translated by catren mjuna—also known as catren hannly, her grey sander name stripped from her by purism, her mjuna ancestors, and the mysteries of her family’s past and place in the aether’s intentions—shortly after her sixteenth birthday.
— catren mjuna, age 16
this translation was stored within the de la rue archives following her eldest brother’s marriage to judith de la rue. shortly before catren moved to the northern reaches of baalphoria, it was removed from the archives at her request. it is unknown if the original translation still exists. this particular translation exists solely within olivier de la rue’s censor, pulled from his memory once his censor was installed.
— olivier de la rue, age 16
“i forever feel that these documents claim to be complete, and yet leave something lacking; yet, who am i, an outsider by force, to judge the methods of the grey sands of old?” — catren mjuna, age 16
✮ ✮ ✮
with the most honourable hyren za curren in attendance, this one brings it upon themself to record to the fullest of their abilities the questioning between the most honourable hyren za curren and the accused in the recent destruction of the northern portion of the tidal cities, its destruction taking the lives of the majority of its citizens back to the aether. for posterity, this one also records that the accused has summarily been informed of her impending charges in the disappearances of those many souls who have vanished into the moonlit dark these last few turns of the moon. the high eminence, to whom this questioning is due, has similarly been informed that she may well face charges in the nature of having been party to the many disappearances these last two summers past, which have been pointed upon the late doctors cundura sjuna and linmar sjinura.
while the exact nature of these three’s acquaintance may never be fully known—save in a time when the aether may bless us with her knowledge of these three evils, or the high eminence breaths her secrets upon us—the nature and similarity of their misdeeds align to such an extent that to imagine they are not related by purpose and foreknowledge of one another is to tempt fate into a place of far too many coincidences.
this one must also add to this official record his position as a transcriber of the zibura variety. this one has extended his abilities into the room to which this questioning takes place and returned with notes originating in his ability to commune through the aether with the souls his own brushes upon.
as is customary, this one has limited the use of names within the scope of his practice. take note:
hzc:
hyren za curren
hetj:
high eminence, tiran jora
t12:
transcriber 12, this one; as aligned in marks of the aether: the one from whom this one read is marked with the customary v. designation
with that, let us begin.
[
CATREN:
from the documents i have skimmed, in an attempt to determine what exactly the transcriber is and what the observations he makes throughout the documents mean, i have found that zibura caste transcribers were common in important investigations until approximately seven centuries ago. following a conflict with another nation—which may have been seer’ik’tine or crishar, a strange thing, given the nations are quite far apart—they disappeared from all records.
after consideration of the abilities shown by t12 and other zibura caste transcribers, as well as a consultation with a relative who works in the medical profession, both my brother and i agree t12’s zibura caste is likely a term for a variety of dyadism, probably a type that includes excess empathy levels, which allegedly allow the dyad to consider and read the emotions of people around them, although this is a somewhat disputed fact. regardless of the veracity of t12’s claims, it is clear that his ‘readings’ of the emotions of the various parties within the discussions are taken as an important part of these proceedings, offering insight into either what he was feeling through the aether from those around him, or perhaps the things he was ‘reading’ in their body language and facial expressions.
]
✮ ✮ ✮
[
t12 v. t12:
initial check; stress levels acceptable
]
[
t12 v. hetj:
silence; the soft internal hum of a calm music; unconcerned, content; death comes when it shall, and now is not the time for it to come
]
[
t12 v. hzc:
frustration; grief, near insurmountable—recommend therapy following debriefing
]
[
t12 v. t12:
stress levels acceptable
]
hetj:
shall this eminent one be the first to speak, as your honourable self refuses to voice any desire that this eminent one do more than sit upon this uncomfortable chair while the wreckage settles?
[
t12 v. hzc:
tense; hands clenching; teeth biting into cheek
]
hzc:
should you be gifted a more comfortable chair after the destruction you have wrought?
hetj:
“you,” is it?
hzc:
someone such as yourself does not deserve any respect after your actions.
hetj:
and what actions is your honourable self accusing this one of?
hzc:
you have been informed of the charges.
hetj:
yes, this eminent one supposes they have
[
t12 v. hzc:
tense silence; awaiting further words from hetj? silence to break the evil?
]
[
t12 v. t12:
in this one’s opinion, waiting for hetj to break is useless; this is not the sort of person liable to break under anything but their own will
]
hzc:
why don’t you start at the beginning?
hetj:
and which beginning is that? the beginning of this eminent one’s life? of your honourable self’s story in regards to this matter? of the universe herself? this eminent one is sure your honourable self is aware that as one learned of the aether herself, this eminent one is well versed in the many stories of our world’s beginning.
