RP:A Prayer for the Departed
Faux Twilight Cavern
A sense of ancient, arcane power permeates the chilled air as the southern tunnel opens abruptly into a massive cavern. Very little light enters this area, for the only opening that can be found aside from the entrance tunnel is a perfectly round hole in the distant roof. Yet one can't help feeling as if they're in the wide open despite being below ground. The walls are a peculiar wonder and aid to the strange illusion, appearing to be almost entirely basalt unnaturally polished to a glossy sheen, giving the cave the uncanny appearance of an inky night sky--with the ceiling gap above small enough to pass for a moon. But it's what lurks amongst the basalt that is the true source of the strange atmosphere: stars, infinite and brilliant in their eternal shining. These stars, however, are not quite the same as the ones in the night sky, albeit being remarkably passable at first glance; rather, they are myriad gemstones embedded into the walls--fluorite, for those able to recognize such things--in an array of colors, from flawless white to glowing yellow, serene blue and glistening violet, all eagerly catching faint light and reflecting them in an eternal mimicry of winking starshine. Any can tell this place is no longer purely a natural formation, if ever it was one. Enchantments long have been woven into the very core of this strange cave to maintain the careful appearance of an open sky beneath the earth. Further travel into the cavern will reveal a massive underground lake occupying the northern half, its unfrozen but deathly cold waters lapping at a 'beach' of black sand and rounded pebbles of blue fluorite. If one possesses night vision or squints to their fullest, they may just spy what appears to be a large glacier and structure in the center of the lake. The home of this place's creator? It's impossible to be certain, and there seems no obvious way across the waters to reach it--a lurking, intelligent presence seems to suggest even attempts at flying across will prove fatal.
A quartet of well-tended graves is here.
A powerful, protective spiritual presence is here.
Redovian appears from the south almost as unexpectantly as a spectre in the night. The paladin's white clothing almost blending in perfectly with the landscape, until he comes to the cavern. It is here the man treds softly, his prayers last night having been interupted by a powerful sense of sadness, loss, rage and hatred. He was no empath, but Frostmaw's Justice felt that something had happened last night, and he needed to see his Queen, as per his own personal code of honor, to ensure she was ok.
Satoshi, caked in dirt, blood, and sweat, stands on the eastern shore of the cavernous lake, lost in thought as she stares numbly down at four freshly created graves dug from the black earth. Each grave is marked with a slab of fluorite, ranging in color from dusty orange, pale green, glossy violet, and rosy pink, and all bear a different name: Sawyer, Dansur, Griddlebone, and Aurelia. If any had been watching the kit, they'd know she's been standing with statue-like rigidity before the headstones since dawn when her and Kasyr's task had been completed, not even her ever-mobile tails so much as twitching during her vigil.
Redovian watches his Queen, and watches as the Ice Maiden stands watch over the graves. The sense of battle, pain and death reverberate through the area, and this causes the paladin to wonder. What could have caused such in a place like frostmaw? Where death in battle is celebrated, and even looked at as honorable. Redovian sighs, before he calls out. " My Queen.." In a soft tone, trying to draw her attention.
Satoshi doesn't respond at first, not so much as a quiver of a whisker betraying whether she hears Redovian's call or not. It's not until a brief flash of azure-colored flames pulses in a docile manner before the foxkin that Satoshi moves, blinking owlishly as she looks up as if waking from a long sleep. The paladin is regarded then with an unreadable expression, the queen's face emotionless albeit carrying a gaunt light from her sleepless labor the night prior. After a moment of staring at Frostmaw's Justice, however, Satoshi's expression softens marginally. "Redovian."
Redovian said to Satoshi, "My Queen...what has happened here?"
Satoshi looks to the graves once more and, for a moment, seems as if she's lost in thought again before she replies in a faint, icy whisper, "A dragon's revenge happened. To our family. And to our daughter."
Redovian eyes the graves, and a profound sadness sweeps over the man as the faint whisper of a child's laughter can be heard momentarily. The paladin looks to Satoshi, and asks. " My Queen... may offer a prayer for.." The paladin faulters a moment, before he says. " The deceased.."
Satoshi, for a fleeting second, looks as feral as a cornered animal, as if prepared to defend the gravesites from anyone else's approach. Even as fangs are being bared, the vampire catches herself before irrational thoughts can take full control and, with halting steps, she moves away from the graves and nods. "I'd be honored if you did. I... do you want to know who they are, first..?" It's clear from her baffled tone that Satoshi's never actually been present to see a grave prayed over.
Redovian said to Satoshi, "It would help, My Queen, to help them find peace."
