Spirits of the Earth

The city of C'thiria was large and brilliant. If one were to look at it from the outside, it would seem as if it was the capital of a thriving nation. However, its true purpose was much darker. C'thiria was home to the Adherents of the Old Gods (http://www.spiritsoftheearth.net/smf/index.php?topic=18041.msg212727#msg212727), a cult that worshiped the ancient and forbidden gods from a time before Serendipity's new major religion came into being. In the general part of the city, you would never be able to tell. However, the center district of the city was dedicated to C'thir, King of the Old Gods, and in each of the four corners there was a district dedicated to one of the other four Old Gods. In the northeast district of the city, Az'gorr's temple, shrine, and altar existed within the District of Death. It was at this altar where the High Prophet of Az'gorr was currently ready to work his necromancy.

When the Acolytes had brought Aezir a golden sarcophagus, his eyes lit up with excitement. The High Prophet's fascination with death bordered almost on madness. He wanted to examine everything about the body that would be found inside. He would search to determine the cause of death, how long they have been dead, and who they were in life. After he got his answers, and of course just admired the corpse for a while, he would then attempt to reanimate them. If he liked the product of his reanimation, it would be kept and used to serve the necromancers of Az'gorr. However, if he didn't, it would be sacrificed as a gift to his God.

After thoroughly examining the body contained within, Aezir had his Acolytes place the sarcophagus on top of the altar. He prepared to reanimate the body, and had just started casting his reanimation spell when something started changing. The body inside was recomposing, as if it were becoming alive! Through no work of his own, mind you! He stopped the ritual and approached the altar, looking down at what appeared to have been a very attractive woman in life. The corpse, if he could call it that anymore, began to breathe, and her eyes flew open.

Most people would have been mortified if this had happened in front of them, but the smile on Aezir's face couldn't possible have been any bigger. He was captivated by the process happening in front of him. It was what appeared to be natural reanimation! He stood there, silently, waiting to see what would happen next.

It started as a tickle in the pit of her belly, always making her laugh, which was deceiving since this tickle happened each time she began to decompose.  Decomposing was peculiar that way because her insides would wriggle and squirm, then pucker and cave in on themselves as organs ran dry.  Her skin would turn white, much to her chagrin, as she loved the normal golden tan color of her sun kissed skin. Then it would harden like leather and became grey.  Eventually the skin would become brittle and crack and crumble off her bones as dust.  Bones was what she always resorted to in the end, as heart beats and blood would fade. All that would be left were her soft brown eyes, and even those would deflate of life, decay and sink into nothing but two hollowed black pits inside her skull. And it was always after that her body returned back to its unanimated form of rest.

Recomposing was just as ghastly as decomposing, as it was always unimaginably strange each time it happened.  Imagine your innards as deflated, nonexistent balloons that suddenly receive a blow of oxygen.  They would prickle with life, stretch and grow and groan and crack as the lady would bloom into the former Essyrni beauty she had once been. Where ragged, dust hardened hair once lay withered on her head, it would turn almost liquid with it's shiny black ringlets of curls while the rest of her body glowed with a richness and vibrancy of life.  It was one of these such occasions that she found herself: recomposed.

Gasping, she sprung up in her sarcophagus, lungs burning with the renewed energies of life. But her eyes were going buggered, wide like a fish, mouth gaping so terribly wide that it hurt.  Choking on the very real air she was suddenly able to breath, the woman began to cough out the bug that had been trying to nibble away at the former decaying remains inside her throat.
Recomposing was always so jarring, and the poor young woman heaved forward as she gave a dry wretch, curly bunches of rich black hair falling over her bare shoulders.  Then she shivered, lips trembled as she brought the back of her wrist to her mouth and sighed.  Shivering again, she peered down at her body and gave a start as nasty wrappings, dry, crunchy and crumbling with decay, began to shed away from her body like dry leaves, exposing her in partial nudity.  This was always the first thing that jolted her, (after the initial shock and intake of blood and air, naturally!), as she hugged a hand across her chest and began to look around, body heaving with breathe as she began to study the figures around her in the dimness of the room.  Normally, a sense of recognition would wash over her and she would remember her story all too clearly.  Something had happened. She had died, and here she was, alive from the grave, somehow doing the same process all over again! Only this time, the familiarity of the room was not there, and an alienated coldness washed over her.

Trembling, shivering, the young reborn mummy woman lifted her head, though one could suppose the mummy was no longer there, as she was hardly dead looking, as brown eyes studied this strange world that held a group of unknown men with blue caps upon their heads- or at least that's what she thought she saw. Yes, by now she should have been reclaiming the fragmented memories, piece by piece, the story of her tomb, her things and- It was then she gave a start. Her things! Where on earth had they gone?  Turning away from where she sat she began to panic, the newly reborn heart inside her chest beating rapidly as she began to look around.

"Where... where am I?" Is what she meant to say, in common- but it was hard to forget old habits, for her words came out in Ancient Essyrni instead, as large eyes sparkled with insecurity, confusion and fear, while her body, evidently cold as she hugged onto herself, trembled.

Aezir was still fascinated by the process occurring in front of him when the corpse... er, rather lady, now... had begun to speak. In any case, it was in a language with which he was unfamiliar, so he ignored it.

He was wearing the black, hooded cape that was typical of a Prophet of Az'gorr, and as this woman was coming back to life a wind blew through altar and caused it to flow behind him in an almost regal manner. Underneath the hood, he was wearing a skull mask, which was also typical of the Prophets. He knew this might be intimidating to look upon, but that's how he liked it. It drove home the message... he was an agent of Death.

"You may all leave!" He said to the Acolytes that had helped him prepare the ritual. When they had gone, he turned back to the woman in the sarcophagus. "That was quite the spectacle to behold, miss."

Flinching at the commanding tone in his voice, she continued attempting to keep her body modest, dark eyes looking around still. Yes.. this definitely wasn't her 'home', her things were gone, her scrolls... all of her work...

Panic set in, not due to the mask- for she hadn't even noticed that detail just yet!- but because those scrolls of hers contained thousands of years of work of her trying to figure out a way to break her own curse. It was only then her eyes began to tear up as she turned to the man.

"My things! Where are my things?" At least this time she remembered to ask in common.

"Ah, the scrolls, correct? My Acolytes were analyzing them back in the Temple. I could send for them, if you would like."

Without waiting for her to respond, bones began to swirl around the ground, and after a few seconds a skeletal knight had been animated in front of them. "Retrieve this lady's things from the Temple. If any Acolyte isn't compliant, bring them to deal with me."

Before the skeleton left, Aezir turned to the woman once more. "I'm sure you must be cold. I'm afraid all I can offer is the clothing we have for the Acolytes, however."

The woman wanted to say something, but whatever words were at the tip of her tongue just weren't there. So she found herself staring, mouth gaping much like a fish, before she blinked multiple times and came back to her senses.

"So my things... you.. you have it all?"
There were more than just scrolls she had there, after all! Those canopic jars were precious to her! Not to mention all of her supplies... and clothes.

It was then she realized he had asked about her dress, and her eyes dropped down as she gasped, covering herself and lowering down a bit into her coffin.
"I suppose it's a bit chilly in here. One never really gets used to it." And she gave a nervous tucking back of her hair behind her ears as she began to look around.

"The only thing of interest to me was the scrolls, so naturally that was all I paid attention to. I will make sure he retrieves everything that was found along with your sarcophagus." Aezir replied, and motioned for the skeleton to leave. The skeleton headed to the Temple, the only noises it made being the clanking of bone against bone.

"Should he find any clothing of yours, you are free to wear that. However, you will get odd looks from the Acolytes, and many will be suspicious of you. I highly advise you wear the Acolyte clothing."

She couldn't help but stare at the skeleton as he simply walked away. What a wonder! Too bad she had no such powers when she turned into a skeleton- and that brought her back to another thought.

"Oh, err... I do have another request. Er, question really.." she went on, nervously pulling at some of the curls of her hair. "You say they'd be suspicious.... What exactly of? And... what... if I might inquire... did you er... exactly see here?" She still wasn't sure if her 'curse' was exposed, but if they saw everything well...
She'd have a lot to explain!
And there would be very good reasons for suspicion.

"Oh, and forgive me but... where am I? Specifically, I mean."

Aezir paced around the room. "You see, we don't typically allow outsiders in our city. When you were still a corpse, it would have been fine... but now that you at least appear human, others wouldn't take too kindly to it."

He turned to face her and stopped his pacing. "Your revival process was quite fascinating to behold." Ignoring her question about where she was, Aezir waited for her next comments.

The woman blinked a few times to digest his inquiries, but giving a curious tilt of her head and a pout,s he found herself asking, "So you.... saw me, come back to life?"
Oh by the Gods, this was not good! How would she explain?

"Indeed. It was quite the spectacle." Aezir said. "Up until now, I believed reanimation was only a process that Necromancers could perform. However, yours seemed to occur naturally."

"Oh, it's not necromancy." And then she realized that might not have been the best thing to blurt out! She hardly knew this man and well.... Judging by this place and the fact he seemed unphased by dead and raising the dead....

"Er... did you... try to... bring me back? Like you did to that gentleman skeleton earlier?"

"Should you not have reanimated by yourself, that would have been the goal, yes." Aezir said dryly. "I suppose I should properly introduce myself. My name is Aezir, High Prophet to Az'gorr. I'm also a master necromancer."

The woman blinked at the diety.
"Az'gorr.... Az'gorr still has worshipers?" she found herself asking.

"A few." Aezir said, readjusting his hood. As he pushed it back, the mask became more visible, and most of the skull was exposed. "A God never truly dies, after all."

And that's when the woman simply stared, with that same open mouth expression as before. She wasn't sure how she hadn't noticed that HE was a skeleton before, but oh my! What an... interesting turn of events!

Noticing her expression, Aezir removed the mask and placed it on a table beside him. "I appologize for that... it's mostly for formalities."

Behind the mask was the face of a handsome man with dark hair and red eyes. He now pushed his hood off completely. As he was doing this, the skeletal knight returned and placed the woman's things, including clothing, several scrolls and a few jars, in the sarcophagus with her. "Your services are no longer required." Aezir said, and with a wave of his hand the skeleton returned to a lifeless state, bones dropping to the floor.

And the woman found herself staring once more when his mask was removed. To say it was jarring to see such a contrast was an understatement, but when the bones returned to bones, she grimaced and was brought out of her short state of shock.
She was just glad HEr bones weren't so easily discarded, or lifted and raised to be at one's command. Though she had to wonder, and her heart fluttered with worry- had her reanimation not taken place when it did...

Would she had become a simple slave in her mummy form- much like the skeleton knight had? Peering over at Aezir, she moved a hand to tuck back some more hair from her face, then dropped her gaze to her things. Seeing her outfit, she snatched it up quickly and held it over her breasts.

"Could.. could I have some privacy, please. In order to change."

"So be it. The Temple awaits just beyond this opening here." Aezir said as he motioned to the left, where two large pillars were supporting an entrance of some sort. "When you are ready, you will find me waiting in there."

She gave a nod, peering over quickly to the temple, then back to him. She chewed on her lip, waiting for him to go- as it was only proper. Despite being ancient Essyrni, she was not about to go around without any clothing. She supposed those some few thousands of years she'd been alive, the more prudent sections of the world rubbed off on her-
That, and she had always valued her body as something she'd give to her husband someday. Seems like that someday just never was meant to happen-
After all, she was kind of... well, mostly- dead? Or rather.. some of the time she was!


Once the man was completely gone from view, it was only then did she slip into her dress-
which was a more modern Essyrni garb- a black, layered lacy robe style dress that hugged up at her hips and opened just slightly in the front to reveal the subtlest of cleavage. But that dress hugged her in all of the right places, and if in just the right light and angle- one might be able to see parts of her that were hidden behind those dual layers of black lace.

