[Sunset Falls] Turning Inward

by **Paragon** on February 16th, 2013, 7:04 am

"No, that is not it. That is not it at all," the old woman muttered softly. "Look closer. You hold fear in your heart. You wish to know because you fear death. Release that. Release it and see death as the process for which it is. Then you will understand."

Her instructions were cryptic, but there seemed to be a method in her logic. If he could only release the emotions that bound him to this desire, then the waterfall would reveal its secrets.

Images would form to him. Images of the reason. Images of the cycle. Images of... Crypt's past life. And then he would understand death for what it was. A part of the great wheel of life, that turned and turned, endlessly. Dira, an enabler of that cycle.

OOCFeel free to come up with a past life that Crypt will see a flash of in the water (once he has let go of fear of course!)

by **Crypt** on February 17th, 2013, 6:37 am

OOC NoteI hope this is good enough.

"I fear death... I fear death because of the pain that comes beforehand."

Crypt strode back and forth, following the rhythm of a non-existent pendulum as he pondered her words. He could only see images flickering in and out of sight, but they were too indistinct, too blurred for him to comprehend them.

"Release fear? Death has been feared by most for many an age. Many seek immortality to escape it. To escape the cycle. But it is an abomination. Many try to evade it for as long as possible. The leeches have many ways, of which half work and half fail, to cure one of his or her injuries. And yet we all die in the end. But do they understand Death? Death..."

A brief image, startling in its clarity, appeared in the turbulent waters. It remained in existence for an infinitesimal moment, but it was enough to draw his attention.

"And fear is an emotion. Created by something perceived to be threatening, to be dangerous by a being. And when we encounter fear, our instincts tell us to flee, to hide from it. But how do we supersede it? Death... I did not fear it when I spat into that bandit's face, defiant and unconquerable. But how to replicate such an experience in this calm night, this silent night unmarred by blood and blade?"

"In the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor cried aloud..." he muttered, still watching the tumultuous waters for a glimpse of an image. Any image would do.

I myself have read books on such stolidity in the face of incoming death. 'Under the bludgeonings of chance; my head is bloody but unbowed.' And would the best way then be to strip away all emotions from Death itself?

Another shard of the fragmented image revealed itself, again for only a second, to the impassive Drykas.

"Death is a process. Death is the opposite of Life. But without Life, it cannot exist. Without Death, Life cannot endure. It will sicken, it will starve and eventually cease to exist. A cycle, then. I die, I live. I die, I live. And therefore I should not resist its coming, for it is futile to delay it. But I will live again, though I remember naught of my previous lives. Ergo, why fear Death?"

The question was asked, and the cords, the strings, that bound the two concepts together were severed.

And he saw.

A man in rich robes, appearing to be a noble of some sort, withdrawing a small bag, passing it to a bearded male dressed in lower-quality clothes in a small ante-chamber.

Shards of terrifying, appalling sights, where another bearded man in a turban smirked, as did the other.

Portals into a dark place opening and closing, and he of the turban orchestrated every detail, while the noble cackled in silent glee.

A simple wooden bowl held a silvery liquid, which the richly-dressed man threw into the air and watched as the fluid formed into a sphere.

And the next image was of the very same mage strangling the writhing noble. The dying man's head turned, and Crypt saw his face, recognising a person within the agonised expression - it was himself.

But the shock was not over.

He watched the world explode, his ethereal form unharmed by the upheavals of the earth that sent lava and rock everywhere.

He gritted his immaterial teeth as Sagallius shone with an unholy light. Moments after, the ghost disappeared from Mizahar, and appeared in a small room, where an old man was staring at him.

It ended, and he stumbled backwards, falling onto the wet, hard ground.

Recovery took a few minutes, and Crypt looked up at the old woman who had shown him such a revelation.

"Who are you?"

OOC Note :

by **Paragon** on February 25th, 2013, 6:01 pm

"You question me... but not the visions you have just been privy to? You are interesting one indeed."

