The Griffin Sword Saga (storyline)/2005-08-15 - Eryael Gives Orders (log)

Having finally awoken from his unnatural coma, Eryael has been biding his time, slowly gathering his strength again. Two weeks have passed, and on 8/15/05 he reaches out to his Anchors, Avidleigh and Uniana, who find him manifested as a thorn-clawed hazy miasma within the dark sanctuary made accessible to the supporters of the Dark Alliance. He shows them his own personal sanctuaries, his rose garden and his real garden, and then instructs them on what they must do next. The leaders of the Dark Alliance are preparing to act in the final months of the Griffin Sword Saga.

This log is from Avidleigh's perspective. It has been lightly edited but retains a number of mychars.

You hear the faint thoughts of Uniana touch your mind:
 "Sister, beloved."

You focus your mind on Uniana and think: "What is it, dear heart?"

You hear the faint thoughts of Uniana touch your mind:
 "I felt I tug.  I thought perhaps you were in trouble..."

You focus your mind on Uniana and think: "No... not I..."

[Sylvarraend, Mistglin Wey]
A sturdy stone cottage rests at the end of the trail, its red tiled roof providing a cheerful contrast to the deep browns and greys of the stone walls.  A wooden cart sits to one side of the cottage, filled to the brim with wooden boxes and chests.  A brightly painted sign hangs beside the cottage's front door, illuminated by the light falling from a single window cut into the wall nearby.
Obvious paths: north

You trace a sign while petitioning the spirits to bestow their aid with the Minor Sanctuary spell...
You gesture.
A sense of peace and calm settles over the area.
You run your hand across your deep black pendant and it fades into view once again.
You remove a spherical deep black pendant from around your neck.
Shadows race across the deep black pendant and envelop you...

[A Dark Chamber]
A vast dome arcs overhead, the dark beams that reinforce the ceiling wrought with a myriad of twining patterns.  A large central design has been engraved upon the floor, its borders crafted of lustrous silver singed with black runes.  Several arched doors are set into the far southern wall, and a long hallway stretches north.  You also see a large pool of oil ensconced by a border of dark crimson.
Obvious exits: north

You hang a spherical deep black pendant around your neck.
You glance around the room.
You furrow your brow, probably adding a wrinkle or two in the process.

>north
[A Long Hallway]
Diffused light filters down in thick, amber waves from the high ceiling, casting wavering shadows across the area.  A long rug stitched with sinuous thorn-shrouded vines is laid across the cold, black metal floor, while arched windows line the narrow hallway.  The varying scent of different incense mingle with one another, and fractured echoes of voices hang in the air.
Obvious exits: northeast, southeast, south, southwest, northwest

>northeast
[A Small Shrine]
The lingering scent of rose hangs in the air of this chamber, and crimson-hued tendrils of incense twine about slowly before fading away.  A lithe statue of pale ivory marble melds out of the far northeastern wall, depicting a man with his hands bound above his head and a faint, twisted smile on his face.  A small altar is erected before the man's feet, and a large crimson orb pulses with crackling energy atop it.
Also here: Uniana
Obvious exits: southwest

You glance around the room.
You glance at a crimson orb.

Uniana cocks her head at you.
Uniana smiles warmly.
Uniana walks towards you.
Uniana clasps your hand tenderly.
Uniana gives you a lingering kiss on the hand.

You smile at Uniana.
You give Uniana a lingering kiss on the cheek.
Speaking in Elven, you say, "Perhaps he is stretching his wings, as it were."
You cock your head.

Uniana gazes thoughtfully at the crimson orb.
Uniana asks, "Shall we offer him some strength?"

Avidleigh smiles slowly.
Speaking in Elven, you say, "It certainly could not... hurt."

Uniana rolls her eyes.

You laugh softly, trying to hide your amusement.
You take a few steps towards a crimson orb.
You kneel down.

Speaking in Elven, Uniana says, "Sister," she chuckles quietly, "that was positively awful."

You shake your head.
Speaking in Elven, you say, "Even I must give in to the lure of ill humor now and again."
You wrinkle your nose.
You remove a pair of woven linen arm wrappings from your arms.

