Simple Gifts [Closed] - Part 2

[laurenande]

WHO: Galadriel, Thranduil, Solas, Myrobalan, Merrill, Kitty, Lakshmi, Teren, Marcoulf, Jang, Obi-Wan, and Anders
WHAT: A trip to a perfectly normal Chantry in the middle of nowhere.
WHEN: Current.
WHERE: The Island of Alamar, Ferelden.
NOTES: Current warnings, to be updated: Mild Gore

The Abbey on the White Cliff

Around noon on the fourth day, Brigette and the other sisters gather up the people of the Abbey. Everyone who can walk, who can stand, is urged to join them in the auditorium--the doors at the end of the main hall are thrown open and the people welcomed in. Today Reverend Mother Alvar will be enacting her final miracle and, in the grand tradition of this Abbey, the people are invited to behold and take joy in the sight of it. They are encouraged to be there for the end of the previous Reverend Mother's life, just as they are encouraged to welcome the new Reverend Mother, Luca, as she assumes her new position.

The auditorium is a wide, stepped chamber that drops downward into an open forum and stage. The roof is high and domed and was once constructed of the same grey stone as everything else on the island. It was caved in at some point, destroyed by a falling tree, but it has been patched over with wood and canvas. The extensive scaffolding speaks volumes of how much effort has gone into restoring this room, but all of it stands still and empty in preparation for the ceremony.

Above the center of the stage, in the very middle of the room, visible from all angles, there is a great green tear in the veil--a massive rift cleaves the room in two. It churns sluggishly, ebbing and twisting, muted under the weight of whatever pall hangs across this Abbey. Around the rift there is a golden arch--the wood is carved into flames and swords and papered over in hammered gold leaf. Behind the rift there is a triptych depicting scenes from the Chant and each is lovingly painted and framed in gold.

The room is filled with chaos, but not of the sort one would expect in the shadow of a rift. The people who meander in, the pilgrims who take up the seats near to the stage at the base of the steps, all of them are smiling, all of them are happy, some are weeping tears of joy or remorse, but all of them are entirely unsurprised by the rift's presence. They take no issue lingering near it. Praise is heaped upon the carpenters for their diligence in finishing the arch, songs are sung softly as everyone gathers, and eventually the room is prompted to recite from the Chant as Alvar comes to the center of the stage. She is frail and those who spoke with her earlier will see how she has aged--twenty years in a day, it seems--and she leans heavily on Luca until she moves apart to stand on her own.

Here lies the abyss, the well of all souls.
From these emerald waters doth life begin anew.
Come to me, child, and I shall embrace you.
In my arms lies Eternity.

When she speaks the Chant, for a moment, her voice sounds youthful again--no older than Luca's--but it is fleeting and before the end she is breathless and thin once more.

OOC:

Hey everyone, this is part 2! I will be posting an initial thread for this scene that will be a free for all, but feel free to start a thread beneath the Ceremony Header if you want. Below I will be reposting the updated areas and people links, same as the previous post.

New Top-levels are welcomed, as always, but if you have questions please hit me up.

This section will contain the rest of this plot, unless we skyrocket to too many tags for me to keep them straight.

Comments

[chainlightning]

"What?!"

Louder, this time, and Merrill is about to shove past Marcoulf and Anders both when she realizes she has no idea how to get to the basement. She's nearly vibrating, though.

"I need to go to her- please, I have to."

Apparently Anders is the latest in stuffed animals, because Merrill has grabbed his hand unthinkingly, squeezing.

[esquive]

He makes a gesture with his spare hand that's likely meant to be moderating, but is all sharpness - lopsided and keyed up and as much to dismiss the confused sounds from the pilgrims in the rest of the corridor as it is could possibly be about quieting Merrill.

"She was put there. By someone. And when I left the cellar and came to look for help, someone struck me as I was talking with Sister Luca and the Revered Mother."

[chainlightning]

Moderating it is, despite the sharpness; Merrill sighs but forces herself to calm down, to shove her emotions away for the moment. It doesn't make her grip Anders' hand any less tightly, but at least she's not shouting.

"Did you see who it was? Are you okay?"

It's whispered now, still slightly frantic; it's new energy now, concern for Marcoulf's well-being.

[esquive]

"No," he snaps, dog bite sharp. It could be an answer to either question, but he doesn't linger on clarifying for her.

"Someone should fetch Galadriel and someone else should make ready to treat her. She had a wound. And-- and someone should discuss this with the Provost and with Warden von Skraedder. These people should be away from here."

He doesn't take to this easily - too many questions, not enough clear direction has his nerves all frayed. The sounds from the wounded and terrified in the hall are frenetic and misery inducing. He releases Anders's arm, a forced kind of gentleness.