Smoothing down the dress, and fussing over her hair, she continued to pick through her things, even beginning to scoop up her scrolls in hopes she could carry them. Thankfully, the bag she had been using was brought back to her, so she began to shove her scrolls inside with haste, and also- to see her canopic jars brought her great relief! She checked each one to make sure they were intact, but upon seeing one was missing-
She felt herself pail.

The one that had held her scarab soul was gone! The tiny, mummified bug represented quite a lot to her- and still believing in the old ways, she felt herself nearly in tears. Quickly stuffing in the rest of her things into her bag, she dashed off to the temple and nearly ran into Aezir before she came to a halt.

It was evident she was panicked, and she was breathing hard, chest heaving as she swallowed to quench her parched throat.

"One.. one of my things.. It's.. it's MISSING!" And she thrust out the arm that held the jar with the missing bug. "Inside this... there was a scarab. He was... he was in wraps.. like me. Like how you had found me. DId you take him?" And her eyes were desperate, and pleading with him. Oh! She could only hope he had taken it and had done no harm to him! That's all she would need... her very own soul protector lost to her! She was cursed enough already!

"As I had said before, the only things of yours that held any interest of mine were the scrolls. Your jars were left with the Acolytes to examine, I would assume that one of them would have it." He looked at her with a look that both conveyed his authority, as well as a glimmer of interest. It was clear to see that Aezir saw something in this woman more than a mere corpse.

With another wave of his hand, the skeleton from before reanimated and walked into the Temple. "This woman is missing one of her belongings. Bring me whichever Acolyte has it." He said with a commanding tone in his voice. The skeleton looked at the woman and offered what seemed to be some sort of low, guttural growl, then proceeded to leave the Temple once more. Once he had gone, Aezir directed his attention back to the woman.

"I do apologize. Sometimes, things like this do happen, and the perpetrator will be taken care of accordingly."

The woman would have wrung her hands if she could- but they were currently full with her things. But she nodded, and released a sigh as it helped quell at least some of her anxiety.
"Thank you," she told him softly. And then after a moment, she realized-
"Oh! Where are my manners. I am Lady A-" And she paused, hesitating to use her true name, and decided to go with the one she most currently used now. "Lady Averella." And she gave a nod.
"Thank you for all of your help. I must say I was quite worried. Normally I do not wake up in these well... circumstances." She said, giving a nervous giggle as she talked.

"A pleasure, m'lady." Aezir began. He would have continued, but she had just thrown him an interesting piece of information that he had not expected. "Normally, you say? As in, you have reanimated more than once?"

It was only then she realized her folly- and remained staring at the man rather wide eyed for a moment before she was able to think of what to say!
"Yes.. er.... um.. a few times before,"s he fibbed.
It was more like a few thousand times before! But she kept her eyes dropped. It was easier for her to 'lie' that way. She was such a horrible liar!

"Interesting. Is it always the same, then?" Aezir said to the woman. "Of course, I understand if you would not like to talk about it. For most, death is a topic that they tend to avoid. I find it fascinating, however."

And as it was before, and it was here again, she found herself staring at him, scrambling internally for the right words.
"Err.. it's just... complicated,"s he went on, readjusting all of her things that she held, which were beginning to weigh on her, making her arms ache. She chewed on her lips nervously and looked around the temple, seeing a lot of bones.

"So... this is your temple?" she inquired, wondering if he was the head priest here.

"I suppose you could say that. In reality, this is a Temple of Az'gorr. I'm just the High Prophet." Aezir explained. "You see, Az'gorr speaks through me. I hear his voice, and convey it to the other followers." He knew she was trying to change the topic, but he was fine with that. In fact, he was confident he would get more information out of her later.

She blinked.
"Az'gorr really speaks to you?" Interesting. As much as she tried to talk to her own Gods, none of them ever answered back.

"Indeed. I am his connection to this world, a world in which he was once exalted and now shunned." Aezir answered.

"Oh..." Averella went on with a blink. "That's a pity. Though seems most old Gods have suffered that fate."

At that time, the skeleton had just returned with an Acolyte, who appeared to be holding Averella's scarab. He walked over to her silently and handed it to her, then turned to Aezir. A look of fear was on his face.

"We'll discuss this later. It's not a matter to be talked about in front of our guest. You are dismissed." Aezir said to the Acolyte, who bowed his head and ran out of the room as soon as Aezir had finished speaking. Once again, Aezir waved his hand and the skeletal knight turned back to lifeless bones. "I trust it is in the same condition which you left it?" Aezir said, addressing Averella.

It took a moment for her to refind herself as her eyes dropped down to the little, mummified scarab in her hand. She delicately inspected it, but when she noticed something odd, she lifted her gaze and asked, "Did they open this?"

"I couldn't tell you. Does something seem out of place?" Aezir said to the woman. "If so, please, let me know. Acolytes are... disposable... to say the least." Aezir smirked at his own comment. It was quite clear that he had no concern for his disciples.

She continued to hold the delicate little wrapped scarab in her palm as she peered up at him with a pouty frown.
"Well.... to be honest, I can't even check to see if there is. A jewel was implanted within this scarab before he was mummified and well.... it seems as if it might be missing- but the curse will only be worse if I-"

And realizing she already was giving more away, she suddenly snapped her mouth shut and blushed.
"That is to say, er... such a thing could er.. curse... a person..."

Yeah... not the best cover up lines, but she was beyond nervous and also- not much good on lying!

The way this woman tried to lie was cute in a way. She gave it away so obviously with her facial expressions, and her voice trembled a bit when she spoke. However, Aezir didn't want to put too much pressure on his guest. He was fascinated with her and her revival process, and didn't want to lose out on an opportunity to discover more. Acting as if he hadn't noticed, Aezir shrugged his shoulders. "Well, if there's anything I can do that would make you feel at ease, just let me know."

The woman gave a thoughtful expression, eyes going to the ceiling before she looked over at him.
"I suppose letting me know where I am and how you came about my things might be a nice place to start. I'm still pretty jarred having awoken here."

Once again avoided the question of where she was, Aezir opted to answer her second question first. "Well, my disciples are spread all over the world, searching for lost artifacts of our gods. On their search, they came across a golden sarcophagus, and since the majority of us are necromancers, or at least have some affinity for necromancy, it was of great interest to us. They brought your sarcophagus back here, and now here you are."

She gave a nod, frowning a bit before pressing, "And where is here exactly?"

The question could not be avoided forever, and Aezir finally gave her an answer. "This is the hidden city of C'thiria, in the Wester Highlands of Serendipity, just outside the Terrin Mountains." He said to the woman, smiling as he talked.

"Of course, when our Gods were denounced, we found ourselves being persecuted. Most Serenians wanted to destroy our religion completely, so that our Gods would never be brought back to power. During this time, our organization constructed this city, named after C'thir, and hid it with an ancient magic. From the outside, only those who truly believe in the old ways can see the city."

It took a moment for the lady to digest all of this as she blinked with wide eyes and looked at him.
"So if I were not to have believed in the old ways... what would I have found when I awoke?"
Such a curious thing! And definitely an interesting sort of magic! And, despite her not realizing it was cult like, it was refreshing to see such resilience for the old ways!

"Once inside the city, the illusion surrounding it is dispelled, I suppose you could say. With no forces acting on you, you would see it for what it is. However, our psionic mages are fairly good at infiltrating the minds of people that we find to be... unworthy... of beholding the spectacle that is our city." Aezir explained. Regardless of this woman looking like a human now, she was still dead, and he was sure that giving her this information would have very few negative repercussions for him.

"Most people who come here are affiliated with us, anyway. However, that's not to say others haven't been in the city." He chose to leave out the part where they were mostly sacrifices to Az'gorr. He still wanted to learn more about this woman, and he could tell that she was innocent and kind. Showing off some of his... less desirable qualities, he supposed they could be called... would no doubt hinder his chances.

"I suppose that makes sense," she replied thoughtfully. She herself, had to keep a lot of facts hidden as well, and for similar reasons. Though she wasn't sacrificing anyone by any means!
"But speaking of you and your people..." she found herself rounding the question back to herself. "Would I need an escort out... or... is it alright if I were to venture on my own?" She did have things to do, after all! "And my err... sarcophagus.. " She went on, clearing her throat. "I'll um.... need that returned to me... somehow." Oh dear- how on earth would she get that back to her 'home'?

"Should you leave, I would recommend being escorted out personally by me. However, I would hope that you would stay at least a little while longer." Aezir said to the woman, the tone in his voice conveying that it was more of a command than a request.

"Well, it might be wise to take my time before going," she agreed, not seeming to hear or be phased by the command. "I do have to figure out how to get my things out of here, anyway. But any help you could offer would be wonderful. I dare say I can't move my sarcophagux very well on my own, so an escort.. yes.. yes it would be nice." And she shook her head at the idea, doing another inventory check on her things but her attention went back to the poor little scarab. She just hoped the thing was still.. in tact. She supposed she should be considered lucky that nothing had happened to it so far- after these some three thousand plus years she's been living and dying....

Aezir nodded and smiled at the woman. "Good, I'm glad you've chosen to stay a while. I have a pressing matter to attend to, so please excuse me for a few monents. In the meantime, feel free to explore the Temple, if you wish. Should anyone give you trouble, tell them that you have Aezir's blessing. They'll understand."

With that, Aezir turned and walked down a dark hall that lay behind him.

"Oh, okay," she said, blinking as she watched him walk away. She stood there for a few moments, still awkwardly peering through her things before finally beginning to look around. The temple was as every temple usually was, though she figured she might as well take a look around as she was waiting. Though something in the corner caught her eyes as she blinked and tilted her head at the tapestry. It seemed to be made of bone.
And when she reached out to touch it- she realized- it was made out of bone! Several bones in fact, woven together from various types of creatures that- the second Averella realized what it was, she gasped and yanked her hand back- which incidentily pulled one of the bones loose as it rattled when it fell onto the ground.

The noise echoed throughout the temple, and before she new it- two acolytes had rushed in to see what was the matter. Seeing how their tapestry had been defiled, they were quick to approach the woman, demanding-
"Who are you?"
And
"What do you think you're doing here!?"
And their voices were so loud they boomed and echoed all around her, and the woman found herself gaping at the pair and stammering- her tongue too tangled to properly reply.

"Messing with our temple means death, especially those who have defiled our relics!"

Walking down the dimly lit hall, Aezir heard a clanging sound behind him, no doubt coming from the room he had left. The temple was mostly empty, and the halls tended to amplify sound, so it would stand to reason that he should be able to hear faint noises from the room.

Waving a hand, his skeletal guardian animated in front of him, with a sword, as well as armor, made of bone. "Go check out that noise. I don't want our visitor to get into any trouble, and judging based off our previous conversations she's not the best at talking herself out of situations."

The skeleton knight made a low, guttural growl and took off running to the chamber, bones and armor clanking together. Aezir turned back to face his destination and kept walking. "If only I could have gone back to check myself, I would have. But anyone here will know to respect and fear that skeletal warrior." He said to himself.

And respect and fear she did, for as the men were advancing upon her- for she hadn't uttered a clear peep as to why she was there- the warrior was there, a menacing form, looming just behind them. And it was only whens he saw the warrior reach out for them did she scream-a nd that scream echoed throughout the entire place, bringing other acolytes running into the room.

As the acolytes ran into the room, the skeletal knight let out a loud growl, before walking up to the woman and turning to face the acolytes. Holding its sword out in front of it to defend the woman, the acolytes all stopped what they were doing.

"Isn't that... Lord Aezir's guardian?" One of the acolytes murmured.
"It is. What is it doing here?" Another whispered.
"And why is it protecting that woman?" Said a third.

The skeleton turned to the woman and let out a low, quiet growl. It appeared to be a question of some sort.

