In Which Drocilla Steals Tremula's Song

TremulaTremula Banished Quasiroyal
edited November 2015 in Event Scrolls
@Drocilla finally did it, and she fucked me right up. Below the break are some of the vision's she has sent me so far, showing different memories as she taunts me. Holy heck, I couldn't have prepared for this at all. After Tremula was chased around the Basin by Celest, and she was just alternating between fits of hysteria and insanity, she finally got to the pool, where they discovered her voice got stolen, and now she's a doll. How will this end??


A chilling black mist roils through your surroundings, carrying the coppery scent of blood and spices that promises terrors and despair as Drocilla, the Dread Enchantress returns to mortal perception.

You close your eyes and inhale deeply, absorbing the scent of your surroundings.

You let loose a long breath from your lungs, exhaling slowly.

The ground beneath your feet trembles and groans as a subtle vibration pervades the city, ringing in your ears.

You have emoted: Tremula drapes one arm across the other casually and narrows her eyes at something unseen, her sevenfold eye spinning wildly.

Your surroundings darken as a churning black fog roils through the streets of New Celest, heralding the arrival of the Dread Enchantress.

You clutch at your head as a near-blinding pain arcs across your brain and a throaty voice erupts your ear, "The traitor hides no more from My punishment, perhaps there will be something left of the gnome's mind after all."

The temperature drops rapidly as a whirlwind of ululating shadows manifests, marking the tempestuous arrival of Drocilla, the Dread Enchantress, who steps out of their midst.

Telperion creates a sparkling cloud and then molds it until it appears exactly like you.

You curtsey gracefully before Drocilla.

Her voice dripping with honeyed sweetness, you say, "Allow me to extend the Kingdom's warmest welcomes, Lady Enchantress."

Drocilla gazes about the Pool of Stars with lavender eyes smouldering from beneath an aureate mask, Her distaste made clear by the arrogant curl of red lips.

Lorah bows respectfully to Drocilla.

Tracing helixes, the shadows that churn about Drocilla drop low to the ground, dissipating into a black mist that spreads hungrily across the area, flooding every crevice.

Drocilla's eyes find you and She turns that way.

The black mists roil across the ground, enveloping everything and everyone in sight into their cold embrace. A woman's pitiful scream echoes somewhere, someone's begging reaches you as if in a dream, an oddly familiar voice moans - your own. Phantom teeth sink into your skin as the mists feast upon your essence, tearing you apart from within.

Rising from her curtsey elegantly, drawing her hand casually down her wyvern's serpentine neck as she glances at the dark mist, you say, "And it is good to see You looking so well. I trust you've been keeping busy?"

Drocilla extends a hand and you hurtle towards Her against your will, half-dragged across the ground till you are deposited at Drocilla's feet, throat clutched in Her steel-taloned hand.

The churning black mists reach out and envelop Telperion hungrily, sinking into his skin with phantom teeth. As darkness descends upon him, Telperion utters a pitiful, primal wail of despair and sinks to the ground while the mists feast upon his body.

A seductive voice murmurs dark and terrifying promises in your ear as Drocilla dissipates into a whirlwind of shadows, leaving in Her wake a sense of unrestrained longing but also relief.

Black mist descends upon you hungrily, tearing at your clothes as it consumes you and obscures the world from sight.

The Crossways of Redemption.
The air is filled with motes of light emanating from a healing shrine of Terentia nearby. This location is flooded with shallow, crystal clear water. One or two light fluffy clouds drift lazily through the sky. A serene gaze upon his face, Tytone Farain reflexively smooths his robes. Drocilla, 
the Dread Enchantress dominates Her surroundings with regal poise, swathed in undulating shadows that whisper dark promises.
You see exits leading north, east, southeast, and south.
You are transported by the power of the Divine.

Chilled to the bone, the mists spit you out onto snow-covered pebbles on your hands and knees. You shiver as your silken robes cling to your body, drenched in your blood seeping from a myriad small cuts.

You have emoted: Tremula's violet gaze is hard as she stares back at Drocilla, her lips pursed into a straight line.

(Celest): You say, "Stay back. I will deal with this."

Drocilla looms over you, wreathed in ululating shadows that drain all vibrancy and colour from the garden. Her effulgent eyes stand out even against the glitz and glamour of the mask, and golden hair crowns Her head like an unearthly halo. Everything else around you has no colour beyond light and shadow like a dramatic black and white painting.

Coldly, familiar lilt gone from Her voice, Drocilla, the Dread Enchantress says, "None betray Me and live to speak of it, traitor."

