Closed [Motoku] The Tenebrous Nature of a Cambion

[Vicissitude]

༺༉⛦ Spring 3 year 125 of the third age ⛥༉༻

<notes>

Nihilos always worked in strange ways, didn't It? It could've simply had Raya manifest in a Tumbledown, whereupon immediately after her emergence from Avernus she'd be inducted into Alíthean ranks. But no, It chose to have her awaken alone and confused in Jian, a nation regularly ripped to pieces by war. Perhaps to build character? Perhaps to learn how to use her new ability on her own…or maybe for no reason at all.

Nevertheless, The Stranger was not one to let a wayward member of Its flock wander alone for too long. And it was upon traces of Raya's strange ability being discovered by Irelia– a Boia that served beneath Jian's Podestà tasked with the meticulous record keeping of all Alítheans who came and went– that Nihilos did deign to rein her in.

So it was on the morning of March 3rd that Raya would be found. She and the sorcerer she'd latched onto were training in an isolated clearing in Taigama, just far enough from Emberfall to not be disturbed. Irelia had dispatched an agent of hers, distracted as she constantly was by the work required of her by her façade as coroner; while she was only tasked with the autopsies of deaths deemed suspicious, the Huo had no shortage of those. And, not knowing the capabilities of the woman they were after nor the potential for her to have friends, she opted to send one of Jian's Săgetătorul de Sânge, or those trained specifically for assassination, should it come to that. Nihilos' whispers would guide him to Raya, though the Stranger allowed his presence to remain a surprise to the latter.

In the middle of whatever Luke and Raya were doing, a strange mist would form around them, obscuring their vision such that they'd barely be able to see one another. If Raya were to try and Divine the mist, its composition would mostly be Aether; perhaps conjured of Aqua? There would be echoes of other Metaphor within; a smattering of spectral Miasmata, the glittering glow of Saol, and waves of predatory Imber. Most curiously, however, would be the tenebrous stain of Absentia clinging to every mote of water that hung in the air. Raya might not know the name of this Metaphor, but she'd recognize it as one and the same as the blackness she'd found herself wrapped in during her earliest moments of this existence. It would feel familiar and safe to her. The concentrations of all but the last Metaphor warped and shifted in hypnotic patterns with each passing second.

A voice would call out to them:

"O, how fascinating a discovery…!

…blood of the Night Father's own;

Truly
A

Work​

Of

Its​

Endless
Majesty."​

​

The disembodied voice would come from different directions all 'round them, echoing through the air in a masculine tenor. His accent was Jianese, sounding similar to men of the Saru clan, though no deity of theirs bore the moniker of 'Night Father'. And while Raya had never heard this voice before, it would sound familiar, like that of an old friend; a falsehood imposed upon it by the Entity which had drawn them together.

On the other hand, the mist and strange speaker would make Luke's skin crawl, an insidious sense of uneasy foreboding winding through his organs like vines as seconds passed.

 

[Raya]

For the first time Raya went to go train her abilities deliberately. She wanted to know what other things she could do that was similar to her touch of death. Tendrils thrashed about but it was impossible to touch that power again. She felt it building inside of her but it was still weak.

Then the mist came. It was mysterious and comforting and scary simultaneously. It was made up of different metaphor but she didn't understand what she was seeing. She did not have the ability to see them in her past life so she was working on instinct alone.

"Who's There and what are you talking about? Show yourself if your intentions are pure." Raya was prepared to fight but she didn't have any power to fight against someone she couldn't see in this mist.

"Do Something Luke" She whispered if he needed motivation. "Something isn't right. We might need to run."

Another piece of her told her that she should trust this voice. She didn't know what to believe.

 

[Luke]

Luke didn't need encouragement to know that he ought to do something. The vibe he was getting from the voice and the mist reminded him of the wickedness that he had tried to run away from in Arcanis. He didn't know what to think of the words he heard – they didn't make any sense to him. He also didn't know if this person was after him or Raya. After hearing about what she'd done, Luke thought that Raya might be involved in some strange kind of magic.

