|
Cinders
Aug 20, 2007 11:10:27 GMT -5
Post by Lorren on Aug 20, 2007 11:10:27 GMT -5
This was all so strange. Surreal. Unreal. Only by the power of a god could all of this be happening. It seemed Sithis was with them afterall.
As they stood around the altar, coldness filled them unlike any that nature could muster. Lorren couldn't catch her breath; her lungs were frozen, expanding but without air to fill them. The form in front of them was barely visible through her tear-blurred eyes, but the fear that engulfed her was unmistakable. It was the Dread Father, without a doubt.
Screams surrounded them, and Lorren thought they could be her own. They were pained and strenuous, as though each one were harder than the next. The voice was hoarse, agonized. Whoever she was, Lorren felt sorry for her. She was going through something that would likely kill her with the way that she was screaming.
And then blackness. Every source of light around the altar, every candle, every crystal, extinguished. And the only thing left in front of them was the eerie luminescence of the bones that formed Sithis' face. His cackles filled her ears, mingled with the screams of the unseen woman so that the din became unbearable. Surely this had to end soon.
|
|
|
Cinders
Sept 6, 2007 7:24:49 GMT -5
Post by Silence on Sept 6, 2007 7:24:49 GMT -5
Silence wasn't happy.
But then, who would be, in these strange circumstances? What was Sithis trying to say to them? That he had forgiven them, and will be with them once more? Or they need to perform some kind of killing to appease him and the Night Mother? Silence had no idea.
And who has that screaming anyway?
The Bosmer thought it was vaguely familiar, but couldn't quite place it. Instead, she shuddered, watching the dancing shadows on the wall, before turning her gaze to the snaking tendrils of darkness that reached down from the ceiling, caressing the skull and the bones around it, before seeping inside. What was supposed to happen now?
Perhaps, Silence mused, the Dread Father would finally speak to them.
|
|
|
Cinders
Sept 7, 2007 4:28:15 GMT -5
Post by Eaving on Sept 7, 2007 4:28:15 GMT -5
The black magic began to pool within the boundaries of the laid-out bones, the skull cradled gently in the centre. The magic began like liquid, ripples covering its surface, and the screaming reached its peak.
For those who were watching, in the dim lighting it took them moments to notice what was causing the ripples across the liquid black surface. The skull was sucked under, and the water became turbulent. Beneath the water, something moved...
The rough outline of a body appeared, the rise of hip and shoulder discernible. It looked like someone turning on their side underneath a thick black sheet. Soon hands could be seen, reaching out feebly beneath the water, rising from its surface, covered with the black magic like caked mud.
The screaming came to an abrupt halt, and in the lingering silence, a voice could be heard. A man's voice, familiar to few in the room.
From death unto life. My darkness shall smother all light. Go now and be the harbinger of their destruction!
The black magic began to seep away, first in thin tendrils, then in greater torrents. It streamed back up the walls until it had disappeared, leaving behind a body upon the floor.
It was a woman small and lithe, her body bearing the marks of her rough birthing. She was curled in upon herself, arms wrapped around her swollen belly, indicating a six month pregnancy. Her deep crimson hair was wet, plastered to her bare skin. And markings, distinctive swirls of red blue and gold, covered her pale bluish skin. There was no mistaking her.
Kalikir, Listener. Beloved of Sithis. Born again.
|
|
|
Cinders
Sept 7, 2007 11:39:57 GMT -5
Post by Silence on Sept 7, 2007 11:39:57 GMT -5
Silence watched, fascinated, as the magic pooled like water, black water, inside the bones, and the screaming grew ever louder, until Silence thought her head must explode; so loud was the sound.
She wanted to step forward, to see even better, when the water (or was it magic?) grew rougher, and the skull dissapeared, sucked down beneath the eeriely fascinating black waves of magic...
But she could not. Was it because of fear? Or was it because some higher power held her back, preventing her from moving at all, except for the shallow breathes which she drew, barely enough to keep her from blacking out, to keep her from sinking into that darkness which, even now, blurred the edges of her vision, inviting, welcoming her to their endless depths.
The screaming stopped. So abrupt it was, that the deep silence was even more frightening than the screams of the unknown woman, or so it seemed to Silence.
