The Sorrow of Love

[Pegasus]

90th Zida, 718

It was dark.

Soon, in very few trials it would be Cylus and then, it would be darker and all the time. Darkness, of course, always meant more death, more people to ferry more souls to judge. Darkness was where Xiur's power was weakest, where despair resided and isolation held court, reining over the lonely. And there were so very many of them. Such differences between them all, these mortal souls, such great chasms which caused wars and conflict and always, always, led to death.

And yet, in death, they were so very much the same.

Death was the great leveller, of course, harbinger of equality at its most beautiful - and most final.

Usually.

The Immortal of Death frowned at that thought. Usually final. Not always and, in this instance there was something which was calling to him. The Corridor he walked down was long, his footsteps echoing as he walked. Next to him, his sisters stepping in jagged unison, the echo of their footfalls a melody made from disparate parts, like a mingling of two sounds which would be entirely unpleasant to the ears if it wasn't so very beautiful.

There was something not right, something not balanced and he ~ they ~ could feel it. These corridors that his daughter had led mortals down in his brother's game were well walked by Death's feet and he knew each tile in this endless corridor of dreams. Every door led to another dreamer or another dream. Some led to Domains, others to places unknown or unknowable, perhaps. It was all just symbolism, he was sure.

His reverie was broken when they arrived at The Door. It was the one they needed, he knew. He was, after all, the Opener of the Ways. Or it was one of the things that he was. So, with a grim smile directed at his sisters he opened The Door and there, they saw them.

The Mortals.

OOC Welcome!

Welcome to this thread! This is part of our Immortal Focus for this Cycle and I really hope you enjoy it. PCs in this thread are:
Kierel,
Tio,
Toraj
Throughout the thread there is no posting order.
Please don't control any NPCs exept your own.
More than anything, I want you to have fun here. There are risks to this thread, there are rewards to be gained. Play your pcs, go with the story and enjoy it!
There are two types of objective.
--"Must Do" - which mean you have to do these. NOT doing them will incur negative consequences for your pc which might be more far reaching than this thread. You have been warned.
--"Can Do" - these are optional. Do them, or don't - up to you.

Any questions - ask!
I will post again about this time on Monday October 8th

Must Do Objectives

1. This is the intro post only from me. I need to get you all in one place first. Your post should end with your PC being in the Scalvoris Sapphire Inn, in the garden. Thank you.
2. For this round, you must choose ONE of the following. Please note - only one of each of these is available, so if another player has chosen one, you may not.
   • Rain
   • Snow
   • Dry
   • Lightning
   Please also make sure to list all NPCs with you - and be aware that there is risk to them, too. Thanks.

Can Do Objective

None this round.

[Kirei Qe'Azour]

Scalvoris was a fascinating place. Kirei felt as though she could spend a lifetime here and still not learn everything there was to know about the island. Originally, she was only supposed to stay for the season of Vhalar, but since she had been sent to Scalvoris in order to study the cuisine on the island and to learn what she could of the cooking techniques here, she had made the decision to do it properly. And that meant paying a visit to each part of the island.

That was what had brought her to Almund. Someone had recommended the Scalvoris Sapphire Inn to her. Although it was located in the seedier section of the city, the food was rumored to be good, and that was what was important to Kirei.

Aiden wouldn't want me to come here...at least not without him to protect me. Someone had to watch the kids, though. If we were back home, I'd be more willing to let them stay on their own, but not here. And not when the older kids would have to babysit Tauriel, and the twins. They're responsible kids, but they are just kids, after all. I'm just glad that Aiden was able to take time off work so he could come with me. I don't think I would have been willing to come to Almund if I had to bring the kids with me. Kirei mused.

When she entered the inn, her first impression was the scent of lavender mixed with the scent of roasting meat. She took a few trills just to breathe in the pleasant scent. A lively song was being played in the other room, where the food was likely to be served. Kirei nodded to herself; if the inn was doing well enough to be able to afford entertainment for its guest, then it must be doing a good business. That was further proof that the food was probably good here.

