Plots/Elysium And The Neke

Is it a coincidence that the Elysians and the Neke re-emerged at almost the same time, both after long absences?

It was some time before news of the Neke's disappearance even reached the outside world. Rumours flew: some said they were kidnapped; some, that they fell prey to the Plague that poisons Strangewarp; still others suggested that the Neke, tired of their years of duty-bound ritual and ceremony, simply abandoned their ancestral home and secretly took on new identities elsewhere in the Mess. Even the few retainers and devices they left behind told wildly conflicting stories.

And one has to wonder why such a perfect VRC enclave like Elysium would be abandoned. Although the restrictions might not suit the general population of the Mess, it seems to be a model representation of VRC interests.

• The Throne apparently has only recently re-awakened, which led to the rediscovery of the island.

• Around the same time, Okyno was sighted, heralding the possible return of the Neke.

• The island was abandoned approximately around the same time that the Neke abandoned the Ovon.

• Rumors have it that actual [Neke eggs] have been found on the island very recently. The whereabouts of these eggs, post-discovery, are unclear.

---

One who was there at the height of the Neke-Elysium conflict is ambiguous on the subject. From a secret [conversation]:

Gina (former King of Elysium, now an eight-year-old-seeming rat girl) smiles. "You'd best look for other pods underground. They slipped a lot in, the weird ways. They thought they were sly but we were slyer. We just bundled the whole place up once they got there."

She swats her hands against each other in dismissal. Dusting-off.

"I wasn't King then but I was High Court. Elysium was pretty but half of us had other worlds to build, waiting in our heads. Lure the Neke in, haul us all out, wrap it allllll up into otherwhen! Ta, Neke!" She giggles. And shrugs. "It didn't work as we hoped, of course. A lot of sentients were in sway to the Throne, not the Court, and they wound up staying. I guess it made them all get into cryosleep once it felt the ties loose. You don't want to be awake in otherwhen!"

Gina looks at her toes. "I have to go potty," she adds.

The source of this desire for newness? Perhaps a Neke mind-agent. But they didn't expect this double-cross, did they?