Gerhard Surfaces in Catal Huyuk
IC: A thick, viscuous shadow boils up from the ground, pooling and
then slowly bending into a humanoid form. Slowly, the shadows retreat
from the figure, pooling within his eyes and the multitude wounds and
scars from the battle. Gerhard steps forward, towards the gathered
survivors, his face somber, and his composure steady, albeit weary
after the titanic battle. His voice rings clear in the silent night
air.
"I have made a find of great significance below this sight. I have
found that which Gratiano knew of...::His face shows a glimmer of
consternation before his stoic mask returns::...and so much more.
Those of you who are capable of assuming an intangible form should
follow me. One cannot say when the chance to look upon this again
will be before us."
::He looks the group over once, his steel blue eyes connecting with
each of their gazes. He looks to the bodies and ash piles of those
comrades who fell, and he removes his cap in respect, nodding to each
of them before replacing it.::
"I have the Abyssal Gateway."
::He waits for any to step forward while a single shadow tentacle
retrieves his fallen blade, Honor, and returns it to his side. He
watches the shadowy extremity with a look of thoughtfulness.::
Fatima smiles and walks over to Gerhard.
"The Gate, but not the Casket, yes? I would see her."
She slowly collapses into the inky blot of Tenebrous form.
Dominik closes his eyes and concentrates for a brief moment. He
appears lost in thought.
Those of you who watch see blood begin trickling out of his nose. He
makes no sign of recognizing that this happens. As the blood continues
to drain, his ears begin their drip as well. Finally, Dominik's eye
sockets go limp as his eyes are crushed in a ball of blood.
As the vitae drains down his face, Dominik smiles.
"I will not repent."
Joseph, too, closes his eyes in concentration, and is consumed in
shadow, revealing a murky, black pool as they dissipate.
Note:
This is an ST warning 2 scene since it is possible that you guys could
push various shiny red buttons. And with Trigger around...it's sure
to happen ;)
--------------------
As you wander into the dig site, you find a series of catacombs. The
walls appear to have been carved with bas relief. As you peer
closer, you realize that the stone was scratched by someone's
fingernails.
As you go deeper, you realize that you are viewing the history of
an Angel known as Tzotsiel, the Silent Death in the Darkness, an
angel of Death who Fell from grace because he fell in love with a
whore of an angel called Renzadriel. She convinced him to fall so
that Mankind would love him instead of avoid him. They didn't.
Tzotsiel decided that his role as Silent Death in the Darkness should
be maintained. He was the one responsible for slaying those members
of the herd (Man) who were alone and unloved. So, as his brothers
formed the Shadowlands, he formed The Abyss. It was his home and it
was where things that Creation had no more use for went.
The story ends there, as you enter a large circular chamber. The
atmosphere here is heavy and oppressive, like a Shroud but moreso. You
realize that the wall between the Abyss and the world of Men is thin
here. Even a Shroud of night could send one into the Abyss here.
The chamber is carved with symbols, ancient runes of summoning. It is
obvious that this place is where La Sombra first met the Fallen Angel
called Tzotsiel.
In the center of the room is a small pedestal, nothing on it.
As Fatima enters the room, the darkness reaches out to her, and her
eyes and hair turn jet black (ooc: Gillian, up to you if it is temp or
permanent given your recent approval code). An odd sensation fills
those of you who are Lasombra or who have Obten 3 or more: this girl
is chosen, chosen of the Abyss.
And that is when True Faith begins to radiate from Fatima.
Joseph walks cautiously through the cavernous tunnel, his weapons
drawn. The sword and shield in his arms hang limply, though. It
seems at first that the fatigue of battle still lingers in his limbs,
but on second glance, it is obvious that he is simply enrapt in the
story being told on the wall of the cave. It is as though many things
he had heard in recent nights are beginning to make sense.
Upon entering the chamber, the proximity to the Abyss seems to give
Joseph a sense of comfort, moreso than would be expected for one of
Lasombra's blood. He sheathes his sword and stows his shield, with
what seems like the first signs of relaxation since the group left New
York. He glances towards Fatima, a smile extending broadly over his
features.
Finally, he speaks, his head inclined, and his tone full of what seems
like a cross between reverance and respect.
"I have known it in my soul, Sister. And now - now, it cannot be
denied by anyone. You are the Heart of the Abyss."
Gerhard walks slowly through the temple, keeping pace with his
comrades. His gaze is focused on the bodies and faces of those who
traveled here with him, only occasionally do his eyes look upon the
carvings on the walls. His small shield is hung over his shoulder,
Honor is sheathed at his side. He pays particular attention to Joseph
and Fatima when the Gateway is reached. He nods lightly at Fatima's
reaction to the proximity of the Abyss.
