• Closed • [Augustin Residence] Loose Ends. (Faith, Lyn)

[Oracle]

Flames, she could see them clear as day. Faldrun’s presence was laid over the young Thunder Priestess like raindrops on leaves after a thunderstorm. Faith could see it, the flame shaped brand on Lynessa’s arm stuck out like a sore thumb to her after using her ability.

A deal had indeed been struck, and Lynessa was indeed a walking time bomb.

However, although Lynessa knew everything she needed to bring Clara Wrenbrook to justice, she would find that telling that truth would come at a very ugly price. Pain, physical...psychological. There was little to be done to change her fate.

However she did have a choice, because there was one thing that mortals possess which Immortals do not: free will. Lynessa could choose to tell the truth. Endure the cost. It would do nothing to alleviate the fact that one trial in the future Faldrun would indeed call upon her, but at least she would no longer be alone in her plight.

Hope was a fragile thing. It could break us in its absence or it could bind is together stronger than before.

It was in the hope of such bonds forming that another force came upon Lynessa then.

Another hope...another chance.

Within the room that they all stood in Faith’s house there was suddenly a flicker of golden light. It seemed to appear out of thin air before drifting down like dust before spiraling around the Thunder Priestesses arm and landing directly on Faldrun’s brand. There was an electric tingle that raced through her body before abruptly the the fleck of light rose back into the air, now carrying an orange radiance that it seemed to have drawn from the brand. It was as if it had drained away a sliver of the power placed into the brand by Faldrun and incorporated it into itself.

It was all rather strange, with an orb of sunset hued light flickering between the three of them, however everything changed a split trill later when the sphere of light shattered in a flash of light.

When the glare of the flash of light cleared Faith, Nir, and Lynessa would find that each of them now held a weirdly transparent golden key in their hands. It was warm, and looked like an antique key like you would see in very old houses. Each key bore a matching inscription.

‘Key to the Eternal Flame.”

“It took that eel long enough to finally slip up.” a bold female voice said off to the left of the room. There standing in a sunbeam cast from a nearby window now stood a blonde woman in golden armor. Her hair was neatly tied back in a bun and she wore a copper circlet inlaid with garnet on her brow. Her eyes were careworn and worried.

“That was foolish what you did.” Qylios said sharply, looking at Lynessa with a hard expression that softened only a moment later.

“But I think you’ve finally given us the chance we need.” The Immortal crossed the room, nodding at Nir’wei before coming to stand beside Faith and keeping her eyes fixed on the young Thunder Priestess.

“I can’t be here for long, he likes to keep an eye on his...pets.” She added, gazing upon Lynessa with pity.

“I’ve given you each a key, each is bound to her...and her bond with him.” The Immortal of Bonds said, seeming just a little pleased with herself and her handywork.

“They will need time to link with him, the Brand is fresh. It needs time to settle on you Priestess. But when it does, those keys...they can lead you to him. No matter where he is, or where he hides. The Keys are tied to you child, and you are linked to him. You must do everything in your power to ensure that he does not call in that favor. Appease him, let him toy with you, let him think he is winning. But keep the bond between you both intact.”

Qylios allowed herself to dare to smile right as she looked over at Famula’s Champion.

“You bear many burdens, I’m sorry to say that I am giving you another.” she meant that, there was true pity in her voice. But this was the way of the war between Immortals. They could not kill each other...but mortals...they could actually do what the gods could not. The three in this room, they could make finally ending Faldrun possible.

“And you.” The Immortal said, finally focusing on Nir’wei. “Brother of Wolves, Child of Freedom, you I task to protect them.” The Immortal said, while gesturing to Faith and Lynessa

“The future holds many uncertainties, and many dangers. Help them find their way and have courage.”

Right then the burning sensation from earlier began to return to Lynessa’s brand as if Faldrun was once again turning his attention to her.

Checking in on his new pet.

“I must go. Remember, let him think he has won. It will take at least a season for the keys to be ready, and for the bond to settle into place. When it does you will know it is time.”

