genessia | [ OPEN | Action & Video ] A wise man once said nothing.

Entry tags:

[ OPEN | Action & Video ] A wise man once said nothing.

xxxxx
xxxxx[ACTION]

Kalenedral did not sleep. He could, certainly. But he would not. Not ever.

And so, as he jerked awake on Genessia, he felt a moment of pure, unadulterated panic that he had been asleep. For a split second, every cell in his corpse thrummed with power very like an adrenal response. In that moment, his scarred psyche was absolutely certain that a superior officer was looming in the room, disapproving, ready to feed him to the tables where they crafted abominations out of those who had failed the Scourge in any way minor or major.

Breathing was a subconscious action, just like his heart beating, and both of these things caught and paused for a moment---

But this was not Acherus. This was not Naxxramas. This was not Icecrown Citadel, and there were no other Scourge monsters in the vast cavern but... himself.

In total, the disorientation lasted for all of a few seconds. Un-life in the Scourge armies had etched into each and every Death Knight that to flinch, to limp, to show any weakness at all was to give up existence itself. And so, even though he had been free of the Scourge for years, Kalenedral would do none of those things.

He was better than that.

The Knight scooped the box off his breastplate and then climbed to his metal-shod feet, his boots sinking briefly into the cold water that surrounded the strange cot he'd woken up in. A flash of frost magic gave him a thick, icy platform to step up onto, and he did. The less restricted his movements, the better.

Kalenedral walked for the shore, ice growing in front of his feet and melting away behind him. Only once he was on solid ground did he summon Limbface to his side with a reflexive gesture and a flare of the unholy runes etched into his bones. The ghoul clawed his way up from the ground, straight out of the shadow realm, and stood swaying and blinking beside the Knight for a moment.

"It seems," the Knight mused aloud to his gruesome servant, even as he turned in place to survey the surroundings properly, "we have a situation."

A situation, indeed...

xxxxx[VIDEO]

[It's not Kalenedral at all who is peering intently into the camera, but Limbface. The rotting ghoul is disconcertingly close to the phone, so that his decayed face takes up the entire field of vision.]

Shiny. E like!

xxxxx[A voice from off-camera sighs, then speaks up. The voice is deep, and quiet, and it has a strange... hollow, echoing quality overlaying it.]

xxxxxI believe it may be broadcasting.

[The ghoul blinks his dead eyes at whoever it is -- somewhere behind the device -- and then peers intently at the phone camera again. Okay, but... and this is a very grave matter indeed...]

...Still shiny.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[The necromancer just couldn't resist. He couldn't. Limby looked more like a minion than a risen, yet the grotesque creature was speaking with some intelligence.]

Hello friend, I take it you are new to Genessia? [Might as well be polite, even to undead. Look Limby, a living shiny! He's glowing!]

Genn es seeaah?

[No, that's not quite right.]

Gennnessssea ah?

[Nope, keep going, Limbface.]

Genessia!

[Hooray!]

Raugh! ...Huat that?

Edited 2017-02-01 10:37 (UTC)

[Trahearne put a hand to his mouth to hide a slight smile, that might look rude. Really it was just endearing. Yeah, Limbface was pretty horrifying looking... to someone that wasn't used to looking at things like that.]

It's where you are, I imagine you arrived quite recently.

You have someone with you? [He'd heard that other voice.]

[The informational hologram can be heard starting up... a ways away from the broadcasting phone. Indeed, Limbface isn't alone!]

Is orrld? Is city?

[As for Trahearne's question, Limbface bobs his head helpfully, thick grey hair swaying with the motion where it sticks out of the sides of his head, and even more where it's pulled into a topknot. Despite the ghoul's rotting appearance, his hair isn't matted together. In fact, all that decay aside, the ghoul looks... remarkably clean?]

Ann huith ahster!

[Funny thing, about having no lips...]

