Re: An Unlikely Prophet

[Sandkitten]

When she hits one of the figments of the room, it reacts only slightly, shooing her off like a pesky child before returning to the blissful silence. As she continues on, it still seems that the front never gets any closer.

A few minutes farther on, she begins to encounter more heads sticking out of pews. Although this time, there's one head that acts differently than the others. It has long blonde hair attached, in a similar style to Vincent's, and when she approaches the pew that it's sitting in, the head turns to look at her. "You come here often?"

[SharpestLife19]

Grace is incredibly startled to be addressed by this head. She is slightly comforted that it reminds her of Vincent, but it's an overall weird thing. She takes a step back and looks horrified before she can collect herself. She really isn't acting like a lady today. Shrieking, hitting things and staring like this...of course it has been an exceptional day. Nonetheless, she tries to keep her surprise in check now. "Excuse me, but ought you not to know the answer to that? Besides, who in their right mind would come here often? It's hellish."

[Sandkitten]

The hair belongs to a man who looks just as UN-Vincent-like as can be. Though the eyes... seem similar. While they share some similar features - high cheekbones, soft but masculine jaws - this man has a look about him that makes sharks seem friendly. His eyes are bright blue, and they seem to have specks of silver in them, though they're static, not swirling as Vincent's gold is. Still, he's the only thing that's acknowledged her since she's arrived.

Turning to face her, a smile across his face, the man chuckles a little to himself. "Oh, it's not so bad once you get used to it... some folks like a little peace and quiet." He scoots over in the pew, offering her a seat beside him. "So let's see some identification, pretty bird. Who's got a tag on you? What are you looking for?"

[SharpestLife19]

She doesn't particularly want to talk to this man. When she sees his face, her first inclination is to turn around and run. She manages to hold her ground and look the fiendish man in the eye. Her stubborn amber gaze meets his bright blue. She wonders momentarily if all celestial beings get to have silver and gold in their eyes and thinks that amber is a much less appealing color by comparison.

Grace looks highly suspicious of this man, but he is the only one to talk to her since she came into this long horrible room. Her hand rises to her necklace, touching it gently. "Vincent sent me. I don't know what for." She wonders why he didn't at least tell her what she was after. That seemed kind of important now that she was thinking about it.

[Sandkitten]

The man's eye is drawn to the movement of her hand, and when he sees the necklace, he seems to flinch visibly, eyes narrowing. "I see..." The tone of his voice would seem to carry a vague familiarity, however unpleasant. "You're the Harbinger's Prophet." He gives her a slow once-over with suspicious eyes then stands. "Well if you're not here with a message, then you must be collecting. You might try one of the confessionals over there." He points off to one side of the large hall, and sure enough, there are two large confessional boxes standing tall and ornate, where they hadn't been before. The man turns sharply on his heel and moves away from her down the pew, turning again once he reaches the end and heading off towards the front of the hall along the wall.

[SharpestLife19]

Grace wishes people would stop calling her a prophet. She wonders why people who aren't mortals would look down on a harbinger, but can't come up with any reason. She thinks of asking, but she doesn't want to talk to this guy any more than she has to. She heads toward the confessionals, thinking this another kind of cosmic joke if it is where the knowledge is. She doubts very much that an earthly confessional would be home to any useful knowledge. Everyone would know who envied their neighbors car, who wanted to have sex with their neighbor's wife and who stole from the offering plate. She hoped that this confessional had more to offer.

[Sandkitten]

Outwardly, the confessional looks like something she might expect to find in a church, even one as strange as this one. Once she's inside and has a seat, however, it's like the lights have been dimmed as they do in theatres, and where the grate should be, she sees a light begin to glow as if from some great distance. Within a matter of seconds, she's sitting across from... well, it's a "being" alright, but nothing she's seen the likes of before. As she watches, the light seems to fold in on itself until it can produce a form she'll recognize, someone sitting cross-legged in the air. The whole being is nothing but bright light, with no features, except for what might be a mouth of sorts - though it's impossible to tell if that's for her benefit or whether it's always there. Whatever the case, the mouth seems to be frozen in a grin, and when it "speaks", the mouth doesn't move.

"Grace... prophet of the Harbinger... seeker of wisdom... what is your debt?" The voice seems impossible, both high and low at once, neither male nor female, and from the direction of the being floating in front of her, but not necessarily from its mouth - like it's simply thinking and the words become sounds.

[SharpestLife19]

Without being aware of it, Grace's hand tries to reach for the door. She is reminded of a horror movie she went to see with Frankie, and she doesn't have a shoulder to hide her face in. The strange floating being disturbs her, but when it starts to talk, she is incredibly frightened. She becomes aware that her hand is reaching for the door and turns here attention to it. Grace grabs the handle of the door and shakes it violently, but the door does not budge. She panics, but with nowhere to go, squishes herself up against the wall of the booth. She closes her wide eyes so she doesn't have to look at the beast in front of her. "Please, let me out! Let me out!"

