Gifted (Episode 3)

You are watching
Eternal: Ascendance of the Eight




Please stand by

Scene 1: An Orb in the Sky [Prologue]

The dark foggy skies over T'Lorn part to reveal a large shining silver orb. It maneuvers over the city with a precision that only a keen intellect could accomplish. It spins and streaks over darkened structures and dives precariously into the valleys between, along the avenues, and beneath overhanging bridges and elevated walks.

Finally, it hovers directly above the Lord's palace and descends straight down. Its bright luminescence is devoured in the rooftop of the highest tower and the large silver orb vanishes once more.

Scene 2: A Multitude of Dreams

Radu is surrounded by darkness - a deep, penetrating darkness that seems to fill his lungs as he breathes. He realizes all at once there is no ground beneath his feet and he is falling. He tries to fly, but no magic comes to him. The ground appears far below as he rushes toward both it and his demise. As he reaches what should be final moments of his life, he stops, inches from the ground, then reaches out to touch the ground. Upon doing so, he falls the final few inches with a thud.

Standing, he is in the garden outside the palace of T'Lorn. He looks around, only slightly more confused than he was angry. "What is this?" he snarls, but nobody is there to hear it.

A flash of color, a bit of red through the trees to the south, he cocks his head. Movement again, then a tall, slender, woman with brilliant red hair stands at the mouth of the hedge maze. "Calandra," he whispers, a single tear welling in his eye. She wears a brilliant dress that seems to catch the moonlight and throw it in all directions, dazzling his eyes as she turns. He winces for the briefest of moments, then she is slipped away around the corner into the maze. "No!" he says, propelling himself forward without a care for the flowers crushed beneath his feet, "Don't! Don't leave!"

He enters the maze and begins to follow its winding paths, twisting and turning, over and over again. Before he knows it, he is back at the beginning of the maze again. He roars in defiance and pulls his sword, staring directly forward from the entrance at the floral wall before him. He begins to swing his sword, chopping at the vegetation. "You will not stop me! You will keep her from me! If you hide her, I will never stop looking - if you do not make me a door, I will make it myself!"

Natrix always behaved as though someone watched her every move. Even here, beneath a moonless sky and cloaked invisibly, she felt the phantom eyes on her as she skulked along the corridors of the palace. She passed by vaguely familiar tables and chairs on a palace balcony with its spectacular view of the city... but which city? T'Lorn? Hlondeth? It seemed a mix of the extradimensional enclave and her serpentine state: its ancient buildings encrusted with jade and emerald accents, its not-people fanged and scaled.

The Chambers of the Inner Council weren't far... or was it the Sanctum Sanctorum of Natrix's arcane tutor and former handler, I-Raas? Was it both? And what was her assignment? Was she rogue again, seeking the destruction of the summoning circle abominable I-Raas created? Was she simply doing recon on her new supposed benefactors? The main doors stood before her, filigreed gold highlighted with tsavorite glittered in the everburning torch light as she took stock of the impediment. Her third eye opened to search for a web of wards and alarms but there were none; her procurement tools showed the doors to be unlocked. With an invisible mage hand, Natrix opened the doors.

Power flowed from an arcane grid in the center of the circular room, and Natrix audibly gasped when she saw her lovers dimensionally shackled within! Beautiful Di'Nastassa writhed in agony, the long tail of her lower body thrashed ineffectually. Roguish Dmetrio was speechless for once, his mouth, arms, and legs bound by crackling chains.

Wood striking stone broke Natrix from the horror. Sanguinor slithered around the grid, wielding the Power Staff of I-Raas, her scaled skin a pale green, her eyes glowing yellow, her fangs dripping venom.

"I can sssee you. I've been watching you, sssnakelet. Lord Orb, all of usss have been watching you. Will you ssserve or have you come at long last to die?"

The ceiling flew away to reveal a night sky of verdant stars in the shape of a giant serpent's fanged maw... and the starving stars fell.

In the darkness, first there came a whisper. Then many. Those whispers grew louder and became sighs, then moans, and then words spoken upon the satin of pillows.

Yellow gold eyes opened and the darkness receded into the nethers, as the perfect form of a nude snow white, feminine humanoid rose into a seated position. A great round bed, garbed in the hues of the Lord of Indulgence, spread out beneath her shapely body. Her dais. Her stage. her pedestal of desires fulfilled.

Peering out into the void beyond, a ring of nude stone sculptures encircled the bed. They like the female upon the great bed, were whole and perfectly formed. And as the central figure stood onto the unseen floor, she could see that beyond the first ring of statues were more, arranged concentrically from the initial one.

Taking a step toward one of the effigies, the female of snow, Tajuri, suddenly felt a pulsing along the surface of her skin. Looking down at her arms and her breasts, lines of black, blues, and purples like veins appeared. She floated toward the statue and touched its face and suddenly she was back on the great bed. Entangled with the animated figure in the throes of passion: A memory.

Tajuri pulled back her hand and repeated this several more times, as she glided amongst the throng of sculptural admirers. Each time a brief memory jolted her and harkened back to an encounter with the possessor of the form she touched. There seemed no end to the chamber: This Hall of Past Carnal Desires Fulfilled. The shadows held their covetous secrets.

