Mar 26 15:05:15 <Doink>	[DATE: A TIME]
Mar 26 15:05:23 <Doink>	[LOCATION: SOMEWHERE]
Mar 26 15:07:45 <Doink>	You vaguely remember the words of the two 'priests' you met on your way down the thousand stairs. That you each had parts to play, and that the Dreamlands themselves knew where you needed to go. Time and space, like everything else, are flexable here.
Mar 26 15:09:51 <Doink>	You've been walking for quite a long time, or perhaps not long at all. Its just the two of you, now, though you're not sure when you lost everyone else. The rocky trail leads down along the bottom of high, rocky cliffs that seem to stretch upwards as far as you can see, leaning out over a great sea, or lake, further across than your eyes can make out in the dim light of what could be sunset, or sunrise.
Mar 26 15:10:29 <Doink>	The trail, at least, is wide enough to keep good footing, and seems well-traveled, though you have seen noone else since you started walking. There is only one direction to go, though, save back the way you came...
Mar 26 15:16:47 Mia_al-Misiri keeps travelling; to her, while this is kind of scary, she knows Henri is there. So it's alright. She chats at him once in a while, mostly just thinking out loud in his direction, but keeps chirpy.
Mar 26 15:17:43 <Henri_DEllaine> While trudging along the dirt trail, Henri suddenly has the feeling like now's the appropriate time to be... aware. He rather likes this place. It's like the whole world knows when to be... appropriate. "I wonder if this is what the "real" world feels like. Not to say that Arkham doesn't feel real or anything..."
Mar 26 15:19:21 <Mia_al-Misiri>	"I think this is real." Mia stamps a foot into the dirt enthusiastically.
Mar 26 15:20:08 Henri_DEllaine chuckles a little. "I guess what's important is you and I and everyone. Everything else is a matter of taste."
Mar 26 15:22:04 Mia_al-Misiri keeps going, drifting along the path. "Where do you think we're going?"
Mar 26 15:23:09 <Doink>	The road descends gently down as you walk, gradually taking you towards the rocky shore. The water below is deep and dark, no bottom visible even directly next to the cliffs. Ahead, you can see a line of stone posts jutting up at the edge of the trail... they look like lanterns, or torches, still unlit, marking the path.
Mar 26 15:26:03 <Henri_DEllaine>	"Well, those men said we're going to where we are needed. Perhaps we're heading to your rightful throne." He gives a half hearted laugh at the end. Maybe he's aware of how insane he's become but doesn't rightly care.
Mar 26 15:26:08 Mia_al-Misiri makes a quietly pleased sound as their path becomes more evident on her question. She moves quickly a way forward in the direction of the lanterns, then puts her hands around her mouth to yell a cheerful "Hello?" towards the sign of 'civilization'.
Mar 26 15:27:22 <Doink>	Her voice echoes down the line of cliffs, several more time than ordinary physics should have allowed for. There's no reply. However, after a moment, the lanterns light up, a thin, reddish flame burning inside a stone brazier on each, though there doesn't appear to be any fuel inside.
Mar 26 15:28:04 <Doink>	It seems to be getting darker. Or perhaps it only just decided to.
Mar 26 15:28:15 <Henri_DEllaine> "Well, at least they're expecting us?"
Mar 26 15:29:52 <Mia_al-Misiri>	"Maybe!" Mia is only enthused by this development as she keeps on going, feeling a little more directed by the illuminated path.
Mar 26 15:32:04 <Doink>	Finally the path reaches a curve, the rocky trail turning into a set of steep steps leading down to the water. It's almost completely dark, now, the sky obscured by a thick haze hovering over the tops of the cliffs, the only light coming from the dimly flickering lanterns on either side of the trail...
Mar 26 15:32:32 <Doink>	Down by the water's edge is a pier, carved from the same stone as the cliffs. Something long and narrow bobs in the dark water beside it.
Mar 26 15:33:46 <Henri_DEllaine> "I think there's a boat down there." Henri skips a head a bit, trying to get a better look. He doesn't really know why,  nothing here is going to leave with him or Mia.
Mar 26 15:37:34 Mia_al-Misiri doesn't let Henri go too far, immediately feeling uneasy as he seems to be moving from her but comfortable again once he's back in range. "Do we use it?"