Kirei made her way into the other room, and looked for an empty table. But there were none, so she made her way into the garden to wait until one was available.

Off Topic

I'll take rain, please. Also, none of Kirei's NPCs are with her.

[Tio Silver]

"... So I look aroun' an' I think ta' meself "yeah, this'll be a good seas'n." An' I hop on over to th' window, fling open th' curtains and whadda I see? It's-..."

"Raining blood? Yes yes I know, I was standing right next to you, remember?"

Sometimes Tio felt like his natural immunity to alcohol was a blessing. This wasn't one of those times. It was no fun being the only one sober when his crew went out drinking at the Sapphire; watching as the rest of the group descended into a sloppy, slurring mess of pointless observations and spilled secrets. Unfortunately as captain he felt duty bound to make sure that his employees arrived back home safely, and that meant that he had to stick around until the very last people decided to call it quits. Thazz, his first mate, happened to be one of the toughest drinkers ever to walk the earth, and had refused to yield to fatigue or unconscious until the sun had risen once again to signal the start of the new season and climbed high up into the sky.

"Y'know, I reckon it's your fault it's rainin' blood 'a all things. You were a trouble magnet before, but ever since ya lost ya eye it's like ya been haunted by it. Whenever somethin's wrong you end up slap-bang right in the middle 'a it all some'ow." Thazz murmured, downing the last of what had to be his fifty-fifth drink. Tio raised an eyebrow at him wryly, but was too fed up with him to deign to reply.

Eventually Teddie heaved a heavy sigh and lifted himself up from the table, staggering slightly as his head reeled from the change in balance. "Well... I think it's time I were off. Bye bye captain. I'll see ya tomorra."

With wobbly steps Teddie stomped his way out of the inn, stumbling away down the alley in the vague direction of his house. Tio let out a relieved sigh that the end of his ordeal was finally over. It was too bright now to go home and get some sleep, so the best thing he could do now was get a bit of fresh air and try to relax a bit. He stood up, stretched like a cat, and with lazy footsteps meandered over to the garden to get a look up at the sky.

Off Topic

I'll take snow please.

[Toraj]

Some time had passed now since he 'woke up', and yet he couldn't help but feel like he was sleepwalking half the time. Every step guided him forward and towards some answer or other, or at least that's what he told himself... but he'd walked a great many steps, not that he was counting, and he was no closer to the truth now than he'd been when it all began. Questions. The sinking feeling in his stomach told him that he'd never run out of questions, and that scared him.

Weariness was starting to set in by the time he wound up at the doors of the Sapphire Inn, eyes blinking to adjust as he slipped his way into the warmth beyond the threshold and briefly froze in the doorway to let his senses adapt to the change---along with the overpowering scent of alcohol as it seemed he'd arrived just in time. For what? With the departure of one of the drinking patrons, knocking against Toraj's shoulder on his way out and spewing his drunken breath in the man's face... for the bell out. The darkness still hung heavy over his mind to this day, but he'd accepted it---still, it meant that he continued to encounter sensations every day that he couldn't explain why they were so eerily familiar. Whatever it was about the smell that triggered some reaction in Toraj, it made his gut churn and a stab of intense anxiety made him almost lose his balance, forcing him to catch himself against the wall to not fall. A couple of smiling patrons nearby had to take a break in their merriment to ask whether he was sick. Was he pale? Though he felt sick, he didn't feel cold, but he had no way of knowing for sure.

Dismissing the thought and clutching his gut, Toraj waded through the inn aimlessly. Something he'd grown rather accustomed to since his awakening was to follow his nose, so that's what he did. He let it guide him away from the offensive scents as he sought out a peaceful enough place that he could settle down for just a moment and gather his bearings, letting even the scent of food repel him as he staggered his way through the doors and halls until, finally, the crisp night air offered him some much needed respite when his steps diligently guided him out into the garden. He didn't waste time to find the first patch of ground to sit, dropping himself down like a sack of potatoes and heaving, slowly, just to catch his breath and overcome the nausea.

