• Closed • Onward and Upward [Max, Kas]

[Lavana Tharn]

15th Of Cylus 277


The imperial princess had learned that the world forgets and moves on.

There was something on this island that she was forced to withdraw from so long ago, something she believed her birthright lay beyond the city limits and what she sought dwelled deep within the wilderness as she followed blindly the lull of sweet whispers as she entrenched herself within her domains as they guided her towards glory. She understood the very basic concept of prayer and how it could reach the immortals, how faith and belief could propel even a mortal towards something divine. Rather then hide her true nature she had come into her own and was comfortable being the monster she had been branded as. For too long she had been Raskalarns greatest failure her fixation on how her mother could never compromise had blinded her too the truth, they were not the same and would never see eye to eye as her domains were in direct conflict with hers. For no lack of trying no matter how hard she bent the knee she was lying to herself for Lavana was the aftermath to which the crows sang dance and feasted upon the bounty of her harvest. The truth of the matter was she resembled her grandfather, she lorded over domains that encompassed the very worst humanity had to offer as they slaughtered themselves for kings and queens for love and ideas for gods and causes. And it was on these killing fields she reaped her greatest power. Good and Evil were irrelevant to what she was intended, it mattered not if the rightous slayed the wicked or the wicked slayed the rightous it was still a drop in the bucket. And as Telath turned brightening to darkening and each subsequent passing these tedious drops became a waterfall of blood that left her goblet overflowing as it was by the grand design that her chalice would never empty as it siphoned divinity from human nature to which she drank deep from this fount of power. Unlike many of her ilk that had shattered long before there time from the use of there domains hers with careful measure sustained unending for a world without bloodshed would be her ultimate undoing.

Lavana had changed over time, her pixie cut had become long flowing hair that once black had become grey and eyes of amber had become ghostly pale blue perhaps as an unintended consequence of the usage of her domains as she reveled in personal combat. The mark of Qylios she had come to begrudgingly accept as part of herself had shown her the light, as she once was lost in darkness only to have her path illuminated. She was a sophisticated killer a warrior that weaponized everything she touched, including the light itself bending it to her will. To this day she never understood why she was favored.

Blending in with Almonds finest wasn't difficult she looked like a sword for hire, and found herself more part of the scenery as she tended to a flask shaped glass bottle of rum. She knew these alleyways pretty well and couldn't help but feel the nostalga of walking upon the same beaten cobblestone path she had so many seasons ago, the rain was heavy but her cloak provided some measure of dry comfort as it hadnt fully become saturated in the onslaught of pitter pattering droplets. She closed her eyes reliving the moments when she had been dragged from the butcher shop so long ago, she remembered that this was the alley where she killed a man literally busted his skull open with the pommel of her sword as they waylaid in the confined space. She remembered the rusalka; Maxine. They had a history but there relationship ended when she had gone to the buckle and chain, shed been hit so hard she thought shed been sent into orbit. Even when she ran from the island Maxine's influence was still felt in Etzos, there was just no escaping that womans presence. The mortalborn was unsure of how she felt about it if they were ever to meet again, the only thing she was reasonably sure of is that she had a way of fucking a good a thing up for her. Maxine's brashness put her at odds with one of Karen's favored ultimately exiling her from this island, it was Maxine's addiction that ultimately made her choose between Sephira and turning her back on the elements as she spilled Raskalarns daughters dirty secrets for bitter vengeance, just uttering the name alone caused a commotion with a trouble maker a raggedy man from Etzos. Once again shed been sniffed out, she knew better then to stay put Lavana just kept moving just after getting a promotion.

She didnt go by Lavana Tharn in these parts, she went by Alvana.

Her claymore was sheathed clenched tightly in her left gauntlet while her cloak concealed formidable platemail almost when her steel was exposed it was neurotically polished to a mirror finish to a point where you could almost see yourself in its reflection. Finished with the contents of the bottle she tossed it taking a firm grip on her helm as she carried it beneath the fabric under her right armpit, she was getting ready to journey out of the city limits.

[Max]

Ah. Almund.

This piece of Scalvoris was the first place Maxine had landed in after the tragedy at sea. This had been her fresh start, her blank slate for her to rewrite the unfavorable path she'd once seen before her. Her quiet treacheries on the water meant she could never go back to the Biqaj community she came from. It was for the best. She'd been a shit sailor and a shittier subordinate in general. The work she'd found hadn't suited her. Now, untethered to expectations set by anyone else, she could start anew. Funny, she'd found herself thinking, how many times she'd had a chance to start all over and the story seemed to end just the same.

