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Post by Shehrazad on Nov 26, 2008 20:47:26 GMT 1
Max could only just make out what Adiyah had seen, a partial flicker of something red, like a small flame. Their walk along the edge was nowhere near as eventful as their climb down the cliff or their underwater swim. They walked slowly and carefully, avoiding tripping or slipping, as that would throw them right into the arms of the sleeping bear. Once in a while, they dislodged a few stones, but they were too small to matter to the gargantuan hibernating creature.
As they moved on, the fire became more noticeable. It seemed to grow as they approached, as if fed by an invisible source of fuel. By the time the edge widened from an edge and became a proper den in the rock, it was a roaring bonfire. Once they had gotten as close enough to feel the heat of the fire singe their eyebrows, they saw a large red and yellow bird perched in the fire. The flames didn't appear to hurt it. They moved around the bird, as if it was part of them, and they were part of it. It silently watched the three Garou as they approached it.
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Yvonne
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Elpis' Ardour
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Post by Yvonne on Nov 26, 2008 22:18:12 GMT 1
Yvonne freezes at the sight of the pheonix and looks across at the other two. Then she looks back at the pheonix and smiles... in lieu of having interesting to say. Then she looks back at the other two, again. "What was it owl said, again?"
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Max Heller
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Post by Max Heller on Nov 28, 2008 15:35:00 GMT 1
Max let go of Adiyah's hand once they were out of danger, and stared at the Phoenix. "No one ever told me they were real," he said quietly. "But it's fitting, isn't it? From the ashes a new bird is reborn. Just like this Sept, just like this city..."
He answered Yvonne's question while still staring at the firebird. "When time is still, and the end is the beginning," he whispered. "Or something along those lines."
He didn't quite know what to say to the bird, or even what language to say it in. Thanks to the spirits he knew the language of all birds, but no one ever told him how to address a phoenix. So he settled for the human tongue. "Hello," he said. "We... we're sorry to intrude."
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Adiyah
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Eyes-of-Light
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Post by Adiyah on Nov 29, 2008 18:56:52 GMT 1
Adiyah recognized the bird in the fire at once, after all only a phoenix could survive a fire. She'd been staring in amazement and awe as Yvonne asked her question, then she blinked a momnt, remembering. "Wise Owl said, When darkness surrounds you, and breath has failed you, when time stands still and the beginning is the end, you will know you have found it."
Her eyes widened a bit, could it be, phoenix could be just the symbol of hope the caern needed. As Max addressed the creature, Adiyah glanced between him and the fire, waiting.
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Post by Shehrazad on Dec 2, 2008 9:02:26 GMT 1
"Speak up, The Unmentionable's Children," said the bird. Its voice was deep and rich, and yet somehow didn't sound male. It didn't sound like anything actually. It looked them over, and then seemed to realise the cause of their hesitance. "He will not wake," it said. "It is not yet Time." They could just tell that last word was capitalised. The warmth of this part of the cave was starting to dry them. They were no longer shivering from their swim in the pool. Adiyah's orb still hung there, but its light was dwarfed by the brightness of the fire.
"I know what you are here for," the bird said.
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Yvonne
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Post by Yvonne on Dec 4, 2008 0:00:40 GMT 1
Overcoming her trepidation, since the spirit seemed friendly and they could communicate, Yvonne ventures forward a step. She returns to her natural form, tossing her hair to loosen it up again as it dries out. Rightly or not, she's demonstrating that she doesn't feel a need for any raw physical power and is willing to extend trust to the unknown spirit. "You do? Are you able to help us find our missing Elder? We would be very thankful for anything you would do, magnificent pheonix." The compliment comes easily, to Yvonne's naivete of spirits it doesn't take much to be exotic and impressive.
Of course, whether that's what the pheonix meant could yet not be the case.
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Max Heller
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Post by Max Heller on Dec 4, 2008 9:27:48 GMT 1
Max momentarily forgot about the immediate matter at hand while the Phoenix spoke. Now his curiosity was piqued. He returned to his breed form and stopped staring at the gargantuan bear.
"Who is he?" he asked the Phoenix. "And why do you call us The Unmentionable's Children?"
Now that they were out of any immediate danger, it seemed ok to allow himself to be sidetracked. It wasn't as if they were in a hurry to brave the murderous pool again.
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Adiyah
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Post by Adiyah on Dec 5, 2008 5:53:40 GMT 1
Adiyah looked back to the crevasse where the sleeping bear was as the phoenix spoke. She shifted down to homid as well now that her shivering had finally stopped. Adiyah turned back to the flickering flames and spirit. "Greetings, phoenix, we are honored that you know of us."
Since the others had handled the most of the questions, the thuerge decided to handle the one that hadn't. "Time? When is that Time, great phoenix?"
That definently made her curious, almost more than the spirit knowing of them. In a way, phoenix not knowing they were coming would have surprised her more.
