TIMESTAMP: 14 Frost, 122
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NOTES: -
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Hector looked irritated, but in realizing that his continued protestations would make the other late, he acquiesced with a huff. “Fine– but you’d better find your way through the slipspace left you leave me to languish alone.” He spoke in a voice that was intentionally dramatic to an almost childish degree; he was being hyperbolic beyond how he actually felt, sure, but such a thing was to intentionally obscure his actual intensity.
Vergil couldn’t help but exhale a bit of a laugh. “In what world would I ever do that?” To him, there was nearly no chance of that happening, especially given the circumstance.
He and Hector were considered assets to the Imperium, what with their mastery of Vitalis on top of their other capabilities. The mage that would be his initiator would Astral Project themselves to wherever it was that Vergil ended up and guide the man back as quickly as possible for the very purpose of avoiding an adverse fate. Hector’s worry really was unfounded, but then again, so was most worry– most emotions did not make manifest for logical reasons, anyhow.
Nonetheless, Hector glared at him for a moment before the expression broke, softening. “...I’ll ready everything for your comfort upon your return,” he said, sounding far more demure than before– he really did hate to see the other suffer.
Looking back at him, “...oh, you needn’t go out of your way.”
Though his hand had been on the door, Vergil let go and approached the comparatively petite elf, cupping the boy’s face in his hands. Running a thumb over his cheek for a brief moment, he then kissed his partner.
Pulling back, “...I’ll be fine, love; relax.” His voice held ample reassurance, and his touch was unnaturally soothing; he’d timed his touch with Pheromancy, shifting Hector’s mood to something far calmer through a series of minor hormonal alterations.
Despite the slight delay caused by Hector, Vergil managed to arrive at the appointed room within the Grand Cathedral of Saint Aegan at the appointed time, having wound his way into the seemingly labyrinthine series of halls and rooms below. Though it was easy to get lost due to how similar the varying corridors actually looked, the layout itself was incredibly organized and, with an accurate map, of which there was at least one per level, navigation, and thus finding his way to his proper destination, was not hard.
The room which he was instructed to head to was one that had many purposes from initiations to interrogations; it was a simple one, not very big, with gray tiled floors and a lighter shade of the same color on the walls. For this particular occasion, it had nothing in terms of furniture. For a Traversion initiation, both parties would be sitting on the floor in a meditative state anyhow.
The initiating mage was already present by the time Vergil walked in, and he was exactly on time, so the other had been early. Exactly how early, however…who could tell? Nonetheless, she was seated on a mat on the floor, with an identical one having been laid out before her. Upon his entry, she smiled at him; she was a slick, professional-looking middle aged human; raven haired and pale skinned, her hair was tied back and she was dressed in what one would expect from a higher ranking Inquisitor, robes and proper identification visible. The lenses of the glasses she wore had an odd glint to them, Vergil assuming correctly that they were made of Auracyte, though he couldn’t tell the purity. Some would consider her overall look to be intimidating, but she appeared amiable enough towards her would-be initiate.
“Glad to see you arrive on time, Vergil.” Her voice was smooth, cool, and cordial. “I am Adelaide Ingram; I assume you’ve familiarized yourself with this initiation prior to your arrival, no?” The little smile she wore said that she’d be deeply displeased if his answer to this query was ‘no.’
“Correct; I’ve read how this works, asked around a bit, so on. I know what to expect.” His reply was flat, but more professional than cold.
She appeared far more chipper than before once she’d heard this answer. “Great!” To some degree, Vergil thought it was a bit of an overreaction on her end, but he supposed she’d had the misfortune of doing this to somebody clueless before and absolutely loathed the idea of doing so again.
“Everything else is in order, down to the design and placement of the rune. Unless you’ve any further questions, or for whatever reason, objections, we can begin.” Because for this to even be orchestrated, all information did have to be provided and then processed beforehand. “I do fully intend to go with you and guide you along this journey to ensure that it goes as smoothly as possible.”