(Uniana follows Avidleigh to the orb, sitting down upon her heels.)
Uniana kneels down.

You put a pair of woven linen arm wrappings in your dark leather satchel.
You take off some pale linen hand wraps.
You put some pale linen hand wraps in your dark leather satchel.
Interlocking your fingers, you slowly extend your arms up over your head in a long, satisfying stretch.
You remove a curved bone knife from in your buckled leather boots.

(Uniana unclasps her multitude of bracelets and rests them in her lap.)

You kiss your bone knife.

Uniana removes a thorn-hilted shadowed ivory dagger from in her soft cashmere pouch.
Uniana slowly empties her lungs.

You feel something within your mind stir.

Speaking quietly in Elven to a crimson orb, you say, "Drink and grow stronger, my lord."

You run the edge of your bone knife in a slow, methodical circle across your wrist until blood blossoms upon your skin - it rises up instead of falling, swirling into the orb with a faint *whoosh* sound.

You close your eyes for a moment.

Uniana runs the edge of her shadowed ivory dagger across her wrist, and as the blood blossoms upon her skin it swirls upward toward the orb and disappears within it.

Avidleigh searches inwardly, seeking the source of the stirring.
You furrow your brow, probably adding a wrinkle or two in the process.

Uniana runs the edge of her shadowed ivory dagger across her wrist, and as the blood blossoms upon her skin it swirls upward toward the orb and disappears within it.

(Avidleigh's eyes remain tightly shut, a look of intense concentration on her face.)

You run the edge of your bone knife in a slow, methodical circle across your wrist until blood blossoms upon your skin - it rises up instead of falling, swirling into the orb with a faint *whoosh* sound.

You run the edge of your bone knife in a slow, methodical circle across your wrist until blood blossoms upon your skin - it rises up instead of falling, swirling into the orb with a faint *whoosh* sound.

(Uniana continues to draw the blade across her pale flesh, splitting the ivory skin with a thin line of scarlet.)

Uniana runs the edge of her shadowed ivory dagger across her wrist, and as the blood blossoms upon her skin it swirls upward toward the orb and disappears within it.

(Avidleigh's dagger pauses in its methodical movements.)
You lean to your left.

Uniana's eyes glaze over as she stares, unfocused, into the distance.

Uniana runs the edge of her shadowed ivory dagger across her wrist, and as the blood blossoms upon her skin it swirls upward toward the orb and disappears within it.

You quietly whisper to Uniana, "I think... I felt something. A stirring. I wonder what he is about..."

Uniana whispers, "I have," pausing to repress a deep grimace, "--I--have felt it too."

(Avidleigh gnaws lightly on her lower lip and traces another crimson line, crossing over the others already engraved in her arm.)

You run the edge of your bone knife in a slow, methodical circle across your wrist until blood blossoms upon your skin - it rises up instead of falling, swirling into the orb with a faint *whoosh* sound.

Uniana runs the edge of her shadowed ivory dagger across her wrist, and as the blood blossoms upon her skin it swirls upward toward the orb and disappears within it.

Avidleigh pushes her empathic senses outward, casting along the threads of familiar bonds in search of the stirring.
You ponder the meaning of life, the universe, and everything.

You run the edge of your bone knife in a slow, methodical circle across your wrist until blood blossoms upon your skin - it rises up instead of falling, swirling into the orb with a faint *whoosh* sound.

(Uniana slices in deep, slow motions across the length of her arm.   Her breathing starts to becoming heavy as her glazed eyes stare intently at the orb and the flecks of crimson that spin towards it.)

Uniana runs the edge of her shadowed ivory dagger across her wrist, and as the blood blossoms upon her skin it swirls upward toward the orb and disappears within it.

(Avidleigh's eyes open to mere slits, and she watches the orb with a slight frown.)

A voice suddenly emerges from thin air, emanating from between the two of you, "Yes... the seeds have been planted and emergence is soon to come... your minds are such fertile grounds, my beauties..."

You shiver.
(Avidleigh cocks her head to one side, listening with a rapt expression.)

Uniana smiles distantly and turns her violet-haunted gaze to one side.

