Death Masks [SE] [OPEN]
Playing with mud SE
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Age: 36 | Height: 5'8" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
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#1
For every joy, there is a price to be paid.
The only thing that is humiliating is helplessness.
ABASI
It was the early hours of the morning and Abasi had suddenly found the walls of the manor almost choking - far too closed in. Sometimes he missed dearly the open spaces and views of his desert home, the emphasis the architecture had placed on airflow. It seemed here buildings had been made with a million different ideas in mind, and hardly any of them had been achieved.

So he had come to the spot next to his morturary, with the tree and fledgling bushes. Some memory mud, probably pushed from the street, had settled around the base of the tree. He nudged it with his foot and noted that the shape he created seemed to look almost like a nose - before he had really thought of what he was doing, Abasi had bent down to push a mouth and two eyes into the mud too, thinking of the clay death masks he knew some cultures liked to use.

He tried to refine his little mud-face, pushing it about with his fingers to make ears and hair. He had never been an artist, but the small task gave him something to focus on in the rather boring and quiet hours of the morning. It was giving him an idea too, a way to use the mud, if it stayed around - he tried to draw a face shape around the features to see if he could pull the mud up.
If his heart rules him,
his conscience will soon take the place of the rod.
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Wessex Theskyra
the Wraith
General of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 47 | Height: 5'8'' | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 61 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 61 - Luck: 58 - Int: 2
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#2
It's Lord of the Flies in my mind tonight
There’s a deep serenity in the early mornings that can’t be found in the late evening. People are still out - rowdy, drunk, or fucking. There’s an energy that continues doggedly on until everyone realizes that it’s futile to resist the lure of sleep, or perhaps, to pretend that one will ever be able to actually fall asleep. She likes this time of morning, it’s when she gets a lot of her ‘work’ done (let’s not pretend it’s paperwork, the Grounds doesn’t have that kind of bureaucracy yet), when she’s most comfortable with her own thoughts.

Wessex can walk (or jog) along the Grounds and usually find that all is well. These are the sort of things she does that no one knows about:  patrols, her examinations of the fields and the crops, the moments when she stands in the woods and tries to listen for the animals and determine if there are enough to hunt. Checking in on the Naturals in the outskirts… and they may not like her, but she is present.

Abasi’s early rising interrupts her regularly scheduled programming; it’s not a bad thing, but it warrants investigation. Not because of who he is or what he does, but rather to satisfy her own curiosity. Making her footsteps louder than usual, the Wraith draws up behind the hunched over man and peers over his shoulder. “What are you doing?” she asks, wondering what he’ll say about playing with the mud like a child.
Undertaker

Age: 36 | Height: 5'8" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
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#3
For every joy, there is a price to be paid.
The only thing that is humiliating is helplessness.
ABASI
Abasi was so wrapped up in his 'work' that he did not notice the Queen approaching. Such ignorance in Egypt would have surely been punished severely, if not with death for the lowest members of society; which was why when Wessex asked her question he flinched, turning with wide eyes to see the face of his ruler.

"I am...ah.." He glanced back down at his now rather crude looking face in the mud. "I suppose I was distracted thinking about the death masks that are tradition in some places, and I thought to try and sculpt one in this mud, as it is rather moldable." Abasi wiped his hand on the edge of the bench, feeling a hot shameful blush creep onto his cheeks. "...Is...there something you need, my Queen?"
If his heart rules him,
his conscience will soon take the place of the rod.
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Wessex Theskyra
the Wraith
General of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 47 | Height: 5'8'' | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 61 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 61 - Luck: 58 - Int: 2
LOKI - Mythical - Dragon (Energy Blast)
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#4
It's Lord of the Flies in my mind tonight
“I need several things, but I’m afraid you probably can’t help with any of them,” she replies after a soft chuckle. “Thank you for asking, though.” Despite his formal nature, she is rather oblivious to whether it’s an actual question or a gut response from his former life. Wessex continues to look at the mud as he’s shaped it. Death masks, Delphia, this house that he’s seemed to have created… all peculiar things to be interested in, in her very biased opinion. “Did you get the answers you needed from Delphia?” she asks as she squats down to one side of him and looks at her own little swathe of mud. “And what’s a death mask? Exactly what I think it is - a mask for the dead?”
Undertaker

Age: 36 | Height: 5'8" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
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#5
For every joy, there is a price to be paid.
The only thing that is humiliating is helplessness.
ABASI
"Then I will simply serve with my best work." Abasi promised, sometimes still going back to words he said every day to Pharaoh, when he had been under the man's rule. Though what was different here was that Wessex actually seemed to want to talk to him beyond professional business or the expected detached interest of a ruler in their subjects.

