#(and kima and allura to a lesser extent)

[belphegor1982]

Thinking about "A Bard's Lament" again - I've heard and read it said a lot that if Ashley Johnson had been able to play Pike that day Scanlan might not have left, and yep, valid, but also consider this -

if Ashley had been at the table for "The Deceiver's Stand", I don't think we would've had Grog's "No. No. NO. Fix him. FIX HIM!"

BUT we would've had Pike's immediate reaction to Scanlan's death and I honestly don't know which would have hurt more

[bloodyshadow1]

I think this last episode shows what campaign 2 was missing when you compare it to Campaign 1, not in a negative way, just in the an emptiness that’s there.  For the Nein, they don’t have many or any real allies, the Dynasty finds them useful and they are, but they aren’t really accepted or beloved, essek is growing on them and them on him but only this last episode I think they broke through to maybe being friends from two parties who are using each other.  Dairon likes Beau but barely interacts with the others save to glare at them and seems to maybe have a well hidden soft spot for Jester and by extension of the Cobalt Soul doesn’t care for them that much either.  In the empire they have few allies as well, they like Pumat but he’s also an NPC shop keeper they haven’t seen in over 40 eps.  Same with Dolan who they helped out and liked them, but they also haven’t seen him in even longer.  The Gentleman is a fucking slaver and a crime boss who despite being Jester’s dad will probably end up in a bloody confrontation.  The only people that still seem to like them are Orly, the Dusts, and Umi in Uthadurn and they are few and far between.  And of course family doesn’t count for this post.

Compare that to Vox Machina who had a keep and were heroes of Emon, they were liked throughout their city and known as heroes all over.  They had a keep and people who worked for them, and considered Greyskull home, they were confidants to the Emperor and on his council.  More importantly, they had NPC’s, powerful NPC who were friends of theirs and in some cases family.  By the end of Campaign 1 Gilmore, Allura, Kima, and maybe to a lesser extent Jarret, were family to Vox Machina, they fought and bleed beside them against dragons and were there for them in their darkest moments.  

The Nein don’t have moments like that, the cast might love Matt’s NPC’s but when Gilmore, Kima and Allura come on they’re part of Vox Machina even if they aren’t officially in the party, Kima and Allura are the last people Vox Machina spends time with before the end of the last session.  When Gilmore was almost dead the party gave up everything to see him and the people he protected to safety. The whole saving Kima and Allura after the raishan fight, was heartbreaking and they almost lost them both forever and Vox Machina probably would have lost two more importnat members of their family after scanlan’s loss.

Now the Nein have NPC’s that they would regret if they died of course, but there’s family and there’s friends, and then there’s people you’re friendly with.  The Nein dont’ really have much of the latter two and none of the former save for blood relations.

[shieldmaidenhalwen]

Kima is many things. She is a Paladin of Bahamut, and a loyal friend and ally. She is strong-willed and quick to anger and quicker to laugh and she holds within herself an ember of righteous anger that will never grow cold. She is fierce and abrasive and strong and kind and she dislikes being the center of attention and she is awkward and honest and she loves Allura with everything that she is and has ever been.

She is not an optimist, and she does not think that they will leave this island alive.

Kima is aware of herself, of her abilities and their limits, and of those of her companions. She knows how to twist situations to their advantage, and how quickly confrontations can fall apart. She is painfully familiar with the extent of her own understanding, and always ensures that she keeps herself in check. She is not divine, to know the true power of any being, and would never wish to be.

She feels the crunch of ancient bone under her boot, and thinks of all the souls lost here, who had tried to assault the necromancer in his lair. Doubtless some had thought themselves prepared, had thought themselves ready, had brought armor and spells and weapons and potions and allies, but they had died all the same. She is not foolhardy enough to imagine that their party will be any different. Some had surely thought themselves imbued with holy power and divine might, and yet had died all the same. Others had surely had specialized arms and armor, as Vox Machina carries now, and still their bones lie scattered. Perhaps they had been in extremis, a last desperate hope to save a city, or perhaps they had been vandals, scavengers expecting easy pickings off a deserted ocean rock; they had died all the same, and their remains now litter the ground without distinction.

The party, Allura and Grog and Pike and Scanlan and Percy and Vex and Vax and Kerrik, progresses onward. They stumble over traps, fight skulls, skeletons, shadows, and a canny dragon who nearly manages to take them all down with her. They fight them, and improbably, impossibly, they survive, for the most part. They take down Raishan, architect of all the woe that has befallen Exandria in the last year. She takes Scanlan with her, but Vox Machina will not be stymied so easily. Their grief is ferocious but directed, focused, and Kima has no doubt that they will bring him back successfully. There are few deaths that sufficiently powerful magics cannot reverse, if there is a body to anchor them and the spirit is willing.

Her thoughts turn, inevitably, to other lives lost, with no access to powerful magic and no body to re-inhabit. So many bitter tears shed over ashy shadows and acid-splattered stonework, with only lesser magics to hand and no body to re-inhabit.

So they are victorious, the battle won, and all that remains is to get themselves to Whitestone to bring Scanlan back. They stagger out of the cavern gracelessly and watch, glassy-eyed, as Allura sets a circle in lines of glittering power. Her robes are soot-stained and bloody, her braids dark with sweat and smoke, both in contrast to the sharp lines and neat curves of the teleportation circle. She looks at Kima, takes a breath, and steps through.

Later, Allura will ask Kima how she knew, what change in the magic or shift in the air told her that something had gone wrong. Then, as now, Kima will have no answer, voice frozen in remembered and present terror; she stands stock-still as fear trickles down her neck and seeps into her chest and freezes her heart mid-beat. Something is wrong. Allura is gone and something is wrong. The circle is different, the magic is wrong, everything is wrong; everything is wrong and Allura stepped through and Allura is gone is gone is gone.

Kima follows.

Kima follows and is plunged into ice-cold water that covers her over in an instant. She fights her way to the surface, gasping for both breath and thought. Her waterlogged armor drags her down but she cannot spare either moment or motion because Allura is gone and Kima must find her. She reaches through the water frantically, terrified fingers catching at nothing at nothing at nothing at nothing at nothing at nothing

“KIMA!”

Allura is calling her name and Allura is nearby and Allura is here and Allura is gripping her hand and the water is cold and her limbs are tiring and Kima is exhausted and furious and horribly, shamefully grateful. Allura should not be here, should be safe in her ivory tower far from any danger save boredom, but she is here and Kima is here and they did their best, they succeeded, Vox Machina and Emon and Tal’Dorei and all their inhabitants will be safe.

If anyone was to prove Kima right, confirm that this mission will require a sacrifice, it is alright that it is herself and Allura. Kima would not love a world lacking Allura, and Allura has said the same. The world needs Vox Machina; Kima and Allura can be spared.

They keep swimming, fighting to stay above the water, but it is only a matter of time, now. They are both growing weaker, their breath shorter and their limbs slower. They were successful, and they are together, and now it is only a matter of time.

Behind them, out of sight, a dark speck flies closer, a larger blot following behind. Keyleth screams in Vex’s ear to hurry, and the broom picks up speed, barreling towards them desperately, Percy and the carpet in hot pursuit. Vex dives for Allura’s hand and grasps her tight and in that moment, Kima knows they are saved. Bahomet is not kind, but neither is he cruel, and this is not the end of their story. Their end will come yet, and perhaps it will come soon, but not now. Not yet. Not today.