[12:04 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Intetsu, October 2627 - 7 Years Before the Fall of the Shishinden(edited)
[12:10 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Sula hums dully, as the massive mansion looms higher and higher overhead. An immaculate garden, carefully curated to resemble a Nohrian summer, surrounds him as he approaches.
[12:21 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Behind him, an unseen mechanism pushes a spiked gate shut. The barefoot Dwabi continues, clutching at the sleeve of his drab white hakama. Perhaps he'd taken too big of a risk, venturing this far into the Upper City. But the time for such concerns had passed, and to fear for one's own safety was beneath the concerns of the Aishatu.
Such facts did little to dull the imposing appearance of the manor, or the spearman waiting at its doors. Sula came to him with a smile, eyes turned down - free of any hint of aspiration or insolence. A mask of contentment.
[12:30 PM] Kwakadoooooo: "Hold, Dwabbi."
With a cold precision mirroring that of the mechanical gate, the guardsman's naginata swoops across the doorway, glittering coldly in the daylight. His leather-gloved hand splays wide in front of him.
"Your scroll."
With a slow blink, the Dwabi complies, reaching down to his sash and handing the guard a humble roll of ox-leather, hardly resembling the paper tomes and talismans common to Khlinese magicians.
[12:44 PM] Kwakadoooooo: With an incredulous, almost scolding look, the guard shakes it open and looks over the inscriptions. Half of the symbols he doesn't even recognize, and the other half seem to be inked in some obscure Hoshidan dialect..like some kind of joke.
"Where'd you get this?"
The Dwabi's pale eyes finally turn upwards, nearly meeting the guard's own gaze.
"..I was the man to make this one, at the top of the mountain." He speaks slowly, carefully, with a thick accent. "This is, house of Chúshin."
"This is an Ox Spirit?" With a turn of the wrist, the guard tosses it back at the Dwabi, bringing his hand back to the shaft of his spear. "My orders are to only let legitimate wizards in, Dwabi." The naginata's blade rotates, ever so slightly. "I don't suggest trying to make light of the Stormblade Family a second time."(edited)
[12:49 PM] Kwakadoooooo: "But..sir..." Rather than turn around, the Dwabi finally makes eye contact with the guard, clasping the scroll with his hands in front of his chest. "If I am not, lijee-ti...how can I see the nin-ja behind me?"
[12:55 PM] Kwakadoooooo: "tch!"
A pained mutter sounds from behind the exiled monk, as a Master Ninja steps around in front. Between his fingers is a pointed steel star, and his only other reply is an icy stare. The guard gives the ninja a deferential glance.
"Alright, Sokonaro. What do we do with this one?"
[12:59 PM] Kwakadoooooo: The ninja circles around the Dwabi, eyeing him up and down. Then he turns back to the spearman. "Send him in."
The guard snorts, shrugs, and lifts the naginata aside. Sokonaro, in turn, strides to the door, opening it for the foreign man.
[1:07 PM] bREWlager: "Alright, time for you to go back to your room." A woman's voice calls out.
"But Nana, we only just got here!" A young boy's voice replies.
"I know Leo, but it's time for dinner."
A man with a cane walks in through double doors. The walls and ceiling are glass, which makes for an excellent view.
"Time to go, milord." The man says.
The young boy hops up from a sofa and follows the man downstairs to the dining room.(edited)
[1:12 PM] bREWlager: At the table, Leo sits and eats, finishing rather quickly.
"Can I go back upstairs now, Walter?" He asks.
"No, your mother wants you to introduce yourself to another candidate to train the pegasus."
"Another? But she's already made me meet at least ten... Can't I just wait for them to actually be hired?"
Walter pauses. "No. Your mother's orders."
The two continue to the foyer, where they will meet the newcomer.
[1:17 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Sokonaro's instructions continue on, lifelessly formal and without a hint of scorn or satisfaction. He'd memorized it by rote long before the arrival of even the first failed candidate.
"Furthermore, you must understand that this is a responsiblity far beyond that of any Mage Flier. A retainer is nothing but an extension of their master. Should you be deemed fit for service, your life as you know it is forfeit. You will live and die for Lady Satomi."
[1:18 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Sokonaro stops abruptly, spotting Leo and Walter entering the foyer. A curt bow of the head follows.
"Milord."
[1:21 PM] bREWlager: Leo bows his head in return. He always treats Sokonaro more formally, even though both he and Walter both act with formality. Perhaps it's just because Sokonaro scares him a bit more.
"This is the candidate for retainership, I presume?" Walter asks Sokonaro.
[1:26 PM] Kwakadoooooo: "So he intends. " The ninja's chilling tone is familiar to the butler, surfacing any time the possibility of Satomi taking on a second retainer were to be mentioned over the past 20 years.
