[F08 - PP] "A Ballad Between Light and Darkness"

[Elora 0]

In direct continuation of Scents of the Wild: Part I...

 

Stammering seemed the only recourse for such an accusation, no, a revelation. Perhaps she wasn't ready for it, wasn't prepared to confront everything that it carried. Muscles ran their course, contracting and shying away from the uncomfortable truth. Her eyes had already begun their search for safe haven. Before she could retreat, Freyd had closed the distance between them. A careful hand lifted to cradle her chin. She cursed at his bravery.

Sweeping away whips of hair, he beckoned her eyes toward him. Elora couldn't imagine how haggard she looked. Her face felt a fire, her exhausted eyes swollen from crying. Even now, it felt a preferable facade to anything that laid beneath. Lord knows this world made their features tuned to perfection, their bodies sculpted for desire. 

"I could never hate you, Elora.", he began as her gaze remained adrift, "If our world ended tomorrow, I'd be forever grateful because you've made me a better person.  Maybe even just a person at all..." Slowly, her guard began to fall as hands relaxed to drape over his arms. "Forget worrying about who's in whose debt, or what clouds or rain the future might bring.  Let's allow ourselves the luxury of letting that feeling sink in, knowing what we mean to each other..." 

"Yeah...", she hesitantly agreed. Perhaps too eagerly, she'd taken the tablet he offered to her. Sparing a glance to confirm his company, the pair began their journey toward the next objective. 

Silence hung between them for a time as Elora maintained a half pace ahead, her mind alight with contemplation. Inner voices slurried into a stew of nonsense. What first seemed a productive examination had quickly devolved into regret for her behavior, anger at his assertions, shame for misplaced retaliation. Somehow, the ritual seemed simultaneously as overwhelming as it did cathartic. A well-worn path offered familiar conclusions that brazen actions could never achieve. At least in her own mind, she was in control of everything that came and passed through it.

Wasn't she...?

Before she had realized, the two of them reentered the Town of Beginnings. Afternoon rush swelled crowds past their usual numbers as adventurers retired to ramshackle taverns to redeem their hard-earned spoils. An unobservant collision with another player sent her fumbling forward, snapping her awareness back to the present. 

 

***

Elora | HP: 760/760 | EN: 110/110 | DMG: 21 | MIT:78 | ACC:5 | AA | EVA:1 | BH:38 | REC: 4 | FLN: 8 | BLI: 32/-20 | STC: 40 | LD:2

Spoiler

Name: Elora
True Tier: 5
Level: 33
Paragon Level: 15
HP: 760/760
EN: 110/110

Stats:
Damage: 21
Mitigation: 78
Accuracy: 5
Evasion: 1
Battle Healing: 38
Loot Die: 2
Stealth Rating: -2
AA REC: 4
FLN: 8
BLI: 32/-20
STC: 40

Equipped Gear:
Weapon/Armor/Trinket:
- Essential Verdigris (T4 Dem Polearm | AA | BGT | FLN | STC)
Armor/Trinket:
- Defense Mechanism (T4 Dem LA | MIT 2, REC 2)
Shield/Armor/Trinket:
- Emerald (T4 Dem Trinket | ACC 3, EVA 1)

Combat Mastery:
- Combat Mastery: Damage R3

Combat Shift:
- AOE Shift

Familiar Skill:
- Scouting Familiar

Custom Skill:
-

Skills:
- Battle Healing R5
- Charge
- Energist
- Light Armor R5
- Polearm R5
- Searching R2

Extra Skills:
- Concentration

Inactive Extra Skills:

Addons:
- Focus
- Precision
- Resolve
- Stamina

Mods:
- Meticulous

Inactive Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:
- T1 Healing Potion x5
- T1 Overhealth Potion x5
- Teleportation Crystal x1

Housing Buffs:
- Bedroom: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
- Bathroom: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
- Basic Workshop: +2 EXP per crafting attempt
- Living Room: Increases out of combatHP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
- Dining Hall: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed. Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread.

Guild Hall Buffs:
- Trading Hall: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters and Rank 4 merchants/performers receive +1 crafting/identification attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters and Rank 5 merchants/performers receive +2 crafting/identification attempts per day.
- Treasury: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild Totem:

Wedding Ring:

Crafting Profession:

Gathering Profession:

 

Edited Thursday at 06:17 PM by Elora

[Freyd 0]

Walking behind her, occasionally looking up to ensure she was still headed the right way, Freyd felt silence was the safest course of action.  I've traumatized the poor woman enough for one day.  Decided self-assurance belied by the haunting of an inexorable fate, unknown to both, yet pending with tragic imminence.  It wasn't far. And, while Aincrad's first floor was purported to be the largest, it never felt like it took very long to get anywhere.  Maybe it was just a quirk of the system to help guide new players along, or other floors distorted perception for the sake of effect.  

Feeling like he'd put his foot deep enough into his mouth already, he trudged, breaking step only to wave to Marv as they passed beneath the grand white arches of the main gate.

"I'll come visit soon, pal," he offered, only to have it countered by a regularly scheduled yawn.  Persi darted from beneath his breastplate, scampering over to nuzzle the guardian's leg for the thousandth, yet seemingly first time.  The NPC paid her no mind.  He never did.  Nor Freyd, for that matter, but it had never detracted him from musing aloud and at nauseum about nothing to the poor armored giant.

"So, we'll be needing to go to Ellesmera on Eight to find..."

A crash and yelp of surprise refocused his attention forward, Elora having crashed into some other unwitting player, neither seeming to pay much attention to where they were going.

"Everyone alright?"

***

Note: CS (Shades of the Gemini) and CSA (Beckon the Void) are in use.  If any other player objects to these, please state in first post and it will be considered inactive.

