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 Posted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 10:18 pm
Her...appearance was peculiar. Her voice was peculiar. Her touch was peculiar. It took Soren a good amount of effort not to flinch away with the fear that he might set off some other madness that was buried within—he well knew how sensitive certain Beasts could be.
She made no sense to him. Positively no sense. When Soren spotted the scar and felt her arm around his, he knew—he knew, he knew, he knew—that she was not meant to walk this land. But the agenda of the departed and the returned was scarce to concern him. What caught his attention (aside from her abnormal presence) was what she said.
Lady? he mused, and immediately he cranked back his memories for a hint of any such figure. Of course, the first to leap to mind was Lady Madriana. His heart ached at such a memory, but now was not the time for a love realized too late. Did she mean Madriana? Was there another? He tried to recall the events of the following Christmas, but little hit him. He recalled nothing of New Year's and nothing of Easter. Well, little of Easter.
Soren shut his eyes, dispelling the storm of thoughts, and then he glanced down at the pup hanging from his other arm. Orthrus had squirmed, but the young one did not complain otherwise. Did the woman not set him off?
He gave her another suspicious glance, another discerning look. Help? Help with what? And as much as wanted to ask, his experience with these sorts of figures told him it was better not to ask. They usually kept it a surprise at first for a reason. Asking would either reveal no answer or some unfathomable rage within.
So instead, he sucked in his breath and readjusted the pup hanging from his arm.
"Show me."
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Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 12:14 pm
 I-it's the Lady's will, hehe... you can't... can't avoid it...
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"Eeeeee~ I'm so happy, I knew you would help~" The girl looked up at him with a cute expression, resting against his arm for a moment. "You can... my name is Cel. Lady says you're Soren... right? Mm-hmm~ Let's go, and I'll show you want we have to do~" Her voice had steadied now, not breaking up nearly as much now that she had gained some measure of confirmation from the mage that he would help. She tugged on his arm gently, pulling him off into the forest nearby. "This way, this way~ Lady's waiting for us in here!"
She led him down what couldn't even be called a path; it was the faintest of cleared trails, and to be honest she had likely been the only one to traverse this path since foliage had grown here. Yet she followed it unerringly, as if it was a wide road that she could see clearly. There was the slightest whiff of acrid air ahead; not as if something had happened recently, but as if long ago some air had been trapped and had become stale and rotten. And then, the source came into view. The two of them entered what could be a clearing, save for one thing; it was completely barren of all life. Trees, grass, plants, all were nonexistent here in this circle. About the clearing lay littered the bones of small animals, testament to... something unhealthy about this place. Cel, however, giggled, tugging Soren closer to the center. "Don't worry~ Lady promised she wouldn't hurt you, and Lady never breaks her promises!"
At the very center of the clearing, there stood a single stone pedestal, just large enough that a person could lay their hand upon it. Cel, of course, did so; and the ground pulled apart with a soft groan, what seemed to be a coffin floating up from the gaping hole. Cel lowered her arms and curtsied gracefully, then turned to Soren with a quiet, secret smirk on her face. "This is... the Lady Goddess, who appears to me in my dreams... she wants to be free..."
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Her word is... law, and all the universe must... must obey... ehehehe...
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Overlord of Night- Shadow
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Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 5:36 pm
He let her lead him deeper into the forest, thinking the entire way. Well, he had just virtually said yes, I'll help to some predicament he did not know the details of. Was he always this careless? Should he have asked her for details after all?
It didn't concern him too much until the eeriest sensation pervaded his aura. Soren said nothing of it, although Orthrus did grow restless and begin to twist in his hold. The mage held him just a touch closer to himself.
When they came upon the clearing, Soren found himself partly relieved that he could put an image to the otherwise indescribable experience that tugged at his presence. He couldn't say if it was dark and consuming, or deathly and hollow, but he could certainly look upon the clearing and fit its look to the feel.
He, himself, had once inhabited a similarly unsettling place (it was more like Neros did, actually). And yet, for some reason, familiarity did not help to put him at ease. He felt his hackles stand on end, and when he put Orthrus down, the pup stayed right at his ankles, looking equally wary.
The mage decided he wanted to be cautious. What if she was lying about him being the only one who could help, after all? What if the motive wasn't quite so innocent? The woman herself was giving off the most queer vibe.
Naturally, the coffin only nudged him towards the edge.
Still, he kept himself casual as he approached, eyeing the object. "What sort of goddess is she?" he inquired.
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Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 12:11 am
I-it's the Lady's will, hehe... you can't... can't avoid it...
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What sort of.... Goddess was she? What a strange... a strange question. Cel had never really thought about this. At all. The Lady was simply... the Lady. That was all. She had come to the girl in dreams for as long as she could remember, watching over her, teaching her... the Lady had taught her how to use all forms of magic! Although the Lady had told her that it would be at the cost of being able to heal others... but, but, if you could destroy any enemies before they hurt people, wouldn't that fix it? They wouldn't need to be healed... And if they were hurt, the Lady would save them! Of course! But... what exactly did she DO? Cel actually hadn't the slightest clue. And, to be honest, she was standing in the middle of the clearing with the most puzzled look on her face for nearly two minutes, thinking about this conundrum. Finally, she spoke. "Uh-uhm... what sort? She is... a Goddess nobody liked..." Yes, that was it. The Lady had told her, once. "Long ago... the other Gods and Goddesses got really mad at the Lady, so they did hurtful things to her and sealed her away. But there's only one left now... and he's busy, so... Lady can almost get free. She just needs... these."
