World Tree MUSH

    Seele kneels next to Bronya, gently holding the crying woman. "It's... finally over." she says, looking at where Cocolia was, motes of golden light and an aurora tracing through the wreckage of the IPC's Stallaron Vault.

    Bronya's eyes are downcast, tears trickling down her cheeks, dripping from her chin to turn into tiny icicles before clinking dully to the ground. "Mother... Did you wake up from that dream...?" she asks noone, turning her chin skyward.

    March then opens her mouth. "Wow, that was a tough trailblazing expedition..." before getting bonked on the head with a frown from Stelle. She shakes her head, nodding toward Bronya. Not the time March.

    To her credit, the pink-haired archer looks sheepish. "Eheh, heh... well, I mean... What are we gonna do about the Stellaron though? Mister Yang's the one who usually deals with it."
    Dan Heng lets his hand drop from his ear. "I've informed Himeko and Mister Yang already. They'll seal the Stellaron."

    "That means the impetus behind the crisis is dealt with... but this world isn't out of the woods yet. The storm still rages, but without the Stellaron, the Eternal Freeze will slowly recede, the Fragmentum will stop its aggressive expansion... but also it will not disappear. This world has a chance to return to life, but it will take time." he says, looking pointedly at Bronya, who's turned to take in this information, wiping at her face with her gloved hands as she stands up, touching Seele on the forearm and Clara gently on the head in thanks. "It will depend on the efforts of the people here." concludes the black-haired man.

    Talia remains quiet for the longest time before she gives March a tired sigh. "Don't." is all she says, as she listens to Dan Heng. "Will you stay and help, or do your duties require you to be elsewhere?" She asks, knowing that the Star Rail express's mission more or less mandates it.

    Bi De heaves a sigh... partly just to sigh, and partly to respirate some Qi after the battle. "Yes. The entire war is not over, but given time and a strong leader, the people here can retake the surface and their world." He turns, looking at the grieving Bronya. "Though perhaps the new leader would know how best to unify the two peoples in championing this. The corruption was clearly strong, but I cannot believe a woman without goodness could raise one such as you. Remember her for who she once was, not who she ended as."

    Jessica is... not sure how to comfort Bronya. She twitches ears while listening, then nods sagely. "You can't solve everything with one fight, but now there's a better chance to make things better." She can't really match up to what Bi De said, though it'd be better if he sounded more like Mufasa.

    March gets a stern look even from Clara, who has now come out of hiding. But she leans into the pat on her head a bit while putting her arms around Bronya just a little tighter.
    "So... One day there won't be snow everywhere?" Clara does ask, sounding a little hopeful. Also probably because the barefoot girl is probably Actually Freezing To Death right about now, even with Svarog's heavy coat wrapped around her.

    Bronya looks around, taking in all those who've helped her get to this point. "Thank you..." she says, her voice barely above a whisper, wavering close to breaking again. "All of you." The pain is raw, the wound fresh. She doesn't /want/ to be thinking about the world, about Belobog, about anything but her grief... but she is now the Supreme Guardian by right of succession.

    Stelle shakes her head slightly. "Don't be too hard on yourself." she advises, stabbing the Lance into the stonework underfoot, letting it stand there. "And despite everything, I can't think of anything funny to say." she adds, rubbing behind her neck.

    This earns a little bit of a chuckle from Bronya. "Well... Start thinking, we're going to need all the humour we can get... at least the biggest hurdle is behind us." She looks to the wreckage of the Stellaron Vault, then toward where the Engine of Creation has finally fallen away, dropping from the side of the mountain top and crashing somewhere below. "There is still much to do... The people will have felt the effects of the Engine of Creation. There are so many questions to answer, truths to reveal..." she frowns, "I don't know whether I can get the people to accept all this..."

    Bi De bobs his head in a nod, then gives a sweeping, elegant bow to Bronya. "I believe you have the fortitude and will to progress on that front. From my experience it will be a trial. People, as a whole, are reluctant to change, and quick to doubt. But you have a good heart, and every small step forward is an important one." He straightens. "My travels will likely take me far from here, but should you need my assistance, and can reach me, you have but to ask."

