RP:The Great Gig In The Sky

Part of the Through The Looking-Glass: Return To Wonderland Arc

This is a Devout's Guild RP.

Summary: Khitti asks Rorin for help in the holy magic department and offers him help with something in exchange. He explains that he's been searching for sigils from Elazul's time and information about them, but the situation soon sours when he expresses his opinions about her possession of the holy sword Tenbatsu Kaji, as well as the magic that Cyris has gifted her. Khitti, of course, doesn't take this well.

The Sacrosanct, Sanctum Of The Divine, Kelay

Khitti || Of late, darkness surrounded Khitti’s world. The catch? It wasn’t always bad darkness. No, Khitti’d been studying a lot lately on her chosen field in the necromancy field of magic: the Black Tides. Nearly every time she’d done so, however, she’d been scolded by holy sprite in Tenbatsu Kaji. ‘Don’t forsake the Light. You’ve been given the gift of balance for a reason,’ Seika had said. ‘It may not have always been with you, like the dark arts have, but it -has- been there for you when you’ve needed it most lately.’ That hadn’t been entirely true, though. Where had the Light been when Brand had been taken from her and she’d been sleeping in the same bed as an imposter? Where had the Light been when she’d been kidnapped in Venturil? And had her mind twisted by a mindflayer? Where had the Light been when Lionel had disappeared again and subsequently taken to some other unknown part of the Shadow Plane? Where had been the Light when Meri had been attacked and turned into a lycan against her will? Where had the Light been when Lanara had been possessed by that malevolent spirit and made to slaughter children and animals? Khitti had offered up all of these questions to Seika, the obviousness of her shakened faith made known to the immortal being in Cyris’ sword. Seika had said nothing for some time, until finally, ‘You know the Gods can’t interfere with everything. There’s always bad things that happen, Khitti. To everyone.’ The templar’s rage had flared then, a fist slammed down onto the desk in her office. “I’m fully aware that bad things happen to everyone, Seika. They happen to -me- most of all.”

Khitti || And that had been the end of that conversation, a few days ago. Now? Now, Khitti was sitting at a table in the guild’s private library, pouring through a book on holy magic. Despite having used it for some time, she used very little in comparison to the likes of Rorin and Zahrani, and she hadn’t used hardly any of it at all since she’d been given the ability to wield both light and dark magic. Despite the fight she’d had with Seika, she knew the sprite’s words were true. She’d been given this ability in the most dire of times… and she begrudgingly needed to return to using it. Khitti sighed, slammed the book shut, and rubbed her eyes in slight irritation as she muttered to herself, “Why did I choose this job? Or, rather, why did it choose me?”

Rorin meanwhile was wandering around reading books and keeping notes with highlighters and chewing bubble gum while he nodded along to some music in his head. Lythridel was a funky place and tonight, for once, Rorin was rolling right along with it. He kicked up a couple chairs right across from Khitti and set his boots on one as he continued his work in the other and hummed quietly to himself. It looked like one of those rare nights Rorin wasn't walking around completely armed and armored. He looked his age, young and free, and was only vaguely aware that somewhere nearby he could detect a faint danger. No, not a danger, perhaps, but a wealth of negative emotions. He paid no mind to it for now and simply continued his studies. Rorin didn't get knowledgeable by laying in bed or anything after all, and while his crises of faith had been few but strong, he still had plenty to learn.

Khitti || Rorin made his way in and sat across from her and Khitti could only stare once she’d finished having her internal screaming fit. It was rather often that she forgot that Rorin indeed -was- just a kid under all of that armor and paladin-y goodness. He went about his business as Khitti watched him, deliberating in her mind whether or not to say something. Despite his young age, he’d been in this game a hell of a lot longer than she had… so it would be logical to assume that he might be able to help her… right? “Rorin,” the redhead said after a very long inner struggle with herself, “Uhhh…” She paused, cringing awkwardly. “You remember how I said I needed help in the training department… Would you actually be able to do that? I’ve a few abilities I’m able to use, but I really need to expand on it.” Well, she didn’t -need- too, but all dark and no light made Tenbatsu Kaji a very bitchy sword, apparently.

