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Chorus | The Festival of Reunion continues in Iron Simhata's afterlife, just as it does in Creation. A bone-grey, bright sky hangs over the Unfinished City. It's currently daytime, but no light source can be discerned - the gloomy brightness seems to come from everywhere and nowhere. No clouds are visible.
Flocks of screeching gulls with glowing red feathers circle high above. On occasion, one of them swoops down and snatches laughter away from a reveler's lips... much to the chagrin of everyone trying to have a good time. The city's center and main streets have been decorated with lanterns and delicate bone charms, and are crowded with food stalls, makeshift teahouses, and vendors from across the Underworld. Down at the harbor, Stygian entertainment ships offer many forms of vices. In the middle of a crowded plaza, the Bleak Tower looms. Living visitors who crossed over during the night walk about with a blue band around their wrists, to help ghostly wardens spot them and steer them away from any parts of the city they're not supposed to be in. Several stalls only cater to ghosts - the wares and services they offer are useless to the living, or even downright dangerous to them. |
Flame's Shadow | For Velther however, he doesn't need light for he carries Hesiesh's flame within his blood but he has to be wary since this place is no home for the Princes Of The Earth since it is the Underworld after all. An even odd stranger in a strange land due to the fact he is a dragonblooded while having a pillar of flames as shadows and sports horns that certainly aren't decorations.
The fire aspect looks around while baffled to see other living here as well since it's unusual even for an afterlife. He pretends to window shopping while hoping to pick up any rumors and gossip among the dead |
Chorus | It doesn't take long for one of the ghosts in charge of the Festival's security to spot the Dragon-Blooded - mostly due to Velther's highly visible markings and mutations. Undeterred by horns and flaming shadow, she approaches him and brusquely hands him a blue wristband.
"We're not allowed to let the living walk here without this", the ghost - an tall, broad-chested woman with dark purple skin and hawkish features - tells Velther sternly. "Did you loose yours? Put this on, and keep it visible." Other ghosts slow down when they see what's going on, and stare at the scene before quickly moving on. But the Dragon's appearance draws someone else's attention, too. Not far away, a small figure turns her hood away from the wares she was eying, and twoards Velter. Draped in an iridescent cloak both strange and splendid, she's easy to identify for anyone who has payed attention to the gossip around the market. They all talk about the Envoy, the Bleak Tower's custodian, who helped bring the ancestors and their descendants together. The Envoy walks over, and smiles at both the ghostly guard and the Dragon-Blooded. Most of her face is obscured by her hood. "Good day! Is there a problem?" |
Flame's Shadow | "Ah, my apologies for intruding into the city's afterlife since I wasn't aware it had this rule." Velther says with an awkward tone due to the situation he got himself in. "I was lost in a shadowland while searching for something and ended up in the Underworld. Had to get one of the ghost ships to get to a safe place. Thank dragons it wasn't a forest of rantais!" He laughs it off but looks around. "Weird, I thought the afterlife of Iron Simhata was a bit more creaky. Surprised to see a building that doesn't have a defect here! I once read about Hundred Kingdoms related afterlives in a book before"
He then accepts the offer of a blue band to not get in trouble. "Oh, hello there miss. I thought you were an ankou trying to get me into their carriage although I'm not sure that's accurate since I never encountered one in stories" |
Chorus | Velther's rather informal address of the Envoy is met with scowls and disapproving stares from the curious ghosts who have gathered to observe this strange commotion. The tall woman who insisted he wear the blue band affixes it to him now, scoffs and raises an eyebrow, but offers no further comment.
Much unlike the smaller, cloaked woman. She looks up at the horned Exalt with an amiable smile, and chuckles at his joke. "No ankou am I, oh Prince of the Earth. Just a speaker for the dead. Around these parts, folk know me as the Enovy. But if you'd rather like to address me less formally, just call me Echo." Another ghost discreetly draws close to the Envoy. Tall, limber, and robed in crimson... bearing a fearsome curved sword. They nod politely in greeting, but don't introduce themselves. Their ivory death mask hides their face, showing only a pair of green eyes, whose gaze assesses the Dragon. Chorus recognizes the investigator, of course. And she remembers very well what exactly he was investigating when she first met him. Thankfully, on that night, she wore a very different guise. Whether he can pierce this one remains to be seen. For now, she pretends to not know him at all, and grants him a polite bow. "Whom do I have the great honor of meeting?" |
Flame's Shadow | "I go by Flame's Shadow, detective and prince of the earth, lady Echo" He says with a noble's grace and bows in an elegant manor with etiquette. "I never expected the Unfinished City to be this bustling even if it still needs some fixing." The dragon says admiring the city yet wonders how it changed from the few descriptions he heard from ghosts and books. "Ah you're living. I assume you are some ghost speaker I presume? Do not worry, I am not mad about this congress between the living and the dead, even if most dragons dislike it due to Immaculate affiliation"
He then inquires to Echo about some questions. "Although I heard the god of the living city died, I wonder what resulted in this afterlife's change?" |
Chorus | "Well met, Flame's Shadow." The Envoy's hood tilts slightly to the side, her eyes briefly gleaming from within the shadow as they catch the afterlife's unsteady daylight.