This was not the final stop on the delegation's journey. The Etzori politicians were set on the island's seat of power in Scalvoris Town, and they'd been diligently preparing their talking points and hope they'd convince an Albarech or council member of what Etzos had to offer. Maxine knew this had been a stop of opportunity and curiosity but likely an unfruitful one. Scalvoris loved its Immortals and spirits. Etzos wanted to gut every Immortal that mistakenly graced its domain. Scalvoris was governed by mortalborn and marked, and Etzos gave just about every one of their kind the blade within their city walls. Etzos was a suffering place after the war though. They would still try just in case there existed a collection of likeminded people eager for a change.

One of the delegates insisted on touring Almund as a pedestrian, and already did he set himself up with a meeting with a local mind. In true Almund fashion, the local contact insisted on the Buckle and Chain tavern. Maxine knew that place too well, and she reckoned the furniture still quaked at the thought of her presence for fear she'd throw another chair to meet its end like she had more than once before. A smile twitched at the corner of her mouth at the memory. She let Miki take this lead. He was a big fuck with a presence about him that would be a deterrent for trouble in a place like that. He was the better choice to run inside security on a quiet, early afternoon tavern "crowd." Maxine wasn't Maxine after all. She was Ophelia, a homely-looking girl with bland features, straw-like hair, and completely forgettable. The gem responsible for her deceptive appearance was tucked tightly into her boot.

From outside on the street, Maxine watched for trouble while wearing Ophelia's face. It was a particularly boring trial. She didn't mind so much. She was just beginning to lose the sensation the world was still rocking back and forth after so many trials at sea. Boring people watching would suit her fine. At least that was the plan. Life kept getting interesting. The past kept slapping her in the face whether she was eager to face it or desperate to hide from it. Through the crowd she noticed a woman walking her way. Her hair was grey, her eyes a pale blue, and everything about her suggested some soldier for hire. Just another drink-happy sellsword between gigs, no doubt. The Rusalka shouldn't have looked twice but there was something about her that she recognized.

That armor...that sword...

Her eyes narrowed and she straightened up away from the stone wall she leaned against. Her gaze was glued to the woman now, watching her gait and the way she moved despite the appearance that did not jive with what she knew. Her fingers curled into tight fists at her sides.

Lavana. Fucking. Tharn.

Maxine hadn't owned much these days but there were a few things she had. One thing in particular had survived being pawned away though it had been up on the chopping block plenty of times. Maybe fate saved it for this moment. Whatever it was, the time and the place couldn't have been more serendipitous. Maxine threw the hood over her head, reached down into her boot, and plucked the gem out and stuffed it in a pocket instead before she moved off the wall against her better judgement. Ophelia's face was removed. Maxine's returned, hidden only by the abysmal weather and the shadow the hood cast over her features. She would only be in "public" for a mere moment, and that moment was the time it took her to intercept Lavana with a rough, intentional shoulder bump as she passed her by.

Once she made contact, Maxine didn't turn around to let the mortalborn see her face. She didn't need to. One of her fists loosened its grip just enough that a necklace, laid with an amethyst gem, dangled from her grip in plain view. It was a necklace Lavana would know anywhere. She was the one who gifted it once as a token of friendship after all. Max wasted no time moving across the street and into the alleyway not unlike the one they'd first met. By the time Lavana followed her away from the main stretch and its prying eyes, Maxine was seated on an overturned crate. The rain softly pelted her cloak. Her arms rested on her knees, the necklace toyed with between her fingers.

"I think about Faldrass often, you know," Maxine said quietly, attention on the necklace rather than the wraith of whoever she had known before. "Never stop, really. Wish I could." A smile twitched at her lips but there was no mirth behind it. It vanished as quickly as it came. "I could never work something out though: you sabotaged me in that manor just like you did at the riots. Then, when Nir'wei came after me you followed outside and tried to defend me." Her eyes snapped up to look Lavana right in the face. "I want to know...why?"

