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Hidden 8 yrs ago Post by icmasticc
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icmasticc Chaotic Order

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A c t O n e ~ R e s u r r e c t i o n

C h a p t e r O n e



"Tell me, Lillian, why is it that humans reason?" The man asked.

Lillian slowly, purposefully, pushed thin strands of flaxen out of her face and methodically placed the bundle behind an ear. Her gaze had been fixated on a patch of white fabric situated in the collar of the man's formal top throughout the entirety of his spiel and her ears had only perked up at the pointless question he now posed. She pushed herself all the way onto the stone hard cot until her back met with the wall and her legs crossed themselves. Her arms folded as a smirk took residence on her defiant visage and arched brows furrowed ever so slightly. This kind of peculiarity was not exactly uncommon considering the circumstances, but that did not make the situation any less amusing. She took a moment to briefly look up at the spotty ceiling, feigning deep consideration, before promptly meeting the eyes of her illustrious visitor. The smirk grew wider.

"What kind of fucking ridiculous question is that?" Lillian retorted. The man sighed, but maintained his calm composure. Men of his profession were exposed to these kinds of people more often than most, after all.

"It is one that you do not seem to have an answer to, Lillian," He said. He adjusted his glasses.

"How should I know why humans reason and, more importantly, why should I care? You must have forgotten that I'm going to die in an hour."

"The question itself was mostly rhetorical, but your willingness to provide some kind of answer for it is both telling and intriguing. As a man of the devout however, I will provide you with the answer."

"Oh gee, how kind of you."

One of the two wardens posted on the other side of the bars behind the seated priest glanced over his shoulder. He gave Lillian a stern look before facing the front once more. He had wasted enough energy on the woman during her tenure on death row. He nodded to the guard next to him and the other man snickered. This was a day they had been waiting for for some time.

"It's quite simple, really," the priest began, "Humans reason because we are the only beings who can understand the difference between right and wrong. An animal is an animal because they simply act on instinct with no regard for how their actions may affect their own environment or other animals around them. They have an intrinsic desire to follow that instinct no matter what the consequences may be. In that way they're very predictable, but they're also very dangerous."

Lillian absentmindedly turned her gaze to the toilet on one of the walls in the cell. The priest sighed once more and rubbed his temple. He then placed his spiritual text on the ground.

"Simply put, Lillian, humans were given this ability for a reason. We have a responsibility to ensure that justice and what's right are the main focus of all. We have to show that those who insist on doing the wrong things are punished accordingly so that others may see it as an example and change their ways before they themselves suffer the same fate. An animal has no choice but to behave in the manner it was born to fulfill. Humans have a choice and we, as a society, must make sure that the right choice is made every time. While you earned the punishment you're going to receive today, you can still save your soul from eternal damnation and maybe even your daughter--!"

"Let me stop you right there," Lillian interjected, her light voice suddenly taking a serious tone. "Don't postulate to me, priest. I understand perfectly why I'm here and what's going to happen. I've even made peace with it. We don't need to debate if what I did was right or wrong because I honestly couldn't care less. However... " Lillian scooted herself back to the edge of the cot, her face leaning in towards the worrying older man. "Don't presume to know about my daughter. You don't know shit. The fact that you brought her up does mean one thing though," their eyes locked as the woman stopped right inside of his personal space, "you're just another fucking dog for the Consortium, right? I guess you were right that animals have no choice but to behave in the manner they were born to fulfill, huh?"

The priest furrowed his brow before a small, almost imperceptible grin took form. "Maybe I should ask your daughter that question, huh?" He replied, quietly. The words were barely more than a second old before an audible thud and crack preceded a shrill cry and a stumbling of both stool and feet. The posted guards whirled around to see the small stool they brought in toppled over and the priest stumbling back and falling into the bars.

"Shit! Open it up!" One of the guards yelled as an alarm began to sound in rhythm with a pulsating crimson light. The barred door slid open and the two guards rushed into the small cell, batons drawn. Lillian did not move from the edge of the cot, red patches coating her forehead, as she watched a baton raise into the air and come down onto her cheek with velocity and force. Her body lunged to the side, her head bouncing against a wall, and rolled over off the cot to the equally hard floor below. She laid there as blow after blow struck her ribs, shoulder, and back, but her mind was already removed from the incident. Dull eyes stared into deep thought as a blurry silhouette was conjured up in her mind's eye.

