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Post by Ashe on Sept 13, 2019 20:02:12 GMT -6
How does one deal with a dead Pliathor? This was the question weighing on Ashe when he found Cezar floating. It must have been recent, he wasn't bloated yet, though he had deep gouges in place that left little to the imagination as to what had happened here. Ashe was the proud owner of three two-headed Pliathor -Charlie, Zane, and Cezar - but that meant more heads to fight each other. He tried keeping them separated, even more difficult to do on top of the difficulty of housing even one Pliathor, but the brothers had seemed to get along well. Zane wasn't the most aggressive, and Cezar kept to himself. But today there had been a fight, and one of the siblings (brothers from different mothers, that is) had had enough. Zane had won; Ashe had treated the wounds himself, first of all. Second, he thought this question. And came up with an answer. Why not have an undead Pliathor, anyway? It was dead, why not bring it back to life? Instead of ordering creatures from the scientist himself, to appear and act dead, this would be an actual ritual to bring something back into the broken body. But that left the even more difficult question of... How in the hell do you get a dead Pliathor to the temple? The answer had come to Ashe a few hours later. A collar of bonding! He had run out and purchased one, and now he attached it to Cezar. Then he hurried to the temple. ----------- For all of his fascination of death, this was Ashe's first time here. He was greeted by a skeletal Izer, that talked! "Hello Elenore, I'm Ashe," He said, looking up at her. It was dark now; that was how long it had taken him to get things sorted out and get here. He admired her from where he stood, taking in the bones, the complete lack of skin in some places. She was a beauty for sure. But he wasn't here for a beast that flew, but one that swam. Inyala didn't feel his sentiment, and she glared up at the bird. She was uneasy here, sensing the powerful magic involved, her instinct telling her there was just something not right going on here. Bringing the dead back to life? It wasn't natural. And yet, she was more used to it than most; she'd lived for years with Ashe and his eccentric interests. She should be able to handle this... But no sane person should even want to come here! Ashe followed her obediently, past some marble columns, keeping up but just behind. He slowed the deeper they got into the temple, engrossed in the place itself, the feeling of power here, and he ignored Inyala's gentle murmurs of things like 'we should turn around' and 'what are we doing here'. Whatever they did, whatever they had here, spoke to him, making him feel welcome, like he could just stay here and learn the secrets... Wouldn't that be nice? Up ahead, there was a man, and he was speaking. "I have heard of the wonders of this Temple, and come humbly asking if you might be able to do something about... this."Ashe glanced around them and saw there would be enough room - and he spoke the word, the bracelet warming slightly and then; the space was suddenly taken up by a giant sea serpent, body wet but not soaked (Ashe had removed it from the tank, to avoid what bloating he could). Parts were coiled up, parts stretched out. The way he appeared, the two heads with lifeless eyes were facing the man and his Izer, jaws agape, tongues lolling. Fingers crossed it wasn't too big to work magic on!
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Post by NPC on Sept 14, 2019 8:28:37 GMT -6
"Where is the corpse?" He murmured, before the individual had even gotten there. He couldn't feel it. The corpse.
If ever there was anyone more of shadows than Ashe himself, it was perhaps the priest of the Shadow Temple. He stood with his gloved hands extended over the blue flames of the brazier in front of him, he had awaited this individual's arrival, feeling him perhaps as Elenore returned with him. Elenore herself seemed to have taken a bit of a shine to him (or perhaps she had the desire to take a shine from him), judging by the fact that he seemed relatively unmolested by her claws or beak. The man glances over the individual, taking note of his little slave. How strange a thing it was!
"Wonders, yes- many wonders." The man was a flatterer it would seem, or perhaps he did truly enjoy the work done here. The man doesn't have to look further, no, he can tell that both might be true, but certainly at least the latter. Most individuals came here in desperation of some kind, but this one, this man came knowing what he was getting into. He had scarcely got the last word out of his mouth before the corpse appeared, quite suddenly in fact, and it was HUGE. So much flesh, and surprisingly little bloated if at all for being a legless and finned creature. He wasn't surprised. The creature was wholly undignified, it would seem. Two-heads and Tongue Lolling, the man looked into it's blank eyes.
