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  1. - Top - End - #241
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    [Sanctuary]

    Thank you, Sekhmet, that's kind of you to say. I am rather fond of this one... there's nowhere else quite like it, really.

    Caroline looks up and blinks in surprise as Inari walks in with Sekhmet. She bows deeply

    Your holiness

    Inari smiles

    Hello, Caroline. Having any trouble with the shoggoth? And someone should greet the other new guests.

    Caroline shakes her head slowly, then blinks again and looks over, but only sees Sirena

    Greetings, neighbor! The blessings of Inari be upon you. Welcome to the Full Moon party. Please help yourself to refreshments and feel free to wander the grounds. Myobi is holding a poetry contest on the shore of the pond nearest the island.
    I am Caroline, High Priestess of this temple. If yoiu have any questions or need anything, please don't hesitate to ask.


    Keiko waves absently

    [Garden]

    Celeste turns and looks through a pack hanging from her flank.

    I have my split-pipe.

    she extracts said instrument: Two plain wooden cylinders that come together at a mouthpiece, both drilled with holes at precise intervals.

    Oh! I have my recorder, too. I thought I left that at the school this afternoon.
    Last edited by Fenric; 2021-08-24 at 04:37 PM.

  2. - Top - End - #242
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    Default Re: The Temple of Inari 57: Life goes on

    Full Moon Party

    "Ah, that looks well made. But how does it sound?" he wiggles his eyebrows. Clearly he is very interested in musical instruments.
    "Are they made where you're from? Are you a Nexus native?"

    Meanwhile!

    There's a certain medium-sized three-headed shadow dragon sitting off to the side. Clearly he's waiting to speak to Caroline but seems like he'll wait until everyone else has gotten their turn.
    Spako Highclaws by Ceika.

    [Sorry Boss, but as always, I get the last word.]

  3. - Top - End - #243
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    Ayako would go investigate the strange fox, but there's suddenly an obvious divine presence here, and all the dragon hatchlings are busy looking at Inari in awe.
    Cleo turns and gives the goddess a sort of bow, as much as you can while holding a child, before looking back to Keiko.
    "Then it will be a hunt! I've had to step back from things for a long time now - each of the girls is a handful - but I'll always be here for you."

    Fay freezes when Inari appears. That must be a god, it matches what others have felt. Terrifying idea, gods. But this one is being...polite? They continue inside, stepping smoothly around the edges of the space, trying to keep Sekhmet between her and anyone else - not because she's nervous or anything; being out of the way is just their nature.
    The music here is supposed to be exceptional. The other stalkers all have similar voices to each other, telepathic and when using a vox, but Fay of course sounds different, being the result of a strange late-stage experiment.
    Why are you attending? So soon after returning from hell.
    Last edited by Recaiden; 2021-08-24 at 05:07 PM.
    ~Inner Circle~
    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    He takes normality and reason and turns them UP TO 11!
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    Recaiden, stop using your mastery of the English language to confuse the issue.
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  4. - Top - End - #244
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    Default Re: The Temple of Inari 57: Life goes on

    [Full Moon Party]

    Torus gives a somewhat exaggerated sniff at the priestess' offer. Everything is just so new and overwhelming and frightening right now. It's almost too much to keep track of.

    "I would like that," she admits. Even if the make is different than the reactor that was her responsibility for a time she was certain that she could make sense of it and provide repairs if needed.

    Torus hoped that the temple had replacement parts for their equipment. While it was possible for Torus to field fabricate parts that was definitely not ideal, typically a temporary measure until proper components could be secured.

    "When I am finished with the party I would be happy to examine your reactor and offer any repairs I can provide."

    That statement caused another little thrill of roiling emotions. She had just set her own labor schedule rather than having the labor-net dictate it to her.

    Sadly, due to Torus' ignorance of local wildlife she did not know what a fox was, though there is now a strong possibility she will find out in the future.

    When the biped in the white coat spoke she immediately bowed her head meekly.

    "I apologize. I do not intend to cause trouble," she says, concern creeping into her tone.

    She hoped that they wouldn't blame her if she made any social mistakes; all of this was strange and new to her. Would they expel her? The biped is the white coat appeared to be the superior to the priest, but Torus wasn't sure in what capacity. Plucked from the table by her tail, Torus brought a large piece of fried chicken to her mouth and bit down into it, teeth shearing through bones and all.

    The flavor and texture immediately assaulted her. How could anything taste so wonderful? Or was it merely that the food that her Masters provided her with was lacking? Did they not care to provide her with a pleasant or memorable meal? Just the same kibble every day?

    Recoiling from that thought, Torus quickly offered a silent apology to the Maker. Of course the Masters cared about her. The Masters created her kind and she was to repay with a life of service.

