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ST The stirring sands around Carmine and Corve part to reveal a group of...beings so emaciated that their sex is impossible to determine even though their only clothing is a scrap of hide for a loincloth. At least seven of the beings are within arm's reach. Bleach white but for their staring red eyes the creatures shamble forwards until a warbling scream halts them.
ST One creature, larger and fuller then the others, wielding a long bone-fashioned sword instead of the simple club-like instruments of the rest, shambles forward to stand before Carmine and Corve. It looks at them and howls demandingly.
Corve drops from Carmine's arms, deciding that it was deiniftely not the time to give her something more to worry about. He slides beside her and reaches under his clothing, gripping the handle of his rifle as he prepares for the worst. However, the howling of the creature only perplexes him, and he raises a brow, leaning to his lover and whispering: "You have any idea what it said?"
Carmine "No idea at all." Carmine says, putting herself between Corve and the creatures.
ST The creature howls again, pointing its bone-sword at Carmine's chest. It points at the ground with its other hand and gives a sharp barking noise.
Corve nods a little, and looks at the creature calmly. "Guess it wants you to get down..." he says calmly.
Carmine shakes her head defiantly "NO!" she shouts back at him, Eminence appearing in her hand with a brilliant burst of sunlight.
Corve takes a look around, licking his lips slightly and taking a step up behind Carmine, his lips against her ear. "I think we're a tad outnumbered, love... maybe we should try to figure out what they -want?-" It's odd for Corve to be this cautious, especially in these situations, but... they don't have many resources in this dead world.
ST points at the ground, then at himself. He barks again and jabs a finger at the desert to the left side of the group.
Carmine "Then they can tell us without making us kneel." she says back to him. "I will listen, but I don't see why I should kneel." She looks to the desert on that side with a cautious glance though.
ST There is nothing in that direction.
Corve nods slowly and carefully slides his rifle out, though not menacingly. Cautiously, he steps to the side, so the creatures can see him better, and asks: "What do you want?"
ST The leader points at Carmine and Corve, barks, then points back at the empty desert to one side.
Carmine "Perhaps he wants us to walk over there?" Carmine asks of corve
Corve purses his lips. "We can try it. Careful, though..." he says, his rifle in one hand while he places the other on the small of her back, beginning to walk cautiously towards where the creature points.
ST The lead creature and its horde, now growing in size, follows Corve and Carmine, though they stay behind the two mortals. Occasionally, the leader will bark at them, pointing further east.
Carmine moves with Corve over there, watching the horde and the ground in front of them as she walks.
Corve "Guess he just wants us to walk..." he says, continuing to move.
Carmine "But to where?"
Corve "I guess we're going to find out when we get there... they don't seem to be very articulate..."
ST After nearly an hour and the arrival of full night in this desolate place, the leader and the horde stop. The creature barks twice at Carmine. It points at itself and the ground under its feet and barks again. Then it points at Carmine and Corve, the ground under their feet and makes a strange mewing noise.
Corve tils his head at the creature. "I... don't think it understand that we don't... uh... understand."
Corve tilts**
Carmine "...Yeah."
Corve wonders, idly, what would happen if he shot the thing in the forehead. He decides against it, for now, and takes a step towards the creature, pointing at the floor and crouching slightly, then giving the thing a questioning look. His other hand still fully grips his rifle.
ST The creature aims its sword at Corve's chest as he approaches. It howls menacingly!!
Corve rises, and aims his rifle at the creature's head. "Now now, let's not ruin a perfectly good outing..."
ST waves Corve back, hissing and howling at him
Corve doesn't move, keeping his rifle aimed nice and level at the creature's forehead. "No need to shout, kiddo..."
ST rumbles a low warning at Corve, waving him back with the bone-sword. The other pale, red-eyed creatures line up near their leader, making the same low rumbling noise. They gesticulate with their heavy bone clubs, waving them threateningly at Corve and Carmine.
Corve looks over his shoulder and takes a step back, standing next to Carmine now. "I'm beginning to think that they're really just plain stupid, love."
Carmine "Yeah....I don't want to kill them just for being stupid though."