Just as the Brand began to sting on Lynessa’s arm, Qylios’s armored form vanished in a flare of sunlight through the window.

!

Message from: Oracle

Helping move this along just a bit since there has been a Cycle change. So, you all have a new quest! You have been tasked by Qylios to try and kill that bastard Faldrun! As if you didn't have enough to do! You may reach out to me if you want me to provide any additional dialogue with Qylios. You may ask her some questions in your reply to my post, and I will edit you posts with her replies. So keep an eye out for that. However this is indeed a one off modbomb, so you may continue the thread following this. Also, you three are being awarded the following item: "Key to the Eternal Flame": This key has been given to you by Qylios. Every trial that passes bringing you closer to Ymiden 1st seems to make the key grow more solid and "real" rather than the transparent shadow it first appeared as. On Ymiden 1st the three keys will become fully physical. Any of you at that time may then use your keys individually to try and find Faldrun. They Keys individually work like a compass and will lead you to wherever Faldrun is in the world. (Speak with Oracle about where he specifically is if you intend to seek him out individually.) However if all three Keys are brought together physically after Ymiden 1st they will become one single key, and will be capable of opening a portal to wherever Faldrun is. Be that his domain, or somewhere in Idalos. Be aware that attempting to kill Faldrun will be extremely dangerous. This is a VERY HIGH RISK level quest. When you want to use the Keys, reach out to me, and we will figure out the details. However any attempt to kill Faldrun will end in a moderated thread. Likely run by myself or Aegis (if he wants it). It's been a long road of hunting down Faldrun's corruption in Rharne, now you finally have a tangible path toward stopping him. Good luck.

[Lynessa]

Should someone ask who Lynessa served, the young woman would not quite know how to answer it. She would like to think that she owed allegiances to herself, but that was not true. Yet, her journey had led her to unknowingly devote her life to the people who had been by her side. Shaped her. Leth and Alia. And most recently, Ilaren herself – even when she could not quite admit it herself. Perhaps the faces were shrouded by the flames of her deal, perhaps not.

Just as she released Faith’s hand, an orb of light materialized and morphed into a familiar face. A face she had seen on statues and paintings before. Qylios herself with her golden armor and golden hair. The Lady of Light.

“That was foolish what you did. But I think you’ve finally given us the chance we need.”

Lynessa felt the warm blood rush to her face, like a child who had been chastised by a stern parent. She did not need a reminding that perhaps her deal was not the best of ideas, but it was also not something she had done thoughtlessly. It was true that she was tricked – she didn’t know what it had meant bonding with the Immortal of Fire. But she had made the decision and knowing what it led to, she would do it all over again.

Pet. That was what she was reduced to now. She hated it. Hated the sound of it. Hated how they looked at her with both pity and concern.

The Immortal’s later words caught her off guard. One would think that most people would tell her to find a way to sever their connection no matter what. “Appease him, let him toy with you, let him think he is winning. But keep the bond between you both intact.” If it was the only way they could link with Faldrun, then she would do anything to make sure that it stayed with her. No matter how much it might hurt her.

“I will. But what can I do? I… I don’t quite know what he could possibly want with someone like me.” The young woman pressed her lips together as she met Qylios’s gaze. Lynessa rarely let anyone see her hesitate or disgruntled, but this… This was out of the realm of what the young priestess could imagine. Her hand wandered to the mark on the inside of her wrist, almost feeling the warmth warring with Faldrun’s heat. Still, she had to ask. “Is… Is there any way to break it? To hide me from him even temporarily? Anything at all?” Yet, even as she asked, Lynessa knew if she tempered to much with their link, the Eternal Flame would know something was up. He would certainly expect some resistance from her, but not of the Immortal sort. He could never know that the key she held in her hand would lead to him.

All her life… It had led her to this moment. As an ordinary young woman, a mere low-ranking priestess, taking down Faldrun had felt so far away. Unreachable even. Yet, with this chance she would be able to change that. The key would lead their way. There must be some sort of strings pulled in her life, reasons for this to happen. It was her destiny.