Edited 2017-02-01 10:49 (UTC)

The world as a whole is name Genessia, as is the main city, the one you should be in right now. [Trahearne was dying to ask the ghoul questions about how the hell he worked. But first, it was confused and needed help.]

Ann? An- Am, hm. Am with Aster? Master? Ah, I see. Do you have a name?

[A valid question considering there were few undead with masters that remembered a name even if they had one.]

Linnthace!

[Yep, stiiiill no lips.]

Linn!

[The ghoul helpfully waggles a rotting arm in front of the screen.]

Thace!

[And smacks himself in the face with it. HE'S TRYING.]

[Trahearne is pretty sure this is exactly what would happen if he could give his own minions sentience. A lot of flailing and garbled speech. Thankfully, he could never do that. It was somewhat comforting that Limbface had physical limitations to his speech.

It was much preferable to the crystal clear hate in a risen's voice.]

Linn...Face? [He too, was trying. Arm and face? Linn didn't sound like arm- oh.]

Limbface!

Yeaurgh!

[That's the sound of an enthusiastic, pleased ghoul!]

You... right!

[How about that? Trahearne gets the prize!]

[...Just as soon as Limby steals one.]

[At least Limbface was well meaning, that's what really matters.]

It's a pleasure to meet you Limbface. [Trahearne had long since accepted how surreal this place would be and was kinda okay being this nice to dead things. Whatever. He'd seen weirder.]

I am Trahearne. Might I ask who your master is? [A powerful necromancer or something similar, surely.]

Is ahster!

[Super helpful, Limbface. Suuuper duper.]

[Trahearne half expected something like that. Oh well, Limbface alone was noticeable, it wouldn't be too hard to track the ghoul and his owner down at some point.]

I see. [There was a lot to ask but, hm, maybe he shouldn't ask prying questions of a minion. He might share information his master wouldn't appreciate being shared.]

Do you happen to know how old you are, Limbface? [Was it a spirit bound to an undead?]

Uhhh...

[Limbface looks like he's counting on his huge, thick claws.]

...Lots?

[He sounds really hopeful that that's a good answer.]

[In the background, the hologram has run through its spiel and is halfway through a repeat. Whoever this unseen master is, they're thorough.]

[Trahearne could respect the thoroughness of Limbface's master. Why not right? It's always better to be informed. Trahearne had sat through a repeat, mostly because he was too dazed to understand it the first time.]

Lots is a good number. [...There was no point being mean to the ghoul, he was doing his best.]

Are there more like you with you master?

Like ee?

[Somehow, the ghoul manages to look confused. There isn't much that moves on the creature's rotting face, but it's there in the tilt of his head and the way he blinks his dull, slightly-glowing eyes at the camera.]

[Thankfully, one can't see the ghoul's eyes themselves so much as that glow. They're probably awfully disgusting, set deep back into those bulging sockets.]

Arrhy uh the Dead... uut... not nou.

[Sometimes it was best to not see things like eyes. Like when they're rotten and diseased looking. Mercifully, none of Trahearne's minions ever had eyes.]

Arrhy...? [Yeah he didn't get that one.] ...of the Dead. Not now though, I see. So you're around all of the time?

[Limbface definitely has them, and no, no one wants to get a good look at them.]

Yeaugh!

[The ghoul bobs his head in another enthusiastic 'yes'. He's lost, sometimes -- broken, or exploded in battle -- or simply fading away when his master loses the necessary focus from distance or overwhelming injury or both, but he always comes back again!]

...You certainly have a lot of questions for my servant.

[Yep, that second voice is back again, still off-camera. Distorted, strange... otherworldly and hollow, over the top of an otherwise smooth baritone.]

[Busted! It was hard to tell if the other voice was annoyed or anything at all. The distortion made it sound like it belonged to a ghost.]

I wished to greet you both, my apologies. I have a professional interest in the sentient undead. [To simplify matters greatly.]

[It didn't help matters on getting a read on him that the voice under all that distortion was rather... flat.]

