Voidus

"Ah, um, Laurelai. You... both of you must avoid the waterfall, it's dangerous. Who knows what the source of the magic is, what the long term effects are? It's best just to be safe." The Stranger said. Laurelai stared at him blankly, blinking several times in succession. Her head still felt muddled, as though she had been in the middle of some incredibly important thought but been interrupted. But more confusing still was the Stranger's reaction, he seemed hesitant. Unsure? It was not a state she'd seen from him before. Voidus had expressed emotions at times, exhaustion, anger, but the Stranger had moved through every conversation with a sense of determination and purpose. He had expressed emotions, but never been consumed by them, not like this. Shaking her head, Laurelai glanced towards Lita, wondering what she would make of this. As soon as her eyes focused on Lita's familiar figure she felt a sudden rush of emotions. Hurt, she couldn't remember exactly, the last few seconds were all muddled together, but something Lita had done had hurt. But also irritation, jealousy, and a strange sense of longing that she couldn't quite place. That last one didn't seem to even be directed towards Lita at all, but at something else. The waters. Her eyes followed the Strangers, towards the waterfall that he cautioned against. But as soon as her eyes touched it, she felt no sense of danger just an overwhelming desire to stand underneath it again. Again? Did I before? One hand reached up, brushing against her hair only to find it perfectly dry. So she hadn't been under it. But why did she feel like she had? Why did she feel a desire to return? As soon as the questions came into her mind she felt the draw of the waters grow. They promised answers, to those questions and more. "Dangerous." She agreed instinctively. But her expression was not fearful. Even while she understood that any artefact that could draw at her like that must possess some hidden danger, she couldn't force herself to actually believe it. Couldn't muster up any sense of fear to the waters. "Perhaps we should research it." She said, turning towards the Stranger but with eyes still glued to the waters. "It's bound to be useful somehow." @Fatebreaker

Because it's so active I was worried you might not be able to catch up. And because you never asked.

https://discord.gg/tzc26eV If anyone wants to join the party. It's totally really active as well.

DA Discord server is far from top secret As with our PM there's plenty of nonDenizens in there.