    "Don't." It's Clara who says this very gently. "The truth... The truth will only cause them more pain." The small girl says rather sagaciously. "If the people find out that the Supreme Guardian couldn't be trusted... Will they trust you at all?" She asks very pointedly.
    Is... Is good hearted, gentle, never would hurt a soul, Clara suggesting *lying* to the people at large on Jarilo-VI?
    ... Yes. She is, as she looks at Bronya with those innocent and pained eyes, clearly feeling sympathy for the woman who just lost her mother, but also now has the weight of responsibility on her shoulders. "They'll have questions... But whatever you do, you can't tell them the truth.
    "Clara is correct." Svarog says, after remaining silent for so long. "The loss of one Supreme Guardian is a blow all of Belobog will feel. If the circumstances of her loss were to become public, the repurcussions would be disastrous at best, incite revolt and cause further destruction and harm to the people of Belobog at worst."

    Talia places a hand on Bronya's shoulder gently, smiling. "We have faith in you, I believe you can do great things. If you have need of me again, you need only but ask." She then nods to Stelle and company. "That goes for you as well."

    "Eheh..." Jessica rubs at her head. "Blacksteel is available for hire but um... we're probably for stuff that isn't domestic, you know? We tend to be a liiiiiittle rough around the edges. But if you want humanitarian help, especially if illness breaks out, I can put you in touch with Rhodes Island. They're pretty busy but they might send a few people if you ask nicely."
    Though probably only for a limited two week period after introducing a few new Operators.

    Dan Heng nods back to Talia. "The Express will be breaking orbit in a couple of days... but with the Space Anchors we've scattered around, we will be able to return relatively easily. We are sorry that we cannot stay to help further in such a concerted effort as we have offered to date."

    Then, Bronya frowns. "Telling everyone Mother's true motives, a lie perpetuated for 700 years... no... that would cause untold pain." she says, agreein with Svarog and Clara. Seele pipes up next, "In the Underworld, we tell the kids, "Things will be better tomorrow." Everyone knows it's a lie, but it gets them to slep with a shred of hope." she says, looking to Clara, kneeling down to place a hand on the young girls shoulder. "If we can't trust the Guardian and the Architects... who or what /can/ we trust?"

    Bronya listens, she looks pensive for a few moments, patting Talia's hand before pulling away and stepping toward the shallow crater where the former Guardian vanished into whatever oblivion the Stellaron gave her. "... Mother died, to preserve Belobog." she says, after looking down at the spot, then up at the sky... the clouds above break, for the first time in 700 years, and pale, chilled sunlight spills down in pale shafts that illuminate the mesa-top. "The visitors from beyond the sky told her the secret of the Stellaron. She knew that Alisa Rand, the first Guardian, had failed to destroy it... and yet she decided to challenge its power. A power beyond human comprehension. Supreme Guardian Cocolia sacrificed herself to dispel the dark clouds enveloping this city."

    She sounds like she's rehersing a speech, getting the narrative straight in her head, speaking it aloud so those around her, her co-conspirators, know her plan.

    "Mmn." Bi De considers. "Be careful how you massage the truth. But it is true that bolstering the support of the people is important." He clucks(literally, because chicken), and then hops to the side. "I disapprove, but I understand the necessity. But once a lie starts, it can grow and corrupt your own desires. You need not tell everything, but perhaps focus more on the future than the past, to avoid such things." He won't lecture any more.

    Jessica, despite being kind of naive and innocent, feels compelled to point out, "What's to lie about? We fought our way here, through monsters, where we found Bronya and Cocolia! Bronya knew us and we joined forces to fight a monster created by the Stellaron, which we beat, but Cocolia died in the battle."

    Well it looks like things will be covered up. That's all well and fine by Clara and Svarog but then Clara raises a hand like a schoolgirl in class.
    "Um. ... Can we go now? I'm *really* cold." She does point out.

    Talia frowns. She's not sure she approves of this coverup. But like Bi De, she knows that letting it be known Cocolia went, quote, 'bugfuck crazy with power' would only be disastrous. "Perhaps we only need to put our faith in Bronya." She says, nodding.

    "We'll need to keep our story straight, if we're to spin it like this."

    "From here on out, that's the 'truth' the world will hear." she concludes, turning back.