She watched incredulously, almost disbelieving, as the outline of a slender person could be seen, and then hands, reaching out of the black magic, seeming to grasp at the air, seeming to search for something to hold.
From death unto life. My darkness shall smother all light. Go now and be the harbinger of their destruction!
From death unto life...Darkness...Destruction...
Sithis.
Like the ocean waves lapping upon sandy shores, but so much more sinister, the tides of dark magic started to withdraw, ebbing away, until Silence felt her breath come easier.
But it seemed that the surprises were not over.
The curled body of a lithe woman was on the floor, covered with tattoos, and achingly familiar. Even with the unfamiliar swollen belly, there was no mistaking the pale blueish skin, the swirling tattoos, and build of that person.
"Kalikir..."
Stepping forward gingerly until she was beside the Listener, Silence crouched down, and placed a hand on Kalikir's shoulder, as if to assure herself this was really the Listener, whom they had all been searching for. The Listener, who had conjured shadow imps and tendrils of magic in that final, awful battle. The Listener, who was also one of the only friends she had.
"Kalikir..." Silence repeated again.
|
|
|
Cinders
Jul 14, 2008 21:00:28 GMT -5
Post by Rannok on Jul 14, 2008 21:00:28 GMT -5
Searching, that is what I should be doing. SEARCHING! She could be anywhere. Here? Or there? Somewhere. Everywhere? I should just search. I forgot to check..In that place. She could be there, not anywhere. I killed everyone else there, so there is plenty of room for her there. No one else to take up space. She very well could be there... You Mew, like a newly born lamb! You lost child! Hush that foolish inner-voice and listen to the outside! Else wise, take that blade and slit your own damned throat!
The voices were making Rannok more unsteady by the minute. He shook violently and found it hard to even breath. He wasn't aware of where he was, which was something that had become common in his life since the disappearance of Kalikir. But there he stood, in between Jiub and Silence, like a lost child. He wasn't even aware that they had moved to an altar.
The room underwent changes and he heard dark and powerful beings say dark and powerful things, yet his eyes were blank and his mind still raced. The dark tendrils created a pool, and momentarily one tendril got close enough to caress Rannok's boot and suddenly, the voices stopped.
When Rannok looked up, he saw her. He thought his mind was playing tricks on him, that he was hallucinating. But no, it could not have been because there was no mischief ringing in his head. Rannok then did something he had never done in the entirety of his life, he disrespected his weapons, his prized swords, and let them fall to the ground.
Ignoring the sound the fallen blades made, Rannok walked slowly forward until Silence, stooped over with her hand on Kalikir's shoulder, was directly in front of him. Shocking himself, and possibly Silence, he gently placed his hand on hers and asked her very quietly if she would allow him to pick Kalikir up.
The only thing he wanted, that his entire being yearned to do, was to pick up his Listener and cradle her in his arms.
(sorry if this is a poor quality post... I am pretty rusty with the Rping =P Just trying to get things moving...XD)
|
|
|
Cinders
Jul 14, 2008 21:50:36 GMT -5
Post by Eaving on Jul 14, 2008 21:50:36 GMT -5
"Kalikir..."
She heard her name, and one bruised eye cracked open. Her tinted skin was covered in hand prints and bruises, marks left lovingly by Sithis in her rough rebirth. She felt the pressure of hands on her shoulder, and the warmth of the life cradled in her belly and smiled. She had managed to protect her baby from Sithis' machinations.
Hazy figures shifted in and out of focus around her, faces blurring and voices distorting. Yet one face remained visible, clear and so welcome Kalikir thought she might cry at the sight of it.
"Rannok?" She asked, reaching out a shaky hand to touch his face. Her fingers met warm skin and she let out a peal of joyous laughter.
"I'm back!" She cried and threw herself into him.
|
|
|
Cinders
Jul 15, 2008 2:45:59 GMT -5
Post by Rannok on Jul 15, 2008 2:45:59 GMT -5
But before he even had the chance to try and pick her up, he saw the sliver of an eye through one of her eyelids and Rannok's heart stopped.
"Rannok?"
He felt her fingers on his face and what warmth her newly born fingers had filled his entire being with what he could best describe as joy. And his mind was silent. All there was, was. All there would be, would be. For once in his life, he acted as a whole being, single in thought and motion. He smiled.
