Unholy War XVIII: We'll fight, cos we ain't on the same side

[Pig Boy]

Rose smiled happily at her mother, laughing a little when she fell to the ground, perhaps wondering if this was a game she was playing. Then she saw that she was crying, and her smile faded. "Mama, why cry?"

As she started interrogating her daughter, asking who the people were she was talking about, Rose had trouble following her words, her mouth agape and shaking her head. "She's sad."

She said it simply, as if that would explain everything. Rose sighed wearily.

"She misses her daddy." She said, and pointed toward the mirror, where Elle was chasing Gnasher, trying to keep up as the dog carried her doll Jessica away. "I try so much to make her stop cry. But she keep going back to days. She put mean old John to sleep, and her mama. Then the Babysitter came to take her away someplace safe, where couldn't find her."

She shrugged helplessly. "Maybe if she took Jessica with her? When she go with Babysitter? Maybe that make her feel better. She left Jessica in the field where she met Taxman."

It had to be noted, the child was abnormally precocious for a nearly three year old child. Able to speak clearly in full sentences, complex ideas for her age, complete with speculation as to what might make Elle feel better.

"See?" She perked up, and pointed toward the mirrors, "Taxman." Rose pointed toward the central frame of mirror, where Elle was getting her scuffed knee patched up by a silken cloth, torn from a well-dressed man's shirt. At first it was hard to see if it was anyone they recognized. Then Faith remembered.

It was Alistair Venora, tying the colors of his house around Elle's knee to bandage her cut.

She could see her lips move, as she smiled up at him, calling him Taxman saying something else, then giggling.

In the distance, the figure of a bear stalking through the dusty field could be seen, though it made no move to interrupt the two.

Gnasher chased all around them, playfully nipping at the air against imagined opponents.

"Grandfather Bear brought the Taxman there." Rose sighed, as the scene shifted, to mean old John slapping Elle again, and sending her end over end toward the ground. There she lied still. One might've thought she was dead for a moment, and a strange mixture of hope and dread and disgust lingered on Alistair's features as he regarded the little girl on the ground.

Then Elle's chest began vibrating as she sobbed into the ground. Jessica was left by the wayside, as John apologised to Alistair, and dragged the young Elle back home, tossing a rock at Gnasher's head to scare him off for good.

"Poor doggie!" Rose whined.

[Vivian Shiryu]

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Vivian paused as Elle seemed to hear Faith, but before she could react, Faith confirmed from memories she had seen that Elle did look a lot like Ellasin. Then Rose appeared in behind them and Vivian turned look at the toddler. Vivian fell silent as Faith spoke to her daughter, feeling it would be improper to interrupt at this moment, so instead she turned to watch Ellasin in the mirror, figuring one of them should keep an eye on that situation. She listened to the conversation between Faith and Rose, and when Rose pointed out the Taxman, Vivian let out a low growl as memories came flooding back to her. She hadn't known Alistair Venora well at all, but there was a special dislike reserved for Zvezdana's brother. He had been the representative of House Venora at that ill fated meeting.

"I'd forgotten him. How did I forget him." she wondered aloud, shocked that she had forgotten the backstabbing bastard as completely as she had. Then she shook herself and focused. "That's Alistair Venora. Used to be a supporter of Cassander, but last I heard, he'd been exiled. Something to do with his boyfriend throwing shit at the king." she said, before frowning slightly. "No idea what his connection to Ellasin is. Or to bears, House Venora was always to do with roses, not bears." she muttered, watching the bear that, according to Rose, had brought Alistair there.

She frowned as John re-entered the picture, watching events play out as they could do nothing to stop or change them. Then she sighed as that thought took root and she shook her head. "We can't change any of this, can we? We're looking at Ellasin's memories, things that happened before any of us were born. Grandfather Bear there must have somehow brought Alistair back in time, but I don't think he was allowed to change anything." she said, before pausing slightly. "Either that or he's even a bigger..." she trailed off, glancing over her shoulder at Rose before giving her sentence a minor course correction. "A bigger meanie than even I thought, and I've had a pretty low opinion of Alistair every since he stabbed his own sister in the back." she said, growling again as John tossed a rock at Gnasher. "You know, given what I know of Ellasin, that man probably died very badly. Honestly, given what we've seen, I'm not exactly certain I could fault her that." she said, looking at the doll that Ellasin had been forced to leave behind.