Lillian slowly came back to reality as the blurry silhouette shifted and transformed from the shape and contour of a little girl to that of a grown man. Fuzzy vision cleared just as slowly, but there was no mistaking who stood in front of her. The man wore an expensive looking two-piece business suit of black with a white button-down underneath the dark suit jacket. His hair was styled professionally and the blacked out glasses and earpiece confirmed the notion; this was a real, live Executive. Anger formed and pooled together deep within the woman and as she tried to charge forward, she was met with strong resistance. Her arms and legs were shackled the wall and it was then that she noticed her body was rigid against the same wall. This was the death they had chosen for her. Fierce, aqua eyes burned holes into the Executive across the room, but the man had no response to give. A voice suddenly sounded over a hidden intercom.

"Lillian Amaya Eldritch. You stand accused of various crimes ranging from kidnapping and extortion to assault, torture, and even murder. You were judged guilty only nine months ago and sentenced to death for these heinous injustices. As this city does not formally support capital punishment of such a degree, and considering the fact that your crimes were against our organization specifically, you were remanded to our jurisdiction and ultimate decision. The time has come for you to be formally executed for your various crimes against the Consortium, this city, and human society as a whole. Have you any last words before we carry out your sentence?"

Lillian slowed her heavy breathing. She had been staring at the floor as the unknown voice spoke, but something had also snapped in her mind just as it finished. She had come to a realization. "You bastards," she began, her head coming up to the face the Executive who stood perfectly still across the room. "You think you can just do whatever you want because you can manipulate some invisible fucking energy?! Don't make me laugh!"

The Executive remained still.

"I don't give a single shit what kind of power you control. And I don't care what kind of authority you think you've gained. The world may pant and beg at your feet, but I... I won't die groveling in fear of your fucking organization! Know this... Some how, some way, you bastards are eventually going to get what's coming to you! The world won't sit around and let you have your way forever, damnit--!"

Lillian suddenly choked and coughed up an indecent amount of blood. She felt different as soon as the last of her words left her mouth and as she slowly began to look down, her mind was already screaming the image she found herself faced with. A large hole now found itself in her torso. It was perfectly formed and exposed blood, bone, muscle tissue, and organs. With the last of her energy, she directed her fading vision back to the Executive whose outstretched arm and gloved palm pointed in her direction. "S-see... You i-in... Hell... " She stammered, mustering a final defiant grin before her sense of feeling disappeared and her consciousness finally failed.

Lillian Eldritch had been formally executed by the Executives Consortium.



S I X M O N T H S L A T E R


As she floated randomly in a void of complete and absolute darkness, the first sensation she felt was moisture. She ignored the feeling at first opting to continue her eternal journey to nowhere, but the feeling only grew stronger after she recognized that it was there at all. Invisible limbs swatted this way and that way desperately trying to shoo away the ever growing sensation until the darkness crumbled and blue eyes burst open. The area around her was still covered in a mild dark, but this was no void. Old and damaged boxes were oddly stacked on a grayish blue wall across from her and aged pillars admirably held up the high ceiling which seemed to have a skylight built in. Rays of moonlight punctured the glass, but only in thin, sporadic strands that were scattered across the entirety of the space. It was only then that Lillian realized she was laying on the ground, her cheek in a shallow puddle of what she hoped was water.

Slowly, she pushed herself up onto her knees and then feet one by one. She immediately stumbled, but caught herself on a sturdy box that was well placed just behind her weak body. She allowed gravity and her lack of strength to bring her down onto the makeshift seat before taking a look around. There were many odd stacks of old and damaged boxes on all the walls around what looked to be a much more massive space than she had anticipated. All the lights were off, but the cluster of moonlight rays provided just enough illumination to make things out. A forklift sat abandoned in a corner of the space and palettes filled with more boxes dotted seemingly random areas. A long sequence of windows lined each wall at the top near the high ceiling and looking directly up revealed a network of steel girders and pipes running from wall to wall and disappearing to who knows where. This was, without a doubt, some kind of old warehouse.

