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Post by Rowan on Mar 7, 2021 21:48:52 GMT -8
When Ben had said that Rowan was teetering on the edge of a bottomless precipice, the Oracle wasn't making things up. What started as a simple hunting trip into the Hedge birthed a hungering curiosity that had driven the Darkling to help Golden Boy, his one of the few possible ins into Winter and the secrets of their Rites. Joke was on hit though, because what started as a quaint little phenomenon ended up being simply the tip of the iceberg into something far more sinister and wholly out of his area of expertise. Rowan had many a mental flowcharts that helped him navigate the day-to-day reality of a Lost with the social skills of a teenager, but one in particular stood out: He thumbed through the alarmingly increasing number of contacts on his burner phone until he hit the right one. "Hey, it's Rowan. I need your help on something." He finished the call, indicating where the two would meet if the Winter decided he wanted in. It was Whitney, at the corner of two streets, under a pair of red Converse shoes tied over a power line. The Darkling had called in sick to his job, figuring he was going to need some time to get any info they could actually work with. He was playing cat's cradle, waiting for someone to show up.
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Post by Lucas Chevalier on Mar 8, 2021 9:28:51 GMT -8
On this particular day, Lucas had managed to get himself out of bed at a reasonable time and head out to the park to take in the fresh air. He had spent the vast majority of the rest of the week inside his apartment, pouring over his various research projects. If he didn't force himself to take periodic breaks, he could easily go an entire week without saying hello to another living being. While it seemed great at the time, he always ended up regretting it and feeling more miserable by the time the weekend rolled around. Before leaving, he took a quick shower and applied a small amount of cologne that had a light, airy scent to it. The kind of scent that paired well with a sunny day at the beach. He threw on a form fitting black v-neck shirt, gray chino pants, and white sneakers so he could at least look presentable while remaining comfortable.
The park he ended up in was one of his favorites. All kinds of people wandered through the area and their stories followed them. When he wasn't reading, he was observing the various people who went about their lives blissfully unaware of all the truly terrible things that lay hidden in this world. Truly terrible things such as himself. When he wasn't watching people, he settled for reading a book. Every now and then people would stop and stare at him. Even when he was dressed in casual clothing, he was easy on the eyes. Fortunately, Las Vegas was filled with all kinds of attractive people who were trying to make it big on The Strip. Rarely did anyone harass him and if they did, he had a way of scaring people off or having them quickly lose interest in him by saying things he knew they would find outright off putting. One particular human had proven to be more resilient than the others. A young man somewhere in his early 20s often went jogging in this area. Lucas had noticed that the young man would pause and stare at him for a few minutes. The young man kept a respectful distance and he wasn't leering or anything invasive like that. Instead, he looked like he was working up the courage to finally speak to Lucas. Today was likely meant to be the day because he had a running partner with him. Lucas had dropped little hints of interest here and there on his own because he did feel for the fellow and if he was being honest with himself, when the young man finally worked up the courage to approach him, Lucas knew it was going to be one hell of a glamour payoff.
Alas, fate had other plans for the two of them. Just as the friend had finished giving the young man a pep talk, Lucas's phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID to see if it was worth answering the phone or not. When he saw it was Rowan calling him, he knew it would be. Rowan didn't call him unless there was something out of the ordinary going on with ghosts. He flashed the young man an apologetic smile, turning on the full radiance of his smile. The young man looked like he got hit with floodlights because he was in such a daze. That ought to be enough to keep his interest in place and try for round two in a few days.
"Hey, Rowan. It's good to hear from you, I hope you're doing well." Lucas listened to what Rowan had to say and the Autumn succeeded in intriguing this Winter's interest.
Half an hour or so later, Lucas showed up at the designation place. He took his sunglasses off of his eyes and rested them on the top of his head while he looked around for Rowan. Once he spotted the Darkling, he waved to him and closed the distance between the two of them.
"You must have something interesting for me since you wanted to meet right away. Lay it on me."
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Post by Rowan on Mar 8, 2021 10:50:45 GMT -8
Lucas always made him feel like Icarus did - invisible, inconsequential. It wasn't something they were doing consciously, he didn't think, but his very presence next to Rowan made the Darkling seem less tangible. "You came." It was more of a statement of fact, rather than surprise. As always, if he had been affected by the aura Lucas was projecting, he gave no indications of it. "Not here. Follow me."
