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Whether it was fate or mere coincidence, he asked for this not; the spirit's circumstances regarding both Arcas and Lykos were not brought upon by his own desires. Their divine interventions were never sought by him, yet nonetheless, he was saved by the benevolence of these foreign deities both times, one way or another. Arcas had found him moments after mist-corrupted beasts had, saving him from straits most dire.
For Lykos, Æros was not actually aware of the true nature of it all– he didn't know that it was Lykos' magic that solved Hilana's conundrum, thus clearing the path back for them both, nor did he know the circumstances of the bargain He'd taken from Myshala. The apparition did, however, harken to Myshala's parting words. Whatever gaps lingered in Æros' sense of self-preservation before were now gone.
Æros had little to say and less to do while the others finished speaking and began gathering supplies; the ghost lingered without a word and followed as the party made its way out to the courtyard and through the portal. Looking around as they moved, he was curious about just how many Sentinels had been dispatched. There was no guess for him to hazard, unfortunately; he had no access to his magics like this, a fact that pained him.
Upon arriving in the citadel, Æros recognized the room, though it was clear some changes had been made as Phocion snapped his fingers and the decor came to life with a magicked vibrance. "Ah-! Quite a bit more lively than last time, indeed," the ghost quipped, his voice and barely visible aetherial form moving past Hilana and towards the window.
Æros might've groaned at Phocion's request that he and the others add their perspectives…but this incorporeal form prevented such outbursts; any audible sound he produced took a lot more effort than before, thus rendering anything involuntary unto obsolescence. The ghost knew full well that those with Semblance could pull the accounts from their Auras, making such a request effectively superfluous. He figured the actual reason was to compare that which was said with the truth, not even necessarily for lies, but for the manner in which one chose to tell the tale. Reasoning regardless, he knew it'd be folly to deny the man this request.
"Given that Lykos remembers precious little and Lia's tale aught to be similar to Hilana's, I suppose I'll speak first." The ghost’s voice lacked a lot of the emotion it held prior to the arrival of the Sentinels, though the reason for which would be presently indecipherable.
"Hilana and I only intended to sail along the edge of the Sceptre’s protection, but upon leaving its radius, our curiosity did, indeed, get the better of us. The frozen crystalline tree atop a lone island we'd never noticed before piqued our interest; we wanted to see if the tree had anything to do with the Eclipse, and then if it did, if there was aught we could do to help resolve it. Upon our arrival, it was as she said– moments after we stepped out of our boat, everything froze over and that way back was destroyed," he began.
"I…want to say it was just the two of us to start, but my memory is hazy; there might have been another already there…but I can't recall," and upon thinking about it, this vexed him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to remember everything clearly and there was a nagging feeling as if he were missing something important.
"Nevertheless, we proceeded forward into an entrance formed in the trunk of the tree. Within it we found ourselves surrounded by kaleidoscopic color– gaseous, liquid, crystallized– all forms. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to get a proper look at it, but if I had to guess, we were surrounded by materialized aether. I can't say the source or potency thereof.
"Anyway, the chamber was otherwise empty aside from a black obelisk in the center. At first, I found myself standing back, looking 'round the room. So when Hilana strode forward and laid her hand upon the obelisk's surface, I…I panicked," and though his voice had been monotone this entire time, he paused.
"...I wanted to stay back and look around, to analyze our surroundings, but from the writing on the obelisk, it was clear that it was a portal. So when she touched it, I…didn't want to be stuck there alone with no way off the island. Guided by that, I followed suit…foolish as that was, I now wish I hadn't.
"I had done so with a hope that wherever we would end up, we'd be deposited together– alas, that was not the case, and I ended up alone anyway. Rather, I found myself only functionally alone and, to my great dismay, without my Semblance. My company were all facsimiles who bore familiar faces. On instinct…I knew this. The obelisk did not rob me of my memory. I knew I'd touched something that had all but labeled itself as 'portal to the void.'
"Nevertheless, I fell into the trap of whatever creature deigned to design that faux reality– whatever manner of beast wore such familiar skin. I've no true defense of my actions, only an explanation of what went through my head.
"When the visage of our Goddess was invoked, I felt nothing less than incredible desperation. Desperation to appease Her, to please Her, to give myself unto Them. She promised much, but it was not in those honeyed gifts that I desired– I only…I only wanted deliverance unto Them." In truth, a part of him was perfectly at peace with meeting a true end, so long as his soul went to Them. "So I did as Her imposter asked, offering myself as sacrifice, though I did so in Their name only.
"...and my prayer was heard. In a way, I ended up getting exactly what I desired, though it came with…caveats. When next I found myself conscious, I had been plucked from the Void, finding myself atop mount Sorokyn. Before me were two divines: our beloved Twins. There were, however, others present. Beside me, there was Shæoth, and brought with Them was another mortal, one meant to be a sacrifice."
