Exodus: Counsel

[opius]

Following a heated discussion with Vanya, and after spending the last few hours of her night singing tavern songs and teaching the Myconid, It, to carry a tune, Alina finally succumbed to the same shortcomings all humans faced: the need to sleep. Though at first falling to sleep upon a moving vehicle coupled with the days anxieties proved for a restless napping experience, she eventually fell into a deep and hard slumber.

At first, there was nothing. Blackness, emptiness, and silence. And then came the dawning realization of awareness. The sudden sound of a distant caw stirred her to awaken, and she found herself curled up upon a warm stone floor. It was immediately familiar- mist and steam fogged the air while anvils were hammered in unison in the distance, a rhythm in their strikes.

A cursory glance revealed that this hall of Moradin's followers had not changed. A darkened archway toward the left lead into a hall beyond- Dugmaren's study, same as before. Multiple alcoves flanked the central hall in the center, each run by a vague stout apparition. At the end of the main hall, far in the distance, a great glowing fire silhouetted a massive iron anvil. Currently it was unmanned. This time, however, there was something new on the right side of the hall- an archway of gray brick leading to a hall beyond.

A black iron hook was affixed to the top of the archway where a dim, golden-flamed lantern hung. A Raven was perched upon the hook, staring down at Alina with a side-eye of its black beady eyes. It cawed and beat its wings, taking off- only to disappear into the mists.

Alina could hear the sound of distant voices echoing down this new hallway to the right. From what she could see, she was alone in this place- save for the apparitions.

[redcoat]

Alina was not surprised to come to consciousness in the Hall- in fact, if she had not found herself there, she likely would feel even more lost than she did now.

She took a moment, a deep breath. Squaring her shoulders and dropping a little of the careless, happy-go-lucky air that she usually presented, and instead focused. Dugmaren's study, and a Raven telling her which way to go.

While she had been excommunicated and nearly executed, she knew when she was being beckoned and was not the sort to shy away from the call. So she'd follow the Raven down the misty hallway... trying to present a confidence she wasn't at all certain she felt.

[opius]

It was a short few dozen steps to the misty arches, and upon entering the sound of a few dozen voices hit her all at once. The sound wasn't... Unfamiliar. It wasn't the noisy revelry of a bar, but something less jovial.

Like a town meeting before order was called.

The short ha lead into a wide chamber with black polished stone. The surrounding walls, if they could be called such, were made of layered white marble-like blocks. Columns and pillars stretched into an empty blackness above while short stoops lead toward arches in the marble walls, beyond which was darkness and mist. From the ceiling, or the lack thereof, dangled a weave of fine threads, all of which bowed like some kind of faintly glittering chandelier.

In the room were numerous wooden tables- simple and unfitting for the room's decor. And they weren't unoccupied. In fact, the room appeared full of beings.

Faintly glowing, some were in armor, some vestimemts. Some wore only enough to cover their modesty, while there was at least one in the shape of an athletic man who wore nothing at all- and was as smooth and featureless as a mannequin. Their skin colors ranged from human-like complexions to the hues of polished stone- marble, jade, bronze and even some blue. Some were very relatable in their humanity.. Others were... Peculiar, shaped like broken statues and dolls, or with faces like that of animal-masks.

Some had no eyes or features on their faces. Another had far too many eyes.

In the din of conversation, Alina's eyes were drawn to a familiar face- the blue skin and white hair of Kate was unmistakeable, though her features were younger than she'd remembered. Only just do.

Catching a glimpse of her, the surprised Kate stood from her table and moved to intercept, "She's here!" She spoke to the others before focusing on intercepting Alina. "Daughter- you have no idea how happy I am to see you're alive. I was so worried. Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

[redcoat]

There were a lot of... people... here, and Alina was confused and curious as she looked around- and immediately distracted when Kate approached her.

"Mama- no, I am fine enough. Jeanne gave me good advice and told me what to do, and when the sentence changed to death and not just excommunication, the Matron showed me mercy." Alina's voice was soft, and sad- unusual from the young woman.

"I am sorry. I've failed. I've broken my oaths and been excommunicated from the church." The stress from the last few days was starting to catch up to Alina, and she had to work hard not to break into tears.

[opius]

Kate held Alina's hands while several entities in the crowd made... Noise. Alina could make out several phrases, "It's dereliction, but-" "Who among us?" "Disproportion!" "It makes no sense-" while the crowd grew general cacophonous.