That last part was, for all intents and purposes, standard procedure when doing this, but there was a small addendum and this case stressing the point that Vergil’s death would be a fairly massive loss compared to the loss of a standard recruit. The exact reasoning as for why had not been disclosed to Adelaide, but she knew better than to question a command sanctioned by those above her. It did, however, pique her interest; she wondered what about him was particularly special; for all she knew, he was new to the Inquisition, and though a talented doctor and Necromancer, it wasn’t as if the Imperium was in extremely short supply of either of those. Maybe he had other unique qualifications? Or classified research? She couldn’t say. The two didn’t exactly work in similar fields, either, so her previous contact with him was slim to none.
“Nothing on my end, no.” With that response, Vergil moved to close the distance between him and the mat set out for him, sitting down in front of the senior Traverser.
“Perfect!” Her response was met with an extension of Vergil’s left arm; he wanted the mark on his inner forearm, just below the arm’s bend.
Adelaide inscribed the mark with an ink mixture made from black pigment and a small amount of aetheryte powder, and once drawn, infused it with her own aether and intent. The process was not altogether instantaneous; Vergil sat in a meditative state for a moment before he began to feel reality warp around him as his astral body split from his corporeal form, beginning to drift into the Aetherium. Having been monitoring the Slipstream while this happened, Adelaide caught on quickly and followed the astral body of the other using Astral Projection herself.
The Aetherium could easily be a confusing, endless space to navigate without any kind of help. Vergil immediately found himself disoriented, his perception not quite the same as on the material plane. He lacked a proper body here; his senses did not function the same. Ultimately, he had no idea where he was, but he was not alone for long. Adelaide’s projection was there after but a moment.
“This won’t take long if you can follow me well enough; come now.” Her voice ‘sounded’ altogether odd in this space. He doubted she was even speaking in a traditional sense, though he wasn’t entirely sure about the mechanisms by which verbal communication worked here. However, now really wasn’t the time to question it.
“Lead on,” his reply was simple; he really didn’t want to linger here for long. He was effectively on a timer; should he not return to his body quickly enough, it would falter and he’d become stranded, a ghost.
Adelaide made navigating the Aetherium look simple, consummate as her skill with Traversion appeared to be. Perhaps she was aided by other magics as well, though Vergil was entirely unable to tell. As he followed her, he began to wonder why anyone would perform this initiation without guiding their initiate in this fashion. Weaving through this space would’ve taken him far longer alone. With her assistance, however, the overall process was not one that could be described as altogether too tedious. In some ways, Vergil enjoyed it– the Aetherium was a truly breathtaking place to behold.
Vergil couldn’t help but exhale a bit of a laugh. “In what world would I ever do that?” To him, there was nearly no chance of that happening, especially given the circumstance.
He and Hector were considered assets to the Imperium, what with their mastery of Vitalis on top of their other capabilities. The mage that would be his initiator would Astral Project themselves to wherever it was that Vergil ended up and guide the man back as quickly as possible for the very purpose of avoiding an adverse fate. Hector’s worry really was unfounded, but then again, so was most worry– most emotions did not make manifest for logical reasons, anyhow.
Nonetheless, Hector glared at him for a moment before the expression broke, softening. “...I’ll ready everything for your comfort upon your return,” he said, sounding far more demure than before– he really did hate to see the other suffer.
Looking back at him, “...oh, you needn’t go out of your way.”
Though his hand had been on the door, Vergil let go and approached the comparatively petite elf, cupping the boy’s face in his hands. Running a thumb over his cheek for a brief moment, he then kissed his partner.
Pulling back, “...I’ll be fine, love; relax.” His voice held ample reassurance, and his touch was unnaturally soothing; he’d timed his touch with Pheromancy, shifting Hector’s mood to something far calmer through a series of minor hormonal alterations.
---
Despite the slight delay caused by Hector, Vergil managed to arrive at the appointed room within the Grand Cathedral of Saint Aegan at the appointed time, having wound his way into the seemingly labyrinthine series of halls and rooms below. Though it was easy to get lost due to how similar the varying corridors actually looked, the layout itself was incredibly organized and, with an accurate map, of which there was at least one per level, navigation, and thus finding his way to his proper destination, was not hard.
The room which he was instructed to head to was one that had many purposes from initiations to interrogations; it was a simple one, not very big, with gray tiled floors and a lighter shade of the same color on the walls. For this particular occasion, it had nothing in terms of furniture. For a Traversion initiation, both parties would be sitting on the floor in a meditative state anyhow.
