[Black Tar's] The Lady of Death (Solo)

[Aello]

Spring 8, 511 AV Aello crept along the streets of Ravok, almost silently, remaining unnoticed as she swerved in and out of city streets. She turned left and right, and at times, appeared as though she were going in circles. "It's around here somewhere," Aello muttered under her breath, "don't you worry Yune, we'll find it soon." Yune chirped. Aello and her companion had been walking around the city for hours, looking for the Black Tar. Aello had only been there once before, and knew what it looked like. In fact; the image of the little shop seemed glued to her memory, as though she could never get it out. The problem, however, was finding the little shop again in the first place. Aello remembered the shop being in a corner of the Plaza of Dark Delights, she simply did not remember how to get there from where she was currently standing. "Tell you what Yune, if we don't find it soon, we can give up for the day, and try again some other time," Aello said as she quickly turned left and headed down another narrow alley. Yune chirped in response. "Thought you would appreciate it," as Aello walked around and around for several more minutes, and then finally found herself in the one place she actually wanted to be right now: the Plaza of Dark Delights. "Well here we are," Aello told her bird. Yune chirped dismally, as if to say, this is what we have been looking for all this time? "Sorry you're not too impressed love, but we need to come here nonetheless." Aello looked around the plaza until she spotted it: In the farthest corner of the plaza lay a small, gray-colored building, with tightly closed, black shutters. The building seemed to be splattered with tar. "The Black Tar," Aello said simply as she crossed the plaza, to the front door. The door was made of wood, black, and had already been swung open, as if to welcome her. Aello stepped inside the threshold, and the door creaked shut behind her; as if by magic. Yune chirped unpleasantly, and flapped her good wing. "Shhh, don't be afraid love. There is nothing in this place to fear." Aello took several steps forward and into the shop, as she looked around. The place looked much as it had all those moons ago. Several glass cases lined the walls, and seemed to be filled with a number of different things. Vials of various colored liquids, stones, and other mixtures seemed to make up most of it however. There wasn't much left though- just some vials with what looked like blood, and several different ones with small crystals of black, dark green and royal purple. "Looks like someone came and bought the whole store," Aello whispered to Yune as she headed to the back of the shop. In the far corner was a single wooden bookshelf, lined with leather-bound books. Some of them seemed fairly new, while others looked as though they were about to fall apart. The spines of the older-looking books seemed to be lined with a thin sheet of grey dust, and in some cases, tiny spider webs seemed to hang from the corners, attaching themselves to the edge of the bookshelf. Aello walked over to the book shelf, knowing that she had come in search of a good reference book on several different magical disciplines. When she got to the book shelf, Aello placed the bow she had been holding in her right hand against the side of the wall. Yune chirped again, as though trying to convince her mistress it were time to leave, because she was getting creeped out. "Not yet Yune, we haven't gotten what we came for yet," Aello whispered. Aello extended her right hand to the shelf, and pulled out the first book she saw. It seemed to be fairly new. Lightly beaten about the edges. Aello opened the book, and noticed that the paper the text was written on was both thick, and a sickly green color. The title page read: How to Brew Ye Average Poison. Aello shut the book, that was certainly not something she needed to know. Aello put the book back on the shelf. "Perhaps we should try something else," Aello whispered to her bird, as she picked up the book next to the one she had put back. The book was a slightly larger volume of the first, and seemed to far older. Or at least, the leather had had enough time to fade. Aello lifted the book a little closer to her, and noticed that the edges of the book were somewhat bent, several pages seemed to be dog-eared, and the cover itself was covered in a thin sheet of dust. Somewhat surprised by the book's poor condition, Aello hesitated for a moment, as though she were wondering what to do with it. Was it even worth her picking up, and leafing through? Aello wondered. Would it fall apart if it wasn't handled delicately and with great respect? Sighing, Aello decided that perhaps she should look into it. After all, the oldest things were always said to be the wisest. Aello lifted the book a little higher and then blew on it lightly, scattering most of the dust into the air. It seemed like a dark, angry cloud, hovering over light-skinned, trembling hands, and a book which had more than likely been written ages ago. Quickly realizing that she would never get all the dust off just by blowing on it, Aello wiped the rest away with her hand. Some of the dust clung to her palm, but she ignored it. Such things could easily be washed away. Aello turned the book to the title page, it read: The Lady of Death. What an odd name for a book, Aello thought, as she turned to the next page.

[Aello]

The page was simple. Someone had sketched a woman in a long black dress that pooled around her ankles in a sea of cloth. The woman's skin was pale, her face long and ovular, her hair fairly long and dark. She seemed to be smiling, but in a strange sort of way, as though she were laughing. Her eyes were small, and almond-shaped, dark in color. Next to the woman were two jackals. The jackal to the woman's left was white, the one to her right, was black. They each sat next to her, as she stood over them, resting her hands on their heads. Beneath the picture was the following caption: Dira, Goddess of Death and her two Jackals, Before and After Farther down on the page were the words: The canines follow her wherever she goes. Before is black, and After is white. We all start in the darkness, and come to the light. We start knowing naught, but in death, we are said to have all answers. Perhaps this is what the jackals mean. Perhaps this is the goddesses' intention, her companions, a reminder to mere mortals, that we start knowing nothing, and die knowing only a little more. Aello smiled, finding the book interesting thus far, if not strangely poetic and somewhat preachy. She turned the page. It read: Although she is worshipped throughout Mizahar, she is worshiped most by those that inhabit Black Rock and Taloba. She is the counterpart of Kihala, the goddess of life. Despite their ruling over opposite domains; life and death, the two get along well, for Dira understands that all things come to and end, and that all the dead will come to her eventually. She is in no rush. Rak'keli, goddess of healing, however, often seems to be at war with Dira. She saves the lives of those on the brink of death, which at times, is said to anger Dira. Although, it seems now that Dira has come to accept this, if somewhat reluctantly. On the bottom of the page were the words: Note: Taloba is a city in Falyndar, home of the Myrians. Black Rock: Dira's city. The dead and the living live side by side. Intrigued by her new-found knowledge of the goddess, she turned the page, it read: Once a person dies, it is not up for Dira to decide the fate of their soul. She merely guides the soul to its proper place. For example, a Konti who is the child of Avalis, would be sent to her. Some souls, however, try to extend their mortality. It is Dira's job to end this, and return them to the natural cycle of life and death. Beneath the description was a picture. The picture was of a circle comprised of three curved arrows. On the top of the picture there was a baby. From there, an arrow led to the picture of an adult. The last picture was of an old woman. An arrow going from that picture linked it back to the baby. Beneath the picture were the words: The Circle of Life Aello turned the page. But there was nothing left in the book. She sighed, just when they started to get interesting, they always ended. Aello put the book back on the shelf. She looked at what little remained- mainly old books with torn edges and frayed pages. She didn't have the patience to go through them all. Especially when her stomach was beginning to rumble. Aello picked up her bow. "Time to go Yune," she said as bird chirped merrily, and Aello headed for the door. She turned the knob, waited for the lock to click, and then let herself out. Soon enough, the pair was slipping away into another dark alley. Out of sight, and out of mind. OOCSome of the lore is a little contradictory, so I did my best sticking to it.

[Verilian]

Aello +1 Stealth +1 Investigation You Question My Logic? : Uh.. pretty self explanatory I think. Mostly gave you lore, but you did mention moving steathy, and searching through the books merited a point in investigation. Lores: Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover, Lore of Dira (Basic), Lore of Taloba (poor), Lore of Black Rock (poor), The Circle of Life Notes: As always, love reading your threads. Looking forward to seeing where you go with the Dira stuff.