[F13 EB] Tainted Prestige

[tricolor_mina 0]

Mina felt her grip on her blade falter as she was unceremoniously lifted into the air by Miraak, her mind too numb to comprehend what was about to happen. she felt a solid blow to her chest, a splashing of deep red particles intermingled with the faint glow of red coming from Miraak. her eyes looked up towards her health bar, and she felt her breath hitch in her throat... her health had hit zero. she felt sad for the briefest of moments, and for a moment, she laughed at Miraak. She laughed at his comments towards her, and laughed when he said she would be joining him in hell as well. 'I... am already in hell, you fool... I am finally... free...' she thought, a faint smile on her face, before her laughter stopped abruptly as she fell into the darkness, her body shattering into countless polygons. she shut her eyes, and allowed it to swallow her whole. She had no regrets anymore...
.... however, fate didn't seem so kind to her.
Mina landed on the floor Hard. hard enough to give her a concussion had this been the real world. She let out a shuddering gasp, her eyes snapping open, as the world came back into focus from the blurry darkness. she struggled for a moment or two, before pulling herself to her knees. she looked up at her health bar, her breath hitching in her throat once again when she saw that the zero had gone back up to a one. one point of health was what separated her from life and death... she shuddered convulsively, her eyes watering with unshed tears. "It... it hurts dammit..." she whispered, her voice shakier than normal. All of her thoughts were far too painful for her to bear now, not after her near death experience. "I don't deserve... a second... chance..."

Edited December 14, 2018 by tricolor_mina

[Shield 0]

Shield nodded, agreeing with the spirit of Baldur's words. It helped having the extra perspective and the reinforcement of the motivation behind their cause. "Serving is a good way to think about it," he said to the samurai. "Guess you're really going to get to live up to your principles of Bushido, huh?" The players were slow to respond to the invitation, but even as he waited for a response, there was a commotion and in came a new player whose health had been depleted in the other fight. Shield abandoned his proverbial soapbox and rushed over, wincing as she hit her head and kneeling down beside the player to check on her.

"Steady," he said, keeping his voice even and low. "Deserving isn't the point. You're back outside safe. You have to leave it up to the others now. You did your part, and they would be in a much worse place without the help you gave. We 'lost' some of our front liners in our fight as well." He gestured over his shoulder towards those who were gathered. "These bosses were a breed of their own. We haven't lost more than one player in a boss fight since I joined the lines, and the count for this event is already at half a dozen and counting." He offered @tricolor_mina his hand. "Take your time, get your bearings... You're safe and in good company."

[tricolor_mina 0]

mina heard a man begin speaking to her, and she wearily raised her head again. It was the man she had seen prior to the boss raid, and his name was @Shield if she had recalled correctly. Mina thought about his name for a few moments, before realizing that Shield was one of her guildmates, one of the few she had never really had the pleasure of meeting before. She looked up at him, studying his facial features, and committing them to memory so that she never forgot who he was. You never forget those who are your allies. she sighed quietly when he said that "Deserving" wasn't the point, that she was safe, and that the others had probably already taken down the boss, or would take it down. "Your reasoning is... too... Idealistic..." she murmured, pulling herself into a sitting position, crossing her legs underneath her. "but what do you mean by the fact that you suffered "Casualties"? Did players on your Team... Die..?" Her eyes widened with fear, and she suddenly made a move to check her menu, and look at her friends list, but then causing her to mutter a few choice swears when she realized that there was a few key people missing that she hadn't befriended yet, before she looked up. "Shield. Who died in the fight? Was it anyone from our guild? You? @Morgenstern? Beat? I need to know..!" a small look of panic was blatantly clear on her face, and she began gripping her weapon handle so tightly that her knuckles managed to grow pale and turn white.

[Baldur 0]

"We're all alive and fine." Baldur said the words to @Sunova as much as @tricolor_mina, tapping the young katana user's shoulder to show her that Mina had appeared with them as well.

"It is just as we said, no one is going to die in this event. It seems this was meant more to dishearten us, than to kill us. I don't really understand what the end game was here, but we should be thankful that we're all walking about of here alive, even if we are a little more scared."

