Private Path of the Damned: Harbinger

[Vytal Noctura]

Location: Foyer, 1st Floor -> 2nd Floor, The Mansion
Tag: Taiia Mataan | Shamira Karuto | Viana Morreth | Julra Repraj | Confederacy of Independent Systems

The Nightmother snorted at the unnamed woman's words. Her eyes then slid aside to peer over at Viana when she quipped about finding some place 'nice.' What was not nice about this mansion? Offworlders enjoyed their precious, yellow stars far too much. Dathomir was not a world of pretty and frivilous color. The Nether was hardly unpleasant. Still, Vytal knew better than to make comment of such. Everyone's sense of aesthetic varied to some degree.

"Be careful. If you see anything out of place, inform me at once," Vytal called out as the woman began to explore. Shamira was the furthest along having begun to ascend the stairs. "We will solve this riddle together." She suspected, especially given their affirmation of worth, an attempt to do some individually would not yield the desired result.

With the door ahead leading into a toiletry, the Nightmother turned to look into the bedroom off to her left. Within were a desk, dresser, nightstands, and a four-post bed with black drapery. Oiled wood that was in surprisingly good condition seemed to cover everything. Whoever or whatever resided here seem to prefer a more naturalist's touch; something less sterile than galactic civilization seemed to enjoy -- or was required by sheer necessity. Still, as her fingers lightly brushed upon the surfaces, nothing stood out.

The sound of the door slamming shut drew the pale Witch back into the Foyer. With two other rooms visible and open, it left one possibility. "Shamira." A second passed. "Shamira." Vytal began to ascend the staircase after the young Witch.

On the landing of the second floor, her eyes darted left and right. She drew in a deep breath and concentrated on the local currents of the Nether (or the Force) and felt the fiery woman had gone left. "Viana, Taiia," the Nightmother turned to see if the other women had followed or were within sight, "it would seem there is nothing below," unless they had found something, "let us find Shamira." And, hopefully, Julra along the way.

 

[Julra Repraj]

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Wearing: [X]​

Location: 2nd Floor Landing, by Vytal​

Julra stood a short distance from the Dathomiri wtiches her own mind had lost track of the passage of time in this place, she was not certain how much had passed since she appeared among the witches, since Mother Talzin had declared she had much to learn. What she did know is that the lessons had been many and that she continued to grow in a span of time to her that was, off perhaps rushed to facilitate some hidden agenda. She shook her head slightly as if shaking her mind free of a thought when she heard Mother Talzin call to her.​

“Julra, we are ready”​

Julra turned before she quietly approached her the woman concealed beneath a heavy crimson cloak, she had reservations, but she did not voice them nor did Mother Talzin. The magic that brought her here was powerful; far too powerful to break through alone though what they were about to try was perhaps a bit reckless, but they had long ago run out of options and so they would now gamble not simply with her own life but the lives of the other witches as well.​

She moved past Mother Talzin to the circle of witches that parted for her, she pulled back the hooded cloak and allowed it to fall to the ground before she came to stand in the middle of the witches who closed a circle around her with Mother Talzin facing her.​

“Remember what you have been taught Julra, in order for this to work you most not only give part of your life force but draw from ours as well” if there was hesitation she never showed it, she now possessed a strength she previously did not. Green flames erupted in each of her hands and she closed her eyes as she spoke “Fanged god, the prison made for me has held me too long. Grant me your power to shatter it, I offer my own essence and the essence of the others here to shatter this magics hold over me” she could almost hear an audible laugh in her mind as the flames in her hands exploded and the flames consumed her, she burned but not in pain though she felt her strength failing quickly and held out a hand to her left and one to her right, streams of energy arched from each witch assembled into each hand drawing the life from them literally.​

The force of magic around them burned brightly there was a brilliant flash and Julra dropped to one knee her hand pressing into the ground holding herself up. Julra lifted her eyes and looked around, she was no longer on Dathomir but now in an empty room, it seemed it may have once been a formal dining area or something. She slowly staggered to her feet and moved toward the door as quickly as she could, she laid a single hand on the handle and it swung out dropping her on the floor right next to the Vytal Noctura , from Vytal’s perspective a powerful illusion gave way revealing a hidden door that a woman fell out of.​