[Varlum]

Varlum took a few steps back, behind Faith and Vivian as they spoke and watched the scene unfurl.

Feeling helpless was something that the Ithecal had grown to hate, filling him with a wave of burning anger that never quite died down. Even to this trial, he felt bitter when he thought of the village he had failed to save. How one man had overpowered him and taken down people he had been tasked with protecting, slaughtered them like cattle. Perhaps it was the blood of Faldrun that turned his guilt into such a burning rage, perhaps it was just who he was. But now, he was about ready to take his axe and slaughter. To kill anyone that had hurt this young girl, show them what it felt like to be the one that was helpless. That was what he did best after all. He was a soldier, a good one at that. If anyone could make a grown man grovel and plead for their lives, it was him. He had everything they tried to use to scare the innocent. Size, power, authority. It was a perfect justice.

But he couldn't intervene. Even if he wanted to, he physically couldn't.

Despite his desire to comfort Faith, right now he couldn't. She was talking with her daughter, nothing the Ithecal did would change the emotions that came with that. Her child that had been taken from her was sat in front of her and talking. Varlum didn't know what that felt like, nor did he ever want to. But it didn't take much to realise the damage that would be doing. The helplessness.

After a few trills, Varlum placed a hand on Vivian's shoulder, not attempting to hide the tears that formed in his eyes or the vicious look in his eye as he saw John for just a trill in the mirror. His voice went quiet in the hope only his mentor would hear it. "Keep her safe, do what you can. But I can't do this. I need a moment to breathe. Then I'll be back" he said, before turning his back to the others and crouching down in the corner, scaled hands covering his eyes for just a moment as he tried to stifle whatever wave of emotion was coming. Part of him wanted to let tears pour, another part wanted to tear this whole room apart around them. Neither would help. He'd made a promise to Faith to be productive, to protect her and to keep himself level headed. Varlum couldn't help, not really. But from what they'd seen so far, there were three people that could have. Even if they didn't, they could have. Maybe.

"Caretaker" he muttered under his breath. "Taxman. Grandfather bear. Any of you" he snarled quietly to himself in the corner as he composed himself. Anger laced every word he said, but it was as subtle as it could be. If they had any morals they might not scorn him for being angry at what he saw. Maybe they would. Or they might just not answer. But Varlum had fought bad odds before and come out just fine. There was little they could do to him that was worse than this. "If any of you are watching this, if any of you see this - you come here. You come here and see this woman mourn for her daughter, see this young girl beaten and defeated. Tell us why. Help us. Because we didn't do this. It wasn't us she named that wouldn't help her then. So be the ones that help us now."

Varlum looked to the shield on the back of his hand while he wiped his eyes with the other. "Someone. Please."

[Faith Augustin]

"Oh, darling, these are Mama's happy tears. Happy to see you. Happy.. so very happy," Faith said, and she wrapped her arms around her daughter. In the past, she had considered that the perfect, eidetic memory she had from Vri was both a blessing and a curse - she remembered being branded at ten days old, after all. But as she breathed in the scent of her daughter's hair and felt her... actually felt Rose in her arms, Faith had never been more grateful. "Mama's so happy, darling."

It was part of being a parent, after all. She could not allow Rose to worry, could not give her any pain. So, kneeling on the floor, Faith simply hugged Rose and she looked at her with a slight smile. "Oh, Mama is silly, asking all these questions. My little bud, you're so clever," she was shaking from head to toe, uncontrollably and fiercely, but she reached out and gently stroked Rose's hair, moving a lock to behind her ear. "Such a clever girl, so you are. She is sad, Rose. She is." Alistair Venora? She heard Vivian's words and she answered, although she did it by speaking to her child.

"Oh! That's the Taxman!! Mama knows him, yes she does. He's called Alistair Venora and he's in a group called the Coven. He's a kind of mage called a necromancer, you know. And his family, they live in a place where there's a great big coven base." That said, she stroked Rose's cheek and, in that moment, Faith was sure that she would never again smile or laugh. Her heart was breaking and her soul shattering as she knelt here in front of her child. But, Rose needed her to be strong, to be the kind of determined that only a mother could be and so she looked at Rose and nodded.

