RP:We Are As Blood

Part of the The God of Undeath Arc

Part of the Mearcstapa Arc

Summary: After The Resplendent Introduction, Quintessa and Reginae find a moment to meet. The Countess requested an audience with the Queen at the ball before Kasyr attempted to assassinate her. They enter the privacy of Reginae's dreams where Quintessa warns Reginae that Alithyk Caluss was not to be trusted. Not only do they have to worry about a follow up attack from Kasyr, but they must both find a way to abandon Caluss' cause or the world will surely end.

Council Chambers

Reginae || The sparse Palace Council Chambers had long ago been turned into storage. And, until today, there’d never been a true need for it. Rarely did delegations or important discussions take place in stuffy, official rooms in Alithrya. Blame it on the Naga sensibilities or on the lack of creatures lured to the undersea city.

Reginae is late. Playing hostess to a dozen ‘guests’ was one feat. Add the hundreds left behind on lockdown after the ball and she was up to her scales in bodies and noise. Even the library was uselessly loud. Her white hair is coiled in a tight bun at the base of her aching skull. Lack of sleep leaves it mark with dark circles and thinning patience. She greets the Countess with a genuine apology. “Pardon the delay.” Reginae slinks in to take occupancy in a vacant seat. Her Queen’s guard, Yozenra, and a small mousy naga with glasses, Nadia, accompany her in and close the door behind them. She musters a smile for Quintessa but it’s thin. “I should have hoped to meet sooner but the Palace...” Existed in the now normal chaotic state of ‘Cult Hub’ since the lockdown.

Quintessa paces the room slowly, her long, white, silken robes dragging silently on the floor as she seemingly glides through the room. There is a forlorn aura about the changeling, an air of anxiety and concern about their future. Quintessa was able to save the Queen against Kasyr’s assassination attempt but would she be able to do the same again if it happened? When it happened. The warlock wants to try to ensure she can at least prepare Reginae to brace against the rising tide. A revenant’s revenge. “Your Majesty,” Quintessa looks up at the ha-naga as she enters the room, her yellow eye still hidden behind her white eyepatch with the red heart. “I don’t have to tell you we’re in trouble, do I? Kasyr should have not witnessed that concert- especially given who he worships. He is not going to take this act of blasphemy against Daedria lightly and thus you have to be prepared for his vengeance.” Quintessa didn’t want to waste time so she only offered Yozenra and Nodia a quick bow of her head before she continued. She knows Kasyr acts fast so she has to be faster. From under her white robes she produces a small, black, ornate box, decorated in silver Dark Forest style spiderwebs. Setting it on the table she flips it open, showing off the items she had kept inside. “We need to keep in regular communication and it has to be quicker than a courier can deliver a letter, so I offer you this.” Quintessa pulls out a pair of golden, diamond earrings, tiny runic engravings all along the metal and holds them out for Reginea. “I designed other earrings like this but these will only connect back to these,” Quintessa gestures to the silver and red beryl earrings she wore made with the same engravings. “When you focus on me, you can communicate through these so long as I am in the material realm. If something bad happens here I want to know about it.”

Reginae || Yozenra moves to stand by the door, a silent sentry. Nadia takes a seat at the council table in equally defining silence. Reginae doesn’t miss a beat against Quintessa’s concern. It’s possible she could be more concerned. As if summoned by Kasyr’s name, a familiar white cat jumps onto the Council table, looking aloof and a little fluffy. “We were allies once, though in words alone it seems.” She didn’t know Kasyr enough to know who he worshipped or what his goals were. “He seemed to me, at the time, to be an indifferent sort.” Clearly that’s not the case or never had been. She moves closer, hoping to alleviate Quintessa’s anxieties but finds a box between them before she can say more. Azurite eyes scan the decor and contents. Reginae clearly does not carry the same frantic urgency as the Countess due to her own ignorance on the subject matter. “Amazing.” Reginae smiles, plucking one delicate earring from it’s home to inspect while her mind turns over to another thought entirely. “He came as if he already knew.” She pauses, chewing on the thought. Quintessa had saved her but she was also well aware of Kasyr, the man who’d tried to kill her. “Perhaps he did not come to reunite with an old ‘ally’.” The Queen suggested, curiously. “Did he perhaps come to reunite with you Countess?” How did Quintessa know so much about him, after all?

