Invictus

[Orosboru]

In the future...

No, time is irrelevant.

There will always be tiny pleasures that the world will never experience again, unique to the origin and the place and the little things of import. Imagine the vast, primordial beauty of our creation, and weep, for it will never be equaled again in this world.

Imagine the future from that time, hulks of shining glass and gossamer, supported by dreams too vast for human beings - supported by the tenuous grasp of your heroes. Like a wood that seeds only after a devastating fire, the potential to perhaps humble the titans, was there.

I am the city.

I am the shining chrome in the distance, the dust and grime up close. I am containment in infinity. I am the promise and the punishment.

I am Malfeas. And I hate you.

I am Malfeas, and I awoke and all before me deferred to my judgement. I *am*. I will. I be.

In the country, in the desert, in the sea, in the sky, on the earth, we saw the glow of the city. We came to your dwellings, your homes, to gather together to *be*. We created limits so that our power could have meaning. We built our towers and peopled them. And we realized something, after all was lost in the fires of war.

We could not see the bright lights anymore. The shining bright stars. The answer.

Why?

I want to see them again... but the city's too bright. There's too many people here.

Who... am I?

Don't pity me.

I'm your king... still.
although I don't deserve to.

...

Calibration comes.

Calibration comes, and your peers, numbering forty and two in number, have come together to plan. Under the watchful auspices of your masters and otherwise, you are here.

A small waiting hall is one of many rooms adjacent to the Althing Infernal. A twisted parody of the Solar Deliberative, for five nights a veneer of politeness and democracy seizes all of you. You all find yourself... waiting for the event to start.

Calibration comes. But why are you here?

...


Introduce yourself. The Lunar will need to take some... explaining.

[aetherialDawn]

Hawk lounges in one of the many restaurants spread throughout the Conventicle Malfeasant; this particular one staffed only by mortal slaves bought from wealthy families. The irony touches many of the Princes, and for the newer ones it is a comparative respite from the strange and terrible wonders of Hell.

Couches are scattered about in Realm style, black marble and Malfean porcelain dominating the materials. Few save the human slaves and demonic patrons are about, and compared to the habitual mix of Adorjan-warding musics outside, it is calm and peaceful. But all the light is still shades of verdant green, and the sliding door opens onto a street where Erymanthoi and hellish beasts of burden lumber by, preparing for the parties to come over the next nights.

Hawk lacks any disguise, here; hardly does he need one, waiting for his dishes and in an idle moment between entertaining one demon or another with carefully-chosen stories. A few inconsistencies in the right places have already started a small brawl down the street, though it is unlikely to escalate.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Wrong forum, guys.

[Volthawk]

Wrong forum, guys.

We know. Hasn't been fixed yet, is all.

Arak wasn't in any particularly luxurious or popular place. He had simply chosen a place of comfort and peace, where it was likely he would be left alone for a while. He needed peace with which to think and design the new children that would soon be brewing inside of his form. Although all this was going on in his mind, to anyone else he was just sitting there on his knees, the monstrous form he'd transformed himself into rumbling and sparking, oblivious to the world.

[FallenEco]

Amethyst waded through the crowds, the silver fire of her new form flickering in the emerald wash of the dimension as she did so. She earned several odd looks as she approached the resturant where she had been told she would find the figure who had invaded her mind. It was most likely because she looked like a Gilmyne rather than one of the illusions that a real Gilmyne would put up.

More importantly, Amethyst had followed the trail of her tormentor to this place. "So this is the Laughing Torrent..." she mused as she shuffled into the building. As one of the slaves directed her to one the lounges, Amethyst swept her eyes across the rooms as fast as she culd, in hopes of finding that black-haired, amber eyed man in one of them.

"Perhapse a place closer to one the firepits?" she said to the slave when Amethyst failed to spot him in one of the outer lounges. I will find you, who ever you are.

[Lix Lorn]

Marcia walks in slowly to the Thing, dreading the noise and the numbers, as she has every time. And she hopes quietly that she can keep her cool. She always has before, but it never pays to be arrogant.

[Orosboru]

And as suddenly as everything comes together... it falls apart.
The low, sounding call of Erembour calls to darkness.
Bell chimes at the door rustle and shake as they project a dissonant tune.
But it is too late for many outside. The howls of the weird things that cohabit the night run in the streets below.

Those with groups to hide with move quickly within. Eventually... there is no slaves. No demonic patrons.

Only three other strangers.

[aetherialDawn]

Hawk cannot help but smile slightly, standing as others fall over themselves to flee and come together to dance the Ebon Dragon's dance against the call of his soul's horn. He hears it, but it is as if it is a great distance away. Layer after layer of discarded regrets and endless facades shelter him from the magical pull of the horn.

