hadriel | 001

Entry tags:

001 | Video

[ The scene set is that of a living room. It does not appear to have been lived in much, no trinkets on shelves or the table, and no pillows set up on the couch. The video is static for a long moment before the Outsider appears on screen in a wash of black smoke and shining pieces of onyx. He's set himself up in the center of the couch, on the back of it, his feet planted on the cushion. His hands are folded together as he leans forward. There's a twinkle of amusement in his beetle-black eyes. ]

Have you ever heard the tale of Empress Emily Drexal Lela Kaldwin, first of her name? [ No response? No problem. He's going to tell it to you anyway. ] A child born to take the throne, she grew up privileged. She learned about the world from a distance and when people killed her mother and stole her throne, her father took up sword to take it back for her. [ He disappears in a wisp, reappearing further from the camera. The distance has no effect on the loudness of his voice. He gestures widely with his arms. ] Her father returned the throne to her and though she tried to be the Empress her mother once was, she lost sight of what was important: the voices of her people.

Another came for her throne while she was blinded, a woman who had been born in the hole and clawed her way out to the top, and that woman took it with blood. If only Emily had paid attention. If only she spent a little less time on the rooftops of her city or in the arms of her lover. If, if, if. [ Again, he disappears, this time appearing to lean against the left arm of the couch. He shakes his head. ] She took up sword, same as her father. She took on my mark, same as her father.

But do you think she managed to get her crown back? Could she do it as bloodlessly as her father? [ A quiet chuckle in the back of his throat. ] Or would she be as ruthless a killer as her betrayers?

It's a tale that can end in so many different ways.

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The harder path? [He gives a sound of amusement at that, on the knife-edge of being rather close to a scoff. But Ardyn is not so easily read to allow even that small amount of disdain show. He's all flippancy for now.] I do apologize for being so droll as to choose the route most would tread. Of course, I'd also be inclined to argue that it isn't an easy path, either.

Perhaps I'm biased. [Ah, a shrug of broad shoulders.]

Tell me, which are you hoping for? The way of understanding and mercy? Or vengeance?

[ He disappears in a flash of darkness, wisps so thick and black that they could only come from a place where light is limited, or nonexistent. He's returned himself to the couch, legs crossed, expression as easy as ever. ]

I hope for that which is most interesting. Those who tread the path without shedding blood are the most impressive of mine, but I cannot deny that pure emotional vengeance isn't, at the very least, a fascinating display of their humanity. They get boring the most quickly, however.

[ Sometimes, though rare, they will find a way to catch his eye again, either through change of heart (always a surprise for him) or garnering power beyond what he'd given. ] As long as I have lived, it's those who cause less chaos that I will always return to.

[The way the darkness appears to swirl around this man is perhaps far more intriguing to him than anything else. Appearing from one place to another is curious, but hardly anything extraordinary in the overall scheme of things. Especially given the oddities that they're surrounded by in Hadriel alone.]

You call them yours? [That does elicit a noise of amusement from him, from the back of his throat.] And who are you to make that claim?

[Despite the words, it hardly has the tone of an accusation. More a lingering curiosity.]

The god of the Void. [ A mock of a bow, darkness trailing his movements like some lost puppy, clinging to him. ] It's where all souls go when they die, to be devoured by the darkness and disappear. And to those I grant my gift... [ He almost seems to smile. All the people he's chosen thus far have given start to a great many things: the rat plague, the death of an Empress, the start of secret plots and schemes, and Delilah. ] ...they become irreversibly tied to me, given abilities to change their fates.

I watch them the most.

[ Yeah, that's not creepy at all, Outsider. No. Not. at. all. ]

Ah. [A sound of understanding, with no small underpinning of something else. Disdain, perhaps, an unavoidable reaction based on little more than less-than-pleasant associations.] Another who would call himself a god walks among us. And one who grants gifts, at that. How generous of you.

[A hand goes up to adjust the brim of Ardyn's hat as he speaks. It's an idle gesture. Maybe it's a tell. He makes it difficult to know.]

Do you watch for amusement only, with no regards for the consequences? [It's hypocritical of Ardyn, to talk like he actually would care about those bearing this so-called gift. But he's asking for another reason, something in which he has personal experience with.] It appears some things remain universal, where deities are concerned.

I would never call myself generous. [ Because if he is one thing, it is not that. He gives so rarely it may as well be nothing but a fairy tale to most of society, but that doesn't stop them from reaching for him, desperate hands willing to do anything for just one glimpse of black eyes and the Void.

