first verse Augury: Ten of the Void

[Lunar Blessing she/her]

23 minutes ago, AonEne said:

The goddess didn’t do that, though

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Oh she does, just not when her friends are in danger

 

[+Sorana she/her]

14 hours ago, Lunamor said:

The entire time she was speaking she kept her voice at a level barely above a whisper. She didn’t want to anger any of the nearby guards. She couldn’t afford to let them know how incredibly dissatisfied with her situation she was, so they wouldn’t suspect her to escape.

"Then flee." Sagitta shrugged. "You can always leave." She was annoyed by Zura's attitude, by the way she discarded everything, every kindness without looking at it twice. That she even had considered to help her - maybe Price had been right. The Cahayan's she met had been nice and kind people, but Zura was nothing but an endless stream of complaints and accusations. Even Price had looked past his prejudices when he agreed to take her under his wing, he had accepted that while different, in the end they were all human. If Zure couldn't - Sagitta wouldn't force her to. Maybe it was better for all of them if she left.

[Lunamor she/her]

Zura opened her mouth to retort to Sagitta but snapped it shut when a guard walked close by. She flinched, expecting that he had heard what they had been speaking of, that he had come to punish her for her plans to escape. Surely conversation between prisoners was strictly prohibited. But the guard just smiled at her and continued walking.

She stiffly stood there, staring after him and dumbfounded. He had... smiled? And it hadn’t been one of those menacing, cruel grins featured on posters back home. It had been a genuine, warm, and friendly smile. Like he was just another Cahayan greeting her on his way to work. 

Why? Why would he act like that? Weren’t all Tühine supposed to be heartless monsters? They weren’t supposed to smile. They weren’t even supposed to have emotions. She remained frozen, trying to process what had happened. Normally something as small as that wouldn’t even faze her. It was just a smile, after all. But it just seemed so wrong. But was it really the smile that was wrong? She shook her head, trying to rid herself of all traitorous thoughts. It didn’t work too well. 

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Apologies if this is too godmoddy, I’ll change it if it is.

@Sorana

@I think I am here.

[I think I am here. he/him]

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No, it’s not godmoddy  

“Good morning, all,” Price said, walking from a nearby hall into the main housing area. Well, ‘housing’ area was a little bit of an exaggeration, he knew. Though he walked halls like this every day, he felt distinctly out of place in the base in this city. Yes, the Renaji base was better. This base, too, had its upsides. For example, if it never existed where would Price experiment?

“I see you’re already up and talking to each other? That’s good.” In front him walked another guard, for security. You could never be too sure, especially with a Cahayan and a God in a room with you.

“You’ll all be tested together, in the same room, so I can keep an eye on all of you, and so we can see how your powers work together.” It was... unconventional, Price knew, among testers to disclose plans for the day to subjects, but Price had never really bought into all of that fake ambiguity. A subject deserved to know what they were being tested on, to give the best result. Even with the Cahayans, Price made sure he told them in vivid detail how they would be executed. No need for mystery, watching the colour bleed from their face was entertaining enough.

Price shook his head suddenly. But not this Cahayan. He’d made a promise. “Follow me,” he stated, turned and walked to a room not far off. It looked similar to the one Sagitta had been tested in, large and plain, with a few interesting objects lying around the corners for the test. Unlike Sagitta’s test, Price was the only person here to observe. He’d organised it like that so no Tühinine would be around to see him go easy on the Cahayan. He did t want anyone thinking he was a traitor. And besides, no one would believe him if he said he was testing a god.

[AonEne he/him]

7 hours ago, I think I am here. said:

“Follow me,” he stated, turned and walked to a room not far off. It looked similar to the one Sagitta had been tested in, large and plain, with a few interesting objects lying around the corners for the test. 

Negation walked into the room and looked around, interested. “What’s the first test?” 