Mar 26 15:37:54 <Doink>	It is indeed a boat, a needle-thin craft which appears to be carved from a single, seamless form of wood, darkened to grey and black, with a hollowed out interior just large enough to hold two or three people. A long oar sits in a rung at its side. The boat is not tied to the dock, but it doesn't seem in a hurry to leave it.
Mar 26 15:38:19 <Doink>	There is a pile of old, dirty rags at the back, the same color as the ship.
Mar 26 15:40:30 Henri_DEllaine offers a hand out to Mia to help her into the small craft. "Hopefully this thing will know where to take us next."
Mar 26 15:41:26 Mia_al-Misiri takes his hand, stepping in the boat clumsily. "We can't walk?"
Mar 26 15:42:15 <Doink>	"No, you certainly can't," says a quiet, raspy voice from somewhere behind you.
Mar 26 15:42:56 Henri_DEllaine instinctively looks to the pile of rags.
Mar 26 15:43:08 Mia_al-Misiri staggers around, holding onto Henri's hand much tighter as she tries to quickly look to the direction of the voice while also avoiding falling into the water.
Mar 26 15:45:56 <Doink>	The pile stirs, the sound of dirty cloth rasping over itself mixing with rheumatic coughing as a figure unfolds at the back of the craft. It's tall, almost 7 feet, and wiry thin, its entire form covered in filthy black and grey cloth of unknown origin, vaguely human shaped but with no visible features to speak of. "There is-" a cough "-only one way into the city from these lands. And I am... it's keeper."
Mar 26 15:47:45 <Henri_DEllaine> "Not that we intend not to go, but what city is it?"
Mar 26 15:48:53 Mia_al-Misiri tries to hide behind Henri.
Mar 26 15:49:47 Henri_DEllaine steps fully into the boat, giving Mia a bit of himself to hide behind.
Mar 26 15:52:28 <Doink>	A dry laugh, which collapses quickly into coughing. "/The/ City, Chevalier. There should be no... other." Suddenly the oar is in his hand, and he pushes the craft smoothly off the dock with surprising speed, sending the thin craft slicing smoothly off through the still, dark water.
Mar 26 15:53:33 Mia_al-Misiri wobbles a little, trying to take a seat while remaining as out of sight as she can.
Mar 26 15:57:39 <Henri_DEllaine> "So, boatswain, what's your opinion of the whole state of the world? I can't say we've ever gotten the opinion of someone who isn't human or a god."
Mar 26 16:03:46 <Doink>	Another chuckle. "Which... world? There are so many, I... find it hard to keep track." His long, thin arms work the oar without causing barely a splash, yet the boat moves forward with incredible speed, the cliffs behind you already vanishing into the night haze. "So many left... A pity it might all be gone... soon. I so... wanted to see them...here." His voice sounds almost wistful for a moment, before he breaks down into another fit of hacking, some
Mar 26 16:03:46 <Doink>	where inside the piles of cloth.
Mar 26 16:05:20 <Henri_DEllaine> "I'd like to think we can still give everyone that freedom."
Mar 26 16:09:01 <Doink>	"Hm. Free...dom. Such a... strange concept, from a being... like yourself. To think that one can... choose. Do you still... believe you have that... power?" The figure may or may not be looking at Henri. It is impossible to tell. As the boat travels, it appears to be passing out of the mist, a pale yellow glow beginning to suffuse the darkness from above.
Mar 26 16:10:07 Mia_al-Misiri keeps quiet through the journey, but looks up as the light nears.
Mar 26 16:12:32 <Mia_al-Misiri>	"Ohh, Carcossa?" She sounds kind of interested. "That's where we're going?"
Mar 26 16:13:40 Henri_DEllaine 's eyes brighten. "I can't believe I didn't recognize it. I guess I've only seen glimpses of it"
Mar 26 16:14:33 <Mia_al-Misiri>	"When did you see it before?" Mia leans to one side and narrows her eyes at the fog, trying to get a better view.
Mar 26 16:14:41 <Doink>	As if on cue, the haze lifts, almost as if it was never there. The dark sea is illuminated by the light of two yellow moons, hanging far too low just upon the horizon. "Yes... child of Chaos," the figure says. "Car... cosa. The... only true city."
Mar 26 16:15:25 <Henri_DEllaine> "Sometimes... how can I explain it? Jeanne would bring pieces of it with her."
Mar 26 16:16:12 <Doink>	Ahead of you, seeming to rise up above the still water as you swiftly approach, is the largest city you've ever seen. Building after building crammed together in tight, chaotic formation down to the water's edge, bathed in the golden light of the moon.
