May 26, 2014 Issue
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Note from the Editor
UPDATES FROM THE STAFF:
Updates
Calendar of Events
PLAYER NEWS:
XP Achievements
Clan News
The Pkill Front
Player Submissions:
Le Lapin Garou
Hunters
Fear
Rubies & Christmas Roses
Jaffa
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A NOTE FROM THE IMMORTALS
Lots of content this issue! Be sure to pop in to Legend, too! We're a bit more
stable than we were a couple months ago. And on that note, I would like to
remind everyone that DTs are still out of the game (curse those crashing bugs,
ruining our deathtrap fun). We're working on a few updates, but with summer
about to start and all of the staff having families and jobs, we're moving at
a slow pace. Please be patient with us, though!
-Lamia
The first person to send Mertjai a mudmail with the following words written on
it:
Please send me a coupon!
will get a non-color coupon from Mertjai!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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/__| Updates from the Staff |__\
'-------------------------------------------------------------------'
Code & Builder Updates
Code Update (4-30-14):
+ Due to the crashing issues we've had as of late, we've decided to
"pull" DTs. They're still in-game, but you'll find that you should
be able to enter them just like any other room. This goes only for DTs and NOT
for slay rooms. Slay rooms are still vicious, vile creatures that should be
treated with the respect they deserve.
Builder Update (5-11-14):
+ We just put in a better reward for killing a certain obnoxious bloodsucker.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
LegendMUD Calendar of Events
[All times are CST unless otherwise specified]
June
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30
Sunday, June 15 - 5 PM - Announcement of the best 'Dad Joke'
- Mudmail Lamia your best one!
- Includes jokes and scenarios.
- Must be family friendly.
Saturday, June 21 - All Day - Candy Trees!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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/__| Player News |__\
'--------------------------------------------------------------------'
XP ACHIEVEMENTS
Varik has reached 200 million experience!
Varik has reached 300 million experience!
Ariah has reached 500 million experience!
Sap has reached 800 million experience!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
CLAN NEWS
The Shadow Alliance formed.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
THE PKILL FRONT
Sadly, I [still] don't have any PK numbers for this issue. Access to various
files and parts of our website are wonky at best right now, due to the move to
the cloud. Keep killing each other, though. It's fun to watch you guys & gals.
-Lamia
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__|_____|_____|_____|_____|__PLAYER SUBMISSIONS___|_____|_____|_____|_____|
Le Lapin Garou
Naeva was careful as she crept through the underbrush, her blue gaze focused
on the clearing less than 25 feet before her. 'This is it,' she thought, her
heart beating as fast as the rabbit she was chasing. She was finally going to
catch the were bastard, pricker bushes and open landscape be damned.
Ari wasn't too far behind her, looking almost bored. He watched Naeva,
figuring she wasn't actually going to get too close to what she had called le
lapin garou. It was just a normal rabbit, a fuzzy white rabbit with a little
blue bow around... around its.... The hunter stopped in his tracks, his brown
eyes widening. A fuzzy white rabbit with a blue bow tie hopping out in to an
open field on... Ari sprinted off after Naeva, bound and determined to catch
her before she caused too much trouble.
Not that he'd be able to stop her in time, of course. During his half-daydream
state and due to his lagging behind, Naeva had slipped out of the underbrush
and was in full persuit of the rabbit. She was only slightly surprised at the
number of people out in the middle of nowhere. After all, it was still
relatively early for Sunday. These people should be in church. With a shake of
her head, Naeva picked up the pace, rushing towards the terrified rabbit. She
didn't pay attention to the cries of children as she trampled over a few
brightly colored eggs, nor did she really notice the angry French curses that
were being thrown her way.
Ari noticed, though. He noticed so many things all at once: Naeva chasing that
stupid normal bunny, crying children, angry parents, a laughing knight and--
He stopped in his tracks, which just so happened to be the center of all the
commotion. Naeva had just run them in to an Easter Egg hunt, ruining the fun
for over a dozen children and angering more than double that many adults. His
gaze met a familiar blue gaze.
