Ayenee: The Re-Awakening

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Lorna quickly realized that the woman that had attempted to make a beacon for this large castle misunderstood him. However, he didn't care to explain the depth of his words. Instead he continued to walk forward, this time with clear purpose as he trudged forward and kept his gaze fixated to where he knew the woman was. He had always known where she was located, but he waited to see if she would simply move out of the castle she stayed in and confront him face to face.

"If you will not come out, I will come in"

Cryssin listened to the shifter woman and looked rather confused by her question. The childish expression morphed into a small shrug before he started to speak.

"So this place is called Ayenee? We only came because I wanted to go somewhere other than home. It gets boring in there with just Lorna and Master is always busy with things. We've never been here...that is for sure."

The robed man, in the meantime, continued this stance of relaxation, not even acknowledging anything around him..or so it seemed.

"I suggest you come down and meet all of us here at the fountain. Lorna is not some dog that I can call off. He has his reasons for what he is doing. I am sure this could all be easily resolved if you just give us a more personal welcome to this realm of yours"(Telepathy here)

The staff that had launched itself in the air let out a slight buzzing sound that the half-elf would easily hear coming closer and closer to him until it would inevitably reach him if allowed. The staff itself, would soon follow, attempting to nudge Tristan into view with a minor parlor trick that will create fits of psychic bursts that would feel like a small child was prodding him forward. The slightest glint could be seen in the hazel eyes of the mage as he slowly shifted his gaze in the direction Tristan had become comfortable in just a while ago.
 
Alvah, caught by the bursts of psychic energy, was not pleased as he was forced out. The look he levelled at whomever was currently gathered was one of exquisite annoyance. Cold blue eyes brushed over each, and settled on the old man--he looked about right for a staff wielder. Drawing himself to stand rather loose, a hand almost casually draped over the pommel stone of the sword at his hip, Alvah smiled. As he did, a faint blue light seemed to ebb within the otherwise transparent stone upon the sword's reverse. "There are more polite ways of getting me to announce myself; another trick like that though and I'll become a good deal less accommodating."

The half-elf's head inclined, the rather pleasant smile playing at his lips, seemed to paint a picture of cordiality. His eyes, on the other hand, were hard as agates; the eyes of a killer, though he'd sworn off the innocents. "And how might I address you?"

OOC: Grey, right? For Alvah? ;)
 
She heard the man’s voice with in her head and a small frown flickered on her lips. Why had he not spoken earlier if he had heard her all along? She felt slightly like a child being scolded for not catching on fast enough.
She turned from the window, pulling her hood up as she moved across the room to the stair well; on her way she nudged a heap of furs and cloth that seemed to have been dropped in heap before a stone hearth that was nothing but hot embers. She spoke to the bundle as she toed it with her left foot.
“Wake up…We’ve company and one is rather impatient….Move it Chesh”
The last words called out as she descended the stairs, then moved across the great hall tell she stood in the opened doorway. She called out to the creature -

“I wasn’t hiding you know…It’s just that I don’t wish to gain company then have then fade out…Besides, this is my home”

She wondered if the creature understood that she was more then a little afraid to leave the sanctuary liked walls of the castle. This was her home, and the city below was her yard, she was bond here. And she thought she had given a lovely welcoming…Well not the spotlight…But the trail was almost romantic to gaze upon.
Just as she stepped out of the door, a creature the size of a large dog slinked from the darkness. As she moved the shadow weaved in and out of her legs tell she stopped, fearing she would trip. She hissed at the beast.

“Chesh for the suns sake, behave yourself!”

With a huff the creature unfurled from her ankles tell you could see a large cat, blue black and a main of hair from which peered a set of blue eyes so light they looked like small moons aglow in starless sky.. They then waited for the creature to close the gap between them, she trying to keep a smile of easy welcome on her face, and the cat…Well the cat tried not to look to put upon.
 