Quietly, her hands shaking slightly as she stands and glances at the blood on her hands, you ask, "And how have I betrayed You, exactly?"

No recognition in Her eyes, Drocilla, the Dread Enchantress says, "You should know, false 
nightingale."

Her voice curt, you say to Drocilla, "I do not, for I have fulfilled every vow I have ever sworn to You."

Unimpressed in the least, Drocilla raises a steel-taloned hand and snaps Her fingers with a metallic click. The churning mists that cling to Her every move utter a terrifying wail and stream away in twirling helixes towards Telperion.
Telperion has been slain by Drocilla.

The cold lavender of Drocilla's eyes softens as She beholds you and a change in the curve of Her red lips betrays momentary indecision.

Wiping a bloody hand across the front of Her robes, you say to Drocilla, "I swore to teach of You, to uphold Your teachings, and create in Your image and palette. Never have I left that path. Even in this Kingdom of Light they learn of Passion, Subtlety, and Refinement."


Drocilla raises a hand to Her mask idly, adjusting it lightly. The steel upon Her fingertips coats with frost, forming a crack upon one of the talons, and in that instant all warmth is gone from Her eyes again and the shadows about Her writhe in excitement.

Narrowing her eyes slightly, you say, "While Your Evanescent lie about in sloth, I prepare the world for the Everdusk without their knowledge. I do what none of the others can, for they are hated."

Steel to Her voice, Drocilla, the Dread Enchantress says, "False. If you will not sing for Me as I will it, you will not sing at all, Oath-breaker."

Drocilla extends a hand towards you, parts Her lips, and inhales slowly through Her mouth.

Something catches in your throat as Drocilla continues to draw in a breath. A sharp pain erupts in your throat, like a razor blade slashing across your vocal cords, and you cannot help but scream louder and more helplessly than you have ever screamed before.

You have emoted: Tremula clutches at her throat, eyes bulging as her screams pierce the quiet tranquility of the gardens.

Word become hard to form, then painful, then neigh impossible as your breath escapes you, pulled in by Her magic.

An angelic voice breaks the silence with a bloodcurdling scream that echoes for what seems an eternity before being abruptly snuffed out.

You feel suddenly as if your throat is thickly blocked, and attempt to clear it with a cough, only to discover you can barely rasp and have lost the power of speech altogether. An abrupt insight tells you that this must be a punishment from Drocilla, the Dread Enchantress.

Drocilla draws in the last of the breath, shimmering white threads racing towards Her lips to be swallowed whole, and exhales onto Her hand where your voice forms into a graceful wisp of light.

Drocilla proudly shows off the captured voice of Tremula:
No larger than a hand, a whirlwind of black smoke traces helixes in the air, keeping a struggling angelic voice trapped inside. Seeking to break free, the incandescent voice trashes within, violently rejected back to the middle each time it reaches the black bars of its divine prison.

Drocilla's luscious lips stretch into a thin, cruel smile that never reaches Her cold eyes.

You have emoted: A look of faint horror crosses Tremula's face before she looks at Drocilla in shock, her eyes narrowed in something akin to terror for a moment.

Tracing helixes, the shadows that churn about Drocilla drop low to the ground, dissipating into a black mist that spreads hungrily across the garden, flooding every crevice and sapping all life from the manicured lawns and greenery draping over the trellises.

Your Divinely-cursed voice makes it impossible to speak and all that escapes your lips is a dry rasping.

Drocilla regards you for a long spell in complete silence, all sounds of the world beyond muffled by those effulgent lavender eyes that hold no compassion for you anymore.

Icily, Drocilla, the Dread Enchantress says, "Labour, haunted by your own words, false nightingale. None betray Me, not again."

A seductive voice murmurs dark and terrifying promises in your ear as Drocilla dissipates into a whirlwind of shadows, leaving in Her wake a sense of unrestrained longing but also relief.

Your throat aches, blackened and defiled by the dark magic of the Dread Enchantress.

A soft, mellifluous voice - your voice, so young and eager - whispers in your ear, echoing your beginnings, "I have been told that You seek strong women, and while I may not be the strongest the Engine has to offer in brute strength, I have my areas of expertise. I have friends in high places, and my family is one of renown and respect. We have served the Engine faithfully, and I wish to serve You just as faithfully. Please, my Lady, I wish this more than anything."

"I wish this more than anything."

"... more than anything."

"...than anything."