Baldur tried to give them a brave smile, and then walked over to stand with Shield and watch for more of the new players who may be coming through. This boss was doing more damage to their morale than anything else. He didn't know what kayaba was doing. This was so... out of character, for the mastermind, and for the world he was working so hard to build. Perhaps this was something another designer had slipped in without him knowing about it. Whatever the reason, it was bizarre. 

When he was standing beside Shield again, Baldur smirked at him, "I actually don't do the whole bushido thing. My ethics are much more Kantian. Though I did have some sort of a Code of Chivalry when I was growing up."

[Shield 0]

"So is that where the title 'Gaijin Samurai' came from then?" Shield questioned, suddenly connecting some hidden dots that he had not known were part of the picture. "In any case, @tricolor_mina, no, we're all still alive. But yes... Beat and Jonathan were both taken out in that fight. Jonathan made it until the last attack, but that was a brutal assault, and he wasn't the only tank that dropped to zero hit points as a result," he said, pointing to his own health bar which was only just now approaching half health. "As I pointed out to the others, even though I'm one hundred percent defense, even I was dropped into the red towards the end."

His face remained genial, encouraging his younger former guild mate. Although the Ascendants had disbanded, he couldn't leave her just yet. "Don't worry," he said, giving her a nod of encouragement. "Us front liners are going to figure this out. We just need to put our heads together and try to work together. Baldur and I have been talking about how to do that for a while, and we think we have some good ideas of how to help make sure nobody is without protection, and if people trust us enough to join us, we can help organize the parties to make sure everyone has the right allies to protect each other."

[Vigilon 0]

It was over, it was finally over...and yet something wasn't right. "How could so powerful a monster drop so little? It doesn't make any sense!" Sure, there was experience and col, but little else, aside from the strange stone he got. The only way it could possibly come in handy would be if he found a weapon he couldn't use, one with enhancements far better than whatever his current weapon had. "It's okay, everyone, we're alive!" He called out to the players gathered. However, something just didn't seem right....two of the players there were, wait, but Miraak killed Mina and Sunova! "Hold on, I'm not seeing ghosts, am I?" He said as he stood there, confused. "I mean, this, how did...? Other players have died for real before, so why...? This day was just getting stranger and stranger... When was all of this madness going to end? Would Vigilon ever be able to grasp the many unusual situations he went through?

@tricolor_mina @Sunova

[Priest 0]

The two priests had backed up for the moment while players spoke with each other.  They had said their prayer to the Lord when Mina was killed during their fight with Miraak.  And not long after that the corrupted priest was killed.  As the priests sighed, there was a shimmer around the courtyard as the demonic influence was lifted.  As it was, the players would notice a change in the environment.  While the sky had lightened, as well as the grass gaining life again, with the influence down all players could see exactly how much change there truly was.  The dark clouds and shadow was dispersing from the sky, letting sunlight shine through since forever.  The green grass was showing once again, and seemed to very slowly spread.  Not just on the area around Angel's Point, but slowly towards the rest of the floor.  It was as if life was breathing into the entire floor once again.  Uri looked at Zack who was the better speaker, and he nodded stepping forward.  "Thank you everyone.  You didn't have to come and fight, but you chose to.  And because of your efforts, your courage.  You've not only prevented demonic influence from fully corrupting this world.  You have opened the doors to this floor's purification.  We knew the Lord would send salvation in some way and form, and we are grateful for your arrival and aid."  Uri decided to speak up now.  "If any of you have any questions, we shall do our best to help.  However, we'll soon need to begin working on repairing the damage Miraak and the fallen angel dealt.  Until then we'll be here if you need anything answered."

[Thread will close in 3 days {Monday, 11:00 AM PST}.  Players can leave the thread any time they wish]

 

[Shield 0]

"We can't make sense of it just yet either," Shield said in answer to @Vigilon. "We've been pondering it, but the best explanation we can come up with is that this was meant as the training wheels for what's to come in the future. We had to fight the real thing, but with the real consequences of failure removed." He took out the stone that had dropped during the event for the third tier players. "Also, are you referring to this stone? We all got them as well. And yes, they may not seem super useful just yet, but if you ever have the opportunity to attain unique items, either through trade or luck, and that item isn't quite the right specs, that stone becomes invaluable."