Freyd consumes and shares:

Gugnir’s Shard (Untradeable/Unique/Reusable Consumable): Crème Brûlée Tray | ACC 2 | Feast (6/6) - takes 1 portion [Filled]
Draft of Keen Edge | Tierless | Perfect Potion | Damage 3 | 235936

Gives Elora: Draft of Keen Edge | Tierless | Perfect Potion | Damage 3 | 235937

Freyd | HP: 1280/1280 | EN: 160/160 | DMG: 24 | MIT:152 | ACC:7 | F-SPIRIT | EVA:2 | BH:70 | VAMP-D: 70 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | LD:4                                                                                                                            

Spoiler

Name: Freyd, Kuro bara no kishi
True Tier: 18
Level: 33
Paragon Level: 140
HP: 1280/1280
EN: 160/160

Stats:
Damage: 21+3
Mitigation: 152
Accuracy: 4+2+1
Evasion: 2
Battle Healing: 70
Loot Die: 4
Stealth Rating: -5
VAMP-D: 70
FLN: 16
HLY: 16

Equipped Gear:
Weapon/Armor/Trinket: 
  - Samael's Pride | T4 Katana | FLN II | HLY II 
Armor/Trinket: 
  - Negare Omnia | T4 HA | MIT III | VD I
Shield/Armor/Trinket: 
  - Night Shades | T3 Trinket | ACC III | EVA I

Combat Mastery:
  - Combat Mastery: Damage R3

Combat Shift:
  - AOE Shift

Familiar Skill:
  - Grappling Familiar

Custom Skill:
  - Shades of the Gemini

Skills:
  - Battle Healing R5
  - Charge
  - Energist
  - Extended Mod Limit
  - Extended Weight Limit
  - Fighting Spirit
  - Heavy Armor R5
  - Howl
  - Katana R5
  - Quick Change
  - Searching R4

Extra Skills:
  - Disguise
  - Survival
  - Parry
  - Forgotten King's Authority

Inactive Extra Skills:
  - Meditation
  - Lady Luck
  - Photosynthesize
  - Brawler
  - Assault Mode
  - Frozen Hide
  - Hiding R3

Addons:
  - Focus
  - Focused Howl
  - Iron Skin
  - Precision
  - Reveal
  - Stamina

Mods:
  - Detect
  - Emergency Recovery
  - Impetus
  - Justified Riposte
  - Night Vision
  - Tracking

Inactive Mods:
  - Untraceable

Battle Ready Inventory:
  - Crystal of Divine Light (Reusable 1/thread) x7
  - Mass HP Rec [Inst] (+10% HP) x7
  - Meathook (Reusable 1/combat) x1
  - Ordsea Crystal-B (Reusable 1/combat) x1
  - Ordsea Crystal-B (Reusable 1/combat) x1
  - Rhino's Horn (Reusable 1/combat) x1
  - Teleport Crystals x1
  - The Bonded Word. | T4 Demonic Trinket - ACC III, REC I x1
  - Veritas | T4 Katana) | AA, PVO I, VO I, Taunt x1

Housing Buffs:
  - Bedroom: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
  - Bathroom: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
  - Basic Kitchen: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30.
  - Storage Closet: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
  - Living Room: Increases out of combatHP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
  - Attic (Bedroom): +1 Expertise to declared utility skill. Cannot boost a skill without ranks, or increase a skill past its maximum rank. Cannot boost a skill the user has not learned yet. Ranks obtained using this buff will make the mods of that rank available for purchase. Mods obtained this way are unusable if this buff is removed until the skill is returned to the appropriate rank by way of SP purchase.
  - Basement: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
  - Guest Room: Players can have one «Amenity» in a «Guest Room» and the «Amenity» cannot be recovered. Players are allowed to change which «Amenity» is in the «Guest Room». Multiple instances of the same «Amenity» do not stack. This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.
  - Extended Workshop: +2 Crafting EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
  - Ornate Fishing Pond: +2 Fishing EXP per Attempt and additional +1 LD & CD to fishing attempts.
  - Dining Hall: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed. Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread.
  - Mega Slime Farm: +10% EXP to a thread. Limit one use per month. Must be used on a player's first post in a thread. Cooldown begins counting down when used in a post.

Guild Hall Buffs:
  - Trading Hall: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters and Rank 4 merchants/performers receive +1 crafting/identification attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters and Rank 5 merchants/performers receive +2 crafting/identification attempts per day.
  - Treasury: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild Totem:
  - Tanos
Wedding Ring:

Crafting Profession:
 - Appraising[3478exp] R5
Gathering Profession:
 - Fishing[576exp] R5"                                                                                                                            

 

Edited December 6 by Freyd

[Elora 0]

"Yeah, all good.", came a frazzled but light-hearted response. A nearby sign post intercepted Elora's fall, steadying her from fated matrimony with the cobblestones below. She spared only a moment to reorient herself before turning to apologize to the unseen pedestrian.

"Sorry --", Elora stammered as her sights settled on a notable feature. From beneath dark, tightly coiled locks protruded a set of pointed ears. The player standing before them calmly rubbed the soreness from her ebony shoulder as Elora began to gawk in surprise. Wearing deep blue armor with golden ornamentation, she appeared more like the game's rendition of a goddess than a common foot solder.

"I like your ears --", came the awkward voicing of Elora's observation.

"Oh--!", the woman gave a surprised laugh, "Thank you! I was wearin' them for the festival but forgot to take 'em off!" With a swift summoning of her menu, the cosmetic ears vanished from beside her head. "Looks like you're headed there yourself. Well no need to hurry, you've got plenty of time to make it."

Feigned appreciation quickly eclipsed immediate befuddlement as Elora broke into nervous giggles. "Yeah -- sorry again --", she agreed before shooting Freyd an urgent look. Surely enough, her intent for departure had been communicated.

A candid goodbye presented enough distance to abandon the act. "Do you have any idea what she was talking about? Some sort of elaborate costume party?", Elora asked in a conspiratorial tone.