"So this place is called Ayenee? We only came because I wanted to go somewhere other than home. It gets boring in there with just Lorna and Master is always busy with things. We've never been here...that is for sure."


"Well, I am glad that you have come here."

She stood and took a long look around, hearing the mental chatter that was occurring during her speech with the creature. Her eyes fell onto her black stallion and she sighed softly remembering the days of old.

"Time has not been kind to this place."

She patted Diablo on the neck softly.

"Why don't we see what's still standing."


(Sorry for the short post. Bedtime. Lol. Will post more tomorrow.)
 
The mage noticed the half elf as he emerged from his previous concealment. He wasn't sure of the response he would get from what he had done, but it was clear that the words that the half-elf expressed were not what he expected. With a slight frown, he actually spoke out loud this time, "My apologies. My intent was not to insult or aggravate. I made a slight miscalculation in my efforts to see who you were and my staff embellished a bit."

The staff swiftly returned to his side, continuing to hover just off the ground and occasionally sway around him. It wasn't clear if he was controlling it or not, but each movement tacitly displayed some sort of reaction to the events surrounding it.

Cryssin shrugged at what the shifter Lady was saying and what she suggested. It didn't seem like he would object or have any negative inclination to what she said but he didn't seem too thrilled with the idea. Still, he fidgeted around and finally saw the half elf who just appeared, pointing rather blatantly at him before speaking: "Who is that guy? Why are all of these people showing up here?! Is it a party?" Enthusiasm oozed out of that last question while he waited to see who would answer.

Back near the castle, Lorna was finally met with the entity in question and was rather abruptly introduced to the creature that seemed to be with her. He didn't seem threatened or nervous at all, despite what the large cat-like creature had done. He simply looked at her and then with a rather venomous attitude asked one simple question:

"Are you going to introduce yourself and give us a name to call you by lady?"


The bulky looking black creature crossed its arms, talons scraping against the dark skin while he waited for her to respond, fully aware of what was going on away from him but holding a steely focus upon this woman. Was it mistrust? Or was it simply an annoyance that caused him to act this way? Whatever it was, he remained as impatient as ever, tapping at himself with sharp talons just to keep himself at bay.
 
The cat’s ears perked and listened, it wasn’t thrilled with the tone of this conversation. His tail swished back and forth while the creature asked for Light’s name. Before she could even open her mouth to form a reply the willful feline turned into a shadow of nothingness, only to fade back into reality hovering just behind Light with its head poking out from her left shoulder, blinked its odd eyes and spoke.

“She is a Lady, as you so point out, but if I am not mistaken in my edict rules,one would think, one would and should, address her as such with niceties”

The cat peered, and then ducked as Light moved to swat him, all the while muttering at him under her breath.

“You promised to behave!”

The cat moved out of reach and just as calmly replied.

“No, you told me to behave. I did not say I would or would not in fact behave myself. And as myself, I think I am behaving rather well for one so abruptly awoken from my slumber.”

Light glared at the cat then turned to face the creature. She made no apology for the cat’s bluntness other then to say.

“He is a very.. Opinionated…Being…. I am Light and he ...*Motioning towards the cat that still floated a few feet from them, but had now rolled onto his back, intently cleaning his front paw*…He is Chesh…And you are?”

(*OOC Notation - Using lime green for Chesh)
 
She chuckled softly at the excitement before lightly touching the hanging reins and taking a long look around.

There were so many places that she used to visit in her previous years here. There had been the endless amounts of taverns that she - and her friends had drifted in and out of. There had been endless bed and breakfasts, stables, shops and the like - but nothing had life in it.

Nothing except for the courtyard where all of the new arrivals emerged, and the castle.

She would have asked the mysterious voice in her head about the history of what had happened since she'd left - but from her former questions, she didn't think that the voice would know. It would be best to investigate herself.

Her eyes lifted to the dark sky, then off into the distance in the direction of forest and ocean where a wave of sadness coated her features. Had enough time passed that she could go home?