Rorin peered over his bool as he heard his name. He started to put it down with a smile that turned slightly sour at seeing Khitti’s dismay. "Yeah? Oh, uh, yeah, I guess so. Hm." He put his book down and leaned forward with concern. "Are you sure? I've seen you fight and I gotta say you're pretty awesome. But I guess I can understand wanting to expand on your abilities. I like to have a lot of options in a fight too. So, what are you thinking? Like, do you already have something in mind you want to try out, or do you just want to compare my abilities to your own? What do you already know?" Rorin didn't really think Khitti needed more help in a fight. He also fought kind of weird teaching someone he was pretty sure had more years and experience on her than him. But she did ask him for help so what did he know- wait, what exactly did he know…

Khitti frowned and shrugged, “The abilities I have were ones originally bestowed upon me by Seika, before I actually was gifted my own magic from Cyris. They were basically syphoned from Tenbatsu Kaji, just like my dark magic had been from Amarrah for a very long time. Ulah did teach me one other thing as well.” She looked around for a moment, eyeing the tables and books and whatnot that filled the library. “Come here,” she said, nodding her head in the direction of the exit. “Probably best to not set the whole place on fire. The training room has been enchanted to deal with that sort of thing, since… you know… your boss is an angry fire-wielding redhead.” Khitti smirked as she stood, and led Rorin out of one room and into another just down the way. “There’s the obvious holy fire that I use--” Khitti summoned a ball of that ever-familiar fire magic she used, and then moved on to the next. With a whisper, she uttered the command needed to call on the half-plate armor she’s often used. “--and this magic armor was one of the first things Seika gave me.” Gone were her normal everyday clothes in a flash of bright light and in its place, rose gold half-plate had adorned her form, complete with a circlet atop her head. The circlet was then removed and tossed like a frisbee towards the nearest training dummy. Holy flames sparked into view along the circlet’s metal as it soared through the air. Once it reached the training dummy, it continued on a path around it, sparking up a cyclone of holy magic. “There two others I’ve used as well, but they’re more support-style magic.” The circlet and its fire faded away, the bit of armor reappearing on Khitti’s head. “There’s this--” A bit like a firework, a ball of glittery holy magic was tossed up into the air, exploding once it was far enough away from the two of them. “--and then Ulah also taught me an ability to soothe people, even if they’re in some sort of beast form. Meri was turned into a lycan awhile back, so… I’ve had to use it a few times. It’s a bit like a nature magic user’s ability to soothe animals.”

Rorin went with Khitti and watched her display her skills with interest. He listened to her explanations of them all and considered the information critically. "So, you were gifted most of your magic? That armor thing is pretty impressive. Light and fire are some basic essentials. Any support magic is good. What exactly are you looking to learn? There's a lot of magic out there." Rorin thought she had a lot of other skills with dark magic, but he wasn't sure how long that would take to show him. "Are you just looking to strengthen what you already know, or to branch out and learn more spells and rituals? Would you be interested in learning certain rites and processions?" She may not be a paladin but being the leader of the Devout Guild would probably sway more than a few people to have her consecrate their vows and weddings and births and deaths. He knew several of them from Arkhen and had read about a few others from the big three as well as a couple neutral and other gods. He had plenty of theories on souls and their ultimate destinations and who or what takes them there after all.

Khitti thought about Rorin’s question for a moment. “Hm. I think I’d like to expand on the firework sort of thing. Using it as a distraction sometimes has definitely come in handy. Using it offensively when I’m tired of using my swords would be even better. That uh… ability… that you used. The one in Venturil.” Khitti side-eyed the ground and coughed awkwardly. He’d know the one. It was the one that turned her into a crispy-fried KhitKhat. “It was like an explosion of pure light. That also seems to be up the same alley as the fireworks.” There’s a brief pause, but it was quickly replaced by another thought. “And thanks. You and Zahrani are really the only ones I can turn to for help right now. But, Zahrani’s been off taking care of her people in the Isran Collective. I already bothered her when I had a dilemma recently anyway.”

Rorin looked a little embarrassed. "Oh, yeah, hm, it's a, been a long time." He hadn't even barely begun to forget about it though. "Yeah I know some things about light magic and distractions and fire and things." He nodded a little too much before smacking his hands together and giving them a shake. "Okay uh, well, what do you know about runes and light spells? You know fire and a little light, but there are some classic runes and spell ingredients you can use to improve them. Phosphorous, uh, interesting fact, was discovered by an alchemist trying to turn pee into gold. Sulfur, and sulfur phosphate, also very useful, but I find silver to be an essential element due to the lustrous quality but it can be a little expensive. I use old silver coins cause I don't really know what else to do with my salary but - there's a lot of different shiny things you could use. Uh, silver nitrate can also be suspended in liquid, so it's pretty good against most forms of cursed or undead. Easier administration over a wide area for the purifying effect. The Drow use a kind of Light Popper against other creatures of the underdark that's very simple and effective to make. Crushed glass or crystal, enchant it with light, roll it in grease or fat - for the flammable properties to better throw the light - and then bake it. Toss them on a hard surface and pop, instant flash. Here, I'll show you." He took down some reference volumes and a few coins from his purse, bringing up and inscribing the light room. "So, these are easy to use in different ways. Delayed burst, inflection through somatics or voice, you can lay them down and wait for an impact trigger. Silver is good because it's flashy and for us it's not exactly hard to get ahold of." He knew several people he could get silver knives from or inlays on weapons. Stipends from frost maw, gifts and other jobs kept him with a personally confusing monetary gain. Most of it he donated but oh well. A few coins weren't much to be missed from his pocket.

