Lev Tahor

[Nevill]

I'll write you guys a Non-Canon Omake if anyone can guess the obscure reference/quote there.

Click to shrink...

Firnagzen, surely.

"How long will that take to make?" You ask, glancing towards the front windows.

[three paragraphs worth of thoughts about the latest gossip]

"An hour or so."

Click to shrink...

My, does his mind work fast.

Time is ticking on, and while you're in no particular rush to pay and leave, you still need to check out that butcher and bakery combo. Butch-kery? Bak-cher? Delicatessen.

Click to shrink...

Den, you definitely have some Anna's residual thoughts left after your last sync.

That, or you always were a big doofus. And here I had him pegged as the more serious one of the two.

Serial killings don't need a "cure," they need the responsible party to be caught.

Click to shrink...

Unless it's some kind of desease that results in other people dying, eh? Oh well, this has nothing to do with us anyway.

[x] Two cloaked women in a corner

I have a good feeling about cloaked people sitting in corners of some seedy out-of-the-way bars. What?

Spoiler

 

[Rickshaw]

Den, you definitely have some Anna's residual thoughts left after your last sync.

That, or you always were a big doofus. And here I had him pegged as the more serious one of the two.

Click to shrink...

From (admittedly) 15 updates ago:

You contort to see a woman, dressed very similar to the Maiden who slept on your lap. She wore a black robe with long sleeves that hid her frame, and a black headdress that wasn't very successful at concealing her brown hair and wide hazel eyes. She smiles at- oh wait your head is upside-down, she's actually frowning. She looks very concerned.

"Are you alright, sir? You're sort of causing a scene."

You turn your head to see a few other visitors to the church are looking at you strangely. Oh god this is a public place, isn't it? You feel incredible heat rise to your cheeks as you lift yourself off the ground. "I-I'm fine, th-thank you," you manage to stutter out. "C-could you just point me to where I need to go for a Seal Renewal?"

Click to shrink...

Den's got his own silly streak, not considering any influence from Anna. Not to deny that her mental processes have affected him, though

Oh, And the winner of the guessing game is Nevill. I am not surprised. Okay, I am a little, but only because I thought veekie would beat you to it. Still, as promised, here's a silly "What If?" tale for you guys.

-:-:-;-:-:-​

YouAknow,AitAneverAmadeAsenseAtoAyouAhowAmagicAcouldAbeAsoAintuitive,AandAyetAsoAcompletelyAincomprehensible.

"Um, okay, there's no need to panic Anna!"

AtAtimes,AitAfeelsAlikeAallAyouAneedAtoAdoAisAreachAandAtheApowerAyouAseekAisAjust...Athere.ALikeAfindingAaAspareAdollarAinAyourApocketArightAwhenAyouAneedAit.

"You're doing fine! Just don't. Struggle. At all."

OtherAtimes,AyourAmagicAisAaboutAasAcooperativeAasAaArabies-inflictedAmeerkatAatAaAbarbeque.ALikeArightAnow.

"And for the love of god, STOP SCREAMING!"

YouAshutGyourHmouth. Then you immediately open it again to let out a stream of bile. Who knew, of all the things to get you killed against a Witch, it was motion sickness? It wasn't even beating you against anything with its viny tendrils, it was just whipping you in a wide arc. You could feel your strength leaving your body, accompanied by another wave of vomit.

"Are you sure we shouldn't be helping her?"

"She's not really being hurt by the thing. Just-" The ravenette ducks to one side, dodging another blast of half-digested lunch that you definitely weren't aiming at her face, "just... I don't even know what to call this. It completely ignored us and jumped straight for her."

You stop wretching for just long enough to bite down on the plant, and it loosens its grip in pain. Consequently, you slide out of its grasp like a ball from a pitcher, barreling through the air towards your fellow magical girls. Your trajectory is slowed by the cottony innards of a few Familiars unfortunate enough to stand between you and your friends. Yes, just as you had planned all along. The same plan that totally involved you sliding face-first along the ground to a stop before your mentors. Completely intentional, that.

"How about bullshit," you whine. "I think this one has a thing against nuns or something."

Lo-Ru wipes some dust off of her royal attire, giving the Witch a curious glance. "You know, if you cross your eyes, it does kinda looks like the Witch of Izalith."

"The antithesis of holiness," Deborah inspects the mass of writhing vines and branches from behind a golden shield. "Wasn't the Bed covered in flame?"

"Only after it had been damaged eno-" An echoing thunder fills the chamber, followed by a wave of heat that stings against your back. Not a moment later, the dual clacks of heels striking behind you. "Ah, there it is. Thanks, Priscilla."

You can hear the smugness in her silence. You lift yourself from the floor just in time to witness her flicking her crimson hair to one side, somehow making that display intimidating. The flames coating her chained blades die out, leaving her a mostly normal woman clothed in chains and bandages instead of some sort of hellish avenger.

Lo-Ru has already diverted her attention elsewhere, particularly towards the now Burning Bush occupying the majority of the cavern. At least, you think it's a cavern. Most cave systems are underground, but this one is entirely above it, suspended in the air. Is it still the same thing? You guess if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and weighs the same a duck, it's probably a Witch.

"Are you certain you can't just, you know," you make a rending motion at the Witch. "My powers aren't being all that cooperative."

"Sigh," the older girl enunciates, looking just a little put off. "You can't really learn to fix that without practice, you know."

"Lo-Ru's right," the brunette beside her nods. "It's not a tough Witch, and you'll be safe with us around. You have nothing to worry about."

You turn to Pris, who only grunts at you in response. "Dammit." You charge back into the fray with a glorious battle cry, summoning a cestus around each hand...

