Interview or Argument?
Welcome to my Spooktober 2025 hub!
It's 2068 Volcanic Era, the month of Chiaki, 6th day. I'm Elan Straibala, here at the Eddy documenting the Water Seekers. To that end, I have been interviewing the former Wringers. Today it's Voia's turn--and he brought Istlourn with him. Seeker Voia, Seeker Istlourn, it's an honor to speak with you both.
It really isn't.
He means "thank you".
I don't.
I do. I thank you for being willing to talk to us.
At your own peril.
Stop it. She knows better than that.
Seeker Istlourn, if you really don't want to be interviewed, I won't insist.
He will.
Well, yes. I did promise that if he didn't come, I'd talk only about him.
That's unfair.
Unfair? Unfair is that Istlourn ended up the face and name of the Wringers. There's a whole ten of us here, but he's the one who gets all the hate, all the threats-
Did all the work.
Furl it. You did not. And he's never been given a fair opportunity to speak up.
And say what?
Tell what it was like. How you-
No one wants to hear that.
Um... I do.
You don't even know what he's talking about.
N-no, but...but this is why I'm here, to document the Water Seekers. That includes your experiences as much as anyone else's.
Even if I tell you I killed a man when I was five years old.
What?
Hey. That is not what happened!
You want me to talk. I'm talking. Don't complain about it now.
At least be honest about it. Scribe Elan, it's not what it sounds like. Papa was responsible, not Istlourn.
He called me to him. There were three men with him. He asked me, which one was lying? I chose one.
You didn't know what he was going to do.
What did he do?
Nothing. He died for nothing. What Kezlaf thought he did turned out to be a Dissolver plot.
I don't think that's what she meant. Papa boiled his blood.
Kelaf enjoyed torment.
The Dissolvers weren't any better. They caused more harm than we ever did.
Unlikely.
*gasp* What happened?
Dissolvers attacked a switching station. They damaged one of the transfer sections.
How do you know it was Dissolvers?
They were caught.
Briefly.
Long enough!
They still escaped.
Well, it's harder to keep hold of someone with no aura.
What do you mean?
The Dissolvers had some trick for escaping notice. They're there physically, but there's something amiss with their auras that makes it hard for witnesses to describe them afterward. But these two were caught in the act and held for a couple of days.
Yet no one bothered reporting it until months after the fact.
They didn't know how bad the sabotage was until then. The section wasn't damaged enough to break right away. But when it did fail, the boat it was carrying rolled off and crushed a control room. Eight station staff and nine passengers died.
But of course no one could recall what the Dissolvers looked like by then.
That's why our trio went out. My job was to get witnesses to think about the Dissolvers so I could collect their impressions and put together a physical description.
And did you find them?
No. Suddenly everyone was talking about an invasion on Mraydor, so we got on the first boat heading there.
You would have been safer if you'd stayed away.
You would have been safer if I'd been there.
What could you have done? Stopped the Dissolvers?
I would have supported you. You know that.
Valiantly trying to prop up your hero.
It wouldn't have ended so badly-
You don't know.
I know that you didn't need to be the sole target for everyone's hate. We got back the day after the downfall, but it was already too late to speak up. The Dissolvers had taken charge and the Wringers were held in the palace under guard.
You wouldn't have been, if you hadn't announced yourselves at the door.
We weren't going to abandon the rest of you. Anyway, Istlourn and Ardez were the only ones actually present for the trial, were you aware?
I'm not surprised by it. Nobody else was mentioned by name in the transcript.
The rest of us were listening in by air-wave. For protection, they said, because we were children.
You were.
It was that Dissolver's idea. Do you seriously believe she cared about protecting us?
No, but she wasn't wrong about it.
She deliberately lied about it! Her whole goal was to make herself the hero and us the Cluster Island's foes. It's a joke how people claim the Wringers were manipulative, when that woman had so much control over the trial. We heard everything, felt the sting of every accusation, knowing they meant us without caring who we were. The kinds of things people said to Istlourn's face they would never have said to Firsit's.
Why not?
He was eleven years old. Barely tall enough for Istlourn to use as an elbow rest.
Which is why he wasn't there.
He wasn't there because the Dissolvers knew people wouldn't scream death threats at children!
They might. When people are...angry enough, they won't care how small their victim is.
Scribe Elan, with all respect, I don't think you understand how inhuman that would be.
I do! We all--I mean, every Eihlarian does, anyway. It's what we did to the Halsul clan.
*speechless*
*staring*
*deep breath* They...were... They angered the other clans enough that the Wardens organized a raid. Whoever wasn't killed right away was forced to march to the bay.
Including children?
All the children. The Wardens made sure of it. The Halsuls were having a celebration, so the whole family was gathered in one place, from the elderly down to the babies. After the inital bloodshed, every building in the compound was destroyed to flush out anyone who tried to hide. Then they had to walk for hours, inside a ring of angry people. The ring didn't break until they got to the bay, and even then the only way out was into the water. Not as many knew how to swim back then. And we stood there, watching an entire family drown and celebrating their deaths.
When did this happen?
Uh...the massacre was 935 Vol, and the Seekers' intervention lasted a century and a half afterward.
Oh! Ocean's spit, Scribe Elan, the way you were talking I thought it was something you'd done!
Well. If I'd been there, I would have.
What do you mean?
I'm not any different from my ancestors. I still have the same volcanic temper they did. I had to learn--over years--to go beat on something that can take the fury out of me without causing harm to anyone else. Without that practice, I'd overreact to every hurt just like they did. It's why we remember the massacre every year. We have to be watchful that a desire for revenge doesn't override the need for justice. We honor the horrors of our past and renew our intentions to live so that these things never happen again. Seeker Istlourn, next Day of Shame, you could come and be a part of it.
Eihlari isn't one of the Cluster Islands. The law against you doesn't apply to our shores. And we'd understand more than you think.
That's a generous invitation.
Istlourn, this is exactly the kind of thing I hate hearing from you. Here's a place you're allowed to go-
It's nothing to do with the exile law. Say what you want, Scribe Elan, I hardly think anyone on your island or anywhere else would be delighted to have Wringer One come for a visit.
So you're going to turn your back on this opportunity?
Opportunity? To terrify even more people?
I wish you'd stop talking like this!
And I am tired of your attempts to fix the unfixable!
I'm trying to help you.
I don't ask for your interference. Can't you leave-
I care about you and-
Care by leaving me alone!
*WHAM WHAM WHAM* Quiet! Quiet, please!
*shocked silence*
Seekers...thank you for your time. I'm ending the interview. This is getting nowhere.
I agree. I'm leaving.
Scribe Elan? I'm sorry about how this turned out. Please allow me to take the blame. Istlourn isn't usually like that. He's angry because I pushed him into it.
I could tell. Don't worry, I understand about siblings. My father and Uncle Nkeba are best of friends, but they can fight as if they hate each other.
I wish you could see him when no one is around besides us. It's really only when visitors come that he broods all the time.
I can keep my distance, if that will help.
That's not what I meant! Just...give him a chance. Some time.
I will. It's all true, you know, about Eihlari. We...well, we feared you as much as everyone else in the ocean did. But we also understand about living with the memory of every bad thing we've ever done. Even if Seeker Istlourn won't come, you'd be welcome to.
Thank you.
*clunk* *scrape* *shuffle*
*creak* Ahh, that's better. *sigh*
*gasp* It's still going! Endercording! End--end recording, end end-
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