Completed (GST) When Chaos Reigns (Itt)

[Adriana Sparrow]

3 Spring 519 AV

An obvious blasphemy this boy was. The small man that ran inside the sacred Temple of Rhysol to finish some business with another priest appeared to hold no reservations for Rhysol. This Chaon was aghast that his fellow Agent of the Black Sun was blissfully unaware of the utter lack of devotion to their God that this courier possessed. Krytier followed the boy with his eyes as he continued on with his daily duties around the Temple. The courier seemed eager to leave the holy place, back to whatever human and unnecessary experiences were a part of his day. He again silently questioned his fellow Chaon on his nondescript actions towards the boy. To him, his scar was burning, a sign, he understood, was a direct order from Rhysol to interfere with this child.

The burning that caressed his neck grew and reminded him of when he first received the mark, how long and how violent the burning of his God was. While this feeling was minor compared to that experience, it was unquestionable that Rhysol meant for him to enact his will within this situation. The city of Ravok was Rhysol's, and if within its midst was a clueless boy who somehow had not gathered love for the God of Lies yet, he soon would be taught to think differently.

Krytier locked onto the small man, a pitiful excuse for a man - so small, and blocked his exit of the Temple. He saw, in the corner of his vision, a member of the Ebonstryfe stationed near the door, tense, in case the priest needed more physical help in his actions. He was sure it would not be necessary, the man was too small to pose any sort of threat, especially within this Temple. Either way, Krytier put up his mask of calm and peace that Ravok was built upon.

"Boy -- " he started, one hand extended, palm up, towards Itt, the other resting upon the burning scar of his neck, attempting to cool the fire. The scar was a blood red and large, covering the mans entire neck and extending, as if reaching, up to the start of the priests chin. Besides his Black Sun robes, a black cloth decorated only with the image of the God, the Black Sun, a white sun covered by a black eclipse, the man appeared normal. His hair was cut short and a deep brown, his eyes a dull green, skin slightly tanned. "This is a blessed day of Rhysol. Here, in His Temple of the Black Sun, will you join me in a prayer of thanks to the God responsible for our safety and prosperity? He asked as he brought his hands together to form a stance of prayer. He bowed his head, as if to begin, but his eyes, shrouded by his lowered brow, looked up at the man before him intensely.

Above the pair the ceiling of the Temple stared down upon them, the opening arms of Rhysol, huge on the ceiling, welcomed the boy and the priest. His presence within the Temple was unquestionable. All around them were His depictions and His followers, from Agents and Acolytes of the Black Sun to devoted worshipers in the numerous pews of the Temple.

Code credit to Mauriel for original base code.

[Itt]

When Chaos
Reigns

Itt had gotten a very special package today. A very, very special package. The person who had given him this small parcel was very intense and had lots of fancy robes. He hadn't seen anything quite like it. The robes had intricate designs on them that he didn't understand, but he did catch the hint that this was not an ordinary person. No one the street dressed like this, not even the nobles in the Noble District. They had bright clothes with some patterns, but nothing as distinct as these.

The way the man spoke was also very authoritative, like that of a city guard, but less demanding. It was almost unnerving how he could even have such a tone without sounding even the slightest bit hostile. When he handed him the package, it was a very gentle passing, and he pointed to the large building in the center of the city. It's core. He's never been to the center of the city, so the sheer magnificence of the build was a lot to take in. He's been to the Noble district and they have fancy statues and things, but nothing at all like this.

There was even a giant person on the ceiling. On the ceiling! How did they even get him up there?

Itt had walked into the Temple with his head looking straight up at the ceiling until someone had walked up to him, taking the package they had obviously expected. He was given his payment, and after putting the change in his pocket and looking around the intricately crafted temple, Itt started to head out. He had no idea how he was going to draw this on his map. Maybe just a circle and a smile? The guy on the ceiling seemed pretty happy.

