• Graded • CitW: The Waiting Place

[Pegasus]

And so it goes, and so it goes....

In every heart there is a room
A sanctuary safe and strong
To heal the wounds from lovers past
Until a new one comes along

I spoke to you in cautious tones
You answered me with no pretense
And still I feel I said too much
My silence is my self defense

And every time I've held a rose
It seems I only felt the thorns
And so it goes, and so it goes
And so will you soon I suppose

But if my silence made you leave
Then that would be my worst mistake
So I will share this room with you
And you can have this heart to break

And this is why my eyes are closed
It's just as well for all I've seen
And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows

So I would choose to be with you
That's if the choice were mine to make
But you can make decisions too
And you can have this heart to break

And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows

120th Ashan, 719. Midnight

The Moment.

The Watchers

Master of human destinies am I;
Fame, love and fortune on my footsteps wait.
Cities and fields I walk. I penetrate
Deserts and seas remote, and, passing by
Hovel and mart and palace, soon or late,
I knock unbidden once at every gate.

If sleeping, wake; if feasting, rise, before
I turn away. It is the hour of fate,
And they who follow me reach every state
Mortals desire, and conquer every foe
Save death; but those who hesitate
Condemned to failure, penury and woe,
Seek me in vain, and uselessly implore.
I answer not, and I return no more.

~John Ingalls~

The Watchers

This is no one's dream.

The book replied to Gem. Was it helpful? Possibly not, but then it was what it was. "This is not an individual's dreamscape" the caterpillar provided, helpfully. Or.. not.

Gem then moved to the Sphere and acted. And, large or small, his actions had an impact.

Kura, meanwhile, bent reality and although it worked - and protected Sephira - Kura found that the intent, the will of the Mer with Sephira shattered what changes Kura could make like a hammer shattering glass. It was a strong push-back from the Mer and Kura experienced it as clearly as the Dreams themselves did. It was will, it was intent which was key here. Absolutely.

And then, her owl exploded.

"The Nightmares!" The Caterpillar answered. He looked at Kura gravely. "It may seem like a bad thing, but it is not. Balance. We must have balance." He glanced then at Dosan and a deep frown crossed the caterpillar's face.

Because Dosan had done something which seemed to irritate the caterpillar. Very much indeed. In that moment, Kura got a glimpse, just a glimpse, of the power that creature held. And, of course, it was almost familiar. "NO!" it said, it's power emanating clearly. "You would invoke your false gods here? NO!!" And with a gesture, Dosan simply was not there. The sphere shook, rattling as though about to break and the caterpillar turned to look at Kura, mighty in its wrath and fury and unyielding in it's power. "Control your people, wolf daughter, lest I remove them completely."

It appeared that the caterpillar was Not Entirely Amused.

But then, he breathed in. "The end approaches," he said and motioned. "You two may join them, if you wish."

And so it goes, and so it goes....

....and so will you soon, I suppose.

Objectives & Rules

!	Message from: Kura & Gem
	You may have 2 actions this round - but they may not be used in "The Generous" At the end of your post you may opt to join the finale. If so, please be specific and let me know.

!	Message from: Dosan
	You are out of the thread. Please wait for the review to learn the fate of your pc. Thank you for your contributions!

The Rules

!

Message from: The Rules

The Waiting Place has a number of things you can do. Many of them are still hidden from you and will continue to be until you explore further. What You Know The Sphere allows you to see all of the other groups / individuals. This includes the Prison. You can see everything that is happening in the other threads. You each have ONE SPHERE ACTION per round. You can: Swap places with one PC. This is a permanent swap and can not be undone. You go into their group, they come here. That does not work with the prison. Change one thing (minor) about one of the other threads. This is not guaranteed to work (dice rolling time!) and might, in fact, go a bit wrong. But if you're going to do that, I need to know ASAP from my post. Please note that you can NOT change something which another PC has responded to. You also can't, for example, make the Shadow-beasts disappear, but you might have a cache of weapons be near PC A. You may communicate with ONE group. This is a one way communication and is limited to TWELVE words Kura is able to communicate with all the groups simultaneously now - she discovered this by taking the time to explore the Sphere. She is the only one and the others do not yet know she can.

Please note: Using the Sphere is one action - as is examining the books or trying to work out the stuff about Souls etc. You have two actions per round each, and should use them wisely, and collaborate.

Dates & Deadlines

You need to post here by Monday 18th March. If you have not done so, you've missed the round. I will be locking the thread at that time.
I will post on Tuesday 19th March.

