middaeg | [Closed] When you can no longer run...

Entry tags:

[Closed] When you can no longer run...

Who: Edelgard von Hresvelg & Various
When: April 2020
Where: The Mirror House
What: Memory Share.
Warnings: Warnings for the following: Violence, language, blood, death, warfare, religious/anti-religious themes, human experimentation, mental health, insanity, and body horror.

Some OOC Notes:
This is going to be a closed catch-all for Edelgard's memory share threads. I will be posting individual starters in the comments, so please assume that all CWs that apply for this log apply to each thread.

I apologize for those that missed my initial plotting post at the beginning of the month, but I've got a lot of threads planned and won't be able to take on more memory shares at this time. Thank you for your understanding, I'll make sure to hit more people next month!

Edelgard's Mirror, The Beginning:

The mirror, Edelgard's Mirror, is an ornate affair. The kind of thing that one would expect to find associated with someone who's influence has shaped a continent's future, for better or for worse. It has an eagle motif worked around the edges, though with considerably more going on. Wings ringed with golden, thorny vines and topped with roses made seemingly out of ruby, the wood has a more bony appearance, as though it'd been carved out of the remains of some great beast. The mirror at the center calls, and pulls the viewer inside...

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...when Giorno's vision clears, he'll find himself standing on a raised platform, overlooking an enormously long room. The view from atop it is of grey stone and red trim, and filing into the room are scores upon scores of soldiers. Armored for war, with silver polish gleaming in the torches, capped with red markings on every helm.

Standing at the center of the platform is a young woman holding a battle axe and waiting patiently, seemingly to address the assembled men and women below.

At his side is an older version of that same young woman, the Emperor Edelgard von Hresvelg, dressed in a simple white shirt and brown trousers. White gloves and a high collar obscure all but the faintest hint of skin, and she's watching the proceedings with a wistful expression.

"...How strange that it would show this moment..." she muses quietly.

...when Soundwave's vision clears, he'll find himself standing on a raised platform, overlooking an enormously long room. The view from atop it is of grey stone and red trim, and filing into the room are scores upon scores of soldiers. Armored for war, with silver polish gleaming in the torches, capped with red markings on every helm.

Standing at the center of the platform is a young woman holding a battle axe and waiting patiently, seemingly to address the assembled men and women below.

At his side is an older version of that same young woman, the Emperor Edelgard von Hresvelg, dressed in a simple white shirt and brown trousers. White gloves and a high collar obscure all but the faintest hint of skin, and she's watching the stranger with a raised eyebrow

"...Hello there..." she says evenly. "Who might you be?"

...when Rose's vision clears, she'll find herself standing on a raised platform, overlooking an enormously long room. The view from atop it is of grey stone and red trim, and filing into the room are scores upon scores of soldiers. Armored for war, with silver polish gleaming in the torches, capped with red markings on every helm.

Standing at the center of the platform is a young woman holding a battle axe and waiting patiently, seemingly to address the assembled men and women below.

At her side is an older version of that same young woman, the Emperor Edelgard von Hresvelg, dressed in a simple white shirt and brown trousers. White gloves and a high collar obscure all but the faintest hint of skin, and she's folded her arms as she regards Rose.

"...Hello Rose." she intones gently, "What a strange vision the mirror's chosen to show you..."

...when Enkidu's vision clears, it's a strange sight they'll find themself in. High walls on all sides, the smell of smoke and blood heavy in the air. Before them rises a towering stairwell, and atop that...amidst a score of broken bodies stands a group of combatants. A tall woman surrounded by several men and weapon dressed in ornate armor and wielding weapons emblazoned with symbols of faith. And on the other side, a young woman...as well as a group of youths, all with deadly serious looks on their faces.

Beside Enkidu, boots crunch, and Edelgard appears. The older one, with a firm set to her jaw.

"...This is not a vision I'd have wished for you to see, Enkidu. But I suppose it's what the mirror wished you to."

...When Maria's vision clears, the sight that greets her is likely nothing she's a stranger to. The sounds of battle, of men and women fighting side by side against one another. Some in the armor and trappings of soldiers, others dressed in officer's uniforms, and still others in the ragged, hodgepodge trappings of bandits. One among the bandits stands taller than the rest, a man with dark red hair and wielding a spear seemingly made entirely of bone. Opposite him, a bulky older man wearing massive armor seems to be driving a wedge through the bandits with the officer's uniformed youths sticking close.

Beside Maria, slipping out of a doorway with her arms crossed is Edelgard herself. The one remembering this...

"Hello Maria," she says casually. This memory isn't a pleasant one, but it's a far cry from personal for her, at least.