Sokonaro steps back, gesturing to the Dwabi with a stiff hand.
"..your name."
"Ha!" The Dwabi nods quickly. "Ha, yes, I am Sula. Simple name, hu?"(edited)
[1:39 PM] bREWlager: The 12 year old boy steps forward.
"Welcome to Stormblade Manor, Mister Sula. I'm Leo." He extends a hand to greet the man.
[1:41 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Sula returns the handshake, with a grip that's far too firm.
"Kwemo to you, Leo-i."
[1:42 PM] bREWlager: The young boy tilts his head?
"Excuse me... kwemo?"
[1:43 PM] Kwakadoooooo: "It means...you are full, sir." Sula purses his lips, trying to think of a better way to explain it and failing.(edited)
[1:47 PM] bREWlager: "Oh... well, thank you? Kwemo to you as well then."
The boy nods and steps back, and Walter begins to speak.
"My name is Walter Valkryn. I am the butler, as well as retainer to Erik Stormblade. I shall show you around the mansion if Lady Satomi chooses you for retainership."
[1:51 PM] Kwakadoooooo: "Ah, I see, sir. Kwemo to you too."
Sokonaro comes forward once more, folding his arms together.
"Very well. Let's get this over with." He tosses his head towards a hallway, leading Sula along to the back of the manor.(edited)
[1:54 PM] bREWlager: Leo and Walter both bow their heads as the pair walk by, and then head back to the second floor.
[2:00 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Sula and Sokonaro descend to the manor's basement, lit by well-maintained candles and enchanted gems. They stop at a reinforced iron door, and Sokonaro begins tending to the lock.
"The wild pegasus, Shimi, awaits." The ninja finally lets loose a cocky smirk as he faces the door. "See if you can control it."
Sula enters, and the door slams shut behind him.
[2:07 PM] Kwakadoooooo: His regret had only grown as the formalities continued. The Dwabi had never even ridden a pegasus, much less tamed them. And the magic said to help maintain a stern command with these creatures was as foreign to him as everything else in this damned oligarchy.
[2:15 PM] Kwakadoooooo: He had no practice, no plans, no purpose in this visit...until he saw her.
[2:25 PM] Kwakadoooooo: A spark of mutual recognition seemed to shoot between their eyes. Sula knew the shape of her ears, the savage glint of her wings...it was a sight burned into his memory, even before their first meeting in the jungles of the Dwabi.
So the Dwabi held his head high, as the furious falcon came dangerously close, her hooves crunching into bits of broken pottery. Tears streamed from his eyes, as if they'd been forced open, and his mouth gapes in shock.
He'd finally found his fate - a sign that the gods' will had not overlooked him after all. It was terrible, and wonderful, and frightening and warm - even as the beast beat its wings into the basement air, Sula caught a semblance of understanding from her too. They blinked in unison, and the man sang it out loud for her, just in case:
"Shimi-eee...Sula ba-ba-e, Shimi-eeee....
That theirs was an unbreakable bond, forged by fate. That the future was a path they now shared.
That he would belong to this Shimi, until the end of his days.
[2:29 PM] Kwakadoooooo: And before he can even conclude the ancient chorus, Sula feels a pair of warm wings wrap around him, as if to shelter him from a storm. Letting out something between a laugh and a sob, the mage brings his ash-tattooed arms to her neck, repeating the song once more as the peculiar pair soothes each other's darkly-stained souls.(edited)
[2:39 PM] Kwakadoooooo: The pitch-black pegasus lets out something like a song of her own - a fell, feral whinny that rings through the entire Stormblade Manor - sealing their fate.
[2:41 PM] Kwakadoooooo: ========================
[8:37 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Angrim - Jaunary 24th, 2636
[8:41 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Just as he had that morning, Sula is jolted awake by the Falicorn's cry, finding himself bound to the same bed, lost in the same void. The mountain air is even cooler now, the singing birds having long since gone to sleep.(edited)
[8:45 PM] Kwakadoooooo: But in the darkness, Sula can sense some movement. A shape twisting and growing...a person?
"M-mister Sula?"
The shape reaches out, waves in front of him. He feels a stinging in his eyes as they follow the hand through the air. A hoarse, low voice comes from him, making out the one distinct thought of his.
"where..are...they..?"
Breathing is harder now.
[8:57 PM] Kwakadoooooo: "um..."
The one standing by him - a girl - sitting? ...turns, then turns.
"...you were on a black pegasus..we have it out in the garden-"
"Shimi-e..." A resigned, relieved sigh came from the Dwabi, and he triess yet again to lift himself upright. It works, this time. "..and...Vivi-e?"
