Gaze Long Into The Abyss

...so that it may gaze back into you.

High City of the Northlands

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Hector
Posts: 355
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2022 4:19 pm
Location: Gel'Grandel, Gelerian Imperium
Character Sheet: viewtopic.php?t=3187
Plot Notes: viewtopic.php?t=3339
Character Secrets: viewtopic.php?t=3335

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TIMESTAMP: Frost 66 122
NOTES: -
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While fully capable of transporting himself and Hector to Zaichaer by methods more magical, Vergil did not need to make use of his newly minted magic in this scenario. Their presence in the ruined city was a bit more 'official' this time and the pair arrived via dreadnaught for what had been officially labeled as 'humanitarian' reasons. Which, to a degree, was true– the Imperium was offering some genuine assistance, but with any matter of Gelerian diplomacy, such a thing was not borne out of true altruism.

In any case, the two of them were sent to survey the areas most immediately around the crater in the middle of the city. It was a curious phenomenon, something that not many would be able to go anywhere near by its very nature, and the Imperium wanted information regarding the nature thereof; while it was an inherently dangerous endeavor, sending two vampyres with both combat prowess and the ability to fix themselves ought anything run awry was considered the most ideal option. Most others would be lacking in adequate fortitude, unfortunately. And though Hector was far slimmer physically, Vergil's fortifications had him as quite robust in the present.

Further, wherever these two went, there was also a third party. Permanently intertwined with Hector was his aidolon– a strange eldritch being that, up until recently, was nameless. More specifically, he couldn't recall his name, but shortly after meeting with an ancient member of his own bloodline did several memories begin to unbind and reveal themselves, his old name being one of them. Al'Kassis; Hector, however, being lazy, usually shortened it.

When the intrepid trio neared the crumbling, rocky edge of Zaichaer’s crater, they'd taken note of the fact that all of the monstrosities they'd passed as they grew closer were not hostile; they'd appeared almost…dormant, as if thralls. The crater itself was like peering into the void; even amongst the rest of the city's devastation, this was remarkable. As above there was a tear in the sky, so below had the earth been rent– each equal in their eldritch grandeur, each akin to open wounds marring what was once a very vibrant, if rigid, city.

Hector took pause looking into the inky abyss of the crater, and as he did so, his spirit expanded from his shadow; Al'Kassis manifested himself as mist.

"wⲏₐ𝑡 𝑑ₒ 𝑦ₒᵤ 𝑚ₐⲕₑ ₒ𝑓 𝑡ⲏᵢ𝑠…?" His inquiry was vague, though pointed.

Hector squinted. "Precious little!" He sighed, appearing somewhat annoyed at his own lack of knowledge.

As if nudging the boy forth, "...𝑡ₒ Լₑₐᵣ𝑛, wₑ 𝑛ₑₑ𝑑 𝑚ₒᵣₑ 𝑡ⲏₐ𝑛 𝑠ᵢ𝑚𝒑Լₑ ₒ𝑏𝑠ₑᵣᵥₐ𝑡ᵢₒ𝑛, 𝑛ₒ…?" The spirit seemed oddly eager, as he saw something that the half-mortals did not.

And to that, Vergil immediately bristled. "Know you the nature of this abyss? Or are you making vague suggestions based on nothing? I'd rather we not throw our lives away based on your conjectures, spirit.."

