05 [Video]
[The video turns on to show Badou’s dusty, sweat-streaked face as he leans down in front of the camera and adjusts the angle. As he steps away, what comes into frame behind him is not the city or the inside of a room, but the desert--nothing but sand and rocks and a few scrubby creosote bushes on the horizon, still visible by the setting sun.
In the foreground, though, there’s a small, well constructed wooden pyre, about the right size to hold a big dog. On it sit five reddish kishin egg souls, now removed from their jar. They barely have any glow left to them at all. Badou doesn’t address himself to the communicator or to the network, but rather to the two other people who are with him--one wearing his customary armor and the other shorter with a long braid of blond hair.] Okay, we’re ready.
I, uh... [Badou takes a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolds it.]
I thought maybe I could say a few words, you know? Just from something I heard somewhere one time. Not really the kind of thing I’m into, but since these things were people once... Well, here goes:
[And he reads from the paper.]
These souls just lived a life and just died out of it. I don’t know if they were good or bad. But it doesn’t matter much. I heard a guy say a poem once, and he said “All that lives is holy.” But I wouldn’t pray for someone that’s dead, because they’re all right. If I was to pray, I’d pray for the people who’re still alive and don’t know which way to turn. These ones don’t have anymore trouble like that. They’ve got their jobs all cut out for them. So let’s...uh, let’s light them up...and let them get to it....
[His voice trails off a bit awkwardly at the end and he shoves the paper back into his pocket. Then, looking back and forth to Ed and Al, he flicks open his lighter and holds it to the makeshift torches they have. The three of them step forward around the pyre and light it, standing back to watch as the kindling catches and is consumed by flames.
After a few long moments filled only by the quiet crackling of the flames, Badou steps over to the communicator and turns off the feed.]
[OOC: Just so that there's no confusion, despite the funeral pyre, the souls will not ultimately burn up. Since the video feed does not last that long, no one watching should be able to know that. However normal fire is not enough to destroy souls! Because none of these characters know that, though, they are giving it their best go.
Feel free to have your characters assume that the souls did burn, or to wonder about it and ask questions later (they'll be able to learn then that it didn't work), but for player knowledge please be aware that just burning them does not destroy them.
Badou probably won’t be answering comments from over the network on this post. (Also, for anyone who cares, the quote that he reads comes from The Grapes of Wrath. He's paraphrasing from the movie since he'll never have read the book.)]
In the foreground, though, there’s a small, well constructed wooden pyre, about the right size to hold a big dog. On it sit five reddish kishin egg souls, now removed from their jar. They barely have any glow left to them at all. Badou doesn’t address himself to the communicator or to the network, but rather to the two other people who are with him--one wearing his customary armor and the other shorter with a long braid of blond hair.] Okay, we’re ready.
I, uh... [Badou takes a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolds it.]
I thought maybe I could say a few words, you know? Just from something I heard somewhere one time. Not really the kind of thing I’m into, but since these things were people once... Well, here goes:
[And he reads from the paper.]
These souls just lived a life and just died out of it. I don’t know if they were good or bad. But it doesn’t matter much. I heard a guy say a poem once, and he said “All that lives is holy.” But I wouldn’t pray for someone that’s dead, because they’re all right. If I was to pray, I’d pray for the people who’re still alive and don’t know which way to turn. These ones don’t have anymore trouble like that. They’ve got their jobs all cut out for them. So let’s...uh, let’s light them up...and let them get to it....
[His voice trails off a bit awkwardly at the end and he shoves the paper back into his pocket. Then, looking back and forth to Ed and Al, he flicks open his lighter and holds it to the makeshift torches they have. The three of them step forward around the pyre and light it, standing back to watch as the kindling catches and is consumed by flames.
After a few long moments filled only by the quiet crackling of the flames, Badou steps over to the communicator and turns off the feed.]
[OOC: Just so that there's no confusion, despite the funeral pyre, the souls will not ultimately burn up. Since the video feed does not last that long, no one watching should be able to know that. However normal fire is not enough to destroy souls! Because none of these characters know that, though, they are giving it their best go.
Feel free to have your characters assume that the souls did burn, or to wonder about it and ask questions later (they'll be able to learn then that it didn't work), but for player knowledge please be aware that just burning them does not destroy them.
Badou probably won’t be answering comments from over the network on this post. (Also, for anyone who cares, the quote that he reads comes from The Grapes of Wrath. He's paraphrasing from the movie since he'll never have read the book.)]