"I don't know about them, sorry." He sees her nod - an earthy color around her head. The world around him seems to crawl a little further into focus, but no amount of effort to his eyes speeds it up. "B-but you really need to rest, sir! Veeviei's not gonna be happy if you don't get better...I know that much."
A light snort sounds from the man, and he rubs his brow with one hand. It wasn't as much as before, but he is still covered with strange papers and cloths...probably magic charms. The Shugendo monks were good with those...maybe too good.(edited)
[9:05 PM] Kwakadoooooo: With the tip of her Festal, Min nervously pokes at her patient's collarbone, urging him to lie back down. With a dull grunt, Sula relents.
"Li-gi, Sau-i..."
"Uh...okay." The girl takes a few moments to think about it, before deciding it's some weird language she doesn't know and should probably not ask.
"I..don't think you heard, but...My name's Min. I'm new here, and, um, if there's anything I can help with...."
The Dwabi turns aside, facing her hazy outline of a head.
"Can I, be with Shimi-e?"
"Oh, um! Hmmm, it's kind of...I don't know, you can't go outside yet..."
[9:14 PM] Kwakadoooooo: "Perhaps we should bring her in here, in that case." A man's voice, familiar voice, from afar. He walks into the room, and Min stands.
"Master Daisuke! That thing's wild! If we let it into the Earth Pagoda...it'll be really bad."
"Now, now, let's take a step back. What if that pegasus is just impatient to see her rider again?"
"Oh, u-um..."
Daisuke makes a motion, a sweeping gesture. "She came all the way up here, just to get him to us. We know she must care a lot...and now that he's awake.."
Min nods. "Okay! I'll go tell them."
"And bring Master Naomi too, if you could." The monks pass each other. Min shuffles out of the room, while Daisuke kneels next to the bed.
[9:19 PM] Kwakadoooooo: "...It's been some time, Sula."
"Kwemo, Daisu-ke. The Dwabi keeps still. "Seven years, uu?"(edited)
[9:20 PM] Kwakadoooooo: A tiny shake of the Great Master's head dismisses the query outright. "Those aren't the sort of details we put much stock in around here. Surely you remember."
[9:36 PM] Kwakadoooooo: "Yes, yes, yes..." Sula smiles nostalgically, remembering the monks' strange lessons. "This is, but a light-house over the waters of history. Not a place for travel."
"My, your Common's on point! It sounds like you've gotten some practice out in the world." When Daisuke and the other monks had helped the Dwabi back then, he was a gibbering wreck. Terrified, heartbroken, and hopelessly cut off from the ways of mainlanders. If he hadn't met as many other Dwabi before, Daisuke might have assumed they were all like that.
Sula takes in another breath, finding it a little easier now despite the tight bandages squeezing into his chest. "Much has happened, ha... Being dragged to a place like this twice in ten years? Kwemo hu Nanyo?"
"You know you're welcome to drag yourself up here a hundred times if you need to, Sula." Daisuke leans in to adjust the bandages, loosening them. "Our prayers have not left your side."
[9:41 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Sula breathes through his grimace. Their boundless hospitality was only possible because the monastery was on a mountaintop, out of sight and out of reach. They prayed each day that the gods would deliver those in need to the mountain to be healed, and in Sula's case it had indeed worked... But the sights of dying mothers, burning babies.. They come to his mind more clearly now than the dim sights of his present.
[9:48 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Before he can find the words for Daisuke, Sula is interrupted by the sound of Shimi's hooves rattling through the halls of the Earth Pagoda - quite a bit too fast for indoor travel. He leans up, and there - right where his vision is the darkest - there she is.
"Shimi-eeee~", he coos melodically. Shimi lets out a shrill squeal, and nearly tramples Daisuke as she rides to her master and nuzzles his face.
"Mm...Este-lo, Shimi-e. Kwemo."
[9:51 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Hurrying behind, two maidens, same size (Two Mins?) watch from the doorway, and a taller person walks in between them.
[10:08 PM] Kwakadoooooo: "Good evening...Sula-i." The old woman's voice he knew best out of all of these. Naomi, who had taught Sula how to make his scroll, guided him through the first steps of life as a Khlinese citizen. Even if he didn't recognize the tone, there was no one else who would use the Dwabi's grammar to address him as an inferior.
He lets out a soft smirk. "Kwemo, Nao-..mi." Her own name had been his first lesson in Khlinese etiquette. But by emphasizing the mi, matching her own vowel, Sula implies that she is the younger one here.
A low fragment of a chuckle is the only laugh he gets out of it. "How has the Ox Spirit been serving you? We could not find it..."
Sula's smile shakes sheepishly. "I, uu...I sold it, to be true."
".........At any rate, your attunement's improved. Your body was a lot better at responding to our charms, and at ignoring them altogether."