He'll figure it out later. For now, lunch. The mizas the priest gave him was a gold Miza, so that surely was enough for a decent meal. Something more than just nuts would be nice. Not that there was anything wrong with nuts but, you know, nuts all day every day wasn't really fulfilling.

Itt, still walking with his eyes gazing upon the imagery of Rhysol, almost ran right into yet another fancy looking man who stood in front of the door. Just before he did, he managed to get a glimpse of the person and stumbled back a few steps. "Sorry!" He quickly said, having learned so far that Sorry was a good way to appease people's anger. He hunched himself some, his slight frame getting even smaller in an apologetic nature.

However, instead of the scolding that he had expected, the stranger, who was strange to Itt in more ways than one, started talking with words Itt did not understand at all.

Itt thought he had been doing well in terms of his progress towards learning common, however, this was a blatant reminder that he wasn't even close to understanding this language yet. What in the world was blessed? And Rhysol? And that big word, responsible? Literally, none of it made sense. And the man's actions didn't help with the context either. What was he doing? Was this some sort of greeting?

"Uh, sorry? Hi?" He scrambled through his limited vocabulary in search of a proper response. "I- sorry, what?"

[Adriana Sparrow]

The Kelvic seemed confused. His small, commonly used, words were repetitive and signaled no understand of the priests sayings let alone the world's working order. Despite the strange occurrence in a city devoted to nothing but Rhysol, Krytier expected such a response. The boy seemed young, younger than he appeared, and he suspected he was something other than human. Kelvic would be the most logical and common pick, and that would match up with his apparent stupidity, but he could not be sure.

Krytier was certainly guilty of a sense of disregard for races other than human. But The Voice was fierce in their declaration, and there is nothing that would make the Chaon go against his leader, The Voice of Rhysol. He lifted his head from its pronounced bow to look the boy in his eyes with a strong stare. While his face would give away nothing but innocence, in his eyes a burning fire could be seen by those who knew to look close enough. His scar burned at the boys words, the priest silently acknowledged his God. He knew what He would want from him.

Separating his hands, the priest turned to place a hand on the boys back and began steering him towards the center of the Temple where he walked closely with the boy. Here the black shard dominated the room an almost pulsating object that created a sense on wonderment and fear, depending on how one would look at it. As the priest and his guest centered themselves in the Temple, the worships residing in the pews rose and looked at the Chaon, waiting on his words. He turned again, then, to steer himself and Itt to look out towards the congregation.

"My dear boy," he said to Itt, though his voice was louder than before and he faced the people in the pews rather than the small Kelvic. "Rhysol created this city as a safe place for all people of Mizahar to go to seek refugee from the terrors, lies and betrayals of the outside." He raised his hand sup towards the large depiction of Rhysol on the ceiling, demonstrating the Gods care of his people. The citizens in the pew followed suit and gazed up at the painting, some crying out at their God, other closing their eyes in his presence. "Tell me, son, you come to this great city of Ravok from somewhere else, am I correct? Did you enjoy your time outside the city?"

It was obvious the animal did not grow up in the city. One could not spend such an amount of time here without understanding how the city worked through Rhysol. The seed of doubt started small within the victims, but they would grow if sowed properly.

Code credit to Mauriel for original base code.

[Itt]

Itt wasn't sure what was more disconcerting. The fact that the man didn't respond right away to his apology and instead started to bring him back into the temple, or the fact he didn't clarify literally anything he was saying. Others he's come across at least made an attempt to help him understand. The other priest did. But this man didn't. Why?

Itt's growing confusion grew along with the number of wrinkles on his forehead due to his crinkled brow. For the first time today, his smile slipped away into a flat line. When the priest put his hand on his back, Itt even frowned. His usual hunch was corrected as his back started to arch away from his head, though the sloth consciously tried to stop the behavior, not wanting to appear disrespectful. The guy was giving him the willies, especially with that stare he gave him, and the markings all along his neck. How does that happen? How do you get markings like that?