[Freyd 0]

"I've no idea," came his sincere reply, as Freyd helped Elora back to her feet.  His eyes remained locked on the back of the other woman's head, as if filing away key details for later reference.  Coincidental collisions were too frequent in the world of spycraft for him not to be at least a bit suspicious, even if it turned out to have been nothing more than an accident.

"Diwali just wrapped up in Ronburu, but I'm not aware of any other festivals or events, let alone any traditions for this type of thing in Ellesmera."  A quick glance confirmed that there was no permanent harm, nothing missing nor planted.  "Could be some random bit of floor lore that I've never encountered.  The devs occasionally bury this stuff, or set it on obscure timers.  Or maybe its just a new event."  Shrugging as he tugged on his cowl, the barest hint of mischief curled the corners of his lips as his favoured arts elongated his own ears to adopt a familiar persona.- at least to him.  Elora had likely never seen him don this particular guise.

"We could check in with any of the locals in the city to find out.  I've done enough work in the area to earn a bit of recognition among its NPCs.  Figured it was some sort of a reputation-based system, but still appreciate it." 

Reaching the centre of the plaza, Freyd consciously averted his gaze from the Monument of Life on the far side.  Today wasn't a day for the kinds of thoughts that landmark inevitably evoked.  Only Kayaba's twisted ego would so garishly place the thing so close to the busiest travel hub in all of Aincrad.

"Ellesmera."  

Light and brightness faded into a world cast in the pall of somber twilight as he emerged in the heart of the elven capital.  Hand instantly drifting to the hilt of his weapon, it took a moment to assure himself that no danger was actually present.  The decor had simply been changed.  A marvel to behold, at any time, the graceful lines and vibrant natural colours of its resplendent, sleek architecture now bathed in the gloaming of large floating lamps and lanterns that hovered all about the city.  Rather than casting illumination, the strange spheres actually seemed to be doing the exact opposite, soaking up any hint of light and bottling it up inside like a cluster of fireflies caught in some sort of translucent mass of webbing.  No one seemed panicked about it, the locals murmuring pensively amongst themselves as they wandered about, pointing and whispering near-silent thoughts as if they were never normally to be said aloud.

Eyebrow arched in curiosity, Freyd turned to see Elora manifest at his side, unsure what to make of the unusual scene.

"So, there's definitely something to what she said."

"Daedhrog?"  The voice belonged to a young elven boy - a rarity in town, given low birth rates, long lifespans and the lingering consequences of perpetual war with the treants of Baobab.  Freyd recognized him from the last time he was here, helping fend off an entish attack.  

[Elora 0]

Eyes widened as Elora's head cocked sideways to follow the materialization of his ears. What a bizarre world they lived in that such a thing could even be considered. Freyd's calculating mind felt a similar enigma, though one she found amusement in spectating. In a way, it was like watching the gears of a machine turn in  -- No, realized Elora, Like an overly-engineered sequence of events. A doting smile drew to her lips as she imagined gerry-rigged levers and pulleys setting off miscellaneous contraptions, their tedious systems tripping in service of an underwhelming result. Brewing a cup of coffee...

What was it they were talking about?

A sudden shift in atmosphere roused her from repeating the same mistake as earlier. With a careful step around Freyd, Elora could glimpse the soft halos from hundreds of buggy lanterns whirring above them. Disturbing. But also resourceful., she admired to herself.

The usual rumble of rowdy players seemed subdued. Barely louder than a hushed mumble, she could almost pretend that they were merely standing beside a rushing river. Attendees strolled and streamed between the foot of grandfather trees much the same. A crisp cold blanket of air began to lift from the ground just as the sun made its programmed dip below an obscured horizon.

"Daedhrog?", an excitable voice broke through the murmur.

"A what?", Elora asked in confusion. Dead hog? For dinner? Burgeoning enthusiasm was curtailed as soon as she recognized the expression as an Elvish greeting. And one...not directed at her?

"You've come to Eyvinsung, and not a moment too late!", the NPC assured to Freyd, "The dance is about to start."

"Ohhh, so that's what's going on.", Elora sighed discontentedly. She'd never been much of a dancer, at least, not in these kinds of settings. Crazy, upbeat ragers with a barrel of booze were more well suited to her interest than...

The forest around them became submerged in darkness. Elora could feel her heart begin to race amidst the oohs and wows of awestruck observers. Instinct called her to reach out for Freyd, closing the distance between them with the panicked tug of a hand. 

"I-is this supposed to happen?", she asked him, her grip closing evermore tightly. 

The stupid NPC cackled nearby. "New beginnings are often birthed from the darkness.", he advised, "Be still and listen to yourself. There are no expectations here."

Yeah. Sure., thought Elora, Exactly like last time. Nothing beats the cold, dead embrace of screaming shadows.

Peeling away from Freyd, she glanced back in the direction of the crowds. And she swore that she could see...faint bobbing lights. Squinting, she took a few cautious steps forward. Surely enough, there were people holding lanterns of some kind. Except, they seemed to be made of entirely different materials, their contents flickering in an array of colors.

"Look Freyd,", she said, attempting to point through the darkness, "Those people have lit some lanterns." A quiet combination of sounds seemed to weave into gentle rhythm as players invited one another to dance. Taking his hand, she lead them toward the gathering, her mind determined to secure a lantern for their quest. It was only in drawing nearer that Elora could truly see what was happening.

Small, beautiful lights appeared to be lit from within the players who moved about the forest floor. Like some sort of dragon, each seemed to glow with the intensity of a hearth. 

"Oh.", she said, surprised, "That's not what I was expecting." From below Elora's own collar came a faint glow that cloistered upon seeing the others. Showing too dimly for her to realize, she turned to regard Freyd's instead.