[
t12 v. hetj:
eyes flickering this one’s way; intentions and implications clear—words such as these are not the sort meant to be recorded into the world
]
[
t12 v. hzc:
accepting; frustrated; a shift from that flow of conversation; eyes flickering this one’s way; intentions and implications unclear—the hzc wishes for this one to leave? concerned that this one’s presence and their recordings will alter hetj’s words and truth? nay, completeness of the hetj’s testimony
]
[
t12 v. t12:
this one is aware his presence is unappreciated; it is necessary, and this one is not unused to such feelings directed his way; this one was specifically chosen for this questioning thanks to his record of refusing to bend to the pressing urge to abandon the room when emotions close around him
]
hzc:
the beginning of this story, perhaps. you may choose your starting place as necessary. this one is not so shy as to not ask for clarity when their accused leaves out the most pertinent of details.
hetj:
do those whom your honourable self questions often avoid a giving of the full truth? are you not the sort wonderful at plucking the truth from people? or, perhaps you achieved your position as so many before you: through connections and not skill, after all, it took so long for your honourable self and your released servants to find a single one of us. then, you all dropped your suspicions upon the sun-baked sand, letting our clear connections burn away into the aether’s depths.
hzc:
so, you do not deny your involvement in this incident?
hetj:
nor in the previous ones. why would this eminent one deny their connection to such glory?
hzc:
glory?
[
t12 v. hzc:
fury
]
hetj:
glory.
[
t12 v. hzc:
fury, building; peaking—not yet crashing out
]
hzc:
the actions of yourself and the late doctors snuffed many a life out of existence.
[
t12 v. hetj:
a shrug; bored with mild… amusement? teasing; coaxing—coaxing what?
]
[
CATREN:
while the document is undamaged and there appears to be no lines of the questioning missing from the documents held by my family, neither can i connect these trailing thoughts together. perhaps whoever happens upon my translations might make better sense of the shift in conversation than i myself have been able.
]
hetj:
perhaps to one such as yourself—one who is content to follow their mind to the natural conclusions at the slowest of paces.
hzc:
and you? you and the doctors did not follow their slowest of paces?
hetj:
of course we did not. we are visionaries, pushing the boundaries of the aether and her connection to her children to the brink. deaths in such endeavours are unavoidable.
hzc:
you and the doctors pushed things faster and simply… accepted that lives would be lost as a result?
hetj:
nay, your honourable self misunderstands this eminent one. we pushed faster, snuffed out more lives in quick succession and therefore brought attention down upon ourselves, but life would always have been snuffed out, and was, long before those whispers of disappearances reached your honourable ears.
hzc:
you were killing people long before two summers past?
hetj:
but of course. this eminent one and the doctors are but three spokes on generations worth of investigation and intrigue. for many summers, our ilk have been content to list in the shadows, making our slow progress, but time is running nigh. each sun passes, and we grow ever closer to the end under the hands of a child of the aether.
[
t12 v. t12 | addendum:
‘child of the aether’ is an exceptionally broad term, and while this one scoured through the emotions, words and behaviour of hetj for the remainder of their questioning, as well as during their subsequent questionings during their trial and sentencing, this one remained unclear to which sort of child they were referring to; someone close to this one themself, perhaps; close, but different; silver and purple, perhaps; together? separate? ones and zeros, weighed heavy—consult one who knows more of our northern neighbours?
]
hzc:
if yourself and the doctors felt the words of the aether—
hetj:
then we and our predecessors should have brought our concerns upon the many of our great and prosperous land who meld their will upon the world through useless proclamations?
hzc:
should they have not been given the chance to address the future your collective saw within the aether’s visions?
[
t12 v. t12:
something is wrong; this line of questioning needs to—
]
[
t12 v. hetj:
amusement; malevolence
]
hetj:
and were this eminent one and her collective not working on behalf of the aether herself, but something from further afar? something outside the world we so often feel snatching our free will away with her premonitions of the future—a future that comes to be through her manipulations of our movements?