[+Sorana she/her]

10 hours ago, I think I am here. said:

Price shook his head suddenly. But not this Cahayan. He’d made a promise. “Follow me,” he stated, turned and walked to a room not far off. It looked similar to the one Sagitta had been tested in, large and plain, with a few interesting objects lying around the corners for the test. Unlike Sagitta’s test, Price was the only person here to observe. He’d organised it like that so no Tühinine would be around to see him go easy on the Cahayan. He did t want anyone thinking he was a traitor. And besides, no one would believe him if he said he was testing a god.

Sagitta followed Price through the compound, tried to remember as much as possible. You never knew when it came in handy to know some hallways, or a possible way to escape. She trusted Price, but only him. He had guards with him, and while she could understand the sentiment, she also disliked the air it provided. It gave the impression that he was afraid, and maybe he had reason to be. She moved over to him, smiled at him. "Good morning." She repeated his greeting and stepped into the testing area.

There was nobody here to observe and shifted her weight to her uninjured leg, leaned on the crutch, while she surveid the room. There was nobody here to observe and suddenly she wished that she and Price had had a moment to talk. Something was off with the travelers and she would like to know if he'd noticed as well. He was still acting the same, so most likely only Zura had been affected by whatever it was they had done. She stayed by his side, wondered what might happened nex.t She would prefer if she coudl stay away from a ladder, but all her skills evolved around moving at one point or the other, so she wasn't really sure what do. Instead she looked around for a stool and wondered if it would be too impolite if she sat down.

[I think I am here. he/him]

“I’m glad you asked,” Price said to Negation, taking his place behind a large desk with files and papers.

“Gōlen!” Price called and a large man entered the room, threw down a large black sack in the centre of the room and left.

“I’d suggest you begin by opening that up,” Price said. As Sagitta wished him good morning he nodded back to her. Her leg was injured, that meant no more extra-extraneous activity or maybe it would be permanently injured. Which was not right for a warrior like her. She’d done wonders in her fight against Zura.

And Zura. Price forced himself to look down, at his notes. He suspected she’d like this part of the test.

[AonEne he/him]

3 hours ago, I think I am here. said:

Price called and a large man entered the room, threw down a large black sack in the centre of the room and left.

“I’d suggest you begin by opening that up,” Price said. 

Gati nod-shrugged, quirking his lips, and opened the sack. 

[Archer he/him]

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I'm calling it now, the sack is one of those snakes-in-a-jar pranks

Meanwhile, deep below the military compound, in the pit that served as its lowermost dungeon, Tion surveyed his followers. They were broken men, he accepted that, but what they lacked in skill they easily made up with vigor. Like moths rushing toward a flame, the mob scrambled to reach him as he levitated in place in front of the room’s only exit, guiding them towards their target.

“Chip away more rocks, that’s it! Smash ‘em, stack ‘em, then repeat!”

Twenty feet below him, more blasts of dark energy sizzled about, knocking stones free of the wall as prisoners magically knocked stones from the wall. Others descended upon the rubble, grabbing it with eager hands and dragging it to place at Tion’s feet. In the light of his fiery sword, a pile could be seen growing, angling up towards his position.

Tion continued calling encouragement to them. “Oh, you poor caged beasts, forced to pace in darkness for so long. Rejoice, humans, for my light will guide you home.”

They are slow, but persistent. He smiled. Now that they are properly focused, it is only a matter of time.

“I go now to prepare a way for you, my pets.” He wiggled his fingers, tugging on the strands of the most dedicated prisoners’ auras, boosting their resolve to see the job done. They obliged him by quickening their pace, throwing rock after rock onto the ramp. “When you are ready, come and find me. I will be waiting!”

Marching orders given, the God of Sensation smoothly sheathed his sword as he turned his back on his followers, then phased through the door, floating out of sight.

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Next post, I'll have Tion return to the level where everyone else is at. Narratively, if a prison break of crazy inmates becomes needed to progress the plot, that pot is now on to boil. If not, it can be something that happens in the background, we'll see what happens. 

 

[AonEne he/him]

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At first snakes or something like them was my guess too, but then my theory became that there are just weapons in there and we’re all supposed to fight. 

By the way, Tion posts from you are always gold. 

