The ice may be a slick surface for a human to walk on, but for the creature climbing almost reverently up the stairs, it was no harder than walking on rock. Its large talons gripped the smooth ice easily, allowing easy access to the oaken doors that signaled the entrance to Basantha Shrine. Pausing momentarily, the beast bowed its head, let out a soft exhalation - and entered. Heads turned and whispers filled the air at the sight of this draconic being in the temple, but it paid them no heed. It made straight for the Halls of Amnesty and Remembrance, only stopping fully when it reached its destination.
This one... is being returned.
A small frown of worry crossed the serpentine face of the Hollowheart: he had been here before, and a great tragedy had occured. Would anyone recognize him? Would they try to drive him out before he could accomplish his task? One could only hope...
by Kodai » 09/05/2007 3:03 PM
The biting winds were taking a toll on his wings, and, finally reaching his destination, the great dragon huffed and tucked his frosted wings as close to his stony body as he could. Mechanoir, or 'Mech' as his master addressed him, scanned the frozen stairway and proceeded towards the rather uninviting shrine, a jagged stone lit from within on the face of the Fe'gan Mountains. It had been his home once, centuries ago, back before even his master Asyriel was born, yet he regretted ever having been linked to this unholy place. And yet, he could never bring himself to scorn it aloud...
The temple Hollowheart pushed his way through into the doors of the Shrine, welcoming the wave of fresh heat from within. There were monks here, halted in their sermons and chants as they stared not at himself, but rather at another Hollowheart who seemed to have entered before him. Recognition seemed to shine in their eyes...
The temple Hollowheart pushed his way through into the doors of the Shrine, welcoming the wave of fresh heat from within. There were monks here, halted in their sermons and chants as they stared not at himself, but rather at another Hollowheart who seemed to have entered before him. Recognition seemed to shine in their eyes...
by Kodai » 09/05/2007 3:03 PM
Glancing down at the humans surrounding him, the first Hollowheart immediately noticed that the monks indeed recognized him from his previous enterprise. Taking a tentative half step back, he lowered his head respectfully and spoke mentally to them. Please... this one is meaning no harm... Is begging you letting this one pass... He remained bowed, desperately trying to show the monks that, indeed, he did not desire to cause further injury to them or to their shrine. The draconic creature stood, waiting, still as marble except for his slowly contorting tail. It seemed to be a nervous habit of his; his tail constantly sought a comforting item to wrap around. At this moment, it found one of the stony ankles of the second Hollowheart and unconciously wrapped itself around it. Noticing this, the former curled his head under one of his wings and saw exactly what had happened. Oh! This one is being repentant! Please you is excusing this one... he apologized, immediately releasing his tail from its loose grip on the other's ankle.
by Kodai » 09/05/2007 3:04 PM
The Temple Hollowheart immediately felt this as well and saw the other withdraw quickly, looking as if shying away from an expected blow. The dragon gave a small chuckle and mentally said, "It's quite alright there. I knew a someone who had that same habit as a fledgling, he tried to smile with his frozen, stony jaws. "My, you're a jumpy one."
Mechanoir shifted closer alongside the other one of his kind, more for comforting than anything. "So what be your business here, eh?"
Meanwhile, though the monks said nothing and did nothing more than blink, they then turned and resumed their activities, presumably thinking it safe once more. It didn't look as if that dragon wanted to do anything more harmful... One particular monk separated himself from the rest, an aged, balding man of humble stature, who sidled up to the two towering figures.
"You are the one who opened the room, yes?" he blinked expectedly at the great serpentine figure, hands folded within his robe's sleeves...
Mechanoir shifted closer alongside the other one of his kind, more for comforting than anything. "So what be your business here, eh?"
Meanwhile, though the monks said nothing and did nothing more than blink, they then turned and resumed their activities, presumably thinking it safe once more. It didn't look as if that dragon wanted to do anything more harmful... One particular monk separated himself from the rest, an aged, balding man of humble stature, who sidled up to the two towering figures.