The girl stepped forward, a look of almost rapture on her face. From below the cloak, she produced a flask, full of some sort of swirling gas of some sort. She upended it upon the pedestal, and the gas literally flew from the flask, being sucked into the pillar. There were five distinct shapes... and from each could almost be heard a tinny cry as they were sucked in. The young mage looked back over her shoulder, almost shyly, as the pillar glowed, transferring a bit of light into the coffin. Tiny cracks appeared around the outside, but nothing major seemed to happen. "The Lady... needs souls..."
The girl paused for a moment, then waved her hands worriedly, seeming afraid he'd take it the wrong way. "N-not living souls! Killing people is bad, the Lady would never do that! Unless they wanted to hurt us, of course... B-but, the Lady said.... said to take the souls of dead people, and deliver them to her so she can, uhm... make sure they go to their final resting place properly. A-and she can stop them, too, if it isn't time yet...." She lowered her head, and added quietly, "Like me..."
The girl's personality seemed to be steadying, perhaps from becoming used to Soren, perhaps from being so near the 'Lady'. Whatever the case, this Celara was not the same girl who had battled others so long ago; gone was the cruel streak, and the coldness, replaced by an almost naivete and innocence. It was her job to help the Lady, and she would set the Lady free if it took all her strength. Sometimes, a touch of the old pride would shine through, and she would straighten a bit, manner becoming a bit huffier, but it didn't seem to last for long. Something vital seemed to have left, really. But perhaps something could be done about that.
"S-so, uhm... you've had experience with life forces and dead people, I know... The Lady said so. So it isn't too hard to turn that knowledge to collecting souls..." She paused for a moment, thinking. "That bishop man could do it, but... he wouldn't serve the Lady, because he has his own. And maybe he wouldn't like this. So I have to ask you...." She slipped up to him, clinging back onto his arm desperately. Her eyes were soft, and... actually, quite honest. "Please? I can't do this myself... And the Lady said she'd like to meet you, and she'll help you with your magic too, if you want..."
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Her word is... law, and all the universe must... must obey... ehehehe...
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Overlord of Night- Shadow
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Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 10:16 pm
Not living souls. Of course.
This was just becoming more and more questionable. Even if he did choose to believe it, how was he expected to help? Go around and steal and rob GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVES dig up quintessence from the long deceased? He regarded her skeptically, and then he glanced to the coffin.
I don't have the time.
That was all he had to say. Soren had yet to decide whether or not he believed her, but one thing was true: he did not have the time. There was research to be done and secrecy to uphold. Five simple words. I don't have the time. He began to form the words on his lips, but they would not come out.
It should not be this difficult.
At some point, he gave up on looking like a stuttering fool and sighed. Was it his own hesitation? Why the bloody hell would he have hesitated? Was it the supposed goddess that lay before him? No, that was stupid.
Humor her.
A new thought.
Humor her.
Maybe. Maybe it was better to. Besides, maybe there really would be rewards in wait.
"...Yes," he said without consideration. And then Soren blinked and quickly caught himself, adding on with haste, "How would I go about this task, though?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 3:07 pm
I-it's the Lady's will, hehe... you can't... can't avoid it...
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The girl's face lit up, almost like an excited child getting exactly what she'd wanted for Christmas. "You'll help? I knew you would~ Uhm, okay. Well... See, there's a war going on, right? When people die, their soul... it's supposed to go on to the next world. But the Lady says... that when people die violently sometimes their souls don't want to leave. And she fixes that." The girl placed her hands over the pedestal, closed her eyes for a second, then turned back to Soren and held out what looked like a glass flask for him to take. "The lady's will attracts them, and they come into this bottle. So once we have enough, we bring them back to the Lady, and she says that she can use the energy made by their passing to escape her prison! It's... not very hard, really~"
Nodding, Cel pressed the flask into Soren's hands; for a moment, something else flickered across her face, a shadow of loneliness and fear. It seemed she hadn't quite forgotten what that glimpse of the other side had looked like, and it was terrifying. She stayed for a moment, not moving, then in a sudden motion clung to Soren, arms wrapping around him as the girl softly shook. "... The Lady's.... the only one who cares about me.... promise you'll come back. Promise!" She glared up at him, obviously not intending to let go until he did so. What a stubborn girl this was.
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Her word is... law, and all the universe must... must obey... ehehehe...
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Overlord of Night- Shadow
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 12:09 pm
...Oh.
This technique.
He wasn't certain of whether he ought to be surprised or not.
Soren just stood there, wanting to scratch his head. Was this girl real? When he glanced back to the pup that had gone to sniffing around the clearing, he figured it was better not to question it, anyway. He'd seen enough strange experiences to complete one lifetime. More than enough, actually.
"I promise," he flatly answered, and he pronounced it with a frown. "I promise I'll return. And with a harvest, too."
Stars above, he was really going to do this.
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