| Logs |
2009 August 23
| When The Bough Breaks |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
 |
| Realms: Bough Logs |
Fifth Movement, Third Verse
Mikal reaches out cautiously, touching one decorated wall... then she blinks over at the others. Her voice is hushed, "This is it -- must be it. This is where the treasure of knowledge is hidden." She thinks silently about that for a moment... then her face lights up with excitement, "Let's go find it!"
Down through the corridor, lit by orange light reflected from silver mirrors and channels set into the ceiling. The corridor is finely-wrought, carved through the solid rock with superior engineering and supports along its length. It turns a little here and there, always angling downward.
Mikal follows with wary enthusiasm. There've been no lethal traps yet, but she doesn't want to find the first, if any, by tripping it. She keeps her friends carefully spaced out, with Jareth safe in the middle.
Norris is as curious as the rest, but he is also a strong believer in tradition. He encourages Vhibishana and Jareth first, so he takes up the rear as always, while Raph and Mikal are in the lead.'
Vhibishana is cautious, walking carefully with Jareth through the corridor, his vajra in his hand. Raphael for his part, seems to be picking up on Mikal's caution, padding forward and being cautious where he sets each paw on the path.
Jareth lets himself be hemmed in, just looking around, letting his physical eyes rest so that he can better see if there is anythin else here.
The young bard/old goddess catches his breath and then lets it out in a low whistle. He's never seen a place so very infused with magic. It seems like the very stones were laid in place with magic, either in one enormous feat or over a long, long time. He murmurs this to the rakshasa beside him, but he's not trying to keep it from his packmates. His voice is low simply from awe.
Mikal glances over her shoulder and smiles, then continues her cautious advance.
Norris is attentive, though he has nothing to say, at the moment. He lets the place fill him and suffuse him, since he knows he cannot intellectually understand these magics the way he understood the mechanics.
Finally, the corridor makes one last turn... and ends upon a ledge. The cavern before the group is huge, a massive naturally-wrought geode that glitters with amethyst and crystal set into the cavern's walls. It appears to be at least half a mile across. But even more remarkable is the massive structure that hangs, suspended, from the roof of the huge geode.
It is a massive, inverted pyramid, built in an open structure of pillars and ledges and floors that brings to mind a three-dimensional mandala of the kind they saw far, far above upon the walls of Angkor Wat. Within the open structure, there is apparently a path downward from the wide and broad upper levels, to the enclosed, concealed lower rooms.
Based on the shadows cast, the orangish light that is cast seems to come from the floor of the cavern. Looking closely, the group can see that the lower portion of the cavern, the part of the central structure that is closed and has only a slender stairway for access, appears like it is 'beneath' the 'surface' of the translucent pool of light suffused throughout the lower part of the cavern. It would be an underground lake, if not for the orange color and the near transparency of it.
Mikal blinks slowly, her gaze traveling over the amazing view. Her lips form a small, silent 'O' of amazement.
Mikal finally whispers, "How... h-how do we get there?!"
Norris considers the matter. "We have rope. We could rappel." he suggests. His brow knits. "Or not." He tries to estimate how far down it is...
Jareth simply stares in breathless awe.
As they take in the sight, they notice: A simple bridge of rope and wooden planks running between the ledge they stand on leading to the top level of the inverted pyramid.
Mikal looks relieved, "No, there we go!" She points at the rope bridge, then blinks again. Her voice is uncertain, "Although... after all this marvelous architecture a flimsy bridge like that seems... almost like someone else added it on later?" She reaches forward with the end of her bow, tapping gently on the first plank to verify it's real.
The bridge is definitely real, and quite thoroughly solid, despite it's age.
Norris considers. "Maybe there was an older bridge, and is was destroyed?"
Norris looks over the ledge carefully, to see if there are remains of an older edifice.
There is no apparent evidence for another bridge other than the one Mikal is examining. Raphael is sniffing cautiously at the bridge, though he isn't sniffing anything odd about it; it certainly seems real to his nose and paws.
Mikal tucks her bow away, murmuring to the others, "One at a time on the bridge, please." She takes a slow, careful step -- then pauses and smiles at Norris, "And a rope, please? For just in case."
Norris notices that Vhibishana has not moved from his place, looking down into the chasm of the geode; it looks as if he's gone a bit pale beneath his fur.
Norris bobs his head. "As you say." he rumbles, getting out that rope and carefully tying it around Mikal's waist. His big hands gentle as he loops it properly around her hips and thighs and then ties it in place.
