[F23-PP] A murmur of stars

[Sam 0]

Another day full of repeated memories

Falling into a slumber that was well needed. One blink, two blink, three and she was out as a familiar echoing of laughter fill the streets. Children, a ball, a bounce. Sam was holding her mothers hand as she was full of happiness seeing all the kids having fun. Catching her eyes, -bounce, bounce, bounce-, Samantha yanks her hand from her mothers, "Sammy where are you going, come back here, SAM." A boy, his blue eyes, that blond hair, as he ran in her direction in panic. Picking the ball up not knowing why, an impact that pushes her backwards from this boy and his hands, eyes close, -CRASH-...

Opening her eyes in fear, but she was not at home. Standing at a funeral, crying eyes lifting seeing that same Mausoleum. Glancing around, silence, the tears fell but it was mute. Feeling her body begin to shake. What the hell was this. Another glance around and the people were gone, she was alone... Peering at this enclosed space, steps are taken to slide the door open, she felt like she was in a horror film, was she still dreaming... Pressing her hands against the door, sliding it open slowly as small pieces of rock crunch against the frame causing some dust to fill the air. A single stair case revealed, glancing back still no one. Tiny foot steps walk hesitantly down, wrapping her arms around her chest. A shiver down her spine as she knew what would be down here, the surrounding were so familiar like it was yesterday. Last step till concrete flooring is flat beneath her feet. Choking on the air she took, like splinters with every breath. A single coffin lays in this room. A torch on both sides of the walls. Setting her hands on this structure, she just stands there. Liquid hitting this container, as she pushes the lid open... That same boy, lying there as she takes a step backward. 

Unable to look away, -Why did I have to walk into the street, why did I have to go get that ball. I should have just kept holding on. He would still be alive if it weren't for me, why save me...- Pure blame washed over he like a ton of bricks. A numbing step forward as her legs give out, catching herself on this encasement. Vision blurred from the waterworks, a black thing comes from this boys stomach. Petrified in fear, something like fingers from this black thick line. Right then it swiftly grabs Sam's clothing that lays upon her chest...

Sam | HP: 740/740 | EN: 92/92 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 20 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 2 | LD: 4 | BLD: 48 | ENV.O: 32 | FRSTB: 40 | REC: 8 | STK: 40

Spoiler

Sam,
Level: 31
Paragon Level: 32
HP: 740/740
EN: 92/92

Stats:
Damage: 23
Mitigation: 20
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 2
Loot Dice: 4
BLD: 48
ENV.O: 32
FRSTB: 40
REC: 8
STK: 40

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Analyst's Harvester - Lethargy (THBA-T4-Demonic): Envenom 1, Bleed 1, Frostbite 1, Static 1
Armor: Acolyte's Light (T4-Perfect-Cloth Armor): Evasion 1, Recovery 2
Misc: Gold Promise - Din's Flame (T1/Perfect):Accuracy 1, Evasion 2

Skills:
Axe R5
Cloth Armor R5
Searching R4
Quick Change

Active Mods:
Vanish
Surprise Attack (Trickster)
Tracking
Athletics
Blindside

Addons:
Ferocity
Stamina
Precision

Active Extra Skills:
Hiding R5
Concentration

Battle Ready Inventory:
Oracle's Watch - Inquiry (THBA-T4-Demonic): Absolute Accuracy, Accuracy 2, Phase x1
Sapphire Ring - Nayru: Prosperity 3 x5
Flash of Rejuvenation [T1/Perfect/Crystal] Mass Heal x5
Teleport Crystal x2

Housing Buffs:
Well Rested: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat
Squeaky Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Skylight (-): +1 Rank to the - skill.
Angler: +1 material gained when fishing
Advanced Training: +10% Exp to a thread. Limit one use per month [1/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Decor [(Potted Tanabata)]: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Edited November 19, 2021 by Sam

[Nisahime 0]

A clasping hand around Sam's wrist, reaching out to drag her into the depths of despair. Within her grief, her guilt, she wasn't the slightest bit aware of another participant. Every step rings off the surrounding walls, this graveyard of old still trapped the girl within that past. Clutching that killed son, that boy that had produced valiance at such a ripe young age. A black gloved hand rips it away, and that corpse smiles, laughing harshly. A twist of her body, lips begin to move and yet Sam cannot hear a sound.

The woman's eyes begin to burn, casting rays in a place of almost total darkness. Reaching with but an outstretched hand, it finds Sam's shoulder. Immediately, her skin would burn, as static darts down her frame as if struck by lightning. "Can you hear me?" The voice would be muffled, as if distant despite how proximity was. This place was of Sam's own design, it robbed her of her very senses. The question was, could the Hand of fate reach through that veil and allow her to hear if a single moment?

"Speak if you can hear me, adolescent girl. Is that guilt so deep you are unreachable?" The woman looks to her, iris so sharp it could cut through solid stone. Some physical force still dancing across the raven haired girl's skin, as if something was being peeled away. They were alone here, not but two in a room meant for one. It was neither, and yet to one it felt like it should be.