A voice suddenly emerges from thin air, emanating from between the two of you, "Focus, focus... focus on the suffering, focus on the hatred for those who have done this to me... lend it to me, let it permeate your minds..."

You let out a long, contemplative breath.
You close your eyes for a moment.

(Uniana clenches her jaw tightly, making her cheekbones even more slender and sharp.)

(Avidleigh holds her dagger close to her heart for a moment, then painfully transfers it to her wounded hand.)
You swap your bone knife from your right to your left hand.
You furrow your brow, probably adding a wrinkle or two in the process.

Uniana glance at the dagger in her hand.

You feel the stirring in your mind becoming greater, as if something was *pushing* your memories out of the way and sending out tendrils of *something else* in their absence.

(Avidleigh drags the blade of her knife in a slow, vicious slash across her wrist, her brows drawing together in a scowl.)

You run the edge of your bone knife in a slow, methodical circle across your wrist until blood blossoms upon your skin - it rises up instead of falling, swirling into the orb with a faint *whoosh* sound.

You think to yourself, "How they have wounded him. Wounded us. How they would have hunted us had they only known what we harbored. How they hated us, without even asking what we had done, or caring..."
You frown.
You think to yourself, "All to eradicate the pain, the greatest teacher of us all. All to stifle the brightest and best and most beautiful of gifts... such short-sightedness. Such idiocy..."

(Uniana pushes the blade to her breast and draws a deep line across all the way to her collar bone.   A single tear pushes its way from the corner of her right eyes as she repeats the process over and over.)

A voice suddenly emerges from thin air, emanating from between the two of you, "Yes... it drives me, such fertile minds, awash in hatred and pain..."

(Avidleigh's knife-tip draws jagged designs on the pallid flesh of her forearm, and she chews her lip bloody.)

Avidleigh focuses on the pain of her body, the pain of her heart, and binds it together in a tight coil of sorrow and smoldering hatred.

(Uniana's hand begins to shake faintly as she digs her dagger into the supple flesh of her chest, small lines of blood pour forth and move in a river of crimson toward the orb.)

You think to yourself, "So little understanding. So little true feeling. So much -blindness-... why can they not see..."
You think to yourself, "Such willful and ignorant attacks agains the harbinger of true feeling, His chosen child... cannot go unpunished. If only I was strong enough..."
(Avidleigh's breath hisses between her teeth as her blade digs more deeply into her skin, the tender flesh of her inner arm in ragged tatters by now.)

You run the edge of your bone knife in a slow, methodical circle across your wrist until blood blossoms upon your skin - it rises up instead of falling, swirling into the orb with a faint *whoosh* sound.

You think to yourself, "...I may not be, but he could be. Will be again. Sorrow's strong right hand, my justice, my beloved heart..."

You feel the tendrils pushing deeper into the recesses of your mind, and you find yourself unable to focus on anything but the pain and hatred already festering within.  And even then, you find yourself thinking of nothing, merely existing as a conduit... and then something forms before you, hazy and misty-like, its smile like daggers and its eyes closed...

>look
[A Small Shrine]
The lingering scent of rose hangs in the air of this chamber, and crimson-hued tendrils of incense twine about slowly before fading away.  A lithe statue of pale ivory marble melds out of the far northeastern wall, depicting a man with his hands bound above his head and a faint, twisted smile on his face.  A small altar is erected before the man's feet, and a large crimson orb pulses with crackling energy atop it.  You also see a thorn-clawed hazy miasma.
Also here: Uniana who is kneeling
Obvious exits: southwest

>look miasma
The miasma is a shrouded figure of completely amorphous shape, save for several notable features -- its teeth, long and dagger-like, smile a grotesquely large smile from within the cloudy shroud of mist, while two beautiful eyes of violet hue pulse and swirl hypnotically and alluringly from within the fog.  Soft, fragile hands emerge from the miasmatic mists, and abruptly end in a variety of gleaming, razored hands of metal twisted into curved thorns, a variety of blades and fletchettes covering them.

You tremble.

(Uniana allows tears to fall freely from her eyes as her body trembles persistently.)

Avidleigh hurts, and shakes with the force of it, unseeing.

