(no subject)

[chewitover]

[Belated soiree continuations for Rakushun, because wow those posts got huge while I was busy]

Comments

[Enjolras]

[chewitover]

I'd have to agree with you pretty much entirely on better ways to spend the time, honestly. I'd be in the library now if it weren't for this, in fact. Doesn't mean I can't enjoy these sorts of things as well.

[Sakuya]

[chewitover]

Yes, that.

[Nezumi]

[chewitover]

A common condition, so I've heard.

[patria_ou_mort]

What is it about them that you enjoy?

[debossy]

They simply fizzle out, for the most part. No doubt there are lingering grudges, but humanity cannot stand against birdkind at this point in their cultural lifespan.

[westblockstory]

Watch who you're calling common, would you? But it is rather the norm, as far as I know.

[chewitover]

Mm, I enjoy the opportunity to meet with new people that I wouldn't see in the ordinary course of things. There's a certain energy to large groups like this. Besides, if I have to be here, there's no sense in not making the most of it.

[chewitover]

What happened?

[chewitover]

My apologies.

As far as I've found, yes. I've met a few here with a similar ability, but by and large people here tend to have a single form; even if the numbers of those that are strictly human is lower than I might have guessed.

[debossy]

To humankind, you mean?

[chewitover]

Yes - from what you've said, it sounds like an interesting situation, so I was wondering what had occurred. If you don't mind to explain, of course.

[debossy]

No, I do not. 95% of humanity fell victim to an influenza pandemic, about a hundred years before my birth in 2171. There are something less than 200 million of them left.

[patria_ou_mort]

Hmm. What is your normal occupation?

[chewitover]

That's terrible - did it not affect your kind?

[chewitover]

I'm just a student, for now.

[debossy]

Birds were the carriers of the plague. Unintentionally, of course. The steps humankind took to eradicate us are the reason why my kind no longer resembles the birdkind of old.

[chewitover]

What did they do that changed your kind?

[debossy]

They engineered a virus that was meant to destroy us, but instead altered our DNA. It was an unforeseen consequence.

[chewitover]

Were your ancestors more like ordinary birds, or were they already intelligent in some capacity?

[debossy]

They were what you would think of as ordinary, yes.

[patria_ou_mort]

I could say the same. What do you study?

[chewitover]

That's a fascinating history your kind has.

[chewitover]

A bit of everything, at the moment - history, politics, law, and so forth. We're expected to know at least a little of everything before we specialize further. Yourself?

[debossy]

It is strange to have come to a place where no one knows of it.

[patria_ou_mort]

I am a student of law. Who is the "we" of which you speak?

[chewitover]

It is pretty strange to find things that one is used to are considered unusual elsewhere, isn't it.

[chewitover]

The other students at the university, that is.

[patria_ou_mort]

*nods*

Which university?

[chewitover]

The university in En - there's only one university per kingdom, you see, so they don't have particular names the way schools in other worlds seem to.

[patria_ou_mort]

*the subject of kingdoms seems to catch his interest*

All nations in your world are ruled as monarchies?

[chewitover]

They are, yes.

[patria_ou_mort]

How stable are the governments?

[chewitover]

It depends on the kingdom, really. For example, the king of En has reigned for over five hundred years, but the king of Kou has only recently fallen - it will be some time before Kou is stable again. Kei just had a new king take the throne, and so on.

[patria_ou_mort]

*a sharp look -- not vicious but merely that of an alert mind*

The same king?

[chewitover]

Of En, yes. Kings are immortal, so long as they rule well and justly.

[patria_ou_mort]

By whose judgment?

[chewitover]

That of the heavens. If one doesn't break with the mandate of heaven - protects his or her people, maintains order, and so on - one remains king. If a king abuses their power or breaks the rules set forth for monarchs, they've lost that right.

[patria_ou_mort]

*goes quiet, thinking this over. clearly not bothered by allowing the lull in conversation*

[chewitover]

[Waiting patiently to see what he has to say]

[patria_ou_mort]

Has anyone, either a king or the people, ever challenged heaven?

[chewitover]

It depends on how you mean it. There are pretenders to empty thrones all the time, and even the best kings fall eventually.