Kate shook her head. "I know, zaychick, I know. We are all... In a way over it." She lead Alina toward one of the tables. "You did so well, none of us can make sense of it. There should be warning, some kind of leniency," she lifted a hand and rolled it, finding trouble in selecting the right word.

From the distance another one called out, over the din, "-And I'm telling you, if this was the will of her Matron, she wouldn't have intervened!" Only for another to call back, "- That bird could have meant anything!" A distant clatter, something was thrown. The shouting subsided and the dull roar of voices proceeded.

The table Kate lead Alina to had a number of beings seated. There was a statue-like woman wearing a toga, skin like marble, a young man no more than his twenties wearing a white hood and a black mask that covered his eyes, and a short gray skinned gnome-like man who bore tiny wing-like feathery appendages on his back and behind his ears. Kate gestured toward them. "Alina, these are.... Well, it's hard to explain. Our predecessors. They take many different forms, some more... Colorful than others. It might be strange at first, but you'll get used to them."

Some of those at the table nodded, others simply watched Alina. Kate continued, "... Many of us believe something else is at work here."

[redcoat]

Alina took a deep breath and took her mother's hand tightly. She wasn't shocked by the interesting forms the others at the table took, giving a shrug to her mother's explanation.

"My best friend is a cat person and I'm currently palling around with a tiny humanoid mushroom. I don't get shocked by colorful faces." She grinned a little at that- fleeting, but if her mother wasn't upset with her, then Alina could survive anything else.

"Something else at work?"

[opius]

The figure in the white hood spoke up, his voice a surprisingly deep baritone for a man with no chin hair. "The one who judged you, Zajira. She mentioned it was the will of the Choir. But elsewhere we have seen leniency in the face of deeds done."

Another at the table, the woman of stone spoke, her voice echoing as though she were within the cave Alina had just come from. "We know of indulgences offered to Paladins. It would be wrong to say your order is above the law, but exceptions are frequent, and while gods walked the world they would use such missteps to teach, not terminate."

The gnome-like being spoke, but not with words. A brief whistling tune could be heard as his voice broke out quietly in Alina's mind. "We're waiting for more insight, but it takes a while to rouse the troops, you might say. Others are remembering they existed- but it doesn't sit right with some. The facts don't line up, and the line's at odds with itself. Hi, by the way!" The creature smiled. "I saw you with the Barlgura, death from on high- inspiring stuff."

Kate sat and gestured toward the other tables. "A thousand lives and a thousand lifetimes. Some served our matron and others found their calling to others- sometimes to many at once. We are all... Trying... To put that collective experience together to find answers to why this happened- why Zajira thought it correct to snuff you out. And why the Matron intervened."

[redcoat]

Alina nodded, listening to them each in turn- and giving a wide smile to the gnome-like one- before turning serious once more.

"When she went to strip me of the powers given to me by the Raven Queen, some of it got... stuck. The part that is black and looks like ink in water. She said it was a spark of the divine, and that she couldn't take it. Also that I could not be allowed to retain it. That I couldn't be allowed to exist without someone to govern over me."

Alina sighed, looking at her hand. "And that is when she decided to execute me."

[opius]

Those at the table went silent as Alina spoke, and in the din of conversation more shouts came, more debate. In their corner, however, things seemed intimate and calm.

The robed one spoke. "The power invested in those who wield holy power. Divine favor." He nodded, pondering.

"Grace," chimed the small one. "The gods collectively agree that the quality is called Grace. Or, Divine Grace, to be specific. Repo is never a pleasant task, I've had a few run-ins with the odd blackguard here and there. But even so, I've never met one who could hold on- let alone one who did so by accident."

The woman of stone spoke, her voice soft. "... The power is not solely that of the Gods. Celestials are born of Grace. It is our lifeblood. Beholden to the gods, our existence is an extension of their divine will, a shard of that power from which all Daeva are born and reborn."

Kate frowned and looked to Alina, then the stone woman. "But Aasimar are not Daeva."

The statue-like being did not change expression, her empty eyes scanning those are the table. "...No. The Daeva shed true Grace to become mortal. In exchange for divinity, they have souls. True reincarnation with the free will that comes with it."

Kate lifted her hands. "So what does that mean for my daughter?"

The woman of stone paused for several long moments. "...I do not know..."

[redcoat]

Alina frowned deeply, clearly trying to puzzle out what might be happening. "It seems unlikely that I have the grace of two gods, right? Layered on top of one another like those sticky notes my mama uses?" She asked, feeling like it was probably a stupid question the moment it came out of her mouth.