Damn.
He knew that Kezia would never let him live this down, and if she ever did
consider doing so, Ransom or Arianne would not. Sprinting off once again, he
quickly caught up to Naeva, who had cornered the poor rabbit between a picnic
table and a tree. 'Belle,' he said a bit breathlessly. 'Wrong rabbit. We need
to leave, now. Right now.' And without waiting for her to object, he picked
the redhead up and flipped her over his shoulder before rushing out of the
field and towards the nearby road.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Hunters
The dark-haired hunter frowned as he looked out over the valley. This had been
home for as long as he could remember, which was not nearly as long as he
wished. His memory seemed to just. end. He could remember this valley, and
learning to hunt here, but he was already grown when this memory took place.
It bothered him, not being able to remember anything further back. His mind
was drawn out of this reverie by a feeling that he was being watched. 'What
do you want?' he said, not turning around.
'Is that any way to greet an old friend?' the voice asked, amusement evident.
'When the friend attempts to hunt a hunter, it is.'
'It was the only way to do this, and you know it,' said the other, amusement
still present in the rich, deep timbre.
'I suppose it was.' Valdryth turned to face the visitor. 'But the question
remains. What do you want, Leonte?'
Ari Leonte laughed. 'To talk? To find out how you have been, or how your
quest is coming along? Have we drifted so, that you refer to me by my surname
alone, Blackheart?'
Valdryth smirked. 'When were we ever close enough for me to call you 'Ari'?
As I recall, I was to call you, 'Sir'.'
'Only when I employed you... and that is no longer an issue, Valdryth.'
Valdryth nodded, acceding the point. 'Very well, Ari. I have been fairly
well, no fatal injuries...' Valdryth turned around as if to allow his visitor
to see that he lived. 'And I found a powerful disciple of the one I seek, but
still have not found the 'First'... but I will.' Valdryth looked at Ari as if
asking the other to disagree, but Ari only nodded. 'And I have been in the
company of a lovely young woman. which is why you are truly here, is it not?'
It was Ari's turn to smirk. 'Why did you let me go on like that if you
thought that?'
'It amused me?'
'Phina told me that you and she had met. I thought that I would come and talk
to you, seeing as you have returned.'
'And what, exactly, did you want to 'talk' with me about?'
'You left my service shortly after Phina took up with Aurion... And you return
now and have found company with the one you used to watch...' Ari's demeanor
changed to be quite serious. 'I will not have her harmed.'
Valdryth's dark eyes seemed to get even darker. 'Save your threats, Leonte.
You have as much chance to harm her as I do, I would wager... perhaps in the
days leading to the full moon?'
Ari smirked. 'What about a pirate Queen?'
'Ah, good,' Valdryth replied. 'As long as you have brought it up... tell me
about the man that her brother worked for... the pale one.'
'I do hope that you have a nice jug of wine and a table. This might take a
while.'
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Fear
Arianne normally loved her boots. They were sexy, they matched her corset,
and by Gods, they made her a little bit closer to Eitri's impressive 6 foot
2 height. Not much closer, but closer all the same. Men would stop and stare
at her legs, accentuated by those knee-high beauties, and she would revel in
the attention. Right now, however, she wasn't reveling and she didn't love her
boots. With every tree root and fallen branch she tripped over, she hated them
more and more.
The werewolf who was pursuing her, however, surely loved them. Every time she
tripped and swore, he was able to gain that much ground on her. Every time she
fell and had to scramble to her feet, he caught another whiff of her delicious
scent.
He let loose a victorious howl when he saw her fall, her foot buckling
awkwardly under her as she stepped in to a hole. She went down hard, not being
able to angle her spear to catch herself. She rolled on to her back, gray eyes
searching for the wolf. Chest heaving, she tried to push herself away while
remaining on the ground, only to back into a large tree. 'I'm going to die in
a crappy forest in Spain,' she whimpered, sitting back against the tree and
angling her spear at the wolf.