How many years had passed? How many was enough? What would she find? Would she find anything, or would the forest have swallowed up all remnants of her home?

The anguish pierced her heart and she knew that even if a thousand years passed the pain would still be as fresh and raw as if the traitorous actions had happened yesterday.

She pressed her cheek against the soft muzzle that had been offered to her. She and Diablo had been together since the beginning, and had become so entwined that each knew the others thoughts and feelings. At this moment they shared the past, and though the memories had happened enough to want to crush her into the ground, Diablo had been there - he had been her stronghold in this hellish world.

"I Agree. Now is not the time." Her gaze drifted over the patrons standing in the courtyard, the glimmer of flame that lit the way to the castle and the barren shops and stores - or what had remained standing. She thought of visiting the tavern that they all frequented - all fought in - and all consistently burnt down and rebuilt, but she figured that it was better to start in the town and move outward.

Perhaps by that time she would be strong enough to go home.

"Well - we could go to the heart of this place. It might be best to speak to the one patron that's been here the longest." She wasn't speaking to any of the strangers but to herself and her stallion aloud.

She didn't remount. They had traveled long enough and it was good to stretch her legs. The long path would be a good walk for the both of them.
 
"My apologies. My intent was not to insult or aggravate. I made a slight miscalculation in my efforts to see who you were and my staff embellished a bit."

The assassin's hand never strayed too far from the hilt of his weapon and the stone continued to shift in a series of blue tones. With the old man's response, he appeared to visibly relax a little, though he was still precisely what he was--an assassin is never completely at ease. "Very well, friend. Then perhaps we can be of some assistance to one another; answer questions about the state of the world..." he paused for a moment, before correcting himself, "worlds, my apologies."

Alvah smiled wryly, cocked his head to one side and remained where he was.
 
Lorna seemed to enjoy the manner in which this cat expressed himself, but the telltale sign of such a thing from this creature was only given in the fact that he held no murderous intent in those green eyes that gave Light and Chesh equal attention. The black creature stepped back and seemed far more relaxed then he had been before.

"Lorna. Do you two live alone in this place?" He wasn't attempting to be friendly but the words that escaped the creature's maw were among the most calm that they have all seen this day.

Cryssin figured the shifter Lady was busy so he moved closer to his Master and stared Alvah down rather curiously. Rolling into a sit near the mage, he listens in on their conversation and sways a bit out of boredom, wondering what the boring Lorna is up to.

Alvah: "Very well, friend. Then perhaps we can be of some assistance to one another; answer questions about the state of the world..."

This man responded to Alvah with a tinge of interest with the direction the man was attempting to go with his suggestion. "It would highly depend on which worlds you intend to inquire about. I am not necessarily in need of any assistance from what I know, but if you need some aid, I can see what may be of use to you" The man casually shrugged and then grabbed his staff, setting it down near Cryssin. There didn't seem to be any hostility warranted for anyone here, but there didn't have to be any blind trust either.
 
The cat paused in licking his paw and rolled its head back to watch Lorna, with nothing more then a look of cat curiosity. Light paused in thought before answering, not because she feared the creature anymore, she figured if he had wished her harm, he would have struck by now. And if he wished her harm in the future…Well the future wasn’t here now. Instead she wondered what to tell him, what would even sound believable, because the truth was a warped and twisted thing in any situation, but more so in a situation involving the realm of Ayenee. She settled with a start of the current state...

“The two of us and a few residual haunts that form in a place such as this….*Light looked past him and down the trail of light*… Maybe we should gather the others so no one needs to repeat the same questions or answers…”
 
The cat paused in licking his paw and rolled its head back to watch Lorna, with nothing more then a look of cat curiosity. Light paused in thought before answering, not because she feared the creature anymore, she figured if he had wished her harm, he would have struck by now. And if he wished her harm in the future…Well the future wasn’t here now. Instead she wondered what to tell him, what would even sound believable, because the truth was a warped and twisted thing in any situation, but more so in a situation involving the realm of Ayenee. She settled with a start of the current state...