Dialogue|Thoughts

[Lavana Tharn]

Lavana had felt the rough turbulance through plate and padded armor as her shoulder got struck like it had cliped a rock wall. There was a certain strength a certain machismo behind it a familiarity she couldnt quite put her finger on until her she tried to look at what she ran into, but all she saw was the flickering of an amethyst jewel a relic of a time long past a momento. Her nose crinkled in disbelief but she followed out of instinct, when the Rusalka had taken a seat on an overturned crate. Lavana had braced her back against the stone wall of the alley. The imperial princess was taking time to process everything and she began steadying her breathing, Maxine mentioned Faldrass but her problem started with Egilrun. It was like looking at a ghost, Lavana was forced to relive moments of great joy but also things that had caused great dismay.

Her voice was steady, and the words deliberate maybe as if she had spent time thinking about it. Rehearsing what she might say if this moment had come to pass, and there was an oppurtunity to reconcile.

"It never occured to you that maybe during the riots I tried to save you? What did you want me to do? Kill Sephira? Or Kill Kura? The fucking Alberach? Faith Augustine, you might not have seen it but they were trying to help you as you descended into madness listen I get it im one to talk but they really just didnt know how tapped I was, am? I get it, I had a temper tantrum when my mother marked Kura while I lay bleeding out. Should have realized Raskalarn has always been a stone cold bitch like that, shit if I had needed proof I should have looked at how my sister turned out. Wont lie you were right should have packed my bags and ran with you, I cant fix whats been done though. As for the Manor, last I recalled I earned the right to be a little petty after getting my cheek clapped by your fist so hard it damn near knocked the soul out my body. But at the end of it we been through some traumatizing shit, shoulder to shoulder we carved our way through cultists out of the sewer.

The truth? Ive never been good with it, you knew who I was and accepted me. Raskalarn even Karem always demanded to know who I was.

You though.

You saw me for what I really am when I pelted that old bitch to death with a brick and a sack and simply accepted it, my domains as a mortal born. Demise, Massacres and Bloodlust. Like what am I suppose to do with that, ill never be normal its part of the reason I accepted things the way they are,

I guess as stupid as it sounds your my only real friend in Idalos, its complicated or maybe its not.

We can argue till the darkening turns to brightening, we can be petty, but when the chips are down and they are coming for blood its different.

Cant abide by it, not then not now.

Just like back then if there intention was to kill you, you might not have realized it. But I almost took Sephiras head before the Alberach arrived, mommys babysitter always kept keep me in line on a short leash. Still, I miss the imperial owl hope shes doing well.

Might be an asshole Maxine, but you always been my Asshole or something like that."

[Max]

Maxine said nothing. She listened, stoic as a statue while rain spread small dark droplets across her clothes. Her question had been about the most recent of their distant history. Lavana wanted to go back further. Old wounds scarred over we’re getting scrubbed back open. It was fashionable these trials apparently.

There were moments while she listened that subtle gestures gave away her mind. Her fingers curled into tight fists. Her brow furrowed or softened. When Lavana’s explanation was through, Max let only the sound of the drizzle against cobbles fill the space between for a few moments. For once, she was choosing her words carefully.

”All of you thought you were saving me, but Slags Deep was a sentence worse than the noose,” she began despondently. ”I couldn’t bring myself to turn the blade on Sephira or Kura even when I thought I wanted to, of course I wouldn’t have let you do it either. I just wanted to make those cultist fucks pay for what they did to us. It felt like I was the only one.”

She turned the amethyst gem of the necklace in her hands. Even in the cloudy weather she could make out the faintest glow against torchlight upon its surface.

”Guess it all makes sense.” Max lifted her gaze from the necklace to Lavana where she posted herself against the wall. ”I was still mad enough to drill you like I did at The Red Hand at Faldrass, madder after what you’d said to get me tossed out. You’d think I would’ve agreed with that arrow Nir’wei loosed at your face. Pissed me off instead.”

Max tossed the necklace Lavana had gifted her many years ago toward the mortalborn. She gave the hood another tug, making sure it was snug on her head.

”He shouldn’t have done that. He shouldn’t have followed me, some drunk K-Head, to fight when his island was at stake over hurt feelings. A council member shooting an arrow into your face because one of his people didn’t agree with him?” She shook her head and scoffed bitterly. ”Reminded me of the fucking cultists. Corruption. All that.”

As far as trials gone by and where everyone was, to that Maxine had to shrug. She was breaking her own rules removing her disguise to have this confrontation now. Her need for understanding that trial at Faldrass trumped her self-made guidelines this time. It was a safe gamble, but a gamble she made anyways. One she couldn’t repeat with others.