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

When Ornery exploded, Kura let out a shocked, dismayed cry and started grabbing for the poor owls feathers. He was hers, hers to protect, and her stupid idea to get around the rules had just gotten the poor bird killed. She could fix this, it was a dream, she could fix it. She had seen the hare die in the maze and he had been back in the waiting room, she had seen him being protected in the sphere. She could fix this, this could be mended. She did, however, come to a complete pause, most of Ornery's feathers clasped in her hand as she felt Power. Not her own, not her mothers, not the Empresses. Death, Sorrow, Remembrance, Love. That power, and that shouted scolding, cut through her panicky thoughts like a hot knife through butter.

Ornery was dead, and she herself had no power to change that. Something else maybe could though, and she gathered up the rest of her friends feathers in a much calmer fashion. "Vri. I should have known you would be here. After all, they're your children." he said, looking at the Immortal, though he still wore the skin of a caterpillar. "It's not an individuals dream. I'm guessing either two people, Kielik and Jesnine, made this dream together, or we're in their Domain." she said, as she pulled the ink ribbon out of her pocket and wrapped it tightly around the bundle of feathers. If We Spirits Have Offended, Think But This, And All Is Mended. Hopefully that still worked, as she held her hands over Ornery's bound feathers and tried to flood them with her own power, a black, flaming aura surrounding her.

When she had done all she thought she could, she stood up, dismissing the aura, though her eyes were bright gold when she opened them. Then she turned her attention to the sphere. "I apologize for my companions misbehavior, and I will endeavor to keep unknown powers to a minimum." she said, before looking at her remaining companion. "Immortal or Mortalborn powers only, Domain Magic likely won't work properly here, and who knows about spirit granted powers." she said, her tone firm.

Now, she looked at the sphere and noticed the changes. Most were beyond her power to help, and frankly she wasn't sure how much direct help she could be. They had limited resources and needed to focus. However, a plan occurred to her as she looked at the group that now had to get to the tornado through the zombies and the group that was now trapped in the prison. "Right, we've been overcomplicating this. No more fancy tricks." she said, as she closed her eyes for a moment.

She put the idea together in her head before she tried to create it in the sphere. A solid, three foot thick, nine foot high black stone wall, like the one surrounding her home of Korlasir, on each side of the the path, stretching from where the people were to where the tornado was, between them and the undead on either side. Along the wall were two doors that couldn't possibly be opened from the side facing those on the path. The wall closed in a circle around them, with the only opening being the one that led to the safe path.

Once Kura had all the details she could think of worked out in her mind, she willed that vision to happen in the sphere. She kept her will and her focus on making that wall exactly as she envisioned it until either it worked or it became obvious it wasn't going too. When it was done, she looked at her companion. "Make a door for each of the prisoners in the second prison, the one that's still hell. Make them exactly identical to the ones in the wall I made, except for one key difference. Make it so that those doors can be opened. Make them connected to the doors in the wall I made. Let's see if we can give them a way out." she said, her tone intent.

When Vri gave them the choice to move on, Kura shook her head. "No. You said one of us has to stay here to get everyone back. I'm staying, I'm not risking everyone being lost to Emea forever. Your kids may love it here, but it's no place for Mortals." she said, her tone intent. Then she frowned and addressed Vri directly again. "Speaking of that, Vri, you never said how we were going to get everyone back." she said, her tone curious.

Off Topic

Kura's making the wall exactly as she described it if at all possible. Her other action is tying that ribbon around Ornery's feathers and using her power on it to try and bring back her poor exploded owl.

!	Message from: Peg
	The Wall works! Edited in!

[Geminius Rose]

It’s a strange thing - even in a dream - to see an owl explode. To see anything explode, but this was an explosion of a different kind. An explosion of flesh and blood, and feathers. The mixed blood jerked away as the woman’s animal companion exploded into a flurry of just that (blood, flesh, and feathers). He stared, mouth agape a moment. Qythraldi moved closer to him, as if she risked the same fate by being too far from her ward.

The devastation of the exploding-owl was lost as their third company was sent off...somewhere. And that, too, was short-lived. For what it was worth, the woman was far better at keeping his composure than he. His mind was very much still on the fact that an owl had exploded and one of their own had been moved someplace by a caterpillar.

Overcomplicating. Considering the situation, he would argue that this whole thing was an overcomplication, but the woman - wolf daughter; mortalborn? - had already assured Vri the caterpillar that he’d be on his best behavior. Not that he wouldn’t have been otherwise. The last thing they needed was a repeat of what just happened. He paid close attention to what was being said to him, brows furrowed and expression righting itself somewhat. Far back into his mind did that exploding owl go as he walked up to the sphere and did as told.

