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[gynvael]

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» Horizon

Geralt is always reachable by the network. Unless it's an emergency, expect not to hear back for a few hours, if not a few days.

To talk to him in person, you'll need to be in Cadens or go to his domain, a snowy mountain fortress. Yard is open; doors are locked. If he isn't around, leave a delivery with the white wolf.

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[falcony]

[ geralt and steve had left on their trip a couple of days prior. sam and steve have been keeping in close enough contact since then - steve, unfortunately, having to deal with the absurd constant-thought-train from sam as he's running around cadens. it may simply be an aspect of dating sam wilson that steve hadn't considered, but it's too late now.

ALL THIS TO SAY, geralt's been spared sam's 'i'm running across town and need something to occupy my time with' until now. the message comes with no warning, but also, so is the way of these things. ]

QUESTION FOR YOU
WANTED TO ASK WHEN YOU WERE IN TOWN
BUT SCHEDULES AND STORMS AND ALL THAT
NOW A GOOD TIME?

[gynvael]

[ Given the nature of the situation, Geralt isn't surprised to hear from Sam. About time; they've a lot to discuss, and neither of them are good at staying still. ]

Mm-hm.

[falcony]

[ and perhaps his initial statement is misleading. he has a couple of questions. more than a couple. thankfully, steve’s been keeping him fairly updated, but the rest is for later.

for now, well. ]

WHEN YOU LEFT TO GO GET JULIE BACK IN NOVEMBER
YOU FOUND HER AT THE SINGULARITY, RIGHT?

[ geralt hadn’t said anything about it, but sam can put two and two together. he knows enough about julie’s connection, and he can guess the rest. ]

[gynvael]

[ While not a detail Geralt's been sharing freely, it was only a matter of time Sam pieced it together. Or should he say, a matter of time before Sam brought it up that he'd pieced it together. Sam must've known the moment Geralt said he was leaving to search for Julie. ]

Yes.
I stayed for a few weeks.

[falcony]

AND THAT WASN'T YOUR FIRST TIME INSIDE THE CRATER, RIGHT?

[ there is a point to all this, when he gets there. and also...yes, alright. so sam has known for a while. but it did fall into the category of 'doesn't need to be talked about until it does'. this just happens to be that moment of 'it does'. ]

[gynvael]

I didn't enter.
Last time we did...

[ Well. Sam remembers what happened. ]

[falcony]

BUT FROM WHERE YOU WERE
WAS THERE ANYTHING WEIRD GOING ON?
OR ANYTHING DIFFERENT?

[ sam does remember what happened, and the only other time it didn't would have been the time they all were sent to get the presents thorne tried to send to the singularity during Christmas time. but the more sam thinks back on it, he's not sure geralt was even there. ]

[gynvael]

No.
It appeared stable.

What are your thoughts?

[falcony]

THAT SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH THE SINGULARITY
AND AS IT USUALLY GOES WHEN THE SINGULARITY GOES HAYWIRE
THE SUMMONED ARE ABOUT TO BE IN FOR A BAD TIME

I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF THERE'S ANY WAY TO TELL WHY
OR WHAT SPECIFICALLY MIGHT HAVE SET IT OFF

[gynvael]

When we exited Ikorr
You heard it, too.
Hadn't you?

[falcony]

I DID
STEVE TOO
AND YOU SAW IT, RIGHT?

[gynvael]

Mm-hm.
I found something, too.
In the Horizon.
The offering from the Heralds.

[falcony]

YOU DID?
SHIT
WHAT WAS IT?
DO YOU THINK THIS IS THEM?

[gynvael]

The same as before.
The moth in the rose.

I think perhaps
we're more connected to them
than we want to believe.

[falcony]

THE HERALDS?
WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?
CAUSE AREN'T THEY JUST MORE OLD GODS?

[gynvael]

[ What is he thinking? That's a good question. A few minutes pass before he answers. He can't say he believes what he's about to tell Sam, but he'll not deny it's stayed in his mind. ]

Stories say the Singularity birthed their gods.
A few have theorized that we, too, could be considered...
birthed from the Singularity.

[falcony]

[ now this is an idea. sam doesn't feel as though this is the first he's heard of this theory, isn't the first time he's considered it, but there is something solidifying about hearing it from geralt. ]

OKAY
WELL
LET'S ENTERTAIN THAT IDEA FOR A SEC
IF WE'RE ON A PATH TO BECOME HERALDS, OR GODS, OR WHATEVER THE FUCK
WHY WOULD THEY SUMMON US IF THEY KNEW WE COULD GET THAT POWERFUL?
AND WHAT DO YOU THINK THE HERALDS OR PREVIOUS SUMMONED ARE TRYING TO TELL US?