He turned and started walking, not bothering to turn around to check if the Fairest was even following. He took corners in strides, like someone who knew the area well. Whitney wasn't exactly the chic part of town, but that shouldn't have come as a surprise to Lucas - it was after all Winter's turf. Rowan could easily see why. Grief, regret and sorrow ran rampant among the underprivileged. After a few minutes, the Darkling ducked into an alley and went down a small flight of stairs to a basement door. He pushed it open and finally turned back "Come in."
Strangely, or maybe not, considering Rowan was involved, the door opened on a pine forest containing a small cabin. It was his personal Hollow, a small affair that he had wrought with hands and blood. It wasn't much, but he seemed to relax a little when he finally crossed the threshold.
"There should me some juice in the ice box," he offered. "Cold coffee too. Help yourself to whatever."
He waited until the Fairest was more or less settled before laying out details. "It's a haunting, another Changeling. I didn't understand most of it but here's the skinny: the ghosts have attached themselves to them and are harassing them to use Winter Contracts to make them forget their suffering. The Dragon Knows, I think. When the Ling runs out of Glamour, the ghosts drag them into Twilight. I managed to close some sort of door in them, like a ghost highway to their Soul. Should hold for a week. The kicker is that they have to reap the dead to get back out. There's a critical mass building up."
"I saw some chains around the Changeling, and a sick glow that reached all the way to the Twilight, like a beacon. When they get low on Glamour, everything around them freezes over." He took a moment of silence, to let the gravity of what he had just said sink in before going for the kicker. "It's been happening since last September."
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Post by The Wyrd on Mar 8, 2021 11:36:35 GMT -8
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Post by Lucas Chevalier on Mar 8, 2021 12:48:47 GMT -8
"Of course I did." Lucus replied with an easy smile on his face that seemed to make his bright blue eyes light up even more. His eyes darted around to see if anyone else was around them. While it looked like it was just the two of them, Lucas could appreciate discretion. If there was one thing he had learned in his years of interacting with the dead, is was that one was rarely, if ever, truly alone.
He trailed behind Rowan, hands in his pockets, and trying to look as nonchalant as possible. The two of them were an odd combination together. If the locals some him scurrying behind Rowan into dark corners, they would probably think the two of them were about to do a drug deal. Not that anyone in this particular part of the town was likely to call the police. If anything, they were more likely to try to get in on the deal or buy something for themselves. People were desperate to find an extra way to make ends meet or find a escape from the misery in their lives. Sometimes both. On more than one occasion, he had been woken up by a desperate family in the middle of the night who asked him if he could watch over their loved one as Death lurked just outside their door. It was heart breaking, really. He could tell the family wanted to be there with their loved one but their financial situation forced them to make a choice; have someone watch spend the night at their place so their loved one didn't die alone or leave work and risk losing their preferred shift because there was always someone else ready to step in. For some, the choice was an easy one because they didn't have to hear their children cry at night from starvation. He had spent enough time in those homes to know the choice was anything but easy. If he thought about it too much, it would break his heart straight in half.
Once they arrived at Rowan's hollow, Lucas thanked him for the invitation. The Fairest seemed genuinely pleased and touched that Rowan was being hospitable towards him. "Thank you, coffee sounds great." Lucas moved over to the fridge to make himself some coffee. After mixing in some sugar, cream, and ice cubes, he sat down at the table and listened to Rowan. By the time Rowan was done, Lucas looked deep in thought.
"I'll get the obvious out of the way and say that's not normal ghost behavior. They normally don't give anything that much attention unless it's somehow tied into their anchor. Does the Changeling in question have any idea what may have set all of this off?" While he waited on Rowan to respond, he quickly rummaged through his mind to see if anything jumped out at him immediately.
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Post by Krakenbox on Mar 10, 2021 10:57:26 GMT -8
Reaping the dead in Twilight?
It didn't make sense.
Lucas' ability to ken Twilight was a talent, but Twilight is a physical state rather than a true plane of reality—a frequency of sorts that he tuned himself to ring alongside. Ephemeral beings all had their own special frequency, and Gravewights so happen to be able to dial into the one for ghosts. Helldivers were on another frequency, and those with Shield could join then.