Corve "Me neither. However... they keep waving those bones at us and it's beginning to grate on my nerves..."
ST The leader jabs his sword at Corve in a clear gesture to indicate he wants Corve to step back.
Corve already stepped back. He's not going to step back further and leave Carmine alone with them.
ST He repeats the gesture at Carmine, barking loudly.
Corve ponders for a moment, and then grabs Carmine's elbow, pulling her back two steps with him. "Let's try to figure out what the hell they want before we decide to kill them..."
Carmine nods.
ST The leader points very firmly at the ground under him and barks.
Corve makes a gesture that can only mean he doesn't understand.
ST With an annoyed grumble the large creature draws a line in the sand with his bone-sword and points at his side of it. He barks angrily. Then he points at Carmine and Corve, and back at his side of the line. He howls and makes a threatening gesture with the sword. At that, the rest of the bleach-white skeletal..things start yammering, howling and roaring, waving their clubs in the air.
Corve "Huh. Guess he just wants us to stay here, then?"
Carmine points to the south, along the line that will take them to the mesa, and then looks at the man questioninglu
ST The leader looks to where Carmine gestures and howls again, angrily. He jabs his sword into his side of the line and howls.
Corve "I'm not getting it."
Corve "Maybe they don't -want- us to go to the mesa..." he says, scratching his chin. "What if whatever we're supposed to be going there for, they're against?"
Carmine "Maybe."
Corve sighs, and looks at her. "This... whole thing... is about you, love. Your call." He wishes he could understand these damn creatures...
Carmine "I can't just give up now." Carmine says, and takes a firm step forward, igniting the caste mark on her forehead.
Corve nods firmly and flips his rifle, grabbing it with both hands, preparing to get rather nasty with these creatures.
Corve "Love... we can always try going around..." he says. "... or turning back." He hopes that she takes the second choice. He really does.
Carmine "That could take ... days." She does make a gesture with her arm, indicating a wide circle around the area of the ghosts.
ST The horde of milk-skinned, red-eyed creatures howls and warbles in menacing tones as the two mortals arm themselves and Carmine refuses to step back from the line in the sand.
Corve sighs a little, scratching his chin. "We're not... I mean... it just doesn't seem like this is the best course of action, Carmine. There's got to be a reason they don't want us to do this... especially when something we -know- isn't on our side -really- wants us there."
Carmine "I want to find out who I was. I want to find out why I have I have dreams like I do. I want to find out what my name is."
Corve shakes his head. "Who you were shouldn't matter... it doesn't to -me.- The dreams are... our enemies. I had one, too, remember? It could just be them screwing with our heads..." He takes a step to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "And your name is Carmine. I like that name."
Carmine "It doesn't feel like that to me."
Corve "Well, it does to me. What if... what if when we get there, something happens, and I lose you? What if -my- dream comes true?" Corve's scared... he can't help it. She keeps proving she's strong... but they don't know what they're up against, and he feels like they'll never really know, even if they win.
ST The white-skinned creatures across the line are becoming agitated. Carmine still has not stepped back from the line and now Corve has joined her in stepping forward. The leader howls at them angrily, demanding they move away!
Corve "There -has- to be a reason they're so adamant in keeping us away, Carmine. Creatures from -this world- don't want us there... that has to -mean- something."
Carmine "They just don't want us walking over their land. We can go around."
Corve sighs and drops his head and hand, nodding. "Fine."
Carmine takes Corves hand and starts to walk along the line.
Corve follows, none too happy, holstering his rifle and looking back at the creatures with a short nod.
ST The creatures follow the couple for several miles before eventually scattering off into their side of the line, having become convinced the Solars will not broach their territory.
Corve "So when do we turn and start heading for the Mesa?" he says.
Carmine "In another hour, I think."
Corve "Alright."
ST An hour later, with no signs of the pale-skinned desert creatures in sight Corve and Carmine veer back into their territory and start towards the Mesa of Midnight once more. Their little side trip had cost them some time, but not much. However after nearly a full day of travel without rest, both Solars feel the need to stop as the harsh, blinding light of this place's un-sun starts to climb the eastern horizon.