    But... that answer felt weak and toothless. There was no punishment for her blasphemous thought as there should have been.

    Trying to take her mind off these troubled thoughts, Torus began to sample each item on the table. Every object was a unique and wondrous experience.
    Last edited by Rebonack; 2021-08-24 at 09:39 PM.
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  5. - Top - End - #245
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    Default Re: The Temple of Inari 57: Life goes on

    Full Moon Party
    Sekhmet picks up a plate of dumplings. "I, uh, need to remodel my palace, I, uh, might do something like this for it." She takes a bite of her food and smiles. It's always good to eat something; her mortal vessel needs sustenance even if her spirit doesn't, and having spent time separated just reminds her of how good it feels to be alive. "I'm, uh, new to this demon queen, uh, thing."
    Meanwhile,
    "I just needed to, uh, do something else. Not related to, uh, you know.
    Awesome avatar (Kothar, paladin of Tlacua) by Linkele!

    Quote Originally Posted by William Shakespeare, King Lear, IV.i.46
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  6. - Top - End - #246
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    Default Re: The Temple of Inari 57: Life goes on

    Quote Originally Posted by Morty View Post
    [Meditation Gardens]

    "Well, don't look at me. I'm fully booked learning sorcery and the water-shaping you saw me do," Batu says sardonically. "Though I suspect only your people can learn it anyway."
    [Meditation Gardens]

    "Not at all. It's true we fiendlings have a certain... flair for it, but the basic principles can be used by anything with a soul." Braeg smirks. "Ah, but I would hardly expect you to volunteer. An enchanter's journey is necessarily a long, painful one, and let's not pretend you'd be particularly inclined to have me take you on any journey at all." He wasn't quite blind to the fact that Batu was suspicious of him, after all.
    Who're you? ...Don't matter.

    Want some rye? 'Course ya do!


    Here's to us.
    Who's like us?
    Damn few,
    and they're aaall dead.


    *gushes unintelligibly over our cat, Sunshine*

    [Nexus characters, grouped by setting:
    Ouroboros: here
    Maesda: here
    Others: here
    ]

  7. - Top - End - #247
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    Fay unfolds some tendril-spikes, and a moment later a bunch of fried mice disappear from the food tables, like they were never there. Her modifications require her to eat noticeably more food than the other Stalkers. It's usually very annoying, but if they're just giving these things away? May as well eat them. Maybe even...enjoy them?

    Rest your mind. Most wouldn't get it, but I understand. A Duke or Princess would not be troubled in the same way by almost losing their beloved and being kidnapped and dying and descending to hell and returning and so on. Only they, with their so-human minds, have these difficulties.

    The gods are more kind than you expected, correct?
    ~Inner Circle~
    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    He takes normality and reason and turns them UP TO 11!
    Quote Originally Posted by Anarion View Post
    Recaiden, stop using your mastery of the English language to confuse the issue.
    Echidna by Serpentine

  8. - Top - End - #248
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    Default Re: The Temple of Inari 57: Life goes on

    [Full Moon Party]

    It was almost overwhelming.

    So many different foods to try and each so different from the last.

    Torus had been using the manipulator on the end of her tail to collect samples but then two other creatures had approached the table. Both of them were... different. That didn't shock Torus a great deal. But the precise nature of how they were different was curious. One seemed to have mechanical components and was very much unlike the bipeds that filled this world. Strange and alien and quite unlike any other being Torus had encountered thus far. The other was, perhaps, even stranger in its own way. It looked much like the dominant bipeds, though it had a great many additional limbs added on in ways that made little sense to Torus. They didn't appear to be the result of natural evolution. Maybe they were a flesh graft? The ball of flame flickering between the creature's strange heavy antenna was clearly thaumatological in nature, but Torus was unable to ascertain what the purpose of such a tool would be.

    Taking a careful step to the side, Torus moves out of the way of the other two creatures so they can freely browse at the table while it waits.

    "Please forgive this lowly servitor for impeding your ways, I have no standing labor orders and I am unaccustomed to operating autonomously. I was overwhelmed by flavors of these food items and did not notice your approach," Torus said, scooting aside from the pair as she lowered her head submissively. She would wait for the pair to take what they desired before returning to her sampling. Shaken by how rude her selfishness must have been taken, Torus decided that she must take measures to prevent such an event from happening again.

