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Post by Briar on Aug 23, 2023 20:18:11 GMT -6
Briar had known this was coming, ever since Noa sent him to the Underground to buy one of those crystals. Things had been quiet for a while; he didn't know what had changed, but he recognized patterns well enough. And it had been enough time, too, since the last one. A little over a year. It was the same kind too, the crystals -- dark, in more ways than one. In ways he couldn't properly describe, maybe. More than their color, there was something about them that felt... heavy. Ominous. He hadn't quite felt that way with any of the other crystals he'd handled before, and since coming to work for Noa, he'd had the opportunity to come into contact with a good deal of them, even if his time with them was brief. He'd even gotten a node of his own, though he hadn't really wanted to become associated with magic. 1
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Post by Briar on Aug 23, 2023 20:21:54 GMT -6
Wind hadn't felt like this though. And the clear, bright crystals that Noa seemed to favor, they hadn't felt like this either. Now, carrying nine of these things, he had to repress a shudder. It was unseasonably cold today, and the wind blowing felt like a harbinger of some dark omen to come.
But the sooner he got it over with, the sooner he could be rid of these things. They weren't for him anyway. With that thought in mind, he made his way quickly to the altar.
Of course, there were still the steps to climb. The stairway was a long one, and steep for his short legs. It had to have been an intentional part of the design, though Briar couldn't really guess why. To make it easier to defend? Or to tire out the people coming to seek these services? Or maybe some magic-related purpose beyond his understanding.
2
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Post by Briar on Aug 23, 2023 20:25:43 GMT -6
... He was thinking too much. He had to put these thoughts out of his mind. For a while, Briar focused on taking one step at a time, on his own breathing, on the movement of the air around him. That got him to the top, where the altar and its bizarre minders were.
The sight of it was still a momentary shock, even though it was hardly the first time he had been here. He always forgot how... grisly it looked. The scent of blood was heavy here, and the color of the altar's surface... No, he wasn't going to think about it. Besides, it wasn't as if he had died from any of the previous times he'd done this. It was just blood. People bled all the time. And just because the only mage he personally knew was a deeply unpleasant man of no morals didn't mean they all were.
3
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Post by Briar on Aug 23, 2023 20:30:10 GMT -6
That sentiment only went so far to settle his thoughts, but he was already here, and he had a job to do. He placed everything on the altar, then ate the berries. They were dry, but he knew the King of Evergreen that they had come from, and he thought he could taste a little of Thistle's affection in their sweetness. It helped to brace him against what came next.
The knife was where it had been the last time he had done this, and picking it up, he made a quick incision on the underside of his forearm. He knew better now than to cut into either of his hands, since he had to use them for work. His control had gotten better too; the cut was shallow, and with any luck it would heal quickly. It bled sluggishly though, so it took time for each droplet to gather before it fell onto the crystals on the altar.
4
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Post by Briar on Aug 23, 2023 20:34:02 GMT -6
So much for getting it over with quickly, he thought. But better this than to cut too deep. He had no desire to mutilate himself for Noa's ventures more than he had to.
Once blood had fallen on all the assembled crystals, he knelt in front of the altar and prayed. It was hard, sometimes, finding something to pray for. He didn't know if any gods would listen, if this was the kind of prayer that reached them, or if they would intercede if it did. After all, the purpose of this was to make a node, wasn't it?
Still, it couldn't hurt to... pray that things would turn out well, that the ones he loved would stay safe, somehow. He didn't dare pray for anything more specific than that. If it was vague and unpious, at least his prayer also carried his genuine, fervent wish. Hopefully that would be enough.
5
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Post by NPC on Sept 13, 2023 20:55:32 GMT -6
Node creation: success! Cooldown period ends on August 23, 2024
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