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma says, "...a vessel that will suit me, for now... yes, my beauties, how you have suffered to create such a form as this..."

(Uniana slowly lifts her violet-haunted gaze toward the voice.)
(Uniana lets out a hollow gasp of fear.)

(Avidleigh swallows convulsively, her knuckles white with the force of her clenched fists.)

As the miasma begins to take form more fully, you feel the haze over your mind clear until you feel fairly normal once more.

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma drifts lazily in the air, becoming more corporeal as the feeling in your minds fade.

You gulp.
(Avidleigh slowly unclenches her fists, keeping the lightest grip on her blade, and watches the hazy miasma with wide eyes.)
You stare at a thorn-clawed hazy miasma.

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma says, "You have given me... *reality*, my darlings.  This form is borne of your thoughts.  Your wish to give back the pain that was bequeathed unto you so... unfairly."

(Uniana glances fearfully at Avidleigh from the corner of her eyes.)

(Avidleigh watches the miasma with captivated eyes, a small satisfied smile turning up one corner of her mouth.)

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma says, "Come... we have *much* to do."

You slowly and deliberately empty your filled lungs.
Speaking softly in Elven, you say, "...your will, my lord."

(Uniana lowers her head in humility as she vaguely smiles.)

(Avidleigh casts a half-wild glance in Uniana's direction.)
You kiss your bone knife.
You tilt your head down.

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma gestures briefly, its razor-bladed talons whisking through the air in uneasy movements as it experiments with its newfound limbs.

Pale crimson petals slowly envelop you in a whirling vortex.

Uniana blinks.
Uniana glances at you.

You glance around the room.
You glance at Uniana.

The rose petals continue to swirl around you until you find yourself elsewhere.

You feel yourself being pulled away...
[Rose Sanctuary]
A haze of rose petals swirls endlessly around you, encircling a small space within a cloying fog of pure white.  The scent of the flowers drifts through heavily here, while their sharp thorns spiral eternally in a delicate dance of subtle recession and rhythmic advance.
Also here: Uniana who is kneeling
Obvious exits: none

You tilt your head up.

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma appears within the haze.

You take a deep breath.

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma says, "Good, good... it has not fallen in my... imposed absence..."

(Uniana opens her eyes widely.)
Uniana gazes in wonder at her surroundings.

You quietly say, "...I had almost forgotten that rich scent..."

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma ticks its talons against one another briefly.

(Avidleigh watches the hazy miasma with quiet fascination.)

(Uniana slowly turns her gaze back to the miasma.)

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma says, "Yes... I think I can still... bring you there, to the Heart... to the Pit..."

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma says, "It is where we must go if I am to... awaken fully."

(Uniana nods once, still looking half-unsure.)

Uniana put a thorn-hilted shadowed ivory dagger in her soft cashmere pouch.
You quietly say, "Wherever we must go to strengthen you, my lord, bring us."

The rose petals whirl outwards and dissolve, melting away into a vision of something else...

You feel yourself being pulled away...
[Pit of Suffering, Field]
Like an endless desert expanse, the field stretches on for miles and miles, no wind stirring the cool sands that seem to shift and swirl of their own accord.  Though no plants peek through the sands, the grisly crop of the field can clearly be glimpsed -- thousands of people twitch and moan in a perpetual state of agony, each impaled upon a long pike.  The deep wounds upon the bounty of the suffering seem fresh and ever-renewed as they slide painfully up and down the grooved pikes.
Also here: Uniana who is kneeling
Obvious paths: none

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma rises from the sands.

Uniana tilts her head up.

(Avidleigh looks about slowly.)

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma says, "The Heart is untouched, but "

You shudder.

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma says, "...the outlands are in disarray.  It is why I am not dead..."

A pained expression crosses Uniana's face.

You take a moment to observe everything you can about a thorn-clawed hazy miasma, storing the details away for possible future use.

(Uniana turns her head away from the field, shuddering deeply.)

(Avidleigh's eyes flick away from the hazy miasma at random, lingering on this or that victim of the field.)

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma says, "You must bring me others... my garden must be... replenished.."

Avidleigh smiles slightly, a slow quirk of the lips.
Avidleigh is utterly fascinated by this place.

