Seat of Our Noble Line (Part 9)

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GAME: Telamon casts Mage Armor. Caster Level: 20 DC: 20 

GAME: Riptide rolls 1d20+28: (7)+28: 35
GAME: Seldan rolls will: (13)+34: 47
GAME: Riptide rolls 15d6: (58): 58
GAME: Zeke rolls Will: (14)+24: 38
GAME: Telamon rolls Will: (10)+20: 30
GAME: Riptide rolls 15d6: (55): 55

Mariana's screams become inconsolable as she begins to fracture. Two echoes of herself, both with black tears running down their face, appear in the room next to her. It's a horrible chorus. No child should ever be in this much pain, this much agony. It's heartbreaking.

One Mariana reaches out for Seldan. "YOU CAN'T SAVE ME!" she screams. "YOU CAN'T SAVE ANYONE HERE!" Despite the fact she's from across the room, the hand feels like it claws at the heart. It's damaging at the psyche.

"YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO SAVE ME!" Another Mariana screams at Telamon, also reaching out, and the damage done to Telamon is just like that done to the Silverguard. There's no visible marks. No visible scars. It's all in the heart, the mind.

"SO STAY STILL AND LET THE VOID COME," the final Mariana bellows, pointing at Zeke--but the command doesn't stick. Zeke can move. He is free. 

GAME: Telamon casts Haste/Quicken. Caster Level: 20 DC: 26
GAME: Telamon casts Telekinetic Sphere. Caster Level: 20 DC: 27
GAME: Riptide rolls 1d20+21: (19)+21: 40
GAME: Riptide rolls 1d20+21: (1)+21: 22 (EPIC FAIL)

The words are like nails across the chalkboard of Seldan's mind. A man who has too often failed - too often been too late - too often been powerless to stop the evil he knows is coming. The tears that well up in his eyes and slide down his cheeks, unbidden, at the girl's plight are glittery black, though, and viscous, staining the fair face.

Still, it is given to him to try, no matter the odds. "You can I not save, but I can at the least save those who have done no wrong! Holy Dreamer, grant me your strength." With the words, he draws Reunion and brings the blade up before his ooze-streaked face, the tears difficult to see through. "Lend your light to banish the Void before me." The blade lights up with the silver of pure moonlight, and a familiar, querulous voice rings out. "You haven't used that one in a while, boy! Pretty!"

Seldan ignores the voice, but touches his armor, and it, too flashes for a moment before he takes off running towards one of the apparitions, shouting, "It is the work of the Eye, and for this trespass, shall She strike you back to the Halls whence you came!" 

GAME: Verna casts Ghostbane Dirge. Caster Level: 19 DC: 19

It hurts. The screams seem to tear at Telamon's very being, wrenching him as he staggers. He lets out an involuntary scream, before he coughs, but then his eyes come up -- and the stars in them blaze with light. "Alright then," he rasps. "Let's go."

Swiftly, his fingers trace intricate motions, and he chants, "Lukas, sa-i'iz!" Silvery light limns him, them jumps to Zeke and Verna, quickening their movements. Then Telamon straightens up, and takes a deep breath. "Dimma sa, ellag namsita gur irhandi." The air around him becomes chilly, ice forming fractal patterns around his feet and the scent of charcoal in the air as a shimmering sphere of force slams around one of the angry specters, while the other narrowly escapes being encapsulated. "Now sit in the corner for a while." 

GAME: Riptide rolls 1d20+24: (14)+24: 38
GAME: Riptide rolls 1d20+24: (6)+24: 30
GAME: Riptide rolls 1d20+24: (15)+24: 39
GAME: Riptide rolls 1d20+24: (14)+24: 38
GAME: Zeke rolls 10d6: (39): 39


Verna had hoped that these tortured (and possibly corrupted) souls could be granted peach without much conflict. It is now clear that such is not the case. "Take care of their touch," she warns, perhaps too late. She then focuses upon the manifestation of the not-child that Seldan rushes to. One hand clasps at her Scales and the other gestures.