"Ignoring?" While the perplexed Dwabi looks to Naomi, his bored horse wanders around his wide, circular bed, snorting scornfully at Daisuke as he tries to approach.
"Sula, this is the Sealing Room. It isn't meant for healing, but for guarding against evil." Naomi takes a moment to pause, but Daisuke spits it out:
"You've been possessed, Sula."
[10:21 PM] Kwakadoooooo: If he knew how to deny it, the Dwabi would have. But this was just the sort of thing he'd been fearing, expecting, all this time. Yet...how had he not noticed? All Sula can manage is a stunned silence.
[2:14 PM] Kwakadoooooo: "It would have happened over a month ago. Perhaps two." Naomi gives her peer a stern - but not scolding - look, letting him continue.
"Is there anything that happened in that time...any sudden changes, or events?"
[2:27 PM] Kwakadoooooo: The last month had felt like six to him, and it was easier to think of what hadn't changed in that time. After a brief hum, Sula answers as best he can:
"..A war. And a woman."
[3:29 PM] Kwakadoooooo: And from there, the mage flier of Khlin tells them the story. How he saw Khlin's doomed future coming from Amaterasu, and set out to prevent it. How he crossed paths with his master's son, and clashed over the fate of the Oligarchy...and their feelings for a Nohrian songstress. How they'd flown together, adopted a horse, dined, dated, dodged dragons. And how every sick twist of fate brought their hearts closer together.
He tells them about the horrors that nearly conquered the capital - the strange, phantasmal people wreathed in purple mist, attacking everything in sight and threatening the woman he'd come to love. How only the Queen's strange dragon magic was able to hold them back, and a mess of wars sent them all into Khlin along with the Queen.
He tells them of Paris. His own child, a dream he'd never thought to see realize, a dream he'd been forbidden all his life. A baby he'd hoped to make a peaceful home for, to feed and clothe with the spoils of war. A baby he knew he was destined to disappoint, with a mother whom he could only bring further into misery.
Sula assures them of this. That such a future had already begun - Kranhai was in ruins, Freyzenwald was invading, and the misty monsters had struck once more. He described the madness of the Angrim prison, filled with demonic guards like pawns in an elaborate game of war. The voice that asked him to betray his friends for his safety - the one he'd obeyed. The way he'd used the poisonous power of the monsters against them - unleashing curses from his bare hands to rot their bodies at will - just to save his newfound family.
Then he describes how he came to this monastery - the fight he had with his fiancee, who refused to leave the war with him. How she and the noble boy had come to see his true colors, and learned to hate him. That those were the words she'd screamed to him, just as his mind had started to unravel - just before everything went up in flames.
[3:39 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Naomi smiles through the whole story, reminding the Dwabi of his safety here. When he stumbles in his speech, she gives a patient nod. And when he finishes, she and Daisuke take a long, meditative breath.
[3:40 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Hers is a short reply: "You've endured a great deal of hardships out there."
[3:45 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Daisuke nods solemnly. "And it's got your spirit full of negative energy...resentment, dread, despair...these things make it easy for an evil spirit to take hold of you. Especially when you're using them to fuel your magic."
[3:57 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Naomi looks into the Dwabi's defeated eyes. "This all has you very frightned, doesn't it?"
Sula shrugs. "Aishatu do not fear death."
"But you are frightened, Sula. Of your own life. Have you told this to anyone?"
"Some of it...only the dyo-iti they needed to hear to be safe."
Daisuke's tone darkens. "So you hid everything. And in doing so, you put them all in more danger--"
"Ha Kato, Daisu-ke!" Sula coughs, the shout having strained his voice. "Any fool can speak of the past. But we can speak of future - and what I have seen, I will not stay to see again. I have already left - those bonds are broken, like an egg."
[4:02 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Naomi shakes her head sadly. "..That's not true. You haven't left, and you never will. They remain your friends, and Paris remains your child. Flying away doesn't change any of that." She clasps her hands together. "You can feel it too, can't you? The worldly attachments. Your ties to Khlin...Vivianna...and Dwabi."
[4:06 PM] Kwakadoooooo: "Dyo-na. I will never return...Sula-u is not one of the Shatu anymore, or even Dwabi. Just a..."
"..a monster?" Daisuke stands, facing away from the pathetic patient. "That's what you've decided, isn't it? We can't know for sure what happened in that basement, with the mist, and the Dragon Vein, but whatever it was left something in you. And you're letting it take over."
[4:42 PM] Kwakadoooooo: "You aren't a monster, Sula." Naomi interjects. "You are a man, with a great gift in magic. And that makes you more sensitive to things that are much, much greater than we think. Like the flow of energy between us. The bonds that brought you here. The gods above us, and the dragons beneath us...These aren't forces that we can rule over, or ignore...they're in us. Around us."
She sighs.