But, there are others lingering here. As the Ebon Dragon's shadow blots out the green light of Ligier, Erembour's passing smothers torch and candle in turn, until the dark of deepest night falls... Broken up by the defiant silver of dancing fire. Seeing the light and dark parts equally well, the Fiend bows graciously, as if he were an excellent host.
"So pleasant to see you all holding your heads high this sudden night - rather than fleeing to the dark dance or the fearful one. I don't believe we've been properly introduced?" He looks around, and his eyes glint green - three tiny sparkles fading swiftly into the artificially calm amber of a pleasant poker face. Flavors of potent and biting demonic essence, and a Gilmyne holding rippling moonsilver that seems to stare back.
He smiles a fraction more to the most unusual demon.

Insignificant Embers Intuition on the gentleman and ladies who don't fear Erembour's horn, which costs me zero motes each because I'm Essence 4+. If you want to notice that there's green in those eyes, it's a Difficulty 4 (Perception+Awareness.)

"I am Hawk of the East, as it would be rude to accept your names without giving mine in turn."

[Lix Lorn]

Marcia is deeply confused, looking around.
"...huh?"

[aetherialDawn]

Hawk steps closer to the 'Gilmyne' and slows down a bit, making himself a little clearer in the flickering light. "I'm sorry if that was a little confusing. It's always nice to be sure that the strangers I meet don't already know me..." He smiles. "Welcome to the Laughing Torrent, dark as it is."

[FallenEco]

The light of the sliver flames that made up her body took any pretense of stealth away from Amethyst, making her pretty much the only light in the place. But it had a benefit; he literally walked out of the woodwork and gretted her. Her firey form twisted and split into the closest thing to a smile it could manage as Amethyst replied to Hawk, "But I do know you. And I have questions abut why I know you, which will have to wait til we're out of this...prision. But you are right, we have not been propperly introduced. You can call me, Amethyst. I have kept that name longer than most."

OOC: Essence 3/Less than you. Happy?

Sliding(?) down the steps towards this 'Hawk' who she crossed a world to find, she gritted the flames that passed for teeth in this form. Using her own light to ensure she didn't trip as she moved, Amethyst drew herself level with her tormentor. "Actually, I'm a little surprised. I assumed you knew I was coming. Not that you made it easy."

[aetherialDawn]

Hawk doesn't seem to realize exactly what he's getting into when he responds, calming and stable. "Most interesting, Amethyst. A grave loss that I did not hear the import of your seeking me. I might have offered you a more satisfying chase rather than mere difficulty."
Stalling helps little. He has focused on those he will speak with at the Althing - and the favor-brokering for that is a tangled enough mess without including other concerns.
"Perhaps you will be in a better mood to indulge me with details soon, but they are yours to share, my silver lady. Might I at least ask which prison I need leave to hear them?" His smile is unknowingly painful; it looks so sincere here, but dream after dream has taught its falsity, snake-tongues waiting behind it in black and gold.

I just looked at the character sheets, you don't need to tell me again, sorry. Mostly, an extra reason for Hawk to pay attention to a unique demon... And if I trigger a Past Lives episode, Serix will know what it means.

[FallenEco]

As angry as she is for being dragged out here, into Malfeas, Amethyst couldn't help but laugh at Hawk when he repiled to her. It was just so...not what she was expecting from the one who 'summoned' her. "(Hehe...Hahahahaha...)You (hehehe) would have (pffftf!) made it harder? (Bwahahaahahahaha!) After going...(hahahaha)...to whatever stupid lengths...(hehehehehe)...it took to insert your odd face (pffft!) into my dreams while I slept? (Heheheheheehehhehehe!) After twisting at whatever fragments are left of the bond between us, you would've made it harder?" Her questions would have been easier to understand, if she hadn't been chuckling the whole time.

It takes a bit before Amethyst calms down enough to process the rest of Hawks reply. Moving, in a way she is still not sure she understands, in a circle around him the Gilmyne-shaped exalt spoke softly to the object of her chase. "Yes, I suppose I am. Until I find away out, of course. I don't know you and you are not what I expected. But I'll share my details, after we leave the prison. You do know that all of this is a prison, don't you?"

And with that, Amethyst sat down at the nearest table, ignoring anyone else there and watching the young man like his namesake, waiting for someone to take her order.

[Volthawk]

"Hm. Interesting."

Arak is still somewhat in the thoughtful meditative state, not particularly getting very involved in the conversation, particularly as it seemed it was something between Hawk and this odd demon.

[aetherialDawn]

"My lady, I merely said more satisfying... And the end of the chase matters too. Perhaps I can help you find answers to this. Flattering as it might be, I'd like to know the women who dream of me at night."
She is obsessive, at least... But I think I would recall my Prince attempting to seduce a pillar of fire. Shiviya's imperious disdain is tinged with rather a lot of suspicion.
Indeed. So then... Why my face?

Pushing such matters aside for a moment, Hawk turns to the silver-haired girl and meditative monster-demon. It can be hard to remember how dark the Dragon's shadow is for everyone else...
"As for our other guests... I still know but two names here now, and even that counts my own. If this is how the stage is set, perhaps you too have interesting stories to share?"