The wolf came to a stop about ten feet in front of her, teeth barred. Her eyes
widened as he made to leap at her, his front paws already off the ground. His
hind paws never left the soil, however, and he'd die feeling the wet forest
floor between his wolfen toes. A silver-tipped bolt was sticking out of his
back, another from his side. A third found its way in to him, and he had sunk
to the ground by the time the forth one entered his head. Arianne watched,
still panting in fear and exhaustion, as a leather-clad man walked towards the
dying werewolf and withdrew a silvery sword from its scabbard. She eeped
softly, dropping her spear to the ground, as he thrust the sword in to the
wolf, then decapitated it.
She watched, terrified, as he sheathed the sword and turned towards her. 'Are
you alright?' a familiar, rich voice asked. She nodded as Ari walked to her
and crouched down. 'Are you scared?' she nodded again. 'Of the wolf?' he
laughed, cupping her cheek and gently turning her head to the side, looking
for scratches or bites. 'He's dead.'
'No,' she answered, her voice quiet and entire body shaking. 'He's dead.'
Ari raised an eyebrow. 'Of what, then?' he asked, his brown eyes looking odd
to her as the full moon shone brightly above them. He smirked and she saw the
tips of his canines, far longer than a human's had any right to be.
'Of you.'
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Rubies & Christmas Roses
'I look like a ghost to them,' she whispered, a sly smile tugging at her lips.
Eitri frowned, more worried than anything at Addyson's devil-may-care attitude
that had been prevalent during their trip to Dis. 'They'll shout mother's name
at me, those shades, but as they get closer, they either realize that I'm not
who they seek or they merely forget. It could truly be either.' She tugged him
along, her fingers interlocked with his as she led him down a side-path. He
thought to tell her 'no', that they needed to stay on the main path. Things
were so terribly dangerous and he had little experience with these Hellish
beings, but he knew, deep down, that Addyson wouldn't listen to him, and the
more time he spent with her, the less likely she'd ever be to heed any of his
warnings.
'We're here!' she announced after a few minutes. Letting go of his hand, she
rushed over to a stone wall. It was covered and ash and dust, though when she
ran a hand across the rough stone, it was revealed to be made of sandstone.
'Eitri, please come here. I wish to show you something I found when I was just
a small girl.'
Bowing his head slightly, Eitri approached the wall, careful not to stand too
close to Addyson. He'd brushed against her once, on their first trip through
the Infernal Realm together, and he had almost lost his self-control. She had
such kissable lips, he thought as he stood near her, now, in Dis. Soft skin,
if her hands were any indication, and such lovely eyes. Though, he reasoned,
Alayne has lovely eyes as well, and her lips are soft. And she had no issue
with kissing him, whereas Addyson had promised her Cordell she wouldn't kiss
another. He shook his head and turned his attention back to the young woman's
words. 'Y-you do?'
'I said I did,' she replied as she crouched down. She ran a hand over part of
the sandstone, revealing several rune-covered stones near the base of the
wall. 'See this? It's an old tongue, something most can't understand,
regardless of which realm you're in.' Addyson smiled at him.
'But you can?' he asked, crouching next to her, the tip of his scabbard
digging in to the ash-covered ground. The seraphic runes on it glittered, the
red shifting to a soft blue and the ash touching it faded to a white, looking
more like soft, cold snow than the burnt flesh and hair it had once been.
Neither Addyson nor Eitri noticed this, their attention on the wall.
'Yes,' she said and withdrew her hand. 'This is a protection spell of sorts,
though the magic is... questionable. Morally speaking, I mean.' She looked to
Eitri who had raised an eyebrow. 'It requires blood to open it. Thankfully I
was smart enough back when I was a child to specify that it was to be
willingly given.'
He ran a hand through his shaggy hair, his brow still furrowed. 'Is that why
you asked me to come with you? Because you needed my blood?' He was feeling
annoyed and a little hurt. Perhaps, he thought, he had been wrong to consider
Addyson a friend. Would a friend truly ask such a thing of another?
