Asuras

Revue of Annihilation

//O4 - Main Streets

Sebi and Sumiye left 'Sunchy' to his dreary position as they departed -but not without a delicate wave on Sebi's part, to add another final seal to Sunchy's even more delicate psyche. The two ladies left the wall partitioning the Royal Road and made for the 'Onyx Sardine'; a terrible name for a bathhouse if ever there was one. Who would think to give their establishment a connotation of saltiness and fishy smell? Sebi hoped dearly that it was some sort of historic joke to the place, and not any genuine descriptor.

Leaving the Outer Layer via the Royal Road's underpass, the two kitsune delved into a dark, perhaps even seedier stretch of the city wherein their foreign appearances earned them no less of a staring audience. At least there were no guards here to make comments on their race. Poverty appeared even more rife down in the tunnels, and Sebi's mood turned sour.

It was not a feeling of revulsion, but of helplessness.

In the city she lived in for most of her life, poverty was not an alien concept -but the depths of it she saw here cursed her with a kind of eldritch knowledge that threatened to drive anyone suitably unaccustomed mad. In the city of Tairyo, she was priestess, and for all of her unaccountable behavior after defending the city, her responsibilities never quite went away. It was perhaps when the needy were in need that she was most attentive. Tairyo was so loveable in part because of the tiny fraction there who suffered in ways like she was seeing here in Oratorio. A great amount of the pleasure she took in playing priestess was in the happiness she saw in those starving given food, and those cold given shelter. These were the things she loved the most herself -a warm cushion, and hot food- and so in giving them to others...

But here... how could she even begin to fix something like this?

"It will take time," Sumiye said sagely, eyes forward amidst the shadowed suffering. Sebi's worried expression was yanked away from the source of it, and she blinked. Had Sumiye once again read her mother's mind, or was it merely coincidence? Sebi knew her daughter shared similar values, and so it was just as easily that she was feeling the same things. She said nothing to her daughter, but the silence spoke volumes.

//A5 - Adventurer's District - The Onyx Sardine

As a distraction, Sebi relayed her "plan" to Sumiye under whispered words, earning a smile and a sigh from the more pragmatic daughter. She went with it, nevertheless. Their first step of course was to get a bath, and approaching the Onyx Sardine as they made it out of the underpass and into the Adventurer's District, that first step was at hand.

Here in the Adventurer's District, things were considerably more quaint and sturdy, but still maintained that deeper nature of Oratorio Sebi and Sumiye were only still getting used to. A large building of stone stood before them, with clouds of water steam billowing out of chimneys and ajar windows. Inside was an army of workers -and an army of smells. Oils and perfumes saturated the interior giving Sebi a moment of nostalgia and Sumiye a developing headache.

Excited for a proper bath, the two ladies' hopes were to be dashed by the scaly, intimidating, bouncer-receptionist heading the front counter. The baths were closed until evening, and all that they could be offered was buckets of water and malnourished slivers of soap.

They'd take it, of course.

Unfortunate, but not a total defeat. Sebi would accept the lesser bath with a disappointed demeanor, but nevertheless make the most of it. She and Sumiye would make the buckets and soap work between them efficiently, given that the buckets themselves were some change-per-fill. The truly awful part was finding a spot to even do the cleaning in private. That, and Sumiye leveling several complaints about the length of her mother's hair and how much water it was taking to properly wash out. By the end, though, Sebi and Sumiye had rid themselves of dirt and smell and were as pristine as they'd ever been in some time. The two couldn't help but exhale in deep satisfaction as they stepped away from the Onyx Sardine.

Next on the list for Sebi's plan was to buy some innocuous items -specifically a carryable crate or box of some kind. Along the way through markets in the district, Sebi engaged in a very specific gossip with whoever might lend her an ear.

_@ERode

Revue of Annihilation

//O4 - Main Streets

"Hmm, hmm..." Sebi hummed with a thinly-hidden smirk beginning to grow across her lips. Visibly vested interest in the man's tale -a hand to her chin, a nodding head, a swishing tail- belied the woman's disinterest in his plight. After all, the boy managed to do exactly what she'd have done in his situation too... minus the murder accusations, of course.