"May Her will bring you fully into this realm, so that you may be sent to Her judgment with swift mercy..." The magic reaches out to solidify Mariana the Third into full tangibility, but it only appears to make her flicker.

Zeke moves forward as well, unhindered by the undead's attempt to stop him. "Peasssce." He says to the spirits, his left claw becoming a crystalline sword even as he moves toward his kin. "The light of the Dragonfather will sssee you to peasssce." A pulse of energy pours out from him. A warmth to push back the biting cold of the undead. Harmful only to those who should have passed on but have not. 

GAME: Riptide rolls 1d20+28: (9)+28: 37
GAME: Riptide rolls 15d6: (54): 54
GAME: Riptide rolls 1d20+28: (8)+28: 36
GAME: Zeke rolls Will: (6)+24: 30
GAME: Riptide rolls 1d20+28: (13)+28: 41
GAME: Riptide rolls 15d6: (49): 49
GAME: Verna rolls will+2: (19)+24+2: 45

The Mariana contained in the sphere screams in anguish as she floats in space. She visibly regresses to the smaller Mariana that the group has seen, throwing a tantrum and crying at the top of her lungs.

Another Mariana glides backwards and lashes out at Zeke. "HIS LIGHT CANNOT REACH HERE. NO GOD NOR GODDESS CAN SAVE ME." It's so full of anguish that it tears at the psyche.

The Mariana remaining on the bed lifts her little hand and points it at Verna. "YOU WILL KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE A THOUGHT, A MEMORY, TOO," she promises, and it seems like the fabric of... everything, around Verna, is about to rip and warp, but then it... doesn't. 

GAME: Seldan casts Wall of Force. Caster Level: 16 DC: 25
GAME: Telamon casts Wall of Force. Caster Level: 20 DC: 24
GAME: Telamon casts Magic Missile/Quicken. Caster Level: 20 DC: 24
GAME: Telamon rolls 5d4+5: (8)+5: 13

"Perhaps not in the way you would wish." Seldan's eyes are still streaked with obsidian, glittering tears, but instead of raising the blade, he casts a swift look around the room. "Separate them!" he shouts, and suits actions to words. Several swift sigils, all drawn interlocking and bursting into blue-white-gold fire on a shouted word, conjures a wall of blue-white-gold, pure magic extending to the wall, intended to separate the children from each other. That done, he stalks toward the child, staring her down. "But She shall send you where you belong, all the same."

The bubble snaps around the Mariana-ghost, and Telamon can't help but feel a small pang. But considering the spirits are trying to kill them, well... it's necessary. Two other specters attacking them, though.

At Seldan's cry, Tel's lips curl up in a crooked smile. "Oh, you clever man... and here I was wondering if I could fit another sphere in here." He begins to chant again, and suddenly a pattern of shimmering hexagons springs up, blocking in the Mariana-ghost hovering on the bed. Impishly, he wiggles his fingers at the suddenly-confined ghost, before swiftly stepping around the force barriers. "Izigi'edena zanzana!" he incants, pointing at the third ghost -- five silvery darts of light rocketing out to slam into the angry spirit. 

GAME: Verna casts Spiritual Weapon. Caster Level: 19 DC: 19
GAME: Verna rolls bab+wisdom: (7)+10+7: 24

Verna watches as Seldan and Telamon rather efficiently place the additional children into time out. That will certainly keep them occupied for a time. This leaves the one, who is now all but surrounded (and resistant to direct magical influence so far). "Harpist, grant your servant a semblance of Your Lamentation to guide these lost souls." Her beseechment is rewarded with the coalescing of a silvery vaporous khopesh tp Seldan's left. It then strikes at the lost soul, though does not connect. 

GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+22+1: (17)+22+1: 40
GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+22+1: (11)+22+1: 34
GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+17+1: (12)+17+1: 30
GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+10+1: (13)+10+1: 24
GAME: Zeke rolls 1d8+6: (2)+6: 8
GAME: Zeke rolls 1d8+6: (7)+6: 13
GAME: Zeke rolls 10d6: (33): 33
GAME: Riptide rolls 1d20+24: (17)+24: 41
GAME: Riptide rolls 1d20+28: (15)+28: 43
GAME: Riptide rolls 15d6: (52): 52
GAME: Riptide rolls 1d20+26: (5)+26: 31
GAME: Riptide rolls 1d20+28: (6)+28: 34
GAME: Riptide rolls 15d6: (51): 51

Zeke moves forward inevitably, the shadow of his kin. There is no vengeance in him. Only sorrow for this trapped spirit. "We are toolsss of the godsss. All of ussss. We are their handsss. Their weaponsss."

His left hand strikes out as he calls upon his god to fill it with the healing brilliance of the Dragonfather's touch. "May you find the peasssce that you dessserve." The first strike lands flawlessly, the holy power infused in the weapon shining through the crystal like a caught star.

"Blessed Child Find Peace." Intones Rai, her gentle voice rising alongside Zeke's own.

The Marianas trapped in their force-field prisons thrash and wail, focusing their efforts on breaking down the walls, but to little avail.

Zeke's strike results in Mariana crying out in pain. "THERE IS NO PEACE FOR ME!" she screams. "I AM NOT REAL! I KNOW I AM NOT REAL! YET I EXIST!" 

GAME: Seldan rolls weapon1+pa+se+haste: aliased to weapon1-4+charisma+1: (4)+27+-4+10+1: 38
GAME: Seldan rolls weapon1+pa+se+haste-5: aliased to weapon1-4+charisma+1-5: (19)+27+-4+10+1+-5: 48 (THREAT)
GAME: Seldan rolls weapon1+pa+se+haste-10: aliased to weapon1-4+charisma+1-10: (18)+27+-4+10+1+-10: 42
GAME: Seldan rolls weapon1+pa+se+haste: aliased to weapon1-4+charisma+1: (8)+27+-4+10+1: 42
GAME: Seldan rolls reuniondmg+sedmg+sedmg+padmg+2d6: aliased to 1d8+9+8+8+8+2d6: (8)+9+8+8+8+(6): 47
GAME: Seldan rolls reuniondmg+sedmg+padmg+2d6: aliased to 1d8+9+8+8+2d6: (8)+9+8+8+(5): 38
GAME: Seldan rolls reuniondmg+sedmg+padmg+2d6: aliased to 1d8+9+8+8+2d6: (4)+9+8+8+(4): 33
GAME: Seldan rolls reuniondmg+sedmg+padmg+2d6: aliased to 1d8+9+8+8+2d6: (5)+9+8+8+(7): 37
GAME: Telamon casts Greater Shadow Conjuration. Caster Level: 20 DC: 27
GAME: Telamon casts Magic Missile/Quicken. Caster Level: 20 DC: 24
GAME: Telamon rolls 5d4+5: (12)+5: 17

"There is peace for you, child. Peace shall you find in release from the prison that binds you!" Seldan's sorrow for the memory of this child, so tortured and imprisoned, is plain even on the even features, but that doesn't stop the silver-lit blade from flashing in an impossibly-fast whirl of light and mana-lit steel, steel that even as it sinks deep into the child, leaves deep, silver-lit wounds behind them.

Reunion, on the other hand, is a good bit less sorrowful, cheers and a veritable mob of imprecations, threats, boasting, and encouragement bursting from it as each strike sinks home. 

GAME: Verna rolls spellcraft+4: (14)+36+4: 54
GAME: Verna rolls bab+wisdom: (13)+10+7: 30

With the other two ghosts now securely tucked away in their timeout corners for the moment, Telamon can turn his attention to the third one. Watching as Seldan begins laying into it, he nods tightly, before starting to chant again. Smoke pours from his fingertips, billowing across the carpet, before building up into the familiar, sleek form of a lillend azata with raven hair and violet eyes. Looks remarkably like Tel's wife, to be honest.

