• Closed • [Lightning Cathedral]He Ascended

[Lucas Nardovino]

6th of Saun, Arc 718

He was sober, he had managed to resist the urge to drink today in order to make the long climb up to the cathedral from the Earth Quarter. The time had come for him to show true homage to the immortal who had helped him to survive his time inside. Lucas was sure she had looked over him and given him strength until the end when he had been released in a shocking surprise. Drinking and brawling and praying had been something but now he had made the climb, pushed aside the heavy dark wooden doors and taken to his knees at the front of the great prayer chamber.

The windows doused him in light as his lips moved silently in prayer, speaking some unheard words to his immortal. In that moment he looked like any normal man who had found religion but the truth was he was far from that. Lucas was a man who had changed beyond belief, he was an ex-convict who prayed to the immortal he believed had saved him from death. He was a man who had been given the chance of a life time, a second chance with which he could do better.

His eyes opened again as he finished and he bowed his head before standing and looking around him. The room was vast and ornate, statues and mosaics of people he did not know lined the walls and pews made a long isle up to the doorway. It was a stunning place to see and in truth he was happy to be there finally, it definitely beat kneeling in front of the tiny window in his cell. That had been the best he could do at the time and it had felt liberating but this was on another level, this was unbelievable especially for a man who had believed he would die just over a season ago. It was a whole new world.

He moved over to an alcove, where a table stood and candles were stacked and tiered on steps. Many burned flickering beautifully in the darker part of the cathedral, the area shielded from the light of the windows to allow the candles to control the brightness. The man had never learned the tradition of the candle lighting ritual, and so Lucas was unaware of their meaning and significance and so he looked at them curiously. He was unsure what to think but he hoped maybe someone would explain.

He looked around him and saw a woman with pale pink hair, an unusual colour and not one he had seen before but still quite charming. Lucas smiled to her but was unable to find the words for his question and so shyly looked back to the candles only to look back a moment later to see if she was watching him. Prison had really made him bad at this kind of thing and so he nodded to her, hoping she would approach.

[Hanabi]

Hanabi wished she could say she was enjoying her time as a Thunder Priestess. She wished that she was training to be a world class warrior with the strength to crush enemies in battle. But alas, she was stuck here tending to the prayer room. She had been a priestess for a very short while now and being a novitiate wasn’t all that exciting. I should have never told them that I don’t know anything about the religion. Now I’m little more than a maid!”

The young woman’s face would show a faint smile which was entirely forced as she slid cloth along a surface to wipe off some dust. Her somewhat muscular body would be covered by the white robes that novitiates were required to wear. Anyone that happened to look at her feet would be able to tell that they had not been sized yet as they dragged along the floor with every step.

Upon finishing her cleaning, she took notice of a man that had been lingering for a short while. His face looked young, but he had some grey in his hair. He looked like he had a question and Hanabi didn’t see anyone else around. Hanabi would force a bigger smile on her face and walk up to the man. She might not know much, but a standard greeting had been drilled into her head.

“Welcome to the prayer room! I’m Novitiate Hanabi and I’d be happy to help if you had any questions or concerns!”

The line was rehearsed, but Hanabi’s interest was genuine. ”Anything to end the endless cleaning.”

[Lucas Nardovino]

6th of Saun, Arc 718

She approached and Lucas found himself strangely nervous, she was young and pretty. He was rugged and damaged, aged by years in prison but she seemed genuinely interested as she spoke. Otherwise she was doing a good job of faking it, well enough to make Lucas feel more at ease as he returned her smile. Her voice was welcoming and friendly and she seemed sweet, quite charming to be completely honest.

"Hello Hanabi." He offered her a nod of his head and smiled widely. "I am Lucas and really I a just curious about the meaning of the candles, I assume they are for something but I have never heard their purpose." He gestured to them and shrugged sort of as he lifted an unlit candle and examined it, looking for any uncommon markings or some sign of their meaning. There was nothing it was a simple candle but Lucas was sure there was something, they would not have been stored like this if there wasn't a good reason.

Lucas wondered if the woman enjoyed her role, he would soon be in Ilaren's service too and perhaps she could shed some light on what it meant to devote yourself to her. The woman did look young after all so maybe she had not served for long either but he decided to ask anyway. "What is it like to devote yourself to the service of Ilaren? I have always wondered how it changes your life."

