[House of Broken Mirrors] Truthseekers [Vizyous]

[Hadrian]

37th Winter, 510 A.V. continued from here Upon leaving the Withering Rose, Hadrian had kept two things in mind: a response to Vizyous' questions and the House of Broken Mirrors. He could give a pat answer, but he decided eventually that he would wait to answer until after they got out of the House. From what he understood of the place, his experience might change his response, might add new layers of understanding to it. If he had learned anything from his adventures and studies during his brief stay in Alvadas, it was that Ionu used lies to tell the truth. Illusions could cast a new light on reality, or become reality themselves. But he would be meditating on the nature of illusion for years to come, he was sure. In the meantime, his thoughts came back to order and his feet stopped. He had come to a windowless building of brown stone whose sign was not comforting. He saw no sign of Vizyous yet, but knew the Symenestra would be as good as his word, arriving quickly. He began to wonder if there might be some truth that blood-bond theory, but this experience might shed some light upon that too. Prudently, he began to concentrate upon his djed, Fluxing more to his core, hoping to increase the speed of his metabolism, filtering the alcohol from his blood as quickly as possible. They might need quick thinking inside. His hands grew suddenly cold, as if the djed were also his warmth, and he blew hot breath into them and chafed them against each other, waiting only on Vizyous to enter the mysterious building.

[Vizyous Aconitum]

Vizyous walked along the cobblestone with his eyes looking ahead of him, searching for the House and Hadrian. His backpack was slung over one shoulder, containing a small amount of meat lest he get hungry and start craving something more appetizing than the wine and fruit he'd had that day. A slight frown was on the Symenestra's lips, his mind on the fact that both encounters with the human had led him to lose face and control of his emotions. After years of learning to carefully hold facades and hide emotion to persuade others as he pleased, Vizyous was completely confused about the way he'd acted at the Withering Rose. It wasn't only the question he'd asked the human that bothered him, but more the protectiveness and sincere concern he'd felt. The building made of dark brown stone with not a window on it wasn't hard to miss, his vision cutting through the darkness with ease and revealing that Hadrian had made it there before him. He approached with as calm a mind as he could have considering the thought's he'd been having and what they were about to do. The human had just been warming his hands as he reached him, seeming mildly distracted. "Sorry if you've been waiting long," He apologized, eyes warily roaming to the plaque on the door that was telling them to turn back, "Well..." Vizyous trailed off, "...after you." He finally said, a playful grin appearing for just a moment before it disappeared, "Just kidding, I'll go first." The door looked harmless enough, but behind it was a crazy place, perhaps more than Vizyous had bargained for when he'd come to Alvadas. The door was quiet as he slowly opened it a crack, then glanced back to see that Hadrian was following him. His attention turned back to the inside of the House, the door now fully open and exposing it's silent interior. When he took a bold step onto the scuffed and worn wooden floor, there was no sound of a footstep, no shuffle of clothing, only the noises of his breathing. It took a moment for Vizyous to realize that it wasn't his enhanced vision in the darkness that was allowing him to see clearly the many mirrors lining what looked to be a straight path down what he guessed was the entrance hallway. Light was shining from each corner, or at least what appeared to be the corners, of the room, illuminating the hallway enough that it wouldn't be but a slight burden for Hadrian to see. The Symenestra stepped further into the mirror-lined hallway, but only enough to let his companion in, not wanting to get too far away from Hadrian. The mirrors were set flush against each other along the walls, catching his attention as they mimicked his movement. Well, at least they weren't showing anything scary yet.

[Hadrian]

Hadrian turned to smile at Vizyous' approach, though there was always something a bit amused about his smiles. They might have come off as smug or something, and perhaps they were in part, but mostly his face betrayed him, either looking creepy or cruel without any impulses from what he was actually thinking. "Not long," he assured the Symenestra, then rolled his eyes with good humor at the quips. He followed Vizyous in on his heels, and as soon as the door closed, he reached out to the distracted man and took his pale, clawed hand. He remembered a mirror maze constructed by a band of circus folk that had not been nearly as seamless as this place, but it had been easy to get lost, separated, and otherwise in trouble. He did not want that to happen again. "What are we looking for again?" he asked, mostly just to talk. He rarely forgot anything; sometimes he misplaced a memory, but they never disappeared into thin air.

[Vizyous Aconitum]

His glazed over eyes which were staring into the reflection that in turn stared back at him blinked when Hadrian took his hand. "Oh, right." Vizyous reminded himself, "Looking for answers." It was a thoughtless response that echoed as if he had shouted into an empty space. He looked towards Hadrian, then the hallway they inevitably had to walk down. It seemed to be a straight shot, but with as many mirrors as there were, Vizyous felt he may be getting tricked.

However, there was only one way to find out. Taking the lead, the Symenestra walked further into the House, unfaltering steps not once making a sound. It wasn't comforting at all to be able to walk so silently, and made Vizyous wonder if maybe others were in the House also. It took only a few long strides until they'd uneventfully reached the end of the hallway and a simple choice needed to be made.

