The Alchemist, The Necromancer and The (ex)Slave

[Faith Augustin]

65th Vhalar, 718

It had led her here, she knew. It was the investigation she had done, it was the right place, but why in the name of the Immortals was this something that anyone thought they could do? Faith had the name she needed, the one of the woman who was perpetrating this and she had traced her to this "herb shop" in the Dust. It was an old, ramshakle building but the young Champion of Famula knew better than to take that at face value. The windows had strong bars on them, the door was firm on its hinges. Faith understood poverty and what it looked like and so, she didn't fall for it. Yet, it looked the part. It very much looked the part. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble and she breathed in. "You shouldn't go in there," Alissa said and Faith glanced at her. "We go, we go together and that's that. Please, no arguments. Not now." Alissa nodded, and Faith touched the biqaj's arm. The two women shared a glance and then Faith smiled.

In here, they were performing some kinds of something. Some experiments or.. she didn't know why yet, but the investigation she had done, the breaks upon breaks speaking to each and every soul who had not crossed over had allowed her to do what she had always done in medicine. She found a pattern. A common denominator.

This place.

It sold herbal and traditional remedies for a variety of ailments; anything from removing a wart to increasing fertility. Faith had meant to visit it, to check out what they were doing but - since arriving in Rharne - they had been so busy and she had been distracted. And now? Now she was more than sure that this place was making these people ill. At first, she had been prepared to keep in mind that they might be doing so without meaning to. With every soul who had died in agony, the medics unable to help them, and was then forced to endure the terror of death without the comfort of Vri or the opportunity of judgement made her less and less convinced.

And now? As she stood here, Faith got a very bad feeling about this place.

[Faith Augustin]

Into the shop they went ~ although it was really a house in a ramshackle street. It took a few moments to let their eyes adjust to the darkness, although that was an issue for Alissa not Faith. Thanks to her Zuuda mark, the darkness held no fear for her and she saw as well in pitch dark as she did in bright daylight. Still, she looked around and if the person sitting behind the makeshift counter believed her eyes were adjusting, that was up to them. The man behind the counter watched them and Faith gave a slight, but somewhat tense, smile. "Good trial," she said, and she was about to say more when a soul appeared, suddenly, screaming in obvious pain. It was instinct which caused Faith to glance at it, but so too did the man behind the counter. Her expression was one of concern and compassion; he looked amused. Faith saw that and there went any conversation, she knew. The soul, a tortured individual who flickered in and out of sight had a lot of very angry-looking scars all over his body... or the representation of it. He was gesturing wildly to the door and screaming. "Downstairs!! Downstairs!! DOWNSTAIRS!"

Faith turned to the man behind the counter, but as she did she saw him start to pull out a blade of some kind. "Downstairs, Alissa, NOW!" She wasn't really sure that the woman would listen to her, honestly, but she hoped so. She and Alissa had been together a long time now and she knew Faith well enough to know that the human wouldn't simply shout like that if there was not a very genuine reason for it. However, in the moment Faith had to believe that Alissa knew her well enough to know that as she was busy dealing with something far more immediate.

It had taken her barely any time, and very little attention to call to Alissa, but it was enough for the man in front of her. His hand moved with speed and dexterity and Faith saw the glint of metal. But she didn't move out of the way quickly enough and she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder as the throwing knife embedded in her skin. With a prayer to Famula, thanking her for the many and varied reasons why it was far from the worse pain she had ever endured, Faith stepped forward, her sword in her hand. She was good with a sword, as good as the man in front of her and his other hand - the one which he had not used to throw the knife with - rose with his own blade to meet her.

Faith hated fighting. She abhorred violence in any form and it was something she avoided wherever, and whenever, possible. However, when it came down to it, she didn't hesitate. The time for avoiding violence was before it started, she firmly believed; once it had begun then the only thing to do was end it. So, there was no hesitation as she struck.

The man raised his sword in defence and the pair of them began the strange almost-dance which was a sword fight. Even in that, Faith aimed not to end a life and the opportunity arose when his elbow dropped slightly ~ just a small drop, but it allowed Faith to grab his forearm, her skin touching his. As her eyes began to glow a deep crimson red, he screamed; but not because of the eyes, because she began to boil his blood. His sword fell to the floor and, as it fell from his hand, Faith dropped her own blade and lifted her own hand. There was no doubting that, as he yelled out in pain, she could kill him with this ability, but she didn't. Instead, she simultaneously stopped the "Burning Blood" and, as he breathed out in relief, she blew against the palm of her hand, triggering the 'Seed Sleep' ability from Moseke.