The initiating mage was already present by the time Vergil walked in, and he was exactly on time, so the other had been early. Exactly how early, however…who could tell? Nonetheless, she was seated on a mat on the floor, with an identical one having been laid out before her. Upon his entry, she smiled at him; she was a slick, professional-looking middle aged human; raven haired and pale skinned, her hair was tied back and she was dressed in what one would expect from a higher ranking Inquisitor, robes and proper identification visible. The lenses of the glasses she wore had an odd glint to them, Vergil assuming correctly that they were made of Auracyte, though he couldn’t tell the purity. Some would consider her overall look to be intimidating, but she appeared amiable enough towards her would-be initiate.
“Glad to see you arrive on time, Vergil.” Her voice was smooth, cool, and cordial. “I am Adelaide Ingram; I assume you’ve familiarized yourself with this initiation prior to your arrival, no?” The little smile she wore said that she’d be deeply displeased if his answer to this query was ‘no.’
“Correct; I’ve read how this works, asked around a bit, so on. I know what to expect.” His reply was flat, but more professional than cold.
She appeared far more chipper than before once she’d heard this answer. “Great!” To some degree, Vergil thought it was a bit of an overreaction on her end, but he supposed she’d had the misfortune of doing this to somebody clueless before and absolutely loathed the idea of doing so again.
“Everything else is in order, down to the design and placement of the rune. Unless you’ve any further questions, or for whatever reason, objections, we can begin.” Because for this to even be orchestrated, all information did have to be provided and then processed beforehand. “I do fully intend to go with you and guide you along this journey to ensure that it goes as smoothly as possible.”
That last part was, for all intents and purposes, standard procedure when doing this, but there was a small addendum and this case stressing the point that Vergil’s death would be a fairly massive loss compared to the loss of a standard recruit. The exact reasoning as for why had not been disclosed to Adelaide, but she knew better than to question a command sanctioned by those above her. It did, however, pique her interest; she wondered what about him was particularly special; for all she knew, he was new to the Inquisition, and though a talented doctor and Necromancer, it wasn’t as if the Imperium was in extremely short supply of either of those. Maybe he had other unique qualifications? Or classified research? She couldn’t say. The two didn’t exactly work in similar fields, either, so her previous contact with him was slim to none.
“Nothing on my end, no.” With that response, Vergil moved to close the distance between him and the mat set out for him, sitting down in front of the senior Traverser.
“Perfect!” Her response was met with an extension of Vergil’s left arm; he wanted the mark on his inner forearm, just below the arm’s bend.
Adelaide inscribed the mark with an ink mixture made from black pigment and a small amount of aetheryte powder, and once drawn, infused it with her own aether and intent. The process was not altogether instantaneous; Vergil sat in a meditative state for a moment before he began to feel reality warp around him as his astral body split from his corporeal form, beginning to drift into the Aetherium. Having been monitoring the Slipstream while this happened, Adelaide caught on quickly and followed the astral body of the other using Astral Projection herself.
The Aetherium could easily be a confusing, endless space to navigate without any kind of help. Vergil immediately found himself disoriented, his perception not quite the same as on the material plane. He lacked a proper body here; his senses did not function the same. Ultimately, he had no idea where he was, but he was not alone for long. Adelaide’s projection was there after but a moment.
“This won’t take long if you can follow me well enough; come now.” Her voice ‘sounded’ altogether odd in this space. He doubted she was even speaking in a traditional sense, though he wasn’t entirely sure about the mechanisms by which verbal communication worked here. However, now really wasn’t the time to question it.
“Lead on,” his reply was simple; he really didn’t want to linger here for long. He was effectively on a timer; should he not return to his body quickly enough, it would falter and he’d become stranded, a ghost.
Adelaide made navigating the Aetherium look simple, consummate as her skill with Traversion appeared to be. Perhaps she was aided by other magics as well, though Vergil was entirely unable to tell. As he followed her, he began to wonder why anyone would perform this initiation without guiding their initiate in this fashion. Weaving through this space would’ve taken him far longer alone. With her assistance, however, the overall process was not one that could be described as altogether too tedious. In some ways, Vergil enjoyed it– the Aetherium was a truly breathtaking place to behold.
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