An uncomfortable pause would occur before he continued. "I was then presented with an offer. Be damned to Void, or damn the other mortal and be resurrected within his skin. Should this have been nearly anyone else, I wouldn't have balked at such a proposition, but…given my affection for him, I, at first, hesitated.
"I asked if there was any other way, and, to my surprise, it was Shæoth who presented the alternative. Shæoth offered me vengeance, though at first, it was too much. In exchange for what He had said was a substantial amount of power, I was to forsake everything about my life prior, swearing vengeance against not only the creature that tricked me into death, but the Twins themselves for picking a sacrifice that weighed so heavily upon my heart. I…could not do that, but in my heart did burn a desire for vengeance toward the thing that had me duped. I said as much to Shaeoth, and He accepted, this being the form He did deign to grant me. Should I succeed in eliminating the creature that tricked me, I will be reborn.
"I…know not the fate of the would-be sacrifice. Mine was given to me before I saw what became of him, all I can say is that he had no sympathy for my predicament, and as such, pleaded with Shæoth for vengeance of his own.
"Tricked as I had been, I do consider that audience to have been nothing short of a blessing. That the Twins did hear me and answer my prayer, to have made any sort of arrangement with Shæoth to offer me a return– I am ever grateful.
"Once the deal had been brokered with Shæoth, I next found myself at Hilana's side. She…seemed to be faring quite a bit better, despite the apparent destruction in whatever pocket of Void she'd been sent to. Along with myself arrived my rune of Semblance and two other runes– perhaps…belonging to Lykos? I know not who else they could have come from. Nevertheless, Hilana collected them.
"Perilous though it was, we managed to return to the chamber within the tree. It was upon that return where we chanced upon this one dubbed Lykos. He was there, unconscious, and with him was Myshala, of that I am certain. The obelisk had been split in twain, two corpses having been held within it; twin elves. I've not a clue their identities, and Myshala did not offer answers. If you think knowing their faces would be useful, might I suggest having a more learned individual than I gaze into my Aura? Or I suppose I might be able to possess somebody and illustrate the figures with Masquerade simulacrums." He knew ghosts could possess people, though his current grasp of the concept was tenuous at best.
"Further, Myshala, obscure as She was, made several things clear. She said that Lykos had made an incredible sacrifice and that He'd given up everything He held dear not only for us, apparently, but for countless others. To whit, She then informed Hilana and I that a new bargain had been formed between us and Her, since it was by Lykos' bargain that we lived at all. Myshala stated that should Hilana or I untether from this mortal coil before we fulfill our end of the bargain, that She will collect our souls and gift us with the dubious concept of 'eons of suffering,' but also that fulfilling it was more than simply living– to do so, we must 'grow anew' with the continued existence we've been granted.
"She left us with nebulous words. At first, She said that He, referring to Lykos, I assume, 'will be needed in what comes next,' and then when Hilana referred to her as 'Lady of Mercy,' her response was to say, 'mercy was lost with Him and His forebears,' again, presumably in regard to Lykos. Promptly thereafter, she vanished. Make of this information what you will, for I…don't quite know what she means.
"I will add that through this, Myshala used the last of the crystal tree's aether to shift the world around us, and before we left, it was a crystalline tree no more, but an icy domain home to wolves– perhaps an ode to this 'Lord of Frost,' but we did not linger long.
"At first, I'd honestly thought we'd have to cross the frozen waters– when the island shifted to ice, so too did the ocean between us and the mainland, presumably…very far north. To my great relief, however, Hilana informed us she had a Traversion ring, which brought us swiftly back to her family's home– and now we are here, with that being the tale as per my experience."
He added, "I do request that if possible, Hilana, you'll get my Semblance rune into my family's possession. They can...look after it until I find a way to coalesce with it once more. And Phocion, Lykos is clueless to all of that; loathe as I am to speak Common normally, I avoided it here on the chance you'd rather keep him in the dark." The ghost felt these two things important to clarify.
"Lykos, mine apologies for speaking in a tongue you know not. Common can be...difficult for me." To have delivered all of that in a tongue he rarely used would've been an arduous process.
Despite his pauses, the sound of his voice continued to remain flat. Æros had come to realize that it took quite a bit of effort to speak at all, and that any modulation to his voice be it volume or tone did seem to require more effort. He'd found that his outbursts towards Hilana had felt exhausting– speaking like this, devoid of emotion, was far less taxing on his essence. He imagined that should he be outright provoked, he'd be hard pressed not to react with more weighted words. All he felt now was an oppressive, lingering sadness accompanied by a painful sort of anxiety regarding the future. Without the body's physical reactions to these emotions, though, it was far, far easier to speak smoothly if he put conscious effort into doing so.