"I tell you what, sweetheart, what if I use some of my magic. I have special Mama-magic and I can use it for you. To help your friend." Ellasin had put John and her Mama to sleep? Faith breathed in slightly, but said nothing on that. "Let's see what we can do, shall we?" And there, kneeling on the ground in a most bizarre situation, Faith used the Immortals-granted ability of "Thoughtweave", granted to her by Vri. Her intention was to bring forward the doll. To pull Jessica into the place where they were and then, very solemnly (assuming it worked), Faith handed the doll to Rose.

"Does this help, sweetheart?" She asked, with a smile to her daughter. It was strange, Faith thought. They had never taught her how to smile while being whipped - never instructed her how to try and sound cheerful as she shattered like the mirror. And right about now it would be really useful. "What do you think, Rose? How did Mama do?"

[Pig Boy]

As the son of Turmoil prayed, so were they answered. He heard the baying of a bear, echoing in the void behind the mirrored mosaic that the others were facing. THen he felt a cold hand on his shoulder. The hand was cold, but felt like his happiest memories, meeting Auya, saving a child, those sorts of memories.

Finally, the bear showed himself at the edge of the void, as if he were just beyond and looking in. He nodded solemnly at Varlum. "You may yet be needed here, Son of Turmoil." The bear intoned with a deep sigh.

"I... We believe Famula's General is about to do something very rash." Vri said, as he held onto Varlum's shoulder, almost as if for support.

Rose giggled again when Faith said she was happy, "Okay! Silly Mama..."

"Cleverer than you!" Rose said, mimicking a child's tit for tat word game, the kind she might've played with Ellasin as a child.

"Coving?" Rose's tone inflected upwards, cracking into a slight childish gurgle."Why do mancers like necks?" She giggled again at herself.

She looked over her shoulder, toward where Varlum and Vri were, as well as the Bear just beyond them. She didn't call out for him though. Merely waited as he stood against Varlum's shoulder for strength.

"Oh! Magic! Elle has magic! She can see and hear things others can't!" So saying, Rose squatted down on the ground, and waited for her mama to give her a magic show.

Then, Faith called Jessica into being, which materialized from silvery dust in her hands. It coalesced into the rag-doll, with the button eyes, black hair and stitched smile. It had some dirt of the road on it, but appeared to be in good condition. Gnasher hadn't hurt her.

"Mama! Wow, it's Jessl...ca." Rose began to squeal in delight, until, as the doll was handed over to her, she dissolved into silvery dust, which fell to the floor in a small pile. "Goodbye, mama."

The mirrors behind them trembled for a moment, and then the central panes began to dissolve in a similar way to that which Rose had, and as Jessica had been summoned. THe memory was gone forever.

"Augh!" Vri groaned, and his groan trembled with the very latticework of void that held the vision together. His free hand clutched at his heart, over which all three could see a large fracture scar forming, and expanding.

"I... I thought I could take this sorrow, this memory from her... Change her, finish what Ralaith and Alistair refused to begin..."

"Old fool." The bear grumbled.

"I... It only made her worse... And when Alistair was removed from the memory of the world..." Vri sighed, his every breath coming like a death rattle.

[Faith Augustin]

Things happened, but she did not know. People spoke, and she did not hear. All that Faith saw, felt, and all that she could experience in that moment was the sound of her daughter's voice as she crumbled to dust in front of her. The two words, the tinkling laughter and the soft feeling of the silvery dust as it poured down, some of it sticking to her fingers as her beautiful child crumbled to dust in her hands.

Faith let out a keening wail of pure grief.

There was no sense to this, nothing right or fair and she turned to Vri and held out her hands, covered in dust as they were. Dust stained her face and her tears left a trail in it. Her hands shook violently as she lifted silver eyes filled with grief to the Immortal who - more than anyone could - understood. "Why?" Faith asked, her whisper hoarse with the sobs which racked her body. The pain in her heart was too much, too much. She couldn't think, couldn't think and she needed to think.

