[M]Undying Quest: The Proving Grounds[IC]

[Evening Rain]

Tala

Titania shifted ever so slightly in her seat, eyes glinting as she seemed to adjust to this new information. Finally, she seemed to relax, and the dangerous sharpness that had been poised in her body like a coiled spring gave way. "You are a compassionate creature, then." She said with a trace of something that sounded faintly like scorn. "What message was so important that you'd be willing to kill yourself to deliver it?"

Alessandro

Elia seemed to quickly perceive that something was amiss with Alessandro despite his gestures to cover it. She glanced at him quizically, and nodded thoughtfully at his fervent words. "It is as you say." She agreed quietly. She looked up at a squirrel nibbling cautiously at a nut. Before either of them had time to blink, the animal's leg sprouted feathers, as an arrow pierced it. It let out a soft squeel, muffled by distance. A laugh came from a few of the elves, and the sound of casual congratulations.

While the others 'enjoyed' themselves, Veradyn remained intent on guiding the group. As they passed out of the forest, he bid them remain on the eaves of the wood, to shelter them while he surveyed the terrain. After scanning the distance for a short while, his eyes settled on a hill, a fair way in the distance. Wordlessly, he led the group toward the hill. As Alessandro neared he began to see lazy plumes of smoke waft out above the rise from behind.

[Minkasha]

The hero did not chuckle or join in the festivities of the Elves. His soaking eyes watched the pained animals bordering his path along those of Her Radiance with a glazed film. His mind skimmed over their anguish to protect him from the cold feeling he wished to deny. Alessandro eventually let his vision slip low as he walked, keeping Elia in the presence of quiet company.

It was time to serve Her Radiance and do the work of greatest good. He was preparing.

[Eddren]

For as large a castle as this place was, it was pretty fortuitous they'd found the supplies quickly. Then, considering he'd turned most of the castle into the arcane energies powering Karrha's new dress, perhaps that shouldn't be so surprising. He grinned, somewhat mischievously. He could only imagine how it must have looked to the villagers when they saw the Vampire Queen's castle seemingly disintegrating before their very eyes.

Dezeroth shrugged, "Probably kept it here in case she had need of it. I doubt she'd have kept human servants. She was a vampire Queen, after all. No use keeping non-vampires around. Half the reason I decided she needed doing away with--Had she identified as the Queen of whatever this parcel of land is called, I'd not have given her a second thought, blood cravings and all."

[P.K.]

"Well there was a child here." Karrha murmured popping another piece of bred into her mouth. "And it seems safe." She sighed faintly. Dying was supposed to mean not more fighting, or at least that's what she'd believed. If she had to die why did it have to be here she woke up. She was tired of fighting all the time but there were things she still had to do while she yet breathed, and apparently she was.

Picking up another stick of bread she held it out to the mage before pulling off yet another chunk of her own and ate it before checking over the cheese. It seemed fine by touch, sight and smell. Pulling free a Kitchen knife she sliced off a chunk and took a bite to mull over it for a moment, not that she was the best taste tester but it seemed edible so she made no comment.

[Evening Rain]

Alessandro

Alessandro and the elves crested a grassy ridge, and found themselves overlooking a picturesque village. Perhaps forty buildings with thatched roofs sat nestled at the base of the hill, with outlying sheep folds and a stream meandering nearby with several small figures splashing about in the shallows. While the sun was much less bright than it had been in Ales Elendra, it seemed to be late afternoon. There was still a great deal of light, but it seemed subdued in comparison to the vibrancy of the elfwood. Veradyn gave a quiet nod, and almost as if the others could read his mind - they began to fan out, staying low - using the long grass as cover as they began to creep to the fringes of the town. Veradyn remained poised in position, watching the village with hawklike precision. "Twenty-five adult males. Twenty-seven adult females. The rest... children. Kill them all." His voice was scarcely more than a murmur, but Alessandro heard it all the same. "Cleanse their taint from this land." Veradyn notched an arrow with a smooth motion. "My hunters are scattering to surround them. They have nowhere to run, so this your chance."

