The Legend of Hieda: Daughter Zero - Completed

[Fightest]

Fightest's note: while your proposition is fine in theory, it is something I call free power with no consequences. A meaningful sacrifice has to be involved in this sort of drastic character action. Therefore my suggestion is as follows: you get to pick the best of both worlds but end up creating a lot of very severe problems of my choosing for your future generations.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

My intent was not to have the best of both, but to be somewhere between the two options. We would have some knowledge of both our fate and that of others, but neither would be as complete as it would be with the options you gave. My expectation was that there would perhaps be some difficulty understanding the motivations of others, but not to the same extent as fully cutting out the other voices would do. And that there may be some disorientation or difficulty concentrating or something at times, but again, not to the extent that fully letting the voices in would cause.

[Darkoda]

That's what I thought it would be as well, instead of taking an extreme, remain in the middle and forego the full benefits in exchange for not getting hit with the full weaknesses. We can't very well help people and deal with Koishi's stories if we don't understand others, and randomly losing full control of our body is bad for obvious reasons.

>More or less, just focus on our voice a bit more but not to the extent of cutting off everyone else. If that still leaves some random weakness here and there, it's better than fully losing touch with everyone around us and still preferable to outright losing full control of our body and mind.

>Not having absolute knowledge of our fate or the fates of others is fine - we got this far without the knowledge anyway, losing something we never had isn't a problem. We are the Chosen but more importantly, we are in this to help people. We can do this without needing to look into the Orrery for their fates (and they probably would not appreciate us doing that anyway) and we don't need to know our fate as much as we need to make sure that others can't go interfering with it against our will, like with stealing our name.

>Besides, we're going to carve our own fate anyway, regardless of what anyone or anything says. We'll be a horrible leader and friend if we can't even connect with those around us and while our friends can support us in moments of weakness, randomly becoming comatose is another matter entirely.


That's the gist of what I intended.

[Mr_Bob]

The paradox of accepting both strengths is that we have to accept both weaknesses too.
The future problems seems like it might be fun to roleplay, but I don't think Are would make such a selfish decision knowingly.  It'd also be difficult to create new and interesting problems based on this for the parser (maybe).
Though the deterioration of body and mind concern me if that is passed through the generations; overall, I'd prefer weakness.

>If the voices of all of Creation in all Time are present, what would focusing on the Voices of our descendents do?

[GuyYouMetOnline]

I'm with Darkoda on this one.

[Fightest]

Very well. This gives me more flexibility and more opportunity to mess around with you in the future.

> You faintly feel yourself toppling over as you dedicate every ounce of your mental capacity to dealing with the Orrery right now.
> You do not feel the impact - you've already entered your mindscape by the time you reach the ground.
> And here it is that you see the full extent of the Orrery.
> A mortal would lose her mind immediately would she behold this sight, for she would see first her strand of Fate, glowing a brilliant scarlet amidst a sea of sky-blue, then the strands hers is intertwined with, then her senses would be overwhelmed by the a sheer scale that her mind never was equipped to deal with as the Orrery's full majesty would demonstrate how tiny a speck she is against Fate itself.
> You are in a better position. Your strand shines brightly in the Orrery, visible even against the noise of billions upon billions of others. You are able to focus your attention on your strand, remembering its peculiar patterning, the light it shines, the sound it makes as it rubs against another strand.
> You hold this feeling in your mind. You burn it in such that you would recognise it even when deaf and blind. And you remember its course from its beginning to

> A sobering        ,              a serene tranquility, the sort that                 admits to herself                         denying for a            , a sense of release         

>                 .

>          feeling is         .             growing sense of dread, a kind you           before, as you frantically             Orrery, carefully              thread              , keeping yourself focused               search           should be there,               terrifying hole in Fate                               .

>                 .

[Fightest]

> It has no end.