The conjured azata begins to sing a stirring hymn in Mynsandraal, as Telamon rattles off another quick spell. A quintet of magic missiles pummel the ghost, as Tel grumbles, "The Eye is going to get tossed into deep space if I can't destroy it." 

GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+22+1+2: (11)+22+1+2: 36
GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+17+1+2: (1)+17+1+2: 21 (EPIC FAIL)
GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+17+1+2: (3)+17+1+2: 23
GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+11+1+2: (11)+11+1+2: 25
GAME: Riptide rolls 1d20+24: (19)+24: 43
GAME: Zeke rolls 1d8+6: (4)+6: 10
GAME: Zeke rolls 1d8+6: (3)+6: 9

Verna is confident that Seldan and Zeke can put the single soul (mirror?) to rest, especially with Telamon's aid. Her facsimile of Lamentation strikes again, though it is guided by Verna's own will, not her matrons... and Verna's memories of swordplay are rather dated. Her focus is also more upon that Mariana's hand movement than that of her body, as she awaits another attempt for any other desperate spells. 

GAME: Zeke rolls 10d6: (32): 32
GAME: Riptide rolls 1d20+28: (15)+28: 43
GAME: Riptide rolls 15d6: (54): 54
GAME: Verna rolls spellcraft+4: (17)+36+4: 57
GAME: Verna casts Dispel Magic. Caster Level: 19 DC: 20
GAME: Verna rolls 1d20+20: (14)+20: 34

Zeke's sword gleams with holy light, sending reflections across the entirety of the room. "If you are aware of your-sssself, iss that not exisstance? Thisss one will help sssend your memory to the Death-ssssinging Dragon. There, isss the peasce you have not yet known."

His blade is slowly helping Seldan to unmake this hatchling's memory, carving light into the darkness that has taken hold within it. It is not much, he knows that he is not the swordsman that his kin is, but he is driven by his own sense of mercy to free this thing from its imprisonment on this plane.

One Mariana continues to thrash and wail in her sphere.

The other Mariana, the one that Seldan and Zeke are facing down, screams in anguish as magic flares in her hand... 

GAME: Riptide rolls 1d20+28: (1)+28: 29 (EPIC FAIL)

Verna watches the gestures made by the child, just enough for her to realize in what way the mana is to be formed; afterwards, her own curt gestures move without reliance upon Mariana's. They are not the same movements, nor even antitheses, yet they are carefully measured. Each forming morsel of mana is siphoned back to The Sea the moment it arrives, before it can be collated with others. The Mourner's incantations complete with a single additional word.

"No."

Children must be given strict boundaries and expectations, afterall. Her peers already did so quite well with the other two triplets.

The other Mariana flails and screams behind her wall of force that keeps her imprisoned. Clearly, none of them appreciates the Mourner's... mothering approach. 

GAME: Seldan rolls weapon1+pa+se+haste+2: aliased to weapon1-4+charisma+1+2: (6)+27+-4+10+1+2: 42
GAME: Seldan rolls weapon1+pa+se+haste+2-5: aliased to weapon1-4+charisma+1+2-5: (10)+27+-4+10+1+2+-5: 41
GAME: Seldan rolls weapon1+pa+se+haste+2-10: aliased to weapon1-4+charisma+1+2-10: (18)+27+-4+10+1+2+-10: 44
GAME: Seldan rolls weapon1+pa+se+haste+2: aliased to weapon1-4+charisma+1+2: (11)+27+-4+10+1+2: 47
GAME: Seldan rolls 1d8+13+sedmg+padmg+2d6: aliased to 1d8+13+8+8+2d6: (8)+13+8+8+(7): 44
GAME: Seldan rolls 1d8+13+sedmg+padmg+2d6: aliased to 1d8+13+8+8+2d6: (8)+13+8+8+(6): 43
GAME: Seldan rolls 1d8+13+sedmg+padmg+2d6: aliased to 1d8+13+8+8+2d6: (1)+13+8+8+(7): 37
GAME: Seldan rolls 1d8+13+sedmg+padmg+2d6: aliased to 1d8+13+8+8+2d6: (1)+13+8+8+(6): 36
GAME: Telamon casts Magic Missile. Caster Level: 20 DC: 20
GAME: Telamon rolls 5d4+5: (15)+5: 20
GAME: Telamon rolls 3d8+7: (14)+7: 21