Her hazel eyes steeled with determination and she found herself looking at Faith and Nir’wei, waiting for their reaction. At that moment, Lynessa did not have much to say, not when her mind whirled with possibilities.

[Nir'wei]

There was so much they needed to know. So many mysteries tied together that it was impossible to tell where one ended and the next began. Faldrun. The attacks on Azurewind. The Flameborn. The traitor among them. Wolf brother, one of the Aukari had called him, in Xanthean. He swallowed heavily as Faith approached the woman and laid a hand on her wrist, suddenly wishing he had something sharp at hand, even if he had absolutely no idea how to use it. Even more so when golden light flared around the mark, reshaping itself into a floating orb hanging in mid-air above all their heads. Rushing to his feet, he looked to Faith with extreme concern - was this her doing? - and shielded his eyes when it shattered, briefly blinding him under an intense wave of light.

For a moment he could imagine it was just a trick of the light or something, until a voice spoke and his heart jumped straight into his own throat from shock. "FATES ABOVE, could you not?!" he said, turning and stumbling a step back from the mysterious woman who suddenly strode up to them all like she owned the damn house she'd just invaded, speaking rapidly. The chance 'we' need. She meant the chance she needed. Pet. Okay, that didn't inspire confidence, and earned an especially nervous look in Lynessa's direction from both himself and Greyhide.

At least until everything else started to sink in. "This is it, isn't it." The wolf's voice in his head was oddly calm. So was he, for that matter. Maybe he just couldn't believe it. Everything fit together too perfectly, like jigsaw pieces. Like Faldrun's own meticulously-crafted plan. Perhaps it was utterly foolish of him, and he even admitted to himself that it likely was, but when he looked at this woman, spouting about a path straight to Faldrun - FALDRUN - and of a way to kill him, once and for all, he wondered just how much preparation had gone into this oh-so-perfect moment. It was clear the Azurewind Market had simply been a stepping stone to something larger. But the horribly skeptical and uneasy part of himself wondered aloud whether or not it had been allowed, considered a necessary sacrifice, in order to lead up to this opening. Was it outlandish? Probably. But a healthy dose of skepticism had kept him from the same fate as Lyn.

She seemed to be going around the room, offering advice, even apologising, but when she landed on him, he couldn't stop his face from crumpling a little, and he held up a palm as she finished. "I'm sorry, but it's been a long day, ma'am. You want to task me with something, how about you introduce yourself first and we'll go from there. I don't work for you. Besides, I do try, but trying to keep Faith safe is like asking a mouse to take care of a bear. You've got the wrong end of the stick on that one." He thought he might have an inkling who she was, judging by the golden radiant aura, the fact that she stood in full armour like she'd spent her whole life in it, but seriously? He'd been ordered about enough by people like her in the past. Now really, really was not the time for it; but perhaps it was his own fault for once again expecting a little too much common decency, or respect. "Also... Child of Freedom? Gotta admit, never heard that one before." Okay, he was getting really off-topic here. Looking down at his hand and the key that now rested in it, weighty but delicate, the thoughts running through his head were racing. Lead them straight to Faldrun, wherever he might be. The was at least one step, of a million.

"I really appreciate this. I do. You have no idea." He could quite easily assume that this wasn't being done for his benefit, but the gesture was nice nonetheless. "But he's an Immortal. I'm guessing that just stabbing him in the back isn't going to be enough. How are we supposed to kill him. How are we even... how do we get remotely close to him. Like I'm sorry, I really am, but how many people have you sent on a journey like this before us, and how many have obviously failed, since he's still walking around? You need to give us more. Anything more."

His jaw was steel, and one flick of a glance in Lyn's direction showed the shadows of concern and doubt playing over his features at that moment. It felt like a block of cheese - alluring but filled with far too many holes. "We absolutely cannot be rash here. There's... there's just too much at stake." Could any of them be trusted with that though? Could Faith, he wondered, be trusted not to take the burden onto herself entirely? She was the most capable of them all without a shadow of a doubt, at best they'd be holding her back, more hazard than help. Could Lyn? She'd barely had the thing for more than a season and she was already looking for a way to escape it. Could he stop either of them, if they really tried? With what? He didn't even have a house to confine them to. Damn it all.