Edited November 19, 2021 by Nisahime

[Sam 0]

A jerk forward as that grasp was released. Vision still blurred a sudden jolt intruded her frame. Gasping for air as she peers up to meet a face to that hand, her voice. Struggling to find her own voice as she attempts to move but can't. Her tiny hands gripped this container, nails dug deep. That searing pain of her fingertips, it hurt, but she didn't care. A gulp of nerves down her throat, it was the first voice that she had heard in here but it was muffled. The question, was it actually muffled or did she just not want to hear it. Eye shut tight as she shakes her head, a deep breath now, it was crackled but she was able to this time. It was like the shocking impact reset her nerves. Letting the coffin go, hands full of red as she glanced up at this female. Words this time, she could hear them clearly now, but it was distant and at first she was scared, speechless. Wiping her eyes with a sleeve to clear her sight, glancing back up. A white haired female, head narrows with a frown, chest still heavy, but she says "I can..." it was a tiny voice but it was there. One of a young child, her hair being as long as her tiny frame.

Sam glances at her hands, stuck in this small shape, but her mind was as her current age... Sam didn't understand what was going on, "I was trapped in my own guilt. Never left my house again thinking that if I just stayed in my room that nothing bad would ever happen again. If I just left that ball, he would still be alive... Maybe then I wouldn't be feeling this way..." It was still the voice of a 5 year old, it was a bit trippy. This was not a normal dream, THE normal dream. All the other times the touching felt ghostly, one from the past, but when that black hand and her hand made contact, it felt real... Was she dreaming, was this actually real. "Who are you and why are you here..."

[Nisahime 0]

Her eyes flicker just a bit, acknowledging the audio from the child's voice. Sliding her hand free, as such an overbearing presence would only work to damage her in this state. "Good, then there is hope." Waving her hand along the top of this tomb, the coffin of stone. Her hand begins to glow, like sunlight but whiter. More pure. Racking Sam's noggin, the boy turns and smiles, but not in some sickly twist. "So easy to distort the truth, so fickle the heart to twist a memory." The girl would recall the look on that boy's face, one of happiness, in that instant as he lied in a pool of his own blood. One of success, one of pleasure. "Remember clearly, was it a mistake? Did he wish you to mourn him? Or was he giving you a precious gift, one that he only had but one to give?"

Morrighan's gaze shifts back toward the child, the one consumed by something that should not be. "The boy made his choice." As she'd step forward, her very shadow begins to grow and take form. Kurayama. But in most places where he was a sarcastic ass, a violent and volatile entity it was, here it seemed absent. "I did what I thought was right, It wasn't your fault." Complacent and care in his eyes that only she had ever seen, somewhere in all of that anguish was a heart. "Heed my words, Raven of Sin, Ensnared. Learn to live for his sake, you do him a disservice mourning him and squandering such a precious gift. Find me, and I will return it to you."

Edited November 20, 2021 by Nisahime

[Sam 0]

A gasp of air as her eyes flash open as she raised up right in her bed... Head shift in every direction to assure herself that she was home this time. Gripping her covers with a cringing hiss as it drops back to her lap. Glancing down as she lifts her hands, palm up first, nothing. A flip of both, pupils grow wide. Red and dirt, paint them as her nails seemed broken apart. "That coffin, that boy." A memory reverts back, the one time that she saw that boy lying there, a smile. She was too young to understand what that really meant. "It was not my fault, he made his choice. He gave me a second chance in life and all I have managed to do is wait it so far." Sitting there staring at her injuries as they began to fade from game mechanic rules. As much as she wanted to believe it was just a dream, there was much evidence proving that it was not. Touching her shoulder where that hand was placed. A woman, white hair, how was this even possible. Soft breath comes from her lungs as everything runs through her mind. "Find her," how. She did not give a name.

Pulling her blanket to the side, sliding her legs to the carpet, and walks to the bathroom. Turning on the faucet, she splashes her face. Tracking only worked if a name was given or an item was traded. A simple touch would not suffice. Thinking for a moment, Sam remembers that crystal ball that Simmone had laying around in their shop. She was never that interested in it until now. Would her friend allow her to use such a unique item. The only other choice was Freyd and she rather not deem herself crazy for trying to explain to him what has just transpired. Only one way to find out, as she dries her face with a hand towel. Sam makes some coffee first, then heads off to the shop.  

Edited November 20, 2021 by Sam

[Freyd 0]

The door crept open silently as a black-hooded head craned inside the vestibule to Simmone's shop, wary of dramatic entrapments.  No Sam wrapped in passionate embrace around a Katoka half her size.  No Freya on the floor, striving to devour her own soul in an effort to redeem it.  No Eruda drowning in doubts and certainties.  And, thank goodness, no Blueberries full of irrelevant, self-delusional cheer.  A whispered sigh of relief and he entered fully.

