EVENT #3: AN EXECUTION OF SORTS

[abraxasmods]

THE EXECUTION

As if performing a vicious mockery for what should be a somber day, the sun shines brightly in the sky. The rays of sun catch the iron brackets that hold up the gallows that have been erected overnight for the occasion, the gentle breeze causing the noose to swing ominously. Public executions do not happen frequently in Thorne, so a crowd gathers in strained anticipation of the grim sentence.

The welcome guests, who have up until this point been free to come and go within the confines of the castle, have been mandated to view the execution. It is meant to serve both as an example of Thorne’s power as well as a lesson to those who might think to try the same. The courtyard, which was buzzing with quiet murmurs, turns silent as Ambrose strides up the wooden steps of the gallows, flanked by two guards and a haggard-looking Jonathan Sims, arms bound behind him. As the guards march their charge to the trapdoor that will serve as executioner and position the noose around his neck, Ambrose turns to address the crowd that has gathered- willfully or not.

“Citizens of Thorne, our esteemed welcomed guests, it is with disappointment and a heavy heart that we’ve gathered to see to the execution of one of the very guests we sought aid from in our time of need. In a selfish and distrustful act, I was attacked, an action I cannot abide.”

He turns halfway toward his charge. “Jonathan Sims, you are charged with assault and intention of lethal harm. The punishment is to be hanged by the neck until you are dead. May the gods have mercy on your soul.”

Ambrose raises his arm to signal the executioner to pull the lever to release the trapdoor beneath Jon’s feet, steely expression locked on the prisoner’s face one last time.

MEANWHILE

Several miles away, atop a hill in the forest, two figures meet between portals. Oliver, tall and lithe, steps out to stand next to a petite waif of a woman who looks at him with a familiar smile. Her voice is lilting like a songbird’s when she speaks up, turning her gaze back over the city.

“Find out anything good?”

He hums softly, his hands clasped behind his back. “Two dozen prisoners, give or take. The one I met was very grateful for our assistance.”

“That’s good. Perhaps her gratitude will endear our cause to them.”

With a nod, he takes a deep breath and then sighs. “It’s time, Elizabeth,” he says, lifting one hand to open a new portal.

She nods and raises her arms above her head, eyes closing in concentration. Her arms begin to glow green while the grass around her begins to ripple in rings. The very ground seems to surge with power that radiates outward from her, and it isn’t long before the castle and the town are engulfed in a heavy air of intense magic. It courses from her in shockwaves.

Satisfied, Oliver steps through the portal.



In the wake of the magic flood, the walls of the dungeons seem to shudder for a long moment, and the doors suddenly clink open. No guards come rushing in to shut them, and in fact, all ambient noise in the dungeons seems to stop as the whole of the people of Thorne freeze in place. The hall becomes lit by daylight as a portal opens at the end of it, showing them the crowd of welcomed guests and Jon alone on the platform.

In the portal, alone stands Oliver, hand offered to the prisoners in welcome. His smile doesn’t reach his eyes, though this seems to be by nature rather than intention.

“Please come with me.”

CHOICES

Everything is happening quickly.

Once through the portal to the execution yard there's a moment of chaos and confusion at the sudden arrivals and then it stops. Everything and everyone has stopped, save for the guests, the prisoners, and the two mages who have come to their aid. Guards freeze in place. The attended mages are still as statues. Banners lifted by the wind remain where they are and even the noose hanging from the gallows stills.

"Time for them is halted." Oliver addresses the assembled, his voice projected to be heard but his tone calm. "It will remain so for one hour, no more. An hour is all you have to make your choices. Remain here in Thorne, or take a portal to either Solvunn or the Free Cities. The portals cannot be traced by the Thorean authorities, so no need to fear them giving chase.”

Elizabeth emerges from a portal behind him, which closes as she enters the yard. They both raise an arm and two white circles spread through the air, showing new towns in the distance on the other side. There is an ethereal glow around them.

“The Free Cities are martially powerful and seek to destroy the Singularity,” Oliver narrates, gesturing at one of the portals. “Solvunn is reclusive and claims neutrality, both in politics and in regard to the Singularity. I advise that you think hard about your choice. Travel between cities is not exactly easy."