Carmine had planned on this, looking for a shelter before the sun even started to rise, somewhere that would be sheltered from it's rays.
ST With her sharp eyes and survival skills, Carmine manages to find a niche in the side of a dune, probably carved out by some sort of...strange underworld being. But it looks to have been abandoned for long enough that she judges it safe. It will do for sun-shelter for the day.
Carmine "Here."
Corve nods and gets into the spot, scooting over for her to join him as he pulls his hat over his eyes and closes them.
Carmine stays awake for the moment, letting him sleep. She wakes him a few hours later, so she can sleep.
ST Over the course of his watch, Corve eventually finds himself unable to resist getting just a few more minutes of sleep. Shortly he slumps down, his chin touching his chest and his breathing slowing into sleep. Sunset wakes them both, as the glaring ball of light sets below the crest of the dune that had sheltered them with one last flurry of hateful brilliance.
ST As darkness comes to the desert the pair of Solars awakens and finds that their surroundings have...changed.
Carmine "...Corve?" Carmine asks blurrily
Corve rubs his eyes. "Sorry, love... I dropped off..." he says, opening his eyes wide to take a look around.
ST Instead of the featureless hollow between two great dunes, the Solars are now sleeping on a flat, featureless surface in a darkened space. The sunset that woke them was not true sunset. It was merely the last rays of light entering their new surroundings through a hole at the top of the darkness.
Carmine "...where are we?"
ST It would appear that during their sleep the ground collapsed out from under them, dropping them into some kind of underground basin. There is a trickling noise of water nearby, but without light, all Carmine and Corve can tell is that they are underground, it is very cold, and they are on stone.
Corve "Underground..." he says carefully. "And there's water nearby. We need light..."
Carmine lights her anima.
ST As the sunlight glory of Carmine's anima shimmers into existence more of their surroundings are revealed. They appear to have fallen, somehow, into a vast cavern smoothed and hollowed by hands, not nature. The water running nearby is a fountain. A hideous serpent's face spews black-looking water into a basin set into one wall far from the pair.
ST Aside from the fountain and the hole in the ceiling the only other feature in the "cave" is a massive obelisk standing opposite the fountain, covered in markings. Each of the obelisk's four sides has a dark gemstone placed at about eye-level.
Carmine stands, looking more around the cavern. "IT looks like ... a temple." Carmine hazards, from her limited experience of such things
Corve "Looks like. Maybe an altar..."
Carmine "A temple to who though?" Carmine steps closer, to see if there are more ways out.
Corve "Something dead," he says, smirking.
ST There do not appear to be any ways out. Well, aside from the hole in the ceiling, many yards above their heads. The only features of the cavern are the fountain and the obelisk.
Carmine studies the snake in more detail.
ST The snake is so stylized and distorted that making an identification of its species is pointless. But it is a serpent, carved from black stone. And the water that spews from its throat smells metallic, foul and looks smokey.
Corve sighs and begins to do his actual job, walking around and trying to find any sort of clue as to what exactly they may be looking at, even though he doesn't need any clues to know, in his gut, that this belongs to the Black Vipers.
ST The only clue he can find, aside from the fountain telling him that this place most certainly does belong to the Black Viper Cult, is the obelisk itself. It's markings are in some incomprehensible language, curving, sinuous little symbols arranged around the four darkened gems set into the obelisk's black stone.
Corve runs a finger across one of the dark gemstones.
ST Aside from that, there are two other clues at to the use, if not function, of this place. On the floor near the fountain Corve notices stains as if the stone had constantly been wet, over and over and over.
ST The second clue is that when he touches the gem it flares purple for a moment before settling back into darkness. When it flares purple the symbols around it seem to almost make sense to him for a moment. But just a moment.
Corve raises a brow, and then reaches forward again, touching the same stone.
Carmine "What are you doing, Corve?"
Corve "Trying to figure out what it is..." he says, rather distracted.
ST This time the stone does not respond. Though Corve does notice that there is a thinly carved line running from each side of the obelisk out, meeting a circle that surrounds the monument. And the circle is connected to the fountain's basin by another thin, almost invisible line in the floor.