Mar 26 16:17:02 Mia_al-Misiri gazes, sitting upright and trying to take in as much as she can. "...Wowww."
Mar 26 16:17:46 <Doink>	A mess of styles and archaic architecture. Here a Victorian manner, superimposed on a Grecian ruin, beside a soaring skyscraper of metal and glass-- and, seemingly just behind them yet somehow occupying the same space, towering spires of such alien geometries and purposes as to hurt your mind... best not to focus on those, for now.
Mar 26 16:17:58 <Doink>	*Manor
Mar 26 16:22:47 <Mia_al-Misiri>	"This is neat!" Mia slowly rises to a standing position as they drift into a better view of the city.
Mar 26 16:24:53 <Henri_DEllaine> "What can you tell us about the city? I know things have... changed as of late."
Mar 26 16:26:44 <Doink>	The boatswain slows his oar, allowing the boat to slow, drifting its way towards a series of clustered, crowded docks. "The city never... stops changing, Chevalier... or else it too would die." He chuckles again, as if at some private joke. "I do... love a contradiction."
Mar 26 16:27:47 <Doink>	The boat comes aside a pier, and then... stops. The figure gestures to the dock. "But now you are... expected. I shall return to take my... price of passage another time."
Mar 26 16:29:02 Henri_DEllaine smiles back at the rags. "I'm afraid if I have my way, I might not have much left to give you." Henri steps up to the docks, offering Mia another hand to help her up.
Mar 26 16:30:59 Mia_al-Misiri hops off eagerly, letting Henri pull her up. She looks to the man in rags rather nervously.
Mar 26 16:31:03 <Mia_al-Misiri>	"What do you need?"
Mar 26 16:31:23 <Doink>	There is only a pile of rags in the back of the boat.
Mar 26 16:31:47 Mia_al-Misiri stares for a moment before pouting, kind of sad.
Mar 26 16:31:52 <Mia_al-Misiri>	"Hellooo?"
Mar 26 16:32:39 <Doink>	Ahead, down the docks, is a large, arched gateway of gold and stone, leading towards what appears to be a wide, straight thoroughfare through the city's chaotic architecture. Odd, given the seemingly winding nature of most of the other streets you can see.
Mar 26 16:33:32 <Henri_DEllaine> Looks down the thoroughfare. "I suppose we're meant to take the only logical path in this place, then."
Mar 26 16:35:33 <Mia_al-Misiri>	"Okay..." She turns to face the gateway, which distracts her for a moment with its beauty. "All the way? We could look around the city too!"
Mar 26 16:36:33 <Henri_DEllaine> "As much as I'd like to, I'm afraid if we wandered into the city we'd never make it out. It might be best to hurry along for now."
Mar 26 16:37:14  Mia_al-Misiri looks straight down the straight road for a moment, before moving onward.
Mar 26 16:46:04 <Doink>	The street is strangely quiet and empty as you pass. Carts and stalls line some of the walls, shop displays leaning out from the tightly packed buildings along its edges, but all are closed up or abandoned, as if the street had been cleared in a great hurry. You can feel eyes watchinig you from windows above, but they retreat if you look, leaving only the impression of pale faces staring down at you, like masks.
Mar 26 16:46:53 Mia_al-Misiri frowns, trying to sneakily! catch people out. Mia whines. "Everyone's hiidiingg..."
Mar 26 16:48:15 <Henri_DEllaine> "I thought there might be a little more fanfare... Wasn't this supposed to be the great center of decedance?"
Mar 26 16:49:10 <Mia_al-Misiri>	"I don't know!" Mia sounds frustrated. "But I thought it'd be- they're hiding from ussss...."
Mar 26 16:49:58 <Doink>	Much sooner than you think, you reach another gateway, this one massive, stretching up as high as any of the surrounding buildings. The door, though, is shut.
Mar 26 16:51:12 <Doink>	A much smaller, person-sized doorway opens in its side, and another figure hurries out. He's dressed in what would have been considered fine livery in some human countries a hundred years ago, though something about his movements suggests a definietly unhuman origin... it is impossible to tell, though, as his face is obscured by a sold, white mask.
Mar 26 16:51:46 Mia_al-Misiri is happy to see someone else. "Hello!"
Mar 26 16:51:49 <Henri_DEllaine> "I know. I'm actually starting to feel a little worried..." He throws a hand up, hailing the man approaching them.