You are killing a child! part of Seldan's animal brain screams at him as he presses the attack, the blows landing with unerring fury, one by one. Each time Reunion passes through, her form grows more unstable, its raucous cheering growing louder and louder in stark counterpoint to the anguish that part of the paladin's brain is feeding him.

Still, he grits his teeth and presses the attack more, snarling under his breath, "Release her, evil thing!"

Now that things seem to be a little less frantic and frenetic, Telamon takes a moment to catch his breath. Focusing again, he points at the ghost. "Izigi'edena zanzana," he chants, and another five glowing darts zip downrange, flying around Zeke and Seldan to smack into the apparition.

The azata lofts over on feathered wings, and places a hand on Telamon's shoulder... healing some of the hurts inflicted by the ghost-children's screams. "It doesn't have to end this way," he says stoically. "But it does have to end."

"We hasten you to peace," Verna (re)informs the child-seeming soul. "Such may not what you wish, but it is what you deserve." Her tone is flat and even. There is no malice within this deed, only duty to what is proper. Once again, gloved hands rise at the ready and belay any act until possible action taken by the still-free spirit. 

GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+22+1+2: (2)+22+1+2: 27
GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+22+1+2: (13)+22+1+2: 38
GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+22+1+2: (15)+22+1+2: 40
GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+17+1+2: (5)+17+1+2: 25
GAME: Zeke rolls 1d20+11+1+2: (11)+11+1+2: 25
GAME: Zeke rolls 1d8+6+2+2d6: (3)+6+2+(9): 20
GAME: Zeke rolls 1d8+6+2+2d6: (8)+6+2+(8): 24
GAME: Riptide rolls 1d20+24: (8)+24: 32
GAME: Zeke rolls 10d6: (34): 34
GAME: Riptide rolls 1d20+28: (20)+28: 48
GAME: Riptide rolls 15d6: (60): 60

The spirit is failing before Zeke's eyes, and he pulls more reverently on the aid of the Dragonfather. "Sssssa. Blessss thisss one. Give thisss one your light." His weapon begins to glow all the brighter for his prayer, as if the Dragonfather does indeed hear his words. Hears, and the warmth of the Dragonfather's blessing fills him with a sense of peace that he might not have felt otherwise.

They are doing the right thing. He knows it in his bones. 

GAME: Verna rolls spellcraft+4: (17)+36+4: 57
GAME: Verna casts Dispel Magic. Caster Level: 19 DC: 20 
GAME: Verna rolls 1d20+20: (11)+20: 31
GAME: Riptide rolls 1d20+28: (9)+28: 37
GAME: Riptide rolls 15d6: (49): 49

Mariana's wailing is inconsolable from all directions--in sphere, in force wall, and right in front of Seldan and Zeke. The one in front of the two holy men is flickering like she just might vanish from reality at any second.

"I WANT TO LIVE!" one Mariana screams.

"I WANT TO EXIST!" another Mariana screams.

"BUT I CAN'T BECAUSE I NEVER LIVED! THE REAL MARIANA DID! YOU'RE KILLING ME--"

And in an act of defiance, a final act, the little girl tries to thrust her hand, glowing with magic, at Seldan.

