Thank you for voting. You guys took my favorite choice. I am
incredibly happy.
*Maniacal laughter echoes from the void*
-:-:-;-:-:-
[x] Examine your chest
[x] Focus on the girl
-[x] become her
Day 1 of incarceration
Midday
Your mind is filled with so many questions that you have to close your eyes just to sort through them. You were supposed to be doing some sort of screening of your soul when you came here. Screenings
normally mean that something is being filtered or tested for specific properties. Whatever that had been, it did
not meet that definition. Being assaulted by some abyssal creature while naked was… well, you guess it could have been testing courage or resolve, in which case you probably failed. Then again, it was hard to remain courageous when you're face to face with concentrated Lovecraftian horror.
Face to face… that thing almost touched you. You shudder. You didn't know what that thing was supposed to be, but the mere thought of it making contact with you sets you on edge. Some instinct deep inside you continues to warn you of how close you were to catastrophe. You'd only been saved when that
burning feeling came.
It was still there, somewhat. It wasn't as intense, but it was still uncomfortable enough to be painful. You look down and see you're in a plain white shirt, and a quick check reveals you've also been outfitted with a snazzy pair of black pants. Someone must have given you a new set of clothes. You glance at the blue-haired nun in your lap. Did she…?
Your cheeks heat up at the thought. B-best not to think about that right now. What were you thinking about before? Oh yeah, the
burning. Right. You lift the neck of your shirt and look down at your chest. You blink. You look at it again. You blink a few more times. Your looking becomes an incredulous stare.
Sitting directly over your heart, at the epicenter of the painful heat coursing through your body, the letter "T" rests. A patch of raised and blistered skin, branded in the shape of that single capital letter. It glows a hellish red, as though the iron were still pressed against it.
What the hell? That shouldn't be possible. Skin isn't supposed to glow. It's supposed to blacken and die when it takes too much damage. Then again, writhing masses of abyssal hatred aren't supposed to exist, nor magical realms filled with nothing but blood.
"Just what the hell is going on here?"
At that moment, you feel something shift against your leg.
-:-:-;-:-:-
You are Anna, a Holy Maiden at the Temple Synagogue of Zak, and you are too tired for this shit. You have no idea how long it's been since the horrific event you're dubbing Incident Number Three-Hundred and Twelve. Actually, you have a very clear idea: too long. It's been too long and you want to crawl back into your bed and sleep for the next week.
Yesterday had been especially busy for you, as some apparently really important people had come to visit the Temple and you'd been tasked with scrubbing the floor of
every single hallway on the third level. Just you! You never would have finished if it hadn't been for that kind pair of siblings who'd helped you out. They'd gotten lost and tried asking you for directions, but when they saw the job you'd been assigned they offered to help. Apparently, they'd grown up scrubbing floors for money, and it showed. What would have taken you the whole day on your own was completely finished by mid-afternoon. After that, they left for some important business on the south end of town. Something about a concert. You wished you could have gone, even if you had no idea who was singing. You missed the world outside the Temple.
Anyways, you didn't go to the concert. No, you did your normal routine instead of walking in circles around the halls of the third floor looking for empty lamps and randomly scrutinizing furniture. You had no idea what you were actually supposed to be doing, but you saw a lot of the older Maidens do it, so it was probably something that came with the role. After that was dinner, evening prayers, at this point you were in that weird paradox where your body was complaining that you needed sleep but your brain kept pumping adrenaline into you in anticipation for your nightly rituals.
The rituals weren't clergy-ordained per se. The other Maidens or Priests more often told you that you needed to sleep, or the mean ones slapped you when they caught you breaking curfew for the umpteenth time. But curfew was the only time you weren't required to be doing something else. You could actually do the things you wanted to do, instead of pretending you were busy to avoid getting yelled at. Things like reading, singing, or practicing your Magic.
You weren't supposed to do that last one, but you couldn't help it. Magic was so, well, magical. It was beautiful and exciting when the rest of your life was pretentious and boring.
Last night you'd been so focused on making a breakthrough that you were out until the sun rose and nearly missed your morning prayers. You'd panicked and run back in, only to find Father Absalom needed you to help him with the Soul Screening of a new scholar.
"It should be quick," he said. "A kind heart like his won't have an issue," he claimed. "He's young and devoted to his goals, there's almost no chance of him having a Taint," he insisted. You knew better than anyone how false that last one could be. And yet you agreed anyway.
And then his Taint nearly killed him, and Father made you cast those spells on him. Spells that felt odd as you cast them; like they weren't supposed to be used that way. You'll probably have to ask him later about it.
