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 Posted: Fri Sep 13, 2013 9:01 pm
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Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 8:46 pm
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Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 5:25 pm
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Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 7:18 pm
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Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 8:01 pm
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Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 6:05 pm
Too many nights. Too many nights come and gone without reprieve or relief.
Kallichore was laying flat on her back on the roof of some shop or other. She'd forgotten how she'd gotten there or even when she'd transformed and begun her wanderings for the day. She didn't remember whether she'd been home or not, whether she'd even seen her father and brother since... since whenever this had started. It wasn't long after the clones and the evil queen had dissipated, was it? Time was an elusive animal the senshi had neither the inclination nor the motivation to pin down and interrogate.
Speaking of which, she thought, gazing up at the dizzying amount of twinkling lights hanging in the velvet sky above, what do all of you think about this, anyway? You don't care whether we live or die or what we do in between. You don't care about mid-life crises, about failed marriages or the birth of children. You don't care who wins or loses in the war, because you're all the way up there, suspended in nothing, so far away. Your civilizations are gone and in the grand scheme of things, if Chaos wins, what changes?
What changes, really?
Pulling her phone from subspace, Kallichore flipped it over and over in her hands. Would visiting her once-homeworld make any difference? Last time she was there, she'd brought along company but hadn't learned much of anything. What would old, dead ruins with long forgotten spirits have to teach? The spirit of her past self would never engage her present-self in conversation of any form, not even bothering to look her in the eye unless passing through her or looking at something behind her. Kallichore had come to the conclusion long ago that this spirit, along with the spirits of the villagers and other castle attendants, were only memories, playing over and over like an endless record. They were but bits and pieces of a time long gone. Chaos had systematically devoured each and every civilization, leaving nothing but husks.
Lifting the phone to the sky, the eternal senshi sighed. At least the castle was oddly warm and safe, as no other life existed on the moon. She closed her eyes and pressed the button, feeling ancient magics lift her into the expanse of the sky.
~~~
The smell of wet grass greeted her. Kallichore had landed in the serene grasslands of the valley just outside the steps leading up to the castle.. The grasses cradled her body, swaying gently in the alien breeze. She still had not figured out, aside from the all-encompassing answer of "magic", how the moon had any atmosphere. How it could have sustained any life. Was there some kind of mechanism that held the grasses and mountains and sea in place? Was there even a civilization on Jupiter, a gas giant? It didn't matter, really, and the senshi pulled herself to her feet to find a place in the castle to perhaps sleep for a few hours. What safer place than a castle on a moon millions of miles away, in a place only she could visit?
The nightmare of her identity being discovered and her family wholesale slaughtered while she slept was a very real one, one that hung in the recesses of her mind constantly, every time she took out the henshin pen.
The ascent up the marble steps proved daunting, each footfall heavy and labored. Kallichore had to kneel halfway through the climb to rest, wiping her brow with a thick sleeve. No rustling of children's feet, no whispers of worship greeted her. Simply blessed, blessed silence. All she could hope for.
The heavy wooden doors to the castle were ajar and stiff from hundreds, maybe even thousands of years of disuse. The senshi hobbled through them, yawning as her shoulder pushed against the grain. The door gave way easily and the foyer of sorts, disheveled but oddly clean, greeted her. Kallichore had only explored the recesses of the castle in short bursts and had not yet found her way around with ease. There was a library, she knew, but the ceiling was half-gone as if it had rotted away by the flow or time or caved in during... whatever it was that ended life here. Downstairs, deep in rooms caved into the very mountain itself, was a fountain full of trickling, crystalline water and an old door linking her moon to Tsui. She would sleep there, perhaps.
Her footsteps were loud, deliberate. It wasn't like she would startle anyone. The staircase was cold and slick, winding around and around some large pillar or perhaps for no reason at all - the senshi was of madness after all and the logic used to build this castle was suspicious. Deceptive. Kallichore didn't think a society could call itself one of madness without reason, unless it was instead a culture of liars or braggarts without proof to back up their claims.
