12-15-2013, 03:33 PM
Erich's sort of getting the hang of this story thing. At least he's not standing there all awkward like he doesn't really know what to do with his hands. He's still not doing anything with his hands except tucking them into his pockets, but at least his shoulders are loose and his balance isn't all rigid. His head is down for a minute, and then he lifts it.
"We went down into the darkness that night."
He doesn't have to say which darkness. Which night. Everyone knows.
"We went down there, Avery and Javed. Hector and Tamsin and Thomas. Phoebe, Keisha, Sophia. Milton. Ingrid. Charlotte and me. We went down to have a look at that Pit, down past those graves in the basement and the bodies that the Beloved Horror had put there. Down past where the floor had melted away, like fuckin' Chernobyl of something. All the way down the Pit. And I know when I say the word you guys who've never seen it are picturing some yawning abyss. But that's not what it looked like at all. It was ... glowing, milky-white, like ... like pus come alive. Eech.
"Anyway. We're down there, trying to figure out what the fuck and what the fuck to do, and then they come for us. Beloved Horror. That's what they call themselves, right? All of them, all six of them with all the strength of their sick pact with the devil behind them. They passed Raspberry Sky on the way down and they killed her. And honestly that's not even what bugs me most. It's that they killed her while she was mourning at the grave of her sister, who they also killed. It's that they killed her family, and that wasn't enough for them, and then they killed her, and THAT wasn't enough for them, and then they took her heart out of her body and threw both down at us. Like she was a broken toy they were done with.
"And that wasn't enough for them either. Because then they laughed at us, and laughed and laughed and laughed when we told them just what we were going to do to their sorry hides. They didn't believe us. They thought they were so strong no one could possibly touch them.
"And y'know. Before that night? I think most of us thought that too. Most of you probably already know, but they weren't just normal Dancers bonded to a strong Totem. They were that Totem. They'd sold out in every way possible, and they and the Green Dragon were the same thing. The Green Dragon was in them, and their own souls were cowering in some dank corner of Malfeas while the Green Dragon ran the show and channeled all its horrible strength through them, put all that strength toward their one and only goal of gaining control of that Pit so they could pull god-knows-what from whatever-other-world that Pit is connected to.
"Props to the ones that figured that link out. Shoutout to my kinswoman Eva, who decided not to show her face tonight damn her, for figuring out just what that Pit was.
"'Cause we used that information, see. Our Theurges down in the darkness that night -- we called our ancestors and our dead. We called them back to fight for us. And then we called the Beloved Horror too. I mean: we called their souls back. We dragged those tainted spirits back from whatever corner of Malfeas they were hiding in, and forced 'em back into their bodies, and in doing so -- forced the Green Dragon out.
"And then they were weak, the way they'd made us weak.
"And then we killed them, the way they'd killed us.
"And then they were afraid. The way they'd made us afraid.
"And then they ran. Like the scared little rabbits they were.
"Oh, I bet if you ask them now -- not that I want any of you to ask them because seriously let's not have tea parties with the enemy, all right? -- but I bet if you asked them, they'd say they weren't running away. They'd be like OH IT WAS A TACTICAL RETREAT. WE WERE JUST ADVANCING TO THE REAR. EL OH EL, ROFFLECOPTER. But no. I was there. I saw what happened. I saw us rip them down from their glory and go at them with tooth and claw and tear half of their pack to bloody little shreds. And I saw them tuck tail and run.
"So don't any of you forget that. Because if they were weak, it means they can be made weak again. And if they were killed, it means we can kill the rest of 'em. And if they were scared and running, that means -- for the moment -- we have the upper hand.
"Let's not waste that, guys. Let's not get complacent. Let's not give them breathing room and time to recover. Let's get our Sept back up in the city. Let's keep watch on the Pit. Let's figure out where they ran off to, and let's go after them, and let's make sure they never come back. Let's do it for Raspberry Sky, and Champion of Honor, and Wind on Concrete, and Circuit Runner, and all the rest of our people that they took from us.
