Thread: Holy Duty [ Bear & Cheshire Smirk ]

Even in the middle of the day this room was nearly black as night, and that perhaps is why she was still of the faith. The woman stood in the heavy black cloak of ceremonies, the hood drawn tall over her head and the sleeves hanging loose from her wrists, drawn inexplicably to the room of eternal shadows as if something else were pulling her strings. Her eyes were blank, nearly vacant as she moved towards the great stone basin that sat in the center of the room just beneath a sky light that could open if need be. Her feet stopped just short of actually stepping into it, staring down at the contents as they swirled slowly. The sight of it always brought forth memories of when she had been young to the faith, barely just a woman flowered when she had found herself on the steps of the holy place of worship, drawn then as she was now. The calling for her had been something she couldn't deny, a greater purpose in her life than simply wedding and bedding a man she was mildly fond of. Aerys found that she was drawn to this no matter what she did, and now she closed her eyes and let her head fall back. In her mind, this room was still full of people, all dressed in their dark cloaks as they hung around her like large black birds ready to consume their prey. They'd stripped her naked, not sexually but for spirituality, each of them closing in on her until there was nowhere else to go but the basin. It was deep enough it could have held a man three times larger than she'd been at the time, a smaller framed girl at the time, but with great potential. She remembered staring at the contents and being naive as to its power, her face filled with horror and disgust as they had forced her steadily onward into it. Her eyes opened now, letting out a soft sigh as she let her cloak fall from around her shoulders. Aerys was the last of the ancient faith of Hemos, a once mighty order that believed in the strongest of magicks of all - Blood Magick. She'd devoted her life to the faith and had watched as the rest of her brothers and sisters fell one by one - murdered, slain, or pissing themselves of illness in their death bed. In the end, she was the only one that had been worthy enough to continue on and now it was time for her second baptismal ceremony, as her mind swirled with thoughts of thoughts of the world around her and one large thought that was frightening - something in the world was very terribly wrong. Her foot dipped into the swirling liquid slow, letting it slide up her leg like a lover seeking to caress her, the other sliding over the edge of it slowly to join the first as she let out a sigh. As always, it was warm in the basin, nearly hot as she let her body ease down into it slowly to her shoulders, her blond hair suspended around her near the surface as she let her eyes close. Hemos - I offer myself to your cleansing touch, a servant in your faith and a dutiful woman. Cleanse me. Bring clarity to my mind... May the blood of the gods wash away all else but your power. She felt the power in her voice, could hear the God listening to her as she let the blood seep around her, pulsing as if it were still attached to a heart. Her mouth closed and she took the last and most frightening step, dipping herself down into the basin completely. It rushed around her ears and clung to her skin, hot and sticky as it followed the same throb, throb, throb of a heart. It moved slow and felt heavy on her, pushing away thoughts of everything else as it threatened to take her to the bottom of the basin and drown her, her body suspended in time and thought as she lost concentration of everything else. The moment seemed to drag on for an eternity before she felt her muscles grow strength again, pushing herself back over the surface. Her lungs gasped for air and her body dripped crimson now, eyelids fluttering own and making new droplets down her face. She was a vision of the servitude, her hair slicked against her head as she let out a low groan. Her mind was cleared, but there was something new there now - a warning that hung heavy in the back of her mind, that of a traveler and his shadow companion. Her lips formed a hard line as she slid from the basin, pressing a soft kiss to the outer rim in thanks and reverence to her god before she donned her robe again, letting the cloth stick to her skin as she nearly ran out of the temple towards the street, leaving bloodied footprints all through the hallways. She stood at the entry with large eyes that didn't quite see, staring at the people that walked by. It wasn't until she found the one person not staring at the woman dripping blood that she knew her target. You! She called to him, Come, traveler. Rest your weary feet in the temple of Hemos.