Stepping fully into Twilight, which shouldn't be an option without using a Gate, was like stilling...as the entire world kept humming along without you. The restless dead were stopped alongside, as the world sings in a harmony they can no longer hear.
A 'ghost' as Lucas knew it, was often considered a sort of after image or echo of a dead person's soul passing from life, into Twilight, and into the Underworld proper. A wraith was a ghost that had enough self awareness to breach that repetitive echo, and what most people meant when they were referring to a disruptive haunting.
The idea of a soul being separate from the ghost was just Rowan not comprehending what essence is—the spark of life and potential among sentient beings. That may be the source of glamour? Did Lost feed off of essence like spirits do? How would this person be gaining access to that in Twilight?
Between the mention of chains and attachment, Lucas could only assume that was the connection to the fetter. That would be a very rare sight, that the Changeling in question was resonating as an Anchor—the norm being reserved for locations and objects, and unusual for sentient beings. Unless the person was tied to several recent deaths. Was Rowan trying to help a serial murderer?
His heart sank a bit at the description of a sickly resonance, which meant that they had been conditioned over time to be vulnerable to ephemeral influence; possession, madness, bleeding essence...
How did the person know they were haunted to contact Rowan? Unless they were a medium before Arcadia, they shouldn't see, and sentience only comes from the most powerful wraiths.
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Post by Lucas Chevalier on Mar 10, 2021 11:53:30 GMT -8
Before Rowan had a chance to respond to Lucas' first question, he spoke up again.
"Actually, before we get into any of that...I need you to tell me exactly what was shared with you. Because what you're telling me isn't adding up. There's no way for a Changeling to get dragged into Twilight just like that. A gate has to be involved. On top of that, there's no way for us to access Glamour in Twilight. Unless the Changeling you're concerned about is some kind of new Kith I've never heard of who can transform essence into Glamour." He furrowed his brow as he thought about the implications for the Changeling regardless of what the actual cause is. He wasn't trying to be condescending or demanding. Instead, his voice had a distant quality to it that suggested he was both trying to voice his thoughts out loud while working to untangle the information that was being shared with him.
"The more I know the more I can do to help out your friend. What they are going through is...awful." The fairest sounded genuinely concerned and even a touch alarmed as his mind continued to reflect on the level of suffering the Changeling in question had to be going through. "I'm seriously impressed they've been able to hold onto their sanity for this long considering how along ago it started."
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Post by Rowan on Mar 10, 2021 16:25:12 GMT -8
The Darkling moved from his spot to the ice box. He took out some frozen berries and bananas, as well as the bottle of milk that was standing on top of it. Producing honey from one of the seemingly endless cupboards, Rowan poured his bounty into a blender and gave it a whirl. There was no outlet, no cable. Only awkward silence that was soon drowned out by the sound of crushed ice and fruit. Once finished, he poured the content into a glass and found a metal straw. Tasting the smoothie, he found it to his liking and finally returned to the conversation at hand.
"I can't tell you exactly what was said." This much will have to be enough. He moved stray hair from his face and seemed to remember something, holding up one finger before putting down his glass and diving into the depths of the Hollow. It didn't look that big, but it took a surprisingly long time for the Darkling to return. He was holding a bunch of crumbled notepad papers with a shaky handwriting on them. "I can tell you this much. What was said was 'there's the underworld, and Twilight. So what's in between?' This is some powerful necromancy, or a curse of pretty epic proportion. They said they reaped echoes, and that it tasted like ash."
He returned to the counter and leaned against it while taking another long sip of smoothie. His eyes were on Lucas, but he wasn't observing him. Actually, through this whole exchange, Rowan had shown very little emotion. "I have no idea where this is coming from, but I might have a lead."
He let the silence hang in between them, pregnant with things left unsaid and tinged by their respective Mantles. "But I can't tell you."
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Post by Lucas Chevalier on Mar 10, 2021 19:02:46 GMT -8
Lucas watched Rowan casually make a smoothie while they spoke of the terrible misfortune that was befalling a friend of his. If it wasn't for the time he spent in the Winter court, Lucas may have found the scene playing out before him disturbing. But if there was one thing he had learned over the years as a Changeling in Winter's grasp, it was that was usually so much more underneath the surface. However, he didn't know Rowan well enough to have an idea of what exactly was lurking behind the surface, if anything. Sometimes a cigar was just a cigar.