He turns back to the crowd with an almost apologetic smile. “I'm sorry you don't have more time to make this decision. We’ll meet again.”

Opening a third portal with the wave of her arm, Elizabeth, who has not spoken a word, gives the group a wink and leaves with Oliver. Their portal closes behind them, leaving everyone to begin making moves.

Now is the time to make serious choices. Two portals stand in the courtyard, one courtesy of Oliver and one of Elizabeth. The Free Cities and Thorne are enemies, Solvunn watching both to see where the cards end up falling. None trust one another, none work with one another beyond trade through middle-men in Solvunn. The clock is ticking.

Someone should probably get Jon out of that noose.

Comments

[sanc]

Relena looks at Estinien and nods. There's not much she can do out here or that he can do in there. She just has to hope no one does rounds in the near future.

She laughs just a little at Himeka's suggestion, smiling mildly at her. "I'm hoping he'll do what he's going to do before we have to worry. He brought me here through a portal. I think he'll be using that ability to help us."

But to go to where, she's not sure.

She turns her attention back to Estinien, holding onto Himeka's hand a little more firmly. "I don't know what they did, exactly, but... Oliver said they were trying to transfer my connection to the Singularity over to a citizen. It-- it didn't go well. That man..."

She winces and shakes her head.

"He said if they'd succeeded, I might have been trapped here... or died. It got close. He said I'll be alright soon enough, but for now, I'm exhausted. I'm hoping there's no 'making a run for it'."

[coerthantorment]

So. it had been an attempt to use their power.

It's a theory Estinien has held for a while, mostly because he can't imagine why else he and other prisoners would be suffered to live for so long. That Thorne would try to take their power for themselves somehow... though he had imagined it quite differently himself, the principles remain the same.

He can only guess at what happened to the man they attempted to give Relena's power to. Was it the same fate as those that would cross the boundary? It seems foolish to expect it would be otherwise. To think they almost killed her a well, and for nothing.

"If we have to run, I'll carry you myself before aught else," he says, looking downward. Fury simmers behind his eyes. There's no point in letting himself get heated now, but after all that waiting, and all that helpless regret...

He will not forgive this readily.

[aquaveiled]

Himeka's eyes widen as Relena recites her trials, abridged version though it is. The pull of the Singularity is really that great. Unknowingly her thoughts follow Estinien's--that this is the true purpose of keeping the prisoners around. They are expendable, no doubt more so than their welcomed counterparts above, but how long will that favor last? Though Himeka is wont to believe the best in people, she is not as foolish as her sign may suggest.

"But they did not succeed," she states. "And that speaks just as much as the timely appearance of your friend as it does of you."

She leans her head between the bars as far as it can go, reaching through to take Relena's other hand in her own. She cups them both together, nodding in agreement with Estinien's statement.

"We won't let them take you a second time, Relena. That is our promise or else they will be forced to take us as well."

[sanc]

Relena feels bad to even accept his offer, but she also assumes it will be even worse if she slows them down. She doesn't want to die in a place like this for nothing, so she can't be caught. She has to accept both of their kindness once again.

She looks at Himeka seriously and nods, clasping her hand a little tighter. "You're right. Absolutely."

And she lets Himeka take her other hand, feeling safer with her hands held so securely.

"Thank you both... so much. I hope with this, we'll have better prospects for taking control of our situations."

She lets out a sigh, though it's very soon that the walls start to tremble strangely around them. She lifts her head to look around, confused.

"More magic?"

[coerthantorment]

That wasn't long at all. Before Estinien can get too worried about how they are going to help Relena - he appreciates Himeka sentiment, but he can't fathom how protecting her would go any better this time than it had before - the promised intervention begins to arrive. Estinien can feel the chill up his spine, and in the same moment the cell bars click open and the metal shifts, he can feel something else shift within him as well.

It almost hurts, with how stark the difference is. A beast has woken inside of him, one that has been long silent. He gasps, sagging forward as the bars no longer separate them. His hand clutches over his heart.

"Something has changed," he wheezes. "Himeka... do you feel it?"

It's just how it felt when he experienced a surge of Nidhogg's rage through the Eye. Only now, it's inescapably a part of him.