And are immediately sent flying back amidst the trio, this time landing flat on your butt. Their cheers of encouragement are already dying on their lips. You crawl back onto your feet and leap at the huge monster once again, already dodging the swipe of its massive, flaming arm. Ha! You won't get caught by the same trick twice!

You are, however, caught by the other hand, which smashes you into the floor with all the force of a tree in a hurricane. You crawl out of the nun-shaped hole a moment after, legs a little wobbly. Why, why did it have to be shrubbery! Tentacle monster, okay, that's tough. Fire beast, that'd be awesome! Getting your ass handed to you by a damn bush is the most humiliating event you've had to experience in your entire life.

Well, besides Incident Number Two Hundred and Eighty-Seven, but if anyone ever learns about that you'll have to kill them before you die of embarrassment.

You roll away from an incoming branch, bouncing a little as the shockwave lifts you off the ground. You're glad that magical girls are so resilient, but it's still not fun getting tossed around so much. The giant shrub seems to think otherwise, already turning to smash another amalgamation of vines right towards your face. Your eyes widen in surprise. Suspended in the air as you are, there's nothing you can do to dodge it. A glance over towards the other Maidens reveals they're just as shocked as you are. None of them will make it in time. You do the next most logical thing you can think of. You punch it.

Magic is not a very intuitive ability. It requires a lot of focus, skill, and talent to really master it. Sure, there are some things like summoning your weapons and jumping really high that come easy, but actually using any powers related to your Wish seems to elude you. Either they're so weak as to be nonexistent, or so esoteric that you couldn't use them without a lot more study. You guess that's the price of asking for something so vague and mundane.

So it really surprises you when you feel a flow of magic through your body when your fist connects with the mass of wood. The sound of a gong rings throughout the room, vibrating the walls and floor. There's a sharp CRACK of splintering wood, and you waste no time dashing through the opening you made. The monster screams in agony, the sound of a million creaking doors and finally cutting out in a sudden POP of flame as a blazing aura rushes out from the beast. The rolling inferno crashes like a wave against the ground, rushing towards you. You hold up your arms in a defensive position, ready to hold out against the flames.

They never come. In front of you is the glittering golden armor of Deborah, staving off the tide. "Go!" She shouts, shooting you a smile. "I got you!"

You nod, leaping into the air. You use the moment to observe the hulking tree, analyzing it. "Pris." You call out, telepathically. "I think I can see a core, but I can't break through on my own. Can you whip me down?"

You can practically hear the malicious grin. "Can do, ma'am." You rotate in the air, just in time to see a wicked blade launching past your face, followed by a long chain leading back to the fighter. You grip the chain, wincing at its otherworldly heat but refusing to let go. "Hold on, girlie." You're tugged downwards, rapidly approaching the giant mess of inextinguishable flame and unburning tinder. The monster lifts its gaze at you, a white-and-blue streak of light against the black-and-crimson tint of the stone walls. It roars at you, and you answer back with a scream of your own.

"'EGROPH KISHUF!" You cry, blasting through the being of Grief. You crash through the wood and twigs, smash through something soft and mushy, and then through a few more layers of foliage before exiting out the other side of the monster, rolling for a few meters before collapsing into a small heap. You lie there for a moment before slowly rising to your feet.

"Did I do it?" You ask, to no one in particular.

You feel someone slide an arm under you, and find Deborah doing her best to hold you upright. Lo-Ru is on your other side, trying and failing to keep a smile from her face. The three of you stare at the rotting wood of the creature, slowly fading into Grief. The entire cavern begins to melt away, flowing into a point somewhere in the creature's stomach.

"You did a good job." The ravenette compliments. "There's obviously some stuff you could improve on, but you did a good job with that last attack." She smirks. "Though, you should probably come up with a better name than 'Magic Fist.'"

You chuckle, mildly apologetic. To be fair, it was just the first thing that crossed your mind.

"So, what now?" you ask, curious as the Barrier starts to fade.

"Well, I'm still feeling a little energetic," Pris perks up, chains sparking a little as she bounces on her feet. "I could go for some sparring, or a race, or anything really."

"I'm alright, too," Deborah agrees. "We're all still good on Grief, so it's really up to you, Lo-Ru."

The de-facto leader shrugs. "We'll see once where we are when the Barrier falls, and decide then."

That nudges something in your mind. You were on top of a pretty tall building when you entered the Barrier, and then you climbed all through those tunnels. If your position in reality is relative to where you traveled in the Barrier... "Uh, guys-"

The Barrier falls, and the four of you are momentarily still in the air, hundreds of feet up. Maybe even thousands. You look them dead in the eyes as realization dawns across your faces.

"Oh, shiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-" You scream, gravity asserting control and the four of you flailing your way to the ground.

-:-:-;-:-:-​

EDIT: I would appreciate votes, if you haven't already

 

[Nevill]

Ah, the tentacle monsters, sworn enemies of magical girls everywhere.

In the interest of breaking a tie... (where are the lurkers at?)
[x] The lonely man standing amidst all the others

 

[Rickshaw]

Lurkers be lurking. Hopefully, they will one day class-up to Voters. I would prefer if they did so soon, as the current rate leaves me with enough free time that I've started planning a second quest. I do not know if that's a good or bad thing.

This was halfway done last night, but as it was nearly 2AM I decided to sleep instead. To make up for the delay, I released it at a reasonable time of day.

-:-:-;-:-:-​

[x] The lonely man standing amidst all the others

Day 3
Midday

When your drink arrives you tilt your gaze towards the center of the room, keeping an eye on t H E B E I N G -

An icepick jams between your eyes, migraine splitting your head in two. Something familiar sparks in your mind immediately followed with a flash of agony. Instant, biting, vanished as soon as you look away. You nearly heave from the whiplash but hide the motion behind your mug.