Corve touches one of the other three stones.
ST None of them reacts to Corve's touch.
Corve "Damn..." He moves to the fountain, crossing the cavern, and looks into the black water. Carefully, he rips a piece of his tunic and dips it in the water.
ST the dipped tunic turns midnight black.
Corve "Huh..." he says, touching the part of the cloth that turned black to see if the texture's changed.
ST The cloth feels wet, of course, and slightly slimey
Corve tries to clean the cloth to see if the color comes off.
ST With a great deal of scrubbing and scraping the blackness does start to come off.
Corve sits down at the edge of the fountain, trying to figure this out.
Corve rises and walks around the fountain, trying to get a good look at the snake's head, to see if there's any way to change or halt the water's pouring.
ST It appears to be just a spout, with no additional mechanism at all. There is a drain at the bottom of the basin or else it would overflow. But aside from the spout and the basin all the rest of the fountain must be within the stone walls.
Corve dips the cloth into the water again, and then moves to the obelisk, placing the wet cloth over the gemstones.
ST For a moment the gemstone that Corve touches with the wet cloth flashes purple, but it quickly grows dark. However now Corve's fingers are wet and black-stained as well as the cloth.
Corve mutters. "I think I figured it out. But we need a bucket... something to get the water out of the fountain..." he begins to clean his hand on the tunic, trying to get the black stains off his fingers.
Carmine cuts her own finger, presses the bloody tip to one of the gemstones. Though not the icky blackcovered one.
ST The stone glows faintly, but it does not react further as the blood touches it. It is reacting to something close by instead.
Corve joins Carmine and looks at the stones. "This is odd..."
Carmine bites her lip, then pulls her sleave up and takes a bracer off, pressing her tattoo to the stone.
ST The stone flashes brilliantly purple and for a moment, as it was with Corve, the strange squiggly writing almost becomes clear...
Corve "Hmm... oh," he says, and reaches into his coat's pocket, pulling out the gemstone he got from the fat idiot in Great Forks. He lifts it near the gemstones.
ST The gemstone Corve presents the stone too likewise flares for a moment. It seems that the presence of things touched by Black Viper magic triggers their power.
ST In an instant, Carmine realizes that is what the fountain is for. The water is touched by dark magic. And things touched by the water retain that essence for a short time.
Corve ponders for a moment, trying to connect the dots, figuratively speaking. "Hmm..."
Carmine "We need to bring the water to the gems ... that's ... tainted by the same magic in that rock and... my tattoo."
Corve "Right... I tried that. It didn't last."
Corve moves to inspect the wetspots on the floor, trying to figure out, with his previous years of experience as a keen detective, how the water got there- if poured, dripped, or simply something wet traveling over the ground. He crouches down, trying to figure it out.
ST As far as Corve can tell, this is splash-marks and drips. He can almost see a trail of drip marks leading from the basin to the obelisk. He things they might have to apply the water to their bodies.
ST From the amount of water on the floor, it'd seem the cultists may go so far as to cover their whole bodies with the black-staining water. There are marks around the edge of the basin where clothes may have been deposited wet
Corve figured as much, but wanted to make sure. "We have to dip ourselves in it for it to work. The stone, tattoo, and a little water isn't enough. It needs a -lot.-"
Carmine "And what happens after it? Is there anything you can tell about that?"
Corve "Not really. It probably activates the obelisk... and... I suspect we're taken somewhere- or summon something... unfortunately, I don't have Xar or Myrrh's expertise in this field."
Corve "We'll just have to try it."
Corve he walks towards the fountain and looks down into it, taking off his tunic and coat and folding them together, putting his weapons on the coat. "You coming?" He doesn't look happy about it, but she's made it perfectly clear they're going to do everything to get where she needs to go, so they might as well get it over with.
Carmine nods and strips out of her dresses, unbinding the ribbon from her hair
Carmine then leans into the water, and starts to cover herself in it.
Corve finishes undressing and then looks at the water again... and does the same.