He opened his inventory and pointed out another item that he had been holding onto. "This Heart Sticker dropped for all of us in last year's Valentine's boss, and as far as I can tell there is only one other unused sticker of its kind left. There were also some sort of eggs that were dropped in another fight long before this which are now equally rare. If nothing else, they may prove useful in some sort of trade." He closed his menu and turned towards the church entrance. Although he knew that players were incapable of dying, it would still put his mind at ease to see those that he knew emerge from the building in one piece.

[Domarus 0]

The fight was very hard on a lot of players.  Including him.  He needed to head back to his place and rest, but there were a few things he needed to do first.  He started, with walking out of the boss room.  When he did he almost immediately spotted @Sunova and @tricolor_mina.  His eyes widened.  He didn't know how.  And he didn't care about why.  All he knew, was that the two players he had failed to save were alive.  He made his way through the crowd, pushing players aside if need be.  When he reached Mina he looked to @Shield.
     "Pardon me, but.  May I speak with her for a moment?"  He would wait patiently for Shield to oblige before taking her hand and leading her, as gently as he could despite his heart racing.  Over to Sunova.  If she was in a conversation he would do the same with that person as he did with Shield, and wait patiently.  If she wasn't, he would pull both of them into an embrace, holding them tightly with his eyes closed.
     "I am so glad the two of you are alright.  You don't realize just how much you two scared me.."  His voice would betray the feelings he was stating.  And the slight shaking of his limbs would also be an indication that he was impacted by this.  Which was....  Half right.  To be honest he didn't really care about them, but he had thought of them more than his reputation during this fight.  He pulled away and looked at them both, worry and threat of tears in his eyes.  "I, know this is a selfish request.  But please try to be more careful, and listen to me when I tell you to leave.  I don't want to lose anyone.  Please don't scare me like that again..  I have to speak with Black real quick.  If you two need anything, just send me a message ok?"  Domarus stood up straight again, rising to full height.  He still had a few things to say.  He walked over to @Black as the man left the cathedral. 
     "Black.  I want to thank you for your assistance today.  Thank you for keeping your group safe.  Even if it didn't amount to anything in the literal sense,"  He said looking at the players who supposedly died.  "I think this showed everyone a reminder.  As to how vulnerable we are to death."  With that.  He would speak aloud to the tier two players. 

     "Listen everyone.  This fight was difficult for many reasons.  We thought many of us had died, and it is an immense relief to see they are fine and well.  I especially, as I had failed to keep them safe,"  he said, looking at Mina and Sunova.  "I know many of you feel similar.  As if you were unable to save them, and that it was your fault they died.  This isn't true.  We are only human and each have limits.  Don't blame yourself.  At the same time, we have to keep this in mind.  I don't know if this is a permanent change or not, but there is a very strong chance bosses will be far stronger from now on.  From this point forth you're lives will be truly be in danger if you participate on the front lines.  However what you must ask is this:  Would you rather risk your own life to save every human life trapped in this world?  Everyone who cannot stand for themselves?  Think of the children.  Of people too scared to even step out of those safe zones.  You must ask yourself:  Should we not risk everything we have to save the people who can't do it themselves?  If it isn't us, then who else will stand up?
     "The frontlines aren't immortal.  Everyone will discover this soon.  However that does not mean we should step down in fear or in selfishness.  This was my first time leading a fight, and there was much I was unprepared for.  However I choose to learn from those mistakes and become better.  I'm going to continue to fight on the front lines.  And I look forward to the day where each and every one of you stand there beside me as we fight for everyone's freedom!"  Domarus would fall silent, and step down.  He'd walk over to @Hestia.  "I did what you ask.  I'm heading home to rest...  I leave the rest to you,"  he said before using a teleport crystal to vanish.

@Hazado @Aereth @Dazia @Cosi @Krysta @Kyot0 @Vigilon @Dustin @Kairi @Hidden @Stryder @Neopolitan @Mars @Kimi

Domarus has left the thread

[Dustin 0]

Dustin watches the players take a breather after the big fight and he smiles to himself. He sees his entire squad in the courtyard and sees that everyone from the frontlines was okay as well. It seemed no one had actually died. I guess I wouldn't have made a difference in a fight, so I can't make one here. He turns to walk away when he hears Domarus stand up and give an elegant speech. So it's that easy huh? I watched two people die and can't help but feel like I was just slowing everyone down getting in their way, but now that you've said I shouldn't blame myself I won't anymore. I guess this is my problem to sort out. He walks over to @Black and nods. "You're a damn fine leader, keep up the good work. I look forward to fighting alongside you guys again." He says in his less chipper voice, a voice the players who knew him before he left the town of beginnings would recognize. His voice of self loathing. "Well, I've gotta refill on snacks, and I've got a date, so I should be going." Dustin turns and walks to the other side of the courtyard, walking out, turning around one last time to watch everyone feel that sweet relief of victory as he can't help but feel useless, trying to disappear without talking to anyone else.