Her laughter felt like his own.
Then all of a sudden, she was in his arms, and not by any force created by him. But it was more than he could ask for. He lifted her gingerly into his arms, making himself a mountain around her. Rannok spun slowly with her in his arms, it was all he could do but stare. He would make sure she never left again.
"I am sorry" he whispered.
And his mind was silent... Except for the one question he couldn't bring himself to ask, and yet somehow, already knew the answer to.
But where did you go?
|
|
|
Cinders
Jul 15, 2008 4:32:21 GMT -5
Post by Eaving on Jul 15, 2008 4:32:21 GMT -5
Kalikir reveled in the feel of him, his arms, his heartbeat, his warmth after so long in the darkness and cold. There was a moment when tears threatened to break through but she pushed them back and smiled for him.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, my Silencer." She whispered in his ear. "It was Sithis' will that I be taken in that battle."
For he was the one who took me.
"You, for all your strength, could not have stopped the Dark Lord's hand."
She shifted slightly in his arms, her newly born body tender all over. Kalikir felt exhaustion creeping up her limbs, after all, she truly had not rested since the day of her 'death'. Her face and arms still bore the fresh cuts and grazes of the battle she fought with Leonde.
With a sigh she let her head fall to her lovers shoulder. She wondered about her home, her hidden fort, her hounds, and Elliswyn. How much had things changed in her absence? How long had she been gone?
"My Sisters, my Brother." She said to the gathered Speakers, all of whom still gazed at her with amazement and a little reverence. "My friends. It is beyond joy to see your faces. Someone tell me please, how long have I been gone?"
|
|
|
Cinders
Jul 15, 2008 7:08:01 GMT -5
Post by Lorren on Jul 15, 2008 7:08:01 GMT -5
It was as though she had witnessed the rebirth of a god. Or perhaps the birth of a demi-god, born by a god. It was incredible, the pure power, the raw magic used to bring forth this tiny woman from the depths of... where? The Void, perhaps. Or somewhere else. Only she would know.
She looked almost ethereal, entirely not of this world, like something cut from a dream and placed into waking reality, far too beautiful for the harsh coldness of earth. But Lorren knew her face, knew her form, had seen her close, been blessed by her presence at the Bruma sanctuary. This was the Listener Kalikir. By Sithis' hand, she had come to them again.
For all of the screams and agony they'd heard, for all of the bruises marring her body, and the obvious condition of pregnancy she was in, Kalikir looked well. She was full of mirth, laughing at her return, murmuring things unheard by them to her Silencer. The ever faithful Rannok, present for all things, wherever his master requires.
Lorren could feel the life being breathed back into them, the chest of the Brotherhood expanding with air once more. A great, spluttering, cough of a breath, but breath just the same. Sithis had not left them. He would not leave them. They were saved.
Contracts, recruitment, rebuilding, whatever Sithis' will might be, conveyed through the Night Mother, they could now hear. The Listener returned, they could return to work, return to their proper duties. She was a Speaker once more, her mouth filled now with the gospel of the Dread Father. Perhaps it was not a gospel she believed, but it was one she respected, and one she would preach.
The Listener returned. Their sins forgiven. The Dark Brotherhood saved.
All was not lost.
|
|
|
Cinders
Jul 16, 2008 21:33:06 GMT -5
Post by Akkar on Jul 16, 2008 21:33:06 GMT -5
Jiub felt as though he should speak, but words eluded him. Kalikir's return seemed to knock the air out of his chest. He simply watched as the emotions of the Listener and her Silencer played out before him. He had never been one to understand the emotions of humans or lesser elves – perhaps it was because they lived such a short life that their feelings burned so fiercely. Moisture prickled coldly against his skin, despite the cold of his home. It was situations like this that made him feel distinctly useless.
Sithis might be immortal, but his servants were certainly not. They had been lucky to survive this long – nobody had come to end them while they were mere cinders upon the ground. Jiub shuddered at the thought of how he had managed to get himself into this situation. There were powers at work here darker than he could fathom. He always seemed to find himself astounded and appalled by the association's abilities. The dealings of the Brotherhood were hard to follow at the best of times, but with all that had happened in the last few months, he found himself losing track significantly. Intangible deities, strange magicks, death and rebirth... it was enough to make one feel excruciatingly mundane. Rather than try and collect his thoughts, he merely tried to accept that the fallen Listener had returned. For this, he was glad.He could only hope now that, with the Hand nearly complete again, they would not make such a grave misjudgment as before.