ST The two naked Solars find the water staining their skin black. Where it touches Corve's hair it turns that black as well. Shortly both Solars are black from head to toe. The stuff feels disgusting, like slime or phlegm. Even being inside the behemoth did not feel this way. The black clings to them, cold and unhealthy feeling. It feels almost as if it were trying to seep inside them
ST Both want nothing more then to scrub it away with soap and sand and hot, clean water, let the Sun burn it from them with his radiance.
ST But they are covered it in and even from across the room, the gemstones are glowing faintly purple.
Corve he hisses to himself, and then grabs his rifle, and walks towards the obelisk. "Let's get this over with so we can scrub this shit off."
Corve stops, and grabs his coat, too.
Carmine nods, and strides over to the obelisk
ST The black on Corve's hands stains the coat, even making the brilliant Orichalcum duller.
Corve joins her, sliding the coat on and taking her hand as they reach the obelisk.
ST As they approach and stand before the gems on the obelisk, the stones glow brilliantly, illuminating the entire room with purple light. The markings on the obelisk reveal their meaning to the two black-covered people. Without changing form, they suddenly convey meaning as if speaking to Corve and Carmine.
ST The obelisk demands that those before it sing the praises of the Great Serpent of Shadows before they may enter his domain below the sands and enter the Holy Grounds.
ST A large portion of the markings are the words that must, apparently, be sung to leave this room.
Corve looks at Carmine, his jaw very tight.
Carmine "You don't have to do this." She says quietly.
Corve "I do if you're going to.
ST Skimming her eyes over the song, Carmine feels her stomach roil. It involves a great deal of praising the unsurpassed power of the shadow serpent, bowing before its majesty and begging for admittance into its glorious presence. Begging for it to enter the soul of the singer and consume what is within, leaving only worshipfullness and the glory of submission.
Corve "But... -you- don't have to do this. That was my entire point back in the desert."
ST Standard fare for dark gods...but Carmine's mind remembers a time in which she sung this song daily and she remembers another voice singing it along with her, a man's voice full of passion and love.
Carmine bites her lip. "I do." I want to find out who he is.
Corve "No. You don't. No one can force it on you..." he says, shaking his head slowly.
Carmine "I do, Corve. I didn't come this far to turn back."
Corve sighs and reads the text, taking a deep breath. "Don't know who's crazier... you for caring what's behind this thing, or me for following you," he says, and then begins to recite the song to the Shadow Serpent.
Carmine starts to recite the words too, hating them, and the strange sense of familiarity they bring.
ST As Carmine and Corve sing the song, there is a rumbling noise behind them. Unable to look away from the runes because of the necessity of keeping time with the pulsing of the purple light, they are both aware that something behind them is moving around. Something large and made of stone. It seems likely it could be a door or passage of some sort being revealed as they sing the song.
Carmine keeps on singing the song to the end, slowly walking away backwards.
ST At the end of the song, Carmine turns around and gets a good look at what her song caused to happen. Where there was formerly a blank wall of solid stone separating the fountain and the obelisk now there is a gap halfway between the two, leading down into a vast spiral staircase that descends many, many stairs into the darkness below.
Carmine looks back at Corve, then starts to descend slowly.
Corve turns as well, and moves to his clothing. If he's going down there, he's going -dressed.-
Corve dresses, and grabs Carmine's strips, following her down the staircase and handing them to her when he reaches her.
ST Descending the staircase is not an easy task. Slick-footed and moving in relative darkness aside from Carmine's anima, the two make their way slowly. There appears to be no end to the staircase. Every so often there is a landing and a great, dark door set into the wet stone from which the whole place is carved but something in Carmine's head tells her what she seeks is at the bottom.
Carmine keeps on walking down into the depths.
ST And so, Carmine and Corve descend. One step at a time. Down, down, down into more stairs. Eventually they are unable to feel their legs, simply watching as the alien limbs move them downwards. The darkness around them whispers quietly and sometimes at the landings, dark shadows cluster at the doors. But nothing makes itself evident as threat or ally.
ST Corve is unable to tell how long he has been walking. He can only see the stairs under his feet, Carmine at his side and the darkness. The coat on his shoulders and the weapon on his back feel like mountains and his muscles burn with each step. But he can't make himself stop. On any regular staircase he would have collapsed hundreds of stairs ago. But something here drives him on.