[Fightest]

> You wake up as if from a nightmare, sweat stinging your eyes, your mouth dry. Your fingers feel numb. You can still hear the ticking of the Orrery at the back of your mind, but its noise does not overwhelm you as long as you focus on your own Fate-strand.
> The details of the nightmare already fade from your mind, but your mind seizes up when you try to look at the future component of your strand. You might be able to overcome the mental block briefly, but this is something you appear to have put up of your own free will. It will require a great deal of effort to achieve.
> On the bright side, you can follow the the Fate-strands that are closely entwined with yours with little effort.

>If the voices of all of Creation in all Time are present, what would focusing on the Voices of our descendents do?

> Your mind screams at you to stop before you examine your future any further.
> You settle on having a look at nearby strands. Some of them appear to form little loops, small knots that seem perfect for another strand to fill them, or for a strand to have its beginning tied to them.
> The Orrery does not seem to be able to keep track of individuals who have yet to exist.

[Darkoda]

>Have we ever felt the need to put up a mental block against anything before?

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>Take stock of ourselves and our surroundings.
>Has Four-Season's-Princess reacted in any way to what just happened? Or does she show no sign of realizing that anything happened at all?

[Fightest]

>Have we ever felt the need to put up a mental block against anything before?

> No. This is something you have never experienced before, quite a rarity these days.

>Take stock of ourselves and our surroundings.
>Has Four-Season's-Princess reacted in any way to what just happened? Or does she show no sign of realizing that anything happened at all?

> The oristeel machinery of the Orrery is still whirring and buzzing all around you.
> You separated from Four-Seasons'-Princess once you decided to go catch a Pattern Spider. She did not want to be implicated in any way with your activities.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>Do we have any sense of anything we might be able to do through our connection to the Orrery? Might we now have some influence with it?
>Find another pattern spider. It may be that after what just happened, we no longer need one, but let's grab one anyways.
>Once we find another spider, grab it. Let's see if the Orrery will now allow us to do so.

[Fightest]

>Do we have any sense of anything we might be able to do through our connection to the Orrery? Might we now have some influence with it?
>Find another pattern spider. It may be that after what just happened, we no longer need one, but let's grab one anyways.
>Once we find another spider, grab it. Let's see if the Orrery will now allow us to do so.

> ...

> Are proceeded to have more adventures on that day, and she did succeed in keeping secret her actions in the Orrery. But you feel that there is little relevance there to the salvation of Gensokyo. You continue tracing the original thought-path.

> ...

> What in the nine hells are you attached to?
> It is an uncanny feeling that you experience, as the Demon materialises more and more as she exerts ever more effort to snag your name. It almost tickles.

[Mr_Bob]

>Can we force her to completely materialize?

[Darkoda]

>If we let her get a glimpse of the fact that we're directly connected to the Orrery, would it break her mind too much to recover anytime soon?

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>What have we learned about our connection to the Orrery in the time since we first became connected?

[Fightest]

>Can we force her to completely materialize?

> The demon appears to need to materialize more the more power she needs to use. Perhaps continuing in this fashion will get her to materialize fully.

>If we let her get a glimpse of the fact that we're directly connected to the Orrery, would it break her mind too much to recover anytime soon?

> You do not have means available for this sort of psychic projection in the first place.

>What have we learned about our connection to the Orrery in the time since we first became connected?

> You have become quite adept at reading the Fates of others that are immediately entwined with your own. This requires a fresh connection, however, as old ones tend to get tangled very quickly. In other words, you're able to read those you've just met, but will have trouble reading the Fates of older acquaintances.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>Let her continue to try, then.
>Have we made any progress in regards to the mental block?

[Darkoda]

>Since she's busy wasting her time and all, what can we see of the demon's fate?
>If by chance we got her name, we'd effectively be able to disable her right?

[Fightest]

>Since she's busy wasting her time and all, what can we see of the demon's fate?
>If by chance we got her name, we'd effectively be able to disable her right?