Mar 26 16:51:56 *	M_O is now known as M_Out
Mar 26 16:52:04 <Doink>	He approaches the two of you and bows deeply. "Excuse me, Sir. Milady. Welcome to the Court of the Dragon."
Mar 26 16:54:47 Mia_al-Misiri stands still, arms awkwardly set by her sides. "Is that Jeanne?"
Mar 26 16:55:25 Henri_DEllaine chuckles again with a no under his breadth. "We've been told our arrival has been expected."
Mar 26 16:57:00 <Doink>	"Of course, of course. But..." He looks up, still bowing. Or at least, you assume he is, his eyes obscured by the mask. "Forgive me, sir, but masks are forbidden inside the Court."
Mar 26 16:57:52 Henri_DEllaine looks at Mia, confused, then back to the man. "Masks? We're not wearing any."
Mar 26 16:59:36 Mia_al-Misiri shakes her head a little, up at the masked man.
Mar 26 17:01:13 <Doink>	"No mask? No mask?" He titters, before shaking his head. "...Forgive me," he says, suddenly sounding apologetic, "but you must remove your mask, or else you cannot enter the court."
Mar 26 17:02:42 <Mia_al-Misiri>	"I don't understand..." Mia looks sad at the man.
Mar 26 17:03:44 <Henri_DEllaine> "But you're wearing a mask right now, and you just came out of there."
Mar 26 17:04:59 <Doink>	"Oh, forgive me, please, Milady, you may keep yours," he says, suddenly turning to Mia. "You are a guest, and of course we don't want the court to melt away now do we, ahahahah..." his pathetic laugh dies out before he turns back to Henri. "But Sir, surely you understand. I wear no mask. Please, remove your mask, and enter."
Mar 26 17:05:55 <Mia_al-Misiri>	"Oh!" Mia tugs at Henri's arm. "Maybe he's playing the opposite game!"
Mar 26 17:08:08 <Henri_DEllaine> "This is just..." Henri runs a hand through his hand, frustratedly. He sighs, Mia is probably right. "Um, Sir. I appear to have left my... face at home. Can I borrow one so I might remove my mask?"
Mar 26 17:11:38 <Doink>	"Oh, he is close, so very, very close..." he mumbles to himself, before starting as if surprised. "Your face is your own, Sir, I cannot give it to you!"
Mar 26 17:12:12 Mia_al-Misiri keeps clinging onto Henri's side, looking up at the man. "Can I have a mask please?"
Mar 26 17:13:19 <Henri_DEllaine> Rubs his face, not knowing what on earth to do. "You are not making any sense, sir." But when he drops his hands, the mask is removed
Mar 26 17:14:32 <Doink>	Something... peels off, like a strip of gauzy cloth or silk. It falls to the ground at Henri's feet.
Mar 26 17:15:41 <Doink>	In its place is a solid mask of pale ivory edged in gold, almostlike the one on the gatekeeper but more ornate... yet it feels as if there is nothing on your face, unless you touch it.
Mar 26 17:15:49 Mia_al-Misiri follows it to the ground, lingers for a moment, before looking back to where it came from.
Mar 26 17:16:35 Henri_DEllaine looks down at the... thing that fell in front of him while touching his face.
Mar 26 17:17:46 <Doink>	"Splendid!" The gatekeeper claps his hands excitedly. "It will be good for everyone to see your face at last... right this way, Sir, Milady!" He gestures towards the gateway, before hurring back off through the little door at its side.
Mar 26 17:19:45 <Henri_DEllaine>	"Well uh... how do I look, Mia?"
Mar 26 17:21:43 Mia_al-Misiri thinks hard.
Mar 26 17:21:47 <Mia_al-Misiri>	"It's weird."
Mar 26 17:22:10 <Doink>	And then the gate before them begins to swing ponderously open, into the Court of the Dragon....
Mar 26 17:22:16 <Doink>	[Session End]

Apr 04 12:48:30 <Doink>	[DATE: A VERY STRANGE AEON]
Apr 04 12:48:51 <Doink>	[LOCATION: THE COURT OF THE DRAGON, CARCOSA]
Apr 04 12:50:41 <Doink>	Unmasked, Henri and Mia enter the Court, the massive gateway swinging wide to admit them...