There was just time for his eyes to widen as he slid to the floor. She thought she detected a hint of recognition in those eyes, but then maybe not she considered with a small smile. Glancing at the spreading blood stains on her shirt, Faith concluded that she wasn't about to die and so she quickly bandaged her shoulder with a very 'quick fix' approach. Glancing around, she saw that Alissa had, in fact, gone downstairs and she paused just long enough to check that the man was, truly, asleep. "PB, I want you to stay here and let me know if he stirs," she said, to the small chalk-drawn outline of a bunny who was the death diri who accompanied her.

"A'righ' love. You sure you're alright, though? I can go call tall an' broody if you want," the little creature grinned and Faith gave him a mock-glare before moving. The ghost in the room, or rather one of them for there were a lot, motioned to her and Faith nodded.

Then, she picked up her sword and made her way through the door, and from there, she went down the stairs.

[Faith Augustin]

It wasn't dark.

That was the first thing that she noticed. As she made her way slowly down the stairs, Faith was painfully aware of the seeping blood on her shoulder. She tried to move as quietly as she could and, as she did so, she recalled a very different time when she was creeping through the corridors of Tristan's family home, the massive castle - like structure of House Venora, on her way to wake up Tristan and tell him that she had heard about Lady Elyna Burhan being kidnapped. How life had changed, the earnest young woman considered and then, as she continued to walk down a long corridor, she lost focus on anything except what was in front of her.

As she stepped into the laboratory-like room, she saw that there were no less than six tables with corpses on them, covered over with sheets. There were souls everywhere, this place was an anchor for a number of them; but none of those things were what drew her attention. No, that was the woman. Standing at a mortician's table, making the first incision in the latest corpse there.

Alissa

Faith breathed in a sharp intake of breath through her teeth. She was a medic of more than small experience and she knew dead when she saw it. "Get your hands off her," Famula's Champion she might be, but Faith reacted in that moment as a woman who was seeing the body of her friend. The woman, who had known full well that someone was coming, looked up in fake surprise. She was a good actress, and for a trill it threw Faith off, but then the snarling look which marred the woman's face meant that Faith was in no doubt at all. Then, two things happened simultaneously.

A black miasma-like mist began to form around Faith and she felt a sudden frigid cold surround her. It had been a long time since Faith had felt cold at all and she gasped in surprise. The other thing that happened was that all six of the corpses in the room sat up, simultaneously.

"A new thrall, how sweet," the woman said, fully expecting Faith to drop as the black mist swirled and attached itself to her. She swayed, briefly, on her feet and then she jumped at the woman who she now knew to be a necromancer. The most evil and despised of magics, there was no doubt to Faith what she had to do. She wasn't a gymnast or acrobat, but she was fit and well trained in unarmed combat. Her jump was not graceful, but it did the job. Tools went flying as the diminutive young woman launched herself at the necromancer as the mist slid off her. Gifted by Famula, necromantic magic held no sway to Faith and did not harm her and so, she relied on her speed being surprising.

It was.

With a cry of effort, born as much from the emotional turmoil in the young woman, Faith lifted her hands to the necromancers face. Her eyes, glowing a deep crimson as she found her target and clasped the woman's face. One hand either side, Faith stared, directly, into the necromancer's eyes.

"All of them! You did it to them. Here! I saw them... every one... I saw you.." And then, Faith shared the deaths again. Hands locked around the necromancer's face, her glowing eyes locked on and Faith cried out with the necromancer. Both of them experienced the deaths Faith had stored and she had already experienced them once. But she was determined, she was disciplined and she was furious. As the experience kept them both locked together, neither one of them able to break free, the first death began....

.... there were a dozen more behind it and Faith would share them all.

Yet, as much as she was marked by Famula, Faith was Ymiden's chosen, too and her nature was not to hurt. And in that moment she prayed, as fervent and ardent a prayer as ever she had given, that she might be able to heal the soul of this woman, remove the taint of necromancy from her.

Because then, she would not have to kill her.

[Faith Augustin]

There was no doubting it, Faith was an ardent and fervent follower of the Immortals she worshipped and her prayers were heartfelt. In that moment, they certainly were that and more. Faith did not want to kill anyone, she believed most strongly that everyone who she could give a second chance to, it was her duty to do that. But still, a necromancer could not be allowed to live.