Mikal says, "Thank you! Send Wolf after me, please?" She thinks a moment, looking at the others, then grins ruefully at Norris, "Can you come over last? Would that be all right?"
Norris smiles. "It's not my fault being the biggest and the strongest. I don't even exercise." he comments, but nodding at Mikal's suggestion. "Proably take all of you to pull me up if I fall, too."
Mikal grins cheerfully up at Norris, then rises up on her tiptoes to give him a gentle kiss on the cheek, "Thank you, Bear." After that she takes a deep breath, several loops of rope in her hand and held out like a dancer. Then she darts swiftly and lightly over the bridge, feeding out the rope as she goes and trying to be over quickly, before her negligible weight can cause any damage -- or before any of her friends have time to be alarmed.
The bridge sways a little, but there is no sound of cracking boards or overstressed rope.
Mikal looks relieved, then glances around to be sure there's room for them all here.
Norris feels like he should be blushing from the kiss. Or maybe not. After their earlier intimacy, as intense as it was, and thought he knows that everything is in proper working order, he doesn't feel so pent up about being close with Mikal. Or maybe it's just that it was so good that it put his hormones to sleep again, for a while. Or maybe it's just this place.
Mikal stands on a platform on the opposite side of the bridge. The top of the pyramid is made up of paths and winds, steps and ramps downward to the next level down. It is a mostly open structure, so despite the seemingly chaotic and confusing organization it is still easy to see paths and where they lead to. There is more than enough room for everyone to stand where she is, and it seems that there isn't any place where the group can't stand comfortably.
Meanwhile, Vhibishana hasn't moved.
Mikal looks relieved, and unties the rope. She rolls up as much of it as she can, tying it off neatly, and tosses it back towards Norris. Her voice is cheerful, "All right! Wolf next, please? Then Cat, then Vibhashana, then you, all right?"
Norris doesn't seem to notice the rakshasa's stasis, catching the rope and tying a harness around the wolf's haunches. "This is for your safety, Raph. Don't be thinking that it's embarassing, or anything."
Rpahael looks a little uneasy, but he complies with the rope being put around him. He's pretty syre he won't need it... but he doesn't want to fall into the bottom of the geode.
The big raptor-wolf snorts in relaxed amusement. Once Norris is done, he walks calmly and slowly across the bridge. Only someone who knew him well would notice how his ears are flickering madly back and forth in uneasy alertness, and how his toes and paw-hands are widespred to grip as much board as possible.
Mikal will hug Raphael, then untie the rope and toss it back again, "Cat next, please!"
Norris sets Jareth up with a proper rope harness, then. He checks and double checks, oddly focused on making sure the rope is secure. And then just as he's about to get up, he notices the odd stiffness of Vhibishana. "Something wrong?" he queries.
Vhibishana looks like he's gone pale under his fur, as he stares down into the cavern. "I... I cannot go any further," he says hesitantly. "That light below... that is the Nether. An aethyr cannot enter the Nether, it is the barrier of the Dreamtime. While lies below the surface is sufficiently of the Dreamtime that mortals may exist there by dint of their very nature... but for an aethyr to cross that boundary means... means what passes for death for us."
Mikal blinks in surprise. Her voice is uncertain, "But... then how was this place built, if aethyrs cannot... wait, are you saying this pyramid goes under that surface?"
Mikal sounds confused, "Is it... when we're awake, down there?"
Norris uhs, looking bemused, eyes darting between Mikal and the rakshasa.
Vhibishana shakes his head, managing to rouse himself a bit from his stasis. "No, it's... it does not affect mortals at all. This is one of the strengths you mortals have in the Dreamtime. Nether-squalls and actually entering the nether... it does not affect you. But it harms aethyrs."
Mikal nods slowly, waiting for the rakshasa to answer her other questions too.
Norris sits back on his butt. "So...you're saying it won't have any effect at all, positive or negative?"
He looks to Mikal. "I do not know how this place could be built, unless it was by mortals. Yes, the bottom of the pyramid is below the surface of the Nether. And no, Bear, it will not have any effect upon mortals.
Mikal thinks for a bit... then looks up at Vibhishana again, "You're sure this is the Nether thingie you're talking about."
Vhibishana nods, "Completely sure. It is something that an aethyr knows by sight alone."
Mikal takes a long, slow breath, letting it out in a sigh. "Well, then I guess you stay there." She's silent a moment -- then she looks up and smiles, "If you can stay nearby, then we'll have someone to pull on the rope, if necessary! We'll leave an end tied at each side of the rope bridge, all right?"