"All of that flesh... Tell me, how long has it been deceased?" He asked, eyes scathing over the horrible marks in the flesh. A fight, perhaps? "Tell me, about him." The priest is just able to reach out and touch some thing of flesh, nearby. Coiled around like a serpent... Two heads. Elenore has lit down on a nearby sconce high on the wall.
"All OF that flesh..." She repeated, eerily lilting. "About him." She looked pleased with herself, staring down into those glassy eyes. She was certainly quite covetous in her gaze, leering at those eyes.
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Post by Ashe on Sept 21, 2019 0:54:31 GMT -6
Ashe felt like he had been expected. The priest was not surprised to see him, and did not seem disturbed to have a visitor. He almost seemed excited, the sort of thrill when something interesting happens at a job that is normally pretty mundane in its day to day. Ashe couldn't imagine this job being boring, though perhaps not many people came through these doors. Ashe definitely didnt know many people who had living corpses as pets.
Inyala kept an eye on Elenore, as she flew ahead and past them and up to the sconce. The imp kept quiet as to why she watched - did she like the size? Or was she slightly unnerved by the exposed ribcage and other such oddities? Surely, after being around Ashe so long, none of this phased her. And being his familiar might make her even enjoy it, as her master did. But she watched on, intent and possi ly curious.
"Well," Ashe said, thinking back to when he found Cezar floating, fresh, blood still running. "Less than a day, more than ten hours. He has been housed with a brother, also two headed, for years without incident. They must have fought overnight, judging by the marks, and I found him shortly after. Figuring out how to get him here was the biggest battle, honestly." Ashe didn't mention how he had always wanted to visit this Temple, always wanted to resurrect one of his pets, and now he was finally able to... It wasn't like he was going to outright kill a pet and bring it here... Though he could... But the pets he could bring himself to do that to, he didn't care about enough to resurrect in the first place.
"There's certainly a lot, uh, to work with here... Isn't there?" He said with a dry chuckle, gesturing to the body.
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Post by NPC on Sept 21, 2019 13:53:37 GMT -6
The individual listened, all the while 'warming' his gloved hands over the blue flames of the brazier. He kept his eyes focused on the man, however, as if wary. Elenore, however, was greedily gazing over all of the meat, and the most at all of those eyes! Her eyes lingered on the pale glittering prizes. After the information was given, he pondered over it. Not the freshest corpse he'd received, but not the most decrepit either. There was indeed more meat than could feasibly be returned to the creature, as it were. It was more than enough meat for the offering.
Finally, the man spoke, moving around and picking up one of the fins of the beast at the same time, finally placing a gloved hand on one of the pliathor's two noses. "This will require... Payment. From you-" He patted the nose beneath his glove. "And the beast. Have you brought what we require?" At this, he looks up again, from where he had been almost lovingly gazing at along the pliathor's sinuous form. "And what will he pay?"
"All that FLESH. Pay? Pay?" Elenore asked, head tilting one way, and then the other. "Eyes? EYES? YES?" She is excited now, peering down into those flashy orbs, the fire reflected in them. She flaps her wings a couple of times, but for now she stays seated upon the sconce. She did, however, seem ready to swoop at any moment.
There had been little information given about the personality of the beast. "We will also need more. Information about him- how will he react to the process, do you think?" He grins, a quick flash that is soon gone. "He has a brother, but what else of him is there?" It was possible the individual didn't have a lot of information on him; but it was abnormal for someone to bring a creature here that wasn't one they absolutely couldn't let go and knew very well about. Had this person possibly come because they were curious, and not because they cared? That was interesting, interesting indeed. He wasn't perplexed. More curious, now.