"My old master was once a Dwabi medicine man..a Saushatu, you'd say. He told me all about those ways, and how you grow the perfect ingredients with every meal, and let the gods decide everything. Your tribe keeps their land a paradise, in perfect harmony. I know."
Sula looks back up as she speaks, understanding her facts even better than she does.
"But the world isn't that simple. Trouble doesn't go away when you ignore it. Love doesn't go away when you forbid it. Blinding yourself to this..." Naomi waves a hand in front of his hazy eyes. "...only makes it all worse."(edited)
[5:24 PM] Kwakadoooooo: "Hu..What do I do now? If I cannot run, and I cannot go back..."
"..Then you must learn to let go." Naomi nods to Daisuke, who departs from the room. "It is the only way to be purified of this spirit. You must transcend the burdens of this realm, and be immersed in the waters of time."
[6:15 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Sula's puzzled face purses up. "Nao-mi...the Aishatu know much about using water to look through time. We call it Pelai...I have used it many times, but how will it help?"
"This ritual is a little different..." Naomi looks back to the door. "Nin, can you take Shimi back to the garden? We can't have her causing any--"
"Shimi-e should stay." Sula raises a talisman-coated palm. "She has behaved well until now...trying to move her will be the problem." He smiles. "Trust me."
[6:32 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Naomi lifts an eyebrow toward the mount, who continues waiting by Sula. "Perhaps a mutual trust is what we need here. Never mind, Nin. Just get the shade."
Sula gives Shimi a pat as he inquires.
"The shade?"
Naomi motions to a brocade on the ceiling, covering up a glassy opening. "The moon should be up by now. We'll use its light as a beacon to the spirits."
[6:42 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Shortly after, Daisuke returns with a masterfully-crafted bronze mirror. Arcane inscriptions native to neither Hoshido nor to Nohr run along its serpentine border, while the back holds exactly 12 symbols arranged in a ring. One shrine maiden follows behind with a brass water jug. The other uses a long, hooked pole to detach the shade, letting a lensed moonbeam creep into a spot on the floor.
[7:06 PM] Kwakadoooooo: "This," Daisuke explains, as he runs a cloth over the mirror, "is a window into the Astral Plane...a glimpse of enlightenment. We may be able to focus your magic with it, and restore your vision."
"From there, we can seal the corrupted power within you, and banish the spirit to the world beyond." Naomi stands, picking up her staff. "But it will not be easy. This is a spell we normally reserve for the Masters."
Sula looks worriedly at the artifact. "I see...what do you need me to do?"
"Divination, to put it simply." Daisuke finishes polishing the mirror. "Look inside yourself, then beyond yourself, into the true future."
[7:17 PM] Kwakadoooooo: "I have seen the future before, Daisu-ke--"
"Not like this." The Master turns the mirror around, tracing his finger clockwise around it, stopping mechanically at each symbol. "For most people, time is like a river. It flows one way, down one path, and everything within the water follows along that current."
Sula raises a hand, familiar with this rhetoric. "Ha, but even a river is hard to read. It turns and twists along the way..."
Daisuke shakes his head.
"In fact, time is more like an ocean."
His finger moves to a sort of "T" shape at the top of the plate, sliding his finger to the symbol next to it. Then back to the T, tracing a new line to another symbol. Then another line, and another.
"Endless waves running in every direction, as far as the eye can see."
[7:31 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Sula's eyes narrow. "That is impossible. It would be a world without motion."
"Not exactly..." Daisuke smiles. "But it's something you'll need to see for yourself. This will require perfect concentration...your mind must experience tranquility beyond understanding. You'll need to be ready to let go of everything."
"You speak of..meditation?"
This time, Naomi is the one to shake her head.
"Even more severe. This spirit is chained to the core of your being now...exorcising it will cause you to lose your magical power, and your memories of these events." Her hands come together, almost apologetically. "It can take many years for them to return."
[7:43 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Sula stares blankly between them, at the artifact, and the harsh moonbeam that awaits. "...I see. This is the only way, then."
Naomi returns to the bedside, offering a comforting hand. "You can stay here as long as you need to. It's safe - far from all the towns, invisible to Khlin's history..."
Daisuke shrugs. "..and we could always use more monks."
[7:45 PM] Kwakadoooooo: ...
[7:48 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Sula hums. A long, droning hum of meditation, to clear his mind and strengthen his soul. He hated to have to do this...but anything else would just destroy them. They were right - this was the only way he could truly be free of everyone. The only way to save them from himself.
[7:55 PM] Kwakadoooooo: "...I am ready."
Daisuke nods, and with a little grunt, Min hoists up the vase and lets a stream of Pure Water flow over the mirror. Even in the darkness of the chamber, its sheer surface glistens, letting a soft radiance into the room. Then, Daisuke places the mirror in the moonlight, and its surface ripples like a starry sea. The symbols from the backside somehow shine from the mirror's front, and their light lands on Sula's body. A stinging pain fills him, but he grits through it.
