• Closed • Rest

[Ent]

"Yes the faceless man, Aelig." Beth confirmed it for certain that the cause of all this had been a cruel game played by Aelig upon the family. A small contained world of chaos to house Beth and her personal torture, presenting her with a life of never ending pain and loss. "He did this to us and they still haven't got home, the sea was calm and it was sunny but after they left a storm seemed to come from nowhere and they still haven't got back." The woman was clearly confused and had she still felt the loss and anguish she would be hysterical but as it was she was calm and still.

Of course Faith defended herself and Beth, assuring that what had happened to each of them was not their faults. Still Beth shook her head and looked into the silver eyes of Faith. "He promised it would be okay, he told me that I would be happy but then he wanted to take them, my babies, and I refused him." The emotionless woman let out a sound akin to a scream as she shook her head confused, the only emotion managing to manifest now being anger. "He was furious, he told me I would pay but I did not believe him, no I was sure it would be okay but now they are gone and I am alone." She swung her hand and threw an empty glass from the table across the room. It shattered against the floor.

Her eyes betrayed the pain she could not feel and she was utterly surprised. "Arc 717? I don't understand it was only weeks ago, I am sure." The woman rubbed her head in thought, unable to decipher the difference between reality and Aelig's illusions. "There are no bodies, they were lost at sea, drowned at the bottom of the ocean." Emotionless tears left her eyes as she looked at the medic who was trying to help her. "That grave is nothing but a stone."

"I don't understand what is happening to me, I have to go somewhere, come on." With a new and sudden burst of energy she stood, renewed and awake once more as she headed for the door. She was still not fast or healthy but she could move on her own. "Quickly it is important, they should be back soon." Leaving the house without even closing the door Beth headed for the nearest part of the coastline where she used to watch them sailing on their way back to the docks. Atop a large cliff this was where she had seen them make the journey many times and she was certain they would be there today.

As she arrived she stopped and looked out across the ocean, the vast life filled body of water housing the dead she had lost and keeping them from her. "Any bit now Faith, they will come." She pointed to a large rocky outcrop where she thought they would appear. "Any moment now." She reiterated as she watched carefully.

[Faith Augustin]

The faceless man had promised her that she would be happy but then had wanted her children? Faith looked at Beth and she shook her head. "I promise you, you are not alone. I'm going to help you find out what happened. He deals in lies, Beth. Illusions and lies." There was no doubting it and Faith wondered at this strange behaviour - not on Beth's part, but on Aelig's. "Did he say what he wanted?" The babies, yes, but why? Why them? Why leave her here? Faith's experience of him was that he could not help himself but get involved, torture where he could, torment as he wished. All these arcs of Beth simply being alone seemed out of character for him, and it didn't quite ring true to her. But she nodded her head. "It is Arc 717, Beth. You're on a loop of some kind or.. time is not functioning for you the way it should, you aren't seeing it. No. We're going to break this. I promise you."

They were lost at sea, the marker a stone and Faith frowned deeply as Beth said that. A storm? But Aelig was not the Immortal of Storms. What was the illusion there - the calm seas or the stormy ones, she wondered. Making sure to take the food off the heat and make things safe, Faith moved with Beth. The woman was weak but she could walk and she did so and went down to the cliffs where the sea met the shore. When they got there, Faith put her hand on Beth's arm and she did her best to keep the incredibly unstable woman from the edge of the cliffs. "Beth, I need you to listen to me," Faith said. Her silver eyes were earnest and clear. "It is Arc 717. Do you understand that, when they disappeared, it was a long time ago. Aelig is trapping you in that moment of grief, in that trial maybe, that very one, I don't know. But what I do know," she said, with a slight smile. "Is that you can beat this. We can, together. Look at me, Beth. Vri is the Immortal of death, sorrow, love and remembrance. He has them in his embrace now, I believe. They are at peace, at rest. You must listen to me."