'I asked you to come with me because I wish for you to have what we're about
to uncover,' Addyson replied, her tone, while petulant, also sounded a bit
hurt. He felt bad, now, almost ashamed of his rash thoughts about Lady
Ravenswick. 'I need your blood, but I also need mine, too. I... I am sorry if
you... I should have asked first, before we came down here...' She looked
close to tears and it tugged at Eitri's heart. He sighed and placed a hand on
her shoulder, gently squeezing, his thumb rubbing the skin.
'I- I apologize, Mis-- .... Addyson,' he said, and she turned her head to look
at him. Nodding, she placed her hand on the wall once again, this time
smearing a bit of her blood over the runes. He started, not realizing she had
broken her skin. 'Are you alright?' he asked, taking her hand in his, pulling
it from the wall.
She laughed. It wasn't soft and coy like he was used to, like she laughed when
she didn't quite understand how to react. This was loud, provocative: she was
care-free here in Hell. 'I'm fine,' she said, pulling her hand from his.
'Healed already, see?' She held up the hand and Eitri couldn't believe it. He
saw the blood on the wall but he couldn't see where even a scratch may have
been her person.
'Addyson--' She waved him off and motioned to the wall.
'Another time,' she said. 'But your blood? I promise, it'll break the wards
protecting what I hid and nothing else will come of it.' She smiled at him so
sweetly that Eitri knew that he couldn't deny her. He nodded and she pricked
his finger, though he couldn't see any object in her hand. Quickly she
directed his hand to the wall, guiding the injured finger across the runes. He
watched in awe as a hiss sounded once his blood touched them and they turned
black before fading away. 'I hope you like it,' she said, smiling brightly as
they watched the bricks fold back in what Eitri was sure was impossible in the
mortal realm. He would ask Addyson about it later, though he was sure he would
only receive a coy smile and a soft promise of 'another time' from her.
Once the sandstone bricks were done shifting, Addyson carefully reached into
the wall and withdrew a heavy obsidian box. She set it before them and Eitri
watched as she lifted the lid, exposing two rubies, shining with ethereal
brightness. 'Would you like one?' she asked, a hand reaching to cup Eitri's
cheek. 'They're very special and powerful.'
'I...' Eitri frowned, his hand moving to rest over Addyson's, which was still
upon his face. 'A-are they dangerous?' She shook her head and sank to her
knees so she could move closer to him.
'I wouldn't offer you anything that would ever hurt you, Eitri,' she answered,
the coy tone gone now. Her tone was gentle, her words from the heart, and
Eitri nodded.
'If... if you don't need them...' he trailed off, pulling her hand from his
face, only to interlock his fingers with her's. She shook her head. 'What will
I do with it?' He was still wary, but the way she looked at him, the
excitement in that silvery gaze... Eitri could have sighed in frustration, but
instead he merely watched Addyson.
After a moment of silence Eitri reached out his free hand and picked up one of
the stones. Though it was only the size of a quail egg, it was heavier than he
thought it'd be. And it was cold. That surprised him the most, he realized.
Dis was warm, it was sweltering hot, actually, but these rubies had remained
cold through it all. He knew the wall they were in had been warm, and that
obsidian box might as well have still been the lava it once was. Hell would
never cease to amaze him. 'It'll protect you,' she said in that same gentle
tone from before. The words caught him off guard and he raised an eyebrow.
'How will something of Hell protect me?'
She pouted again and pulled her hand away from his, carefully clasping hers
together and setting them on her lap. 'Bees can cause pain, but they still
produce sweet honey.' He blushed and turned his gaze from her, instead
choosing to focus on the ruby in his hand. 'It has protective properties. I
gave my father a talisman as a Christmas gift and it was based on these
stones. Based on and not actually them because I believe that using them for
my father would have been a waste, since he doesn't truly need much protection
and these are very, very powerful stones.'