So even Temeria had noticed the contradictions in Mac's attitudes? Voidus smiled into the distance as he listened to that. It seemed that Mac would forever remain a contradiction and a mystery, someone who denied being a god but chided himself for not being able to live up to the ideal of one he held. Perhaps one day, Mac would pull off yet another miraculous return, but something told Voidus that was unlikely. His attention was brought back at the mention of the Hall of Legends, it had been constructed while Voidus was still inside the barrier around the Worldspike but he'd taken note of it later. There had been some rumours that there was a riddle there that led to powerful artifacts left behind by the founder of the Canton of Combat. Had Mac been pursuing them? And if so, to what end? The ring was certainly interesting, but generating a Connection to the Dor was hardly beyond Macs existing capabilities. "We returned upstairs and I could see that he had come to a decision of some sorts, he had changed." Temeria continued after a moments pause. At this, Voidus' eyes brightened and focused more intently. This was what he had been looking for, some insight as to what had led his old friend to take such a drastic decision. He'd already handed the ring to Temeria, had he been questioning himself even then? There was a slight hesitation as Temeria continued, a moment's tension. Voidus was hardly familiar enough with her to be able to completely read her emotional state just by burning some tin and watching her reactions, but he could tell that there was something she'd felt uncomfortable about. The analogy to a painter definitely sounded like Mac though, so it seemed she wasn't lying at least, and she had volunteered to come here herself. It would be best not to push too far. He met Temeria's eyes as her resolve firmed and she recited Mac's final words. A personal message, a plea even. One more of Mac's attempts to try to leave the world in a little bit of a better shape. Voidus leaned back as she finished, he smiled wearily, eyes distant once more as he wondered what would become of Mac. The words he had left had seemed personal, directed to Temeria. But they could be taken as much more than that, a message to everyone, the last lesson of Mac. The silence extended before Voidus finally straightened once again, still tired, still weary. But ready to shoulder the mantle that his friend had left behind until another could take it up. Looking down to the table he picked up the coin, looking it over curiously before sliding it back across to Temeria. "Mac was one of my oldest friends and colleagues." He said, a melancholy note creeping into his voice. "We're not gods, but we often acted the part and tried to do their work." He gave a soft sigh before standing up and looking towards the other two Denizens who had followed them in. KanMien and Kumiko had sat silently through the explanation, watching and listening. "The items he left behind." Voidus said, speaking to them directly. "At his statue, could you retrieve them?" It was perhaps not fair to ask it of them, the two likely had their own business to attend to. But if he were to ask someone formally, put a request in to acquisitions then it would open the floodgates to other requests to come back, more authorisations and overviews that needed to be completed. Even the thought of such was enough to bring back a wave of lethargy. It felt like an effort to simply drag his eyes back to Temeria. "It seems that Mac saw something in you." Voidus said. "Something interesting." Slowly, his gaze shifted towards the luminous figure standing on her shoulder. The humanoid shaped bundle of light stared back challengingly, earning a twitch of a smile before Voidus looked to Temeria once again. "I have no intention of retracting any of what he offered, the ring, house and coin are all his gifts. I hope that they help you pursue what you may throughout your life, and that you remember his last words to you." Regaining a little vigour, Voidus continued. "I offer my own thanks as well, for coming to deliver his words, and for being there to hear them. I'm glad that he found someone he felt worthy of those words before he left. If there's something you need, feel free to ask it, we have not-insignificant resources and knowledge available and I appreciate what you've done more than you may be able to know." Reaching into a drawer he drew out a slender silver pen, pulling one end off he revealed the small ruby set inside it before replacing the end and placing it on the table before Temeria. "A spanreed." He explained. "Should you need to get in touch, we generally use them a little differently but should you need it you can use it as normal to contact me. Or just activate it and move it around a bit if it's an emergency, I should be able to find it." Straightening his back, Voidus gave a small inclination of his head, a simple nod of thanks but he put the weight of his appreciation behind it. There had been many denizens in the Alleys over the years, many friends among them, many had eventually ended up moving on. It had been nice to receive some final word from them this time. @kenod @Sorana

Voidus listened silently as Temeria spoke, dark eyes never wavering as she recounted her initial meeting with Mac and the topics that he'd touched on. She seemed a little uncomfortable still, but there wasn't likely much he could do to help that. The Alleys were uncomfortable for those not used to them, largely by design. A simple seat and cup of tea weren't going to change things, and might just make them worse. "He spoke of people calling him a god?" Voidus asked with a faint note of surprise. It hadn't been something they'd discussed that often, but it came up from time to time. The reverence of many other denizens was bad enough, but when the entire world held you up as some kind of dark god it was inevitable that they'd have their own reactions to it. Voidus himself had always found the position uncomfortable, all too aware of his own shortcomings and limitations. Mac had still been adjusting to it for the most part, he'd gone from confident and sure of his status to doubting and reluctant. Was that revelation the one that had finally caused him to leave? Let her tell the story herself. Voidus reminded himself. Better to get the first telling as she thinks of it rather than pushing for specifics. "Nevermind. As you say the next part is likely more relevant. You left his boarding house? Please continue." As he spoke, Voidus felt a sudden sense of unease. Something fleeting passed by, not a physical form but an... awareness. One that was close and comfortable but also strangely distant. His head jerked to one side as though to catch sight of this invisible presence, but it was gone as suddenly as it had arrived, leaving him staring at nothing but a blank section of wall. "Please continue." He repeated, eyes still lingering on the wall for a moment before he pulled them back to Temeria. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the distant place in a universe of indeterminate distance "Anything?" The Professor asked with only a faint note of hope still to his voice. "I still haven't but-" "Nothing." Voidus replied, face twisted into a scowl. "Three months of searching and we're still no closer than we were." The light in their vicinity dimmed, the harsh sunlight that hit the desert sands around them fading into shadow. The air cooled down as they were surrounded by a heavy pressure that caused a nearby lizard to throw up a cloud of sand as it dug itself underground. But in seconds the pressure faded, the heat and sunlight bore down once again and the ominous darkness that was spreading from Voidus seemed to be but an illusion. "You said it could take years." The Professor reminded him, though his own expression was also darkened with disappointment. "At least we've eliminated a few possibilities." Voidus continued to stare into the sand surrounding them, expression still dark and frustrated. One hand clenched into an angry fist before relaxing back to his side, as it did Voidus' expression seemed to suddenly shift back into a hopeful smile, his eyes set with determination as he looked off towards the horizon. The Professor's expression seemed to lift a little as he saw it, tired and frustrated but still hopeful. "We've crossed a few possibilities off." Voidus agreed. "Every time we narrow down what's left to search. We get a little closer." The Professor returned his smile before breaking off, he stared back towards the horizon but his brow was furrowed in concern, his eyes faintly glistening with sadness. "Have you heard anything mew?" He asked. "From home?" Voidus' expression flickered for a moment, and his gaze followed the Professor's towards the horizon before replacing it with a smile once again, the speed with which his expression changed seeming almost unnatural. "No, I haven't heard anything." Voidus called back as he turned towards their transport to begin heading to the next location.

