The Temple of Falis: Barton Town ● Gaia Mainstream Thread

Welcome to the Temple of Falis. The Sanctuary is trashed and stuff is burning inside.

Time is dusk. Season is Early Spring	16.7%	[ 2 ]
PEOPLE SCREAMING EVERYWHERE AT THE GATES	25.0%	[ 3 ]
At least there aren't anymore dragons.	58.3%	[ 7 ]
Total Votes:			[ 12 ]

[Sey]

Time Paradox～！

[Sey]

gaia_angelleft The Temple Sanctuary ● Sunset ● Spring

CRACK

The noise echoed off the vaulted halls of the temple sanctuary, the cavernous white marble room filled with all six hundred members of the clergy in residence and over four hundred of its daily parishioners. The vaulted hall was filled with a charged and heavy silence between the thunderous sound despite the pews occupied with Gaians from the front of the Solarium to the entrances of the chapels. Young and old alike were silent - all eyes unable to look away from the scene before them.

There were over a thousand people inside the Temple this evening, and not single one of them dared to speak.

It had been four years to the day that the former High Priestess of the Temple had formally stepped down from her position as spiritual leader of the Falician faithful of Greater Barton. Forsworn from her Sacred Oaths as a Cleric, Seyumi Kaikou was branded Anathema of the Falician Church by her successor and orders were spread to seize and imprison her for blasphemy.

It had been three years since the deadly rampage of the dragon, the death toll leaving the clergy in residence at it's current haggard number of scarcely half a thousand - a mere fraction of the Faithful the Temple could hold and had housed only 5 years prior.

While the dust and scaffolds of reconstruction had vanished years earlier the hearts of the Faithful still bled from the wounds they had received that night. It had been a frenzied dragon, a Platinum dragon, that had wrought so much havoc on the sacred grounds of their home. An Avatar of their own God had gouged out the northern entrance of the Solarium and reduced the tranquil gardens surrounding the graves of the Faithful to a sea of flame and ash.

It had taken just 366 days to rebuild the Temple to its previous serene splendor.

It would take many, many more to heal the Clergy's fractured faith.

A muffled wail pierced the silence of the massive hall and the intermittent groan of wood accompanied the mournful sound. Silent tears rolled down most of the faces of the gathered faithful, though several hands clenched the pilgrim worn varnish of the pews in restraint.

The Temple, whose clear crystal domes and towering windows were constructed to coax the sacred light into a dazzling brilliance over the congregation, was dark this evening. The rays of the setting sun scattered in prisms through the windows but the Solarium, the most sacred dais of the Temple, was dim.

It was as though light itself shied away from the cluster of people at the dais' zenith - the playful spheres that marked the presence of the elementals noticeably absent through the whole of the sanctuary.

There, atop the dias, knelt a single figure clothed in tattered grey robes. Long, black hair shrouded their down turned face as they were forced to prostrate themselves before the whole of the congregation. From the far vantage point of the twin chapel's entrance it seemed as though their arms were outstretched in an attempt to fly.

Upon closer inspection, there were yards of thin, platinum chain that held the person's wrists from the crystal dome's high columns.

The sound echoed off the walls, the muffled cries increasing in number as a man hooded in white linen slowly recoiled his arm for another lash of the whip.

CRRACK

Upon impact, blood splashed from the lacerations on their back yet no sound came from their mouth. The wet slap of the whip's leather being dragged across the dais' precious inlaid stones resounded due to the acoustics of the hall. As the white robed man somberly rolled his weapon back for another blow, a hand reached out and stopped him. Slowly, two figures clothed in the royal blue robes of the Oathsworn approached the bleeding figure and laid their hands on their wounded flesh. Light, pure and brilliant, radiated from their palms and pink, new skin grew over the open wounds. The two healers knelt in a pool of blood as they continued their ministrations, hands lowering to the figure's prone legs as their prayers coaxed the battered body to produce more blood. Blood that would soon be coursing down the dais steps in streams.

"Penance for each life taken from us that day. Penance until the repentant can blaspheme no longer." The man in white spoke, his voice booming through the sanctuary in a heavy foreign tenor.

“Isen has come to bring the True Light of Falis to Barton's children. For too long have you been enraptured by this woman's silken tongue. We of the High Temple have come to guide your flock to the True Light of His word.”