Apr 04 12:53:20 <Doink>	The inside of the square is as crowded and chaotic as the path leading to it was clear and silent. A twisted, whirling mass of bodies, all shapes and sizes and colors, their faces (if some could rightly be called such) obscured by porcelian white, some ornate and gaudy, others simple and unadorned. Blasphemous, dissonant music blares from horns and flutes and pipes, headache-inducing forms weilding them. Though some take notice to your entrance, most
Apr 04 12:53:20 <Doink>	don't seem to care, continuing their almost orgiastic revelry.
Apr 04 12:54:05 <Mia_al-Misiri>	People! This is better than before. She doesn't like the music though and puts her fingers in her ears.
Apr 04 12:55:04 <Doink>	In the center of the crowd, rising up above the chaos, is a covered stage, draped in tattered gold banners of a hundred different forms of heraldry. There are several figures standing on it, though from here you cannot quite make out what exactly they are.
Apr 04 12:57:22 Mia_al-Misiri keeps looking about in wonder at the cool costumes people are wearing, only noticing the stage properly as they draw close. She yells to Henri, louder than she should because of the fingers in her ears, "LOOK"
Apr 04 12:57:54 Henri_DEllaine leads Mia towards the stage. He still has no idea rightly what they're supposed to be doing here, but hopefully everyone else does.
Apr 04 13:00:57 <Doink>	A task easier said than done. The crowd doesn't much seem to care that you're trying to pass through it, forcing you to weave through a maze-like pattern of dancers and musicians. Tables are set up seemingly at random, bearing alien-looking food and drink. A humanoid shape with seven arms offers you a plate filled with severed fingers, still crawling around like inch-worms.
Apr 04 13:02:43 Mia_al-Misiri lets out an exaggerated yelp in fear! "Euuugh!!" She jumps at and around Henri, putting him between herself and the fingers.
Apr 04 13:05:51 Henri_DEllaine puts a hand up, guiding the plate away. "We're uh... not in the mood for sausages, sir. Can you tell me, though, who is up on the stage over there?"
Apr 04 13:07:12 Mia_al-Misiri peeks around Henri.
Apr 04 13:07:21 <Doink>	A mouth opens in the palm of one of his hands. It replies in a course, guttural language you cannot understand.
Apr 04 13:09:48 Mia_al-Misiri makes a face.
Apr 04 13:14:50 Henri_DEllaine pulls her toward the stage, but they don't get far in the crowd. "I swear, Mia, you knock off a few Avatars of Elder Gods, date a cosmic force, walk in with a girl who has the power to destroy a universe, and still we can't get so much as a damned aisle." If only he had something, ANYTHING, to get the attention of those around them. At least enough to get them to move aside.
Apr 04 13:16:10 Mia_al-Misiri loosens her clinging to Henri a bit. She's finding the dense crowd uncomfortable now.
Apr 04 13:16:19 <Mia_al-Misiri>	"Ex- EXCUSE ME!!"
Apr 04 13:17:48 <Doink>	The surrounding revelers shoot you annoyed glances- at least, you assume that's what they are. It's hard to tell underneath those masks. It seems it will take a lot to jolt these beings from their business.
Apr 04 13:18:23 <Mia_al-Misiri>	"Henriiii..." Mia whines.
Apr 04 13:25:12 <Henri_DEllaine>	
ACTION tightens his grip around Mia's hand for a second out of frustration. If only he had a spear... Wait, why doesn't he? He must have some power here, even if it's miniscule. This place isn't exactly "real," at least no more real than the entry plug his body is technically floating in at this exact moment. He focuses his mind. A long, gilded pole. Tarnished and engraved. A pointed head like a leaf... no, a fleur de li
Apr 04 13:25:13 Henri_DEllaine And, hell, had tattered golden cape. That's something these revelers would step aside for.
Apr 04 13:29:56 <Doink>	It doesn't appear. That would be silly. Rather, it is as if Henri was always dressed in such a manner to begin with, and merely... didn't notice until now.
Apr 04 13:30:50 <Doink>	A murmur spreads through the surrounding crowd. This, finally, was something unusual. And in the Court, novelty is everything. Revelers begin to step aside, watching the pair anxiously.
Apr 04 13:32:45 Mia_al-Misiri proceeds forward, confidently!
Apr 04 13:33:15 Henri_DEllaine smiles... if he still had a mouth that moved, anyways. He follows closely beside Mia.
Apr 04 13:35:39 Mia_al-Misiri is smiling though! Because she still has a face. She approaches the stage.