"In this chamber, I was presented with an invaluable weapon against
the Betrayer, my comrades. I have that which can strike him down,
given a little luck and more than a little faith."
Joseph's light and respectful smile towards Fatima becomes shrewd and
discerning when turned toward Gerhard, the fire behind his eyes
burning with intensity.
"Brother, what have you been presented, and by whom?"
He speaks, very much at ease in his surroundings, though he still
stands protectively near Fatima.
Gerhard chuckles slightly, his clasped hands resting over his belt and
jacket front.
"I have the Betrayer's True Name, Joseph."
"As for who gave it to me...given the surroundings, there are two
possibilities. I doubt that the creature would desire such to be
common knowledge, so that narrows our choice of benefactor to the only
entity still existing that would have the knowledge of such."
"The Betrayer did a thorough job of destroying his name in history.
But what this chamber holds cannot be destroyed."
As Gerhard says this, his gaze passes over each of the Runes in the
room in turn, not in an analytical fashion, but rather looking them
over for aesthetic value.
Fatima seems facinated by the carvings, although she appears to have a
slight smirk on her face in the apperant attempt to stiffle laughter. She
also hums quietly, and some might might recognize the tune "Whistling in the
Dark". She stops humming long enough to say "Whatever you do, don't speak
any of the names written in here aloud. Just a forewarning in case common
sense doesn't kick in", glancing at Joseph while she speaks and grinning.
> And that is when True Faith begins to radiate from Fatima.
Fatima seems rather unpreturbed by this turn of events, merely smiling more
and patting the pair of rosaries she wears about her neck. She picks her way
carefully about the room, examining the broader expanse of it, having
watched Indiana Jones too many times to take footing for granted. She stops
humming again and looks around. When she speaks, she doesn't appear to be
addressing any of the vampires present.
"My friend, are you here? I can feel you."
Fatima, not paying a whole lot of attention to the others, nods to nothing,
smiles and reaches up to her shoulder, seeming to place her hand on
something not there. She speaks quietly.
"Family is Family, and I'm pleased and honored to finally meet you."
She smiles softly and glances around again.
"This place is amazing."
Joseph's eyes widen at Gerhard's mention of the item in Gerhard's
possession, curiosity apparent on his brow.
The curiosity widens, as he turns to see Fatima, seemingly speaking to
no one by his side.
"Who is there, Sister? To whom do you speak?"
Fatima glances over to Joseph.
"What? Oh. Um..."
She seems at a complete loss on how to explain it, staring at Joseph blankly
for a moment. She nods again then motions with her head to the walls, where
the tale of the fallen angel Tzotsiel are told in bas releif.
"OH! He who was, not She who is. Family."
She turns back to Nothing.
As Fatima looks around the room and makes her comments, the shadows
move along the ceiling of the room. They begin to scratch at the
ceiling stone, imortalizing the end of Gratiano and those who survived
and fell. /Hundreds/ of tendrils work, moving stone at a rapid pace,
dust lightly falling on the assembled members of the Sword of Caine.
Fatima watches the tendrils work for a moment, then glances at Joseph, a
grin on her face.
"Joseph? Have I ever told you you remind me of a ferret?"
She then turns back to...well... her invisible friend and grins wryly.
"Judgement. How appropriate."
Fatima tips her head sideways, apperantly mildly confused by something.
"...a puppy? I'm afraid you lost me. What? What's so funny?"
At one point, Fatima puts her arm up and rubs the back of her head, looking
sheepish.
"Oh. -That-. I didn't realize She'd told you."
Fatima grins and hooks her thumb sideways at Joseph.
"If you still need one, he'd be good. He's housebroken, but still hasn't
figured out what he aught to chew on.
You have no idea how much I appreciate the joke. I find humor to be a rare
and beautiful thing among those I usually deal with."
She speaks very quietly, an impish grin darting around her features, pausing
a moment when she brushes her hair out of her face and realizes it's black.
"Huh. That's new."
Joseph returns from his inspection of the pedastal to Fatima's side.
He attempts to look at her sternly, his lips fixed and eyes intense.
He watches her wordlessly, though he clearly expects an explanation.
There is amusement in his eyes, however, that his stern features
simply cannot hide. His affection and big-brotherly protectiveness
for Fatima is clear.
He gives up the facade of intensity and smile softly, though he still
doesn't speak.
Breaking his eye contact with Fatima for a moment, he calls to D-Day.
"There is a switch at some sort at the bottom of this pedastal.
Before we explore it, we should make sure it is not...rigged in some
way."
Joseph, too, has seen Indiana Jones, no matter how anachronistically he behaves.
"Take a look, D-Day - see if you can tell what its hooked up to.