He hadn't yet noticed that he wasn't alone.

Off Topic

I'll take Lightning.

[Pegasus]

90th Zida, 718

There they were. The three of them. He and his sisters stepped through and as they did, the man with long dark hair and the two pretty young women with him were sitting at a table in the garden, and had been there all along as far as anyone else was concerned. The garden area was fairly full, even though it was freezing cold - there was a large awning and a lot of metal barrels filled with hanging mesh baskets which had hot coal fires in them. The area was surprisingly warm and comfortable, if a little smoky in places.

Kirei was here on her own, prepared to try the food, to get what tips she could from the fare here. - she wasn't part of the loud crowd of drunken (or almost entirely drunken) pirates who had been in the Inn itself but, as one of them came out, they might share a glance two strangers would. But then, into the garden came an individual who flopped himself down breathing heavily. It was quite the dramatic entrance and the three of them who were in the garden but not eating all had a moment of just being together, maybe looking at each other - maybe saying hello.

Consequence Unlocked: I did it my way.!! Not a single one of you brought an NPC with you. Good thing? Bad thing? Who knows!!


But time for such moments was limited. Because just then, one of the customers - a loud crack of thunder sounded, making a number of the patrons jump. One, a young teenage girl who had been sitting with a young man, literally jumped and let out a scream, then began to clutch at her chest and fell over. The young man with her jumped backwards and fell, knocking over one of the fires. In so doing, hot coals spewed out and the awning started to burn. So too did the coat of a nearby small dog whose howling filled the air.

There was chaos and screaming in the matter of moments.

And in it there were three people, sitting at a table and looking, calm and collected, straight at the three mortals and their companions.

OOC Stuffies

Throughout the thread there is no posting order.
Please don't control any NPCs exept your own.
More than anything, I want you to have fun here. There are risks to this thread, there are rewards to be gained. Play your pcs, go with the story and enjoy it!
There are two types of objective.
--"Must Do" - which mean you have to do these. NOT doing them will incur negative consequences for your pc which might be more far reaching than this thread. You have been warned.
--"Can Do" - these are optional. Do them, or don't - up to you.

Any questions - ask!

I will post again about this time on Monday October 15th

Choices & Consequences

Round Number	Kirei	Tio	Toraj
ONE	Rain	Snow	Lightning

Must Do Objectives

1. You must interact/ respond to either the teenage girl apparently having a heart attack, the fallen teenage boy, the dog or the burning awning. You may only respond to one of them (although you can see them all).
2. For this round, you must choose ONE of the five senses (sight, touch etc). Just like before - only one of each is available. Thank you.

Can Do Objective

• Write your post in less than 600 words (according to the post word count) to unlock a reward at the end.

[Kirei Qe'Azour]

Kirei noticed a man and two women arrive in the garden, but she took no real note of them. And they were quickly forgotten as a girl jumped and screamed before clutching at her chest and falling over. In that same instant, the young man who was with her jumped back, and accidentally knocked over one of the fires that warded off the chill of Zi'da. Coals spilled out and set the awning on fire. A small dog was set on fire as well. It's pain filled howls struck her heart. Chaos reigned as people began to scream in panic...all save for the three that Kirei had noticed earlier. They seemed content to watch the chaos unfold.

This was one of those times when everything seems to slow down, and Kirei took all of this in in an instant. She was no doctor, but even she could guess that the girl was having a heart attack if she was clutching her chest like that. Kirei didn't have anything close to the kinds of skills she would need to be able to help someone who was having a heart attack. She had lost track of the man after he'd started the fire. Was he sick or injured, too? Or just panicked by his girlfriend's distress? Either way, she didn't think that she could help him. But she could help the poor dog, and it was unlikely that anyone else would even try.

