Dude, you absolutely would have ignored MY request to meet up that day if I hadn't tricked you. So don't even give me that.
This is such a great opportunity to find out more information about this world. These guys aren't affiliated with the Coven (unless there's a REALLY messed up plot twist happening), so we could learn something actually useful for once.
I totally could have been. For all you knew, I was the President of the United States.
Okay, anyway. There’s a ton I want to ask. But I should update you on some stuff first. Before you arrived in Talam, Aefenglom was working on setting up the Northern Outpost in the Wildes. Well, a bunch of Wilders found a super old cave with walls covered in weird paintings and writing. Some of the writing we were able to translate, and it said creepy things like "they come at night," "turn back," "bowels of the netherworld," "suck out your soul," and "all die who enter below."
The rest we couldn’t translate. Until now. I had to grease the palm of the librarian in the Underground a fair bit, but she finally agreed to help me translate the writings. They’re death records. Names and causes of death, like "blinded by fire in sky," "fell in ravine," "mauled by unknown beast," "contracted infection, too contagious to retrieve."
Hear me out. What if the people who wrote in the caves were one of the nomadic tribes, or a splinter group from the Underground city? “Bowels of the netherworld” definitely seems to fit the city, right? And “suck out your soul” might reference the moss they have. It sounds like this group was forced to try and adapt to aboveground life (which I’m guessing on because of “blinded by fire in sky” honestly). Something’s fishy.
Here’s an image of the wall paintings, BTW.
[ And Stiles sends over both an image taken with the comm watch’s camera and his own detailed sketchings of the paintings, which are easier to make out. The paintings depict “Monsters with spears or short swords, Witches with staffs, humans grouped behind them. They face down beasts that must be extinct, or perhaps these are drawings of Cwyldtid, done in a now-faded black ink.” ]
[That is a lot of information to digest. Where Itachi was first intent to approach his meeting with the Matriarch from a neutral standpoint, now he has more to color his perception of this underground city and its inhabitants, based on what Stiles' has discovered. He also finds himself appreciative, in this moment, of Stiles' compulsion to nosiness where before it existed far more as a bane in his life.
Also, he doesn't know what a 'president' is, but context alone gives him enough. No time for jokes, let's dig into meaty meta plot.]
Thank you for the images.
Your theory is these people may have been forced to adapt to aboveground life? It seems those writings suggest more of the danger deep below than anything on the surface. Particularly "all die who enter below." If they did originate from this civilization, it must have looked quite different in the past than it does now, or I am doubtful their messages would contain such ominous warning. Unless, as you also suggested, they were another tribe with no association to this specific place. That seems more likely, but without more knowledge on the history of this place we cannot say for sure.
Except for "blinded by fire in the sky" and "they come at night," most are indicative of underground danger. The reference to infection is almost certainly the Cwyld. The drawings of blackened creatures provide more evidence toward this.
Is there any information on how old exactly those etchings are in the cave?
Well, it seems like they’re unfamiliar with aboveground life, judging by the death records. So I’m theorizing they must have originally come from underground, though whether that means the city or the tunnels I have no idea.
No info on the timeframe. The language is so old though that not even the librarian could translate all of it. However long it takes a language to change, I guess.
There’s more. Sasuke doesn’t remember it, but before we officially arrived in Aefenglom, me, him, and Jonas were pulled into a shared dream like you were. Except ours took place in this jungle that obviously existed AGES ago. The human villagers were living in mud huts. Barely any technology at all. THAT ancient. Anyway, the jungle was super dangerous because of these massive versions of Monsters on the prowl. Picture that freaky purple skeleton ghost thing Sasuke can summon. We’re talking that massive. It’s possible the creatures in the cave paintings represent those Monsters.
Then it's possible those drawings could have occurred around a similar time. As we know now, our appearance in dreams certainly bears significance. We shouldn't ignore any of those experiences.
That "purple skeleton ghost thing" is called Susanoo. Why does Sasuke not remember the experience?
Right. There's a reason we're dreaming about these places. I'll have to ask the veteran Mirrorbound what they dreamed about before we showed up.
Susanoo. That's familiar. I don't know why. Is it related to Orochimaru at all?
[ Great, is he going to owe Momo another favor asking about more Japanese mythology and lore? ]
Apparently, some people don't remember the dream if they're not already Mirrorbound. I don't know anyone else that happened to, but I think Sasuke spoke with a few others.