"Simmone, are you about?  You said that you wanted to talk.  I have a few moments before... stuff and things.  You know how it is."  Languidly strolling about the tiny display space, he swore the woman kept it crowded on purpose to make her customers feel uncomfortable, as well as making her shelves look better stocked than they were.  He stopped himself, about to poke things randomly, remembering how prickly the courtesan could be about people meddling with her secrets, even those set out on display. 

"Simmone?"

Nothing.  But the room was lit and warm, so she had to be about somewhere.  Freyd was about to track her down, literally, when a memory intruded from his last visit - the very same time that had spawned his reason for returning.  Pulling aside the gaudy tapestry revealed the object of that memory: a crystalline orb offering a loose, distorted reflection of himself and the world around him.  He paused, like a child having deliberately accidentally removed the lid from the cookie jar to leave the contents exposed.  Vulnerable.

"Simmone?  Talkies?  No?  Are you in the bathroom or something?"

His attention had switched gears to a sidebar quest discovered by effective stumbling.  The matronly seer had once described this orb as enhancing tracking abilities.  Having finally restored access to that beneficial talent, he'd used it recently to find Freya and discovered a smattering of breadcrumbs instead.  Dots appeared by happenstance, or... nah.  Not possible.  Yet those cautionary warnings erased themselves from the forefront of his self-preservation instincts as his finger reached and touched the surface containing nothing but utter dark.

"I wonder..."

***

It resembled a mixture of the Room of Requirement, that warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Freyd's closet.  Seemingly endless black-on-black book stacks, shelves and cupboards occupied a space that would make you swear had an extra dimension or two to reality.  There was also no light.  The paradox of 'empty clutter' didn't quite do it justice.  Actually, the term barely scratched the surface of what might be required to describe the incalculable mess that governed the existence of whatever this place was, yet also somehow wasn't.  Here didn't actually seem to be there, and the unseen contents were hollowed of existence, despite occupying seemingly infinite space. 

And then a hand appeared.  A normal hand, of the pink and fleshy variety with unpainted, well-trimmed nails and a bit of callous on stoically un-wiggling digits.  It was straight and flat, albeit vertically aligned, yet otherwise unconnected to any apparent limb, as one might normally expect to find.  Like it had been trust forth for a handshake not otherwise warranted or in evidence.  Had anyone been present to observe this odd phenomena, they'd quickly note that reality seemed wibbly-wobbly where the hand ended, and there was a welcome absence of guts and goo that might have been expected to be spilling out the back end.  The digits un-stoic-ed, suddenly, and did their more commonplace wiggling thing, as if reaching for anything they could find.  Searching.  Tracking.  Finding nothing, because the space didn't quite exist, they felt about and found the wibbly-wobbly-ness of their own making and tugged at it a bit.  Unreality tore open a bit wider in response, and suddenly there was something in the midst of this gloriously disorganized nothing.

A pause - no doubt for consideration of feeling such an oddity - was soon replaced by a second hand joining the first, wedging itself through the same breach and pulling it open wider.  Back to back, like a swimmers arms extended and prepare to propel them forward, the hands parted and tore space time apart, just a little bit farther.  Enough for a Whisper to slip through, though this one wore a steel- blue, black slacks and a pair of wire-framed glasses.

"What the..."  Sound intruded in the silence of the void, and Takeshi wondered what kind of rabbit hole he'd managed to stumbled into, this time.

***

Freyd | HP: 1000/1000 | EN: 134/134 | DMG: 24 | MIT: 78 | ACC: 5 | BH: 55 | LD: 5 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | PARA IMMUNE | REC: 8

Full stats:

Spoiler

Freyd, The Whisper in Shadow
Level: 31
Paragon Level: 89
HP: 1000/1000
EN: 134/134

Stats:
Damage: 24
Mitigation: 78
Accuracy: 5
Battle Healing: 55
Loot Dice: 5
FLN: 16
HLY: 16
PARA IMMUNE
REC: 8

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Samael's Pride (T4 MA | Holy 2 | Fallen 2)
Armor: Fallen Angel Garb (T4 LA | Mit 2 | Rec 2)
Misc: The Shadowed Rose (T3 Trinket - ACC 3 | Para Imm)

Custom Skill:


Skills:
Martial Arts R5
Battle Healing R5
Light Armor R5
Searching R4
Charge
Energist
Quick Change
Familiar: Grappling
Shift: AoE
CM: DMG R3

Active Mods:
Night Vision
Tracking
Meticulous
Untraceable

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Ferocity
Precision
Resolve
Reveal
Stamina

Active Extra Skills:
Survival
Meditation
Forgotten King’s Authority
Hiding R2

Inactive Extra Skills:
Disguise
Brawler
Photosynthesize

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystals x7
Mass HP Rec [Inst] (+30*T HP) x7
Mass HP Rec [Inst] (+30*T HP) x7
Crystal of Divine Light (Reusable) x1
Rhino's Horn (Reusable) x1
Hmr.Pk: The Thing Behind All Lies (T4 Demonic WH, AA, Blight, Static, Para.Ven (Off)) x1