”I’ve been gone a long time. I wouldn’t know how anyone’s been doing. Besides, island’s got a bounty on my head I heard. You’re not gonna turn me in now, are you?”

Maxine quirked a brow and small smirk painted her face.

”What’s with the new look, anyways?”

Dialogue|Thoughts

[Lavana Tharn]

Lavana took the time to listen and acknowledge what Maxine was saying and she understood. It was a mistake on her part to think she knew what was best for her, she should have been free to make her own decision and in that regard she understood her failure. She understood the feeling of anothers betrayal, if not for lacking the empathy to truly feel a pain that wasnt her own.

She seemed to look at the sky against the gentle pattering of the rain into a dark stormy sky. It was an injustice but from that corruption and violence she tapped into a well of nearly limitless potential, in many ways she found the horrors
of Idalos strangely beautiful and endearing. Hatred and Rage is what she was spawned from or was attached too? She wasnt exactly sure what a domain was, it was simply a part of her. A cruel joke some sick and twisted grand design the magnum opus of causality where from the light spawns a cascading shroud of shadows that dance to the fickle flames rythm a testament to the fact that you cannot have one without the other. Or perhaps it was the inner ramblings of a mind gone mad.

"Your right, in that regard we failed you that brightening.

The new look? Ive been tapping into my domains, the further down the rabbit hole I go the more of myself I lose to what feels like a collective. As if my own choices are predetermined or already decided the deeper into the abyss i go its like im a statue carved from there imagination that can only operate from its purview as I lose autonomy. At least thats my understanding of it, however far from the actual truth it may be."

Lavana seemed to continue to defy aging retaining the vibrancy and youthful appearance she had when they had first met aside from a few cosmetic alterations due to the consequence of her aging and coming back like a hampster on a wheel as she fed on death and destruction like a parasite but was it life unending or an excercise in futility.

"Knowing the council im just as guilty as you are, while Nir'Wei got to walk off like nothing happened. By the looks of it im just as damned and guilty as you are some things just dont change do they.

If anything this trinket you gave me looks really old, looks like it might be worth some money like it was an heirloom to some uppity royal type bitch. Sure is nice" As she weighed the heft of the necklace she snatched mid flight, she took a moment to deliberate pretending as if she didnt know where it came from.

"This works I accept the payment, so whats the job boss? How rude of me, my name is Klaudia Khastel former guard captain of Etzos whats yours pretell"

Lavana was pretty sure they werent going to be using real names, as she began adjusting her great helm to hide her face.

[Max]

This conversation had been a very different one compared to the one she'd had with Blackwood regarding the riots. The Special Assistant, while not cruel or unkind, was steadfast in reminding the Rusalka what her perception of that trial had been. She'd reminded Maxine that she'd wanted many of the same things, namely revenge and justice, but not at the same cost. She had not wanted to purge the powers of the island or punish an entire branch of the nation's security for the actions of a few. She had not wanted blood in the streets and anarchy. Blackwood was one of the closest allies Maxine had ever had but one thing was for certain: she believed Maxine had been wrong and a consequence was necessary.

Lavana's response was different. It wasn't so say she was a complete turnaround by comparison. Maxine was not fueled by drug-addled delusions that let her grasp at straws and twist them until things appeared her way. Lavana had stood beside Kura and Blackwood at the riots, against her, for a reason. She, too, believed Maxine had been wrong that trial. She gave her more allowances though. She told her that they had been wrong in that they failed her. Maxine knew a part of her had always wanted to hear that because for a very long time she had believed that to be true. She wasn't very sure what she believed about much anymore. It felt dangerous to indulge in what had been offered.

The Rusalka tried to shake away thoughts of the past addressed and listened to what Lavana shared about now. Metaphysics was not something she understood much about. She knew the Mortalborn were a step below their Immortal parents but still linked to a domain and capable of fracturing. How their indulgences into those domains worked and how it changed them was all new, and she found herself taking a closer look at the changes made to Lavana's appearance now that she was sure it was not a magic trick like hers. They were a little drastic compared to the image she once held of the woman. Had she not known her well she would've likely let Raskalarn's daughter continue on her way without so much as a second glance.

Losing to a collective...is it worth it?