"You are well informed indeed, particularly about the sunless counterpart to Iron Simhata. I didn't expect an enlightened Dragon-Blooded to show so much interest in the dead." Her deep voice remains cordial, bordering on reverence. "Many of your kind shun the Underworld as inauspicious, and disdain those who linger after their deaths." Most bystanders begin to loose interest, and melt back into the crowd, to continue their way around the festival. This includes the sentinel, and her assortment of blue wristbands. Only the Envoy and her guardian remain behind. She gestures toward the skyline, still ragged and ruined, and the much more intact wooden buildings lining the festival streets. "To answer your question: That particular god, Nefer-Bel-Gevil, was the reason for this city's sorry state." She sniffs disdainfully. "It took a lot of effort, including the establishment of an ancestor cult over in Iron Simhata, to reduce the effects of his curse, and finally unravel it. It torments the dead no longer." |
Flame's Shadow | "The dead don't really bother me that much since I've lived with it ever since I was a child anyway. So to me, it's normal" He says casually as if he's talking about some random life stuff. "What matters is how the dragon was raised before his second breath, whether he lived in an Immaculate household or not. We maybe princes of the earth, we are human as we are individuals."
"Ah, Nefer Bel Gevil, the blacksmith god. But from what I heard about the past iteration of this afterlife, at least this current state may fare better." He says however he then addresses some concerns. "An ancestor cult? Interesting and how does the living of Iron Simhata deal with it. I am also curious on the decent number of living here since how did they get here besides ships?" |
Chorus | The Envoy leans against a nearby flagpole and crosses her arms, assessing Velther more closely. Is he trying to fish for clues, or does he really not know? It's surprisingly hard to tell...
Or maybe she's just too preoccupied with other, more pressing matters. Chorus hasn't quite felt like herself lately. Irritated, she blinks, and bats the distraction away with a subtle push of her Essence. It will only take her a moment to refocus, and try again. For now, she continues to play along. In response to the Fire Aspect's questiosn, she gestures to the Bleak Tower in the not-so-far distance, pointing skyward like a dark needle. "There's a small shadowland in that Tower over there. At night, the living can use it to cross over into the Underworld, and vice versa. Many stay well into the day during the festival, to partake in its exotic delights. As for the ancestor... they are well liked among their descendants. Well, most of them. You know how it is." She smiles again, more enigmatically this time. "I don't think I've met any living person who managed to end up here by any other means until this day. And yet, here you are." Another assessing look. "Which shadowland did you stumble into again to reach this place...?" |
Flame's Shadow | "It was a shadowland near Great Forks. Forgot its name since I'm more familiar with the Hundred Kingdoms. Was tracking down rumors of some radical group using it as a base" The dragon explains on how he went from tracking rumors to somehow being lost. He raises his eyes at the tower being a bridge between the Underworld and Creation. "Oh interesting! I hope to find a hotel to stay and maybe I'll call my winged simhata here to pick me up"
"Besides me being a detective, I'm a socialite myself. Hopefully they have good alcohol here in their bars and...good looking men" He says the latter part with a hint of promiscuity. "And again, thanks for the directions, lady Echo. Also let's just say you are not the only one experienced with speaking on behalf of the dead but it seems you even exceed my skill" He says with no hint of jealousy but rather impressed as she managed to coordinate the ancestors here. |
Chorus | Chorus takes note of what he's saying, and this time, she also catches the things Velther doesn't speak out loud.
The Envoy wriggles with her fingers. "I trust you will find the Festival of Reunion to your liking then!" She gives a good-natured guffaw. "More than one lonely ghost - or living person - roams the teahouses and massage parlours of both cities in search of a good time." Again, she points him to the Tower. "The portal is currently open, but everything above the ground floor is currently closed to visitors. Once you're ready to leave, all you need to do is step into the Tower, and outside again to return to the sunlit lands. You'll find a decent inn not too far from the city center... although I do have to admit, their current room rates are rather steep. Too many visitors, and not so many rooms to spare - you understand?" When she catches the slight jealously in his voice, the death-speaker stands up straight, leaving the pole behind, and bows gracefully. "You are too kind, my Lord Dragon. My ghost-blooded nature predisposes me to favorable dealings with the dead, but I can't hope to rival the power of a Prince of the Earth." Presumably, he's going to leave now. Privately, Chorus is already reassessing how much of an issue his presence here might present for her. So far, it doesn't look like he suspects her... |