Your fingers move unwittingly as a memory strikes you, as vivid as if it were happening this very moment. You sit, swaying to the gentle notes of a beauteous lament as you weave together thread by thread of a breathtaking tapestry. The shimmering golden strands at your fingertips flow into a cascade of silken hair of a gorgeous divine standing victorious amidst a storm of indigo that makes up the backdrop.

Your fingers are weary but you do not cease - there is no enough, no rest till you are done. Caught in the moment, you forget about the ache and the blisters and continue to weave, the spark of inspiration sustaining you through the hardships.

But there is naught in your hands, no golden thread, and the spark is gone. Will it ever return?

Sudden gust of wind whips about you, reminding you of that time atop Hallifax when the wind  threatened to blind you with the torrent of your tears. A heart-breaking voice, your own, echoes in your mind over the storm, "I chose this place because they would let me continue serving You! Everywhere else, they call you Traitor and would have me renounce You for a home. I could not betray You in such a manner!"

With conviction, the voice continues, "The Lady of Thorns and the Navigator both instructed others to seek me out and take me from You, but I could not leave! They offered status, riches, power, and I refused them all for You!"

I have done both... I have betrayed Her for both of Them now...

Something tickles at the side of your neck, barely perceptible at first but irritably insistent after a while. The pressure mounts slowly like an instrument's strings being stately bowed by expert hands.

Drawing in each breath becomes a nuisance, then a struggle as the pressure slices deeper into your neck like the flawless string of a viola.

Each breath a struggle now, your hands react instinctively - you reach towards the neck but find no purchase, no miraculous string to pull upon to relieve yourself of the phantom coil that cuts into your skin... but then fades, leaving a trickle of blood pooling against your collarbone and naught more.

You catch your reflection upon a nearby surface but it looks nothing like you do now. Head buried in the hands, your double whispers, "I am too ashamed to show my face on the streets of the Engine, and hole myself in my vanity room. I pray for Your guidance, my Lady, in this time when I am unsure what to do..."

You can almost see the blood that welled up in your hand then, as you angrily smashed your mirror, refusing to accept defeat. You marched right out, empowered by Her guidance, and got things done.

Golden shafts of light coalesce in your palms sparking a memory. A soft, mellifluous voice - your own - whispers in your ear, "With the Lady Sovereign at our backs, victory is always within our grasp, guided by Her hand!" Sibylline whispers follow, dust on your face, the fires of Nil as you raise the shrine...

A soft, mellifluous voice whispers in the recesses of your mind, "It is ambition that drives us ever forward, my dear, turning the hints of a suggestion into full-fledged epics. It is through this that we gain strength, power, and even...control."

What is my ambition? Was it not to return beneath Her benevolent gaze? When did it transform into paying lipservice to the Light? Have I lost myself?

You feel invigorated as you inhale an intoxicating, musky fragrance that wafts past. Another breath and another of the enticing aroma, except... a coppery scent of blood lingers beneath the perfume now. Rotten fruit, decaying flowers, a decomposing carcass... the smell that gave you comfort and inspiration is a mockery now. 

Your husband's image forms in your mind, the one thing you have maintained a loyalty to of late. "Sit with me and meditate on what your senses will find here in Her fulcrux. The taste of the mist in the air, the smell of Her perfume, the sound of Her melody, and the feeling of the glass against your skin..." a soft voice whispers in your mind, your voice from so long ago.
                      * * * WRACK AND ROLL AND DEATH AND PAIN * * *
                                     * * * LET'S FEEL THE FEAR OF DEATH AGAIN * * *
          * * * WE'LL KILL AND SLAUGHTER, EAT THE SLAIN * * *
  * * * IN RAVAGING WE'LL ENTERTAIN * * *

Ixion tells you, "// I don't think anyone else had a clue, amazing form."

Comments

  • AeldraAeldra , using cake powered flight
    edited November 2015
    @Tremula That is quite a lot.

     I've been quite stunned by all that's going on, kind of curious how it continues. :-)

     thanks for sharing!
    Avatar / Picture done by the lovely Gurashi.
  • SiamSiam Whispered Voice
    Does anyone else think @Drocilla(Droculla? Dro-chan? Dro-sama? Dro-neesama?) keeps logs of ALL player interactions for future use?!



    (So awesome, btw.)
    Viravain, Lady of the Thorns shouts, "And You would seize Me? Fool! I am the Glomdoring! I am the Wyrd, and beneath the cloak of Night, the shadows of the Silent stir!"