Maxine knew what Kasoria's response would be. Likely, a hypocritical one given his immense concessions of appearance to his Sparks. It was a circular debate the pair of them were always dancing around but tired of having. Life was just choices. Everything had a cost. If Lavana wanted to pay it to connect with her divinity on a deeper level, it wasn't like the Rusalka had much to argue with her about. Unless the change turned to a threat, it wasn't any of her business to have an opinion. She only knew the meaning of about half the words Lavana had said anyways. Another thing for Kasoria to chastise her about: not bothering to learn actual literacy.

"You didn't escape a life sentence from Slags Deep," Max was quick to remind Lavana when she mentioned the topic of guilt in the eyes of the Council. She watched Lavana toy with her own heirloom, seeming to feign forgetfulness and going on about jobs and a false identity. Max straightened up some but her hood never fell from her head. "Fake names. You too then?"

Her eyes narrowed a bit on Lavana, or she supposed it was Klaudia Khastel now, and tilted her head. Falling back to a character of violence and blood made sense given the nature of what the Mortalborn was. Her royal blood didn't make joining a formal city guard hard to keep up either. What did catch Maxine's attention was where Lavana's new identity decided to be sworn to.

"Guard Captain of Etzos, hm?" Max laughed quietly. "Hm. And to a nation that hates Immortals, and definitely a bitter rival to your mother's empire. Aren't you just the spiteful daughter?" It was impossible for the Rusalka to not appreciate the nature of Lavana's scorn. Chrien would certainly cackle. This turncloak between the divine surely served her agenda...and Maxine's for that matter. "You headed that way then? Or was that where you were hiding all this time?"

After a pause Maxine seemed to remember herself. She offered a shrug and an almost apologetic smile.

"You showed yours but I'm afraid I can't show mine. When we part ways, this will be the only face and name you'll know. I have to protect the people around me. You understand."

Dialogue|Thoughts

[Lavana Tharn]

She took a few minutes in silence as she began thinking of a way to articulate what she wanted to say the best she could to Maxine, she really wanted to emphasize a point.

I understand that In a way I had always been lost to a collective, the only difference is that this is what embodies me. What I know is that there is power in belief, and that perhaps I need to trust myself. Its hard to explain, but a part of me always held me back as I wallowed in shame and hid my true nature. Perhaps why I cant let go of the past is because In the sewers I got to embrace that part of myself, you see what happened to that old woman in the elements to all of them wasn't about survival.

There was a pause as Lavana took a moment to confront her personal demons so that she could uncloud her mind and be at peace with it, she needed to be truthful not to Maxine but to herself.

It was about enjoyment.

Every whip of that makeshift flail was a delight, and I hated my mother for rejecting me for it. When I am alone the sweet whispers tell me I was created with a purpose. To be a sword rejected and imprisoned in a sheath to never know the melody of my edge cutting the air that sharp bite of flesh pierced or the quench of blood across my silhouette.

Is a sword not meant to enjoy its purpose?. To be made so fucked up and then discarded in disgust, make no mistake Maxine I was not born I was forged my design intentional and thrown away by my makers hand because I dared to find joy in the hellscape of my purpose.

It felt good to say it whether or not Maxine could understand as Lavana had an abstract way of defining her own prison that she was still living in, but to air it out in the open was refreshing and a brief smile escaped her lips in amusement.

A fake everything apparently

Yea Etzos, I wanted to take a crack at some immortal spider bitch and flaked. Came to the conclusion its not my fight or my problem just kicked back and let the whole shit show unfurl as I jumped ship like the filthy rat I am, I came back to this place because the voices tell me to scale the mountain. I might not be the same when I come back down but what you call scorn I call a boon it lifts me when im down its my second wind I swear I can even get drunk on it.

As for slags deep its tired lash, they probably could have given you a hundred life sentences and you would have found a hundred ways to escape. Theres just something free about you, I think thats what I admire most.

Anyway farewell friend, until we meet again I expect stories.

Lavana didn't want to continue going back and forth, it was for the best that they kept this meeting short and sweet as the imperial princess decided to head out in the general direction of the mountains, taking a moment to wrap the amulet around the guard of her sword. It was a reminder a focus of her hatred and rage, the loathing she felt of her mother. It was a conduit that she would use to harness her hate to discipline it to a scalpels precision with an intensity to cut diamond just another tool in her repertoire that she would enjoy using on those that crossed her path with steel.

Just do me a favor, dont pretend to be a shield I saw the real you too that darkening