 

♫ The Start of Eyvinsung ♫

[Freyd 0]

"A what?", Elora asked in confusion.  Freyd's favoured wolfish grin bore a more playful mien than the actions that had earned him his local nickname.

"Oh... uh... " The boy seemed flustered struggling to reconcile how to explain an elvish term to one of their own.  She had the ears, after all.  "It means... shadow wolf.  Like the one that preys upon the wayward  to keep our people safe.  Right, Daedhrog?"  

Freyd mussed the boy's pale green hair playfully, struck by how much his blue eyes and liveliness reminded him of his partner's before sending him along ahead.

"You've come to Eyvinsung, and not a moment too late!", the boy called back. "The dance is about to start."

"Dance?  Wait.  What?!  No one said anything about..."

You could practically hear the needle scratch across the surface of creation's song to harken a forced pause and missing heart's beat. Eyes widened in momentary panic, they envisioning a repeat of the ridiculous contest Elora and Kat once triggered during ancient dragon-hunting escapades.  The boy was no help, already scampering down the path, his feet skipping every other stair as he floated  like a gleeful banshee towards the other players gathered in the square.  Freyd felt Elora's pale, slender arms weave their way around his own as darkness deepened  and settled all around them.  Something in him felt unhinged, dreadfully aware of destiny's imminence, simultaneously experiencing the imagined sensation of a lover's tenderest embrace and the finality of an impending doom.  Whatever was happening evoked hesitation without the extremes in her.  He'd always felt more at ease the dark than most, but this was different, and this felt akin to returning to an undesired... home?  Terrifying and welcoming, all at once, like oblivion's call.

"I-is this supposed to happen?", she asked him, her grip closing evermore tightly, the fragrance of momentary panic filling his senses in contrast to expectations. They were living the same moment in vastly different ways.

"Is it not?!" The very concept of doubt was alien, his senses distorting the closer they came to the festival grounds, limbs moving of their own accord and drawn to lure of something concentrated up ahead.  Numbed feelings treasured the fleeting warmth of her touch.

Elora seemed to recoil from the silence of serenity's calling song, while he was being drawn to it. She hadn't noticed his eyes bleeding to full black, like thrice before. Inevitability was close.  Unseen tides summoned him towards the uncannily familiar... expected... hidden.  Words echoing through muffled layers of infinite depth reached him only with distorted understanding, like he'd somehow forgotten the basic functions of language, or simply never known them.  The world became nothing more than the bipolar play of opposite extremes - like a sea of ones and zeroes -  from which the world's song was strung. 

Something was said about lanterns.  All he saw were ephemeral wisps performing some strange, elaborate dance - surely the one their youthful guide had meant to explain?  Pressure left his flank as Elora drifted towards them.  Cold returned to chill his bones in all its deplorable absence.

"Look Freyd,", she said, attempting to point through the darkness, "Those people have lit some lanterns." Her body moved in accordance with a song his failed to hear. It was never meant for him, being too bright, too loud, too beautiful.  The world was not for the false ears of a shade, despite his every aspiration - even if he wanted it to be.  Watching the kernels of light cluster and bloom within her breast, Freyd felt awe comparable to the unfathomable bliss of a man exposed to the dawning of sun after an eternity lived in utter darkness.  It was like watching everything he'd ever seen in her cast into the playful aurora shining from within, taking the shape of an ineffably adorable rose.

Yet, in him, she would find much the opposite. He could not see himself, or the hollow he'd become. The Thing Behind All Lies was finally laid bare, exposed, raw... empty.  Truth was always the harshest messenger, and he'd quietly spent his entire existence fighting for this one's denial. Instead of gathering motes like those harnessed from other players, she watched the lantern slowly and steadily strip away Freyd's saddened false veneer to leave only a void that somehow denied all sense and order by casting a familiar shadow stretching out from where nothing stood.  No gloaming lights.  No spiritual essence or human soul to be found.  These had been stripped or swallowed long ago, sacrificed to give shadow form and clinging to a single visage out of desperation for connection - a means to deny its otherwise abhorrent nature.  Perhaps the person casting it had never existed at all?  And yet... some recognizably warm and caring vestige still struggled to survive.  Fostered by years of memories, forged in fire and friendship, in love, it fought with indomitable resolve from behind a veil of absence towards a singular inexorable purpose: to remain with her.

♪ ♫ ♪ ♫

Edited December 13 by Freyd

[Elora 0]

♫ A Ballad Between Light and Darkness ♫

 

Faintly silhouetted by glows from behind, Freyd would be able to see Elora's ears draw downwards at the revelation. Her eyes, now softly illuminated from her own trembling flame, held deep, reverential sadness. A small part of her was surprised by the gravity of this moment. She'd searched for years...only to arrive at an answer understood from the very beginning. Standing before her now, Freyd seemed...so human to her. He was a kaleidoscope of fractured pieces, the most complete person she'd ever met. His heart remained hardened, camouflaged by the clearest pain she'd ever recognized. He was a stranger withdrawn to the shadows and the brightest part of her life. A paradox through and through, he served as an anchor to her. Tethered to nothing, perhaps not even a long-repressed sense of self, both of them remained endlessly adrift. How could something so messy, so utterly disfigured by the experiences of the past, establish the strongest bond she'd come to know?

From within herself, a cerulean light began to unfurl, timidly twisting outwards as she extended a hand forward. It was a risk to take such steps, at least, that's how it had always seemed to her. Until tonight she could never confirm whether or not what she saw was a soul in earnest or an impenetrable illusion. Would he grant her one final judgement?

Placing her palm to his chest, she could sense the material impression of a moment shared together. That day he'd relinquished a piece of himself, however intentional the decision. Together, they held the shadowed rose closely, cherished the fragile trust and balance that it represented. Though opposite in many ways, both had undertaken a journey to uncover the source of each other's hardships, a mirrored dissection of their own inner convictions.

