The Soulless Collection

[The SheoDovah]

Grigori slowly stirred into life after slumbering for the past 12 hours. He had bravely given up the bed for Gelle at the cost of being comfortable and the blankets were as usefull as a cat trying to take over the world using catnip. "Morning." He said as he yawned and slowly sat up.

[Archer]

"I wasn't trying to listen, I swear." She apologized as she peeked into the room, the normal confidence absent in her voice. Unsure of how welcome she truly was, she stayed at the door, fidgeting with her hands.

[The-Shadow-One]

Gelle grumbled more and began to roll over, flipping his body to go away from the evil Ray of Light warriors. He shivered and tried to use some Kaihos upon the horsehead blanket, to pull it over him at least. Blanket fort is being magically created, or well tried to be created. Gelle doesn't want to get up. Too sleepy.

[Ripcage]

Jaslen
"I haven't seen her since dusk and she seemed a little nervous when I spoke to her then." Sarah let her words sink in for a second before continuing. "I think that perhaps she went out last night. Did she ever say anything to you?" Jaslen could sift through his recent memories for a second or two, but it would be of no use. Luminita had told him nothing related to going out last night.

Zephyr
"Be grateful you cannot hear them," came the slow and almost desperate response that resonated throughout Zephyr's thoughts. Targe placed a gentle hand upon the hilt of the Cryptmaster's blade as a sign that there was no immediate danger. Elion however, had just prepared his magic and wasn't about to let his guard down. He muttered under his breath as softly as possible, "It would be nice of you to communicate with me in situations like these, Targe."
Kra-klicksh... Another cracking sound, this time it was audible enough to determine a source; one of the stained glass windows. A few more cracks followed from both windows now. Soon Zephyr saw what was happening, the images displayed in the windows were coming to life, the glass was shifting out of place and rearranging itself it to tell a story. He witnessed souls being judged by three long forgotten pagan deities. He watched as each being's worth was measured by it's strength, cunning, and will to survive. The prey was separated from predator, the latter being forced to hunt for eternity while the former was hunted. The spectacle was abruptly interrupted by a hand being waved in front of his face. A second look at the glass revealed that it was back in place or perhaps never moved at all.
"Is he back yet?" A stranger's voice asked. Elion nooded in response, "I think so."

Celeste
"It doesn't matter whether you were or not. It actually might have been beneficial for you to listen this time." Alexander glared across the room where a rugged looking man stood holding a tricorne hat in his hand. "He's here for you."
The man turned to face Celeste and bowed his head slightly. From the bloody bandana around his neck to the spaulders blemished with bullet holes, his appearance suggested that he was no stranger to violence. He cleared his throat once before speaking, "Suppose we ought to get introductions out of the way; I am Danuhl, captain of the Storm Seeker II and a Blade of the Twins' Order. I believe I'm safe in assuming y'are Celeste, a Hand of the Order?" Danuhl rubbed his thumb across his hat while he waited for an answer.

:

Remind me I need to PM you, Archer. There are some things you'll need to know before you post.

G & G
Grigori's words fell upon sleepy ears and were left ignored. His blanket, however, slithered away from him to Gelle and lumped on top of the little riftling. That shouldn't matter though, as Grigori's attention was caught by the smell of freshly baked bread. Gelle could smell it too. Smells like someone brought breakfast. A gentle knock was suddenly heard before the door to the brothers' room creaked open.
"Breakfast is here," a deep and monotonous voice spoke to the boys. That was probably Essa, Lewis' friend. They had not seen much of him when they first arrived and by the time the family settled in last night Gelle and Grigori were sent to bed.

[Justice knight]

Jaslen took a brief second to think before replying.
"No, she didn't say a word to me about going out last night," He said after that moment.

[Hissien]

Zephyr

The riftling was covered in a cold sweat, and felt chilled to his very core. He started at the wave of the hand, and in his dazed state he dropped his blade, it clattering to the ground loudly. The black abyssal steel blade sending echoes bouncing through the building.

"I... What was that? Who are you?" Zephyr asked struggling to make sense of what he had seen, speaking to the stranger.

[The-Shadow-One]

Gelle did the next step in his impenetrable defence. He rolled around with his pillow, wrapping the blanket around him, trying to shut his nose off from the sweet smells of breakfast. "Fiive more minuuutes.." His little voice grumbled from the bedding cocoon.

[Archer]

"You would be safe to assume so, yes." Celeste nodded. "At least right now, that is." She added with a smirk.