Dustin leaves the thread

[Hazado 0]

Haz follows everyone out of the room, from the looks of it, you clearly could see that he was mad and both sad and the same time, His friend the one he made come into this world is dead now. Because Of what happened Haz did not feel right until looking up and his jaw dropped. Seeing both @Sunova And @tricolor_mina he slowly walks up rubbing into his eyes a few times. He was not the first to greet them but Domarus did, well he looked like he did. Once Sunova was done being hugged a bit Haz walked up to her hand did not hold back, "Bloody God Darn it, Su, You are here with us," He said before giving the girl a hug and that hug moved on to him carrying her on his shoulder, "Darn it, Su, I'm Happy truly happy to see your face again, I'm Ugh Forget it you are here now and I will make sure you never are without a Tank in this world." He said with a smile as then Domarus started to talk to everyone. Sure Haz felt a bit guilty for failing his job to protect her and Mina but he was happy to see both were still alright.

He walked over to @Neopolitan with Sunova still on his shoulders before planting her down next to them "Look what I found, A stray Fox," He said looking again. But then the energy kicks in and he loses everything sitting on the ground and they lay down, "Someone... Bring me to an Inn... Please," He said as he got off his helmet. You could see he was tired and for sure out of energy after this battle, Not only that His HP bar was still flashing Red as it slowly was going up.

[Morgenstern 1]

Commotion kept rising, especially after the players from the Tier one and two fight were finished. Many of them coming out of the room seemed exhausted, heart ached and prepared to leave. Jonathan would rise from his seated position, beginning to quietly make his way out. Of course Itzal wanted to talk to him sometime soon, but that would just have to wait or be indefinitely postponed. It all depended on the results of what he was about to go through. As he passed the chapel, he would look inside. There were still players filing out. Many future frontliners. He looked back behind him to see the frontliners deep and thought. They seemed to be getting things to work out. If he ever made it back to the frontlines, he wondered what it would be like. Would there be some sort of code to follow? He heard a mention of it somewhere. He would finish his way out of the courtyard and to the teleported. This was one of his favorite floors, so he understood exactly where it was. 

-Jon leaves the thread-

[Shield 0]

More and more players emerged. Shield was reluctant to have Mina borrowed away from him, but he did not want to keep her. He nodded to Domarus and moved on through the crowd of tiers one and two players. His eye caught @Black, to whom he extended a fist to bump. "Glad you made it," he said, giving a solemn incline of his head. Not far away, he caught sight of one of the faces he was most concerned to catch up with. He fought his way through the throng to @Cosi and extended an open hand. "Our theory crafting must have paid off if you made it to the end of that fight. It sounds like it was just as rough in there as it was out here."

His health was leaving the yellow now, which he was glad for. There had only been one other occasion when he had been badly damaged enough for his health to fall so low as to change colors, and only two other players had been present to see it happen. The whole experience had been a shot to his pride as a tank and as a front liner, but he would not let that be worn on his sleeve, instead keeping his features as stoic as ever he had. "What happened in there? It sounds like it was pretty horrific." He was slow to release Cosi's hand, though he was not sure if it was because he wanted to offer reassurance to Cosi or to be reassured himself that the other tank was still in tact.

[Baldur 0]

Baldur walked over again to @Sunova and @tricolor_mina when they were reunited with the tank that Sun had pointed out to him, @Hazado. The Samurai let them have a moment before he encroached on their private moment as well. He eventually cleared his throat and gave the group a bow again in greeting. It was not a deep one, but a show of respect for the small party of players none-the-less.

"Sunova-chan was very worried about you." He gave the three of them a slight smile, "I did not get to see much of the fight, but I want you to have this, Sir Tank." Baldur couldn't remember what the boy's name was, but Sunova had been his healer, and had fought tooth and nail as hard as she could to keep them all alive.