[Faith Augustin]

Flames.

She saw them, as clear as day and, as she did, Faith's eyes hardened. This woman ~ for whatever reason ~ had Faldrun's stench all over her and, as far as Faith was concerned, that spoke of Lynessa's heart and soul. That was what Famula looked at, after all, and it was an ability granted by Famula. The Thunder Priestess deserved no such title, the Warden certainly not. She had allied with Faldrun and that was not something Faith could understand. The making of the deal wasn't the issue, not in the slightest. What mattered, what the issue was, as far as Faith was concerned, was this was about Lynessa's soul. Which she had handed over to Faldrun. Because that meant, in the same circumstance she would do the same thing again and, in Faith's mind, that wasn't just stupid, it was dangerous.

Very much so.

But then, Qylios appeared and Faith listened to the Immortal speak. She gave a low bow as Qylios entered - Faith had met her before, although the Immortal's focus had been on her husband, who was marked twice by the Immortal in question. She listened to what Qylios said, and more than that she dug a sharp and bony elbow into Nir'wei's ribs. She didn't say anything, just tried to stop him from... nope, there it was. He reacted, and he told Qylios that she should introduce herself. Faith gave a slight, almost imperceptible shake of her head.

It didn't stop him. Nor, she knew, would she want it to. He was irrefutably and unapologetically himself. She would have him no other way.

Qylios spoke to her, and Faith lifted her head and met the Immortal's gaze. "It is my duty, my pleasure and my privilege to serve. But you should speak to Famula about a task I... we," she motioned to Nir'wei, "are currently undertaking for her. It is important, I believe, to be honest and open." Faith frowned, suddenly, as she realised something. "Are our goals aligned, my Lady?" Because this was, it must be said, awfully convenient timing. She bit back a smile at Nir'wei's description of a mouse protecting a bear and she gave Qylios a rather rueful glance.

Nir'wei spoke to Qylios and Faith bit back a wince. "We research. We find out. We do. We have been given a task. We accept and execute it, or we refuse it." She looked at the Immortal and nodded. "I accept. I will do my best. Unto my final breath." She saw Nir'wei's expression and a small, cool hand slipped into his. "Stern heart, my brother. " She turned then, to Lynessa and her voice was far, far from friendly.

"This house has my children in it. I will not discuss issues of import here, I will not expose them to danger in any way. We are all Wardens. Let us go to the Arc, and there, we may speak."

If they agreed, it was a very short walk to the edges of Lake Lovalus and, from there, they could go and speak to Lovalus herself. And there, at least they might be quiet and safe.

[Nir'wei]

Unfortunately, despite Faith's insistent prodding, this was a situation he wasn't backing down from. He was glad that even Faith could see that, given the question she posed. Are our goals aligned? They're never aligned, he thought ruefully. After all, they're not even mortal.

Still, for all it was worth... he was grateful to her, and tipped his head in thanks, with a faint smile on his lips. For all the games she might very well be playing at that very moment, appearing at the perfect moment with the perfect tools and "tasking" them all with some very broad goals, she'd certainly made his day, and for that she'd earned thanks. Then, just like that, she was gone. Well then. He squeezed Faith's hand just slightly. "You know I had to say it. Tasking is one thing, but seriously, they expect us to kill one of their own and they don't even think to give us a hint how you do it?" His lips pursed into a thin, fine line, though he found himself still staring out the window she'd left by.

Suddenly, he remembered who he was talking in front of. Faldrun's pet. If he was 'checking up' on her regularly enough that Qylios couldn't be around for long, what did that say about their bond? How far did it stretch? He only remembered the promise of a favour at any moment... but the way she acted suggested that it could be a lot more. This was all far, far too close to home... and at that moment, every step counted. Her, the Arc? He was quite certain from the way Faith looked at her that she thought the exact same as him; it was a grievous error in judgement that she should be allowed there, especially considering everything they stood for, everything they were, and just how much she had besmirched them.