(Uniana's agonized expression is struck with a sudden glimpse of clarity.)

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma says, "I am weaker because of its... neglect... I am only here because of... borrowed thoughts from you, my beauties..."

Speaking softly in Elven, Uniana says, "We were honored to give, my lord."

You softly ask, "...how are we to bring them to you, my lord?"
You cock your head.

Speaking softly in Elven, Uniana says, "You have but to ask."

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma says, "I do not know if I can sustain this form away from you, so you shall once again be my... anchors, when this is over, but being here... to bask in the center of my power... it is... refreshing."

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma says, "Find those... who assaulted me.  They are instrinsic links to that which the old man has constructed to keep me asleep..."

(Avidleigh clutches her knife to her chest as her gaze roams over the field of agonized victims with an air of distraction.)
You think to yourself, "Oh, to have brought my young experiments here, for him, while I studied..."
You ponder.
You glance at Uniana.

Uniana smiles maliciously and turns her glance toward Avidleigh.

You grin slowly.
You quietly say, "...I think that can be arranged."

Speaking in Elven, Uniana says, "---with pleasure."

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma says, "I must be awakened in your minds, and you must corner them... and let me... loose."

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma smiles wider than before, its entire form nearly covered with its jagged, metallic teeth.

(Avidleigh nods slowly, and returns her gaze to the hazy miasma with the lurid violet eyes.)

(Uniana continues her wicked smile, though she shudders slightly when she tilts her head up to watch the miasma.)

You quietly say, "As you will it, my lord. We are your anchors, and your tools."

Speaking in Elven, Uniana asks, "When shall we begin your hour of retribution?"

You think to yourself, "And this could be... oh, so delightful... I am tired of watching them take away all that means anything to me."

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma ticks its talon against one of the chins of the people on the pikes, and she gives a faint whimper as it pierces her flesh, sending a trail of blood down her slender neck.  The miasma then turns away from the impaled girl and back towards you.

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma says, "You will know.  For now... plans must be made."

You smile quietly to yourself.

A thorn-clawed hazy miasma says, "And now I must... return to you..."

You think to yourself, "A grand Hunt. Aaster would be so envious."

(Uniana leans back with a shallow gasp.)

You tilt your head down.

(Uniana holds out her arms to either side, as if to begin an embrace.)
Uniana closes her eyes for a moment.

You think to yourself, "...if only my Eater of Hearts could join in such a feast. This will be...glorious."
You close your eyes for a moment.

Speaking softly in Elven, Uniana says, "Let us be your-- cradle."

You quietly say, "...your warm hearth, the arms to hold you near."

The miasma suddenly splits in two, the haze shrouding both of you in a plasmatic embrace.  You feel cold, then hot, then cold again as your mind begins to feel tingly and odd.  As the blades and fletchettes whirl around Avidleigh, delicate hands swirl around Uniana -- and then, as the mist fades, a single violet eye superimposes over both of them and everything returns to normal as you feel pulled elsewhere...

You feel yourself being pulled away...
[A Small Shrine]
The lingering scent of rose hangs in the air of this chamber, and crimson-hued tendrils of incense twine about slowly before fading away.  A lithe statue of pale ivory marble melds out of the far northeastern wall, depicting a man with his hands bound above his head and a faint, twisted smile on his face.  A small altar is erected before the man's feet, and a large crimson orb pulses with crackling energy atop it.
Also here: Uniana who is kneeling
Obvious exits: southwest

You let out a long, contemplative breath.
(Avidleigh sits in still silence for a long moment, hugging her knife to her narrow chest.)

(Uniana lifts up her head glance brings her hands close to her body, examining each of them like a foreign tool.)
(Uniana touches a hand to her forehead.)
Uniana cocks her head at you.

Speaking in Elven, Uniana says, "Beloved, I think you should return..."

(Avidleigh releases a shuddering breath and raises her head.)
You glance at Uniana.

Speaking in Elven, Uniana says, "...to Solhaven."
Uniana smiles vaguely.
Speaking coldly in Elven, Uniana says, "We have some work to do."