Verna's skill of swordplay may be rusty in the extreme, but her knowledge of magic is less so. She begins her invocation and gestures, this time, the moment that Mariana starts her own. Threads of mana are cut and unraveled, the glow from the not-really-a-child's hand fading before it reaches Seldan.

"I forbid it," Verna scolds. "You will not remove Seldan from the flow of time. Cease your struggles and be at peace." 

GAME: Seldan rolls weapon1+pa+se+haste+2: aliased to weapon1-4+charisma+1+2: (9)+27+-4+10+1+2: 45
GAME: Seldan rolls weapon1+pa+se+haste+2-5: aliased to weapon1-4+charisma+1+2-5: (4)+27+-4+10+1+2+-5: 35
GAME: Zeke rolls Spellcraft: (4)+25: 29
GAME: Seldan rolls weapon1+pa+se+haste+2-10: aliased to weapon1-4+charisma+1+2-10: (14)+27+-4+10+1+2+-10: 40
GAME: Seldan rolls weapon1+pa+se+haste+2: aliased to weapon1-4+charisma+1+2: (17)+27+-4+10+1+2: 53
GAME: Seldan rolls 1d8+13+padmg+sedmg+2d6 holy+2: aliased to 1d8+13+8+8+2d6 holy+2: (8)+13+8+8+(9 holy)+2: 48
GAME: Seldan rolls 1d8+13+padmg+sedmg+2d6 holy+2: aliased to 1d8+13+8+8+2d6 holy+2: (3)+13+8+8+(9 holy)+2: 43
GAME: Seldan rolls 1d8+13+padmg+sedmg+2d6 holy+2: aliased to 1d8+13+8+8+2d6 holy+2: (3)+13+8+8+(4 holy)+2: 38
GAME: Seldan rolls 1d8+13+padmg+sedmg+2d6 holy+2: aliased to 1d8+13+8+8+2d6 holy+2: (5)+13+8+8+(6 holy)+2: 42

Obsidian, glittery tears continue to flow down Seldan's face, staining armor where they fall, only to vanish into nothingness as they touch the opalescent sheen. "That is you, you cannot. And now shall you be released!" The last words are shouted as Reunion rips through the child again, once, twice, thrice.

The blade goes into Mariana. And the wailing stops. It stops from her, it stops from the other Marianas trapped behind spellwork, and the room falls so silent.

Except for the soft sounds of gurgling coming from Mariana. A sound that shouldn't come from the image of a child.

"I wanted to exist," she whimpers, "but... Not like this. Not... in this..." She breathes hard. "Not in this house. Not..."

Her eyes close. And then, she says so softly, "Eluna." Just the goddess's name. Like she's calling for her to come get her.

And then she falls away. Into nothing. As do the other Marianas.

The room is silent again. Cold no longer. Haunted no more by a construct of a girl who lived, but not the girl who lived. Because she never had.

With the screaming, the madness, at an end, Telamon lowers his hands. They shake a tiny bit from the wake of the battle, as the azata dissolves back into smoke and fades. He licks his lips, opening his haversack and pulling out a flask of tea, which he takes a sip from.

"That was... unnerving," he says quietly. "Real or not. But then, as an old friend told me, just because it's not real doesn't mean it can't hurt you." He runs his hand through his hair, as he dismisses his spells. "We need to find the Eye. Quickly."

Reunion lowers, even as a cheer erupts from the blade. Seldan ignores it, panting hard, eyes lowered to the carpeted floor at his feet, utterly silent except for the paean of praise to Eluna that escapes his lips sing-song. The war within had clearly taken a toll on the man, the child's screaming anguish finding holes deep in the mind that will be the stuff of nightmares later. The mention of being removed from the flow of time does not help, even heard peripherally as it was, a statement that had made his blood run ice-cold in that moment with another memory, and another being who had attempted the same thing on him.

