Open Chronicles Foundations of Madness[Red Pact]

[Carmelea Nosfir]

Spoiler: Music

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E D A E N E A​

For weeks the supernatural societies of Arethil had been receiving mysterious letters, invitations to visit a gathering that would determine the future of their kind. Vampires, liches, necromancers and other such monsters, The Red Pact had invested a great deal of resources into establishing communication and directing them to these ruins which towered over the southern steppes.

Some were lured by promises of a nation for the undead and the outcast, others had already done business with the red cult or sought such partnerships now.

They came by horse, foot or sea, and were guided by priestesses swaddled in red muslin into the ruins, carrying magical trinkets lest their guests be attacked by the walking bones and wraiths who'd stalked these lands for as long as anyone could remember.

The inside was little better; cold stone split apart by overgrowth till holes filled walls and ceilings collapsed long before the wood had rotted away without a trace. The throne room though, even if that ancient seat had crumbled, had been made almost hospitable. Food had been prepared for their guests from all corners of Arethil, goblets of blood and wine both stood ready in the middle of a large, circular table arranged centrally to the chamber surrounded by brazers and torchlight.

Carmelea Nosfir stood patiently, watching the guests trickle in to the sound of murmured gossip.

"A demon from pandemonium" some claimed, "vampire royalty" others cried and even still "an upstart cult" a few claimed as to the pact's origins.

The striga heard it all.

"And what news of the steppe elves?" she drawled quietly to one of her red-armored guards who now infested the ruin.

"An odd scout or two, but nothing hostile of yet, my elder."

"Mm." she tapped her claws pensively.

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Spoiler: OOC notes:

Hello everyone! though this is an open chronicle we are focused on a vampires, necromancers and monsters. You are welcome to spy on us but please remember this is a social thread, not a pvp arena, and your character will need an invitation and escort to avoid the roaming undead.

If you were already interested in The Red Pact then feel free to sit among the existing members or join in character.

Guests are welcome to spectate or join in discussing the future of a monster kingdom in the making <3

 

[Zora]

The murmur of gathered monsters dimmed.

A thin ribbon of pale smoke slipped first through the broken archway, curling low against the stone like something cautious, alive. The scent followed: olibanum, sharp and sacred, out of place among blood and decay.

Then she stepped through.

Zora walked alone.

In her hands she carried a small iron brazier suspended by chains, its coals glowing faintly beneath crumbling resin. Smoke poured from it in slow, deliberate streams, coiling around her shoulders and hood, obscuring and revealing her by turns.

“Per nomina IAH et VAU, quae primus homo audivit et locutus est… per AGLA, quod servavit Lot… per IOTH, quod liberavit Jacob… per Alpha et Omega, quod destruxit draconem… et per Emmanuel, quod servavit fideles in medio ignis… protege me.”

Her voice was low, steady, as she talked, shapes stirred within the smoke

Not fully formed. Never fully present. Faces without features, limbs without flesh, silhouettes that lingered for less than a breath before dissolving back into nothing. They did not surround her. They emerged from her. Watching. Guarding. Then gone.

Her boots touched the ancient stone, her posture straight, her gaze forward. The assembly parted subtly—not out of respect, but instinct.

She stopped within the torchlight.

The brazier swayed once, chains whispering softly.

Her pale eyes found Carmelea across the chamber.

“I came” she said simply.

 

[Archanae]

Archanae's cinnamon eyes tracked the young girl's entrance. She gathered her sand-coloured shawls about her, as if the girl's incantation might snatch them away. The whole derelict castle held a veneer of hospitality, thinly veiling the inhuman menace currently gathered inside its broken ribcage of stone. She had studied many of her fellow guests and found them wanting. Mere beasts, soul-bound bones or thaumaturges who sought personal gain through dark magic.

But the aura about this deceptively young-looking girl was unmistakable. It read of untapped secrets and layered depths, a tantalising mystery that acted with veneration towards some obscure creed.

Archanae's bare feet shifted across ancient stone. Her minion, Scrael, crawled after her, a homunculus of stone, bone and braided hair, a grand citrin the size of a fist lodged in its chest, moving like a heavy ape with its knuckles against the floor. She tapped the sapphire in her central medallion, and it winked blue with ethereal light; a light that soon consumed her eyes, as she sought to pierce the veil and discover what hidden properties and invisible strains of magic might surround this pale girl. A limited detection spell, naturally, nothing major; but it might be a start.

Carmelea Nosfir
Zora