Eversaigh IC

[Inferi]

Born…by their design? What did that mean? Everything that Valentine was saying just seemed to be leading deeper and deeper into the realm of things that Sameya didn’t understand. Spirits, anti-magic, all of it was just so sudden in its exposure that she wasn’t sure what to think. Knowing that her mistake fourteen years ago had been due to her calling on a type of magic that wasn’t even the same domain as the two that were widely accepted had been a bit of a shock, even more so because she now knew that she had some kind of connection to that magic because of what she had done. If that actually meant anything other than the fact that she was able to activate devices like what she had been strapped to, though, she wasn’t sure what that could be. Actual use of any of that kind of magic didn’t seem like it was possible, since she assumed it would have manifested itself in some way in the last fourteen years. All it seemed like it would give her at this point was a reason to be careful so that nobody would end up using her for a purpose like what had just happened.

The spirits themselves were what she was most curious about, though. Finding out that there was an entire other kind of magic, and one that was dangerous enough that both sides had sealed it away, was a bit disconcerting. It was even worse that she had actually been affected by it, but that wasn’t as much of an issue when it seemed like there hadn’t been much of an affect from that happening. To her, it seemed more important to actually know something about the actual spirits, if they had any real individual manifestations. Those would be far more of a threat when it came to power, and she didn’t even want to think about someone like those that had strapped her to the bomb getting their hands on one. She had only been touched, and yet the destruction they had been able to cause with her had been incredible, so the effect of using an actual spirit…it didn’t bear thinking about. If not all spirits were bent on destruction, however…did that mean they would be willing to help if she could talk to them? It seemed a very remote possibility, mainly because her two experiences with this magic had made her a bit more cynical of it being able to help her at all, but being able to control such a thing would be invaluable in a fight against people like those that had done this to the city.

Starting to ask something else, Sameya was halted by her rescuer beginning to cough up more blood. Unsure of what exactly she could do, and confused by what Valentine said regarding her own situation, she just sort of stood there, looking like she wanted to help in some way but couldn’t figure out how. If anti-magic would never destroy Valentine, then what did she mean by saying her body wouldn’t survive long? If someone’s body was destroyed, that meant they would go with it too…wouldn’t it? Everything that Sameya knew indicated that, if a body died, the person that inhabited it would die as well. Was Valentine a special case because of her connection to the spirits, or did she just mean something else that Sameya didn’t understand?

“What do you-“ she began to ask, but cut herself off with a gasp as Valentine’s body began to disintegrate. She didn’t even have a chance to voice her shock before there was nothing left of her rescuer besides a fine coating of dust on the rooftop and a sword that was stuck into the roof. Her senses immediately scanned the entire surrounding area, trying to see if the disintegration had been a cover for something else, but it seemed that Valentine’s body had actually turned to dust. She had been serious about it not lasting long, then…but if she hadn’t died, what exactly had happened to her? And what was she? Those were both questions Sameya didn’t think she would be able to get an answer to soon, if ever, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to ask them if she had the chance.

“Damn it!” she exclaimed seconds later, the realization that the one question she had actually meant to ask had slipped her mind. The green burst of whatever that had saved her when the bomb had exploded was still on her mind, and she had meant to ask Valentine if it had been her doing. Now she was left with nobody to ask, the only person that might have been able to give her an answer dissolved into dust. Even if it had not been her, something Sameya suspected to be the case just because of what she had said when first entering the building, she might have been able to shed some light on it.

Looking down at her arm as she gently removed it from the sling and moved it around experimentally, Valentine’s words came into her mind. They had been a bit suppressed by the shock of her dissolving, but now that Sameya was actually thinking about it, they sounded extremely ominous. “I would suggest that you try to keep that arm covered up. Unless you plan on hurting someone.” wasn’t exactly something she wanted to hear, especially since hurting people wasn’t really the way she liked to operate. She wasn’t even sure what it meant, the only thing coming to mind being that the interaction with the anti-magic had affected it in some way. Hopefully it wouldn’t be emitting pulses of that kind of power or something like that, especially not now. Since it hadn’t done it yet, though, that seemed unlikely, although Sameya resolved to try not to trigger whatever Valentine meant. It would be fine if she just didn’t attempt to do anything magic-related with that arm…wouldn’t it?