Odd, i Did N O t ExP ect SuC h A R eaC t ioN.​

What is that? The receding pain extends all the way to the base of your neck, a perfectly straight line of spasming grey matter unused to such abuse. How does that even work, you wonder? Or, maybe not, it's too nauseating to wonder about anything beyond the back of your eyelids.

This AnomA lY MusT Be RectI fieD. i SH all AD apt YO u.​

Something inside you moves, and you hope beyond hope that it isn't the contents of your stomach. It takes you a good minute or two before the pain and nausea pass, and you hesitantly blink your eyes open.

Your eyes take a second to adjust. And then a second longer. And yet a bit more. You squint, but everything still seems just a bit out of focus. Did the migraine mess with your vision?

You look down at your hands, straining your retinas. Nope, they're still fuzzy… or, wait, maybe not?

You peer a little closer. They're not blurred, necessarily. It's as though a film coats your skin, a slight glow radiating off it. You look around and, yes, that glow seems to cover everyone in the room. Nothing bright and distracting, but noticeable. Like paint bleeding onto the surrounding canvas.

"...the hell?" You politely ask nobody at all. Your vision feels like its normal sharpness, but that odd suffusion that everyone has creates odd silhouettes. The older couple looks, well, old, and yet not. They were slouching before, but that strange glow is much straighter, stronger. The stately trio looks unphased, but those… auras, you guess, are small and dim. Nervous, you'd say.

The cloaked duo is almost nonsensical, one shining bright enough through her hood to force you to look away, and the other… her silhouette doesn't align with her body at all. It hunches itself forward, head just grazing the ceiling. Its torso takes up almost the entirety of the corner it holds.

It notices your stare and looks your way, eyeless sockets gazing at you. You immediately turn back to your empty table. Except, it's no longer empty. T H E B E I N G sits across from you, staring at- no, into you. You nearly jump in your seat.
"

יָרֵא​

"​

A strange calm flows over you. Your panic, your confusion, it washes away. It is an incredibly odd sensation, to have your emotions forcibly altered, but the clarity which comes with it is appreciated. You make to speak, to ask T H E B E I N G something, but your voice does not cooperate. No sound escapes your lips, besides silence.

T H E B E I N G gazes at you with something strange. Something unsure and something so focused you are frozen to your seat. Even as it reaches an appendage towards you, towards your Seal, you are stone. You can't hear your own breathing, your own heartbeat, are you even alive right now? Ice climbs your spine and fills your Seal as T H E B E I N G gets closer. A thousand distant bells chime with every shift of its form, slowly grasping towards your heart.

It pauses, not even an inch from your skin. Extremity perfectly still over the scarlet letter branded into your skin. It raises its unnatural gaze to yours for the first time. There is a semblance of nobility in it, a feeling like it was inappropriate to make this sort of visual contact with it. And yet, you find yourself unable to tear yourself away from that hypnotic vision.

You blink. The sound of a busy tavern slowly returns to you, full of raucous laughter and loud conversation. The elderly couple is chatting quietly, the extravagant trio is politely chuckling, and the hooded duo is downing drink after drink.

There is no lonely man standing amidst all the others.

You shove the drink down your gullet, mug clack-ing on the table as you get up. You leave in a cold sweat, unsure of what you just experienced. The walk to the tailor's is brief, made more so by your frantic pace. The place is empty, and man is walking to the front desk as you enter and spots you in an instant.

"Right on time," he sounds surprised. He hands you the coat, gives you a quick rundown on how to care for the leather, and you pay him. "You're at the Marching Mare, right? Tell Mary that Icarus still wants his pay for the last order she made. Sending me new customers does not count as payment. Now, if you don't have any questions, I'm going back to running my shop." He plants himself behind the counter, closes his eyes, and begins snoring.

-:-:-;-:-:-​

And with that, Lev Tahor has just barely cleared the 50,000-word mark. Never thought I'd reach that much investment into a single story this soon, but I'm happy I did. To another 50,000!

-:-:-;-:-:-​

[] Write-in

PS: Big thanks to @Nevill for designing an Ad banner for Lev Tahor. I had no idea it was getting released already, but seeing it up makes me quite excited!

 

[Nevill]

Oh great, we got Soul Vision. Why is it that everywhere we go, we get some eldritch entity or other dropped on us out of the blue? I know we are a part of that club, but can't a man take a vacation in peace?

Also, we missed on making acquaintances of the two... adventurers? I wonder what they were up to. Were they the ones talking about moving North?

[x] Try to understand what was it that you just went through. Does your book have anything on that? If not, who - or what, - would know?

It's not that difficult to get 'what' we saw. 'Why' is the much more interesting question.

And, of course, T H E B E I N G is a curiosity.

 

[veekie]

[x] Try to understand what was it that you just went through. Does your book have anything on that? If not, who - or what, - would know?

 

[Raxner]

Unless it's some kind of desease that results in other people dying, eh? Oh well, this has nothing to do with us anyway.

Click to shrink...

We could interpret it that way. In that case, the serial killer is the disease.

 

[Nevill]

One of the patrons in the bar talked about the Church girls being the 'recent set'. I suspect they are talking about people 'tainting out', and that similar incidents have been occuring throughout the city.

 

[Rickshaw]

Late update because I wanted the influx of new readers to have a chance to vote. Since it seems the lurk is strong with this batch, I'll just crank this out and say "please vote next time, friends"

-:-:-;-:-:-​

[x] Try to understand what was it that you just went through. Does your book have anything on that? If not, who - or what, - would know?