Eitri nodded, carefully rolling the faceted gem around his palm. 'You will
keep the other?'
'The other is for Cordell, I think,' she said matter-of-factly. He chuckled
politely and placed the stone back in the obsidian box. She wasn't sure, he
thought, and it baffled him. If he had something he could use to protect
Arianne, it would be her's without a second thought. Or Alayne. Or any of his
family. But, Eitri decided, it wasn't his place to question too much. He
smiled at her.
'I appreciate this gift and will gladly accept it,' he said, reaching a hand
out to brush a loose curl from Addyson's face. 'Once we leave this place, of
course.' She smiled brightly, that playful gleam in her silvery gaze once
again. Nodding, she picked up the box and stood, motioning for Eitri to do the
same as she tucked it against the crook of her left arm.
He took the hand she had extended towards him once he was standing properly,
their fingers interlocking once again. As they turned to leave, however, both
gasped in astonishment. The ash-covered ground, full of soot and death, was
now covered with snow. Yellow and white winter jasmine blooms peeked through
the cold snow-cover while hellebore bloomed near the wall, only several feet
from where the pair had been.
'What--?' Addyson began, truly at a loss for words. Eitri raised a shoulder in
a half-shrug before carefully leading Addyson through the snow field. A smile
graced his lips as he enjoyed the cold emanating from the snow. He picked some
of the jasmine and tucked a small stalk behind Addyson's ear. She batted at
him, careful of the obsidian box, but they continued on, the snow stretching
for a couple hundred feet along that back wall.
'This is a Christmas rose,' he said, picking a couple of the white flowers.
She frowned. 'It's just hellebore. It's toxic.'
'No...' Eitri began, the pair still walking, the snow thinning as they neared
the fountain of tears situated at the southern end of Dis. 'People used it to
drive out evil from their homes.' Basic fact, Eitri thought. He would have
thought she would have been taught more than basic fact concerning such a
plant, especially one with such a story as it.
'And this?' Addyson asked, motioning to the jasmine in her hair. 'I'm not
familiar with this.' He half-shrugged again.
'I'll ask mother and father,' he said nonchalantly. 'It smells nice, though,'
he added, a blush once again coloring his cheeks. 'Though, anything would
smell better than this place.' Addyson laughed and nodded, taking the lead
from Eitri as they left their snow behind. She was eager to leave, as was he,
and so he'd take whatever pace she set as they sped down the Road Paved with
Good Intentions.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jaffa
'I saw you fight, at Jaffa.'
Moris scoffed at the woman. 'I was never in Jaffa.'
'Yes you were,' Sanguine said, reaching a hand to his face. 'Talking couldn't
get you out of it. King Richard's men sought you and forced you aboard their
ship to the Holy Lands.' He waved a hand of his own, shooing hers away from
him. 'The day Richard jumped in to the sea, you followed in armor so heavy any
other man would have drowned.'
'I was never in a war.'
The angel nodded, her hand once again reaching for Moris' face. He allowed her
to cup his cheek, though a frown marred his perfect features. 'The Third
Crusade. You were still so young, but bold. I saw you get struck in the
stomach and fall to your knees, the waves breaking against your back.' He
placed his hand around her wrist, his grip strong as he pulled her hand from
his face.
'You are confusing me with another,' he said in a low, dangerous tone. 'I was
never--'
'Do not lie to me,' Sanguine hissed, her wings unfolding a bit in indignation.
'I was in the Citadel that day. I saw you. No other had such hair. Snow,
stained by the red pouring from your gut. They didn't care to stop and help
you, the princeling in perfect armor.' She closed any space between them. 'I
did, though. I did not know of your affliction then, so I rushed to pull you
from the sea, shells and weeds tangled in your perfect hair. You were still
breathing, though your lungs were filled with blood and water. I pulled you
ashore and sat you up and you cleared them. The wound on your belly was
already healed. I was there to be your miracle but you didn't need me.'