...When Felix's vision clears, the sight he'll bear witness to is a familiar one. One that he'll doubtless find discomforting, given who's mirror he's currently in. The gates of Fhirdiad stand open, held wide by the great chains that are used to secure them, and troops in Adrestian colors march inside...led by a group of officers. Edelgard, Hubert, Byleth Ferdinand, and all of the other Black Eagles...as well as Several other familiar faces. Barely visible through the fog of war, it seems as though their entire former class, save four, is gathering and preparing to head into the city.

A gasp from behind heralds the arrival of Edelgard, the Emperor moving quickly to stare up at the gates with a pensive, worried expression.

"...This is a thing I had wished to spare you the sight of," she hisses under her breath, clearly vexed.

...When Zelda's vision clears, she'll be greeted by the sight of a city in flames. A scorching, searing heat fills the entire space around her, though strangely doesn't seem to even touch her. It's clearly been burning for hours, with buildings lying all along the streets in ruins. The dead lay strewn about her, savaged by weapons and seared by stray embers.

And standing at the center of it all is a great beast. a huge white dragon glares down at a lower level of the city, claws tearing furrows in the cobblestones as it lumbers towards a pair of women rushing up to meet it. Edelgard and Byleth, with Aymr and the Sword the Creator gleaming in their hands seem unafraid, and they've a small army at their backs.

But that's not the only Edelgard. A hand reaches for Zelda's, taking it and squeezing it gently.

"This is a violent memory, Zelda. One I wish it hadn't chosen to give you. But, at least you'll understand what it is I faced," Edelgard's voice says in a quiet voice.

...When Azura's vision clears, the sight is a familiar one, mostly. It's a drawing room with maps and charts and papers all neatly arranged on a huge table. A strategy room, and standing at the center of the room is Hubert. Looking basically as he does now, though perhaps a bit more wan and drawn around the cheeks from exhaustion.

He's working quietly, and largely alone save for Azura, until Edelgard appears. Not a dream, but Edelgard herself, the one Azura is familiar with. Walking over, she glances over the notes on the table as she passes and favors her friend with a soft smile.

"Hello, Azura. It seems you've found your way into my mirror as well?"

...When Zelda's vision clears, she'll be greeted by the sight of someone familiar. Edelgard, though younger. Slimmer, less muscular, and less pale...she's perhaps in her late teens. Pacing around the room, ignoring the newcomer entirely, she seems to be chewing something over.

The door creaks as the phantom finally seems to come to a decision and slips out, heading away.

A voice from behind Azura, the low sound of Edelgard as she is now, finally speaks up.

"You should follow her. If this is what I think it is, then you were probably supposed to see this for a reason."

Felix stands pale as ash, staring down the gates of Fhirdiad, a place he should know, a place that should be familiar, like the gaping jaws of some unknown beast. It's Fhirdiad, but not as he remembers it. Imperial colors pour through the gates, and there's a tension in the air he feels like he could reach out and touch.

He catches sight of himself through a break in the line of soldiers—haggard just as he'd expect, but with a look like the hard edge of steel on his face as he strides for the gates, as though this isn't the heart of the place he once called home.

The only thing that stops him from running after his own doppelganger is Edelgard's voice suddenly behind him, as though he didn't just watch her walk through the gates.

He grits his teeth, pivoting sharply back around.

"And what if I don't want to be spared?" he asks harshly. "I'm not so fragile that I can't stand to see this."

It's hard to not be curious about such a beautiful mirror. Baroque in nature, it nearly hides the gruesome addition of bones. Zelda can hardly stop herself from wanting to inspect it, to see if it's truly bone or an artistic approximation. Her fingers graze it, her touch greeed by an osseous feeling. As her surroundings melt away, trading the blues and silvers of the hall for a hazy recollection of a room. A bedroom? She's not sure.

At first, she thinks to reach out to Edelgard. "Edelgard... Edelgard!," she calls, nearly missing the younger features on her face. She turns as she paces, and Zelda gasps, snapping her hands to her chest. Her eyes are wider, her cheeks rounder— perhaps not much younger than the Princess of Hyrule herself. Shaking her head, she tries to clear her thoughts, just in time to hear Azura's voice.

This is all so strange, but she reaches out to try to tap the other Edelgard's shoulder— she stops just centimeters short.

"...Perhaps that message is for me as well," she thinks aloud, then looks to the door.

"Very well, then. Let us move forward, and see what this has in store for us two."

[ Azura doesn't look up, at first. She figures whoever is walking into the room is apart of the dream, like this Hubert who can't acknowledge her. When Edelgard says her name, though, she startles.

The mirrors--right, there were a bunch of them. Was this happening to everyone? But this wasn't like the normal dreams. ]

This is your mirror? I was wondering whose this was.