> The Demon's fate is quite inextricably linked to yours. You know that she will remain linked to you for a while yet, before veering off sharply. She seems to have a destiny attached to herself as well, in the two hundred years or so, where many fate-threads spring forth from hers.

> You have no ability to use a name to hold power over another being.

>Have we made any progress in regards to the mental block?

> No. You do, however, understand that it will take a very drastic change of something to lift this block.

>Let her continue to try, then.

> A few minutes pass.
> While shocked by your nature, Gathering Fragrance did not relent in her attack.
> And a cunning series of attacks it was, where you not only had to defend your own fate-thread from being severed at multiple points, but also from its being retroactively tied to alternate origins, and from being erased through paradox. You learned more about Fate manipulation in these past few minutes than you had in your entire lifetime. Perhaps you could perfect these techniques for your own use at a later point.
> But, in the end, the demon wore herself out - and you as well, for that matter - by repeatedly trying to shape your future and being unable to break your mental block.
> The woven in Alice's parlor have been partially bleached from the intensity of the crimson light that had been emanating from you and the demon.
> Now the light shines no more. The demon has fully materialized into the form of a diminuitive girl, her head adorned with straight horns proudly jutting from the sides of her head. She is lying on the floor, catching her breath, seeming oddly amused by the whole affair.
> You have a headache.

[Hanzo K.]

>Massage one of our temples. "Rather strong, aren't you? I can tell that fate has quite a lot in store for you. And others tied to you."

[Fightest]

Are raises her hand, only to be overcome by a sudden feeling of terror. Eyes wide, she looks at her hand, as if seeing it for the first time in her life. She briefly wonders if she has gone mad as she chooses not to massage her temples.

> You briefly experience a very strange sensation, but it passes just as quickly as it came on.
> Perhaps your fight with the demon had some more subtle side-effects. Maybe you should take a sabbatical one of these days.
> The demon does not seem to notice your episode.
> "Can you, now? You'd better be careful, in case you see something you shouldn't. Pff, then again, you're far past that, even I can see that. What have you done to yourself?"

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"What I needed to. Things didn't turn out quite as expected, but I did achieve what I wanted from the whole affair."

[Fightest]

> "And you're still young. I wouldn't want to meet you a few hundred years down the line. Or be you, for that matter. So then, Are Hiedaborn. You've already got a strangling grip on Fate itself, what is so important in Empyrian that you came so far?"
> Gathering Fragrance rolls her eyes.
> "And stop with the expression, Outbound Road. You know exactly what I mean. People like Are don't do social calls."
> Alice looks at you and shrugs.
> "Don't think I didn't realise, Are. I am happy that you're here, but it's clear that you have another objective."

[Hanzo K.]

>What was it we came to Empyrian for again anyhow?

[Darkoda]

>To get a fiction novel about the Chaos from the library I believe.
>Though I don't recall why we visited Alice beyond just because.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>We knew we were being watched when we entered the city. We came to her for assistance.
>"I am here for research. I meant to make for the library immediately, but upon my arrival I sensed that I was... under observation."

[Hanzo K.]

>Gesture towards our horned friend as we say the 'observation' part.

[Fightest]

>We knew we were being watched when we entered the city. We came to her for assistance.
>"I am here for research. I meant to make for the library immediately, but upon my arrival I sensed that I was... under observation."

>Gesture towards our horned friend as we say the 'observation' part.

> Gathering Fragrance laughs.
> "What, are you expecting an apology or something?"
> Alice ignores the demon.
> "I have acquaintances in the library, they can help keep your work discreet, if necessary. If you want my help, I am happy to offer it."

[Mr_Bob]

> Gathering Fragrance laughs.
> "What, are you expecting an apology or something?"

>"I don't expect an apology, but what are you going to do now? Drink tea and exchange pleasantries?"

> Alice ignores the demon.
> "I have acquaintances in the library, they can help keep your work discreet, if necessary. If you want my help, I am happy to offer it."

>"That would be most beneficial, Alice. I am glad to have your assistance."