[Nobilis] Mysteries of Emptiness (IC)

[Crinias]

The paths that govern the Prosaic Earth are fair.

They may be utterly mundane, without the wonder of the Mythic World, where one may find paths anywhere, be it to the moon or to the sun, but they are fair. They make sense. They are consistent and don't change out of the blue. You can figure out your way through them. In this modern-day world, it is harder than ever to be physically lost, although, of course, it still happens.

The paths that lead to the Spiral Maze, the realm of Caliban Rex, are not as kind. They are common paths that may be found nearly anywhere, if your luck is abnormal, if fate wills it to be so. Have you ever felt hopelessly lost? Have you ever wandered into an unknown path by accident, and realized partway through that you shouldn't be there? And have you, even then, continued to go on, having lost your way back? If so, then you have felt the pull of Locus Caliban at some point.

It is in this realm of terraced cities and endless stone and marble walls that the Nobles of Caliban Rex rule, each in their own manner making their way through life. And if they are at times as lost as any normal mortal is in Locus Caliban, then who is to know?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It is on one normal day that the Nobles of Locus Caliban each receive a message from their Chancelfolk, indicating that a package addressed to them all has been delivered to one town of the Spiral by a very tired-looking mailman. This is unexpected because there is no formal mail system in Locus Caliban, and because it is very unusual in appearance.

It is a chest-sized brown box wrapped in a red ribbon, with several small round holes on it. According to the messengers, it moves slightly from side to side, and small cute sounds can be heard from within. Written in a paper attached to the box is a simple message: "Open only in case of curiosity."

Spoiler: OOC

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Sorry for the delay! I'm not fully happy with how this opener turned out, but it's better than just endlessly delaying it.

For your first post, feel free to narrate whatever circumstances you wish your character to be in, or to worldbuild parts of the Chancel and where you live specifically as you desire. Talk about your daily life, or at least, what your character doing right now. Talk about their goals or desires, if you want. In short, just talk about your character, tell me what they're like.

Here's a link to the OOC thread.

[Mabn]

John Kamin sat on a rooftop quite a ways away from the box wearing an odd sort of helmet that functioned as a binoculars which also happened to work on sounds and smells. He had been here as soon as he heard the message, a bit before actually. But he could be there sooner if he kept from interfering, and he didn't particularly want the attention he would get waiting around for his fellow nobles to arrive. So he sat on the roof in a folding chair and watched.

[Don nadie]

Minoa appeared all of the sudden, unexpectedly, in the turn of a corner. As she always did. Today she was dressed in the clothing of some ancient Babilonian priestess: a while linen robe with a golden belt fastening her waist. Her skin looked tanned, her eyes were black and her hair was woven and intertwined with turquoise jewlery.

Everyone knew, instantly, that was the way she always dressed.

Strange, she whispered as a salute to John. One never expects a package to arrive. One never expects anything to get here. Minoa bowed to look at the chest closer. Do you think it contains something?

She extended her arm and grabbed a silver cup from a servant who had appeared out of nowhere. It contained wine from the wineyard of a French XIX count, who was killed in one of the many French revolutions and whose wine cellar had gone unnoticed and forgotten by the rebels. Minoa offered it to John and grabbed another for herself.

I guess we'll know as soon as she arrived, Minoa added, sipping from her cup.

[Q'telun]

Gunner drops down from the floor above, landing in a crouch on a nearby ledge with a large yawn. Dressed in torn jeans and a fur trimmed jacket, he looks every bit the image of a slacker. Dark circles under his brown eyes and untidy black hair round out the look.

He regards the package sleepily for a moment, then turns to his family. "Either of you curious enough to open it? Because I'm mostly just feeling tired."

[Don nadie]

Minoa smiles one of her long, strange grins.

I never say no to an unexpected turn of events... She admits. Thought the possible origin of this box does makes me wary. Minoa shakes her hear looking at the box, the turquoise beads clic on each oether. Still, she admits, sipping wine once again, we can't just leave it here forever...