Which left one alternative, and one only.

As the memories of each and every death poured into the woman, as both she and Faith experienced them together, Faith prayed to Famula that this necromancy be removed from this woman. That the damage done to her, to her very soul, be pulled from her. Her eyes were now a solid, glowing red and she suddenly felt an enormous swell of power; it was something she recognised, she had felt it before. Four times now from Famula. And in that moment, Faith understood that her prayers had been answered and her thanks to Famula, to Ymiden, Moseke and Vri were honest and immediate. Famula, of course, had granted her this power but all four of the Immortals had taught her, shaped her.

And so, Faith's ruby gaze held with the necromancer and one hand dropped to the woman's chest. It was an almost-intimate gesture and, in many ways, what followed was intensely intimate and personal. Faith looked at the woman, whose eyes were now wide with fear, and the young Champion focused her concentration and will. The necromancer whimpered and shook her head, trying to get out of Faith's grip but, in that moment, the short human woman was relentless. She felt, physically felt, the Spark start to move as the Necromancer's soul began to heal and Faith frowned in concentration and determined effort.

And, one by one, they were free.

Each soul held there by the actions of this woman tore free as Faith pulled the Spark from her. The Necromancer fought, and fought hard, but Faith was determined, relentless... fanatical.

Every person, each life. All of them swirled and flew out like the petals of a flower caught in an explosion; it was beautiful in a truly horrific way, Faith thought; each petal a screaming, tortured face, but each face now set free. And all eyes turned to her ~ each ghost, every soul saw the woman who had set them free and they held on to her. Faith felt her knees buckle under the weight of them all as they swirled and screamed around her. The Necromancer fell to the floor and Faith lowered her gaze to follow the woman as she slid to the floor. There was a perplexed expression on Faith's face, a look of confused incomprehension.

As the Lightning Knights burst through the door, Faith turned to look at them. The petite woman with the glowing red eyes stood over the form of a sobbing woman and there were corpses littered on the floor, where they had ceased their shambling steps as the necromancy which had animated them died.

It took a few moments for them to work it out, in fairness. In that time, Faith answered the questions asked of her, calmly and with a soft voice which was in-congruent with her shaking. But, once credentials had been assured and stories got straight, the Lightning Knights took the necromancer ~ they were in the process of so doing as Faith moved over to Alissa. Reaching down, the healer stroked her friend's hair away from her face. "You know her, miss?" The Lightning Knight who was in the process of divesting the necromancer of her items asked and Faith nodded. "She's my friend," she said and frowned; just a slight crease of her forehead. "I'm going to remind her of this, next time she tells me I'm reckless." The Knight looked up and sighed, assuming that Faith was in some kind of shock. "She's dead, miss."

"Not like this. Not in such a manner." Faith said and she put out her shaking hand. The Lightning Knight watched, his eyes widening in amazement as Faith's hand glowed and then, her eyes a deep crimson, she concentrated on Alissa.

And Alissa breathed in, suddenly. All wounds healed, the biqaj sat up and looked at Faith. "You look awful, what's the matter? How did I get here?" Faith's bodyguard looked nothing but confused and Faith's pale face lifted as a smile crossed her features. "I'll tell you later. Help me sort this?" Alissa nodded and the two women got to work on collecting up the books and equipment, ensuring that nothing of this sort could happen here again.

[Kasoria]

Review Rewards

Name Faithless

Points awarded: 10

Knowledge:
Medicine: Spotting a dead person from a distance.
Necromancers' Bane: Zuuda ability granted by Famula
Necromancers' Bane: Causes a ton of ghosts to anchor to you
Necromancers' Bane: A battle of wills.

Loot: Hmm. You get three of each, and nothing too rare and/or exotic. The rest aren't really helpful to you, stuff you already know, etc.

Injuries: Yep, enjoy being a focal point for a few dozen restless spirits

Notes:
This took me a while to get my head around, because I thought you were REQUESTING this new ability, rather than just RECOUNTING how you'd got it. But once I worked that out, it was a pretty simple read, and you weren't asking too much. Your writing style veers between very intimate and personal, and quite sparse. Not BORING, per se, but... more like a screenplay, than creative writing. I don't think you need to overload everything with prose, but be careful you're not skipping over sections.

When it came to the Bane, though... wow. You nailed that perfectly. Not just the power and the description of it, but how it flowed from Faith's soul-deep belief in the Immortals, and her desire to free those tortured spirits. Best part of the story for me, by far.