Satoshi nods toward the first of the graves, the one bearing the sunset orange fluorite, "That was Sawyer, a nuisance of a little dog, but loyal as any could be. Never knew when to shut up, really." Next the sea-green stone is indicated, "Dansur was a young frost dragon, rescued by Queen Thea and given to me to raise. We'd just started to learn to hunt together." She moves onto the violet fluorite, "Here is Griddlebone, a slobbering, battle-scarred monster of a dog. And the gentlest beast you'd ever meet, if you weren't trying to harm the ones he guarded." Satoshi pauses, remembering finding the mastiff's dismembered corpse shielding the child's body, while bearing a claw of Ishataulak in his jaws as a final defiance, before she looks to the last grave of pink stone, "And Aurelia, our daughter. She wasn't our blood, obviously, but a blessing all the same. We took her in as an infant after my Thrall killed her mother. My Thrall... was the worst kind of vampire. A monster. A mistake. A mistake I rectified, and tried to resolve by taking in Aurelia..." The magus cuts herself off then before she rambles further, although some of the lines of tension in her body have abated with the therapeutic release that comes of fond memories.
Redovian said to Satoshi, "My Queen... I.. I am so sorry for your loss. I shall preform a proper ceremonial prayer. *he pauses, a stern and dark look overcoming him as he says* And then I shall go kill who, or what, did this.. personally and without mercy."
Satoshi gives Redovian a calculated look, the faintest ghost of a smirk playing at the corner of her lips. "If my husband and I don't find her first. Or... if he's willing, perhaps with." The thought amuses her in a way, for Ishataulak would be dealt three brands of tortuous destruction at the hands of Frostmaw's King, Queen, and Justice. A fitting end to the rampaging beast.
Redovian offers his Queen a deep bow, most unlike anyother he has ever presented her before, as he says. " I know I may have no direct relationship, and that the satisfaction of killing the beast who did this to you if rightfully you and your husband's to claim.." A serious tone overshadows the soft and calm voice of his. " But. This beast took the life of an innocent child, and by the gods in heaven or hell, I shall see that beast suffer a fate worse than death for it." The serious, and slightly dangerous, gleam in his eyes is almost shocking, given the murderous intent in the statement, coming from a paladin.
Satoshi said to Redovian, "I wouldn't have it any other way." The gleam in the paladin's eyes is matched by the kit, amber specks alight with molten rage. "She will be taught what it is to cross Kasyr and myself. To cross you. To cross -Frostmaw-. And she'll taste justice as no other has before."
Redovian takes from its sheath the sacred blade, Ryujin Jakka as words of prayer for the fallen are uttered in the almost clerical voice of the paladin of Cyris. Making his way to stand before the graves, making sure to face Aurelia's most of all. The templar kneels down to the cold floor of the cavern, the soft glow of the fluorite illuminating his features ever so briefly, his lips still moving in rapid succession as he communes with his god. The katana, Ryujin, begins to shine with a light that brings with it a soothing serenity to the cavernous setting. Opening his eyes, Redovian looks to the blade, invoking the blessed instrument with the essence of Seika, the celestial being of Holy Fire. The blade erupts as if it had been coated in oil, then set ablaze. The white flames are cool to the touch to the holy champion, the power bestowed upon him this day not one of destruction, but of peace. Twisting the blade about so that the tip is aimed down, Redovian buries it within the soft earth below him, the area about him, the graves, and Frostmaw's Queen being consumed in holy flames of purification and protection. The flames rise up high for a moment, and then die down to just small smoldering ripples across the floor. A serene feeling floods the grave site, and one could swear the faint sound of a child laughter can be heard. And then it happens. Before both Satoshi and Redovian, the transparent images of the fallen child and her protectors appear. They look as they did in life, that serene feeling flooding the area even more so now that the spirits of young Aurelia, Griddlebone, Sawyer and Dansur smile lovingly towards Satoshi...
Satoshi, after a moment blinking at the afterimages Redovian's prayer and blessed fire conjure, quickly looks down, allowing her curtain of hair to hide her face. But not before the beginnings of a smile can be seen flickering across her face. "Thank you, Cyrisling." The words are earnest and heartfelt, a rarity from the kit, and the solace Redovian has provided is enough to bring back Satoshi's sense of duty toward her city. Looking one with eyes glistening and face set with determination, she announces, "It's time to start the tournament, Justice. The people need a celebration fitting for our way of life." With that, Satoshi gestures toward the cavern's exit, and murmurs a brief remark excusing herself to clean up before she'll follow Redovian to the Colosseum.
Redovian said to Satoshi, "It was an honor for me to do so, My Queen. I shall go forth,a nd prepare the colusseum for our guests. *he offers a bow* I am sure you will make a grand entrance, as always."
Satoshi shouted, "The Titans of Winter tournament will begin in just a moment! Make your way to the colosseum to witness the first of many matches to come: Reum versus Akenyil!"