Housing Buffs:
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Skylight (Searching): +1 Rank to the Searching skill.
Angler: +1 material gained when fishing
Advanced Training: +10% Exp to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Decor [Potted Tanabata Bamboo Tree]: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild:
Kumatetsu Statue: +1 Base Damage for a thread

Wedding Ring:

 

[Nisahime 0]

Step by step, the hell plane of blackened whispers. Dissonance reiterated here over and over, sourceless and yet very much real. Every scream, every bit of laughter, like thoughts made real. Occasionally, on the edge of peripheral, a semblance of movement can be detected. A long white dress, it was hard to make out movement and yet the trailing rings of white, rippling out as if a droplet in a puddle. "Fitting truth, in attire worn. Isn't it Takeshi, or is it Freyd?" The voice cuts through the shadow like a knife, piercing and powerful.

Long black hair, as was expected within these vacuumed depths. The void at which he brought forth in reality, losing arms and fingers in the process. "Harder to reach than I would enjoy, but finally I have found you." The woman always searching, always seeking and yet never seeming to find what it was she was looking for. Save now, her efforts starting to bear fruit.

"Question is, Messenger. Can you hear me?" Caught within that featureless emptiness, as the gut feeling of movement swirled around and yet could not be seen. "Has that darkness that has been growing within your chest drowned me out entirely? Or has that sliver of light I gave strength still keeping it contained?" In the destruction of all he encountered, such a simple twist of fate against a foe he fought. He found but a single object that found him power greater than The whisper can have ever fathomed. The truth was, he was always destined to inherit it. But it was a growth desperate to rip what little humanity he had left away. A life so wavering in a balance betwixt light and dark, ever teetering and leaning back and forth.

Freyd didn't believe in fate, even if it was staring him directly in the face.

Edited November 20, 2021 by Nisahime

[Freyd 0]

A twitch in his eye.  And in his ear.  Damn.  He didn't know whether to tense his shoulders or relax them.

"Aww fu--... yeah.  I can hear you.  But you look inverted, and have somehow managed to wear even less clothing than the last time I saw you.  Congratulations on your anime promotion, I guess.  Chainmail bikini next?  I'm getting definite Albedo vibes here, which probably doesn't bode well, for me."  He'd already pressed his glasses back against his face before recognition dawned that he was even wearing them, or that he'd just pulled a Raidou.  Blinks followed, and a progressive downward glance at himself - his true self.  Not Freyd or even Montjoy, but Takeshi in the whole.  Hole?  Sigh.

Wait a second... 

A double-take and decision immediately made that sent the gauge so firmly towards tension that the scale had to be extended.  Suspicious eyes engaged hers, seeing clearly despite the total absence of light.

"How the hell do you know that name?"

Hands on hips, pivoting to survey their surreal setting.  

"And where is... why is... it... that I know this place?"  

Reaching to snare a random sheet of paper from the nearest desk, the messy piles suddenly straightened, sorted and organized in an instant at his touch.  A palm spread to glance upon the foremost leaf, revealed a quantity known to none but himself.  Realization.

"I'm in my own head."  He knew it well, and the precautions that existed to protect the untold secrets gathered and curated within its bounds, accessible only to the right cacophony of whispers.

"Why are you here, and why are you in my friends?  What are you, Morrigan, or Nisa, or whoever you feel like being called today?"

Not exactly friendly.  But not exactly hostile either.  Takeshi couldn't seem to pick a side, but that had long been established as his issue.  This woman was wonderfully and maddeningly difficult to decipher.  It was a powerful lure, even and especially to the wary. Looking down at his open palms, the wibbly-wobbly fields limned his digits still, casting doubt where he might have preferred that it remain.  

[Nisahime 0]

An entire mess of funny, aimed at ire or jest. But it was as close as one could get, taking a handful of putty and throwing it at a brick wall. Not even a reaction, just total silence as he was venting his frustration and confusion in the way he knew how. "Simple, Takeshi. I know what you are, I know who you are. Names given to different parts, but they are all the same box. Even when divided." Moving in a slow trail, as she spoke drawing a hand along a table as if inspecting it for dust. 

"Moreso, I can feel your concern. The one you wish to ignore. A copper rose, too close for comfort for your liking, isn't she? Pushing her away, to save her from you." Circling him in this space like prey, having found the very thing that had started taking root elsewhere. Despite his assumption that she would not grow, and an offer to do just that for her seemed frivolous. He'd done exactly that, an offer taken. "I see that my hopes were not lost on you, and even still you poke and prod your way towards understanding. But you fail to realize that with how you see the world, you cannot fathom who I am." Finding a seat and folding her legs, revealing a pair of bare feet. "As you see yourself, you see my truth as well. But you've always scratched at it, curiously trying to understand what you can not." Plucking out from the air, a single shard that looks like glass but composed of white light.