Edited 2020-04-14 03:48 (UTC)

"I didn't say you were fragile."

Edelgard's eyes flash as she meets his, her lips pressed into a firm, hard line.

"The sight of someone's home burning is not something anyone should see, no matter how strong. I can't stop you, but I still wish it were not so."

She brushes past him, marching towards the gates, towards the phantom forms of the Adrestian Imperial Army and it's battlefield commanders. The final class of Garreg Mach Monastery, standing quietly as the Emperor confers with Hubert and Byleth, watching at the ready, yet still murmuring with concern.

"Come then and see what that monster does."

Edelgard, the real one, is waiting in the hallway. Standing, arms crossed, following her younger self's gait as she meanders down a hallway towards an outdoor balcony. Zelda's appearance earns a small smile and a dip of her head.

"Perhaps it is, Zelda."

She begins to follow, keeping a safe distance, unsure of the rules of the dreams as of yet. The way her younger self is going is familiar. A path she's walked a dozen...no...a hundred times on sleepless nights. Unable to stop from speculating, this could be any number of events, but she believes that it's that night.

As they walk, another figure steps out of a side passage. The form of Byleth, moving at her usual brisk clip and pausing at the balcony to stare at the young Edelgard.

The older Edelgard stiffens, but doesn't stop, walking out to join the two of them on the balcony, turning to Zelda before the conversation begins.

"I apologize...I recognize what it is for certain now. It...may be unpleasant, and I am sorry."

Yes. It's mine.

[Edelgard huffs a little laugh.]

The bone is to represent Aymr, no doubt. And some have called me the Crimson Flower. It's all a bit overdone for my tastes, but I understand the symbolism.

[Now, the...vision.]

Curious. I know what this is, but...why this? And why with you?

[Shaking her head briefly, she watches as another phantom enters the room. Edelgard. And then another, Byleth.]

It would seem you'll be shown the true enemy in my world.

Edited 2020-04-14 05:52 (UTC)

The elfin princess takes to Edelgard's side, keeping pace with the Emperor as opposed to her younger self, now. The appearance of a familiar face, one that seems to be able to see and touch her, is welcome. It does not keep her from feeling strange, as if walking through a dream— but Edelgard's words make her contemplate the possibility it is a nightmare.

"Unpleasant?," she repeats, turning her head. They keep pace, walking along the way at a pace that might be leisurely, but feels like torture now. She almost wants to run ahead. Byleth passes overhead and Zelda watches, curious— the hair color is exactly as deep as the blue of Calla Lilies. Hm...? Her attention snaps back to the older, taller in only energy Edelgard.

With a curious, but firm tone, she responds. "I care not if it is unpleasant. We each as people have things quite difficult in our pasts. If this is what I am to learn of you, then I shall accept it." Turning to look ahead, her gaze sweeps the halls. "If we are to be friends, Edelgard, then pleasantries are only such if we can see that which is unpleasant as well."

Edelgard held Zelda's gaze, meeting her eyes with a heaviness that she yet shown to the other woman. She hated the idea of this being known to someone else, but she also couldn't stop it. And truthfully, Zelda's words had a strong ring of truth to them. Pleasantries were nice, but true friends? They saw everything. Experienced everything, right alongside you.

"You...are...right," she says with a faltering nod, suddenly feeling both nervous and appreciative. "I've no objections to you seeing this, please don't misunderstand. I simply...this is not a thing I have shared with many people, nothing more."

She reaches a hand out, offering to take Zelda's hand at that, knowing that she personally will need the support. It's never easy to go over this particular topic. And whether her friend takes her hand or no, the Emperor will lead the way out onto the balcony.

The scene that plays out is nothing more than a conversation, but it was a conversation filled with personal meaning. Edelgard watches impassively as her younger self details her goals, her ambitions, and also her pain. It leaves her quiet, and...as the pair of phantoms meander off together, she remains unmoving, watching Zelda for her reaction.

"Hello," she replies, just as cordially, though Maria cants her head only politely toward Edelgard. "... Is this what the mirrors want to show us this time, then?" Edelgard doesn't particularly seem to be plussed by what is being shown, so Maria feels no desire to look away.

Oh, she's seen... combat, though perhaps not traditional warfare. Yharnam and Cainhurst were caught up in too many of their own internal problems to deal much with traditional warfare. But still, Maria had been trained a knight, so she knew the theory of most of this.

"... Clearing out bandits?"

[ There's a nod. She didn't connect the dots, but the bone makes sense. ]

The true enemy?

[ Azura steps up and peers over dream-Hubert's shoulder. ]

What do you mean by 'true' enemy? [ she can wager a guess based on the phrasing why it's her, but she wants to make sure ]

"That was what we were tasked with, in the beginning. Though it was more than that."