Itt followed beside the stranger, but the warmth of his touch didn't do much to comfort the Kelvic. When they approached the center, the way Itt's face reflected back at him on the black tiled floor grabbed his attention, causing him to not realize the enormous black shard in the middle of the room until the priest stopped them both in front of it.

Itt's eyes rose as his ease fell, his hands grabbing one another in an anxious fidget.

Everyone was staring at him. Why were they staring at him? Even the rock in the center of the room appeared to be looking back at him, and its imposing height led to Itt picking at his filthy nails. People were acting weird here. Itt didn't like it. He didn't understand. What did this guy want from him?

Itt jolted out of his thoughts of confusion and nervousness when the priest spoke again, this time loud— much louder, at least according to Itt. There was that word Rhysol again. And Mizahar. But yet again, he didn't understand.

"Rhysol, Mizahar." He nodded, hunching over under the pressure of everyone's gaze, even though they had looked towards the ceiling instead. The rock's supposed stare was enough. He didn't know what the question was, and he didn't know what any of this was, but he'd say what this man wanted to say if it meant he could leave.

[Adriana Sparrow]

The revelers were clearly soaking up his impromptu sermon. Their devotion to Rhysol was absolute and unquestioning. The grasped for the painted God as if he was somehow in their reach, their shallow eyes full of wonder and love. But he knew only true devotion to Rhysol was within The Black Sun, where they were willing to do whatever it took to make Rhysol the God of Gods.

While the worshipers were understanding Krytiers words, the boy was clearly not. While he enjoyed the reaction from the rabble, he needed true and full answers with the boy. So he left his sermon, and turned to the small man once more.

"Tell me child do you have family?" Kelvics, he found, rarely had close family. If the parents were human they were usually too unsure of the strangeness of their child, if the parents were Kelvic, the animal nature was not to stand by for the whole of the child's life. Krytier would bet his life on the thought that this boy had been left to a degree by his family. This is where the seed would need to be planted. "Where are your parents?"

As he asked these questions he placed his body in front of Itt, standing close, but also blocking most of the worshipers view, and Itt's view of them as well. He bent his knees, so the two were looking straight eye to eye, and watched the boys face as he answered. He tried to use small words, one the child would understand if Common was not a fluent language for the animal, which Krytier guessed was not. He then put his hands on the boy's shoulders, enclosing them in a newly found space. He wanted Itt to feel, that despite being in a huge Temple, that they were instead alone in close quarters.

He tried to soften his gaze as well, look at the boy with a bit of pity or sorrow. His voice came out soft as well. He wanted to create a more comfortable atmosphere for the Kelvic to think deeply and remember the abandonment he most likely felt at the hands of someone close to him. He wanted to emotions to rise to the surface, he wanted to watch as the boy remembered his world crumble. "It's alright, son, we are all family here."

Code credit to Mauriel for original base code.

[Itt]

Itt's attention was primarily focused on the words the priest spoke and the way that his wide, brown eyes looked back at from the black crystal. The deer in the torchlight appearance wasn't a good look, especially when it was you looking from either end as both the torched and torch holder. But when he did notice to people again, they were gesturing and reaching towards the ceiling as if starving hands grasping within the thorns of a berry bush to grab the goods inside. While Itt thought those types of experiences were painful, both the hunger which he currently felt as well as the thorns that have often pricked his skin, these people seemed to enjoy it. No, adore it.

This place did not make him feel very good.

As he glanced over his shoulder towards the exit, he reminisced about the time when he and the priest were near the doors, close enough for Itt to feel the gentle breeze and the cooler air. By the time Itt figured that he could simply leave, since the man started to talk to the masses, said man had turned towards him and asked yet another question. This time he understood. The question itself reminded him of his time last season when he had met Caspian and he asked a similar question. Or the same question? Itt thought they were the same, anyway.