Quintessa meets Reginea’s gaze when she asks if Kasyr came to reunite with her, and a bittersweet smile creeps upon her face as she shakes her head. “Not likely. I’m a former ally of his too now since he has made his stance against the God of Undeath clear… So he must have known something. It’s too timely to be a coincidence.” Quintessa sighs as she takes the seat closest to the queen, reaching into the box again for something else. The changeling pulls out two small bones, small enough to fit in the palm of her hand and she holds them up one at a time. “This is the fingerbone of a forest witch and this is the rib of a mermaid. These objects will give you the ability to command the two undead servants I brought with me, the Glooms. They will protect you to the death and I leave them under your service. Do not hesitate to sacrifice them to save your own life if you have to.” Quintessa holds them out for the Queen to take, hoping the two dagger wielding assassins would be of use to her. Idly, she reaches out to pet the cat, her anxiety already melting away in the feline’s presence. “Now I see why you keep so many of these around…”

Reginae’s lips fall into a disappointed frown. So they were both former allies. “Mayhap he’ll come to change his mind after our success.” A glimmer of hope she knew better than to hold. In a perfect world, their success would bring everyone to their side. The gods are stripped of their powers and…what was it the mad queen had really wanted when she’d sided with the God of Undeath? It feels foggy in this moment. Reginae’s expression softens when Quintessa explains the items and her undead servants. This level of magic continues to impress. “A greater gift, I couldn’t imagine but who will keep you safe?” Without her guards, wasn’t Quintessa at greater risk? A now known link to Reginae in addition to Caluss. “You’ve saved my life once, I can not ask yours to be endangered for my sake.”

Quintessa offers Reginea a friendly smile, a lighthearted giggle barely suppressed behind a free hand when she voices her concern. “I am fine without those two, Your Grace, I still have other bodyguards at my disposal. I’ve been creating undead for Caluss long before I cursed the Holy Trees. These two will better serve us here with you so I can focus on other matters. Speaking of other matters…” Quintessa lets that last sentence linger as she pulls out two small vials, a purplish liquid swirling around in the translucent glass tubes. “There is one more thing to discuss.” The changeling’s whole demeanor changes as a mischievous smile grows on her plaid features. “But this requires a leap of faith- not that I expect that to be an issue for you. Your passion for our cause is endless.” She holds up one of the vials, keeping the other for herself. “This is Essence of Nightshade mixed with other alchemical ingredients. If we drink this it will place us into a magic slumber, but more importantly it will give us direct access to the Realm of Dreams.” Quintessa’s smile grows. “Are you familiar? There is something on that plane that I wish to show you but we must drink these potions together.” Her pale blue eye flickers back and forth between the Queen’s servants. They probably were not going to react well to that suggestion, she assumes.

Yozenra and Nadia exchange glances when Quintessa’s vials make an appearance. The cat leans happily into her hand, purring acceptance. Reginae finishes securing the marvelous earrings and reacts with a warm laugh. “Of course, Countess.” Quintessa had means and history with which to protect herself. An army of undead fo Caluss, joined in rank by the growing cult inside these Palace walls. To the vials, she lifts a curious ebony brow. Was it the Realm of Dreams where she’d ventured before with Muzo in their courting of the Great Serpent? That silent voice now replaced with one more wanting? The last dream below the tempestuous waves that sung through her body like death and rebirth all at once? “Your Majesty…” Nadia says timidly, eyes wavering between Reginae and Quintessa cautiously. “All is well.” Reginae purrs to Nadia without looking in her direction. Her Azurite eyes are locked on Quintesaa. Her lithe, pale fingers close around the vial of alchemical nightshade without a trace of hesitation. “We are as blood.” Caluss and the Countess came to give her life purpose again. And if the Great Serpent should sense her elation without it’s lovely voice in her ear? All the better.