The fountain, or perhaps pool was more accurate, was as calm and serene as it ever was. A tripod still stood in the center, birthed of metal or glass or some such thing. Kallichore was never quite certain what materials were used to make objects on her moon, let alone where they may have come from. Exhaustion was heavy in her bones and breath and the senshi knelt before the pool, listening and watching as water flowed from vents at the base of the indentation carved to house the pool itself. It was a very quiet flow, rhythmic and soft. It was then that Kallichore could feel the warmth in her knees, through the tattered cloth adorning her legs. The floor was warm, and pleasantly so, though how was beyond her comprehension.
With unsteady had did she remove her gloves and dipped two fingers into the pool's water. It, too, was pleasantly warm to the touch. How odd, how...
...how odd...
The senshi then leaned over to drink from the pool, suddenly realizing not only her thirst but her own disregard for possible poisons or bacteria in the water. She was damned thirsty and drank until she felt her stomach become heavy. To sleep, Christabelle always let her hair down and now that Hypnos had come to tap her shoulders, all she could think about was sleep. Her lids heavy, she gracelessly removed the ribbons that bound her hair in buns and let it cascade down her shoulders. Easing herself onto the floor, her eyes closed.
Blessed, blessed sleep.
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Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 7:51 pm
..so...confused and... why...
...all wisdom...
...answers...
...It is through our experiences that we learn. I am simply here to guide you...
Her brows furrowed. Drifting in and out of the delicious comfort of unconsciousness, Kallichore came to realize she was catching only bits and pieces of a conversation happening somewhere above her. For a few moments she debated whether or not it was even worth listening to long-dead memory. It certainly didn't seem like the conversation would be over shortly and with her consciousness returning, the senshi was catching more and more of it. At least two people -- no, spirits of people -- now shared the room with her. Opening her eyes, Kallichore found the hem of a long and dull-colored brown dress floating mere inches from her face. Someone was sitting on the tripod.
Forcing herself into a sitting position, the senshi raked her hands through her hair, untangling bits and pieces while looking over her shoulder at the staircase she descended hours before. Several people were standing there, forming a line of some kind. The woman on the tripod was Sybil, a spirit of her past that she had been introduced to some time ago. Sybil never seemed to interact with her present-self in any appreciable manner and Kallichore, for the most part, found it prudent to end any attempts at communication. Sometimes following the spirit around a memory was fruitful and other times it would end in frustration. Now Kallichore didn't have much of a choice - she had woken up in the middle of a dead memory.
One that vaguely resembled a line for a ride at Disneyland.
The people in standing in the line seemed to be in varying levels of cautious or anxious, some seemed sullen or depressed and others were quite the opposite - giddy or excited. Kallichore knew was sybil meant in a historical, Grecian sense. Did the people of Kallichore have some kind of influence on the history of Earth? It didn't seem likely, given the size of the moon...
And what mysteries can we unravel together this evening?
The senshi looked back at the tripod, recognizing Sybil's motherly tone. Her long, jungle green tresses were kept up in a messy bun crowned by a plume of alien flowers. At her beckoning, one of the ghosts approached her and asked his question to the woman sitting amid the warm, opalescent waters.
Sybil, I feel conflicted... My family says they are happy for me to do what my heart desires. I desire to become a knight and train with Her Lady and House Jupiter, but my family has stayed on the moon for generations. If I leave and follow my heart, I am afraid my family will feign happiness for me but will become bitter due to my actions... Should I follow my heart? What does my future hold for me? Which path should I take?
The woman on the tripod opened her arms to the man like a mother would her child and gingerly he stepped into the pool, bare-footed like most of the moon's inhabitants seemed to be. Sybil gently held his upper arms and tilted her head as if looking for something deep in his eyes. Oftentimes wisdom comes with a clear mind. I believe you already know which path your heart will lead you but your mind and worries cloud your judgment. Here, drink of the fountain. It will ease your thoughts and wisdom will bless you.