Sebi added once the guard offered a pause in his rant. "Sounds like a right scoundrel, he does." A pause. "And he certainly never gave me the impression of someone fit for guard duty. Too dainty," she said, throwing in a subtle compliment to the guard himself for good measure. A part of her almost hoped he wasn't even perceptive enough to pick it out.

"Indeed there is little justice here. Not every city's like this, though. It certainly shouldn't have to be this way," Sebi said, drifting off into her own sagely tirade -not without ulterior motive. "Even in simply trying to see the rest of the city, my daughter and I have been treated so poorly, but seeing that even the guards who protect it aren't given the basic decency of fairness it comes as no surprise."

Sumiye cleared her throat conspicuously, perhaps cutting Sebi off from possibly ruining her attempt at wooing the one guard that gave them some measure of respect. There were only so many times she could try getting past the guards before it became embarrassing. Sumiye, unlike her mother, acted with a tad more pragmatism -albeit with an accompanying defeatism too.

"At the very least, we could do something to save those two other ladies from making the wrong decision. That much justice could be done," Sumiye said.

"It'd be a poor image to come knocking at his door after being considered second... no, third! -to a pair of elven women," Sebi grumbled, paying no mind then to the guard that stood by.

"Stay your pride, mother. It's the right thing to do, no?"

The golden fox grumbled again, darted her glance between her daughter and the guard a few times, and then capitulated.

"I've an idea, but it will involve a bath," Sebi said to her daughter.

"And you're not just using this as an excuse...?"

"Come now! Even if it were, we've a mind to do ourselves a favor anyways," Sebi said, waving a hand dismissively. Sumiye said nothing -she couldn't argue that she wished to feel clean after having finally reached their destination. Almost reached, anyways. Sebi turned again to the guard.

"Mister...?" she trailed off, awaiting the guard's name. Whensoever he offered it, she smiled and continued, "Know you of any bath-houses nearby?"

_@ERode

Revue of Annihilation

//O4 - Main Streets

Sebi fully expected the young man to continue on between the guards which had denied her access with the two elves in tow. But as he instead ventured perpendicular, both she and her daughter's ears perked to some unspoken confusion, and exchanged one another knowing glances. Sebi offered Camille, Meisa, and Firenze a wide distance between as they tailed them. Why the young noble thought it best to continue inside the Outer Layer, rather than retreat into the relative safety of the Royal Road was beyond the both of them.

Of course, this was supposing this 'noble' was actually such, and the two kitsune had a mind that not all was what it seemed.

The thought was the briefest of brief, but with little else to go off of, Sebi found herself guided on by the minute chance that something beneficial might come out of this. She supposed -if but half-jokingly- that these two elves were about to be conned. The feeling grew as her quarry passed by the next gate. Seeing the actual atelier of the artist still firmly entrenched within the Outer Layer, it seemed all the more certainly odd.

She hummed to herself, standing at the corner of the street opposite the atelier, and Sumiye pried.

"What are you thinking?" she asked, hand on a leaning hip, "I suppose the poor guy could simply be pretending. That or his family had little inclination to entertain his hobby."

"Few people pretend without purpose," Sebi said sagely, nodding to herself, "But it is all too convenient, isn't it? A spritely young man, artistic, decorated... finding two pretty women hoping to land themselves in the better part of town, but himself having no key in? What promises might he make," she said. Her gaze opened, and drifted off behind her, down the ways they'd just come from.

"I wonder..." she hummed.

Sebi wordlessly doubled back, followed by her daughter, and went straight for one of the guards they'd passed. She approached them with a bright smile and a swagger to her step -one that she already knew failed, though this time employed for a different intent.

"Good day gentlemen," she greeted, her tail restlessly swaying, "I don't suppose either of you are familiar with that atelier just down the way? Used by the boy 'Moissan'?"

