RP:Heart to Heart

Part of the The God of Undeath Arc

Part of the Welcome To The End Of Eras Arc

Summary: After the duel between Lita and Mathollak, Kasyr abducts Quintessa so that they might have a conversation. Once Kasyr is finished talking, he ends the talk by punching a hole in Quintessa's chest, leaving her for dead at the foot of the ruins of House Dragana.

Dark Arena

The arena is filled with various corpses, both dead and undead alike. Several zombies seem to be carrying the corpses out of the arena, returning them to the masters they served. Many bodies here look disfigured and ill, clearly abominations constructed by necromancers to serve in the gladiator-like battles held here in the arena. Several of the other bodies though are completely normal, those of which were likely living participants that did not succeed in winning their matches. A battle must have recently gone on here, as the crowds of people step out of the entrance of the area. To the south is the way out, while to the north is a path leading to the back of the arena, and the castle beyond that.

Kasyr has been waiting for this moment, for when Mathollak and Lita's conflict had reached it's climax- locking the attention of those gathered.And perhaps, more specifically, he's been waiting to enter Valrae's blindspot- a moment where she might be too distracted to properly intervene. From his perch one of the myriad swords is plucked free from it's moorings, a hastily spoken invocation set in motion along it's edge- even as he's certain some semblance of awareness likely touches upon the changelings mind. Some facet of himself is almost hoping she tries to slip away into the shadows- because as his sword parts the air in front of himself- the actions mirrored behind her person. A surgical slice through reality- that provides him an avenue to reach through and pluck her over to his platform, before he can continue the swords arc in a full moon cut meant to open a secondary spatial rent and send the pair of them to a more fitting avenue.

Quintessa can see Kasyr is using some kind of invocation, he’s got his sword out and- She freezes in place. Something was not right. She doesn’t have time to even think about slipping away into the shadows before reality is sliced in twain, the influx of magic from such an ability making the changeling’s stomach turn. She pivots to react to the portal opening up behind her but she is too slow, getting dragged into it without much resistance, leaving the commentary booth empty in its wake.

Valrae says goodbye to the friends nearest her and collects her things. She’d somehow missed Kasyr’s exit, it wasn’t until she’d looked around to offer him a faraway goodbye that she noticed. That alone wouldn’t have worried her, but a trill of intuition sent her eyes flickering toward where Quintessa had stood, and it wasn’t until the realization that she too was missing did the heat of frustration rise to her cheeks. “Oh, for gods sake!” She exclaims, causing the guard nearest to her to look at her with concern. She turns heel quickly, all but stomping out of the area and into the carriage that would take her home. She only had a vague, general sense of the distance between her and the revenant but she hoped he could imagine the colorful and inventive words she was using to describe him. As well as the sense of pleading that she attempted to push through. She didn’t know how it would work, how to manipulate the magic that bound them, but she hoped it was a nagging sense just outside of his reach. The witch closed her eyes and continued to turn the lonely carriage cabin’s air blue until she reached Cenril’s towering gates.

Dark Forest Deadfall

Once, a massive estate stood here, towering over the twisted treetops which populate the forest. What's taken it's place is a blackened crater which delves into the ground, as though the heavens sought to scorch all evidence of this place. Already, the woods encroach upon this place, twisting limbs arching over the crevice as though they seek to erase the lingering evidence of civilizations' attempt at conquering this place. Though, given the chittering that emanates from within the trees- it's possible they may have more malign intentions, obfuscating where the drop begins in order to feed the soil with the fresh blood of the fallen.

Kasyr guides the changeling out from the portal, a cruel sense of courtesy leading to him taking hold of her hand before she'd cross the narrow threshold from firm ground, to crater beneath. In that moment, the smile he reserves for her is a perfect twin for the one she'd offered him at the start of the match, and yet- it falters, the beast behind it buried as he pulls her from the cusp, and relinquishes her grasp. "I'd appreciate if you didn't try to slip away. While I'm still fine-tuning this, It would be educational to find out what would happen to vous, if I opened a portal inside one of yours." And yet, it's not just her he's concerned about. Some part of his mind is already flicking through familiar places, adequate avenues to retreat should eager bodies seek them out, drawn by familial connection, or ephemeral bonds. "So. Lets talk."

Quintessa felt sick, the dizziness from being dragged into a portal and out of the other side disrupting her equilibrium as if she had been spun around in circles. She recovers, turning in time to catch the smile that mocked hers from earlier. She appreciates the irony but her brows quickly furrow. “Opening a portal within another one? It would probably turn us both inside out- or shunt us into a pocket demotion outside of our known reality.” It is unclear why she’s focuses on this detail but she quickly realizes how absurd it is talking like this to someone who wants to murder her. With a frown she pauses, takes a deep breath, and puts on a composed face, her fingers subtly adjusting her eyepatch to make sure she was still wearing it. “Alright, Kasyr, let’s talk.” She doesn’t smile but she still finds room to make a joke, “I assume this isn’t about the Blood Bowl merchandising scheme.”