While the two of them sat there in silence, he tried to get a better read on Rowan to help him better navigate their conversation and hopefully come to some kind of mutually beneficial agreement. He was also searching his brain for more answers. If he could produce more answers, it would help him be able to take the lead in their secrets waltz.
"Are you at least able to share with me why you can't tell me more?" Lucas asked while he sipped on his coffee, his voice once again having that distant, thoughtful quality to it.
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Post by Rowan on Mar 10, 2021 19:18:26 GMT -8
"Partially because I swore an Oath and partially because I don't want to."
He took another sip.
"It's some serious stuff, and I have no guarantee you won't run and tell on me the second you have the chance."
It wasn't that Rowan was actively trying to conceal things - it was a defence mechanism that allowed him to feel safe when interacting with someone else. He knew most people didn't like him, so he was constantly operating under the mantra 'Never let them see you sweat.'
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Post by Krakenbox on Mar 10, 2021 19:23:53 GMT -8
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Post by Lucas Chevalier on Mar 10, 2021 20:05:36 GMT -8
"I appreciate an honest answer even if it's not the one I want to hear." At least, he wanted to believe Rowan was being honest with him. He wasn't able to get the read on Rowan that he wanted to to feel confident that Rowan was being honest with him and not lying through his teeth.
"There's no in between Twilight and the Underworld that I'm aware of. So, either your friend doesn't understand what's going on and they are trying to make sense out of what's happening to them by applying popular literature theories, or some how, someone has created a new realm. If that's the case, then I'm not tall enough for this ride on my own. There are those in Winter Court who could help point me in the right direction if that's true. "
Lucas maintained an even-keeled tone and open body language. Without being able to get a proper read, he felt like he was talking to a skittish cat who at any moment, could take off running if his body language or voice was seen as intrusive in any way.
"The long and short of it is, we're going to hit a dead end here on my usefulness unless I can speak with this Changeling directly, you act as an in between, and/or you share whatever else you know and I can see if that lines up more with my current understanding of things. What would make you feel more comfortable with trusting that I won't go "run and tell on you" first chance I get?"
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Post by Rowan on Mar 10, 2021 20:20:25 GMT -8
He shrugged. "Put some Glamour on it. And none of that Sealing stuff. Personal Oath. Unless you've become so invested you're ready to motley up?" It was a joke. Humour is supposed to reduce tension.
"I'm already risking by bringing you in. I don't want any one else getting wind of this." Rowan's face was usually neutral, but this time it got a stubborn set in its jaw. This was a non-argument - take it or leave it. Secretly, the Darkling was banking on Lucas' sense or responsibilities and thirst for knowledge to sway his decision.
"We haven't even started anything, and you're already admitting defeat."
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Post by Lucas Chevalier on Mar 10, 2021 20:47:24 GMT -8
"I'm being pragmatic." Lucas countered.
This time he was the one who let the silence stretch as he considered his options. His interest had been piqued and he didn't like the idea of another Changeling or the ghosts suffering this badly. However, he wasn't being offered much in return at the moment. He could invest all of this time and energy and then Rowan could cut him off. Maybe. He studied the Darkling for a long moment. Rowan was also pragmatic enough to understand that if he cut Lucas off all together, the next time he called that phone call would go unanswered. There were things Lucas could learn from Rowan on the way as well.
"We can keep it simple for now. I'll not tell anyone else what we're working on and we can get started on the initial research. If we start digging up things that take us straight down a ghostly rabbit hole, then we can look into putting a glamour on it or what other options may be in our best interest."
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Post by Rowan on Mar 10, 2021 21:14:44 GMT -8
"Not good enough. I'm putting a lot on the line if I share unverified information." Strong arm tactics it was.
"Let me put it this way. We're on our own either way. The last person who looked into whatever I could tell you has ghosts up their ass and their monarch knows about it. And is not doing anything about it." He let out an exasperated sigh. Maybe this had been a mistake.
"We don't know each other, and talk is cheap. I need your expertise to solve this, and I'm not giving you all the pieces. So it's an impasse. Feel free to walk out, but I'm not dropping it. So both me, and the other Changeling will be on your conscience."
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