His eyes widened ever so slightly as he stared at her. 'You were the one who
knelt over me...' She could have cried. Yes, she thought. Yes I was. 'You did
not look as angry then. More shocked, or confused...'
'I'm not angry now!' she said, her features showing just how far from amused
she truly was. 'Well, a little, but only because you tried to tell me
something other than what I knew was fact! And yes, confused. I was supposed
to save you, but you didn't need me.'
'There are no mortals who would know I was there,' he said, his tone simple,
though his voice was quiet. 'And when you pressed...' he looked around, down
the beach, and Sanguine realized just how busy the small road in Malta truly
was. 'There are many here who would try to end my existence, as there are in
the Americas... and France... and... countless other places.'
The angel took a deep breath, though she tried not to smile. He was so easy to
be around. 'Forgive me,' she said quietly, earnestly. 'I shouldn't have
pressed in such an open place. Would you appreciate some solitude?' He gave
her an odd look. 'Well, no, not solitude.'
'Are you dismissing me, my would-be miracle?'
'Privacy. Privacy is what I meant.' She shook her head. 'I couldn't dismiss
you after a few moments. After all this time? That would make me a fool.'
Moris chuckled, much to Sanguine's relief. 'What would you have of me, then?'
he asked.
'I wish I knew,' she replied. The pale man raised an eyebrow and she quickly
shook her head. 'I... will you come with me? Just inside the church over
there.' She motioned to one no too far down the road. 'Away from all these
ears and eyes.' He merely nodded and so she led him, barring the door behind
them once they were inside. It was empty, yet opulent.
Moris peered around church as she finally stopped, the pair in the middle
aisle of the cathedral. 'It has been some time since I was in a church such as
this.'
'Make yourself comfortable,' was all she said, motioning to a nearby
confession chair. Moris looked at it and just laughed, earning a confused look
from Sanguine.
'I fear I have much too long a list for a confession,' he told her as he
walked over to a tapestry that was hanging on the wall.
Her blue eyes widened, looking a little distressed. 'No!' she said, moving to
him. 'No, I was.... just comfort. I wasn't seeking a confession.' He chuckled,
the sound polite, but genuine and Sanguine relaxed a little bit.
'I... changed after that battle,' he said, smiling at her slightly before
walking to the open confession chair. She followed, compelled.
'Was that your first brush with death?' She stood with her hands clasped in
front of her as Moris sat, hardly having to incline his head to look at her
face.
'No,' he said with a slight shake of his head. 'There had been others. Stab
wounds, slashes across the neck, attempts with poison.... What I saw in the
holy lands, and is what caused the change. That battle, I suppose, was the
proverbial straw. Men whom I stood next to and took an oath before God....
though I suppose I knew that He would not be wanting me.' Sanguine's gaze was
sad as she watched him, listened to his every word. 'Turning to rape and
looting as soon as they were out of their own lands.' The pair were silent for
just a moment. 'Richard was a good man,' Moris finally continued. 'I did not
mind following him... after the journey was well under way.' He laughed and
she nodded, still not sure how to reply. 'I'll admit that I sulked and,
perhaps, cursed the entire lot of them for much of the trip.' He smiled again
and Sanguine loved the sight. 'I think that I survived so many battles in
England was the reason I was forced to go.'
She nodded, her lips twitching in to a small smile. 'The last time I was in
this realm was when Richard still reigned.'
'It is probably for the best, seeing as you were to be my miracle,' Moris told
her, giving the fiery haired angel a wink. She chuckled and couldn't stop the
blush that colored her features. 'I would have disappointed you.'
'No,' she said, resting a hand on his shoulder. 'You surprised me. How could I
save you when you didn't need me? I had been so certain, with every ounce of
my being, that you needed my help. After that day at the beach, with your hair
stained red, I left.'
Another moment of silence passed. 'Later, however, Angelic one - I will get
your name, eventually - I decided that if that could not kill me, what could?
I began to live as if I were immortal. It was unfortunate for me... that I
seem to be.'