    #bringShikariback 


  • QistrelQistrel the hemisemidemifink
    The shadows stir suddenly, their wailing voices pitched high with excitement.
    You peer about yourself unscrupulously.
    "Oaaaath..." the shadows croon with vengeance, "Breakerrrrr".
    You say, "Who?"
    The shadows sway in a hypnotic dance, excited for the prospect of the hunt. "Oath breaker!" they croon over and over again.
    (The Evanescent): You say, "The shadows are talking."
    (The Evanescent): You say, "They're saying 'Oath...breaker' over and over."
    (The Evanescent): Tanin says, "At Her fulcrux?"
    You peer about yourself unscrupulously.
    You feel a slight tug within your chest and the air around you sparkles with motes of bright light.
    (The Evanescent): You say, "Yes."
    A bank of blue fog rolls in from the ether, upon which gallops a bone white nightmare.
    You have emoted: Nikkakorra points at the windows.
    Archmage Tanin De'Unnero, the Earthen Equalizer says, "I wonder if they speak of Tremula, or someone from times past."
    Tanin ponders the situation.
    "Oaaaath breakerrrr" the shadows croon with vengeance, "TREMULA."
    Tanin nods his head emphatically.
    You say, "Oh, well, that explains it."
    You have emoted: Nikkakorra hovers over to the window, and places her hand on the glass again.
    Archmage Tanin De'Unnero, the Earthen Equalizer says, "The oath breaker needs to pay."
    A chilling black mist roils through your surroundings, carrying the coppery scent of blood and
    spices that promises terrors and despair as Drocilla, the Dread Enchantress returns to mortal
    perception.

    Later...

    The temperature drops rapidly as a whirlwind of ululating shadows manifests, marking the tempestuous arrival of Drocilla, the Dread Enchantress, who steps out of their midst.
    The Fulcrux of Drocilla.
    The corrosiveness of the taint sickens the land. In the far wall of the alcove rests an immense dais of pure black marble, upon which rests a roiling, undulating portal into effulgent emptiness. A large, circular portal of molten gold swells in smooth waves that ripple out from its centre. A sheet of star jasmine vespertine stationery is here exuding an indulgent scent. Drocilla, the Dread Enchantress dominates Her surroundings with regal poise, swathed in undulating shadows that whisper dark promises. Lord Enginseer Ventidius De'Unnero, Iron Songbird is here.
    You see a single exit leading through a mysterious portal.
    Ventidius kneels before Drocilla, swearing his allegiance to Her.
    Drocilla gazes about the antechamber with lavender eyes smouldering from beneath an aureate mask, Her distaste made clear by the arrogant curl of red lips.
    You curtsey gracefully.
    6950h, 6475m, 7425e, 10p, 25100en, 25100w esSilrx<>-
    Coldly, Drocilla, the Dread Enchantress says, "The Oath Breaker bears My punishment. If she will not sing for Me as I will it, she will not sing at all."
    Drocilla proudly shows off the captured voice of Tremula:
    No larger than a hand, a whirlwind of black smoke traces helixes in the air, keeping a struggling angelic voice trapped inside. Seeking to break free, the incandescent voice trashes within, violently rejected back to the middle each time it reaches the black bars of its divine prison.
    Drocilla lets go of the black whirlwind, letting it float into the antechamber and twirl about the
    room, struggling against the angelic voice it holds captured.
    An angelic voice whispers fervently from the prison, "I wish to serve You faithfully. Please, my
    Lady, I wish this more than anything."
    An angelic voice whispers fervently from the prison, "I wish this more than anything."
    An angelic voice whispers fervently from the prison, "More than anything."
    An angelic voice whispers fervently from the prison, "Than anything."
    An angelic voice whispers fervently from the prison, "Anything."

  • ShaddusShaddus , the Leper Messiah Outside your window.
    That..wow. Well done, Iytha.

    Everiine said: The reason population is low isn't because there are too many orgs. It's because so many facets of the game are outright broken and protected by those who benefit from it being that way. An overabundance of gimmicks (including game-breaking ones), artifacts that destroy any concept of balance, blatant pay-to-win features, and an obsession with convenience that makes few things actually worthwhile all contribute to the game's sad decline.
  • I eagerly await my maggoting/zapping/insert punishment here.
  • ShaddusShaddus , the Leper Messiah Outside your window.
    Not quite as salty as the time I urinated on Terentia's shrine while she was talking to me, but not bad either.
    Everiine said: The reason population is low isn't because there are too many orgs. It's because so many facets of the game are outright broken and protected by those who benefit from it being that way. An overabundance of gimmicks (including game-breaking ones), artifacts that destroy any concept of balance, blatant pay-to-win features, and an obsession with convenience that makes few things actually worthwhile all contribute to the game's sad decline.
  • TremulaTremula Banished Quasiroyal
    And here I thought me and Iytha were friends. /heartbreak
                          * * * WRACK AND ROLL AND DEATH AND PAIN * * *
                                         * * * LET'S FEEL THE FEAR OF DEATH AGAIN * * *
              * * * WE'LL KILL AND SLAUGHTER, EAT THE SLAIN * * *
      * * * IN RAVAGING WE'LL ENTERTAIN * * *