The mist was unsettling. It was so thick that it made it impossible to even see Raya who hadn't been that far away from him. The galsterei instinctively turned on his infernosight, giving him enough vision to make out Raya and maybe even this newcomer if they were close enough.

He clenched his fist and wondered what he ought to do. His first thought was to torch the whole place to the ground. His only reservation was that doing so would probably incinerate Raya as well. He settled for thrusting his fist into the air, firing a massive cone of flames straight up. He hoped would force the mist to disperse or evaporate. He used an amount of power that probably would have deterred most mages from looking to fight.

"Enough with the mist," Luke said confidently.

10 master
-.11 journeyman Infernosight
-.44 expert Pyromancy (inefficient cone)
=9.45

 

[Vicissitude]

༺༉⛦ March 3 year 125 of the third age ⛥༉༻

<notes>

"Such wariness…!

Expected,​

but…​

There is​

no​

need,"​

The voice continued in response to Luke's flames.

The fire did, indeed, evaporate much of the mist. If Raya had chosen to continue to Divine, she'd notice much of the Metaphor rapidly move out of the flame's wake and then start to condense a few feet away from where she and Luke stood. The figure that appeared from the fog was a painfully ordinary man; a human of Jianese blood dressed in monochromatic blacks. He had a sword at his hip, though this might be ornamental– mage that he was, the necessity of the weapon was nebulous at best. What remained of the fog split between coiling 'round the figure's legs and seeping into the ground below, though all of it clung near to him. Again, though Raya would not recognize the man, his visage would invoke feelings of familiarity.

He smiled at the two, a wide, toothy grin– a choice that revealed an abnormality; all of his teeth came to wicked points as would a carnivore's. Still, his expression, if perhaps off-putting, was far from predatory. Simultaneously would he raise both palms in a gesture meant to indicate he meant no harm.

"I speak of The Stranger, our Father, dear sister," he'd say, the intensity of his gaze focused almost entirely on Raya.

Then he'd turn his head to look at Luke in a manner most mechanical, maybe comparable to the fast, twitchy movements of a bird. "...and yours, too, wayward son."

"Your father by blood also sends his regards," he'd relay with an impish wink. "A shame he's still blind to your potential, but that…" he laughed, "...is not my concern."

His head abruptly turned back to Raya, "...rather, you are!" The remark had an eerie sort of cheer to it.

"Has a single word from my lips thus far made sense to you?"

Beyond the instinctual desire to trust this newcomer and the fact that the man's soul was so deeply poisoned by that foreign-yet-familiar Absentia (had she ever the curiosity to Divine her own form, she'd have seen Absentia within herself, too), none of what he'd said was wont to ring any bells to her.

Luke, unfortunately, lacked knowledge, Blight or any other gift from Nihilos, leading all of this to be patently disturbing from his perspective. He'd feel comparatively on edge to the trustworthy comfort Raya might perceive from the other man.

 

[Raya]

"Sister?" Raya said with a glance to Luke

"Does this mean you know who I am? Who I was?"

She appeared troubled and confused. She no longer wanted to flee. She wanted to talk to this man and discover answers.

"What you have said doesn't make sense to me. I have vague memories of a stranger but I haven't a clue who it is or was. But if you sought me out I must trust that you can give me useful information. I think we should hear him out Luke."

She felt interest build for Luke when she heard about his father. Somehow all three of them were connected and she was dying to know how. The more she talked to the jianese man the more she trusted him. Whether it was supernatural or not she was desperate to feel a connection to someone from her past life. There was a chance however small that he had known her.

 

[Luke]

Luke groaned inwardly when his father was brought up. The whole reason he was even in Jian was to be rebellious and prove that he didn't need his rich dad to have a good life. To hear that someone connected to his father had found him, even if on accident, was unsettling. He still didn't feel scared. He was too overconfident to think that some random stranger could best him if it came down to it. Perhaps The Stranger would find a way to humble him.