With those words Minoa extends her hand and leaves the cup aside. Though it should fall on the floor (though it must fall on the floor), the cup rather dissapears to be dropped somewhere else, maybe a table, maybe a floor or a bed. In the Locus Caliban points in space have a tendency to twist, and none seems more eager to twit them than Minoa.

She stretches her now free fingers and goes towards to the box. Minoa puts first her left hand on the surface, expecting perhaps a jolt of electricity, a miraculous feeling. She is in part dissapointed. Sometimes, even in lands of Myth and Nobilis, a box is just a box. What matters is inside. So, without further delay, Minoa undoes the ribbon and starts opening the box. A sincere smile is now drawn on her face.

She does love an unexpected turn.

[Crinias]

Minoa's fingers unwrap the box and tenderly grasp the top of the box, lifting it up. It could be just about anything in there. It could be the most mundane of things, or a very great treasure, for all she knows. But indeed, one cannot know what is inside unless you actually open it.

(Or in John's case, unless one has a highly advanced pair of sight, sound and smell-based binoculars, in which case one can avoid any metaphors involving the cat of an Austrian physicist.)

Her eyes involuntarily widen at the sight in front of her. Inside is what looks like a large, soft-looking donut of golden hair. Slowly, it unfurls itself into a less circular shape. A short, thin tail rises up from part of it. A small black point appears from the middle of the figure and starts sniffing around, at which point it becomes clear that it is a snout. Finally the figure unrolls itself enough to become clear for what it is - a very small and adorable puppy, stretching itself and yawning. A golden retriever, if Minoa's not mistaken.

The small puppy looks around before staring at Minoa. Its face then lights up and it opens its great wide mouth. It starts to pant excitedly, and its tail begins to wag. It begins to jump around a bit, at the edges of the box, as though trying to reach up to Minoa.

On the whole, this would be rather less concerning and more adorable if the puppy did not have eyes filled with a night sky and falling stars.

Spoiler: OOC

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Behold the ender of worlds, the dread of cats everywhere - the astounding Puppy Deceiver.

[Mabn]

John Kamin considered the otherworldly puppy for a moment before speaking. For a time distorting being this was pretty telling. "Intriguing. An open Deceiver. I wonder if it could be safely studied or if what could be learned from it outweighs the risk." He appeared beside the package, binoculars gone. "Which of you will take care of it?"

[Q'telun]

"I think," Gunner rests his chin in the palm of one of his hands, "The lesson here is; don't open strange boxes that might contain a puppy."

He takes a long legged step out into nothing and lands on the ground softly as a whisper. With two steps he reaches the puppy and stares down at it, hands firmly in his pockets.

"Do we really need to study it though? Is there a point to doing that?"

[Mabn]

John Kamin didn't look up. "Excrucians are chiefly understood by what they do to the mortal realm. That is inherently an incomplete perspective."

[Crinias]

The puppy excrucian looks from Minoa to John, to Gunner, as though expecting something. When they don't do anything, it tries to climb out of the box. It succeeds, but trips itself while doing so. It lands cutely on the floor, head-first. It shakes itself as it pulls itself up. It is the most beautiful and pure gesture any of the three Nobles have ever seen any dog do, and that is saying much in a world blessed with dogs.

It takes a few tentative steps towards Gunner, until it is at his feet, and raises a small, hesitant paw. It descends and touches upon his shoe. Even through the material he can immediately tell: The puppy's paw... is incredibly soft and precious.

Spoiler: OOC

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Puppy Deceiver is currently under an Affliction under the general lines of 'Puppy Deceiver cannot help but be loved'. This isn't a very strong effect so it can't mind-whammy anyone or bend people to his will. It just generally changes emotions felt towards him to some manner of love. It's up to you how exactly this takes place - deep abiding love, amusement, or so on. If you want to completely ignore the effect, I suggest you either take a Wound or apply a miracle of your own to counter it.

[Don nadie]

The final fall of the Puppy Deceiver was all it took.