She herself was a sore thumb, but the young 'noble' must have been much more of a known face around these parts, she presumed. Surely the stoic eyes of the city would know a thing or two?

_{@ERode@Click This}

Revue of Annihilation

//O4 - Main Streets

Was it really that bad?

Her own appearance, of course, not the city itself. That much was assuredly awful to behold, and downright torturous to smell -certainly by comparison to her home city, but by now Sebi had long come to grips with the reality of Oratorio and its surrounding legion of despondent hovels.

Tied up into a long, waving tail, Sebi's normally floor-and-then-some length hair was supposed to be protected from the elements, but even being spared from dragging directly across mud and muck it was still always teetering close to the edge, and every step taken along her and her daughter's journey meant a chance that something got kicked right up and into it. Her clothing, bright and soft, stood out against Oratorio's commonfolk, and much like the citizens themselves, dirt also stood out just as starkly... which also clung tenaciously to Sebi's attire.

She would admit -in her own head, anyways- that the journey did not treat her regal appearance well. The smell she would thoroughly reject, but she was just as tenacious as the dirt, and took it all in stride. Her daughter would object to such an assessment -at least towards the start of their trek.

For the time being, the two vulpine women took the guard's racist comments with little more than a blink of the eyes. They'd already heard it several times before on their approach to Oratorio, and until a time as their newness (and filthiness) no longer seemed the driving factor for mistreatment, they'd let them slide.

The two stepped away from the guards, even as Sebi continued mulling over responses and excuses in her head to try and convince the guards one more time. But her legs realized the defeat before her brain did, and carried her away anyways. Perhaps attuned precisely to the sound of windfall itself, Sebi's pricked ears turned unnaturally quickly towards the source of a young man's greeting, and she practically whipped her ponytail into her daughter beside her as she turned around. It took nary a millisecond before her assessment of the young noble sparked a glimmer of hope, and Sebi put on her brightest smile, and her proudest posture.

"Why cer-!"

He went right past me!

He went right past her.

Sebi's glittering expression soured immediately, once more dragged down by the wear and tear of harsh travel. Sumiye, ever-attentive to her mother's thoughts, allowed a giggle to escape her. Sebi leveled a sad, puppy-eyed look to her daughter, begging for sympathy, but received nothing but smug amusement. She wouldn't allow herself to be defeated twice in three minutes. Sebi began to approach the noble, but before she could speak, Sumiye grabbed her gently on the shoulder and shook her head -a gesture to give up. Sebi sighed petulantly.

Still, the blonde woman beside this noble's interest seemed a touch more... important, in some ways, and Sebi wondered to herself if the artist had made not one but two mistakes in so choosing the dark-haired girl. With crossed arms and a pouting face, she watched and waited, perhaps even somewhat hoping that the artist was reprimanded for his terrible taste.

_{@ERode@Click This}

Revue of Annihilation

Sebi, Lazy "Goddess" of Light

Sebi

"Have you much more to say? I'm growing weary of your trifles."

Kitsune | 38 | Female | 179 cm (5'10) | ??? kg
0th Circle | Domain of Light

"Where I came from? My past? My, such a large question. Do you want the long or short of it -no, had you a tail like mine, I'm sure it would be wagging. You want the long version!

Short version it is then.

I hail from a place a long ways away, suffice it to say. A place of restless haunts and roiling elementals. It sounds awful, and truly it was -until I saved our wonderful city from its worst! There were others involved, of course, but I didn't earn my title of Goddess for paltry contributions, I'll have you know. Oh how they loved me. And I wouldn't have done otherwise. The greatest city one could know.

Our poor city was once subject to all manner of lowly creatures stalking the nights and throwing catastrophe about. A horrid mage had cursed the land in his dying breath, and it had attracted every distasteful thing from around the region. We suffered it for a time, but in the meanwhile, I and my fellow priests and priestesses hatched a plan to shelter the city. Removing the curse was beyond our abilities, unfortunately. That wretched mage was a powerful one, to be sure. No luck in that regard.