[Minkasha]

“Little Alessandro” Saika sighed her words tiredly. Kept warm in bundles of fur, lying next to her body tickled Alessandro’s youthfully red cheeks lovingly. Their embrace was witnessed by growing flowering trees quite not yet in their prime of size nor bloom. In a courtyard of House Aegis the tended landscape was relief from all too familiar hallways. Alessandro’s yearning eyes drank in his mother, loving her frail form and black silky hair. At times the boy feared if he was not tender enough, his mother might just fall apart. Her face accented her cheekbones through her hints of deprivation, through the thinness of her cheeks. Saika took her life gracefully, burdened by lines of weariness very subtly. Her aura was pervasively heavy, to Alessandro it was what he wanted. There would never be enough fill of her stifling, victimized, maternal being. “You have done something wonderful today. I hear…your father is proud”

Saika brushed her bony hand through the eight-year old’s golden hair, tugging gently on the strands not yet reaching his shoulders. Mommy’s small gesture of energetic engagement pulled out his buried excitement for the event.

“I slain my first Faceless One. It was eating a man’s sadness” The Half-Oriental Aasimar informed her briskly, Saika nodding slowly. A twitch on her face showed she took the brief description personally.

“They are everywhere, with many people Alessandro. You have helped someone today. How do you feel?” Under the filling branches of a pine tree, she pulled him tighter in closer and he hummed delightfully. Ezekiel had shared that one could tell when the Faceless Ones were upon someone by a Human’s behavior. When they fed, the feeding emotion worsens until it consumes the person. Mommy’s sadness did not come a Faceless One, Alessandro theorized, it was coming from his father. But he wasn’t a Faceless One and he was the defender of the Human race. Alessandro’s confusion urged his features to wiggle and narrow while he thought. “What are you thinking?” Saika kissed his scalp, “You know which questions not to ask” she reminded sweetly. The boy nodded, taking pause to enjoy the breeze.

“If Humans are inherently good, why can the Faceless Ones feed off them?” His repeating of ‘inherently good’ sounded quite rehearsed, following the exact words of his father. Saika’s touch faltered, her hand flinching away for a pause.

“Things in this world eat away the goodness of Humans. That is why heroes like you will always be needed little Alessandro. The darkness will always want the heart of Humanity.” The boy melted with her explanation as he put things into new perspective.

“Humans only do ill things when the Faceless Ones eat away at that goodness…” his whisper words were rewarded with a stroke down his half-exposed face. Shivers of love, and need kept Alessandro close to her and Mommy’s touch. Saika nodded. “Well Father isn’t Human…” Alessandro thought outloud. His mommy said nothing, he pressed his lips together in judgment. He knew he shouldn’t have brought the subject up, but it slipped from his mouth. There was evil in this world, but sometimes people hurt each other without being evil. He was certain he’d know if a Faceless One was feeding off him. He was certain he’d know what the evil sickness felt like invading his heart and mind. “And I’m not too, and we do good things” Alessandro shifted, bringing his face near hers and smiling. With the Heavenly Sphere so high in the sky, his expression matched the climate over House Aegis grounds. Her lips were held in a frown, etched there and seemingly being ripped from place by a quivering returning smile.

“Yes, it is that simple” Her loving hand concealed his lips, a sigh pouring from between her teeth. “Let’s be quiet again my child”

In Alessandro’s eyes was the reflection of the village waiting for Her Radiance’s divine will. He stared with passion that spun the blues of his eyes to a deeper hue. Death was in his eyes, Purity held dearly and firmly in his hand. His love for his blade friend ran through the volatile emotions the sword stabbed into him. Alessandro’s chest felt cold, spare one spec of hope where Purity kept. He knew he was in service of something greater than himself, it was what the Aasimar choose to focus on.

Helping hands came together around Purity’s hilt and held the holy sword in front of the hero. Alessandro’s angelic face was stoic and void of the possibility to smile. The Humans in front of him were something the Faceless Ones fed from. They must have a taint to them that allowed them to be consumed this way. Her Radiance would be untouched by such evil entities. Evil begets evil. That is why his Father was protecting them – evil shielding his own.

