[Mini Event] the worst is just around the bend

i'm tired of the weight of mortality, i want to tear it from my veins

until i bleed silver and gold

The time was nearly upon them. And they’d worked hard to make the Sparkbird perch, the offerings, luring the luxere, doing everything they possibly could to reinforce the temple for the darkest week in Caido. And now? Now it was time for the rest, to see who survived, what quests could be accomplished, who might not come back. At least those had made it to Torchline would be secure, and as far as she was aware, Halo was doing alright too.

That just left their little danger zone.

So she waits by the opening, her child in her arms — a mop of dark curls on their head, greeting those who arrive and ushering them inside with bright and warm smiles. She was confident this would work. Prayed to all the gods that it did.

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Please post here if your character is staying in the Temple this LN!!

maybe one day they'll chant our names

and name galaxies after us, and we too shall be eternal

REXANNA

i shut my eyes and all the world drops dead

Dante had scraped together his newfound strength, though it dwindled more quickly than expected, as he carried both himself and Evie to the temple for LongNight. The trek took longer than he would have liked with the upcoming darkness but for what he was working with, the time they made wasn't half bad.

After all, they made it in before the doors closed and that's truly what mattered.

"Hey, Rexanna. Nice new pair of eyes." He wasn't sure how that worked exactly, almost hadn't recognized the previously blind woman he'd met nearly a year ago. But if he had come out of a deathlike state then who was he to say what was, and wasn't, possible in Caido. New eyes? No problem, apparently.

He's gentle with Evie as he leads her in further past the entrance, finding the greenhouse-like room they'd spent time in together during the last LongNight.

"We can hang out here until you get your strength back, okay? Try and stay out of everyone's way while they come in." There's a slight pause as he eases her into a chair, taking a seat on the ground beside her and leaning back. "Say, you think Clem will be here too?"

dante

Coding base by Odd!

EVELYN

From within the temple came the girl, petite and curious as she looked at those who were arriving. The sunlight was still too much to bear on her skin, which was otherwise insensitive to everything else, so within the shadows of a great archway she remained.

She was extremely curious, for talk of the Ascended royalty that led their Grounds was one thing, but beholding them for herself was entirely another. Blue eyes watched the woman, who held a baby in her arms, as she stood by the entrance, grand and strong and greeting her subjects with warmth and a genuine pleasure. She was well loved by her people, that much was obvious, and Evelyn was similarly entranced by her just from this quiet observation.

"Hello," she would murmur as people would file past, giving a small smile, diverting her gaze so as to seem shy and quiet, an orphan amongst a village.

cross me once
i dare you
it is the only chance you will get

It's taken a lifetime to lose my way

All the wasted time on my hands turns to sand

Fortified in his habitual steel, mettle, grit, and determination, the Sword and his unicorn made the inevitable trek towards the Temple. Every footfall felt like trepidation, a noose, choking dread fitting itself in tight coils around his neck, and he shook them off dutifully, only for it all to return. They’d applied preparation after preparation: snow moss, food, water, perches, offerings, and somehow, likely due to all the other past events he’d experienced, he thought it wasn’t enough. Maybe nothing ever was.

But they’d tried, and perhaps it would amount to something.

With a tight, barely-there smile and nod extended to Rexanna (an inquisitive arch of his brow to the child laden in her arms; those moments of meet, greet, and congratulations could come later), he leaned against the Temple door, extending it wide and open for all of them to pass. He probably was not a favored greeter, but at the very least a stoic, bestial monolith, intending to safeguard them as best he could from the impending damnation. Restlessness already curled and contorted along his limbs, and his gaze extended out over those wandering within, taking count, measures, calculations. Zuriel paid no heed to anyone else around her, taking hold of Deimos’ bag in her teeth (laden with armor, with armaments, with weaponry), and settling in amongst a spot by the hearth.

I'm fine in the fire

I feed on the friction

MABEL

Another adventure; and this was just another thing for the taking. Mabel followed her twin, inquisition hovering on her lips, watching Outlanders and Naturals alike clambering into the midst of the Temple. Poking her head in, she noted some of the changes, alterations, and differences into its sanctioned mass from the last time their family had come to quietly worship; but nothing ever stayed the same. Her eyes went to the Queen too, noting the tiny child in her arms (the making of more Bright, beautiful ones) and that alone seemed to enact a smile. “Congratulations,” she whispered, and then wondering if she’d be a bother, a nuisance, to the Ascended monarch, the youth scurried after her sibling. She wanted the confidence of yesterdays, but it had been quieted for the moment, in an altogether strange conglomeration of people and places.