[
t12 v. t12:
something is wrong; this line of —
]
hzc:
you—
[
t12 v. t12:
something is wrong
]
[
t12 v. hzc:
disgust; concern; fear; fear; fear—what does the hzc know? the hetj’s words make little sense to this one, yet to the hzc…
]
[
t12 v. t12:
being forced out by emotions from the hzc—attempted; it will not work on this one; this one will remain
]
[
t12v. t12:
this one will remain
]
[
t12 v. t12:
this one will remain; the hzc is not happy; the hetj is amused with us—nowhere in their information does it state hetj is counted among those such as myself; a missing fact? how else shall the hetj realize the nature of the hzc’s demands and this one’s refusal?
]
hetj:
this eminent one is sure those as high as your honourable self are well aware of the war the aether fights on our behalf, as though we asked to be placed upon this plane of existence and no other.
hzc:
those outside—
[
t12 v. hetj:
annoyance; near anger? the hetj has heard this many a time; repeating words—they will not hear it yet more
]
hetj:
this eminent one knows the lines, trained as she is. this eminent one does not require one such as yourself to repeat such flawed lines towards her.
[
t12 v. hzc:
a deep breath; a recollecting—the hzc has accepted this one’s presence once more
]
[
t12 v. t12 | addendum:
after careful consideration by the zo rayan, this transcript is subsequently classified due to the following revelations; to those to whom this document may find itself, take heed of such, for the zo do not remove such words from our official history—which may only fall upon the eyes of the worthy—without care and thought
]
hzc:
flawed lines? may this one request a explanation?
[
t12 v. hetj:
aware the hzc is attempting manipulation; more accepting of this one’s presence than the hzc… almost… happy? excited? for it; wishes that her words spread further upon the world?
]
hetj:
this eminent one is not so mindless as to not realize what your honourable self is attempting, but this eminent one shall humour you, for it is not this eminent one who fears her words finding wind, but the establishment of corruption your honourable self stands beneath, supporting its weight with the bodies of your servants.
[
t12 v. hzc:
aware hetj is attempting to bait her in return; choosing to ignore it; fuming; this one once more recommends therapy—this one does not believe the hzc likely able to break her trauma without aide from ones of the variety of this one or similar
]
hetj:
those to whom you owe your allegiance are but pawns in a grand game played between our benevolent aether and those who close in around her. one day, she shall be pressed upon and we shall have the opportunity—slim and slithering, barely within our reach for how many pieces the aether has placed into her game in attempt to reign supreme for the many summers yet to pass—to crush her machinations into gristle and blood. such things require many the machinations on our part in return, but we are but humans. the aether is nigh-eternal. we humans are but flickers across her flesh, barely leaving a mark, save when we shatter the world.
hzc:
as you did in the tidal cities?
hetj:
yes, that place was of import to her plans to stymie the forces from without. upon its shattering, this eminent one has perhaps swiped but one of her infinite pieces from the board.
hzc:
you truly believe a war between the aether and those who surround her comes upon us?
hetj:
eventually. this eminent one doubts even your honourable one’s most esteemed betters would deny such a thing, for the aether is only able to move through our world in the most minimal of ways without the aid of her slaves.
hzc:
if you believe there are infinite pieces, why bother attempting to stymie the aether’s plans? is life within her embrace truly so terrible as to tempt a world within the maw of the unknown?
hetj:
unknown to your honourable self.
[
t12 v. hzc:
disgust; loathing; fear; fear; fear
]
[
t12 v. hetj:
love; adoration; malicious desire to… consume? destroy?
]
[
t12 v. t12:
this one does not like it here; this one does not desire to know of such things beyond the aether, reaching its tendrils into our world, corrupting the hearts of ones such as hetj; this one consumed her records; this one does not believe she was always as she is here in this room of evil, forces from without pressing in around us, waiting for the perfect moment to bite, snap, consume
]
hzc:
so you brought shattering power down upon the tidal cities, snuffed out so many lives, simply to further the agenda of your master?
[
t12 v. hetj:
amused the hzc has turned her wording of ‘slave’ around, shifting the one from afar whom she serves into her ‘master’
]
hetj:
nay, this eminent one simply took a moment to breathe and break that land. those to whom this eminent one allowed the grace of her touch to brush upon were nothing more than spectators to that destruction, just as each other soul was.
hzc:
then why? what did yourself and the doctors require those vanished for?
[
t12 v. t12:
t
his one does not like it here; something is wrong; this is not knowledge that should see the light, should not be spoken, recorded, passed along
]
hetj:
why, to create an army of the dead for this eminent one’s master, of course. had your honourable self not already realized such things were meant to be the last glory for those souls?
Arc 9 | Chapter 354: this eminent one speaks of those souls’ last glory
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