Khitti || “I’ve used runes on occasion, but typically, they were assembled by someone else,” Khitti said watching as he went on. Her thoughts went to the undead, Onyx. They had been the last one to show her runes, besides the one she currently used to allow guildmembers into the Sanctum. The “fun fact” about urine was given ever so nonchalantly and Khitti couldn’t help but snort-laugh. “That sounds like a fact Brand would know. Doesn’t know frak about science, but… he’d definitely pick something weird like that. But seriously, silver nitrate definitely sounds like a good idea. There’s never been a shortage of undead in my life, so it’d be handy to keep around. The swords I’d taken from Raiez’s cave were a mix of silver and iron, but I lost them to the abyss beneath Cenril’s bridge when I died.” She noted all the things he described and nodded enthusiastically. -This- was definitely her element. Khitti craved knowledge and the fact that Rorin was so willing to show her only made her more excited to learn. “You know, if you don’t use your funds much, you could always use it to help stock up the guildstores. There’s a storeroom at the Vailkrin headquarters that’s filled with supplies and lesser holy artifacts that don’t see much use.” Khitti paused a moment, squinting her eyes in thought, “Is there… something I can help you with in this vein of things? Magic-wise? I don’t want this teaching to be all one-sided. I love helping others with this sort of thing when I can. At the very least, I’m good at research too.”

Rorin felt pretty good about this exchange. "Well, the important thing to remember is that you can't just write down a rune and use it, you need to fuel it, understand it, knowing it just isn't the same as using it." He thought about it for a moment. "Yeah I guess there are a few things I am trying to learn. You've been around a lot, to Craughmoyle especially, and you know Cyris in a way. I could ask Zahrani about that though. I'm still on my pilgrimage, so I'm learning more about the other gods and the kinds of magic they teach. I need an in with the dwarves - their cloister is, well, a cloister. And since you received your artifact there I was hoping you might know someone. Besides that I'm looking for something more obscure than a simple light or flame rune. There's a particular set of ancient runes called Glyphs or Sigils that appeared during the days of Elazul. It's said there are more of these, a whole set of runes written in the celestial language. As a fellow traveler I'd appreciate it if you let me know if you ever hear about such a thing from anyone. Also..." He looked a little more trepidation about this. "I don't want to get personal about it but how is it that you've retained gifts from Cyris at all? Cyris is strictest on his own true paladins. How can you wield his artifacts and his gifts?" He didn't think she would lie but he looked at her in a critical fashion that suggested he was more suspicious than he let on to be. He more expected her not to even have an answer. She looked like something was bothering her beyond a search for knowledge.

Khitti nodded in understanding to Rorin’s instructions, “Runes and incantations and such were never my forte at the Necromancer’s Guild, but it’s definitely something I can work on. I hadn’t had too much time back then, when I was there before, to really study that stuff beyond the basics. Had to find that cure and all that.” She listened to his questions about Cyris, as well as the rest of his religion-based thoughts. “Well, for starters, we’ve a colleague in the Temple of Loda named Andei. She’s a battle-priestess with a side job as a blacksmith. Had her make a magic-dampening bracelet for my kid when his elemental magic surfaced awhile back. Maybe she knows someone there that can help you in that department. As for Cyris, I might not be a paladin, but the true reason for that is… I don’t think I’m up to Cyris’ standards to be one. I had originally thought to be one, after Tenbatsu Kaji found me, but… yeah.” A shrug is given to the paladin. It was probably obvious why she chose not to go that route. “Zahrani could very well help, but I know she’s still sort of in training herself. Though, I guess in this line of work, there’s always something to learn.” The mention of Elazul sparked thoughts of Lionel and she tried hard to hide the emotion it elicited. “I’d almost suggest Lionel to ask about the sigils from back then, but he’s never been the magicky sort. Hell, he agreed with Brand initially when I first got that damned sword of mine. What do you know about the sigils? Maybe I can find something in one of the libraries around Lithrydel? There’s so many, there’s bound to be something somewhere.” His last question struck a nerve with Khitti unfortunately and it took her a moment to even respond. She avoided his gaze, a look of annoyed confusion and a wee bit of shame writing itself across her face. “I honestly don’t know, Rorin. I’ve been asking myself that since Day One. Tried asking Seika, the sprite in the sword. Sometimes, I don’t think she really knows either and is confused as I am, but she always says that Cyris wouldn’t make a mistake. Not with something like this. But, I’m obviously not like you… or Kelovath… or Zahrani. I’m not like Lionel’s friend Donovan either. I’m not a paladin and I’m not a good person. But, I believe people should be free to make their own decisions. Should be free, in general. I guess maybe that’s good enough for him… though I really don’t know why.”