Kasyr s' blade has moved within the span of a bredth, though it's not to threaten her- the tip having been buried into the ground so he can idly beginning leaning against the blade, heedless of how the steel protests the combined weight of his form. "It's a different sort of cutthroat business dealing we're discussing, Madamoiselle." The retort comes naturally, but feels a little hollow- just like the faint sense of panick tugging at him. "I should have killed you. So many times over." He can feel his voice thicken, and immediately strives to rest it back in control, even as he can feel his temper surging against an emotion that intrusively wrestles with his own, "And I just- " His jaw clicks hard as it wrestles against the memory of an impassioned plea for understanding, at some prior failing on his part to intercede, " If we're going to kill each other. I'd like to actually know why it became like this." He allows himself an exhale, forming some modicum of mastery over the moment. "Why you're -still- doing this."

Quintessa smiles before she simply states “I’m rather surprised I’m still alive. I mean, we’ve talked about this… long ago.” She sighs, taking her eyes off Kasyr so she can turn and look at the crater that used to be House Dragana. “But why?” She clicks her tongue, the regret and disappointment in herself overriding the confident mood she was in before. She had to be careful about answering him. Say too much and Caluss would figure out she was plotting against it, say the wrong thing and Kasyr kills her right here and now. Die now or die later, those were basically her only choices. She turns to face him, “It started when I was 17,” she points in the direction of the Black Pond. “The God of Undeath came to me and provided me with a way to keep you safe from Gevurah. She’s the reason why, if we get down to it, but that is not what you asked. You asked ‘why am I still?’.” Her arm falls to hang lifelessly at her side. “Because I have no other choice if I want to survive and make sure Khitti and Kanna and Karasu survive too. I bargained for Magik, Meri, Lanlan, and Valrae as well but… I suppose I’m not exactly in the position to complain about it or make demands.” There is a distinct feeling of helplessness that Quintessa feels right about now. She feels trapped. Caged. She wants to stop pretending like she doesn’t want to see Caluss rot. “So to protect them… shield them from the worst of it… I had to become the Lady of Maggots. And honestly? I’m perhaps the only one who can carry this burden of all the prophets it has chosen.”

Kasyr feels a twinge of something, a bitterness on the tip of his tongue that sees him pressing it against a canine sharply enough to draw blood- as though it might wash out the ghost of a memory. Of s shared pact. "A leniency I afforded because I thought you could be saved." His cheek twitches near imperceptibly, as he struggles to- What were the emotions there. Was it Valrae's? His own buried humanity? He'd known. Khitti had. Lanlan had known, damn hin. He could feel his knuckles whiten, the blades hilt creaking as his fingers imprinted into it. And yet, he listens. He owed her that much, at least, didn't he. He'd said as much- and just as her served as the memory of so many others, that's the role he had consigned himself here, wasn't it? "Except that they -wouldn't- survive. Not as they are, -who- they are." And she knows it. He can feel that much. As loathe as he is to pry deeply into those few he starts to trust, he's prying now- sifting through the wreckage of ravaged emotions that strangles the changeling. "What the hell am I supposed to tell Karasu? Because this es not how I wanted to save you. Not from yourself. Not everyone else from what you've become."

Quintessa watches Kasyr’s movements, waiting for the moment he tried to kill her. She knew it must be coming. She can taste it in the air and a part of her wants that. Wants to be put out of her misery… that is until Karasu is brought up and Quintessa’s brow knits together again, this time in anger. She parts her lips to speak, to lash out, but she doesn’t. She pauses and instead merely pulls her lips into a thin line. “This way at least they have a chance…” She whispers, knowing Caluss can hear her, but she doesn’t care. If he was going to punish her for that, so be it. There was hope there, a small glimmer of hope that she’d make it out of this alive and keep everyone safe in the end. Safe and free of Caluss’s grasp. “Karasu understands why I have to do this. You don’t have to say anything to her.” Quintessa places her hands into her cloak pockets, her fingers tracing against the massive gemstone held within. As she does this her emotions change, drained out like a bathtub in lue of a mischievous curiosity. “You want to see something, Kasyr? You might find this interesting.”

Kasyr s' supposes that on some bleak level, he should feel grateful- that he'd be spared an awkward exchange with the demi-feline, and simply be able to resign himself towards her odium, without answers on his part. It doesn't help, really. He can feel her resignation- the morbid relief that twined through that moment. Vestiges of the duty that had once defined them so clearly. He let's out a breath, and with it- that first acrid drop, a caliginous nightmare that begins to crawl out from him, writhing against the ground and pulling twigs and foliage into itself with an absence of sound. The start of something- and yet not quite the end, for in that moment, she shifts- a mercurial moment which restrains his hand, the ghost of humour edging into his voice. "Try me." Some vicious part of him is expecting the worst, one last betrayal for the pile- something further to feed the animosity made manifest now annihilating an island around his person. And yet, he can't quite resist that last dare. He'd told her to say her piece, hadn't he?

