Safety Dance

[Doran]

Doran wasn’t particularly disappointed when Banje admitted that he didn’t know who the braces and the shoes belonged to. He had already had an idea on how he would be able to learn more about those items, and he was just trying to decide if it would be alright to just touch someone else’s possessions in order to use one of his abilities on them when the mention of a woman named Carmen caught his attention. He furrowed his brow for a moment before he turned around and wanted to know, “Who exactly is Carmen?”

“Does she work here or is she one of the performers?” he continued. It sounded almost as if Carmen might be the cursed that they were looking for which surprised him to say the least. He had thought that they would have a much harder time trying to find her.

“Not a trick. It’s just an ability that I have”, he corrected Banje and chuckled when he commented on his memory-reading. It was one of the abilities that he had due to his Immortal blood. He had not used it in arcs. The last time he had used it, he had touched Sintih so that he would be able to see Beira, his mother once more, if only in her son’s memories. She had been one of his colleagues, an Yludih with the face of an Eidisi, and he had loved her, in secret.

Such semi-melancholic thoughts were fortunately far from his mind at the moment though.

“If you’d like me to give it a try, you only need to tell me and extend your hand. You won’t remember all of a sudden, but I will see what happened in your mind, what really happened”, he explained before he fell silent again, waiting for Banje’s answer.

When Banje asked Vega and him to mend the cloth, he looked at the daughter of Faldrun. He was by no means a skilled tailor – it had been a while since he had mended clothes, back when he had been a simple man, a soldier in the service of a Rynmeran lord – but he was perfectly willing to give it a try. Upon hearing Leona’s whispered words, he inclined his head. Since it seemed as if Vega had already volunteered to mend the cloth, he turned to Leona and placed a hand on her arm. He had noticed how depressed she was.

“He will remember. I do not doubt it”, he told her in a gentle tone of voice.

“I’ll talk to Carmen”, he told Vega before he turned to Banje once more. “I would greatly appreciate if you could take us to her so that I can have a word with her and figure out if she’s the one we are looking for”, he told him, and then he waited for Banje to go ahead.

[Pig Boy]

80th of Zi'da 721

Banje quirked a brow at the two, as they offered to make use of abilities he didn't understand, and could scarcely believe they possessed. Yet at the same time, he shrugged, and said, "Sure, that'd be something to see, presuming you're not mad."

He smiled at that, and Leona choked down a sob as Vega kissed her on the cheek. "He still has his sense of humor at least..."

As the thread was woven into the garment, and Doran delved into his memories, Doran would be treated to the scene that Vega had witnessed, so many arcs ago. Of the grand ballroom where Daia's masked dancers had scattered and danced. Where Moseke, with the aid of a ghost, and several mortalborns lifeforce, had resurrected the fractured remnants of Daia.

Banje said only one word, as he looked up from their work, and Vega began to play the song. "Mother?"

Doran and Vega, at the moment that Banje began to regain his memories, would hear the voice of Daia in their minds. "Thank you, my friends. You've restored one of the lions to their pride."

"And so, while I cherish all my friends equally, some are more equal than others." Mirth shone in Daia's voice at her little quip. Of course she was referring to the mark, which they would feel grow over their glowing hearts, with golden and red veins. Burning with comforting fire. "Now, we must reclaim that old dusty curse from the one who doesn't deserve it. If you'll go?..."

They'd also hear Tio talking to them in their minds. "Oh boy, the fun part! This is where the magic really begins. Do I look okay? Should I wear my silver tie, or the golden one? Oh, I forgot, you can't see me while I'm talking like this."

Thus, Tio arrived at their sides, and as they went to find the undeserved cursed person, fell in step beside them if they'd allow it. Whoever went to go to see Carmen, would find a red-haired woman, unremarkable by all accounts, and wearing shabby clothing. Contrary to what they'd perhaps expected, she as not in a constant state of dance. Daia explained in Doran's and Vega's mind, "My curse, before I was slain the first time, took a different form. It isolated the cursed, and made it so they could not prosper. It was a horrible curse, and one I would not allow upon my rise."

"Presto! And the curse is mine!" Tio said, and he snapped his fingers, flashing them in front of Carmen's eyes. She furrowed her brow, looking up at those who'd entered her dressing room. "Excuse me?"

"Oh... that didn't do it?" Tio scratched his head, "Let's try something else. Umm... I'm a bit new to this, sorry."

But what he lacked in experience, he more than made up for in enthusiasm. He turned to Vega and Doran and shrugged, "I'm not sure what to do. Err... any ideas?"

[Vega]

80th Zi'da, 721

More than anything, Vega felt privileged to have been able to find one of the lions for Daia and she smiled in pleasure. The feeling of the Blessing Daia had put on her increasing was delightful to her - it was a feeling she had experienced previously but it most certainly never grew old or something which she took for granted. "Thank you, thank you so much," she whispered to Daia, a smile on her face. It was a beautiful moment to be part of and she watched the scene happening with a feeling of contentment.

