Hidden Truths (Altamira)

[HitokiriChibi]

Sunlight glittered down from long arch windows set in stone that had stood for countless lifetimes, making the marble floor glow with the endless potentials that a new day brings. The light bathed two figures who strode with purpose down one of the hundreds of connecting halls within the maze that was the Dome.

The man walked with the air of a noble, sure of himself and his place in the world and the task before him. Not surprising since he was Prince Hunter Merridale. His golden eyes sparkled with the endless questions and thirst for knowledge that had driven him on his quest to discover the secrets of the Dome. As his pupil watched him, he absentmindedly ran a hand through his hair, the light catching it and turning the deep brown to a lighter, honey shade. He didn’t seem to mind his hair was slightly mussed, showing that he was confident enough that looks weren’t a priority when there were more important matters to see to.

The girl smiled slightly, her dual coloured eyes brighter in the sunlight. The left was sapphire blue and the other a ruby red, and they looked at her companion with trust. The Prince had taken her as his student, and even after he had seen a hint of the crimes she had committed in her past, he had still accepted her. It went a long way to easing the Valkyrie’s troubled heart. It was also a key reason she had agreed to join him on his quest to better understand the Dome. From feeling unwanted so much by her mother, the easy acceptance he gave was a rare thing that the young woman would repay in any way she could.

Hunter turned to his companion, “Kyralie, thank you again for agreeing to accompany me. I know this will be hard in regards to your friendship with Phantasm, but hopefully the results will not be the worst.”

Kyralie smiled reassuringly, her mind turning to her only friend within the Dome. Phantasm had been sent by the Dome to guide Kyralie on two occasions, something she and Hunter had been unaware of until recently. It was her fear that she would discover he was as his name suggested, an illusion commanded by the Dome.

“I hope so too…” Kyralie murmured belatedly. Her thoughts had distracted her and she realised now they were walking through a very different hallway, “how far is this library?”

Hunter grinned, “Ah, we’re heading for the central library. There are many different libraries within the Dome, but the central one is by far the biggest and should hold some of the oldest books here. Hopefully one will explain the Dome and what it is capable of.”

Kyralie shivered. The last thing the Dome had done was send her on a hunt that had brought the heart of her existence to her face – an event that had sent her into a panic and sparked this expedition.

Seeing her response, the Prince tried to distract her, “We should nearly be there, milady. See how the hall in now more homely seeming? Sometimes the Dome provides hints to show where you are heading.”

Glancing around, the Valkyrie noted that the floor was no longer marble but a deep mahogany wood that showed lots of wear. Alcoves appeared periodically, some with soft chairs to rest in and others with a table with books upon them.

“It’s just such a big place… We left the dining hall fifteen minutes ago and we still haven’t reached the library,” she whispered in awe. From her first memory of seeing the Dome she realised it was probably the size of a large city.

“The Dome is large, true. But if I remember correctly, it can alter itself to suit its own purposes. People have been known to open doors and find themselves in places that weren’t there earlier. It stands to reason that if the Dome was feeling helpful it would create a shortcut for a person so they wouldn’t have to cross from one side to the other,” Hunter thought aloud, his eyes narrowing as a suspicion ran through his head, “this better not be one of the times the Dome decides to hinder a person.”

[Altamira]

OoC: Let's try this again... <_<

A sentient being will, naturally, try to protect itself when feeling endangered; when it has become aware of something approaching that it does not wish to occur. Its self-regulating systems go on alert; blood sugar or pressure may rise, heartbeat may spike, hormones may be released, or breathing patterns may alter. Everything's a question of body chemistry and paces of actions prepping the being to respond.

But in what manner does an entity with an entirely different internal structure react?

Prince Hunter Merridale came to a standstill in the center of a large, dark room. Ornate, patterned wallpaper peeled off the walls in splintered sections, revealing graying mold and decaying wood. A feeble light peeped out from under a dusky shade in the center of the room, casting faint golden rays across the commander and his student's puzzled faces. The rest of the room's decor consisted of heavy, antique bookshelves lined with yellowing-volumes and grime.