Kallichore blinked. Did she hear that right? The waters of the fountain were supposed to have healing properties? Or was this some kind of fanciful placebo effect? The man who stood in the fountain took a cup handed to him by an attendant to Sybil, bent and used it to drink of the waters. Satisfied, he returned the cup and disappeared up the staircase. Another stepped up to take his place, the line continuing up the stairs and disappearing into the floor above. How many people stood patiently to speak to Sybil?
Sybil, I wonder if my decision to marry a man from off-moon was the right choice...
Kallichore sat and watched a few more citizens come to the fountain and request guidance, all the while, wondering...
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Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 5:40 pm
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Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2014 2:27 pm
Kallichore sighed, hands on her hips, as she stared at the marvelous carvings adorning the walls of the fountain chamber. It was all Greek -- or Kallichoran -- to her, and she would not decipher it. Some were simply images like the walls near the door leading to Tsui, symbolizing the two moon's friendships. Most of the rest of the scrawling was completely foreign and looked like nothing more than scribbling.
She had no sense of time while being on the moon. The sun was so far away from her now, Jupiter looming like a doting father high and gargantuan in the sky outside. On Kallichore, there didn't seem to be any semblance of telling time - nothing remotely resembling a clock was ever found by her and near as she could tell, people didn't seem to care much about what specific time of day it was. There was just time to get up, time to work, time to eat, time to worship and time to sleep. The whole concept was utterly alien to Christa, whose life revolved around the use of schedules. The University was very strict on when classes were held, when finals would be administered, when papers were due.
But here? Here was a lifestyle infinitely more... simple.
"So, what exactly are you trying to tell me?" she asked of no one in particular. The memory of watching citizens pour into the fountain chamber was long since over and by her calculations, Kallichore had been alone for several hours. She was oddly calm, especially considering how much she hated wasting time. She didn't feel as though she'd gotten anywhere but, in the end, at least she had gotten some sleep. Perhaps it was thirst being quenched that allowed her rest or perhaps... what Sibyl, her past self, had said about the water was truthful. Or perhaps it was some clever ancient placebo. Kallichore shook her head. Heels clicked against the old stones as the made her third, fourth, fifth circuit of the fountain and long-disused tripod. The water was clear as ever and how that was possible, she had no idea.
"It would really be helpful, maybe infinitely so, if you would just come to life and tell me what I'm supposed to know!" cried the senshi, throwing her arms up in exasperation. Her restful hours had allowed her more energy, that much was certain. "...if you're even trying to tell me anything at all. It's not like the moon as a whole could be sentient. I mean..." She absently dug at the floor with the toe of her boot. "It isn't like there's any real life here. It's all old memories, memories only I can see, which doesn't seem to be very helpful at all if you ask me."
The more she thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed - a moon, someplace that, according to all science and the US government, was completely devoid of life save for ghosts, trying to tell her something? No, how or why would that even be possible?
Then again, this was a time where an ancient war had been revived, terribly powerful but long-dead queens could whisk large groups of people to a palace on the moon orbiting the Earth. This was a time of children wielding magical powers, living and dying daily on both sides. Evil was alive and well with militaristic power unmatched by the most advanced Earth governments with agents who could disappear and reappear in the blink of an eye. And she? She was standing in a place that presented to her memories that her soul at one point had lived. The songs and rituals and culture of this place was real, just like ancient Greece and Egypt still lived in the annals of history. Kallichore raked a hand through her loose hair.
Wisdom comes with a calm mind... was what Sibyl had said to the man considering leaving the moon to train as a knight of Jupiter. Christa kept repeating the line over and over in her head. Did Sibyl mean meditation? If anything, she was certain drinking the water was simply some kind of placebo. If Sibyl was some kind of leader or sage or something, her words would carry quite a bit of weight. The citizens probably believed anything she said. The castle looked to be the center of government for the moon, tiny as it was. Citizens probably came here on a regular basis for important events...