There was clear and passionate curiosity in his question, right now he was sober and avoiding the memories of his old life in favour of a better future but this could never last forever. They always came back around eventually but right now he would relish in the fact he was free of them and listen to what the Novitiate had to tell him.

[Hanabi]

”Oh thank Ilaren. An easy question,” Hanabi would think as her expression loosened a little. If it had been more difficult then she would have had to call for help and memorize yet another copypasta response.

“Welcome Lucas,” she would begin, “There are a couple meanings for lighting candles in this room. The candles are a symbol of a prayer and the flames are a symbol of hope. So lighting a candle is akin to borrowing hope to light a prayer to Ilaren.” It was about at this point that she would typically have gone back to her business, but the curiosity in the man’s voice made her want to tell a little more. “For a Thunder Priestess like me, a candle is lit at my graduation to signify that we will lead Ilaren’s followers through the darkness.” After finishing her response, Hanabi would take a lit candle and touch its tip to the one that Lucas was holding in order to light it.

There were a couple moments of silence as Hanabi thought about Lucas’ second question and placed her candle back down. Her path to becoming a priestess was as abnormal as they came, after all. “Well I only just joined a short while ago. I was struck by lightning and took that as a sign that I should probably join!” Hanabi offered a chuckle and averted her gaze, “I guess the only change I’ve experienced is that I have a purpose and a path to something greater. What brings you here today Lucas?”

[Lucas Nardovino]

6th of Saun, Arc 718

It was a sweet tradition and he could tell a popular one as many candles sat lit around the prayer chamber, everyone of them a sign of united hope and a prayer. Lucas wondered if he had found this place as a child before the gang maybe he would have not fallen to the darkness as he had, there were no hope candles in his past. He allowed her to light his candle and looked at flame light the wick of his own candle, the joined flames burned stronger and brighter before they were separated and held only their own share of hope.

"Thank you, it is a lovely idea." Lucas placed his candle upon the stand with the others, candle wax already beginning to dribble down its length. He imagined it was beautiful in the dark, all the candles flickering and lighting up the cathedral. "I have never met a priestess before, at least not knowingly." The more he considered it, the more he thought it likely he just hadn't realised or noticed in the past. After all his faith was still young and new found, strange how it had taken such an unholy place as prison to make him follow a more holy path.

She asked him now why he was here and Lucas hesitated. The ex-con still felt somewhat ashamed to say that was who he was, a murderer and gangster. He shook his head slightly, that was not who he was any more those days were behind him but he still went for honesty. "I have only recently been reintroduced into the population." He swallowed to clear his throat, unsure how the Novitiate would respond. "I was released from Prison last season and I suppose I felt that Ilaren deserved some true sign of thanks from me, something more than a simple prayer."

He turned away from her and looked into the flames, hiding the slight blush in his skin and the shame he felt. Standing in front of someone as noble and righteous as she admitting he was just a low life, it hurt honestly. "So I climbed the stairs and gave my thanks to Ilaren for guiding mew in those trying times." Lucas tried to change the subject, thinking of what she had just said.

"You said you were struck by lightning and survived?" Lucas' eyes returned to hers curiosity in them again at the peculiar event. "I am not sure whether that is lucky or not but I agree, definitely a sign." He could see no other reason for it's occurrence, in fact it reminded him of the thunder he had heard one night in the prison at his most low. It had helped him to see there was still hope. "It must have been scary though? It doesn't sound like something that would be pleasant, I know they can easily kill a large beast never mind and petite young woman like yourself." He stopped himself, realising that might have been a little forward.

[Hanabi]

Hanabi was surprised to hear that the man standing before her had been a criminal. It sounded like he had been rightfully convicted too. ”If he’s free then he must have served his time. I shouldn’t judge him for something he has been forgiven for. Poor soul, he seems so remorseful!” Even though she had these thoughts, she wasn’t sure what to say. A part of her was somewhat fearful and another part felt at ease that he was open about himself.

When she saw how surprised Lucas was about being struck by lightning, Hanabi let out a grin. Her grin turned into a blush when he called her petite; she definitely wasn’t used to being complimented. This was especially so around these priestesses where all they seemed to find were complaints. Hanabi would look around to make sure nobody else was paying attention then brushed aside her pink hair. She would tug at her robe until her bare shoulder was visible where a massive tangle of scars could be seen. Had Lucas been given a more complete view he would have been able to see that it was shaped like a lightning bolt. One day Hanabi would discover that this was the mark of Ilaren herself. “Neat huh,” Hanabi would say as she quickly shrugged her robe back to normal. “I don’t remember much of that day to be honest. I haven’t shown that to anyone around here yet, but since you told me a secret I showed you one of mine!”