Apr 04 13:39:13 <Doink>	Approaching the stage, you see four figures standing guard in front, their masks, cloaks, and spears almost identical to Henri's. Behind them are a cluster of attendants, like the ones you met at the gate, and, between them, a massive gilt throne, empty but covered in strips of the same filthy, tattered cloth that drapes the entire stage.
Apr 04 13:39:51 <Doink>	One of the guards motions you towards the steps at its front, the rest perfectly motionless.
Apr 04 13:40:41 Henri_DEllaine takes lead of Mia, offering her at least some kind of formal protection up the steps.
Apr 04 13:41:55 Mia_al-Misiri takes a look up to Henri, then heads up the stairs bravely.
Apr 04 13:42:29 <Doink>	As you reach the stage, still a step beneath the throne, a voice speaks- no, not a voice, but a thousand, all speaking in unison in a hundred different tongues. It seems to come from the throne, and as it speaks, the entire crowd beyond falls into a hushed silence.
Apr 04 13:43:10 <Doink>	WELCOME, it says, in those voices you can understand. TO THE COURT, CHILD OF CHAOS.
Apr 04 13:43:32 Mia_al-Misiri responds with a chirpy "Hello!"
Apr 04 13:44:04 Mia_al-Misiri looks around the throne, expecting someone to be hiding behind it.
Apr 04 13:46:40 <Doink>	Suddenly, the rags covering the throne stir. They twitch, pulling together, winding upwards into its seat, forming into a familiar, gangly-limbed shape, its matted, filthy head turning to face you. I TOLD YOU... I WOULD RETURN TO COLLECT MY PRICE, it says, some of its thousand voices cackling with mirth.
Apr 04 13:47:17 Mia_al-Misiri is less chirpy, and moves back a little to be covered by Henri.
Apr 04 13:47:42 <Mia_al-Misiri>	"Wwwhat price?"
Apr 04 13:48:16 Henri_DEllaine simply laughs. "Only in a place this crazy would I expect the King to guide row the boat."
Apr 04 13:48:48 <Mia_al-Misiri>	"...Ooh!!"
Apr 04 13:48:52 Mia_al-Misiri is kind of relieved.
Apr 04 13:48:55 <Mia_al-Misiri>	"Hello again!"
Apr 04 13:50:12 <Doink>	It laughs along with you, and as it does so its form seems to grow further upon its throne. The filthy rags covering its thin form slough off, impossibly replaced with thicker, more substantial form beneath, muck and dust giving way to tattered strips of gleaming golden yellow.
Apr 04 13:51:06 <Doink>	It's head rolls back, and in its place is revealed a mask of perfect, featureless white, unmarred by decoration or blemish, glinting in the yellow light of the twin moons high overhead.
Apr 04 13:52:14 Mia_al-Misiri narrows her eyes at the King.
Apr 04 13:52:19 <Mia_al-Misiri>	"Why do you need a mask?"
Apr 04 13:56:19 <Doink>	YOU HAVE LEARNED MUCH, CHEVALIER, its voices say, before turning its blank face towards Mia. WE WEAR NO MASK, YOUNG DREAMER. THIS FORM IS WHAT WE ARE. THE VENEER OF CIVILITY THAT RESTS OVER TRUE DECAY.
Apr 04 13:56:38 <Doink>	WHY DO YOU NEED A MASK, CHILD?
Apr 04 13:56:54 Mia_al-Misiri pouts and crosses her arms.
Apr 04 13:57:50 <Doink>	It chuckles again. FORGIVE MY LITTLE... JOKE, DREAMER. YOU DID NOT COME HERE TO ANSWER MY RIDDLES, AFTER ALL.
Apr 04 13:59:35 Mia_al-Misiri keeps pouting but can't stay mad for very long.
Apr 04 13:59:48 <Mia_al-Misiri>	"So, hello? What is it?"
Apr 04 14:01:46 <Doink>	The King sits back on his throne. THIS COSMOS DOES NOT HAVE LONG TO LIVE, AND YOU... ARE THE POINT AT WHICH THE NEXT SHALL BEGIN. BUT IF YOU WISH TO TRIUMPH OVER... THE CRAWLING CHAOS, YOU SHALL NEED... ALLIES.
Apr 04 14:03:04 <Doink>	I AM PREPARED TO... FORSAKE MY OATHS TO THE UNNAMABLE ONE, AND SWEAR... TO YOUR CAUSE. I ONLY ASK A SIMPLE... PRICE IN RETURN.