The way the stranger stood right in front of him and seemingly loomed over as he bent down to reach his eye level made Itt's mouth run dry. He tried to swallow the discomfort away. He nodded to the man, the movement so minuscule that if he had not been watching so carefully then he might have missed it. Itt paused in his nail picking so that he could think of his positioning in the world. If he was in the center of the city— and the sun- wait, the sun was at noon, he didn't know which way it was setting. Well, he came in from the- from the- ooooh, what's it called? Gah! He couldn't think of anything with this old man staring at him like that! What did he want him to say, their address?!

Itt, in his confusion and inner rambling pointed behind him with his thumb towards the door, hoping that such a simple gesture was enough to please him. It unironically was also where he wanted to go and wished to tell the priest but couldn't.

The Kelvic nearly jumped in his skin when Krytier put his hands on his shoulders. His skin immediately crawled into tiny fractals of discomfort, and the warmth from his hands, similar to before, felt like it was burning away his fatless skin. His shoulder's inevitably scrunching up to protect his neck, and he hunched more over the course of a few ticks in an involuntary attempt to go under and out of this trap. Not that he thought the man himself was a trap- nothing like that— well, maybe, but being grabbed and held in place wasn't something that he enjoyed. He liked being able to move freely and not being touched. No offense to this guy, but he was kind of violating both of those things. Right now. At this moment. Currently.

Despite the man's rather pleasant smile, Itt felt his stomach churn, which didn't help the pain he felt from hunger. He started to lose focus of his current situation, just thinking about Caspian and the pipe, and how Caspian had said his parents were in the same place as his own. He looked back at Krytier's unfaltering gaze, lost in thought and memory.

Were they all really family? Was he family with Caspian and Shiress?

[Adriana Sparrow]

He was a quiet one, and it was extremely frustrating that the boy would not answer his questions. Yet, as he was eye to eye with the Kelvic, he managed to read his emotions rather well. At first he thought maybe the boy really didn't know what the Chaon was saying, he was a Kelvic after all (probably) maybe he wasn't very accustomed to the Common tongue. He thought his questions were simple enough though.

But as he watched his face, he saw all his thoughts as if he were a book. At first he was clearly uncomfortable with Krytiers closeness and the Temple itself. That was understandable, and was the goal of the priest in general. He needed to break through to the child. Putting him in an uncomfortable position aided with this.

Itt may not have answered Krytiers questions about his family, but he saw that when it was mentioned his face changed from uncomfortable to thoughtful and sad. The small man tore his eyes away from the floor and to the Chaons face. Krytier stared right back, searching. The boy seemed to be looking through him, deep in thought. He was remembering something, most likely whatever abandonment or betrayal Krytier was aiming for. Perfect.

"That's right boy. Our God who created Ravok and watches over us all within it is our Father, our Savior. Whatever happened to your family outside of here does not matter anymore. What matters is your love for Rhysol, without it you are not family, but with it, we will never leave you."

He turned back to his sermon then, more a moment. Some of which had returned to their own personal praying, others continued to watch the pair and wait. He opened Itt back up to their gaze. "This young one does not yet know the joy Rhysol gives!" He exclaimed to them. "Will you show him how he can be welcomed here if he gives himself to our Savior?"

Near instantly the Temple parishioners began calling out to Itt. Their cries were all of a loving and soft tone and directed at both Itt and Rhysol above them;"Rhysol loves you!", "Join us!", "He is everything!".

The priest smiled at his crowd and then back down at the Kelvic. While he had removed his hands from the boy when he turned back to the others, now he placed one hand on the shoulder of the small man, placing himself just behind the boy, so he could have a full view of the people calling out and welcoming him.

Code credit to Mauriel for original base code.

[Itt]

Itt felt his very soul burn within the man's stare, like a piece of meat drying up in the sun. He felt something inside start to shrivel into hard wrinkles, making his chest tense. It was as if this man was able to reach inside of him with his eyes and yank out his courage like it was food stuck in the back of his throat. But if he was really that intimidated by this man, did he really have any courage at all?