"You are the one who opened the room, yes?" he blinked expectedly at the great serpentine figure, hands folded within his robe's sleeves...
by Kodai » 09/05/2007 3:05 PM
Relaxing slightly in the presence of this rather amiable statuesque Hollowheart, the former turned and was about to reply when the monk stated his question - a question that instantly made him revert back to his cowed, subserviant state. Again, he bowed his head. Yes... this one is he... the creature answered, a mournful tone in his voice. This one... this one is not wishing those goings-on to be happened... This one is wanting to repent, to be making amends... to those he is having wronged. He lowered his entire body even further, nearly lying on the floor before the monk, and lowered his mental voice to just above a whisper. This one is wanting to travel... to travel there again. Just wanting to being there for a short time, to repent to the Fallen... Is why this one is being returned. His speech done, the dragon waited patiently, fearfully, for the monk to respond. Surely he would be refused entry, he thought, but he needed to try, to do this thing before his conscience destroyed him utterly.
by Kodai » 09/05/2007 3:06 PM
The monk nodded and seemed to contemplate silently for a moment before stirring again. "Ah, I see. Well, it may not seem so, but we are actually grateful that you've done what you did, of course, this act was not shared only by you. I would gladly show you the way. From what I heard, Derrasim, the monk who went along with you, performed a powerful and unholy spell to open the gate. For us to enter back again, we need only travel down the tunnel some of our members are digging in the er, quarantined zone..." He nodded sagely and turned away, not waiting for a reply or answer. The rest of the congregation in the room parted way for them...
"Repent, eh? It seems I've caught up myself in something quite interesting indeed," Mechanoir commented, not having heard too many details of the past struggle here from Lord Asyriel...
"Repent, eh? It seems I've caught up myself in something quite interesting indeed," Mechanoir commented, not having heard too many details of the past struggle here from Lord Asyriel...
by Kodai » 09/05/2007 3:07 PM
Cold. Freezing cold. It seemed that as Wash climbed the steps to the now-famous shrine, it got colder with every step. Finally, having had enough with this cold, he spread his larger-and-more-muscular-than-normal wings and took flight, landing himself at the entrance to the Halls of Amnesty and Remembrance. Oh, how he wished he had not left the Shrine when he had! But it seemed as though this first Hollowheart was there and had seen the goings-on... Would he speak of the tragedy? Only one way to find out.
"Er... Excuse me?" He asked tentatively, trying his hardest to remember the human tongue from what Peppermint had taught him. "What... Happened here? Since I was last here?" He clarified, more to himself than the Hollowhearts... But it would help them to answer his question.
"Do the Halls of Purity still vibrate as with a heartbeat?" He asked, working on his steady speech and vocabulary.
"Er... Excuse me?" He asked tentatively, trying his hardest to remember the human tongue from what Peppermint had taught him. "What... Happened here? Since I was last here?" He clarified, more to himself than the Hollowhearts... But it would help them to answer his question.
"Do the Halls of Purity still vibrate as with a heartbeat?" He asked, working on his steady speech and vocabulary.
by Kodai » 09/05/2007 3:09 PM
They were... grateful? Not expecting such a reply, the drake straightned up and stared dumbly after the retreating figure of the monk. Grateful for what had happened? Granted, the proceedings of that day had uncovered a traitor among their order, but... A small feline voice returned him to his present surroundings. With a slight shake of his head, the Hollowheart looked down at the newcomer. Hm? Ah... Halls of Purity? This one is not been there, so this one is not knowing. Isn't thinking it, though - everywhere is being affected if that is happening, yes? He bent his neck down further as if to whisper to the Kuhna. You is wanting to be knowing about that day... You may be learning soon. With that, the creature stood fully and started down the hall after the monk, giving a backward glance to the Kuhna and the other Hollowheart as if to invite them to follow.
by Kodai » 09/05/2007 3:09 PM
Chuckling to himself a bit, the large stone dragon replied to the Kuhna as well, "I'm with you. I've only the faintest idea of what went on here, but we may as well find out together, eh?" Once again, he tried to exercise his ability to smile to no avail. Turning, he folded his expansive wings as close as he could to his body, in order to avoid knocking any hapless monks or trainers to the ground.