"Heed what I convey, dear messenger. Let it be known, I appreciate your efforts. It seems that spark..." Placing that star upon the platform reveals the first rendition of <<Samael's Pride>>, as the light bends and twists around shade and forms a single definitive shield around the writhing black. "Has done its part, and for what I've done to your friends? I did nothing short of giving them their fates to control, as I've done for you. Mockingbird, You were always my Messenger." Reaching down and clasping the handle of that maelstrom mess of a blade, it hums with power between light and dark. "The man whose life you almost snuffed out, he will never compare to who you are. A Nothing, and yet you find pity in him." Spinning it and offering him the handle, to continue his fight. "Find me, Harbinger of Change, Seeker of Truth and I will reunite you with dreams that have been choked away.

Raising her hand with that glimmer on her eyes "I was always Morrighan" A snap of her fingers returns an immediate jolt of reality, staring down a crystal ball.

[Freyd 0]

He stared at the hand pressed upon the glassy surface, lined in the very film of white which Morrighan had claimed to have given him.  It trembled.  He would later think of it as some sort of tremor or shake, incapable of permitting an alternate notion of taking root, even if it was correct.  His mind wasn't ready for that, yet.

Clenching into a fist as he withdrew his touch from the sphere, he returned the cloth covering to its previous placement while mentally reviewing whatever that had been.  A vision?  A dream?  Too many protein consumables in a single day?  

She knew the rose.  She knew my name.  She knew far too many things.  The old Freyd, machine-like and ruthless in protection of his solitude, sought to assert itself in that moment, and label this one an enemy and agent of Cardinal.  It was the only logical explanation.  The system could have collected all these disparate parts and united them for whatever nefarious purposes it might desire.  

But, then, why allow this?  He flexed his hands again.  The hands of fate, if he was crazy enough to believe her, and the great paradox that the very concept of predetermination could grant choice.  Poppycock!  Whatever or whoever she was, she was clearly linked to others - the rest of the box.  He could already feel it.

"She's growing in power, building towards something."  Persi shushed him with a shiver from her bed, wrapped around his ribs, soliciting an irked grimace from the Whisper.  He would not, could not, let this go.  Though insightful in the extreme, one error stood out in her analysis.  Kyle had never engendered pity.  If anything, their confrontation had revealed to him a simple truth: he either felt no pity or remorse for the boy he'd crippled, or else could casually toss it aside when the need or desire arose.  Such were his concerns for the rose.

For the moment, even at the risk of playing into her hands, Freyd settled for finding the balance of loose strands connected to her mystery.  His nature could not stand to leave her existence unexplained.  But then, she'd already know that, wouldn't she?  How does one outwit Fate?

[Simmone 0]

On another set of stars, yet to bloom

Soft glow in her chamber, from a raised life clung to a ceiling. Atop a red velvet chair, the woman was unfurled upon. Clattering feet of Moro and Maru rushing back and forth, doing what they always had. Organizing and cramming objects into every nook and cranny they could. Nursing a cup, a hot and yet bitter drink in a small white cylinder. Leery eyes tracing the lines in a half closed perusal, as she was deep in thought. Restless, uncomfortable as she did her absolute best ignoring the elephant in the room. The one covered with a tarp. A curiosity that before seemed so invaluable and yet now it reeked of pressure, dragging moods down alongside its presence.

Drifting off, used to the bustle it became a white noise that lulled her to sleep.

Finding herself in a familiar place, clothes absolutely regal. Placed upon a high rise, manacles latched at the rest of her chair. Bound tightly to her wrists, keeping them anchored on the sides. Just outside her view in dim lighting, she can see small flags being raised. Her attention shifts and catches her father, standing in front of an ebony podium with a smile as he gestures out toward this faceless crowd sporting signs. No audio, deaf to it even though she knew what was happening. Pulling at those restraints, trying so desperately to break free. Her savior was no longer capable of rescuing her, and with that loss came another. The black lotus had a price tag.

Simmoné | HP: 720/720 | EN: 90/90 | DMG: 21 | MIT: 63 | EVA: 2 | ACC: 1 | LD: 5 | BLD: 48 | BLGT: 32 | BRN: 56 | ENV.O: 32 | REC: 8

Spoiler

Simmoné, The Black Lotus
Level: 31
Paragon Level: 25
HP: 720/720
EN: 90/90

Stats:
Damage: 21
Mitigation: 63
Evasion: 2
Accuracy: 1
Loot Dice: 5
BLD: 48
BLGT: 32
BRN: 56
ENV.O: 32
REC: 8

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Mythril Foil - Viper [T4/Demonic/Rapier] Blight 1, Bleed 1, Envenom 1, Burn 1
Armor: Black Leather Bodice - Feline [T4/Perfect/LA] Mitigation 2, Evasion 1
Misc: The Black Lotus - Expedition [T4/Perfect/Trinket] Recovery 2, Evasion 1

Custom Skill:


Skills:
Saber R5
Lock Picking R3
Searching R5
Light Armor R3

Active Mods:
Meticulous
Energize

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Focus
Hyperactive
Dismantling
Precision
Field Medic