Kallichore leaned up against the rounded wall and rested her eyes upon the tripod. Didn't Sibyl have a room here? If wisdom comes with a clear mind, how did Sibyl clear hers to offer guidance to people? Kallichore had been to Sibyl's room, or a room she had assumed was her long-dead self's, several trips ago. It was somewhere on the floor above the fountain. With an inward nod, the senshi took off up the spiraling stairs, seeking answers.
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Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2014 3:52 pm
It likely took her upwards of an hour to find her way to what she believed to be Sybil's room, tucked into a small hallway off the main rooms. The walls were carved here just like they were everywhere else, but the rooms were very small and sparsely decorated. Kallichore had walked past that hallway numerous times thinking it was a series of rooms meant simply for storage due to how unimportant it seemed. No jewels, no tapestries, nothing to indicate someone of importance lived there but once Kallichore slipped past the dust and shadows, she found herself in Sibyl's room.
There was a white wood vanity with a small mirror and a chest of drawers, a simple bed by an equally simple window (whose glass had holes, letting in a gentle breeze) and a standing wooden wardrobe that had aged to a brown-gray. This was the room she had seen Sybil in before, pining up her hair with exotic flowers in preparation for a diplomatic trip somewhere. She had mentioned visiting... Ganymede, was it?
Christa found the room to be quite dusty and lifted her sleeve to her face to protect herself from the torrent she'd riled up from kicking the stool beneath the vanity by mistake. Waving her arms and coughing, the dust settled after a few minutes, the gray haired senshi cursing under her breath. Surely something important must be here. Sybil seemed to important to just have a room to change and sleep. Pulling open the drawers in the vanity (carefully this time), Kallichore found a great many of them to be empty. The serene twilight leaking in from the windows cast a dull blue glow across the room, light dancing from the particles of dust floating in the air.
Drawers of rotted papers and plants greeted her, the occasional small metal jar littered beside the other useless items. Kallichore plucked one of the jars, finding it to be hinged and turned it over in her hands. The metal was perhaps something akin to copper and it was dull, with small and twisted carvings but no jewels or other decorum. Popping open the lid, Kallichore found a waxy substance long since rotted away. She placed it back in the drawer, no treasures found. If Sybil had kept any handwritten records, they were gone by now and wouldn't be legible even if they had survived. The senshi found it odd that her past self didn't seem to keep any personal effects (unless one counted the jars) in this room. Maybe this wasn't her room, but a preparation room or a guest room? But then why would Sybil have sat at the vanity to do her hair? Did she have a room somewhere else?
Turning around, the senshi faced the squat and wide wooden wardrobe. It too was dulled from extreme age but had noticeable hinges, the same swirling carvings adorning its doors. Carefully did the senshi take the handle and pull it open. She was immediately assaulted by dust as a very musty smell causing her to cough and shield her face in her sleeve. The sight that greeted her was as sad as that of the vanity - a few moldy dresses, luster long long, had hung in the wardrobe. She counted only three and if she could guess their color, they were dark and earthen-toned. Nothing incredibly special by any stretch of the imagination. With a sigh and with light failing, Christa considering closing up shop and going home or at least sleeping on the bed available. She was only half-sure it would be comfortable. Closing one door, Kallichore looked down and found... a small, simple wooden box.
Kneeling, her hand grazed the lid and she could feel a breeze ruffling her sailor collar. Spine shocked into straightening, the senshi turned to find Sybil bending over beside her to grab the box.
It's the least I could do, she said in that strange and far away voice of hers, as if she were speaking from a great distance or through water, after all, they were kind enough to visit us. Even if they can't come to the fountain itself, I can bring the fountain to them. Sybil had the box in her hand even though the real box, the one Kallichore of the present was staring at, still lay in the wardrobe. Sybil had taken the box and was walking out of the room and down the dingy hallways before she disappeared.