Feeling a bit shy now, Hanabi would avert her eyes from Lucas'. “So what do you plan on doing with your life now that you’re a free man? I suppose you had a lot of time to plan things out?” It was a question Hanabi always had wondered about ex-cons but never had reason or opportunity to ask.

[Lucas Nardovino]

6th of Saun, Arc 718

Lucas noticed her blush and tried to hide an awkward but genuine smile of delight, apparently his botched attempt at a compliment had gotten through. Still, he watched as she tugged at the shoulder of her robe revealing the knots of scars than laced her skin. His eyes widened and he stepped apprehensively forward, examining the impressive markings with interest. "It's beautiful." He admitted as he looked at it with wonderment.

Stepping back and averting his eyes again, afraid of how this may look he too blushed himself. "That is an interesting secret to have and much less shameful than my own." Lucas shook his head and let out a sigh. She asked him a hard question and he struggled for how exactly to answer it. "I thought things would be better out here but its confusing for me, I am no longer sure what to do." The man looked at the pink haired Novitiate and bit his lip as he considered what might be good for him now.

"It was much simpler in prison and it was easy to assume what I would do when I got out but here I am and its nothing like I imagined." Lucas was curious if all ex-cons felt this way or if it was because he had actually become someone new. Maybe it was because he was one of the few criminals who actually cared and wanted to fix their mistakes.

Lucas gestured to the room around him and shrugged. "I had hoped to devote myself to serving Ilaren and Rharne, to join the knights but it has been harder than I thought to do. I feel so much pressure and I don't want to disappoint, its difficult." He looked over at her and forced a smile into his solemn features. "Of course this isn't your problem, I hope I haven't distracted you from your duties for too long with my rambling."

Lucas paused for a moment and then asked, fighting off the part of him that suggested it was a bad idea. "Perhaps I can buy you a drink?" He gulped and quickly added. "You know for listening and all, maybe after your finished with your work?" If it weren't for his beard he would look far redder than he appeared, thank the Immortals for facial hair.

[Hanabi]

Hanabi was intrigued to know that the man himself didn’t seem all too sure of his path forward. She started to wonder how long he had been imprisoned if being free was akin to a new experience. She wondered whether she would even want to stick around if she had been locked away for so long, but that was probably the wanderer in her thinking.

When Lucas mentioned his doubts about becoming a lightning knight, Hanabi wondered if she was even qualified to give advice. She would try anyways, “I think you should do it. Don’t let something like your nerves stop you from finding purpose. Look at me, I’m not having that bad of a time over here. They pay decently and they give an opportunity that I’ve only seen a few times in my travels.”

Then there was the topic of getting drinks. Hanabi wasn’t against getting drinks, in fact she very much wanted to. But there was the matter of Lucas needing a push to go through with his plan. If he became a lightning knight then Hanabi would have a connection with him and it would show that he wasn't all talk.

“Tell you what,” Hanabi said with a wink, “get into the lightning knights, then swing by for drinks. How’s that for an incentive to join? Who knows, I might even have to get YOU a drink after that!” Hanabi would chuckle and turn back to her cleaning. “It was nice meeting you Lucas, I hope you come by again sometime! I’ll be here often if you want to chit-chat.”

[Rynata]

Reverse Pirate Rynata,
here to reverse pirate your rewards!

Name: Lucas

Knowledge:
Detection: Noticing an unusual but recurring feature
Detection: Noticing a woman blush
Detection: Searching for a defining feature
Detection: Assessing someone's age
Seduction: Simple flattery
Seduction: Invite them for a drink
Seduction: The double take

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Expenses: N/A
Renown: N/A
Magic XP: N/A

Points: 15
Name: Hanabi

Knowledge:

Non-Skill Knowledge:

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Expenses: N/A
Renown: N/A
Magic XP: N/A

Points: 15

Comments: A sweet thread! I got to look into character motivations and enjoy the interaction between two PCs with very different backgrounds. Hopefully we see more of them together!

If you feel I've missed anything or if you have questions about your review, please don't hesitate to send me a quick PM. Also, please indicate on your request thread that this has been reviewed. Thanks!

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