"ₒⲏ, 𝑐ₒ𝑚ₑ 𝑛ₒw, ᵥₑᵣ𝑔ᵢԼ– ⲏₑ𝑐𝑡ₒᵣ ₐ𝑛𝑑 ᵢ ₐᵣₑ 𝑏ₒᵤ𝑛𝑑; 𝑚ᵤ𝑐ⲏ ₐ𝑠 ᵢ Լₒₐ𝑡ⲏₑ 𝑡ₒ ₐ𝑑𝑚ᵢ𝑡 𝑡ₒ 𝑡ⲏₑ 𝑐ₒ𝑑ₑ𝒑ₑ𝑛𝑐𝑦, ᵢ𝑡'𝑠 𝑡ᵣᵤₑ; ⲏᵢ𝑠 𝑑ₑ𝑚ᵢ𝑠ₑ wₒᵤԼ𝑑 ⲏₐᵣ𝑚 𝑚ₑ 𝑔ᵣₑₐ𝑡Լ𝑦, ₐ𝑠 𝑦ₒᵤ wₑԼԼ ⲕ𝑛ₒw. wₑ 𝑐ₐ𝑛 𝑔ₒ 𝑓ᵤᵣ𝑡ⲏₑᵣ…wₑ'ԼԼ 𝑠ᵤᵣᵥᵢᵥₑ, ᵢ ⲕ𝑛ₒw ᵢ𝑡." The spirit's response did very little to assuage Vergil's concerns, but it did ignite further curiosity in Hector.

"Do you, now? An abyss made in the wake of a cracked sky and destroyed city is just fine to traverse? I very much doubt that." Vergil's tone was always fairly flat, but this was near to mocking.

Al’Kassis realized that convincing Hector to jump would’ve been an easy feat should it have been just the two of them on that edge, but with Vergil there…? He doubted there was a tale that he could spin that would convince the older of the pair to indulge in his curiosity. And yet, in the earth’s maw that laid out before them swirled a black miasma, if one were to look with a more discerning eye. He recognized it as somewhat similar to that which composed his own body, and should that be the case, what lay within would benefit him…and if it benefited him, it ought to benefit Hector, too…no? At least, that was his logic.

But since he knew Vergil to be obstinate in situations like this, the spirit’s fog began to gather and condense, granting him the body he’d only recently discovered how to manifest. Deliberately, he’d appeared between Hector and Vergil. The ‘man’ was about as tall as Vergil, though much more lithe, pale of skin and striking in features. Almost casually, with no fanfare nor warning, he lifted an arm and grabbed Hector by the shoulder, shoving the elf into the abyss.

In situations like this, Hector’s default was to freeze; he fell wide eyed, but silent. Vergil’s immediate response was to grab the now corporeal spirit by the arm and jump after the boy– though he was very clearly none too pleased with this turn of events.
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Aidolon Speech
'Thoughts'
"Kathalan Tongue/Speech"
"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Mythrasi Tongue/Speech"
word count: 915
"And as you lay down your grace to me,
the skies begin to bleach red,
and the stars begin to fall,
I feel myself changing,
as my world starts dividing–"
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Lyra
Posts: 625
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2020 4:34 pm
Character Sheet: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=846
Plot Notes: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=882
Character Secrets: https://ransera.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=848

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As they fell the swirling mists billowed and spread out on either side, obscuring the jagged walls of the cavern and depths of the pit in which they now found themselves. Sounds of creatures in the distance echoed off the walls, growing louder and fading away so quick it was impossible to tell how far away they were. Where they touched the mists stung bare skin. They contained a rampant, chaotic energy that threatened to burrow into the body through every pore, and were they not plummeting to their death it was likely that Hector and his companions would find themselves succumbing to their ever increasing potency.

Threads of black smoke twined upward from deeper in abyss, and with them came the sound of a thousand whispered voices. The smoke first spun around Hector and his companion, thickening into bands of black ink. The same then happened to Virgil, and while they still fell their speed slowed considerably as the black slime grew and shaped into hands which gently held them up in the grey mists.

When they broke through the final layer of the chasm a vast cavern opened up beneath them, one filled with grey twisted trees and mist covered ground. They were lowered into a clearing near a running stream, and the black hands evaporated into smoke and dispersed once more. The air was cold, filled with a chill that reached the bones and made the soul itself shiver. Lights like dancing flames floated between the trunks and branches of the trees, peaking out from behind black leaves and hovering over the stream.

There were no obvious paths out of the clearing, and the trees themselves formed a sort of cage with the branches over head forming a roof which blocked the entrance above from their view. Yet within this natural cage the mists were held at bay, swirling at the edges of the circle but never crossing the threshold. An unnatural silence filled the area, but there was a sense of something watching them.