[Ripcage]

Jaslen
"It's easy for a newcomer to get lost while traversing the City, doubly so after dark." Sarah informed Jaslen. "While I have no doubt that she was paying full attention to us while we toured the City, I can't help myself from wondering why she wouldn't be back by now."
A brief sound could be heard outside the dining room, it was the familiar yet feint creak the front door made when it was opened. Footsteps followed shortly after, along with a hushed welcome. Finally a knock on the dining room doors echoed throughout the room.

Zephyr
The stranger's face came into focus slowly. First was the skin color, a milky shade of grey. Then the nose, mouth, and eyes could be seen in the usual spots. And finally the finer details could be made out, such as the stranger's stressed wrinkles and stubble. Zephyr could vaguely recognize the man's face. It was a face he saw during one of his trips to the city of Tombstone.
"You must be, eh," The stranger paused for moment before suddenly remembering. "Zepha', right?" Zephyr knew the routine, identification and purpose was disclosed before all else.

Elion lifted his companion's weapon from the ground then looked Zephyr over. "Silvinan, I think you should at least wait until he can stand."

Celeste
"Right, good. What I have to say concerns the tournament that you have no doubt been participatin' in. But before I begin I'd like to let you know that I'm not here to eliminate you from the competition. Rather enlist your help." Danuhl paced around the room while speaking. Celeste could tell that it drove Alexander batty, after a few seconds of trying to keep his eyes on him the elderly man just gave up with a small huff. "Are you willing to hear my proposal?"

Gelle
Essa was already gone and Gelle's request for more time was unheard. The smells managed to penetrate the fabric covering the little riftling, as did a call for the brothers to come eat. The food was getting cold and Gelle was burning daylight. What next for the young riftling, eh?

[Hissien]

Zephyr

Zephyr blinked a couple of times but then sat up properly. He movements were groggy and his head was pounding but otherwise he felt fine, for the time being at least. "Yes, that is correct. Whom might I have the pleasure of addressing?" Zephyr said as he cupped his head to hopefully silence the pangs of pain raking through his mind.

[Archer]

Celene nodded, much the way a frightened little girl would. "Of course, but..." she trailed off, almost afraid to ask. "Are the rumors true?" she continued after a moment, having regained her voice.

[The-Shadow-One]

Gelle would have to man up, or well man up as much as a 12 year old could. Standing up and wrapping the blanket around him he began to pad down the stairs. Yawns creeping through his mouth as he did so. Trying to suppress it.

[Ripcage]

Hidden:

I apologize for the brief posts, but I just got done with testing yesterday and I've been so tired lately.

Zephyr
"Before anything else, I need to know your purpose here." The stranger stated.

Elion spoke up quickly to assist Zephyr, "I believe I already stated our business." His response was met with a scowling gaze from the stranger that made it quite clear that the stranger wanted to stand by the rules. It was up to Zephyr though. Since the stranger already knew his name and apparently his purpose he couldn't refuse him entry. On the other hand, Zephyr might also find it beneficial to stick with tradition.

Celeste
"Which ones?" Danuhl said with a slight smirk. "To sum just about everythin' up, no one really knows what's going on any more. I've been trying to sort out what's true and what's not, but the only new thing I have uncovered is that this isn't the first time a deity has been attacked recently." The captain took a seat and began messing with hat once more. "So're you re-"

Alexander cleared his throat, interrupting Danuhl mid-sentence. "Deities are attacked often, it is nothing worth noting in most instances. I believe Celeste and I require a bit more of an explanation. Wouldn't you agree, Celeste?"

Gelle
The little riftling could smell the scent of his food drifting through the air. As he entered the living room, neither his father or Essa could be seen. Perhaps they were already in the dining room eating? Gelle couldn't hear them, so there was little knowing.

[Archer]

"Uh.... I... Yes. An explanation would be nice." Celeste agreed, albeit hesitantly. She glanced to Danuhl, curious as to his reaction to Alexander's interruption.

[Ripcage]

Celeste
Danuhl scratched the back of his head and softly began, "Ah, well..." It seemed like Alexander caught him off guard, however Danuhl soon adjusted his posture and cleared his throat. "Very well, I shall explain as best I can. Thanks to a few contacts within the Imperium, a few patterns are able to be determined and a few rumors dismissed by reviewing the records of the incidents. The Imperium has labeled these incidents as attempted murder or simply someone disturbing the peace."

Alexander spoke up for a moment, "You mean the Imperium doesn't know what's actually going on? And if so, eh, how do you know which records to search for?"