"It is difficult," Hunter began to say, "to say if this is a library or other archives, but...it is certainly not the place I intended to visit. So perhaps the Dome knew the information we wanted resided here rather than the central library, or..." he let the thought drift off, unfinished. He was not prepared to consider the or just yet. So instead, he strode up to one of the shelves and plucked the first large book he came to out of it.

Kyralie waited patiently but nervously as the prince thumbed through the first few pages.

"This seems to be written in a different language, and unlike the books my friend Lady Madrigal has told me of, the Dome does not seem to control the content and translate it before my eyes, as has been her experience. It does however, seem to be a very learned book and might not be an entirely bad omen for our search."

While not without some workings of logic, the prince's assumption was in error. What he and his student were, at the moment, ignorant of was that they had been led into an old--and very obstinate--human man's collection of foreign Dome-related mythologies, of which he was the only soul who could understand them and tell of their contents.

Contents which he fully believed in and insisted to be truth.

OoC: I hope that ending wasn’t too confusing. ^^;;

[HitokiriChibi]

OoC: This is soooo delayed it isn't funny ;-; *wibbles in circles and sits in the corner* Hope you were still ok with doing this one XD

IC:
Kyralie watched as Hunter made his way down the aisles, picking up an ancient book every now and then to flip through it before returning it to it's shelf. Realising she too should be making an effort in finding something that would aid them, Kyralie turned to the shelf closest to the entry way and eyed the books there.

As she started picking her way through them, she noted that, while the content varied the sript remained the same. It was all the same cramped handwriting in a foreign style. While she pondered this little observation, she was unaware of the tendrils of power that was escaping from her to prod the room.

Her Chaos powers were still in their fledgling stage, as such they only dealt with the luck factor of Chaos. Kyralie didn't know that her powers were linked to her wishes, for that is what luck operates with. Luck flows upon the insubstantial golden strings of chance and maybe's, choosing the one that will guide the wisher on a luck lined path to their goal.

They were fickle, being the nature of luck after all, and would react in various ways when restrictions were placed upon them. In this case, the Dome was taking away the golden thread that luck operated on, cutting the threads of oppurtunity before Kyralie could follow one to the answer she sought. So her powers took it upon themselves to insinuate and worm their way along the threads that remained, attempting to find that one thread before it was lost to time and lost oppurtunity.

Frowning suddenly, Kyralie turned around and surveyed the room again. Hunter stood in what appeared to be the darkest and dirtiest corner, probably a subconscious trick of the mind that led people to believe that arcane secrets were never out in the open.

Unwilling to interrupt the Prince with what she believed to be something inconsequential, Kyralie moved to another shelf absentmindedly. The books here were again of the big ancient kind with the same text written along their spines. Figuring it would be pointless to even try to figure out which one would be useful, the Valkyrie closed her eyes and reached a hand out blindly.

She was unaware of the sharpening focus of her power, of the gold flash as her fingers brushed against the spine of a book and how the hair from her roots to the tips changed as though liquid gold had been poured upon it.

Hunter looked up from his private perusal of a book to see the change in his student's appearance, and frowned, perplexed at what had caused it.

Kyralie opened her eyes, not knowing they were gold, and looked at the book she had chosen, surprised. It was a small novel sized book, nothing like the rest of the ones on the shelf it came from. It's cover was made of a soft worn green leather, unadorned with no title. The pages within were yellow with age, many of the pages dog-eared as though read many times.

"Odd..." she murmured, her hands gentle as they opened to a page near the end. Instead of lines upon lines of text, the page was illustrated with a flowing script written haphazardly around the image. This was the first book Kyralie had seen that had illustrations and a different script, seemingly from a differnt origin than the others in the room.

Skipping pages, she froze on what appeared to be a person being led by a spiritual being. It was just one image, but it was the closest to anything that resembled what she was searching for.

"Have you found something, milady?" Hunter's voice sounded odd to her ears, but Kyralie was busy flipping the pages backwards, trying to see where the spirit came from, to really notice.

"I... maybe. This book, it had an image of someone being led by a spirit," Kyralie explained then gave a frustrated sigh, "the middle pages are missing!"

[Altamira]

"Missing, you say?" Hunter called back, his head perking up from the volume he had been browsing through without much success.

