| Logs |
2001 August 02
| NachtMusik |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
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| Realms: NachtMusik Logs |
Departure and Arrival
- The weather is improved in Heaven today, and the clouds have mostly rolled out of the Groves. The Catacombs, however, are as silent as ever. This particular tunnel is smooth with the passage of centuries, the floor reflective from the travel of countless footsteps, and lit dimly with small lights set back in deep alcoves. A very large basalt door dominates the end of this corridor and, just before that, a very large table set in an alcove in the black marble wall. A Seraph hovers here, reflected perfectly in the floor.
Shateishael pauses for a moment, arching gracefully over the large table to study the gleaming, crystal-embedded surface, wings humming slightly as it hovers. It nods slowly once, a small gesture of regret for the Lost, and sighs quietly... then turns to tap lightly on the huge door with its tail tip.
David has kept his servant waiting, as is his habit. Long, long minutes pass. At length, the great basalt doors swing silently on unseen hinges, opening onto a large, darkened chamber: David's personal audience chambers, deep within the Catacombs. This round room is a dome of unfinished stone, and lit at far intervals by luminescent outcroppings of varicolored crystal. At the far side stands the massive figure of the Archangel of Stone, facing mostly away from the doors, tending to a large spire of crystal that seems all the more delicate in his hands. David doesn't look up. "Truthsayer. Enter."
Shateishael rises up in flight from where it'd neatly coiled on the tunnel floor to meditate as it waited, and flies into the room. A pause for a respectful bow, even if the Architect is not looking, and it settles neatly again, wings folding back, to wait until David is ready to speak with it.
David straightens himself at length, emphasizing just how tall his ancient vessel is. He murmurs, not entirely to himself, and the sound is like the grinding of old, old stone. "...very exciting things will be happening with crystals soon. A very few aeons, yes." At last he turns to the Seraph and nods. "Make your report, Shateishael. You have fulfilled the task I set you to?" It is phrased as a question; it is voiced as a statement.
Shateishael straightens up a coil or two and replies, "I believe so, Lord Architect. Your task was to descend to a small mountain city and, for the period of one day, disrupt the works of any demon I should encounter. I was also to do my best to burn habit from my heart." It pauses, takes a breath and hopes it's right about this... then clearly and concisely details what happened during the time of its task.
David listens silently until his servant has finished speaking, and then nods at the finish. "I see. My trust in you has been well placed. I would expect absolutely nothing less from you, Truthsayer. You did not strike the demon, even though he struck the Novalite. Tell me, now. Why."
Shateishael thinks... then (of course) tells the truth, "Three reasons, my lord. First, I wished to give the Novalite time to escape, even though it confusingly chose not to. If I had attempted to engage in battle with the Calabite, the other demon might have taken that moment to attempt some attack on the damaged Novalite; or the Calabite, who apparently did not care to fight at that point in time, might have used the Novalite as a shield or hostage.
"Second, I did not wish to damage, lose, or destroy the infernal machinery, since my first thought was simply to smash it... and then I decided to try a less direct method of disposing of it, as per your instructions. Also, the Elohite had expressed great interest in recovering it intact.
"Thirdly, I was annoyed with the Novalite for not leaving to retrieve the car, and saw no point in battling merely for some sort of supposed revenge for the blow to the Novalite... and once incipient combat or hostage taking seemed unlikely, it seemed foolish to waste time in a pointless battle, when not damaging anyone might more effectively speak to the demons of angels as not always brutal and bloodthirsty. Better to get the Novalite out of the way, and the fragile machinery to someone who could properly dispose of it."
It pauses, taking a breath, then adds, "I hope this meets with your directions and your approval, my lord."
The Architect nods slowly. "You have my approval, Shateishael. You have left a small crucible, and I think you are ready now for the larger. I have a new task for you." Shateishael's eyes glow for a moment -- then it bows politely again. David turns and faces the angel now. "I am sending you to Austin, Texas. You are aware of the situation there, yes?"
Shateishael blinks and freezes for a moment, caught between telling the absolute truth and not knowing if that would be acceptable -- then simply nods mutely, as the wisest alternative. David hms. "I see." He turns back to his crystal growth. "The Truce City, is the name given to it by certain Servitors. The War is on... a hiatus there. I do not approve. However, if nothing else it is a unique situation in which some things can be accomplished that may not be, under threat of open warfare. I want you to go there, and serve us in the way you feel is best for humanity. It is an unstable situation, and I feel it could benefit from our solidarity."