    Several spots along her body bubbled and frothed as she formed several simple eyes along her back that would be sufficient to detect motion and vague shapes. They looked little like the complex eyes in her head, more of faintly luminous colored spots in pleasing patterns. She was sure that these would not be found distressing.
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  9. - Top - End - #249
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    Default Re: The Temple of Inari 57: Life goes on

    Full Moon Party
    I'm glad at least one of you do, Sekhmet replies. They, uh, really have been. Except MH, he was, uh, mean, just, uh, not the way I expected. When I was young, I was taught that, uh, the gods hated me for what I was. But they've been, uh, so kind to me.

    Aloud, however, Sekhmet is immediately objecting to the black dog (?). "What? No! I don't want, uh, servitors. Or minions, or slaves, or anything like that!" She sets her food aside and kneels beside Torus, but she doesn't touch her. "I, uh, don't know who you think I am, but, uh, just because I'm a queen doesn't mean I'm better than you. I'm still just a person. You don't have to treat me, uh, like that.
    Awesome avatar (Kothar, paladin of Tlacua) by Linkele!

    Quote Originally Posted by William Shakespeare, King Lear, IV.i.46
    'Tis the time's plague, when madmen lead the blind.
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  10. - Top - End - #250
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    [Sanctuary]

    Caroline turns back to the deadtimed visitor, but the dread pudding seems to still have them tightly trapped. Then she looks around and sees the dragon. While she doesn't quite recognize him yet, she's pretty sure Yumiko only has one head and Keiko is over there so it must be...

    Steven? I'd heard there was... something...

    Inari smiles and nods

    It is nice to have pleasant surroundings. And yes, I understood it was a rather recent elevation for you, that's part of why I came: you're not the first new greater kami I have helped here in the Nexus.

    And now Fay

    Greetings to you as well, Fay. Indeed, the music will be starting shortly in the usual place, south of this building.

    Then, Torus. Inari speaks to her with an authority that is hopefully comforting.

    You have done nothing wrong, Servitor Torus, be at ease: my Temple will not run out of food anytime soon.


    Keiko hops and claps

    Ooh, yes: a hunt! And we should take the kids!

    ---

    [Garden]

    Celeste smiles and puts the flute to her lips and plays a short tune, bright and bouncy! After, she shakes her head.

    I am from the mountains north of Athens. My uncle made these for me before I somehow ended up here... As I understand, there was a large disturbance involving Heracles which didn't end well for my tribe...

    to put it mildly.
    Last edited by Fenric; 2021-08-25 at 09:56 AM.

  11. - Top - End - #251
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    Default Re: The Temple of Inari 57: Life goes on

    FMP - Sanctuary

    Well there easily could be other dragons about and Tamamo could probably have as many heads as she felt like manifesting if she wished, but the fact that the dragon is male but not filling the entire courtyard is rather telling.
    "Hello dear! Yes, Keiko and Yumiko showed up to check up on me and apparently their father has rather drastic ideas about how to solve problems. It's not that bad though, is it?" He eyes Caroline with all six of his eyes. It's oddly not disconcerting to be looking at her with so many angles.
    Whether or not it's bad depends on if Caroline finds it strange to have a large black semi-aquatic dragon that is also her husband curling around her.

    Garden

    Domnhall claps appreciatively.
    "That sounds nice...except for that last part." He has no idea what an Athens is. "Serrisil is mostly flat forest. I hear it's technically on an island but I've only been to the coast one or two times and never more than the one." That's the problem with islands. They look small on the map but are pretty big when you actually live there.
    Spako Highclaws by Ceika.

    [Sorry Boss, but as always, I get the last word.]

  12. - Top - End - #252
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    Didn't even those gods create fiends out of some of their angels? Why should they hate you to begin with? Fay wonders. She's never really considered Sekhmet's history before. Sure, fiends are vulnerable to divine things, but isn't that just what you'd want in your minions? An easy way to deal with them if something goes wrong?

    Augh! People are noticing her. And Inari is speaking to her in bold so loudly.
    But not to worry. This is a peaceful place. She could even show off and it would probably be fine.
    "Greetings, Inari. Your directions are helpful."

    Back to Sekhmet.
    "Not your servitor. That's just what they're called."
    "You need no forgiveness, Torus." Isn't that a shape? Weird name. "We have no special obligations to each other."
    Fay does feel bad for it. A servitor with no job has no meaning, wasn't that what the weird critter was saying? Like a lost hound. Incomplete.