Two doors, one for each prisoner, would appear where he had been instructed to put them. Doors were easy enough constructs to make. A frame, a door with a handle - easy. Nothing grand was what they were given, just that the doors would be able to open - and they would step out to meet with the group protected by the wall the woman had put up. “And that’s all from me.”

Turning to Vri...the caterpillar, Gem nodded. “I think I’ll be a lot less useful here now. So, to the end we go.”

Off Topic

Two doors that open for prison 2 to connect with dead 2 - using our stroke of luck to make sure that happens!

[Pegasus]

120th Ashan, 719. Midnight

The Moment.

The Watchers

"Oh, it is much worse than that, Kura Wolf's Daughter" Vri stood, as she knew him to be, a man with pale face and calm eyes. "It is, perhaps, what they will create. A father's imagined future for his children, in a place where imagination is key" Dosan seemed to be forgotten to the Immortal, although that was far, far from the truth. Still, he was focused here.

He watched as Kura tried to bring back her owl and he frowned, obviously slightly confused. "You wish your bird rebuilt?" He was entirely genuine when he asked. "Then why did you break it?"

As Gem worked, Vri nodded to Kura. "One of you must stay, yes. They come back by force of your will, when it is time. If they achieve what we are setting out to do, they will be forcibly held where they are. Maybe devoured. So you pull them back"

Gem, then, disappeared and briefly Kura and Vri were alone. The sphere shifted until it became a model of the Cathedral. It was a living model, though, and Kura saw the people, the lightning and everything.

"Same rule, Wolf's Daughter" Vri said. "Let us see what they do, shall we?"

Objectives & Rules

!	Message from: Kura
	You may have 2 actions this round. You may also chat with Vri. You can not see the Prison. Also - depending on Max's choice, you are about to get joined by either Max or Sephira. Whoever it is - you, too, have two actions

!	Message from: Dosan
	I'm sorry, I'd meant to review this week, then life happened. So. You are in the Prison 2. Please post there.

The Rules

!

Message from: The Rules

The Waiting Place has a number of things you can do. Many of them are still hidden from you and will continue to be until you explore further. What You Know You can see everything that is happening in the other threads except, now, the Prison. You each have ONE CATHEDRAL ACTION per round. You can: Swap places with one PC. This is a permanent swap and can not be undone. You go into their group, they come here. That does not work with the prison. Change one thing (minor) about one of the other threads. This is not guaranteed to work (dice rolling time!) and might, in fact, go a bit wrong. But if you're going to do that, I need to know ASAP from my post. Please note that you can NOT change something which another PC has responded to. You also can't, for example, make the Shadow-beasts disappear, but you might have a cache of weapons be near PC A. You may communicate with ONE group. This is a one way communication and is limited to TWELVE words Kura is able to communicate with all the groups simultaneously now - she discovered this by taking the time to explore the Sphere. She is the only one and the others do not yet know she can.

Please note: Using the Sphere is one action - as is examining the books or trying to work out the stuff about Souls etc. For whoever else is here this round, and from next round on, chatting with Vri is also an action (Kura gets a freebee this time). You have two actions per round each, and should use them wisely, and collaborate.

Dates & Deadlines

You need to post here by Monday 25th March. If you have not done so, you've missed the round. I will be locking the thread at that time.
I will post on Tuesday 26th March. It is really helpful for me if you guys post more quickly than that.

[/quote]

[Max]

Maxine hit the deck with another unannounced arrival. Standing with the Emean Wyvern clutched unapologetically in her hand, she was joined on either side by a wolf and a honey badger. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. By all accounts she was absolutely bathed in blood and sporting exposed wounds which attested to her perilous journey. As soon as she landed, her brow furrowed. Caramel eyes darted about. She was back to the place it all had begun. As soon as she spotted Kura, however, her harsh gaze softened with involuntary relief. Her whole body felt heavier with the sensation of false safety. Her feet carried her quickly toward the woman.

"Councilor?" Maxine breathed, crossing the room of the familiar Waiting Place with a grimace. She paused about a foot or so away from the woman. Her eyes seemed to rove her, stopping for but a moment when they noted the feathers. "Shit. Sorry." In a superficial sense, Kura seemed okay. The revelation of her findings relaxed her marred frame slightly. The damned caterpillar remained and her bloodied fingers flexed. She possessed no constructive words to exchange with him. Ignoring him in favor of a trusted ally was the only peace she could muster. "We have to finish this. We have to bring this to a fucking end."