Quintessa smiles, a cold, sinister smile and her hand slowly pulls out a grapefruit-sized gemstone from her cloak. The Eye of Alithyk Caluss. It emanates the corrupted energy of the God of Undeath from the palm of her hand. As it sits, exposed to Kasyr’s sight, it starts to slowly ooze black filth that drips to the group and evaporates like acid. She smiles, but the feeling inside her is filled with hatred from this object. “I have to carry this around as punishment for healing the Eternal Tree. It can see through this gemstone. It’s watching us right at this very moment… waiting for me to slip up so it can finally devour my soul, but that isn’t going to happen. In the end it will save me for last… unless…” ‘Unless we stop it.’ is what she wants to say, but she can’t. She has to continue playing her role in this game that Caluss started. “Do you have anything you want to say to Alithyk Caluss? You might not get another chance before it comes to visit in person.”

Kasyr s' hands breachs the air between them, carrying with it every iota of unsaid resentment. Every betrayal built-up between them directed to find a home within her chest- digits poised to drift through flesh, sinew, and bone with a surgical precision that would see it blossom adjacent to her heart. And yet, within this cathartic act of carnage exists the smallest of mercies, a faint resonance of Daedria's grace- divine sleight of hand masked by an impromptu agony, to deliver the changeling to another day. "You should have come for me first. But then, I shouldn't expect better from a bottom feeder."

Quintessa is aware of the sharp pain in her chest though she doesn’t understand until her single blue eye flickers down to witness his arm in her chest. There was pain there for sure, but also something else she can feel, a spell. At first all she can guess is it’s some kind of kensai technique that would cause her to explode, but as her body resists going into shock, the divine energy keeping her from dying, she understands. The object rolls from her fingers to the ground, and then Quintessa falls to her knees, blood dripping from her mouth as she coughs once. She can feel the tingle of Gospel’s magic working within her, wanting to react by shedding this fragile form and becoming a Coiled monster. Already her skin is starting to flake around her wound like snakeskin, the little rays of red light escaping through the cracks, but she is quick to conceal this with a complex series of hand gestures, her necromancy spiking to create threads of False Life that pull the hole in her chest shut. It was instinct, but now, looking up at Kasyr, she felt that maybe the act was one of futility, but she doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t even feel upset by this attack. There is just confusion and uncertainty, and a tiny hint of restraint as she lowers down into the puddle of her own blood below her, hand placed over her chest as she tries to breath through a punctured lung. It’s all she really can do to keep from passing out. “I… know…” she manages to finally get out, ragged and wet and full of agony.

Kasyr wasn't quite sure what to expect in her eyes as she crumples, nor is it something he wishes to contemplate for long- his breath coming out in a slow hiss of effort. even as he regains a measure of control over his odious aura. Instead, his focus drifts to the object that slides from her hand, to the idea of the presence which stares out from it hatefully, gnawing at the world as thought it were a carrion mound. His boot finds it's side, kicking it down into the belly of the crater- perhaps recognizable as a sign of spite. It's only after he watches it come to a rolling stop at the bottom that he finally turns away, as though moving to depart. Only, there's a crooked sign to fix, isn't there- Something small to adjust and dawdle over, long enough to add, "We'll fix this."

Quintessa watches as Kasyr kicks the orb and sends it rolling into the crater, a sense of relief washing over her as it tips over the edge and out of sight. Her pact demanded she not willingly leave the Eye of Caluss behind, doing everything she could to remain in possession of it. Kasyr had just given her a brief window of freedom where Caluss could not see her, but that wouldn’t last long. Already the pack of Glooms she had created were converging across Lithyrdel, shadow stepping to cut down the time. When she looks back at Kasyr, the orb out of sight, there is happiness in her gaze. “Thanks..” she whispers, thankful to be free from the undead god's gaze though her paranoia causes her to believe Caluss is still able to watch her even without the gemstone in her possession. “I don’t...want this...“ she weakly gestures towards the crater but then her hand drops helplessly. She coughs again, her body telling her to stop talking as the blood fills her mouth and she spits it on the ground. Then Quintessa doesn't speak more, she merely waits and conserves her energy. Help would get here soon.

Kasyr s' shoulders subtly hunch, before he draws his posture together- some indistinct sense cueing him to the narrowing window they had. "I think I believe you, but here we are." He keeps his back to her, his voice as level as he can- his focus once more falling to his blade. For the third time that evening, reality bears the brunt of his temper- roughly rent asunder to reveal the familiar hall of the warriors guild. "Be seeing you." Without a second glance, he crosses the threshold, though it takes a moment for the portal to snap shut.