"...bring the fountain to them?"
Reaching down, Kallichore carefully opened the lid and found the box to be very deep. Deeper than she had imagined, given the box's relative size. Inside was a small pile of fabric and what looked like dried grasses laced with the musty smell that permeated most everything in the castle. With careful hands, the senshi began to remove the aged fabric and found a glass bottle nestled within, full of the same sparkling water inside the fountain. The liquid inside seemed fresh as the day it was collected and Kallichore picked the bottle up by the neck, swirling it backed and forth with her wrists to watch the water dance inside. Delicate, small letters seemed to be carved into the surface and the bottle was plugged by something resembling a cork.
...if Sybil isn't just telling people what they want to hear, this water is supposed to clear the mind. But... how would we know if it's true? Sure, I could drink the water but then I could suffer some crazy alien space disease and vomit my guts out and die and nobody would ever know what happened to me. The Jovians wouldn't have any idea. They might assume I was killed by a Negaverse agent or that... I've been acting so crazy lately, they might think I did something exceptionally stupid. And what would happen to Zach and Dad? And Melinda? It would be stupid to try this... there could be horrible bacteria in here just waiting to wreck havoc on my body and...
Kallichore sighed, resting the bottle in her lap. "....oh, ******** it." Popping open the cork, the senshi took a (rather unladylike) gulp from the bottle and waited.
A few moments went by without any change. The water wasn't distasteful - it tasted as fresh and crisp as the water in the fountain room. How long was this water in the bottle? How could it be this fresh after so long? It made no sense... and then a serene sense washed over her. Kallichore's shoulders relaxed, her muscles melting into a state of almost-bliss. Something most people could describe as "warm fuzzies" welled up in her and suddenly memories of happy times came to her. Melinda and Zach and Bradley at Christmas time, opening presents from the fat man himself. Melinda had loved her makeup set, Zach his RC car and Bradley his archaeology books. Their laughter, their memory, had given a sense of peace to the senshi.
Looking down at the bottle, Kallichore -- no, Christa -- had finally understood what her moon was trying to tell her. Bring the fountain, the calm, the relief, the wisdom, to them.
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Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2014 4:06 pm
The senshi had checked - the water in the bottle did come from the fountain (another unladylike gulping of water from the fountain -- face first -- confirmed this) and the bottle seemed to refill itself. Either that or the water from Kallichore is incredibly dense but that was something to investigate later. Collecting the wooden box, the senshi replaced the bottle in it and decided to take it with her. Perhaps she could offer it to Valhalla or Ganymede as an apology for her previous behavior? Somehow she'd make amends. Her moon had brought her peace and perhaps, in time, wisdom would come with it.
It was a long trek back to the first village Christa had ever seen on the moon and while she could have returned to Earth from anywhere, she chose her point of origin, using the walk to clear her mind and silently thank her moon for putting up with her nonsense. While the moon could certainly have been more to the point with its message, that didn't seem to be in its nature at all and she, being the senshi of madness, didn't do things so so straightforward either. Perhaps she was more like her moon than she thought and it wasn't so dead after all.
There was a spirit still here, even if the people were long gone, and it was still guiding the senshi that bore its name and represented it on Earth. Kallichore knew she would never be able to hold someone close like Sybil could, smoothing their hair and dispensing desperately-needed comfort like a saint. But at the very least, where her words may have failed, the balm from the fountain here on the moon could at least soothe the mind of the troubled for a time. Maybe one day, Kallichore would return to her moon and sit in the fountain room, meditating and waiting for what ancient wisdom Sybil had to offer.
But for now, the senshi needed to return to her earthly home, precious bottle in tow. Stepping up onto the stone slab that marked her very first descent onto the surface, the senshi flicked her wrist and pulled out the phone that brought her here, concentrating on Destiny City and pushing the button, mind clearer than it had been in months...
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 3:06 pm
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Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 7:15 pm
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Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 5:13 pm
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Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 8:23 pm
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