RuneScape Forum Archive | Fall From Grace

Jul

2020

Serene End

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"Not a thing," the goddess declared, dashing his hopes. "Your role has reached its end, child. You fell for their words, drew them into you."

"So, can't I just draw them out?" Raphael threw out a solution with swiftness.

"That is not advised," she urgently deemed, calling his answer a horrible fix. "Your body could not handle it, and you would not survive."

"What about killing them?" he pulled out another answer. "You said I'm under their possession, right? Well, if they're gone, then they can't possess me."

"A reasonable conclusion," she commented. "Indeed, you would no longer be theirs to command, their strings upon you severed. You'd be free of their grasp, but your mind would not yet be yours. You'd not be a puppet, but a slave, a slave to the overwhelming power that courses through you."

"Then what am I to do?!"

"Relax yourself and search my words," the goddess strongly suggested. "I've all but given you the answer, you need only seek it."

Raphael's face reflected his internal feelings, a fire of ire flaring up with tightness in his chest. His hands clenched into a firm fist, more than fed up with Lamia's circling around him. "Enough of this," the silver-haired young man shouted in anger, swinging his right hand from his left to his right. "You can't honestly expect me to do nothing!"

"'Tis not a circumstance for which you can do anything," Lamia replied, unfazed and unafraid of Raphael's sudden outburst. "But think not this a hopeless predicament, child. There is but one path that will permit you, but it cannot be traveled without my guidance."

Hearing Lamia's words, her reaching out and attempting to give him the answer he sought, Raphael tried his best to get control on himself. Though still very angry, his stance did loosen up somewhat. "What path?" the young man then wondered, only hoping this road was not full of peril.
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08-Jan-2015 17:28:56

Jul

2020

Serene End

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"If left alone, the power shall surely consume you," the Neheztelian goddess explained. "However, if I stay constantly at your side, I can ward off its corrupting effects, give you resistance to it. You may live as you deem, so long as I am at your side. You need only accept me as any other who possess my Avae'vatu."

As did Daevarro, Raphael couldn't help but to pause with question for a second. Her bringing to the table such a generous solution was like a salvation, but something about seemed... off. Like a poisoned apple, wondrous on the outside and delicious to the tongue, but tainted, deathly on the inside. "Why would you offer such a thing to me?" Raphael's caution protruded from his voice, asking her a fair and honest question. "What do you, a person I haven't met until now, gain from helping me?"

"All of you are important to me," she told him, Raphael feeling as her voice took a deep pause. "... You are important to me."

His body stood off-put, bemused by her words. His eyebrows raised, his face growing to mimic his confusion. "Me?" he spoke, puzzled. "What am I to you?"

"You've her eyes, child," Lamia then made mention, a kindly joy and tenderness warming up the cold, harshness of her voice.

Her words taking Raphael by storm, his confusion erased and replaced with a surprised expression. Such words sent him back a year ago, a time when he was ignorant of so many things. The time between the person he was then to the person he was now felt as long as a lifetime, perhaps even longer.

But this, her having knowledge of his mother might provide him with the answers he so valiantly fought for. Nevertheless, he couldn't let his excitement for such things get the better of his judgment. Indeed, Raphael let out a heavy sigh, pushing out any sadness he might have come across. "So, you know my mother?" his voice shot out another question.
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08-Jan-2015 17:30:16

Jul

2020

Serene End

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" Igja, " the goddess answered, but her voice was not as Raphael would expect, sounding more burdened, sorrowful, grievous. This gave Raphael a bad feeling in his stomach, a feeling that whispered a dislike towards the sound of her voice. "Astrid and I traded words days after your birth, when she sought me, asked desperately for me. She was wonderful, Paladequilemmir... I shan't allow one such as you to suffer."

Raphael took note of one particular part of her words: "was wonderful..." Was... Hearing Lamia speak with such a melancholic voice, it really pained Raphael to hear. So sincere and truly heartfelt did it resound, tugging the very strings of his heart. Such sorrow, such agony, it bothered Raphael to no end. What was so wrong about speaking about his mother, what caused Lamia to feel such sadness? She spoke with such... lament, so mournful.