The monk proceeded to walk casually over and down through the Halls of Amnesty, nodding every now and then to passerby monks to assure them that the two monstrous forms strolling along behind him were kept in check. He passed under the formidable statue, down the hall, and entered into the room, all of the candles here now unlit, the space empty of people. The symbol against the farthest wall had a rather dead look to it, only faintly glowing as if in the last throes of life. A large hole in the same wall indicated that there had been some serious construction work going on just previously. The robed man unfolded his hands and pointed towards the hole, adressing the first Hollowheart mostly.
"We dug into the wall and found a series of buried stairwells leading down for miles into the room that you and the others most likely ended up in. Shall we?"
The monk proceeded to walk casually over and down through the Halls of Amnesty, nodding every now and then to passerby monks to assure them that the two monstrous forms strolling along behind him were kept in check. He passed under the formidable statue, down the hall, and entered into the room, all of the candles here now unlit, the space empty of people. The symbol against the farthest wall had a rather dead look to it, only faintly glowing as if in the last throes of life. A large hole in the same wall indicated that there had been some serious construction work going on just previously. The robed man unfolded his hands and pointed towards the hole, adressing the first Hollowheart mostly.
"We dug into the wall and found a series of buried stairwells leading down for miles into the room that you and the others most likely ended up in. Shall we?"
by Kodai » 09/05/2007 3:10 PM
Yes... replied the first Hollowheart slowly, his gaze wandering over to the feebly flickering symbol etched into the wall. The Symbol... is dying... he remarked, his mental voice choking a little on the last word. Is being so... fading... Us is going now, he announced suddenly, striding forward and entering the gaping hole in the wall. His ever-moving tail slowly disappeared into the darkness, almost as if it were waving a last goodbye to the surface world and its inhabitants. A rather somber and determined mood had settled over the dragon as he had stood in that room... Obviously he had come here for a purpose, but... what was that purpose? The others were free to follow him into the depths of the Shrine, but what would await them there?
by Kodai » 09/05/2007 3:10 PM
Mechanoir shrugged and proceeded to follow the rest into the dank depths beneath the accursed Shrine. The tunnel on the way down was thick with darkness and age, the only light provided by the thumping of the first Hollowheart's chest symbol and by the glowing azure symbols of the Temple one. The walls were haplessly crafted of nothing but dirt and... bones? Small fragments of white jutted here and there from the black earth, forever frozen in time...
When the room presented itself after what seemed an hour of traversing through the unknown blackness, it was still in the same decrepit state that they'd left it. All of the beautiful alabaster pillars lay in dead heaps of chalkdust, like a collection of broken rib bones, the spacious tiled floors now jagged and pocked here and there with fallen boulders and debris. Then, there was where the two corpses of the Angels' lay, or what remained of them... In Nyssldriel's spot, only an enormous heap of marble dust marked that something had been here before, and in Iiylumiel's spot, only the great stony armor remained, a hollow version of the great creature...
The Temple Hollowheart surveyed the area with his two glowing orbs of eyes and remained silent now... Clearly something of great importance and impact had transpired here... This sacred ground required an amount of respect that the dragon surprisingly found deep within himself; after all, this Shrine had been his home once...
When the room presented itself after what seemed an hour of traversing through the unknown blackness, it was still in the same decrepit state that they'd left it. All of the beautiful alabaster pillars lay in dead heaps of chalkdust, like a collection of broken rib bones, the spacious tiled floors now jagged and pocked here and there with fallen boulders and debris. Then, there was where the two corpses of the Angels' lay, or what remained of them... In Nyssldriel's spot, only an enormous heap of marble dust marked that something had been here before, and in Iiylumiel's spot, only the great stony armor remained, a hollow version of the great creature...