Unsure of what exactly she was going to do now, Sameya started picking up her guns, returning them to the holsters that were still on her person. At least she still had some way of defending herself, even if it hadn’t stopped her from getting into this situation to begin with. Strangely, her right arm felt heavier than before, like there was something weighing it down. An effect of what had happened to it, maybe? She pulled back the sleeve a few inches, a grimace crossing her features as she saw the damage that had been done to it. Maybe she was recovered, but it didn’t seem like the skin on that arm was going to be getting better at the same pace. At least she could keep it hidden. It might not elicit any real negative responses from most people, but that didn’t mean she wanted it showing in public if she could help it.

With all the guns in their holsters, she walked over to the sword, taking hold of the hilt and yanking it out of the roof with a bit of effort. Valentine must have been fairly strong to embed it as much as she did, an attribute that Sameya most certainly did not possess. Were swords really this heavy? How did people even…use them? She probably could manage a swing or two, but in that time the enemy would have knocked it away and run her through. No, she was most certainly not a sword-wielder, but she supposed that holding onto it wouldn’t be that bad. As long as she could carry it somehow, that is. Unless Valentine left some kind of sheath for it, Sameya wasn’t going to put it through her belt for fear that it would just cut through, ruining the belt and maybe cutting her in the process. For now, she supposed that carrying it in her hand was alright, at least as long as she didn’t have to fight anyone.

She was going to keep it, though. Valentine had asked her to, and she owed the woman more than that.

It wasn’t until she finished pulling out the sword that Sameya realized the streets were clearing out, and that there was now a lone figure approaching the area. At first, her instincts told her to remain hidden up here, but something in the way that he moved indicated to her that he had heard her and Valentine talking. She could also tell that he was wearing the uniform of a city guardsman, and the way he walked seemed to indicate that he meant business here. The only possible reason for a city guard to be investigating here right now was the bomb, and since she had been involved with that it left her a decision. Should she take the chance that he won’t see her as a threat, even if she told him what had happened, or should she try to remain hidden and see if she could figure out something on her own? Both had advantages, but she wasn’t quite sure which one was best. Both had the potential to go very badly.

She still wasn’t sure when she stepped to the edge of the roof, calling out, “Hey, you! Are you here about what just happened?”

In the end, the need for some kind of support had made her choose this path. The guard needed to know the truth of what had just happened, at least as much as she could tell them, and she just needed to hope that they wouldn’t blame her for it. While she spoke, Sameya looked around for some way down off the roof. Not being the most agile person, she wasn’t quite sure how she was going to be getting down from here, although maybe it was best that she had some space between her and everyone else. And a gun.

[MiscChaos]

Myasha merely listens to what Bastet has to say, not really seeing a point where she needs to speak in there. Considering what whatever that was did to her mighty people, she can imagine what it'd do to the more fragile races, if they survived it at all. The pain her people seemed to be in, she would be wholly unsurprised if it overloaded the systems of the weak and killed them off like that. She DOES give a small smile at the idea of there being stronger wraiths though. Her people were almost pitiful with pain and much too weak to put up a fight. She's curious what a creature who can actually brawl would be like.

"Just what kinda problems we talkin' about in the real world?" she asks, not really caring, but curious if those problems would be nearly as fun as the problems she faces now.

[That_One_Guy]

Kyle watched her walk away and then went towards the source of the explosion. He heard the voices coming from above and smiled slightly, "They must know what happened here, or caused it." He said to himself and started towards the building, he'll have to climb to the top, but the person would have to get around him to escape as well. It was then he heard another voice call down to him, looking up he saw a woman stare down at him from where he heard the voices, she must have been one of them. "Yeah, I'm here about what happened. Do you know know what it was?" He called up.

[napsii]

She couldn't smile, but Synderica found warmth in Lumi's presence.