Julra reached a single hand up grabbing the wall to pull herself up and she laughed a bit darkly. “Finally, it worked.” She had not registered there was anybody else around, slowly she brought herself up and leaned against the nearby wall barely able to hold herself up she finally let her eyes take in the situation, there was the Nightmother, Taiia and Viana, no Shamira.. Perhaps the same thing happened to her she wondered. Each of them could take note Julra’s hair was much longer and her face and body had aged quite considerably her eyes and even her countenance were exhausted. Turning to Vytal she spoke “How long have I been gone?” she suspected she knew the answer but she asked the question regardless.​

TAG: Vytal Noctura Shamira Karuto Viana Morreth

 

[Taiia Mataan]

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Taiia paused a moment as the Nightmother turned and hastened up the stairwell, she was quick to follow after her, only turning to motion Viana to follow them she would move quickly up the stairs behind the Nightmother it was only then she turned back noticing something was off, Julra was not near Viana as she should be. She was about to bring it to everyone’s attention when she heard the Nightmother calling out to Shamira she quickly spun back around just in time to see a figure appear from nowhere and fall to the ground, her hand flew to her lightsaber in instinct and she rush to put herself between the Nightmother and the perceived thread, ascending the stairs in record time.​

Taiia spared only a momentary glance at the direction the Nightmother had indicated only a moment before, then the form on the floor pulled itself up before bracing on the wall for support, then she just blinked in surprise it was Julra but she was very different older, tired and quite frankly looking rather irritated by this whole thing, what interested Taiia the most were her words ‘How long have I been gone?’ she processed the words, she didn’t know, she had only just noticed.​

Tags: Vytal Noctura | Viana Morreth | Shamira Karuto

 

[Shamira Karuto]

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E X P L O R E ​

Shamira hadn’t expected there to be windows in the hallway. Scary paintings that were made up of images that couldn’t be explained seemed much more to be this house’s style. Yet, even if the windows did exist, their view was much more along the lines of a spooky house. Endless voids that seemingly went to nowhere, as if this very mansion was a figment of the witch’s imagination. Who knows, that could very well be it. They could all be imagining this place together. Though whoever thought up the insane looking devil on the bottom floor was very much in need of some more peaceful images in their mind.

Briefly, the witch turned toward the end of the hallway with a furrowed brow, staring at the closed door with a curious ear. She could have sworn she had heard her nightmother. Passing it off with a shrug of her shoulder, it was attributed to the house trying to play a trick on her early on. No need to fall for something like that so soon into her exploration. As she turned back, her eyes caught the only exit to the hallway. The entrance to the room had seemingly shown up out of nowhere, and, with little other options, Shamira put on a brave face and passed through the barrier.

The light in the room was, at the very least, a welcome change from the oppressive darkness of the hall. A closer look revealed the light to be shimmering, seemingly emitting from just above her head. “Kark me….” Shamira grumbled to herself, slowly turned to look upward, met with the horrifying sight of the chained bodies to the bottom…top…whatever, to the pool. It was almost..peaceful, how they floated, their clothing practically unhindered from the water they were suspended in. Why this was here in the house was a mystery to unravel later. For now, Shamira’s eyes met the words bore into the doors in front of her.

As the words processed through her mind, the redhead’s eyes looked back toward the ceiling, squinting in thought. “I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the Vain’s fate..” So if she was to avoid that, she needed to find what this mark was, and, if possible, apply it to herself. Of course that dark witch in the foyer hadn’t mentioned any type of mark. That would have been much too easy. Shamira’s eyes glanced down to her palms, covered loosely by the vines of her protective gloves. They then moved to begin to observe her surroundings, glancing at the marks embedded into the small rooms walls. Perhaps they contained some sort of answer. One that Shamira was starting to feel the desperation to find.

| Vytal Noctura | Viana Morreth | Taiia Mataan | Julra Repraj |

 

[Vytal Noctura]

Location: 2nd Floor, The Mansion
Tag: Taiia Mataan | Shamira Karuto | Viana Morreth | Julra Repraj

Vytal's hand stopped short of the hallway door when a strange sensation washed over her. She pivoted in place to look at another door behind her as Taiia topped the stairs. The green of the Nightmother's eyes then began to smolder with green energy. Here? The thought of what assailed her senses making itself present now of all times caught her off guard. As it always did. There was no rhyme or reason when it happened, as it was not merely random chance but driven by One's Will.

Suddenly the door snapped open only to expel a woman through its portal. Soon as Julra was freed, the door slammed back in place and resumed its picturesque and motionless state. The other woman's arrival was almost as jarring as the energy behind it. Vytal had not expected Julra's reappearance in such a manner.

