[New Tomorrow Skit] Eloysio & Rhone || Internal Conversation

[ac-null15]

As Eloysio was about to walk off to locate that door Rhone planted in Azriel's mindspace, Oscuro suddenly wrapped her arms around his shoulders from behind. "Don't be long, Master?" she pleaded, making puppy eyes at him. In the distance, Chiaro merely stood with folded arms and a stoic expression, but deep within she felt the same concern as her counterpart.

Eloysio blushed a bit, finding his creation's display of affection a bit endearing. "Well now. I can't be sure of that, but I will try."

"It's just, you're gonna be away from Azriel, and she's sustaining your presence. You...sure that' s not gonna weaken you?" sad

He turned to look her in the eye with sincerity and a smile, holding her at arm's length by the shoulders. "I can clearly sense that the link Rhone laid down between himself and her is firmly stable. Her..." he paused, remembering how ashamed he was over things having come to this. He thought himself a parasite, but that was going to change soon; he was going to become an separate being. If things went right. "...life force can flow through and keep connected to me. I'm quite sure I'll be alright."

Letting go, he waved them off cheerfully then set out for that red door. Finding it in just a few moments, he turned the knob and pulled back. After stepping through carefully, he gently closed the door behind him and took a few steps forward.

Eloysio looked around, not yet finding the odd elf anywhere in sight. "Rhone? Well, I'm here. What is it that you wanted to see me for?"  

[Fedora Warrior]

Within seconds, the area around Eloysio began to light up, revealing what looked like the sky all around him, including below. It was as if he was standing on something invisible with the night sky all around him. From the door behind him other doors began fading in, as if summoned by an unknown force. They moved outward from the door in a circle, until Eloysio was staring at a circle of doors extending from the one he had just entered from. They all opened at once, releasing a dark red energy that slowly created a form in the center of the room. One that seemed familiar once it was more than just a shadow.

"So you are."

Rhone takes a few steps towards Eloysio with a neutral expression on his face.

"You made Azriel's collar, right? I have to ask you something about it."

Rhone tilts his hat down for a moment to think before tilting it back up.

"This is something that Chairo and Oscuro should know about as well...you could bring them in here if you want or tell them what we discussed later."  

[ac-null15]

Eloysio crossed his arms and started to stroke his chin. What could Rhone have possibly figured out about the Chiaroscuro Soul? Raising an eyebrow, he replied, "Yes, I am..."

Then, he bowed his head and closed his eyes for a moment. "I don't want to bring Chiaro and Oscuro over... Though you have established a link with Azriel, that doesn't change the fact that they would still be parts of the soul literally moving away from the core. I imagine that might do her harm, and I'm not interested in taking the risk just for the sake of finding out.

In any case, I'll relay the message to them."  

[Fedora Warrior]

"Fair enough...though I can assure you that unless the link was severed with one of them still in here, the link would keep the soul connected. One of them visiting my mind would be a matter of trust for them and Azriel, I suppose. Now...on to the matter at hand."

(Some mood music)

The mindspace begins to shift as the night sky Rhone and Eloysio appeared to be standing in begins to fade, until the only light is surrounding the two of them, now standing in what appears to be an abyss.

"Every person has their own mana signature...something a person dear to me once described as an "aura" about them."

A dark red energy seems to seep out of Rhone, in the shape of an outline around his body, producing a dull red light. Eloysio has the same happen to him...only the light is yellow and energy trails seem to extend from the outline, creating a vague ribbon-like effect.

"Our auras are not like those of normal mortals."

A humanoid shape with no facial details appears between them, but off to the side, making the three beings form a triangle. The humanoid shape begins to glow with a blue outline, but extending from the body is a brighter blue energy in the shape of a large flame.

"That...is how it's supposed to look. Longer-living beings, like half-elves and elves, have smaller flames. The larger the flame, the shorter the life span. The flame that burns brightest, after all..."

The figure appears to age, as its features begin to wither. Soon, the flame fades, as all that is left of the figure is a skeletal structure, which quickly turns to dust before fading away.

"Now your aura...what do you suppose it means? For your aura to extend, but not burn? Or mine for that matter? To have no flame at all and just an outline?..."

Rhone folds his arms, waiting for Eloysio's answer.  

[ac-null15]

As Eloysio gazed at the figure Rhone used to illustrate his point, he put a hand on his hip and had the other stroking his chin.

"To be honest, I find that saying rather flimsy. After all, the sun itself is a massive, blindingly bright flame, yet it's lasted for more years than anyone can count. But I digress."

He shifts his arms so that he's looking down at the backs of his hands to observe his own aura outlining his arms.

"Going by the logic you presented, it appears our auras suggest we're immortal. Though it caught me a bit off-guard as to why mine would seem that way... Yes, as the creator of the Chiaroscuro Soul collar, I of course once wore it myself. I'm actually not completely sure how it granted me a degree of immortality...nonetheless, it had stipulations. I suppose that's what these trails mean. I stopped aging, but I could still die from other means normal mortals do, like succumbing to disease or...being murdered."

He furrows his brow with a look of displeasure for a moment, as that was not a memory he was particularly fond of. Then he folds his arms as well when he looks up and faces Rhone.

"Now, since I had been killed, why would my own aura still suggest immortality? If anything, I thought it'd look more like your example's toward the end of life. But then, it hit me. Azriel...since she's the one wearing the collar now and sharing the energy of her life to sustain me...that must be it. My aura is showing the same qualities in turn.