[gynvael]

All good questions.
Though I expect the hubris of men
Answers most conundrums.

I don't know what I believe.
The reality may not matter.
People have a habit of acting on anything but.

[falcony]

YEAH ALRIGHT C.S. LEWIS
BUT IF IT'S ALREADY HAPPENED ONCE
TO NO REAL SUCCESS
THEY HAVE TO BE TRYING FOR SOMETHING ELSE

REALITY MAY NOT MATTER TO EVERYONE
BUT IT DOES STILL MATTER
AND IF WE'RE BEING AWAITED BY SOMEONE DANGEROUS
I'D RATHER BE PREPARED THAN PASSIVE

[gynvael]

This assumes they've confirmed a rumour that even to me,
feels little more than fairytale.

[ He isn't ruling anything out—but it's difficult not to take the idea with a grain of salt. The Summoned are obviously different. Unaffected by the Dimming. Capable of entering planes the natives cannot. Over centuries, who's to say the stories haven't grown?

But past that— ]

I'm less concerned about the supposed gods
Than the people who brought us here to use us.

1/2

[falcony]

FAIRYTALES ALL STARTED SOMEWHERE
AND UNFORTUNATELY FOR US
THE WHOLE 'REALITY VS. FAIRY TALE' ARGUMENT DOESN'T REALLY WORK
NOT WITH THE THINGS WE'VE SEEN


I GUESS THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO WRAP MY HEAD AROUND
IF ALL SUMMONED ARE ON A PATH TO GET MORE AND MORE POWERFUL
GOD-LIKE, IF WE WANTED TO GO THAT FAR
THEN THE PEOPLE WHO'VE SUMMONED US HERE ARE BEYOND HUBRIS
IT'S NEARLY SUICIDAL
AND WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY MORE ACCOUNTS OF ANYONE TRYING TO USE SUMMONED MAGIC LIKE WE DID BACK IN THORNE, RIGHT?
CAUSE I HAVEN'T HEARD OF ANY

2/2

[falcony]

[ it's that next moment that the realization slots into place for sam, like a bag of bricks landing directly on the top of his head. ]

DO YOU THINK THAT'S WHAT THOSE BONES YOU FOUND WERE?
THE CITIES' TRY AT BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN THEM AND US?

1/2

[gynvael]

[ Sam's words ring true, but only if the people fear the gods greatly. Do they? If so, why call on them, as Solvunn does? And why have these gods largely remained passive except when provoked?

Geralt believes a misstep has been made somewhere, in the sense that Thorne could not have foreseen the other territories performing the spell, too—but the fact that they can, season by season without fail, suggests relatively common access to powerful magic the likes of which he's not seen before. Except from Ciri. Here, everything feels different. Even the fact that they once suppressed his mutations gives him pause.

Sam might see the gods as the true danger, but Geralt can't help thinking that this status, if or when turned on them, will only spell danger for them. It's happened before. A roiling fear that spurs nothing but bloodshed.

He suddenly finds himself uncertain how to respond, and so he answers a simpler point first. ]

No.
The timing is inconsistent.

2/2

[gynvael]

[ After a minute or two, another reply comes through. ]

Sam—
I don't know what the kingdoms or the gods are plotting.
Or what they're capable of.

All I know is, when the world last feared a people had grown too dangerous to control,
None of us were spared.

[falcony]

[ while it isn't exactly that sam sees the gods as the true danger compared to the people here who wish to use them. rather, sam's experience with singular people coming into god-like powers has not always been a good one. there were exceptions, sure, but his mind goes to places that aren't always great.

geralt's quick response, though, does wonders to calm down whatever anxiety might have been building. no, geralt is right. the timing is off.

but it's the second response that gets sam's attention - the kind of sensation that geralt is talking about something more, something else, but also this. and while just about every part of geralt's message to him is something he could probably worry about, there is a kind of stillness that comes over him at the us.

none of us were spared

sam thinks he knows just what geralt is getting at, with that. ]

WE WON'T LET THAT HAPPEN, HERE
I'M NOT SAYING IT'S GONNA SOMEHOW BE EASY
BUT WE WON'T. I WON'T.
WHATEVER IT TAKES - WE'LL FIGURE IT OUT TOGETHER