"Left or right?" He asked Hadrian, a loud and shrill screech suddenly filling the House. It sounded neither masculine or feminine, lasting only a moment but it's echo lasting several more as if being held in by the mirrors. Needless to say, Vizyous had jumped and tightened his hold of Hadrian's hand in surprise.

[Hadrian]

Vizyous took the lead, which seemed appropriate given that they were here on his errand. Hadrian was merely there to help and, hopefully, to survive. He wasn't sure what made this place any different from whatever other location within the City of Illusion one might name. Everything except the Sanity Center shifted even as one watched them, and he even wondered if the Sanity Center was truly grounded in the everyday, exterior reality or if that was just another layer of illusion. Vizyous' answer was not an answer, but Hadrian didn't trouble him to elaborate. Sometimes he didn't quite understand his own motives. He considered the question, left or right, when the screech sounded and Vizyous reacted with something like fear. Hadrian's spine stiffened, but he didn't react quite so obviously. "Left," he said quietly, his own footsteps quiet if not silent on the floor.

[Vizyous Aconitum]

Vizyous tried to consider first where the screech had come from, left or right, but couldn't track it and took Hadrian's direction instead. His hand loosened up it's hold of the human's, and after an embarrassed apology the Symenestra headed towards the left doorway.

It was impossible to tell exactly what the room held aside from body-length mirrors lining not only the walls and ceiling but scattered across the floor, which reflected more mirrors. It appeared to be more easy to get lost in than in the Maze of No Return. Vizyous continued further through the door way, mindful not to pull Hadrian who was following behind him. Come on, the Symenestra thought, glaring into the glass surface of the ceiling, give me your best.

Only a breath later, the light glowing in each far corner of the room dimmed, darkening the room before another screech erupted throughout the House. Vizyous was a bit more mentally prepared for it this time, only stiffening a bit at the sound even though it irked him. A shadow caught his attention in a mirror ahead of him, but Vizyous wasn't able to fully see it's outline or details before it darted away, passing quickly throughout numerous distant mirrors.

He gave a slightly apologetic glance at Hadrian, "Try and keep up." Vizyous then began a process of trial and error, attempting to navigate paths between the mirrors as best he could, free arm in front of him to keep from running face first into a solid glass. His pace was hurried but his mind worked carefully to try and picture how far he'd traveled from the doorway. Hadrian may have seen their travel as pointless-- it was a ridiculously indirect and confusing route that they had taken, but neither of them knew their end destination or even if this room led to any other place.

The Symenestra wasn't only following instinct, though; the shadow was leading him. Hadrian must have seen it too, right? The more he pursued it, the more defined it became and it's pace slowed. Vizyous was sure it was the shadow of a woman that drifted across the glass, obscuring any outside reflection. What Hadrian saw may have been different, though, the House showing only what it, in it's own twisted logic, thought was best for the viewer to see. Finally their chase came to an end, although it wasn't a pleasant end in the least.

The two had ended up clear on the opposite side of the room, far away from the door and entirely too close to what had been running from them. The maze of mirrors was behind them, Hadrian and Vizyous having found an area in the north-east corner of the room that was devoid of any mirrors but one. It stretched from floor to ceiling, and Vizyous felt the intense stare of another on him. He instinctively thought of glancing at Hadrian, expecting to see the human's eyes on him, however before he could do so, the mirror ahead of them came to life.

The Symenestra approached the mirror, hand letting go of Hadrian's without hesitation although Vizyous didn't realize it. Darkness was growing within the glass, flowing beneath it until it was as dark as the pit that he'd discovered on the other side of the wall when first exploring Alvadas. Nothingness? It was both tempting and terrifying at once. Vizyous took only a few steps forward before halting, not approaching the intimidating thing any further.

A pain worthy of a surprised outcry began pulsing throughout his right wrist, his veins feeling as if they were being tugged. Vizyous tore his eyes from the darkness, temporarily forgetting about the mirror and focusing completely on what had caused his wrist such severe pain. The Symenestra pulled his pulsing arm towards him without thought at the first sight of red, not realizing that although it was the red of blood, blood hadn't been spilled.

Breaking through the surface of his skin was a glass chain, it's exterior unbreakable and it's interior hollow, filled with blood that innocently flowed with each slight movement it made. When Vizyous realized he had a chain literally bursting from his wrist, he could only trail the destination of it with wide eyes that only widened further when he found Hadrian in the same situation and pain. The chain was pulled taut between them, an angry, deep red current of their mingling blood flowing fiercely throughout it. The Symenestra had traveled too far, and quickly understanding his mistake even though he was in shock from feeling as if his veins were being torn out, he took long steps towards the human, relieving the tension on the chain. His relieved breaths were coming too fast for any words to be said, the blood within calming into a slower, lighter flow.
OOCPlease feel free to take the lead when and if you'd like! Also, look up Viratas's gnosis mark if you're curious about the chain. Sorry about the lengthy post.