    There's dissent, of course... but also agreement.

    Seele doesn't look all too happy, but she nods. "It keeps the hope of preservation alive, at least."

    Dan Heng speaks up. "It is logical, and hard to disprove... the one who could is no longer with us." he agrees, carefully picking around the wound.

    March huffs, "Why do we have to lie? Urgh, I'm abstaining -- I like telling the truth." she says, arms folding. "But... I get what you're trying to do." she finally agrees, huffily.

    Stelle is quiet... then looks at her two fellow Nameless, and speaks. "We are the Nameless... this story was never about us." she looks around the other offworlders too. "It's about them. We will support this version of events." she says, nodding to Bronya.

    Bronya smiles sadly. "Thank you, all of you, for understanding." she looks over her shoulder, at the wreck of the Vault again. "For many people, Mother was an outstanding Guardian... the whole truth will live on in my mind -- all the mistakes, madness, evil, and dreams therein... I will be the one to carry that burden." she turns back, stepping toward the group again. "Now, I must take over the duties of the Supreme Guardian... and discard my naive fantasies."

    Seele steps forward, then turns to fall into stride with Bronya, as they start leading the group back down the mountain... back toward warmer climes. "I'm sorry, Seele. Please protect this secret with me... till the end of our lives."
    Seele smiles softly, "Say no more -- I know what to do." she agrees.
    "Thank you."

    Bronya lifts her voice next. "Well then, as promised, let's start rebuilding the bridge between the Overworld and the Underworld. I'll leave it to you to let everyone in the Underworld know that the crisis is over, the Stellaron is sealed, and the blockade will be lifted soon... and then they'll be able to breathe freely once more?"

    Bi De considers, "Perhaps you could make a peace offering with the Underworlders by proposing a liason? Or does such a thing already exist? It could be good to have a way to express one another's concerns." He fluffs. "The Mayor at my old home would be good for that but of course is not available."

    "Perhaps Seele would be an ideal candidate for this position." Talia suggests. "After all, if not for her we all would've been in a great deal of trouble." She shoots Seele a wink.

    Jessica is bad at all this, but she shrugs. "Hopefully it'll go... pretty smoothly. But um... there will be some problems. Be careful not to come down too hard on them, okay? They're probably just scared because things are changing."

    It's all well and good Bronya knows what to do and that everyone is mostly on the same page.
    Because Clara is absolutely shivering.
    "Seele would be a good choice to l... lia... lei... luh... lo... Talk to the underworlders." She agrees as Svarog simply scoops her right up out of the snow.

    It's been a very long few days with little time to rest or sleep, and Bronya is starting to feel it. "While you do that, I'll head back to the Administration District. I need to... tell Gepard.. and Ser-- ah..." she stumbles, Seele shifting smoothly to steady the young Guardian.
    "Are you okay? Stay with me Bronya!"

    Stelle shakes her head. "She's exhausted... Seele, take Bronya back with you... we'll go to the Underworld and pass on the message. Clara, go with Seele would you?"

    Seele nods. "Right, you guys are still wanted fugitives. Even as an Underworlder, we're less conspicuous than you are right now... Don't worry, We'll look after Bronya, right Clara?"

    Papa Svarog is also right there. And he looks at Stelle like... 'I am right here, too, you know'. But he says nothing as Clara nods. She'll go with Bronya and Stelle~.
    "Yeeeeees~."

    Phew, "It sounds like we have a plan. Um, we'll probably be around for a few more days at least, maybe? Just in case. But hopefully it'll be boring!" It'd be nice for things to be boring, for once.

    Talia is currently fighting the urge to sleep. And she fails. She yawns and rubs her head, "NNnnff, I think at this point we should probably find someplace to hide for a while."

    SPeaking of fugitives. "Bronya...I know I'm asking a lot, but is there anything you can do about the charges against us? It might make things difficult if we still have that against us."

    Stelle looks apologeticly at Svarog.
    Bronya tries to shake herself free of the fatigue. "I'll... I'll handle..." she murmurs.

    Seele shakes her head, "Go let Nat know. I'm sure she's getting worried with the delay." she says. "I'll make sure Bronya makes it back to the fort... and we'll figure out how to clear your names. Promise."