Quintessa felt a surge of emotion overcome her as the Queen recognized her, the words ‘we are as blood’ nearly making the changeling become moved to tears. “Your Grace… You have no idea what that means to me to hear you say that. Before we begin the ritual I have a secret to show you- proof of what you say; We -are- as blood.” Quintessa reaches out to remove her eyepatch, revealing the bright-yellow, serpentine optic hidden behind it. “The next step in our journey together is to show you how I received this. It is time for our two minds to dream as one.” She looks around the room for a moment. “Here suits me just fine but if you’d rather perform this ritual elsewhere… Well, I'll leave it to you.” Whether Reginea leads them somewhere more comfortable to sleep or if they stay in here makes little difference for the ritual. All they need to do is drink them together, and once Reginea was asleep Quintessa’s mind would invade her dream, perhaps delving into subconscious parts of the ha-naga’s mind that she did not intend to. One thing was certain, she had no idea what to expect a naga’s dream would be like.

Reginae’s fingers start to tingle at Quintessa’s confession. “Your eye!” She exclaims in a whisper. Callus must be at fault. What a glorious patron they’d chosen together! Nadia and Yozenra look more alarmed, if that’s possible, than before. The cat, sensing the scene is about to become too heated for it’s liking, jumps from the table top and vanishes into thin air. The Queen, not wishing to waste another moment finding another location, commits to the Council Chambers and downs the tonic alongside Quintessa.

When her mind’s eye opens again, they are predictably in a place of memory for Reginae. Locked in the calm, dark ocean while a storm rages overhead. Beside Reginae, swims Muzo. The scientist has a mechanical fixture aligned in one of his eye sockets. A handsome ruby fixed where an optic might reside. Beyond their reach, illumined in sharp contrasts of moonlight and abysmal shadow, hovers the outline of the Great Serpent that met them on the day of it’s release. Arh'Nuk, high and red in the illusioned sky above them. This was what Reginae had hoped to avoid. How would Quintessa know her loyalty to Caluss in this dream?! Yet no apology is issued. Only the shameful twist of the dagger in the void the Serpent’s hissing voice used to fill in her soul. Tendrils of petalless flower stems snake down from the Serpent’s shadow, wearing the same ebon robes worn by Caluss on their meeting. Though underwater, the dreamed Muzo speaks without effort. “Snails.” He mutters, as if lost in thought. When Quintessa appears, he’ll turn to her and speak the same word in repeated puzzlement. “Snails.” Reginae, in her serpentined form, leans in to hear the inaudible whispers of the cloaked flowers but she still can’t make out what they’re trying to say.

Quintessa downs the liquid and gives into the magic of her potion, slumping over asleep right next to the queen in the waking world not moments after she does, leaving her servants to deal with their sleeping bodies. Changeling piggybacks on Reginea’s dreamscape, completely circumventing her own dream and diving directly into the naga’s. It’s cold, like ice water in the blackness between, then suddenly Quintessa is met with the blighting light of Arh’Nuk and the crimson influence of her original patron fills her with warmth and determination. “Reginea,” Quintessa ignores Muzo’s musings of snails, stepping past him to find the queen kneeing among the petalless flowers. “Regi,” Quintessa’s serpentine eye has greater influence in the realm of dreams, making the changeling’s features appear much more naga than human in this realm. “We have been deceived and I have aided in this grand deception; Alithyk Caluss is a false savior!” Quintessa’s expression begs Reginea for forgiveness. “It promised to usurp the gods only to replace them as a slave-master. It leads us only to ruin and death!” The changeling points to the red moon above. “We should have never shied away from Gospel’s light. The Great Serpent still exists- Caluss merely deafened us to them. We must abandon Caluss’ false cause.”

Reginae looks up at Quintessa, confusion painted plainly on her features. “That’s not possible.” Reginae whispers above the hushed murmur of Caluss hooded flowers. “The Leviathan abandoned us! It got what it wanted and flew away with no regard for what it destroyed.” Bitter heartbreak seeps into her words, fragrant and frigid. “If it has said so, it is a liar.” Reginae’s tongue twists in a hiss. “If The Great Serpent is as powerful as it claimed, after all the help we offered, how could Caluss do this? No, no…” Reginae stands, pulling away from the flowers whose whispers grow increasingly frantic. “The Great Serpent lies. I have abandoned it’s rancid claims, once and for all.” Her conviction is shaky, at best, given the dream in which they occupy. Her gaze falls back out to the Leviathan’s shadow, waiting for it’s voice to confirm or deny the accusations. “I would believe near anything…I trust you with…” The shadow of Muzo interrupts, latching on to Reginae’s shoulder only to be shoved aside. “...Snails!” He shrieks, falling away and evaporating to mist. Reginae sighs and looks back at Quintessa, her heart break painfully visible.