"We're wolves. They're prey.
"THEY. RAN FROM US.
"Let's hunt those fuckers down."
"We went down into the darkness that night."
He doesn't have to say which darkness. Which night. Everyone knows.
"We went down there, Avery and Javed. Hector and Tamsin and Thomas. Phoebe, Keisha, Sophia. Milton. Ingrid. Charlotte and me. We went down to have a look at that Pit, down past those graves in the basement and the bodies that the Beloved Horror had put there. Down past where the floor had melted away, like fuckin' Chernobyl of something. All the way down the Pit. And I know when I say the word you guys who've never seen it are picturing some yawning abyss. But that's not what it looked like at all. It was ... glowing, milky-white, like ... like pus come alive. Eech.
"Anyway. We're down there, trying to figure out what the fuck and what the fuck to do, and then they come for us. Beloved Horror. That's what they call themselves, right? All of them, all six of them with all the strength of their sick pact with the devil behind them. They passed Raspberry Sky on the way down and they killed her. And honestly that's not even what bugs me most. It's that they killed her while she was mourning at the grave of her sister, who they also killed. It's that they killed her family, and that wasn't enough for them, and then they killed her, and THAT wasn't enough for them, and then they took her heart out of her body and threw both down at us. Like she was a broken toy they were done with.
"And that wasn't enough for them either. Because then they laughed at us, and laughed and laughed and laughed when we told them just what we were going to do to their sorry hides. They didn't believe us. They thought they were so strong no one could possibly touch them.
"And y'know. Before that night? I think most of us thought that too. Most of you probably already know, but they weren't just normal Dancers bonded to a strong Totem. They were that Totem. They'd sold out in every way possible, and they and the Green Dragon were the same thing. The Green Dragon was in them, and their own souls were cowering in some dank corner of Malfeas while the Green Dragon ran the show and channeled all its horrible strength through them, put all that strength toward their one and only goal of gaining control of that Pit so they could pull god-knows-what from whatever-other-world that Pit is connected to.
"Props to the ones that figured that link out. Shoutout to my kinswoman Eva, who decided not to show her face tonight damn her, for figuring out just what that Pit was.
"'Cause we used that information, see. Our Theurges down in the darkness that night -- we called our ancestors and our dead. We called them back to fight for us. And then we called the Beloved Horror too. I mean: we called their souls back. We dragged those tainted spirits back from whatever corner of Malfeas they were hiding in, and forced 'em back into their bodies, and in doing so -- forced the Green Dragon out.
"And then they were weak, the way they'd made us weak.
"And then we killed them, the way they'd killed us.
"And then they were afraid. The way they'd made us afraid.
"And then they ran. Like the scared little rabbits they were.
"Oh, I bet if you ask them now -- not that I want any of you to ask them because seriously let's not have tea parties with the enemy, all right? -- but I bet if you asked them, they'd say they weren't running away. They'd be like OH IT WAS A TACTICAL RETREAT. WE WERE JUST ADVANCING TO THE REAR. EL OH EL, ROFFLECOPTER. But no. I was there. I saw what happened. I saw us rip them down from their glory and go at them with tooth and claw and tear half of their pack to bloody little shreds. And I saw them tuck tail and run.
"So don't any of you forget that. Because if they were weak, it means they can be made weak again. And if they were killed, it means we can kill the rest of 'em. And if they were scared and running, that means -- for the moment -- we have the upper hand.
"Let's not waste that, guys. Let's not get complacent. Let's not give them breathing room and time to recover. Let's get our Sept back up in the city. Let's keep watch on the Pit. Let's figure out where they ran off to, and let's go after them, and let's make sure they never come back. Let's do it for Raspberry Sky, and Champion of Honor, and Wind on Concrete, and Circuit Runner, and all the rest of our people that they took from us.
"We're wolves. They're prey.
"THEY. RAN FROM US.
"Let's hunt those fuckers down."
BECAUSE OF LIGHT AND DUTY AND REASONS.