    The hatchlings are mostly delighted at the prospect of their mother taking them hunting.
    "Yeah!" "Wow, really?" "Umm.
    ~Inner Circle~
    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    He takes normality and reason and turns them UP TO 11!
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    Recaiden, stop using your mastery of the English language to confuse the issue.
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  13. - Top - End - #253
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    Default Re: The Temple of Inari 57: Life goes on

    [Full Moon Party]

    Many people were speaking to Torus. Not just speaking to give commands, but speaking to convey that they didn't want Torus to... what? Act toward them in a subservient fashion? The one called herself a queen but insisted that Torus was equal in value to herself? Torus' mind reeled at the very concept. That couldn't possibly be. The queen must have been mistaken. There wasn't any other explanation. The shoggoths were created things with a purpose; to serve the needs of the Masters. But the Masters weren't known here. That had to be the problem, the missing information that made these people draw the faulty conclusion that there was some measure of worth to Plasma Torus' life beside the utility she could provide.

    Since they had spoken to her as if she were a person rather than servitor (another thrill of rebellion, one that the Maker should have punished. Was something wrong with her?) Torus felt it would be within reason to respond. She had to help them to understand.

    "Please forgive this servitor for speaking again. I am not equal to you; I am a tool whose value is only the services that I can provide. The Maker created the Masters in its image. The Masters created the shoggoths to be their servants. I exist because the Masters willed it to be and so I serve them out of love and obligation. My owner, Academician Guldat, was using me to test the interactions between fundamental forces. I suspect they intended to test me to destruction and to my shame I felt fear; a shoggoth should be happy to give their life in whatever cause a Master deems appropriate. There was... a voice? It asked me if I wanted to live and in a moment of weakness I said yes. There was a flash and I found myself in this place, disconnected from the labor-net and with no Masters to be found."

    Torus hoped that its tale would help them understand. It's only a tool, but... But what would it be like to be her own Master? To choose her own labors? Or, almost blasphemous to even imagine it, to choose no labor at all? The shoggoth instinctively winced, her ears flattening out, as she waited for the Maker's punishment to fall upon her. But there was nothing. Slowly her eyes opened, a look of confused fear on her face as it finally struck her what was happening.

    "I... I can't feel the Maker's hand anymore. I don't feel joy when I do well and I'm no longer punished when I have blasphemous thoughts," Torus moaned, tears welling in her eyes again. She looked to these strange, alien creatures. "My heart feels empty. Is there something wrong with me? Am I broken? Is..."

    She cast her gaze around the temple grounds in a desperate search.

    "A shoggoth without the Maker's Blessing is a danger to the Masters I- I need to have it restored. Or I must find a veterinarian who can euthanize me. B-but I don't want to die- I..."


    To those with particularly good sense for spellwork, should they look, will find the shattered remnants of a spell that was once wired to what serves as the neural and magical core of the shoggoth. The spell appears to have been quite simple and insidious. Linking to the centers for memory and emotion, it provided shots of pleasure when the shoggoth thought she had served her Masters well and shots of pain when she felt guilt towards them. It had a failsafe to kill Torus if it were removed, but instead the crystalline structure of her core that it was embedded in appears as though it was damaged in whatever experiment sent her to the Nexus. The crystalline structure is regenerating, but the spell is broken beyond repair. Torus is a creature who was once bound in arcane shackles.
    Last edited by Rebonack; 2021-08-25 at 11:32 AM.
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  14. - Top - End - #254
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    Default Re: The Temple of Inari 57: Life goes on

    Full Moon Party
    "Kami?" It's not a word Sekhmet recognizes, "Helped, uh, how?" But her focus is on Torus. "Oh, you poor thing." She tries to gently stroke the dog-shaped shoggoth in what she hopes is a comforting manner. "You don't have to be like that anymore. You can live on your own."

    Not exactly, it's, uh, complicated. It wasn't by divine will though.
    Awesome avatar (Kothar, paladin of Tlacua) by Linkele!

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    'Tis the time's plague, when madmen lead the blind.
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  15. - Top - End - #255
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    [Sanctuary]

    Caroline gently touches Steven's smooth, shiny scales

    Fortunately, I got used to the notion of intelligent dragons a while ago. You're a very pretty one, too... but you look like you should swim?

    Keiko nods excitedly

    Of course! You're dragons: the ultimate top-end predators! Granted you're a bit small still, but that doesn't mean you can't start learning.

    Inari smiles at Sekhmet

    Help has been advice each time, really. There's something to be said for asking the opinions of someone who's been around longer and experienced quite a bit more.

    Kami: spirit, essence, true self... what mortals carry inside of them that moves on when they die, and for us simply is ourselves. We choose to use the old word because it is truly more correct: spirit and soul and others having long since picked up baggage that I do not wish to imply.
    Kami exist all around, everywhere, from tiny motes that drift in the wind to beings of astonishing power that predate and outlast entire universes. Still, there is an important line that truly delineates them: the one where rather than being one who needs assistance, you become the one who gives assistance and when rather than depending on others, the others depend on you.

    I prefer to treat my subordinates as children... or at least valued employees...