Apr 04 14:03:15 Mia_al-Misiri gives Henri another look, worried by all this.
Apr 04 14:04:36 Henri_DEllaine keeps a cool stance, though he is but a man standing next to two talking gods, he doesn't want Mia to feel afraid. "I'd hope the continued existence of worlds would be enough."
Apr 04 14:07:10 <Doink>	EXISTANCE... IS MEANINGLESS TO US. THE DESPAIR OF THE END OF ALL THINGS COULD BE... QUITE BEAUTIFUL... Its voices sound almost wistful for a moment. BUT OUR FINAL WORK IS NOT YET... COMPLETE. SO WE MUST DEMAND... OUR PRICE.
Apr 04 14:07:43 Henri_DEllaine simply waits, tipping his head back a bit, for the King to name it.
Apr 04 14:08:30 Mia_al-Misiri looks on at the King, waiting for him to explain.
Apr 04 14:11:43 <Doink>	A cloth-wrapped arm extends from underneath his tattered robes, yellow fingers extending to point out and down... towards Henri. WE HAVE HEARD YOU SPEAK... OF THINGS WHICH WE HAVE LITTLE CONCEPT OF. CHOICE, AND... HOPE. YET YOU HAVE EMBRACED YOUR ROLE AS CHEVALIER EN JEUNE, AGENT... OF INEVITABLE DESPAIR AND DECAY.
Apr 04 14:13:17 <Doink>	A KNIGHT HAS NO CHANCE... AGAINST THE FORCES YOU MUST FACE. SURELY EVEN YOU... COMPREHEND THIS. BUT A KING... I OFFER YOU THE POWER TO DEFEAT... THE BEASTS WHICH YOU ARE SO...DETERMINED TO SLAY.
Apr 04 14:14:17 <Doink>	ALL YOU MUST DO... IS ACCEPT THE POWER OF... THE MONSTERS THEMSELVES. CHOOSE... AND LOSE YOUR CHOICE. BRING HOPE FOR A NEW COSMOS... BY BECOMING AN AVATAR OF DESPAIR.
Apr 04 14:14:28 <Doink>	THIS IS MY PRICE.
Apr 04 14:15:00 <Doink>	It settles back into its throne, studying them in silence. The crowd behind murmurs excitedly, crowding in around the stage to watch.
Apr 04 14:22:52 <Henri_DEllaine> runs his hand through his hair one last time. He thinks back to his father, to Jeanne, to everything that's happened. "Everything dies. Everything ends. And though you do look forward to the beauty at such a complex thing ending, it is still final. You told me yourself that there were so many worlds left you wished to see. As much as you are a being of Despair and Decay, you are a being of hope, beauty, and future
Apr 04 14:22:52 Henri_DEllaine have seen despair many times as I have seen hope many times. I fully intend to continue seeing both as long as possible. So, Hastur, I will take the power of your crown, we will stop the crawling chaos from bringing an end to all of this so early, and then we shall see just how much choice I have left."
Apr 04 14:26:19 <Doink>	The figure on the throne studies you for a moment longer in silence. Then, once again, its voices begin to laugh- not a mocking, scornful sound, but a deep, mirthful cacophony. IT IS DONE, it says. OUR FINAL... WORK IN THIS WORLD. OUR LAST MASTERPIECE, THE HERALD OF THE END.
Apr 04 14:27:56 <Doink>	It stands, unfolding its robed form to its full height before the throne, stepping slowly down towards the pair. As it moves, its form begins to... collapse, strips and tatters of cloth falling away to the floor as it approaches, its form gradually collapsing, smaller, and smaller-
Apr 04 14:28:42 Mia_al-Misiri recoils just a little at this.
Apr 04 14:29:47 Henri_DEllaine plants the butt of his spear wide, taking a step up, ready to meet and accept the form descending toward them.
Apr 04 14:29:59 <Doink>	As it steps down the final step to stand before Henri, the final cloak falls, revealing a human figure standing beneath it, her body clad in a familiar dress of purest gold, and in that moment Henri knows the pure, white mask adorning her is her true face, as she reaches out to embrace him.
Apr 04 14:30:20 <Doink>	"I told you that I'd have you someday," Jeanne says, and the world is engulfed in golden light.
Apr 04 14:30:28 <Doink>	[SESSION END]