Freyd was more at home in the shadows, the subconscious realm that terrified Róisín the most. Elora thrived in the light, the daily thrills and distractions that Takeshi so often retreated from. Neither had any reason to change, except in their pursuit to understand and love one another. For as much time as she had spent running away from the darkness...she had never been afraid of him. 

Inner light flickered as Elora gradually came to terms with a truth she'd buried long ago.

"I don't know how to face myself.", she quietly said. Spoken with sincerity, the statement hung perfectly suspended between a shared admission and a plea for help. With a shaking hand, she traced the cap of his shoulder, then the length of his arm. Wisps of light spilled from her fingertips like smoke as their columns rose to clamber around his limbs in an ethereal embrace. In search of a tether, she took his hand once more, raising the other to offer him the choice.

Elora's heartflame began to ripple in uncertainty, its rays of light trailing off to dissipate in congruity with unspoken vulnerability.

[Freyd 0]

♪ ♫ ♪ ♫

Freyd faltered as he stood watching Elora's features drop, astute enough to glean that his long game had finally been undone.  In fairness to the universe, a fluke seemed the most appropriate means - the romantic fancies of an offbeat elven festival unmaking what force and scheming could never overcome.  He'd been too meticulous and controlling of his own illusions for carelessness to suffice on its own.  Shoulders slumping, face, and even ears, following the downward spin at dawn's inevitable end, the sun was setting on his masquerade at last.  She saw him now, the doubts and inner smallness, desperately clinging to aspirations beyond his capabilities, daring to deny the very gods of this world if only to cling to hope and blissful joy in her presence for just one second more.  Shame.  Not for the attempt.  Regret was only in the inevitability of his failure.  He'd let her down again, or felt he had, misunderstanding her reaction and assumptions.  Elora's feelings are too deep for me to understand.  I am a fool, unworthy of her light.

As if hearing the void's anguished call, Elora heart answered with that very brilliance, offering him a beacon he could still sense across perception's infinite chasm.  Hand extended, a gesture no part of him would ever refuse bade Freyd gladly surrender to its call, even in the face of annihilation.  She meant too much to him, along with every gift she's ever given just by being herself.  A gasping breath filled his lungs at her touch, restoring life to oblivion's eternal stillness. 

From the vacant pools of blackness emerged a face recalled from forever's brink, throwing every iota that made him what he was if only to keep this moment alive.  Always, just one more moment.

"I don't know how to face myself.", she quietly said.

Swallowing hard, his spectral shell fragile and vulnerable, whatever made him Freyd forced twin azure eyes to meet her gaze to find no disappointment, only trust and need equal to his own.  We are the same?  We feel.. the same?

Tension bled as virtual flesh reforged of its own accord at the gentle weaving of her fingers' ethereal touch.  Hands raised in offering and plight, it was finally clear to him that this was the crux of their connection.  This was the why, and the how, and everything else summed into now.  Hands returning from the verge of forgotten failure, it had taken all this to show him how constructs of fear and foolish apprehension had all been wrong.  She needed him to be what he already was, regardless of whatever that might be.

"I think I might know," he offered, his voice barely above a whisper, grateful for all her faithful efforts.  "Look here," he offered, directing her gaze to meet his own, her image reflected in those pale blue orbs.  "See what I see."

From within, where no heart should have been, ephemeral, ghostly light shone in a way that eyes were never meant to see.  Weaving its shadowing into her own cerulean blaze, they merged to nurture the rose, causing it to bloom in the same way their bond had always done.  Leaning forward, he gently pressed his forehead to hers, eyes undeniably close.

"Now, tell me what it is that's troubled you, Elora.  You know better than anyone that I've never been afraid of the dark, including any aspect of it that might dwell inside you."

Edited 13 hours ago by Freyd

[Elora 0]

♪ ♫ ♪ ♫

 

Sharp, distorted pulses of light coursed through her in harmony with a faltering heartbeat. Exhausted in her endless attempt to escape from the past, she had finally been outpaced. Frozen in the wake of impending judgement, she felt afraid, ashamed, furious, despondent -- the monstrous result of a thousand feelings too overwhelming to handle. Apathy seemed a welcome grace, another means to barter for additional time.

But Elora understood that was no longer an option. She had given up on its numbing severance many lives ago. So many precious relationships. A thousand small decisions to confront the parts of her she loathed...they'd granted her the strength to see this through. Stepping to the cadence of a silent rhythm, she guided their pace to the side. Fateful winds began to whisper through the leaves, bending and cracking the bows of trees. Their branches leaned in like a captivated audience as airstreams chased around them, cradling a sacred pact. Chirping crickets and cooing owls began to metamorpihize into a sort of symphony. As Elora led their gentle sway, she was careful not to fumble. Years of training with the spear had undoubtedly assured her footing, sparing toes from becoming crushed. With a final, steadying breath, her sights fell onto his.

Brilliant blue luminance erupted around them, streaming and rippling outward to become an ocean of light. Like serpents swimming through a celestial current, wandering vapors wove themselves into a tapestry of ephemeral images. From within Freyd's eyes, she could see the makings of an ideal. A dynamic, vibrant, and beautiful beacon bursting through a world that could never snuff her out. Unbridled by inner expectations and vicious chastisement, she touched the soul of everything she encountered. Rising and falling in fitful waves of emotion, she was no longer a vessel rocked by sea, but the very tide itself. Those evanescent streams carried with them the songs of passion and triumph. 

Another step forward guided them away from transcendental brilliance toward the sinister clutches of her greatest nightmares. Beyond her partner's protective embrace, a looming shadow advanced upon them like a tsunami. Falling in cadence with Freyd's beckoning hand, they plunged into a realm of despair. Deafening static rushed to cauterize all sensation. Shooting out like pressure points, a million pinpricks of shadow pierced Elora's skin. Phantom smoke billowed and coiled around her head in a suffocating miasma. From every corner of demise came an oppressive roar, gnawing hatred vocalized as a warning to all who came near. Static screeched and crackled off, distorting into a torrent of snarled ravings as Elora fought to gauge them from her mind.