I bare my teeth
and stretch my claws out

BASTIEN

With this being the third Longnight he had endured, Bastien allowed himself to be a little confident. Oh, there were always hard times during the dark week, always moments of panic and fear...but he was here with his wife and his child and right now, he felt invincible. As if his life was going so well that it would be off-kilter for the universe to choose to disrupt it any time soon.

He let Rexanna take the lead as they entered the temple, leaning against a wall watching her greet her subjects, their child in her arms. Gods, she was beautiful, and in that moment he felt more love in his heart than he'd ever known was in the world. It was odd, to be so full of brightness at the beginning of this particular week, but he couldn't help the wide grins he gave to everyone that walked in the door.

Still my heart is heavy
With the hate of some other man's beliefs

but no one seems to care about honesty
so i spend too much time in my head

Staying at the Temple? No, not quite. But you're here now, if that's what they mean. Your hand has been tightly wrapped through Kai's since you both arrived. You hate being inside. You hate this human-made darkness. 'Soon?' You whisper softly, glancing at Kai as you sink down towards the floor against a wall, letting your long legs crumple beneath you.

It is then you notice the baby in Rexanna's arms. "I didn't know they could reproduce." This you say more loudly, blinking into the darkness. Interested as you are by this, the real academic pull is outside. It is part of the reason you've been given this task after all, to learn about what occurred within the barrier during all those years. LongNight is a mystery to the Powers that Be in some respect and you're eager to sink into something familiar (research), rather than being caged inside.

Opting to spend the first bit of LongNight in Torchline to clear her head, Wessex nevertheless feels obliged to drop in to the Ground and the Temple, to drop a mental message to her kin. It’s half-useful, at best, but a gesture nonetheless. Teleporting to the Sanctuary, it doesn’t take long for the Wraith to spot Rexanna and a baby at the doors of the Temple. Her congratulations would come later, for now she has a tight smile for the Queen and the child. “Have a safe LongNight. I’ll be popping in on occasion to keep Ronin company. If you need anything, give a shout.” Tapping her head, Wessex indicates exactly what she means. “Oh, and the twin girls -” she points to the retreating blonde heads, “- they’re newly Ascended.” She glances down at the baby and its olive skin and its curls, reminding her a bit of Bastien. “Looking forward to properly meeting this one afterwards.” With a gentle touch to the woman’s shoulder, she turns and leaves, passing behind the open doors where a glint of something catches her eye. Pausing to read the plaques, Wessex sighs and closes her eyes briefly. Of course. Of fucking course they tried something like that. And Safrin - Growling to herself, she thinks a final warning to the Queen. Be wary of the door. I don’t trust Safrin to have done right with our fluid. WESSEX come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts unsex me here

Luxere The songs of the Grounders have lured a medium-sized heard of Luxere to the Temple. They huddle beneath the falling snow, restless and pressed tightly against the warm bodies of their kin. In the dark the perch for the Spark bird stands tall and silent, well-crafted and beautiful adorned thanks to the efforts of many. Inside the boards have been dampened a reasonable amount, as have squeaky doors and the legs of tables and chairs which may have been want to cry out in the silence. But remember, it will all be for naught if and when a door or a window is opened...

Evie

Did you ever love her? Do you know?

How they get there is a miracle unto itself. Even Dante, who had chippered up somehow, is lagging by the time they make it to the Temple along the first wave. Evie mostly goes where she's led, and when at last she is allowed to rest she sags into the chair gratefully. Reaching a hand to cup the nape of Dante's neck, she brings their foreheads together for a brief moment, too weak for any other kind of embrace. Part of her is crying out that she needs to be awake, to be vigilant. The other part is content to remain seated here until the hollowed out feeling passes.

Dante's voice breaks through the haze, and she gives a small twitch of a smile in agreement. "You know him, wherever Rexanna is Clemente will follow. I'm sure you'll see him." Keeping a hold on his hand so he doesn't dare wander from her side, Evie leans back into the chair and drifts.

Or did you never want to be alone?

After finding shelter with Rance, she had ventured on through the snow when the storm broke, Atlas at her side. She gives a sheepish smile as she arrives, knowing it's a bit of an unexpected twist to arrive with a newly bonded unicorn at her side. It's not as if the Temple doesn't have the room at least, and she trails through giving a small hug and kiss to the cheek to Rexanna, a habitual squeeze of the elbow to Deimos. Making her rounds until she finds a suitable space for her and Atlas to bed down, intent on getting a bit of rest before the first full night. She lays up against Atlas' side, sharing warmth as her golden hair drapes over his dappled hide.

i'm not scared of your stolen power
I see right through you at any hour