if you didn't know about it?

[ Link's voice is gentle, quiet... but firm. ]

I didn't know about the assassination. And I don't approve of the involvement of civilians and non-combatants. But going after Cyrus himself...

[ He trails off. He's not so sure he would have objected to it. ]

It was only a matter of time before something like this happened, wasn't it.

...probably. I've been hoping this war would stay... well. Not non-violent, but at least contained. But it's finally turning into something that can't be restrained and I don't know what can be done about.

[ Probably nothing at all. There are too many people on either side who are willing to go to extremes to win. They'll suck everyone else into their way of thinking, either through intentional persuasion or by galvanizing and radicalizing the more level-headed people on the other side. ]

...I need Zelda back.

[ That's all he can say. All he can do is trying to focus back on why he's talking to Dimitri at all.

Neither of them are about to solve Kenos' problems on their own, anyway. It's almost pointless to even talk about it. ]

Talk to Shez. I'll meet you in Alenroux, if you prefer someplace neutral.

And — if she's been corrupted like some of the other Zenite Shards were last month, I... I'll know.

[ It's true, talking in circles won't get them anywhere. And Dimitri is determined to help Link get the shard back. Even so... there's an unhidden flare of hurt there. ]

...I wouldn't do such a thing, Link. You know that.

You wouldn't. [ he sighs. it wasn't meant as an accusation — well, not against Dimitri, at least. ]

But someone on your side did. Last I heard, we have no idea how. Whoever it was might take advantage of the situation, if they already haven't.

So, please... just be careful.

If you can avoid telling other people that you have a Zenite's gifted Shard, then don't.

I know. I'll... I'll be careful. I don't want anyone to harm the shard, either.

[ Dimitri sighs softly as well. ]

Things are going to be difficult after all of this, Link.

I know.

[ And that's all he says. He leaves the conversation there, hanging on that bare acknowledgement, with nothing else to add. No words of encouragement, no further predictions, no announcement of how he intends to deal with it... just silence. ]

[KENOS] IC Inbox

february; one week after manor attack

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