Shateishael blinks again, fascinated in spite of itself -- and faintly pleased that the thoughts it had been having in regards to the lack of demonic solidarity seem to be vaguely similar to those of its Superior. "I will do my best, Lord Architect. Is there any goal in particular you feel we should work towards?"
David says, "I trust your judgement, Shateishael. Just be certain that it is in the best interests of humanity. There is a small group of angels relocating shortly... you might associate yourself with them, if you feel it will be useful. War will be allowing use of one of its Tethers for the relocation soon. One of our great Tethers, the Enchanted Rock, is not far from the city. You may make use of that, if you wish, but its Seneschal has been on her own for many ages, and is embroiled in her own struggles. You may not find her sympathetic."
Shateishael would beam at David's praise, but that it suspects that would be inappropriate. Instead it manages (barely) to look serious and nod thoughtfully, "Then I shall do so, my lord, in regards to the small group of angels, if only to see how I might most usefully operate in humanity's best interests." It pauses, then inquires curiously, "Is... there anything that can be done -- or that I might do -- to aid the Seneschal of Enchanted Rock?"
The Architect pauses a long moment. "I hold Mitrah in high regard, Shateishael. She does not need my instruction. If you wish to aid her, then you would do best to ask her directly."
Shateishael nods quietly, "It was my thought while on Earth last that it must be desperately lonely indeed to be a demon, and have none to trust at one's back. I will ask her, if for no other reason than to remind her that as a Sister of Stone she is never truly alone."
David's only reply is, "Don't feel pity, Truthsayer. They've committed themselves to their paths. See that you have as well. Send Mitrah my greetings." Shateishael nods and bows once more at the dismissal, then quietly departs.
- The weather on the other side of the Eternal City is better today, with hardly a cloud in sight. The Halls of Progress rise, mirrored and white and gleaming, from a green knoll alongside the Eternal City's farthest highway. Inside, a Kyriotate is looking for directions to Office D2901.
Taygeta's true form swirls in constant flux as it drifts through the corridors. There have been some changes since I was last here. The Kyriotate drifts through the building, working out the logic of the chambers, and then proceeds to where Armisael must be. It knocks at the door with a briefly stable hand and waits to be admitted.
D2901 is a relatively nondescript door on the seventh floor -- a corner office, no less, with a lovely view of the Eternal City outside the window. The interior is... rather what one would expect of an office shared by computer enthusiasts. Several computers, of various makes and models, sit on the workbenches and on the floor, lashed together by power and data cables. Boxes for video games and an assortment of documents take up the remaining space. Several large posters for diverse movies and shows dominate the walls, and two large desks pushed together take up the center of the room.
Behind one is sitting a skinny young Cherub in an electric blue Hawaiian shirt, rapping away furiously at his keys. Behind the other is a pretty young woman with a spiky shock of bright white hair and impossible crimson eyes, dressed in a black half-top and snap-side leather pants, bright blue-white wings like lightning furled behind her, a matching halo about her head. She seems rapt on her screen; the Cherub speaks up. "'sael. Your four o' clock's here, babe."
Armisael looks up, "Oh! Hey there!" She smiles and idly caresses a small golden sphere on the table as she reaches for her Palm Pilot; it and one just like it on the other desk sing contentedly. "Wow, you're punctual. Cool beans. Hey, Sax, give us a minute here?" The Cherub nods, rising, "Sure. Gotta hit the loo anyway." He leaves without another word. Armisael stands, unfurling her wings briefly, "Well, have a seat, um... Taygeta, and we'll-" It's about then that she actually looks at her visitor. She blinks. "Oh. Never mind."
Taygeta chuckles. "Indeed. I don't need to sit, as such..." The swirling shapes nonetheless drift toward the indicated chair and settle above it, somehow less active as it does so. "So, what is this urgent mission? I had to turn over my monitoring of the NMD to a younger colleague on rather short notice."
Armisael, still a little wide-eyed, murmurs, "No kidding." She taps away on her Palm Pilot. "Anyway. You're relocating, like the email said. Austin. Which is a really cool town, if you're careful. J wanted someone with some area experience to give you a quick heads-up and get you squared away, since you've never been, and the situation down there's kinda... well, delicate."