Day 3
Midday

The bell above the door chimes as you exit Icarus' shop. You hop down a step, thumping onto the cobblestone road. Your feet pick up a steady pace, leading you out of the square and down a northbound road. On either side sit a variety of shops and stalls, busy as the lunch rush begins. You meander your way through the crowd, eyes locked firmly to the stone a few feet in front of you.

At some point, you find yourself walking away from that delicatessen, meat roll in hand. You're not certain how that happened, but your wallet feels just a little lighter. You bite into it, hoping that you'd already paid for it.

...you've got to give Mary credit. The meat is baked into the dough, and it tastes pretty good.

You finish the meal with mechanical precision, never once taking your eyes off the road in front of you.

It's about five minutes after you've finished the meal that you pay attention to the thoughts in your head. Most of them are just screaming. Long, obnoxious screaming that you're torn between audibly recreating and mentally berating. There are a few parts of your mind which are not panicking inconsolably, namely those which are frantically trying to explain what just happened.

And then a small, easily ignored part of your mind says to just accept what you saw and not think about it anymore. Very small. Very easily ignored.

You just can't help yourself. It's the way your mind works, you can't leave a problem unsolved. Like that plague/cure thing you heard earlier. You momentarily consider it as a potential euphemism for a serial killer but almost immediately write that off. It makes more sense as something related to the Taints. And that mystery is one that just keeps getting bigger.

But first, to focus on the immediate issue of what just happened to you.

The what isn't all that hard to understand. You felt... something, and that directed your attention towards the thing in the center or the tavern. Whatever it was, it hurt you to look at it, and then you could suddenly see secondary versions of everyone. As well as the thing, which tried to touch you before it just up and vanished.

More specifically, it went for your Seal. Whatever it is, it has to be related to Spiritual Magic. It has to be. It knew about the Taint, or at least could sense it. But what did it want? What was it trying to do before it left?

On that note, it only tried to interact with you after you'd gotten a headache and gained that weird vision power. You assume it has something to do with Souls, because everything in this city seems to be connected to Spiritual Magic and Taints, somehow. Did it give you Truesight when you saw it, and then tried to interact with you? Or did something else alter your vision, and it was drawn to that?

If you really think about it, both of those prospects are absolutely terrifying. You're a cosmic plaything to Angels and Demons, and whatever else happens to be out there.

You put a hand to your Tome. There… there could be an answer in there. It's possible that, in this strange book, you could find a tale similar to your own. A creature, similar to the one you saw. Powers not unlike your own.

AnotH er D eS tiny, DarK A s A TraV eler In T he NighT.​

You find a suitable alley to duck into, seating yourself atop a set of sturdy boxes. The Tome comes free of your hip, sitting heavily in your lap. It feels different, somehow. Weightier, with all the gravity of a horrific secret about to be unleashed. But that doesn't stop you from unclasping the latch, nor from flipping to the index to see if any of the stories within hold a missing key.

Search the Tome (1d20): 4
[FAILURE]

There's nothing. Not a single story involving Angels and Demons and Taints. There's not a single mention of Travelers in the entire book. With a capital 'T' that is. Nor Taints, Seals, nothing. You can't even find any description which remotely matches the otherness of T H E B E I N G.

That terrifies you more than anything. Why, why are these things after you? First, the Angel that infected you, then Demon which overtook you, followed by the Labyrinth and now this ridiculous thing you've seen. None of them, not even a mention of their existence in the Tome. This is the first time that's ever been the case.

You close the heavy book and connect it back to the device at your hip. The Tome is all but useless, despite how ridiculously big this whole magic conspiracy seems to be. And it really does seem to be that, now. Angels and Demons running rampant, a city literally built upon the corpse of a Celestial Creature, and figuratively on the corpses of magically diseased citizens being persecuted by a quasi-religious government. There's got to be something connecting all these disparate pieces, something explaining why this center of Spiritual Magic is so full of turmoil and conflict.

You glance up at the skyline of Temple City. Even from your spot in the alleyway, you can see the highest golden spire of the Synagogue, glinting in the noonday sun. There's nowhere in the entire city that you could escape the gaze of that shining reflection. No matter where you went, you could always see it, somehow.

Well, except for the Labyrinth. That twisting maze of darkness and confusion traversing through the fossilized body of a half-living monster. That mess of "unknown" is the only place one could escape from the Synagogue's eye.

Consequently, you think those two places may be the only ones where you could find any answers to what's going on. You're slowly finding yourself at the crux of a lot of weird happenings in this city, and the only way you'll get to the bottom of it is to confront it directly. The Church, the center of Spiritual Magic learning in the world, or in the Labyrinth beneath it, with Astaroth.

You don't like either option.

-:-:-;-:-:-​

[] Write-in

 

[veekie]

[X] See if the Church library can give you their point of view on things first before you try the Labyrinth again

FYI, the more mysterious and the less clear the voting options the less results you're going to get.
>What Do is universally the worst for participation.

 

[Nevill]

Yes, it would be nice to have our options laid out in the update. Preferably with you having a clear understanding of the consequences, which should be different enough for each option (or it would be a false choice).

People may not be confident enough in what is going on to make their own vote, but they may also not want to do bandwagon votes.

[x] See if the Church library can give you their point of view on things first before you try the Labyrinth again

That said, aren't there some kind of procedures before they let us into the library? I recall we may need a permission of some sort.

And do we even know how to get back to the Catacombs? The Maze is ever-shifting; the only surefire entrance requires us to go through the Synagogue anyway.

AnotH er D eS tiny, DarK A s A TraV eler In T he NighT.

Click to shrink...

Also, hi there, Astaroth. Haven't seen you outside the Labyrinth before. Maybe you could be our guide?