Was that it? Was his mother... no longer alive? Was she gone, never to be found? Raphael became a pawn to this feeling, his face crumbling under its burden. His teeth fastened, his breath whimpering, his vision blurry with water. Nineteen years of waiting for the day his mother might appear before him, all of it now... lost.

He closed his eyes, fighting back his tears, fighting back the tide that wished that he'd succumb. He knew what he felt truly was the right decision, earnest and steadfast was his conviction and courage that guided him. "...All right," he softly told her, then looking up at her. His eyes intrepid, rising up like the sun. "I accept."

"You will vanish now from this place," the goddess informed him. "You've not a reason to worry, child, 'tis but the process of binding. You will awake soon, you will be returned, I promise you."
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08-Jan-2015 17:31:55 - Last edited on 01-Mar-2016 18:03:16 by Serene End

Jul

2020

Serene End

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Raphael shook his head confidently, acknowledging Lamia's words. He then closed his eyes, lowering his head like he were bowing it. He stood there straight and at ease, relaxed, his face without motion. The white haven disappearing into a cover of black, Raphael feeling all things fade away, burn away like a fire of cleansing.

His imaginary world dissolved, flowing back into that battered, hexagon-shaped room. That frozen image with a Lamia-possessed Libitina clenching tightly onto Raphael's face the start to their conversation, a conversation that lasted only a split second in the real world. That moment of contact between Libitina and Raphael like a bridge, establishing a connection between the two.

It was more than enough for Lamia, her consciousness passing like a torch from one person to another. She felt herself flowing slowly into Raphael's body like a cup in the young man's shape, finding herself now in his shoes, finding her vision falling into place. She had to grow familiar with every bone and muscle once more, not used to them.

She had feel everything again, feeling as Libitina's hand grabbed onto Raphael's head. All displays of power that Raphael was forced to possess had all but vanished, his arms ready for battle just dropped down to his sides, his whole body just growing almost lifeless. But it was revived under her control, feeling as his body no longer took on the flow of power, no longer hovering off of the ground.

Within the freeze-frame, that moment of all taking that one breath, of the light speaking in a demanding tone, all had stood still as though they had to wait for Lamia and Raphael to finish talking before proceeding. But the great thaw was coming, the ice melting and eroding, revealing what laid under its surface. "—her!" the voice's sentence finally finding its end, coming out as a command.
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08-Jan-2015 17:32:43

Jul

2020

Serene End

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But their shouting, electrifying voice was all in vain, Lamia had made her move. They reacted to this movement she made as quickly as any ordinary person, not sure exactly what to make of it. Something wrong was afoot, feeling as the air shifted and swirled in a way they didn't quite like. They were paused in stunned silence, all of them were.

Unconscious was another person, the person that grabbed onto Raphael's head. Lamia could hear as her pendant hit the floor in a light tap, watching as Libitina's body just grew limp like a puppet severed of its strings. Libitina then began tumbling downwards, toppling down towards the floor. The moment she could manage full-control over Raphael's body, the goddess caught the assassin before she hit the ground, compassionately taking Libitina into her arms.

The infuriated vision of the beings within the orb of light stabbing into Raphael's back, his ears caught the sounds of their anger grumbles and growls. Not bothered at all by them, he slowly and gently laid Libitina down upon the ground before his feet. Lamia stood there as Raphael, his knees digging into the floor at Libitina's side.

Through Raphael's purple eyes, Lamia carefully and affectionately looked down upon one of her faithful. Libitina looked to be in complete peace, utterly serene, like she were asleep. Looking over her, Lamia placed Raphael's hand upon the upper-front of her head, brushing it softly across her night-black hair.