There were no ghosts here, no dead anchored to Beth or in this place. There was just grief and sorrow and memories, all taken too far and mixed up too much. "It is Arc 717, Beth. When did you see them last? What was the date?" She looked at Beth and held tightly to the woman's hands. "How long has Aelig tortured you like this?" Faith spoke quietly and added. "If you wish it, only if you wish it, I can help you to clear your mind, to calm it and look at things more clearly. Would you like me to do that? This much be very confusing for you, and I will do it happily, if you want me to?"

The sorrow and pain which gnawed at Faith now was what this woman carried every trial as Faith currently carried her babies. This was torture, pure and simple and Faith would do whatever she could to serve Lord Vri's will and to help this woman. But she would not enforce anything on Beth, for to do so would be completely counter productive anyhow. So she asked, and waited to see. If Beth agreed, Faith would use her Moseke granted ability "Calming Whispers", but the choice was Beth's, completely.

[Ent]

"He wanted them because they were his, they were his children but I wouldn't give them to him, I refused and we all paid the price." The two sons of Aelig lost at sea and dead with their father or so the people who were present would believe. Still the family had been torn apart by the wickedness of the faceless master of chaos and there was nothing left. "Break what? We have to go greet them come on." She left and Faith followed her from the cottage and out to the cliffs.

Beth continued to stare off at the rocks where they should appear, where the boat was supposed to be in her mind. She was so sure that they would come, that her family would float into view any moment. "Today, they left a few breaks ago, this morning and they will be back soon." She answered clearly struggling to make sense of what Faith was saying. "Don't be silly, its arc 710, it has to be." Her face filled with a thoughtful expression but she was still unable to feel the pain and grief that Faith had taken from her, perhaps it had even started the cycle again.

The frail woman answered Faith's question again. "I saw them today this morning, the 12th trial of Saun, arc 710." She nodded seemingly certain until another wave of thought rushed over her. "That's wrong?" She questioned herself Faith's reassurance that it was 717 causing her to re-evaluate what she knew, or thought she knew. She did allow Faith to use the ability, to clear her mind and break the distortion of time and illusion offered by Aelig's torment. Though this did not cure the woman how maybe Faith had hoped, clearing away the false and aligning the truth in her mind Beth was able suddenly to understand the truth. They were all dead.

Looking up at the medic she shook her head, still unable to feel the pain and loss she smiled. It was uncomfortable and awkward but she smiled and it was honest. "I understand, I remember, they are dead and they aren't coming back." Turning away from Faith, who was not only weakened by her pregnancy but too now from fighting the powerful corruption wrought by Aelig. "They are gone and so am I."

Suddenly Beth broke free of Faith's weakened hold and advanced to the cliff. She turned her back to the ocean and looked to Faith and nodded. "I remember now, thank you, to peace." She smiled and looked into Faith's eyes, for the first time since they had met that day Beth seemed at peace. Then she tipped and dropped backwards, plummeting to the murky depths bellow and disappearing into the icy waters to join her family. It was sudden and shocking, in fact it was horrifying but it was morbidly beautiful in a way and it had shown the young soon to be mother what exactly Vri had brought her to this woman for.

So as he materialised next to her, a cold hand on her shoulder he was ready to receive Faith's wrath. The woman was so passionate and caring he knew it would take her a moment to see the light of this but she would and that was why she carried his blessing. "I am sorry you had to see that but it was necessary I promise you." His words struggled to come across empathetically, he had seen so much death and so many like this that while he cared he did not mourn like others did. "Do you understand this?" He asked gesturing to the cliff to show he spoke of the woman and events that had unfolded.

[Faith Augustin]

They were his? What did Beth mean, Faith thought and then she realised. They were Aelig's children? Well, that complicated things somewhat, Faith thought to herself but did not say. In the way that Tristan loved Ayla, who it seemed likely was also Aelig's, so too did Beth love her children - because they were hers and of course she did. Faith looked at her and she wished that she could just fix it, fix it for her.

Beth allowed Faith to use the calming minds power, which Faith did - concentrating carefully and ensuring that she and Beth were still and unmoving together. It allowed Beth to calm, to ease herself. For Faith it was a struggle, the grief and sorrow which she held in her at the moment was something which threatened to spill out and overwhelm her at any moment. So, she pushed her feelings into her hands and she got on with what she had to do. Vri had asked her to, she had just lost Aeon and this battle would make it right, would put a tick in the plus column for her, would be someone that she could save.