    Ixion tells you, "// I don't think anyone else had a clue, amazing form."
  • TremulaTremula Banished Quasiroyal
    (rabid zeal = scary nighthawk that does incredible damage. you've been warned)
                          * * * WRACK AND ROLL AND DEATH AND PAIN * * *
                                         * * * LET'S FEEL THE FEAR OF DEATH AGAIN * * *
              * * * WE'LL KILL AND SLAUGHTER, EAT THE SLAIN * * *
      * * * IN RAVAGING WE'LL ENTERTAIN * * *

    Ixion tells you, "// I don't think anyone else had a clue, amazing form."
  • AeldraAeldra , using cake powered flight
    edited November 2015
    That nighthawk was like 'uhh, what's happening?'. then dead tremula.
    Avatar / Picture done by the lovely Gurashi.
  • /was hoping everyone would rally and kill the nighthawk so she can guilt Tremula about it, but that works too!
  • AeldraAeldra , using cake powered flight
    Me at least was a little too overwhelmed on what was going on at the time. Also, big scary nighthawk thing appearing out of nowhere? Kind of not the first thing to jump onto.
    Avatar / Picture done by the lovely Gurashi.
  • TremulaTremula Banished Quasiroyal
    The entire time @Taevyn was begging for me to let him kill it and I was like 'BRUH'.
                          * * * WRACK AND ROLL AND DEATH AND PAIN * * *
                                         * * * LET'S FEEL THE FEAR OF DEATH AGAIN * * *
              * * * WE'LL KILL AND SLAUGHTER, EAT THE SLAIN * * *
      * * * IN RAVAGING WE'LL ENTERTAIN * * *

    Ixion tells you, "// I don't think anyone else had a clue, amazing form."
  • We're going to find Iytha's voice/every other part of her nailed up on a wall somewhere sometime soon I feel...

    --------
    "You are so much bigger than you think you are," She says, fervently. "You are a beacon of hope that shines through the world with every step you take. You are My beacon, Gabriella, and you shine even into the darkest of nightmares."
    --------
    The air sparkles with silver motes of light as a silken voice says, "You will see growth and strength where others will see weakness. You will walk with Us as a paragon of Serenwilde's power, for you have already walked this path before."
  • KagatoKagato Auckland, New Zealand
    Iytha said:
    The ethereal notes of a quiet, lyrical nocturne summoned from the strings of a viola drift upon the air, evocative of eventide marvels.

    (que me waiting to see if Drocilla was about to say anything before concluding it was probably just an ambient)

    Definitely an ambient, just FYI.
    Never put passion before principle.  Even if you win, you lose.

    If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?

    If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?
  • SiamSiam Whispered Voice
    Iytha said:

    You begin to wield a clump of trash in your left hand.
     
    But,
    Viravain, Lady of the Thorns shouts, "And You would seize Me? Fool! I am the Glomdoring! I am the Wyrd, and beneath the cloak of Night, the shadows of the Silent stir!"

    #bringShikariback 


  • Tridemon: *tells story of Tremula n Droci to Gurashi*
    Me: Oh that's an awful thing to do to an NPC
    Me: *sees  has honors*
    Lief: *shares this link*
    Me: *sees this LOG*

     ....Most excellent story telling. 
    ‘It’s important to be kind. You can’t know all the times that you’ve hurt people in tiny, significant ways.
    It’s easy to be cruel without meaning to be. There’s nothing you can do about that. But you can choose to be kind. Be kind.’


  • Not sure why you thought Tremula was an NPC in the first place!
    I'm Lucidian. If I don't get pedantic every so often, I might explode.
  • Tridemon said:
    Not sure why you thought Tremula was an NPC in the first place!
    It sounded too horrible to be a thing that happened to a PC ... *starry eyed* 
    ‘It’s important to be kind. You can’t know all the times that you’ve hurt people in tiny, significant ways.
    It’s easy to be cruel without meaning to be. There’s nothing you can do about that. But you can choose to be kind. Be kind.’


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