"Focus, Sula..." Daisuke steps serenely behind the mirror. "Look inside it...inside yourself."(edited)
[8:00 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Sula squints into the surface, seeing a blurry face - his own. Naomi stands up, holding her staff over the Dwabi in preparation for her role in the ritual.
"Relax..." she looks down. "Let the waves carry you."
[8:11 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Sula lets go of his strained eyes, centering himself with another Ommm. From behind the mirror, Daisuke recites an incantation.
"Shine, star-spirits, by the light of the moon and the grace of the gods.
I beseech thee! Illuminate the infinite truth,
and incinerate the impurities that conceal it.
Let this shattered soul be reborn in the endless expanse.
Now is the hour of enlightenment;
Now is the dawn of truth."
[8:15 PM] Kwakadoooooo: The monk kneels, gazing up through the skylight lens as his fingers intertwine, each tip landing on a certain symbol, then uncross to a new set of symbols.
"Hear My Cry...「Ikai no Getsumakkyo 」"
[9:43 PM] Kwakadoooooo: The image before him ripples, losing its definition, but Sula does not fight it. He simply watches, and waits, letting its ambiguity resonate in him. Sending away his thoughts, and staying in the moment, Sula senses something deep within the mirror..within the face.
[10:06 PM] Kwakadoooooo: The Dwabi soothsayer surrenders to this sense, letting it flood his consciousness. It is as if his sight sinks beyond the surface, and the air itself ripples and rolls. The world becomes fluid - then shatters into a sea of shadows, endless repetitions.
[10:08 PM] Kwakadoooooo: A young girl stands beside him, looking down with scared, unsure eyes. Beneath her is a masked man, laying down - covered in blood.
[10:09 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Yet there he is, talking to someone. The blood is all on his sword now, safe within the sheath.
[10:11 PM] Kwakadoooooo: From above, a Kinshi rider looks back at him, riding westward towards a red-hooded boy...lost in a cave.
[10:13 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Two corpses with him, seated at an elegant table at the heart of the cave, bleeding out. Sounds of war. A drop of water from the ceiling falls, striking the facade of another fallen masked man.
[10:14 PM] Kwakadoooooo: A boy helps him up - athletic, and heavily armored - and hoists him onto a strange lizard.(edited)
[10:16 PM] Kwakadoooooo: They fly out into the vast skies ahead, passing by a familiar falicorn. Its rider wears the same mask as before - but is it an old man with light hair, or a young woman with dark hair?
[10:18 PM] Kwakadoooooo: But the light suffusing his senses casts a shadow of these shapes, and from it emerges a young man with dark hair, and no mask at all - and the falcon's wings have changed, somehow.
[10:21 PM] Kwakadoooooo: The young woman stands before a procession between the buildings of the Shishinden. A brilliant brass badge is handed to her by an old man. Lord Bluefang - who died only days ago in the prison. The woman, beaming with pride, salutes him.(edited)
[10:28 PM] Kwakadoooooo: A Freyzenese flag burns on a hilltop, embedded in the heart of some large fox-creature, while arrows fly overhead. News of the disaster reaches an opulent mansion, with Wyverns whirling around it. Within its boardroom, a blonde-haired man takes a bite of banana cake as he pores over ancient documents. Deep in the man's basement, a girl calls out incoherently for her brother.
[10:30 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Yet the cries stop, and the other side of the room is filled with raucuous cheers.
[10:32 PM] Kwakadoooooo: A boy, older now, rides in on horseback, to much applause and some angry shouting as he hops off for a bow. Sula knows these voices - he can hear them calling him out of this ocean and into the party - but he relenquishes his recollections, and looks on.
[10:34 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Every pane of the towering windows carries its own vision, each sprawling out to the size of a whole world. The sheer magnitude of the revelation drowns out any thoughts he might have hoped to have.
[10:36 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Every last detail - a length of rope, hanging from a treehouse, or a jet-black knife in the hands of a spectacled ninja - lays before his eyes as if he was staring right at it.
[10:39 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Sounds, too - a sextet of wings chasing a Wyvern, the crash of a gavel against a mahogany desk, the clanging of metal as Ruri and Morderrand face off one final time - come to him in perfect clarity. Sula is, at one time, present in each of these moments.
[10:41 PM] Kwakadoooooo: A giggling girl picks herself up off the pavement, lifting her bronze axe from the cracks it left in the ground. A gentleman hands her the cap that fell off of her.
[10:41 PM] Kwakadoooooo: In the distance, a butler lets out a bloodcurdling scream as the colorful cavalier's lance retracts from his gut. He falls onto the platter of his own underdone tea.