"It's a possibility that they might. However, with Donner currently at the helm of command their resources aren't focused on solving these cases." Danuhl's response was met with a snide remark Alexander made under his breath, but Danuhl continued anyway. "As for which records to look for that gets a little tricky at times. Since the Imperium has yet to notice the similarities of the incidents, I have to dig through a lot of records before I find something important. After a lot of digging, I've discovered that the attacks are clearly planned and the assailant is described the same in almost every encounter I've seen records of."

"So you believe only a single person is targeting deities?"

Danuhl shook his head. "Yes and no. I do believe the assailant is getting some sort of help judging from the most recent attack, but there is no report of more than one attacker. However, it should be noted that not all of the assassination attempts are public, so I only know so much." Danuhl paused and looked to Celeste. If she had any questions, now was the time to ask.

[The-Shadow-One]

Gelle mumbled quietly as he shuffled his way through to the dining room. The yawn broke free as he mumbled, attempting to rub sleep from his eyes.

[Hissien]

Zephyr

"Silence, Elion. We are in another person's home." Zephyr said shooting a glare of warning at his apprentice. He sheathed his blade and held out the letter he had been sent from Tombstone.

"I was sent here to simply pay a visit, according to this though they always tend to leave the big details out." Zephyr said as he handed his host the letter. The riftling was a little winded from... for lack of a better word his vision but still attempted to keep his confident air. "I am Zephyr Torrin, at your service." He said bowing slightly.

[Archer]

"Why would one even want to kill a deity anyway? What could they possibly gain from something like that?" Celeste inquired, more looking for an opinion rather than fact. She sighed, "Certain people, I could understand. Their wealth can be taken, inherited, but a god? What would they have that you would want?"

[Ripcage]

Zephyr
Elion grimaced slightly and turned his back to the two. The stranger on the other hand bowed his head in thanks.
"I am Silvinan," he informed Zephyr as he took the letter and slowly opened one of the temple's doors. "Forgive me for the unwelcoming introduction, but it's the specifics of your calling here that worry me to this point. You'll understand more once I show you." Silvinan motioned for the two Cryptmasters to enter and follow him. Once they did he would lead them down to the morgue just outside the temple's entrance to the catacombs.

Celeste
Alexander chuckled and Danuhl shook his head, the two were practically in sync with their reactions. Alexander cleared his throat then looked to Danuhl, "Shall I explain?"
A simple nod came from the captain before Alexander began looking back to Celeste. "A better question to ask would be what do deities not have that one would desire? You used wealth as an example motive for killing, so I shall do the same. Think of a deity's power and status as their "wealth", like money it can be acquired in a variety of ways. It can be earned, inherited, or even taken by force. Needless to say, taking it is almost always the easiest way to acquire such "wealth", as most deities don't grant their powers to another willingly." The elderly man paused for a moment to allow Celeste the chance to sort through the information.

Gelle
"It's about time you came down," Gelle's father said to him as Gelle entered the room. "Say, where's your brother? Is he not awake yet?"

"If he isn't, I call dibs on his breakfast!" A child's voice called from one of the corners of the room.
Essa shook his head at the child then beckoned Gelle to come have a seat. In front of his seat he spotted a small loaf of bread sitting next to a steaming soup bowl. It smelled delicious, but the soup had an unusual glow and was a pale shade of violet. Even the bread was odd for it's black tar-ish color with what almost looked like ash slightly covering the top.
It was a far cry from the brightly colored meals of home, but unless Gelle wished to make a fuss about, little could be done.

[Hissien]

Zephyr and Friends


Zephyr was silent and nodded as he followed their guide, he suspected that he could not see Targe or simply chose not to speak of his guide as a separate entity to hinself if he did. Regardless, it did not matter as Zephyr was certainly not going to reveal his guardian spirit to their host.

"Targe, I will not ask for explanation but I must know this: did you feel what I felt a moment ago?" Zephyr asked his guardian telepathically, his stoic face betraying his worried soul.

[The-Shadow-One]

Gelle sat and began to eat. The question about Grigori was ignored in favour of food. He would reserve judgement until the taste.

[Archer]

"Ohhhh" Celeste said quietly, her eyes now showing she understood, or at least she though she did. "I had no idea it worked like that."

[The SheoDovah]

"Morning, Mother and Father." Grigori said as he walked into the kitchen with a book under his arm. He had accidentally lost track of time whilst reading it and had pulled himself away from it. He sat down at his place at the table and slowly tucked into the meal after adjusting his tail so that it wouldn't trip anyone over.