Child of Gods Tasks: Liam and Rajani's Tasks Collide
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All through the day Liam has been smelling florals. Doing his duties as a prince? The scent of flowers teases his senses. They have no visible source that he can see. The floral scent just follows him on and off all day. If he mentions the scent to anyone, except Essa, they comment they smell nothing. The fragrance is clearly intended for Liam alone but since Essa is so connected to him, to the point she got a mini-her along with his when Liam obtained his sacred item (tattoo in his case) she also smells it. Eventually, in the evening, Liam finds himself in the meeting room of Elysium, with Essa at his side. When he steps into the meeting room he could swear he heard an 'I'm sorry' along with the florals. It is hard to say if he actually hears it, though, it is so faint and distant.
Rajani finds herself feeling like she needs to do /something/ all day. She's not sure what. Something just feels like she needs to do it. She tries so many things to make that feeling leave her but it doesn't. It is really very frustrating because no matter what she does this feeling does not leave her. She just can't seem to figure out what she needs to do. Did she leave something unfinished that she isn't recalling? Is she missing 'Princess LEssons?' She just can't pin down what feels like it needs her attention. At some point she finds herself in the meeting room alongside Liam and Essa (make up a reason you end up here if you want). She doesn't hear the whispered apology or smell the florals. When she enters Elysium's Meeting Room, though, the intense feeling of needing to something eases a little. IT is something to do with this room, it seems, that she needs to do.
It takes her a while to catch on. That feeling of something left undone had driven Rajani to obsessive heights during the day. It was at the point where she was climbing a ladder up to the roof of a pagoda, carrying a bucket of water in her right hand that things began to fall in place.
"Your ... Highness?"
The gardener's voice had quavered as he'd looked up at the begowned shadow that was the newly-minted princess, carrying a crude bucket with water slopping over the sides while the princess navigated the uneven runs in shoes that were emphatically not made for climbing.
Then it all fell in place. This was a call from the gods. She'd felt similar before, after all, albeit not quite so all-encompassing.
"You're right," she'd said to the gardener. "I'm unused to assigning tasks. The roof is dusty. I'd like it rinsed off."
Saving face.
---
Now, hours later, as she ghosted around, trying to get clues to what it is she was expected to do, she finds herself stepping into the meeting room and almost immediately the pressure relents. This is where she's meant to be. She starts sighing in relief but cuts that short when she sees Liam. The Santua scion. She freezes, eyes the exit quickly, weighing that dread weight against ...
Dammit.
"Prince Liam," she says gracefully, trying to quell that dread of his House. "I was not expecting anyone here. Shall I depart?"
Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes.
The smell the florals following him around all day? Why?
The why he can't figure out, how?5rThe how he does not figure out all day and when he asks if anyone else smells it and he is told no he squints.
Something telling him to go to the meeting room and to have Essa with him, well she is always with him.
Never alone or with out!
When he spots Rajani he blinks, he was not expecting anyone to be here either.
"What did you say?" he looks to her, she is the only one here other then Essa and he knows someone said something an it was not Essa.
"Your highness, do not leave. Why are you here?"
Essa likely heard the whisper herself for she glances towards Rajani too with a mildly confused face. She does dip into an appropriate curtsy for the princess. For the moment the floral scent seems to have subsided. "Your highness." she greets quietly of the princess. Back to Liam she glances. The longer Rajani lingers, the more at ease she feels. More and more she is certain that she is where she needs to be. Perhaps she let herself be to far confident she will solve the bother now for something starts to feel off kilter about her magic, like she can't control it. Maybe it is the presence of a Santua that is causing her to lose control? Her fear of them after her encounter with Echo's test might be causing her not to be able to hold herself in check fully. Liam has started to feel a sense of dread in the pit of his stomach but he can't explain why to himself.
Despite Liam's presence, the easing of the impetus to do something causes the tensed princess to relax. This is where she's meant to be. The relaxation can be seen in her shoulder. Her neck. The tightness at the back of her jaw.