“The two of us and a few residual haunts that form in a place such as this….*Light looked past him and down the trail of light*… Maybe we should gather the others so no one needs to repeat the same questions or answers…”
 
The beings that a fraction of a second ago where here, in this realm, in this place of Ayenee, touching the very fabric of moment and time, flickered. Then everything froze. Clouds stuck in mid misting swirls. The flame on a candle, every shade between ember hot and sun touched gold, where visible. The night air, once chilled, was now void of either warmth or cold. Light froze as well, not like the others, but she froze because she knew and did not want to know, she was just trying to stretch out that moment of “It might not really be”, before the moment that would swiftly rip at her hope, hit her.

The cat rolled over on its belly and regarded Light with a sorrowful look, the ones cats seldom use. The cat drew its long and majestically furry tail up to hold in one front paw, dabbing the end at the corner of its eye when it saw Lights face shatter from hope to hurt. With a voice both soft as a wind and heavy with sorrow it spoke.

“O’ Light… My deepest felt sorrowful apologies… But on a side note my beloved child, to know hopelessness is also to know hope… And with hope there is always a chance, and with chance there is always at least a 50/50 percent…”

With that said, everything else returned to normal, the fog, the night chill, the candles, everything but the one thing that she wanted…Other beings! Light took a few steps back from the creature and sat down on a thigh high wall that once surrounded a flower bed filled with exotic flowers of every color know, even a few un-named, but was now filled with drew ping flower stocks and over grown weeds. Sorrow etched into her features but a tiny bit of hope remained. Others had flickered for weeks before vanishing; a few even made it a little over a month. If these beings returned maybe she could tell them, explain the flicker, and maybe find a solution! So there she sat, awaiting them to flicker back into this realm.

The Cat cast her once last glance, adding a small nod to his smile.

“That’s a girl!”

The cat yawned.

“You know where to find me.”

He then curled into him self and vanished, tail first, headed back to his warm pile of rags for now.
 
a calling

She didn't know who the voice belonged too. She didn't truly know that it was a voice. But the call... the call was irresistable. Almost against her will, the particles of her shell, her self, began to coalesce. Shadows twined with flecks of light gathered and roiled turbulently in the darkness under the bows of the snow laden trees.

'Let me sleep... please... I'm so tired... let me go.... please...'

The calling tugged at her essense, persuasive at first then tugging, pulling, pushing her painfully. She screamed soundlessly as the pain, the torment, continued, seeming without end. The shadows bulged outwards, pausing hesitently at the beams of weak sunlight streaming through the canopy of trees, before swirling backwards. Slowly a form emerged, crouched agaisnt the bole of a tree. Green eyes, flekked with streaks of gold, opened and stared outwards, unblinking, uncomprehending.

'Where... what...?' her voice rasped.

Slowly standing, her tattered cloak gathered loosly around her gaunt body and shadows pooling at her feet, she began to take in her surroundings. She seemed to be in an old forest, the boughs above her head heavily laden with snow and the ground carpeted with old evergreen needles. To her right the trees tapered off, and the cloudless sky peered through. She sniffed the air hesitently, but found no scent of woodsmoke or of the things normally associated with people. Cautiously relaxing, she stretched her tense muscles, and winced as the motion pulled at old scars. A tendril of shadow snaked up her leg and began to twine itself restlessly around her.

'Blessed hell... why am I here?' she muttered.

There was no reply.

She growled under her breath and absently flicked the shadows off with gloved fingers. Casting one more look around, her green eyes narrowed against the bright light, she began to head for the tree break hoping to find a familiar landmark in this very unfamiliar forest. As she stepped up to the ridge the spires of a large city made themselves visible.