She knelt down before him and he poked at the face in the mud a couple of times half-heartedly, a little embarrassed to continue it now. "Yes, though they were not necessarily answers I cared for - but that is the nature of things. I will come around." He still wanted to deny what it was she had told him, to insist he would find a way to get souls back to their own worlds, but she had all the evidence and he none. She was right.

"It is not my own tradition, so I am not fully sure of the purpose. But I know some kingdoms in my world would make a mask from a mold of the deceased's face and use it to create a decorative mask. To put on shrines, and so on. I do not know if there are any similar traditions here. It seems the longer I speak to people, the more I learn of. For such a small town, there are many diverse traditions here." Probably because of the Outlanders arriving, he supposed. "Do you have any particular traditions you would wish carried out upon your death?" He asked, assuming he would likely be the one to do them.
If his heart rules him,
his conscience will soon take the place of the rod.
Base Code by Sky!
Wessex Theskyra
the Wraith
General of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 47 | Height: 5'8'' | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 61 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 61 - Luck: 58 - Int: 2
LOKI - Mythical - Dragon (Energy Blast)
Played by: Astor Offline
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#6
It's Lord of the Flies in my mind tonight
Wessex looks at him with a sort of curious fascination; her interactions with Abasi never seem to be lacking in the entertainment department. At first she’d just been annoyed that he came from a world where women weren’t powerful, but now that she’s beginning to ask questions and delve beyond her first impressions, she finds that she wants to know more about his home place and time. “Mmmm,” she agrees, “the portals that bring Outlanders in cross more than spaces and worlds, they seem to cross time as well. This might be the most unnaturally diverse place, ever.”

Everyone holds a little bit of a surprise inside them.

His question makes her pause. Noticeably. What does she say to that, other than the truth? “Well,” Wessex begins, squishing her fingers into the mud a tad more aggressively than before. “We traditionally burn the bodies. Say some prayers to Ludo and Mort.” A brief pause. “But that isn’t appropriate for me. I’ve died once, been reborn. I don’t even know if Mort wants my tarnished Ascended soul.” Trying to keep it all light, the Queen is able to keep all but a tiny bit of snark from creeping in.
Undertaker

Age: 36 | Height: 5'8" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
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#7
For every joy, there is a price to be paid.
The only thing that is humiliating is helplessness.
ABASI
"Yes...though I have not yet met anyone from my own world. I wonder if there is anyone." Abasi pondered, wondering if he would even know, if they had come from a different time. If there would even be any connection between them, or if the times they had come from would not even resemble each other.

He noticed the pause and looked sure to be sure he had not offended, but it seemed he had merely caused the Queen to think over the question. "What of The Voice? Will she not take your soul? I understand she keeps the souls of her children from the grasps of the other Gods anyway." Abasi was careful not to meet Wessex's eyes as he asked, staring down at his mud-face as he gave it a more defined nose, a better chin. He did not want to appear challenging.
If his heart rules him,
his conscience will soon take the place of the rod.
Base Code by Sky!
Wessex Theskyra
the Wraith
General of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 47 | Height: 5'8'' | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 61 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 61 - Luck: 58 - Int: 2
LOKI - Mythical - Dragon (Energy Blast)
Played by: Astor Offline
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#8
It's Lord of the Flies in my mind tonight
“I don’t know. We’ve never talked about souls during our conversations.” Scooping up the mud into her hand, she begins to try and mold it into something. Really what she wants is to see what kind of death mask Abasi would make for her, but that requires the both of them to loosen up a bit, and the likelihood of that happening is... small. “When I died there was nothing. Things just ended. I didn’t feel like I missed anything, didn’t even realize I had died until I woke up again.” And is that so bad, that kind of ending? She finds some sort of peace in knowing that there isn’t anything else. Would she love to see her mother and Magrethe again? Sure. But she doesn’t feel like she’s missing out.