Averella winced back, her back pressed up against the wall as she cringed at the very sight of the skeletal soldier.
"I... I'm sorry if I.. if I woke you up," she stammered, the only logical sentence she had been able to form in the last five minutes. She just hoped the skeleton was not there and angry at her! That sword... it seemed rather sharp and well...
As much as she died as often as she did...
She still wasn't quite accustomed to be in the presence of other such dead things!

The skeleton roared at the acolytes. They all bowed their heads.

"If it is the will of Aezir, than let it be done." One of the acolytes said.

They began to leave the chamber and head back to what they were doing, and just like that the skeleton had turned to go back down the hall to Aezir. Just as quickly as the room had been brought to life, it returned to silence.

Averella stood there, quite confused in the quiet as her chest rose and fell with heavy breath. Her cheeks were also pink from the ordeal (despite her darker shade of skin) as she simply stared off into the empty room before nearly collapsing to the floor.

She was a delicate thing, that was for sure, but even more so at the beginning of her 'reanimation', as it were so she took this moment to find a place to sit- but when she did, she rested her hand upon some stone lever that was well concealed in the wall and-
suddenly the wall came alive! And with a yelp, the wall turned and whisked her away to a dark room- and back in the main sanctuary- it was missing one scattered brained, brought back to life mummy!

And here, from inside the secret dark room, she blinked and looked around.
"He... hello?" her voice echoed softly around her. She winced. "Oh dear... what on earth happened?" And she tried to blindly grope around against the wall that now imprisoned her- seeking for a way to get out. She never fancied dark places...
Reminded her too much of her multiple deaths and well- awakenings.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me?" she asked against the thick, stone wall-
but only silence replied.

Aezir arrived at the grand chamber just before his skeletal guardian returned. It made a low growling sound and placed its weapon down. "It's taken care of, then? Very well, you are dismissed." Aezir said, and with a wave of his hand the skeleton fell into a pile of bones once more.

Aezir walked through the grand chamber to the center and sat down at one of the five chairs surrounding the large circular table. His father, Cyrus, was sitting directly across from him. This was one of the places where the Council would meet, but today there was no scheduled meeting. His father had requested to speak with him alone.

"Ah, Aezir. You finally made it. C'thir has spoken to me, and would like for me to share the news with the prophets of Az'gorr." Cyrus said with a smile.

Aezir looked at his father with unblinking eyes. "I am sure that anything C'thir said to you, Az'gorr has said to me. But I shall listen to whatever it is you must say."

"Actually, C'thir wanted both Az'gorr and his Prophet together before the news was spread." Cyrus replied. "Get comfortable. This will be interesting to you, I am sure."

Continuing to knock at the stone walls, Averella continued to call out.
"Hello? Somebody? Any body?"
And again- after more silence, she found herself sighing and wilting against the wall.
"This is just great. How am I ever to get my things out of here if I've gotten myself stuck inside the wall? It figures I can't keep myself out of trouble for more than a few minutes," she went on, scolding herself. "But honestly, what goes around comes around, right? So there must be some sort of a lever here that could propel my back to where I have come from." And she went on, continuing to grope at the dirty wall until she heard the same familiar noise from before, and with a gasp, she found herself whisked back into the room as the wall turned around once more.

Blinking, she found it hard for her eyes to get adjusted to the torch lit room, and was relieved to see it was the same room as before. Wiping off the sweat from her brow, she had no idea she had just smeared a path of dirt across it as she walked over to her things and decided to just stay put. If she sat there, surely she couldn't get into any more trouble.

So as she waited, she idly kicked her feet as she looked around.

"Hrm... lots of skeleton things," she mused. Though she supposed that made sense- considering the type of God in worship here. But it was a tad dismal. Really- why were all temples like this the same? Kind of ominous, spooky... almost as bad as a tomb- though in truth, most Essyrni tombs were even far grander and delightful than this. But then again, Hakeshna and the earlier gods were all about life after death.

When Cyrus had finished telling Aezir the news, he stood up from the table and began to walk away. "That's all. Will Az'gorr accept?" Cyrus asked.

"Of course. The will of C'thir is the will of all the gods." Aezir answered as he stood up and turned to walk back down the hallway. "I'll gather the prophets and the acolytes later and share the news."

Aezir walked down the hallway he had come from. This time, there were some acolytes working in the formerly empty rooms. All of them bowed to Aezir when he walked past, and he rose a hand to wave and signal they could continue. I hope that woman hasn't gotten herself into too much trouble. He thought to himself as he mulled over the information Cyrus had just told him.

Aezir seemed to be taking his good old time, and despite what she had commanded of herself, her legs just wouldn't listen. She was just itching to move around, to get some progress done- after all, what if this was it? What if this was the time she'd be able to crack the code and break the curse and finally be free of this death and life cycle once and for all? Though she supposed most would be happy to be able to come back to life just as she- but it was hardly her will! She never would have wanted this and well...

Here she was, alive again and browsing all of the skeletons along the wall. There were some actual tapestries inbetween them with some interesting looking creatures and men holding bloodied daggers over people. She gave a curious tilt of her head as she looked at one of a man stabbing a woman and it appeared as if he had cut out her heart while she was still alive.

"Gruesome," she whispered to herself, then moved onto the next tapestry- but was still a bit distracted by the first when she suddenly bumped into something as she gsped and turned around- unable to catch the closed vase she had bumped into before it crashed onto the ground- breaking into a million tiny pieces.. and expelling the bones and dust it once held within.

Aezir walked back into the chamber where Averella was waiting, and looked around to see the bones scattered around the floor, as well as the broken pieces of the vase. Rather than being angry, he simply looked at the woman and smiled. "You seem to be making yourself comfortable here."

With a swift movement of his hand, the bone tapestry was repaired, with the bones swirling up off the floor to meet with the ones still on the wall. As for the bones in the vase, he simply looked at them. "Those bones have been here since I have inherited the temple, as well as the High Prophet before me, and the one before him. I have been quite unsure as to why they are here in the first place. They hold no particular significance, luckily."

The lady grit her teeth.
"I apologize for the mess. I... I didnt mean to." And her eyes dropped down to the broken pieces of the vase. "It was very pretty." That much she could deduce from its details and glaze.

Aezir offered a warm, comforting smile. Which was quite the sight, if you knew him well! It was rare for him to do such things.

He walked over to the woman. "Like I said, don't worry about it. Decorations can be replaced easily, we're just lucky it wasn't anything significant or important."

Despite his kind words, the woman was still wringing her hands.
"Yes, but that doesn't stop me from feeling awful." And here, she sighed. "Though I suppose once I'm on my way, your temple might be all the safer," she went on, trying to joke but it was evidently forced.

"Perhaps." Aezir said. "Although the acolytes are far worse."

He paced around the room, then stopped and faced the woman. "If you don't mind me inquiring about such matters, I do have something I would like to ask. You said this isn't your first revival. If that's the case, what should happen if you return to a state of death during your departure?"

At such a question, Averella found herself staring at him for a good long while before replying.
"Er... You needn't worry yourself about me." And here she sighed, for she was so exhausted by now she was beginning to get irritated. "I've been fine thus far. And I shall be fine again. Well, once I get my things back in order."

"I see. Well, if that is the case, I suppose you can leave whenever you would like. Should you like to leave as soon as possible, I would ask that you wait until tomorrow, so that I can safely escort you out of the city." Aezir said to the woman, although he wasn't ready to give up so easily. He wanted more information on the process by which she had come back to life. He also wanted to study her more.

"Also, as far as your sarcophagus goes, it would be easiest for me to accompany you on your trip so that my servants can transport it for you."

With a tired and grateful sigh, she bowed her head towards him.
"Thank you. That is most kind of you. I think I shall take you up on that hospitality. I'm afraid I am completely exhausted and feel as if I could sleep all week!"

"There is an empty chamber next to mine in my house, on the other side of the district we are in now." Aezir said to the woman. "You may spend the night there, if that pleases you. When you would like to head over, just say the word and I shall take you there."

"Well, if its not too much trouble, I'd like to head over there.now, or atleast as soon as possible."

"But of course." Aezir said with a slight chuckle. "Follow me."

With that, Aezir turned and began to walk down another hallway, motioning for Averella to come with him, but not turning around to see whether she was following or not.

Startled he'd be actually willing to take her that very second, she scrambled to grab her things and rushed off behind him, dropping a few scrolls as she went, but naturally going back to pick them up.
"So how far away must we walk?" She asked through pants of breaths and the bundle of scrolls.

Aezir thought for a moment. "It's about a ten to fifteen minute walk, I would say, so long as we don't get distracted and keep a decent pace."

By that point, they had walked out of the temple and into the streets of the city. For most of the district, there was an overhang from the mountains covering the city in a shadow. The streets were empty, other than a few acolytes walking into the temple.

Averella's eyes were large as she took in this shadow cast city. It seemed as foreboding as the temple, and she felt more awkward each step they took. Clutching onto her things more tightly, she called over to Aezir, "Only ten or so minutes you say?" She chewed on her lip, feeling anxious but hoping to strum up even idle conversation  to help distract her from how she felt.

"Yes, that should be about right." Aezir said. "Since I'm the High Prophet, my house is in the best location and is the biggest house in the district."

"Oh," she went on, politely. "That must be nice. Do you keep any family there? Any children or wives or parents?"

"No." Aezir said simply. "However, my father does live in the city, just a different district."

"Oh," she went on with a blink. "Well, I suppose you use such a house to host many guests."

"That's one potential use." He said to the woman. "Mostly, it's a symbol of power and authority, though."

Her mouth formed the word , 'oh' but no sound came out. She supposed that made sense. The world hadn't changed that much in the past thousand some years she'd been living and dying. Perhaps he had not many guests but servants. Then again, she was rusty on any of the practices of this older god.

After around fifteen minutes had passed, they had finally come to their destination. Aezir pushed open the door, which was extravagantly decorated and made of iron. Inside the house, a few candles burned to give a dim glow. There was a large table with around ten chairs surrounding it in the center of the room they had walked in to, however the entire house was completely empty of people.

"Here we are." Aezir said, turning for the first time to see if Averella had followed him into the house.

She followed him inside with a mousy curiosity, clinging to her things and nearly dropping a scroll as she stepped inside.
"This place is rather large!" She exclaimed, voice echoing in the great hall. "And so... So... Quiet."

"Ah, yes. Typically I have one or two servants, as well as an acolyte, here. In fact, two of my servants live in this house. However, they are all out on... errands... right now." Aezir said. He then motioned towards the stairs. "Come. I'll show you to where you will be staying."

With that, Aezir began heading upstairs, without waiting for the woman to say anything.

Averella was still looking about when Aezir took off. With a soft gasp, she scrambled to follow after , pausing at the lastfew steps to catch a pot before it fell out from her arms. She only sighed with relief when they reached the top, and found herself asking, "oh? Will they not be here this evening?"

"The servants should be returning soon. Two young girls." Aezir said, turning to see if the woman needed any assistance. When she appeared to be fine, he turned again and kept walking.

"In fact, I have a meeting of utmost importance soon. I'm afraid once I bring you to your room, I will have to head out for an hour or so."

Averella gave a cordial nod.
"Ah, I see. Well, I hate to admit it but that is alright. I will probably be sleeping when you return."

Moments later, they arrived at the room. It was rather large and barren except for the large bed in the corner. "It's plain and boring, but it will serve for you to stay one night."

The door opened downstairs, and two voices were able to be heard, but not understood. "It appears they have returned." Aezir said. "Should you need anything while I am gone, they will attend you. I have to get going, so feel free to get comfortable. You can use any of the rooms in the house you desire."

Setting.her things down in a vacant corner, she turned to him and tucked back some or her hair.
"Perhaps I ought to be introduced to your servants before you go?"

"Very well." Aezir said. "Come downstairs for a moment, then."

Aezir walked down the stairs and motioned his servants over. He then waited for the woman to make her way down.

Not wanting to be an inconvenience, Averella did not linger and kept close at his heels. At the sight of the young women, she gave a shy.smile and nod of her head but said nothing. Best to leave introductions to her host.