The Moonfolk stopped. She turned and looked back at the great bed and suddenly it was gone. The circles of statues began to well up blood that streamed down their surfaces. A terrible sound replaced the moans of ecstasy. It was the howl and roar of a hoard. A chill ran through Tajuri. This was a memory she would rather forget.

The horrible cacophony surrounded her. She could feel bestial eyes leering from the shadows. So she ran back into the heart of the unending chamber hoping beyond hope of finding the comfort of the great bed once more...

It was a kiss that seemed to last forever. Such was the reunion between old roommates that neither thought would ever happen in their lifetimes.

Kris opened her eyes and inexplicably Tamblyn was gone. She was alone in the large luxurious bed of the room she had been assigned at the palace. Her heart sank. Loneliness was an emotion she knew all too well.

Something moved at the shadows of the heavy rich drapes of her window. A chill ran through her being, as the familiar cackle of the old hag who had once claimed to be her grandmother. The drapes parted and the horrible face she remembered stared at her.

"Go Away!" She cried out. "Go Away! Haven't you ruined enough of my life?"

Kris lashed out, but found her fist pounded into a pillow. The face of the witch had also vanished. Kris began to sob.

"Someday..." She cries. "Some day..."

It was boring to watch the aasimar as they struggled to rid themselves of him. What was their name? It sat there, in the back of his mind, but refused to come closer. Not that it mattered, none of them did. So he sat, and he watched until something interesting occurred. Which had been occurring more often, and it seemed it would occur right now. Fabulous. His attention turned to what the aasimar was doing, and a grin spread across his face. That idiot was trying a spell. Oh, this was going to be good. He stretched out of his langour, ready for the exercise that was about to be gifted to him. But then the aasimar did something new - they tried to actually kill him.

He stood there in disbelief as the spell destroyed his primary shackle and, for the first time in a long time, he was physical. Only three lesser shackles remained, assuming he took a hold of this chance. The aasimar didn't have time to run or scream before he tore the offending flesh apart. Only when the room was stained red did he stop and look to his remaining targets. First, the eldest. He straightened and followed the sound of laughter right to the smaller aasimar. This one managed to scream at the sight of him, not that it did it any good. As blood dripped from his hands, he couldn't control the laughter that burst out. This was wonderful! Two left. The second eldest aasimar looked different when he found them, smaller in stature and rounder in shape. Strange. This one did run, mostly because he found it amusing to let them. He skipped along, and killed them so slowly their parts really travelled quite far. One left.

This one was harder to find. He searched through the house, trailing blood and bits wherever he went. While he searched, he killed anyone he came across before he came to the conclusion the last wasn't there. This gave him pause, how to find them? It was his lucky day, however, as the sound of the front door came from below. He rushed to the top of the stairs to look at the frozen, tiny aasimar. Perfect. As he leapt down to kill this one, he knew was there was something different. But what?

The scene shifted, and Lucian found himself kneeling on the ground. Two things filled his vision - Useless and Marengo. There they were, the only ones he had ever let himself care about, dying in front of him. He watched the life flick out of his horse's eyes, and saw the little dragon let out a final squeak to him before they too succumbed. Time stopped, before it began to speed up. A guttural scream ripped from his throat as the scales tipped firmly to one side. He felt the skeletal wings form like ghosts on his back, and his eyes filled until they were empty black pools. The life around him began to wilt, and as he looked upwards he had no idea who it was in front of him. And he didn't care as he attacked them - they could all die too. Lucian had fought hard to play nice, they had wanted him to, and look where it had gotten them. Why did he have to try so hard, when all anyone did was bring the darkness right back to his door?

It was his turn, and he would make sure to tear their world apart.

Keltos rarely slept. Not in the normal sense at least. Sleep for Keltos was usually a series of self-checks, diagnostics and defragmentation of the virtual multi-modal runic matrix…Routine…but important. Neglecting this sort of maintenance for too long can lead to psychosis and in extreme cases spontaneous etheric bleeds. Tonight however routine maintenance can be rescheduled. He needed something that an ordered mind finds difficult. Leaps of intuition.

Leaning back in his captains chair, Keltos’ eyes flutter for moment as his consciousness disengages from the VMMRM. His mind free of the constraints of what is comfortable and known he is pulled into an ocean of unpredictability.

Drifting for what seemed like an eternity and no time at all Keltos finds himself in a techno-organic landscape. Familiar, but alien. The horizon punctuated by a column of light blossoming into a perfect equation. Reaching out to touch the untouchable he feels the air vibrating around him like a billion billion bees. Keltos feels his body and mind resonate in kind, becoming a cosmic symphony of perfect symmetry and order. Melting into the scaffold of reality nothing is beyond his understanding, the sensation more real than real he quickly forgets this all just a dream.