With our exceptional team, though, we managed to forge a shield that kept out the worst of the creepies outside. No more did we have to keep vigilant for murderous shadows and blazing spirits. The odd goblin snuck inside here and there, but our nightmarish days were behind us then! Due in no small part to yours truly, my dear. Heaps of praise were levied upon me, and I spent my hard-earned effort in the best way possible, then:

Doing nothing!

Even as do-nothing bum, my reputation persisted alongside the persistence of the shield. I cannot begin to describe the amount of free food I was privilege to. Ah, and all of the men who threw themselves at me! All gone now... Poor me, living now in this squalor... it's a tragedy you cannot imagine! But, it's what I have to live with if I'm to see my true potential be revealed.

You see, not long ago, a strange thing happened while I was resting in the gardens of our temple. This light... immaculate as can be, like the rays you see twinkling down within the break of a raincloud, rippled above the temple. I was mesmerized at its beauty. It truly is difficult to describe. I was charmed, and felt compelled to reach out when it had surged into a brightness that looked as if solid to the touch. And then... I felt it. The light was of a warmth alien to this world, and it touched me as much as I had touched it... No, more than that. It seeped into my very being.

...

I've blathered on, haven't I? I promised a short version, my bad! Anyways -after that day, I felt a singular compulsion to venture here, oh so far from my people. My staunchest supporter came with me -my daughter you see- and therein we have set upon making this divine spark in me shine. I'll be a goddess someday soon, just you wait. I already have the spirit for it, after all!"

Path to Ascension

0th Circle Ichor-Blessed

❖ Ichor: 0
❖ Wealth: 0
❖ Paladins: 1
❖ Followers: 0
❖ Resources: None
❖ Artifacts: None
❖ Property: None

Divine Protection of Light

❖ Darkward: In darkness, you are always accompanied by a light that illuminates your immediate surroundings.

Starting Benefit

❖ Treasured Companion: 1 Paladin. You've granted your Grace upon someone whom you trust deeply.

Paladins

Sumiye

Sumiye

Kitsune | 19 | Female | 167 cm (5'6) | 62 kg (138 lbs)
Tier 1 Paladin | Exorcist

But one of several children to the priestess Sebi, Sumiye remains her mother's most stalwart protégé... if perhaps only due to her mother's flippant attitude towards the rest of her offspring after having gone through raising one, let alone others. Still, it is due to that rare dedication Sebi showed to her first-born that Sumiye kept the strong familial tie.

As the daughter of the city's most exceptional (in more ways than one, Sumiye often gripes) priestess, Sumiye naturally gravitated towards following after the talent of her mother and took up a spiritual role, honing her skills as an exorcist, healer, and all-round boon to the citizens of her home.

When her mother came to her speaking of 'destiny' in many large words, Sumiye knew that her most recent bender of sloth and gluttony had finally finished, and she was ready to go out and do something better with her life... for however long it'd last. It became clearer that this incident was no mere clockwork change, however, when her mother expressed an odd power beyond that which she'd known for so long. There was more to this. Following her mother to a city called "Oratorio", therein they would achieve greater purpose -now as the hopeful chrysali of a divine destiny.

Skills

❖ Spirit-sense - Sumiye has an uncanny sense for the presence of undead nearby, and can pick out their general location down to a block or individual abode.

Grades

STR - I | END - I | DEX - I | AGI - I | MAG - I

Revue of Annihilation

Sebi, Lazy "Goddess" of Light

Sebi

"Have you much more to say? I'm growing weary of your trifles."

Kitsune | 38 | Female | 179 cm (5'10) | ??? kg
0th Circle | Domain of Light

"Where I came from? My past? My, such a large question. Do you want the long or short of it -no, had you a tail like mine, I'm sure it would be wagging. You want the long version!

Short version it is then.

I hail from a place a long ways away, suffice it to say. A place of restless haunts and roiling elementals. It sounds awful, and truly it was -until I saved our wonderful city from its worst! There were others involved, of course, but I didn't earn my title of Goddess for paltry contributions, I'll have you know. Oh how they loved me. And I wouldn't have done otherwise. The greatest city one could know.