[aquaveiled]

The trembling is certainly alarming and it only makes Himeka tighten her hold on Relena. Yet there's a force she cannot resist that causes her to let go, seemingly in perfect time for the doors to all the cells to miraculously open in unison. That in and of itself would be cause for alarm, yet she hardly has a second to worry about it.

The ambient noises and comings and goings in the dungeon have stopped to an eerie silence only filled by the sounds of their breath and shuffling. But Himeka finds that she is suddenly inundated with the world around her despite the stillness, like she has had her eyes closed this entire time and only just remembered what it is like to see.

She has never used aether to see like their colleague Y'shtola has had to do, but her innate awareness of it has always been so second nature she had never once questioned what a world without it would be like. She's reconnected to the flow and beat of life--even on this world, it feels right.

Himeka lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, eyes wide as she looks at the other two and then down at her hands. There's an instinctive tingling at her fingertips as her body begins to respond to the spell she is already calling forth. Without a word, she juts her right arm straight up in the air as light spirals straight back down it, washing over her. She can immediately feel her mana reserves restart to recover.

"We're no longer bound!" she exclaims somewhat breathlessly.

That is almost more exciting than the cell doors all inexplicably opening. But it also gives them another immediate option.

"Relena, hold still for a moment--" Himeka scoots back over and immediately pulls from the air around them, churning the wind aspected aether into a warm healing light between her palms that she bestows upon the youngest member of their crew.

[sanc]

It's Relena's turn to feel washed in concern as the door opens and Estinien seems to lean forward in pain while Himeka falls strangely silent, as if in awe of something.

Clearly, something is happening far beyond her understanding. Had Oliver betrayed her? Were they hurting? She watches Himeka as she reaches to lay a delicate hand on Estinien's shoulder.

She startles as Himeka lets out her short revelation and the tension eases in her. She nods and steadies herself as ordered, watching Himeka, puzzled. The light seems to startle her briefly - light had come from that man in that moment. That light was harsh, vivid and cold, though... this was a warm, gentle light like a lantern in the evening.

She's never been healed before, but she can feel the pain washing out of her as if she were soaking in a hot bath.

"That's amazing, Himeka."

[coerthantorment]

As Relena lays a hand on him, he can't help but open his eyes to face her. There are not many people he's eager to be touched by, even when offering comfort... but he realizes in that moment that, coming from Relena, it doesn't bother him. Instead, the touch grounds him a little, even as the force within him threatens to rage out of control.

He can feel the shift of aether as Himeka works her magicks, summoning strength from the elements to bestow upon Relena. It's comforting in a way he can't quite describe, to realize that some things are the same as they ever were - and now that Himeka is unshackled by Ambrose's magic, freedom is beginning to feel possible.

"Good," he says, through clenched teeth, straining against some unseen force. "We have little time to waste. Relena... I..."

He's about to offer to carry her if she needs it, eager to move before anyone can stop them. After all, he has not yet noticed that the guards are frozen, or that they will imminently be offered an easy way out. It means when he hears the clamour of escaping prisoners begin, he assumes at least part of it to be the arrivals of guards to claim them once again-

His eyes go sharp, burning red. Something gives way.

With another gasp, he bends forward, a dark scarlet aura flickering across his skin like fire. As it moves, his fingers extend into vicious claws, his feet changing shape and pushing free from the fragile sandals they've been left wearing. Worst of all, something in his spine shifts, rolling down his back like a whip crack. The beginning of a tail emerges from beneath his tunic, in the same moment that the stubs of two sets of black horns emerge through his scalp and hair.

NO-

Though he has not fully grasped what's happening to him, all he can do in the moment is inwardly scream for it to stop. He's felt something like this before, something that overwhelmed him completely, and the idea that it might be happening again feels like it's about to send him spiraling.

[aquaveiled]

Himeka, while proud of her abilities, doesn't feel there's much to write home about a simple spell. Usually. Right now? It feels like a boon. The piece of her that has been missing for so long. She smiles at Relena's appraisal, glad that she can finally be of use again.

"Just wait until you can see what else I've got in store."

She would give a wink if, well...