 

[wingstrike96]

[x] See if the Church library can give you their point of view on things first before you try the Labyrinth again

 

[wingstrike96]

[x] See if the Church library can give you their point of view on things first before you try the Labyrinth again

 

[EternalObserver]

[X] See if the Church library can give you their point of view on things first before you try the Labyrinth again

 

[Rickshaw]

Wow, apologies for how late this came out. This should have been done right after the previous update, not half a week later. Not particularly happy with myself about that. Hope it's worth the wait for you guys.

-:-:-;-:-:-​

[X] See if the Church library can give you their point of view on things first before you try the Labyrinth again

Day 3
Midday

It takes you about half an hour to reach the flawlessly white structure, situated on its lonely island amidst the small lake which the city is built around. Another few minutes to cross the bridge to its door, an instant of queasiness as you step through, and less than thirty seconds to enter the main chapel.

You're awkwardly standing there for maybe a minute before a priest notices you. He's surprisingly young, a few years older than you at most, but he carries himself with an air of authority and purpose.

"Is there something I can help you with?" He asks, an easy smile gracing his face.

You offer a polite smile. "Is there a way I could browse one of your Libraries?"

A raised brow precedes his response. "I take it you're interested in studying Spiritual Magic?"

"Yes," you nod. "That's why I came to Zak in the first place." And that interest hasn't changed in the slightest. On the contrary, you're more anxious than ever to get started.

His smile curls a bit further up. "A pilgrim, then. We're always accepting of those who seek knowledge. This way, if you please." He turns down an aisle, you in quick pursuit.

You give the walls a cursory glance as you descend beneath the Synagogue. The rock-that-isn't-rock which makes up the corridor doesn't seem abnormal or conspicuous, and yet yesterday gave you a fragment of insight that has your shoulders tense every time you turn a corner. You know better than to assume the priest knows the path he's taking. He's simply wandering the antichambers, hoping at some point to reach his destination. The halls are alive, they are sentient, and both of you are at their mercy.

It is with such pleasant thoughts that you reach a grand antechamber, housing a single ridiculously ornate gate on its far side. Dark wood, fine grain and sealed in wax, coated in gold ornamentation that wraps its face like the vines of Midas' garden. A grand crest seals the room shut, deeply imprinted with crisp lines as though engraved the day before. An image of a sword wreathed with flame, housed within the trunk of a great tree. The Symbol of the Zakran order.

"Knowledge of Good and Evil, guarded by Heaven's Blade and Hell's Flame," the priest looks at the Crest with a sort of nostalgia. He waves a hand towards the sigil, sparking some arcane light that spreads along the engravements. "If Divine Magic is the strength of Angels, and Demonic of Devils, then Spiritual Magic is that of Humanity. The power of Truth, of Choice." He peeks a glance at you, smirk in his eyes as the gate creaks open. "You have chosen well in seeking it."

You pass the gateway into the Library - and it deserves the capitalization. The polished wood balcony you stand on peeks out over two lower stories, each filled with towering bookcases that reach from floor to ceiling. Above you are two further levels equally as stuffed with literature, lit with a beautiful view of the midday sky. Or the illusion of one, as it were. You can just barely catch the glimpse of patterned stonework deep in the vision, where the true ceiling lies.

"Welcome to the Great Library of Zak," greets a sweet voice, drawing your attention. A round face, tiny button nose, and eyes you could best describe as slits smile warmly at you. The woman, dressed in black robes, stands behind a desk near the edge of the balcony. Her saccharine smile never wavers, deeply engrained between the laugh lines of her face.

While a part of you feels uncomfortable under her gaze, a smaller, more paranoid part of you feels uncomfortable under her gaze. Something about that smile unnerves you. You just can't put a finger on why.

"Naomi! What a surprise," the priest seems confused, maybe shocked? "I thought third-floor residents were supposed to work in Gimel?"

The librarian, Naomi, flicks a hand dismissively. "Usually. I had to transfer to keep an eye on the girl from yesterday. She's still a little rattled from her ordeal."

A frown crosses the priest's face. "You'll have to inform me of the details of what happened at a later time. For now," he gestures to you, "I believe someone is interested in perusing our collection."

She raises a brow at you. "Is that so? May I have your name, sir?"

"Den," you offer.

Her brows scrunch together. "Den... Den... Where have I heard that name before?" Her smile hasn't shifted at all, even though her voice has turned inquisitive. She shuffles through a ledger on the corner of her desk, flipping through some pages and scrolling down the lines with a finger. "Ah, you're the one Anna found. The Tainted that Loammi here will be overseeing cleansing of this week."

The priest tenses almost imperceptibly. Almost.

"Really?" You ask, "What a coincidence."

"What a coincidence," Loammi repeats, tone tensely polite.

You offer him a smile, "Well, it's nice to meet you, Loammi."

He turns, sending you a nod. "You, as well. If you'll excuse me, I have duties to attend to. Sister." He inclines his head towards Naomi and turns away.

"See you in a few days?" You offer, but he's already gone.

You look to the librarian, only to receive a shake of the head in response. "The Library is open to the public, so feel free to browse."

"Thank you," your response is automatic, and you're already moving towards the stairs to the lower levels.

-:-:-;-:-:-​

It doesn't take long to get lost in the literature. There are hundreds, if not thousands of books and tomes in here, much of it related to Spiritual Magic, its history and development, and the Synagogue. You're quickly finding that you won't struggle for a lack of information, but for lack of a proper way to discern the truth from conjecture.

Texts on Spiritual Magic are technical and academic, great for studying how to use it but useless for learning what it actually is. Theories on its nature are varied and contradictory. The only consensus is that it comes from the Soul, and is not tied to Celestial Beings like Divine and Demonic Magics.