Slowly, Vytal reached out in offer to steady or help Julra to her feet. The Nightmother's eyes narrowed a hair at the sight of the Witch's physical appearance. Not half as benevolent as it would seem. This did not surprise the pale Witch. To ascribed 'kindness' to the One responsible was foolhardy and wildly incorrect. Whatever its plan, everything proceeded as it Willed -- even if it was for sheer amusement.

"Minutes. To us." A pause preceded Vytal glancing over one shoulder at Taiia and Viana. She turned back to Julra and spoke softly, "We must speak more of what happened later. Shamira had gone on ahead." A breath was drawn and expelled at a measured pace. "Likely to the 'First Seal' which we must cross in order to leave this place. Can you move?"

It was not disregard or malice that drove Vytal, but the danger about them was more real than it would seem. The woman downstairs had a patient smile, but there was no doubting the magick of this place was dark. An old. They had not the luxury of resting to recover one's strength. Though the Nightmother would offer a gentle squeeze of a hand or a forearm to reassure Julra of a recovered reality -- provided she'd accepted contact.

"Come," Vytal called the other women, "the trial awaits."

There would be no dawdling to gawk out the window -- curious a sight as it was -- by the Nightmother. She would wait at the far end of the corridor for the rest of they were drawn to the impossibility of the world outside of that chamber. Once assembled, they would pass through together. Enough of them had already been separated for far too great a time already.

Fortunately, they would emerged into the same room as Shamira. It was no small relief that another of their Sisters had not been drawn away -- much as she would trust Shamira could return as Julra had. They were strong women. If only Julra hadn't needed to demonstrate it the hard way. "Shamira," the Nightmother snapped, "what have you discovered?" Warm? Coddling? The fiery woman had wandered off in a perilous maze. Alone. Of course Vytal was going to have a sharp tone for the adventuresome creature. At first. It was a greater relief of Shamira's safety than a need to correct.

Spoiler: OOC

Please feel free to explore and discuss the contents of the room. Everything is as it would seem, and the puzzle is there for the women to unravel.

 

[Viana Morreth]

Tags: Vytal Noctura | Shamira Karuto | Taiia Mataan

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All of this, everything that had and was continuing to happen, was one of many reasons that Viana avoided people when she could at all help it. The probability of people causing trouble in some form or another was always high, especially when it was a large group. So when a coven of witches were together? That equaled extra trouble - something Vi had undoubtedly stated to Shamira when conversing about this whole get together - and you know what? The white haired witch had not been wrong. Not by a long shot.

And while Vi typically oozed indifference to any given situation, now she was starting to become nervous. The very walls of this place crawled with magics that gave her all sorts of bad vibes and the heebie jeebies to boot, and the more things that went down, the more uncomfortable Vi got. So to have one of their own just sort of pop into existence again - Vi hadn't seen a door from where she was stood at the time - and looking older to boot? Hell...

"Should have stayed on the ship..." she mumbled to herself with a shake of the head. But diligently, she followed along, into the corridor. Occasionally her gaze flit to the windows, but it did not linger at any given moment. The last thing she wanted was for the walls to open up and suck her out of the hallway because she had made eye contact with something unpleasant outside. No, the plan now was to keep someone in sight at all times so that she didn't get lost or separated...or eaten.

Luckily spilling into the next room brought them back to Vi's favorite redhead, though before she herself could open her mouth to say anything, the Nightmother had done so. As such, the white haired witch kept her own trap shut, though she most certainly gave Shamira a grumpy look to express her feelings about said redhead wandering off on her own - and leaving Vi behind to do so.

 

[Julra Repraj]

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Wearing: [X]​

Location: 2nd Floor Landing, by Vytal​

Julra sighed wearily as the Nightmother sought to steady her; her own eyes met the Nightmothers she gave a small nod the practiced eyes of Vytal would detect the subtle amount of fear and awe instilled in Julra by this place. The sudden jolt through time and space on top of the toll that the spell had on her physically had left her completely drained for several moments she did not move anymore than she had to as she listened to the Nightmother speak “Minutes, I thought so” she sighed looking up at the Nightmother again a certain weariness there she was clearly gathering all the strength she could muster just to stand when finally she did a bit wobbly at first but she found her footing. Waiting just a moment longer she nodded and finally “I am fine, lets find Shamira and be done with this place. And yes, we will need to talk at length.” her tone was not kind she was angry, not angry at anyone in particular just angry Fanged God Winged Goddess whoever was to blame at this point she felt ready to blame them all.​