“Would you like to as The Voice about it yourself? She’s usually pretty open about what she does,” Wessex offers Abasi casually, like it’s the most normal thing in the world.
Undertaker

Age: 36 | Height: 5'8" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
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#9
For every joy, there is a price to be paid.
The only thing that is humiliating is helplessness.
ABASI
"Never? Does it not concern you, what will happen upon your death...?" Though it seemed that answer was at least partially answered when it became apparent Wessex had already died once. Abasi could not help his curiosity, forgetting for a moment his stuttering respect: "You died? How? Did it hurt?" An almost childish question perhaps, given his career and previous life, but it was the first one to come to mind.

The suggestion he talk to The Voice himself took him by surprise. "Well...I've heard from several people she nor her followers are well thought of. I want to operate a business here that relies a lot on the people of the town trusting me. I think it is best if I am not associated with her, at least not for now." He'd considered it, having heard The Voice would be the only deity to not care about his Abandoned status. But she carried with her a reputation, one that he could not allow to sully his.
If his heart rules him,
his conscience will soon take the place of the rod.
Base Code by Sky!
Wessex Theskyra
the Wraith
General of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 47 | Height: 5'8'' | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 61 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 61 - Luck: 58 - Int: 2
LOKI - Mythical - Dragon (Energy Blast)
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#10
It's Lord of the Flies in my mind tonight
“Yeah,” her gaze inevitably turns to the Spire, ground zero for every big thing that’s happened to the demi-god. “It dind’t hurt because we can’t feel pain the same way everyone else does. We register the damage but it doesn’t hurt. Anyway, I was stupid, and trying to both protect and impress a girl. The Spire Demon attacked while we were at the base of the Spire and I attacked when I should have run.” Wessex shrugs. As the Outlander will find later, she is ok with admitting her faults and mistakes.

“It tore me to pieces. I woke up a season later with some new additions and the knowledge that The Voice put me back together and gave me some new tools to help keep me safe.” There’s a faint smile in her eyes and on her face. Her Goddess has been nothing but generous to her. Demanding, in some ways, but Wessex has always been willing to pay her back.

Nodding at his desire to keep things separate, she pushes back only ever so slightly. “We have some very… outspoken people who are anti-Ascended. Let me guess… you’ve talked Jigano and Amalia? Maybe Loren?” She can't think of anyone else who might say that kind of thing. Trying to keep her voice light and disciplined, calm and collected - perhaps the way one might talk to a teenager they’re trying to show the error of their ways.
Undertaker

Age: 36 | Height: 5'8" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 2 - Strg: 12 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 13 - Luck: 10 - Int:
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#11
For every joy, there is a price to be paid.
The only thing that is humiliating is helplessness.
ABASI
Abasi listened to Wessex's tale, though he found it unsatisfying - she didn't know if it'd hurt for anyone else, then. Though it did make him smile (forcing his mouth back into a straight line he thought do not laugh at a monarch) that the Queen could get hurt trying to impress a girl, like a common teenager.

"I am glad you were restored, then. It seems she has done well to protect you." To come back from the dead was nothing short of a miracle, but the way Wessex seemed so casual about it made him wonder if it was more common here.

The names she picked out were pin-point accurate. "I am...close to Loren, yes. I have spoken to both Jigano and Amalia, though I feel Jigano does not care for me. Jigano and Amalia are both definitely derisive of the Ascended, though I can't say I've been aware of Loren having too much of an opinion on the matter. At least, not that he's spoken to me in length of." He shrugged. "Regardless of the truth, the fact is that a lot of people do not care for the Ascended, so for my business it would be a poor move to show alliance either way."
If his heart rules him,
his conscience will soon take the place of the rod.
Base Code by Sky!
Wessex Theskyra
the Wraith
General of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 47 | Height: 5'8'' | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 61 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 61 - Luck: 58 - Int: 2
LOKI - Mythical - Dragon (Energy Blast)
Played by: Astor Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,156 | Total: 4,350
MP: 0
#12
It's Lord of the Flies in my mind tonight
“Two out of two thousand is a very small sample size. Don’t mistake their feelings for me and The Voice as a general dislike the Ascended. Sam, Rexanna, Bastien, Clemente, Amun, Nate… they’re very different. We even had an Ascended healer, very briefly.” Every now and then Wessex mourns the loss of the sister she could have had, but never really knew. She goes up there with Aedion as someone she thinks she might have liked.