Killian rode for the gates of a sprawling citadel as a war hero returning to enjoy the accolades and receive the rewards promised for his deeds to kingdom upon the battlefield. He draws up his majestic white steed short of the gates, as they are closed before him. High above the gates, behind the crenelated battlements of the wall, a line of archers stood. He calls up to them and the king comes forth, parting the armed soldiers with his passing. At his side, is a dark-haired maiden of exceeding beauty: His daughter, promised to be wed to Killian upon his triumphant return.

Instead of embracing him, the king renounced his promise. Killian has been betrayed by the kingdom he had given his all for. The archers prepared to cut him down, but the war hero turned and rode away.

As Killian rode, he changed. His armor darkened, His steed sprouted dark wings and turned the color of ash, as it gouted flames. Behind him upon this nightmarish steed rode one with the angelic face of his denied princess, but angel nor princess was she.

They rode through a landscape of darkness and flame together...

Radu

As Lord Radu cleaves at the shrubbery, it parts to reveal only darkness. Though, in that darkness, he can feel something soothing reaching out to embrace him. He can feel and hear his own heartbeat as he ventures forth into that darkness...

Natrix

The darkness of the starless sky consumes the nightmarish fanged visage before Natrix' sight. She can feel a calm reach out to touch her lightly and draw her forth. It embraces her with a soothing sensation even as she can feel and her the beating of her own heart. The darkness beckons...

Tajuri

Seeking refuge from the horde invading her sanctuary, Tajuri sees the center of the chamber of memories open before her. Darkness fills the void within, but it is a calming soothing darkness that promises to hide her from the nightmare and embrace her against its wrath. She is drawn into the darkness, hearing and feeling the beating of her own heart. She glides forward. The darkness accepts...

Kris

The calming soothing sensation touches the upset young Kris. She opens her tearful eyes to see she is floating in a sea of darkness. Yet, she does not fear, as it draws her into it embrace. She becomes aware of the feel and beat of her own heart as the darkness caresses...

Lucian

The darkness surrounding Lucian reaches forth and embraces him with a calm, soothing the hurt and the rage within him. It draws him up onto his feet once more and leads him into it. He feels and hears the beating own his own heart, as the darkness leads...

Keltos

Tripping in a psychedelic dreamscape, Keltos suddenly becomes aware of a growing dark. It casts over the landscape like an eternal night and reaches out to him with a calmness. It soothes his mind and body, drawing him forth into its embrace. He feels and hears the beating of a heart—his own. The darkness summons...

Killian

The fire diminishes around him and the darkness spreads to envelop Killian, his steed, and his demon companion. He can no longer feel the movements of the winged beast beneath him or the press of Sharyth'ai's body at his back. Yet, they are replaced by the darkness itself. It reaches out and touches the betrayed hero, calming and soothing him. It embraces him. He feels and hears the beat of his own heart within his chest. The darkness calls...

The darkness was odd, but not strange for him. What was odd was that it was so soothing and could reach him in his current state. Lucian was confused, but only gave a moment of attempted resistance before he let it lead him where it willed. It was nice there, with the sound of his heart guiding him along. The thought made him stumble mentally as he reached up to check his pulse and then over his heart. It was so active...it should be much slower. He shouldn't be able to hear or feel it. What...was this?

Radu feels, oddly, at peace. Maybe for the first time in years. He follows his mind into the darkness, wondering what lies within.

Tajuri tries to focus in the darkness and will herself forward. Can she manipulate the details, as if lucid dreaming? "Hello?" She hears the sound of her own voice and places one hand of her bare chest to feel the heartbeat within. "Is there someone there?"

Kris gives into the dream and allows the darkness to hold her and carry her where it may. There have been precious few moments in her life where she has felt a caring touch. The darkness seem to offer that and she is want to let it.

Each in their own dream darkness, the Champions begin to hear the sound of a second heartbeat. It begins as a faint sound and rises steadily in volume as they are drawn deeper into the embrace of the dark. Then, a warm glow appears as a pinpoint before their eyes and they move toward it. Each discover that the glow emanates from a small, coin-sized heart token hanging in the nothing before them.



"Take heart, Champion." Comes a soothing feminine voice from all about you. "Know that you are not alone. Take this, my token, to hold you up in your darkest hour."

You reach forth and take the heart from the air. The faint warm radiance spreads over you.

Keltos’s rational mind rejects the comforts of the darkness. Yes, the feeling is there, but it is unwarranted and without merit. It is an illusion.

Darkness he knows is almost always associated with malevolence, metaphorically at least. In his studies of science, darkness is a function of absence, and absolute darkness if there is such a thing, could be described as a singularity, a vacuum devoid of any truth, meaning or substance. Pure Chaos.

Pulling away Keltos gravitates towards the warm light and the sound of a heartbeat not his own…

Radu basks in the waves of calm washing over him. He reaches out and carefully takes the pendant from the air and holds it gently in his palm. He looks at it a moment, then places it carefully between the folds of his armor, just below his left shoulder, where the layered material comes together to create a sort of pocket.

The warmth was nice, but Lucian idly wondered who this voice was. Why were they offering help? But still, he reached out to take the little heart and chose to place it's warmth in a pocket somewhat close to his heart.

Tajuri accepts the heart-shaped token, plucking it from the air in front of her, and clutching it to her chest.