Lillian sighed, but almost jumped at the sound of her own voice. The memory of being killed rushed back to her and she immediately pulled up a fitting black blouse to check her abdomen. There was no sign of injury or even so much as a scratch. Confusion overwhelmed her mentality as she realized that not only was she not dead and not injured, she was also wearing street clothes--a black blouse, hooded jean jacket, dark denims, and ebony boots to be specific. Her hair was even pulled up in the high ponytail she was accustomed to wearing while still allowing the rest to fall down in front of her face and be tucked behind her ear. Surprise, shock, and confusion all hit at once. Just as these feelings took a stranglehold on her psyche, the final revelation made itself clear under the moonlight.

There were other bodies lying around as well.
Hidden 8 yrs ago Post by GreenGoat
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GreenGoat Harmless Flower Person

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Helja Petrova


It was bright and sunny.

A perfect day for fishing — not that she had any real liking for fishing mind you — and a fine day to spend with her father. Lovik was hardly ever home, claiming his business and work kept him very busy, but what little time he had was spent with her, his only child. Time that was precious to Helja. For as long as she could remember, anything she had ever wanted would be handed to her on a silver platter, but always, simply spending time with her father was the most enjoyable, certainly something she could not just ask for with his busy schedule.

She took a deep breath as they approached the dock, taking in the scent of the forest.

A private lodge, surrounded by a lush forest, and a large lake. Just father and daughter, spending quality time fishing for the day. What servants they had was sent away for the week; indeed there would be little room for them in the small lodge. There should be no one else here save for them.

So then why was it that she could hear car engines reverberating through the forest?

Her father, Lovik, was a tall man, strong and gentle, with ever a way for words. She had never seen him act in anger, nor had she ever seen him wear that expression as the cars rolled in, and the men jumped out. She had never seen him move that fast, closing a distance of about ten metres with what seemed like a step. She had never seen a fishing rod used that way, or did she knew it could ever be as lethal as her father wielded it.

Helja stepped forwards, her mouth open to ask a question, before everything went black.

***


"-ong time now, Lovik. Or should I say, Loptr?"

Helja opened her eyes, feeling like there was a lump on the back of her head. With a start she realized she was tied up beside her father. It was an odd scene that had burned itself into her memory; the imposing man looking very pleased with himself, that one fellow in the back looking inside a teapot and that blatantly absurd accusations they were now listing as her father's crime.

"Who dares to level such slander upon my father?" She spoke, barely contained anger in her voice. "Who are you to trespass on private grounds and assault me and my father?"

Surprise passed through the imposing man's features for a moment, before that smug grin returned to his face.

"The Consortium. Don't play dumb. You know perfectly well why we're here. You and your father won't be able to trick your way out of this one."

His continuance of his significantly smugger speech and her father's calm reassuring words to her faded into the background as white started to fill up her mind. There was no doubt of their innocence in her mind, after all, the most she had ever did was lose her temper over some incompetent servant. Her father was certainly not a man that would do any of the thing they were listing off. What sort of incompetent fools did the Consortium send?

Helja did no more than to try to stand up, angry and indignant, before she fell flat to her face. An inhuman howl pierced the air as she realized only her right arm was the only limb attached to her body. There was no pain, only shock and confusion. The screaming and cursing melded together, as did the blur of movements and flailing of limbs in her vision. She was bleeding out, of that she was sure, but she can't help thinking that the fishing trip this afternoon wouldn't be too successful if the fishes were all frightened away by that accursed howling.

***
Six months after
***


It felt like a cold black void.

That was what she would have described death as. A cold black wet void, filled with nothing, so oppressive it felt as if you were drowning, your breath stuck as if you were trying to breath through thick viscous liquid.

In fact, it was getting to be rather painful right about now.

With a gasp, Helja raised her head up from the puddle of water coughing loudly. With her eyes still adjusting, she could barely make out the room she was in. Not that she was in any condition to be calmly observing anything. She started retching, a reflex brought on by her time face down in a puddle of what was hopefully water and just water. It would be rather humiliating to be choking on a puddle of someone's urine after all.

"Where... ."