Hissing, she crouched low. How could she have missed this?!? Quickly scenting the air again, her eyes darted around looking for signs she had been seen, then backtracked to the city. No scent of people. No smell of commerce. No woodsmoke, oil, or peat moss. She leaned back on her heals and gazed thoughtfully at the abandonded city. It appeared she was in need of a new home.... though the reasons why were a bit fuzzy in her mind.

Straightening, she began to head down the ridge and towards the not so distant city.
 
One moment she was walking toward the castle, feeling happier than she had in a decade, and the next she felt exhausted, lethargic, irritated, and couldn't think straight. The ailments had only once occurred before and had been an oddity to her since she was a vampire and therefore couldn't get sick.

Was it a sickness or was it something that existed in Ayenee?

She turned to look at the other patrons that were there, but they seemed far away and she found that she suddenly didn't want to speak with them. She looked to Diablos for a moment, closed her eyes and took a needless deep breath. Suddenly she felt as if she were standing at a great precipice that she was standing on and about to teeter into the abyss.

It quickly became of vital importance that she make it inside the castle and get out of whatever was looming on the grounds of Ayenee. It might not have been affecting anyone else - but it was definitely seeping into her.

She didn't need to control her stallion. He followed her easily and willingly as she increased her pace, suddenly finding it hard to breathe which was worrying since she didn't breathe.
 
The traveling had taken her much, much longer than anticipated. The old-wood forest had tapered off and blended into a younger, wilder growth of trees and undergrowth the closer she traveled to the city. She stuck to the game trails when she could, but they often led off into the wrong direction or looped back in on themselves. She could, of course, have used the road; apparently long unused and in a state of disrepair, it was still a road and would have made for easier traveling. But she was still leary of traveling in the open where she could easily be seen.

So she traveled, slowly and painstakingly, through the woods.

Finally though, it seemed that her days of traveling were at an end. She stood where the vacant and fallow fields and pastures met the untamed woods and gazed thoughtfully at the city walls looming ahead. She hadn't taken much time to mull over the questions plaguing her the past few days, she had been too busy watching her surroundings to let her mind wander and traveling till she could no longer travel ensured that she fell asleep quickly and dreamlessly. But now, with her goal in sight, the questions reared their ugly heads and swam around her mercilessly.

Who (or maybe what) had called her here? Why was she here? Where was here? And why did she have the nagging feeling, deep down inside her gut, that she knew this place somehow? The city walls stared back, aloof and cold, offering no answers. Her gut churned nervously as a distant memory flitted within grasp then danced back out of reach, into the abyss. A chill wind gusted past her, whipping her cloak around maddly before subsiding. The sun, now hidden behind a bank of gathering clouds, offerered no comfort.

Sucking in a deep breath and looking around cautiously, she trekked across the pastures, and finally onto the road, towards the city gates. Resigning herself to the future and the unknown, she grasped the one solid feeling found in the midst of confusion and uncertaintly.

Home.

The city felt like home....
 
Amidst the suddenly devouring environment that she felt she were suffocating in, she was suddenly aware of how populated Ayenee was quickly becoming. So it hadn't just been her that had found some reason to return - although she didn't know if her reason was the same as others. She distinctly remembered the moment before she had disappeared from here, and just now when she had returned - but she couldn't recall anything beyond that. She wondered how much time had passed in-between those moments. In places like this, a day could turn into a decade in the blink of an eye.

Immortality definitely had it's disadvantages.

Had she been mortal, she could have discerned how much time had passed by how much she had visually aged, but due to the circumstances of her being 'un-dead', she didn't have the capability to age. She did, however, have the ability to transform, and in the years of transformation, had gained her fair-share of everlasting marks and scars.

Stepping across the threshold of the castle gate, she felt alight with life as if she had stepped from death into birth - and could breathe again. She may have just stepped into the mouth of hell, but the aura didn't give her the feeling that she had made a bad decision. She suddenly, and oddly found that she felt uneasy and clasped the horse's reins by the mouth to ground her feelings. Settling by the shoulder of the stallion, she spoke aloud into the dark building.