Sure, after you tell me more about Orochimaru. I've already given you the motherlode of deets a few minutes ago. So pay up a little. Then I'll explain the context of what I saw. And, because I'm such a swell guy, I'll throw in a bonus: The name Orochimaru exists in my world too, as a Japanese myth. Interested?
Orochimaru was a powerful shinobi in our world. He was also Sasuke's mentor, for a time. [Which Itachi may have some thoughts on.]He was a destructive and violent force. Eventually I was able to seal him away, though it was difficult to achieve.
Not much. Just generally curious. He's allegedly a villain in Japanese mythology, so I guess this tracks. Anyway, if he was Sasuke's mentor, does this mean he's the one who was obsessed with prolonging his life?
Also, should I be totally terrified or impressed by the fact it was apparently difficult for you to seal him away but Sasuke managed to kill AND resurrect him?
Technically... [You know what, never mind. Stiles has dissed their abilities before, so this is likely to sail over his head.] Similar to possession, I suppose.
It is true Orochimaru was obsessed with immortality, which was why he pursued Sasuke and myself. He considered us ideal vessels. How does your myth describe him?
He's a villain who uses snake magic against his former friends, Jirayia (who uses toad magic) and Tsunade (who uses slug magic). I don't know a ton about it, honestly. There was a period when I was researching Japanese mythology pretty extensively back home, but I can't remember most of what I read. Susanoo is definitely a name I've seen before, though.
If you're curious, you might want to consider asking any of the Japanese Mirrorbound about their lore.
We were the last of our clan, which already held a reputation for both latent power and talent. He especially desired our bloodline abilities. Orochimaru confronted me first, but when I defeated him, he decided he would turn his attention toward Sasuke instead.
Wait, I don’t understand. Sasuke told me you guys had an entire compound dedicated to your family. I saw your meetings. Your clan was HUGE. How the hell are you two the last?
[ There's a big leap to be made between "murdered his parents" and "wiped out his entire clan." For all his intelligence, Stiles doesn't actually fill in the blanks. ]
[It takes him a moment to link together what Stiles says with their conversation in and outside the mirrors. How much he knows, the content of that specific knowledge, based on memories that Itachi was not fully present to relive.
He doesn't want to skirt around this longer than necessary. It's not a secret to conceal, at least not from Stiles, close to Sasuke as he is. The ongoing ordeal with Jonas is proof enough by now. Better to face it.]
It was me. Although yes, at the time I was a member of the ANBU.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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This is such a great opportunity to find out more information about this world. These guys aren't affiliated with the Coven (unless there's a REALLY messed up plot twist happening), so we could learn something actually useful for once.
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I don't disagree with you. I can share any information I learn during the audience. Was there anything specifically you wished to ask the Matriarch?
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Okay, anyway. There’s a ton I want to ask. But I should update you on some stuff first. Before you arrived in Talam, Aefenglom was working on setting up the Northern Outpost in the Wildes. Well, a bunch of Wilders found a super old cave with walls covered in weird paintings and writing. Some of the writing we were able to translate, and it said creepy things like "they come at night," "turn back," "bowels of the netherworld," "suck out your soul," and "all die who enter below."
The rest we couldn’t translate. Until now. I had to grease the palm of the librarian in the Underground a fair bit, but she finally agreed to help me translate the writings. They’re death records. Names and causes of death, like "blinded by fire in sky," "fell in ravine," "mauled by unknown beast," "contracted infection, too contagious to retrieve."
Hear me out. What if the people who wrote in the caves were one of the nomadic tribes, or a splinter group from the Underground city? “Bowels of the netherworld” definitely seems to fit the city, right? And “suck out your soul” might reference the moss they have. It sounds like this group was forced to try and adapt to aboveground life (which I’m guessing on because of “blinded by fire in sky” honestly). Something’s fishy.
Here’s an image of the wall paintings, BTW.
[ And Stiles sends over both an image taken with the comm watch’s camera and his own detailed sketchings of the paintings, which are easier to make out. The paintings depict “Monsters with spears or short swords, Witches with staffs, humans grouped behind them. They face down beasts that must be extinct, or perhaps these are drawings of Cwyldtid, done in a now-faded black ink.” ]
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Also, he doesn't know what a 'president' is, but context alone gives him enough. No time for jokes, let's dig into meaty meta plot.]
Thank you for the images.