Kalikir spoke, asking something that they could barely make out. Her voice seemed distant, almost as if an echo from beyound the Void. Jiub felt suddenly furious. He wanted to scream – at Sithis, at Kalikir, at anyone and everyone, at himself and at the Night Mother. They had led the brotherhood to ruin. Jiub was more than accomplice, he had yearned for the battle. Even now, he couldn't really figure out why. Perhaps he just didn't want to accept that it was for mere revenge. Perhaps he just wanted something to push against. He clenched his fists suddenly, feeling the cold sweat press against itself. Perhaps he just wanted to kill.
|
|
|
Cinders
Jul 17, 2008 0:38:06 GMT -5
Post by Silence on Jul 17, 2008 0:38:06 GMT -5
Perhaps it was lucky Rannok had asked her to move aside, or she surely would have been knocked over as Kalikir flung herself at her Silencer. Really, people these days. Here she was, trying to show a bit of sympathy, and she had to scramble away to retain her footing.
"To answer your question, no, I'm not sure how many days have passed. One tends to lose track of time when one is wounded, exhausted, and stuck in an Ayleid Ruin." Silence snapped, more roughly than she probably ought to have. Well, she really was irked, barely keeping awake, shocked, and feeling more than slightly claustrophobic. Definitely not a good combination.
With her customary bluntness, Silence jerked her head in the direction of Kalikir's swollen belly. "I'm assuming the...baby is Rannok's?" She asked, wincing slightly as she spoke. Silence hadn't expected Kalikir to fall in love with anybody, not after Ma--, well, she just hadn't expected it, least of all Rannok.
Insane Rannok Dead-Eyes....Indeed, it would have been Silence's last choice.
But perhaps the signs were there all along, and she just chose to ignore them, wallowing in her own grief and troubles. Well, the past was the past, and it was just better for all concerned if she moved on from this rather...awkward topic.
"So, what do we do about the Leyawiin Sanctuary? I could've sworn I saw Shady killed, and he isn't here." She glared at them, her blazing green eyes more intense than they had been before.
"I am not having M'aiq as the Speaker. That's final." She snapped.
|
|
|
Cinders
Jul 17, 2008 6:32:38 GMT -5
Post by Eaving on Jul 17, 2008 6:32:38 GMT -5
Kalikir could only sit in Rannok's arms, and stare gape-mouthed at the small elf. She had not been beaten back into this life to listen to this woman's petty concerns. The nerve of her! To speak to her Listener with such venom!
Silence was lucky Kalikir was so exhausted, otherwise she would find her face being introduced to the stone floor.
Kalikir let her anger and affront show on her face, the emotions giving her a newfound energy. She fed upon them. It had been so long since she had felt anything other that the emptiness of the Void.
"Has the Brotherhood fallen so far in my absence?! Have you become children like Speaker Silence here? Whining and moaning over a few scrapes and bruises?! No wonder Sithis forced my return. What a sorry state you are."
Kalikir sat a little straighter in her Silencer's arms, regaining her strength by the second. She placed a protective hand over her distended stomach, her eyes conveying an unnerving menace.
"My child and my lover are none of the Brotherhood's concern. None! So mind your tongue before I tear it out. And the final Speaker shall be voted upon by the Hand, not decided by you."
Purged of her anger Kalikir let out a breath and relaxed somewhat, yet not removing her hand from her stomach and desperately wishing for a cloak or blanket to cover herself with.
"Now, someone please, with a little respect, tell me what has been happening since I have been gone. How is the Brotherhood? How many brothers and sisters did we lose to the Tong?"
|
|
|
Cinders
Jul 17, 2008 7:17:24 GMT -5
Post by Lorren on Jul 17, 2008 7:17:24 GMT -5
Lorren nearly gaped at her sister Speaker. Was she insane? She wouldn't dare speak to the Listener like that on a normal day, let alone not five minutes after she'd been torn from the Void and slammed back into reality. She was surprised the listener only made threats, rather than following through with them.
Deciding that it was better to give into Kalikir's wishes than stand in stupefied silence, Lorren took barely a step forward and bowed her head.
