Following a feeling (Chronicle)

[Lyra]

Lyra quirked an eyebrow as the man used her name, but she gave no reply to either confirm or deny. It seemed this one was more tied to her than she suspected, and when she felt the synchronizing rhythm between them she felt the suspicions become stone. As Odison talked she walked, moving at a slow leisurely pace around the man, eyeing him from every angle as if inspecting a product for sale. Her eyes drifted over the bodies, remember the smoke that left such destruction. The smoke that was peculiarly similar to her own essence.

He is unstable. Lyra thought.

What was your first clue?

War between two orders... Continued, choosing not to respond to Naila's flipancy, The Cult, and a curse. All that he speaks of seem to have happened after I was imprisoned.

He's crazy. Naila returned. In their soul space, Lyra could see her lounging on top of a hill. She waved a dismissive hand, It sounds like he is talking about the Cult of Mending, but they were wiped out more than 100 years ago.

The Cult of Mending? Lyra paused in her circling, looking inward to Naila who shrugged.

They caused the Graveplague. That's the most I know about it. That, and they were taken down by the Dawnmartyr. This guy is young and doesn't look elvish so I find it hard to believe he was there.

Lyra felt a touch of uncertainty as she locked eyes with the man, looking deep into his gaze as she considered the other woman's words. Was he lying? No, she could tell from his melodies that he at least believed his own words. Then there was the link they shared, something she could not quite understand.

When Odison finally finished Lyra would wave a hand, "It is of no concern. It seems your ordeal has been trying indeed. Tell me, though, of this curse." She glanced around at the bodies that still surrounded them, "And why do you believe I am the person you seek?"

[Chronicle]

Following A Feeling

46th of Frost, 120 AS

Odison no longer looked wracked with doubt anymore, even if the Lady of Whispers hadn't confirmed or denied her identity, there just that connect that somehow told him just enough. Enough to know who she should be at least, though, clearly not the same individual she had housed herself within now. He looked to the bodies once more as she conversed with Naila, steadily dragging another corpse towards the hole, so that like the first it would topple down into the depths below. Not even a thud was heard when the body disappeared, suggesting that the well may have in fact travelled deeply into part of the Warrens somewhere.

It was when she spoke once more that he paused, refraining from dragging the next body over as she addressed his earlier tangent. Odison looked to her with utter relief, maybe even empathy, as though he had indeed already considered Lyra a possible friend. "My curse?" He reiterated softly with a thoughtful look in his dark eyes, taking on a somber expression once more when he started to elaborate. "A twisted affliction. As you witnessed earlier I sometimes lose control of it, allowing darkness to consume and inflict death on everything around me. It's rather sad really... The moment I value life is the moment it triggers, leading me to live a solitary life with almost no mortal contact." That same melancholic smile returned earlier now that he ruminated on it more, reflecting back on the kindness of the strangers that helped him out shortly after his awakening.

"What's more, I can no longer seem to die, much as I may wish for it. No matter how hard I try, death only seeks to take those around me, leaving me to suffer a lonely life full of wretched misery." His smile became an infuriated scowl then as he seemed to reflect on something else. "What I wouldn't give to learn who orchestrated such a terrible curse..." It was then that dark look in his eyes grew, a sense of sinister hung felt as he wished for yet again death, only the sort of horrid twisted kind one inflicted on another in the heat of the moment. Though that quickly diminished as well, when he thought more about what Lyra inquired after.

"Why not?" He lightly shrugged with a brief shake of his head. "It was your voice that called out to me after all. The first sign in an age if I recall, maybe perhaps the only sign that matters. The fact that I know your name tells me enough." He regarded humbly with another light smile cast to Lyra, his dark eyes on her softly before he looked to the bodies once again. "Truthfully I'd hoped you would have all the answers, but something tells me that in itself is a fallacy. After all, you hadn't claimed to be Lyrielle, nor have you denied it. By now you question this connection between us, whereas I clearly see it as fate drawing us together. Or perhaps..." He then covered his mouth with a curl of his fingers, contemplating the situation from a standpoint other than just his own.

"No, that actually makes more sense... You wouldn't know me, would you?" It became evident to Odison then that there was more to this meeting, more than just a simple connection that brought Lyra to him. "I'm afraid without a bit more time I won't have very many answers. Truth be told... I had hoped to explore more of the surface, but I worry that too much life may linger where I may roam." He lowered his hand then but still kept his arms crossed, his eyes back on Lyra as he looked determined to find a solution for his obstacle. "You've been here longer than I have. Do you know of a way to suppress magic? Perhaps a sort of charm or artifact that could be created, that might allow me to roam the surface without the risk of losing control."

[Lyra]

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Lyra grew thoughtful, considering Odison and his plight. She had never heard of a curse such as this before, and she did not understand the nature of his abilities in the slightest. What's more if he could not control them he would be more a hindrance than an asset at any given time. Was it a pity she felt? Perhaps, though more she wondered at him traveling so far on a feeling.