Aezir smiled. As he talked, he motioned to the girl on the left, then the one on the right. "These are Vala and Sola, respectively."

He then turned to face his servants. "Girls, this is Lady Aval...  No, no, Aven... err, I'm sorry." He said, then turned back to face Averella. "I'm horrible with names."

Averella smiled.politely as.she bowed her head.
"I am Lady Averella. How do you do?"

Both girls bowed simultaneously and spoke together. "A pleasure, my lady."

After that, Aezir spoke again. "Well, I should get going now. If you need anything, both girls are here to attend you."

With that, he turned and left the house.

Averella stood there awkwardly after Aezir left.
"This is a nice place you all have," she said with another polite bow of her head.

(Just a side note, the two girls always act and speak together.)

The girls nodded. "Indeed. This is the house the High Prophet has lived in for generations. When he dies, the next inherits the house."

---

Meanwhile, Aezir made his way back to the temple. It was time for him to gather the acolytes and other prophets and inform them about the news C'thir had given through his father. The streets were dark and empty. His skeleton had already rounded everyone up and brought them to the temple. As he got closer, Aezir put his skull mask back on, and pulled up his hood.

Nodding politely yet again, she informed them, "Yes, I am aware." And tried to give a sweet smile. "Have you worked here long?"

"For two years." The girls replied. "We are some of the newer servants."

---

Aezir finally arrived at the temple. He walked in to the grand chamber, where all the acolytes and prophets were already gathered. He took his place at the front of the room, and prepared to announce the news to the crowd.

"Ah, well I suppose you must feel lucky. It seems like quite the privileged job! Are you both followers of this God? No wait, you don't need to answer that. It was a silly question."

The girls giggled for a few seconds, then immediately became serious again. "It's not often that outsiders are let into the city, and less often Aezir takes to them so kindly. You should feel honored."

---

"My disciples!" Aezir began in an effort to get the crowd's attention. Naturally, they all looked up at him. "We are gathered tonight because C'thir has spoken to my father, and Az'gorr to me."

"Yes, I suppose I should. But I feel more thankful. It isn't everyday one wakes up to the kindness of strangers." And at that she smiled. "You two look like sisters. You're not twins, are you?"

The girls looked at each other. "No. In fact, we're not related. We've been best friends since we were young, though."

---

"Ancient ruins have been discovered in Essryn." Aezir said to the crowd. "Apparently, there is an artifact belonging to C'thir there, as well as several belonging to Az'gorr."

"Oh, what marvelous luck to be working in the same place!" Averella gushed, seeming to get a second wind of energy from this bit of information. "You both must be happy how your fate has turned out!"

"You could say that. Lord Aezir is most generous, so long as you stay on his good side." The girls said with smiles on their faces.

---

"It is the will of our gods that we find these artifacts and return them to our temples." Aezir said. "I shall be personally taking the trip, so while I am gone I expect you all to answer to my father."

Averella gave a polite smile, their conversation going on for a time before she realized, once again, just how tired she was. Excusing herself, she made her way back to her room and reassessed her things for the last time before crawling into the bed. Despite being exhausted, however, the silence kept her awake. She wasn't sure how long it had taken, but she eventually did drift off to a sweet sleep.

"Should anyone find any information on these artifacts, you are to tell me immediately." Aezir finished. "You are all dismissed."

With a wave of his hand, everyone began to leave the temple, and Aezir himself began to head back to his house.

By the time Aezir would return, she was sleeping rather deeply, her chest rising and falling with each gentle breath. It was odd to think not even a few hours ago she had been nothing but a rotting corpse and bones. But as it were, and seemed always would be, she die and live again, and into this state she would be.

For now, she hadn't a care except to regain her strength, so she remained that way for many, many a good hours into the night.

When Aezir returned to his home, he first went to check on Averella. Finding her asleep, he then went to his own chambers, where he spent a good amount of time preparing for his journey before finally going to sleep.

Averella awoke early and stretched out her limbs as she sat up in the bed. After a moment, she realized she had no idea where she was! But after a moment of panic, she sighed when she recalled what had happened.

Sighing with relief, she stepped out of the bed and went to check on her things. They were still intact. Good. That was one less thing to worry about. Rummaging through what was there, she pulled out an antique brush and went to work at brushing out her dark, silky black hair. It was quite the length process, as she had quite a lot of hair!

When Aezir had awoke that morning, the sun had just begun to rise. He walked downstairs and summoned the two girls, sending them to cook breakfast. While he waited, he sat down at the grand table in the room by the door.

Having only one dress, Averella hadn't much to do to prepare herself except finish brushing her hair, which she had done, and just fix her lacey black dress. Though it wasn't a practical attire in the least, it did make her feel more at 'home' in a world that was several millenia past her own.

Stepping outside of the room, she looked around with more scrutiny at the massive house in whcih she stayed and at how limited it was in it's decore. She was halfway down the steps when she noticed Aezir.

And with a polite smile, she nodded towards him as she approached, "Goodmorning. Did your meeting go well?"

"Ah, good morning. It did." Aezir said. "Feel free to sit down if you would like. The girls are preparing breakfast now."

"Oh, breakfast? You're too kind," she said with a nod. "I haven't eaten in... goodness knows how long!" She went on, thoughtfully. "But I digress, I am forever in your debt for being so hospitable. I mean I am a stranger after all. And you've been nothing but kind. "

"You said you would like to leave today." Aezir said. "Could you give me the details of where you are heading? I am transporting your coffin, after all."

"Oh... well, that's a very good question," she went on with a thoughtful frown. "That might be a tad difficult to explain... seeing as you've discovered my coffin either at the location or somewhere unknown- it would be unwise for me to return. So.. in a sense, I need to more or less find erm.. another place to put it, and my things."

Aezir thought for a second. "Do you have any ideas for where you might want to go, then?"

Averella paused to think it over before sighing and shaking her head.
"I'm afraid I haven't thought about that, actually. Normally I just find... a safe and er... rather secluded location. Or someplace I know no one would erm.. disturb my things for the next time I...er.... Well... die."

As they were talking, the servant girls brought over breakfast, which was cooked beef and eggs. Aezir dismissed them afterwards, and redirected his attention back to Averella. "I see. Well, take a while to think it over. We can leave as soon as you know where you want to go. I at least need a general area."

He then motioned to the breakfast laid out before them "Help yourself."

Averella felt.foolish for not knowing and dropped her gaze, cheeks flushed.
"Yes, I certainly will." And at the offer of food, she nodded appreciatively and began to eat. And not having eaten in a while, it was heavenly. But she kept her manners and did not rush. She was still a lady, after all!

Aezir ate very little food, as he always did. He wasn't really one for large meals. He could probably get away with not eating at all, since he could keep himself alive with his magic, but it would no doubt drastically shorten his life span.

After he finished the little bit of food he took, he looked over to Averella. "Is everything satisfactory?"

She smiled at him as she just finished the last bite of food on her plate.
"Oh, very much so! I am always famished, after each time I-" she went on hurriedly, but then realizing she shouldn't give away too much about her curse, she slowed down her speech and chose her words more carefully. "Well, after each time I er, become alive again." And she shifted awkwardly in her chair.
"What about you?" She went on, hoping to change the subject to him. "I seemed to have ate twice as much as you! Are you not as hungry;"

"Don't worry yourself about me. I don't eat much." Aezir said. "Take as much as you desire."

Placing a hand on her belly, she shook her head.
"I couldnt possibly eat anymore. But thank you." And recalling what happened last night she found herself asking, "How did your meeting go? "

Aezir smiled and laughed a little, both of which caught the servants off guard, as he rarely did those things. "It went well, I suppose you could say. It would seem I have need to travel to Essryn."

"Oh, Essryn!" She said, eyes lighting up. Then realizing she probably seemed a bit too enthused, she gave a small smile and sheepishly admitted, "If its not so obvious, I'm from there. Well, sort of. It's er... Difficult to explain really."

"Ah, so that's what it is. I've been trying to decide where you were from." Aezir said. "Essryn was my guess, but I wasn't quite sure."

Averella blushed. She hoped she wasn't giving too much away about herself. But well, Aezir was being.incredibly nice. It had been ages since she could trust anyone with her secret. And she found herself growing antsy and deprived of any real relationship with others , as often times it was tiresome to take on this burden alone. But from lessons learned from the past... She had to be careful who she trusted.
"Have you ever been to Essryn?"

"I can't say that I have." Aezir said. "Being the High Prophet has many responsibilities here, and as such I don't get to travel often."

"Oh! You will simply love it! The sand stone buildings sparkle like white gold, the smell of the reeds from the Niafi River is always so calming, as are the sounds of the river birds. If you can visit it, I'd suggest seeing the Great Temple of Hakeshna on the west river valley. It's exceptionally beautiful and one of the few great temples that survived for many years. Well... Many centuries... Well... Actually.more like millennia..."

"I'm afraid I won't really have time to tour." Aezir sighed. "My God isn't exactly the most patient, and it's only by his request that I am traveling to Essryn at all."

"Oh?" Her eyes went curiously wide. "What business would he have there?"

Aezir made eye contact with Averella and smiled politely. "It's nothing against you, really... But I'm not really supposed to discuss Az'gorr's will with anyone except his followers. I hope you understand."

"Oh!" She blinked owlishly but gave a nod. "No, no, I completely understand. You'll have to forgive me, I'm just naturally curious," she said, giving a nervous, humble sort of laugh.

"It's fine." Aezir said. "I suppose you could say I am equally as curious about the nature of your condition, but I'm sure you have your own secrets you would like to keep."

It was that she stared at him, a frown on her lips before quickly dropping her gaze.
"Yeah...err.. my condition, as you put it," she said, nervously rubbing at her arm. "It's not exactly something I like to broadcast. I mean.. you don't see others like me in this world, after all."

Though she had no idea her brother was still alive as well- suffering from the same curse as she!

"Natural reanimation is quite curious indeed." Aezir said. "However, have you ever considered that someone with expertise in death and reanimation might be able to help you figure out the cause, or at least some more details? Someone who is an extremely powerful necromancer. Someone like... me, for instance?"

Averella blinked at him before dropping her gaze and chewing nervously on her lips.
"I've.... been like this for quite some time. And I hope I do not offend you but I.... I have tried such a path before."
And it wasn't pretty. People who obsessed over death (well, more so than the ancient Essyrnis...) they tended to be a bit too fanatical and she was lucky to have gotten herself out of that ordeal!

"But I do appreciate the suggestion!" she hastily added, hoping not to offend. "It's just er.. when you're as um.. experienced with this ... er.. process I endure, there are only so many options one has not tried."

"Of course, of course." Aezir said. "I was just suggesting it might be worth looking into."

Still biting her lip, she gave a nod.
"Yes, well, I do thank you for the offer. But I couldn't. I'm already a burden for you as it is. And well," she sighed, shaking her head, "This is meant to be my burden to bear."

"I see." Aezir said. "Well, I must say I'm impressed. It must be a difficult burden."

She sighed and cast her eyes downward, a hand on her chest.
"You can say that again."

Aezir stood up and stretched. "I'll be upstairs in my room until you decide where it is you would like to go. Once you are ready to depart, you can come get me."

At that, Averella perked up.
"Wait!" she said, calling after him and following him in small strides, as dictated by the tightness of her lacy dress hugging around her thighs. "You don't have to wait for me.. I...maybe I could travel a ways with you while I consider my options?" she said, a hand on his shoulder as she looked at him imploringly. "I really would hate to be a burden just because of my ill preparedness!"

"You wish to leave now then?"Aezir said. "We will be headed on course to Essryn until you decide where you would like to go, then."

"Well, wish is a very strong word,"s he went on, but gave a nod. "But if that is what you wish," she pressed, giving a nod. "Then I shall prepare my things and leave with you and your um.. entourage."