The noblewoman sighed, returning the little Angel's hug with a friendly embrace. The mage supposed that she couldn't have the answers, at least not right now. She was frustrated and confused, feeling like the sum of her existence had been shattered into a hundred pieces. She remembered reading grand tales in where the hero, enraged by the death of his loved one, set out an epic quest for revenge. In the end, they usually overcame, but at the moment Synderica found she was painfully aware that those tales were simple fiction -- fairy tales, even. There could be no victory, she thought, when her mother had already been taken from her. She drew her knees closer to her chest, hiding her teary face in the folds of her dress. Drained, there was little she could do but sulk. Her thoughts ran in circles, holding out answers only to realize she would find none. Briefly did she look up at her father to see him step out of the booth. The man looked pale and exhausted, and the absence of emotion in his look made Synderica look away with newfound tears in her eyes. She knew he cared, but it was not knowing what he was feeling that pained her. He had never been one who expressed himself freely, and just this once, the noblewoman wished she knew what he was thinking. It was then she realized that Aetherine might not have known. It was said that a family would always know when one another was troubled, but even she did not know how her elder sister would take it. She sniffled, the idea of her sister being in grief upsetting her even more. A family torn apart by a death... would that become their reality, now that their mother was gone?

Compulsively, she was reminded of how her mother had been a pillar of strength for them, and withdrew a kerchief to wipe her tears.

"I don't know what I should do..." she murmured to Lumi, her eyes looking blankly at the blanket of sheets covering her departed mother. The room was eerily quiet now, the councilors' bickering having quieted or disappeared into the next room. It seemed even they, in their ideology and panic, eventually found themselves at a loss for words. Once, she had read that true emotion could not be colored by words, but rather was expressed through the sum of one's actions. Even after centuries, the greatest works of art were not fully understood, and likely would not be for centuries to come -- if ever. They were shadows of the artist, perhaps: the penumbra of something invisible to the eye. The noblewoman shifted, wondering if she would ever understand what she was feeling right now, much less the nature of her world. Eversaigh was a land of legends and great tales waiting to be told, and this day, perhaps, was the dawn of the next great story. Were she a child, Synderica would have been enamored, but now, she knew that this was a solemn reminder that this was not the end. Mysterious pendants, imprisoned Angels, an uprising and chaos in the streets of Ether's Reach. They were just some of the pieces for this terrible tale, and not all tales had a happy ending. It was dreadful to wonder how this one would end. Anxious at the idea, she hugged Lumi closer, ever valuing the little Angel's presence. At least there was someone that cared. In that moment, she started to yearn for Aetherine's presence ever more. Her elder sister would be arriving at the docks near the other end of the city, but Synderica didn't know if those had already been submerged in the violence.

I hope she doesn't hurt anyone... thought the noblewoman. She knew her sister was too powerful to harm, but she had the feeling her sister was the kind of person who might place the death of another before harm to herself. Her sister was no murderer, that she knew, but in the years before she had left, Aetherine had spoken ever more of the value of life and death, and why it was foolish to place another's welfare before your own.

She said nothing for a while, until she was distracted by the orbs that floated around Lumi's tiny form. Each represented a power unseen.

"Lumi..." she said quietly, her voice hoarse, "What do the other orbs circling you do?" she asked.

She didn't know why the question came to mind. Perhaps she hoped that she could harness Lumi's powers to do something, or maybe she was just trying to distract herself from the crushing reality at hand.

[SugarCookie]

Shakla get on her hands and knees. She listens for any sign of a pulse inside of Althaia by putting her head on her chest. "Oh thank god your alive......Now.....how close are you to life?" Shakla opens Althaia's mouth and locks her lips with Althaia and breathes air into her lungs, thinking that she is close to death scared Shakla. "Come on.....you tried to save me once....the least I can do is return the favour..." She stops talking and locks her lips with Althaia again and tries to push oxygen into Althaia's lungs again.

Althaia lay there, and waited. The thing, ran toward her laid it's head on her chest. Then she heard it speak, but couldn't understand what it was exactly saying. Either it was another language, or the water in her ears and the accent made it hard to understand. Either way, once the thing put it's lips on hers, she realized it was trying to do CPR!

Before she could do anything, she flipped out, made some comedic freaking out sounds, and scooted away "Graah, don't touch me, what are you?!?!?!"