Information on the Synagogue is less contentious but equally unhelpful. The Zakran Order seemed to spawn out of the aether almost five hundred years ago, discovered Spiritual Magic, and treated its study and practice with religious fervor. No rhyme or reason why. And none of the tomes offer an explanation, only stating it as fact and then moving on to more recent events.

You can't even find mention of Nome's appearance in Temple City, despite Astaroth's evidence to the contrary. If Anna's reaction was right, then that's a big deal. A really big deal. You're not as familiar with his mythos as most people, but you remember there's a legend that he nearly destroyed Zoroaster a hundred years ago. If someone like that had been in Zak... you can't help but wonder what his goal was here.

You sigh and close the heavy tome in your hands. Maybe you're not looking at the right texts? You refuse to believe that there's no evidence connecting Nome, the Synagogue, and the Taints together. There's got to be some kind of literature, academic or no, that explores the inconsistencies you see. Something that questions the dubious origins of the Order, that calls into question how Spiritual Magic was first discovered.

A flash of white in your peripheral catches your attention. As if summoned, a nun in pristine snowy cloth rounds the corner, a collection of books in one hand. A Maiden, you realize. She turns away from you, setting the books down to clear space on the shelves.

"Excuse me?" You call, somewhat softly. Nevertheless, she jumps at your voice and knocks the stack of literature over. It falls with a loud crash. You cringe.

The woman curses, raven hair slipping out from under her shawl. "I-I'm s-s-s… s-so-o-o… shi-shit" Her voice is shaky, almost unintelligible as she leans down to clean her mess.

You quickly get up to help, dropping to your knees and picking up a few books. "I am so sorry." You say, cheeks burning from embarrassment. "Here, let me help you."

"...th-th-thank-k y-you," she grabs at a book you offer with her other hand, trembling fingers wrapped in bandages grasping the hard leather delicately. Her whole body vibrates like a nervous wreck.

"D-don't mention it." You ignore the burn in your cheeks, putting on your best "It's my fault, I'm sorry" smile.

Emerald irises look to you with thanks, framed by raven hair. For less than a moment you simply smile at each other, until distant recognition flashes through both of you. Her eyes widen, she sucks in a breath, her shaking grows all the more violent.

You aren't much better, the flush draining from your cheeks and your body falling still. The confidence she'd had yesterday is long gone, replaced by the primal fear of prey in the presence of predator, and still you recognized her. How could you not? The last thing you remember before you blacked out had been her dropping Anna like a doll.

Lo-Ruhammah pales before you, nearly dropping her books again.

-:-:-;-:-:-​

Hoping something like the below will work better for you guys. I can definitely see how write-ins are a participation killer. I'll see how I can improve on that in the future, and avoid any more "what do" updates.

-:-:-;-:-:-​

Vote for as many actions as you'd like to take.

[] Talk to Lo-Ru
-[] Accusatory. Get pissed about what she did to Anna.
-[] Neutral. Ask about the info you need and leave.
-[] Sensitive. She looks terrible, try and calm her down first.
-[] Other topics of conversation? (Write-in talking points)

[] Go to the Front Desk
-[] Ask Naomi where the texts you need might be.
-[] Look for a directory or something
-[] Pry for info on Anna and Lo-Ru

[] Wander Aimlessly
-[] Look for generally interesting things
-[] Focus on things related to Synagogue history and organization
-[] Study what you find on Spiritual Magic

[] Additional things you want to do? (Write-in)

 

[veekie]

[X] Talk to Lo-Ru
-[X] Accusatory. Get pissed about what she did to Anna.

This would be...interesting

 

[wingstrike96]

[X] Talk to Lo-Ru
-[X] Sensitive. She looks terrible, try and calm her down first.

 

[Vocalist]

[X] Talk to Lo-Ru
-[X] Accusatory. Get pissed about what she did to Anna.

It may seem harsh, but because she's so vulnerable right now I feel we have a good chance of making her take a good hard look at herself. I want Lo-Ru to become a better person so that something good can come out of that incident.

...If this goes wrong, though, she might call for Naomi and get us arrested for turning into a demon and murdering two girls.

Edit: Oh, we can take more than one action? Cool!
[X] Wander Aimlessly
-[X] Study what you find on Spiritual Magic

Because, y'know, the big mysteries of the setting are one thing, but if this is paced like Persona/JRPGs in general, I don't want to neglect our basic level ups. Otherwise we might reach the great big bosses and have nothing to throw at them.

 

[Rickshaw]

Quick PSA, I reread the update and it felt off, so it's been partially rewritten. The basic structure remains the same, but I added in a few more details that should have been there before. Not anything huge, just some emphasis on character reactions, a bit deeper explanation of what you found, and a reminder of some of the information Den has from previous updates. Thought I should let everyone know, on the off chance the new information affects anyone's votes.

Otherwise, continue on and enjoy your Thursday.

 

[Nevill]

You don't find any mention of Nome's appearance in Temple City, despite Azaroth's evidence to the contrary.

Click to shrink...

'Astaroth.'

So the library is public. I guess it makes sense to have different levels of access, and the magical texts - and probably a few dangerous historical ones, - are kept elsewhere.

Or are they?

[] Wander Aimlessly
-[] Study what you find on Spiritual Magic

Click to shrink...

I recall you need a 'special approval' from the Church to study magic.

"Zak has certain… rules, considering those who are Tainted."

He nods very slowly. "Okay."

"Rules like you need special approval to study magic, or that you have to get your Seal renewed every so often. Stuff that helps ensure your Taint doesn't go out of control."