Aezir smiled. "I think you may have misunderstood what I meant when I said my servants and I would escort you."

With a wave of his hand, three skeletal knights appeared. "These are the ones I was referring to. Unless of course that makes you too uncomfortable?"

Despite being what she was, the skeletal knights appearance startled her. She placed a hand to her chest and took a step back, before sighing after recalling they were hardly her foe-

Well, at least she hoped they'd never become her foe!

"Oh, I uh... see," she said, smiling hesitantly as she tucked some of her hair nervously behind her ear.

"Servants whose mind and bodies are bound eternally to me are more reliable than others, wouldn't you agree?" Aezir asked.

At such a question, she felt awkward and it was quite obvious.
"Oh uhh.. I uh.. wouldnt know."

Noticing how uncomfortable she looked, Aezir signaled for the servants to disappear, and so they returned to piles of bone. "Don't worry. They will be trailing behind us by a good amount. I simply require them to transport your coffin, as well as to help us if we get into a conflict."

Averella tensed, especially at the sound of hte bones clattering to the floor. In fact, that made her jump a little as she hugged her arms around herself. But even after he did that, seemingly for her, she frowned as she peered up at him.
"Oh, you need not have done that on my account. I am your guest, after all. And I am indebted to you for your help."

"I would have needed to make this journey, regardless of whether I was helping you or not." Aezir said, heading to the door and motioning for her to follow. "You owe me nothing."

When he reached the door, he picked up his skull mask and put it on, pulling his hood up so that he looked as he had when Averella had first saw him. "Are you ready?"

Averella was jolted from the thousand of thoughts that plagued her as she looked up at him, hastily nodding.
"Y-yes, let me go gather my things." And she was quick to do so, returning down the steps with her items heaped into her arms. And by the time she reached the bottom of the steps, just about half of her scrolls spilled out from her arms and onto the floor.

Sighing, she peered over at Aezir.
"Might I trouble you for a satchel to carry my things?" She asked, working hurriedly to pick up the brittle scrolls from the ground.

"There should be one in the other room." Aezir said, motioning at the two servants to go fetch it. They brought it back quickly, handing it to Averella. It wasn't very large, but it should be large enough to carry her things. "Will that do?"

She nodded fervently.
"Oh, yes! This is perfect!" She exclaimed. "Thank you so much. This will make transporting my things much easier now." And she was quick to pack her things away, and managed to do so with care. She had been doing this for a long time, after all! Once she was ready, she tossed the bag over her shoulder.
"There. I believe I am ready now..". She said with a big, triumphant grin.

"Perfect." Aezir said, pushing the door open and stepping outside. He turned to face Averella, looking her directly in the eyes. "Since you're with me, no one will think anything of the fact that you are not one of us. However, I must make this extremely clear. Do not stop to talk to anyone. Do not wander away from me. Do not look back once we are out of the city. Do you understand?"

Averella stumbled to a halt, nearly plowing into Aezir. Looking up into his gaze curiously, she bit her lip.
"Oh, dear... That is a lot to remember. Though I suppose , for your sake, I shall try my best." After all, keeping her eyes focused and herself quiet was a difficult task to request!

"The most important thing to remember is staying at my side at all times." Aezir said. "Should you do that, the rest will be easy enough."

He turned to walk, heading out into the streets of the city.

Already Averella was distracted by the world she'd be leaving around her, but once she realized Aezir was on the move, she hurried to his side.

"Would you mind telling me a little more about yourself?" Aezir said, still facing forward. "Of course, you don't have to include anything you don't want to."

Averella blinked and repeated his question.
"About myself?" she gave a curious tilt of her head and a thoughtful frown. "I dunno what there is to tell, but I suppose if you had a specific question- I might be able to answer?"

"Well, how long has it been since you were..." Aezir said, pausing to think of the proper way to phrase himself. "Truly alive, I guess would be the way to put it."

At that, Averella halted in her steps. Her face contorted as it went through quite a series of emotions before she frowned. She wasn't sure how to answer that. But as far as she could tell, he certainly still seemed harmless.

"A.... thousand... some... years?" she said quietly- keeping her gaze dropped out of guilt. A thousand years sounded absurd. But she was far older than even that! And she hated to even lie about that.

Aezir was experienced with torture and interrogation, and as such he was easily able to tell when people lied. The tones in their voice, the looks on their faces... he was able to read them like a book. He knew it was a touchy subject to this woman for some reason, and he had expected an answer that wasn't completely truthful. He didn't mind, he was expecting her to give him nothing at all, honestly.

"Interesting." Aezir said with a smile, although it wasn't visible behind his mask. "The world must have been quite different back then."

Averella sighed, wilting almost as she softly replied, "Yes... very much so."
But she kept walking behind him, trying to keep up, her hands clinging tightly to her bag now that her knuckles had gone white.
"How old are you?" she figured on asking. Might as well change the subject back to him!

"Twenty-seven." Aezir said. "I'm still fairly young, with a lot to learn about life."

"Oh, that is young indeed, though when I was er.. alive," she went on, awkwardly but still smiled. "That was actually rather old. Not many lived past their thirties, so those who had become anywhere near their sixties were really valued and almost worshiped."
Considering that,s he wondered if the ancient philosophy in Essyrn... if it were still upheld today- oh my.. would they worship her above all else? Well, aside from the Goddess Hakeshna, obviously!

"That's interesting." Aezir said. "It's funny to think how things have changed in that period of time."

"Oh trust me," she said with a small smile and a nod. "It is.I've seen much over the year." ANd she bit her lip, trying to keep back her enthusiasm, but she rarely had a chance to share any of this with another person. But she was still wary. But should she be? He was actually helping her.

And she couldn't die...

But it was not her life that she feared. And clutching onto the satchel he lent her a little tighter, she tried to breath a little easier, but her heart still raced at the thought of losing all of her hard work-
all o fher hard work she had been collecting for thousands of years to find this cure.

As they walked through the city, it began to come to life, with acolytes and other followers of his god running around. It was far different than the previous night, where everything had been abandoned. Aezir picked up his pace, wanting to leave the city before Averella drew too much attention to herself.

To see the city alive and thriving with people made Averella look around in wonder. Despite as much traveling as she had done in her life times, she always took time to digest the world around her and appreciate it for what it was worth. And as she followed Aezir, she began to find herself lagging behind, as sight after sight caught her attention- and before she knew it, she ran into someone with an 'ooff!' and when she turned around to apologize, she gasped and stepped away- for she had run straight into the corpse of a very large man with maggots beginning to spill out from his eyes and nose.

A hand clasped to her lips to hold back a scream. And she tried not to think about her own body decomposing (as the bugs were truly ghastly!) and when the man who was attending to the corpse spotted the woman, he too, paused to get a good look at her before snapping, "What are you doing here!?" And he grabbed her by the wrist so she couldn't get away, yanking her towards the pile of corpses he was working on so that they nearly surrounded the pair like a maze.


Averella was too stunned to speak or even scream, but when the man asked her again what she was doing here in this sacred city- for the life of her she could not stop herself and wretched on the man's boots.

The stench of the dead was just too much.

After a while, Aezir turned to make sure Averella was keeping pace, only to find that she was no longer behind him. Bones swirled in front of him, and a decent sized skeletal bird, which appeared to look like some kind of falcon or hawk, was animated. "Find her, now!"

The bird flew off, circling above the city. Aezir began to quickly walk back the way he came, trying to find Averella before something truly bad happened to her.

The man let out a shriek and grabbed Averella by the wrists, shaking her good that she felt as if her arm might fall out of it's socket.

"Trespasser! No follower of our god would wretch at such a sight as the dead!"

Oh, if only the man knew!
Groaning, she tried to speak, but had to clap another hand over her lips, more vomit rising like acid from her throat that hse tried desperately to keep down. But what happened next was enough for her to swallow whatever sickness she felt in her belly as she paled when the man threw her up against a stone slab and pointed one of his sharp tools at her.

"Do you know what we do to trespassers? It is a sin to so much as gaze upon this city, outsider! And our god will only revel in the feast of your splayed fresh as we turn your organs inside out while you're still living, and let the undead feast until your falling blood fills our cauldron and you are dead!"

And at such a threat, and promise, Averella could only stare- completely petrified at the idea of what he proposed. And thoughs he wanted to scream, she wanted to beg for her life, alls he could manage to squeak out was a, "I... I'm sorry."

And that's when another man entered, this one decked out in bones pierced in just about every hole and slap of skin on his body, his hair shaved and he had to be at least eight or nine feet tall! And as he approached, she let out a soft gasp as he looked from her to the man beside her.

"Ezrell, what is this?"

"An outsider!" the man spat through his dark, shaggy beard as he glared over at Averella through his single remaining eye- for it was only then did she realize he was missing one, and in it's place was a nasty, pink puffed scar.

"An outsider? In our city?" he said, nostril's flaring like an angry bull's as he stepped forward to look the girl over as she tried to back away- except well...
There was no where for her to go to even properly cower! But as the larger man examined her, he couln't help but sneer a smile. "And it's a woman?"

Ezrell glared over at the giant of a man.

"Don't think about it, Astralph. Think of the taint her body would give to you." And his eyes went from the giant back to Averella. "Who are you and where have you come from? Are you here to spy on us? To try to mock our god? This city is sacred! ANd you- YOU are an abomination!"

"An abomination who is small enough to have her skull crushed between my hands," Astralph said in a deep laugh as he held up his large hands.

"Oh.." her eyes went wide as she observed them. "What... large hands you do have.  But you see, I um.. I came here as a guest of Aezir..."

"Aezir?" The giant was taken back, and the bearded man beside him growled and slapped her hard across the face with his tool.

"The wicked one lies!"

And before the bearded man could stop him, the giant stormed forward in a roar and picked the woman up in his grip, his hands consuming most of her body as he began to squeeze. And at such a force, Averella was certain her body would surely break into itself- and she certainly did not wish to ever feel such a thing!

And even if it were to happen- how would these two even react to the fact she couldn't even die... even when her bones would be crushed to dust!

Panicking,s he thought of the only thing she could as she called out, "Aezir! Aezir!" ANd hte giant gave a roar into her face.

"STOP CALLING FOR OUR PRIEST, YOU FOUL OUTSIDER!"
And boy was the giant's breath most foul, as that alone nearly made the poor woman pass out!
"For that I ought to rip off your head!" And he dropped Averella to the ground, and she- too stunned to move, dropped like a rag doll before the man lunged forward to reach for her head-
hoping to crush her skull in like an egg.

"NO OUTSIDERS SHALL MOCK OUR CITY! TO OUR HELL YOU SHALL GO!"

And somewhere in the middle of this, Averella had to wonder just what had happened that she found herself in such an insane and most dangerous predicament? All she could pray for was that Aezir might find her- least she turn into a heap of bones and really...
she was not ready to 'die' just yet!

Aezir was following the bird from the ground, and when it let out a piercing screech through the sky, he knew that the woman had been found. Rushing through the street to where the bird had seen her, cloak trailing behind him, he burst into an opening, where two acolytes had Averella cornered. She as on the ground, her body limp, seemingly in a dazed state.

Aezir didn't speak, but instead held out his hand. Two trails of shadowy tendrils surged out at the acolytes, wrapping themselves around their throats and lifting them up into the air before they would even know what would be happening.

The smaller man, Ezrell, clawed at his throat, quite visibly in an extreme amount of pain. He was gasping for breath, tearing at the tendrils, even drawing blood on his own neck as he tried to rip them off.

The larger man, Astralph, placed on hand on the front of his throat, as if showing someone that he was choking. His eyes began to tear up as he was alternating between coughing and roaring in rage and pain.

As the men struggled, the tendrils only tightened their grip, constricting the circulation of their blood now as well as the flow of air. "I trust I made it here in time?" He said calmly, turning his gaze to Averella.

He released his grasp on the two acolytes, who fell to their knees, still gasping for air and grabbing at their throats. They still hadn't quite realized what had happened, or who had been the one to interrupt their business.

