The Hearts of Men (1x1 with Eternal Chronicler)

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

--<._.-'--.__Tessa Orinae__.--'-._.>--

So cold...

All the same, all about me.

The wit, the wisdom.

Here I stand,

Here I live...

The truth of a revelation, frozen in fear.

Slowly dying...

Tessa nodded, looking behind her to where the others she knew were standing.
"I will come," she said quietly, "but I have my own reasons, and several questions that need answering."
Her expression remained serene, but her eyes betrayed contemplation on many levels that even two weeks ago she would never have known the existence of. Stepping through the doorway, she made her way to the cellar's doorway and waited.

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[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Jack------------------------------------------
------------------- Cortez

Of Blood and Gold I know,
of the freedom of a ship,
and only the wind holding you back.

Jack followed wordlessly and stopped to the left and side of Tessa. He laced his fingers in hers and let his eyes search the cellar before falling on Calypso whom was standing in the middle of the room, eyes sharp.

"Illumine, stop cowering in the shadows and reveal yourself to us. You have no place on this ship, and no place among the living," Calypso said, her eye brows knitting.

This is what I loved...And lost.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: ---]
 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

---=---Lady Illumine Kerael---=---

This is not what should have been...

I am Lady Light, and all I see is darkness.

An existence wretched by my only true enemy.

It has to end.

I am left without choice,

Without chance...

But until I am without life I will do this.

Illumine withdrew the light from her blade and tossed the dagger forward halfheartedly, leaving it to clatter with a ring against the floor as it moved away from her, betraying her position.
"There are no shadows here," she said calmly, "only those of a self-indulging nature seen ever-clearly about me."
She gradually rose to her feet and stepped over to her weapon, though she made no move to retrieve it as her eyes settled to Tessa, pondering at her unique appearance and strange silence. Again her eyes searched the others in the room.
"For example, piracy," she went on, "the art of traversing the seas, raiding their fellow ship and port towns alike in search of riches to satisfy greed. Paying little to no mind of the lives which fall into death all about them. However I digress; I have stepped away from my concealment on your command.. what do you want with me?"

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[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Jack------------------------------------------
------------------- Cortez

Of Blood and Gold I know,
of the freedom of a ship,
and only the wind holding you back.

Calypso shot a warning look at Jack as he opened his mouth to speak and he closed his mouth, settling on squeezing Tessa's hand gently.

"I want you to leave, and never return," Calypso said plainly. Jack struggled again to contain himself and he closed his eyes to conceal the glare in them. Calypso looked back at Jack and smiled ever so slightly. "And might I suggest not provoking him? Earlier he was very inclined to make you a figure head, and I do believe that his intentions have not changed,"

This is what I loved...And lost.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: ---]
 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

---=---Lady Illumine Kerael---=---

This is not what should have been...

I am Lady Light, and all I see is darkness.

An existence wretched by my only true enemy.

It has to end.

I am left without choice,

Without chance...

But until I am without life I will do this.

"I can neither blame him, nor say that he is wrong in wanting such a thing," Illumine stated, "but there are far worse things at hand here than what I have caused. I care nothing for what is owed to mortality, nor that I have caused such a cruel disturbance. What is done will remain such, but the difference between a fool and a hero is what they act upon. Will you so quickly forego the future for the sake of the past?"
She came to a crouch and picked up her weapon, leaving it hovering at her side in place of any material hold. She rose to her feet again, looking to Tessa.
"Why do you remain so silent, Tessa? You alone live after the fall of the Sisterhood, and you know well enough in some way I am to blame, whether you have determined how or not. I offer no violence, no resistance if you see fit to destroy me for eternity though in its place I offer what knowledge I have in return for my life."

Tessa remained motionless, her eyes hard between hatred and demanding, though she stayed perfectly still and silent.



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[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Jack------------------------------------------
------------------- Cortez

Of Blood and Gold I know,
of the freedom of a ship,
and only the wind holding you back.

"Ah, finally something that I like comes forth from her mouth," Jack said, his words a bitter snarl thrown towards Illumine.

"Enough Jack Cortez," Calypso said, her eyes narrowing as she looked at him. He returned an equally stern glance.

"Even should she be so inclined as to share with us her knowledge, you and I both know that one of us will kill her," Jack said. Calypso looked away, knowing her hatred could not be bound forever.

"Speak, and I will give you chance to escape from here," She said turning back to Illumine.

This is what I loved...And lost.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: ---]
 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

---=---Lady Illumine Kerael---=---

This is not what should have been...

I am Lady Light, and all I see is darkness.

An existence wretched by my only true enemy.

It has to end.

I am left without choice,

Without chance...

But until I am without life I will do this.

Illumine raised an eyebrow as she regarded Calypso for a moment, but nodded without a word of protest.
"My actions of late were just as manipulated as those of Fienna Morael," she said after a long moment, "and even should you both fail to destroy me, she will not. I have my own designs for that one, and should I pass into death I would never accept it at the workings of any besides her own."
She closed her eyes, lifting her dagger from her side by the flats of the weapon itself and holding it to Jack, the pommel radiating a faint light.
"I want you to have this, in case I am found. The Keirisan Divine Council is left in the hands and populace of a pacifist and a traitor, to which I am neither. However, the latter of which, Kesaide Lahares... he is not to blame for what happened here either, despite that he raised me as a puppet to prevent me telling this to anyone. There is someone else... someone pulling even his strings. He used to have the peaceful respect of the Council but now there is nothing but fear."