"Alright, let's hear him out, then," he said to Raya. He didn't want to go into a whole thing about how he hated his dad. The focus was on Raya at the moment, and it looked as though she was very interested in this strange man. Luke felt somewhat protective of her, in that he would feel responsible if this man tried to kill her. But he'd only known her for a day or two.

He found that he was just as interested as she was. What was the meaning behind this meeting? How were they all connected? He was willing to let things play out for the time being.

 

[Vicissitude]

༺༉⛦ March 3 year 125 of the third age ⛥༉༻

<notes>

For a second, the man appeared thoughtful– nothing about the way Raya spoke or emoted seemed to reflect that she was lying, yet he didn't quite understand how somebody could be laced so heavily with Absentia and yet not at least know of Nihilos. But then, his gaze would become distant, dark eyes staring off into space almost like he'd been possessed for a few short moments before he'd blink and come back to himself. He looked even more excited than his bizarre, hyperbolic expressions prior.

For a moment, contrastingly, he'd then express sorrow. "I am sorry to say that I cannot speak of your life prior, but don't fret, dearest sister! I can help you uncover those secrets."

He'd tilt his head in thought before correcting himself, "...or rather, I've many threads to pull upon that ought to lead you in the right direction, should you wish." After this, he'd cheerily clasp his hands together up near his chin.

The mist encircling his feet would expand outward a bit, though not enough to rise above his knees nor reach either Raya or Luke.

"But! You'll just have to place your trust in me, as I cannot give voice to such secrets here," his expression would shift to something more subdued and sincere through these words.

"The offer extends to you, too, Luke– should you wish to learn more of your extended Family, I would be happy to take you along with Raya on a journey of self discovery as well," he'd add with a wry smile.

Then, he'd jolt a little, as if realizing he'd forgotten something. "Oh– but where are my manners? I never introduced myself; please call me Kaneki," he'd clarify with a polite Jianese bow.

 

[Raya]

Raya looked at him while he thought. Something was wrong with him but that could apply to her as well. He had a craziness to him that felt so familiar.

"Yes, yes, yes. This is what I've been searching for" She said. She walked closer to him. She felt so safe when a part of her told her that she was being foolish.

"Then let us go to a more secure location, mysterious man named Kaneki." Abraia did not recognize the name either. She walked towards him only briefly glancing over her shoulder to ask Luke "You coming, Fire Boy?"

She looked back at Kaneki "I have learned a little about myself. I believe I used to live in aelheim. I hear it is a dangerous place but one day I want to get revenge on whoever wronged me. I hope this Stranger you speak of will be able to help me."

 

[Luke]

Luke shrugged and said, "sure, why not?" He still felt a creepy vibe from Kaneki but it couldn't be helped. Some people were just like that. Mages did tend to have their quirks. Plus they hadn't been attacked, so there was no reason to believe that they were in any realy danger. Sometimes not being a mystic was useful. It allowed one to be blissfully ignorant.

He walked behind Raya to approach Kaneki while he thought about whether he would learn something about his father that he would be able to use to his advantage. He had no doubts that he would one day encounter him again, and if it was on bad terms he needed to be able to defend himself. Strange how he had all this magic at his disposal but still instinctively felt that it wasn't enough. Perhaps his father was a boogeyman in his mind and no amount of power would ever be enough to defeat it.

Luke nodded at the bow and said, "it sounds like you're from around here but I'm from Arcanis. This extended family must be fairly large." It was more of a comment to himself than anything else. But he would follow it up with, "where are we going anyways? What could be more private than a clearing all to ourselves?"

 

[Vicissitude]

༺༉⛦ March 3 year 125 of the third age ⛥༉༻

<notes>

"Worry not about the how! Simply enjoy the journey," Kaneki started to reply as the mist started to climb up the figures of all three. "And please do not resist, either. I would never hurt my kin without first being provoked." His delivery was strange as ever, but that at least did not sound like a lie.