But all she could do was feel and, in that moment, Faith didn't want to feel any more. She didn't want to feel, none of this, none of it. "Please, why? I can't... no more. Please," and then, she turned to Ralaith. Ralaith. Grandpa Bear. Faith felt a sudden, overwhelming fury. "She's.. what are ... please, Lord Vri. Please." She hadn't moved from her knees, her hands held outwards in supplication. "I don't understand, none of it. Please... she's my ... she's my baby. Please, I beg you."

There was no sign of a general, or a champion. No self-assured woman who had learned ~ despite all the odds ~ to be free. In this moment all Faith was, all Faith could be, was a mother whose child had just died in front of her for the second time. She was sobbing and grief-stricken and totally confused. "Why did you have to use her so? What... please, I don't understand." And then, she lifted her eyes to Vri and Ralaith and she said the only thought in her mind, the overwhelming and complete truth of every pore of her in that moment.

"Please don't make me lose her again, please... I can't." Faith whispered and she quite meant it. "Please, don't make me." Sobs overtook her and she couldn't speak, couldn't form words. All she could do was grieve.

[Vivian Shiryu]

Vivian had been watching the mirror as Valrum prayed, though she didn't turn to look at her old squire. This was a difficult situation, and none of their training had given them any ideas what to do in times like this. It was, she thought, perhaps a gap in their training. However, when two other voices spoke, up she wheeled to face their sources. Two new people, who definitely had not been there for the seance had arrived. Vivian stepped towards Faith, but then paused as Faith summoned the doll, causing both the mirrors and Rose to crumble into dust and causing one of the new arrivals to groan in pain, a scar forming over his heart.

Vivian's mind raced with possibilities, but then her instincts and her training kicked in and stepped over to Faith, not quite putting herself between her charge and the new arrivals, but her body language was very clear. She was protecting Faith, and right now she was considering the two new arrivals, especially the "old fool" as the primary threat. Truthfully, she didn't know who either of these two men were, but she figured that they had a connection to the mirror and to Ellasin. In her mind, with what she had learned from the ForgeMaster and the dark haired man cracking when the mirror had shattered, meant that there was better than decent odds that he was the Dead King. Him aiming to help Ellasin furthered that supposition, though there were flaws in that idea. His method of helping Ellasin didn't quite track with what she would expect of the memory of an ancient evil necromancer, they were more helpful. And she didn't know how Grandfather Bear, or Alistair, tied into this at all. Nor did the comment about the memory of Alistair being removed from the world make a lick of sense to her.

All of which meant that, for now, her sword stayed sheathed and her shield stayed on her back. "Okay, so you two seem to know what's going on. Let's cut straight to the chase, yeah? Who are you? And what did you do?" she asked, her tone blunt and bordering on interrogatory. It was clear that she had very little in the way of trust for either of them, but she was actually operating on "innocent until proven guilty" principals. She had no call to outright consider them enemies, but she didn't have any reason to treat either of them with anything but suspicion either.

[Varlum]

Varlum glanced up as he heard the bear, eyes opening for a moment, before the familiar cold hand rest on his shoulder.

"Vri?" he asked, glancing up at the man who had been there when Auya had died. An Immortal he had met before and knew a little too well for comfort. But what called to him most was the name they gave him. Son of Turmoil. They knew who he was, knew who his father was. Perhaps Immortals all had that power. All he could do was hope that they wouldn't hold it to him, not after everything he had done to try and keep this world and it's inhabitants safe. Vri knew it all too well, how kind Varlum could be. When they spoke of Faith however, Varlum looked back to the woman and saw exactly how distressed she was. Every trill of it unravelled in front of his eyes as she broke down, begged Vri for an answer, for something. Anything.

Varlum rose to one knee and looked to the two Immortals, then to Faith. Something about what he was doing felt wrong, both Immortals by him and Faith kneeling beside Vivian. Varlum was leaning on someone, the tall Ithecal who had watched. But he was not the mother who had endured. So he waited as Vivian asked her questions, then paused for a moment before gently brushing Vri's hand off his shoulder, politely as he could. "No. I'm not needed. It's not me. But you, Immortal of Sadness. You may be needed just yet" he said, placing a hand on Vri's shoulder. "You helped me before, you helped me with the woman I loved. I offered you everything I had. I offer you the same for this woman now. You remember? My name, the memories of me. Everything that people know of me, gone. In exchange that you fix this" he said with a small gesture to Faith, a sad look in his eyes.