Active Extra Skills:
First Aid R5

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Resonance of the Grave [T1/Perfect (Instant)/Debuff/Incarceration] x5
Resonance of the Grave [T1/Perfect (Instant)/Debuff/Incarceration] x5
Vocal Augmentation - Resonation [Tierless/Perfect/Support/Instant] +15% HP x5
Flash of Rejuvenation [T1/Perfect/Crystal] Mass Heal x5
Flash of Rejuvenation [T1/Perfect/Crystal] Mass Heal x5

Housing Buffs:
Well Rested: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat
Squeaky Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests
Advanced Training: +10% Exp to a thread. Limit one use per month [1/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Decor []: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

 

Edited November 20, 2021 by Simmone

[Nisahime 0]

 Within that faceless crowd, a participant that shouldn't be. Obscured and yet with more definition. Morrighan's eyes twist to look at another beside her, and it was as if peering at a silhouette. It showed how important they really were, to the owner of this nightmare. Back to the altar, with rays of light pooling in from seemingly nowhere. To put the woman on display, clearly not in control in the slightest. Fate had her trapped, as it did the others, outside the bounds of it. And yet, that spark she sought existed. Raising from the given chair, and moving toward the center aisle, passing through figments like smoke.

"Quite an intriguing predicament." her eyes beginning to burn as she reached the stage, clattering heels that echo in this dead silent chamber. An intensity as she walks right through the manifestation of her father, causing it to disperse and distort before returning to shape like a mold. Staring down the woman trapped in that chair, as if her eyes were scanning the whole of who she was and peering right through her. "The question is, are you able to hear me? Can you speak? How deep does this tragedy run?" Glancing over her shoulder toward that crowd, as they begin raising signs in protest. Simmone was their prize to claim after all, and in this headspace they would not allow her freedom. Turning to face them, raising a hand and jerking it out to her immediate right, a white flash produces a long yomi.

[Simmone 0]

Eyes stuck to those restraints, pulling away from the seat feverishly. Desperately, as her muscles screamed from exertion. Unaware, unknowing as a woman graced this stage. Fiddling away and tugging with all her might, until she hears it. It was distant, almost nonexistent. But she could hear it. A pause, as her attention shifts forward toward the crowd she was always so reluctant to see. In most cases, it was just them staring back at her, like a slab of meat to consume. But here, a woman with long white hair sporting a bow in her hands. A bow?

"I hear you." Simmone remarks and only slightly, she can hear her own voice as well. Muffled as if she was stricken deaf. "How did you get in here? Where am I?" The inquiry was riddled with tension, with confusion and beckon to understand. All she manages to claim, however, is a stoic intensity as the maidens back stared her in the face. A twist and a burning white gaze over her right shoulder. Starting to glean the room of her own nightmare, for the first time able to actually see it for herself. This waking dream where she had even an ounce of control within. Who exactly was this woman, and startled as her own haunting attempts to start storming the stage. Her pulls against those shackles begin more frivolously, trying to do something to defend herself from the tide. "Get me out of here." spoken with uncertainty, as this was the one place a silver tongue wouldn't save her.

[Nisahime 0]

Shifting hands and moving that weapon into her left, Morrighan flicks her hand straight out to her right. A single star appears in the space between her fingers and palm, and she clutches down on it. "Good, Nightingale. Then listen to the words I speak." bringing that sliver of white to the string and raising the pure white frame horizontal as she takes aim. Drawing back, the hand of fate continues to talk: "This nightmare is only what you make of it, this powerlessness in your own divined future. It isn't the truth. Scared of what might be should you choose to abandon a family name? That you will dishonor the memory of your lost kin?" A bar of energy, pure and clean from limbs to nock. An arrow of creation, and of destruction. "Let it all crash down." releasing it sees a scattering of sparkling dust, that divine piercer screaming and leaving a wave of light in its wake. It connects in the floor, immediately shifting from arrow to a sphere. Arcing curves of white light spread from this nexus, seeking out and impaling every tinge of darkness upon these root like blades of silver.

"Heed my words, Nightingale, Sister of Venomous tongue. You will survive without wealth, without creature comforts. Tuatha would not haunt you for this choice, and wishes you happy above all else." A lift of both arms sees that weapon vanish as it fragments as if through a lens. "Find me, and I will release your lineage as well as your tongue as your brother would wish."

[Simmone 0]

In that white flash, she's all but blinded. She can hear the words returned, but by the time her vision returns, she was back in the odyssey. The color of concentration, a bright gold begins to fall away as her eyes open. The mixture in her cup, still steaming, as if no time had passed. "Was that a dream?" Simmone remarked curiously, as Moro stops and moves to her mistress's side. "Something wrong?" A smile finds her lips, as she rakes a pale white hand through the girl's pink hair. "Everything is fine, dear." Allowing the NPC to continue on with her business without concern. It was strange how much she appreciated them, taking the part of actual children. It was here she notices the red marks around her wrists, a dream made real. Quickly the woman allows her sleeves to fall to hide the markings of exposed red data still healing. The perplexity of what she was told within that space, sinking in as she bats an eyelash. A long piece of glass, a bit of tobacco rolled in paper and pressed in the opposed end. Lighting it, and drawing deep to release the stress.