Laurelai was assaulted by a cascade of images, images of times long ago. She felt understanding flow into her along with them, but it was too much, too vast a time period for her to be able to follow any one thread of information. With agonising slowness she felt her lungs expand as she took a deep breath to calm herself and focus her mind. She could feel the oxygen flowing into her bloodstream sluggishly making its way to her brain, feel her muscle fibers relax one by one. Was this how Lita saw the world? So full of distractions, so full of information. Enough to drown in, to lose your mind following every thread until you spread your attention so thin that you just snapped. And what of the Stranger? How did he see the world? Did he sit apart from it as Voidus so often did? Staring at the world with a tired sense of responsibility? Laurelai could feel the weight that Voidus bore, she could feel her awareness brush up against where he sat in his office but didn't dare to examine him too closely. She shifted her focus back to herself, back to her present. She understood herself as she never had before, felt that she could make the most perfect of Soulstamps in this state, one that might even bypass the usual limitations for sentient objects and become permanent. She could change her life, any part of her life, not just in the usual transient way that she cleaned her clothes or adjusted her fields of expertise but she could truly become someone else entirely. As she was exploring the possibilities she felt an outside force wrap around her, a compulsion issued to her. The Stranger stared at her with an undeniable will as he issued his inexorable orders. Laurelai felt herself move before she could even think, but time still stretched around her, the rush of knowledge into her mind still flowed. She resisted with all that she could, felt her legs slow in their forward stride until it was moving at a snails pace. But sooner or later that momentum would still carry her out, out and away from this source that could answer all of her burning questions. All the knowledge that she desired. As soon as she stepped free of the waters, this knowledge would drain from her. And she knew that the Stranger was not likely to allow her back again, likely feared what she had already learned. Could she do something now? The Stranger was one of the original members of the DA, a veritable god who had been alive for centuries if not millennia. But with the waters at her disposal, she could Forge as she never could before, possibly enough to even affect a god? No, even if she could do such a thing, which even the waters couldn't definitively tell her, there were bound to be consequences. She'd blown something up the last time she'd tried to channel just enough power to affect something Invested. How much more catastrophic would the results be if she attempted to affect someone as powerful as the Stranger? It was too much of a risk, but what else could she do? She watched the Stranger and Lita continue to speak, the growing tension in the air between them. But even that would not be enough of a distraction, Lita might have been able to fight off the draw of the Waters for now, but she would feel it again soon. And The Stranger would not just forget about her here, he couldn't leave something this important to itself. Which left only one option. Within moments Laurelai had completed the mental image for the stamp, it was remarkably simple compared to most Soulstamps, but every line was precisely placed without any waste or guesswork. Simple, but elegant. A small twist of power was all that it took to apply to herself as she stepped free from the waters. She felt a sudden and strange sense of vertigo as the almost infinite wells of knowledge vanished from her awareness. Her gaze darted about in confusion as the compulsion continued to pull her out of the waters until she stood next to the Stranger. "Hello, er... sir." She stammered out, struggling to speak smoothly through the disarray of her thoughts.