ST Carmine is no better and, in a way, far worse. Her silk rubs her raw where it touches her body but beyond that, the whispers are terribly familiar. The darkness is her home. It remembers her. It knows her name. The whispers talk to her as she walks down the stairs.
ST She can hear that deep male voice that loves to sing, but she can't understand what he is saying. She can hear the lying woman who told her he was fine. And the lying man who told her she could have him back.
ST And she can hear her own voice among them, but what she might say to herself...she has no idea.
Carmine unconciously steps herself closer to Corve as they descend, pressing close to him despite the fact even his skin feels like sandpaper when it touches hers, trying to make out what the words are saying half the time, the other half trying to shut them out out out.
Corve continues walking, ignoring the shadows, ignoring the light, ignoring everything but the stairs and Carmine.
ST The madness continues until, after what feels like years, when Corve's muscles are screaming at him to stop, to drop over dead, when his breath burns in his throat like flaming acid and when Carmine is about to go insane from the whispering, the constant voices that will not leave her be...that is when they reach the bottom.
ST An older woman with gray hair, dressed in an elegant black gown with voluminous skirts, her hair done up in a pair of buns atop her head and a wrinkled face with faded brown eyes waits for the pair at the bottom of the staircase. She smiles at them both. "You have come home, my dears. You are welcome here."
ST The woman steps forward and kisses first Corve, then Carmine, on the forehead. "You are welcome here."
Corve stares at the woman and resists the urge to shove her back. "Who are you?"
ST "Names don't matter down here, my dear."
Corve "Humor me."
ST laughs at Corve, gently. "Come, they are waiting for you both. We have expected you for some time. Everything is ready."
Corve "Ready for WHAT?"
Corve is seriously beginning to lose his patience with people who can't manage to fucking answer his questions.
ST "Shh, shhh. There is no need for yelling. She knows what we are about here. Don't you, my dear?" The woman turns to Carmine, still smiling.
ST "We had thought you might have changed your mind...but of course that is impossible. You have already agreed and things have already begun. You will go first, won't you?"
Corve looks at Carmine, raising a brow.
Carmine "No. I don't know. I'm not going any further until I do."
ST "You don't know, my dear?"
ST looks confused. "But you must."
Corve "She said she doesn't," he says menacingly.
ST "Dear, this is the Mesa of Midnight. Surely you know that."
Carmine "Yes."
ST "And you've come back to us here to finish what you started."
Corve "Are you people deficient?" His tone is one more of curiosity than anything else. It just seems to him that they are incredibly ignorant of something they seem to think they have complete knowledge of.
Carmine "I do not know what I started. I have no memory of it. It was not me who agreed to it."
ST "But, my dear, that's part of it. You abandoned yourself. You had to. But before we could return it to you, someone stole you away from us. Everything will be alright, my child. You are back now, we can finish what you started."
ST "We can return your memories."
Corve looks at Carmine and then at the old hag, then back to his lover. "Carmine..."
Carmine "No. I'm not going to go through with this. Not even for them."
ST "But my dear, you have to. It is nearly sundown. If you don't come now, you will miss your chance."
Carmine "What will happen?"
Corve sighs in relief, taking Carmine's hand in his and holding it tight. He turns to the old woman with eyes bathed in pain and ire, warning her off without a single, uttered word.
ST The ghostly woman ignores Corve, focused totally on Carmine. "You will be reborn, my dear. All your memories returned to you. And, as was promised you long ago, you will be reunited with the one you lost."
Corve tightens his grip on Carmine's hand, resisting the evident urge to simply crack the woman across the head.
Carmine "...the one that I lost?" she asks
ST "Yes, of course. He will be restored to you after his tragic accident."
Carmine "That you caused."
ST Carmine remembers the brown-haired man, with his smiling face. And she remembers his voice saying he loved her. And she remembers that she was told he had been killed by a desert cat, but that she knew it no cat would have left marks like that.
ST "You are confused, child. He had an accident."
Corve "Or maybe you're just full of it," he says, tilting his head.
