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Posted on April 24, 2016 at 03:32:19 AM by aura
The earth rumbled underfoot. Unprepared, Aura wobbled and gripped the edges of the doorframe, her heart rate skyrocketing. Did… did the ground just – just move? The bureau was in chaos. Papers had been hurled into the air, completely disproportionately to the quake. Filing cabinets had been thrown open, ejecting yet more documents. The flurry was unnatural on multiple levels; the tremor had been minor, meriting perhaps a few displaced ornaments at most, and the air was – as always – windless. Yet, the small, confined space was a storm of papers. Even more strangely, some papers leapt at the walls, as though searching for an exit, while the majority of the rest swirled in a current-like pattern towards the back of the bureau. By the time Aura had taken two more steps inside, all but a few stragglers had vanished through a door at the rear. The bureau worker, who had been standing in the doorway that the papers had just gone through, looked somewhat winded. Hardly surprising, considering nearly every document in the room had just scraped his arms, face and legs on their way out. His mouth was hanging open, and his dark grey curls – they had probably been brown in life – were ruffled. The only other person in the room was a young traveller woman, who was sat in front of the desk. A walking stick lay on the ground by her feet – foot, rather; one was missing – and she was gripping the edge of her seat. Her back was to Aura, obscuring her face, but she had long, black hair which was captivating for its colour. In a universally grey world, anything solidly black or white stood out. Aura took another step inside. The earth quivered again, but lightly – she could have imagined it. The only clue that she hadn’t was that the slight jolt seemed to make the bureau worker come to his senses; he let out a cry and clapped his hands to the side of his face. “The papers!” He shouted, turning on the spot and haring after them. This was one of the smallest bureaus Aura had been in, poky, with only a single serving desk. Certainly there were no other bureau workers in sight. The black-haired woman turned in her seat and shot Aura a very pretty grin. She had dark eyes which sparked with the kind of life which wasn’t commonly seen in the Realm of the Dead. “You coming?” She asked, reaching down to grab her walking stick. It wasn’t like there was a lot of choice. The woman rose to her feet – foot – and expertly manoeuvred her way around the desk, following after the bureau worker. She was grey from head to toe, like Aura, so she couldn’t be freshly dead… but her manner was so lifelike. There was an energy in the way she limped which Aura didn’t think she could have mustered even when she was alive. The bureau worker hadn’t gone far. And the door at the back of the bureau, it transpired, did not lead to a back room as Aura had assumed. Instead, she stepped with wonder into a vast, grey expanse which could have been the normal outside world, but for the fact that it lacked features of any kind. The bureau sat in the centre of a small settlement, near the river – but here, there was… nothing. If the door had simply been an exit, then Aura should have been able to see houses and even the ferry port. Her companions seemed equally puzzled. The bureau worker was looking about quizzically, while the disabled woman blinked in astonishment. “The papers,” groaned the bureau worker after Aura had had a second to take it all in. “I’ve got to get them. Those are people’s lives.” “Nice to see a bureau worker who cares,” Aura muttered under her breath, a little too loudly. The man smiled sadly. “We all cared once,” he sighed. “That’s why we started working for the bureaus in the first place. You think you’re going to help people, turn their deaths around… but timeless disappointment makes most people cynical.” “Where are we?” The black-haired woman wondered more practically, limping forward so that Aura could step fully out of the doorway. “This isn’t the village.” Now that she could see better, Aura wasn’t even sure this was the Realm of the Dead. It was grey, but fog obscured the vision and the Realm of the Dead had no weather of any kind. Faint slithers of bright white were just visible if one looked closely through the mist, looking for all the world like cracks in a wall. Aura reached out to touch the closest one and felt the earth vibrate again. The black-haired woman grabbed her shoulder in alarm. “This is no-man’s-land,” the bureau worker answered grimly. “Also known as the realm between realms. That’s the Realm of the Living, beyond there.” He gestured to the cracks of light. “So…” Excitement had crept into the other woman’s voice. “So – we could cross over? To the living?” “No,” he replied gently. “It isn’t so easy to return to the Realm of the Living if you’re dead. But the living can cross into here, if they can find an entrance.” He glanced away at his papers, fluttering into the distance. “I need to get those documents. If you’d like to wait in the bureau – ” “We’ll help,” the black-haired woman said assuredly, casually offering Aura’s assistance along with her own as though they’d been friends in life. She gave Aura’s shoulder a warm squeeze. “Three pairs of eyes are better than one, eh? I’m Kiya, by the way.” “I’m Aura.” “I’m Thoth,” the curly-haired man smiled at them. “Nice to meet you. Let’s get those papers.” --- Welcome to the realm between realms, little mortal. Aura, Thoth and Kiya are all deceased deities. In the Realm of the Dead, they have lost their colour (all are greyscale) and most of their memories – they did not even recognise each other. While none of them are capable of rewarding anyone who should be able to help them collect the missing papers, strange things happen to mortals who cross into the realm between realms and then return to the Realm of the Living. Be warned, though – the dangers are unknown, and should you pass through the door into the Realm of the Dead, there is no returning to this world. Cracks in the fabric of the Realm of the Living which open into the realm between realms may be found anywhere… if one looks closely enough. There is no time limit on this quest and any number of characters may participate, but there are a maximum of three ‘slots’. If more than three characters want to participate, some must double/triple up (so there will be a three/four-way thread between you, the other characters and the deity). To participate, simply post to this this thread with your character crossing over. One of the deities will reply to you. |
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- let the spectrum in - By
Nepenthe// Croe April 24, 2016 at 11:14:12 PM - Stars cannot shine without Darkness - By Whimsy April 24, 2016 at 07:44:43 PM
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