As the words rung through the hall the two Oathsworn ceased their ministrations, slowly rising from their patient's side to move back toward the man in white. The whip coiled heavily to the ground with a splat; the pool of blood expanding to nearly cover the entirety of the dias.

Penance for each life taken from us that day.


It would be a total of two hundred and ninety two lashes.

There were many in the crowd who believed that what was going on was not right. That their deity, their Lord - their God would never have a message such as this sent to His Faithful. It was these people that turned as the shackled woman jerked awake with a piteous howl that reverberated off the walls. Through a matted curtain of black hair, bloodshot silver eyes scanned the crowd in panic and fear.

W-wrong...

The white robed man slowly raised his right arm and the two Oathsworn at his side turned away as he stepped forward and swung with all his might. The whip flicked through the air, the soaked tendril sending droplets of blood onto those seated nearby before slicing open the woman's newly healed flesh.

...Nothing...

The force of the impact sent her petite frame lunging forward against her bonds, blood and sweat matted hair swirling a crimson pattern on the stones before her. A wooden bit muffled her scream as she felt her flesh part and a new torrent of blood streamed forth to coat her sides.

wrong...

The sound of gasps and children's wails began to fill the Sanctuary and her vision swam with red, the scene drifting farther and farther away in her mind's eye. The whip dragged through the pool of blood as the man gathered the soaked coils in his hands.

"Repent, sinner. Repent before all whom you have lead astray."

It was as though she saw everything happen from far away - the sudden awkward turn of her right arm as the force of the lash dislocated her shoulder. The red bloom of her flesh as another lash was rent upon her skin. The mixture of horror and satisfaction on the faces of the people she had grown up with as they watched her dangle like a worm on a hook.

This was the first sabbath day in which they would consecrate the dais with her penance. But she knew it would not be her last. Not even the most zealous from Isen could break his precept of protecting life.

She would not die - but she would not live either.

Falis, O God -

Why have you forsaken me?

[Dante Decker]

*OOC waves and tries not to interrupt*

[Sey]

(( *tacklehugs*

biggrin Heyyyyyyy there Stranger!!!!! It's been a super long time ♪( ´▽｀) How have you been?! ))

[themightyjello]

gaia_angelleft The Temple Sanctuary ● Sunset ● Spring

Sey

CRACK

The noise echoed off the vaulted halls of the temple sanctuary, the cavernous white marble room filled with all six hundred members of the clergy in residence and over four hundred of its daily parishioners.

The gristly sight portrayed upon the dais was not universally accepted among the faithful as a pure act of enforcing penance upon a sinner. Of those that had gathered there were many with mixed feelings about what they were seeing -- some had come to see the face of the fallen saint that had lead them astray while following her own ambition, but did not agree with the brutality of the punishment that was to be delivered -- some came because their faith called them to the church to hear the word of their god spoken by the one that had delivered them from the false prophet -- some came to silently suffer as they watched the woman they had once followed be punished at the hands of a leader they did not truly believe in -- and none that were there that day could avoid the urge to grimace slightly when each sickening crack of the lash echoed through the otherwise silent chamber.

As the whip came down again and again there were those among the crowd that shuddered and there were those that looked away. Parents covered the eyes of their children while whispering prayers into their ears, unwilling to let them see a sight such as this but equally as unwilling to not bring them to prayer to see what must be done.

Sey

CRRACK

An old man coughed in reaction, bringing a handkerchief to cover his lips and grey beard as he took deep, heavy breaths into it. His other hand rested in his lap, holding a Falician rosary that he ran his thumb across from moment to moment, turning it by one step with each lash as he counted with his fingers what the Vesper counted with her body. Each one was a memory that would be indelibly burned into memory; far longer than it would remain upon the flesh.

With each lash that came down upon the already bloodied skin the entire congregation flinched, and though many turned away their gaze eventually returned to the disgraced woman. The old man, in his black suit, never once looked away from the man holding the whip.

[Sey]

gaia_angelleft The Temple Sanctuary ● Sunset ● Spring

Two rows ahead of the old man a woman sagged to her knees off her pew, both hands covering her mouth as she gagged at the sight. The sound of another crack of his lash resounded through the room and the prostrate woman screamed, her voice no longer muffed by the wooden bit.

This was wrong.