[10:44 PM] Kwakadoooooo: An old island song rings out, at the top of the castle, while the dragon roars and the soldiers charge. The castle itself shifts from one moment to the next - white, black, old, new..
[10:45 PM] Kwakadoooooo: And outside, the chill of the Ice Gems fills the frozen forest with an eerie air. The golden-eyed ninja sighs, and continues onward.
[10:47 PM] Kwakadoooooo: The goddess returns home, whips her golden hair aside, waves her wand, and the man rises up once more to reclaim his rightful demesne.
[10:49 PM] Kwakadoooooo: A silver-haired prince sheathes his sword triumphantly, preparing to begin his journey.
[10:50 PM] Kwakadoooooo: The crowds are deathly silent, as the armored vigilante stands before the noose. Thus ends the tale of Leodin the Bold.
[10:52 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Sula feels a bit of longing, to step out and stop him, hold him up. But he must not - though the reason why eludes him. He keeps ahold of his focus, and floats on through the waves.
[10:54 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Yet the same boy stands in a jungle, cutting down dark-skinned spearman left and right with an even darker weapon. A glint of gold flashes from his hand, but Sula keeps still. This, too, shall pass.
[10:55 PM] Kwakadoooooo: The sea shifts and spirals. A dragon's claw grips tighter, then releases.
[10:58 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Sula, in turn, lets his heart flow free, shifting from relief to shock to sorrow to elation once more. It has no rhythm, no pattern, and - as he drifts - no meaning. Every frame, every feeling, lives only within that bubble. Just a degree away from nothing.(edited)
[11:01 PM] Kwakadoooooo: The visions fold in on themselves. A rude-faced redhead in the same boardroom, now the party's host. A dying young girl, and the tickle of tears flowing from behind the mask. Paper flying from the sword arm's bracelet in an enchanted poof. Five flower petals fall, as the bells ring out across the world. The miasma rolls in, bright and burning violet in the night.(edited)
[11:10 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Time itself loses all meaning. Eight million lifetimes are soaking his senses, and each one fits within the same instant - like memories, yet to come.
[11:12 PM] Kwakadoooooo: And each memory is his own. Even those of the other people. Even those of the same person, a martyr in one moment but a murderer in that moment but a monarch in that moment but a maid all the same - just different angles, different depths.
[11:15 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Each existence is within him; each moment is his own. He does not know this - he simply experiences it.
[11:23 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Yet as his mind accepts this in its silence, his heart rejects it with the same sound. He treasures none of these times, dreads none of them, but simply observes them. To dwell in just one would be like drowning on a solitary droplet of water.(edited)
[11:23 PM] Kwakadoooooo: This is peace.
[11:28 PM] Kwakadoooooo: And in submitting to this sea, letting the majesty of infinity replace every thought, Sula sinks deeper and deeper into this peace. Though he has forgotten how to think at all, his mind is not blank - it is overflowing. His eyes are not closed, but more open than they have ever been. Rather than fade away from life, he fades into more lives than he can count - nourished by the water of a boundless ocean.
[11:30 PM] Kwakadoooooo: But he is not alone. Someone else is in the ocean beneath, and letting herself drown in it.
[11:32 PM] Kwakadoooooo: This vision exists only in his left eye.(edited)
[11:33 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Of course, she is not always drowning. As the ocean shifts, and the universes with it, sometimes she lies at the bottom of the ravine.
[11:35 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Sometimes she lies in a paved garden with her throat slit, admidst thunderous cheers. At other angles, it's in the boardroom, by a freshly-opened bottle of wine.: But all that lives only in the left eye.
[11:38 PM] Kwakadoooooo: In his right eye, the infinite is just one - the drowning woman is only in a bed.
[11:39 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Familiar faces surround it, heads hung low. Others wait outside.
[11:39 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Where is this? Why is it lost outside the left eye? Where are the other visions?
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[11:40 PM] Kwakadoooooo: The ocean stirs and shimmers, rocked by the query. For the first time in forever upon forever, Sula wonders, asks. Who is it?
[11:42 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Maybe he once knew. These memories live in him, after all. And this is the only way he can hold them all - let everything else out. No thoughts, no questions, only the perfection of presence.
[11:44 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Surely he can let this one go, too. Every droplet in this ocean holds its own ocean of lives, all of which evaporate into an ocean of conclusions.
[11:45 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Whoever it is that rests within his right eye has only troubled the waters. They bring thoughts, and questions, and wonder - an unknown, in an ocean of omniscience. They are chaos, disruption.(edited)
[11:49 PM] Kwakadoooooo: His frozen eye lingers, and stings, as the ocean rolls on around it. The absolute harmony of all sound still surrounds Sula, but still, he calls out to the chaos.