Though have I not done the same? She thought to herself?

Lyra watched quietly as Odison tossed one body after another down the whole, standing on the edge of the chasm, to Naila's chagrin, and gazing into the darkness as if expecting to catch a glimpse of the bottom.

"Know I not what called to you." she said at last, looking back at Odison, "Though if you say you heard my voice, then perhaps I am inclined to believe you."

Turning to fully face the man Lyra strode closer once more, stepping within arms reach to examine him closer, "Suppressing magic is a trival thing. I can do this, given time. However..." She looked up to catch Odison's eye, smiling a small smile, "What will you do for me in return?"

[Chronicle]

Following A Feeling

46th of Frost, 120 AS

One by one they all would tumble down, swallowed into that pit of darkness until no bodies were left. Odison looked quite enraptured in his own thoughts at the moment, his expression often bouncing between one of internal torment to that same contemplative grin as he did. It was evident that he was a perplexed one, troubled by the transgressions that led him here, and clearly driven to discover the answers to all his lingering questions. When she expressed at not knowing what called out to him, only then did his eyes rise to meet with her once more, as that final body rolled off the edge beneath the nudge of his boot.

She might have actually believed him? His eyes widened with delight at that, the melancholic smile he always wore restored, as though her words brought a sense of verification to his own cause. "I'm relieved," he admitted calmly as the black orbs of his eyes glinted from the glow above, "I had wondered if I'd be able to relay any such information. I understand the fault in having so little to go on." After all it had confounded the black mage for years on end, wandering about the face of Ransera without ever discovering a hint of a clue as to who he was before.

At his request Lyra's pique of interest wasn't unnoticed, her assurance followed by a simple inquiry that the man should've anticipated. A favor for a favor. That was often the way of this world now was it not? In meeting her gaze with his own Odison's lips curved more, indicating that he felt rather amused by the question entirely. "For you? Well now, I suppose that's fair isn't it." He looked to her thoughtful then, almost as though he looked at a lost companion, his hand nearly brought up to curl a finger beneath her chin; though not before he refrained and held it beneath his instead. "Coin and material wealth have never been your avarice, have they? No. I suppose it's only fair that I help you in whatever way you seek. After all, that's what comrades are for no? You and I? I think we can achieve much if we worked together..."

The curve of his lips became sinister then, dark as though a demon within stirred just beneath the surface. "Ask what you will of me, and you will see those wishes carried out in the ways I can be most helpful." It was then Odison reached out, unafraid, before resting a hand on Lyra's shoulder; the cold touch filling her with a sense of dread that only accompanied death's arrival. "Help me recover what I've lost, and I'll see to it your every desire is carried out." It was a promise laced with darkness, an assurance filled with a foreboding sense of doom... if she accepted this proposal.

[Lyra]

"Comrade?" Lyra asked, genuine surprise coloring her voice. Such a word was not one she used often, or ever in truth. Had she ever had someone call her such? Perhaps, but very very long ago.

He talks like he knows you.

It was true, and it perplexed Lyra. Why would be be so familiar with her, yet she know nothing of him? Why did he hear her voice? What did she feel a connection with him she couldn't explain? And why did his touch bring such a sense of dread?

Lyra looked at that hand, eye brow raising though she didn't pull away. She looked into those eyes, frowning and looking for meaning there. Perhaps she should have been frightened, or at the very least wary, but that was not who Lyrielle was.

I don't like this. Naila said, and Lyra could sense the unease in her words.

Slowly Lyra reached up, touching Odison's shoulder in turn, eyes scanning his face and down the length of his body. It was an odd sensation, that she couldn't quite explain.

"By the High Orders of Elis'la, in the name of the Elder Kin and the giants that first bore contracts with them, these words are accepted." Reflexively she slipped into ancient Vallenor, though unlike with the Iron Queen Lyra did not call on the old oaths. She knew now the power of that, and she did not desire to summon HIM again. So instead she smiled, stepping back from Odison and setting her hands on her hips.

"The pact is made. I will bind your powers, and you shall assist me in my endeavors." She looked around the space, now devoid of bodies living and dead, "You will stay with me."

He will?

"I have a lab in the Warrens equipped to handle your... curse. Once I have prepared you the item you require, you will accompany me to Zaichaer." She looked up at Odison once more, tilting her head, "Is that acceptable?"

There was a pause, and the smile shifted to a smirk, "Comrade?"

[Chronicle]

Following A Feeling

46th of Frost, 120 AS

The black mage's gaze turned into one of consideration, as he still smiled with a sense of delight upon hearing Lyra reiterate the word. Indeed it was a term he hadn't planned to throw around needlessly, intent to refer to only those he'd work closely alongside in the near future. So many plans to make now, and thankfully, Odison was one who had all the time in the world. Still, the humor in his eyes remained, even when the melancholy returned to his lips after a while.