Rorin watched her closely without judgement as she replied. "Well, the glyphs are a set of runes written in the celestial language, five of which were handed to supposedly angelic knights - not avians, but real angels. Eventually they were used or spread or something like that. Later on two similar runes are mentioned in the story of Elazul, but their origin is less clear. That's everything really. There were runes for places, elements, forces, ideas. Who knows what these glyphs might be able to do or what they represent. It could be an incredible journey that benefits paladins and other fighters for justice and light to seek them out and understand them. But... That doesn't really seem like Lionel. And it doesn't really seem like you. You understand right from wrong and act on it at times, but you won't be able to pursue the path of light until you seek forgiveness from your past. Not from gods but from yourself. You're still attached to what you knew could help you survive instead of learning how to thrive. Or at least I'd assume that's your true inner problem, but I don't really know you. I don't know why you don't just give your artifact to someone fit and deserving of it, but I don't know why the gods do anything either, let alone mortals. Gods reward us for overcoming diversities they create. Gods are loving but they are also cruel. The path of the Devout is one of constant trials and this is another for you. Forgive yourself, and accept that you can be a good person who does good things for good reasons. You can't be caught in turmoil forever. Otherwise give in to the darkness and use it to do good things through means of darkness. I don't really know if i could help you there but I could try. You'd have to actually let people get to know you instead of being stuck on what I can only see as survival mode though." It was impossible to know if he'd hit or missed the mark but at least he had tried to be insightful, Arkhen help the poor boy- and anyone caught in the middle of trying to help Khitti wade through her own drama.

Khitti was visibly uncomfortable by the notion that she’d never fully pursue a path of Light because she’d never seek forgiveness. Truly, for most things in her distant past, there was nothing to forgive. She hadn’t written those prophecies. She hadn’t been the one to kill an entire village. She hadn’t done any of that. Fate had dealt her a cruel hand and it never really stopped. And yet… Rorin was right. She’d never seek forgiveness and likewise, she’d never forgive herself. Not for any of the things that had happened in Dhavislaav or Lithrydel or even the Shadow Plane. Her discomfort only worsened as Rorin further spat his opinions, which were rather harsh in nature. “You speak as though I stole this. I didn’t choose the sword, Rorin. The sword chose me. Cyris chose me. I didn’t ask for any of this. And I sure as frak didn’t ask for your thoughts on the matter. You’re not as squeaky clean as you think, kid. You’ve killed a lot of people and the like just as I have. You likely have vices, just as I do. The fact that I work in the darkness means nothing. The darkness can be used for good just as well as the light can. You keep on this path of thought you’ve got and you’ll be well on your way to zealotry.” Khitti’s own words were harsh, angry, and bitter. “I’m grateful for the lesson and I will surely do as you say in that regard. And, I’ll keep an eye out for these sigils you’re looking for. But don’t question why I’m in this line of work. The gods purified me -and- brought me back from the dead. I have a debt to pay--and I’m damn well doing it in the way I see fit, so long as it agrees with Cyris, Vakmathras, and Delisha. Arkhen would not have removed my vampirism if I wasn’t worthy in some manner. Perhaps, you should have a long think about that. Consider why Arkhen would remove a curse such as that from someone like me--someone you seem to think so little of. If I’m so worthless, I doubt even he would have done anything.” Khitti opened her mouth to say more after a quick breath, but ultimately just closed it and scowled at the kid. Instead of speaking, she merely shook her head and took her leave of the Sanctum entirely, heading off to The Tranquility in Cenril.

Rorin had indeed struck a chord. He was hoping Khitti wasn't purposely misunderstanding or turning his words against him and that she was just angry or distressed that she couldn't find a way past this instead of at him. He ended up looking fretful as he scratched his head. He had said she could be a good person who could do good things. He had acknowledged her experience, power, and impressiveness. He had said she could use darkness to do good things. "I don't think you're worthless. The Gods know you are more than useful. That you deserve forgiveness. But I've forgiven myself when I thought I was responsible for innocent deaths. You have not. I really wish you could. You could be the leader the guild deserves instead of just the one it needs. You have no idea how much I admire you for pursuing these paths and overcoming so much. I don't know if you ever will see that. Yet I have faith." Faith in you, who asked me to be a moral compass and denied my insights. Faith in you, that you will succeed in this, perhaps even in spite of it. That against all odds you still carry on. You have more worth than you may ever know, and I hope you see that some day and look back to know I am not your enemy. You are pitted only against yourself. Godsspeed, Khitti. Arkhen and all the others guide you…