Avalanching thoughts. An endless barrage of agony. No living creature was meant to withstand the lashes of a thousand stinging wounds. Darkness began its handiwork, carving viscous marks through Elora's features as her grip tightened around Freyd. From behind the hissing fog he could hear the sounds of a whimper then. Razored teeth lunged before him, jerking Elora forward and towing her toward his heart. Like a beast out for blood, she became a monster intent on claiming its next kill. The momentum spun them forward, staggering steps as thorn-like claws attempted to mar him in retaliation. 

"I HATE YOU!"

"I HATE YOU!"

"I HATE YOU!!"

, cried a voice that was not her own.

[Freyd 0]

Of course, it would happen here.  Diwali, being the festival of lights, might have helped her suppress her inner darkness, but catharsis for both of them could only inevitably occur at the Eyvinsung.  Here, where the contrast of darkness laid alongside clarity and introspection.  It was ground Freyd had already traveled, a journey made with her undeniable guidance.  Maybe... maybe those days in the dark were the very thing she needed to come to terms with her own.

The Thing Behind All Lies was a weapon, both literal and figurative.  It was the truth of all existence and the power of belief, of faith in one's self to choose who to become.  In another. Both their broken souls were in need of that epiphany, to transcend the bindings each had forged upon themselves.  

"I always thought I needed to be a light, like you were to me."  Eyes blazing furiously with the reflected image of her idealized self, an unreachable perfection serving as a beacon and tether to latch onto that part of her struggling against the monster, reaching like a distant lighthouse in a storm to bring her ship home.

"But where I'd built a monster around my soul to keep the world at bay, you've been struggling to hold yours in for too long."  

That beast fought with unbridled, animalistic fury - a rage born of cornered desperation fed the feedback of a lifetime's negative emotions.  Doubt.  Loathing.  Pettiness.  Fear.  Lies.  All had been eating her up for so very long, but found no purchase over him.  He'd already overcome those demons by her example, patience, and love.  Where once his hollow heart struggled to settle whether it should even exist at all, here, in the clarity of night that made all light so bright, he finally knew why.

"We're the opposite, Róisin.  And we're the same.  Two halves of the same sort of fractured self, struggling to find a way to fulfill something it  just can't understand.  But, it's not in ourselves.  The answers lay in our other half."

Reaching out his arms to bind and cradle her ravenous darkness, Freyd drew it into the vast emptiness within himself.  The very thing that had always terrified him, the truth of his being, became the very essence she required to temper and complete her own.  And, in so doing, he found what he'd always found lacking in himself.

"No wonder,"  he added, smiling and serene amidst all that chaos, finally realizing what had kept drawing them back together over and over again.  A perfect yin and yang, ever locked in each other's orbits, yet never quite ready to meet until destiny intervened.  There could be no stronger bond.

"Let it out," he whispered softly from his own shadow, offering her the key while raking claws and gnashing teeth of the gruesomeness she kept within failed to find purchase.  Instead, each flailing limb became entangled, mired in the infinite ocean of silent void he'd constructed to protect the tiny mote of his humanity - that fledgling thing.  Elora had found and fostered it, nurtured it and made it strong enough to be there when she needed it - to be here now, as it had always wanted to be.  So the very trap required to change the current of a maelstrom was ready and waiting in the stillness within him.

No wonder they said there was dancing.  No wonder I didn't think it was for me.  It wasn't.  The paradox.  The stillness and the current.  The silence and the song.  They belong together.

"Neither one of us can survive without the other.  We've been dancing around it for so long.  Maybe, with this, we can both find peace, if our hearts can just finally let it happen."

♪ ♫ ♪ ♫

Edited 13 hours ago by Freyd

[Elora 0]

Ragged, guttural screams escaped from Elora's lungs as futile attacks failed to unmake the thing before her. A creature so repugnant, so vitriolic, it deserved no mercy, no right to exist. Nothing about her was right. How many times had she undertaken this very form? How many times had she broken another person just to feel better about herself? Her life was an endless cycle of being hurt, inflicting pain, justifying her actions. She had never been to blame, she could never have been at fault.

A monster., echoed her mind's accusation, "You have never cared. You stupid, selfish cunt."

The words cut through her like a blade, reopening an old wound she'd prayed was finally healed. A rising bout of regret bolstered a wave of fear as Elora drew in a stifled breath. With a trembling hand raised to rest upon her heart, she reminded herself of who she really was, who she would will herself to be. I can face this..., she thought as an expectant glance lead her to the depths of shadow's core.

"Mom...?", she called out, her voice small and afraid. At first, a cautious step forward. The oppressive umbra slowly closed in around her like a predator circling its pray. From a small distance ahead, Elora could see the makings of a familiar visage. Sculpted from the void, its face appeared uncanny, and yet, so completely recognizable. Stern eyebrows arched dramatically over a pair of tired eyes, their deep blue irises framed by the bangs of frazzled brown, but graying hair.  "Mom --!", she exclaimed again as momentary hesitation was usurped by unbridled joy. Another chance. How many years had it been? How long since she had heard her mother's voice? Like a sailor lured by a siren's call, Elora rushed forward, her feet trudging through a layer of stagnant water.

Reaching out in a desperate embrace, she sought to rectify her actions of the past, "I -- I'm so sorry, I never should have said what I did -- I don't know what came over me I just --" With a sudden jerk, her mother's hand shot forward, grabbing and yanking her to the side. Elora cried in surprise, her arm instinctively raising to shied herself from further attacks.

"You're a mistake!", the woman hissed, her grip tightening and forcing Elora to the ground. Terrified whimpers escaped her throat as she collapsed into the murky water, her mind a panic with memories of the storm.