Norris nods agreeably. "This is a good plan." He finishes off Cat, then, and gives him a light hug before he dares the bridge.
Vhibishana lets out a breath, and nods, managing a smile as he calls out to Mikal, "I will, yes. And I will keep watch for you."
Mikal beams and waves, "Thanks!" then cheerfully adds, "C'mon over, Cat! Bear's after you."
Jareth moves over the bridge carefully, smiling a bit at the rakshasa. The fear is plain, and it is hard for brave people to admit fear.
Norris waits patiently, keeping a firm grip on the rope.
Mikal gives Jareth a hug when he reaches her, then helps with the rope again. She asks Norris to tie his end to something solid over there, so Vibhishana can find it easily, and when Norris arrives on their side, she does the same.
Once on the other side of the bridge, the similaritiy to a mandala in three dimensions is apparent, though the stairs and ramps that lead downward are easily spotted. In layout, in fact, it is vaguely similar to an upside-down Angkor Wat, though it's not easy to see the similarity at first.
Norris takes a moment to find something proper...and then, after lashing the rope around him, walks the bridge carefully. He absently wonders if he's heavier than Raph.
Mikal wonders thoughtfully, as she stares down into the mandala, if a particular state of mind is required to cross it.
Norris makes it across without any problems, and shortly the four mortals are standing at the other side of the bridge.
Norris ties off the rope. "hunh. Okay. Where to now?" he queries, looking around for the way down.
The path downward is visible, but it's clear that there are a few tricky places down which to travel. It won't be easy going, but it's not impossible.
Mikal points in silent wonder at the path... then simply murmurs, "Raph, then me, then Jair, then you, Norr. 'Kay?" She starts forward after the big raptor-wolf, her steps careful.
Norris bobs his head, taking his position.
Raphael bobs his large head, then begins to head down the nearest ramp, whch seems to be the way down.
The way is not terribly treacherous except in a few places. The going is inobvious in places, and it brings to mind a jungle gym more than anything in some places. As they cross a particularly narrow part, Norris finds his footing giving way. And then his feet fly out from under him.
Norris barely lets out a cry when he slips, and grabs instinctively for the nearest handhold... He manages to grab hold of the very beam he his feet slipped of of, well before he falls any distance.
Mikal whirls, her bow coming up -- then realizes this isn't something she can help with. Her voice is tight with worry, "Jair, grab him!"
Norris's muscles strain as he tries to pull himself up. He waves Jareth, off though. "Don't wanna pull you off, pal. I outweight you by three times. Ngh." he grins tightly...only accepting the young man's hand once he's got both knees back on the beam. "Whoof. That was not fun."
Mikal watches worriedly, helping to pull Norris back if she can. "Are you all right?" She glances worriedly between them all, musing aloud, "Maybe we should rope ourselves together?"
Norris looks uncertain. "It seems like a good idea, but, considering what just happened there, I'd be more worried about pulling you all off... Maybe I should just go slower?"
Once Norris is back up, with Jareth's help, they continue down the route again.
Towards the bottom of the pyramid, it's clear that the lowest rooms are sealed away from view. There is a narrow, steep stairwell leading down into what looks like the topmost floor of the sealed-off portion.
Mikal carefully continues down the stairwell, looking around curiously.
Norris is much relieved once they're on sure footing, and proper stonework rather than natural paths.
They go down the stairway into the sealed room. While suffused with pale orange light, it is enough to see by, and they feel no different than when they were above the surface of the faux waters of the Nether. The room is well-lit though a bit dark because of the dark hue of the well-hewn stone walls. Yet in this wide and broad basalt room there are twenty-four niches in the wall -- six in each wall, three across and two high -- and in each, set in gentle repose and properly wrapped in saffron for burial but for one, are bodies; in the twenty-fourth niche is a body which is likewise in repose, but has not decayed despite it not having been shrouded for burial.
Off of the center of the room is a single, simple stairway that seems to lead downward into the lowest room of this inverted pyramid.
Norris slows as he realizes where they are, till he stops...his face screwing up into an expression of discomfort. "This feels wrong. Maybe I'm overreacting, but...invading a burial chamber. It feels profane."
Mikal looks puzzled, wandering slowly past the bodies and looking but not touching. Her voice is soft, "Are they actually buried? They look like they were prepared for a ceremony that never happened."
Jareth considers a moment, "The monks seem to be holy men. And these are monks. It seems they must know these bodies are here. Wouldn't they have objected?"