Noice.

Whisper walked slowly around the caverns, running her hand against the wall and looking up with wonder. Atium, a whole cavern of it, and the others were talking about selling it? About burning it? It would be a terrible waste, a waste of a treasure of the sort found only once before across all the worlds the Alleyverse connected to. Some sought to simply bury the cavern, but that would probably simply require further excavational efforts to uncover it again. Atium was valuable enough to risk any attempt to retrieve this much of it. She trailed around the edges of the walls, her hand maintaining constant contact as she squeezed herself out of the way of others that she passed, also looking about with wonder and interest. The main group from ACE would be arriving soon, and Whisper had already seen another straggler catch up before moving in a beeline for Althea. So the Ghostbloods had been called in already, the DA would probably send someone soon as well, they had only a limited time before the guilds arrived in force. After circling the cavern Whisper made her way back to the centre where others were discussing their plans for what to do with the Atium, there seemed to have been some decision to let the DA handle it, which would certainly work to her advantage, but just in case... The screams started softly, just a faint rustle with no wind to follow it. A few turned curiously towards the noise emanating from the cavern wall, but as the screams built in intensity they attracted more and more eyes. An unearthly wail emanating from the surrounding stone, a horrifying screech of anger and fury, wordless but conveying more than enough emotion to get its message across. Whisper copied those around her, looking first with curiosity, then concern towards the walls as one after another they each emitted a horrible cacophony of noise. It had taken nearly all of the Stormlight that she'd had left, with just enough to maintain her appearance with perhaps one or two minor alterations. But it seemed to have caught the attention of the other scouts as she'd intended. With Atium around to stop people from using Allomancy even Corette might be unable to tell, though she would likely be able to guess.

Could add a primary tag to the location threads that are no longer active with 'inactive' or something

AlleyCommon was very off the cuff so it's by no means canonical nor was it included as part of an IC text but purely OOC so very open to change.

"It's fine" Voidus replied, waving a hand dismissively at Temeria's apology. "You're far from the first person to get curious." He gestured towards the comfortable sitting chairs for KanMien and Kumiko, taking the seat at the desk for himself. Based on her posture he imagined Temeria would probably prefer to stand as she spoke, military types often did. But there was a chair opposite his at the desk should she need it. He was, after all, not a superior officer of hers though that seemed to be how she was most comfortable treating him. "Now Ms. Sheneth." Voidus continued, leaning forward in interest. "If you could report on your encounter with Mac? How you met him, what you discussed, and how he came to leave." Voidus had seen many people come and go over the years, people beyond counting that had died and passed into the Beyond, or left and never returned. He'd thought he might be numb to that sense of loss by now, but somehow it still managed to hurt. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A long time ago in a universe far, far away. "Laurelai's pregnant?" The Professor asked, eyes wide and a grin forming at his mouth. "Congratulations." "Thanks." Voidus replied, giving a wan smile. But Voidus' expression was not that the Professor would usually associate with joy or excitement or any of the other emotions one might expect of a new father. His face was torn with indecision, the dark circles under his eyes gave him a defeated, exhausted look about him. It was not a face that the Professor had seen on Voidus before, causing him to frown with concern. "Is everything all right?" He asked. "It's fine." Voidus replied, waving a hand dismissively. "But we need to be heading off soon. You've trained about as much as we have time for, now comes the work of saving the universe." With the change in topic he seemed to recover some of his usual energy, his smile widened and the bags seemed to almost disappear as he regained an energetic sparkle to his eyes. His expression flickered a little as he glanced out the window, but then quickly returned. "Something must be a focus, something here, on this world. If we can find it, find whatever has drawn this place to the Void." Voidus began. "Then we can send it there ourselves and prevent the rest of the universe from being taken with it." The Professor finished, nodding in understanding. "But where could it be? How long will we need to be gone." "Quite a while." Voidus replied, seemingly unconcerned. "A few years in all likelihood." The Professor gave a pained grimace and then a sad little smile towards Voidus.