I will not let the flames engulf us. That was the oath he had sworn upon the Heart, and he meant every syllable. "I'd give it a moment, first. Until, well. Y'know." He inclined his head just slightly towards Lyn. They didn't want Faldrun knowing anything about the Arc, after all. Or, well. Two of them didn't.

Archailist appeared, just behind Faith's head, whispering in her ear. "I'm calling the knights. You and I can't discuss anything with her here." Though neither of them could see it, Greyhide had strategically placed himself before the door in his spirit-form, eyes locked on Lynessa and utterly unwavering. It was Cyshe in the end that made the rapid trip to Knight Guardian Xithyria, explaining that an agent of Faldrun had been discovered in Faith Augustin's property and needed escorting to the Rharne Prison with maximum efficiency and discretion. It couldn't have been more than ten bits before they arrived, waiting politely outside for when they finally decided to depart. A healthy escort of five Guardian Lightning Knights, and three mounted Justiciars, all led by Xithyria and accompanied by a woman, the only one wearing no armour at all, but by the downward-pointing sword pin on her collar, she would be an Inquisitor.

"Lyn, go with them. We'll catch up shortly." None of them had weapons drawn, but then again, none of them looked the slightest bit pleased. He could only hope Xithyria had stuck to the most important details when drafting together a team... but he was glad he'd picked so many.

Finally, when they were out of sight, he turned back to Faith, jaw set. "I'm sorry, I had to do it. You know I did. We... we have this chance now, this one chance, and we cannot squander it. We won't squander it. But she... well. She can't be trusted." As long as she was free, she was a danger. As long as she was unsupervised, she was a liability. As long as she was alive, she was a potential detriment to them both... even taking her with them on this journey, in his mind, was already completely out of the question; what if Faldrun's favour was still to stab either of them in the back? Sabotage their plans, so that they would all arrive in the middle of an Aukari army? "My opinion here, straight out of the gate, just gonna say it. We can't work with her. We can't accept help, or advice, or evidence from her. She needs to be contained at all times-- honestly? She deserves to be in a cell for what she did, no matter the unintended benefits of her betrayal." If there was anything he could be certain of at that moment, it was nobody, especially not Lyn herself, had known this could happen.

"The first thing we do is tell the Knights. Properly, I mean - those guys likely don't know the full story, I asked this to be kept discrete and Xithyria can be trusted to keep this dark.We keep it close and keep it damn quiet, because Faldrun cannot be allowed to find out his pet has been discovered and remove that mark on her... but for all the watching and listening you and I can do, neither of us have a prison that can lock her away like they do. Wait out the bond... wait out the fallout. You and I will take her key and face him ourselves, when Ellasin's finally finished. I mean, who knows what she might have stashed away, looking through her creepy-ass necro-laboratories."

[Ghoul]

YOUR REVIEW

here you go sweets!

It's really such a shame that Lynessa hasn't been active recently to truly finish this off. This was a compelling read -- I was especially drawn into Nir'wei's struggle with the whole situation. The writing was honestly so great; kinda feeling jealous I couldn't write along with you haha. I'm hopeful that we get Lynessa back so that this plot gets finished off because Fauldrun dying??? Yes, please.

Knowledge

Should Lynessa return, she may put in a request to get the knowledges for this thread and I'll see to it.

Faith has opted out of knowledges.

Nir'wei

Discipline: Speaking out, when you've kept something quiet too long.
Discipline: Facing the fear of betraying a friend.
Discipline: Doing what you know is right, even when you don't want to.
Discipline: Keeping on topic, no matter how uncomfortable.
Discipline: Focusing on the big picture, even when you are facing your friend.
Investigation: Looking at all the possible outcomes of a situation.
Investigation: Working out the key facts in a case.
Leadership: Vowing before an Immortal.
Tactics: Seeing the big picture in a given situation.
Tactics: Knowing when something is beyond your pay-grade.
Tactics: Make sure that threats are dealt with.

Points

Points: 15/15 for all
Renown: 0

Loot/Injuries

Injuries:

Loot:

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