This was wrong.

This is wrong!

They were torturing an innocent woman atop the most sacred spot in Barton and no one was doing anything! No one was moving to help a woman who had done nothing but give away the best years of her life to the service of others. The very same people she had worked so tirelessly to save were now watching her be tortured and disgraced by some priest from a foreign temple.

No one was moving to do anything... including herself.

Tears fell freely from Lu'azia Allandrine's silver eyes as she reached out to the back of the pew in front of her to hold herself steady. Raising her head just enough to peer through the tips of her blonde bangs she felt the blood drain from her face. The white marble of the dais was completely covered in blood, the liquid seeping down the steps in bright crimson waterfalls.

If it hadn't been for Iendin, that would have been her up there.

The thought kept her eyes open when she would have normally squeezed them shut, kept her hands clenched on the pew instead of over her ears to block out the woman's piteous cries. Every strike of the lash cut into her soul because Lu knew that it was her own recklessness that put her mentor into this situation.

Was it true that they were all cursed? It seemed that every single time she felt as though she began to treasure something, it was torn away from her and destroyed. First it had been their home at the small shrine of Falis, in Sandista far east of Barton. The slaughter of its residents including her parents had made her and her brother flee to seek sanctuary in Barton while they were still children. It had been Seyumi that pressed for their acceptance, despite no longer holding official power within the church. It was Lady Seyumi who gave them their first formal education of the Oathsworn. And after she and her brother had nearly died from a freak accident of a dropped fire bomb in the northern temple's grounds, it was Seyumi who took it upon herself to give them shelter after the new High Priest had found out exactly what they were.

Vespers.

God touched and or cursed, depending on what one believed. The word in the faith was synonymous with the vilest of demons, though long, long ago it was a title that brought more reverence and respect then was awarded the Hierophant himself. It was the past that had brought Lu'azia back to the Temple that had scorned them, the hope that uncovering the truth would help guide them away from a perilous future.

She had steeled herself and betrayed both her twin and her benevolent mentor by running away from their protection under the veil of night. Sneaking onto the temple grounds and finally making it to the top of the Solarium and the entrance of temple's inner cloister, Lu'azia stared at the lock that only the highest members of the order could open. It was a man hole sized crystal, cut with hundreds of faces that only magnified its inner, eerie luminescence. A myriad of hundreds of precious stones were inlaid around it and the ebon-black mosaic of a dragon curled protectively around the gem.

It was exactly below where Seyumi was currently receiving her violent penance, but Lu'azia had no gift of foresight to warn her of the bloody future.

She knew that they had one of the original discs stored inside the cloister – Iendin had spoken of seeing the display when they were brought inside for questioning after the dragon's attack. She had been unconscious during the affair, the strain of maintaining the summoned dragon's presence having sapped all of her strength. But Iendin had been carrying her and said that the High Priest had asked for her hand to be placed over the lock instead of using the temple's gilded key that marked the authority of his station.

When Iendin had done so with his own hand, nothing had happened. However, before the High Priest could take hers, Seyumi had interjected her own and opened the lock.

If it opens, then I'll know for sure.

In the middle of the night she had placed her hand on the cloister seal and saw it react, a pillar of light rising from the crystal's glowing depths that shone so strong that it pierced the crystal dome hundreds of feet above her head and refracted in a brilliant scattering of light.

It was a beautiful spectacle... but not conducive to stealth. The rumbling sound of the lock turning and the hidden staircase underneath the dais unveiling itself echoed throughout the empty sanctuary – she had but minutes to enter and leave before someone noticed.

Descending into the depths of the dark chamber and summoning a small sphere of light, Lu'azia saw the ornate case that held three small silver discs. As she reached her hand out to open it, another hand grabbed at her wrist.

What were you thinking?! Lu you're going to get yourself killed!

Seyumi had followed her, warned by her brother of her recklessness. Letting out a string of curses, the older White Mage released her hand and motioned for Lu'azia to help her open the display.

You should have told us, this isn't the time to be here doing this. It was only yesterday that the messenger from the High Temple arriv-

WHO GOES THERE!?

A panicked set of silver-grey eyes met her own and Lu'azia could only watch as her mentor snatched the discs and pressed them into her hands before shoving her against the wall of the cloister.

Follow this out to the northern gates and don't come back. No matter what you hear, don't come back Lu'azia!