"Of course," Vega said to Daia (or into the air, really, she supposed - but she was sure that Daia could hear), "we'll do that."

She made her way and she couldn't help but grin at Tio's worrying about how he looked. Vega and Tio knew each other from before he was made into an Immortal and she had to admit to a feeling of fondness for him. Finding the person who was cursed led her to where Doran had been heading too. As far as she was aware, Tio should be able to just get rid of the curse but a click of his fingers later, it seemed like he couldn't. Vega looked at Tio, then at the woman, then Doran.

"Ideas?" She asked, incredulously. Removing a curse was far from her area of expertise, but Vega considered it the best way she could. "So, umm. How about this?" She sounded unsure, but she moved on with her thought. "Assumin' that givin' a curse is like givin' a blessin', in that the Immortal who gives it gives part of themselves to it, then it's probably got to go somewhere?" Looking at him, she realised that he probably knew that. "Sorry, statin' the obvious. But, like, maybe you need to have some sort of link with Daia while you're removin' it? Which is me or Doran here, not anyone else because Banje has got quite enough goin' on righ' now an' he's jus' got his memories back."

Frowning slightly, something crossed her mind. "Or maybe... what if it's because the curse is stoppin' you from removin' it? If it stops her from prosperin', then it would stop you from removin' it, because removin' it would make her prosper." She considered it and looked at him. "You've got to sneak up on it from underneath or somethin', because it's stoppin' you from removin' it. "

Looking at him, she thought about it. "I could de- Dweeb her, but then she'd lose all her memories too. I'm happy to do it, if it's all that's open to her." Or might there be another option? "Or maybe Daia can bless her? I don't know." She looked at Tio and spoke to him and Doran. "I'm not a big brain, I'm afraid. Doran - what are you thinkin'? Any ideas?"

[Doran]

As he touched Banje, Doran witnessed the same scene that Vega had witnessed so many arcs before. He could see the grand ballroom where Daia’s masked dancers had danced. He could see Moseke, and he watched the resurrection of one of his patron Immortals. He had taken part in so many supernatural events throughout his lifetime, and even watched someone return from the dead, but Banje’s memories didn’t leave him unaffected. In spite of that, his hand stayed calm, and his posture and the expression on his face remained relaxed. He didn’t move until he was sure that it was done.

When Banje looked up from their work and said, “Mother?”, a gentle smile was visible on the Mortalborn’s face for a moment. That smile grew brighter when he heard Daia’s voice in his mind. As he felt her mark grow, he inclined his head in a gesture of respect and gratitude and spoke, “I thank you, Lady Daia. We’ll do what we can to remove that curse”, he added and cast a glance at Vega who had received the same honor that he had, smiling at her.

A moment later, he could hear another voice in his mind (How were Immortals capable of talking into people’s minds?). When Tio asked him which tie he should wear, he replied in a slightly amused tone of voice, “The golden one. People probably expect you to wear silver due to your name. I’d surprise them. You look quite excellent, by the way, sir”, he added with a twinkle in his eyes before he finally went looking for the cursed person.

Contrary to what he had assumed, Carmen was not in a constant state of dance. She did in fact look rather unremarkable, although her clothes were shabby (A result of the curse maybe?). He looked from Daia to Tio and Vega as they discussed the curse and what to do with it. When Tio snapped his fingers, and nothing seemed to happen, he furrowed his brow as that was strange. A moment later, he turned to Vega, considering her question.

“Blessing Carmen might work. It would create the link to Daia that you mentioned”, he decided. “Perhaps we should talk to Carmen and ask her what she thinks first though. She is the one who bears the curse, after all, so she should have the final say as far as its removal is concerned”, he continued and looked at the red-haired woman. To be honest, he found it a bit concerning that his companions had just walked up to Carmen without introducing themselves and explaining what they wanted to do.

He decided to take care of that and began to speak in a calm and polite tone of voice. “I am Doran, and these people are Vega, Leona, Banje and Tio”, he told her as knowing their names might make her more inclined to trust them. He paused for a moment as Carmen did without a doubt need some time to come to terms with the fact that she was in the presence of an Immortal (She likely couldn’t hear or see Daia.) before he continued, “We found out that you suffer from a curse that keeps you from prospering, and we’d like to try and remove it, provided that you want us to do that. Receiving Daia’s blessing might help. Vega could also employ a method that she calls de-dweebing though. It would remove all curses and negative effects, but you would lose your memories, at least for a while. What would you prefer?” he asked, briefly wondering if she would just refuse to have the curse removed.

Sometimes, people were so used to being cursed, so used to suffering, that they couldn’t imagine any other kind of life anymore.

“Where is Ymiden, by the way?” he wanted to know, remembering that Madame Leona had said that Ymiden would be there soon at the beginning of their meeting. “If everything else fails, perhaps Daia’s powers, combined with Ymiden’s domains of Forgiveness and Rebirth, will be enough to remove the curse. Carmen deserves to be reborn, she deserves to have a fresh start. She hasn’t done anything wrong”, she said, briefly wondering if forgiveness applied when the punishment had been unjustified in the first place. In his opinion, it was worth giving it a try at least.