Alessandro ran past Veradyn, exposing himself to the village and charged straight ahead. Bouncing golden hair, shifting hips, and stiffing back took over his stressed appearance. Alessandro of House Aegis would violently cut down the first Human in his path. He awaited in their carnage to see Purity’s flame bite at their evil flesh.

[Eddren]

"Thanks," Dezeroth took the offered food, grinning over at Karrha. Munch, munch, munch. "Well, there was a lot of weird stuff here. Thankfully, it's one less place to worry about. Not that I understand the logic or intent behind this realm--Nor why anyone even uses force here. Come to think of it--We resurrected, what is there to say the Vampiress wouldn't?"

Ah, yes, we're feeding. I imagine you'd like a snack, too. Idly, Dezeroth laid his arm near the blade edge of Purple Waltz. Shallow cut, though. Karrha has to heal it later, after all. "Quite frankly, this world is almost kind of infuriating. I actually have a very good idea, now that I think of it, as to why the town we're being sent to stabilize hasn't already done so naturally."

[Evening Rain]

Alessandro

Alessandro charged across long, sun-touched grass, his eyes focusing on a young woman who lingered near the edge of the village, carrying a woven basket. She stopped, paused, and stared at him for a long moment before turning to run. A barbed arrow caught her in the ankle and she fell to one knee with a scream, echoed soon by other voices coming form other parts of the settlement. Alessandro's blade hacked into her, nearly cutting her clean in half with the force from the blow. It was a clean cut. No smoke, nor the searing of evil flesh marked the wound. Instead, she fell lifeless with blood pouring from the gash.

Not far behind her, a middle-aged man rushed forward with a pale face, screaming a name. He didn't even seem to notice Alessandro - more focused on reaching the girl who now stained the earthen path with her blood. Farther away, a single elf stalked into the town square, armed with a wicked silver sabre, eyeing up his next victim - a girl of about nine.

One minute the elf was moving towards his prey, who stood still, wide-eyed like a doe. The next, a mass of thick webbing surrounded him, and confused - he began to thrash inside his sticky prison - only managing to entangle himself more.

Dezeroth and Karrha

The blade adjusted itself slightly, to nick Dezeroth's arm - greedily absorbing the blood that flowed from it. My thanks. It snickered softly in his mind. You need not worry about my ettiquette. I would never cause problems for our mutual... friend. Which raises an interesting question. Why would you imbue in me the possibility to become a possible rival? Aren't you afraid I... might become jealous?"

[Minkasha]

Alessandro’s success rained blood across his boots. Purity aligned with him, diving through the sinner violently. She was broken and dead. His face was firmly locked, staring down at the gushing corpse. The Aasimar was awaiting the flame, the burning judgment to devour her and truly deem her evil. Alessandro stood and waited to see Her insight reflected in Purity’s good willed intuition. The blood touched his feet, rushing past by the push of new blood escaping the corpse.

Alessandro stared longer, sweat beading between his brows. The suspense was making him nauseous. Another second he waited till he raised Purity high into the sky.

“HER RADIANCE HAS SAID YOU ARE EVIL!” The young man screamed, skin riddled with goosebumps. The sword cut deep into her shoulder, braking the joint and destroying more of her structure. Nothing consumed her. But it had to. So he tried again, chopping repeatedly desperately. Severing parts irregularly formed for he had abandoned all form in his sword swinging. His grip was tight and the furrowing of his brows rolled the sweat down his narrow nose. “BURN! BURN! BU-” Alessandro was slapped across the face and it broke his tunnel vision. His balance was taken with him and in a sweaty state of disbelief, he was getting painted in the murdered woman’s blood.

[Eddren]

Dezeroth mentally shrugged, having created a mental landscape within which to create such expressions without confusing Karrha with their apparent randomness. Because to risk leaving her alone should I fall was a greater threat than to have a rival. That I should lose the race to another is but a pittance of pain compared to what I should feel should she come to harm, should I know that she would be forced to tread the worlds alone. So I instilled in you the same sense of devotion toward her that I had. Perhaps you'll be romantically inclined, as I am. Perhaps you will find it develops in other ways. I gave you a great many inklings of personality, but I imagine how they develop will be far different from what I'd anticipated.