@everyone (cw: pit shrine related gore)

[unwings]

It’s time we address the behemoth released from the shrines.

For those who weren’t in the pit, we shared the cavern with 4 occult shrines that produced a steady flow of blood. When the exterior of each was removed, a second was beneath - an armored figure with a spiked halo knelt in prayer, bleeding from empty eye sockets. Save for one other - a standing, armored skeleton-like humanoid carrying the upper half of an iron maiden, and wielding a spiked ball at the end of what appeared to be a chain of its own small intestines.

When the last of these shrines were opened, pillars of writhing flesh struck through the pit’s ceiling. Later, it was apparent these were the monster’s legs, and some were crushed underfoot when it began to retreat from its cage.

Proximity to the shrines caused a flood of sinister whispering and visions of a shadowed figure, and those of us succumbed to the ritual’s effects felt a certain draw to them. It’s unclear if the acolytes were hoping we’d interact with these shrines, as they never intervened, but the monster’s escape caused the eventual collapse of the pit and did them no favors.

Did anyone in the rescue team see where it went, after it broke off from the cavern? Best we learn what this creature is and what it’s capable of before we encounter it again.

There will be a cross-faction book exchange and research effort hosted in Istredd's domain regularly. Please come by if you’re interested in helping with this, sharing books not available in your faction, or any other pursuit of this world’s knowledge.


And, if anyone’s seen Dean Winchester - in the Horizon or otherwise - Sam, Jo and I would appreciate a word.

Comments

[unwings]

[ he has so many questions, if only he were aware of how obsessed his son is with this man's canon. ]

I'm afraid we come from vastly different realities, Master Kenobi.

"God", typically, or Lord, Father, a sundry of other honorifics, is an omniscient, omnipotent, ancient being responsible for the creation of all life in my universe. He crafted angels - my brethren and I - to look over his creations on a single planet - Earth - and maintain the afterlife.

Angels are essentially sentient energy. We're incorporeal clusters of light - wavelengths of celestial intent. We have a kind of form on certain layers of reality, in Heaven, the afterlife we maintain. But to gain corporeal form, we possess a consenting host. This body once belonged to a man named Jimmy Novak, though he's long passed on now.

[ castiel's immediate instinct is to text Dean about this. a split instance of giddy thrill, directly followed by a sinking, sharp pain, knowing his dearest friend is far out of his reach right now. ]

[obiwanofthosedays]

I must admit, while this isn't the first I've heard of such a monotheistic theology, it is the first I've heard of that is quite this intricate.

[ Multidimensional sentient energy beings interacting with this level of reality through a consenting host? That is also unfamiliar, but no less fascinating. ]

I suppose the closest approximation for my reality is if one considered the will of the Force as something much less abstract and more sentient, focused.

But you are not the first being of sentient energy I have known, and having this background provides excellent context, thank you.

[unwings]

The theology exists in some worlds the other Summoned are from, but not all. It's always interesting to hear how it varies for each. The other Summoned don't typically have angels as less theological, more present beings in contact with humanity, but to be fair, very few in my world are aware of us as more than religious theory.

What can you tell me about the Force? Is it related to your Jedi mastery?

[ look at him acting like he don't know. still, he'd rather hear it explained by obi-wan himself, what it means to him, rather than cinematic script. ]

[obiwanofthosedays]

The Force is, ultimately, an energy field created by all living things in the universe. It surrounds and penetrates us, and binds everything together. It is known by many names to different cultures and peoples in my reality, and the Jedi are able to sense it, channel it to perform acts of protection and healing.

There are many components to it but the most common, or at the least most obvious aspect of the Force is the Physical Force. Channeling that energy to move objects, or enhance one's ability to run faster, leap farther.

[familysucks]

Show me what you've made, for once. What should I be looking for?

[unwings]

The similarities are certainly striking. There's a celestial power used by angels to heal, move objects telekinetically, and I suppose perform acts of protection, though the definition and intent may vary. We don't always agree on what and how we should be protecting of late.

The innate power born within us, we call Grace. Do you have a reserve of the Force within you that depletes and refills over time?

[obiwanofthosedays]

A reserve? No. We merely connect and channel the Force around us. How much we are able to do is limited by our experience and ability to open ourselves to it. There are times when the level of connection required can be overwhelming to the untrained; which is why we are taught from a very young age how to manage ourselves and our emotions, as managing them is vital to proper control and restraint.

It is possible to overextend oneself, however. Pushing too hard or holding something for too long past your endurance; the burnout afterwards is not pleasant, let me tell you.

[unwings]

Channeling the energy of life itself. I could see how that'd be overwhelming, simply in it's vastness and harsh duality, to someone young and inexperienced. Power can be as dangerous as it is helpful. Rage or hubris backed with an ability to destroy can produce massacres. [ don't ask if he has personal experience, but obi-wan's point of emotions, control and restraint, pings another curious similarity worth noting. ] I'm unsure angels could ever be called young. There was no child-rearing, no training. One moment we simply were. We're created without souls. Angels were never meant to experience emotion.

[ meant to, but maybe capable. or perhaps a mimicry of feeling - it's hard to say exactly, what qualifies or defines emotion? the time he spent as a human was certainly more vibrant, more visceral, but the feelings were essentially the same. he couldn't have created a soul simply by losing grace, so perhaps the emotion was never truly there. or, it has been all along. who's to say? ]

What does a Jedi do with that burnout, once they've hit it?

[obiwanofthosedays]

The young are often afraid of what they don't understand, especially within themselves- which can be a problem if they do not know how to face and process that fear. We have a saying in the Order-

Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.