Maxine started searching again. She was out of ideas, and thankfully, it seemed there were no monsters actively hunting which she could kill. She had to find something. There had to be another answer here, something she could use. Her sights marked the books, the table that held the food, and all that had been mostly the same since she was last here. Her focused zeroed in on one item in particular that seemed of most importance: The Sphere. She approached and leaned over the object to peer curiously into it. Her eyes squinted. Then they widened as she focused on one particular woman in its visual field.


Found you.

And now that she had, there was only one thing left to do. Maxine looked to the brave woman squaring off with the fearsome Nightmare Beast in The Prison. She looked to her, and her blood ran cold with an unwelcomed fear for her. She glanced toward Kura. "I have to go get her." Her murmuring was nearly mindless in its decisive tone. That's when she felt it. It happened before she realized she was consciously willing it into existence. In one instance she was there. In the next, she simply wasn't. Another had taken her place: Sephira.

It was exactly what she wanted. It was exactly what she demanded. Beatrice the Honey Badger and Wyn the Wolf stood there, wildly searching for the woman who seemed to disappear out of thin air without them. It would be to no avail. Maxine had made her choice. Whether it was a "fuck you" or a "save you", Maxine had seemed to keep her word. Sephira Blackwood was out of what appeared to be the immediate fight. Maxine vanished, and the Sphere began to morph into the ominous Cathedral.

Dialogue|Thoughts

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura frowned in thought as Vri sort of explained where they were, but after a moment, she grimaced. "So we're in a great big area of literal potential, is what you're sayin'. That's rather unnervin' in a way. Dreams are...chaotic by nature, but potential is given form only when it is realized." she said, grimacing slightly. When he asked about her bird, though, she let out sigh and looked down at the feathers sadly. "I did not break him intentionally. I was raised by Karem and trained by Raskalarn, so it is in my nature to try and make use of every resource available to me. I truly did not think the sphere would react so violently to his attempt to help me. It is my doing that caused his death, and so I would see the harm I have caused him undone, if it is possible." she said, before turning to the task at hand.

When Vri confirmed that one of them needed to stay, Kura nodded at his reasoning before Gem was sent on to the tower that was apparently the final challenge for the groups. "Aye, not much for me to be doin' here at the moment. Don't want to risk makin' somethin' go sideways by actin' with no real information to be goin' on, if you take my meanin'." she said as they looked at the other groups before she turned to look at Vri. "If you don't mind my askin', why all the ambiguity about things? Why all the riddles and mystery? If you want us all here to be helpin' your kids, wouldn't we be better able to help if you just said what was goin' on and what we're needin' to do?" she asked, her tone curious. Maybe it was her mortal side, or her Imperial upbringing, but it if were her kids, she wouldn't have risked any misunderstanding among the participants.

When Max showed up, Kura smiled at her. "Hello, Maxine. You've been doing well so far." she said, her tone calm, before Max looked at Ornery's feathers and gave her condolences. "My fault, but I'll see it undone if I possibly can." she said, her tone gentle. When Max said they had to bring things to an end, Kura nodded and gestured at the cathedral. "We're nearin' the end now, I think." she said, before Max said she had to go get "her", which Kura took to mean Sephira. "Be careful Max. It's not likely to get easier and I've no desire to see you hurt more than necessary." she said, nodding at her.

When Sephira showed up as Max disappeared, Kura smiled at the Element. "Welcome back to base, Sephira." she said, before her expression turned serious and she gestured at the model of the cathedral. "You need to be sayin' here for the time bein'. We use this to help the groups on the ground as best we can. I've been workin' with it since everyone left, but it's tricky. You have to highly specific and you can only affect one group at a time. Also you can tell people things, but you only get twelve words, so use them well." she said, before gesturing at the familiars with the hand that still held Ornery's feathers. "Don't let the familiars try to use the model, it doesn't like them much. No spirit abilities either, and no magic. Both are unlikely to work properly at best, so stick to any blessin's you have." she said, before she gestured at their host.

"Now, before my manners slip any further, let me introduce our host. Sephira, this is Vri, the Immortal of Death, Sorrow, Remembrance, and Love. He's also the father of Jesnine and Kielik, the two we're appear to be tryin' to wake up, if I take the events on point." she said, before she turned to Vri again. "Vri, I'm sure you already know, but this is Sephira Blackwood, my most capable and trusted soldier." she said, before she frowned as the events playing out in the cathedral caught her attention and she turned to Vri again. "Aelig can't speak in reality, but he could in dreams, couldn't he? Is the faceless one Aelig, or some native with similar features?" she asked, her tone intent.