[opius]

The short one lifted a hand and smiled. "Actually it gets pretty complex. Back when I was still alive, I worked for the Celestial Bureaucracy - that is to say, a godly alliance. The power they invested and the authority it came with was collaborative. Of course... I was mostly a messenger."

The hooded one spoke. "... I began my campaign an Avenger of Tempus, combating the powers of an unstoppable army. But in time I found Kord, breaker of Chains, was in concordance with my beliefs. For a brief moment I held the favor of both, though it nearly snuffed my life out."

The woman of stone spoke. "... Like Jaycen says, for a mortal to hold two different shards of divine grace would be taxing. It is likely you would feel that presence before... Burning from power not meant for mortal forms. Like Malakai, multiple gods could contribute one collective shard made from the essence of all involved, but... Zajira would have known this. Or so it should be." She shook her head. "True celestials know the names of the gods, old and new all. Yet she could not identify this source of Grace which clings to you." She tilted her head.

"Can you produce this again? The inky black."

[redcoat]

Eager for help- and happy enough to find her mother wasn't instantly disowning her for breaking her vows- Alina was cooperative. Putting her hand on her own forearm, she would cast lay on hands- the one skill she knew for sure was still working- on herself.

[opius]

Alina focused for a moment and reached for that familiar spark. At once her forearm was wreathed in a black flame-like force, one which made her skin gray as pale ash and her plate dark like coal.

And after... It remained. Hovering in place upon her. It didn't spread or grow, nor did it show any sign of subsiding.

The woman of stone watched, unblinking. "... How... Curious. Though my powers of detection are long gone, I still should know..."

"I do not recognize this power. It is a... Dark force." Spoke the hooded man. He reached to a haft behind his shoulder, a weapon that hadn't been there before. "Shall I try and excise this black mark, descendant?"

The short one stood and hovered up from his seat, interposing himself. "Still your hand- I swear the more human you guys get the quicker you are to stab things- including yourselves. Black doesn't mean bad, necessarily."

Kate all but pulled Alina back. "Yes, let's not, Jaycen."

There was some commotion in the distance. As the scene unfolded at the table, one of the distant arches began to glow. A truly massive figure began to emerge from within the mist, it's form shifting in the roiling fog. Table by table the entities in the room began to grow silent. Alina heard one call out, "The progenitor- they're awakening!"

[redcoat]

Alina blinked, and not at all unfamiliar with a well meaning barroom brawl was quick to push her own chair back from the well meaning, if blood thirsty Jaycen- helped along by Kate, and with the small gentleman interceding as well.

She also couldn't argue with the small one's logic, given she was sure she'd definitely told at least one person that she was there to 'kill demons and kiss pretty girls'.

But, then things started to glow, and the fog began to shift. "The progenitor?" She asked- certain of the meaning of the word, but not at all certain of the context or implications.

[opius]

Kate sat more comfortably once Jaycen took his hand off the weapon. "Our oldest ancestor. Mich like a great great grandmother."

The small one resonated. "The First to shed grace, the first in the line of incarnations. The closest to divinity, you might say."

The women of stone spoke. "From the moment a celestial chooses mortality, they form the first link in a chain of spiritual succession. A single soul reincarnates, often within the same bloodline. The First, our Progenitor, was a celestial in body and spirit... While each of us here embodies the spirit of one member of the chain." She placed a hand upon her chest. "...as a new being awakens to the Aasimar soul, it's predecessors go dormant, drifting away from former humanity... Or gnomehood, or dwarvenkind if it should be." She turned toward the gate.

"The Progenitor was the first. And she has been dormant for many generations. But these are strange times that even she should awaken."

The gnome-like one, Malakai resonated. "Our oldest ancestor. He's older than dirt."

----------

In the mist it emerged. A great mass of three masked-faces, one facing left right and front, slowly revolving as it hovered inches from the ground. A set of red, ember-like wings wreathed the masks while slowly beating, as though it needed the movement to stay aloft. More wings enveloped a scarcely visible torso which emerged from the masks, a towering and vaguely humanoid form both masculine and feminine all at once. It's face was a flat stone surface, a mask hovering inches from the sheared marble slab. The many eyes on the masks were closed while rings of golden flame encircled it's crown, shoulders, and spindly wrists.

As it entered and descended the stairs, the slowly beating wings beat a gentle but hot breeze of feathers, each burning up and winking out as they were shed.

Those in the front of the thing gained way, giving the Progenitor a considerable breadth.

Kate shifted. "Just... Like a grandmother."