Expression still tight, Sudiov gave a small deferential nod of his head to Deteca as she joined him. Though he was grateful that she'd skipped right to the point that he needed to discuss with her. It seemed like she had grown anxious over this news as well. "To the best that I can ascertain, yes it is." Sudiov said. "It's a long way underground, too much Aluminium ores between here and there to be able to be certain. But based on the news, and the movements of others it certainly seems real." He glanced nervously up and down the corridor, though he already knew that there were none close enough to overhear. He considered a little Voidmaking to ensure extra privacy but that would likely just attract more attention and it seemed that there had been multiple guilds involved in the discovery anyway, along with an unaffiliated group that had been working on city projects. There was little hope of containing the information now. "Assuming that it is genuine." He continued. "What do you plan to do about it? Others might seek this for its allomantic abilities, but to a Hemalurgist it may be even more valuable." A spike that could steal anything, Sudiov did not possess all of Voidus' knowledge when it came to Hemalurgy, but he knew enough to know how dangerous that could potentially be. And with an entire cavern of the metal there would be enough for the DA to produce innumerable spikes.

It wasn't very often that Voidus found himself genuinely surprised. If you lived long enough you ended up seeing pretty much everything there was to see, learned how to recognize and predict it. But one thing that Voidus had certainly not anticipated when he had begun the day was that it would include a Nalthian military salute given by a young Rosharan girl who intruded into the Alleys. He stared at her without blinking, she'd certainly been brave to come here, or at the least, reckless. Those two didn't always go hand in hand but the presence of the spren on her shoulder gave some inclination as to her personality. And she was being respectful enough, not simply barging into the Alleys to challenge their authority or ranting about the evils of the DA. Though that was possibly because she didn't know enough about them. On the whole Voidus found himself holding a favorable opinion of Temeria, but then first impressions weren't always perfect. "I would want that very much." He replied. "Perhaps somewhere a little more comfortable for you?" He gestured to one side where a doorway appeared in the stone wall, a doorway that had certainly not been there moments before. Stepping through it, Voidus raised an arm invitingly to Temeria along with KanMien and Kumiko. "If you'd care to." He said to the latter two, indicating that they were invited but not obligated to enter. Voidus' office was much as he'd left it, the large wooden desk still sat proudly at one end, opposite a small collection of chairs and a lower table. The papers he'd left on the table were still there as well, causing a slight tightening of his expression when Voidus saw them. But this was worth the build up in workload that it would cause. @Ookla the Dreamer @Ookla the Foxed

Sudiov waited patiently in a hallway, arms crossed behind his back and standing straight, watching the occasional passerby and giving them each a polite nod of greeting. But his hands were tensed, gripping onto the sleeves of his coat, his foot twitched from time to time as though aching to tap impatiently, and his eyes shifted anxiously from one end of the corridor to the other. A few of the passersby were whispering to each other with stunned expressions on their faces, growing silent and giving him a cautious glare as they passed. He could have eavesdropped on them anyway but such a thing wouldn't be polite. Besides, he could already guess what they were probably whispering about, the only thing anyone would be whispering about right now, and the same reason that he was currently waiting impatiently in a corridor. Finally he spotted a familiar figure approaching, the slight and short figure of the current leader of TUBA and someone who had attracted particular interest from him once he'd noticed some of her innate abilities. "Deteca." He called out politely as she approached. "May I have a word? About the... recent urgencies." @Ookla the Roleplayer

Nothing to add to the descriptions here, this is pretty dead on. As for the Voidmaking strength, passive Investiture drain should be fine particularly based on touch. Similar draining at a range is also possible though more challenging. Dematerializing matter on a small scale is possible but generally only a last resort due to the costs. Voidmaking consumes willpower to continue to use so extended usage will eventually leave the user completely mentally exhausted and basically unwilling to do anything. Recovery time from complete overuse varies from individual to individual. Points total: Voidmaking: 100, above average with the permanent draining. Genius: 45 Scholarship: 40 Weakness: Unable to be healed, transported, etc. (20), Breath requirement (10), mental instability (10) Total: 100 (M) + 85(S) - 40(W) = 145 Within limits and approved. And also welcome back