So one moment you weren't, and then you were, with full knowledge of your purpose, power, and role? That sounds a little like how one would describe the mind of a droid, who are for the most part empty of the Force; though I have heard tales of those that lived long enough to begin to experience and radiate genuine emotion. But those are beings created by sentients, not birthed by a greater cosmic power.

[ Curious, fascinating, and not something he's spent much time thinking about- he'll have to find a way to keep notes once he has more coin. ]

Rest. Endure. Not reach for the Force in full for some time. It's...a little like a migraine and full body ache- an overworked nervous system. Not entirely unlike being electrocuted. In time, it will pass.

[unwings]

[ come find cas in cadens, he'll hook you up with some paper. ]

A wise saying. Is there a state Jedi masters are able to achieve that transcends suffering? Some in my world would call it 'Nirvana'.

Yes, that's correct. It wouldn't be the first time we've been called robotic. Our purpose was to be soldiers without question. There are, for lack of a better term, means of programming an angel's mind, erasing memories, or digging into a "base coding". It isn't unlike brainwashing, if brainwashing also required drills and needles pierced through the skull. Nor is the programming completely insurmountable. Free will wasn't meant for us either, but recent events have changed that.

As for age, I'm at least 2 billion years old. Two of my brothers here are likely pushing 13 billion. A solar year for Earth being 365 days, composed of 24 hours each, if that translates.

Do you still feel your connection to the Force here, in Abraxas?

[unwings]

A park. Surrounded by a line of trees, but a tunnel should open for you as you approach. It's next to the Roadhouse.

[ if the eternal Tuesday afternoon of an autistic man who drown in a bathtub in 1953 merged with a botanical garden that expanded out in to wild and untamed nature. plus, a little rundown church somewhere in there. ]

[ushiri]

The domains of those who are gone fade over time.

[ In case he didn't know. ]

[unwings]

It hasn't begun to fade, but it is shared by several of us. I suppose that muddies any conclusion we could draw from it.

[ushiri]

I'm sorry.

What happened?

[unwings]

It's still so strange to imagine Lucifer helping anyone. Nikodaemus, thank you, that's good to know. We should pull all we can find on that deity, if for nothing else than understanding the acolytes' connection to it.

Then I shall endeavor never to call you a witch. My apologies.

What fantastic and senseless ways each nation cuts itself off at the knees. Well, everything involved in this disaster seems linked to things older than Thorne and the Free Cities. I suspect knowledge from Solvunn and Nocwich will be key to finding any more leads.

[unwings]

As we were helping the last of the lost aboard the back of the turtle, a leviathan came from the sea and took him. It swam off faster than any of us could pursue.

[ushiri]

But you have hope?

[earthborn]

Well, if we're going to accept that argument, then we don't know anything about it's potential whereabouts, capabilities, or temperament. And we also don't know if it can survive in the ocean, if it's still on the island, or where else, if anywhere, it might've gone.

Seems to me, a scouting mission is order, if you want to do more than make a blind guess. Assuming that someone actually needs to dedicate man-hours and supplies towards tracking giant alien wildlife... We could always put the question to the army. Free Cities might fund the mission; they do have a vested interest in maintaining their borders.

[familysucks]

I'll be there shortly.

["Don't keep me waiting," he wants to add, but that's a surefire method to be left tapping his foot for hours. Let the anxiety of big brother roaming his domain unattended be motivation enough for Castiel to make a timely appearance.

Although Castiel's not the only one with a taste for nature, his domain is easy enough to locate. He'll find Michael in the central clearing, inspecting the flower beds with the same intense judgement of a man at a car dealership kicking tires.]

[mobezon]

Ah. I will make sure to go to Istredd. Your brother…?

{ it does make him pause. honestly, fair. complicated has entered the chat. louis still blames himself for the suffering of his siblings. }

Different faction, I presume. I don’t want to intrude, but it seems you have many of your world here. One of which is lost. I will keep an eye out for you. Mind giving me a description of Dean Winchester?

[carmesi]

You can tell them Wanda told you about their art skills.
In case they're curious.

[assembles]

It seems like there's nowhere it could have gone other than into the ocean, and given that we saw no sign of it when we were on the turtle's back, it must have gone deep underwater.

Still, if it surfaces anywhere near civilization, there's no way it doesn't attract attention.

[frontlinetitties]

There was that part where it stomped a bunch of people into the ground, though. I guess it did seem to wanna avoid all of us, but I dunno.

Maybe we'll get lucky and its only interested in stomping the people who imprisoned it. Can't say I'd blame it.

[magicalarchaeologist]

He helps out in Thorne. And I'm afraid Thorne is useless, it took forever for them to even identify the name. We are going to need someone in Solvunn to look into this closer. Michael lives there. If you three put your minds together you'd probably find out some answers.

[ Is he going to family-equivalent parent trap the three of them into working together? Maybe. ]

Really I am hoping we can convince multiple people in Solvunn to be willing to share information or press a little harder on the council or believers there. We're simply not equipped over here, it's frustrating to be sure.

[unwings]

[ just gonna stop you right there— ]

That's extremely unlikely.

[ nip that right in the bud. the only reason castiel hasn't been atomized, michael hasn't been re-molotoved, and lucifer hasn't been the focus of the collective hunter house's next plot to bury him, is that they're separated by factions. semi-civil conversation has only just begun between cas and michael, and isn't likely to ever occur with him and lucifer. ]

We made several acquaintances in the pit from Solvunn. Nero, perhaps, could have some skill in 'pressing a little harder'.