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Who: Jacob Kane (Cain) & someone else. Maybe you.
When: October 14th and forward.
Where: All around Keeliai.
What: Hoofing it around town to get a better finger on the pulse of current happenings. If it's a place where people are, Cain could feasibly be there.
Warnings / rating: Nah.

It was really rather astonishing how quickly Cain could adapt to things. He even surprised himself sometimes, what with the fact that he had literally been pulled into another world with a universe-threatening war and only a few hours after the fact he was on the streets looking for more information. Part of it, he acknowledged, was simply that it hadn't sunken in all the way yet. Regardless of that fact, it was always smarter to push forward than stand still when the world was still spinning around him.

Early on, it was easy to see that he was pissing off some kedan just by being around and initiating conversation. Cain started to pick his questions more carefully, but it wasn't going to stop him; kedan population seemed way higher than foreigner population and that was where he was going to need to get gossip or info if from anywhere. He wasn't above pestering some people on the street or trying to get shopping done if it looked like he might get away with starting a conversation.

Hell, Cain was even willing to stoop to the old classic: "Hey, do you have the time?"

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The Foreigner community was becoming small enough Raine was sure she knew most of them by sight, and the fact that this one kept actively trying to talk to kedan strangers said he probably didn't have much idea about the state of the city at large. Almost certainly new, then. At least the fact he was new told her that magic still worked, which was something. Better than the alternative.

She might well have made herself a bit too obvious in watching him, however, as in short order she was being asked for the time. "Not more precisely than midday," she answered, a little bemused by his choice of query. "You're recently arrived here, correct? Do you need help?"

Although the day had not been very productive thus far, Cain was at least getting a much better feel for the tensions in the city. Learning the streets was going to take some time, but on the other hand, those sectors definitely stood out from each other so it was only a matter of getting lost within them. He'd noticed the white-haired woman paying attention to him, of course, but he wasn't one to make wild accusations without proof. Where would he be now if he didn't still give strangers some benefit of the doubt? Nowhere good, clearly.

"Midday, okay," he said thoughtfully. His eyes flickered to her neck for no more than an instant and then focused on Raine once more. "You got me. Definitely new here. I don't know about help so much as just... getting an idea for what I've gotten into, you know? You know how that is. Probably."

As a gesture the glance was something Raine might have missed, but for the fact that more than one person here had reacted to her exsphere without even knowing what it was, and it had left her a little more sensitive regarding that particular area. Hm. She'd wait and see if anything came of it.

"I do remember, yes," she said. "And the situation is more complex now than it was when I arrived. How much of an idea of things have you gotten, so far?" Perhaps she could provide some extra clarity at the very least.

As it stood, Cain hadn't even noticed the jewelry practically embedded into her collarbone. It was of secondary importance to the sheer time this woman had left. It would have been humbling except for the fact that Cain didn't have all of the facts and he wasn't much of a humble person anyway.

"There's a war," he said plainly. "We're here to fight it, but even the people representing us don't seem too fond of us right now. How long have you been here? Are there even ways to measure the time?"

'Not too fond of us right now' was beginning to feel like an understatement. "I don't blame them," Raine said, blunt. "Two Emperors have died since the first began summoning Foreigners to combat this enemy. Even without the implication that some of us may have been responsible for the second, such visible failures would be enough to shake most people's faith."

Leaving out as well that the first Emperor had also been murdered by a Foreigner. That person had been caught and executed, where now they were faced with the problem of possibly multiple traitors, unwittingly or not.

As to the questions he'd actually asked, those had straightforward answers. "I've been here a bit more than seven months now, and yes, time is measurable. The calendar has twelve months, each day has twenty-four hours, which seems to be about standard among the people I've asked." Realizing what might have sparked that question, she added, a bit wryly, "I simply don't have a watch on me."

"No shit?" asked Cain. That would go a long way toward explaining the current hostilities, especially if the people felt that their so-called warriors were the ones assassinating their public leaders. He understood better than most how effective a steady rule could be; when a ruler's position was put under duress, the public was left without something with which to stabilize their lives around. Now Cain found himself rather curious about the true reasoning behind the Emperors' deaths and whether there might be some other way to bring the people under a different united front. "You've got that right, anyway. Look at what you did, now I'm not as pissed off at them anymore. Weird, huh?"

At her seeing through where he was going with the questioning, Cain grinned. "Seems like an oversight to me. Is that not how the cycle works where you're from or are you just covering all your bases?"

Raine nodded. "Granted, that implication came from the enemy itself, and may have simply been another attempt at sowing discord, but true or not, that much has succeeded." And she grimaced a little, reminded of just how many problems they were facing. "Wariness is wise regardless, but their feelings right now-- it's just in the nature of people." To fear, and to seek someone more tangible than a faceless foe to blame.

Still his grin was infectious, and despite heavy matter she couldn't help but return a smaller smile. "No, the cycle is very similar in my world; thoroughness is all it is."

