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 Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 12:50 pm
What
A Chance Encounter Between Like Minds
Whom?
Lord Yizhaq & Hayat (Indubitably)
-&-
Lady Sanguine (Zanaroo)
Where?
The Echoing Halls of the once magnificent Northern Base of the Fellowship.
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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 1:08 pm
It was beginning to come together.
The estate had been fortified, and allies arrived daily to lend their strengths. Bhakti had her hands full, organizing food schedules around the sleep schedules posted by the guard captain, distributing clothing and blankets, posting lists of quarters. Days were spent in meetings with minor lords, fellowship members, soldiers... They had come from all across the continent. Commoner Grimms from Imisus, neighbors within Shyregoad's borders, respected members of the Fellowship.
The cultists would do well to avoid their section of the mountainous terrain, that was certain.
However, it had become clear that there were things he needed, that he would have to reclaim if he was to piece everything back together again. There were histories and databases. Addresses and secrets. There were things that were above his level, that he would take now. Who was to deny him? The deceased, depraved Waldrave? The missing Estratus?
A bitter laugh rumbled in his chest, at the thought of his own foolish loyalty, something he couldn't escape or abandon. Honor. Justice. The cool touch at his neck was a constant reminder of his duties, his motivations.
Lord Yizhaq strode the halls of the base, the fall of his boots sure and honest. He would look through her chambers and find her secrets. The cultists she had protected.
They would all pay for their crimes.
'Our Justice shall be a swift mercy, untempered.'
Hayat's words, as they had left the Estate, and they echoed in his mind. The fierce predator had been changing, yet she glowed as brightly as ever.
What would they find in Waldgrave's sanctum?
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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 3:43 pm
What Lord Yizhaq found within the sanctum was, actually, a soul equally as depraved as optimism.
Though Lady Sanguine was at the heart of the problem, it seemed, her own existence the plight of the Fellowship, she was all that was left of the Grand Magus' deterring legacy. She was a shadow once again and forevermore, however, as she lurked the corners of the castles in a bleak effort to diminish the efforts of the already stressed Fellowship mages, who were all working day and night to fix their-- problem. The altar of the Grand Magus was completely sealed off, with Sanguine equally as scared to go into the altar, though her abilities allowed for it.
She could not get herself to, however.
The Blood Lady was inching through the last of the halls leading to the exit of the Northern Bases, the only place outside of Anica she knew, unable to use her teleportation skills with the limited knowledge she had of the outside world-- where would she begin to find a source of blood that she knew, there, that wasn't in the labyrinthine castles under Queen Valhalla's control? Her pale hands strode across the uneven surface of the large fortress, her glowing red pupils searching the floors carefully, cautiously, but perhaps not cautiously enough.
A stout but lithe young man was striding across the hall where she was traveling and, gasping, she clenched her grip around the castle wall and hitched her heels, quickly running towards a shadowy alleyway of the castle which led into an even darker room. She watched uneasily, brows puckered in in fright as the sun-kissed lord walked down the hall, though he bode a familiar scent that slipped through her nose and crawled about her skin, the scent of Plague.
A Plague?
The Infitialis allowed herself to gasp at the scent, nearly by instinct, though this was a poor action on her part-- covering her mouth with her clawed, crimson hands, she took a step backwards into the darkness of the castle room.
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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 4:37 pm
It seemed, for a moment, that the Lady Sanguine would find herself unobserved, as the handsome man continue for a step or two beyond that dark doorway. Alas, the waves of her fear and curiosity were as strong to him as the scent of death was to her, and Hayat's piercing gaze swept the shadows as he turned.
"M'lord," A breathy, whisper of a warning, as Hayat detected the Anhelo, much as she had been found, herself. Yizhaq's gloved hand fell for a moment to the blade at his hip, before pale green eyes narrowed slightly, his tone measured, yet unalarmed.
"Well, now, you may as well come forward. Courtesy is hard to come by in these dark times, but I will extend such to you should you offer the same in return."
The moment her form became visible, Yizhaq dipped slightly in a bow, her gaze barely grazing her. One mustn't stare, after all, that was what Hayat was for. "M'lady," Not all women were, however, they should all be addressed as such, certainly.
Though clearly a plague, it did not seem to bother him. There were far stranger things in this world, and they nipped at his heels, as of late.
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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 4:52 pm
She could barely control her uneasy breathing when Lord Yizhaq seemed to pierce through her nervous presence, of which was highly cursed with an intent feeling of both restlessness and fear that, indeed, the lord would take to the Fellowship's higher ups and cuff her of freedom as they did for so long. She would not have this if it was her way, and she reminded herself that she was her own, now, not of her Grimm nor of anyone else, and that sureness allowed her to rest her arms and roll up her clawed hands in a stubborn display of feeble strength, of weak aptitude.