The wall behind her shifted and she fell back, the light from her summoned sphere illuminating one last small smile on the former High Priestess' face before the passage closed. She had taken the discs and run then, run as fast as she could back to the small house that Seyumi had stashed her and her brother away in. She got what she had come to take, breaking a commandment of the Proclamations in the process, but she had no idea how to read the discs. Not without Seyumi.

It was a week from that incident that Lu'azia and Iendin found out exactly what had happened to their mentor. A week and they had brought her before the entire congregation in rags, telling her to repent for living true to her Oaths.

CRACK

The sound brought her back from her reverie and Lu'azia choked back a sob as the rags they had given Seyumi to wear finally fell from her frame from the force of the lashing. Chained and stark naked save for the torn scraps around her neck and the gallons of blood coating her body and the dais around her, Seyumi squirmed weakly against the Oathsworn as they came forward to heal her and continue her misery.

"I have done nothing!"

Lu'azia's heart broke at the sound of the White Mage's cry. She could hear the scoffs and laughter from several seated around her but from others she could also hear sobbing more mournful then her own.

The white robed man stalked forward at the chained woman's words, his right hand shooting out to grab a handful of hair from behind and crane her spine back, flayed skin opening wider at the act.

"Nothing? You've done nothing that deserves their forgiveness. You've done everything to gain their hate. Why is it that you see no one coming forward to speak out on your behalf?"

The words were hissed in her ear, more painful to Seyumi then the lash gripped in his left hand could ever be.

"I would start with the Proclaimations, woman. Of the many which you have broken, and of the times you have done so."

The two healers scrambled to heal the woman's wounds as the man walked back to the end of the dias, his hands still holding strands of Sey's hair between his fingers as he shifted the whip back to his right hand.

He was going to gain entry into the Magisterium for this. What luck – a real, live Vesper for him to play with.

"May Falis guide the soul of the unrepentant to the shelter of his wings."

The words boomed throughout the whole of the Sanctuary, the foreign tenor twinged with the slightest hint of amusement.

CRACK

There was still a hundred more lashes to go.

[Sey]

(( Also, from the people that have been messaging me: feel free to step in. It's all still mainstream and I'm ready to take charge of the crazy bus as long as it doesn't get too... crazy.


whee /honks the horn All aboard～～!! ))

[The Crimson One]

The engine of his motorcycle roared in his ears as he spend down the streets of Barton, not even taking speed limits into consideration.

What was he doing? Allen didn't even know. He was normal now, as normal as any Gaian ever got. No powers. No speed. So why was he speeding down the road like this? Even if the rumors were true, what could he hope to accomplish? Surely Seyumi had better protectors than a broken man who no longer even had a sword to wield. Yet without even thinking he had donned his white armored coat that had been left untouched for almost a year, mounted his motorcycle, and set off on this long trip away from where he had hidden himself.

The wind whipped around his frame, as the temple came into view. Still he had no idea of what use he would be, if the rumor was true and Sey was being 'punished' here. The entire drive had been spent trying to think, trying to plan like he used to but there was nothing. Now though he was there, parking in front of the temple, helmet coming off to reveal his now scarred face. Newly slitted pupils looked out from his blue eyes at the far too empty temple grounds for a moment, before being hidden away by the sunglasses he now wore to hide his changed eyes. The only mark left on him by the powers he used to have.

"This is not good. Where would she be?"

Stepping into the temple itself, Allen completely ignored anyone who might have tried to intercept him as he tried to figure out where Sey might be being kept. Really the answer should have been obvious. The place where the biggest audience could be kept. The center of worship. It would fit with the attitude he had seen out in the wider world at least. Moving with purpose, Allen made his way towards the Sanctuary, quietly opening the door and starting to slip his way in.

gaia_angelleft The Temple Sanctuary ● Sunset ● Spring

He had intended to just stand off to the side. Perhaps subtly provide assistance to anyone who might be trying to help her, if Sey truly was being 'punished'. She had plenty of friends and allies after all, not to mention the people from the temple who had loved her. Surely someone would be trying to stop this after all. It's not like everyone would simply stand by and do nothing, right?

Sey

"May Falis guide the soul of the unrepentant to the shelter of his wings."