"Yes, comrade. It's an expression that's important to me, although strangely enough I can't decide why for the moment." The answers to all the mysteries in his life awaited in his memories after all, therefore, if Lyra intended to actually help him then they could both benefit from it. Which brought about the accord that was struck between them, Odison's somber smile widening as he hid away the demon of confliction heavy in his eyes. Those dark orbs rested on Lyra as he realized how brave she naturally was, willing to accept the risk of being in such close proximity with him even now.

It was strange really... for a moment he felt as though he were experiencing camaraderie for the first time in ages, which led Odison to chortle quietly when she began to speak in the old tongue slightly. "You're too kind." He remarked in turn as the somber smile widened just a little more, the black mage peering down at Lyra's hand on his shoulder before she stepped away. Black particles started to cling to Naila's palm then, the specks floating off as the surface began to burn slightly. At the suggestion that he'd be staying with Lyra, however, his eyebrows rose as he looked to her with surprise in his eyes. Stay? With her?

"I see." He answered with consideration as the lady explained, the smile returning once more as he looked to her with a hint of fondness next. "That sounds reasonable, certainly the safest place for me at the moment." He added with a look to the ceiling then, a somewhat hopeful gaze found in his eyes when he lowered them once more. "Before we do leave though, I'd like at least the chance to see Kalzasi. So much life thrives up there, and I have a feeling there's something else waiting for me up there as well." Although he didn't quite know for sure what it was just yet, he still hoped to at least explore before they were bound for where Lyra wished to go.

"You humble me when you call me that," he added at the end with a look of appreciation to the lady of whispers, "where might I find the location of this lab? I'll head there and wait for you, eager for the day you bring me what I need to walk the streets safely." The black mage assured her with another wily grin once more, ready to leave this place behind him now that he'd found the first clue that led him to Kalzasi.

[Lyra]

"Follow." Lyra said with a smile, turning and waving back at Odison, "The way is long, and the path winding. We can talk along the way."

Lyra, this is seriously a bad idea. Naila said, pressing her thoughts close to Lyra. Dipping down Lyra could see into the Soul Space, where her Companion was sitting cross-legged on top of her soul gem, I work in the midden, I've killed my fair share, and I got a reputation of my own for being 'bad news'. This guy though? He screams psycho.

As she was moving their body Lyra could not fully manifest herself in their shared space, but she allowed just enough to form a vague smokey visage with which to speak with Naila.

He is dangerous, to be sure. Lyra assented, flowing around Naila who turned her head to follow, His 'curse' is a problem, and his amnesia is... Curious. Still, I have delt with far worse then he.

Naila's grim expression fell to a frown, So you say, but that was in the past. Could you 'deal with worse' now as you could then?

This gave Lyra pause, and her tendrils flowed in lazy circles around Naila who stared intently up at the woman she had made a pact with. The silence stretched into minutes within the space, before Naila broke it with a frustrated sigh.

Look, all I'm saying is crazy knows crazy, and I'm as fucked up as it comes. That guy though? She waved a hand, indicating Odison, That guys next level. Even wolves don't screw with the bear, and this guy more like a bear with rabies who died and came back a few times. He's more likely to get us BOTH killed than be of any use. That even assumes you can do what you said and control his creepy power.

Lyra looked at Naila thoughtfully, rubbing a finger on her cheek as she looked up, past their soul space to the real world where she and Odison walked. She wouldn't deny anything the mercenary said. Even she could admit the riskiness of what they were doing, but was there really any other choice? Like Odison she had questions. She was broken, looking for her pieces, and he offered one of the few opportunities she had to achieve her goal.

We will need him in Zaichaer. Lyra said at last.

Yeah, about that. What exactly are we doing in the High City? And why do we need him for that?

Patience. Lyra said, her old personal slipping back into place a she chuckled, Children are so quick to ask questions, when they first must listen. It will all make sense in due time.

[Chronicle]

Name: Lyra

Knowledge:

• Midden: Hidden Entrance
• Midden: A place where the lowlifes thrive
• Odison: Cursed with a mysterious power
• Odison: Linked to Lyra somehow
• Odison: A walking contradiction
• Odison: No memory before his first awakening

Points: 8
Magic: These points can be used for Mesmer.


Injuries: Nothing to report!
Loot: Nothing lost, nothing gained!

Comment: New Quest!

!	Message from: Chronicle
	Odison is in need of an artifact or trinket that can subdue his powers, enabling him more time to explore heavily populated areas at his own leisure. Surely with Lyra's skills she can make such a thing, or perhaps ask that another make it for her instead. How she decides to go about it is up to her, but once the item is ready, ping me and we'll start the next chapter in this series.

Welp, that's everything I'm sure! If you have any questions, or feel that something actually was missed; please do pm me so we can talk!