"Take my advice with a grain of salt, but I want you to have this." Baldur pulled out his last remaining healing crystal and held it out to Haz.

"This is my last healing crystal. It will heal the entire party. I'm not a support, but I always carry as many of them as I can. There's a special bond between a tank and his healer, but there's also a bond between a party that fights life and death together. That's why I always carry a stack of these around with me. If everyone in a party did that, you can heal and tank and attack without wasting actions fumbling around in your inventory for a potion. Everyone should carry some, even if you can't get a lot. It's been the difference between life and death before. So please, take this one, and look out for one another."

Baldur gave Haz a warm, friendly smile.

---

-1 perfect AoE healing crystal given to Haz

Edited December 14, 2018 by Baldur

[Neopolitan 0]

The moment felt almost surreal. Her blade had pierced through the demon and for a brief moment, released the corrupt priest from his damnation. The final blast of heat before his death the the protective ice around Neo, and she was left standing there. Light came from above, and Neo saw that an angel came down to congratulate the players. Though knowing it was all part of the game, Neo couldn't help but feel proud for what she did.

Neo sheathed her blade within her parasol before taking the weapon from the angel. It felt dark, and was writhing within her grip. Bowing in thanks to the angel, Neo went into her menu to equipe the item. The blade that was in her parasol vanished, and the spear felt more comfortable in her grip.

Feeling the urge to sheathed it within her parasol, Neo did. The head and shaft morphed into a strange blade before fitting within the stave of her parasol somehow. As soon as she had clicked the blade in place, a clawed hilt being the only hint of the weapon, her parasol felt just as dark. A blackness spread upon it, and the lace became as dark as the weapon it hid.

Unsure of what had happened, Neo made her way outside. It appeared that she was one of the last few to leave the church, but that was fine by her. She looked around and noticed how different the floor seemed. It was strange to think that she had helped right such a corruption. Perhaps this would be their final world after all. Would that be so bad?

It took a while, but then Neo saw a flash of white hair. Remembering Vanilla's, and now Su's death, Neo felt abject. Though they had won, at what cost had it been. Then a familiar voice rang out. @Hazado spoke, and Neo saw @Sunova riding in on his shoulders. Eyes lighting up like a firework, Neo immediately went to high the two once Sunova was placed on the ground. And though Hazado had collapsed, at least they were all safe now.

Rapier type chosen for weapon

Weapon and parasol appearance:

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

[Krysta 0]

The battle was over, and the demon was vanquished. Krysta left with only a battle to remember, a valuable stone, and some col. Other than that, there wasn't much there. Domarus came up to speak to the players around. It made sense, and so far, it seemed like, in terms of her own level, she would be needing more practice. Krysta soon saw two players who she thought had been killed. She rushed over, and she thought her eyes were deceiving her. "Y-you're....alive? Wh- what happened? I- thought he...." here they were, alive and well. She saw two others talking to them. One was Hazado, the other, was someone she didn't recognize. "Oh, um, I apologize if I'm interrupting... I haven't seen you at all during the battle against Miraak... A frontliner, I presume?" Krysta was actually curious about how the frontlines were. If it wasn't too dangerous for someone of her build, she might be able to support them one day.

@tricolor_mina @Sunova @Baldur

[Sunova 0]

Sunova looked back to only be greeted by Domarus and his hug, She did not hug back however as she did not want to drop her Katana on the ground. She looks at him for a moment and gives a weak smile, "Sure But I would Have wanted to stay and make sure everyone was alright even Mina If I did not Mina would have gotten the same faith as me that attack," She said determent wanting to make her action clear, plus Miraak was quite strong both the bosses were as at both sides someone did, and that was something kept between them and the rest and she was not telling it either. then a yet again another hug came and this time by the one she knew quite well and hell was his HP low. She smiled at him for a bit. She looks to Baldur as he walks up and she smiles, "Hey Baldur see, he was worried too, well for sure he was he got me into this world so why would he not be," She said before Baldur traded something with Haz and shortly after that was picked up by Haz sitting on his shoulder And Now really could see everyone and also the players that were leaving.