"Honored Listener, truly we have been lost without your guidance. We are the only true Speakers left, we feeble three. It is true the Khajiit M'aiq has been watching over the Leyawiin sanctuary in its Speaker's abscence; I know not what became of him. However, he has been loyal to it, though I admit some of his tactics are a bit... strange," she trailed off, allowing Kalikir to process that information.
"To be honest, the Brotherhood is in ruins, if our own tattered appearance was not enough to signal it. Many of the sanctuaries are in ruins, without any murderers to fill their halls and beds. Without an ear to listen for the Night Mother's command, we have been unable to recruit, and unable to supply our remaining members with contracts. Most that did survive have now deserted."
"Perhaps the only good that I can report is that the Morag Tong is as wounded as we. It has lost many, including the majority of its traitors, and others that have defected. Mephala's guild is in great need of repair. And the infidel Leonde is dead. That, is all that I am able to report to you."
She finished, raising her eyes slightly to look at the Listener, still ensconced in her Silencer's arms, so strange looking with her rounded belly. A baby. How would this child factor in to everything?
|
|
|
Cinders
Jul 17, 2008 15:58:11 GMT -5
Post by Rannok on Jul 17, 2008 15:58:11 GMT -5
Rannok was lost. The bliss was nice, but it only took a short while to realize that his unnerved insanity had been replaced by a different kind. Everyone was tuned out; even Kalikir's words became just another moving mouth. But her eyes and sense of love captivated him, kept him calm. In the very least, he knew that his happiness to see Kalikir was genuine.
She is here.
It was not until Rannok noticed a sudden look of scorn on Kalikir's face that reality flooded back to him. Slow motion was replaced by the realization that Silence had spit words of venom.
And Rannok twitched. Once.
Had he not, only moment's ago, treated Silence with kindness? He was almost amazed. Kindness from a very unstable sociopath is something to be taken with good sense, no matter who you are. Even so, Rannok was not surprised. If Silence felt anything like he had during the absence of Kalikir, he understood.
Still, the venom of her words had found itself a nice, painful place in Rannok. He knew very well how words could be more potent than poison. And so, he reacted in quiet anger. Setting Kalikir down gently, Rannok noticed her lack of clothing and in a quick motion removed his overcoat and draped it over her. Rannok then turned to Silence and gave her exactly what she had given, venom, but with his eyes in the stead of words.
This lasted only a few seconds, but he had dearly hoped he had gotten his point across. Rannok knew not what she would see in his eyes, but that was no matter to him. What was important, was control. All good silencers, stay in control. It was then that Rannok decided to tend to his swords. He walked over to them quietly and as he bent to pick them up he muttered a little saying of fogiveness to the blades he had earlier neglected.
Rannok looked once more at Kalikir, then found a nice wall to rest his back against as he cleaned and oiled his blades.
Disbelief and a sense of failure began to seep back into his mind. Ahh, but the insane do love to hate themselves, don't they?
|
|
|
Cinders
Jul 18, 2008 0:54:54 GMT -5
Post by Silence on Jul 18, 2008 0:54:54 GMT -5
I'm not a child!
It was just as well that Silence hadn't spoken those rather childish sounding words, or risk being mocked by her fellow members in the Dark Hand, or perhaps even risk Kalikir's anger and damage to herself.
Silence wondered briefly if Kalikir still had her Sithis-granted powers, but decided not to ask. Things were bad enough between her and Kalikir.
They had been so close once. What had happened?
If only she knew. Silence had been asking herself that question for a long time. So long, in fact, that she had forgotten when she had started.
The rest of Kalikir's words, and Lorren's response, were drowned out as Rannok stared at her. His gaze only lingered on her own blazing green ones for a moment, but it was enough to make her flinch. Rannok didn't have dead-eyes. His gaze was filled with venom and fire. Silence was shocked by the intensity of his unspoken message.
"I apologise for speaking out of turn, Listener. If I seemed discourteous, then it was only due to exhaution and nerves." The Bosmer spoke stiffly, half-bowing.
Backing away a step, she drew her hood up, pulling it low over her face, determined to speak as little as she could for the remainder of this meeting.
"I hate myself." She muttered, unaware that she had spoken aloud.
|
|