    Inari frowns

    But there are some who grow across that line to become distinctly unpleasant, and it becomes "master" and "slave" instead, or in the ultimate degenerate case... "farmer" and "crop".

    then she turns to Torus directly

    This entire situation with the "Masters" and the shoggoths sounds most distinctly the latter, and I do not approve. Everyone deserves to be able to live their own lives and no-one should ever have to apologize for wanting to live!
    Torus, that controls they had put on you are gone, truly: but that doesn't make you a danger. My children love and respect me because I give them love and respect! They do what I tell them because they trust me, not because they fear me, and certainly not because of any sort of controlling mechanism built into them.


    she looks down toward the altar

    You lack a purpose now, and that I can understand, but I do not dictate to people what they should become: rather my priests help people, guide them to find for themselves what is within them. They will gladly help you find your new purpose if you ask them: one of your chosing, that resonates with your kami and will lead you on. And that is why my altar has a mirror on it - because the answer is found inside you.

    ---

    [Garden]

    Celeste nods

    There are many islands back home, but I've never been - that would need a ship, and I've never been on one. Beaches can be pretty, though, and I do love the sea. Our horse part still does trace back to Poseidon, after all.
    Last edited by Fenric; 2021-08-25 at 02:08 PM.

  16. - Top - End - #256
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    "There are no masters here to endanger, so, do not consider them."
    Fay considers for a moment, then reaches out her mind towards the servitor. Except...there's nothing there. Clearly there are thoughts there, but formless, untouchable. Guess she can't help it that way.

    "Inari is correct." Fay ventures. The goddess is painting things with a broad brush of course, but probably the shoggoth servitor doesn't need to understand any subtleties right now. There's no particular reason to think the shoggoth incapable of making good decisions.
    "Finding a purpose can be a very difficult task. But you think quickly; you will be capable of it."



    "Yeah!"
    "Okay." Hanako agrees after just a little encouragement.
    "What are we gonna hunt for?"
    Last edited by Recaiden; 2021-08-25 at 02:43 PM.
    ~Inner Circle~
    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    He takes normality and reason and turns them UP TO 11!
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    Recaiden, stop using your mastery of the English language to confuse the issue.
    Echidna by Serpentine

  17. - Top - End - #257
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    Default Re: The Temple of Inari 57: Life goes on

    [Meditation Gardens]

    Quote Originally Posted by Ironsmith View Post
    "Not at all. It's true we fiendlings have a certain... flair for it, but the basic principles can be used by anything with a soul." Braeg smirks. "Ah, but I would hardly expect you to volunteer. An enchanter's journey is necessarily a long, painful one, and let's not pretend you'd be particularly inclined to have me take you on any journey at all." He wasn't quite blind to the fact that Batu was suspicious of him, after all.
    "It's true, I wouldn't." Batu is being brutally honest here. "I don't rightly know if I've got a soul, anyway. Souls seem to be slippery. And change a lot from one world to the other."
    My FFRP characters. Avatar by Ashen Lilies. Sigatars by Ashen Lilies, Gullara and Purple Eagle.
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    Default Re: The Temple of Inari 57: Life goes on

    Full Moon Party
    "But I don't know how to, uh, do that. To help people like that. I'm just nineteen! I, uh, don't know anything about how to be a queen, uh, let alone of devils." Sekhmet has been acutely aware of the saying "heavy hangs the head that wears the crown" recently. It's all the more reason for her to be here taking a break. She's not even sure if she needs to quit her day job for her royal responsibilities yet. "I don't, uh, think I'm ready yet." But fate seems to think differently.
    Awesome avatar (Kothar, paladin of Tlacua) by Linkele!

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    'Tis the time's plague, when madmen lead the blind.
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  19. - Top - End - #259
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    Default Re: [Full Moon Party]

    [Full Moon Party]
    Sanctuary

    Sirena, realizing someone's talking at her, turns to Caroline.
    "Oh. Hi, nice to meet you," she says. And "Thanks."

    Sirena doubts she could cause anything at a poetry contest, so she decides not to go there.
    Maybe the refreshments then?
    So, Sirena takes leave and goes over to the food.

    Quote Originally Posted by Fenric View Post
    [Sanctuary]

    Caroline shakes her head slowly, then blinks again and looks over, but only sees Sirena

    Greetings, neighbor! The blessings of Inari be upon you. Welcome to the Full Moon party. Please help yourself to refreshments and feel free to wander the grounds. Myobi is holding a poetry contest on the shore of the pond nearest the island.
    I am Caroline, High Priestess of this temple. If yoiu have any questions or need anything, please don't hesitate to ask.
    Favorite sports:
    Fencing
    Football (Soccer)
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  20. - Top - End - #260
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    Default Re: The Temple of Inari 57: Life goes on

    [Full Moon Party]

    The creature, the one that called itself 'Queen', touched her.