The words boomed throughout the whole of the Sanctuary, the foreign tenor twinged with the slightest hint of amusement.

CRACK

There was still a hundred more lashes to go.

There was nothing. Nobody moving. Nobody crying out that this was wrong. Even just entering, he could see that those who seemed to disagree simply looked away rather than speak up. These were the ones who she had given up so much for? No. No, this was wrong. Even with the rumors being true, this was not what he had expected to see. It was with the next lash after he had entered that he lost it. Hearing her cry in pain, seeing her soaked in her own blood, Allen couldn't handle it like he used to be able to. Not to one of the few people he had ever liked enough to consider an actual ally.

All chance for plans went out the window, replaced only with anger, and movement.

"Get the hell away from her!"

No longer thinking of the consequences, Allen simply charged forward. Someone needed to stop this and apparently the only one willing to act was him. So much for the supposed benevolence of Falis, when his followers simply let something like this happen. Even in his anger though, Allen knew he likely wouldn't be enough. Not as weak as he currently was. He owed it to her to try though, especially if nobody else would. Maybe something would give him a chance to actually get her out of there.

Someone, something, help her!

[Sey]

gaia_angelleft The Temple Sanctuary ● Sunset ● Spring

The congregation shuddered as the woman finally spoke, her proclamation of innocence causing many in the crowd to cover their eyes and weep. This was their former temple darling – the pride of their house of healing that had gone out into the world and brought renown to their Temple – but this was also the woman who had publicly spurned the church's teachings and defied orders from the High Temple.

This was the punishment awarded to those who dared to defy Isen.

The Crimson One

"Get the hell away from her!"

The entrance of this newcomer made the man pause his next strike, his bare feet padding through the puddle of blood as he rounded on the chained woman and grabbed her hair once again from behind.

"Look. Someone's finally come forward."

Raising her head so that she could see Allen charging before the dias' steps Seyumi grimaced as her captor pulled harder, her bloodied back curling as he wrenched back her matted locks of hair. A fresh set of tears came pouring from her swollen eyes and Sey whispered.

"Please... Allen, don't-"

"Who are you? And who do you think you are to interrupt this woman's act of contrition?"

Icy blue eyes stared down at Allen from beneath the white hood as his grip loosened on Seyumi's hair, left hand gently tracing the curve of her neck before roughly swiping his ringed fingers over the bloodied folds of her skin that had been opened from his lash.

"Ahh-!"

Holding his bloodied left hand palm outward toward the newcomer, the priest gritted his teeth as the light reacted to his call. The blood on his hands shimmered unnaturally as above Allen's head shards of light energy crackled into existence, six, then twelve, then twenty four - before firing down into the white marble floors and barring his path in all directions.

An ecstatic laugh erupted from the white robed man and he whipped the cowl of his hood back, revealing a finely featured face curled in a sinister smile. This is amazing. No wonder Isen keeps them under lock and key – with this power there is no need for incantations or faith.

If he kept her, maybe he could even become the Hierophant himself...!

"WHO ARE YOU, BLASPHEMER?"

[themightyjello]

Sey

"May Falis guide the soul of the unrepentant to the shelter of his wings."

The words boomed throughout the whole of the Sanctuary, the foreign tenor twinged with the slightest hint of amusement.

May you find forgiveness in the bosom of your god, whispered an old man into the handkerchief that covered his mouth, because you'll find none in this life.

His thumb moved across another bump on the rosary, turning it with the sound of a new whip crack echoing through the solarium. One hundred and ninety two lashes so far in this mockery of justice, magistrated by a man who could neither hide his revelry in the act from his face nor his voice as he called out condemnation upon the woman they had once hoisted as a saint walking among their number. One hundred and ninety two lashes that had been delivered with far more enthusiasm than a man who was simply doing his duty... and yet to them it was 'justice'.

The armed men that stood around the dais were merely there for 'decorum', were they not? Of course they were merely 'ceremonial' weapons that were carried into this religious service and not ones intended to keep back any desperate, 'misguided' people who would get silly ideas about rescuing the ex-priestess... that would just be absurd. After all, it would take someone absolutely crazy to--

The Crimson One

"Get the hell away from her!"

No longer thinking of the consequences, Allen simply charged forward. Someone needed to stop this and apparently the only one willing to act was him.

--provide a distraction.