But it was not his job to pry, now was it? Just enough information for the process.
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Post by Ashe on Sept 22, 2019 15:26:27 GMT -6
Payment - from you. Ashe had come prepared for this. He pulled out the Magical Coin, something he was loathe to part with because of its possibilities, though the task was made easier by the fact that he couldn't actually harness those magical properties himself. It was a coin like any other, as far as his human abilities could access. What will he pay? At this, Ashe gestured toward the corpse. "Pound of flesh, right? I figure he has more to spare, and if you take a little extra, I don't think he'd protest." As he was speaking, Elenore started her squawking, excited over the eyes, just like a vulture. Maybe she had been a Buzzard Izer, before she died? "Er, I suppose he doesn't need all of his eyes... If possible, though, I'd like to leave his sight in tact, by any means possible..." Dealing with a Pliathor was one thing; dealing with a two headed pliathor was another thing; dealing with a blind undead two headed Pliathor would be insanity. Could Ashe manage it? Of course. But he would prefer not to, after everything he went through with Maverick. Yet, Beelzebub could see, so if they worked some kind of magic with Cezar....
Plus, he really didn't want to disappoint the lovely bird, he was growing quite fond of her.
Inyala, admittedly, was a little wary of Elenore's cries. She herself had large eyes and did not want a bird pecking at them! As long as she kept to corpses, there would be peace. Come for her own or Ashe's eyes, and there would be some singed feathers as payment!
Ashe stayed quiet for a moment, collecting his thoughts. This was a Pliathor, not a Vulticus that lived in the house with him and cuddled in bed every night. Pliathor had to be kept in tanks, or in lakes or lochs, and coaxed up from the depths. Most were too big to even hear human voice; normal people couldn't give commands without a Ribbon of Telepathy or a whistle, and extreme training. Alaska, he'd owned since she was a baby, their bond was so great he could write essays about her. He'd had Zane since he was a baby, but he'd inherited Cezar and their shared father, Charlie, much later in life. Should he admit that Cezar was no Alaska? It sounded to Ashe like people came here upset over a favored pet, information freely given in the hopes it would sway the priest into helping. But Ashe?
"He took things in stride, nothing bothered him. He kept to himself, wasn't social, hung out in the murkier depths of the tank rather than the surface. He liked feeding time best, of course, and there was a great deal of posturing between him and his brother. You know, some snaps and hisses, but no real fighting. Plenty of food to go around." He paused again, deciding how much to divulge. "I know that's not much, he wasn't my closest companion. I dunno, I guess I see the...potential in him. I want to give him another chance."
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Post by NPC on Sept 22, 2019 16:10:46 GMT -6
At the sight of that magical black coin, the izer cackled, a horrible noise to any ear undoubtedly. Perhaps the individual with the pliathor had heard a similar noise before, from an altogether different creature. She swooped down with surprising speed for a beast of her rather fleshless sort, her talons glinting momentarily in the light before she descended upon the coin, ripping it out of the hands with the sort of sharp ferocity that a raptor would have, more brutal than any izer perhaps before seen. With another cackle and a lazy loop in the sky, she drops the shimmering thing down into the baleful flames in the brazier. The coin disappears with a pop and horrific sizzle, quite magical in nature (and unmistakably, the black smoke rises afterward, curling, beckoning... darkness recognizes its own).
The man did flash a bit of a recognition at what had just occurred, but was already speaking about the huge beast down below. He lifts another flap, places his palm on another of the heads, places an entire hand into one of the huge rends in the thing's broad body before deciding. He flashes a light-hearted grin. "Yes, yes, dealer's choice then, I'll figure. Chef's choice, take the choicest bits, the ones preferred..." He glanced up at the individual's face, as if checking just one last time that this is fine- people were often picky about where their flesh was removed from, few let the dealer choose for them.