Then she paused again and thought for a moment. "Also, I know, vaguely, who Pieren is. An Original, beings which my mother spoke little of and of which The Empress spoke less, at least to me. I only know of them because my mother felt it important. However, neither of them have mentioned a being known as The Outsider. What is this being? And who is speaking to Pieren? Do you know?" she asked, her tone curious.

Off Topic

Can't see a purpose to using the sphere/model this round, so both my actions went to chatting with Vri, plus the freebie you mentioned. Also, I wasn't sure if the PC's heard the story about Pieren, so if they didn't, ignore the last bit. =]

[Sephira]

The deal was done.

As with all deals there had been a price paid, although Sephira was not quite sure what that price would be. However she saw the rich crimson gleam in the Nightmare’s eyes and somehow she knew in that moment that she reflected the same glow. A connection had been forged, a bond struck between them that would likely follow her for the rest of her life.

Death already seemed to follow in her wake, it seemed that it may now be joined by a Nightmare.

Sephira closed her eyes soberly as the world of the Prison vanished from around her and she and Patrick were swept away by the power of the Nightmares. A hollow truth rang out within the mage’s mind. A truth of her existence that she had naively embraced ever since becoming a mage and a soldier; But now she understood.

Sometimes to fight the monsters you must become one yourself...

Sephira’s onyx black eyes opened once again as she felt a cold biting wind snap against her exposed skin in this new place she found herself in. For a moment she desperately wished to have some protection, a swatch of clothing or a cloak to shield her from the cold. Almost within a blink of the eye the woman found that her exposed scarlet rune marked body was suddenly clothed in a long tattered black dress that was draped asymmetrically over one shoulder. It did not feel like normal fabric, it felt and seemed to shift between her fingers a bit like the inky blackness of the Nightmare she had encountered.

How appropriate....Sephira thought bitterly to herself. It was just more evidence that she was bound to those creatures who prowled Kielik’s domain. It equally soured her mood that she was wearing a damned dress.

As if that was in any way useful.

It was only then that the mage became aware of where she was standing. There was a strange windy bridge with a vast expanse of glittering towns and cities beneath it. Ahead of them stood a massive and impossibly tall cathedral along with the other bridges that led to it. Above spun and swirled a vortex of dreams. It was beautiful but it was also terrible. Were those the dreams of all the sleeping mortals? Was her mother’s dream somewhere up there? Elias’s?

Sephira bit her lip with worry just as Stasis revealed themselves. The creature...was both humanoid yet not. It had no notable features and when it spoke it’s lips did not move. It reminded her a bit of the Statue from the Maze.

The creature spoke it’s terms.

Another deal, another price...and Sephira would have taken that deal without question or hesitation. All the lives of mortalkind exchanged for a single trial in her body? She would have done so unquestionably, because it was the right thing to do.

Running away was not her way. The soldier would always be willing to make that choice. Because if she ever chose to run away then good people would die, but if she chose to always stand and fight then perhaps a few might live. That was why she made those choices...why she sometimes made mistakes. Because it was the best she could do.

However in that moment, someone unexpected took that choice from her.

A woman who was both friend and enemy, a woman who had walked through fire with her and would do so again.

A woman who was a massive fucking idiot.

The cathedral of dreams vanished and was replaced with the Waiting Place. Somehow in her core Sephira knew exactly what had transpired. Max had know who had torn her from the Prison, either the mouthy wolf had told her or she had put two and two together with the appearance of the portal she had summoned. Now she was paying Sephira back.

The ex-convict always hated owing anyone anything.

The circular room with the chairs and the Sphere stood before her, as did Kura and the god of Death.

“That bitch.” Sephira muttered with a bitter yet wry smile.

At that moment a large ball of white fluff plowed directly into her, Sephira caught the wolf in her arms and nearly buckled under her weight.

“You’re alive!” Wyn squealed with glee before planting a lick on the mage’s face and leaping back down with a wagging tail.

“Max took your place, she saw you and said she was going to go get you.” The wolf added with a whine.

Sephira glanced over at the honey badger who had been left behind sadly. Now it was Maxine who was in danger, rather than her.

"Yeah, I expected as much." Sephira replied bitterly.