Laurelai's foot sank into the water with purpose, the force of her stride immediately dissipated as she felt the warm water lapping around her lower leg, a sudden sense of calm overcoming her now that she was moving along with the whispering calls from the water. One more step carried her under the falling stream of liquid, allowed it to roll gently off of her as she bathed in the comfortable sensation. She could feel every encroaching moment, every shift of her body as she moved to stand beneath the falling water. Motion slowed around her, only the water somehow seeming like it was still in motion, still calling to her. Promising to give her what she wanted, what she needed. Answers. She saw in slow motion as the Stranger turned towards Lita, holding out a hand. Felt as though she understood how a Steelrunner must see the world as everything moved through a thick molasses. But it was not just that the world was slowing down, it was that she understood. Understood what the Stranger was doing, what he was about to say even though his lips had barely begun to form words. Understood how he had arrived here and why. Felt that if she were so inclined she might be understand the Stranger himself, come to know him more intimately than anyone she'd ever studied for her practice with Forgery. Possibilities expanded before her, an endless web of information, any strand of which she could follow and find an answer to a question that had plagued her all her life. Her powers, her fears, her life. She could discover the answer to any question she could think of here. All she had to do was wait beneath the waters, allow them to give her the knowledge that she needed. The knowledge that she deserved. In an instant she found a strand and began following it, she cast her mind back to that day when the city had erupted into chaos. The day she'd gotten drunk in a bar with Lita. But earlier in that day she had not been expecting her day to end well. Indeed she had not been expecting to see the end of the day at all when she felt that terrifying ominous presence rise up and threaten to steal all light from the world. The day that she had invoked the ire of the leader of the Dark Alleys. She saw the day in her mind, saw what she had not seen at the time. The look that she had mistaken for irritation had been a protective instinct. The anger had not been directed at her but at others around her. Voidus had not been about to destroy her or harm her, she understood that he never would. And understood that it was because she was his daughter. Her mind reeled at the revelation, losing the thread entirely as she attempted to process the information. Understand what it meant. how could it have happened? She heard Lita and the Stranger's voices faintly, heard their agonizingly slow conversation. But she was too distracted to even attempt to pull the knowledge that she needed from the water, she felt the disturbance of her mind bring forth a cascade of information as the waters attempted to give her what she sought, but the information was fragmented and chaotic, a reflection of her own mind as she sought to understand.