Elenore was back upon her sconce before anyone could really pay too much attention to her. She glared at those eyes greedily, and looked at the man with an uncanny witt about her, perhaps. "All his eyes!" She screeched, and the man gives her a quick glance. Immediately, the feathers slick back down, from their excited fluffed posture. "Sight intact, we could certainly do that, yes. As much sight as a pliathor has... Maybe more?" He looked pensive for a moment, and then climbed half way back up the stairs, towards the fire, listening.
Ah, that proved it, then. The man turned back around, and grinned deeply. Yes, this one was not here because he was concerned not truly. Sure, he seemed the type to keep his creatures well, but this, this accident was not a sorrow on his head. This was not his 'precious companion. This was an opportunity. He'd been hoping for the confirmation, because now he was interested. "Another chance? You know what we do here, then, for sure..." That was true, he knew. Now he was grandstanding- "Many come to my steps without true understanding of my work. But you, you come with full knowledge of what this Cezar will return as. You don't seem bothered at all." He was speaking with a strange tone, slowly and particularly, but with delight.
"Your Cezar will pay, of course, and you have paid." He nodded, and made the rest of the way up the steps and then past the fire. He was not quite ready to dismiss the individual yet. His hand hovered over the veil of the temple, the fire lighting him from behind now. "But what will become of you? What indeed. No, for now you will be fine, but what does the future hold for those like us?" It's not a real question he is asking, he's asking it to the darkness. "Not those that walk in shadow, of course..."
At that, he flings the curtain open, revealing a thousand ghastly eyes in the darkness, gleaming blue fire.
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Post by Ashe on Sept 26, 2019 18:12:48 GMT -6
Ashe heard the cackle, a sound that might rattle the bones of a normal patron, but not him. He had the capacity for, or perhaps more of an affinity for, things like this; the sound was more exciting than scary. His eyes shifted to Elenore and he watched her take wing, a blur of bone and feathers. He had changed the position of the coin in his fingers; coin between thumb and forefinger, held up for her to take or for the Priest to see, whichever came first. He wasn't sure which to expect, beak or talons, and he ended up getting the latter. While her aim was for the coin, he could feel those dangerous pointy claws scrape his skin as they grasped and plucked it forcefully out of his hand. Did he mention he liked this Izer?
Ashe's eyes were drawn back to the priest after the snap, crackle, and pop of the magical coin in the fire. Now that was new. Ashe had never used a coin like that before, so he'd never seen exactly how the magic was released. But now his eyes followed the man as he traced the parts of the Pliathor, looking almost like an Estharne about to pounce on a chunk of meat. "I want him with his two heads, senses in tact, and able to swim alrght," Ashe said, stating what he hoped was most obvious. The way he was so excited over the 'choiciest bits' had Ashe slightly concerned, though he found he was eager to trust the Priest regardless simply because he was dying to see what he could do with it. "Beyond that, take whatever you need." He didn't like giving people extra of anything, free of cost and all for their profit. He found it might be beneficial in this case; let them have whatever flesh they wanted, and perhaps that would present a better result. And Ashe was all about results.
More? Ashe liked more. He gave a faint nod, indicating that was an enticing idea. He knew there were ways to go about allowing eyeless creatures to see, and was perfectly fine with that. Especially if it made Elenore happy. He had half a mind to pluck an eyeball out himself and toss it to her, see if he could get her to come along with him....
"That I do." This was said to confirm he did know what went on here. To a point, anyway. He'd heard things, seen things around the City. He'd been wanting to experience it himself, and Cezar, impressive as he was alive and definitely a blow now dead, presented the perfect opportunity. It was a slight relief that the man's delight was so clear; Ashe was commonly met with similar shock and awe, though it was almost always in the opposite direction, negative instead of positive. He was reminded of an angry dragon, cursing him and convinced he would pay the price for his... unique desires. Now here he was, being involved in an us comment with a priest who could bring things back from the dead.