He snapped his book shut and replaced it in a shelf, hurrying on over to Kyralie's side as the clanking of his greaves echoed throughout the quiet old room. As he came to stand at her shoulder, he could see the torn remnants of a number of pages that had been ripped straight from the binding of the book she held; before these fifty or so pages was an elaborate depiction of a human following behind a spirit, just as his student had described. The idea wasn't in keeping with the little he had chanced to ask his friend Cadenza about before, but it didn't seem entirely impossible; many strange creatures of unknown natures roamed these halls, and were capable of things he could scarcely imagine. Why could there not be a spiritual being who guided people here?

The prince glanced back up from the page, and gave a terrible start--standing before him, staring out from under bushy gray brows and behind inch-thick spectacles was an elderly human man, his face a withered patchwork of liver spots and wrinkles turned ashen and rough by age. Despite the frailty of his frame, there was a fierceness about him in the firm jaw and sharp eyes that bespoke a keen, tenacious mind.

The little man had appeared so suddenly and so quietly that neithed Kyralie nor Hunter could summon words for quite some time. They just stood there, enduring the hard gaze of the old man until finally, he spoke.

"What are you doing in my archives, tampering with my collection!?" he demanded.

"O-oh, so these are your books, Sir?" Hunter spoke up, bowing slightly in apology, and shooting Kyralie a sidelong, embarrassed glance as he did so. "I am truly, truly sorry for intruding upon your rooms--the lady has come here on my prompting, however, so please do not begrudge her for my mistake. We will leave at once if you so desire."

There was a subtle twinkle in the man's harsh eyes as they fell upon the volume Kyralie was holding; in that instant, his stiff posture softened, and he fixed Hunter with a look that was difficult to read.

"Perhaps...I was a little hasty in yelling at you, my friends. You have chosen quite an interesting book from my collection there. I had thought the younger ones would have forgotten all about our history and legends, but it seems I was wrong...

"Anyway, I can help you with anything that is within that book--but sadly, those middle pages you are looking at now have been gone before the volume even came into my possession, and...I apologize, but I have yet to find them."

The little old man seemed embarrassed at this admittance of an imperfection in his collection, and he scuttled off a little ways from the pair to look through the shelves for something, as if to redeem himself. After some time, he came back to them, wrinkled lips set in a proud grin as he presented Hunter with a large, green-backed tome.

"This one is the other book that I acquired along with the one you hold now. Perhaps it may hold some answers..."

[HitokiriChibi]

Kyralie blinked at the little old man, her ears still stuck on a prior statement he had made.

"Forgive me for asking but... you said earlier that the young ones had forgotten your history and legends...?" Kyralie asked hesitantly. For her, history was something she knew quite intimately, having been educated by those warriors who had lived in past times.

Bushy eyebrows rose imperiously, "But of course. The youths of today are all thinking only of what they will make of themselves, never thinking to look back at what was done before that could be used to improve upon what they can be," a gusty sigh followed his words as he looked over the room.

"This room is a representation of all those things that have gone before, legends and history combined to create myths that no one cares for, except myself. It has been my life ambition to gather as much as I could, in case there is a day where they will be needed to shed light upon some plight," a smile creased his face as he looked back at the two standing before him, "perhaps that day is today. Take a look through that manuscript, perhaps if read with fresh eyes they will make a connection to the other book you hold."

Kyralie glanced apprehensively at the large book which Hunter held, then back at the man, "Before we look into it... would you happen to know what this book is about?" she held up the small graphic novel in her hands, “Neither the Prince nor I can understand what the writing is about but this image is the closest thing we can find to what we are searching for."

The man peered down at the page she held out, his living moving silently as he mumbled to himself. Taking the book abruptly, he flipped through it to read what was before and after the missing pages. Kyralie and Hunter exchanged hopeful looks; the man might be able to answer their questions without further searching.

With a gusty sigh, the old scholar returned the book to Kyralie, "This book only deals with the making of Guides. A difficult process of it self from what I can recall. The middle pages most likely contained the information on how to go about the process," a stern look appeared in his eyes, "you weren't about to go to making a Guide were you? It's a difficult role to have and to create a person for that sole reason is cruel."