"The choice is yours, I'm just a soldier. But I'm a soldier with a big pride that's willing to lose it all for her if that's what it takes. That's what my job is. Either you or the bear, make it happen and my life is yours in all ways but literally" he said quietly, giving Vri a soft smile, polite all the way through. Once he had said his piece, he moved away from Vri and took a step towards the side he was really on - beside Faith and Vivian. As he did, his nod went to the bear, the same offer standing to him as well. Everything the Ithecal did was kind, but he didn't agree with anything they said if it wasn't to help Faith, and his stance on it was clear. They were both, evidently, powerful. So what was stopping them? What was preventing them from doing it?

Varlum kneeled beside Faith and, if she wanted it, his arm was there to cry into. For trills, for breaks. For however long she needed. As he did his hand went to Vivian's shoulder and he gave her a small smile, reassuring her. He was alright, he had his moment to pray and now he was alright. Varlum's hand rest on Faith's back if she let it, the shield mark protecting her in the best way he could - comfort. "I'm here, Faith" he said, quietly. If it was any comfort to the woman it was worth it.

As he let his hand gently move away from her back, his eyes went to Vri. As polite as he had been, he was waiting. It was Vri's move - and it better be good.

[Pig Boy]

Vri stepped back, showing his hands as Vivian stepped forward. "I mean you and your charge no harm, daughter of Turmoil." He said, his voice cracking, broken. The Immortal of Sorrow didn't refuse his domain like some. Didn't take its spoils, and refuse the wages. He lived sorrow, was steeped in it, all aspects and sides of it.

So as Faith felt the sorrow of the loss of the memory, even the shade of Rose, Vri felt it just as deeply. His fracture scar pulsed with pain and injury. The memory of Rose now was truly and well beyond him. Nothing short of divine substance would snap it back into place.

"I'm so sorry, Faith." Vri shook his head, lowering it, "She's now far beyond me. Ralaith abided her in his realm for a time. Took the memory of the child in the crib, squalling and in turmoil, on a neverending cycle. All that remained in my realm was what Moseke place into the rose bush in your garden. And that was little enough."

Ralaith grumbled from beyond the void, as he looked in at Vri, who was stumbling and kneeling on the floor. "He made an appeal to Time. That your child would be allowed time to grow and live, in some fashion, outside of that torturous and confused state of infancy."

"In my wisdom I didnt realize what he had been planning," Ralaith spat bitterly, "Until it was too late."

"I, I made Ellasin forget about her childhood I twisted my curse and blessing to make her forget about all of this pain. I thought it would liberate her, relieve the burden of sorrow. It did more than that. She lost all care and love and concern. She lost her love of power even, her aspirations for the world. She wants only one thing now."

Vri coughed into the void, his heart still pulsing with the pain of those lost memories.

Then Varlum stepped forth, and made his case once more.

"Varlum? Is that you again." Vri wheezed, "You have me at a disadvantage now. Are you hoping for a repeat performance of the Crack in the Wall?"

A weak chuckle and hacking cough.

"You must be very serious now. What you ask, it may well put things to rights." Vri smiled weakly, staring at nothing in particular. "But Ellasin is beyond me now, beyond any of us perhaps..."

Ralaith cleared his throat, "Perhaps not, old fool. But do go on. I will address that issue when the time comes to pass."

He watched Varlum carefully, as they recieved Vri's question. There wouldn't be a third chance to reconsider, before the wages of Remembrance and Time mingling were rendered.

[Faith Augustin]

She didn't care about the Immortals, not at all.

Not one of them. In that moment, as she knelt in the ground and held out her trembling hands, Faith did not care about the Immortals. But what she did care about, what did cut through her bottomless grief were the actions of the two mortals beside her. Because that was where they were - beside her. Vivian immediately moved and stood between her and the Immortals and Faith felt a wave of gratitude for the Rharnian woman. Then, there was Varlum and first his words, and then his actions did what possibly nothing else could have. They snapped her out of her emotions enough that she lifted her head. Looking at the two of them, these two "children of Turmoil" Faith lifted her hand and put it on Varlum's as he held on to her.

She listened, then, to what was said. To what the Immortals said and slowly, so slowly, Faith stood up. She was shaking so hard that she could feel her legs hitting each other, her knees literally knocking.