It's clear Ardyn has his own personal view of deities, but, honestly, the Outsider does not care one lick. He is not other gods and he is not to be judged like them. ]

I watch because I am curious. [ A pause, a pointed dark look at the camera. ] Humanity is a fascinating thing, constantly evolving, but so few of them are fascinating on their own. They fall in line with the minds of others, hurt the innocent and wrong alike in a blindness they pass down to their children and their children's children.

Perhaps you wouldn't call yourself generous, but I've yet to decide for myself. After all, you've not told me exactly what these gifts of yours entail.

[Ardyn's own gaze towards the camera is just as unwavering, though accentuated with an arch of the brow.]

And yet if all of humanity were unpredictable, you'd grow bored of that as well, wouldn't you?

Perhaps, but they've never reached such a status. Nor will they ever. I am not omniscient but I am aware of that much. [ And he's been alive for a hell of a long time. Humans so rarely find ways to impress him and, when they do, their lines often end up cursed; just look at Attano and his daughter. ]

What of here, then? This city that pulls us from our homes, when we've all better things to do? The men and women here are... varied, to say the least. Each seems to come from their own set of very different circumstances. Young and old. Powerful and frail.

You must be absolutely giddy.

[It's something of a jest. There is nothing "giddy" about this man (thing? god?) he's speaking to.]

[ Now that brings what can only be described as a smile, small, but curious and knowing and all so very much amused. ]

I'm certainly finding myself with more to observe than usual, I'll admit that much. It's been a pleasant change, albeit an uncomfortable one, to have come to such a city.

[Ardyn's smile in turn is wider, though just as difficult to parse. One would call it amused if not for the fact it seems to be his default expression most of the time.]

Uncomfortable because some force had the nerve to pull you here, along with the rest of us? I imagine that must have been jarring for a deity such as yourself.

Not at all. [ The Outsider doesn't appreciate the assumption but people will think and do as they will, regardless of his intentions or words. He leans his chin into his palm, almost bored. ]

My being has been entwined with the Void for four thousand years, to be taken from that is... a difficult thing to process and adjust to. Just as I imagine being taken from your own world has been difficult.

[ He's not the only being here to have issues being pulled away from his home, after all. ]

Upset? In a way, yes.

[Somewhat of an understatement on Ardyn’s part, but the full answer is complicated and one he’s not inclined to go on about for no real reason.]

We’ve all more important things to tend to at home; lingering responsibilities and all that.

And what sorts of important things do you have to tend to? Do you fear being here will... upset things for you.

Wouldn't it for most?

[Though perhaps not to the one he's speaking to.]

Where I'm from, the world is covered in darkness. A state of affairs that others would rather see reversed; my presence is required for it.

For it to be reversed or for the darkness to remain? [ And is it similar to the Void? Is Ardyn's world experiencing its final end? It always, always comes, after all. ]

[A grin, and an answer that is not completely helpful.]

Both.

[But true, regardless. Ardyn is the reason why the sun no longer rises on Eos. With his defeat, it will appear once more.]

[ The Outsider hums curiously, the sound an echo of something beneath a hushed sea. ]

Is it your time for your world to end?

That's rather for others to decide, isn't it?

[He says this as if he doesn't already know the answer; as if Ardyn had not already been defeated, granted freedom from immortality... only to be brought here, to Hadriel. No, his world was not fated to end on that day.]

Is being blanketed in darkness eternal really considered an "end", at any rate? I wonder. Its existence continues regardless.

Not in my world. The end is the end and there is no stopping the Void when that time comes. It will take with it all and leave nothing behind. [ The End will be The End. The Outsider isn't certain whether or not he will be around when it happens or if another deity will have taken his place, but it will happen one day or another. ]

And what I know of humans, they require the light of the sun to continue to survive. Their bodies were not made for an eternal darkness. Not all would die, perhaps a new creature will be at the top of the food chain, but eternal darkness would kill humanity swiftly.

Then so be it.

[What a cruel thing to say, detached as it is. Tempered only by the fact that Ardyn knows this will not be the case, but he doesn't feel the need to share this much for now.]

All things come to an end, as they say. I'm only playing my part in the role.

And what is your part? To ensure the darkness remains? [ Zero judgement. ]

[And zero caring that this happens to be over a public feed.]

My part is to defy the gods, and in my spite, bring darkness to the world. Whether or not it remains depends on those who would fight against it.

Why is it you're so spiteful?

A long time ago, I was betrayed by both gods and family.

[Fast forward 2000+ years later, and Ardyn's spite has crystallized into something very potent that he carries with him.]

I suppose it's your rather cliche story of revenge, isn't it?

[Purposefully misdirecting, merely for the sake of not divulging into too many details right now.]

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