Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

Idhaenna laughs.
“By the stars, I was the exact same way back then!”


A dark portal opens near Aquira and her crew, two draconic eyes looking through the portal at a fair distance.

“In fairness to him, he is capable of walking. Unfortunately.”

He waits for you in Xlentia’s palace, seeming wary of you.

They do, I think. I feel like if it thought we were intruders, it’d already have done something.

 

"Let's hope for the best while we quickly make our way out of it territory."

 

I’m not keen on sprinting if we’re trying to just keep moving faster than Anne is.

 

Mortius' doesn't seem to respond, though the coldness around him seems to warm a little.


Quite a few pirates on the deck of the ship notice, one immediately going to get Sidus at the wheel. Sidus trades places with the crew member, and he takes out a telescope to get a better look at the portal as the ship moves on.

 

“So, do you just manage the less ruly souls, or does everyone pass through you?”


As Sidus looks into the portal, Rineth links with him telepathically.
“Stay vigilant. Kiin is dead, Xlentia is furious.”

 

"Many simply pass on naturally, finding their way back to Gaia or, if they have bound their fate so, to my realm. However, those that decide to live past their time - and aren't claimed by a death guardian - I need to pay a special visit to," Mortius explains, "Certain souls need assistance moving on too, even if they are not impure."

Sidus seems completely taken aback, not saying a word before rushing to his wife's quarters and running inside.

Aquira steps out a few moments later, Sidus following, looking a mix between frustrated and confused. Despite this, she walks with an air of confidence and command, looking bold and young. She takes the telescope from Sidus, looking toward Rineth's portal.

 

“Do you mean those that try to defy death, or just those that kinda get stuck?”


“Her death will go unavenged.” Rineth says, the link now to both Aquira and Sidus. “I suggest against shooting the messenger. I am nothing more to you, but I am to Xlentia. Again, remain vigilant; we can’t keep her bound to her chambers forever.”

 

"Some attempt to cheat death and live past their time. I come to remind them that it cannot be avoided forever." Mortius says ominously.


"Who killed her?" Aquira says sharply, direct to the point.

 

“...Yep, much more responsible than I am.”


“You’d call me a liar if I told you.” Rineth responds, blunt. “It is part of the message, though. So... Katie.”

 

"How do you handle the dead where you come from?" Mortius asks.


Aquira looks at Rineth for a bit, as if sizing him up. She then quickly turns on her heel and walks to the crew member at the wheel.

"Set a course for home. I'm going to visit my daughter." Aquira says, sounding serious.

"Yes, Captain." The pirate at the wheel says obediently, beginning to turn the ship.

Aquira returns to the side of the ship looking toward Rineth.

"Thank you for the information. Your job is done." Aquira says bluntly, as if commanding Rineth like one of her crew members.

 

"If they're cooperative and lived honest lives, they get another chance to say goodbye before potentially living on in the dream plane. If they're troublemakers?" Idhaenna says, opening a core revealing a reactor of sorts.
"They get to repay their debts with every last shred of their existence."


"Your daughter may very well not be home, considering Kiin threw a fit when you were late coming home." Rineth says, the portal starting to waver.

 

While his expression isn't able to be seen, it's clear to Idhaenna that Mortius is grinning, or whatever constitutes a grin on a skull.

"I like your method of punishment." Mortius says, sounding proud.


For a split second, Aquira's stoic composure is broken slightly, a look of worry and guilt flashing across her face before she swiftly recovers.

"That isn't a problem. She will be found." Aquira says, sounding a little more serious than before.

 

"Such are the tradeoffs of technology. I watch over galaxies, and though harvesting every last bit of someone's being is more satisfying in person than automating it, I simply can't be in hundreds of thousands of places at once."


"I wish you the best... just keep in mind the crew working on your house is still working on structual and there are about two rooms intact." Rineth says, portal closing.

Upon arrival, the beach near Aquira's temple is riddled with draconians working on repairs. The roof seems to just now be being reconstructed.

 

"Such is why - with the assistance of Gaia - I created death guardians to perform part of my job for me." Mortius explains.


Aquira doesn't seem to mind much, though when she steps off of her ship, she walks up to the first draconian she sees.

"Who is the highest ranked of you? I wish to speak with them concerning this construction." Aquira says as Sidus checks in with the crew back on the ship.

 

"I have never been betrayed by my machines... I cannot say the same about my followers."


"Executioner Apocalypse kept us here after the Admiral's death." They say, gesturing towards her heavy crystalline wings sitting on the shoreline.

 

Mortius simply nods, either understanding or unsure how to respond.


Aquira strides over to Apocalypse confidently.

"I understand you're the one in charge here?" Aquira asks, almost accusingly so.

 

"How many death guardians do you command, anyways? I've only noticed significant populations on Earth."


"I figured not leaving your home as close to as a death trap as it was would be worth an earful from you." She sighs, not yet turning to Aquira.

 

"They still mostly worship Gaia, though they keep me in mind too. I do not command them, their will is free. Though doing their job well does gain them a little more favour with me." Mortius explains.


Aquira glares at Apocalypse, looking rather intimidating.

"Who did this, and where is my daughter?" Aquira asks commandingly, "I thank you for your efforts done to restore my home to it's former beauty, though I have more pressing matters to attend to I'd rather not be delayed."

 

"If you do not command them, how do they understand your will?"


"Kiin did this. Katie requested for us not to follow her, but she last was with Abigail at a friend's house. Cliffside, I believe, but I did not go personally."

 

"They are taught by their predecessors, and if they are ever in doubt, they pray," Mortius says, "I guide. I do not command."


Aquira nods, turning and leaving. She throws a small ruby behind her as she leaves, landing in the sand next to Apocalypse.

Aquira heads back to her ship, and Sidus soon leaves; heading toward the caves out of the private beach. Aquira begins commanding her crew, a few water and earth guardians leaving the ship and heading toward Apocalypse; presumably to help out.