"What curious children."
word count: 381
User avatar
Hector
Posts: 355
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2022 4:19 pm
Location: Gel'Grandel, Gelerian Imperium
Character Sheet: viewtopic.php?t=3187
Plot Notes: viewtopic.php?t=3339
Character Secrets: viewtopic.php?t=3335

Special

TIMESTAMP: -
NOTES: -
- - -
Image
- - -
The spirit, Al’Kassis, had every means to resist Vergil’s pull on his arm– he could easily turn back into the liquid dark he was normally composed of, but in this case…he didn’t. In part, this was because he didn’t want to; it was by his will that Hector fell in the first place. Secondarily, his bond to his Summoner would’ve pulled him along like a chain should he have lingered any longer. And with the strength of Vergil’s affections for the elf, there was no chance he’d not go after him– so with the choice of one, all three were damned to fall.

Hector was, admittedly, not a fan of the sensation that came from falling. He immediately felt nauseous from that alone, though he wasn’t the type to be particularly put off by that which swirled around him. The abyssal darkness was nightmarish by nature, but being a Summoner who’d long since Spherebound to the Eldritch, these things were not foreign nor unwelcome to him. He knew that chaotic darkness like this was as mercurial as it was pernicious as it was serendipitous– he did not feel fear of the dark, nay, he was wonderstruck! …however, he did fear the ground’s impending impact.

The spirit felt almost invigorated by the darkness that surrounded them, finding it eerily similar to that which he was composed of. Using the link to Hector he possessed, he was able to snap himself back to his Summoner, collecting the elf into his arms– though for now, he would still let them fall. His only concern with their fall was Vergil– he could slow Hector, but while he didn’t care about Vergil, he was full well aware that if that man died, Hector would be…inconsolable, and that would be an incredible inconvenience.

As Vergil fell, he saw the spirit enshroud his Summoner. His concern for Hector turned to relief in that regard…but then what of himself? His mind began to race with ways for which he could manipulate his magics to slow himself once the ground was within sight, if it ever would be. For all they knew, this shadowy abyss had no end and the latent chaos would eventually unravel them all. And as they fell, the darkness kept thickening, the ambient magic growing in strength.

But as it kept thickening, blackened arms started to ensnare them all; through no effort of their own, their descent was slowed. To some, this would’ve been ever the more unnerving, but to these three? No. All three parties were surprised by this, though it took little time for all three individually to realize that since this darkness was so similar to Al’Kassis’ own, then the manifestation of those arms had to be the conjuration of an as yet obfuscated actor. But who?

Nevertheless, this conclusion excited the shade; he was deeply pleased because his original assumption seemed ever more likely– even the whispers in the dark were alike to those that one would hear within Al’Kassis’ darkness; it was like a variation to a theme, so similar, yet distinctly different. That excitement bled into Hector, galvanizing his own awe at the strange, withered forest they soon fell into. Vergil? He was…guarded, wary, but if the surreptitious soul that had allowed for such a gentle landing wanted them dead, well…they would be. Whomever it was could still be toying with them, but that was impossible to tell at this juncture.

The hands had even shifted them upright, allowing them to float down and land standing straight. Vergil’s instinct was to close the distance between himself and Hector, wanting to check and see if the elf had come to any harm– he hadn’t, none of them had. Curious lavender eyes flit from left to right, looking all ‘round these strange and sinister surroundings– he wasn’t unphased, but he wasn’t scared; wonderstruck– that was it.

“To whom does this dark demesne belong?” Hector would ask aloud, his voice breaking the unnatural silence.
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Aidolon Speech
"Kathalan Tongue/Speech"
"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Mythrasi Tongue/Speech"
word count: 789
"And as you lay down your grace to me,
the skies begin to bleach red,
and the stars begin to fall,
I feel myself changing,
as my world starts dividing–"
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