But then it comes back, with widening eyes as she looks around the room.
"I think," she says to Liam distractedly, while searching the room for signs of her tormentor, "that I was summoned here."
That's one way to put it.
And she thinks she knows the flavour of this summons. She's about two-thirds certain. Echo.
Worry fills her mind as a vase vanishes, leaving the flowers to fall to the table, a flood of water spilling across in a miniature tidal wave sweeping loose petals along with it.
"Oh, no!" she whispers. "Nononononono..."
Hers is not magic that can run rampant. That would be ... bad.
"Mother, help me in my need..." she murmurs to herself, ignoring the others in the room as she desperately tries to bring her magic into control.
"You can't stay here..." she says aloud, not directed at anybody as she tries desperately, to hold onto control. But the scion of Santua's presence is throwing her control into turmoil.
Liam blinks looking to Essa then to Rajani his eyes are on her, "Princess Rajani what are you doing?" he feels that feeling in the pit of his stomach. His brow raises at the princess, he moves to step in front of Essa to protect him, "I am not sure why I am here, but you need to control yourself Rajani." his voice holds a degree of sternness to it watching her, ready to protect Essa if something should go wrong, he is not worried for himself but for her he would put himself in front of anything to protect her.
Seeing Rajani starting to panic Essa is about to step forward when Liam places himself between her and the Luminat Princess. Again the whispered 'I'm sorry' touches the ears of Essa and Liam, clearly it is not Rajani. At leas this time. Rajani glimpses a shadowy mini-her but her hold on her magic fails her and it fills the room with darkness. Liam is still present. PErhaps he is protected by his Godly blood from her power. Everything around Rajani and Liam has disappeared leaving them. "My Prince, I.." are the last words Liam hears from Essa before she too is consumed by the darkness created by Rajani. In his soul he can feel something breaking, as if part of it was being taken. Rajani herself had to watch innocent little Essa disappear due to her magic, a Divinus commoner who was merely a timid servant girl, who was being protected by the Santuan Prince. A girl who's face was showing concern for the Luminat and was about to say something. Going by Essa's face, she was gong to try causingt he prince to calm down and not be so hard on the nervous Rajani.
<FS3> Liam rolls Perception: Failure. (1 1 2 2)
"Oh no!" Rajani exclaims as her power loses all control. She doesn't immediately recognize the import of the mini-her flitting about, but does spot it and try to interfere with it before suddenly...
Darkness descends. Mini-her disappears in the blackness, along with the room. And one person, leaving only Liam and her in a shadowy void.
Rajani falls to her knees, releasing a moan of frustration, fear, and regret.
"Why?!" she screams to the void, turning her head back and forth, looking around for that shadowy monster that just snuffed out the world around her, except, naturally, for the feared prince. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS!?"
Liamis taken back by the feeling inside of him, shock, fear, terroir all turn up in him. His mind spinning in chaos, one thought! Essa! "Rajani! What did you do!" he cries out, looking around the black void.. "Essa!" he cries out in anger, fear, he as known her since he was a boy. He has never ever been with out her, well once and he wanted to murder someone for that! "Bring her back!" his eyes look Rajani, "Where is she! Rajani What did you do to her!" he stumbles back as he feels the break, "NO!" that feeling, that you know someone is gone. His hand on his heart as if he could feel it breaking for the loss of Essa, a loved one.
<FS3> Rajani rolls Composuer: Success. (5 7 1)
<FS3> Rajani rolls Composure: Success. (1 8)
"I didn't do it!" Rajani says, wide eyes standing out in her dark face as they roll around, looking for her tormentor. "SHE did it!" Her finger juts out pointing at what she thinks is a darker patch of black in the blackness. "She's taken my control away and now everything is disappearing!"
She stares at Liam, blinking. "But why ... why aren't you...?"