[Sandkitten]

The grin on the being in front of her lessens some to a slightly less frightening smile, but it does no such thing as release her from her seat. "Where else would you find the wisdom you seek, prophet? Now show us... what is your debt?"

The necklace around Grace's neck begins to glow, and suddenly her vision is filled with images as if there's a movie playing inside her mind, projecting into her eyes. Vincent appears, and her mother, on that night some several years ago. From there, a tally begins to spin out of control as moments from her life with her mother flash before her. It's impossible to know how long it continues, as the pictures keep changing, and there seems to be no end to them. The count details her mother's life - how many breaths she's breathed, how many words she's spoken, steps she's walked, dreams she's dreamed, sights she's seen, moments of interaction with her daughter and the people around her - the tally is enormous, and the being before her tilts its head. "It is a large debt."

As the visions clear out of her eyes, the crystal teardrop around her neck still glows, but not quite so brightly. "And now you are paying your debt. It must be a very great question that your Harbinger brings, much wisdom that he seeks, to bring someone with such a debt. What is it that brings you here on his account, Grace, prophet?"

[SharpestLife19]

Grace keeps herself pinned to the wall, but stops trying to get out. She watches as the scene unfolds and the tally grows. She had no idea just how large her debt was. As the number grows larger her eyes grow wider. Vincent must want some huge amount of information in return for all that he let her mother do. Grace is afraid to speak to the creature, but she thinks of her mother and gathers her courage. "Um..." She would like to address the creature, but she doesn't have a term for that. "I do not know what he wants. He didn't tell me. He told me to come in here and collect the information, but I don't know what the information is."

[Sandkitten]

Even as she speaks, the necklace begins to glow a little more brightly, and another picture fills her vision, this one not matching the words that accompany it. The picture is of Vincent standing on the far side of the street under the lamp-light, where she saw him for the first time again just the other day. But the words are more recent. They fade in and out, as if her memory is incomplete. "..I'm supposed to be a Harbinger ... for quite a while now, I've been assigned various other tasks ... unsure that I'll retain my current title .. I have the strangest feeling that I'm running out of time, and I need to figure out why.."

The being of light cocks its head again, smile widening. "Ah, so the Harbinger grows suspicious... and he is right to... he is more observant than given credit for, perhaps. There is no boundary he will not cross, no question he will not ask... he has no allegiance, and so he is dangerous, in the eyes of some."

As if an after-thought, the picture fades, and another set of words rings through her mind, quieter - almost as if those words are only for her, and not for the audience. "..it's pathetic ... I've never met the grade ... because of my particular differences, I've always been given inferior roles and positions ... singled out, with only Death accompanying me.." No picture accompanies this echo, and it fades as quickly as it had come. The light being doesn't seem to notice.

[SharpestLife19]

Growing tired of this depressing picture show that seems to have no point, Grace speaks up. "Excuse me, but are you learning something from this? I don't see how any of this would be helpful to you, really." She frowns at that last voice echoing through her head. She wishes she could change things for Vincent. There is no reason he should be feared, he isn't dangerous. Asking questions is a good thing. She's not sure about allegiance, she doesn't know who she would have one to. But he certainly isn't a dangerous person. That's just silly.

[Sandkitten]

The light being seems to grin a little wider at her exclamation, and begins to rotate in the air, staying cross-legged but hovering upside down in the air. "Am I learning anything? I am always learning things - I AM knowledge, that is my nature. But I am not the prophet here - that is not my function. I am here to BESTOW knowledge, and YOU are tasked with collecting it and delivering it to the Harbinger, who could not come here and collect it himself. He didn't send a very bright one, did he?" There's laughter, and the light being flips upright again. "You thought he sent you here to teach me? Maybe you're just not up to the task. You'll never get anywhere if you don't ask questionssss."

[SharpestLife19]

"But I was there when these things happened. How is repeating things that happened useful to anyone?" She looks annoyed by this creature. She is very tired of being insulted by celestial beings. "I'm not stupid! I'm not used to places like this and things like you and being expected to know what's going on even though I have no idea what I'm doing! Please just cut me some slack here!" She sighs heavily, not sure what she is supposed to be gaining from all of this.

[Sandkitten]

The smile has become sort of a bored, lopsided line, and the being flips upside down again. "You may have been there, but you weren't listening... what you were given was the question, concern rather, that you were sent here to learn about. You're just not very perceptive, are you? Poor girl... I wonder if you were like that before, or if it's the veil? Whatever the case... you're not going to pay off your debt by sitting and squirming and asking for a hand-out. If you really can't even ask questions, you're not good for anything." The being remains where it is, but the door clicks and swings open at her side, a square of light flooding into the otherwise pitch-black space. "I have knowledge only for those who seek it, not those who sit and wait for it to come to them. You may go."