"Cruel?" Kyralie's heart clenched. The very idea of something being done to Phantasm... It was here she realized that where Hunter was looking for answers relating to the powers the Dome itself had; Kyralie herself was trying to find out about her only friend. Both had different motives yet the answers would no doubt come from the same place.

"Indeed, young girl. What you would effectively be doing is creating an empty vessel then filling it with all the knowledge it requires - and only what it requires. It could know all there is to know about magic yet be dumb when it comes to feeding itself. It is dependent on all its creator's whims. A slave with no free-will to speak of, and bound to do its duty," he shook his craggy face soulfully.

Hunter looked to his student with compassion, seeing the clear pain in her eyes. It was obvious whom she was thinking of.

"Perhaps you could answer a query of mine, Sir? The reason you found us among your collection is we are seeking information about the Dome itself..." Hunter began but was cut off by the man's cackle.

"Ah, you young ones. Can not see that which is right before you," spreading his arms wide he spun to indicate the entire room, "this is my collection of myths, legends and histories about this magical structure! My life's work to collect them all and to write them for future reference!"

Kyralie and Hunter could only stare about them in shock. The room they had spent so long in was the answer to what they were looking for! Yet... not a word was in any way legible to either of them.

As he saw their consternation, the old man smiled, “No doubt you are wondering how to find what you are searching for? That book I gave you already should have what you need. If the first novel you found was closer to what you are after then this one will surely expand upon it. Now feel free to make use of this room, I must be going for I have heard the most unusual tale and must see if it bears any fruit for my current research."

As the old man turned to hobble off, Kyralie and Hunter opened the book he had given them, the pages worn thin and the writing fading from years of perusal.

[Altamira]

Myth. Fact. Very different words in many situations, but there were only very fine lines between these two things when tracing the history of a place like the Dome, Hunter thought. To his mind in the recent past, anything involving magic or the supernatural and the mystic would have been instantly classed as myth; but that was not the case at all when dealing with things here. These Guides...he had heard nothing of them before, but he knew so very little still. He was told nothing of his friend Lady Madrigal's experience at the Dome--had she had a Guide? Had she known one? There was no way to know.

He flipped through the pages of the book he held, running his fingers over the blotted pages and scrawling words as if he could glean some truth from them through touch. Detailed illustrations in oil paints and ink depicted various types of Guides; fairies, nymphs, and sprites, all humanlike, but smaller, and more magically-inclined. Amongst these little impish creatures were rarer kinds of Guides; great dragons, and wise elves, and graceful angel-like beings with wings, holding staffs and towering above the lesser Guides in splendorous detail and color. Hunter was given the impression that these creatures were assigned to the more extraordinary students; those that weren't just run-of-the-mill swordsmen or elven mages. Those like Kyralie, he realized, looking up from the book to gaze at his student. She was unique, from what he had seen of the others here. Not even she fully understood everything about herself. How would the Dome approach her?

As the girl read on, Hunter found that he didn't have the heart to continue looking at her; such a darkened, sorrowful look had fallen upon her features as she gazed at the book's images, her hands clutching the volume so despondently, so desperately, grasping the covers of it as if to beg it and squeeze it for any drop of solace it could spare. Her mind was so utterly engrossed that she didn't even notice when a light flickered out, or when a wind from the hall blew a gale of dust around the room and into their faces. Seeing this, the prince's every instinct urged him to reach out and comfort her--but what could he say? Her worries were not baseless--and the problems and questions they arose lay far beyond his modest powers of explanation. He could only stand here by her side, a friendly face to look to when the truth was laid bare and stared them coldly in the eyes. If Phantasm truly had been created by the Guide process, and was simply a throw-away life to the Dome, Hunter hadn't the faintest idea what he would do, or say. He just knew it'd initially bring him the closest to swearing he had been in quite some time.

Life and human emotions were not to be played with. He firmly believed that.

[HitokiriChibi]

Kyralie had never felt closer to crying then she did at that moment.

Everything they found kept pointing to one fact only, that Phantasm was just as his name suggested and would one day vanish when the Dome decided he was no longer necessary. And who was going to remember him? Hunter had never met him and she had no idea if he had been sent to any other occupants of the Dome to aid them before her.