Not a room but a large warehouse, lit only by the moon. An old, perhaps abandoned, building judging from the forklift lying there like the carcass of an old beast. Old boxes seemed to fill the space around her, as well as what seemed to be bodies.

Dead bodies.

She would have started screaming if her throat didn't feel so incredibly dry. Dead bodies, the ranks of which she should have joined. But, Helja was still alive, with all her limbs still attached. Even her clothes have been replaced; she was wearing simple sneakers, loose fitting jeans and a dark hoodie now. What sort of maniacs did the Consortium hire?

But how?

How did she live? The creeping feeling that she might not be truly alive was forgotten briefly as she saw movement from the corner of her eyes. Another woman, perhaps wrongly accused, and rescued from the brink of death as well. Helja moved to stand up, to walk over and start asking questions. Instead, she found her legs unwilling to support her, and collapsed face first into the puddle again.

Deja vu.

For a brief moment, anger flared up within her again, as the memories flooded into her mind. Shaking her head, Helja focused on her current predicament. She was still alive, though god knows how long she had been unconscious, but her limbs wasn't moving the way she wanted it to. Perhaps it was a side effect from being wounded, or from still being groggy after awakening. Unwilling to stay in the puddle — or anywhere near the bodies for that matter — she dragged herself up on the forklift to a standing position, waiting for her current bout of weakness to fade before trying to do anything else.
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Hidden 8 yrs ago 8 yrs ago Post by corneredbliss
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corneredbliss

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A N D R O M E D A B A I R

"Andromeda Jynn Bair. You were arrested for your crimes in the country of Isola on charges of human trafficking and illegal use of magic on civilians. After further being charged for the murder of five guards at Eury State Prison, you were handed over to the jurisdiction of the Consortium to be given your final sentence. You have been found guilty on all charges, and have been sentenced to death upon your transference into our custody. The time has come for you to be formally executed for your various crimes against the Consortium, the city of Isola, and human society as a whole. Do you have any last words before we proceed?"

The Executives sitting at the table across the room like judges at a twisted panel waited for what usually was a loud and defiant exclamation of innocence, revenge, or general accusatory cussing. But the woman staring down at them in the middle of the room on a raised platform merely offered a miraculously indifferent, "No."

The cold, smooth steel of thick cuffs were digging into the skin around Andi's wrists and ankles, binding them together, respectively. They were unlike the roughly textured black rope wrapped very tightly around her neck, it's end fixed into the ceiling. It just barely gave her enough slack to support herself on the balls of her feet; lucky that Andi was used to wearing heels and standing in this very way or else she'd have been in trouble before the whole thing began.

"No? Having trouble speaking, there, Bair?" snorted the suit standing halfway between the woman and his empty seat at the table. It was Evan Kessler, the man whom she'd supposedly wronged by bewitching his daughter into working at Miss Neela's. It couldn't have been more obvious that after these seven months apart, he was still as furious as ever. "Would you like us to loosen that rope a little for you? Or is that not how your old Johns used to do it?"

He and a few of the other men who had been former patrons as well laughed at the joke, thinking themselves clever. Andromeda remained silent, partly because she wasn't going to give them any satisfaction, and partly because the door to the room had just opened. The company all turned their heads toward the entryway as - much to Andi's surprise - in walked Malina Kessler; or Raine, as the young woman had been known at the house. Although there wasn't much of a change in Andromeda's outward countenance, a strange pit plunked itself right in the middle of her stomach as she met the hazel eyes of a girl whom she considered something akin to a daughter.

Malina herself looked frightened, and very much uncomfortable in the layers upon layers of clothing she was wrapped in. Presumably dressed to her father's orders, Andromeda could only imagine what other punishments this girl had gone through after returning home from the fiasco all those months ago. Her pallor was pasty, contrasting the dark, purple circles underneath her eyes. Andi noted that her appearance was only a step away from reflecting her own, simply minus the bruises, cuts, and malnourishment. "Come here, dove," Evan cooed, attempting to soothe his daughter by wrapping an arm around her shoulder as they climbed the stairway towards her old boss. "Today, we are going to get revenge for all the time you were under this bitch's spell..."