[SharpestLife19]

She shakes her head vehemently. "No! I am not going. I haven't learned anything. I was listening when those things were said. I don't understand what I'm supposed to learn here!" She's frustrated and wants to cry. "Please, don't make me leave. I need to take something back with me. What am I supposed to learn from this?"

[Sandkitten]

The light being seems to roll its eyes - if it had eyes - and it slowly flips right-side-up again. "You're just not too bright at all, are you. Not too bright at all. I have time... ALL the time... but I don't have time for this. You're just not even trying. Best of luck, Grace prophet." As the being flips upright, the room suddenly seems to implode upon itself, and everything reverses - suddenly instead of thick darkness, there's blinding light. And where the being of light hovered in the air, now there's another being, much larger, and this one seeming to consist of all of the dark that suddenly disappeared. Instead of a grinning mouth, only eyes are visible, bright as the light around it in the room. Darkness swirls around the edges of the being, and though it shares certain characteristics with the light being, they're obviously not the same at all. The voice is still both high and low, but instead of simply wafting over the airwaves, it booms and rolls like thunder. It appears to be neither male nor female, but instead of being childlike, it's obviously much older.

The great being doesn't seem so much to hover before her, as much as it seems to actually sit upon the light which surrounds it. Though it has no pupils, Grace gets the distinct feeling that it turns its gaze upon her when it speaks. "NO ONE ESCAPES THE TEST. DEATH DEPARTS HIS SHADOW." The sound is unearthly, and it rolls right through her like a tangible thing. "THE NEW CHAPTER HAS NO WRITTEN ENDING. TO CONQUER IS TO FAIL. PATIENCE, AND UNYIELDING TRUST."

Suddenly her mind's eye is taken by another vision - it's a tent, unlike any she's ever seen - it's as big as a house, but clearly meant to be mobile, and there's a dark aura about the place. Her perspective seems to close in on the center of the structure, and it bypasses several bodies in her peripheral, but clearly not those she's meant to focus on. What her vision lands upon violently are a pair of eyes - eyes not dissimilar from her own amber, but a touch more golden - and they seem to be looking back at her. "FIND THE GOLDEN EYED SON, SEEK HIS WISDOM... NOT HIS RELIEF. FIND HIM, AND THE HARBINGER MUST DECIDE." The vision disappears, and the dark being before her seems to grow smaller each passing moment, as if receding into the light.

[SharpestLife19]

Again, she's being insulted by this creature. She would be glad to see it go, but she hasn't learned anything, so she can't let it. She looks around to see where it went, but before she can look very far, the light becomes blinding. She covers her eyes to try to protect herself from it. When she dares to move her hands, she sees the eyes of the new strange creature. She wonders briefly if this creature is related to the last somehow, but her thoughts break apart when the creature starts to speak. It is too loud to ignore.

What test is it talking about? Obviously Death's shadow would be Vincent. Ok, there is no written ending. That means there is no fate in play here, anything can happen. Conquer? What would be conquered? She's not sure about that part either. Is she the one who is supposed to be patient and trusting? Unyielding trust. But how could she do anything except for trust him in a place she doesn't understand at all?

She watches the huge tent in her mind's eye. She wonders what it's for, since she hasn't seen anything like it in her life. When she sees the eyes of the person this thing calls the Golden-Eyed Son, her mouth open in shock. It can't be...it simply can't. But those eyes..they look like hers and Vincent's together, which she is troubled by. She feels like she should know if she had a son. And she's not sure that angels are capable of reproducing. She never thought about that, even when she reading about them as a child, it wasn't something that crossed her mind.

Seek his wisdom, not his relief? The first part makes sense, but the second is just as confusing as half of the things this creature has said to her. She hopes she can remember this as it ought to be when she returns to Vincent. And she will have to see what he thinks of it. Maybe he can help with the parts she doesn't comprehend. She feels like she should thank the being. "Thank you..."

[Sandkitten]

The dark being says nothing in response, but a whispy tendril of darkness reaches out and wafts past her like a ploomb of smoke before the bright light flares again and both the dark creature and the light vanishes, and she is left sitting in a very ordinary confessional booth. Though the door once again clicks open and a little more light spills in, clearly inviting her to leave the bench.

Outside, in the middle aisle, the blue-eyed man is standing, apparently waiting for her to emerge. He says nothing, but when he sees her, he turns slowly and starts off once again towards the front of the church-like hall, though when she steps out and looks around, it's grown considerably shorter. It's nearly the size of a normal church, in fact. The back door seems no more than ten pews away, and the front alter and pedistal are clearly within view, perhaps another ten pews in the other direction.