Averella was too stunned to move. Though her attacker had been yanked away, she remained paralyzed, her head and throat aching from the attack. Her dress had fallen from her shoulder from such rough handling, her skirt, appearing somewhat torn, as the ties int he front appeared to be coming loose, loose like her hair that was now a mess about her face.

And all she could do was remain there, eyes wider; shivering.


The two men who had been attacked remained on the ground, wheezing for air-
and it was no surprise the larger man was the first to recover, getting to his feet and reaching for his blade. But the second he saw who it was, he dropped to his knees and bowed his head. And it took Ezrell a second longer before he too, realized who it was and weakly got to his own knees as he bowed and tried to catch his breath- but his throat was so bruised, each breath he took was labored. And he was pretty sure a bone or two had to be broken.

"You two disgust me." Aezir stared, bones of all different shapes and sizes swirling around him. "Is that any way to treat a lady?"

"But sir," Ezrell replied, hoarsely- each word a strain. "She.. she is an outsider... and she defiled one of our dead!"

The same shadowy tendrils that had grabbed him before now surged up from under Ezrell, pulling his head down to the ground and staying wrapped around his throat.

"I don't believe I asked for you to explain, Ezrell!" Aezir snapped furiously. "Did I ask you to talk back to me?"

Aezir waved his hand, and the tendrils let go of Ezrell. However, just after they released him, a sharp snap could be heard, and Ezrell grabbed his right arm with his left, screaming in agony. Aezir had shattered his bone with his magic, and the pain was coursing through his entire arm. "Have you forgotten why you had your eye taken, Ezrell?" He said, this time in a cold, chilling voice that could send shivers down someone's spine.

Aezir turned to face Astralph, with a dark grin on his face, laughing. "And what do you have to say for yourself, Astralph?"

Astralph, though no scholar, was also no fool, and kept his head bowed humbly.
"I can only speak of my mistakes, your holiness. And this is a mistake most foul. Punish me as you see fit."

Aezir smiled, although it was still not visible behind his mask. "What did he do to you, Averella?" Aezir said in a calm tone. "Tell me everything."

The big man was at a loss of words, but realizing his punishment would be great, he kept his head bowed low and professed, "I threatened her, and hurt her with me large hands, your grace. I was aiming to do great harm to her. I feared what she could do, as an outsider. So I let my anger out."

And from the looks of Averella, Aezir had come just in time.

Aezir turned to Averella in order to confirm that nothing else had happened to her. "There was nothing else?" Aezir asked calmly. "He drew no weapon? He didn't attempt to rape you, or even suggest it?"

At that, Ezrell managed to speak up, for fear of a greater consequence.
"I did. I threatened her with ... With a tool... And death. A death f..fit for sinners, my lord."

And after that, Astralph was quick to reply, "And I had thought to ... To sample her pleasure, lord Aezir," the giant of a man stuttered. "I was weak to think it. But I did not act. I simply wished to punish her. To crush her, for you, for our god."

It would be much to the man's surprise, but Aezir did nothing but growl a sentence at him. "Get out of my sight, scum."

Turning back to face Ezrell, Aezir spoke again. "I'll give you a chance to show me you learned your lesson, Ezrell. I'll ask again. Was that any way to treat a lady?"

Clutching his wound, he gave a shake of his head.
"N-no, my lord. I was wrong, lord. I was a fool. Please, forgive me for I did not think when I acted. It was irrational. It was cowardly."

"Better, Ezrell, better." Aezir said. "Since you wished to decide her fate, I will let her decide yours."

Turning to Averella, Aezir spoke again. "What would you like his punishment to be, Averella? It could be anything. Or nothing, if that is what you desire."

At this point, Averella just about had her wits scared out of her, and before she knew what she was doing, she threw herself at Aezir, and sobbed.

Aezir was taken aback, and didn't know what to do at this point. All he could manage was a confused "Uhhhh..."

He wrapped an arm around Averella to comfort her, then called to Astralph, who had not gotten far. "Astralph! Take Ezrell with you. Assure his arm is not too far beyond repair. It would be a shame if he would have to cease performing his duties, would it not?"

As the two acolytes hurried away from the scene, Aezir brought his other hand up to stroke Averella's hair. "It's okay." He offered in an attempt to comfort her more. Perhaps he had been a bit too cruel for this woman to bear, on top of the traumatizing event that had just occurred.

For someone who always seemed to have something to say, Averella could do nothing but cling to him and cry. And when she was able to speak again, all she could think of was uttering croaky thankyous between sobs.

"It's okay. You're safe, I promise." Aezir said softly, caressing her head with his one hand and pulling her closer with the other. His only goal for the moment was to calm her down and comfort her. "I'm sorry you had to go through that." And after a moment, he added "I'm sorry you had to see me like that."

Finally she seemed to sober as she took a half step back.
"No, I am the one who should apologize. I don't know how I had fallen so far behind. But oh," her eyes were in tears again. "I've broken my word to you! And the consequences fell on those poor men!"

Aezir almost couldn't believe what he had just heard. Averella was concerned for the men who had just assaulted her? Was she truly that innocent?  "You should hardly be worried about them. They deserved everything that happened to them, for what they did to you." Aezir said, frowning. "And Ezrell's disrespect towards me is intolerable. I have tried to teach him his lesson before, and he didn't learn."

In truth, Ezrell had talked back to Aezir in the past when Aezir said he couldn't rape a woman who was about to be sacrificed. Aezir was devoted to his god and the practices that ensued, and enjoyed the pain of others as he tortured and killed them, but rape was one thing he didn't tolerate, unless it was ordered by Az'gorr himself. For the disrespect Ezrell had showed him that day, Aezir took his eye, to symbolize how Ezrell had been blind to the way that Aezir ruled as High Prophet.

She shook her head.
"But that's like blaming the fox when you leave open the chicken coop. And and and... You had warned me. "

"I had warned you for your safety, because I knew what would happen otherwise." Aezir said. "That doesn't make it right what they did, or mean that they don't deserve punishment for it."

She gave a shakey nod. That was true, but she never felt right to see others suffer. It was, perhaps, that very selfless ness and naivety that got her cursed in the first place.

"Come." Aezir said, taking a few steps before extending a hand to Averella, who was still visibly shaken up. "Let's leave before anything else happens."

She didn't recall nodding her taking his hand, but she did and followed him, close at his heels.

Aezir was walking with a highly elevated pace, wanting to get out of the city before anything else happened. They still had two other districts to go through before they would be out of the city; the District of Kings, where the followers of C'thir lived, including his father, and the District of Blood, where Khal'thos reigned supreme. In both of these districts, he held authority as a High Prophet, but not as much as within his own. He wanted to avoid trouble wherever possible.

She hadn't known when they changed districts, but something was distinctively different about this area when she finally did look around. Thankfully, no one paid the pair any mind. They were sticking to their business, and so the people here remained focused on theirs.

"From here on out, no one should pay us any attention unless we make a scene." Aezir said. "Except maybe my father, if we pass him."

At the mention they'd be safe, she released a sigh. But at the mention of his father, she perked up.
"Oh? So he lives here?"

"This is the District of Kings, the very center of our city. My father is the High Prophet here." Aezir said.

At that, Averella's eyes lit up.
"Oh? Does he serve many kings' here?" she asked, curious as to what sort of place this really was.

"His god is the king of our gods." Aezir explained. "Which is why the district was named as such. The District of Death, where we came from, was named because Az'gorr is the god of death. There are three other districts. The District of Blood, the District of Chaos, and the District of War, all named for the god they represent."

"Oh, I should have realized that!" she said, apologetically. "Makes sense to me." She went on, biting int her lower lip as she peered around, still keeping close but watching a few workers in this district as they walked by, but one particular worker on a roof top paused to stare at the two- and something about his gaze made her cringe and turn away, keeping closer to Aezir.

"So what about your mother? Does she work in any of these districts?" she asked, wanting to keep up the conversation to keep herself distracted from any paranoia or unease.

"She went on a mission for our gods." Aezir said calmly. "It was supposed to take around three years. It's been 17."

Averella went silent, her face growing long.

"I... I'm sorry," she said quietly, and found herself squeezing his hand gently.

"It's okay. She hasn't died yet, I know that for a fact." Aezir said. "One day, she'll come back. If not, then one day she'll die, and then we'll be reunited through my god."

Taking in this revelation, she gave a nod.
"So.. if you're alive, and she has passes.. you can still see her?" she asked, curiously.

"Not exactly." Aezir began to explain. "I can speak with the dead, but cannot see them. Being the High Prophet of the god of death has its perks. Through him, I can hear what they say, and respond."

"Oh." She gave a nod. "But it must be comforting to know she's still alive. And that must be something, to be able to communicate with those you have lost."

"It's nice, at times." Aezir said. "The old High Prophet still speaks with me on occasion. He was more of a father to me than my real father was, so it's good to hear from him."

At that,s he gave him a warm smile.
"Any others you like to converse with? On the other side, I mean."

"No one in particular." Aezir said. "Though I do feel more comfortable among the dead than the living."

"Really? How strange. But I suppose to each their own."

"You saw how the living act back there." Aezir said. "Is it really so surprising I prefer those who are close to my god?"

Averella dropped her gaze to her feet and went quiet. He did have a point.

"Anyway, is there anyone you still have connections with? You know, given the nature of your... condition? Yes, I suppose that would be the best word." Aezir said kindly. "Of course, if that's a sensitive topic, you may ignore the question."

Averella remained quiet and rubbed awkwardly at her arm.
"No... no one. They've long since passed."

"I see." Aezir said. Then, he continued on for a while in silence. Unless something happened, or Averella spoke, he would remain quiet.

And so quiet it remained, until the pair were nearing the end and a man approached.
"Aezir, I see you travel with a stranger. Is she a knew recruit?" The man inquired. "Or is she your wife? Don't lie to your cousin now! It's about time you got yourself a lady to bed!"

Aezir shot him a dark look. "Getting involved in other people's business is a bad habit, cousin."

The man held up his hands.
"Hey, relax, I didn't know she was your business. So you leaving the city with this girl? I heard you had a tripped planned to Essyrn."

"Yes, I do." Aezir growled, frustrated that word had got out so soon. "However, it does not concern you."

The man raised his brows and simply took a step back.
"Whatever you say, Aezir," and he no longer intervened, but as he walked away, he whispered 'Jackass."

Aezir sighed, turning to Averella. "Some people have no respect. Another prime example of why I prefer the dead."

Though she felt anxious over the whole ordeal, she couldn't help but smile as she told him, "You know, the dead were once living."

"True." Aezir said. "But have you ever spoken with one of the dead? Someone who is truly dead, and has remained that way?"

Averella gave a shrug.
"Unfortunately, I have. But the dead spirit was most unagreeable. I hadn't meant to stumble upon his tomb, and I never heard the ends of his wailing and attempts at killing me to be rid of me. The joke was on him when I simply couldn't die."

"It's most unfortunate that that is the type of spirit you have encountered." Aezir said with a sigh. "The ones who I speak with have become wiser in death. They have had secrets revealed to them that they had not known in life. It changed them, made them altogether better. That is the main reason I prefer the dead."

"Well, if they were all like that, I wouldn't find it hard to believe, and I-" But before she could get another word out- there was a woman's scream coming from down a nearby alley.

"Oh, dear." Averella raised a hand to her lips. "That did not sound good."

"I suppose it would be best to check it out." Aezir said as he began to walk in that direction. "I must warn you, I do not hold authority in my district, my father does. If this is indeed a problem, there is only so much I can do."

Noting that this might worry her, Aezir then added to his statement. "However, should anything happen that puts us in danger, I will not hesitate to defend you and myself at all costs."