The corner of his lips twitched in the faintest of smiles as Voidus listened to the figure before him. She didn't meet his eyes as she spoke, but neither did she run in fear or beg for mercy. Voidus banished the smile from his expression but did spare a brief nod of approval for her behaviour. Her courage certainly explained the presence of the spren that still wavered on her shoulder, flickering as though unable to decide if it should be bright to provide some kind of comfort or dim to remain unnoticed. "But the last to speak with him." Voidus confirmed. "He left the Alleys almost immediately afterwards." Voidus looked her over once again, eyes running over the brown hair that was kept out of her face, the muscles of someone well accustomed to fighting, the scars of someone who had fought in more than simple trials or practice areas. With a more intent expression he continued watching, looking past the exterior to try to gauge the woman who waited for him to continue. What kind of person was she? Why had Mac spoken with her? And why had she decided to come into the Alleys? She seemed aware enough of the dangers, despite her attire indicating a recent arrival. "Did he ask you to come here?" Voidus asked, he stepped back a little to avoid overly intimidating her, lessening the intensity of his gaze as he did. "To pass along a message of some kind?" Voidus had only just noticed the moment that Mac had crossed through the Alleys, he hadn't seen anything that had happened before then. But if Mac had spoken to this girl and she was still here, aware of who Mac was, then he must have seen something in her. Some promise? Or had it simply been idle curiosity? @Ookla the Dreamer --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Evening." Voidus said as the plain wooden door opened before him. "Let me guess, you must be-" "You know who she is." The Professor interrupted with an irritated tone. "I've had the picture on my desk since before we met." The two both entered through the door, being held open by a friendly young woman, blonde ringlets framing her smiling face as she allowed the two in before swatting at the Professor in mock-irritation. "That's no way to treat a guest dear." She said. The Professor just gave a sigh, holding the door open as Voidus stepped through, followed shortly after by another young woman. "Now let me guess, you must be Voidus." The Professor's wife began. "And this charming young lady must be Laurelai." "Indeed." Voidus replied with a disarming smile and giving a short nod of his head. "I apologize for having stolen your husband so frequently, but company such as his is hard to come by, I appreciate you allowing us to continue our meetings." "Well it can be difficult." She replied, sparing her husband an affectionate glance. "But he assures me it's necessary, and I'm just glad he's found someone to talk to again." The Professor and his wife led the way towards a large dining table, already set and laden with a large roast chicken and a collection of side dishes around it. They sat down together and began serving, piling plates high with tantalizing foods as they engaged their guests in small talk, waiting for Voidus and Laurelai to become more comfortable. "This is pleasant." Voidus said across the table, leaning back and relaxing into his chair. "Nice way to spend the time." "This chicken is delicious." Laurelai said. "There's something to it, a bit of a kick to the flavour that I can't put my finger on." "Lemon." The Professor's wife replied. "I can get you the recipe if you'd like? Not much to it if I'm being honest, nothing too fancy. I love your name by the way, where's that from?" "Family name." Laurelai replied with an awkward shrug. "My mother's middle name, and grandma's." "Ah, well maybe one day you'll have a little 'Laurelai' of your own." An amused reply came. "Or a little Voidus jr." Across the table Voidus smiled, he leaned back in his chair relaxing as the Professor stared anxiously into the distance. "It won't kill you to relax a little." Voidus said. "It's a rather pleasant evening if you take the moment to enjoy it." "I know." The Professor replied with frustration. "But I can't just relax, I can't forget... all of that. What's happened." He continued to look around anxiously, as though hoping the answer would pop out from behind the kitchen bench if he just stared at it hard enough or long enough. But after a minute's further brooding he gave a loud sigh, rolling his shoulders back and trying to force himself to relax. "I know that I won't be able to solve anything by worrying." He said. "It's just a lot to take in all at once. A lot of pressure." "You'd better get used to pressure." Voidus replied, still smiling. "Doesn't get much more pressure than what we're going to be attempting."

The spoiler boxes? There's a little eye icon above the text field, just to the left of where all the emotes are, if you click on that it should add one.