An exhalation, spraying ash flavored smoke in a dancing spray. "What were you getting at, mysterious woman? What exactly do you know or think you know?" The curiosity and slight disdain for what seemed like an entity that was prying into her personal affairs. "Tuatha, even still you haunt my dreams. Even if by name alone. Was this an attempt to encourage or discourage me, I intend to find out." Eyes flash in gold as she stares down the platinum mirror in its wrapping, drawing again from that cigarette in her hand.

Edited November 20, 2021 by Simmone

[Eruda 0]

Let today burn brighter

Sitting at the table that remains in the guild hall, reading notes and taking some of her own. Trying to focus on the words of a single paper, nodding off but she catches herself. Spending all night here as she yawns. Raserei puts a head on her leg, "Maybe I'll just close my eyes for a moment," Raserei gives a small whine as she folds her arms and lays her head down. Closing her eyes if only just for a moment...

...

Eruda's eyes flutter open, vision blurred for only a moment. Blinking a few times before seeing a large red carpet lying down the middle a large... Glancing around... A Chamber looking further a large door in the distance that this red rug led to. "Where the heck am I," wondering as she tries to move, her body would not allow it. Shifting her sight down, her wrists were bound to a chair that she sat upon. "Eruda, are you even listening to me." An intent glare as she recognized the voice all to well. Eruda slowly turns her head and sees her sister in a cage wearing a maid outfit, sitting in the corner with her head held low. "Eruda," that burning in her chest becomes more vibrant. Her rage was setting in... Looking down at her frame, she was wearing one too.

She stole you from me 

A slave in my own home

"Eruda, you will keep this house flawless," A twist of her head forward not looking directly at Himiko. "No..." That burning sensation grows just a bit stronger. 

Watching a shadow stand up and increase in length, -click, click, click, crunch- feet hit the solid ground before in began to crunch on the carpet. Standing right in front of her as she leans down to look Eruda directly in the eyes. "I am your mother, you will do as I say." That rage inside her began to rise with every word that woman said, even more so when she had the nerve to look Eruda in the eyes. "NO," as iconic flames light in Eruda's eyes. Gritting her teeth as she snares her eyes right into hers. A heavy breath as she tries to contain the fury within her. So much built up anger, so much tension, fury and anger just ready to come out...

Cast off shackles and disbelief and believe in the yolk of thy heart this is what Eruda's hears in the back of her head from the woman with long white hair, Fate Nisa from whom she met when she was at her worst. Is this what she meant by that. Eruda did not know how much longer she could keep it in...

Eruda | HP: 820/820 | EN: 94/94 | DMG: 8 | MIT: 179 | BH: 45 | BRN: 56 | BRN IMMUNE | FL. AURA: 16 | FL. THRN: 8 | REC: 8 | TAUNT | THRNS: 72

Spoiler

Eruda, The Blazing Lily
Level: 31
Paragon Level: 37
HP: 820/820
EN: 94/94

Stats:
Damage: 8
Mitigation: 179
Battle Healing: 45
BRN: 56
BRN IMMUNE
FL. AURA: 16
FL. THRN: 8
REC: 8
TAUNT
THRNS: 72

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Consuming Pyre - Surt T4: (Burn 2, Taunt)
Armor: Reinforced Plate - Lily T4 Demonic: Flame Aura 2, Flameproof, Recovery 1
Misc: Stalwart Defender T4 Demonic: (Thorns 2, Recovery 1, Flame Thorns 1)

Skills:
Curved Sword R5
Heavy Armor R5
Battle Healing R5
Fighting Spirit
Howl

Addons:
Iron Skin
Focus
Rampart
Stamina

Active Extra Skills:
Block R5
Concentration
Survival

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystal x1
Crippling Composition - Lullaby [T1/Rare/Debuff/Instant] -2 Accuracy x5
Crippling Composition - Lullaby [T1/Rare/Debuff/Instant] -2 Accuracy x5
Flash of Rejuvenation [T1/Perfect/Crystal] Mass Heal x5

Housing Buffs:
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Edited November 21, 2021 by Eruda

[Nisahime 0]

A sudden echoing *thump* burns in that girl's chest that was waiting, as her eyes twist into that sapphire blue shade dancing against her iris. Lit like blazing candles, as they become small. Her head begins to pound in a hypersonic screeching threatening to make her ears bleed. Chains rattle as she moves, dragging against gaudy, gilded floors as she moves without direction. That specter of her distorted truth that had been feeding her falsehoods for so long, Himiko recoils and backs away with concern. "How dare you, after everything I've done for you."