And what manner of professional interest is that?

[A gauntlet-encased hand takes the phone from the ghoul, and aims the camera accordingly. Here's the ghoul's mysterious master. He, too, has eyes. But his aren't rotting. Seemingly on fire, or perhaps replaced entirely by blue-blue-green unholy flame, but not... rotting.]

[In fact, the only visual sign that he, too, is a corpse -- for the uninitiated, at least -- is the strange pallor to his skin. Said visible skin is immaculate, pristine, but it's still a bit... off. The light cast from the man's eyes floods the sharp planes of his face in pale, blue-blue-green light, but it's as though... there isn't quite enough color beneath to fight back against being bleached out.]

[It's subtle, very subtle. But to someone actively looking for the signs, they're there. Limbface's master is undead. And... at least as far as that face goes, he's far better preserved than most necromancers could dream of.]

Edited 2017-02-01 22:22 (UTC)

[For some reason Trahearne doesn't have much of a problem noticing that Kalenedral is also undead. Another intelligent undead and one able to summon and command a ghoul that seemed able to think for itself. Which also made Limbface's master potentially quite dangerous. Trahearne hoped that he hadn't offended him.]

I study necromancy, as well my world has a high number of semi-sentiant undead. I strive to study the parallels between worlds, I mean no harm or disrespect to either of you. [He hoped honesty would be best here. Kalenedral was fascinating to the necromancer but he wasn't going to say that outright.]

No harm done, no disrespect taken.

[The wording is a little... stiff, because Kalenedral still isn't a pro at this whole 'talking' thing. Of course, Trahearne won't know that.]

I know that your name is Trahearne, and you wished to know mine. It is Kalenedral.

That's good to know. Thank you, Kalenedral. [The stiffness of the knight's speech didn't bother him, he was still far easier to understand than Limbface.]

If you do not object to sharing, may I know where you were before arriving in Genessia?

[Yet another Earth, maybe? The sheer amount of "Earths" was boggling.]

[Kalenedral opens his mouth, slightly, perhaps to reflexively give the name of a town. Or, more likely, the name of a battlefield, or of some uninhabited area rich with ore.]

[He shuts it in silence for a moment, fiery eyes unblinking, as recent information changes his answer. It's already been processed intellectually, of course, but it needs more than two minutes to fully sink in. Certainly to the level where his first instinct is to give his home world as a designation.]

...Azeroth.

[Trahearne really should've thought of that, Kalenedral was brand new to the place. Oops.]

That's one I haven't heard of before. Still, welcome.

So... I am the first of my kind here?

[His kind being Death Knight, not elf. Kalenedral has never given a single shit about his former race, at least not within the span of his current memory. Death is, after all, the great equalizer.]

You are the first from Azeroth that I know of. [Trahearne didn't watch the comm much, too busy with his research and everything else.]

As for race and condition, I'm again unsure. I've met other undead, some 'real' and some not. [When it came to the npc undead, by met he meant 'punched in a panic'.]

Hm.

[Kalenedral hasn't decided what this all means, yet. Because that's how he handles strange situations, by finding a meaning to it. It may only be his own meaning, but he's going to find one.]

If I've been sent here as some sort of emissary, I wish I could remember being given the task...

[That's a solid enough approach as any. Trahearne has taken to studying the situation instead, Kalenedral being a prime target for more study.]

No one has been given a task, as far as any of us know. I know I wasn't, I was snatched from midair, quite literally. The exact purpose to why any of us are here is yet unknown.

[Kalenedral frowns, just a little. His is not a face that expresses very much.]

If we cannot glean the purpose, it hardly means there is not one present.

[This must be more amnesia, he's certain the Highlord would have briefed him before he'd be flung into a different world. The fact that there are other worlds isn't breaking his brain at all, at least. Not with Draenor to take into consideration, and to a lesser degree the Shadow Realm.]