[Pig Boy]

It may have just been the awkwardness of the moment, when Tio and Vega discussed Carmen and her curse, as if she wasn't there, not even greeting her before prodding and postulating on what it would take to remove the curse. Vega could be forgiven, for being flush with new favor from her beloved Daia. It wouldn't take the Immortal of Forgiveness to do so, either, but Carmen was obviously discomfitted by the crowd of people suddenly in her dressing room, trying to figure out her problems.

"Uhm..." Carmen began, "Where is the security in this place? I'm going to have words with the owner of the Scholar's Nook, honestly..."

"First of all, generosity is not a curse." Carmen crossed her arms, "How many times do I have to tell Benji that I want to give away the excess, so that others can get a fighting chance at life?"

"Did he put you all up to this? I'd honestly find another tailor, but he's been with my family forever..."

"I..." In an instant, flowers began sprouting from the woodwork of the Scholar's Nook, the dressing room began growing spontaneously with summer blooms and the fresh smell of summer. Then, Ymiden appeared, at Tio's side.

Tio gave a start, yelping when he saw him. "Aaah! I mean, hello my fellow Immortal!"

Ymiden gave a sideways glance at Tio, then shook his head. Finally his eyes fell on Carmen. In his hands, was a strange blade. It was almost overwhelmingly ordinary looking, plain, lacking adornment. When Doran's eyes fell upon it, the gift given to him by Ralaith, the ability to see into an object's history would note that this was the blade that killed Daia. He saw it's past, being created in Aeva's Forge. He saw the scenes where Ymiden called it back to reality, by having his daughter and Ti'atha paint it in Eliza Soule's studio in Caervalle Town in Rharne. And now it was here, in the Immortal of Forgiveness' hand.

"Carmen Navnea." He spoke finally, his words full of regret and emotion, "It's time to remove this curse from your family. It's one thing to give of yourself voluntarily, you may continue to do that. But to give because of an Immortal's coercive curse... This punishment was never meant to fall on you."

He turned to Tio, and gave him the blade. "You need to destroy this."

Tio quirked an eyebrow curiously, examining the nondescript blade. "This? It looks like the kind of toy dagger you'd get at a carnival faire. Really?" He considered the weapon for a moment more, before shrugging. Then, with a bit of concentration on the fibers making up the Immortal artifact, he began to unravel it. And with it, the curse began to lift from Carmen.

Carmen didn't look any different when the deed was done, but still tapped her foot on the floor , expectantly, as the population of her dressing room grew. "Erm... Now... Is someone going to explain what the Beneath is going on?"

Before any of the mortals present could, Ymiden stepped in. "Miss Navnea, your family, your ancestor was responsible for the death of an Immortal... or well, the near death of an Immortal. This weapon was not made for that purpose, but was stolen from our hands and twisted from its original intent. Used to assassinate Daia. This of course is no fault of your own, and thus we cannot allow the curse to remain. Now, the curse's power flows back to Daia, so that she can punish her true enemies at need."

Carmen quirked a brow. Then she shrugged. "Listen." She said, getting up and moving over toward the door. "I don't feel any different, but if you say so. Now can I please get on with the performance?" She asked.

Whatever anyone had to say, she would go on to do just that. Leaving the Immortals and mortals alone with each other.

Ymiden spoke then, and chuckled, "I suppose it wasn't much of an imposition to her, but it was important to Daia that this wrong was reversed. Maybe next time, a more subtle approach would've been called for?" Ymiden clapped Vega and Doran on the shoulder. Then, he and Tio disappeared.

Leona entered the dressing room with Benji then, and they seemed to have patched up the absences in their shared history with what they'd each been up to. Leona looked at Doran and Vega, and said, "Thank you both. For reuniting me with my cub. I cannot thank you enough really. And I suspect Daia will continue to do so as you grow in her heart. Thank you."

[Pig Boy]

RPG Rewards:

All Players

• Language: Scalveen

Doran

• Renown: 20
• XP: 20
• Knowledges:
  • Etiquette: x6
  • Socialization: x7

Vega

• Renown: 20
• XP: 20
• Knowledges:
  • Tactics: The element of surprise!
  • Dancing: Dancing in Daia's name
  • Leadership: Being bossy works!
  • Etiquette: x5
  • Socialization: x5

Loot: The first three powers in Adored Daianya for both Vega and Doran.

Link to Review Request on the Forum: n/a

Skill Review: All Skills used appropriately to PC's level

Notes: This was a fun thread. From the Tio bomb to the strange twists and turns, to that strangely awkward moment at the end where the subject of the curse didn't even realize she was! haha

Anyway, you all played your pcs brilliantly, and congrats on advancing in Daia's favor. Well done!

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding this review, feel free to PM. Enjoy your rewards!