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[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Jack------------------------------------------
------------------- Cortez

Of Blood and Gold I know,
of the freedom of a ship,
and only the wind holding you back.

Jack cautiously took the blade and looked it over, eyebrow raised. He concealed it within his sleeve, tucking it into the hidden sheath. He looked wordlessly at Calypso dully and she nodded to an unspoken phrase.

"In case you are found?" Calypso asked. "Very well, but this other, I am assuming sooner or later they will become a...problem, for me, or for the others of this ship?"

This is what I loved...And lost.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: ---]
 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

---=---Lady Illumine Kerael---=---

This is not what should have been...

I am Lady Light, and all I see is darkness.

An existence wretched by my only true enemy.

It has to end.

I am left without choice,

Without chance...

But until I am without life I will do this.

Illumine shook her head, wandering to the side for a moment and resting her hand against the wall with a sigh.
"No... I do not believe so, in any case. I was merely explaining myself in the hopes I may someday be forgiven, goddess though I may be."
She turned to Jack and Tessa, her gaze piercing but not aggressive in the least. Her eyes settled on the latter for a long moment before she shook her head and took a single step forward towards the door frame.
"Know this, though. I offered this much freely, already knowing I could just as easily vanish through my own means. Again I was hoping I might be forgiven, but I see now it is unreasonable for me to expect."

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[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Jack------------------------------------------
------------------- Cortez

Of Blood and Gold I know,
of the freedom of a ship,
and only the wind holding you back.

Jack cleared his throat slightly and looked up from his hand. "Perhaps forgiveness will come with redemption," He said simply, looking Illumine in the eye before back to Tessa. "But for the moment I only pray that you will find some means of doing so," He said before stepping away from the door and more towards Calypso. The goddess looked towards Illumine with a slightly sad and knowledgeable gaze.

"Find forgiveness within yourself before you seek it of others," She said, taking a step back. "For others see what you cannot in yourself,"

This is what I loved...And lost.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: ---]
 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

---=---Lady Illumine Kerael---=---

This is not what should have been...

I am Lady Light, and all I see is darkness.

An existence wretched by my only true enemy.

It has to end.

I am left without choice,

Without chance...

But until I am without life I will do this.

Illumine nodded slowly, taking several steps forward to the doorway and turning back to face the three of them.
"You speak words that those I had always respected would find much worth in. In the end it comes to one's own self-worth, though it has become riddled and mingled in more lies than I care to admit. I bid you farewell, travelers. Should you somehow find your way to Hell I will meet you there, but I suspect I will not be missed as it is."
Without another word, the goddess vanished in a flash of white light.

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[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Jack------------------------------------------
------------------- Cortez

Of Blood and Gold I know,
of the freedom of a ship,
and only the wind holding you back.

Jack raised his eyebrows as Illumine vanished and looked to the slightly troubled Calypso. She looked back at him before tilting her head towards where Mr. Porter was sitting beyond the partition in the room. Jack nodded and headed above deck, pausing at the door to look at Tessa.

"Do you wish to return to the Captain's quarters love?" He asked, hand on the railing.

This is what I loved...And lost.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: ---]
 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

--<._.-'--.__Tessa Orinae__.--'-._.>--

So cold...

All the same, all about me.

The wit, the wisdom.

Here I stand,

Here I live...

The truth of a revelation, frozen in fear.

Slowly dying...

Tessa stood in thought for a moment, then lowered her head slightly in the smallest of nods.
"Yes..." she said, barely even a whisper, "I do..."
For several seconds she still stood, though she quickly turned and stepped through the open doorway, hands closed at her sides but not angrily so. She crossed the deck quickly and all but hid herself in the Captain's chamber, eyes closed as she threw herself to a seat at the bedside, her forehead dropped into her hand in thought.

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[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Jack------------------------------------------
------------------- Cortez

Of Blood and Gold I know,
of the freedom of a ship,
and only the wind holding you back.

Following wordlessly, Jack took a seat by Tessa's side, knees drawn up and arms slung carelessly around them. He watched her for a while, seemingly deep in thought, before he spoke.
"Are you alright?" He asked softly. His eyes carefully watched her, observing in case she was not alright.

This is what I loved...And lost.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: ---]
 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

--<._.-'--.__Tessa Orinae__.--'-._.>--

So cold...

All the same, all about me.

The wit, the wisdom.

Here I stand,

Here I live...

The truth of a revelation, frozen in fear.

Slowly dying...

"No." Tessa admitted, "Nor do I ever think I will be."
She got up from the bed, stepping forward several steps and stopping, not bothering to look back at Jack.
"Shortly before we had left for the cellar, I heard a cry. With my mother being my only follower I cannot help but assume it was her, and yet my every last means to speak with her has brought me nothing. Several seconds before Illumine surrendered her weapon, I heard her voice within my mind telling me she would give herself in my place, as Fienna more than likely would have finished the job for some reason she did not relinquish..."
She took another half step and turned to face Jack, a pained tear forming in her left eye.
"I have spent so long searching for my mother only to have it all end where I could do nothing to save her."

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