And now, you were here, sitting in a chair beside the poor man, attempting to catch up on your missed sleep by using his legs as a pillow. The blanket covering his legs shifts a little, and you can tell he's come to. You keep your eyes closed, though, because you're still tired. It's only when he speaks that you finally open them.
The man before you looks roughly your age, with a mess of brown hair seated on his head. He's grabbing the collar of the shirt you put him in, looking with very confused brown eyes at his own chest. And now they're looking at you. You must have moved as you examined him. Looks like you've been caught peeking.
Oops?
"Hey," you say, still resting on his legs.
He stares at you for a moment as a little red begins to fill his cheeks. "H-hey," he says back.
"How're you feeling?" A hint of concern seeps into your voice. You're not exactly certain what effect your spells will have on him, especially since a good number of them weren't exactly being used the normal way. You really hope you didn't mess him up somehow.
"Good, mostly," his hand rubs at his chest. "My chest is branded and it feels like its smoldering, but I'm also not being chased by an eldritch horror while swimming in a pool of my own blood anymore. I think that's an improvement."
You nod. "That'd be the Seal that Father Absalom gave you. It looked like your Taint was going nuts, so he did his best to stop it." You frown. "And then I had to perform a bunch of spells on you because it nearly killed you anyways."
He blinks and his blush returns ever the stronger. "Oh. Um, thanks." He blinks again. He does that a lot. "Isn't it awkward to talk like that?"
You give him your best blank stare. "Talk like what?"
"Sideways."
"Hmmm, not really."
"Oh."
"Yep."
There's a bit of a pause. You continue to appreciate the surprisingly soft legs of this random stranger who gave you such a headache.
"Can I have my legs back?"
"I saved you from the brink of death, the least you can do is let me use them as a pillow for a few more minutes."
"...Fair enough."
You close your eyes again and try to enjoy this moment as much as possible. Who knows when you'll be able to sneak in a few extra minutes of sleep again? You have to do everything in your power to keep hold of these precious seconds of rest!
"Can I ask you a question?" He asks, hesitantly.
You shrug, eyes still closed. "Shoot."
"Who are you?"
"Anna, one of the Holy Maidens who maintain this place. It's my job to make sure it always looks nice for everyone coming through."
He hums. "That sounds like a pretty cool job."
"It's exhausting. Hence," You motion to yourself and his legs. Another hum. "How about you? What's your story?"
There's a moment of silence that goes on after that. It stretches out just long enough for you to consider opening an eye before he answers. "My name's Den. I'm a bard and I came here trying to learn more about Spiritual Magic."
"Wait, you're a bard?" You ask, anticipation rising.
He shifts nervously. "Well, yeah. Kinda. It's something I've been doing for the past year to make ends meet."
You lift your head from his lap. This knowledge is worth the sacrifice of your headrest. Your eyes go wide and you lean in as close as you can. "Could you play me something?"
"Um," you can see his resolve breaking. Your eyes, your enthusiasm, the almost non-existent distance from your face to his all seem to be working to wear him down. He attempts to back away, but he runs into the wall. There is no escape for him, you've got him cornered. "Maybe? Do you have my stuff?"
You nod. It's all on the table behind you: his clothes, his book, his weird necklace, and the oddly shaped bundle with a strap attached. Everything that he'd left in the Purification Chamber before his Screening.
"Can you get me my mandolin? It should be wrapped in a blanket to keep the strings from being affected by the cold weather."
You hop away from Den and hear him breathe a sigh of relief. At the table, you pick up the weird bundle. Pulling at the cloth does, in fact, reveal an instrument underneath. Who would have guessed?
"Thank you," he says, picking up the worn neck of the mandolin. For a moment he simply stares at it, lost in thought. It's only when you helpfully cough to remind him you're here that he shakes from his reverie. "So, did you have any requests?"
Oh, you didn't think this far ahead, did you? Well, that's okay, you're sure you can think of something!
-:-:-;-:-:-
Anna has joined your party.
I love Anna. She's so fun to write.
But yeah, Anna's finally here and as an alternate PC that you can switch to (almost) anytime. Can't say any more without spoilerizing things, but I hope you like her character.
-:-:-;-:-:-
What song should Den play?
[] Something sweet?
[] Something somber?
[] Something from his home?
[] Something original?
[] Something else? (Write-in mood)
Do you want to keep Anna as your party leader?
[] Yes (keep playing as Anna)
[] No (go back to playing as Den)