So she grabbed the table cloth at the table nearest to her as she dove for the small animal in the attempt to smother the flames. If she succeeded, not only would she have saved a helpless creature, she would have prevented it from spreading the fire around even further as it ran about in agonized panic.

Off Topic

I'll take touch, please

[Tio Silver]

The cool outside air did wonders to snap Tio out of his dulled state of mind. No sooner had he set foot outdoors than the wind wrapped around him like an old friend, washing across his face and chilling his senses just enough to coax his half-sleeping brain into waking up again. Tio rolled his shoulders a little and grinned as he felt some energy start to return to his body. How had he ever managed without the wind for a friend? Life must be so inconvenient for those not connect to the elements.

There was a flash of light as a bolt of lightning soared through the air nearby, closely followed by the deep rumble of accompanying thunder. Lightning wasn't exactly an uncommon event, but this one turned out to be the spark that set of a whole chain of disasters. A shriek pierced the air, and Tio spun around towards the source of the noise to see a young woman clutching at her chest, probably having a heart attack, who in turn caused the young man with her to fall over and accidentally knock a fire over onto a nearby dog. It was perhaps the dictionary definition of things going from bad to worse.

It was also, Tio realised with a start, about time that he stopped gawking and did something to help.

He was a far cry from a doctor, but his time adventuring and a small number of unfortunate circumstances had helped him to learn a handful of medical tricks. He should at least be able to do something about a heart attack right? He didn't know, but now was as good a time as any to find out! Running over to the collapsed woman's side, he knelt down and looked over to one of the watching bystanders.

"Run to the Order of Adunih! Tell them to bring someone to help with a heart attack right away! Go, quickly!"

He looked back down at the girl and loosened any bits of tight clothing that could be putting pressure on her blood flow, then helped her into a more comfortable position. "Easy there, easy. I've got you. You're going to be just fine, I promise." He said in his most soothing voice, doing his best to try and calm her down as much as he could. It only made sense that less stress would mean less pressure on the heart, and therefor more time for the doctor to arrive. "My name's Tio. What's yours?"

Off Topic

I'll take taste please.

[Toraj]

Though the garden was certainly less crowded than the inn itself, the difference wasn't altogether as staggering or dramatic as Toraj had possibly hoped. Still, the stench of the room he'd stepped through had finally started to fade, thanks in part to the soft scent of food and the wafting of smoke from the fires that burned around him, mingling with the clear air that fell from the heavens above them. His eyes turned up in thought, mind still not quite registering the presence of anyone else around him consciously as he found himself entranced with the depth of the sky valve. He'd seen it a fair few times and spent many hours searching between the little lights that dotted it for the shimmer he could spy ever so often, marveling at the sheer size and expansiveness of it, but it still felt so unfamiliar and new every time he looked at it. Tonight was no different.

A crack, as if by lightning, called his attention. He was on his feet again before he could think, before he knew what was going on. Some sprang to action around him while others ran and fled, others still remaining seated as if nothing was wrong---but Toraj's attention was stolen by what was happening... the source of the sudden commmotion. A woman clutched her chest and fell as if her heart was trying to claw its way out of her chest, the man she was with jumping up in shock and falling back to knock something over that spread a blaze onto a poor and subsequently panicked creature. A single event to cause so much chaos, like a single, large drop of water in a still puddle---rippling outwards rapidly. Toraj was frozen in place for a second, seeing others rush to offer their help in what ways they could... though Toraj's attention had initially been on the woman clutching her chest, he knew well enough that there was nothing he could do. There were limits even to his miracles.

Instead, he rushed to the side of the man still on the ground. Rather than trying to butcher whatever language the man may speak, Toraj checked him over quickly to make sure he was conscious, cursory glance over his face before his eyes snapped to the back of the man's head to check that he hadn't knocked himself badly enough when falling that he was bleeding, too. Regardless, Toraj knelt at the man's side and hooked one arm under the man's neck and shoulders to lift off the ground with the other free to check him further if he was, after all, unconscious---probing without shame to check eyes and mouth if that was the case---or offer him a steady hand to grip to help him back on his feet. Toraj cast a cautious glance back to the man who'd rushed to the girl with the breaking heart, concern written plainly over his face.