Click to shrink...

I don't recall us getting one.

Lots of coincidences are happening around us lately. Not sure what we'd talk to Lo-Ru about, though. The only thing we know about her is her confrontation with Anna yesterday, and since we haven't seen the aftermath I think the next most logical thing for us to assume is that the Church took care of it. Why else would the girl have such a different attitude, and have a Senior Sister watching her?

Besides, it's the Library. Hardly the best place to point fingers at each other. Let's pretend we didn't notice anything.

[x] Go to the Front Desk
-[x] Ask Naomi where the texts you need might be.

Edit: eh, sure.
[X] Talk to Lo-Ru
-[X] Sensitive. She looks terrible, try and calm her down first.

 

[Rickshaw]

'Astaroth.'

Click to shrink...

Fixed, thank you. This is what happens when two horrific Celestial Creatures have similar names and I forget which is named what.

I recall you need a 'special approval' from the Church to study magic. I don't recall us getting one.

Click to shrink...

You didn't. Not to study and practice it, at least.

Most of the books you've found so far are theory and history, though, and while they'd increase your general knowledge of the Magic they don't actually tell you how to use it. No spellbooks, no prayers, nothing that will allow you to actually use it, but stuff that explores where the magic originates, what Magic is, and some hypotheses on its potential.

It's like having a book on chemistry but not having the training to build bombs. It's too in-depth to put into practice, but once you've been permitted to learn the fundamentals they'll come in handy.

 

[Rickshaw]

A heads up to everyone, the computer which I use to write the updates has gone haywire on me. Nothing irreparable, but it will be a delaying factor for another day or so. In the mean time, I wouldn't mind a few more votes out so I can get started on the chapter as soon as my laptop is up and running again.

Thanks to you all for reading and participating in the story. It wouldn't exist without your interest, and especially not without your input.

 

[lelenoi]

[x] Go to the Front Desk
-[x] Ask Naomi where the texts you need might be.

 

[Shard]

[X] Talk to Lo-Ru
-[X] Sensitive. She looks terrible, try and calm her down first.

"I accidentally killed you, how are you?"

 

[Rickshaw]

HOO BOY IS THIS DE-THE-HECK-LAYED. Good news is that my computer is a functioning block of silicon again, so I can write! Hooray! The bad news is that there is a 3-way tie on what to do, each with 2 votes. It took me a while, but I think I figured a way to work them all together. Onward! With narrative!

-:-:-;-:-:-​

[x] Talk to Lo-Ru
-[x] Accusatory. Get pissed about what she did to Anna
-[x] Sensitive. She looks terrible, try and calm her down first.

Day 3
Afternoon

"You."

She flinches at the abrupt monotone in your voice. Her fearful frame shakes under your gaze, and her mouth rapidly clacks open and closed. There's a small part of you that enjoys seeing her flounder in response to you, but it's overridden by a much larger, more vengeful part.

S H E I S Y O U R E N E M Y​

This woman, this bitch, she attacked Anna. It wasn't the first time, either. You remember, clearly, the moment when you and Anna were merged. Lo-Ruhammah was a sick woman, enamored with making Anna her plaything. She beat her and chased her and tormented her for years, and no amount of punishment or retribution changed her. She and her little posse thought it perfectly acceptable to prey on her, why? Because she was Tainted?

S H E T H I N K S H E R S E L F B E T T E R. P U R E R.​

So were you. She thought being Clean made her better than you? That it gave her some sort of right to treat you as less than? To assert her own position through pain?

S H E I S W E A K. N O T H I N G C O M P A R E D T O Y O U​

Fire coursed through your veins, fury quick to follow. If that was how she wished to play, you were fine with that.

Her body shifts back, trying to escape. On instinct, or maybe out of a desire to make her face what she did, you grab her wrist. She winces, and a soft moan escapes her lips. You force her close, force her to look into your eyes. She doesn't resist, her terrified, weeping eyes meeting your own burning gaze.

"You hurt Anna." You say, explaining everything.

Y O U A R E S U P E R I O R​

She breaks. Syllables escape her throat, though not in any intelligible fashion. Merely a string of nervous, horrified gibberish. Tears stream down her face as her quiet mumblings continue unabated.

F I N I S H W H A T Y O U B E G A N​

"B-b-but… s-said… ag-g-g-ai… n-n-no, n-no," she babbles. "I-I alr-ready… d-d-don't k-kill m-me, p-p-please!"

C O N S U M--​

"Kill you…?" Your mind grinds to a halt. You feel… your mind feels fuzzy. Like it's full of cotton. You grip your temple. Why would she…?

Why are you antagonizing her? She hurt Anna, yes, but it's not like you to seek vengeance so easily. You don't even know the bluenette that well, but just the idea that someone hurt her… the rage you feel doesn't make sense. It doesn't feel right. It's too intense. At least, too intense for someone you've known for all of two, maybe three days. Why are you so angry at the ravenette before you?

You're squeezing her arm. Her broken arm. She looks at you with eyes filled with terror for her own life. Her other hand is holding her robes together, tightly, like she's afraid they'll disappear any moment.

You let go. She curls into herself, scooting away from you. She's… the girl was so confident and strong-willed yesterday is now a complete wreck before you, flighty as a bird but afraid to run. She's afraid of you.

Why is she afraid of you?

"Y-you a-already t-t-took-k my f-f-friends f-from me," she whimpers, straining to form a coherent sentence. "I s-said I woul-wouldn't t-touch Anna. T-that I'd be the p-p-perfect Maiden. That I'd n-never hurt anyone e-ever again. A-and still y-you v-v… you v-vio… y-you t-t-touched..." She stares at you, emerald eyes dim. "What else are you going to t-take from me?"