    It was like being groomed by another shoggoth. A comforting presence. No Person had ever touched her like that before. Never with any hint of tenderness. The sensation was... pleasant. Plasma Torus had made many, many choices today on this the first day of her autonomy. And now she made another one. Torus decided that she liked it when others touched her kindly. She leaned into the grooming, turning her ear so the creature's fingers could get behind it. And then she did the only reasonable thing to do; the very thing she would have done if it was another shoggoth grooming her.

    A portion of her skin frothed and bubbled as it formed a long, flexible limb ending in a hooked appendage. With that she reached up and began gently combing it through the creature's long hair.

    Could it be true?

    One of these creatures said that the Maker's Touch was merely the means the Masters used to control her. To control her people. And now she was free of it. Her heart had been so empty since her arrival. No pleasure, no pain, nothing to guide her in her actions. Could she keep doing this forever? To choose her own ways?

    "I heard a word in the city called Skyside: slave. One forced to labor against their will. One owned by another. Is... that what the shoggoths are to the Masters? Slaves with chains on their minds instead of on their limbs?"

    Never had she been anything more than a tool to the Masters.

    Maybe now...

    She could be more?
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  21. - Top - End - #261
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    Default Re: The Temple of Inari 57: Life goes on

    Quote Originally Posted by Morty View Post
    [Meditation Gardens]

    "It's true, I wouldn't." Batu is being brutally honest here. "I don't rightly know if I've got a soul, anyway. Souls seem to be slippery. And change a lot from one world to the other."
    [Meditation Gardens]

    "By the standards of our art, you do." Braeg replies simply. "'I' is not a word used by soulless beings." He stretches and stands, looking up at the sky. "...My, my, my. Is it that time already? I'll have to be elsewhere soon."

    [Full Moon Party] (Some time later)

    Braeg and his attendants finally arrive at the party, with all the quiet regality of... some kind of large animal. He looks ungroomed and a little tired, his hands stained with blue pigment.

    "My Lord, are you certain now is a good time for this?"
    "You may be coming down too soon."
    "Too abruptly."
    "This is a different sort of party altogether."

    "Gentlemen, please." Braeg smiles. "I made a promise to Keiko I would attend, and I intend to keep my word."

    The attendants collectively shudder at this. Braeg, keeping his word? Inconceivable.

    "Besides, after the night I've had, nothing could bring me down. Let us join in the festivities, yes?"
    Last edited by Ironsmith; 2021-08-26 at 11:15 AM.

  22. - Top - End - #262
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    Default Re: The Temple of Inari 57: Life goes on

    FMP - Sanctuary

    Wait, does Steven count as plural now? He supposes he might? He's already gotten used to how his thoughts echo.
    "Well I imagine I would be swimming normally, yes. I think I'm the same species as the Sisters? But yes, I've been craving fish all day."
    That's probably not going to stop any time soon.

    Garden

    "They say the ebeuls are descended from the Fair Folk. But we'll never be sure about that. I don't think I'll ever want to be on a boat. I keep feeling like my hooves would slip." Hooves are not known for having particularly good footing. Unless you are a mountain goat.
    Spako Highclaws by Ceika.

    [Sorry Boss, but as always, I get the last word.]

  23. - Top - End - #263
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    Default [Full Moon Party]

    [Sanctuary]

    And so the demonic quotient in the sanctuary increases yet again, but Braeg arrived last so he gets to be handled last, too.

    Inari looks thoughtful at Sekhmet's lament

    That is rather young to be thrust into a position of responsibility, Sekhmet. Is there anyone you can trust that could be a mentor or prime minister or such? My contacts among the devils are unfortunately very limited - they tend not to care for growing things. But you could perhaps visit Keiko's father: I have no command over him, but he is a ... relative, of sorts.

    Keiko chuckles

    Is that "son in law" or "someone who tried to assassinate you"?

    Inari smiles

    Both, of course. The other I know is not one I believe you ready to meet, and I shall not speak his name lets his attention be drawn to you.

    Then to Torus

    Slavery is a sorrowful institution indeed. It is a noble goal to be counted among those who fight it. And yes, your people are most complely enslaved by these so-called "masters".

    -

    Caroline smiles

    We shall have to take a trip at some point soon, then! I believe Keiko found one of the natrual habitats for this sort of dragon, though if I understand correctly they only have one head and do not have the same disintegrating breath weapon.