"Voice?" She listened to the heavy breathing of her stallion, and shifted her gaze across the large corridor. She wasn't sure if the voice in her head belonged to a spirit, the castle itself or an actual person.
 
Her head was fuzzy and felt weighted down, yet her feet felt like they where floating. She blinked ever so slowly, she moved as if trapped in the thickest of honey. Even her breath was drawn in and exhaled with time enough that she should have taken 5 breaths. She felt herself flicker, fade, flick and grown a fraction steadier. She heard the woman from before and concentrated on answering. What came out where words so slow they felt thick in the air as they escaped her.

"I...'M...Here ...Time...is.. sllll..owiingg...a...gaiiiinnn...
 
She was suddenly aware of how cold the castle had become. it wasn't a temperature issue as much as an aura that the place suddenly had. She felt distinctly alone and it was different than all of the times she had been by herself. It felt as if she were tossed in the middle of a gigantic void and nothing else exited. She suddenly found that she wanted to go back outside where the other people were.

Yet - were they still there?

Something told her that they weren't. Had they been an illusion? She didn't find that accurate either.

Her hand found the side of her horse's neck for some sort of reassurance that she wasn't alone. Thankfully - he was still there.

"Are you the cause of this? Voice? Is this even Ayenee? Am I truly here - or have I died and this is the hell that I've been brought to?"
 
The flickering faded, her form stilled and stayed in focused. She drew in a ragged gasp and clutched her chest as if that gesture could help draw more air into her lungs. Her head hung down now, dark curls falling like a curtain, even with her eyes closed her facial features showed near exhaustion. She brought a hand to her lips, pressing the knuckles to pink stained lips. Even the voice of her mind sounded tired and heavy.

“Yes, this is…This is Ayenee…Home…and yes… I think that was due to me…”

With each word her voice grew stronger tell by the end her tone hand returned, along with her energy level.
 
Ayenee had always been a city that had been able to creep under the skin. It had an essence to it that seeped into the mind and settle into the unconsciousness of a person. Ayenee was a virus, it was a hell, but it was also forever a piece of everyone that came across it. Whether or not this was actually hell created by beings that forever wanted to torment the people here - was yet to be known.

For her, though, it was her heaven and her hell. Ayenee was a representation of everything that had once been good in her life - and the location of where everything had fallen apart in puddles of blood, gore, and death.

And now - she stood in the dark halls of a castle that she'd never crossed the threshold of. She'd never met the Ayenee self-proclaimed 'royalty' nor been a part of anything that happened underneath these stone spires. But here she was - in a city that was so common, yet so foreign to her. Everything had changed even though it vaguely felt the same. Why? Was it an illusion to capture the remaining souls that walked the lands? Where had everyone ventured off to? Was it possible that the friends she'd known and the people who had been part of her life were deceased? had they all found solice in the arms of death?

Was that what this place and that voice were? Was this the final reckoning for the once great person of many names?

She pressed her hand against the flesh of her horse to try to ground her and quiet the questions and thoughts in her mind. At times she felt as if there were many of her in her head speaking all at once.

Closing her eyes she concentrated on the moment at hand. Tracing her tongue across the tip of her fang, she pressed the flesh against the sharp tip to draw pain and a speck of blood. The jolted twinge brought her back to the present.

Re-opening her eyes, she focused on the items before her. Though it was nearly pitch black in the castle, she was easily capable of making out the dusty rug on the floor, the tattered banners hanging from the ceiling, the stairs before her, as well as the items that somehow had been left behind and not stolen.

Curious.

Typically when she'd come across a ghost town, at one time or another, everything had been pillaged. But here - it was different. It was literally as if everyone had vanished. Everyone - except for the spiders and the large amounts of webs that covered every possible opening.

Demons from hell.

She loathed spiders more than she hated the sun. It just wasn't right that a creature that small should have so many legs.

"Was it because of you that everyone had disappeared? What happened here?" She asked aloud.
 
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