Your theory is these people may have been forced to adapt to aboveground life? It seems those writings suggest more of the danger deep below than anything on the surface. Particularly "all die who enter below." If they did originate from this civilization, it must have looked quite different in the past than it does now, or I am doubtful their messages would contain such ominous warning. Unless, as you also suggested, they were another tribe with no association to this specific place. That seems more likely, but without more knowledge on the history of this place we cannot say for sure.
Except for "blinded by fire in the sky" and "they come at night," most are indicative of underground danger. The reference to infection is almost certainly the Cwyld. The drawings of blackened creatures provide more evidence toward this.
Is there any information on how old exactly those etchings are in the cave?
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No info on the timeframe. The language is so old though that not even the librarian could translate all of it. However long it takes a language to change, I guess.
There’s more. Sasuke doesn’t remember it, but before we officially arrived in Aefenglom, me, him, and Jonas were pulled into a shared dream like you were. Except ours took place in this jungle that obviously existed AGES ago. The human villagers were living in mud huts. Barely any technology at all. THAT ancient. Anyway, the jungle was super dangerous because of these massive versions of Monsters on the prowl. Picture that freaky purple skeleton ghost thing Sasuke can summon. We’re talking that massive. It’s possible the creatures in the cave paintings represent those Monsters.
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Then it's possible those drawings could have occurred around a similar time. As we know now, our appearance in dreams certainly bears significance. We shouldn't ignore any of those experiences.
That "purple skeleton ghost thing" is called Susanoo. Why does Sasuke not remember the experience?
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Susanoo. That's familiar. I don't know why. Is it related to Orochimaru at all?
[ Great, is he going to owe Momo another favor asking about more Japanese mythology and lore? ]
Apparently, some people don't remember the dream if they're not already Mirrorbound. I don't know anyone else that happened to, but I think Sasuke spoke with a few others.
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No. Susanoo and Orochimaru are not related. One is an ability, the other is a person. ["Person" used loosely.] Where did you hear of Orochimaru?
[He'll get back to the rest later, maybe.]
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[ How much information can Stiles get out of Itachi on the subject without being obvious about it... ]
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Are you willing to tell me more about the context of what you saw?
[Now he's motivated and interested because it was Sasuke's memory. Stiles will have to trade some deets for deets.]
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Orochimaru was a powerful shinobi in our world. He was also Sasuke's mentor, for a time. [Which Itachi may have some thoughts on.] He was a destructive and violent force. Eventually I was able to seal him away, though it was difficult to achieve.
What is it you want to know about him?
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Also, should I be totally terrified or impressed by the fact it was apparently difficult for you to seal him away but Sasuke managed to kill AND resurrect him?
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To your second, it was difficult because he was present inside of Sasuke at the time. The man himself was little threat to me otherwise.
What do you mean, "kill and resurrect"? Was this the memory you witnessed?
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[ What a fucking creep. ]
Nope. Sasuke told me that himself. We were talking about lifespan expectancy rates for shinobi and Orochimaru came up that way.
[ Not that Sasuke had used Orochimaru's name, but the details seem to align perfectly. ]
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It is true Orochimaru was obsessed with immortality, which was why he pursued Sasuke and myself. He considered us ideal vessels. How does your myth describe him?
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He's a villain who uses snake magic against his former friends, Jirayia (who uses toad magic) and Tsunade (who uses slug magic). I don't know a ton about it, honestly. There was a period when I was researching Japanese mythology pretty extensively back home, but I can't remember most of what I read. Susanoo is definitely a name I've seen before, though.
If you're curious, you might want to consider asking any of the Japanese Mirrorbound about their lore.
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We were the last of our clan, which already held a reputation for both latent power and talent. He especially desired our bloodline abilities. Orochimaru confronted me first, but when I defeated him, he decided he would turn his attention toward Sasuke instead.
[Look, he's sharing so much!]
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[ Guess who doesn’t know. ]
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The clan was eradicated. You already know about our parents.
[Just rip off the bandaid, ig.]
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Was it that ANBU group?
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He doesn't want to skirt around this longer than necessary. It's not a secret to conceal, at least not from Stiles, close to Sasuke as he is. The ongoing ordeal with Jonas is proof enough by now. Better to face it.]
It was me. Although yes, at the time I was a member of the ANBU.
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You “eradicated” your clan.
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tags this mid-composing tag bomb because i'm too excited to wait
same......
Re: same......
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