A glitter off to the corner of her eye, the beckoning of her fallen pendant just beside Libitina's leg. Lamia had turned her eyes to the right, seeing her lost pendant. Raphael's left hand reached out and grasped it, retrieving it. He then arose from the floor, standing tall and commanding upon his feet. But still, Lamia couldn't help but to continue looking down, clenched upon Libitina with such love and warmth.
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08-Jan-2015 17:34:00

Jul

2020

Serene End

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"Lamiaquil'a," the orb of light named the only person they could think of who had such power at their side. "Why do you undone our work, why do you interfere? You know better than this."

"You must be punished for your disobedience," another voice then spoke from the light, a deeper, stronger voice. "You must—"

"—Stay your tongues," Lamia spoke back with ire, bursting through the army of voices, her breath as she spoke appeared in a vivid cloud of mist once again. "Speak not to me as though you've the right to, for you've none. You who claim yourselves as our creators are but petty thieves, mortals who've murdered and wrongfully stolen all that you've acquired."

Silence covered like a fog over the light, caught off guard by the fact that she figured them out. Some of them realized this, acknowledged that the cat was out of the bag, so to speak. "It matters little," said the voice of a older man from within the light. "Your interference is of little consequence, we will still destroy you!"

"We do only what is best," another voice spoke, one that was sounded like a woman. "We desire only peace, prosperity!"

" Dego, " the Neheztelian replied in her language, sounding like a rejection. Pulling Raphael's head towards the right, Lamia's vision aimed directly for the multi-voiced orb of light at the heart of the room. A cold, calculating, venomous, malicious glare fastened upon them, the true feeling inside the eyes of the possessor of Raphael filtered through his like light passing through glass. "You desire only power, power from which you've become intoxicated. 'Tis the exact motive for this masquerade you wear, this persona you've constructed. You've not the right to do as you've done, not to these children, not to any child."

"It was all that could be done," an elderly man's voice strongly declared from the light. "We took on this form to make them follow us, to guide their fates. Without us, our race would not be allowed to live as we were meant to!"
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08-Jan-2015 17:36:20

Jul

2020

Serene End

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"Enough of this!" the voice of the older man came out and demanded, sounding as he tried to convince his allies. "Soter, arise!"

"Listen, drág Essa," another voice came out from the light, a man's gruff voice which spoke in a calm, orderly tone. "...We acknowledge our mistake with Dias, we should have stopped him. We can never repair the damage that has been done, can never restore the Neheztelians. But Dias' foolish and brash image has inspired others to be as him, and the humans will just become another example of Solasúian brutality if nothing is done."

"It's why we react so swiftly," then a elderly woman's voice came out from the light, continuing to spin the tale around the Neheztelian goddess. "You desire their deaths, you seek retribution for your lost children. We desire their deaths to spare the humans, we seek power to reverse the fate of our beloved Solasúila. Do you see it, drág Essa? Our goals are aligned, the same. If we just—"

They seemed genuinely trying to sway her to their cause, make her opinion theirs to use. A tempting offer, one that any eager buyer to take the first chance they could get. Alas, that was not one Lamia was willing to consider, no offer could ever be one she'd consider. Her ears had heard enough, it seemed, wanting to plug up and cut all words.

Clenched very tightly upon her pendant, safely and firmly in her left hand. She siphoned its power, vacuuming up all the strength that she needed. Raphael's right hand suddenly became animated, springing to life. Like a cannon being turned to its next target to rain death upon, she aimed for the light. Raphael's hand opened up, its palm exposed towards usurpers.
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08-Jan-2015 17:37:48

Jul

2020

Serene End

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So quick was her motion that nothing could be done for them, too busy were they trying to convince Lamia that alignment was better than going alone. Her ears heard the sound of a rush of footsteps off in the distance, Soter having recovered and arisen from the blow he took. He charged for Raphael, knowing exactly what Lamia intended.

Although she heard it, she was not bothered at all by it, focused on the task at hand. Poised and imposing did she hold herself as Raphael, a beam of red energy then bursting out from the palm of the young man's right hand. The beam was gigantic and incredibly bright, appearing like a laser. Its head in the shape of an anchor, thin and narrow before branching out.