 

Edited November 20, 2019 by AonEne

[I think I am here. he/him]

Inside the large sack was a body. A dead body of a man, skin pale and cold. Cahayan. Carefully Price watched the group, wrote down what reactions he could see on their faces. Reactions could tell you a lot about a person, more than they’d tell you themseves.

“An unfortunate victim of poisoning,” Price said, without meaning any of it.

“He was a casualty in one of our tests. Your first task is to resurrect him, like you did with the boy.”

He stared levelly at Zura. What would she think of the Cahayan body? A threat? Well, Price was having the man resurrected.

[AonEne he/him]

2 hours ago, I think I am here. said:

“An unfortunate victim of poisoning,” Price said, without meaning any of it. “He was a casualty in one of our tests. Your first task is to resurrect him, like you did with the boy.” 

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Crem just got real 

Gati looked into the sack, frowned slightly, and pulled the sack off of the body. “Victim of poisoning,” he murmured, dropping the sack to the side and standing out of the way so the others could get a look. His eyes made their way back to Price, gleaming yellow. “I’d prefer not to.” 

[+Sorana she/her]

Sagitta felt cold when she saw the content of the sack. Ressurect the corpse? That was impossible and Price had to know it. So the question was, what was he trying to achieve here? Demonstrate his strength and power? Show them, that he held them tightly in his hand? Sagitta stared at him in disbelieve, wished she could understand. She had thought that they were, friends, or at least something like that. Comrads maybe. They had talked about such intimate things, they had talked about faith, and when she had taken his hand, he hadn't pulled away. Just like a friend would have done. Her brow creased when she wondered why she had taken his hand in the first place, something was off, felt off, but she couldn't quite understand.

"I'd prefer not to." Gati's words made her look over to him and his eyes were gleaming yellow. Prefer not to. That meant he could. That meant Price knew something she didn't. And it meant, that maybe, maybe - Sagitta's face darkened and stepped in front of Price. There was only one logical explanation, to Zura's behaviour, to her own forgetting the names of the travellers and having to ask again.

"Who are you?" She asked quietly, too quiet. Her body was tense, spoke on incoming violence. "What did you do to my head?"

@AonEne

[Lunamor she/her]

Zura’s face paled almost to the shade of the unfortunate Cahayan’s face. Her eyes widened as she realized that a test had killed him. They had pushed his powers so far, put him in such a horrible situation, that he’d perished. And after they murdered him, instead of giving him a proper burial or cremation, they used him for some sick reanimation experiment. She desperately wanted to tear her eyes away from the sight, give the dead at least some sort of respect, but she just couldn’t. She had seen dead bodies before, of course, but not like this. Not as dispassionately and coldly as this. Normally, death was accompanied by the wrath of a soldier or the glory of conquest. It wasn’t in vain, for it served one’s country and people. This death was completely devoid of emotion, completely meaningless. Just another experiment.

Zura realized that if she wasn’t careful, she would end up as the body in the sack. This finally gave her the strength to look away. She straightened her shoulders and turned to Price.

”I will not take part in this.”

She then strode over to the corner of the room and stood facing the wall with arms crossed. This was the only thing she could do for the poor Cayahan. She could have used her luck to increase their chances of success, but she wouldn’t. Had she been killed in such a place and in such a way, she wouldn’t want to be revived. Plus, necromancy was a dark and foul thing that would likely corrupt and destroy his soul in the process. The dead had to stay dead.

@I think I am here.

[AonEne he/him]

23 hours ago, Sorana said:

"Who are you?" She asked quietly, too quiet. Her body was tense, spoke on incoming violence. "What did you do to my head?" 

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I feel like I need to clarify my wording, his eyes have always been yellow, they just gleamed - they didn’t change color. 

Negation looked over at Sagitta, blinking. “I told you my name; it’s Gati. And what do you mean?” 

[+Sorana she/her]

13 hours ago, AonEne said:

Negation looked over at Sagitta, blinking. “I told you my name; it’s Gati. And what do you mean?” 

"No. It's not about your name." Sagitta stepped forward, her weight on the balls of her feet. "It's about the fact that I can' remember you introducing yourself the first time and that strangely I can't recall you sitting down next to us by the carriage." She lifted her crutch a little, as if to use it as a weapon. "It's about the fact, that Price thinks you can ressurect that man, and that you didn't say, that you can't, but that you won't."