Definitely not bothered. How could one be bothered, when exciting things were about to happen? Briefly, he tried to imagine what he might do if, say, Inyala or Dracula suffered the same fate. But this rendered Death a temporary state, not to be grieved or panicked over, no. If he could bring things back... No concern at all.
What will become of you?
Ashe stayed quiet. What indeed. Sometimes he wondered what was too much, too far. Had he passed that line, or was he tiptoeing along it?
He found his mouth open slightly, not expecting that reveal. Eyes? Fires? He couldn't tell, and soon he was moving forward, toward the steps, stepping up the first couple to get a better look. "What...?" He asked, trailing off because he didn't know what exactly to ask. What were those? What happened next? What was going on? Any of the above.
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Post by NPC on Sept 26, 2019 20:08:22 GMT -6
The man glanced back at the large pliathor, reiterating. "Two heads, swimming, and all of his senses... Yes, it will take a lot of flesh. Much flesh indeed." He tapped the underside of his chin for a moment. "I suspect that there will be much flesh taken to keep all of this intact. The body is not the freshest I have seen. Yes, lots of flesh indeed." He wasn't expecting any argumentation from this. Not from this individual; he seemed more curious than anything else. No, where many were reluctant to give the cost of flesh, this one was not so. Still, the priest was not put off, but equally as curious. Still, he had a job to do, and he couldn't spend all day trying to fathom the path ahead.
The ghastly pair perhaps couldn't seem frightening if they didn't already right now. With Elenore's predatory glare at the corpse and flapping wings with feathers shedding, and the man standing up near the curtain with the backdrop of what had to be hundreds... Thousands of eyes perhaps, the pair couldn't not have been more foreboding. However, the man looks over his shoulder, sharing for once Elenore's perhaps predatory gleam in his amused eyes. "Yes, yes. You must go now. Whatever happens on your path from now... Yet it leads away." He waves off, and immediately the tattered avian swoops down.
"Away, AWAY!" She screeches, swooping dangerously close over the man's head, and out towards the path from whence the man had come. "Go now!" She said. The man just watched, his eyes giving no answers to the strange things beyond the curtain. For now, these things would remain a mystery from the individual that had brought the pliathor, sadly. "You will be called for when your Cezar is ready. Not a moment sooner." He turned back towards the sight beyond the veil again. Speaking just a moment longer- "You will know the call when it comes calling- a familiar friend perhaps. Elenore will guide you out."
Perhaps not that he needed it, this man seemed to have chosen his path. What would become of him, indeed? The priest disappears beyond the veil, and it is obvious that attempting to follow him would not bode well for anyone.
It's time to go.
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Post by Ashe on Sept 29, 2019 15:35:48 GMT -6
It was quite possible that the temple pair had never met anyone like Ashe; a man who collected animated skeletons and the like. A man who saw opportunity in a corpse, rather than despair. A man who, as long as he got the other things he wanted, did not mind terribly if his pet came out looking more like a skeleton than an actual animated corpse. On the one hand, they were free to take whatever flesh they wanted because Ashe knew Cezar would never be a normal Pliathor again, but on the other hand there was the slight apprehension that perhaps he had been too willing, giving too much. But the Priest seemed more excited to have someone appreciate his work and less... take-advantage-of. It had to be that, or else he might not get much back from Cezar at all. And so, Ashe did not argue, just nodded in understanding.
Damn it. Ashe paused, foot on the first step, wanting to go up, join them, see what they did - especially with those eyes. Is that what Elenore meant? Eyes? Eyes for their collection? Ashe had assumed to eat. But now with all of these eyes staring down at him.... Were they from all the pets they had brought back? He ducked his head, so absorbed in the sight before him that he hadn't seen Elenore swoop at him until too late. Had she wanted to hurt him, he would have gotten slashed. Thankfully, she was just proving a point, and Ashe gave a soft sigh and turned. "Thank you," He said, to them both. He was disappointed, though he hadn't come in here expecting to find the secrets. His task was done and theirs was just beginning. He gave the corpse a pat as he walked past it, murmuring "Soon, Cezar." Then he followed Elenore down the walk and out of the building. The imp on his shoulder kept tabs on Elenore, having been aware of her flying a little too close to her master. Those feathers looked kind of dry, it would be a shame if an ember set them all on fire... She huffed, watching warily, but the bird didn't come close again, and soon they were home free.