They would not understand why she was angry nor did she care presently and she was far from ok but that was a secondary matter. None of her anger was directed at any of her sisters or the Nightmother but rather how helpless she had been to escape the situation any sooner. Before she finally came to grips with reality again she shot a look to Taiia and @Viana a deadly seriousness in it “Stay close to the Nightmother, this place is powerful in ways we do not understand, she will be able to shield us to a degree.” she sighed before looking back to the Nightmother “Lead on, which way did she go?”​

TAG: Vytal Noctura Shamira Karuto Viana Morreth

 

[Taiia Mataan]

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Taiia stood frozen on the spot as she was processing the new information Julra had appeared from nowhere was now older perhaps even older than Taiia was and in a completely different outfit from earlier, none of that should be possible none of it. The Julra spoke again and Taiia listened intently then she Turned to her and Viana and gave her warning, she would simply nod took a position behind the Nightmother and Julra motioning Viana to join them.​

She felt unsteady feeling the force shifting all around her there was a hint of concern in her eyes, to be expected she had not been around this sort of thing for as long as the witches but still she composed herself quickly and tamped down the feeling as best she could following the group of women in their search for Shamira.​

Tags: Vytal Noctura | Viana Morreth | Shamira Karuto

 

[Shamira Karuto]

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E X P L O R E ​

The sound of the door being opened was nice, at least for a small moment. Rarely had Shamira heard the Nightmother get angry, or outright mad. This, thankfully, wasn’t one of those times. She knew Vytal enough though to know when she was at least perturbed at her. Perhaps it hadn’t been the smartest thing to go wandering off by herself. The being had said that they were free to, after all. And the redhead hadn’t wanted to get stuck here.

But the concern was warranted, one that she responded to with a nervous smile at both Vytal, then down to the white haired witch, whom Shamira knew was probably very miffed at her at this point. “Well…whatever..this room is?” She shrugged, motioning around the room, which looked quite normal. Save of course, for the pool above their heads and the text on their now, only way out. “It had some interesting features, that’s for sure.” Motioning the pool and door, the younger witch now focused on the pool above their heads. As she observed it, she wondered what exactly what was keeping it up there.

While still observing the water, Shamira began to dig into her knapsack, pulling out a singular, rounded seed. Pulling her arm back, she launched the seed as hard as she could upward, observing the seed hit the water. It hit the liquid and sank, much as anyone would expect. But as it rose to the surface, the seed stopped just at the edge, instead of falling back down to where’s Shamira’s hand awaited. What was interesting was that once the seed entered into the water, the little water that splashed as it did so dropped down onto her head. It was almost as though there was just enough water and stuff in that water above their heads, and anything added to it meant that some needed to be replaced. Quite a fascinating thing.

Shamira pulled her eyes from the water for a moment, finding the tallest of the group. “Nightmother..what do you make of this room? And the words on the door? Where should we begin looking for any sort of..clues?”

| Vytal Noctura | Viana Morreth | Taiia Mataan | Julra Repraj |

 

[Vytal Noctura]

Location: Pool Room, The Mansion
Tag: Taiia Mataan | Shamira Karuto | Viana Morreth | Julra Repraj

"This way," the pale Witch decreed as began to lead the way down the hallway. Perhaps another time Vytal would have wondered about the addition of 'to a deree' in Julra's comments; but given her experience it would only be petty to do so now.

Vytal was not pleased with Shamira having wandered off. Not because it was reckless, but because of what Julra had experienced first had seemingly before she even entered the mansion. Perhaps the Nightmother had been too eager to explore, but without knowing where they were in the Nether finding their way back would have taken considerable time. Time they would have been standing out in the open. Perhaps nothing would have stopped what befell the poor woman, but Vytal felt responsible all the same. They were her Sisters -- even the one that grumbled about staying on the ship. Neither the Nightmother nor an Obsidian Lord made excuses; their safety was her responsibility.

Shamira spoke and soon launched into a short-lived experiment regarding the pool overhead. Bright green eyes lifted to behold the macabre scene of the dead suspended in the water above. Their pristine corpses almost seemed to still hold the health of the living -- save for their stillness. Curious how the pool was upside down, and yet the water remained. The bodies 'floated' as though they might fall out of the pool if not shackled to its 'bottom,' yet Shamira's test suggested gravity (or the illusion) was pointed away from them within the water. An exercise in contradictions, or perhaps a work of art.