"Stop -- please! You're hurting me! I -- I don't want to fight you!", she pleaded. Despite her wistful intensions, Elora was already scrambling to summon her weapon.

"So now you care about who you hurt?", her mother's brief amusement quickly reverted back to anger, "Do you know how much I tried to help you? How many times I had to fix whatever you fucked up? Why couldn't you just be like your brother, even once?" Shooting pain coursed throughout Elora's body as sinuous vines spawned from the shadows below, their phantom thorns piercing and anchoring her limbs to the ground.

"That's not fair!", she half-cried, half-yelled as the barbs dug into her, "I was just a kid, and I was trying my best --"

"It's never fair, is it Róisín? Life can never go the way you want it to --"

"No -- NO! This isn't fair. I don't deserve to be treated like this by you -- by anyone!", she yelled, struggling to remain above the advancing darkness.

"All you needed was to apply yourself --"

"All I needed was to feel LOVED!", her voice broke as realization finally washed over her, "And that isn't selfish! I wanted to be like Liam, to make you and Dad like me, even a little --" 

"Your father and I loved you, Róisín..."

"Then WHY did you give up on me?", came the heartbreaking question.

As if awakening from a dream, the darkness surrounding her appeared to retreat, its presence streaming away like the roots of a dying tree. No -- NO, NOT NOW!, Elora begged. Tearing herself free what what remained of her binds, she hauled herself from the water, desperately splashing toward the promise of a fading image.

"ANSWER ME!", she screamed as a maelstrom of light erupted around her. 
 

♫ Róisín's Theme ♫
 

The shadow's futile attacks devolved into helpless swings as its hold over Róisín appeared to waver. What had previously sounded like a series of low-pitched growls had been reduced to a plight of pathetic whimpers. As the last visages of shadow bled from Róisín's features, she stumbled forward, colliding into Freyd's chest. Shaking hands searched for something recognizable to steady her from the rush of confused senses. They swiftly found their purchase, swinging under each of his arms to bury herself in his shoulder.

"Let it out", he gently guided her.

Streams of light and shadow arose into the night, their etherial essences coalescing into a borealis above them. Suspended in a river of darkness, the light began to unfurl and explore its domain, twisting and weaving itself through the celestial fabric to craft the story of a lonely girl. At first a rosebud of light, she shown powerfully and beautifully in a world far too harsh for her to flourish. Róisín watched in despair as the companion presence of a luminous green beacon gradually began to dwindle, its heart soon flooded by the influence of a destructive shadow. From the dance between their two halves, both could see the impressions of several arguments, with each, the dimming of a small, and fragile, blue flame. Her mother's life, an endless cycle of being hurt, inflicting pain, justifying her actions, had taken its toll on Róisín. Alone in a sea of darkness, she faced a choice: to continue fighting, or to accept what they had wanted her to be.

Stupid. Selfish. A punching bag for a man who had never wanted a daughter.

Insults whispered like words of affirmation that slowly, surely ensnared her in a web of self-destruction. The burgeoning flame flickered, then extinguished itself entirely.

"For the longest time...", Róisín began, her eyes fixed on the depictions of the past, "I thought that I was worthless...because I could never be smart enough, calm enough, right enough not to be hated..." She continued, "And the more that they hurt me, the more I thought that I deserved it." 

Turning to face him with those deep, sad eyes, Freyd could see the edges of her ears begin to evaporate. "If it wasn't my fault, then that means --", she swallowed painfully as her voice refused to speak the truth, "I-it was always easier to give them a reason..."

And so, she had become the very thing she feared the most, a person who tread through life knowing nothing but anger. Boasting to protect a shattered sense of self, lashing out in venomous jealously to undermine others' successes, viciously putting down anyone to position herself on a pedestal. For all she had known, the competition was necessary for survival. 

When that breaking point had finally been breeched, she'd unleashed her rage on Elora. The scene around them transformed into an explosive argument, a desolate silhouette screaming before a backdrop of blinding emotion. She'd strewn bitter hatred, cast fistfuls of heinous affliction against a former best friend who had dared to have what she deserved. 

Rolling tears dribbled down the face of a fearsome elven warrior who's facade had fatefully faded. Dying embers of light carried away what little remained of verdant emerald hair, revealing the auburn locks of Róisín's true appearance. 

"How can I ever hope to undo the pain that I've caused...?", she choked, drawing both hands back to cover her face.

Edited yesterday at 02:05 AM by Elora

[Freyd 0]

Taking the blood of the vilest of the vile, combined with quasi-convincing yourself you’re a digitally spawned sentient construct, tends to skew your perspective on a lot of things.  Mobs and monsters, for example, made of the same shards of shattered glass and code and painted with a skin veneer no thicker than a pixel.  Or, the physical manifestations of the deepest, darkest parts of a wounded girl’s soul. As strange as it might seem, these were not unknowns to Freyd, nor frightening.  It was why he often seemed trivially calm, even while facing down the worst of Kayaba's horrors.  His own demons were just as bad as the worst in any others, and came from a similar dark.  A few details and the context were always different, but his instincts instantly recognized the same taint of negative influence had ensnared them both.

What Freyd had never shared with anyone was the uniqueness of his connection to Shadow the Malevolent, the uber-raid boss from his first foray into that deadliest of arenas.  All raid bosses were powerful entities, but Shadow had fought the frontlines even as he reach out into the broader world of Aincrad and swallowed it whole.  Most watched it though the lens of an inky reflective flood rising to swallow everyone and everything.  Through whatever void connected them, Freyd had felt and seen every one of them die.  Thousands of final, desperate breaths.  Thousands of petty, desperate actions driven from a drive to save one's self at the expense of others. Thousands of noble sacrifices, including those of dearest friends. It had nearly broken him, mid-raid, and he’d spent every minute since trying to wrestle with the ethics and moral morass of that moment.  If anything, it had helped him understand people better, in their darkness and their light, and the need for equilibrium between the two - especially in himself.