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Apr 23, 2020 16:32:49 GMT -6
Time passes and no sign of the bird.. Then one day, the sudden and unfamiliar clatter of fine bone feet against the tin roof of a market stall catches your attention. There is the bird, hollow-eyed and sharp-tongued, chuckling as her beak clutches a large pale marble. She utters a cry, rapacious and shrill, the exact words made mute by the marble (a pearl?) before taking off in a flutter of decayed feathers. She lands a distance away, still chuckling, still shrill, beckoning, beckoning, come, come, come, come.. The bird leads you back to the dark, gloomy, open hall of the Temple. As you enter, Eleanore flutters to her perch and finally settles. Talons snatch the pearl (a white ball?) from her beak, allowing her finally to sneer in full, "Comes, comes, comes.. Curious boy. Flesh boy. Gift boy." Below the perch, the brazier's flames burn with a hunger unimagined and yet a coldness unsated. The curtain at the back parts and the hooded figure of the priest enters through them, a pail in one hand, striding across the room towards the brazier. "You've come for the serpent," he says, tone pleasant, cordial, slowly setting the pail down, "Ah, yes, such beauty.. Truly, a masterwork of craft, such size, such potential, such.." The voice trails as the head turns away. "..Generosity."
The word rings a strange cord in the flames. The man picks up something from the pail, round, smooth and white. "You wish to see my dear champion, do you?" Now there's amusement in the tone, a spoken smile beneath the shroud of the hood. "Behold.." He tosses the white ball (a sphere?) into the flames. A singular loud 'pop' sounds as the object is instantly consumed and the ghost-fire roars to life, a great ball of fire flickering in mesmerizing blue colours. There's confusion, then, as the flames draw your focus, your attention, your very gaze and you cannot seem to turn away. Shapes form, colours form, an image apparates within the very flames themselves: a surface of water broken by a twin-headed serpent, gutted and hollowed, darkness both seeping and clinging to it like oily tendrils, veins of it scattered across the entire gigantic form.
"Beautiful, is it not?" the priest utters and there's reverence within the voice. He throws another sphere into the flames. "The deeper the water, the murkier the depth.. The darker the essence." It is almost a whisper. Pop! Another sphere (it is not) thrown into the flames. "My sweet champion.. My pride.." Pop! Another sphere (wait) tossed as the image persists. "And.. yes.. It can see.." the tone shifts suddenly, caught between sounding annoyed and disappointed. You manage to tear your gaze away from the flames long enough to watch him hold the pale, round thing, gloved hands tracing across its (soft?) surface. "Half blind to left, half blind to right.. Between them, a sight intact." Above the bird cackles in delight, "Sight! Sight! Sight!"
The priest regards the last sphere (not a sphere) with a strange tenderness, before tossing it into the flames, the fires roaring, engulfing, and then dying down as they settle back to their normal flicker. "The creature is waiting for you at the lake," he says, suddenly plain, suddenly at a loss for interest, the hand waving you towards the Docks. "It lives, it swims, it sees. As was promised.. Now, away with you. The gift of flesh was generous, but there is much work still to be done."
"Gift.. Gift.. Gift.." As you turn to leave, the izer catches your attention, clutching the pale object between her talons. With hollow-eyed intensity, she stares back, cackling, chuckling, in small little shrieks, as the beak bites into the soft flesh of the giant pale eye and she eagerly feasts.
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NEW STATS ARE AS FOLLOWS
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