The obliterating beam sliced through the usurpers like a blade through jelly, their wails of pain becoming that of an outcry. The moment Lamia's blast of energy made contact with the orb of light, Soter's body froze in place. He felt their pain become his, feeling like his torso became a large crevice. He fell to his knees, clenching his hand upon his chest as his face coiled up with a disgusting twist.

A massive explosion of energy then detonated as the beam smashed into the ceiling, sending off strands of energy scattering like the blast was one colossal firework. It let out a blaring, earth-quaking boom, rupturing the eardrum of any with bare effort. Fearsome gusts of wind billow from the center of the room, shards of adamas are sent flying like bladed rams, and heavy dust whipped with the wind.

Loose clothing sent dancing in the wind, heading off behind them. Despite being right up close to the explosion, Lamia simply stood there like she were unopposed. Still holding Raphael's hand up, bearing a body that spoke a language that was strong and commanding. Raphael's medium-length hair caught in the blast's bold generated wind, lifting and shaking with it.
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08-Jan-2015 17:39:05

Jul

2020

Serene End

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The explosion finally eased up, finally lulled. And this Lamia-possessed Raphael was but the only person left standing, being one amongst the ruins that she created. Everyone was down, pained and harmed but uninjured by the blast she had caused. Large fingers of dust grappled the air, concealing the newest damage the room had sustained. That small pillar that the orb of light floated above was completely destroyed, replaced with a small crater and a massive graveyard of debris.

A partially collapsed ceiling at the center north of the room was made by Lamia's attack, this permitted a cascade of light to come flowing in. Like the moon-like star up above the Solasúian sky was doing some self-reflection, taking a look within, its pale blue light vanquishing the dark. The milky way that divided the sky appeared vividly and brilliantly off of the remains of the ceiling, now laid in a multitude of sized pieces all throughout the room.

And the light, the target of Lamia's merciless, coldblooded attack, was no longer there. Killed off, torn from this world, brutally and rather callously murdered by the Neheztelian goddess. Their only presence left upon this world laid there, unable to catch his breath, unable to even speak a word. Raphael's hand then lowered like it were a gun, knowing that the usurpers were no longer there.

But something there did draw Lamia's eye, just floating there where the thieves were before. Her harsh, gelid glance peered upon it, an object that clearly showed something that made her intrigued. It was shrouded with a iridescent glow, a glow similar to that of the usurpers as the vast orb of light. It was a lustrously arranged variety of colors, but its primary color was that of an azure blue.
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08-Jan-2015 17:39:50

Jul

2020

Serene End

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This glowing object then just dropped like any normal object, its glow all but coming unwound as it tumbled. The young man watched as the object fell down, not quite expecting it to. But still, something about it piqued Lamia's interest. Raphael's legs became animated, stepping forth into the large, gaping wound in the room's skin that the goddess had caused.

On knee and elbow, the messenger was gripped in a vise-lock of pain. His teeth pushing against each other for regional supremacy like a civil war, bullets of sweat trickling down his skin. The injury he had suffered at the hands of a then-possessed Raphael slowly began to eat him away, bits and pieces of himself disappearing with this golden and white magical embers that oozed out from his injuries.

His pain-stricken face turned off to his left, the Lamia-possessed Raphael was the only image reflecting upon his verdant eyes. Everyone else was down, unable to watch this, unable to see as the object beckoned for Lamia's attention. Still the exhausted titan could not speak, could not breath, could not even move. He was overwhelmed by the pain he was experienced, helpless to its almighty, crushing push upon him.

Standing there in the center of the room, the sky burning brightly above his head, Raphael's unfamiliar eyes gazed downwards. Lamia saw the unknown object, scanning it with attention. The young man then dropped down, collapsing upon one knee. His left knee digging into the ruined adamas, its screaming out like cracks under his feet.

Lamia then truly scanned the object with great detail, now that she were up close to it. Looking at every nook and cranny of the object, an object warm and flowing with power. It was made of the crystal-like material known as adamas, but it was not like the adamas of this world -- weak and fragile as it was. It was in the shape of a heart likened to that of a human's, and just around the same size.
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08-Jan-2015 17:40:32

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