The room grew silent as the two stopped in front of a podium bearing a lever, in front of and a few feet away from Andromeda. There was tangible anticipation in the room, and Andi felt if she broke from Malina's gaze for even so much as a second, the world would crash down and open up to swallow them all right then and there.

So she didn't. And Malina - No. Raine's eyes didn't waver from Andromeda's blue ones as she wrapped her hands around the lever handle. Evan was instructing her to do so, but it felt to Andi as if someone had turned the volume knob down in her mind, and all she could hear was a buzzing. Through the buzzing came the loud click of the switch as the lever locked into place on the opposite side of where it was resting. Suddenly the floor beneath Andromeda's feet began to fall away, though they continued to search for it frantically.

Buzz.

It's not your fault.

Andi's body flailed above the small crowd, simultaneously convulsing from a rejection of reality and hopeless attempts to triple her strength somehow and break free of the restraints.

Buzz.

I forgive you.

Still, her wide eyes kept their hold on Raine's, who was now level with the panel of Executives. The raised platform had folded itself into the floor, completely disappearing from sight. The girl held her head high and remained connected through her tears, also seemingly deaf to whatever her father was gleefully murmuring in her ear.

Buzz.

I'm sorry. It's okay.

And then, the weight of everything became too much. Andromeda slipped away into darkness.


------- S I X M O N T H S L A T E R -------

Waves. A strange sensation.

The darkness in which Andromeda had been floating in for what felt like eternity was all of a sudden being disrupted. Something was washing over her wave by wave, pulling her closer to the surface until suddenly she was very aware of the sensation of a body. Her body? It must be. Her cheek pressed against something hard?

What was this?

Slowly, Andi commanded her neurons to pull back her eyelids, testing out her theory. Huh. It was her body. Or, perhaps it wasn't her body, but her consciousness in another's body? No, that would be impossible. Then again, this should be impossible. Whatever was happening right now. The sight before her eyes. The fact that she was seeing anything at all.

Wasn't she dead?

Maybe she was still dead, but she'd finally made it to the afterlife, or whatever. About damn time.

After a few more moments of internally checking her physical inventory, the woman let herself scan the situation from where she lay - which, by the way, was on the wet concrete of some warehouse, amongst what looked like other people in similar predicaments. Or maybe not. Perhaps they were all actors in a weird dream she was having.

In any case, it seemed that there were two women already up and about. Andromeda decided that keeping prone wouldn't get her any answers, so she cautiously pushed herself up from the floor into a sitting position, propping herself against a box that happened to be behind her. Glancing down, she confirmed that this was indeed her body. Currently she was wearing a long, turquoise cotton dress and black, chunky heels that only added two inches to her height. Simple and relatively casual compared to what she would have preferred to make her comeback in. But it would have to do.

Wary and yet highly curious, she returned her attention to her environment. There was nothing to do but wait, since she certainly wasn't going to make any first moves. So she kept quiet and merely observed what would happen next, occasionally stretching a finger or twitching a toe to see if she still could.
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Hidden 8 yrs ago Post by Sypherkhode822
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Julius Thiel



Julius squatted in one corner of the barren cell, his vulnerable naked skin chafing against the hard concrete. The guard, a massive man with a nose that had been broken so many times it looked like a beet, stood garbed in clothing that had been covered in enough sigil's to render untouchable.

"cou- Could I have a book? To.. Pass the time?" That quavering beg. He hated himself for it.

"No."

Of course not. Nothing that hadn't been warded and cross warded until he couldn't touch them with his spells was let in here. And the guard would beat him if he tried to summon mist. He had found that out the hard way. He was trapped.

Julius forced all of his fear and anger into a single hissing curse that turned into a wheezing cough. His now pallid legs trembled, and he shot one arm up to steady himself and keep his balance. When the back of his knuckles bloodied themselves against the rough walls, he gasped, and slipped, dropping his tailbone brusquely on the cell's floor, legs splaying out. Pain arced its way up his body, and he let out another hissed wheeze.

The guard looked on passively. Wordlessly.

If Chloe saw me now...