Because she hadn't been able to save her friend. Faith had seen him die, had tended to his corpse and had been standing in the graveyard saying goodbye when Vri had found her and given her this to do. Carrying her own grief was as heavy as the children inside her, but was not the joy of her pregnancy, rather a lead weight which hung from her heart. Beth's grief added to it and Faith was weighed down with it all.

Fundamentally, Faith was tired and in that moment, that moment when she should have been able to act, she was weak.

When it happened, Faith saw it happen in the same slow, vivid clarity she had seen Aeon's death. She heard Beth's words echoing through the vast chasm between them, these two women who stood side by side, and as Beth said and so am I Faith knew what was happening. She knew, and she tried to move, but she couldn't stop her. Like she hadn't been able to stop Noth.

Like she couldn't stop death.

Like she couldn't stop slavery.

Like she couldn't stop poverty.

"Beth...." Faith whispered and she jumped as she felt a cool hand on her shoulder. Vri, the Immortal of Death and Sorrow, Love and Remembrance stood there and he spoke. Faith listened, truly, and she felt tears prickle her eyes. Looking at him, she shook her head. "No, my lord, I do not understand it." Faith considered the whole situation. "She was not living." Looking at him, Faith spoke what she saw to be the absolute truth. "Death was a mercy for her. Tomorrow, she would feel this sorrow again. The corruption in her mind, she couldn't escape it." Aelig had, Faith said, cursed this woman to being neither alive or dead, nor in between. She frowned deeply. "I wanted to save her. But all I could do is give her a little peace before she passed." Sighing deeply, Faith looked at him and said, honestly. "I couldn't even do that for my friend. For him, all I could do was tend to his body."

She turned her attention to him and spoke. "Death is so many different things. For her, it was the welcome and needed rest you spoke of," she'd thought he'd been speaking of Aeon. Maybe he had. "I am glad she found some peace and can pass onto you." She smiled a melancholy smile. "I wish I could fix all the wrongs of the world."

[Ent]

The immortal looked upon his faithful servant and nodded as she spoke, she had come to learn a lot from this situation and while she said she did not understand she gave evidence to the contrary, she had caught onto everything he wished her too. Not everyone can be saved, death is not always a bad thing and that her job was to bring peace where it was needed. In a time where Beth needed someone more than anything, someone to help her remember, Faith was there.

"It is not our job to decide who lives and who dies, we are all destined to leave this world one day." With a strong lift he raised Faith to her feet and dusted some dirt from her shoulders. "Her mind had been made up long ago she just needed someone to clear away the lies Aelig had planted in her mind." Vri's face was momentarily filled with sadness but it moved out of his features within a blink of the eyes. "Not everyone is as strong as you and not everyone has the faith you do, you survived the torment of Aelig because you have something to live and to fight for." He looked over to the cliff and moved to look down to the ocean below, the expanse that had only just taken Beth from the world.

Standing there he continued. "Not everyone can be saved and being saved does not mean living for everyone." A brief smile flitted over his features as if he thought of some distant happy memory. "You helped Beth to die at peace, you helped her to remember what she needed too and it was all you could do, she is free now." Turning around he walked over to Faith and took her hands in his own, looking her in the eyes he spoke some words in a language she could not understand. A tingling would spread though them, the skin turning black before subsiding back to the original colour of the flesh as the mark was grown and their bond strengthened.

"I admire how mortal you are Faith, your beliefs and your goals are pure but I must implore you to remember that death seeks us all out one day and while it feels natural to fight it accepting it is what will truly bring the long deserved peace." Releasing her hands he stepped back and nodded to her. "Beth is thankful to you for helping her. Now continue your work and fight for your beliefs, someone has too." Briefly Faith would think she could see Beth taking Vri's hand, a smile on her face before the two of them faded from the realm of Idalos.