"Gotta love politics," said Cain. It was meant to be sarcastic, but all things considered, he couldn't quite shake the actual fondness in his tone. There was definitely a politician in Cain that hadn't stretched his legs for quite a while. Even in such a climate as he found himself, he couldn't stop the mental exercises of rolling out solutions before discarding them for the next. He didn't know enough of what was going on to really figure anything out, and it would take time to build a power base before putting anything into action besides. Still... that didn't mean he couldn't fantasize in the meantime. "So the big bad Enemy isn't enough to unite them... but this obviously isn't a cold war and it's practically on their doorsteps. What's up with that? Is our big bad wolf a former hero or something?"

Shaking his head, Cain held out a hand in order to introduce himself. Probably should have done that first before getting into the strenuous conversations. "Jacob Kane, by the way. Don't mind me, I just spitball out loud."

Politics were frankly a nuisance as far as she was concerned, and her expression briefly reflected that. "No," she said, instead of commenting on politics. "As far as anyone can tell, it's simply evil, and always has been evil. However, until fairly recently, it's been relatively subtle." She was still a little sore about how well it had done lulling them into something like complacency. "And now, it's several steps ahead."

It wasn't hopeless. Couldn't be yet. But she could easily see how people would assume it was.

Raine clasped his hand for a moment with a short nod. "Raine Sage. And I don't mind. Another perspective is always valuable."

There was the catch. The boogeyman had come out from under the bed and no one knew how to deal with it yet. Understandable, and yet a severe annoyance when there was so much riding on the line. These people were going to have to get their heads out of their asses sooner or later, and Cain was pretty certain the sooner would be the better here. "Say no more," he said with a light flourish, twisting his wrist out in front of him. "People are scared and disbelieving and going with what they can see."

For the introduction, Cain gave her a smile. "That's what I've always thought. What's yours on the matter? Of... anything going on, honestly."

"Exactly," she agreed. And what people could see were dead Emperors, dead children, and Foreigners who had failed to do a whole lot about any of those problems.

Raine exhaled tiredly, this time not quite managing to muster a returning smile. "There's quite a bit to cover; where would you like me to start? Most generally speaking, my perspective is that our situation looks increasingly hopeless as the days go on, but we're still alive, which means that either the enemy is arrogant or it's not as powerful as it claims, and both provide opportunity."

She paused to glance around, less for fear of being overheard and more to ensure that the activity on the street was remaining more or less normal. It wouldn't do to be surprised, but for now things seemed quiet enough.

Cain noticed her observation immediately. He tilted his head to the side, indicating somewhere other than here, and asked, "Probably should move somewhere else for all this heavy conversation, right? Lead the way if you know anywhere. I'm at your mercy, Raine."

Whether there would be more to say or not, Cain was still interested in that clock around her neck. He wasn't going to say she seemed natural enough because that was never the issue at hand, but such a long lifespan was not normal in the slightest. It was, however, an actual span and he didn't intend to do anything to fix it. He just wanted to know what it meant.

"And how about..." He considered, eventually shrugging. "What do you think about the others here? Like us?"

Over the months Raine had made the rounds of the parks in Earth sector, and she started to lead the way toward one of those now, mindful to avoid those streets which were more crowded. "There's a wide assortment of Foreigners," she said, slightly more careful now to keep her tone neutral. "Some who don't seem like they should have been summoned for a war. Many who are suspicious of each other. And the taint has compromised some judgments. It's not a united group by any standards. All that aside, however, there are good people here. People I've come to trust." He'd have to make his own judgment on that, of course.

Cain walked alongside her rather than letting her go ahead and lead entirely. He didn't seem too cautious in keeping a space between himself and someone he didn't really know at all, just making like meeting up with a casual acquaintance for a walk. It wasn't that he didn't know better, just that he was tired of being paranoid.

"Basically, we're like a bunch of cats that they've tried and failed to herd," he summarized. "And they've got no ability to discern who they bring in which is and has caused trouble."

"Essentially, yes." It was an accurate enough assessment. She nodded to the first turn in their path before they took it, wondering idly as she did if his relaxed attitude was confidence or arrogance. "And there have, definitively, been Foreigners with negative intentions, even before the latest problem of the taint and the enemy's movement. It was previously assumed an anomaly, I believe, but nearly everything is being called into doubt right now." The people, the magic, even the very city in which they walked.

"Everything, like allegiances and peoples' natures?" asked Cain. "What taint? Movement?"

If it were enough of an upset to cause such social unrest, he had very little doubt that hings would take a long time to repair. When an issue was made personal, it was almost impossible to disentangle it from the larger picture and make the clean break... to mix his metaphors, anyway. He had been dropped in the middle of an enormous clusterfuck and there was only so much care Cain could give at any one time. These weren't his people by anything but a tenuous association and yet he was going to be relying on them for support in a war he had no business fighting. Much as he wished to be hands-off about it... he would probably need to get in and get dirty sooner rather than later. Ugh.

She'd been hoping they'd have covered that when he was brought through. "Like those," Raine agreed. "About a month and a half ago now, a number of cultists attacked a gathering of Foreigners, meeting with the Emperor. The weapons they carried had black blades-- you may still see some on the streets, and you should be very cautious of them, as they carry a poison that has lasting physical and spiritual effects. If I or another healer reach you quickly, you should be fine, but it's not something worth risking. The effects observed include nightmares, compromised judgment, and an increased tendency to anger and violence. The taint still persists in some people, and it remains to be seen if it will cause other problems."