[hailey<3]

Shakla yelps as she realizes she is ok. "I.....I apologize. I was trying to save you. I was the girl you attempted to save at...the warehouse. I am now alive due to circumstances of which I do not wish to go into. However I am sorry if I scared you. I wanted to try save you like you tried to save me." Shakla does not stand up, but gets on her knees and looks at the girl strangely. She thought she was dead! How was this at all possible? Unless she pretended to be dead......No....or maybe.

[jayjaycaps]

DAMN IT. DAMN YOU ALL. ALL OF YOU. DAMN IT. On the inside, Mortov was screaming and loosing his mind. Everything was going wrong! How he could let his mouth ruin something like this? On the outside, he remained calm and cool. There was no chance he'd be able to talk his way out of this. Slowly turning his hands into sword like blades again, he took a few steps towards the girl. Through gritted teeth, he swallowed some pride and addressed the crowd. "So. It's going to be like that, huh?" With one quick movement, Mortov used one hand the stab at the Hyuiman who was tying up the Paraca, and the other to cut the ropes that bound her. Hopefully the two of them would be able to threaten or fend off the mob.

Crossing his two hand blades in front of the chest, Mortov assumed a defensive stance. Surely the crowd wouldn't just up and leave, so he prepared himself for a fight. He stood beside the woman, who hopefully would just disregard his previous comments and help him help her.

[Inferi]

It was a definite moment of relief when the guardsman didn’t make some kind of hostile action towards her, although Sameya figured that it was probably due to him being surprised that anyone was really around here that wasn’t trying to add to the chaos. Her own appearance was probably a little odd too, since few people in here that she had noticed were carrying any kind of real weapons, while she had three guns and a sword. Even if the sword wasn’t hers…well, he didn’t know that, although even from a distance it was clear that she didn’t look all that strong. It was fortunate that she wasn’t closer, at least yet, since they weren’t near enough to each other that he would be able to see that she looked decently beat up. Both her abduction and what had come of it had left a few marks, the disfigured skin under her right sleeve and glove the most notable one. That one wasn’t able to be seen unless her sleeve got pulled up or the glove was removed, but she had a few other markings that showed she had been the victim of something should she climb down or he climb up.

By the same token, he was unable to see that she was wearing a blindfold. Her hair was covering enough and she wasn’t looking at him while she spoke to obscure that particular fact, although the fact that she seemed to know where he was yet wasn’t looking at him might seem odd from a social standpoint. It was a habit that she had picked up over the years, and although she knew it was better to break it when it came to social interaction, it was just difficult to do. She was always “looking” at people even if they were behind, to the side, or below her, so in her mind she was looking right at them even if she was facing the other way. Of course she could tell the difference between where people were, but it didn’t stop the mentality that if she was observing them there was nothing else she needed to do.

Before she spoke, Sameya took a closer look at the person she was speaking to. She didn’t need verification to tell that he was a guard; his uniform did that well enough. In a normal situation maybe she would have to ask, but it seemed to her that being a city guard right now was a job most people wouldn’t want, and pretending to be one would invite nothing but hostility. Someone tasked with keeping the city relatively peaceful, as well as working for those that this was to get rid of, was unlikely to get any reaction besides hostility from the majority of rioters. This particular guard looked fairly average in terms of his physical features, and from this distance Sameya could just barely make out the colors that his hair, skin, eyes, and clothing were. It was still slightly difficult to recognize colors, although that part of her “vision” was still improving, even after fourteen years.

Attempting to drive the sword through the roof like Valentine had done met with small success, the blade not going in much but doing enough to allow it to stand without her holding it. This was just because she realized the danger of not being able to go for her weapons should something go bad, and recent events had made her a bit more wary of something like that happening than she was usually.

“It was a…bomb.” Sameya replied, pausing slightly before deciding on what to say. “I think it was based on some kind of ancient magic, and the intent was to cause exactly what happened to the city, but I don’t know much more than that.” She figured that it would probably be best to leave out the fact that she had been the catalyst for it at the moment, since that could easily be taken as meaning she had done it intentionally, something that most certainly was not the case. Also, going into an explanation about the spirit magic was something she really didn’t want to do, partly because she didn’t fully understand it yet and partially because she didn’t think it would make much sense to someone like a city guard.