middleofsomewhere | [OVERFLOW] Event: Healing Waters

His movement slows significantly, only because Roland's far too interested in keeping to Gyousou's story than the picking of berries. His hands linger a bit too much on clusters he should be tugging out of the bush and shrub, but he passes on a couple, until Gyousou finishes speaking.

A beat passes before Roland answers, deliberate and thought out. "I can see why Taiki was interested in knowing about kingmakers from the other world, then. There are slight similarities. But I'm curious - " Roland finally spots a nice, juicy bunch and manages to tear it off without breaking any of the fruit. His first jar was almost full.

"Kirins are only born when there's a vacuum of power? The succession of the throne is based solely on the birth and blessing of kirin's, and not the previous ruler's family line? Kirins can't...be passed down, or inherited if and when there is no king or queen on the throne?"

"There are cases where a king will lose their way, and instead of pushing forward into disaster, will realise their errors, and abdicate. Or die some other way." He says it with the gravity that it deserves. "In those cases, the kirin will survive, and be able to choose a new king. They may return to Houzan, or they may travel the kingdom, following their instincts, until they find the new ruler."

He, too, stops picking berries. The seriousness of the topic seems to prevent it, somehow. "It is more common for the kirin to perish first, unfortunately, at which time a new ranka will grow on the shashinboku, the great tree from which all kirin are born. And, of course, no king will survive the year, should the kirin fall."

Their shared pause gives Roland time to busy his hands with closing the first jar of berries, gaze low while he listens to Gyousou. He appreciates the respect he grants of such a tale, if only because it involves something that seems so sacred to the tradition of their world, and what it entails. After Roland tightens the lid, his hand access the Arms Band and it disappears in gold light.

He crosses his arms, for now.

"I see." There's a lot to absorb, so he chooses what he says with deliberate thought. "Gyousou, what exactly is the relationship between a king and their kirin, apart from kirin's choosing who's worthy to rule the land? What sort of revelation do kirin's receive that tells them who to serve?" In particular, Roland is referring to the latter of Gyousou's words which peak his interest. It almost sounded symbiotic - if the kirin falls, the king won't survive. If the king fails his task, then the kirin dies soon after, even if they travel to find a new monarch...

He watches the Arms Band absorbing the jar with an interest that still hasn't faded despite Tidus's showboating earlier. It really is a useful enchantment...

But they're in the middle of a conversation, and most of his attention is still on that. "It is said that a kirin and their king are two aspects of the same whole. Beyond their rank of Taiho and minister of the Royal Province... In my opinion, the kirin is the will of the people. His fears are theirs, his joys are also theirs. But I cannot speak for the nature of the revelation. It is unique to each kirin, and to each king. I believe Taiki sensed... a great fire, he said, a source of both fear and comfort."

The similarities with what he knows of kingmakers from the Second World is uncanny. It strikes a chord of interest strong enough to get Roland to focus his complete attention on the conversation at hand, his finger resting underneath his chin until after Gyousou pauses in speech, waiting for Roland to respond.

"I get why Taiki wanted me to talk to you about this. They're definitely different beings for sure, but where they do intersect, they resonate completely." He uncrosses his arms and rests one hand over his hip, brown eyes meeting red. "The world I was taken from has a concept of kingmaker and king exactly like that. The bond between the two is strongest when the will of the people rings loud and clear. The weaker their confidence and trust with the ruler, the more prone their kingsbond is to breaking. And without that bond, the kingmaker goes haywire. It turns into a realmwrecker."

He hums, another breeze passing through.

"Though I'm glad that's where the similarity ends. I can't imagine Taiki turning against the people. Kirins seem to be more sentient than majority of kingmakers we've come across." And that was saying something - though he chooses his words carefully. Not all seemed to turn completely mindless...

"A kingmaker is a straightforward term for it," Gyousou agrees, expression lightening somewhat at the tone of Roland's response, only to dampen again for a moment. "When a king goes against the Way, the kirin doesn't do as your kingmakers do... but they contract shitsudou, an illness that invariably kills them should the king not mend their ways or abdicate."

He hesitates, then frowns, a question occurring. Even the worst youma could not be called a realmwrecker, unless it is meant figuratively?

"What manner of creature is your kingmaker, that it can destroy a realm?"

That...was a far more sinister fate than any broken bond between king and kingmaker he's ever heard from the second world. It brings out of him a severity of tone that such a revelation deserves, though also, an inquiry. "What's the Way?"

He'll pose that question first, but will quickly add clarity to round that piece of information of - "Imagine mythical beasts. Dragons, serpents, creatures as big as castles. At least, those are the kingmakers of other kingdoms. Ours in Evermore is...a little more unique." And by little, Roland means it literally.

"How extraordinary," he muses, caught up for a moment in Roland's description. "If Taiki were such a size, I'm sure Whitejewel Palace would be arranged very differently."

The idea of a kingdom shackled to a creature with the potential to turn on it... It unnerves him. But then, it is no more dangerous than his own rule, in the end.

"The ruler receives the mandate of heaven when he ascends, and with it, the directions set by Tentei for correct governance. There are many ways he might stray: excessive warmongering, decadence or pride, or neglect of the people..."

Roland admits it's a rather amusing, if not slightly disturbing mental image, to imagine Taiki with the giant body of Bastion or Longfang. But he wouldn't be surprised if his form changed as such either; the power of kingmakers and kirins perhaps running too similar for it to not be a possibility.

He only resumes picking at the bushes because his hands turn idle. However, Roland's full attention is still with Gyousou, and what he says to him.

"Hm. I see." The Way was like a kingsbond, in its own regard. "And in betraying the mandate of heaven thru the Way, you jeopardize the well-being of your kirin." Roland gazes up at the blue of the sky, mind traveling somewhere else for a moment. "The bond between guardian and ruler...For one to thrive, the other has to succeed too." It's always the same, huh?

"Just so. In the beginning, I had to force Taiki to speak out when he disapproved--"

He sighs, the frustration an affectionate, nostalgic kind, and reaches up to pull down a bough particularly heavy with berries for Roland to collect. "He appeared as a young child, quiet and fearful, but he possesses an unparalleled will. A suitable kirin for a land as harsh as Tai. It is my hope we can return there, before it is too late. Is it so with you?"

The berries are received gratefully, but his attention is still fully on Gyousou. Harsh is quite a way to describe a kingdom, but he knows Gyousou isn't the type to wax poetic even if they've only just met. Roland can't help but imagine it for himself either, though he's been given enough to work with to fill in some details...

He hums low before picking out another bunch of berries, holding them up for inspection. Gyousou might just spot discoloration on some of the fruits.

"Yeah. Something like that." Roland answers. The truth is, he doesn't know where he'll be returned to, if at all. The first world, probably destroyed with no one left, or the second world, where he could resume his duties to the King. "However things end for us here...I know there's going to be a lot of work ahead of me."

[OVERFLOW] Event: Healing Waters

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