Also, anyone with the Sight might wish to take a look, or feel, to see
what hints there are about what lies beneath.
"Fatima, perhaps you should ask your invisible friend."
He winks at her, which looks quite out of character for him.
*D-Day nods*
"Lemme see what I can do" As he pulls out a small flashlight and some scrys
from his duffel.
Fatima looks at the others before returning her attention to thin air.
"Crap. Where's my manners. Guys, my 'invisible friend' here is Judgement. He
who was once the Abyss, spoken of on the walls. Judgement, this is Joseph,
Dominik, Brandon, Diego, (insert anyone I miss) and D-Day."
She raises her eyebrows, turning back to invisi-Judgement with a smirk.
"I am -not- a Darky McDarkass. I refuse. By the by, -do- you know what's
under there?"
Fatima furrows her brows.
"A toy suprise for...someone. You'll forgive me for not saying names, I've
grown rather wary of them of late. I'm guessing it'd be bad to open the
present without the aforementioned guest here, no? Or is it something that
needs to be given to him?"
She snickers at something.
"While it might have been ok to talk to an invisible friend in 'the olden
days', in our lovely modern times it's generally veiwed as insanity. Even
among my kind. Besides, they'll probably be teasing me about 'my invisible
friend' for the rest of my existance anyway. You may take glee in that.
And Nothingness has a tendancy to be extremely melodramtic. While entirely
appropriate to her, it leads to ...communication issues."
Fatima visibly resists the urge to stick out her tongue at nothing.
There is a pause after Fatima speaks. The darkness
seems to flutter for a moment. For those of you
unfamiliar it is like an impression or something that
is imagined.
The slightest impression of hurt, then slight anger,
then a feeling of uselessness flicker briefly through
the room. The darkness pulses again and the room
becomes slightly colder.
Any warm reflection or shine slowly fades from the
room.
Both Fatima and Joseph notice a sudden absence.
This is all very subtle and, except for Joseph and
Fatima, there is no obvious change.
Joseph looks about, the easiness is his posture melting away. The
sense of the Paladin returns to him, his eyes alert for something,
anything that might give a clue as to what just happened.
With a look of questioning, he glances to Fatima.
After a brief moment, he walks briskly to the pedestal, and prepares
to tilt it and explore what lays beneath.
"D-Day. Traps?"
He waits for an answer, but will then turn over the pedestal.
Fatima's eyes cover with worry, and words come unbidden to her lips...
"Tso-.... don't go..."
Fatima bites her bottom lip, looking extremely downcast. She walks over to
the wall of the cave and sits down, back against it. Her tone is defiant,
almost angry herself.
"You're not useless. Don't even think that."
She draws little patterns in the stone dust absently, waiting for the others
to finish looking around, occasioanlly playing with a ring on her left hand.
Fatima, sitting against the wall, speaks quietly, almost indignantly.
"I have faith in YOU, my friend. Not a Name, not a place, not some title,
not who you were, not some ideal. YOU."
Then quietly, oh so quietly, she whispers sadly:
"Tsotsiel, why would I ever want to replace /you/?"
While Fatima speaks to herself, D-Day looks up at the anxious Joseph, and removes the flashlight from his mouth.
"Put it on ice bro, I dont need you getting all Pandora on me, these things
take a bit."
After D-Day speaks, Joseph's eyes flutter closed in concentration,
though his posture remains as it was. It seems as though he is in a
state of meditation. Joseph leaves his place by the pedestal with a nod towards D-Day. He
seems to be following an invisible line with his eyes towards Fatima.
He looks to her questioningly once more, confusion etched on his
features.
Silently, he stalks towards the entrance to the cavern and simply waits.
Gerhard watches the proceedings wordlessly, his posture relaxed,
although a single gloved hand rests on the pommel of Honor. He pays
particular attention to the etching of the new Saga on the walls of
the chamber, and nods once before turning his attention back to his
comrades.
Gerhard takes a step to the side, steadying himself as he brings a
gloved hand to his temples. After a long moment, he stands straight
again and looks to the others. He remains silent for a moment longer,
and then says, in a measured and concise tone:
"The pedestal is indeed trapped, although the trap laid therein is not
for us. It can not be said with any certainty which of the two
targets the assassins resting there will take after...but if it is
opened, we release death upon black wings for either the first Vampire
or our Founder."
He akes in the conversation and responds, "The founder does nothing without
calculating the results, even Gratiano, what was thought to be his biggest
mistake turned out to be one of his plans albeit one that took a while to
come to fruition, Lasombra would no have created these assassins if they
didn’t have a chance of succeeding in destroying Cain, or maybe that is not
there ultimate purpose."
And then the shadow hunters were released. Four hunted he who created them.
Three went east in search of the First Vampire.