The Pheraxis Saga: Lichdom

[Cheesecake]

Psykano waited impatiently outside the Tower, legs crossed and hands behind his head. He waited for what felt like hours before they came. Two, more older looking acolytes came to fetch Psykano. One of them motioned to Psykano to enter the Mother's room at the top. He followed them to the inside. It was completely white, with patterns of red, adorned with statues and holy paintings, but most striking of all were the plants. He heard the Mother of Mercy had a garden and it probably wasn't this one, but it was impressive nonetheless.

He made his way up and up the long flight of stairs to the Mother of Mercy's chamber. It felt like the tower went on and on into the sky. The two acolytes were ahead of him, leading the way. He remembered a scene like this years and years ago, when his trainers and Brother Vici led him up the stairs to a room where Psykano was born. The child that went in died that day. Psykano was glad he did.

He finally reached the top floor, past all the rooms of the more business-minded holy men and to the double door leading into the Mother's room. With the two acolytes on either side, he waited. One of them, the taller one, knocked on her door. Psykano couldn't wait. He would finally meet the woman he adored and idolized ever since her soldiers killed the demon. He was probably no one to her, but his palms were sweating with anticipation. He hid them behind his back.

He was about to meet his Mother of Mercy.

 

[Wanderfool]

Temperance sat calmly in a wooden chair on the balcony past the gardens, after she had sent for the boy whom Brother Vici himself kept an eye on since he was but a child Temperance asked for Eden Light to be sent in as well. Just minutes earlier, the hollow child with such lovely violet eyes and white hair clasped her arms around the legs of the mother and had been sent to play by the fire with her strange metal dolls that the talented Iris and Pupil made for the girl. The cyborg was just darling, and among the favorite of toys Temperance had come to love and cherish. Vici stood as an impassable guard at the entrance to the balcony that reached out over the sea. It was all very peaceful, almost like the family Temperance once aspired to have. But upon closer inspection one could immediately see how truly deadly each member of the Holy Circle was. The beloved daughter was brimming with untapped power, her guardians wickedly talented scientists dedicated to protecting her at any cost. A hulking man with his arms crossed standing at a piano with the singed tattoos of Inquisition blessings. A lovely young woman with sharp eyes playing a upbeat hymn, her flesh covered in the scars of battle. A white and black haired man, with the anxiety of a solider and the steely mercy of a badger. Then of course the mother, dressed softly tending to her roses which only moments ago were ashen with an unmatched rage. It had been a long time since Temperance's Chambers had been filled with such life and excitement, and now she was ready to take her place as the true leader.

Humming along with Alise's lovely song, she continued even when the piano abruptly stopped at the sound of two firm knocks at the main door. Raising a single hand Vici immediately moved out of the garden, black leather boots pounding on the marble as he made his way to open the door. Two of the Guardians disappeared into the garden taking their place with the Mother. Eden however looked up curiously from her dolls as brother Vici opened the door revealing a man with lots of tattoos and a nervous expression. Vici looked Psykano directly in the eyes just as every time before, this man before him was dangerous and good at his job. "Psykano." He growled in greeting, "Mind your manners once you step past this threshold boy." Grunting to the two escorts, they turned and left just as Vici turned and guided the newcomer into the fold of the Mother of Mercy.

The room smelled like it was supposed to, all roses and exotic blooms, but it was heavy with anticipation. The final ability to approach one's idol. The finality of being able to do what was meant to be. Temperance stood from her seat and took the arm of the massive Balthazar as he led her to the den, when she stepped down the steps she smiled gloriously her voice all velvet and warm sunshine. "Psykano, my child how lovely it is to finally meet the hopeful under dear brother Vici." She nodded to Balthazar and he released her arm but stood right by her side, Alise staying close but only ever in the shadows. Both were sworn not to the Inquisition, but to Temperance. They were unhindered by the shackles the other Inquisitioners had, making for excellent assassins or whatever the Mother should so desire. "I hear such wonderful things on your progress within the Inquistion. The Fultooths were delivered to Ymius for judgement, and in this they finally find whatever mercy their lost soul deserves. The honor was yours, I only regret not having been there." These final words were spoke with the hint of something more, foreshadowing to a secret knowledge perhaps.