Edelgard takes a step forward, sweeping her hand towards the heavily armored man and the bandit with a spear. The bandit that looked a little out of place, a bit more finely dressed than his fellows.

"The knight is Gilbert Dominic, and he was our 'escort' on this mission. The goal was to rout the bandits and to recover the spear that you see in their leader's hands. It is an heirloom relic of House Gautier, an enchanted spear passed down from the early days of Fodlan's current society. It was once wielded by a supposed saint, and as you can see, it's quite...unique."

The roaming eye alone should give Maria a clue that it's like Edelgard's own axe.

"But, watch him closely. Does he seem an ordinary bandit to you?"

The true enemy.

[Edelgard sets her jaw, watching the scene as the phantoms make themselves comfortable.]

I told you before of the dragon that was oppressing humanity. But she is nothing short of benevolent when compared with the other foe facing Fodlan. A hidden manipulator, one that's kept themselves secret from even the dragons.

[Edelgard herself doesn't yet know the extent of the operation of her enemy, but she knows enough.]

I've begun to call them Those Who Slither in the Dark.

[Hubert's voice comes into focus, prompting Edelgard and Byleth's phantoms to speak up.]

In my investigation, I've come to understand just who Kronya, Solon, and Lord Arundel are. Their true identities...

[Edelgard, the real one, holds her arms closer to her chest.]

...Monsters in human flesh, dwelling beneath the earth. Though, Hubert did not know it at the time.

Said stranger is a large mechanical being, nonhuman in nature, faceplate and visor completely concealed his expression as he watches the memory like a quiet spectator. An arm is on his hip, sensing some familiarity from this scene.

Soldiers assembled below, waiting for the one standing on the higher platform to deliver a speech. Something like this wasn't an uncommon occurrence in the Decepticon army, except its humans clad in armor, none cybernetic. Though when he hears a voice addressing him, his head tilts towards Edelgrad. ... Hm, must be this woman's memory.

"Ah... Greetings." He replies, cordial, or as cordial as his mechanical voice could be. "Soundwave, just someone who stumbled upon this particular memory. Pardon the intrusion."

He could take his leave, but curiosity has him stay to watch instead. Plus, the other doesn't seem offended, he... thinks? It's difficult to tell without his empath powers working.

Rose had entered Edelgard’s mirror out of idle curiosity. Edelgard never tried to hide who she was, which Rose almost admired. Still, seeing how important she was firsthand is a different experience entirely. It’s one thing to be told she’s the empress, it’s another entirely to watch her address her countrymen.

It takes everything in Rose to keep her expression neutral. Her arms are crossed as she examines the scene below her. She can’t make out what the other Edelgard is saying, not clearly, but the soldiers give her enough of a clue. She isn’t sure she likes this.

“Strange? In what way?”

[ 'Go down below.'
'The true enemy is beneath us.'
'We must go into the ground.'

Azura's eyes narrow with some sort of recognition. ]

...this set of circumstances isn't unfamiliar to me.

[ She goes quiet. Their true identities are...? ]

"Because when we met, you said you'd had negative experiences with an empire. And this is perhaps the most pivotal moment in Adrestia's history since it's founding."

Edelgard doesn't seem at all bothered by Rose's attitude. She knows that what she did was the right thing to do. If anything, she seems to stand a bit straighter as she watches her younger self raise the scepter of the Imperial ruler high.

"This is the moment that my revolution began. The day that I set out to remove a great evil from my homeland. For a thousand years people have suffered under the oppressive claw of a dragon masquerading as a benevolent leader."

The younger Edelgard calls out, in a loud and proud voice

"The leaders of the church have misused its creed to fulfill their true desire - to rule the world. They have fooled the people of Fódlan. Long ago, they divided the Empire to create a Kingdom, and then, divided that Kingdom to create an Alliance. They did all of this to make the masses bicker amongst themselves. They caused instability in order to reinforce their own authority. They gathered gold and lived in extravagance. How? By preying on the devotion of those who wished for the goddess's salvation! Those corrupt hypocrites cannot lead Fódlan to true peace! Their foul belief system must be torn asunder so that true wisdom may finally prevail! And so, I have decided-- by order of the Adrestian Emperor, Edelgard von Hresvelg-- the Empire hereby declares war on the Church of Seiros!"

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[Closed] When you can no longer run...

For Giorno

For Soundwave

For Rose

For Enkidu

For Maria

For Felix

For Zelda (OOT)

For Azura

For Zelda (BotW)

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Wow typo'd in the first comment go me!

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i didn't even notice tbh!! shhh

<3 Video should run from 3:00 to about 5:55 if the link doesn't work

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