{Voice; UN: scraps}

[disgracedprince]

I can't sleep and Lady Rinku had a wonderful idea. Though I have a different game in mind. Twenty questions! Except that seems overwhelming, especially at this hour, so I am cutting it to ten.

One: Are you close to your family?
Two: How far have you traveled from home? (Excluding any traveling in Ellipsa.)
Three: Have you ever been in love?
Four: Do you like poetry?
Five: What subjects have you studied?
Six: What are your favorite holidays and why?
Seven: What is your favorite color?
Eight: Have you ever wielded a weapon?
Nine: Did you have powers before you came to Ellipsa?
Ten: If you could be any animal, which would you choose?

Take your time and if any of the questions seems overwhelming, come up with one to replace it.

{Xie Lian falls silent as he waits, a gentle breeze causing the wind-chimes by his head to ring.}

Comments

[disgracedprince]

The latter. {He sighs.} Power isn't always earned righteously.

[roundandaround]

Oh... I guess that kind of thing happens everywhere. It sounds like you had to deal with that back home, huh...

[disgracedprince]

I'm sure it does. {Oh when will people learn?} I did, but I was able to stop some of it.

[roundandaround]

You mean stop someone who was using their power wrong?

[disgracedprince]

Yes. I have imprisoned him under a mountain.

[roundandaround]

...Does that kinda thing happen a lot?

[blink blink.]

[disgracedprince]

I'm not sure, but something became of the gods in the past. Their histories have been erased.

[roundandaround]

That also sounds kinda worrying. There are lost gods and you don't know about them?

[disgracedprince]

They perished, little lady. It's natural, though I cannot say their ends weren't premature.

[roundandaround]

I guess that makes sense... But if the history's gone, how do you know what happened?

[disgracedprince]

Thus the problem. Each new dynasty likely gets rid of the old records.

[roundandaround]

Why would anyone do that? I thought you were supposed to learn from the last guys.

[disgracedprince]

Many leaders have done likewise. I agree that the past should be learned from, but for many, it is something to be forgotten.

[roundandaround]

I don't get it. I guess it must have been sad for them, but still... The history here is sad too, and people know it.

[disgracedprince]

It's not about sadness; it's about power. If no one recalls the past, the current ruler is the only one they can rely on.

[roundandaround]

That makes even less sense. [Rinku screws up her face.] Is that why one of your other questions was what all subjects people studied?

[disgracedprince]

Believe me, it makes more sense when you see it in action. Think about it, if you are a ruler that wants their people to rely on only them, would you want them reading about great rulers of the past and comparing you to them?

I was just curious.

[roundandaround]

I dunno, I wouldn't want that in the first place. That sounds creepy, like someone who doesn't want the person they like to have friends.

[somewhere at arisugawa, a character who hasn't shown up at rinku's canon point is sneezing.]

[disgracedprince]

Precisely. {Xie Lian sounds and looks tired now.} That was how the previous Emperor of Heaven ruled.

[roundandaround]

What's gonna happen now? I guess you don't know since you're here, but.

[disgracedprince]

...actually, I do know.

I am the most powerful god now.

I refuse to be Emperor.

[roundandaround]

Really? Then who's gonna? Unless no one is and you're turning it into another kind of government, I guess.

[disgracedprince]

No one. {He nods.} The gods must work together. I am available to help, but they must overcome their obstacles as a group.

[roundandaround]

That actually sounds really good. They can all get along that way, right?

[disgracedprince]

I know they can. They are not cruel.