Carmine "You told me he was killed by a /cat/. A desert cat couldn't have done that to him."
ST simply folds her hands and looks at Carmine firmly. "My dear, you must complete what you have begun. Otherwise you will never know who you are."
Corve "She knows who she is... you people are the ones that confuse her."
ST "She is only confused because she was stolen away from us."
Corve "She doesn't belong to you... if she left, it was for a good reason."
ST "Someone stole her from us and has confused her. She came to us of her free will. She has returned of her free will."
Carmine "The only thing that confuses me is the memories that I don't have. Those you took from me."
ST "I think there is more to it then that, my dear. But your memories will be returned tonight. Then your confusion will be gone."
Corve shakes his head. "Carmine... these are the people that want to kill thousands of people... Sunshine, Xar, Myrrh... if we hadn't acted, my daughter, my friend, and I... we'd all be dead now." He raises a blackened hand to her face and pulls it to the side to look at her. "Can you trust them?"
Corve "Knowing all that... can you trust them?"
ST The woman simply looks at Carmine. "If you wish to have your memories returned, you must come with me. The time is approaching and they await you. He awaits you as well."
Carmine closes her eyes. After all the whispers, after the black void magic they smeared on themselves, after the memories ... she wasn't sure any more.
ST A faint voice whispers in Carmine's ear "Save me, my love. I need your help. I am alone, in the darkness. I need you, my love.."
Corve pulls at her shoulders softly, pressing his forehead against hers. "Carmine... I love you. Whoever you were, what you lost... I love you as you -are.- I don't need to know what you were, what you did, why you did it... I just need to know who you are -now.- The person I fell in love with while trying to save my home... the person I trusted my daughter with, and whom I would still trust her with. Make new
Corve *memories, with us and our friends. Don't give up everything we've been fighting for..."
Carmine lets out a long breath. She has two lives, and doesn't know which one to keep...two loves and no idea which one is more dear to her. Light or Darkness...
Corve kisses her lips softly, and takes a step back. "We're still in danger, Carmine. Thousands of people. You've got a family with us... a life. I've always told you no one can force you into anything. And I can't force you on this..." He takes another step back and just watches... waiting.
ST Both the voice of the man she can't remember and the ghostly woman standing before her are silent. But Carmine knows the voice is still there, waiting. And the woman looks at her calmly, hands folded.
Carmine opens her eyes. "Sorry." she whispers, to the man beside her.
Carmine The symbol of the dawn blazes on her forehead. Her anima, pure and true like only the dawn can be blazes out too. "No." Eminence appears in her hand. "You can keep my past." The sigils along the blade shine with red hot fury. "You can keep my name." The edge starts to glow with a whitehot light that binds. "You can keep your darkness." Her eyes shine gold.
Carmine "I am Glorious Carmine Elegance and I will not fall to the Void."
ST sighs. "I am sorry you feel that way, my dear. You may leave, if that is your wish. But know you are always welcome here."
'ST'' "And if the necromancers find you, I think they will finish what you began, willing or not."
Corve takes Carmine's hand and squeezes it, looking at the old lady, his finger on his rifle's trigger.
ST The voices cower, fleeing from Carmine. As the last flees, she can hear the man's voice. "Why won't you help me....." as he is forced to flee away from the brilliance and fury of Glorious Carmine Elegance.
ST The woman turns and retreats down the dark passage, disappearing from sight.
Corve turns to Carmine and looks at her, tilting his head.
Carmine turns and kisses him, properly.
ST Having rejected the darkness of her past and chosen her future with Corve, Xar'Rex and Myrrh as her new family, Carmine feels...liberated. And even the black magic stuck to her skin can not dampen her spirits. It peels away and crumbles to dust in the light of her anima, leaving her clean.
ST It takes many days, but by airship, stealth, guile and finally re-claimed stolen riverboat, Carmine and Corve make their way to the small Eastern city where Xar and Myrrh promised to meet them.
ST For the first time in over a month the Circle is reunited and many things have changed. Not least of which is that both Myrrh and Xar, thanks to the knowledge imparted by Manosque Rivers, have become sorcerers.
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