'How long has it been?' Sanguine asked. 'Time feels and flows differently for
the Divine. And those of Hell, too. I do know that it feels as if it's been so
many centuries. Is that fact?'
'Over 500 years for me,' he answered. 'I am approaching the age at which I
should begin building a large boat for animals....' She laughed, and he did as
well, only for the briefest of seconds. 'If I had ever found grace in the eyes
of the Lord, that is. Which, if I ever had it, is surely gone now.'
She was sad again. 'No. Perhaps there is hope, yet.' She took a deep breath
once again. 'It's odd,' she admitted. 'Five hundred years. It shouldn't feel
as if that is a long time, but perhaps I can feel it because I... I owe you a
miracle. I've never heard such a thing....' She ran a hand through her hair,
the sunlight from the stained-glass hitting her hair just so, making it look
like living fire. 'Is that what you want?' She was so hopeful for him.
'Redemption?'
'You owe me nothing, divine one.'
'Sanguine,' she said to him, her voice catching in a way it never had before.
'My name is Sanguine and something tugs at me, telling me that I do.'
'I am past the point of redemption, and into an acceptance, without despair
that had, at a time, overtaken me. I have a lovely woman, who loves me, for
whatever reason she has found, though it might be hidden from my eyes. She is
a wonderful woman. Intelligent, quick of wit, and fine of form and face...
more than I deserve, I think.'
Sanguine blinked, looking as though she'd received the smallest shock.
'Theresa Rayne,' she said, looking sad. 'A mortal woman.'
Moris nodded. 'Yes, Theresa. And yes, a mortal woman. But after Nadia, I had
lost hope of ever feeling love again. But I do. I still love Nadia, but it is
in my memories, moreso, now... Theresa has my heart.' A soft, sad chuckle
passed from his perfect lips, but it was short-lived.
'The others in your life, too. You hold love for them as well, yes?'
'I have a daughter, though it should have been impossible, and I love her very
much,' Moris answered.
Sanguine's jaw clenched ever so slightly at the mention of a daughter.
'Perhaps it was better this way, that you didn't need me,' she told him.
'Things might have gone differently, and you wouldn't have this lover, or
daughter.'
He raised an eyebrow. 'Is something wrong?'
'I don't know.' A simple statement, but earnest. 'I've been trying to figure
that out for some time. I didn't come to this realm to find you, though I am
so glad that I did happen upon you.' She didn't notice how Moris' gaze
narrowed. 'So glad, Moris Ravenswick.'
'Does it have something to do with Addyson?' She was taken aback by his tone.
'I think not,' she answered. 'I hope not.' He nodded and she relaxed, not even
aware that she'd been anxious.
'Should any being try to take her from me now...' His voice was cold. She
hadn't heard anything like it before. 'Heaven or Hell would not save them from
me.'
'I am not here to steal your daughter from you,' she said, her voice wavering
again, this time from fear instead of affection. 'I came to this realm for
help. To find Remiel, Razael, Setheus, to name a few.' She motioned to the
open space next to Moris. 'May I?'
'Of course,' he answered, his hand, almost absently, locking the top of his
cane. She frowned as she sat, unsure of when he'd even unlocked it. 'Razael
has disappeared... I assumed to your realm... Shortly after he did, Nadia...'
he sighed, and Sanguine tried to keep him from having to utter the painful
words, but he did anyway. 'Nadia found Lethe again.'
Sanguine took a deep breath, her hands clasped together and resting on her
lap. 'You are a good man, Moris Ravenswick. You've only told me a little bit
about yourself, but I know. Each word seems to open a new door, allowing me to
know. You owe me nothing, but you know those I listed. Obviously, Razael, whom
you've mentioned. He is not in our realm, and if he is, he is hiding so well.'
'I should stop talking then, before you find it all and know how wrong that
is.'
She smiled wryly as she looked at Moris. 'No. People change. I stand by what I
said.' She shook her head, looking across the aisle. 'The last I heard of
Razael, he... there was a man who was captured, a wicked man. Razael...
thought to play a game all his own. He released that man. After that,
nothing.'