No. That's the thinking of someone who's weak. And though he had been defeated in that townhouse, he wouldn't lose. No. Not to these sheep. These titans, who despite their beauty and strength, let themselves be fettered and led by the ignorant, the lowly and useless.
He had tried to change this, make it right so that those clearly meant to lead would lead, but the Consortium was too set on it's shameful enslavement, and so punished him for speaking against them.

But his words would live on. His deeds. The rightful order of things would be established. Restored.

I hope.

The sound of the heavy door swinging open on oiled hinges pulled the prisoner out of his reverie. Keeping his face a mask of studied apathy, Julius watched with lidded eyes as a man wearing an identical uniform to the guard and a freshly buzzed haircut stepped into the room.
"The boss said he wanted to speak with you. I'll cover until you get back."
The man said in a low murmur, glancing only once at the hunched over prisoner, whose eyes had widened with shock.

"Really?" The first guard said in a low voice that Julius strained to pick up, "I've been on shift for only an hour and a half. Eh. He must want to ask me about a problem with the payroll I've been having. Why he didn't wait until later is beyond me, though. Hate how we can't have anything in here, it makes shit like this a pain in the ass."

"Yeah, I'm new, so I don't have too much experience with this." The man said, keeping his gaze centered on the other guard.
"You'll be fine. Just remember what they told you in briefing. I'll be right back."
"Okay."
The guard swung the door open again, and stepped out, letting it shut behind him.

"Pieter! What the hell are you doing here!"
Pieter, one of Julius's old confidants with the Thelemic Dawn, broke into an enthusiastic grin that slackened as he looked closer at the bruises on Julius.
"I'm here to break you out. Some of us have been able to regroup from the raid. We can get you out of the country, we think."
Julius rose weakly, trembling.

"No."

Pieter's eyes widened, "What?"
"Look at me. I can barely move, the guard will be back in moments, and we're outnumbered and outgunned. I'm a lost cause. Get out. Remember our cause."

"I.. I can't leave you like this."

A small laugh that came out as a single hoarse bark.
"I don't want you to. I need you to kill me."
Pieter stumbled back, boots clumping against the wall, "Christ. No."
Julius stumbled forwards, grasping the front of Pieter's shirt with his hands, pleading. His voice, however, was cold.

"Listen. I'm a dead man. There's no way for me to get out, and they're going to execute me. I'm going to die no matter what. But I want to die on my own terms. I want to prove that I wouldn't let myself be led by those cowards to my grave. That I'm a mage, and that means I'm strong enough to face death myself."
A small part of Julius wondered, stupidly, why he was having such a hard time seeing Pieter's face. It was only when the hot tears began streaking down his cheek did he realize that he was crying.
"..Okay."

The man pulled up his pant leg, drawing forth a snub nosed revolver. His hands didn't tremble as he flipped it over, presenting the grip to Julius.
The gun was tugged upwards into the air, floating towards Julius as he let out a shaky smile.
"Seems like a shame to not use my gift one last time before it's done, after all this."
Pieter said nothing, but nodded.
Julius took a raggedy breath, and realized that he was perfectly calm again. A stillness had settled over him. He was ready to do what needed to be done.
"Thank you, old friend. I'll.. I'll see you on the other side. In a better place."
Then, with the revolver floating next to his head and his arms at his side, he cocked the gun.

The last thing he heard was a ringing sound.



Six Months Later

The first thing Julius heard was a ringing sound.

Then he felt the wet jacket that was soaking up the water in the puddle he laid in.
Are you supposed to feel damp in heaven?
He was pretty sure you shouldn't be able to have a headache.

Rolling over with a grunt, Julius, opened his eyes, realizing he was in a.. Warehouse?

I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore..

Julius wore what seemed to be expensive dress clothes, and although the jacket was wet, the cotton undershirt and the silk white button-up were dry, as were his fitted black slacks. His Cuban heeled shoes looked like they had just been polished.
Pulling himself up to his feet, he noticed that the bruises he had had were gone. In it's place was a splitting headache.

That's a fair trade-off for still being alive, I figure.

Was he still alive?
If he was, he should probably get out of this soaking jacket.
Tugging off the jacket and letting it drop to the ground, Julius looked around the room he found himself in absentmindedly. His eyes widened when he saw several people standing up near him.

"Uh. He- hello?"
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