Norris says, "They never said they knew exactly what was down here...but...perhaps I'm just making a mountain from a molehill. It's not as if we're robbing the dead. And these are, now, only shells of life."
Mikal puts a hand out over the unwrapped body, wondering if she can feel any spirit still lingering there.
Mikal's touch elicits no reaction from the body. The bodies are clearly dead, though they are not decayed or, as they have come to expect, disappeared, taken to Hades.
Mikal whispers softly, "I -- I don't understand... If Raven cannot come here, how can they be dead?"
Jareth licks his lips and says, "I think... they may have a different idea of death."
Norris suddenly has a thought. "Wait...maybe they aren't dead. Maybe that's the point. Maybe these are the monks we saw above."
Mikal says, "Oh." She nods slowly, looking around, "That makes sense, especially if they're all male."
It's hard to tell if all of the bodies are male; other than the one unwrapped one, they are all wrapped in burial shrouds.
Mikal sighs softly, shaking her head bemusedly, "Well, let's leave them in peace, then." She turns and follows Raphael down the central stairway down.
Norris nods in agreement, encouraging Jareth onward. Eager more than ever not to disturb the wrapped bodies.
Jareth shakes is head quietly and murmurs, "May your next life be peaceful."
Down the stairway, along the edge of the lowest floor within the inverse mandala, the group enters what at first is a simple square room. In the center of it is a sarcophagus, atop which is a sort of holder for what looks like a crystal ball made of the amethyst of the geode outside. On the wall to the left are a dozen cubbyholes, the frames of which are elaborately decorated, each one holding a single scroll. To the right, the wall is covered in script, words that none of the group has ever seen before.... and yet which they can read perfectly well.
Along the opposite wall is a fantastically detailed bas-relief of a great and terrible battle. Four six-winged angels, each with a lance and a sword, fell a being with sad eyes, though he fights on with sword and vajra.
Mikal stares around with her mouth open, awed.
Jareth turns in a slow circle, but his eyes keep going to script, fascinated as always by words.
Norris stares in wonder at all around them, but barely notices the bas-relief, like the others more stunned by the words he can read without even trying.
Mikal quietly reads the script aloud. The first quarter of it is a greeting, and a written description that, in flowery, poetic language, this is the tomb of Lord Krishna.
Mikal stops with a gasp at that, turning to stare at the sarcophagus. Her eyes are huge as saucers. She finally turns back and continues softly reading aloud.
Jareth's breath catches in his throat and his eyes turn to the sarcophagus. He bows to it, murmuring, "Thank you for their promise."
As Mikal looks at it, the crystal ball occasionally glints with a light that is neither purple nor orange, nor a color she can readily identify.
Mikal gives Jareth a slightly blank look, then checks to see what else the wall says.
Norris doesn't get it at first, as the flowery language is harder for him to parse, but when he realizes that the sarcophagus may hold Krishna's body, he feels incredibly sad. "Now this...this feels truly wrong." he murmurs.
Mikal says, "Why, Norr? He fell in glorious battle, outnumbered and still bravely fighting. He's interred with respect. His people carry on the fight to protect us. Why is it wrong?"
Norris has no answer for a moment. "Cause he's gone...and we're still here." he finally murmurs. He seems ashamed.
The next half of the script on the wall goes on to be a fairly complete index of the scrolls, some with words that aren't readily identifiable. It concludes with the rather cryptic note that 'Vishnu's message' is here in the tomb as well.
It ends with the rather mysterious note that the Metatron, vizier to 'El-Amon' -- not 'El-Amon-Re' as the group has come to expect -- has another name.
Mikal gives Norris a faintly perplexed look... then turns back to the wall. She checks for the other name, softly musing aloud, "Wonder why the name is different here?"
Mikal wanders over to the sarcophagus, checking it to see if there's writing on it or on the round sphere.
Jareth says, "More importantly, what is Metatron's other name"
Mikal murmurs over her shoulder, "Well, it does make clear that the Metatron is a separate entity... not just a shared body or anything, you know?"
As she nears the sarcophagus, the light in the crystal brightens, and then with a faint rushing sound it flares to brightness, filling the room with bright, white light.
Mikal blinks startledly, shading her eyes. "Er... h-hello?"
Norris takes a step back, instinctively putting his hand on the grip of his mace, though he does not draw it, shielding his eyes from the light, or trying to...
As the light fades, an image starts to resolve above the crystal. The image that flickers to life above the crystal is hazy, a little blurred as if by time, and translucent; yet it is undeniably Lord Krishna. He smiles benignly, though the sadness in his eyes seems to match those of him in the mural behind him.