[Faith Augustin]

He lifted her like a child or a doll, so easy was his grip on her. Faith was very aware that this was an Immortal, not a human man as he almost appeared to be. Yet there was something very human in the gesture as he wiped some dust off her. Looking up at him she smiled. "I don't feel strong, a lot of the time - the opposite in fact." She survived the torment of Aelig - and she supposed she had - but she had done so because of and alongside Padraig. That made the difference, of course ~ Aelig had taken everything from Beth and left her with nothing - literally nothing.

When he spoke of how not everyone could be saved and how, for some, being saved did not mean living, Faith nodded. It was a hard lesson for the young woman to learn, but she was growing to learn it - just slowly, oh so slowly. Yet, she had to accept that, and she knew that she had done everything for Beth that she could. Some diseases were incurable, sometimes death was inevitable. Nodding her head, she spoke in a soft voice. "Thank you, my Lord, for the opportunity to serve you. It is my privilege to do so."

And then, he turned and walked to her, holding her hands in his and Faith heard him speak, but did not comprehend the words. She didn't need to comprehend the to feel the sensation in her hands as they touched the Immortals' physical form. It was awe-inspiring and she gasped at the feeling.

He spoke to her again, then, and she nodded. "I will endeavor to remember, Lord." Thanks to his gifts, it wasn't that she'd ever forget, of course, but there was remembering and then there was really recalling and living it. But continue fighting for her beliefs? Faith smiled at him and it was a genuine, mirthful smile. Made all the more when she saw Beth there with him. "Unto my final breath and beyond, Lord Vri," she whispered and she breathed out a ragged outbreath. No trial was ever dull, she had to admit and the young woman knew that there were a lot of lessons for her to learn, to reflect on and to grow from in Vri's task for her.

With her hand on her pregnant stomach, Faith smiled slightly. "Rest well, Beth," she whispered and then, Faith made her way home.

[Ent]

Your Rewards Little One

Congratulations! Vri Adores you now!

Knowledge:
Bellinos: Lament's Judge: Can take away the pain and the sorrow
Bellinos: Lament's Judge: Effects stop if the person used on dies

Loot: No physical loot but Vri has granted you three new abilities as you advance into the rank of Adored. They are as follows:

A Vision of Demise: The marked of Vri are connoisseurs of ends. With the first ability, Final Moment, the marked begins to collect the deaths experienced by those around him. A Vision of Demise is an evolution of Final Moment to a terrifying potential. Initiated by touch, a marked of Vri can initiate a trance in which the victim will experience a death that the marked has recorded. While mostly intended as instructive, this ability can be used to torture and end hostilities. While this ability is active, both the marked and the subject are locked in a trance and unable to do anything else. So long as contact is maintained, this ability cannot be escaped. Both the marked and the subject experience the full death before being released.

Death's Companion: Although relatively rare, there are spirits of Death. Natural entropic spirits that uphold the balance of all beings in their cycle. Since the intervention of the Immortals there have been fewer and fewer of these spirits active in the world of Idalos and nearly all serve Vri and his chosen. Only the Adored, his trusted, are awarded the company of one such spirit. The agreement is very simple, the spirit will aid the Adored without violently intervening in their lives. When manifesting, these spirits often take the shape of carrion birds, otherwise they tend to lurk invisibly around the marked. Those that can see spirits will note most death spirits tend to have the appearance of a glossy black, vaguely humanoid shape. Often the Adored will use these spirits to scout or lead them to sights of death. Unlike their Marked abilities, a Death spirit can sense death for miles. Presenting an item of the deceased to a Death spirit will allow that spirit to lead the Adored to the location of death, no matter the distance. Invested in the fate of their companion, these spirits will usually warn an Adored if they are being followed or are in any danger. The spirits tend to be very patient and sometimes almost annoyingly calm.

Deathkeeper's Skills II: Add an extra six skill points to any of the following. These skill points may exceed the 100 cap. Interrogation, Investigation, Meditation, Detection

Injuries/Overstepping: Emotionally drained and tired but no physical injury.

I loved writing this thread with you, I am sorry it took so long so it is not possible to have too huge impact but I still think it will have helped Faith to learn a valuable lesson in life and death. It was great having chance to do this and I hope you enjoyed yourself as much as me!