If Estinien hadn't suddenly lurched forward, seemingly in pain. Instinctively she starts to summon up an aether shield, but--

--but those horns are familiar. The spell dies before she finishes off the summoning, aether still hot on her fingers with no rod or cane to direct it properly. Instead, she summons up a large bubble to encompass the area, offering a diminutive but persistent soothing affect to all who dwell with in it--if that can help at all with the pain he's experiencing.

That alone is exhausting enough. What mana she's restored is spell and she'll have to wait again before she can summon up more.

What she fears is that this will be less man than dragon ere it completes. Why this is happening is completely beyond her, but she doesn't usually ask the whys until later. What she remembers vividly is a great wyrm taking over Estinien's form at Falcon's Nest and she sincerely hopes this isn't a repeat performance.

"Estinien!"

[sanc]

"I look forward to seeing it, Himeka... thank you. I think the pain's subsided now. I was feeling pretty sore."

Things feel better, though her concern for Estinien mounts as he curls forward, seemingly in great pain, she's shaken for a moment. Without context of what was going on, she only has the last clear event in the well room in her mind. She keeps her hand against him and looks around like a startled rabbit, trying to find a potential source for a spellcaster. It's only when Himeka casts the bubble over then that Relena looks back at her, gaze heavy with concern.

"Himeka, what's wrong with him? Do you know?"

[coerthantorment]

The why of it is fully a mystery to him, too - ever since Nidhogg passed, his magic has never caused him to transform like this. It's like he's partaken of dragon's blood, the way it alters his body, and it's nowhere near as effortless or natural as it was in the Horizon. Has the strain of all this awakened something in him?

Is it possible to go back?

Heretics would sometimes return to their human forms after a transformation, but not always. What effect would having the aether of a great wyrm have? For all that he's come to accept dragons, even come to love them... the instinctive fear of this is woven deep into his senses. To become monstrous, to lose control, to be a prisoner in his own body.

He's shuddering, but not with pain. His fear is obvious, more than anything else - but as he manages to open his eyes, to focus on Himeka and Relena, he begins to push back. Seemingly by sheer force of will the transformation slows. While similar features are present as they were in the Horizon, the horns are smaller, the patches of scales less encompassing. Wings have yet to appear, though for a moment he could feel the strain on them trying to between his shoulder blades.

He pants with effort as he wrenches back control of himself, even as Oliver's magic seizes the prison around them. A portal opens to sunlight in the hall ahead.

"Nidhogg's power... it threatens to overwhelm me," he breathes. Himeka, at least, will know what that means. But he's fighting back, and trying to show that it hasn't won yet.

[aquaveiled]

"He's--..."

Well, she could explain what she thinks is happening--that something has called to the remnants of the great wyrm that Estinien has incidentally bonded with not long after its demise and has, apparently, retained more of it than she had thought possible. But possibilities are endless here and to say she understands the implications of succumbing so wholly to an ancient dragons power would be a lie.

If it comes to it, she will knock him down. She knows this--he knows this, even if she would prefer not to. But he would hate himself more if anything happened to Relena or herself when he loses control.

She places a hand on Relena's shoulder, prepared to direct her back out of the cell--facing the guards would not be fun, but in turn the guards would meet quite a surprise to find a dragon in prison.

Yet the look in his eyes is not one of the unencumbered rage that it once had back at Falcon's Nest. It's clear that he's fighting. She drops her hand and steps forward, hands turning into fists in earnest.

"And it won't if you don't let it! Not when we're so close to freedom! You only have two eyes left for me to remove, you know!"

That is until she notices the shifting light and looks over her shoulder towards the hall.

"What is that?"

[sanc]

Relena is trapped in confusion here, watching Estinien struggle in place. She can tell that this isn't something either of them can explain quickly or easily in this moment that's falling further and further into chaos. She will just have to endure her lack of understanding for now.

She looks up at Himeka when the hand touches her shoulder. A buzz of concern runs through her as she watches her face, waiting for some kind of prompting before that hand falls away. She can only listen to them both for now as she looks through the portal, chest tight. Oliver had reassured her they would not catch her if they moved quickly and quietly. She has yet to see why that is. She can only hope there's time for them to move through from here.