Off Topic

I'll take Sight, please.

[Pegasus]

90th Zida, 718

Kirei
Kirei moved to help the dog, the clanking and clattering of glasses being drowned out in the chaos. She wrapped the table cloth around the dog and one of the women, from the three who observed, stood and walked over, kneeling beside her to help. Or maybe not, actually, it seemed, as the woman looked down at the dog and then back to Kirei. "With all these people here. what sort of a monster helps an animal?" She didn't seem angry, although the woman exuded an air of judgemental. "Your actions condemn you as heartless. Without concern for your fellow mortal. When Death touches you, how will you be able to look him in the eye?"

Kirei might notice ~ or she might not ~ that everything seemed to stop as the woman spoke. A strange mist seemed to be hanging around them and the whole place was... just a little out of focus.

Tio
Meanwhile, Tio ran to the girl having a heart attack. She fell into his arms and she looked at him with absolute terror in her eyes. It was like she knew what was happening to her, what her fate was this trial as she clutched on to his arm, desperately. As he untied her tight clothing she gasped and let out a small whimper.

And then, without any further noise, she simply died in Tio's arms.

The man, the one who had been sitting and Tio hadn't seemed to pay much attention to, was there beside him. He frowned, his pale forehead creasing as he looked down at her. "She seems so young. Too young by far.". Tio too would notice that things around them stopped, that there was a strange mist which blurred his vision.

"I should take her, now," he said.

Toraj
Toraj, meanwhile, moved to the man and he studied him. No such event for Qylios' son as Tio had to endure - by the time that Toraj got there, the man was already dead. His head had hit at a strange angle, he seemed to have died in the same trill, not even aware, probably, of what was happening. He was already gone, there was no doubting it and, when Toraj lifted him, his head fell at an unusual angle.

The woman who was kneeling with Toraj, on the other side of the man's body - one of the two women who had been sitting and watching -- looked at Toraj and she spoke. "He lived a good life, you know. There is nothing to regret when that happens, is there?" As time itself stood still, he noticed the mist swirling around them, blocking out the sharp edges of the world.

All

As reality faded into shadows and darkness descended on them, the three mortals became increasingly aware that where they were was no longer quite.... right. Smoke-like tendrils of thick mist blurred their vision, stealing the defining features of the place around them. Which made it difficult to know when they noticed that there was no one there, now, except them. The three people from the garden, the three mortals and the two corpses.

The man, with long black hair and a pale face, turned to the two women and the slightest smile crossed his melancholy features. "My sisters, it is time for you to do your duty," He said and then, the woman who had been speaking to Kirei turned and frowned.

"Who are you?" She asked, her expression dark as the man and the other woman also seemed to see them. "How did you come here?"

Here, it transpired, really wasn't where they'd been before. It was a dark place and, as their eyes grew adjusted to the ambient lighting, that they were no longer in the place they had been -- or in the presence of mortal beings, but rather Immortal ones exuding power -- was fairly obvious.

OOC Stuffies

So sorry for delays!
Throughout the thread there is no posting order.
Please don't control any NPCs
More than anything, I want you to have fun here. There are risks to this thread, there are rewards to be gained. Play your pcs, go with the story and enjoy it!
There are two types of objective.
--"Must Do" - which mean you have to do these. NOT doing them will incur negative consequences for your pc which might be more far reaching than this thread. You have been warned.
--"Can Do" - these are optional. Do them, or don't - up to you.

Any questions - ask!