"I am nothing... nothing special." Faith said, her voice low and trembling. "Not born of the Immortals, not even born in freedom. I serve. Because it is my privilege to serve. .. My... my life has been..been service." She looked at Vri, and at Ralaith, and she didn't notice that her trembling had stopped. "I am, when it all comes down to it, a simple woman. I love more deeply than I thought possible and. this? This?" Faith gestured around at where they were. The place, the dust, all of it.

"This is your fault." She looked at the two of them and her silver eyes were stern. In that moment, Faith was a mother, telling off her children.

"Not the two of you. All of you. All of you who meddle in what you do not and can not understand. Mortality isn't fixed like that. It isn't. You can't give her a better childhood and hope that she makes different choices. We are here, and we are now, and she is who she is." Five foot two, covered in dust and tears, and she did not see the irony of the fact that she was lecturing the Immortal of Time on ... well, time. "And if you had succeeded? How many people have been changed because of her? For better, for worse, and those ripples they go out. You change one thing and a dozen around it fall, and your house of cards tumbles around you. You are messing with things that can not be messed with. Stop it." After all, if Alistair Venora had not written to Tristan, he would not have freed her. And Faith would not be a champion of any immortal. House of cards.

Pulling herself up to her full height, Faith lifted her chin and looked at them. "Aelig tortured us with her, and you," yes, she pointed at Vri, "you know what I feel. The love, the sorrow, the memories and loss. You know what I feel, what Padraig does. But we can not and should not go back and change that. It shaped us. It made us the people we are. Ellasin is who she is because she made choices. She had a bad childhood and people hit her? Well I'll see her five and raise her bloody twenty and I'm not out there trying to end the world. She needs to take responsibility for what she has done. I forgive her, I do. But I do not ignore. " Silver eyes lifted to Vri's face. "I love, honour, and worship you. That does not change and so I say to you with all the respect I have for you - which is a lot - that this was a really bad idea."

Faith had never met Ralaith before, so this possibly wasn't quite how she ought to speak to him. But she did. "And as for you," she said, "you play with a mortal's soul like a toy? There is no wisdom in that. She deserved to go to where we all go. She is not a weapon, or a toy and she is not... " Faith's voice wavered, breaking with emotion. "She is not yours. She never was. So. We have a situation." Faith gestured to them both, both Immortals. "And you both are at least half responsible for it, so you're going to help put it right. Whatever needs to be done to stop Vri from shattering, that needs to be done. Now. Whatever has been done to Ellasin needs to be reversed - or if it can not be then you need to let us know what the one thing is that she wants, so that we can stop her. And you." Her hand moved, pointing to the two of them. "You two need to think very carefully about what you've done here. I worship through choice. Ellasin does what she does through choice. We need to deal with the hear and now and you need to put right what you've messed up. Now, if I can help with fixing your fracturing, it will be my pleasure."

Funny, she didn't look or sound like she was enjoying herself. In truth, it was taking all her self control not to wag a finger at the pair of them.

"The offer he makes." Her hand went out and she touched Varlum's arm. "But your offer.... I can't tell you. I truly can't." Faith's resolve nearly crumbled at his kindness. But she could not. She would not. "I make it also. Whatever hope there is, and if it can put this right, then I stand and make the offer, also. For my daughter, for my friends," Vivian and Varlum where who she gestured to there. And finally, "And for you. So that we can put right this mess you've made." Faith was small and fiery, but her temper had more or less run it's course and she looked at the Immortals with an almost hopeless expression. Yet, somehow, as she always did, she kept going.

It was who she was.

"So. We make it so Vri doesn't fracture. You either put Ellasin back to the person she was or tell us what you can, what she's hankering after so that we can stop her. You both stop messing around with mortals in that way, you preferably do so just after you've given me my baby back or allowed her to move over." Her focus was on Ralaith, as she continued. "Wisdom and bitterness don't have to go together, any more than love and sorrow do. I forgive you, but we need to put this right, and we need to do so right now. Not later, not when there's a pebble in someone's shoe"

And then, with a slight raise of an eyebrow which her children would recognise, Faith stood and looked at them. As she spoke, her hands were on her hips and she glared at them both with a stern, but somehow still loving, glare. "Now, where would you two like to begin?"