For Lykos, Æros was not actually aware of the true nature of it all– he didn't know that it was Lykos' magic that solved Hilana's conundrum, thus clearing the path back for them both, nor did he know the circumstances of the bargain He'd taken from Myshala. The apparition did, however, harken to Myshala's parting words. Whatever gaps lingered in Æros' sense of self-preservation before were now gone.
Æros had little to say and less to do while the others finished speaking and began gathering supplies; the ghost lingered without a word and followed as the party made its way out to the courtyard and through the portal. Looking around as they moved, he was curious about just how many Sentinels had been dispatched. There was no guess for him to hazard, unfortunately; he had no access to his magics like this, a fact that pained him.
Upon arriving in the citadel, Æros recognized the room, though it was clear some changes had been made as Phocion snapped his fingers and the decor came to life with a magicked vibrance. "Ah-! Quite a bit more lively than last time, indeed," the ghost quipped, his voice and barely visible aetherial form moving past Hilana and towards the window.
Æros might've groaned at Phocion's request that he and the others add their perspectives…but this incorporeal form prevented such outbursts; any audible sound he produced took a lot more effort than before, thus rendering anything involuntary unto obsolescence. The ghost knew full well that those with Semblance could pull the accounts from their Auras, making such a request effectively superfluous. He figured the actual reason was to compare that which was said with the truth, not even necessarily for lies, but for the manner in which one chose to tell the tale. Reasoning regardless, he knew it'd be folly to deny the man this request.
"Given that Lykos remembers precious little and Lia's tale aught to be similar to Hilana's, I suppose I'll speak first." The ghost’s voice lacked a lot of the emotion it held prior to the arrival of the Sentinels, though the reason for which would be presently indecipherable.
"Hilana and I only intended to sail along the edge of the Sceptre’s protection, but upon leaving its radius, our curiosity did, indeed, get the better of us. The frozen crystalline tree atop a lone island we'd never noticed before piqued our interest; we wanted to see if the tree had anything to do with the Eclipse, and then if it did, if there was aught we could do to help resolve it. Upon our arrival, it was as she said– moments after we stepped out of our boat, everything froze over and that way back was destroyed," he began.
"I…want to say it was just the two of us to start, but my memory is hazy; there might have been another already there…but I can't recall," and upon thinking about it, this vexed him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to remember everything clearly and there was a nagging feeling as if he were missing something important.
"Nevertheless, we proceeded forward into an entrance formed in the trunk of the tree. Within it we found ourselves surrounded by kaleidoscopic color– gaseous, liquid, crystallized– all forms. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to get a proper look at it, but if I had to guess, we were surrounded by materialized aether. I can't say the source or potency thereof.
"Anyway, the chamber was otherwise empty aside from a black obelisk in the center. At first, I found myself standing back, looking 'round the room. So when Hilana strode forward and laid her hand upon the obelisk's surface, I…I panicked," and though his voice had been monotone this entire time, he paused.
"...I wanted to stay back and look around, to analyze our surroundings, but from the writing on the obelisk, it was clear that it was a portal. So when she touched it, I…didn't want to be stuck there alone with no way off the island. Guided by that, I followed suit…foolish as that was, I now wish I hadn't.
"I had done so with a hope that wherever we would end up, we'd be deposited together– alas, that was not the case, and I ended up alone anyway. Rather, I found myself only functionally alone and, to my great dismay, without my Semblance. My company were all facsimiles who bore familiar faces. On instinct…I knew this. The obelisk did not rob me of my memory. I knew I'd touched something that had all but labeled itself as 'portal to the void.'
"Nevertheless, I fell into the trap of whatever creature deigned to design that faux reality– whatever manner of beast wore such familiar skin. I've no true defense of my actions, only an explanation of what went through my head.
"When the visage of our Goddess was invoked, I felt nothing less than incredible desperation. Desperation to appease Her, to please Her, to give myself unto Them. She promised much, but it was not in those honeyed gifts that I desired– I only…I only wanted deliverance unto Them." In truth, a part of him was perfectly at peace with meeting a true end, so long as his soul went to Them. "So I did as Her imposter asked, offering myself as sacrifice, though I did so in Their name only.
"...and my prayer was heard. In a way, I ended up getting exactly what I desired, though it came with…caveats. When next I found myself conscious, I had been plucked from the Void, finding myself atop mount Sorokyn. Before me were two divines: our beloved Twins. There were, however, others present. Beside me, there was Shæoth, and brought with Them was another mortal, one meant to be a sacrifice."