[Hadrian]

Though Vizyous led the way, Hadrian held his hand and followed, looking about them with his Auristic vision in case it would show any cracks in the illusions that would surely come since illusions were omnipresent in Alvadas, and this was supposedly a node of great power and activity even in the City of Illusions. But while Vizyous looked forward to a flickering shadow, Hadrian caught a movement low to the ground behind them, and kept looking back. Gradually, it seemed to him that there was a cat following them, flitting across one mirror and appearing in another, stalking them through the strangely lit space. This quickened something within him, and he had no trouble keeping up with Vizyous between his height advantage and his urgency. When Vizyous stopped, Hadrian nearly toppled over, but righted himself to see the blood start pouring out of his wrist, as well as a glassy chain, perhaps some reminiscence of Silakrov. Then Hadrian heard a feline battle cry and turned just in time to see the phantom cat leap at him, find purchase with needlepoint claws, and sink its teeth into his neck. While a rational voice in his mind, dry, cold, and dusty, suggested this was an illusion, the pain did not feel illusory. He tried to pry the cat away, but it tore and tore at the base of his neck. And then it was gone, dropped to silent feet and hidden among the mirrors perhaps, or disappeared outright. His hands came up to staunch the flow of blood from his neck only to find a chain. Hadrian froze, and when he realized what it was, the pull began, dragging him toward Vizyous' wrist. He screamed.

OOCI like long posts. And short posts. Don't matter. Fun times!

[Vizyous Aconitum]

The scream that echoed throughout the House this time was distinctly masculine and full of agony. Vizyous hurried towards Hadrian, seeing that his companion had his hands clutched to his neck as if he was bleeding from a mortal wound. The excruciating tug of the chain and the bewildering fact that it was bursting from his neck in the first place had put panic into the human's eyes, but there were scratches marking skin near his neck. Had something attacked him while he'd been entranced by the mirror?

Vizyous reached Hadrian on unsteady legs, right arm limply at his side out of delicacy and caution. The chain between them dangled idly along their skin, only long enough to let them be just outside of arms length of each other. He stood in front of the man with his left hand raised hesitantly, hovering over one Hadrian's right bicep. He didn't want to touch him and cause any further pain, but seeing him in that state made the Symenestra feel he had to do something besides spectate.

"Chain... bond," He managed to say in between harsh breaths, feeling the world begin to spin and tip just slightly, "Your wound... bleeding?" Vizyous struggled to keep his gaze focused on Hadrian and the chain bursting from his neck-- his wrist had hurt unimaginably horrible, his companion's neck must have been at least twice as bad. Even the dangling of the chain caused his arm to pulse from the slight pull on his veins, and although Vizyous didn't want to make the human undergo any more stress, his left hand finally clutched against Hadrian in an effort to steady himself. "Pain, sorry..."

[Hadrian]

When Vizyous approached, the chain at least went slack, lessening the pain from blinding to merely excruciating. It was enough for him to try to force some control over his breathing, bringing himself under control. What he wouldn't give just then for gnosis from Gnora, who could distance him completely from the pain and, possibly, the illusions that bore it. But the best he could do on his own was utilize his meditation practice to remind himself that it was illusion, the same as the desert on the Azure Lady. "This one..." he gasped, "seems obvious. Whether we like it or not, there's a bond between us. Blood... bond. Come closer... Put your hand on my neck. Give it... what it wants. Maybe it will... let us go. If we learned... its lesson..." He didn't know how the illusions operated, per se, but if Ionu was behind all this, he imagined there was some sort of transformative process one was meant to undergo here. If they acknowledged the blood-bond that had been formed within Its city, perhaps the pain would disappear.

[Vizyous Aconitum]

The moment that Hadrian's words came out, the Symenestra was struggling to make sense of them in his clouded mind, left hand inching from the human's shoulder towards his neck. Just the aggravated skin surrounding the chain was enough to make Vizyous flinch at the thought of laying a hand on the wound, but after a blurry moment of hesitation, he gently placed his palm against his neck.

The heat of the glass burned his palm for only a second before it rapidly cooled, making the scorch seem just another illusion. The pounding, intense pain inside and outside his wrist lessened until it disappeared, the skin surrounding the chain no longer itching or burning. Vizyous couldn't help but close his eyes and let out a deep sigh as the mind-numbing pain left him, leaving him to regain his balance and recover from feeling faint.

When he opened his eyes, the world no longer spun nor was he struggling to stand. His hand still rested on the chain protruding from Hadrian's neck, which was slack even more from his close proximity. The channel of it's hollow interior carried a light, thin flow of blood between them, and although it dangled further below them, it's weight had lifted so much it was barely tugging on either of them. Hopefully it would stay that way as long as they didn't intend on traveling too far from one another.

"Your amazing," Vizyous let out in one breath, grateful for Hadrian's quick thinking even though it most likely wouldn't have been needed if they hadn't entered the House together, "my pain is gone. How's your neck?" The Symenestra slowly moved his hand off of his neck to the others shoulder, still a bit insecure about his balance. Although he didn't ask about them, his eyes clearly were studying the scratches that, illusion or not, were vibrantly red around Hadrian's neck and shoulders.