Our poor city was once subject to all manner of lowly creatures stalking the nights and throwing catastrophe about. A horrid mage had cursed the land in his dying breath, and it had attracted every distasteful thing from around the region. We suffered it for a time, but in the meanwhile, I and my fellow priests and priestesses hatched a plan to shelter the city. Removing the curse was beyond our abilities, unfortunately. That wretched mage was a powerful one, to be sure. No luck in that regard.

With our exceptional team, though, we managed to forge a shield that kept out the worst of the creepies outside. No more did we have to keep vigilant for murderous shadows and blazing spirits. The odd goblin snuck inside here and there, but our nightmarish days were behind us then! Due in no small part to yours truly, my dear. Heaps of praise were levied upon me, and I spent my hard-earned effort in the best way possible, then:

Doing nothing!

Even as do-nothing bum, my reputation persisted alongside the persistence of the shield. I cannot begin to describe the amount of free food I was privilege to. Ah, and all of the men who threw themselves at me! All gone now... Poor me, living now in this squalor... it's a tragedy you cannot imagine! But, it's what I have to live with if I'm to see my true potential be revealed.

You see, not long ago, a strange thing happened while I was resting in the gardens of our temple. This light... immaculate as can be, like the rays you see twinkling down within the break of a raincloud, rippled above the temple. I was mesmerized at its beauty. It truly is difficult to describe. I was charmed, and felt compelled to reach out when it had surged into a brightness that looked as if solid to the touch. And then... I felt it. The light was of a warmth alien to this world, and it touched me as much as I had touched it... No, more than that. It seeped into my very being.

...

I've blathered on, haven't I? I promised a short version, my bad! Anyways -after that day, I felt a singular compulsion to venture here, oh so far from my people. My staunchest supporter came with me -my daughter you see- and therein we have set upon making this divine spark in me shine. I'll be a goddess someday soon, just you wait. I already have the spirit for it, after all!"

Path to Ascension

0th Circle Ichor-Blessed

❖ Ichor: 0
❖ Wealth: 0
❖ Paladins: 1
❖ Followers: 0
❖ Resources: None
❖ Artifacts: None
❖ Property: None

Divine Protection of Light

❖ Darkward: In darkness, you are always accompanied by a light that illuminates your immediate surroundings.

Starting Benefit

❖ Treasured Companion: 1 Paladin. You've granted your Grace upon someone whom you trust deeply.

Paladins

Sumiye

Sumiye

Kitsune | 19 | Female | 167 cm (5'6) | 62 kg (138 lbs)
Tier 1 Paladin | Exorcist

But one of several children to the priestess Sebi, Sumiye remains her mother's most stalwart protégé... if perhaps only due to her mother's flippant attitude towards the rest of her offspring after having gone through raising one, let alone others. Still, it is due to that rare dedication Sebi showed to her first-born that Sumiye kept the strong familial tie.

As the daughter of the city's most exceptional (in more ways than one, Sumiye often gripes) priestess, Sumiye naturally gravitated towards following after the talent of her mother and took up a spiritual role, honing her skills as an exorcist, healer, and all-round boon to the citizens of her home.

When her mother came to her speaking of 'destiny' in many large words, Sumiye knew that her most recent bender of sloth and gluttony had finally finished, and she was ready to go out and do something better with her life... for however long it'd last. It became clearer that this incident was no mere clockwork change, however, when her mother expressed an odd power beyond that which she'd known for so long. There was more to this. Following her mother to a city called "Oratorio", therein they would achieve greater purpose -now as the hopeful chrysali of a divine destiny.

Skills

❖ Spirit-sense - Sumiye has an uncanny sense for the presence of undead nearby, and can pick out their general location down to a block or individual abode.