The word father stuck out like a dandelion does among the open plains. It took a moment for Itt to puzzle the pieces together to get the bigger picture. Watches all, our father— it pointed to him saying that this Rhysol person was his dad. Itt looked up at the ceiling, squinting his eyes at the paintings and sculptures in Rhysol's likeness.

He didn't look a lot like his dad. At least, Itt didn't think it did. He couldn't remember the exact features of his father, but the statue didn't strike any familiarity, both in resemblance and in feeling, except the other day when someone was talking about fish to a whole crowd of people. Then again, he was standing pretty far away so he couldn't really see the presenter's face all that well. Either way, Itt severely doubted that this was his father. Sure, maybe a sibling of some sort, or family in another way, but his father didn't look like that.

Itt looked back at Krytier, his brows lined with skepticism and timidness. Love Rhysol? Never leave? Well, he supposed his real dad did leave him... And his mom. He missed his mom. He wondered where they were. Why they left him. Sure a tree wasn't a bad place to go, but why did he have to go to the tree? Did he have to go to the tree at all? Was he special? How come he's never seen this guy before if they were family? He's never met this man. How come he's never spoken to him? Is it considered leaving if you never showed up at all? Who was he?

Who is Rhysol?

The sermon was opened up again and Itt's eyes fell upon the people who's meaningless stares bore holes into him. The word 'give' rang in his head like a bell that strikes at noon, people chanting and beckoning. The shriveling feeling he had grew, crushing his chest and forcing him to hold his breath. What has happened to these people? They moved slowly, they spoke slowly, they looked at him slowly. They spoke, but it wasn't their words. It wasn't their voice. Who are these people? Were they even people? Itt swallowed as his brain throbbed. No, people didn't do this. He's seen people, he walks by people, he talks to people and these... these were not people.

Itt didn't know what they were, but he couldn't look at them any longer, so he turned his gaze towards himself in the reflection of the dark crystal-esque formation. He couldn't tell if only his reflection was shaking or if he too was vibrating underneath the man's hand, it no longer containing the power of heat, but the icey chill of death.

They wanted him to give himself to Rhysol. They wanted him to become one of them.

As he stared at the stone in front of him, Itt considered the fact that maybe the sculpture on the ceiling wasn't Rhysol at all. What if Rhysol isn't a person either? If he isn't a person then...

What is Rhysol?

[Adriana Sparrow]

Looking down at the small Kelvic Krytier could see his words having an effect on the boys mind. The man might not have spoken much throughout the encounter but the Chaon could see the chaos wrecking havoc in his mind, just under the surface. He may still be confused on who Rhysol is and how he has an effect and sense of control within the city, but that was fine. He would leave here with a less than finished puzzle on the God, but Krytier was sure he would be able to slowly piece it together on it own.

His hand still on the boys shoulder the priest began directing him away from the black shard that dominated the Temple. It was interesting to watch the pull the animal hard toward the shard, it seemed to be something that some felt drawn to, while other ignored its very presence. Krytier, on one hand, felt the pull of the shard from anywhere in the city, his gnosis mark especially aching when he was nearby. He wondered what the boy felt, as he stared into the blackness of the shard before him.

But for now he began pulling the boy towards the Temples entrance. He was sure the child would want out of the building as quickly as possible and so couldn't imagine him resisting the pull. He would walk Itt close enough to taste the air from outside, see the sunbeams as they attempted to force their way in to the home of the God of Gods. But he would not let him leave, not just yet. It was imperative that he speak once more to the boy.

He stopped him just short of the large iron doors that stood open this time of day, welcoming one and all into the Temple of worship. He guards at the entrance stood still and ready, but they would not be needed here. He looked Itt in the eyes for a final time.

"Everyone in life will eventually leave you. It is the way the world works. It is sad, but I promise there is hope." He began, making his voice soft and forcing his eyes to match. He leaned in then, closer to Itt, where he then spoke in his ear, quickly and with purpose.