--E R Y T H I--​

Your mind reaches for memory. When did it become so hard to think? Or to breathe? Everything feels dull. You… you can't. You can't remember. Anna said you'd taken the other two down, and this girl had run off at that point. Did you hurt them? Cripple them? You don't know, and a dark feeling settles heavily in your stomach.

Your hands feel slick with something you hope is sweat.

"I…" You struggle to find the words. The fog in your head isn't helping. Your fingernails dig into your scalp in vain hope that the pain will bring some clarity. "I don't… what do you mean, take?"

Her eyes shut tightly. She shakes her head, holding her injured arm close to her body.

You lean close, almost placing a hand on her shoulder before pulling it back. She slowly lifts her eyes to you, still filled with fear.

"Lo-Ru, right?" She nods. "Lo-Ru, you need to tell me what happened yesterday."

She shakes her head. "N-no."

"Lo-Ru, you need to tell me."

She shakes again, harder. "N-no. Don't m-make me go through that ag-gain."

Screw it. You grab her shoulders, startling her and forcing her again to meet your eyes. "What did I do?"

Her eyes are wide for a moment before they slowly shut. She releases a shaky breath, her ebony locks falling in front of her face.

"Y-you became a D-D-Demon," she starts. "Y-you… I-it screamed and it roared so loud that it hurt. And Deborah. She was so scared. She started crying, and I t-told her she was going to be okay. Everything was going to be fine. And then y-yo… it grabbed her neck. She started ch-choking, and then it p-p-pulled and… there was blood everywhere. So much b-blood. Her face was so terrified, a-and I held her in my arms a-and Pris started yelling a-and then she was d-dead. A h-hole right through h-her ch-ch… a-a-and I was so sc-scared and I was cr-crying and I begged you to s-stop, that I-I'd be good if you'd j-just stop. And th-then…" She can't say any more, she's crying over herself.

You pull away and let her. The two of you sit like that for a few minutes, her curled into a white ball and you sitting across from her, surrounded by a pile of fallen books. Nobody else comes across your section of the library. They probably turned away when they heard the sobbing.

Deborah and Pris. Probably short for Priscilla. That's the name of the two Maidens you killed. The thought is both horrifying to you and… not. You can't really wrap your mind around the idea. It doesn't feel real. You… you couldn't kill someone, you think. The thought is too alien to you. You're not a fighter. You're a bard, you use magic to make people empathize with each other. Killing someone… that's not you.

It can't be you, can it?

"T-Taints, th-they change people," You turn to the ravenette, who's staring at you from behind her knees. Your doubt must be clear on your face, for her to so easily see it. "M-make them m-monsters. Literally, and f-figuratively."

There's a moment of tense silence as you digest that.

"Anna saved me, too," she continues, "When y-you, when y-you were tr-trying to T-T-Taint m-me. Sh-she jumped in. B-broke my p-paralysis. Drew your attention and ordered me to r-run." She seems conflicted as she admits being saved by the girl she tried to torment. "M-maybe I was w-wrong to act so s-superior. M-maybe I was wrong to… to think I was a b-better person than the T-Tainted." She looks to you, a hard look in her eye. "But I was right to be afraid. I may have been a bitch, b-but you are a monster."

You have no response to that. You… you still can't believe that you ended a life, much less two, even less as violently as Lo-Ru describes. It's not you. It's not something you think you're even capable of.

And yet, you can't sense even a hint of deception in her broken features. You can't fake fear like that. Not that reduces you to such a vulnerable state, and especially not for someone so haughty normally. No, you can't think of any reason for her to come up with such a ridiculous lie, and that means your only alternative is to believe her. To accept that there's blood on your hands, even if you weren't the one in charge of your body at the time.

No matter the argument you give, that you don't remember it, that you weren't in control, it means nothing. Whatever excuse you make, it won't change the fact that you… that they're dead. That you took them from her. That a Tainted took them from her.

Maybe this is why the Tainted are trapped in this city. Marked, segregated, and monitored in order to prevent monsters like… like you from wreaking havoc on the populace. To prevent what happened to Deborah and Priscilla from happening elsewhere.

Just what kind of horrific conspiracy have you stumbled on to?

You gather up what books are in reach into a neat stack, pushing it towards Lo-Ru. "I, I need to find some other books," you say, abruptly. You nod at her. "Thank you, for telling me the truth."

She slumps, taking in a shaky breath. She nods back and watches as you make a brisk exit.

A single, unsteady hand brushes against the book on the top of the pile. The Secret of the Soul. Lo-Ru takes another breath, attempting to steady herself, and frowns.

"M-maybe I was a little harsh," her comment just barely escapes her lips, a quiet concession to the effort to help her. She opens the cover and, on passing the index, begins to read the words within.

-:-:-;-:-:-​

So this took a little while. I would have included the bit about asking Naomi as well, but this update was already reaching the upper end of my usual word count, so that vote will carry over to next time. Take this as an opportunity to vote on any other actions you want to take while you're in the Library. Otherwise, see you next time!

-:-:-;-:-:-​

Vote for as many actions as you'd like to take.

[x] Go to the Front Desk
-[x] Ask Naomi where the texts you need might be.
-[] Look for a directory or something
-[] Pry for info on Anna and Lo-Ru

[] Wander Aimlessly
-[] Look for generally interesting things
-[] Focus on things related to Synagogue history and organization
-[] Study what you find on Spiritual Magic

[] Leave the Library
-[] Marching Mare. Prep for your gig tonight.
-[] West-End Park. Mary said she'd been there as a kid.
-[] Explore. Just walk around and see the city.

[] Additional things you want to do? (Write-in)