Once Hazado spoke again Su looked to See Neo standing there, She smiled to Neo and once set down Neo came right to her She seemed happy and relieved by everyone to see her, Not only that also Vigilon and Krysta were happy to see the small girl, Sunova smiled and Jumped up to Neo Hugging her, "I'm Glad to see you again Neo, I was scared and all But Now I see you are here," She lets go and looks at Vigilon and Krysta, "Its a miracle I would say, But still things like this is just something that happened, But I'm here now with all of you again AND this time I will do my job better than before and fight by your side no matter what I will not fail any of you, I will make sure every one of you will be saved and everyone here will make sure I stay safe. Even tho Miraak was quite a cheater I still can see hope in the man that was left behind, He may have been wrong at first but I believe everyone can change! I hope for him he gets a second change Like I did Like Mina did But we have to see." She said determent wanting to make her point clear that her fighting spirit was not going to go down now and even more so she would fight even better now to make sure everyone was safe.

Sunova turned to the priests and smiled walking up to them, "If I may say, If your god does believe in second changes what is in faith for Miraak, I know he may have tried to kill us but he was also in the hands of a foul creature. If there is a way your 'god' could bring him back or at least something from him, I would Like to have it. He may have seen to get things to change but we all have sin and none can be sinless. If there is a way to speak my last words to him I would, He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, If Miraak could be brought back like I was or like Mina I would say to him, to start over again, follow a player he trust and believe in the good will of that player, And I also would say... I forgive you, you may do wrong but we all did, even though you did not want to kill the demon inside you wanted and I won't forgive that thing, but you Miraak would be forgiven by me if I truly wanted," She said smiling to the priests before speaking again, "That is what I would say to him, and if he ever returns here, place say that I would be happy to help him start over again,"  She said before standing next to Neo again. @Priest

@Domarus @Hazado @Neopolitan @Krysta @Vigilon @Baldur

Edited December 15, 2018 by Sunova

[Cosi 0]

After Miraak died and the angel came, all Cosi could do was slump to the ground. His adrenaline left him and everything that had happened in the fight hit him like a ten ton truck. People died in the fight. Sunova, Mina I didn't know but still they're still both dead. The front liners are... decimated. Then suddenly Cosi looked up with tired eyes and saw that everyone was either gone or moving out of the chapel. Apparently the field that had kept the players in had been dropped. Limply Cosi rose and followed. Once outside the church Cosi was greeted by a mass of people. Not only the tier ones and tier twos but the front liners as well. Most of everyone were fine. Some were in the yellow but they were regenerating slowly. Cosi began to look for familiar faces. He saw Hestia and Shield which in all honesty were the only two tier threes he knew. Cosi began to look around and he caught sight of people that he thought had died. Sunova and Mina as well as the front liners he had seen fall. It must have been an illusion or a... Cosi's stupor of thought was interrupted by someone approaching him. @Shield stood before the blonde haired player with his hand held out. Cosi took hold of the front line tank's hand and gripped it firmly. "Yes it did and it was... something." Cosi said. The aspiring tank continued to hold Shield's hand for a split second after Shield released his grip. Cosi then nodded at Shield's comment. "Personally I was fine but the boss was fast and it dealt plenty of damage. A couple people... well I thought they died but turns out they're fine." Cosi tilted his head to catch a glimpse of Sunova, "But what happened with you guys?" 

[Priest 0]

The priests watched as the players mingled with themselves.  One of them stood up and made a speech.  He wasn't the first, but he and the rest of the first group weren't there to hear the others.  Everything seemed to be going calmly and smoothly.  The priests smiled.  Soon however, they would be approached by someone.  The first to have arrived in the courtyard from having died.  She spoke to them and the two simply smiled.  Zack nodded to Uri, since she was under his guidance.  It was his group he was in charge of after all.  Uri approached her and looked her in the eyes, speaking gently.  " @Sunova, do not let doubt worry you so.  The Lord is nothing but good, and nothing but good comes from him.  We make mistakes out of fear.  That fear which drives one to do wrong is not of God, but of the enemy.  I can promise you that Miraak will be given a second chance.  I don't believe he ever truly turned God away.  He was merely lost, weighed by his scars of the past.  And like the one sheep in the hundred who wanders away.  The Lord won't leave him behind, and will instead lead him back home."  He smiled brightly as he nodded to the doors of the Cathedral.  Nodding to where Miraak was walking back out.  Alive and well.  "Jesus can see into the heart and soul of man.  He knows what has been, what is, what will be, and what could be.  Mankind brought sin into the world, and with it suffering.  People like to blame him for it.  But God gave us free will to choose.  He simply takes the wrong, and makes a right out of it."  He and Zack nodded and they would gesture for her to see him.  "Go," Zack said.  "Speak to him yourself.  And share how you feel."  The two would wait for her to go see Miraak and stand together once more.