Speaking in Elven, you say, "...so it seems."
Avidleigh smiles a small, brittle smile.
Speaking in Elven, you ask, "You know, then, who traversed the hallowed halls of his mind and set him to slumber?"

Speaking in Elven, Uniana says, "Not all but my dear sister is wise, is she not?  She kept a list."
Uniana looks at you and hums.

You laugh softly, trying to hide your amusement.
Speaking in Elven, you say, "A list that needs... fleshing. I have captured only a few names, a few faces. I think your silver tongue shall have some exercise, ferreting out our prey."
You smile at Uniana.

Uniana nods to you.
Speaking in Elven, Uniana says, "It shall be done."
Uniana ponders.
Speaking in Elven, Uniana says, "Yes, it shall be done."

You laugh softly, trying to hide your amusement.
Speaking in Elven, you say, "And done well. This will be a splendid release, and long in coming."
You gaze thoughtfully at your bone knife.

Speaking wryly in Elven, Uniana says, "My favorite kind."

You flash a quick grin.

Speaking in Elven, Uniana asks, "Will you craft me a list, beloved?  A foundation?"

You cock your head.

Uniana ponders.

Speaking in Elven, you say, "A clean new foundation, to herald his new strength."
You nod to Uniana.
Speaking in Elven, you say, "I will."

Uniana gazes thoughtfully at the shadowed ivory dagger.

(Avidleigh carefully scrapes away a streak of dried blood from the bone blade of her knife.)
You kiss your bone knife.
You put a curved bone knife in your buckled leather boots.

Uniana glances at a side-ruched garnet faille gown with a gauzy ivory chiffon underskirt.

You ponder the meaning of Uniana's existence.

You see Uniana.
She appears to be a Nalfein Elf.
She appears to have come of age and shorter than average.  She has violet-shadowed, pale lilac eyes and ivory skin.  She has long, silky black cherry-hued hair twisted into loose ringlets.  She has a delicate face and thin eyebrows.  She has lush carmine-tinged lips.
She has a fractured and bleeding left hand.
She is wearing a white-tipped deep crimson rose tucked behind one ear, a spherical deep black pendant, a side-ruched garnet faille gown with a gauzy ivory chiffon underskirt, a series of vivid bloodjewel bracelets, a scarlet-swept soft cashmere pouch, and a pair of sleek wine red slippers.

Speaking in Elven, Uniana says, "Good thing I wore red."
Uniana smirks.

Speaking in Elven, you say, "...I was rather thinking you were well-attired for the occasion."
You laugh softly, trying to hide your amusement.
You shake your head.

Uniana slowly empties her lungs.
Uniana nods.

Speaking in Elven, you say, "I will make my preparations, beloved, and return to Solhaven. And then... we will have his revenge, and bring him back to us entire."
You smile quietly to yourself.

Speaking in Elven, Uniana says, "Exactly.  I--admit I am feeling somewhat of a burst of adrenalin but know it will be swift to fade away."

You chuckle to yourself.

Speaking in Elven, Uniana says, "I should keep him well and get some rest."

Speaking in Elven, you say, "Perhaps that is wise."
You ponder.
You nod.
You stand back up.
You feel a bit weak in the knees and find yourself wobbling.

(Uniana carefully rises with a labored breath.)
Uniana stands up.

(Avidleigh stands very still for a long moment, widening her stance.)
Speaking in Elven, you say, "...it is almost too much to bear, sometimes."
You shake your head.

Uniana glances at a crimson orb.
Speaking amusedly in Elven, Uniana says, "I think that is one of the reasons I love him."

(Avidleigh draws her ravaged wrists in, curling her arms against her abdomen.)
Avidleigh smiles gently.

Uniana walks towards you.
Uniana gives you a lingering kiss on the cheek.

Speaking in Elven, you say, "...it is a good reason. He is... inspiring."
You smile at Uniana.

Uniana whispers, "Recover swiftly, he needs us."

You nod to Uniana.
You quietly whisper to Uniana, "I will be with you soon. Go, and rest. We have much work ahead of us."

(Uniana picks up her bracelets from the floor and attaches them back to her wrist.)
Uniana flinches.
Uniana nods to you.