Grades

STR - I | END - I | DEX - I | AGI - I | MAG - I

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

Luna Emeraltide

Considering their destination, and the persistent chittering of wary beasts that lined the path up until then, Luna had her saber out and prepared long before the roc made its presence known. She dodged backwards as its beak plunged into the dark dirt, and shielded her face of the upended sod. She assessed the creature for a moment, and wondered how the village could have ever survived as it did with things like this about. Either it was conveniently terrified of the so-called Silverlight -moreso than the beasts- or it was only now active at the behest of something else. Something told her it was more likely the latter.

If so, any illusion of a stealthy approach was shattered.

Luna arced her saber over her head, and a hand slid along the flat of the blade, coating it in a gleaming, starry pattern that twinkled with each chanting word of her ritual. Enchanted with an aura of cursing stupefaction, she set to work cutting and binding at the bird, first lunging for the apex of its limbs where she could immobilize it.

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

Luna Emeraltide

"Insofar as the present beasts have been vanquished, yes," Luna replied to Giselle, "But... what's this I hear about undead from the waterfront?" She tilted her head curiously and seemed unfettered. Truthfully, she felt a bit upset that the beasts weren't the extent of it, and not knowing whether or not they too were connected to the possible vampire frustrated her. One more problem to solve for the sorry villagefolk. She wished there that they could simply start the process of repairing everything, and take up stewardship of the village in peace.

Just one small step towards sanctifying the darkened world.

"I agree though, that we should investigate the forest as soon as we can. It does not seem to me a coincidence that all of these things are crawling up just as soon as we arrived, and I am worried that their frequency should remain if we idle," Luna nodded to Giselle, "Though we should all go together. We know not the extent of this source's power yet."

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

Luna Emeraltide

Luna strode back into the village and took little time to sense her way towards Giselle and Akyasha. Julene's reaction earned a confused tilt of Luna's head. Whatever it was that had annoyed the blacksmith was unknown to the vampiress. She spared questioning the circumstance and approached her sisters, eyes briefly cast upon the reinforced building that had appeared to be approaching.

"None," she replied to Akyasha's question, "...and I trust you two remain in good health as well," she began, folding her fingers together and offering a warm smile. "Oh my -carrying her like that without even knowing her name? I did not take you for one so bold and expedient, Akyasha," Luna said, seemingly mostly sincere. Brushing aside a lock of hair from her face, Luna wasted no more time in detailing their own findings beneath the town.

"Dragan, Aleksiya and I have split up for different tasks. We ventured beneath to find tunnels rife with beasts as well as their apparent means into the town. It seems as though someone amongst the townsfolk's ranks was experimenting on them down there, though the human in question was nowhere to be found. What's more, this mad scientist also seemed to propose that the beasts were coming from none other than a..." Luna paused, and for a moment just barely seemed to glance towards Julene before continuing, "A vampire... Somewhere within the forest nearby. We were concerned that you, Giselle, might have found your way too deep into the forest. I am glad you're safe, however."

Luna gave Julene another brief look over, followed by the workshop, and smiled again.

"What have you two been up to?" she asked.

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

Luna Emeraltide

The vampiress turned her gaze towards the hole leading out into cold air, and hummed after Dragan's theory. The drifting apathy in her smooth hum exposed her own doubts -she seemed inclined to believe the nameless lord had at least some hand in this violence. Luna moved to the ladder, and turned back to Aleksiya.

"I would have us reach Giselle first, wherever she may be. She was last with us outside the gates. If she is yet in the forest, she may be in the most danger," Luna explained before climbing up the ladder. Her absurdly long hair hung below as she ascended, like the tail of a golden fox. A fox that, plainly visible to Dragan and Aleksiya, was in dire need of cleaning. Through their travels thus far, the floor-and-then-some-length hair had collected all manner of mud, twigs, and leaves at its splayed ends. The rungs of the ladder helped to sift out only a small amount of the debris.

At the surface, Luna instinctively spread her arms wide and stretched, as if taking in the glow of a moon which was no longer there. She turned about then, gaining her bearings after being hidden underground in an unfamiliar place.