That's true. Though I feel the purpose we find here is mostly self driven. I've found myself my a task, not one that was assigned to me.

[Well at least Trahearne knew now that the guy would actually emote if needed. Somewhat. A tiny bit.]

My purpose has always been the same, no matter my location.

[At least, since Darion Mograine regained his will and thus also wrenched his fellow Knights free at Light's Hope Chapel.]

I need only consider how to best fulfill it in this new circumstance.

Ah, what is that purpose, if I might ask?

[That shouldn't be too rude to ask right?]

I serve my Highlord, Darion Mograine. My purpose is to obey him in all matters, to protect my fellow brothers and sisters of the Ebon Blade, and to further the freedoms of the Knights of the Ebon Blade across all species and their homelands.

[Well, at least he has conviction.]

[Directed correctly, conviction is a good thing to have. There seems to be nothing unsavory about his purpose. Knights were hardly exclusive to the Nightmare Court.]

That's admirable. I don't know if there are any other knights of your order here, I think not. Freedom is easy enough here as long as there's no trouble. It does make it easier for others of odd races and conditions to have someone come before them. I am still somewhat of an oddity.

It sounds as though there are already possibilities, then. Good.

[Kalenedral is very possibly an emissary, as he'd wondered. Or a scout, sent to suss out whether this odd world would be a better home than Azeroth for his fellow displaced Knights. Few had, after all, been able to -- or wanted to -- rejoin the lives that they'd held before. And even for those that had foolishly attempted to go back to how things had been before their deaths, they would 'outlive' anyone who'd cared for them, in time.]

[As Darion Mograine himself had said at Light's Hope Chapel, their kind had no place in that world. The new order of Death Knights had helped to put a stop to their former master, as sworn, but now...]

[Of course, while these thoughts are spinning along in Kalenedral's head, the newcomer is staring a bit blankly off into space, past the phone. Though it may be difficult to tell as such, with his eyes being what they are. White irises are difficult to pick out among all that unholy blue flame.]

[Even so, that is quite the abrupt silence.]

[He's great at those.]

[Trahearne is patient and not completely unfamiliar with stoic types that stare off for a while as they think. Kalenedral reminded him a bit of a Largos. He broke the silence after giving the knight some time to think.]

If you need any help adjusting, I'm more than willing to do so. There are many things about you that interest me, maybe we can have a chance to speak in person sometime?

[Kalenedral's gaze sharpens, fixing back onto the phone. Oh, right, he'd been talking to someone.]

That would be acceptable, whenever you wish to do so.

[He doesn't really have any of the usual starting concerns... like where to live. The provided key in the box his ghoul currently holds will undoubtedly go unused.]

In a week or so, maybe. I'm afraid I don't have much time until then. I'll contact you again soon, if that's alright?

[He should give the knight and his servant some time to adjust, as curious as he was. He always was just really busy. So much to do.]

That would do fine.

[Something screamed off-camera. The sound was otherworldly, unholy, and shrill. The Knight looked off toward the sound and actually looked mildly pleased.]

I shall be around.

[Click.]

It is broadcasting. Though... how exactly is the device shiny. I mean everyone who arrives gets a new one, so.. I guess that makes it shiny?

[He wasn't sure or get it really, but hey people have different thoughts and the like.]

[Okay but buddy, pal, look at what you're talking to. Limbface is the only creature visible on the screen, and he's a rotting zombie monster thing with no lips. His threshold for shininess is pretty low, all told!]

Is shiny!

[To Limby's credit, the phone is literally shiny. Not only does it light up to show video or when different parts of it are squeezed, but it reflects light, too!]

Huat you?

Okay, I guess we'll leave that at that.

[Because it's shiny is considered a reason at least, but he paused and tried to figure out what he was trying to ask anyway.]

Huat? I'm sorry I don't understand.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ OPEN | Action & Video ] A wise man once said nothing.

[Video] Must study the thing, MUST STUDY

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

video;

no subject

no subject