[SharpestLife19]

Grace is still highly perplexed and the fact that the room shrank doesn't really help, but at least it is less to have to traverse to get back to Vincent. She glances at the blue-eyed man, but doesn't say anything to him either. She simply heads back up the aisle and out that door, hoping Vincent is there. She needs to tell him about what happened before she forgets. "Vincent?" She looks around for him.

[Sandkitten]

Vincent seems to have a talent for standing perfectly still for a great deal of time, as she finds him exactly where she left him - standing in the exact same spot, with the same uncomfortable look, eyes closed. However, when he hears his name, his eyes fly open, and he looks relieved to see her. Turning and pushing the door open behind him, he ushers her to hurry up, holding a hand out for her. "Come, tell me everything."

[SharpestLife19]

She's so very glad to see him. He's the only person in this place she feels comfortable around. She takes his hand happily. "Vincent, you could've warned me about that place." She frowns at the thought of all the strange and frightening things. But at least that part is over now. She tells Vincent about the weird little light being that thinks she's stupid and then reiterates what the other being told her. She tries to describe the scene it showed her as descriptively as possible. The huge tent, the eyes, everything. "Vincent, I don't really understand...do you know what they mean?"

[Sandkitten]

From the sound of it, she's already been ragged on for not being her old inquisitive self, so he doesn't add insult to injury by telling her that the reason she was given such vague instructions was because she didn't ask questions of her own. "I would have warned you, but as I told you, I've never been inside - in fact, I've never had cause to come here at all, until now - so I really didn't have much of an idea what to tell you. Though now that you mention it, I recall a few offhand comments about the two beings you mentioned... I think the first is called the Collective, and the second the Seer. Which should explain their behavior, I expect. Or rather, I suppose they're named AFTER their behaviors."

He holds her hand as they walk, and he thinks as they make their way back across the vast expanse of nothingness and space, keeping her in close proximity so that she feels secure. Some of the words don't seem to mesh to him, and he wonders if perhaps something was lost in translation, or whether she simply forgot while she was there - she was inside for hours, at the least... though time means little to nothing here. "Well, I can make heads and tails of most of it... some is more vague than the rest. But what I know we must do is find the golden-eyed Son. It sounds as though I'll be able to access him directly, and get some answers."

[SharpestLife19]

"They are some of the oddest creatures I have ever seen." She is pretty sure that she will be saying that a lot while she is here and each will likely be more odd than the last. "I don't know what the collective wanted, but I didn't like it. Not that I cared much for the Seer either, but of the two that one at least made a little bit of sense." She sighs, "Vincent, are you familiar with Alice in Wonderland? This place reminds me of that. And I am the confused little girl."

She's unaware of the amount of time she spent in there, though that is probably for the best. She hopes that she was able to repeat what she was told clearly enough. "Do you know who the Golden-Eyed Son is? Or where he is? What was that place he was in? I don't think I would like to go there. It seemed unpleasant." Grace can't think of anything on earth that resembles the tent in the slightest. Perhaps a circus tent would be mobile, but not so large and it didn't seem like a happy sort of place. Of course there were those tents the army used to hide buildings of importance, but those weren't mobile. She doesn't know what to make of it at all and that is getting tiring.

[Sandkitten]

Vincent smiles just slightly at her comparison between her own situation and the child in Mr Carroll's novel. It's not too far off. "I do know of that book. If we can help it, we'll keep you out of too many more rabbit holes." He thinks a little more on her other questions, wondering how much she should know - how much he can get away with telling her without putting her in an awkward position, and without putting himself in an even less desirable one.

"Yes, I do know who he is... I know of him, rather, but I've never met him. Truthfully, I'm not very excited to meet him at all - he has a reputation, much as I do... whereas I draw trouble after me in my footsteps, trouble is drawn to him. Not Death, mind you. Just... difficulties. Wherever he is, it's usually bad news for whomever finds him - worse news for whomever is sent to seek him out. No, I'm not looking forward to that meeting... at all."

He's quiet again for another minute or so, and they seem to be making little progress down the path, but it was like that before, so it's difficult to tell. "I don't know where he is... not exactly. But I have a fairly good idea where to start, based on what I've heard about him. He prefers to keep mostly to himself. Well, that's only partially true. He's an unofficial excile, but as long as he keeps quiet, he's left to his own devices." He frowns. Pushed any further than he has been, that could easily be a description of himself, in the not too distance future. He slows his pace slightly as he thinks hard, trying to draw lines between the words she brought back from the Seer - he wants it to be a riddle, something he can solve just by thinking hard enough about it, but there's another unsettling, gnawing feeling in his chest that it's not going to be that easy. "No one escapes the test..." he murmurs.

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