There she paused, stopping briefly in the street to face him, give him a direct look rather than sidelong. "The enemy had been very quiet up till about two and a half weeks ago," she said after a moment, a little quiet. "We'd seen what it had been responsible for, but in late September it murdered the Emperor and five of the turtle-children, left their corpses on the steps of the Palace, and announced to everyone near a console that at least one of us had helped it willingly. So yes. Movement."

That was definitely not the kind of poison Cain wanted to deal with. Then again, if it wasn't going to kill him multiple times before finally weakening enough that he could survive it, maybe it wouldn't actually be so bad. Being out of control was better than dying over and over and over again. "So it fucks with your brain," he summarized easily. "Some kind of biochemical reaction that like sticking around. Is there an antidote or just a treatment?"

When she stopped, Cain followed suit and matched her gaze steadily. Far be it from him to ignore someone's need to impart importance. He probably needed to make a few friends in his time here and rolling his eyes at the theatrics wouldn't go over well. "Has that been proven or is it still too early? What kind of investigation is going on into that?"

"No antidote," she said, shaking her head. "The treatment varies among healers, depending on their own skills, but purely mundane means don't seem to help. It's certainly harmful, but doesn't seem to be actually lethal even if left untreated, which is almost more concerning."

In short order Raine started moving again, pace even. "Nothing's been proven either way, though I believe people are actively investigating. For the most part, it's only further prevented us from working together."

"Purely mundane?" echoed Cain. It hadn't entirely clicked what other treatments might be available. Back in his own world, magic could only be used as a tool to aid in destruction; healing magic wasn't a reality, nor on the forefront of his mind. "What other options are there?"

"Any other organization would work on closing its ranks while weeding out the bad seed," he commented wryly. He didn't really expect the foreigners to act as a united front but it sounded like there wasn't even a core group of anyone trying to work together to keep things moving. It was a wonder they hadn't fallen apart sooner.

Raine gave him a faintly curious look; the ease with which he'd taken the rest of her answers hadn't made her think magic a foreign concept for him. "Broadly, magical. There's a number of different traditions, almost as many as there are available healers."

He did have a point, regarding optimal tactics, and when she exhaled again it was more of a faint sigh. "It would be a sound strategy, but there's not enough cohesion between us for even that." With a few notable exceptions.

That answer did take him momentarily aback. It was easy to see Cain readjusting something in his mind while he forcefully slotted in the idea of healing types of magic. If that were a possibility here, then many other things could be conveniently turned on their heads as far as Cain knew them to be. There was nothing he could take for granted anymore and that was going to end up pretty exhausting. No other choice than to grin and bear it, but at least he was learning early what he had been pulled into. "And none of them have a cure for it or even an acceptable treatment," he said, as if his world hadn't been shuffled about like a pile of leaves in a whirlwind.

"No, I figured," he allowed. "That's the problem. No wonder everything is in chaos if no one could pull anyone together. If these kedan knew what they were doing, they would have pulled in a leader first and troops second."

She waited a moment for him to readjust his worldview, then proceeded. "No. As I said, if I can reach the wounded quickly enough, I have an arte that will clear the taint from their system, but past a few minutes it ceases to help." This was something that was a persistent frustration to her, and it showed in her grimace and in her tone. "I believe it's much the same with the waterbenders. Does magic not have such constructive applications in your world?"

They'd had leaders. Eshai by all reports had been a good leader, a strong one. Evandau had tried, but in the end better suited for command, not leadership, and that, too, was a moot point. And those among the Foreigners most likely to step up and take charge, those she estimated many people would have been willing to follow-- for the most part those had vanished, too. They were much fewer in number now than they had been. "It's not the kedan who set up the summoning spell," she said finally, skirting the issue of exactly how much had been lost. "But by all reports, despite the Emperors' best efforts, the results have always been a little erratic."

"Magic..." Cain hesitated, part for show and partially for real. Considering Raine's explanations and what she had revealed thus far, it wouldn't totally hurt to explain the processes in his own world. It wasn't something he usually needed to explain, however. Either you knew about death magic, Reapers and Enforcers or you were normal. (Or the Yates twins, but they were a special circumstance.) "Magic is a bit of an unknown quantity where I'm from. Only the dead can use it, so you can imagine how much healing gets done with that."

That was some new information. His head canted to the side as he took it in, letting that one truly sink in. "Who else is there to set it up?" he asked. If the spell was required to pull in foreigners, then they couldn't have predated their own arrival. "Is there a third group here?"

"The dead," Raine repeated, thoughtful. "Not much, I'd imagine. Hm. Some kind of necromancy, or simply a different state of existence after death? And if the latter, what else sets your dead apart from your living?" For the ability to use magic implied sentience beyond what the dead could usually achieve.

The third group question made her blink a little, before she caught the assumption. "Ah-- no, not specifically. Rather, it was the Emperor Eshai who set up the spell in the first place, and she wasn't one of the kedan. They, too, are a people she summoned. It's since been maintained by others."

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Earth Sector

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