Unsure at first, she took one step out of the shadows, the dim glow of her crimson eyes staring at the lord. She took surer, more amble strides towards the lord, her head bowed low as she studied the glowing and small figure by his side-- a Servos, as she once was. Though the Plague made her rest easier around his presence, she was tense nonetheless, her shoulders terse while Lord Yizhaq bowed in greeting. Courtesy aside, she raised her neck in haughty reply, a stout defense against sly manipulators, though Sanguine did curtsy to the lord afterward, a weak smile and all.
"And courtesy so quickly given shall receive the best of mine, lest you become a scheming man upon the blink of mine eyes," Sanguine replied, her smooth voice trailing off into sureness as she narrowed her gaze. As any Lady of Shyregoed did, as she learned from watching Waldgrave from afar, she extended her thin and clawed hand for the young man. "Milord, the title is Lady Sanguine. What is yours?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 5:09 pm
And indeed, it was to the lord's credit as a gentleman that he raised her offered hand in his own, brushing his lips across the surface and raising his gaze to meet hers. "You are well met, then, my lady, as I'd think you hard pressed to find one more honest with his intentions within these walls." A statement that was so unfortunately true that it made his chest burn. He released her, introducing himself in kind.
"Lord Yizhaq bin Saleh, and formally a Seer of the Fellowship, though I know no longer where I stand." Another moment of honesty that left him nauseated. "Or rather, if we have any honor left worth associating with." A shake of the head.
"This," a gesture to his shoulder, where the watchful servos stood, "is my Lady Hayat."
"Well met, Lady Sanguine. Perhaps you will join us on our walk through these halls, rather than keep your solitude. I would not part from my kin so soon."
A creature, it seemed, with no reservations. Yizhaq, himself, rather enjoyed the company of Plagues. Unlike most people, they did not hide their true nature. Each was what they were. A Locos did not pretend to be a Quietus, and a Infitialis was plain to see. It was something he admired, in a way.
Still, she was familiar to him. As familiar as a rumor. Some dark, whispered secret.
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Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 10:01 pm
Lady Sanguine bowed her head and broadened her smile at Lord Yizhaq and Hayat, glancing and curtsying again for Lady Hayat perched upon the lord's shoulder so elegantly. Her crimson-tinted hair swayed over her single glowing white eye and she blinked, returning Yizhaq's downhearted reply with a frown of her own.
The Infitialis looked to the back of her, at the room shrouded in darkness, paranoid of the thought that someone might hear her, a once illustrious monster that lurked the shadows now inserted fully into existence, with these two nobles, whose straight backs and regal behavior spoke so highly of Lord Yizhaq's highly ranked position in the Fellowship. How could the lord deny his place in the Fellowship so openly, she wondered, especially to a stranger that also dwelt within these unfeeling towered walls? He was a brave man, she asserted to herself, and she looked back at the young man, her gaze lowered to the ground as if unsure what to say. Her back slouched slightly at Hayat's latter proposal, equally as unsure if following them was the best course of action in reflection of her own intentions.
"A Seer you are still, Milord Yizhaq bin Saleh," she said, at first uneasily, though she tried to reassert her fake appearance of regale with a flash of a smile, brows furrowed into sorrowful curves, "Be faithful for the Fellowship. I-- believe there will be change, change that will restore our honor to what it once was."
Her gaze lowered again, as if trying to hide herself within her red veil. "...To what it was before our overseer's demise, which started years before her death."
Was it in her place to say this, to a lord and Plague she had just met, and to whom she'd tried to keep a haughty air to only moments ago? Frowning, struck instantly by the gravity of her own words, Sanguine bowed her head to the two and took a step backward. "Ah, forgive me, Milord, that was-- too bold of me. Please... please, forgive me..."
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:51 am
"Please, M'lady, do not withdraw, you have done me no offense." Yizhaq's had came up instinctually, outstretched in a motion to stop her without touching as he took a step forward, closer to the threshold of shadows. "Such honesty is refreshing, in these times of uncertain secrecy."
He felt no deception from her, though the waves of anxiety that wracked her form turned his stomach as well, his heart thudding hard against his chest as he pondered her telling words, the blood rushing loudly in his head. He was a brave man, indeed, though it was not born of youthful folly. Hayat remained silent, content to let her Grimm work through his thoughts. Her words tended to be blunt, and he was far more diplomatic.
"You give me renewed ambition, Lady Sanguine, as I have worked for the Fellowship's ideals since I was but a small boy." A smile, then, one that, while true, contained traces of sheepishness, as if he thought he may have scared her. "Please, M'lady, you are amongst friends today."
Sparing one glance for what was still an empty hall, he gestured behind him. "At the very least, let us move to a more comfortable location?" For both of them. He didn't seem disinclined to let her lead, should there be a place she felt more secure.