Narrowing her eyes she took another step. "If you can ressurect, the question what else you can do, is a small one, and even more important it leads to another question. What did you do to me? And who are you? I might only be a soldier, but I'm not stupid."

[I think I am here. he/him]

Several things happened at once, all of which Price noted feverishly in his little ledger.

“You will,” Price said, not looking up, a new sense of authority in his voice. He glanced towards to Sagitta and then to Zura.

“You did it with the boy. And he was fine, no side-effects. Wouldn’t it be better to bring back this fallen soldier, if not for your own sake, but for Zura’s? Imagine her happiness when one of her own nation is brought back from the dead, and with zero side-effects!” A smile creeped up Price’s face and he nodded to Sagitta.

“You can erase both of their memories later. But if you are truly benevolent, you will do it. Or are you having one of those ‘fluctuations’ your friend was talking about?”

Edited November 22, 2019 by I think I am here.

[+Sorana she/her]

Erase her memory. Sagitta turned to Price, hurt and shock visible on her face. He had known. He had known and he hadn’t told her. He hadn’t warned her. He even offered her memories up again. A second time. Or maybe it wasn’t the second time. If he so easily offered them up, he had done it before.

Feeling cold she looked at him for a moment and then nodded slowly. So that was it. She had thought that he would really try to help her get back home, but he had no reason to. He bargained with her mind, with her soul, without batting an eye. Her face closed when she mentally moved away from her surprise, shut out the nagging voice telling her that she had been a fool to trust him. She had thought that she understood, that they both fought. She had thought that he had some kind of honor. She had heard stories of Cahaya, of Tühine, of people without honor, but she still had walked into his blindly. There was none. She couldn’t trust his word, no he had broken his. No harm, in no way. And erasing her memories definitely counted as harm. She considered to challenge him, to offer him a chance to regain his honor, but no. He had no respect for her traditions, she had told him what a promise, what a bargain meat to her. There was no sense in a duel.

Sagitta looked at him for another moment, before she spoke. “May the gods bury your name and may eternity claim your memory so that you are forgotten.”

Without saying something else she turned around, her eyes meeting Zura's for a moment in a silent question if she wanted to come along. Then she started to walk towards the exit of the room. She held the crutch loosely in her hand, used her instinct to protect her leg for the moment. If he send his guards after her - she still was armed with the tomahawk and Zura's knife and then she would own a set of armor as well.

@I think I am here. @Lunamor

[I think I am here. he/him]

23 minutes ago, Sorana said:

Without saying something else she turned around, her eyes meeting Zura's for a moment in a silent question if she wanted to come along. Then she started to walk towards the exit of the room. She held the crutch loosely in her hand, used her instinct to protect her leg for the moment. If he send his guards after her - she still was armed with the tomahawk and Zura's knife and then she would own a set of armor as well.

Price blinked when he saw the shock and hurt on Sagitta’s face, realisation dawning on him as she nodded, expression turned cold. She cursed him with being forgotten and began to leave, thoughts racing through Price’s mind. She was supposed to be the only one he could trust. Over the Cahayan and definitely over the god.

“Sagitta!” He called, leaving his papers on the desk and forgetting about his professional demeanour for a moment. He stepped off of the raised platform his desk was on and ran towards her.

“Watch the other two!” He called to the guards and caught up with her.

“Sagitta, wait.”

[+Sorana she/her]

1 hour ago, I think I am here. said:

“Sagitta, wait.”

She allowed him to catch up, didn't change the pace at which she was moving. It was only one set of steps, light, no armor and she heard his voice when he was close. Sagitta stopped, stayed like this for a moment before she deliberatetly, slowly turned around. Price. He looked different, less composed maybe, had left his ever present ledger behind. She looked him over, checked for a weapon that might be dangerous to her, and then discarded him as a threat in that regard. His instinct was dangerous, but he wouldn't live long enough to bring it fully to bear.