Averella's eyes went wide.
"Oh! You don't think.... Could there be trouble?" And though she stated the obvious, she couldnt help it. She clung to his arm, but at the sound of his last statement and her heart fluttered at the last comment as she looked at him.
"You needn't endanger yourself on my account. I'm not exactly... Alive." And she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if someone gave their life for her!

"My god is the god of death, Averella." Aezir said with a grin. "I won't exactly die until he wishes it of me."

Averella was taken back by his comment. Was he some sort of immortal as well?

Seeing a bit of surprise on her face, Aezir decided to explain further. "My gift of necromancy goes beyond that of a normal necromancer, Averella. I can use it to keep myself alive, more or less. Only when my god deems that it is time for me to die for good will I let go of my hold of life."

Aezir started walking down the alley. "Stay close to me."

Averella stared at him with her lips ajar. So he could hold power over his own life? She was curious if he ever had to use it, but her thoughts were broken when the heel of her boot stepped into something sticky, dark, and wet.

Aezir noticed it too, although he didn't step in it. He knew what it was right away. "Averella, keep calm, okay?"

The skeletal bird began to appear on Aezir's shoulder as he talked, and when he finished his statement, it was fully there. "You know what to do."

And with that, the bird took off.

Keep calm? What a suggestion! Though if she wanted to do so, she opted not to look down as she blindly continued to walk along his side.

"What... what's going on here?" From the way he was acting, it seemed he had some sort of clue. And she had this sinking sensation it wasn't pleasant.

"It's uncommon for violence within our city, but..." Aezir said, sighing. "It does happen, just as anywhere else."

The bird was still circling the sky, looking to see if it could find anything. However, they were in a dark alley, and it was possible that the bird may not find anything before they did.

Averella gave a nod.
"True." But of course it didn't make her feel any less nervous. Her eyes darted around, trying to carefully scout out what she could, but as far as she could see- there was nothing...
nothing except the shadows that watched.

After they had made their way down the alley a decent amount, Aezir heard the same scream from before, this time closer. As he had anticipated, the alley was too dark and concealed for the bird to have been able to find anything. "Be ready for anything, Averella."

Averella gave a nod, but as they rounded the corner- what they found was not exactly what she expected- as a deranged human, blood seeming to just ooze out of him like another life form attached to it's own, was opening it's mouth up inhumanly wide, and eating the shrieking woman, who's cries died beneath the sickening crunch of her bones.

When they had come around the corner, the beast finished off the woman for the most part, and turned its attention to Aezir and Averella. It let loose a sort of roar, blood going everywhere. "Stay behind me."

Aezir summoned his skeletal guardian, which burst out of the ground with weapon in hand, standing facing this deformed being.

Averella was so scared she could of pissed herself! Maybe she should have peed before they left? But despite her cowering fear, she managed to ask, "What... What is that thing?!"

"I'm not quite sure exactly." Aezir said. "Some sort of failed experiment most likely. However, it's odd that it would get out and be found at this part of the city."

The fact he was uncertain on many levels about this abomination of flesh sent a cold chill clenching her stomach. She grit her teeth and pressed even closer to him. Little good that did as the disfigured, blood channeling human sudden lunged at them- jumping at inhuman heights and blood spurting out from it's finger tips to create semi-solid and sharp extensions of it's nails as it aimed to cut.

With a wave of his hand, the skeletal guardian broke apart into different bones, which swirled in front of Aezir and Averella to create a sort of shield to block against the attack.

The blood ricocheted off it, seeming to disconnect and shoot off intot he air, and seconds later the being was slamming into the moving shield with ferocity, the blood claws that had disconnected also slamming into his back as moving, wicked tendril like spikes as it roared hungrily and acidic blood bubbled like lava and fell in steaming gobs from it's mouth.

Aezir's eyes glowed black, and the flesh of the deformed being in front of him began to decay and rot. Using his magic, he pushed the shield forward to send the beast flying backwards.

The shriek the being released was unearthly, and the sensation that ran through the woman was like that compared to nails on a chalk board. She thought, while she was gritting her teeth so hard, she'd break them as she clasped her hands over her ears.

Rotting or not, the beast still attacked, even as it's limbs bubbled within it's own pool of maggots. Bones twisted and ripped out into awkward pinwheels that moved forward, hoping to get at the creatures before it as it's melting jaw dropped open and it roared and shrieked again.

While Aezir had no abilities involving blood magic, bone was his to control. Rather than being hit by the bone attacks, he broke them apart and added them to the shield in front of him, which he used to ram into the beast's skull.

What was left was hardly human, just a massive ball of beastily shaped eruptions of blood. And within the center of a figure that was presumably it's head, two pairs of eyes were sunk in, like deep shadowed pits. It was hard to gauge where the noise was coming from when it roared next, but it had itself launching up and over Aezir and his bone shield before it disappeared over the tops of the building.

As soon as the beast had left the dark alley, the bird that Aezir had sent to the skies let out a shriek and began following it. "At least now we'll know where it is."

Turning to Averella, he looked her over. "Are you alright?"

Averella stood there, petrified, but after a moment of gaping, and her hands being held quite close to her chest, she gave a slow, rigid nod.

"I need to keep that thing from causing any more trouble in the city." Aezir said. "Either hide somewhere safe, or stay by me, that's up to you, but we need to move fast."

As much as she wished she had the gumption to help (not that she had any skills in that area), she couldn't help but stutter out, "But I.. I don't think I could help." Never mind the other option he gave her to simply hide.

"I'm not concerned with your ability to help or not." Aezir said simply. "I'm concerned with your safety. I need you to calm down and think for a moment, Averella. Would you like to stay with me, or do you want to hide?"

"I...."
Her mind was racing, her throat going dry.
"I..." It felt like the arms on the clock were ticking heavily within her head, the world coming down like lead-
But before she could side, a window shattered over head, another woman screamed as the beast returned in an explosion of amorphic limbs that tore another woman above them apart. It happened so swiftly, that by the time the beast was throw, half the body was eaten, the other half, falling to the ground beside the pair before off it vanished again, over the rooftops.

ANd that was the last thing Averella say before the world went black as she fainted to the ground.

Aezir let his bone shield form back into the skeletal knight, which picked up Averella and carried her off, taking her to the central temple where she would be safe. That way, it could also find Aezir's father, and through it Aezir could inform him about the trouble.

Once the skeleton was on its way, Aezir began to chase after the beast, which was still being followed from the sky by the bird.

The beast continued to hop from roof top to roof top, until it saw the bird over head and gave an annoyed grunt before trying to leap at it with a thousand bloodied limbs.

The bird let itself be consumed by the beast at Aezir's command, and then when it was inside the beast, Aezir exploded the bones outwards so that they would rip through the beast from the inside.

the explosion was effective, but it only splintered a quarter of the beast's girth. And even after the bones had done their job, the bloodied monster began to reform as it turned tail and began to hop over rooftops with spider like legs and grace.

"What the hell have those damn blood mages done this time?" Aezir said to himself. He was getting pissed off now. Hopefully his skeletal guardian would reach the temple soon with Averella.

Aezir had every right to worry about the woman under his charge, for it seemed the creature was heading that way- and as it was leaping from building to building, it began to make it's way back towards the streets, where more screams were heard, and more people- eaten.

Bones began to swirl around in front of Aezir, and soon a skeletal horse had taken shape. Mounting it quickly, Aezir began to ride towards the temple.

The beast appeared too busy gobbling up people left and right, but the second he smelled something... dead, the beast turned just as the bone knight disappeared inside the temple with Averella. And the beast made haste to follow after, storming the temple and crawling clean up to the top, where it roared angrily with such a force, it shook the ground. ANd it's arms, moving more like tentacles, began to grab and crush at the towers upon the temple, as chandeliers and candle sticks inside began to swing and fall over.

Aezir rode up to the temple and immediately began confronting the beast when he arrived, causing its bones to crumble and its flesh to rot away. He wanted to prevent any damage to the building that he could.

Meanwhile, inside the temple, Cyrus ran into the room where the skeleton had just arrived. "That's... Aezir's guardian."

Looking down at Averella, Cyrus began to shake her to get her into a conscious state, as the skeleton simply growled, trying to convey what was going on outside.

The shaking was to no avail. Averella was out like the dead, all the while the walls seemed to come crumbling down. And though Aezir was trying to use his death magic on it, it only seemed to fuel the omnimorphic beast into a frenzied of shapes before seeming to almost disappear completely from sight.

But what happened next was the entire chandelier in the great room of the temple came crashing down, nearly crushing Cyrus and the others into piece as it landed. Though the shards of glass and hot wax would surely pelt them from the fall, that would be the least of their worries as the bloodied being reassymulated before them just as Averella came to.

And the second she saw the beast and it's shadow looming over them, she screamed. And that was all the blood beast needed to hear as it's arms gushed down like a thousand waterfalls and gobbled her up into his mess of blood shaped limbs.

Cyrus had no magic of his own, only the gift of prophecy and a connection with his god, so when the beast appeared he had no means of fighting it off.

Luckily Aezir stormed into the temple immediately afterwards, and saw Averella in the beast's arms. His skeletal knight slashed at the limbs of the best, attempting to cut Averella free, while Aezir created a wall of bones in front of the beast's mouth to try and prevent it from attempting to eat Averella. Turning his gaze at Cyrus, Aezir screamed. "Get a damn blood mage over here, now! This is their problem to deal with, not mine!"

The bone cage was erected mere seconds before Averella became lunch, and the blood being howled violently, trying to close it's jaws as the bones threatened to crack beneath the weight.

Cyrus yelled back to Aezir. "Send your damn bird!"

To which Aezir responded, "I'm a little busy right now, damn it!"

The beast what beginning to apply a good amount of pressure to the bones, and it wouldn't be long before they snapped. Cyrus looked at the beast, then back at Aezir.

"Alright, I'm going! Just hold out until I bring someone back, Aezir."

And holding out seemed all they could do, as Averella was being held even more tightly within the bloodied beasts's limbs, and the bones snapped- half of the cage caving in.

As the bones cracked and snapped, Aezir caused them to mend, trying to bring them back into place. He would only be able to do this once, however. Once they snapped again, they would be useless to him.

And it only took one bone to snap for it too happen- and far too quickly really for anyone to really know what was going on. For there was no scream, only a sudden glow of magic, more snapping of bones and a whirl wind of magic as an old man, his long beard peppered in grey, held up his staff and tried to make the beast begone!

The beast reared back, visibly shrieking as it tried to fight it off, the woman still in it's grasp as it cowered and hissed and chomped the remaining bone cage to dust.

With one last effort to get the beast to drop Averella now that this other mage had appeared, Aezir sent shards of bone flying at the beast, piercing its limbs.

The monster reared back defensively, using it's thousands of morphing limbs as a shield. But it's power was fastly dissipating and soon it was becoming too small and weak that it took off down a hall, attempting to flee.

Aezir began to run after the beast, and when he was in the hall, he created a massive wall of bone to block off the entire hallway, forcing the beast back towards himself, as well as the other mage.

Without many options left, the beast did one last thing in hopes to break itself from their grasp as it threw itself quite literally into the wall of bones. At first, it did little, but after several desperate throws the bones began to crack and crack and crack and finally, went they shattered open the beast let otu a howl as it stumbled into it's freedom, which ended in it's body deflating to the ground and inevitably into a pile of lifeless blood.


Though it seemed all was well, even the blood fading so there was no remains of what the beast once was, but Averella stood there, not certain what to make of this, as her entire midsection had been run through with one of the broken bones from the wall. One piece jutting out of the front of her- the rest of it, coming out of the back as she stared... and stared.

Aezir saw Averella's condition, and his first reaction was of concern, but it soon turned into him trying to comfort her. He approached her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't worry... It's going to be okay now."

Then, turning to the other mage, he began to yell. "What the hell were you damn blood mages thinking? How the hell did something like that get loose?"

Whatever was happening around her was lost. She was still staring down at the bone sticking out of her and feeling faint. And as she remained there, unmoving, sand began to sift.out from the wound .

