[attr=class,punkisaintstop] it is I who bring hell and heaven to you
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your loyalty for your salvation and nothing else
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SHE IS THE POPE
[attr=class,punkisaintscontent] A pair of elves stepped out from the darkness before the clinic, walking towards the strangely empty entrance. On their pale-white coat, a symbol of an upside-down tree was engraved on it, golden in colour and majestic in presence. They were the people of the Church, the Envoys of the Vatican.[break][break]
Those who saw them stopped in their track and returned to where they come from; in mere moment, the street surrounding the Clinic became a haunted street. It was when the two Envoys reached the the entrance of the Clinic did a figure of an elf walked out; Nagiko was about to leave the Clinic for a walk.[break][break]
"Miss Nagiko, the Vatican wishs to have a few words with you." The Envoys smiled as they blocked her way and produced a piece of candy in his hand— it was almost identical to the one Nagiko often sold. Then, the Envoys crushed the candy into powder and let the dust drifted into the air, despersing into a thin layer of mist.[break][break]
"You might not recognize me; but I know you, my dear Nagiko." Inside the pale mist, a black silhouette emerged; the illusionary figure turned into reality as she stepped out from the fog and into the real world. Her arrival was followed by the kneeling of the two Envoys, facing their face down.[break][break]
"It seems that you've forgot a few things of significance; but I don't blame you. The world at large is guilty of forgetfulness. If the Goddesses stopped moving, then they'll also be forgotten, too." The face of the Pope was concealed beneath her black veil, but with her occasional smoking, the appearance of the legendary figure was revealed through the cloud of pale, gentle mist.[break][break]
"Now, my dear, have you ever heard of the fairy tale?"
Nagiko endured a tightening in her chest as she folded up the shopping list to glance at the figures ahead of her. More than just seeing elves who were still 'on the inside', as she called them, Vatican Envoys evoked a special nervousness from her. She eked out a greeting of "Oh, h- hey."
Nagiko waited, resting her hands on her hips and watching, silent, as the Envoys displayed a familiar-looking treat. Almost her handiwork? She couldn't be certain.
When the mist appeared, Nagiko's heart began to race. For as long as she could remember, which seemed to be less long by the day, Nagiko never failed to become excitable in the presence of others' illusory magicks. Her reaction only grew when faced with increasingly adept magick. This paired with the tightness in her chest helped to foment Nagiko's present facial expression, an expression Klavdiya would politely suggest replacing with a more standard one. Strained, a light smile held on Nagiko's face. Subconsciously driven, the superficial wounds on her face, such as small cuts from sleeping on cobblestone or falling in brambles, began to close beneath the gauze dressings that decorated her face. Then the silhouette appeared. "You lot brought a, um, a friend. Cool." The elf lightly tugged at her jacket's collar.
And then the silhouette spoke. Nagiko's pupils dilated and she managed a small gasp for air. The atmosphere immediately, beginning with just their mentioning of her name, bore down on the elf. She wondered if her sister had something to do with this. Nagiko, deciding to not concern herself with familial strife right now, attempted to manage a reply.
"I think they say that forgetfulness is a form of freedom, yeah." she slurred, between buffered coughs. Her eyes avoided peering at the black veil and were rewarded with beads of sweat forming on her brow.
Nagiko brushed hair out of her eyes before planting her hands back in her jacket pockets. She centered herself, taking a deep breath in the process. "I don't know any fairy tales. N- Never did the assigned readings, either." said Nagiko, examining the street's pave stones and wiping her nose.
[attr=class,punkisaintstop] it is I who bring hell and heaven to you
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your loyalty for your salvation and nothing else
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SHE IS THE POPE
[attr=class,punkisaintscontent] "My dear, the freedom you spoke of is merely a bigger prison; the cage designed by those at the top of Pavane to keep their rotten legacy going." The Pope stepped forth, and her illusionary body disintregated. The mist filled the air once again, and when everything subsided, the Envoys disappeared, and the Pope was there, standing just a breathing distance away from Nagiko.[break][break]
"Your face is very beautiful, my dear. You should treasure your gifts and waste not their potential." The Pope extended her hand towards the face of Nagiko and gently wiped her brow with her black glove. She then caressed the cheek of the elf with fondness before slowly smiled. It was unsure if the Pope used some kinds of illusionary magic, or if she was really there, as the sensation was too real, including the warmth the two exchanged.[break][break]
"Then you'll have to listen really carefully about what I'm telling you; it might help you make your decision in the future." The Pope blew out a pale mist from her cigarrete, letting its fragrance spread into the air. Her eyes, beneath the black veil, glowed in faint golden light as she slowly narrated a story.[break][break]
"Once upon the time, there is a ghoul who was not content with the discrimination his race received. So, he met with a group of like-minded people and started a little movement. Unfortunately, he got a little bit too confident and caught the attention of the big bad. As a result, the man was now on his way to the execution ground." The Pope crushed her cigarette with her fingers, and when she reopened them, the cigarette became an exquisite cross— a necklace.[break][break]
"Now, he was at his last breath, and his regret— he wished that the revolution should not end. However, as with every fairy tale, the friends he protected never seemed to care enough to stick to their cause." The Pope slowly wore the necklace onto Nagiko. It was strangely suitable to her appearance, even though her way of dressing should not fit in with the cross.[break][break]
"This is the consequence of ignorance, my dear. It is a very deadly poison that should be incurable. However, with my prayer, I can help." The Pope extended her hand to Nagiko, waiting for her to take up the offer.[break]
"Oh, they've up and gone." Nagiko scratched her head at the vanished Envoys. The sweet air captured her attention as she let the Pope touch her face. Despite her attempts not to, Nagiko found herself peering at the pair of sharp luminescent eyes barely hidden behind the veil.