"Do you want to stop me?" She asked him calmly, pointedly looked at the guards. "Chain me and call me prisoner of war?" As if he would do that. There was no war between their countries, but you could always construct something. Still, to even grant her that status would meant that he had a sliver of honor beneath his skin, and he had shown that there was none.

Edited November 22, 2019 by Sorana

[I think I am here. he/him]

1 minute ago, Sorana said:

“Do you want to stop me?" She asked him calmly, pointedly looked at the guards. "Chain me and call me prisoner of war?" As if he would do that. There was no war between their countries, but you could always construct something. Still, to even grant her that status would meant that he had a sliver of honor beneath his skin, and he had shown that there was none.

“No, I mean,” Price fumbled and stood in front of her.

“I don’t want you to leave. But, I wouldn’t imprison you. Sagitta, all that about the memory-erasing, that’s something they do, the gods. ‘Gati’. I didn’t mean it to threaten you.”

[+Sorana she/her]

6 minutes ago, I think I am here. said:

“No, I mean,” Price fumbled and stood in front of her.

“I don’t want you to leave. But, I wouldn’t imprison you. Sagitta, all that about the memory-erasing, that’s something they do, the gods. ‘Gati’. I didn’t mean it to threaten you.”

Gods. Gati, a god. Sagitta bit her teeth together in surprise, to suppress the anger that started to boil inside of her. "You bargained with my memories." She told him, her voice shaking. "You offered my memories up for a resurrection." She shook her head in disbelief.

"This is against the order of things, the dead stay dead. That you even consider something like it - " she discarded that line of thoughts. Price wouldn't have known about this, so maybe the god had brought the matter up.

"We had a bargain." She told him coldly. "And you broke it. Your word it worth nothing, you have no honor. Why should I stay here and trust your word again?"

[I think I am here. he/him]

4 minutes ago, Sorana said:

“We had a bargain." She told him coldly. "And you broke it. Your word it worth nothing, you have no honor. Why should I stay here and trust your word again?"

“How did I break our word?”

Price said, stepped a little back when he heard the anger in her voice, felt a little stab of fear. If she attacked him, the guards would be too slow. “I said no harm would come to you, and that wasn’t harm!”

He remembered back in the forest, when he had chosen not to tell her about the gods. Because he knew, that if she knew the truth, that the gods didn’t care about them, she would know millions of her nations shoulders died for nothing. And it changed her. For the worse. And then Gati had erased her memories, and Price couldn’t find the heart to tell her the truth, tell her the truth and cause that pain again.

“If anything, it was more protection than harm,” he said quietly, prepared himself for a strike any moment.

[+Sorana she/her]

13 minutes ago, I think I am here. said:

If anything, it was more protection than harm,” he said quietly, prepared himself for a strike any moment.

"I won't strike a weaponless man." Sagitta told him coldly, his fear strangly hurting. Trust went both sides and obviously, he didn't trust her at all. She wondered why, she had stayed true to her word, she had never harmed him and he was no threat. The fact that he expected her to hit him said more than words. Maybe it was for the best if she left, if this friendship ended before it would break one of them completely. A relationship needed trust, and it needed good faith. Protection. He claimed he'd acted like this to protect her. "You offered my memories up. And they weren't yours to offer." She told him slowly, as if explaining to a child. "You accepted, that should Gati accept your offer, that I would be harmed. You placed your gain in knowledge above my wellbeing."

She gave a curt, hurt laugh. "Do you really expect me to stand by and wait for that decision?"

Edited November 22, 2019 by Sorana

[AonEne he/him]

3 hours ago, I think I am here. said:

“You can erase both of their memories later. But if you are truly benevolent, you will do it. Or are you having one of those ‘fluctuations’ your friend was talking about?” 

Before Gati could answer Sagitta, Price spoke again - and then she walked out, and he ran out after her, and Gati was left to stare after them. He raised an eyebrow at a guard, then covered the corpse’s face with the bag and walked over to Zura, leaning against the wall. “Don’t worry; I won’t do it.” 

@Lunamor 

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I love this interaction! And I ship them