INTO THE VOID

[oneandmikleonly]

[A STUBBORN AND FOOLHARDY GROUP OF EXPLORERS FALL ASLEEP AND SWIM INTO A DEEP DARK OCEAN ABYSS

There’s no punchline that’s actually what they’re doing. ]

((you can go ahead and join in even if you didn't sign up for the mission in the planning post! read here for info and assume you got a brief background rundown. there’s toplevels for different bits of the trip; go ahead and poke around wherever you want to be and jump each other freely!

if your character would ask a question or perform a particular important action at some point that isn't covered yet, please check with the mods directly at that comment for results!))

Comments

[braavado]

[With the others already chiming in with suggestions, Korra simply voices her agreement; teaming up with their new dream-shaping abilities seems like the best way to free the Emperor.

She frowns slightly, though, as she tries to send feelings of reassurance down to the cave and receives some feedback in return. Is that some negative energy she feels? She glances over at Sorey.]

Is it just me, or does she feel kind of...off?

[imsorey]

[He steals a surprised glance back at her, eyebrows raised. Most people don't notice the malevolence, so he can't be sure if it's that she's feeling or something else.]

There's a decent amount of malevolence down there; that could be what you're feeling. That's sort of why I'd like to try and get her out of there if we can.

[braavado]

Malvolence...it's that negative emotion thing that turns people into dark spirits--or something like that, right?

[She catches his gaze, raising her own brows in return.]

I guess that means you're from the same world Rose is from?

[imsorey]

[His face lights up at Rose's name--any friend of Rose's is a friend of his!]

That's right! We're friends. Did she mention the malevolence to you?

[braavado]

[That expression says it all, honestly. Korra returns the look with a bright smile of her own.]

Yeah, she did. We kind of had something similar back in my world--it only affected spirits, though, not people. [Concern bleeds into her mental voice now.] If she's been stuck down there for a long time, I guess it'd make sense that all that negative emotion would build up.

[imsorey]

[Stealing a glance back at the Emperor and nodding, the creases in his forehead mirroring her concern.]

You said it. Whether it's malevolence or something else, it's obvious it isn't doing her any good. Getting her out should help, don't you think?

[braavado]

Can't disagree with that. Once she's out, we can get a closer look at her, too. It's hard to tell if that's the only thing wrong when there's a bunch of stuff in between us.

[Korra begins to float down toward the cave.]

With all of us here working at this, we might be able to make enough of a difference.

[imsorey]

[Sorey follows her to get a better look at the spikes of malevolence.]

She seems okay with waiting for a little while, if we can't get her out right away. As long as it doesn't get worse we should be able to take our time and make sure we do it right.

[He flashes her an encouraging smile; he isn't expecting results immediately, but he fully believes that they'll be able to do it in time.]

And then we can see if there's anything else she needs help with, like you said.

[braavado]

[She nods, somewhat reluctantly.]

You're right. I hate to leave her here, but we need to make sure we do this right. We don't want to rush things and accidentally make it worse.

[Now she darts a glance at him.]

How long does it usually take for malevolence to...take over? When you dealt with it back in your world.

[imsorey]

It depends on how bad it is, really.

[from all that he's seen, there's no telling if malevolence will spread slowly over years, or in a matter of hours. but everything here is different from his world, so he can't even say if the same rules would apply.]

If there's a heavy concentration of malevolence, it's easier for it to spread and take over. But it can still be purified if it hasn't been too long. There's a lot here, but it doesn't seem like she's started turning into a hellion, so my guess is that it'll be okay for now.

[braavado]

[She tilts her head toward him, as if listening intently, even though she's hearing all this in her head.]

I'm guessing that doesn't usually happen. [She pauses thoughtfully.] Have you ever met anyone that was resistant to the malevolence?

[imsorey]

Well, there's me. The Shepherd is supposed to be pretty resistant to malevolence. It's not a complete guarantee, and it still makes me sick if there's too much of it in one area, but other than that I've never had a problem with it.

[his expression is a touch wry; there's still a lingering threat of him being tainted by malevolence regardless of being the Shepherd, but in comparison to most humans he can safely say there's a difference.]

Rose and Alisha haven't had any problems with it either, that I know of. It seems like those with a higher resonance--people who can see the seraphim--aren't as affected by malevolence. It's a step in the right direction.

[braavado]

"The Shepherd"...

[Korra tests the term out in her mind with interest. To her, it sounds like people who have some spirituality in them are more resistant--in her world's term, of course.]

That's a new word. What does being a Shepherd mean?

[imsorey]

Oh--it mostly has to do with being able to purify malevolence. A Shepherd is someone who has made a contract with a seraph in order to obtain the power of purification. Hellions and those tainted with malevolence can't be freed of it unless they're purified with that power; a normal human attacking a hellion doesn't have any effect.

The Shepherd can also serve as a mediator between humans and seraphim, if it's needed. Most humans can't see the seraphim where I'm from, so sometimes I talk to people in their place.

[there's also a whole deal about defeating the Lord of Calamity, but since there isn't a Lord of Calamity here he doesn't mention that part.]

[braavado]

[She nods, some of her confusion dissipating.]

Mikleo mentioned that before. How you could help get his messages across when people couldn't see him.

How does having a contract like that work, though? Can anyone do it?

[imsorey]

[shaking his head a fraction, just enough to get the "no" across]

I guess technically anyone could do it if they met the requirements, but that doesn't happen a lot where I'm from. I'm the first Shepherd there's been in a while.

A human with high enough resonance would need to make a contract with a seraphim that has the power of purification--in my case, that's my friend Lailah. Actually, there aren't any other seraphim with that ability as far as we know, so if someone wanted to be the Shepherd right now they'd have to contract with her. Being the Shepherd means that I act as a vessel for her and any other seraphim I contract with, so...well, if there was another human who had the ability to do that, and Lailah accepted them, they could be a Shepherd too. I've only ever met one other person with high enough resonance to be able to do that, though.

[braavado]

It all sounds so complicated.

So you can have more than one contract... you have one with Mikleo, too, right?

[imsorey]

It might only sound complicated because I'm not explaining it very well. But it is probably a lot to take in if you're from another world too.

Yeah, Mikleo's contract is a little different though--he's a sub lord. Lailah is the prime lord, and without her the other seraphim wouldn't be able to make a pact.

[braavado]

There are seraphim lords?

[Her curiosity would be easy to pick out, even without it filtering through the mental link.]

So there's some kind of hierarchy that you have to work around.

[imsorey]

Well, only if you make a pact. Some seraphim that have been around forever might be stronger than others, but it's not really a hierarchy. At least no one we've ever had trouble with.

[There is technically a hierarchy to it though, when he actually thinks about it. Everyone acts the same with one another so he hardly notices it.]

But I guess as the prime lord Lailah could keep the others in line of she needed to? She likes everyone to be treated equally though.