"Rhysol will never leave you. Give yourself to to him, see the way of the world and only He can save you from its reality." A simple couple of sentences, but then when the Chaon leaned back to admire his work, he saw the chaos in the Kelvics eyes. He knew the animal would not soon forget their meeting, and therefore not soon forget Rhysol.

Then he left he boy go. If the Kelvic chose to stay or free himself to the city of Ravok, the choice was his, he was no longer being held within the Temple. The Chaon smiled genuinely at him, his arms open and inviting, hoping to send the message that Itt was always welcome here in the Temple of Rhysol.

"He watches over us all."

Code credit to Mauriel for original base code.

[Itt]

Itt tried to comprehend the unfathomable, all possibilities running through his head— a sickness, a disease, a personality, the crystal itself, but nothing felt right, nothing at all even though Itt was positive it was the dark stone. Every time he looked at it he felt something being yanked out of him, dread sweat its way to the surface of his skin, panic bubbled in his starving stomach, and horror welled in his eyes.

This wasn't good, no, this can't be good, no, no, no, no. Something was wrong here, even the fuzz on his neck knew. His feet broke from the chains that held him down, stepping away from the stone edifice.

He had to get out of here. He can't stay here. He needed to get out. Get out, get out, get out!

When the alien, the disease spreader, the monster maker even started to hint towards turning around, Itt swiveled on his heels and walked towards the door, almost guiding the man rather than the other way around. He felt as if his skin was dying, turning numb under his touch, Itt's shoulder visibly slumping more than the other. He tried to steer away from the man by walking to the side, but he followed, like a leech sucking him dry of his very life.

Itt became oddly aware of the decay of his body since he had arrived at Ravok, the shrinking of his stomach, the withering of his muscles, the dwindling of his stature. He was sick, he was diseased, he was going to be one of them! He was infected with Rhysol! He didn't see it before but now it was too late, he was going to not be a person anymore!

Desperate for the sun, for the earth, for the sky's vitality, Itt almost started running towards the wide-open doors, but the draw of his already established illness leashed him to the man's hand, bound him to his inevitable creator. His teeth clenched tighter than Itt ever had before, feeling as though his teeth would shatter under the pressure. His eyes were red and filled with water, pooling in the corners of his squinted vision. He could once again smell the air of the city's people, real people, the air he breathed, the sky he looked at, the wind that filled his lungs. He made a lunge for it, but the intangible connection of loneliness and terror bonded him to the man- no, the non-man.

"No-" He whimpered, the sound barely leaving his clenched throat. He stared longingly at the beams of light that shone brightly on the outside. In a moment of sorrow, his heart pained, knowing without reason that he would never reach its warm rays again. He was going to be stuck here forever.

An esoteric sensation on Itt's chin pulled his face towards Krytier, like a calloused yet ethereal hand bringing his face forward. His words echoed in his mind. Directly in his mind. He was inside his head, his words were his thoughts, and his thoughts were the words that slipped from the stranger's tongue.

A heavy stone hit the pit of his stomach, and Itt visibly lurched with the sudden urge to puke. He trembled like a blade of grass in a heavy storm, tears willingly claiming his bright red cheeks. "No, no, no, no, no," Itt tried to inhale through his nose but got a throat full of mucus instead.

Rhysol won't leave him— it won't leave him, it won't leave him, he's going to be them forever.

Itt pulled away from the man's entrancing stare with a quick yank of his head and clamping his eyes closed. He hadn't realized he was staring at the death maker himself until he felt the bond keeping him there drop and he started to run.

He ran into the light, into the air, stumbling and coughing from the freshness that scalded his throat and lungs. The day scorched his veiny skin, Itt beginning to heave heavy hot breaths.

This was it, this was the end. He was plagued. He was dead. He was them. Everything is gone. He should have never come here.

He was Rhysol's disease now.

(Continued...)