"Oh no, oh no, oh no I won't let you kill me like your father did!"
Wait, what?!
Whatever she's babbling about, it's clear as she gets to her feet, backing away from Liam in obvious dread, that she's looking for something to defend herself with.
Liam eyes are wide his look to Rajani is that of chaos, "What! Is this why you took Essa from me!" he moves back a step and looks around them, "ESSA!!" he crys out again in hopes that he can hear her maybe..Maybe she wasn't gone, maybe she was just in the void not able to speak or respond.."Rajani!" he cries out, that feeling not going away staying with him. He can't shake it, can't. "Stop, I never done anything to you!" he looks to her that is a look in his eyes of heart break and great sorrow. "Why!" he falls to his knees, his arms wrapping around himself, the void feeling so cold, alone, numb he wants to feel numb it be better then this feeling.
"It wasn't me...." Rajani's voice is a tortured whisper. "It, whatever it is, just used me..."
She looks around in the dark helplessly.
"This is ... I ... I had no idea I could erase the world."
She stares around her, trying to see if it's actually gone or just hidden, putting her hands out and walking, trying to find a wall or a table or something, ANYTHING, beyond a black void, moving away from Liam as she does so.
Liam watches Rajani as she starts to walk away, oh no she is not moving out of his sight and so he gets up and follows her, he will be numb for now, his arms at his side as he moves just behind her..Essa last words in his head as he follows his eyes cast down, the one thing he cared for gone, he knows he felt it snap in him a feeling he would not even wish on a enemy.
Liam gets no response from Essa. A part of him feels like it is missing. Again the floral scent is present then a ghost of a soothing touch is done to Liam's shoulder and he feels his pain lighten a little but not fully. There is only one person, rather God, who takes away pain. Attia. Which means she is here and helping him some. "What will you do, Prince of Santua?" comes a voice that sounds like Larthin but his presence can't be felt. Maybe it is in Liam's head.
Before Rajani the shadowy mini-her appears. She stares at the Princess and shakes her head, "You lie to yourself so that it comes out truth to others when you deny what you've done, Princess. You can only be used by what you let." Or the gods. One can't stand against the Gods. "What will you do? Will you keep running from your truth? Your actions have consequences. This time you took someone away from another because you let your belief you are not at fault for your actions control you. Has the prince done any harm to you? Yet, because of his name, because of his father you decided to fear him. You pushing the blame of your actions to another is what caused this." Liam can hear and see the mini-Rajani this time. He just missed her previously.
<FS3> Rajani rolls Magic: Good Success. (7 7 2 2 4 2 7 4)
"YOU!" Rajani hisses and lunges at her mini-self. "My fear is not what made things go out of control! YOU DID!" Fury etches her voice as she speaks. "YOU summoned me here. And it sounds like you summoned him and his friend as well!"
She stands up straight, staring at ... herself?
"The magic came from me. I do not deny it. But I didn't will the vase to vanish. I didn't will the WORLD to disappear. I didn't will someone who'd never done anything to me ever, even by association to disappear!"
And for probably the first time since being thrown into a world alien to herself she looks like the princess she is. Imperious. Commanding. "You will cease this test now. I recogize you for what you are. And if I have to I will make you disappear forever, never to be seen by another ever again." With a few hand gestures Rajani gathers her magical force about her, ready to unleash it on ... herself?
"Undo what you've done with my magic or I will undo you," she repeats. "This is your one and only chance."
Liam pain is lessened, he tilts his head feeling the hand on his shoulder. "She is gone, if she can not be brought back then I must learn to live with the loss of something dear to me." he looks over at Rajani his eyes locked on her as she yells at her mini-me. "I will be numb, I will not allow another so close again. I could not deal with that feeling again." opening himself up to let someone see a little bit of the real him.