The old woman's voice was changing, a huskiness thinning, crystalline words full of wisdom spilling from her mouth. The water continued to plummet, keeping a tumultous silence at bay.

"But you understand, at least. The cycle of things. To die is only to pave way for another life. It is the great circle that keeps this universe turning. You have heard of Lhex, perhaps? I am not he, but he is the wielder of souls, determining the cyclical fate of each and all. I am the enabler. I am the one that allows this cycle. The visions you saw, were you. A past life, but a single life for your soul all the same. Time flows endlessly, backwards and forwards."

As if her final point needed demonstrating, two jackals appeared from behind the waterfall, one white, and one black. Neither growled, nor prostrated before Crypt. They simply watched him, coming to the woman's side.

Finally, the woman stepped beside Crypt, still on the ground, and bent to place her hands on his shoulders. Her hood came down all of its own accord, revealing long, straight black hair, and the darkest of eyes. Her face was not entirely beautiful, but she was not ugly either. There was something... haunting about it.

"I am Dira," she finally said, voice now at the clearest pitch it had reached. "And I wish to leave you with a mark of my own. You have learned much today. Do not fear what you cannot outrun. Do not look blindly backwards, or blindly forwards, lest you fall in the hubris of your own making. Will you accept my mark, Crypt?"

by **Crypt** on March 8th, 2013, 3:02 pm

OOC NoteApologies for this extremely late reply!

"You have allowed me to see these visions, and so I ask of the source. Lhex... the old man. A past life. You are... "

The two jackals - one a shade of purest ivory, the other obsidian-black - approached the old woman, appearing from somewhere Crypt could not quite see. The sheer oddity was enough to make Crypt hesitate and consider his next words; more so the obedience they displayed towards the old woman, who was...

Morphing. Her voice was changing. Her words shifted in tone and enunciation, as if they were unsure what to change into. But it grew clearer, as if she was growing younger.

What is this? A Morpher? Something... Someone more?

Curiousity overcame the sense of foreboding that he had been experiencing since the revelation of his past life, and he flicked a mental switch in his mind, feeling for and allowing Djed to shift towards his eyes. Slowly it moved, but eventually the clarity that came with using Auristics, that familiar feeling that Crypt had experimented with on many a day and night, grew within his eyes.

He gazed at the elder, and he shuddered.

A flicker here of a graveyard, another one of a coffin being placed into the ground. A glimpse of souls screaming in silent agony, forced into small shapes. A brief look of a dying tree, its branches falling. All these images forced themselves into his Djed-enhanced eyes, and buried themselves within his mind.

Her ebony aura was of no human he had ever seen. It appeared to be constantly in flux, wrapping itself around her body and extending tendrils towards her surroundings. Crypt flinched as he witnessed one of them caressing him, but otherwise made no move.

Were these Ravens, in the form of eldritch apparitions, flaking off from her aura and travelling away? Perhaps it was just his imagination, but it may as well have been all too real.

Her aura was alluring. It evoked no emotion within the Drykas, but it grasped his desire for knowledge. He wanted to know more. He wanted to know all he could about this person, such that he would be able to understand more.

A dirge! A lament! Both he could hear faintly, emanating from within her black cloak, from the aura that held his attention so. He knew not how long he peered deep into that darkness, wondering and fearing.

Dira.

Dira.

I have read of her, but all were but brief statements. She is Death, and enabler of the cycle.

"Lady Dira."

Crypt bowed his head as a sign of respect.

"Your words are indeed wise. How can I refuse such an offer? I shall take your mark. But... Before you grant me this mark, I wish to learn the answer to two questions. What does gaining this mark entail, and why me?"

by **Paragon** on March 20th, 2013, 3:13 pm

Dira smiled, never moving her gaze, even when she crouched slightly to stroke one of the jackals behind its pointed ears.

"You are brave to question a Goddess."

Her words were wry though, and Crypt would know there was no threat behind them. Dira had made her decision, and it would take a lot to sway her from it now. Falling light arced through the falls.