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 7:36 pm
"Feigning offense to my words is safest, Milord, the guise of it is needed here... I would not like you to be taken for treason," Sanguine took a reflexive step backward, her eyes shot straight to the floor again as she deliberated within herself if she could trust this man's kindness, arms wrapped around herself. Long ago, she was eager to accept kindness, to relish it and take it for granted, but not it was a rare and sought out privilege which was hard to discern from lies. There was nothing more painful to her than to be betrayed, to be manipulated, both things she had experienced in large bouts after her sharp turn in life. What she spoke of to Lord Yizhaq was nothing but harsh truth; Waldgrave's fall happened many, many seasons before her murderous fall, so truly insane was she, and yet the Infitialis had sobbed no harder in her life than at Queen Valhalla's castle only a few days ago.
Perhaps her Servos past still ran through her blood, and through her mind, for she yearned for Waldgrave's affections more than anyone else in the world, and now she would never have it. But this man would not know this, she was sure; how many people knew that the Grand Magus herself had a Plague, a species she detested along with the cultists? She wrapped her arms around herself tighter and gradually shifted her view up to the Seer, so weak was she when her heart hurt, and nodded, stepping cautiously out from the cloak of shadows into the gray light hued slightly by the lantern candles, her soft and curved pale form accented by thin drapes of red. Her mouth slipped an opportune smile at the soft word he spoke, 'friends', a rare and beautiful term she'd longed to hear aimed towards herself.
"Yes, amongst friends," Sanguine spoke in a hushed voice, grinning for a moment, so saccharine was the word upon her tongue. Even then her cautiousness overcame her, though, and she glanced to the sides, "But a more comfortable location I know not within these walls, unless they are abandoned places ridden with shadows, Milord..."
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 10:30 am
"Treason against whom, M'lady?" A good question indeed, considering the state of the Fellowship and the echoing emptiness of the halls. Against his Lady Estratus? He thought not. She knew him to be more loyal than any she held close, barring Sir Sloane, one could assume. Against the far more treasonous, and deceased Lady Waldgrave? He thought not, once more. His loyalty as a noble was unquestioned as well, both by the people and by his Queen and Emperor.
"I would see my would-be enemies falter before me." A thought, then, to the crows that called at him, and the letter they had carried. Bold, harsh words, that he softened as he saw her own anxiety. Taking another step forward, the distance between them becoming smaller, he spoke again, his words in earnest.
"I am not afraid of the dark, Lady Sanguine." He would follow her where she led, as there was something, here. Perhaps this, this woman, this Anhelo, was what he had been searching for, after all.
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:44 pm
To Yizhaq's inquiry, Sanguine could not respond to outright, though she fiddled with a few syllables and uttered a few gaping noises in retort. Her cheeks lit with red, clearly embarrassed at her lack of a decent reply-- or a reply at all-- and turned her head to avoid looking at the noble's lit green eyes. The Grand Magus lived no longer, and as immoral as she was in her old age, Sanguine could not help but receive all words of the Fellowship as if it would be whispered into Lady Waldgrave's at any given time, and she would reprimand such thoughts against her leadership with a hard blow to the very mages she followed. On the contrast, while her Grimm's corpse might have been stabbed and buried away in shame somewhere in the frigid northern mountains, her Lady did live on vicariously through the minds of her closest Seers and Sages, her trusted mercenaries, whom Sanguine had seen the most in private when they dropped off what cartridges of freshly juiced blood were ready for her bath. It was them that threatened to make the Fellowship continue as it had, it was them that threatened the position of the Grand Magus to be in the hands of a woeful tyrant, and it was them that would consider Sanguine and Yizhaq's weariness in light of high treason and, consequently, take the young lord and her away to wither in the dungeons.
Sanguine blinked, then shivered; a paranoid thought such as that was unbecoming, but the Infitialis had learned to think and plan only for the worst, and only rarely hoping for the best. Lord Yizhaq's latter statement caused the woman to grin widely, however, so sure was he in both words and in form. A man could rarely lie in the face of his stance, and Yizhaq's was particularly straight-faced and firmly shouldered, and this spoke only positively of his unmeasurable strength. She saw the edge of the man's fitted boots at the corner of her vision, his shadow narrowing onto her form, and Sanguine looked up at the man and took another step backwards, though now only in shyness, not repercussion.
Turning to the side, Sanguine looked back at the dark room and to Yizhaq, momentarily, and she bowed her head in understanding. "Then you shall follow me and prove your bravery," she whispered, near quiet, and she turned fully to the dark room and strode in with careful steps of her bare and red-tinted feet, tattooed in intricate curls, her toes stepping so lightly against the stone that it did not make a sound.
FIN
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