Quintessa falls on her knees, rebuffed, she can only sit there and withstand Reginea’s rebuttal as she thinks of a way to respond. Muzu interrupts speaking of snails again and Quintessa snaps at him to “Shut the frak up about snails!” just in time to watch him fade away. Quintessa knows the truth of the God of Undeath’s goals, she just needs to make them known. “You don’t understand what Alithyk Caluss did to us. It first took Kanna and then traded her for me, took us to the Realm of Chaos where it made a home. It violated my mind every waking hour- I know Its vision for the future; It wants to turn us all into mindless undead. Loyal and eternally locked in servitude. ‘Perfect’ and infinite. Even if Gospel is a liar I refuse to live under the heel of a stillborn god that way. We will find other ways to defy the worthless deities that let this happen to begin with but we cannot let Caluss end the world. I won’t allow it!”

Reginae’s own pain at Gospel’s betrayal was battling against Quintessa’s obvious pain linked to Caluss. Violated her mind every waking hour? Took the precious flower Kanna as a trade? Now two creatures she cared for were being threatened, according to Quintessa. The Countess’s emotional response is so powerful the watery world around them quakes. It shakes in Reginae’s soul, touching that tender vein of protective sanity that she’d bound to Brennia. The world? Reginae didn’t care about the world. The Caluss cloaked flowers quieted, their tendril bodies giving the two women space. “You’re quite right,” Reginae answers, hovering close in a failed attempt to comfort Quintessa. “I can not understand what Caluss did, nor can I impart the ways the Leviathan has spurned me.” In dreams, Reginae was more connected with sanity than she realized. “But we are as blood.” She says, not yet knowing what that would mean when they were back in their bodies and minds fully. “We will not let it come to pass.” Reginae was fiercely loyal to the point of insanity. While she’d vowed to server Alithyk Caluss with Quintessa, she would help Quintessa first and foremost. “We will find a way.” Reginae promises with a heavy frown. She wished it to be so but she did not yet know how they would manage it.

Quintessa doesn’t realize she is clenching her hands so hard she is bleeding until she sits back and looks down into her palms. The dream realm's influence makes the blood pool strangely in her right hand, almost solid, hard and curved like a scale. The warlock lifts the crimson scale from her palm and holds it up, the influence of the Great Serpent emanating from the simple looking object. “Gospel can help us- you should speak to them yourself.” Quintessa holds the red scale out for Reginea, an object that would only exist in the Realm of Dreams and only to serve as a direct link to Gospel. “Let the Great Serpent explain why we could not hear their voice. If you take Gospel’s Scale the Serpent will find you.” Quintessa reaches out for Reginae as she leans down to comfort her, standing to look her closer in the eyes. “I will not negotiate on their behalf; I’m too biased in favor of you. That’s why I’m here, I had to warn you where Caluss could not listen. If Caluss finds out I’ve been plotting against It, It will kill me, so please, keep this all a secret until the time is right. Caluss will not plague us much longer, I promise.”

Reginae’s urge to toss the scale away is deafening. The Leviathan in the dream cries out when the scale makes contact with Reginae’s palm. A way to speak to it again? A true way? Quintessa’s pleading face steals back the Queen’s attention. All this…for what? “I won’t tell a soul.” She promises, wrapping her hand around the sharp scale, finding some small release of her rage towards Gospel in the pain. Caluss and Gospel can serve as puppet masters but Reginae would serve no master that would abandon her. She would help Quintessa, for her own selfish sake. To protect her and so they might protect each other in turn. Reginae offers her companion a small smile before drawing her close in a protective embrace. “I would risk my life for yours, a thousand times.” And surely the future would see it so.