Taygeta says, "More than a bit. I'm surprised the Truce has held this long. Is there anything in particular I should be looking for?"
The Kyriotate notices that Armisael is trying to figure out a facial orientation that allows her to sort of face him without actually having to lay eyes on him. She gives up and looks out the window toward the Eternal City and the sunset, instead. "Austin's always been caught up in the middle of things, Taygeta. Since... since like the fuckin' Comanches, man. It's like that cause it has to be." She continues, "Basically J wanted you to be briefed on how things are done down there, if you dig me."
Taygeta says, "Fair enough." With a bit of concentration, it stabilizes a set of eyes and a pair of hands to give Armisael a more normal visual reference. The hands spread in a shrug. "How are things different in Austin from most places?"
The woman leans back on her palms, kicking her feet slightly as they dangle over the side of the desk. "Well, for one thing, we don't fight out in the open. Now, I know we try to avoid doing that everywhere, but it's especially true down in Austin. See, I know you've heard all that noise on the Seraphim Council and all that-" and here she lowers her chin to her chest and drops her voice down a few notes, "-'I do not approve' stuff from some of the Superiors, but the real fact is that everyone's got their fingers in Austin, and no one wants to see their projects ganked up. So it's really important that you only disturb the Symphony there in the quietest possible manner, you with me so far? In fact, when you make your reports to J, he's probably gonna wanna know where and how it got disturbed since the last report."
Taygeta says, "Keep it quiet and try to avoid disturbances. Got it."
She nods. "Right. And it's especially important to the demons, since some of those guys are just looking for an excuse to rip each other up, and if that happens the whole charade is just totally blown."
Taygeta agrees. "Some of the demons are like that. The trick is to avoid confronting them directly. So... Jean wishes me to keep an eye on anything in particular, or just everything in general?"
Armisael shrugs. "Well, he didn't tell me that, just wanted me to give you a basic sitrep. Also to give you this," she turns to her computer a moment and taps for a few moments. "There. Check your inbox when you get down to Austin, I've attached a basic map of the city to your email. Might come in handy. Anyway, Jean will probably have orders waiting for you when you get there. You're in this month's cargo of new angels to the area, so you'll be taking one of War's Tethers down to the Alamo. You might wanna check at the Groves on the exact departure time."
Taygeta says, "Very well. That means I'll need to Borrow a human for a bit... I usually prefer not to do that."
Armisael ahs, and nods, standing up from the desk and stretching, "That's been taken care of, actually."
Four eyes come to rest, looking at the odd angel quizzically. "Oh?"
She continues, "We did a little bit of digging, and a Soldier of God local to the area has volunteered to be your host for a while... a little goodwill trade, since we furnished War with some new prototypes recently." She turns and grins conspiratorially, "You know how J is with the new toys... like a mother." She turns, stretching her wings cheerily, and says, "His name is Aric Krueger, and please don't break him, since he's not ours. I'll see that you get his dossier before you leave."
Taygeta says, "Very well. I'll try to keep him -- I assume him? -- out of trouble. I try not to damage anyone I Borrow, in any event."
The angel smiles and nods, "I figured. That's about it... sorry it's all generalities, I haven't been in awhile, y'know? But right now we've got two guys on the ground, Marius and Darius, beating pavement for us. I've got their data for you, too... just check Aric's cellphone/organizer when you get down there, it'll all be waiting for you. They should know what's up on the local scene."
Taygeta shifts, the form's fluctuations speeding up as it stops resting. "Very well. I'll be on my way, then, unless you have anything else for me...?"
She thinks a moment, then smiles very pleasantly. She has amazingly white teeth, and amazingly white skin. "Yeah. Have fun. It's a great town."
Taygeta drifts toward the door, then stops, the focus of its attention shifting back toward Armisael. "May I ask what you have done to your wings? You don't look quite like any Celestial I've seen before."
The angel hmms? She touches her lip a moment. "Oh? Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you knew." She stretches her wings out a bit. "I'm a Bright, Taygeta. I'm one of Lilith's Daughters."
Taygeta sounds enlightened. "Ah.. I don't believe I've ever met one of you in your natural form before." The swirling mass seems to bow in some indefinable fashion. "Thank you." The Kyriotate leaves then, moving off toward the transport to Earth.
The Cherub passes the Kyriotate on the way back in. In passing, the Kyriotate can hear a soft mumble, "...man, he was touching my stuff." "Lighten up, Sax."