Laurelai smiled back at Lita, it wasn't frosty in the least, but guarded. A polite smile and nothing more, the kind that she had practised for endless hours until she could force it at a moments notice. But behind the cool, friendly smile her thoughts were cold and caluclating as she observed the tineye apologise and grin in a friendly manner. She knew Lita was no beginner to the game of lies, falseties and half-truths that people player. She could wear a false smile as easily as Laurelai could and was able to spot such a smile twice as easily. Something had changed between them, but was it Laurelai's suspicions that had changed it? Or had this Chapel of Rain changed Lita in some way? Or perhaps worse yet, had Lita been like this the whole time? Showing an easygoing friendly facade but inwardly cautious and guarded of the stranger that Laurelai had become in their months apart? Almost by instinct Laurelai began to sort and file information, trying to arrive at the most logical motivations and chains of reasoning. The kind of work she performed by habit any time she needed to make a Forgery was useful for more than simply magically altering history, it was also one of the main reasons Laurelai did some work with the DoCI. She couldn't listen in on a conversation across a room or see in a darkened hallway, couldn't creep about unnoticed. But she knew people, could understand why they did what they did, if she had enough information. So why had Lita asked her to come here? Why had Laurelai followed? "I realise that finding an ancient and incredibly rare resource is important but you'd think they'd spread the messages out a bit more." Laurelai said, feigning a look towards her own pen. But her eyes didn't remain focused on it. Why had Lita seemed so shocked as she stepped through the water? Why had she stared at Laurelai with such hostility? "And I still haven't had any from Mac yet." Laurelai continued, looking up in thought. "I would have thought he'd be one of the ones coordinating this, but it's just been others from CounterIntelligence." Why are you so afraid? The voice whispered, continuing her own trail of thoughts. Why are you still alive after you provoked the ire of Voidus? Why was he angry at you in the first place? Laurelai felt something, a pull. It seemed to tug at her thoughts in a familiar manner but growing steadily more insistent in a way that should have distracted her from her thoughts, but didn't. Why was she so nervous down here? Why did she feel like something was watching her from the dark? Why couldn't she pull herself together? "He... must be busy" Laurelai said, voice trailing off into distraction. Unsure if Lita had even replied. She could barely see her surroundings anymore, she was too engrossed with the burning question. Why? Why? Why? Why? Only one place could she see clearly, only one thing that remained in focus as the world dimmed. The waters called. They pulled insistently at her the more she questioned, what had once been an irritating but easily resisted call was growing into a force that seemed to dominate her thoughts. Why did she want to dive into the waters? That last question burned at her, seared at her mind until it was the only one that remained. Perhaps the waters were harmful, but Lita had passed through them without issue hadn't she? And this place had been named a chapel, not a place of danger but of worship. There was nothing to fear, no reason to ignore the pull anymore. Laurelai's eyes were dragged towards the gently falling waters, her burning focus in stark contrast to the placid and calm liquid. She felt her legs tense and before she could ask herself any further questions felt herself step into the waters of the Chapel of Rain.

Lifesense: 30 Biokinesis: 100 (Making some assumptions here about upper limits of power, but the main concern would be using it to instant-kill people which is off the table anyway) Physical enhancements are covered under the points for biokinesis, which is how I assume she acquired these enhancements. Skills: Melee weapons, Average (35), Scholarship, biology, Average (20), Parkour, Skilled (25) Weaknesses: Blind (-20) (Usually would be higher but this is with the compensation from lifesense), treats others as self while touching (-25), distressed by injury (-10) Total: 130 (M), 80 (S), -55 (W) = 155 Slightly over but I think this combined with how you've portrayed their psychological reactions to their Epic weakness, along with it being fairly easy to trigger, actually warrants a bit more of a reduction. Happy to approve this one.

Temeria. The Spren gave a resolute nod as it heard the name, doing its best to make sure it remembered it. People put importance in names didn't they? They said them a lot at least, and they felt important when they said them. The Spren should probably remember Temeria's name now that it had learned it. Temeria Temeria Shernet. It sounded nice to the spren, interesting. Like something it wanted to burn, but words shouldn't be burned. The spren remembered that much, words must never be burned. The spren held its footing on Temeria's shoulder, staring down the other two figures whose names it had already forgotten. The cloth beneath its feet was textured, it could feel the little threads coming off and weaving together in some kind of pattern. The spren had to hold itself back from singing the loose threads, Temeria hadn't burned them yet, that was probably for a reason. Maybe she wanted to burn them later instead? Somewhere less dangerous? That would make sense, no point burning something if you couldn't enjoy it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stepping silently from an Alley, Voidus straightened himself as the scenery changed around him, the sky shifting overhead, the plain path between two looming walls of buildings. Two figures standing together opposite him, while another stood in the center of the path, a small glowing figure standing on her shoulder. Voidus let his gaze wander over those present, watching for any signs of other parties remaining unseen before finally stepping forwards from behind Temeria. "The Alleys." He said in a controlled voice. "Are an ever changing mystery, but not one we are inclined to discuss at length with others." Stopping in between the other two figures, he turned to regard Temeria, hs gaze paused briefly on the spren, then on her sword before finally focusing on her face. The dark pools of his eyes locked onto hers, staring intently as though to forcibly pull what he needed to know from them. "You were the last person to see him?" Voidus asked, voice tensing for a moment. "Mac. Before he left."