Nagiko's weary smile left her, turning instead into a standard frown. The hurried pounding of her heart made focusing on the Pope's words difficult but a temporary and subconscious-induced bradycardia put a stop to the distraction. It also sapped at her breath but so as not to display this, a quick rush of illusory air in the lungs gave her time to listen unimpeded.
No one told Nagiko fairy tales. Certainly not ones with Ghouls featuring in them. The last time she'd even heard Ghouls coming up in a discussion must have been... Some time ago?
The dainty chain of the necklace held a cold touch as it kissed her skin. Whether she wanted to or not, the elf found herself hanging onto each word of the Pope's tale. Some primordial quality within herself kept her hooked on the scruples that the Pope so easily brought of her. "W- Wow. I haven't seen a cross necklace, since like school's end. Certainly not worn one since even longer before then. Thanks, I guess." Nagiko's voice rasped and she, unsure why this was, cleared her throat. Her heart rate returned to its trembling high and real air rushed into previously fooled lungs. "Ack! Sorry," she gagged for a second, "Not sure what happened there... Right, you were, um, saying about something being a cure for ignorance, I think."
Nagiko's trembling hand grazed the Pope's fingertips and she tilted her head, saying, "I, um, must attend to going and getting groceries eventually but I guess, like, not right now is okay. But I do have to do that, soon."
[attr=class,punkisaintstop] it is I who bring hell and heaven to you
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your loyalty for your salvation and nothing else
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SHE IS THE POPE
[attr=class,punkisaintscontent] "My dear, the Council's eyes remain ever-watching, but with my billiance, their gaze will be blinded." Inside the pale mist, countless eyes emerged from the emptiness and locked into Nagiko; their intense stares were disgusting and oppressive, but the Pope remained carefree as if they could not see her.[break][break]
"If you ever decide to join me in a tea party, then pray with that cross; I'll be watching, and I'll be praying, for you, as well as the entirely of Pavane." The Pope flicked her finger, and the eyes exploded into a firework of petals. The pale mist suddenly became filled with various colours and fragrance— truly a visual to behold.[break][break]
"When the time comes, I'll let you choose; however, I advise you to be quick. The clock is ticking." The Pope once again tapped her finger at Nagiko's nose. With her motion, a faint, muffled ticking noises resounded periodically. The sound of a clock ticking echoed not from the outside, but from the inside.[break][break]
"Now, my dear Nagiko, I'm afraid I've taken too much of your time. Last thing— your candy is a little too flavourful for me." The Pope clapped her hands together, and with her gesture, her body slowly turned transparent, and with it, the ticking noise of a clock.
A familiar song sounded through Nagiko's mind. Scorpions and jackals pranced in her imagination, distracting her slightly from the eyeful of artful ambiance surrounding the two of them. Her heart raced yet, in awe of the vast magick shown off to her, but her mind and soul were clear, clear for the first time in a notable while. Whether it had been the doctor's efforts, seeing Klavdiya safe and sound, or the sheer gravity exerted by the Pope, something had clicked for the erratic wisp of an elf to process her situation so rapidly.
As if Nagiko's subconscious was worried that she had lost herself, she interrupted her own cooled-off demeanour with a sneeze. "Ah, goodness me, sorry. Um, I'll keep that, and you, I guess, in mind." she said, nodding and looking at the cross necklace. Then the Pope tapped her on the nose. Nagiko's eyes glanced around for the source of the ticking noise that had arisen following the Pope's action.
"O- Oh, I see." she murmured after the Pope had commented on her candy's flavour. Nagiko looked at her own shadow in the street, watching as the Pope's disappeared. Their two shadows, despite how close the Pope had physically gotten to Nagiko, had not seemed to intersect once during the whole exchange. She promptly placed the necklace underneath her shirt so as not to leave such a gift exposed and open.
The outsider thought to herself, aside from wondering how she'd been found, why she had been approached as opposed to any of the elves willingly placed at the Church's disposal, which was effectively any elf still 'on the inside'. No matter how hard Nagiko tried, no hints or connections to any Church effort or event sprang to memory.
Unfolding the grocery list one more time, Nagiko added 'real candy' to the bottom of the list with a quick magick scribble before making her way towards the slums.
Living in a dystopian society, seven mystic races are trapped due to their own selfishness. Tensions rise between the races and the different social classes, leading up to the constant struggle for power, with no end in sight.
News
4/11 - With the Ghoul Purge complete, Pavane's fear shifts from the goddesses towards the Council. Check out the aftermath here to get an understanding of the current situation in the plot.
MYSTICAL SOULS belongs to YUMEKUI, DYLZOE AND LUNARIS. This is an original plot created by staff members.. The skin "Midnight Madness" was created by Dorothia. This includes Board Mod, Mini-Profile Mod and such. Thread list was made by Kagney. User Profile mod was made by Pharaoh Leap. Graphics belong to their rightful owner. Plagiarism is not appreciated and will not be tolerated.