"I have chosen you because you misunderstood death. Death has had a major role in your life, and today you understood its true purpose. I do not wish for men to walk around this world, ignorant of my powers. Of my reasons."

She folded her arms, one hand raised so that her finger played against her lips.

"My mark is known as Elyon. It will attune you to my realm. The realm of death. You will know where death has taken place, and you will witness the fragments of life before death takes hold. But more than that, Crypt. Death will always be with you. You will find comfort in death and its many incarnations in the physical realm. You will fear it no longer."

She turned her attention to the other jackal, which twisted its head, enjoying the attention.

"With that knowledge, do you still wish to bear my mark?"

by **Crypt** on March 20th, 2013, 3:30 pm

"Some say I hunger too much for knowledge to ensure my own safety."

Crypt hazarded a slight grin even as he watched Dira stroke one of her jackals with what he presumed to be the faintest hint of affection. It faded soon enough in the solemn atmosphere of the occasion as Dira continued her explanation.

There was a minute's silence as he pondered her words.

"To be closer to Death, and yet still alive. To know where Death has taken place - even many long years before, perhaps - and to see the last moments of their lives... To be never afraid of Death. So much I could learn."

The mourning-no-longer Drykas shifted slightly, moving into a more comfortable position.

"I have no other objection, my Lady. I shall accept your mark, and all the responsibilities and consequences that come with it. Is there anything you wish for me to do?"

by **Paragon** on April 25th, 2013, 4:41 pm

The moment he uttered his acceptance, she was right in front of him, cool hands touching his own. She lifted it somewhat, pursing dark lips, and then raising the palm to them she kissed it lightly.

When she let go, his arm swung back to his side, lifeless for just a transitory moment. And there on the palm a black marking blossomed, shaped in the cruel curve of a scythe.

Dira turned abruptly, petting the jackals, and began to walk away from the waterfall hollow and back down the slope. She paused for a second, and half turned her head.

"Find those who try to cheat my order. Those who fear death, and those who try in vain to escape it. That is your duty now. Wear my mark and know death. Embrace it for what it is."

Her steps began to fade, as her form became incorporeal. The jackals were wisps of mist and fog, and her very image faded into translucence - and then nothingness.

Crypt was left alone behind the waterfall. The cascading waters through which he had seen other lives. Through which he had come to understand death.

OOCI'm so sorry for the late, late reply to this. You can make one last post if you'd like. Either way, put a request in my office for grading after this, and I'll get to it as soon as possible. I will also add the mark to your Storyteller Secrets thread immediately. Thanks!

by **Paragon** on May 9th, 2013, 9:41 pm

Crypt

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Auristics	2
Observation	3
Philosophy	4
Rhetoric	4

Lores
'The Jewel-like denizens of Sunset Falls' plunge pool', 'The beauty of the Sunset Falls at sunset', 'Time is strange after Maras' death', 'Gods are annihilated but do not die', 'The cycle that is Death and Life', 'I'm a philosopher?!', 'What horrors Immortality holds beneath its beauteous visage', 'Visions from one of Crypt's past lifes', 'Invictus: Conquering the fear of Death', 'Dira: Enabler of the Cycle', 'Lhex: Wielder of Souls, determining their fates', 'The Macabre yet Alluring Aura of Dira', 'The purpose of the first mark of Eiyon', 'Before and After: the two jackals of Dira', 'The truth about Death', 'Dira's mission for Crypt'

Other: + 1 Elyon Mark

Legend Becomes Reality

Thanks for your patience with this one, glad you enjoyed it. I usually make most first marks short, but further marks would merit quests with much higher stakes. Since you went to the effort of coming up with all those names, I gave you all the lores you suggested, they all look pretty good to me anyhow! Well done, remember Dira's quest if you want to see her again in future! Oh, and the Gnosis mark is noted in your Storyteller Secrets.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can work from there.

Quest [Sunset Falls] Turning Inward