 

[Cheesecake]

The door opened, the two acolytes vanishing into the room. Loud footsteps sounded the approach of a familiar man. Brother Vici. The man had known Psykano for nearly all of his life, teaching Psykano all that he needed. Except for manners and etiquette, it seemed. So when Vici and Psykano reunited, Vici had to do the obligatory warning. Most of the time Psykano wouldn't abide his warnings, but this time was different. This time he needed to behave.

He took a step into the garden, bombarded by the sights and smells of plants he hadn't heard of before. In the room were others as well; a big bruiser of a man near the piano, a woman playing a tune, the two acolytes from earlier, and a young child with her dolls by the fireplace. Eden Light. He heard the stories about her, the Inquisition's other trump card. Lastly, the Mother came down the steps, the Mother who took in the crying orphan.

"I hear such wonderful things on your progress within the Inquistion. The Fultooths were delivered to Ymius for judgement, and in this they finally find whatever mercy their lost soul deserves. The honor was yours, I only regret not having been there," she said.

"Thank you, my lady, but there is no honor in what I do, only duty. Only purpose." There was a hint of something else in the Mother's voice. A hint of knowing. Did she know about Brother Marc? Would she be mad? Would she understand what Psykano had murdered him for?

He shook off the anxiety. This was important. "Mother of Mercy, I have heard the news. Cardinal Vance Vetore has started an uprising against you, and I am here to serve as always. Give me the word, and I will rend your foes till my body fails me." He went on his knees. "Give me the enemy, faithful or evil. Dark or light. My blade knows no distinction and neither do I."

 

[The Philosoraptor]

The darkness. They call it the birthplace of evil. But evil was a human concept. Evil things merely adopted the dark. And so did Sitis. He knew that while darkness was his ally, it was not his home. The light, after all these years, still had an unearthly appeal to his crimson eyes. That was his home, and no matter how hard he tried, without the help of the original darkness it always would be. But even he had to admit. Humans were so foggily blind to the shadows, that they could have fooled him. He walked down the center of the road, not a sound escaping into the empty night. The rioters had yet to make it to this part of the city, still trying to storm houses to the south. But word had reached the rest of the citizens as fast as the raven flies. The streets had been eerily quiet (for a human), and the man Felix had nearly keeled over when Sitis had emerged from the foggy night. Introducing himself as Jonathan, a merchant from the Capitol visiting Santos to scout out potential competition, he had asked simple questions, like how the weather had been ("Don't want the crops going bad in bad weather"), where he would find safety at night ("Wouldn't want to be killed on my first night, would I?"), and maybe some companionship ("A man's a man, and I'm not married"). Despite initial suspicion, as is natural, the conversation picked up as they moved back the way Felix had come. He'd been happy to divulge some information about the city, and eventually pointed Jonathan in the direction of a particular local and well-known brothel, where Felix himself worked the door. He warned that they were likely done for the night, but was almost certain the Madam would accept one more patron before closing the doors for the night. Thanking him appropriately, Sitis continued on in the direction Felix had pointed out. Which brings us to now. It continued to amaze him that people paid so much for these services. The unsullied, extravagant building stood out in stark contrast to the other buildings in the city. He walked slowly up the steps, maintaining his silence. The door before him was large, a thick mahogany slab with a gleaming knocker. Sitis disregarded it. Suppressing his urgfe to sneak in, he shouted "The Lord of Ergonia sends his regards!" With the last word, Sitis flung the body of the unconscious doorman into his ward. The massive crack could have been attributed to the shattered and dislodged door or the unlucky bastard's back. The few unoccupied prostitutes (It appears that the proprietor marketed to both sexes) had fallen on the floor, stunned. One girl was screaming, clutching at the body of the fallen bouncer. Hooking a glinting talon under her chin, Sitis forced her to her feet. He towered over her (he had been a healthy youth when he was alive, and had grown taller than his father), forcing her to gaze up at him. A smirk twitched to life, the terror in her eyes clear and invigorating. He lowered himself to eye level, staring deep into her soul. His glare was hypnotic, the red beams brighter than ever. His voice floated across the air like a leaf, slow and hypnotic. "You will survive, girl. As long as you tell me: Where is Madam Vixen?"