Kura then spoke, the councilwoman was standing over the sphere where the cathedral was displayed. It was like they were watching a live feed. Sephira walked slowly toward the sphere and Wyn followed closely behind her, her claws clacking lightly on the wooden floor. The Special Assistant slowly walked around the form of Vri, the black Nightmare dress trailing softly behind her. She only looked at him as Kura introduced them to each other. It seemed she didn’t know that they had met twice before.

Only when the mage came to stand before the sphere did she look intently at Kura. There was trust in her gaze. There was probably no one else she would trust more in a moment like this than the councilwoman. They had both fought together and they both shared the magic granted by a mother and daughter Spark. Maxine might be the person who knew Sephira best, but Kura was steadfast and possessed the patience and wisdom to handle the insanity that they faced.

“So the sphere allows us to help them.” The soldier stated in confirmation, her voice was steady and level with discipline. A militant-like mask seemed to fall over her features, washing away the creases of worry caused from her brows knitting together. This was no longer a haphazard journey into Emea. This was a mission.

Finally she looked at Vri.

“This is all a result of the Maze. Of what was done to your children. What do you hope for us to accomplish that you cannot?” Sephira asked darkly. Vri was an Immortal, he should have been able to simply wake his offspring. Why instead had they all been drawn here? Why had so many been endangered to solve this problem?

After asking her question Sephira focused intently on the Sphere before noticing that there was a weight pulling at the inner lining of her dress. Pulling back a layer of the drapery there was an inner pocket where the wooden sphere from earlier lay. She plucked it from the folds of the pocket and held it gently as she turned from the Sphere and toward the books lining the walls of the Waiting Place. There had to be something here that they could use. Some piece of knowledge that had been placed here for them.

The Waiting Place it seemed tailor made for the mortals. Made to accomplish a mission, and Sephira was still connected to it in a way through the Song of Sorrow that had continually played within her mind. She mentally reached out to the Song, pulling it from the dark place in her mind where she had buried it.

Help me, help me find something to mend this place. Help me end the sorrow. She thought silently, projecting the words to the Song.

Off Topic

2 Actions:
Spoke to Vri and is trying to learn something useful from the books

Dialogue|Thoughts

[Pegasus]

120th Ashan, 719. Midnight

The Moment.

The Watchers

"That is a very good question, Kura Wolf's Daughter" Vri said, and he turned to look at her with a solemn gaze. As she spoke of the owl, he nodded. What she said made sense, his nod seemed to indicate, but yet, Ornery was still in kibbles and bits. When she asked him why he wasn't giving more information, his gaze turned rather sombre. "It is unprecedented" And so, Vri admitted something which was as rare as so many of the events here. "I am giving as much information as I have," he said. "And sometimes, I do not know what I know until you ask. Nor do I know how I know. Not a common experience for me, I am sure you understand."

Maxine appeared and disappeared as quickly. She and Kura got to exchange a few words though, and then Sephira appeared. Vri nodded his head to her at Kura's introduction. "Indeed," he said, and nodded.. "Death surrounds you, both. Such is the way with soldiers."

Of Pieren, and the questions Kura asked there, Vri nodded. "Pieran was one of the Originals, yes. Creator of Aelig, Ralaith, Delroth, Edasha and Ashan. That is not Aelig, that is every doorway in the world, ever dream of doors. It is a being who exists solely as doors." He considered for a moment and then spoke.

"The Outsider is .. I know very little. But I know that The Outsider made my father afraid." Vri said. "It was spoken of in hushed tones, they were afraid of it. But as for who was speaking?" Vri looked between Kura and Sephira. "To the flea, the monkey is a god. But to the monkey, the human is beyond comprehension."

Sephira's question was clear, and Vri turned to look at her. "Mortals and Mortalborn did this," he said. "I have no idea what to do. I believe that only your combined energies can put it right. As for who or what is creating the Cathedral or here?" He looked at Sephira and just for a moment, he looked like what he was. A father, confused about the fate of his children. "I simply do not know."

As Sephira used the Song of Sorrow, the book in front of her (for there was one open in front of her) suddenly had words.

It was a picture of a girl. A blind girl. A girl in Scalvoris Town. A girl who had a gift - a true gift.

And who, for reasons which not even Vri understood, somehow she had shaped this place. The blind girl who had given cards to strangers.

She had shaped this place. Did that help? Maybe. Maybe not. But it was information.

Objectives & Rules

!	Message from: Kura & Sephira
	You may have 2 actions this round. You may also chat with Vri. You can not see the Prison.

The Rules

!