The old man coughed once more into his handkerchief with a dry hack; wiping the corners of his mouth before folding the white scrap of cloth and tucking it away into an inside pocket on the left breast of his jacket. Where once had been a stern and serious expression upon the old man's face was now a gentle smile.

'Come on then, Allen. Give us a good show.'

Sey

The blood on his hands shimmered unnaturally as above Allen's head shards of light energy crackled into existence, six, then twelve, then twenty four - before firing down into the white marble floors and barring his path in all directions.

"Saints preserve us!" gasped the old man as he nearly stumbled over the pew behind him in reaction to the brilliant display. Those others on the sides of him also lurched in the opposite direction when the shards of energy fired down into the marble floor like it was gingerbread. The wrath of their god was an awesome power; yet faith did not automatically eclipse panic.

Those closest to the display pushed back the hardest, while others reacted to the sudden cry that filled the solarium:

Sey

"WHO ARE YOU, BLASPHEMER?"

"Heretics!?"

The cry echoed in the back of the cathedral as much as the priest's own echoed through the front.

"Are they attacking!?"

"Have they come for us!?"

"Oh protect your faithful, my lord!"

After each outburst more voices joined in with the next. The halls that had once been silent save for the cracking of the whip now stirred to life once more in anticipation and panic. The crowd pushed back and forward simultaneously; some trying to put distance between themselves and Allen, others crowding toward the dais while crying for salvation.

That pot was beginning to stir. The old man put on his hat.

[The Crimson One]

gaia_angelleft The Temple Sanctuary ● Sunset ● Spring

To be honest, he should have expected something to block his path. Things were never that easy after all. The method that caused him to stop was a surprise however. After all, who would have expected the man to use Sey's blood to power his spell? Almost absently, Allen wondered why the light looked the same as always even with the blood as the source. The barrier now around him made it obvious though that he was not going to be making any progress further forward, or retreating.

Sey

"WHO ARE YOU, BLASPHEMER?"

Now that was probably a damn good question. Who was he? He was no longer a Knight, no longer an ally of this temple, no longer any of the things he had defined himself as. This was not the time for introspection though. Allen might not have a real answer to the question, but for now he needed to buy time. Drag this out and try to find a way to get to Seyumi and get out of here even with him already stuck. There would have to be an opening he could take somewhere, eventually.

"You call me a blasphemer, after using her blood like that? You don't deserve my name."

He could hear and see the chaos starting to stir around him. The panic. That in itself was unintentional, and he did hope that none of them got seriously hurt in the panic he had inadvertently started even if he did now consider them all to be cowards. All of that was out of his hands though, as he seemed to glare hatefully at the priest through his sunglasses. To be honest he was still more worried about Sey's bleeding form than the man who had her in his grasp, but appearances had to be kept.

"I'm simply someone who knows that what you are doing is wrong, and is willing to speak up. If speaking my mind and trying to defend someone who needs help suddenly makes me a blasphemer, then so be it."

Allen had a very strong feeling that this was going to end badly, unless someone else intervened.

[Sey]

gaia_angelleft The Temple Sanctuary ● Sunset ● Spring

The emotions of the congregation were beginning to swell; the panic and fear overpowering the helplessness that kept them silent and watchful up to this point of the ceremony. At the sudden appearance of the newcomer, Lu'azia wiped her tears. There were others, braver then herself that had stepped forward. There were people out there who knew what was happening was wrong.

The Crimson One

"You call me a blasphemer, after using her blood like that? You don't deserve my name."

The man's words were filled with the scorn that she couldn't dare show herself, the act more then likely to put herself in a situation more dire then Seyumi's current predicament - Lu'azia was the one who had summoned the dragon who had destroyed half the grounds after all. Despite that, she wanted to help him.

The Crimson One

"I'm simply someone who knows that what you are doing is wrong, and is willing to speak up. If speaking my mind and trying to defend someone who needs help suddenly makes me a blasphemer, then so be it."

"How dare he speak to a High Priest like that!"

"Falis forgive those who stray from his teachings, his light, his word-"

"O God, why- why have you sent these men to bring further misfortune onto our house of worship?"

The noise of the congregation was rising higher, cries of outrage and panic overpowering those of the stifled sobs and scatterings of sadistic laughter. Lu'azia was shoved against the wooden pew in front of her as the family seated to her right pressed into her side, a teary eyed child of no older then five clinging to her hip as his parents tried to move further away from the man imprisoned by the shards of light in the aisle.