    Keiko chirps up again

    Yep! I was thinking of heading there with Cleo and the Kids to teach them how to hunt. Wanna tag along? Probably wouldn't hurt to teach you how to merge your heads into one while we're at it.

    -

    And then, a wild Braeg appears. Keiko waves

    Hey, there's Braeg again! Heya!

    Cleo, this guy had a poetry contest at the beach party. I tried, and Leah voted it a draw!

    Braeg, this is my mate, Cleo! She's got ... lots of titles that I really ought to be better about remembering. And these are our hatchlings. Kids, this is Braeg. He's the lord of uh... some forest? Sorry... I'm too used to letting the heralds do that stuff. I really need to learn to pay more attention and try to remember people's titles. I know they're important, it's just...

    sorry.


    -----------

    [Gardens]

    Celeste tilts her head and taps one hoof

    What are the "Fair Folk"?

    But yes, I agree: I'm not at all interested in getting on a boat!

  24. - Top - End - #264
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    Default Re: [Full Moon Party]

    Quote Originally Posted by Fenric View Post
    [Sanctuary]

    And so the demonic quotient in the sanctuary increases yet again, but Braeg arrived last so he gets to be handled last, too.

    Inari looks thoughtful at Sekhmet's lament

    That is rather young to be thrust into a position of responsibility, Sekhmet. Is there anyone you can trust that could be a mentor or prime minister or such? My contacts among the devils are unfortunately very limited - they tend not to care for growing things. But you could perhaps visit Keiko's father: I have no command over him, but he is a ... relative, of sorts.

    Keiko chuckles

    Is that "son in law" or "someone who tried to assassinate you"?

    Inari smiles

    Both, of course. The other I know is not one I believe you ready to meet, and I shall not speak his name lets his attention be drawn to you.

    Then to Torus

    Slavery is a sorrowful institution indeed. It is a noble goal to be counted among those who fight it. And yes, your people are most complely enslaved by these so-called "masters".

    -

    Caroline smiles

    We shall have to take a trip at some point soon, then! I believe Keiko found one of the natrual habitats for this sort of dragon, though if I understand correctly they only have one head and do not have the same disintegrating breath weapon.

    Keiko chirps up again

    Yep! I was thinking of heading there with Cleo and the Kids to teach them how to hunt. Wanna tag along? Probably wouldn't hurt to teach you how to merge your heads into one while we're at it.

    -

    And then, a wild Braeg appears. Keiko waves

    Hey, there's Braeg again! Heya!

    Cleo, this guy had a poetry contest at the beach party. I tried, and Leah voted it a draw!

    Braeg, this is my mate, Cleo! She's got ... lots of titles that I really ought to be better about remembering. And these are our hatchlings. Kids, this is Braeg. He's the lord of uh... some forest? Sorry... I'm too used to letting the heralds do that stuff. I really need to learn to pay more attention and try to remember people's titles. I know they're important, it's just...

    sorry.
    [Sanctuary]

    "Oh, no worries." Braeg smiles. "Though for future reference, it's 'the lesser wood'. As in, you have two woods, one's bigger than the other, and we called it 'lesser' to prank the mortals." He smirks, still finding this a little funny.

    "So." Braeg begins again, standing between Keiko and Cleo, with an arm around each of them. "I believe we're overdue for a rematch, yes?" He chuckles. "But before we get to that, what's this I hear about slavery? Someone around here getting a little too civilized?"
    Who're you? ...Don't matter.

    Want some rye? 'Course ya do!


    Here's to us.
    Who's like us?
    Damn few,
    and they're aaall dead.


    *gushes unintelligibly over our cat, Sunshine*

    [Nexus characters, grouped by setting:
    Ouroboros: here
    Maesda: here
    Others: here
    ]

  25. - Top - End - #265
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    Default Re: The Temple of Inari 57: Life goes on

    Full Moon Party
    Sekhmet weighs Inari's suggestion. "Uh, can he be trusted?" Most devils can't, which is why Sekhmet doesn't have a prime minister. She does have a head minion, but that wasn't her idea.
    "Slavery is, uh, a very sad thing. Skyside is a much worse place, uh, because of it." Sekhmet feels a little guilty. She has all this power, but as Bluefoot, her mother's cultist, pointed out, she's done nothing to stop it except where it was causing her other problems.
    Awesome avatar (Kothar, paladin of Tlacua) by Linkele!

    Quote Originally Posted by William Shakespeare, King Lear, IV.i.46
    'Tis the time's plague, when madmen lead the blind.
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  26. - Top - End - #266
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    Ah, there's suddenly a lot going on.

    "Three heads is more fun!" Cleo calls to Steven. Sure, he does need to learn to get his head together, literally.