An uncomfortable pause would occur before he continued. "I was then presented with an offer. Be damned to Void, or damn the other mortal and be resurrected within his skin. Should this have been nearly anyone else, I wouldn't have balked at such a proposition, but…given my affection for him, I, at first, hesitated.
"I asked if there was any other way, and, to my surprise, it was Shæoth who presented the alternative. Shæoth offered me vengeance, though at first, it was too much. In exchange for what He had said was a substantial amount of power, I was to forsake everything about my life prior, swearing vengeance against not only the creature that tricked me into death, but the Twins themselves for picking a sacrifice that weighed so heavily upon my heart. I…could not do that, but in my heart did burn a desire for vengeance toward the thing that had me duped. I said as much to Shaeoth, and He accepted, this being the form He did deign to grant me. Should I succeed in eliminating the creature that tricked me, I will be reborn.
"I…know not the fate of the would-be sacrifice. Mine was given to me before I saw what became of him, all I can say is that he had no sympathy for my predicament, and as such, pleaded with Shæoth for vengeance of his own.
"Tricked as I had been, I do consider that audience to have been nothing short of a blessing. That the Twins did hear me and answer my prayer, to have made any sort of arrangement with Shæoth to offer me a return– I am ever grateful.
"Once the deal had been brokered with Shæoth, I next found myself at Hilana's side. She…seemed to be faring quite a bit better, despite the apparent destruction in whatever pocket of Void she'd been sent to. Along with myself arrived my rune of Semblance and two other runes– perhaps…belonging to Lykos? I know not who else they could have come from. Nevertheless, Hilana collected them.
"Perilous though it was, we managed to return to the chamber within the tree. It was upon that return where we chanced upon this one dubbed Lykos. He was there, unconscious, and with him was Myshala, of that I am certain. The obelisk had been split in twain, two corpses having been held within it; twin elves. I've not a clue their identities, and Myshala did not offer answers. If you think knowing their faces would be useful, might I suggest having a more learned individual than I gaze into my Aura? Or I suppose I might be able to possess somebody and illustrate the figures with Masquerade simulacrums." He knew ghosts could possess people, though his current grasp of the concept was tenuous at best.
"Further, Myshala, obscure as She was, made several things clear. She said that Lykos had made an incredible sacrifice and that He'd given up everything He held dear not only for us, apparently, but for countless others. To whit, She then informed Hilana and I that a new bargain had been formed between us and Her, since it was by Lykos' bargain that we lived at all. Myshala stated that should Hilana or I untether from this mortal coil before we fulfill our end of the bargain, that She will collect our souls and gift us with the dubious concept of 'eons of suffering,' but also that fulfilling it was more than simply living– to do so, we must 'grow anew' with the continued existence we've been granted.
"She left us with nebulous words. At first, She said that He, referring to Lykos, I assume, 'will be needed in what comes next,' and then when Hilana referred to her as 'Lady of Mercy,' her response was to say, 'mercy was lost with Him and His forebears,' again, presumably in regard to Lykos. Promptly thereafter, she vanished. Make of this information what you will, for I…don't quite know what she means.
"I will add that through this, Myshala used the last of the crystal tree's aether to shift the world around us, and before we left, it was a crystalline tree no more, but an icy domain home to wolves– perhaps an ode to this 'Lord of Frost,' but we did not linger long.
"At first, I'd honestly thought we'd have to cross the frozen waters– when the island shifted to ice, so too did the ocean between us and the mainland, presumably…very far north. To my great relief, however, Hilana informed us she had a Traversion ring, which brought us swiftly back to her family's home– and now we are here, with that being the tale as per my experience."
He added, "I do request that if possible, Hilana, you'll get my Semblance rune into my family's possession. They can...look after it until I find a way to coalesce with it once more. And Phocion, Lykos is clueless to all of that; loathe as I am to speak Common normally, I avoided it here on the chance you'd rather keep him in the dark." The ghost felt these two things important to clarify.
"Lykos, mine apologies for speaking in a tongue you know not. Common can be...difficult for me." To have delivered all of that in a tongue he rarely used would've been an arduous process.
Despite his pauses, the sound of his voice continued to remain flat. Æros had come to realize that it took quite a bit of effort to speak at all, and that any modulation to his voice be it volume or tone did seem to require more effort. He'd found that his outbursts towards Hilana had felt exhausting– speaking like this, devoid of emotion, was far less taxing on his essence. He imagined that should he be outright provoked, he'd be hard pressed not to react with more weighted words. All he felt now was an oppressive, lingering sadness accompanied by a painful sort of anxiety regarding the future. Without the body's physical reactions to these emotions, though, it was far, far easier to speak smoothly if he put conscious effort into doing so.
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"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"
"Vastien Tongue/Speech"
"Valasren Tongue/Speech"
"Common Tongue/Speech"