Verna lowers her hands as the trio fade away. "Be at peace," she offers with a slow exhalation. Whatever it was some fragment of soul or a memory, dream or nightmare made quasi-real, it is now free. "Indeed. We should not tarry. That was unpleasant, and more may await, yet far worse may continue if we do not intervene."

Zeke moves forward, his sword disappearing once more into a shinning, shimmering claw that dulls to the natural one that he uses. He reaches out with that claw and lays it on Seldan's shoulder gently. "Your missstreesss will ssssee thisss memory to the Gray Hallssss." He knows that fighting the image of a child could not be easy for Seldan - was not easy for him either though he had felt the Dragonfather's hand on his own claw through the fight. There was he could see, no need to heal Seldan of his wounds, the ichor was doing its work and quickly.

He only wished that such could heal the ails of the heart and mind.

"All will be well."

It's a voice said by a figure who was... not there the previous moment, yet somehow, in some way, it feels like she'd been there all along. She's a beautiful figure. Blue eyes that can't quite be looked into because to look at them directly is to inspire tears of awe, and joy, and even the gentle sort that comes with a soul-lightening laugh. White hair tumbles down her mithril armor and blue cloak.

She smiles at Seldan. "You did the right thing," she says. "I can do something for her. See her along where she should be. But more importantly--she did what she was supposed to."

The woman lifts a gentle hand. "May I see Reunion?"

Telamon turns suddenly at the voice. He's still a little twitchy after that fight. But... his eyes slide past the person. Tel frowns, and tries to focus. He can hear her, but... it's hard to see. Like his gaze keeps wanting to slide off her. It's a curious experience.

"You have the advantage over us, milady," he says with a charming smile, even if he can't look her in the eye. "And who do we have the honor of addressing, in this unhappy place so far from our home?"

The claw, so familiar on his shoulder, is the first to make Seldan look up. This time, he is not alone, and that touch invites him to take a deep breath. For Zeke had the right of it. That She would, and well he knows it. That - was not his ancestor. Only a memory, given false, evil life by an artifact that had yet to be destroyed.

He's just about to straighten and turn towards the others when the female voice speaks up. Startled, he starts to bring Reunion to bear, only to stop just as quickly, and without question, hesitation, or even a word, he drops to one knee before the woman, words utterly failing him.

Reunion, on the other hand, has no such issues, and at some point seems to have regained its usual ebullience. Certainly the querulous old man known as Kanian has, for he's the first to pipe up. "Ooooh, a pretty lady wants to hold me? Don't mind if I-"

It's easy to hear in one's mind the *smack* across the back of Kanian's head. "KANIAN, BEHAVE YOURSELF!" Fallia's nasal tones closely resemble Verna's harsh disciplinary words in both tone and intent. "For once!"

Entirely tongue-tied, Seldan mutely holds up the blade in both hands towards the woman, and uncertainly from it comes a deeper, younger female voice. "Seldan? Are you sure about this?"

The sound of the unfamiliar voice has Zeke turning toward the sound immediately. He expects... a fight honestly, but what he sees is not that. It's a woman. Though he can not look at her exactly in the eyes, nor even to see her perfectly, there's a sense about her that puts him wholly at ease. Part of him - the part that was just fighting - wants to question this, but...

The scent of her is the scent of a perfect evening. The scent of dew growing upon unknown flowers in the dark of night. A scent of pureness and comfort. It's the sort of scent that makes his eyes half-lid without even realizing that he's done so.

If she had asked then for his arm, or his leg, or both, he would have relinquished them to her care without question. Yet she asks nothing from him. He can not go to one knee as his kin does, he is not built to move so easily as that, but he can and does bow his head.

What does one say to the vision of a deity, even if that one is not their own chosen one? Zeke has never been in the presence of divinity before, so he finds that he is utterly without the knowledge of what he should say. Only...