    "Sekhmet, he's been perfectly trustworthy so far." Not really a devil, per-se. Not like the one we aren't naming.

    "Ah, hello Braeg." New friend of Keiko's, probably going to cause trouble. "Don't worry about the titles tonight. I understand you're quite the poet?"
    "Hi!" "Hi!" Hi."
    "What you hear is that unusual little shoggoth there, who escaped slavery really quite recently thanks to the strangeness of the Nexus."



    Fay takes this opportunity to slink off to the south to await the musical festivities. The servitor doesn't seem to be in any more immediate danger with the Inari helping.
    ~Inner Circle~
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  27. - Top - End - #267
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    Default Re: The Temple of Inari 57: Life goes on

    [Full Moon Party]

    Slaves.

    Tools.

    Unable to live their own lives or choose their own paths.

    That was the fate for Torus' people. To be tested to destruction. To be used and discarded. A wild idea crossed her mind. Could she free her people? How? How could she even start? First she would need to learn how the Maker's Blessing was removed from her. Then she would need to find a way back home. She would need a plan. She would likely need to learn how to fight. The Masters would not take kindly to her efforts. Other shoggoths, wrapped in the memory of the Maker, would likely be hostile to her. For a shoggoth to even contemplate harming a Master was unthinkable. But she was sure that she would have to cause such harm for her plan to ever have a chance at working.

    "I need to choose my own labors," Torus said, her tone resolute. "The labor I desire to work is this: to free those who have been bound as I was. I don't know if there are any of my kin here in this place, but there are others who are slaves. How can I free them? What can I do?"

    She looked to the Queen as she slowly lowered the brush she had fashioned.

    "You think those who are slaved in Skyside should be freed, yes? Can you help me set them loose? What must be done?"
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  28. - Top - End - #268
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    Default Re: The Temple of Inari 57: Life goes on

    FMP - Sanctuary

    "Well sure, we can do that. I don't think this was the sort of beach vacation either of us were envisioning a few years ago." he chuckles and pokes at Caroline with a couple of his noses. He holds his breath when he does so. He's fairly sure the disintegration doesn't really happen unless he wants it to but he's just being safe.

    Garden

    "Oh, you know. The Fair Folk. The fae. The faeries. Those sorts of things? Supposedly one of 'em used to live in Serrisil. Who knows? My friend Rhea said she'd spoken to some of the lesser ones from time to time. But I never really met any in person aside from the deer-folk. And even they're not full blood fae anyway." Rhea is also not the most impressive representative of those touched by the Feywild. She's his best friend! But she isn't terribly bright.
    Spako Highclaws by Ceika.

    [Sorry Boss, but as always, I get the last word.]

  29. - Top - End - #269
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    Default Re: The Temple of Inari 57: Life goes on

    Full Moon Party
    "I can, uh, help, but I don't know what to do either. We'll have to figure it, uh, out ourselves." They can do that though. Maybe.
    Sekhmet isn't sure who Cleo is or why she's butting into her conversation with Inari. "Uh..." She's not sure what to think of the random comment in support of the idea either.
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  30. - Top - End - #270
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    [Sanctuary]

    Inari smiles

    As much as any eight-headed demon dragon shadowlord can be, particularly if you are introduced by one of his daughters.
    You wouldn't mind introducing her would you, Keiko?


    Keiko blinks, but then smiles

    Of course not! I haven't bothered him with someone from the Nexus in years.

    Maybe because she hasn't been here, herself... but who's counting?

    Inari nods

    Well, I do think that's enough dallying for now. May you all be blessed.

    And with that, unless anyone actively rejects it, everyone gets a blessing as per the cleric spell for a whole day (meaning everyone gets the bonus part of it, not the reversed blah blah). And she vanishes as quickly as she came.

    -

    Caroline chuckles

    No, not exactly what I had envisioned. But then again, given the sort of excitement that tends to follow us around perhaps it is better to head out expecting a certain degree of adventure. And maybe I will try my own hand at some of this shape changing: there are times I seem the only one left out.

    -

    Keiko nods at Cleo's asessment

    Yeah, it's Torus over there. Taking on Skyside is kinda a tall order, though. Didn't even Atorre end up bailing on the place?
    And rematch, hm? Maybe I should have been working on a Summer poem...


    ----

    [Stage]

    The band is getting set up, but no logo is yet visible and the sign merely says "Coming Soon".

    ----

    [Garden]

    Celeste nods. It didn't make the slightest sense, but then again the myth of her own people's creation wasn't exactly something you wanted to believe in too literally.
    Looking around for some inspiration, she sees the activity near the stage

    Speaking of music, I believe they are getting ready to start a concert. Want to go over?

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