Awww... said Minoa, her brain shutting down before the power of deceitful cuteness. Smiling, she shook her head. Isn't it the most adorable creature? How in Astarte's name did it get here?

Part of her brain knows this is a trick, this is a Deceiver, and that always spells trouble in one way or another... But that part is not being very successful, in a brain innundated with puppy-related endorfines.

[Mabn]

John looked at Minoa quizzically. He loved children by default and had not even noticed the deceiver's aura. "We can and should determine that. I can track the messenger backwards, which should give us a starting point, but I have trouble fighting exceptional mortals, so I'm not going to go to deeply on my own."

[Q'telun]

The final defenses of his mind eroded as it touched him with that adorably precious paw. Gunner knew that he was falling in love, that dull throb in his chest was the first clue, and he could not help it. How sad then, that it was bound by its nature as a deceiver, and could not grow and be free as a puppy should. But! But, he was of the Dark, wasn't he? Isn't it his job to set people free, and help them grow? And the old saying goes, if you love something you set it free.

With that solace in mind, he leans down and picks the puppy up by the scruff of its neck, its silky soft pettable golden furred scruff, and holds it so he can stare into its void colored eyes.

"The lesson here for you is, or will be, be careful who you have fall in love with you."

[Crinias]

Nietzsche was right, it seems - the starry void in the furry dog's eyes stares back at Gunner as the dangling dog wags his tail. The puppy seems to not understand Gunner's words, as he just starts licking at Gunner's hand. It is intolerably unfair. It makes you want to take him home with you - but then you realize you're already in your Chancel.

A soft cough from behind the Nobles distracts them from their thoughts. It is a short, doe-eyed woman in semi-formal business clothes - you recognize her as Mana Murphy, one of the local community leaders of one of the villages nearby. She works as an organizer and manager for any miraculous-related business in this region of the Chancel. If you recall correctly, she's quite calm and collected.

"Excuse me, o Sovereigns, I hope I'm not disturbing you," she says, smiling apologetically. "I took the liberty of having my men track the delivery man of the box, in case you wanted to ask him some questions. He's in a tavern not too far from here," she says, while pointing with her hand in the building's general direction. "I'm sure you won't be surprised to know that he cannot find his way out," she says, in a matter-of-fact manner. Few people leave the Spiral Maze.

[Q'telun]

Gunner nods. The Chancel seemed to grow in size that way. "Take us to them. I'd love to have a chat with them about their package."

He stares at the puppy (so very soft and fluffy) for a moment longer, and then puts it back in it's comfortable box.

Spoiler

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I spend a miraculous action to invoke an Aspect 1 miracle of "I put the puppy in the box." And I invoke the Bond "I always try to help" for two Strike.

[Don nadie]

Minoa feels her heart's weight as the puppy is lifted. Like the puppy was the most precious thing in the world; like all would be shattered if it slid from Gunner's hands and hurted itself. If the puppy was wounded everything would be wrong with the world...

Minoa snaps back to reality as the puppy is back in the box and not so directly in view. That thing is so, so very... loveable.

We definitely need to speak to with this messenger, she says. I can take us to him. There's this way down by the terrace of the Southern Wind...

She offers kindly, but probably you all know better than taking her help. Minoa is great when trying to get somewhere unreachable in the Locus Caliban, but the last time she led you all down to an inn, it took three months, defeating two minotaurs, and disenchanting a fair maiden who sang emeralds. Minoa always gets there, but always through the most convoluted way...

Spoiler: OOC

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OOC
I figured I could at least RP my bond of offering always the longest route XD

[Mabn]

John felt a familiar awkwardness. Since he became a noble he hadn't needed to actually know how to get anywhere, he just sort of ended up there - which made travelling in a group really challenging. He started studiously conjuring investigative tools out or the air and hoping someone else solved this without him having to use miraculous power to walk with two people to a nearby inn.

He also moved to just after they left and replaced the puppy's box with a luxurious carrier unit sporting a comically over-engineered security system before returning to the moment he left. Leaving it in a box would be cruel. And he was pretty sure someone would take it home with them the moment it left their sight.