[Miraak 0]

He would open his eyes once more, the light coming from around him was bright, anew. Looking around, he would find himself once again inside the chapel, the players no longer occupying it. A bright light lay in front of him with the body of an angel. Miraak would then look down to himself and see that he has been resotored. Afterwards, he would look to the angel and bow his head. Then he would say, "I apologise for my wrong doings. I understand now that the path I was lead down was the wrong one. If I may ask, why did the Lord see fit to bring me back after I swore his name and turned my back on him?"

"You already know the answer to that Miraak.  He is a merciful God.  How many stories and lessons does the Bible go over regarding mercy and grace to those who have committed sin?  Pain, fear, pride.  These cause a man to do things they normally would not do.  While you had allowed doubt to cloud your vision enough to deny him, your heart and soul yearned otherwise.  You are the prodigal son Miraak.  And the Lord's been waiting patiently, for you to come home.”

Miraak winces from the words, knowing that the angel was correct. Sometimes, the mercy of the Lord was grand. "It is true. The Lord forgives each and all of his children. Sometimes, I believe it is mistakenly so." He looks at the chapel, seeing it ordered and clean now. "However, with the Lord by my side, I was truly able to see where I have went wrong and understand the reason of humanity. We are allowed to make mistakes so that we learn from them and grow. The Lord forgives us so that we can learn from our mistakes.”

The angel was silent for a moment before continuing.  "Strife and pain is evil in itself Miraak.  But the Lord uses it to help his children grow.  There was once a man who quit his job, his family, and his life because he couldn't handle it anymore.  He asked God to give him one reason not to give up.  The Lord answered him:  "Do you see the fern?  One day I arranged for seeds to fall beside it.  I cared, nurtured, and fed it for a year.  Nothing grew, yet I did not give up on it.  The next year I cared, nurtured, and fed it.  Still nothing grew, and still I did not give up on it.  A third year passed, and still nothing grew.  Yet I still did not give up on it.  After the fourth year, a stalk finally grew  out of the soil, though it wasn't much.  by the fifth year, it grew into a six foot bamboo shoot, towering over the fern.  Those years of no results.  Of no fruit.  The bamboo was growing it's roots.  Growing strong."  Just because the devil seeks to undo you by crushing you with pain and sorrow.  Doubt and fear.  Hatred and betrayal.  Does not mean that the Lord will let it fester in you.  He uses it to help you grow, if you allow it.  Trust in God.  Ask for guidance.  And he shall light your way.”

Miraak would listen to the story from the angel, taking in it's meaning. "A wonderful lesson. I thank both you and the Lord for everything that has been done. While I can't go back on my sins, I can atone for them. I won't be wasting this second chance. Early on, I followed the light of the Lord to understand how to turn my burdens into something more" Bowing to the angel, Miraak would finish. "Once again, I must follow the light of the Lord on to the right path”

"I am but a messenger.  Praise the Lord alone.  Jesus has atoned for your sins in full Miraak.  Simply seek the Lord in all you do, and do good deeds as thanks for all he has done.  For your sins have been wiped clean."  And with that, the angel would vanish. As it did, Miraak's red cursor would spin into a yellow one. 

"I have been given a second chance. I must do as I said, follow the light of the Lord. It is my job to ensure that this world doesn't fall to Sin by the same influence that I fell to" After having the reassurance of his own words, he would move outside of the chapel, seeing that many of the players were still in the courtyard. He quietly made his way to the Orphir brothers. "Zack, Uri. It is to both of you that I owe the most humble of apologies for the trouble I have caused. Through the lord, I have found the errors of my ways and plan to atone. If it isn't too much to ask, would you allow me to stay as a priest of this chapel?" 

After getting his answer from the brothers, he would allow any players to approach to speak to him. 

 

This thread will now close next Thursday at 8:00 P.M CST

Edited December 16, 2018 by Miraak