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Post by Shehrazad on Dec 5, 2008 11:58:27 GMT 1
"He is Grandfather Time," said the Phoenix. "He will wake at the end of all things. At the lifting of the veil."
The Phoenix then turned its eyes specifically to Adiyah. "I know you, Eyes-of-Light, more than you know yourself," it said, and then turned to Yvonne. "I have what you came here for," it said. "I have watched you, Elpis' Ardour. I know what you seek, and I know what you bring. It will be your last weapon when night falls."
The fire flickered and grew. Max, Adiyah, and Yvonne had to take a few steps backwards to avoid the heat. "You are this city's children," it said. "Children of neither night nor day. The city's The Unmentionable approaches its end. From its ashes, a new dawn will rise. You will bear witness, The Unmentionable's Children. When others fall, you will rise. You will rebuild."
It paused, and silence hung over the cave for a short while. "I have answered your questions," it broke the silence. "Now you will answer mine, and show me your wisdom in the lore of the spirits. Show wisdom, and you will receive what you have quested here for. Show ignorance, and the fires will consume you. Show me that you are indeed The Unmentionable's Children. Are you ready?"
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Yvonne
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Post by Yvonne on Dec 5, 2008 17:29:53 GMT 1
Yvonne does her very best not to look petrified at the challenge, since what little she knows that could be considered lore of anything has still only be learnt recently. Though she'd certainly like a few years to learn more about spirits before being sprung with any pop quizzes... at at this very moment, she's as ready as she could be. Doing her best not to let her imagination run too wild about what 'fires will consume you' means, she answers. "I am." Then she look to the sides at the other two.
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Max Heller
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Post by Max Heller on Dec 6, 2008 10:19:39 GMT 1
Max was wondering who the others were who would fall, if it was the Spirals or their allies. He was also wondering when this "lifting of the veil" would come around, and if it would be in their time.
However, the Phoenix decided that the time for their questions had passed. Max nodded slowly, and tried to appear reassuring when Yvonne looked his way. He was well aware that he spent too much time learning to fight instead of learning about the spirits, but then he was no Theurge.
"So, no pressure, huh?" he said quietly. He looked at Adiyah. This was her element, not his. "I think we are," he said.
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Adiyah
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Post by Adiyah on Dec 9, 2008 19:53:50 GMT 1
Eyes of Light?
She blinked at the unfamiliar name Phoenix called her, nodding after a moment. "I suppose you do indeed." She remarked quietly, trying to resist the urge to step back under the power of Phoenix.
She noted the spirit also adressed Yvonne with another title, one she she wasn't entirely sure of. But there really wasn't time or reason to question the burning spirit, since what he asked was far more important. She glanced at her friends, thinking also of her family back at home and the caern. What would happen if they did not return? They were needed afterall with the growing but still small group of defenders the caern was still in a delicate place.
Best not to screw this up, Gaia guide us.
She nodded firmly, ending with her head bowed to the bonfire. "Of course Phoenix, we came here for just this reason, and we are ready. Please ask us what you will."
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Post by Shehrazad on Dec 9, 2008 20:18:02 GMT 1
"You are as ready as you will ever be," said the Phoenix. Their uncertainty wasn't lost on the burning bird. "This is an ancient question, as old as time itself. Deep within you lies the answer. Seek your ancestors and tell me, what is older than I. Was it the fire that birthed the Phoenix, or the Phoenix that built the flame? "
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Yvonne
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Post by Yvonne on Dec 10, 2008 15:42:57 GMT 1
Yvonne does a very good job of not freaking out and crying because she doesn't know the answer. She'd never been very good at pop quizzes and wasn't much of an aficionado of mythology either. Forced to rely on her wits, Yvonne looks back at the other two. "Uhm?" She favours looking to Adiyah more than Max in her clueless desperation, hoping the resident Theurge would know best.
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Adiyah
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Post by Adiyah on Dec 16, 2008 19:00:16 GMT 1
Adiyah held her breath while the question was asked, unsure of what to expect from the spirit. For a long moment after, the Thuerge was quiet, frowning over the answer to such a tricky question. She opened her mouth once or twice to give what she thought was the right answer, but closed it, second guessing.
Finally, she looked up at the spirit, and the flames of which the spirit spoke of. She didn't smile, afraid she might be wrong, but to her this answer felt right. She cleared her throat, wondering if those ancestors were guiding her.
"Phoenix, is it right to ask upon us a question with no exact answer? A fire doesn't exist without someone to start it, truly, so one might say Phoenix was first. However, then the phoenix needs to have come into being from the fire, so the flames would be first. It is either, both, and it is none."
She swallowed hard, not looking at either of the others at the moment. She was afraid to, if they were about to die, she didn't want to have her last sight be of her friends in pain. But she had looked into her heart, and she knew it had to be right, or else she wasn't worth a lick as a thuerge.
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