I will post again about this time on Tuesday 6th November

Choices & Consequences

Round Number	Kirei	Tio	Toraj
ONE	Rain	Snow	Lightning
TWO	Touch + Dog	Taste + Girl	Sight + Boy

Must Do Objectives

1. None, as your actions now have determined what they needed to.

[Kirei Qe'Azour]

Kirei saw a woman kneel beside her, and for a trill, she thought that the woman was going to help her with the poor dog. Instead, she accused her of being heartless for helping the dog instead of one of the people. The woman's tone wasn't angry as she accused her, but it was very clear that she was judging her...and finding her lacking. "Heartless" indeed.

Kirei would have simply ignored the other woman. If she wasn't going to help, then as long as she didn't get in the way, Kirei would let the accusation go until she had done everything she could for the dog. But as the woman spoke, everything seemed to just...stop. Everything was frozen in place, and a strange mist had appeared out of nowhere, surrounding them. The world looked slightly out of focus. Kirei didn't know if the mist was causing the effect, or if something else was. But it was obvious that something strange was happening. Since the dog wasn't in immediate danger anymore, Kirei frowned, and turned her attention to the woman.

"Heartless, am I?" she asked, irritation marring her tone.

"Who are you to judge me like that, anyway? I don't see you trying to help anyone!"

Her frown deepened. Kirei had the vague idea that she had seen this woman somewhere many arcs ago. Had they met before? Or perhaps she had seen the image of this woman in a book somewhere? If she had, she couldn't remember who the woman was or why she might know her.

"Why would you say that, anyway? Most of those people you speak of are perfectly able to escape the fire themselves. This dog was on fire; if no one helped it, it was going to die. Should I have let it suffer while I guided others away from the fire when they had no need of help? And before you tell me that the woman needed help, I was aware of that. She is...or was...or still is? In any case, she was having a heart attack. I could tell that much from the way she was clutching her chest. She needs a doctor. Someone who knows what to do for someone who is having a heart attack. I am not a doctor. I have no idea what to do if someone is having a heart attack. What I do know is that someone who doesn't know what they are doing can do a lot of damage by trying to help someone blindly unless they are following the instructions of someone who does know what to do."

Kirei glanced at the dog again, but everything still seemed to be frozen, so she continued.

"I could, however help the poor dog, and few others would bother. And in doing so, I kept it from spreading the fire further in it's panic and agony."

Kirei paused, then added.

"I could turn that question back on you. I, at least was trying to help, even if you don't approve of the way I was helping. You, on the other hand weren't even trying to help. So which one of us is the heartless monster again?"

Reality faded away into shadows and darkness, and Kirei found herself wondering if it was such a good idea to risk angering someone who was able to do all of this. But she felt strongly about this, and everything she'd said was true, so she stood by her words. The man who had been with the woman who had approached her and another woman said something about "duty" to his sisters. This made Kirei's frown deepen, this time in confusion.

"Duty? What "duty" is he talking about?" Kirei couldn't help but ask.

She could see two other men with her amidst the smoke, aside from the man who had spoken to his "sisters." The girl who had had a heart attack was there too, and so was the man she had lost track of in the chaos. Kirei noticed that both of them appeared to be dead. That thought made her feel a bit uneasy. They were strangers to her, so she didn't feel sorrow that they were dead, exactly, but she did feel bad that they were dead. But she still didn't feel guilty about trying to help the dog instead of either of them. The fact that they were dead didn't change the fact that she could have done nothing to help them, but she was able to help the dog. Or that by helping the dog, she had prevented it from spreading the fire even further, and causing even more chaos. The woman who had been speaking to her earlier asked some questions that Kirei guessed had been addressed to her and the other two men. The two dead people certainly couldn't answer them, after all, and if the man who had spoken of duty was their brother, then she must know who he was already.

"I'm Kirei Qe'Azour, and I have no idea how I got here...or where "here" is, for that matter. A few bits ago, I was in the garden at the Scalvoris Sapphire Inn, same as you. Who are you?"

If Kirei still sounded annoyed after being accused of being a heartless monster, she felt justified in that. Heartless indeed.