"It is too early to tell," the Nightmother responded as she strode forth. She paused because the young Witch and looked over at her for a moment. "Only that I am grateful you are safe." She turned on the spot to look back at Julra as well, "That you both are, now."

Reluctantly, she turned to regard the words Shamira had called attention to then. "Worthy," she echoed aloud. Marked. Vain. "It is a test. The creature before spoke of this Path, and that we would need to break the First Seal to escape it or continue down to wherever it might lead." At this point she intended to escape and see her Sisters to safety. Then they could gather together and once ready see where this Path took them. "Everything needed to pass it will be continued within this room."

Vytal regarded each woman in turn. "What do you make of it? If this is the First then others will follow, and if we were misled to think escape is an option then each of us must be prepared to face these challenges." Undoubtedly some of them would have an element of time involved; it would be better if all the women were of the mind to think and think swiftly of these riddles.

 

[Taiia Mataan]

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Taiia watched the nightmother and Julra only for a moment more before the Nightmother began to walk after Shamira with Julra close behind, she turned to be sure Viana was with them before following after them both. Luckily for her they found Shamira in much better shape than they had found Julra. Turning her eyes up to the pool above them, she watched with interest Shamira's experiments upon the surface of the water. Rules of displacement seemed to apply where gravity did not, a very interesting phenomenon to say the least.​

Taiia peered beneath the surface of the water as she made out the corpses, she suddenly found herself agreeing with Viana somewhat where normally she was keen to explore something about what happened to Julra had her on edge and the sight above was not helping. Her emerald eyes scanned the room as she pondered both the words Vytal spoke and the inscription.

Tags: Vytal Noctura | Viana Morreth | Shamira Karuto

 

[Julra Repraj]

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Wearing: [X]​

Julra seemed to gather more strength with every step the spell had drained her greatly but she was recovering quickly. In truth she did not know what to attribute that to, perhaps the nether itself perhaps it was all in her mind. No, she could not afford to discount anything at the moment she felt a bit of irritation in the Nightmother's voice as she said 'this way'. She likely felt responsible for what had happened, though Julra know try as she might whatever happened she would not have been able to stop it was an order and a power strong enough that Mother Talzin could not even undo it herself.​

She drew a breath and followed after the Nightmother with Taiia close behind she came alongside the nightmother and simply spoke barely enough for her to hear so that those behind would not hear either. "Nobody could have stopped what happened" she gave the Nightmother a meaningful look and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder before she moved away following the path and found Shamira standing alone in a room, a pool overhead of them where the dead found residence a younger Julra may have been scared or perhaps even passed out at the sight, in this case, her eyes simply took in all the information from the room as she assessed the situation.


TAG: Vytal Noctura Shamira Karuto Viana Morreth

 

[Viana Morreth]

Tags: | Vytal Noctura | Shamira Karuto | Taiia Mataan |

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At first glance, coming into this room was nothing too extraordinary. Yes, it was a little on the creepy side, and the fact that they found the redheaded witch that drove Viana insane in the best and worst ways was of course good. But overall? It wasn't so bad. Unfortunately, the chill that raced down Vi's spine the moment she actually stepped through the threshold made her press a hand against the flat of her stomach and unwillingly look upwards. "Ha," the laugh was singular and held no mirth what-so-ever. "Of course there is a pool of dead bodies floating over head! Why wouldn't there be?"

Her gaze lowered quickly to Shamira, and now the white haired witch was frowning. "If we survive this, I pick out next destination." she stated firmly, though her focus then went to the others in the room. Seems this was the start of their magical, mystical, killer adventure - or rather, the start of the truly fun bits. When the words were translated, again Viana's gaze lifted to the pool above them. Her fingers curled against herself, and her brow creased as she continued to gaze upwards.

"Well...in most cases this would break into one of two scenarios. One; the seal on the water above us breaks, the corpses are loosed, and the chamber begins to fill with water while we deal with our friends up there and try not to drown. Two; we have to figure a way up, through the seal holding the water in place, navigate the corpses, and get through the 'surface'," she used air quotes and all, "on the other side...."

Her gaze once again returned to the other witches in the room, "Or...perhaps I merely have an overactive imagination. Either way, it's not ideal."