[11:50 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Yet even he cannot hear it. He cannot even think of what it is he's saying. Not even the desire behind the idea can reach his mind, brimming as it is with a multitude of moments.
But he wants to hear it. And, more than that, he wants her to hear it too.
[11:52 PM] Kwakadoooooo: He does not know if it will make her leave, or wake up, or speak back to him. He does not even know what it is he asks. And yet, Sula wishes all the same, that she hear his cry.
[11:53 PM] Kwakadoooooo: But she does not move. The sea goes on. And Sula feels pain, just as in the other lifetime. But he keeps calling out. Will she hear his cry? Can she hear his cry?
[11:56 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Then, with one sudden CLANG, the sea spills out from him, and the futures fade from his focus. There he is, in one place, in one time. A familiar falicorn stands in a moonbeam while a mirror clatters to the floor. Monks clamber through the room, holding her back, and one of them comes close.
"Sula?? Hello?"
He knows this voice. And this place. His sight becomes clearer and clearer, so much easier now that there is only one way to look at a time.
[11:57 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Naomi kneels beside him, fully within view. "Are you alright? Are you there?"
[11:58 PM] Kwakadoooooo: Gasping for air, he nods, looking around the room. One of the maidens picks up the mirror, checking for any dents. With a relieved facepalm, she goes over to Daisuke and hands it to him.
[12:05 AM] Kwakadoooooo: "...I'm sorry." The middle-aged man looks to the mirror, then to Sula. "We should have taken her outside first, before we began."
Sula's gaze remains on the mirror, absolutely bewildered. Was that his face? Why wasn't he sure?
[12:06 AM] Kwakadoooooo: "The ritual was interrupted," Naomi explains, confident that it was still Sula they were talking to. "You started...talking..and then your pegasus ran up and kicked the mirror before we could place the seal."
[12:19 AM] Kwakadoooooo: "Oh....." Sula looks closer at the reflection within the blessed bronze, finally spotting it. He closes his right eye, gazing at it with his left. There he finds a small, serpentine tattoo that spreads from the middle of the lid toward the eyebrow, shaping something like a stemmed rose. It was just like the others that ran along his body, from his ankles to his neck...except that he had never seen it before.
[12:20 AM] Kwakadoooooo: "..Sula? Is everything okay?" Daisuke flips the mirror around, squatting down to face the Dwabi from across the room. "...What did you see?"
[12:30 AM] Kwakadoooooo: Sula blinks, slowly. "....Everything. It was the future, but - so many. One man died, but lived, and changed, and was replaced, in no order. Different futures, that could not fit together, but they were all connected together. Like branches in a cloth, it..."
Daisuke gives a soothing nod, assuring the Dwabi that he understood. He too, had seen it before.
"That's the flow of time. It isn't just one path - it's every path. All of that was true...just different."
Sula's mouth gapes reverently, weighted with awe. "But...so many futures...then..."
"That's right." Daisuke nodded once more. "The history unfolding beneath these mountains...is just the history that is the closest to us. It's simply the only Khlin that we can see ourselves.
"Ba-bi..." The Dwabi clutches his head, no less perplexed by the strange sight in the mirror even after hearing this.
[12:36 AM] Kwakadoooooo: Naomi stands up once more. "At least we made it far enough that you've regained some control. If you'd like, we can take a break before we start again."
"Actually..." Sula faces her, with quiet heavy eyes. "...I wonder if I should sleep first. Take some time to think about all this."
"Are you sure?" A conflicted expression crosses her face. "I know what I said, but you're still in grave danger. Every hour that passes without that seal, the spirit could be taking a deeper hold--"
"Truly!" Sula snaps, before taking a heavy breath. "...but they are hours I need. To prepare. If I am to let go of these bonds...I will need to do it, without regrets. "
[12:38 AM] Kwakadoooooo: "...I understand." Her eyes met Daisuke's. They know they can't force this. "Very well. We'll return tomorrow night. If you need anything until then, Min will be here to support you."
[12:39 AM] Kwakadoooooo: "Kwemo, Nao-mi." Sula waves, as he leans back in the bed. The Masters depart while Min closes the shade, tidying up the room.
[12:40 AM] Kwakadoooooo: Sula's eyes slide shut as he tries to bring himself to sleep. What he'd told Naomi was a lie - he had simply been stalling for time.
[12:41 AM] Kwakadoooooo: The truth was that when he came out of the spell, Sula finally knew who it was that he saw, drowning with him.
[12:42 AM] Kwakadoooooo: And he would not allow himself to forget again.
[12:42 AM] Kwakadoooooo: ======END SULA SELF-RP, DAY 2======
[12:49 AM] Wyvern Lord: @Amasuro is a dumb idiot
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