The Temple Hollowheart surveyed the area with his two glowing orbs of eyes and remained silent now... Clearly something of great importance and impact had transpired here... This sacred ground required an amount of respect that the dragon surprisingly found deep within himself; after all, this Shrine had been his home once...
by Kodai » 09/05/2007 3:11 PM
Unperturbed by the fragments of white that poked out from the crumbling walls like groping hands, the common-colored Hollowheart simply strode forward through the blackness, almost as if he were being guided (and not by the monk). Only when he reached the border between the enclosed dark of the stairway and the feeble light of the room did he pause. This one... K-Kaibutsu... is being returned at last... he whispered, using the name his human companion had given him for the second time in his life. After sweeping his vision across the entire room and letting the condition of his surroundings soak into his mind, the dragon stepped onto the dust-covered tile, sending up a small cloud of minute marble particles. Disregarding all but the largest pieces of rubble, the Hollowheart identified as Kaibutsu made a straight bee-line for the massive body-shell of the Fallen Angel Iiylumiel. Iiylumiel Fallen... you is hearing this one? This one is returned... This one is to putting your body to peace... And so Kaibutsu began with the self-appointed task of laying Iiylumiel's body to rest, carefully tugging at the stone-hard corpse in order to remove it from the debris that covered it.
by Kodai » 09/05/2007 3:11 PM
Mechanoir watched silently, amused. The thought of disturbing the resting place of what seemed to be something quite powerful and ancient, perturbed him a bit, but he did nothing to act upon it. This younger Hollowheart seemed to know what he was doing, and seemed to have a great burden upon himself.
"What... What are you doing?" the monk asked, looking quite disturbed as well. "The bodies of the Fallen are not to be honored, you understand, don't you? These are unholy things... they were meant to lay as they are, in eternal slumber beneath the stone..."
From the remains, seemingly under the huge pieces of stone armor from Iiylumiel's corpse, there came a small shuffling...
"What... What are you doing?" the monk asked, looking quite disturbed as well. "The bodies of the Fallen are not to be honored, you understand, don't you? These are unholy things... they were meant to lay as they are, in eternal slumber beneath the stone..."
From the remains, seemingly under the huge pieces of stone armor from Iiylumiel's corpse, there came a small shuffling...
by Kodai » 09/05/2007 3:11 PM
(Sorry I was kind of dead for a while on this thread... Wanted to make sure I had five in Nabias... Senay kindly informed me that I had forgotten to make that marker before joining here. But I'm back! 8D Wash was just... silently tagging along.)
Wash nearly retched. Something was living under there? He immediately bounded forwards to free it of its 'prison,' but caught himself. The Hollowheart that had been shifting the fallen armor of Iiylumiel seemed to know what he was doing and not wish for any help.
"I... I still do not understand. They look to have fought each other. If one was bad, surely the other was good? How can both be Fallen?" He queried brokenly, heart yearning to see what kind of wretched being had been trapped all along under the armor.
(Sorry it wasn't that good. Bedtime.)
Wash nearly retched. Something was living under there? He immediately bounded forwards to free it of its 'prison,' but caught himself. The Hollowheart that had been shifting the fallen armor of Iiylumiel seemed to know what he was doing and not wish for any help.
"I... I still do not understand. They look to have fought each other. If one was bad, surely the other was good? How can both be Fallen?" He queried brokenly, heart yearning to see what kind of wretched being had been trapped all along under the armor.
(Sorry it wasn't that good. Bedtime.)
by Kodai » 09/05/2007 3:12 PM
Blinking, Kai paused momentarily in his efforts to give the monk a questioning look, as if not fully comprehending his words. All is to being honored in death, being Fallen or no... They is suffered enough in life; they is needing no torment in death. And... they is Fallen... meaning they is becoming tainted once. Why is this being so? Is you knowing of their lives? His speech was interrupted by a small scuffling sound, apparently coming from underneath the heavy body of Iiylumiel. Oh? This is being? wondered Kai, tilting his head and trying get a view of what was creating the noise. Of course, the marble dust and the size of Iiylumiel's corpse made it nearly impossible to do so, so he went back to tugging at the body with the new purpose of uncovering the mystery of the sound. It almost sounded like someone was trapped under there...
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