Nodding simply at his assessment of her Lady’s measures to protect her, she adds, “She’s done more than that. She’s lifted me up to a divine level.” Shamelessly borrowing a phrase from Bastien, this seems like an appropriate time to brag. Abasi seems to put a premium on status and what others think, so what better way to impress on him that he might want to seek multiple opinions.

“It’s your business, of course, but as an Outlander, I’d think you’d want to find out the truth from both sides before making a decision." That's probably her main gripe about the Outlanders. They hear one thing and then jump in headfirst, eager for power and favoritism, having absolutely no idea that it may not be the truth. They see the blatant racism and get sucked in, abandoning whatever loyalties and logic they might have had for the first loud, persuasive voice. "Have you spoken to any Ascended other than me?” The mud in her hand doesn’t seem to want to stay still enough to be molded, so she lets it run freely over her hand as she looks to Abasi with a slightly raised brow.
Undertaker

Age: 36 | Height: 5'8" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
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#13
For every joy, there is a price to be paid.
The only thing that is humiliating is helplessness.
ABASI
It seemed he had hit a nerve (albeit a very calm one) and Abasi was quiet for a moment as he considered what he would say. It was not that he personally had any qualms about the Ascended, really - just that he did not wish to make any grand statements when he was trying to appeal to the masses. Still, perhaps Wessex was right and it was a good idea to speak to more Ascended, to try and ascertain just how widespread the distaste for The Voice's followers really was.

He accepted the news that Wessex was divine rather easily with a nod, given she was a ruler; in Egypt it had been a given.

"I do not believe I have, no. I have heard of Rexanna from a few people but have not yet met her." Abasi tilted his head one way than the other. "It seems no one is sure how people feel about the Ascended. I got the impression from some they were widely hated, then others seem neutral. The only ones who seem supportive of them are the Ascended themselves, and..ah.." Glancing to Wessex apologetically, his voice grew a little quieter. "Forgive me, but I am not sure if I can trust that. Nor can I trust those motivated by an irrational hatred, so it is difficult to know where I stand, if anywhere, on the issue."

There was one thing that drew him to The Voice, though. "...If I went to speak to this Goddess, The Voice, she would see me? Even though I am Abandoned?"
If his heart rules him,
his conscience will soon take the place of the rod.
Base Code by Sky!
Wessex Theskyra
the Wraith
General of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 47 | Height: 5'8'' | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 61 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 61 - Luck: 58 - Int: 2
LOKI - Mythical - Dragon (Energy Blast)
Played by: Astor Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,156 | Total: 4,350
MP: 0
#14
It's Lord of the Flies in my mind tonight
“That’s fair. And there’s nothing to forgive.” She shakes his words and tone away with a flick of her wrist. “I’m as biased as they are, and we aren’t a vocal minority.” For all that the Queen wanted to drag Abasi to her side, it was nice to have a somewhat calm, somewhat logical discussion about these things. He seems to speak her language in that regard, even if he doesn’t know it. Self-preservation is a terribly strong, driving force, there are few who could probably understand that like Wessex does.

At least he asks about the Voice. She nods and then pauses and tilts to her head to one side in thought. “Probably. She was once a magic user, too, when She was mortal. She may not answer your questions because she likes to be mysterious and knows better than to trust anyone who hasn’t proven their loyalty to her.” Another pause. “She would most likely show herself if an Ascended went with you, but even She’s left my calls unanswered before. I don’t think it’s personal, but who am I to comment on the actions of a Goddess?” she asks with a chuckle.

The mud begins to run up her arm and she has to take a minute to sluice it off. “What are your Gods like? Your world?”


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