"Ssssaa." He has spoken! His voice catches in his throat. To have drawn attention to himself such as this! He feels a familiar thrill of fear, but for Seldan, he will brave that fear. "Reunion issss asss kin'sss arm..." He can not ask Seldan to give it up, even for a moment. Even to his goddess. Even if Seldan is willing, wanting even to do so. He closes his eyes, wondering if he is in fact failing some manner of test as he rests Rai on Reunion's hilt.

Verna also turns at the unexpected words signifying an equally unexpected arrival. Her initial reaction is concern given the setting, though this abates to something ... different. The figure knows Seldan and Reunion, for one. While this would not be a completely rare status, it does tend towards a more benign one. There is also the fact that Verna cannot quite view, nor place, the individual. Her hood dips somewhat lower. Whether acknowledgement, deference, or merely shielding her eyes from the oddity of the other's gaze is unknown.

"You and I are already acquainted, Telamon," the woman says gently, before she gives a light little laugh at Reunion. "I regret that I cannot say more. This is a place hostile to me; I have only arrived through the hole given to me by the girl." It's a roundabout way of giving her identity.

She gives a soft, sympathetic look to Seldan and Zeke both. "I understand your hesitation," she says. "I seek to give an ability to Reunion that was once theirs, but was lost in time. I seek to complete the blade. Seldan has shown he is worthy of it, and he may need it in the trials that are to come."

That gentle hand remains out for the blade. "I will only give this if you are willing, Seldan, and if those who are within Reunion are willing. As you know that I do not do things against others' wills."

Telamon blinks, slowly. He raises a hand to brush across his eyes, and then surprisingly, lowers them. "I apologize for not understanding sooner, my lady. I hope that my works are good in your eyes." Deliberately, he backs up a pace, as this is Seldan's moment for now. Standing with Verna, offering his sister-by-bond a smile.

Can there be any question of where Seldan stands on the matter? He hasn't moved, although he looks up at the extra weight on the hilt, and up at Zeke. "Peace, kin," he offers in raspy, hoarse tones, but with the very smallest of smiles that holds a wealth of affection. "I -" He falls off. So many things. "I shall not refuse a boon, the more so if they are to be needed. For our work is far from complete, Reunion, and not only here."

Reunion is silent, blessedly silent, but it's the pregnant silence of a group of souls in huddled internal discussion. This goes on for a good couple of minutes, but in the end, it is the deeper, cultured voice that speaks, gravely and kindly. "We accept, my lady. It is plain to all of us that much as been forgotten, since this blade was forged and given its purpose. If we are to help the boy remember, we must ourselves remember."

By the actions of their visitor, and of her closest allies, more than enough information is implied. Verna's hood dips further, now clearly in deference. She remains silent as she agrees with Telamon: this is Seldan's (and Reunion's) conversation to hold. Her hood turns towards her bother-in-bond as he steps beside her, so that he can view a smile returned, if one more reserved and thin than his own may be.

The night sky. The gentle rain. The peace and comfort of the outdoors at night. Zeke looks down at his kin and nods. In the end, it must be his choice. Not Zeke's.

The crystal claw moves aside, and Zeke holds the rough stone in his flesh-and-blood claw.

The woman gently takes Reunion into her hands as it is given to her. She opens her mouth, and she begins... to sing.

"I will unveil what has been veiled.
I will reveal what has been forgotten."

She lifts Reunion high into the air as though it was her own sword. A beautiful and shining light illuminates the sword.

"I will sing to you the name you know,
I will sing to you the home you have,
Reunion, Reunion, we reunite the souls,
Reunion, Reunion, we reunite the family,
Reunion, Reunion, I sing you on your way:
Reunion, Reunion, I sing you safely home."

In her hand, Reunion changes form. The longsword becomes that which is hers.

A starknife.

"This is the form it needs to be when you free your ancestor," the woman tells him. "This is the key to liberate him."

She holds it out to Seldan, and as soon as he takes grasp of the weapon--she disappears.

Like she was never there.

-TBC

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