Message from: The Rules

The Waiting Place has a number of things you can do. Many of them are still hidden from you and will continue to be until you explore further. What You Know You can see everything that is happening in the other threads except, now, the Prison. You each have ONE CATHEDRAL ACTION per round. You can: Swap places with one PC. This is a permanent swap and can not be undone. You go into their group, they come here. That does not work with the prison. Change one thing (moderate) about one of the other threads. This is not guaranteed to work (dice rolling time!) and might, in fact, go a bit wrong. But if you're going to do that, I need to know ASAP from my post. You may communicate with ONE group. This is a one way communication and is limited to TWELVE words Kura is able to communicate with all the groups simultaneously now - she discovered this by taking the time to explore the Sphere.

Please note: Using the Cathedral is one action - as is examining the books or trying to work out the stuff about Souls etc. For whoever else is here this round, and from next round on, chatting with Vri is also an action (Kura gets a freebee this time). You have two actions per round each, and should use them wisely, and collaborate.

Dates & Deadlines

I am so very sorry for the delay. We're back on track now. So, we're back to normal.
You need to post here by 14th April. If you have not done so, you've missed the round. I will be locking the thread at that time.
I will post on Monday 15th April. It is really helpful for me if you guys post more quickly than that.

[Sephira]

So...gods could be afraid.

Sephira let that information sink in as she worked to use the Song of Sorrow to her advantage. Slowly the book before her began to fill in with information. A picture was being drawn across the previously blank page. It was a girl, a clearly blind girl who was handing out tarot cards and telling fortunes.

Somehow the mage innately knew that the girl was somehow connected to this place. Sephira took the book in her hands and gazed down upon the image of the blind fortune teller. She knew instantly that the girl was in Scalvoris given the surroundings. She had given cards to two passing men. The card of the Fool and the card of the Hanging Man. But there were other cards weren’t there? Cards with names that she couldn’t quite remember.

The Rupturer rushed over toward the Sphere to watch what was transpiring for the groups within their view. Her dark eyes immediately fell on the group that Max had taken her place in. The knight of wands stood in their way and within a split trill Sephira remembered the fortune teller and her cards.

The Knight of Wands. That was one of the cards in the deck wasn’t it?

The soldier quickly strode around the Sphere to look at where the other groups were. There was another room, where a woman with a sword and a wand was seated. In another room with the third group was an older man who was similarly armed as the woman was. All three spoke almost identical words. They all seemed to speak the exact same words, save for a handful.

“Kura.” She finally said. “In the books I saw a girl in Scalvoris Town; a girl who was telling fortunes with cards.” Sephira glanced up at the woman who she shared a sister Spark with.

“I think she is connected to the Cathedral. Otherwise why would the book show her to me?” The woman said musingly while thumbing through the pages of the book further in search of any more answers.

“The cards she was using looked familiar...” She uttered softly.

Sephira paced the room with the length skirt of the nightmare dress trailing behind her. “The knight, the woman, and the man all seemed to be saying the same thing. As if they could be the same person.”

A thought struck the Element. If the fortune teller was somehow connected to, or responsible for the Cathedral...was it possible that the girl was somehow puppetting the knight, the woman, and the man? Was that why they had said the same words, almost in unison.

“The girl, do you know who she is?” Sephira asked , opening the book before facing the drawing toward Vri. Perhaps this was something that the god of death would indeed know of. Would he know the faces of all living mortals? Regardless of his answers Sephira knew that she needed more information about the girl. She must have been important. If she was connected to this place, and perhaps linked to the guardians of the rooms then maybe Sephira could test her theory.

After Vri answered, the mage closed the book gingerly and returned to the Sphere.

“Ask them if they know of a blind girl with cards Max.” Sephira whispered to the Sphere, Projecting twelve precious words to the one person down there that she knew she could trust. That was all she could give her...twelve words. There was no time for comfort or conversation, only that which might lead them to the truth. But such was she and Max's way. Only once had the two women ever leaned on each other for comfort, and they were far from that dank tavern backroom in Andaris. For now those twelve words would have to suffice.

Dialogue|Thoughts

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

When Vri admitted that he was very nearly as much in the dark about what they needed to do and why, Kura raised an eyebrow and let out a slow breath. "Oh, that's...fun. So we're flyin' blind and nearly deaf. How very grand." she said, before Max showed up. When Vri pointed out that death surrounded them both, Kura shrugged, then frowned when he said they were both soldiers. "I'm no soldier, Vri. A soldier has their honor and risks their life to make sure the people they protected aren't exposed to unnecessary risk. I'm a politician, spymaster, and assassin. I can't afford to get hung up on my own honor and risk my soul and sanity to make sure my soldiers aren't exposed to unnecessary risk." she said, her tone firm. She respected soldiers a great deal, but she knew what she was, and she was no soldier.