Aezir simply kept his hand on her shoulder, waiting for her to say anything. "It's okay, you're going to be okay."

It was strange, the feeling to have an entire sharp object being through your body- specifically her mid-section. And though she wasn't sure what this meant, as she still felt quite the intense amount of pain as she stood there, eyes wavering, glossing over with warm, wet tears that began to flow down her cheeks.

A hand moved forward, shaky and slow, sliding down the ends of the bone that protruded and then hesitating to a halt just before it entered into her body. It was here she lifted her gaze over to Aezir, those eyes of her's wavering, glittering even as her lips trembled.


"I do believe I... might die before my next cycle," she said weakly, and felt her legs begin to cave.

"Hey, don't think that way." Aezir said. "You're going to be fine, okay? Even if you die, you'll reanimate again, right?"

Cyrus looked over at Aezir with a blank expression on his face, devoid of all emotion. "Cycle? Reanimate? Does that mean she's one of the dead?"

Aezir shot his father a glare, then looked back at Averella, waiting to see what would happen, and trying to think of anything he could do.

Not having any more strength left, she kept staring off into space, not able to even look at anything in particular.


"I... I don't know I..."
She winced. "I... I don't believe this.... this has ever happened."
Her hand was still clenching the bone as she grit her teeth and finally had the strength to look up at Aezir.

"But it hurts," she told him, a few extra tears rolling down her cheeks. "Would... could you... pull it out?"

There was no use waiting for the inevitable, whatever fate the bone jutting out of her would accomplish, she'd rather get it done and over with. She was never a fan of pain.

Aezir nodded and pulled the bone out, even though he knew what would likely happen once he did. He placed an arm underneath her so she wouldn't fall to the ground, and held the bone in his other hand.

And the second the bone was yanked out she made only one faint, breathy noise of pain before her eyes glowed once with life, and soon glossed over and her form slumped down, unmoving and rigid, into his arms.

"It's odd for you to care about the lives of others, Aezir." Cyrus said in his emotionless manner. "Though, I suppose you always did feel more comfortable around the dead, and it sounds like that's what she truly was."

Aezir's skeleton came over and placed its arms under Averella, taking her from Aezir, who then stood up and animated four more substantially smaller and less powerful skeletons. He directed his attention towards them. "Bring me her coffin, from the temple."

The skeletons left immediately, heading towards the District of Death. When they had vanished from sight, Aezir shot a look of hatred and rage over at the older mage who had shown up.

As she was moved, sand still sifted from the open wound in her body, trickling to the ground in soft, faint tinkling noise.

"This is the fault of you and your fellow blood mages." Aezir spat at the older mage.

Turning to his skeletal guardian, he began instructing it on what to do. "Hold her as still as possible, and don't let any sand be lost."

Finally, he addressed his father. "Bring me a jar."

Cyrus began to argue, starting with, "What the hell do you need a jar for?" However, once he saw the look Aezir was giving him, he simply nodded his head and went to find something for Aezir to use.

It was most unusual, for if she were dead- as it was evidently perceived to be, that her body would not simply resort back to her mummified, rotting corpse. But she was so early into her cycle of rebirth that for now, all her body was doing was simply leaking sand and chilling as the minutes ticked by.

After a few more minutes had passed, Cyrus still had not returned, and Aezir was still alone with the older mage, who had just turned to leave when Aezir addressed him. "What the hell was that thing?"

The older mage turned to look at Aezir. "It was an experiment. We attempted to create a being that no longer needed flesh of bone, only blood. Needless to say, it failed."

It was strange, though she couldn't move- Averella could hear everything around here. And moments before, everything had been dark. It was still dark, but well- to be able to hear was most interesting. But the hearing was that of another kind, and she knew not what was going on, but her body still relinquished sand, but the stream of it was slowing.

Cyrus finally returned with the jar that Aezir had requested and placed it down next to him. Taking the bone in his hand, Aezir used his magic to turn it into a powder that then filled the jar. Summoning his skeletal bird, he placed the jaw in its talons. "Take this to the temple."

Cyrus frowned as he watched the bird take off.
"You know she's dead. She's in your territory now. You'd think you'd be celebrating." And looking her over, and her strange garb he cut a look to his son.
"And she's not one of us."

"You would never understand." Aezir said. "An endless cycle of death and reanimation... A way to die, and come back with the knowledge you have gained. A way to embrace my God in person, and learn from him, then come back and bring those teachings with you. If I could just crack the code... If I could figure out how, or even why, it's happening like that for her."

Aezir looked at his father. "The possibilities are endless. It's not mindless reanimation like what I can do... it's something more..."

While everything he had said had been his goals from the start, a way to recreate her cycle with his magic for himself, he didn't want to admit that he had also begun to take a liking to this woman. Having someone around who wasn't a useless acolyte was nice for once.

Mindless or not, any value in the woman was gone in the moment. It appeared as if she truly were dead,a nd though in such a state, Averella was not used to. It was hard to explain, death really, though this sort..
Was strange... empty....
ANd even after she had been taken back to her coffin and laid to rest, she simply appeared as if she were sleeping. But her body was cold and still as death, but in the moment, there was no real signs of decomposing.

But then again, her cycle to decompose was still too far away. At the earliest, she would not return to bones for at least another month. And even the dead one knew not if that were to happen again. Maybe the curse was broken? Or maybe, it just forced her to have an earlier 'rest'.

Aezir stood by the coffin, looking at the woman, who after some time still showed no signs of progressing through her cycle. He reached out to her through his God, projecting his thoughts to the realm of the dead. He sensed her presence, even if her physical body was lifeless.

It would come as unintelligible murmurs at first. It would sound as if it was just pointless noise, soft and barely able to be heard. The sound would turn into a low whisper, still barely able to be made out, but now sounding more like words. Then, slowly, it would start to get louder, and Averella would begin to hear her name being whispered in the darkness.

Averella... Can you... hear me?

The noises were indeed strange- like scarabs scratching at her coffin, or the subtle sound of a thousand moving maggots. But even as she feared whatever it was, she also felt herself wanting to embrace it. She was never a fan of being alone in such times of uncertainty, and once the voice was recognizable, she felt.... cold, if she even could before trying to reply, "Aezir?"

And then a moment later, she found herself asking, "Am I dead?"

"Yes, Averella, you are. Though it would appear your spirit is lingering about your body."

The voice got louder, turning from a whisper into the normal way Aezir talked. They were shrouded in complete darkness, Aezir's projection nothing more than a voice that called out to her from the void, at least for now.

"I'm sorry, Averella. It never should have happened like this."

Averella went quiet, trying to digest all of this.
"So I am dead.." she confirmed, still uncertain what sort of dead this time as she grew silent to think it all over. But even in this state of unbeing, she could not remained settled over the unknown.

"Although... Your body is still in a lifelike state, instead of the mummified one we found you in."

There would seem to be a twinkling light when Aezir talked, coming from the direction of his voice. When he was quiet, it would fade away into darkness once more.

"It's possible that this death is only temporary, as in the cycle you go through has not been broken, and once the time comes it will continue as it normally does. It may also be possible that with this death before your normal cycle, the cycle could be broken. I can't tell which, as of yet."

Having no idea how to respond to that, Averella grew quiet. And if it was possible, she also grew uncomfortable. Her body hadn't turned back into a mummy...
And though Aezir offered a suggestion- she just couldn't believe that, or what it could mean.

"I'm sorry, Averella, but I don't know what to do from here. The best option may be to wait and see what happens to your body, and see if it returns to its mummified state."

Aezir was trying his best to comfort her, because even spirits could panic or grow uneasy, but he wasn't going to lie to her and act like he knew what was going on if he didn't.

After a moment of thinking it over, she informed him, "But that could be months- or just twenty days, at the shortest, but my death cycles are not normally so short."
And well.. considering how long she lived, she hadn't ever properly died before her time, either, if that's what one could call this. She didn't know, and started to feel herself becoming lost to the unknown void again.

"I need you to help me figure this out, Averella. Is there anything in your belongings which might help? Any scrolls, or anything at all?"

Aezir was about to wait for her answer, then realized he may worry her about her belongings now that he had brought them up.

"As of right now, they're still in the bag I had lent you, as you left them. No one has touched them."

He was right to suspect she'd fear for her scrolls, but even after the suggestion, and the information that they had not been touched, she still didn't know what to say, even as her spirit lingered.

This was definitely quite the predicament!

"How... how bad does my wound look?"

"It would have been fatal for anyone. Your stomach was completely pierced, and the bone had gone completely through your body."

The sparkling light that appeared when Aezir talked was now growing brighter and seemingly closer as he spoke.

Right through the stomach. She recalled the events with a shudder- or a feeling as such.
"It was fatal," she murmured. "It wasn't my time to die yet." Yet here she was....

"Is.. is there anything... unusual about my wound or body?"
Perhaps that could give her some sort of clue. What sort of clue?S he knew not.

"Rather than blood, sand came out of the wound. I'm not sure if that means anything to you, but it is certainly unusual for me."

Aezir tried to recall if there was anything else that seemed out of place, but he couldn't think of anything.

"Ah..." The sound wasn't one of confusion, more of a 'oh, THAT detail' sorta sound.
"Yes... to most people, it is. But ever since my.... unfortunate transformation, I've... well, I've never bled since."

"I see. We're in quite the predicament here, Averella. We really are."

On top of trying to find out what would happen to Averella now, Aezir still had to make his journey to Essryn. Az'gorr favored his High Prophet over his other followers, but even so, it was best not to keep the God of Death waiting.

"Well, I suppose, if you don't mind, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. As long as my body remains.. undisturbed, perhaps, as you suggested, I will start my death cycle later and it will reset... whatever this is that I've made go askew."

"And if it doesn't?"

He didn't want to worry her, but it was a possibility.

"How long until we know for sure?"

Averella kept quiet.
"If it doesn't work after two months...... at the most, I.... I don't know."

This time when Aezir spoke, the light that had been appearing when he talked grew dimmer, until it was just barely shining.

"I can't spend much more time in the realm of the dead right now, Averella. I have business to attend to. Is there anything else you need to tell me before I go? Anything important?"

Panicked, she didn't know what to say at first, except, "Just take care of.my body...and my things."

Aezir already had brought the coffin and her belongings to his own personal chamber in the temple, so that none of the acolytes would bother with it, so he wasn't too concerned with that request.

"Of course. If you need me ever, just call out into the void. I'll try my best to be here."

Ooc: hope you don't mind the time jump!

---

It had been just over a month before her skin began to change, rotting away and turning leathery hard, while mummified wraps replaced her clothing and petrified locks, her hair. It had also been quite the silent time, for as the decomposition began and went into its final stages until nothing was recognizable of the lady anymore. And it would be another month or so more before her corpse reanimated, her leathery skin inflating, softening as its glow returned . And silken locks replaced gnarled , tattered hair and soon her bright green eyed opened again. And as soon as they did...

She screamed.

Aezir ran into the room when he heard the scream, but when he looked around briefly everything seemed to be normal. The coffin was out of sight from the entrance, and it didn't occur to him to check it until he turned to leave. Immediately, Aezir turned again and began to walk in the direction of the coffin.

The coffin had been closed, and the darkness, stifling. To awaken to such a place, after being in more or less her own version of purgatory frightened her as she remained still as stone, and breathing heavy.

Aezir had his guardian open the coffin while he was walking over, since it was already guarding the coffin, as it had been while Averella was more or less dead. The skeleton removed the lid of the coffin and looked down at Averella, growling as it did.

And waking up to the sight of a skeleton elicited a second scream.

A few seconds passed before the skeleton moved and Aezir stood in its place. "Welcome back. How was death?"

She could have fainted, or screamed..
Or both. But to see Aezir standing there was a relief. At least he was a figure she recognized. But at his question, she groaned.

"Help me get out of this sarcophagus and I'll tell you." For she looked quite pale, and about to be ill.