Once the mist was dense enough to be felt on the skin of the others, they'd feel the strange sensation of their bodies beginning to Apparate. This wouldn't be new to Raya, as she had been wholly diffuse in the time spent prior to her rebirth. Likely, too, was it not altogether foreign to Luke– surely he'd utilized one of his elemental forms at least once, which ought to feel quite similar. Still, being released from the shackles of corporeality tended to be either intensely uncomfortably or incredibly freeing depending on the person no matter how many times it happened.

Nevertheless, Kaneki would begin to Drift all three of them as a collective. They would rapidly increase to just over fifty miles per hour, which might be disorienting were either of the others not used to the speed. They would travel like this for a while before arriving at a dilapidated shack in a village that'd been destroyed in one of Jian's many skirmishes before Kaneki would pull the group through what remained of the floor and then the earth beneath.

In total darkness now, one might wonder how exactly Kaneki was navigating, but the ease with which he did indicated he might simply be doing so from memory at this point. After a time, the diffuse trio would arrive in an empty room with no form of ingress or egress visible at all. It was totally empty, too, aside from a single, ornate stone door frame that sat lonely in the center.

The uncomfortable static of lowering in Frequency would soon be felt as their diffuseness faded to mist, then liquid, congealing slime, and finally: their bodies were their own again. Kaneki would step forward into a circle just before the doorway, one connected by elaborate Glyphics. As soon as he set foot upon it, it would glow bright with Aether's potential before a portal flickered to life in the door frame. Wordlessly, Kaneki would gesture to it and then step through.

On the other side, they found themselves in a hexagonal room, dimly lit with a high, vaulted ceiling. A similar door frame inset into five of the six walls, though all of the others remained dormant. The sixth wall, however, had what appeared to be a normal door. Strangely, it would be hard to discern the material composing the dark plum-gray of the walls and floors. If one were to run a hand over any surface, the texture would be equally confusing. Instinctually, one might assume it to be a bizarre sort of metal, yet it was matte, warm to the touch and had some degree of flexibility like an organic material. The color almost looked like bruised flesh, even.

Regardless, Kaneki clearly found these environs to be completely unremarkable as his movement would only slow if those following him lagged behind. He would lead them out the door and down a dark hall made of the same material. A singular panel of a series of overhead lights activated above them one by one when they got close enough before clicking off as each new one turned on, seemingly by movement. As such, they always had enough light to see, but it was distinctly dim unless one stood centered beneath the lights themselves; too far ahead or too far back were each enshrouded in inky darkness.

He'd lead them through winding, labyrinthine corridors that all looked the exact same, yet his brisk, purposeful pace would indicate that he did, indeed, know where he was going all the same. Eventually, he'd finally slow and stop in front of one the doors only visible by the thin lines indicating their seams with the wall. None of them had handles or other mechanisms, and all Kaneki did was lay a palm on the door. Beneath his hand, the organic metal glowed dimly like light passing through flesh before it would unlock, allowing Kaneki to simply push it open.

The room beyond was not large, only about the size of a small bedroom. It contained a table and some chairs, all carved in brutalist fashion but kept simple. Notably, however, upon the walls grew a jungle of vines and black growths and odd flora that looked to be rotting yet simultaneously full of life. Kaneki would gesture for them to enter.

"I am…sure you both have many questions," he'd say with a cat's smile.

"But in truth, I am a bloodhound. I have been honed and sharpened as a weapon– ill equipped to answer them. It was I who was sent after you as the dear lady who holds my leash thought that you, Raya, had sinned against our family…but nay, no rule-breaker did I find. Instead, a lost lamb and prodigal son!" He'd giggle as if to indicate that what he was saying was, indeed, absurd.

"I was only able to know what I knew because of The Stranger's whispers." He explained, appearing sincere, as if he believed what he'd said made sense.

"Would you two kindly wait here while I fetch a lovely Mystagogus? They are like sages for us– any question you have, they can answer, yes, yes," nodding repeatedly by the end of this sentiment.

While all of this could be overwhelming or bizarre or even terrifying, Raya's innate connection to Nihilos resulted in her feeling completely at ease here, as if she'd found sanctuary. Luke, however, would respond naturally, lacking the comfort of Absentia to ease any anxieties he might possess.