"Do as you will, Princess." says the mini-Rajani, "I am you, you are me. I will stop nothing you decide to do. Why would I summon the prince and his servant? They are not you, and they are not me. I am you, you are me." The face of the mini-Rajani saddens, "IT you who will lose, though and not because I fought you. I will do no such thing." The mini-Rajani shows no intention to do anything but stand before the princess attempting to threaten her. Though, she does look to Liam, "Though we did this to you, it was not all of our own choice. Though, mostly it was because of us."
"That is your choice." says the LArthin voice, his presence still not felt. So, it is hard to tell if it is truly him or Liam trying to talk himself through what happened. This time it is Attia that speaks, clearly her, "You should not do that. IT will serve you no good but it is what you decide."
For long, deadly seconds, Rajani stands there, staring with unmitigated fury and hatred at her miniature, magic swirling about her, barely reined in, threatening to those sensitive to its currents.
Then with a scream of ... something. Rage? Frustration? Sorrow? Unclear. Whatever it is expressing though, she releases the deadly energies she barely has under control.
In a desperate bid, however, she doesn't erase her mini-self (and thus, likely, her real self). She instead tries to picture the erasure of ... the former erasure. Can she bring the world back?
<FS3> Rajani rolls Magic: Great Success. (7 3 1 8 4 8 1 7)
"I don't want to." he says as he watches rajani, "Father." he says softly, shaking his head but then there is Attia, "I don't know what else to do, she is gone. I felt it break, I feel numb." he looks from Rajani to where he thinks Attia is, "I have never felt this before, I do not like it."
The darkness recedes when Rajani tries to erase her erase but instead of returning them to where they were they find themselves in a white void. Rajani can be certain her magic has been 'controlled' and cleared away by her. Again Attia's touch can be felt and a bit more of Liam's pain is eased, "You will face such feelings again. I will always be here to ease it." Now LArthin's presence can be felt then MAtaya's beside him. Mataya appears first in her usual array of prismy crystals. She gets a gentle look to her Child and strokes Rajani's cheek. "My Child, you did well enough for someone who has been sheltered." The mini-Rajani is picked up by the Goddess and she says, "IT is time." the mini-rajani nods and fades away as she becomes a ring. It lingers in Mataya's hand before she passes her hand over Rajani's and upon the princess' finger the ring settles. It's magic does not activate but Rajani instinctively knows just what to do when she wants it to activate.
All three Gods look to Liam. IT is MAtaya that speaks again, "I apologize, Prince of Santua. I did not realize what Rajani needed to face and what you needed to face would fall together as such. Attia did not mean for things to go this way either." Mataya is speaking a lot for her. Her power can not be felt in her words in this white void. Perhaps it is a special place that is connected to the Gods, allowing MAtaya to speak without her power causing things to happen. LArthin speaks next, "Because it was not planned that what you needed to do and what Rajani needed to do I will turn back time on Essa and she will return." Larthin can never be claimed to not care for his family. Though he is petty and selfish he has never let his family be truly hurt. The white void is brushed away by LArthin and Liam and Rajani find themselves back in Elysium's meeting room. LArthin steps close to his Child and presses a hand to his chest. Inside Liam can feel the break to his soul repairing. With each repair Essa starts to reappear. "Your fate and her fate are one, Liam." Larthin comments to his son. "That is beyond even my expectation. I am curious to see what will next happen."
Liam looks to the three gods each as they talk to him, his eyes filled with so many emotions, "Father." he nods his head to lArthin he closes his eyes, breathing deeply. When the world goes from the black void to the room they had been in his eyes open. Looking up, he watches his father stand before him and put his hand to his chest. He gasps out feeling the bond repairs. His head turning to watch as Essa comes back. When done he smiles, here is a chuckle light a weight had been lifted off of him and he rushes to her wrapping his arms around her, "Essa!" he picks her up and spins her.
Once Rajani and Liam have been situated the Gods disappear just as Liam picks up Essa and spins her. she gives a small surprised sound rests her hands against Liam's arms.