Watching the interplay between Elora and the corrupted vision of her mother hurt, not just because of the pain and grief at watching it flail her soul, but especially because it felt so familiar. He’d actually been the burden framed by the accusations viciously hurled at Elora, deserving of the ravages that had eaten her up inside.  

Why lash out at the innocent when there were so many others more deserving?  Like me…

Both factions were right.  None of it was fair.  Life wasn't fair.  Whether these were his own memories or a fallen Takeshi’s didn’t really matter.  They granted a vision - a perspective - to the casual brutality and insidious fragility of human existence wracked by the disparate and agonizing fury of fickle fate and circumstance.  Compelled by compassion he had never known, yet learned to understand though the same eyes now staring into his own, Freyd called out, inviting her to let loose the festering tether.  

“Let it go,” he added, and her words flowed like a current driving the stars.

Where her eyes and efforts had always been met with self-inflicted distortions of scorn and disdain, real and imagined, his now projected unconditional recognition and tenderness.  He saw her.  Even Freyd couldn’t quite fathom its source, save his heart's desire to be for her what she most needed and had always faithfully seen in him. I can be worthy of this, for her, because of her.

Unexpected acceptance, granted to him a bounty over their shared journey.  It was his turn to gladly grant her back the same gift she had given him. Gasping in wonder as light swirled up and around them,  it joined the spiraling beauty he had witnessed in darkness’ horrors, the chaos of Elora's past fractured her illusion to reveal the same sense of inner self he’d only just bared himself, its very essence on the verge, yet made even more perfect in all its frailty.

"How can I ever hope to undo the pain that I've caused...?"

Wrapping his hands around hers, his features solidifying back into the same familiar Freyd she’d come to know like no other, he peeled the dainty petals back from her face and brought his lips to hers, sharing the yielding warmth of forgiveness over self, his breath the only evidence of movement amidst the stilled celestial madness of writhing rage forgotten all around them, dwindling and soon fading to black.  They were left alone as the stars resumed their dance, all masks and pretenses stripped from them.  Two souls laid bare, alone beneath the light of the universe.

“You start by remembering all the good you’ve done, and can still go on to do,” he replied, his faith in her blazing behind devoted eyes that once again captured hers. “You face your deepest  darkness and let it wash through you with acceptance.  It’s the only way.  And, last but most important, you admit to yourself that you are not alone, and never need to be.”

Kissing her hands, then pressing them to his chest and heart, Freyd smiled - genuinely smiled with every mote of sincerity adeptly carved into his being by those who had taught him the concept's very meaning.

“I came to the same conclusion for myself, only a few moments ago, and it sounds like a good idea.  The woman I love showed me how to do exactly that.  Maybe, if she'll let me, I can do the same for her?”

Edited yesterday at 01:11 AM by Freyd

[Elora 0]

Jittering fingers, nervous at first, draped calmly to cradle inside of Freyd's hands. A stifled breath held in surprise escaped from her lips as tension swiftly bled from her muscles. Drawn into his embrace, she suddenly felt so tired. Simultaneously alive and exhausted, Róisín wondered how many more battles they would be able to fight for themselves, and for each other. Honestly, she couldn't care any less. Raising a hand to comb through Freyd's hair, she placed a gentle hand beside his head. The hardships of her life, of being trapped in this stupid game fizzled away like the apparitions of those stunning festival lights. All that mattered to her right now was experiencing him.

For a moment, their faces drew even closer together, Róisín's cheeks radiating with the ferocious heat of a hundred suns. Soft lips, once so timid in their previous meetings, interlocked gently, tenderly as they savored one another's companionship. Feelings of serenity and security washed over her like the droplets of a purifying rain, a sort of baptism amidst the reconciliation of lingering regrets.

She thanked the Eyvinsung for its parting gift as shimmering stars danced from beneath her eyelids, their faces gradually drifting apart.

“You start by remembering all the good you’ve done, and can still go on to do,”, Freyd began, "You face your deepest  darkness and let it wash through you with acceptance.  It’s the only way.  And, last but most important, you admit to yourself that you are not alone, and never need to be.”

Her heart fluttered with juvenile delight at the idea. In a world full of drastic chance and certain devastation could he truly promise so much? Maybe not forever...but for right now -- that's all that matters. 

“I came to the same conclusion for myself, only a few moments ago, and it sounds like a good idea.", he continued, "The woman I love showed me how to do exactly that.  Maybe, if she'll let me, I can do the same for her?”

Oh gods. She was going to melt if this kept on. "I -- I'll show you what you can do --", she found herself stammering with uncharacteristic embarrassment. With a step back from their spot, her eyes suddenly made connection with a presence behind him. "Wait...what is that?", she asked as eyes widened in surprise.

Sparing no hesitation, Elora took precious advantage of whatever seconds she'd have. In only an instant, her heels had turned briskly, her legs sprinting toward the direction of a blinking waypoint. "AHAHAH!", she broke into a crafty cackle as his footsteps carried out behind her, "Works every time!" 

Cool moonlight slitted through the curled branches of lofty bushes, dewdrops clinging to the hairs of her arms as misty air trailed across her skin. A nebula of scattered stars stretched out above them while her feet struggled to dodge jutting roots and slippery moss.

"Let's see if you've still got it in you, old master.", came a defiant tease.

With each eager and successful step forward, Elora fought to inhale through an unrelinquishing bout of laughter. As she raced through the woodlands, evanescent energy blossomed and trailed behind her like a winding currant carving its own path across the landscape below.
 

♪ ♫ ♪ ♫

***

Who will win the race? (Vanity Roll)
ID:239125, BD: 8

 

Edited 14 hours ago by Elora