Despair was a companion she had traveled with for a long time already, but when it came to despair over Phantasm’s fate… it had a more bitter taste that any she had felt before. She needed something, anything to help her cope with it all… one good thing to try and bring balance to her world so she could think clearly.

Blinking, she suddenly realized the room had fallen into an uneasy silence. The Prince was scanning his book fretfully, and Kyralie caught him as he sent a worried glance in her direction.

“Milady…” He began, when their eyes met, his full of the endless compassion she knew he had, while hers were filled with the heartache she felt.

“Prince Merridale…” she gulped, her hands clutching the book tightly before lowering it slowly, a trembling half smile on her lips, “I can’t… I don’t know what to do. All of my waking life I’ve spent distancing myself away from people, only having the barest of interactions with them so as to not antagonize my curse. Now, when I’ve finally opened myself up to actually start befriending others… I find that he might possibly not even exist at all…”

She looked at the Prince, a weary smile on her face and a blue glow brightening around her, “I don’t know how to cope with his troubles when I’ve only ever been plagued with mine alone.”

An icy breeze stole past the Prince and a sense of foreboding gripped him tightly, his mind whirling at what Kyralie was saying.

“Kyralie, I’m here to help you. His troubles aren’t yours alone-“

“I can’t stand it.”

On those words a swirl of frost spiraled at her feet, blocking her from the Prince’s view as he staggered back from the icy winds. When it cleared, Kyralie stood where she was, her skin paler than ever and her hair a frosted blue. Her eyes when they opened looked at the Prince coldly and with no feeling what so ever, a sapphire blue that was as cold as the frozen tear on her cheek.

“What happened, milady?” Hunter managed to ask.

When she spoke it was coolly, “Suffice it to say, the Kyralie you know was overwhelmed by the current circumstances and retreated within her. In her place you have me.”

Raising an eyebrow at him, she lifted the book in her hands and gave a delicate shrug, “She couldn’t deal with what was plainly before her either. If she had bothered to pay attention when she met Phantasm she would have known he had no soul what so ever. Therefore it lends evidence that he is indeed a Guide created by the Dome and, speaking of the Dome, did you ever wonder how it was you became Kyralie’s teacher? You who have no experience with magic what so ever. Perhaps it is more of the Dome’s nefarious plans to test you… or break you as Kyralie has already retreated.”

OoC: Now we have the Sadist here to coldy analyse everything that happens~ and throw another curve ball to Hunter >_> I feel bad for him

[Altamira]

This being exuded blunt-faced reason--a cold, precise logic that Hunter had experienced and chafed in the presence of before. Princes in general dealt in niceties, and diplomacy, and putting people before facts. Princes of the Merridale sort also dealt in honesty, kindness, and genuine compassion; essentially...in everything but blunt-faced reason. Faced with this icy cool woman now, Hunter almost found himself getting angry at her lack of empathy and feeling towards...whatever it was that Kyralie was to her. The idea of someone being so uncaring...he just couldn't wrap his mind around a why.

"I...I am here because a friend requested my aid," he answered. "Why she happened to become Lady Kyralie's teacher, or...why I happened to become a substitute at precisely the time Kyralie came here, I...couldn't say. But I am a commander of armies, and a ruler of nations, and I will not break."

At these words, the prince matched the woman's even-leveled stare point for point. This was a skill of the public figure--a speech delivered with strong confidence, no matter what uncertainties were tearing down city walls and torching marketplaces in the realm of their insides.

"My friend has not broken either--she has merely retreated a moment to regain her composure. If she'll come back...she'll find that there are reinforcements here, of a sort, to help her through this," Hunter went on. He wasn't sure where the war metaphor had come from...it was something he only fell back on when he was really grasping for straws. That worried him--but he felt like he had to continue on, "If I must...I'll send message to her teacher, Cadenza Madrigal herself, and discover the truth in all of this. The lass shall not be alone. If these Guides exist, then there is something my friend has not told me, and...she can tell us then."

OoC: Excuse my rustiness and the general sense of blah. ^^;;