The words spoken but find deaf ears, ringing in them instead was a voice the girl was all too familiar. "It seems you have truly found me, Pyre of the Unbridled Flame. No longer does the veil of deceit and silence hold your tongue? How long I've waited to hear you speak, the true self." A pause as Eruda couldn't barely stand the beating against her eyelids, clutching her skull in outward agony. "Now that we can share words, we can finally make a deal. A contract that will guide you toward liberation both here and from your mother." Smoke from her shoulders in billowing white steam, every bit of moisture bleeding off superheated of that blonde in droves. "I am thou, thou art I... Let's burn down these halls and erase all that would stand before us." The steam starts to sputter and spark, kindling in blue beginning to become embers within that space as a chain glows orange and snaps.

[Eruda 0]

The pain, like none other she has come up against. Removing her hand and smashing her fist against the floor, while the other holds her frame. Hair drops to cover her face, "You did nothing..." Chest burning hotter and fire began to expand in the circumference around. "You meant nothing..." Twisting her head toward the cage that held her sister. "You robbed us of happiness," pulling her leg forward, placing the damaged hand on her knee. "You used us, treated us like shit," the flames grew hotter, brighter. Pushing herself upright, it was hard to stand from all the searing pain, she pushes through with a promise at her back. "YOU DID NOT GIVE A DAMN ABOUT US, YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO OUR FAMILY..." Himiko starts to back away further as Eruda starts walking toward her. "Please, please I'll change. I'll..." "NO. YOU LOST THAT CHANCE WHEN YOU TOOK US AWAY, YOU OUR NO MOTHER TO US YOU SELFISH BITCH..."

Right then that pain, that burn, that rage is let loose with an echoing outcry from Eruda's yell. Fire catches against the walls, the chairs and everything else that could possibly be set turn to ash. The bars of Freya's cage melt into liquid, Freya runs for the doors. Eruda knew that could not possibly be her real sister because Freyja wouldn't run... Somewhere along that slim time, Eruda became equipped with all her gear. Eruda breathing heavy as this place, whether it be real or not was burning as pieces of the ceiling began crashing to the ground around them. Dragging her sword against her shield as they ignite a flame of their own. Pulling her sword back, Eruda stabs Himiko in the chest as the curve of her blade pierces her heart. You could see the flesh burning from the inside out as Himiko chokes on her own fluids. Holding her weapon inside of her as Eruda's face peers mere inches from hers, that flare still in her eyes. "You will be a burden to me no more," as she pushes the flaming blade deeper and Himiko starts to drown away in a mist of ash that scatters across the floor.

Eruda looks through the flames to see if that voice in her head was here in person...

Edited November 21, 2021 by Eruda

[Nisahime 0]

The clap of a pair of hands comes shortly after, having heard a call in reverse. Where she was actively seeking others, it was Elda that sought her this time. That line now flowed both ways, and with it came strength in unimaginable capacity. "What an elegant display, everything I hoped you'd be. Tell me, how does it feel to finally be free to make your own choices without concern of what it might do? Was it everything you wished it to be?" The woman would appear absolutely different to Eruda, for there was nothing more than truths within this chamber now. All illusions and delusions wiped clean in a healing and cauterizing fire. Morrighan couldn't do it for her, the strength of a heart had to come within before it could be tethered.

"You've chosen truth, even if it isn't pretty or correct. With thought alone, you beckoned to me, for a reason." Finding a seat on that throne as it was the only place available to sit that wasn't on fire, smoldering bits of fabric dropping like stone filled sacks as metal bars melt into liquid. Folding her legs and revealing a pair of bare feet concealed underneath that white dress, it was through her voice that she'd be unmistakably the same person. Leaning back and resting arms on that altar as every icon imaginable turns to smoke and ash surrounding them both. "Ask your questions, Elda. Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno." she smiles as Elsinoré appears as a white shield resting just to the right of her feet.

[Eruda 0]

That rage still burned within her chest. Watching Nisa sit on that throne, Elda doesn't take her eyes off her. An open hand outstretched to her right, closing it into a fist as the flames are snuffed out into nothing but smoke. She created them, she took that chance to see if she could put them out too, and she did. She could feel a strong tether between her and this female now. Awaking to the true nature provided by this woman. With a single thought she was right there. Sheathing her sword and shield, at the side of Nisa she saw a replica of her shield. 

Walking slowly toward her with determination on her face, "Freyd-The messenger, Freya-Tuatha, Shiina-With a blond hair shift. Nisahime-Fate, it seems as though you are leaving a piece of something in my guild mates, I want to know why." Sitting on the single step that led up to the large chair. "You are obviously not human, so what are you and where did you come from?" Pulling one leg to her chest, "Last question, why do you call yourself Fate? I need answers Nisahime, I do not believe that you would be putting my guild harms way, actually very much the opposite simply because of what I have just experienced and from what I have heard from Freyja, I would still like to know though." Taking a deep breath, the rage was finally calm, but that flame in her chest continues to linger. "To me, and some people wouldn't agree right now, but to me it seems like you are bigger than this game, that your are here to help..." A slight turn of her head as she just now realized that Nisa looked different from last time they met. Yet another thing that Eruda was curious about. To Eruda, these were the main topics. Who What Where and why. The when would come later if she got the chance.