She had to help them, she had to help Seyumi. This was wrong!

Holding fast to the pew with her left hand the young mage fingered the platinum medallion at her chest with her right. Closing her eyes as she reached out towards the spark of the wellspring of power in her soul-

Stop.

The word echoed through her being louder then any of the sounds of the whip or the cries of the panicked faithful. Lu'azia felt it paralyze her body through that same spark that she reached toward, her eyes snapping to the woman who had 'spoken'. Silver grey met silver grey, just as it had before she was shoved into the secret passage and into safety.

I chose this. I won't let you get involved.

Seyumi looked away from Lu'azia to someone behind her, to someone else that was connected to her in an infrangible bond. The words were meant for the young mage but also for him.

Save yourself.

Her head lowered as the unspoken words echoed across the connection she had to the other Vesper and to her Oathsworn. Seyumi knew it was pointless to dissuade him, that if she was in his position the whole building would have been in flames – but she had to try.

Another scoffed laugh came from the white robed man as he stared down at Allen from the dais, his words doing nothing to wipe the smug smile off his face.

"You say she needs help, heretic? Why, you don't even know what's going on. She is here of her own accord, giving penance with her body to those she had wronged."

His bloodied hand reached out and grabbed the former priestess' face in a tight grip, roughly jerking her head upwards so that he could stare into those god marked silver eyes. Silver met iced blue with nothing but hatred boiling in the depths of her stare.

"You chose this. So that it would not be her, you chose this."

Sey's eyes fell at his words before closing shut, the shackles suspending her wrists crackling with holy energy for just a moment as they diffused the power that his words had roused from her. The feeble attempt garnered another laugh as the man shoved her face aside before turning to face the congregation.

"There is nothing to be afraid of, my brothers and sisters. Evil has no sway within these hallowed halls."

[themightyjello]

The temple was beginning to erupt in chaos. Of the faithful there were those that clung to the high priest for support and there were those that feared what might happen if they stayed. As the crowd split into two minds one sense of panic fed upon the other and the turmoil grew more and more chaotic. The atmosphere inside the temple was steadily heating up and before long it would reach a boiling point; and as many on both sides feared it would not end without someone being hurt in the crossfire.

...but none of those people in the mob were former high priestess Seyumi Kaikou, and so none of those people mattered right now. Were it anyone else up on that dais being held for torture the safety of Falis' loyal sheep would have been a passing thought in the old man's mind as he climbed over people and benches alike heading for the outside edge of the temple's main chamber. Were today any other day, he would have put their safety first before his own and made sure that everyone inside the temple made it out safely before something dangerous happened. But today was not any other day, and the woman on that dais was not any other woman... she was his Oathsworn.

Sey

I chose this. I won't let you get involved.

Seyumi looked away from Lu'azia to someone behind her, to someone else that was connected to her in an infrangible bond. The words were meant for the young mage but also for him.

Save yourself.

"No."

The old man said the single word aloud as he pushed past man and woman alike, walking calmly through the chaos on the edge of the temple chamber; one hand holding the brim of his hat between two fingers while the other turned the rosary around and around. But for brief moments to weave his way past another frightened lamb his gaze did not turn away from 'his holiness' upon the dais as the distance between them slowly shrank. Behind him were streams of innocents pushing for the exit to escape from perceived danger; ahead of him were piles of innocents climbing atop each other to beg the clergy in the solarium for protection instead; and somewhere... somewhere in this chaos a single bold man was playing the part that the old man had expected to be the one playing: the center of attention amid this chaos.

But that was fine, too.

It meant that Allen was the one they were all looking at.

It meant that Allen was the one they would aim their spells toward.

It meant that he was free to pursue a different course of action than what had been in the original plan.

Sey

"There is nothing to be afraid of, my brothers and sisters. Evil has no sway within these hallowed halls."

I'll show you just how wrong you are about that, my dear priest.

And he was going to enjoy this.

[The Crimson One]

gaia_angelleft The Temple Sanctuary ● Sunset ● Spring

"She's here of her own accord? So you say. Even if she is though, I am here of my own accord as well, and my choice is made."