Moris stood, his silvery gaze cold as he glared at nothing, at everything.
'Razael did that?' The angel nodded.
'I knew that we should have killed him,' he said quietly.
Sanguine stood, now. 'Moris Ravenswick, I need your help,' she said, loudly,
trying to distract him from his rage. 'I will help undo what Razael did if I
can only finish my initial task.'
Moris didn't pay any attention to Sanguine. 'I have been blaming the wrong
angel. Angels and demons... what is really the difference? Each playing games
with mortals for their own amusement.'
Her blue gaze showed her hurt as she looked at Moris. 'I only wish to complete
my assigned task,' she said to him. 'I was to find Remiel, Razael, and
Setheus. They will be needed. Razael is lost. I know where Remiel can be
found. I need Setheus. Help me with this, and I will give you that miracle I
owe you.'
'This is your church?' he asked quietly. She nodded as she slowly approached
him. 'If I see the stupid lout, I will encourage him to come to you here. I
believe he is afraid that he will not be able to stay with his betrothed if he
comes to you.'
'I don't know what will happen to him,' she said to Moris. 'I won't be able to
give him the answer he wants to hear. Once he comes to me, though, I will do
as I said.'
'There was a time when I would have tied him up, snipped his feathers, and
dragged him to you with a bow,' Moris said and she smiled faintly. 'But that
time is no longer.'
She reached out a hand, resting it on his arm. 'I told you that you were a
good man.'
'An angel tried to take away my wife, then a demoness tried... there is little
difference to my mind. Then a demon saved my daughter after that same demoness
tried to kill her and her mother. Who am I to be more thankful to, Sanguine?'
'I don't have an answer for you, Moris Ravenswick,' she said quietly, sadly.
'How I wish I did, though.'
He looked at her for a moment. 'Since then, I see Setheus in a different
light. It does appear to me that there is only one difference between what he
is and what I am...'
She raised an eyebrow. 'Which is?'
Moris smirked at her. 'He can fly.' She laughed, her hand gently squeezing
Moris' upper arm. Oh, how she loved that answer. 'He only wants happiness, and
that was not happening, anymore, in your realm. Does your Boss want happiness
for his people, for his messengers... for you?'
'I don't know,' she said quietly. 'I just know what I was told to do, and I
have already strayed from that. For Remiel.'
'I am thinking that I do not know this Remiel.'
She smiled at him, the expression gentle. 'Perhaps that is how it is supposed
to be, for now.'
'I will tell Setheus, should I see him,' Moris said, stepping from her to look
at the tapestries and windows. 'But I do not know that I want any miracle,
Sanguine... things of this sort seem to make things worse for me.'
'If that is how you want it, then so be it.' She sighed as she watched him. 'I
will still have a miracle for you when you desire it. Anything. All you ever
have to do is ask.'
'If I ever see you again, you mean.'
She could have pouted at him. 'I will be right here, Moris Ravenswick.'
'But for how long, one has to wonder... what if He should decide that you are
no longer needed in this realm, or at least at this church?' She did pout at
him, only for a few seconds. Sanguine had to wonder if he even noticed.
'You have a way to find me, in your daughter,' she told him, trying to keep
the haughtiness out of her voice. 'Garen. If I am pulled from here, Garen will
know.' He turned to face her, an eyebrow raised.
'Garen?'
'Yes,' she said, taking a step towards him before reconsidering the action.
'Hopefully it won't come to that. Hopefully I will be here for some time, in
this church, waiting to help when it is needed.'
'Be wary of what you hope for,' he said quietly, turning from her again. 'You
might find it a curse, in time...' His voice held a bit of sadness in it, or
perhaps Sanguine had just imagined it.
'If it is a curse, then I will endure it,' she told him, her hands clasped
together. She watched as Moris' silvery gaze fell upon a window depicting the
Christ dragging His cross. The man shook his head at her words and turned,
striding past the angel, leaving Sanguine in silence.
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