"Hello, my old comrades," he says, his voice sounding a little tinny and muffled. "I have oft wondered how many kalpas it would be before kharma would bring you here. Ah, but you never believed in kharma, did you? For you it was destiny, fate, or the natural course of events, yes?" His tone is clearly of gentle bantering.
"But I dissemble. Alas I cannot see you again with my own eyes, for by now I am surely deceased at the hands of the Architect's servitors. By now you have certainly recognized your divine heritage, else it is not likely you would have crossed the seals. You have begun to remember -- perhaps with great clarity -- what it was that you have been, long ago before the Godswar. You have even begun, I have no doubt, gathering tools and weapons -- besides knowledge -- with which to arm and equip yourselves for the road ahead. And, I pray, that you have made great allies amongst those who survived the Godswar.
Mikal looks a bit shocked, but manages to close her dropped jaw and listen intently. She makes a mental note: must find great allies!
"I can only speak of it from this side of history, old comrades. And even then, only until this moment at which I record these words and my image before going forth to do battle with the four archangels of the Architect. I have planned for this, you see, though it was not my idea. The twenty-four mortals who built this place lie in the sleep of death above this chamber, having volunteered to build this secret place and remain here, in slumber and divorcing themselves, for a time, from the Wheel of Life, so as to not reveal the secrets hidden here to Azrael, the Grim Reaper, the Architect's lapdog who even now plots to become the one sole Throne of Death. (I am sure that has not changed in your time, if he has not already overcome Baron Samedi, Huitzilopochtli, and little Raven.)
"They rest here, and I would ask a boon of you, my old comrades. Should you succeed, should you bring to heel the excesses of the Architect, then I would ask this of you: That you might then bring out of the depths of the Nether these two dozen faithful, so that a just and true Throne of Death might take them to the rewards they deserve in the far shores of Hades, and have been denied for so long. I know there are likely many there who would wish to see them again."
Mikal nods slowly, understanding crossing her face. That's why one was not shrouded! He was the last left alive.
Jareth nods slowly and says, as if the image can hear him, "We will bring them to her, old friend."
Norris's brow knits as he listens to the recorded message. It's irrational, he knows, to feel survivor's guilt. This was the plan, a plan that seemnigly all the gods agreed on. And Krisha seemingly accepts that his death was necessary. And yet it still aches, to have sacrificed others even if it was the only way to fix what had gone wrong. Even if he, Hephaestus, was no warrior like Innana or Ares, and that fighting could not have saved the day anyway.
The image gestures. "The secrets in this vault are yours. The True Names of as many angels as we could learn. Knowledge stolen from the halls of Enoch-Nod. Suggestions as to where Gan Eden might yet lie. The override codes for the bails and Oracles. And some places of power which have become lost to those who helped the Architect come to such great power." Lord Krishna folds his hands. "And... a secret.
"You were right, after all, and Yeshua and Baal Hadad were... incorrect. El-Amon changed greatly, and much of it lies at the feet of Metatron. The secret is this, and it is all we could learn: Metatron has another name.
"We do not know more than that. Freyja and Artemis rode Sleipnir and departed Polaris to find the place where such information lies, and where they went is recorded here. But I fear that the Architect learned of their quest and defeated them before they reached their destination.
"I have naught else to say, my comrades. Except that I wish, for one last time, I could have seen your faces in Polaris. What you did was very brave, and took greater courage than most gods are capable of. Bhodisattva Siddhartha Gautama says that no matter what happens to you, you will find your kharma in this deed, and I can but hope that you will find what you seek.
"What prayers gods may give go with you all. Good luck, my comrades, my -- if I may so dare to say -- my friends."
Mikal whispers softly, "Oh my stars..." She has tears running unheeded down her face, and she steps forward to lay her arms and head on the sarcophagus.
Jareth actually sinks down to sit, like his knees have stopped working He himself upright with some effort and steps forward, wrapping his arms around Mikal and as much of Krishna's sarcophagus as he can reach.
Mikal leans against Jareth, grieving silently for all that was lost, and desperately glad for the love that still exists.
With that, the image flickers and fades, leaving only the afterimage of Lord Krishna's eyes and smile. The light in the crystal, its work complete, fades completely from view.
Norris aches inside, the gods words hurting even though it was not meant for them to hurt. What they have been given here offers a fighting chance...but at so great a cost. He sits, discovered at some point he already did so, and gets thoroughly discombobulated. "This is not right." he mumbles.
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