Since that's what you see on Azriel, I gather that's the concern you wanted to raise here?"

The questioning in his tone at the end served as an added "Why, though?" He had an idea, but wanted to hear if Rhone's answer would confirm his thoughts.  

[Fedora Warrior]

The night sky background in the mindspace suddenly begins to fade and be replaced a large series of red gears, silently turning as Rhone pieces his thoughts together.

"Perhaps the sun simply has more fuel...or perhaps there are suns past ours that burn brighter than ours...and burn out faster. Not enough data to make assumptions, though...as for your aura...you didn't seem to make mention of the ribbons."

He points the the streams of aura coming off of Eloysio.

"The immortality bit is the suppression...the ribbons mean you're simply dead...but your soul is attached to something. You're close, but not quite right on that one...Azriel, however, is truly immortal, like myself. The problem is that she doesn't seem to know."

He closes his eyes and shakes his head.

"But not yet. Not now. I gave her an idea about a spell she can use in order to learn how to bring you back. A spell that gives her access to limitless knowledge...however, she has to learn and accept something about herself, face a personal demon, if you will, in order to escape."

He opens his eyes again, this time showing a weary expression.

"It took me...more than 6000 years to escape that spell...and when it was done it felt like nothing but a dream...but it still haunts me. It always will."

He looks down with his hat covering his eyes for a few moments before looking back up.

"During the time she's in this spell, the world around her will be frozen in time...but not you, Chiaro, or Oscuro. She'll have company. That'll keep her sane. And all of you together should be able to help her accept her reality. The reality that she'll never die. If she has children, she'll be forced to watch them grow old and expire while she continues to stay young forever."

His expression towards Eloysio becomes more of a glare at this point.

"She's going to learn something about herself she might not be ready to handle, and it's going to be on you! You're the one she's doing all this for, and once I cast the spell, I can't do anything further to help her, so you better make sure she comes back before the spell consumes her. I've lost enough people already...loved ones, family, friends...I'm not losing another friend. Especially not one that'll..."

He crosses his arms and stares at the floor again.

"that'll actually stick around..."  

[ac-null15]

Eloysio observes as Rhone gestures toward him during his explanation, making slight attentive nods as he takes it in. After which, he turns to face the imagery of gears, fixing a gaze of contemplation upon them with a shrug. "Semantics. What you called 'ribbons', I referred to as 'trails'."

He looks over at Rhone in slight bemusement when he mentions that Azriel seems to be unaware of her immortality. He couldn't tell since it hadn't come up in conversation yet. "She doesn't, now? I can't fathom why Chiaro and Oscuro wouldn't tell her..." His expression changes to that of curious interest once Rhone starts explaining about this "spell of limitless knowledge", then to slight surprise as he begins to look and sound gloomy. His eyes widen a bit when he's glared at. He did expect Rhone expressing interest in Azriel's immortality for some reason, but he wasn't exactly expecting that kind of answer.

"I...I see..." is all he could manage to utter out at first when Rhone is through. "6000 years. Good heavens. I feel sorry you had to suffer that." He knows mere words couldn't possibly be enough consolation, but his tone carried an honest sincerity.

After a silent pause, he speaks up again. "I'm not yet sure how I'll be able to pull it off, but you have my word that she'll make it out. I certainly do not want her to meet a most painful end."  

[Fedora Warrior]

The red gears all stop turning at once before flying off in every direction, returning the state of the mindspace into the night sky once again with the door back to Azriel's mindspace behind Eloysio.

"Thank you, friend. Go. Tell Azriel and the others about the spell. I'm gonna go find her and tell her to meet me outside. I'm not going to tell her where for fear of prying eyes. After I tell her to meet me outside, you tell her about the spell and that I'll be waiting behind the chief's house. Not many people seem to go to that area. The spell itself, once cast, will only be an instant for anyone that isn't Azriel...or the minds inside hers. Make sure she knows the risks...but not how long I was trapped. I'll give her my journal from when I was there. Perhaps it will give her inspiration to succeed."

Rhone turns around and begins to fade as the night sky becomes nothing but pitch black.

"I'm returning to consciousness. Next time we speak, it will be after Azriel has succeeded in escaping with the knowledge she seeks. I know you'll guide her out of there. After all, your life...and the lives of those that could very well be considered your children, hang in the balance as well."

Rhone finishes fading as he resumes consciousness as nothing remains lit but the door behind Eloysio. Despite this, however, something impossible to see seems to be peering at Eloysio through the voide, whether he notices or not...  

[ac-null15]

Eloysio made a puzzled expression as he watched Rhone take his leave. "Children"? The interpretation struck him as odd. He never thought of Chiaro and Oscuro that way. They were his creations, yes, but the term "children" didn't seem to fit. Their existence began as facets of his personality, essentially different sides of himself. To him, implying Chiaro and Oscuro were his children would be like saying he was once his own son. They did end up developing their own memory, will, sentience, but applying the label of "children" to them still felt off.

Maybe he just had a very literal way of thinking.

As he turned to open the door, he started to have the keen feeling he was being watched. He furrowed his brow—why would he feel that in a space like this, of all places? As he looked around, his eyes stopped right at where the "unseeable thing" was supposed to be, but he couldn't sense anything more.

Shrugging off the feeling, he proceeded through the door back into the other void that was Azriel's mindspace.

Oscuro, who had been waiting by the doorside all this time, was immediately all up in Eloysio's face. "So what was that all about, Master?"

"My dear, wait for it..." He intently listened to the conversation that was going on, waiting for the cue.