What he planned to do next was crazy, Allen knew this. Just standing there trapped did not seem like an option any more though, not after seeing Sey's momentary defiance and the shackles that blocked her power. It was obvious that even if she was there by choice, she was not there willingly. So he was going to be making himself an even larger target.

There wasn't quite an actual plan in mind, as Allen reached out and touched one of the shards of light in front of him for a moment, more as a test than anything. Proving he could touch them, there were a few options open. He could give up and stay there, he could try to force his way past, or he could...

It would be pushing it, considering the space he had to work with and his current state. For maybe a second the priest would be left to wonder why Allen was turning his back to the man, before Allen would simply move. Crossing the four feet between the shards in front of him and behind him swiftly, before using his momentum to begin running up the angled shards in the back. One step up, two, three, and then he would twist his body back towards the dais and where Sey was being held and push off.

While before he would have been able to clear the shards on the other side easily with that, instead Allen would barely make it. One foot would land on a wider portion of the shards of light that had barred his way, a hand steadying him for a moment, before using a smaller more controlled jump to push through the top and back to the ground.

It had been somewhat crazy to try to jump over, but it had worked, this time. Him being here was crazy enough as it was really. Now though he was unimpeded as he began to walk forward towards Seyumi and the one holding her captive again. He had to keep moving after all, give the illusion that he had no trouble leaving where he had been trapped. Sometimes the image was more important than the reality after all.

"It's not like this would be the first time someone has had to save Seyumi from herself, either way. Unless you really think you can stop me?"

Oh the priest or the guards quite possibly could, but he had to keep up the image he was trying to project. The image of someone who did have the strength to fight them off if needed. He just needed to keep them backed off until he either got close enough to try and do something, or another option came up.

Not that things ever went to plan but he could hope.

[Sey]

gaia_angelleft The Temple Sanctuary ● Sunset ● Spring

The Crimson One

"It's not like this would be the first time someone has had to save Seyumi from herself, either way. Unless you really think you can stop me?

As soon as the man back flipped out of the prison of light and neared the dias, the sanctuary erupted into pandemonium. Those who had crushed forward for the protection of the High Priest now scrambled away from the aisle and Allen's approach, some breaking tradition and scampering up the blood soaked steps of the dais despite not being Oathsworn.

Tch

He knew he was losing control of the situation and fast as a quick glance around him showed at least a dozen or so terrified parishioners tainting the solarium with their presence, their clothes soaking up the crimson ichor that he was going to monopolize.

He had expected this. That there would be those who would want to help this woman despite the church's decree. There was knowledge of the apostate's exploits within the region that reached even the ears of Isen. Of her victories, of her defeats – and of her befriending of demons in this backwater realm.

He had expected this, but he hadn't expected just one man.

Raising his bloodied left hand, the High Priest spoke in a voice that echoed throughout the sanctuary.

"I am High Priest Trisin Obrault. In the name of the High Temple of Isen on whose authority I am stationed here, I banish you from this sacred temple's grounds. "

The four paladin squires that had been standing at the foot of the stairs moved through the frenzied crowd, daggers unsheathing at once and reflecting the orange sunset off their lovingly polished blades. Barring Allen's path to the dais steps with their bodies, the boys in ceremonial blue tunics and steel greaves stared at the blasphemer with unveiled fear. They were untested and unsure, but would follow the words of their High Priest to their death.

Gripping the air with his bloodied hand, Trisin pulled from the light a spear of the same glowing crystalline material that was embedded in the aisle before them. Pointing the weapon toward Allen the High Priest stepped off the top of the dais and glared, the blood on his hand sizzling as his spear crackled white with holy energy.

"Leave now or be escorted out."

Sey spat blood as she tonged the inside of her mouth, the metallic taste of her own body fluid churning the inside of her stomach. She saw Lu'azia freeze in shocked obedience at her unspoken command, though it was his response that made her stomach drop. Her vision was swimming in front of her as she hung from her wrists, too weak to stand and too short to be fully on her knees, the blood still flowing freely from the wounds on her back that had yet to be healed by the two Oathsworn that stood in shock opposite the dais behind her.

She couldn't see him but she could feel him and sweet light, he was too close.

Please... Sey begged, tears mixing with the blood Tirsin's hold had smeared on her cheeks. I can't see you hurt for me anymore.