When Vri spoke of the Originals and of The Outsider and of The Door, Kura listened, then let out a low sigh. "A gateway has been made from dreams to reality, likely several of them, through the deals made to this Door, unless I am much mistaken. We had best be wary of what he chooses to allow through on the days he is on Idalos." she said, her tone quiet. "And we had best hope that all of this is indeed for your children, Vri, and that your love is not being exploited by some darker power." she said, a low growl in her voice.

When Sephira asked why Vri had called them there, she let out a quiet laugh. "Ah, the misconceptions caused by incomplete understandin'." she said, and when Vri said his part in answer to Sephira's question, Kura turned to the Special Assistant. "When I was little, my mother and The Empress together taught me of Immortals, Mortalborn, and Mortals. The thing they emphasized the most that I, as a Mortalborn, should never think of myself as greater than a Mortal, or lesser than an Immortal. The former, they told me, was foolish arrogance and vanity, and the latter a grave misunderstandin'." she said, before looking at Vri. "Immortals are limited in ways Mortalborn and Mortals are not, just as we are limited in ways that they are not. It is entirely possible that Vri is, no offense intend, rather less powerful in this instance than he otherwise would be. Just as I am, for that matter." she said, grimacing slightly. "For both Immortals and Mortalborn, our Domains define us far more than is readily apparent, and neither of our Domains deal with the matter of Dreams. In truth, the only reason I have any faith in Blessin's workin' as intended in this place is due to the fact that Blessin's are, by their very nature, rather static things. I would not be prepared to rely upon my own inborn powers in this place, except in desperation or if no other options present themselves." she said, looking rather chagrined at the admittance. "You Mortals though, you do not suffer from the limitations that Domains impart, and thus may very well be more powerful than either Immortals or Mortalborn in this situation." she said, before shaking her head.

When Sephira showed her the book, Kura frowned. "Yes, I've seen her around, though I never partake of her trade. The future is, by all accounts, a terrible thing to know. Still though, after this is done, I think it would be best if we have a long talk with this young lady, who has such power in the land of Dreams." she said, her tone intent. When Sephira brought up that the most of the cathedral's residence were saying the same thing, Kura nodded. "Yes, it's possible their all either the same person or all different aspects of the same person. It's somethin' to keep in mind, as it may be useful to try and get these aspects to fight themselves, if possible. It would be risky, but if all else fails, it's a possible option to take, she said, grimacing as she spoke.

While Sephira asked Vri about the girl and sent Maxine a message, Kura looked through the replica, seeing what each person was sacrificing. When she saw what some of these sacrifices were, however, she let out a low growl. "And yet, for all the power they lack, it is the very shortness of their lives that gives them their greatest strength. For those of us with long lives and greater powers, that which we lose may be rebuilt or regained, in all but the direst circumstances, for we have the time and power to make our will a reality. But for Mortals, who live such brief lives, every choice and every action carries a greater weight and meanin', for they cannot be sure of havin' the time or power to rebuild, and can lose everythin' they love and value in a single stroke with no hope of recovery." she said, her voice quiet and her tone almost that of a recital, as if she were quoting someone. Vri in particular might notice that the phrasing sounded very similar to the way Karem spoke.
know
Then The Imperial Owl wheeled to face Vri, her gaze intent. "Vri, if all this succeeds, if your children are saved by these Mortals, I trust you know that it falls to you to see the sacrifices they have made in this Cathredral reimbursed if possible, and honored if not. They have far less to give than your kind or mine, and because of it, those sacrifices are of...more value." she said, pausing as something seemed to occur to her and she turned back to the replica. "Oh, that's...not fillin' me with confidence." she said, a note of mingled surprise and worry in her voice.

"Fire, Earth, Water, and Air. The very building blocks of Idalos. Those four elements alone have great power, and the nature and source of these sacrifices is liable to make them even stronger than usual." she said, her tone curious. "If Jesnine and Kielik need this much power to restore themselves, they are far more damaged than I had thought possible, enough that I'm not even sure how they're influencing much of anythin'. And if it's not them, we are in for some deep trouble." she said, a low growl to her voice. Then she looked at one of the books and spoke directly to it, this time using her own powers on the book as well. "What is the purpose of the Cathedral?" she asked, her tone intent.

Off Topic

Action one is talking to Vri about the sacrifices, action two is asking the book.