===== Gigantic Cathedral of Descending Doom =====
[ [[farne:protagonists:cassie:entry16|Previous]] ] [ [[farne:protagonists:cassie:reports index|Back]] ] [ [[farne:protagonists:cassie:entry18|Next]] ]\\ \\ 

We headed back to [[farne:locations:city of alestia|Alestia City]] after dropping off our jailbreakees, and I stopped by to talk to [[farne:actors:dulvan_rowth|Prince Elector Rowth]] to let him know at a very high level what we were doing with respect to [[farne:locations:Upper Thalia]]. He seemed very dismissive of it. It really didn't seem like we would get support from anyone here at the very least in what we were doing, despite [[farne:actors:sanria veris|Veris]]'s very personal attack on the governmental body of [[farne:locations:Alestia]] recently. I mean, I know [[farne:locations:Upper Thalia]] was always chest-pounding about this or that, but it seemed like everyone was just a little too dismissive of recent events. It really bothered me. All the more reason to join the Electoral body and get [[farne:locations:Alestia]] a little more prepared.

Anyway, we decided that we need to go take a look into [[farne:locations:Pernicdel]], hoping to get some answers about [[farne:cosmology:lesser powers#fugiri|Fugiri]] and [[farne:cosmology:kaz|Kaz]]. We gated to [[farne:locations:upper thalia|Tusbel]] and rode by horseback for a few days to arrive at [[farne:locations:Pernicdel]]. It was a sizable city; not as big as [[farne:locations:Upper Thalia|Dimmersdel]] or [[farne:locations:Upper Thalia|Tusbel]], but still sizable. The most notable feature of it was the dark, menacing cathedral towering above the city walls, visible for quite a ways outside of the city. Wow.

We hung out in the tent city outside for most of a day, talking to a few people and watching the goings on at the gate into the city. It seemed that security was a bit tighter here than even in [[farne:locations:Upper Thalia|Dimmersdel]]; we didn't want to take any chances. So finally, a little before dusk that day, we approached the front gate with our auras suppressed by [[farne:protagonists:trent:index|Trent]], and told the guards we were staying the night here on our way to some other city to the north. They let us in after we showed them we had money, gave us a 3 day magical pass, and waved us through.

We got rooms at an inn in town, let [[farne:protagonists:boyce:index|Boyce]] get some Sympathy to the Inn, and then headed out to the cathedral to scope the place out. Once we arrived, I hooked up a telepathic link and [[farne:protagonists:boyce:index|Boyce]] surprisingly volunteered to approach the place. After some intense scrutiny by him as he climbed the stairs to the imposing front door, he indicated that while on the surface the cathedral appeared to be dedicated to [[farne:cosmology:lesser powers#fugiri|Fugiri]], the intricate detailing seemed more in-line with [[farne:cosmology:kaz|Kaz]].

Presently he arrived at the front door, which stood 15 feet above him. After some amount of hemming and hawing, he finally decided to knock, and then push the doors open with a loud SQUEAK. Once inside, the telepathic link dropped and he was on his own.

The rest of us fretted and debated about what we should do. Any number of things could've happened. We decided that if he didn't re-emerge in an hour we would head in after him. Luckily, he came back out in only a few minutes. As soon as the door opened and he stepped out, the telepathic link was back up again.

He told us he talked to a Vicar of the church, who indicated but didn't come out and say that the temple was dedicated to something other than [[farne:cosmology:lesser powers#fugiri|Fugiri]]. [[farne:cosmology:kaz|Kaz]] or anything specifically describing [[farne:cosmology:kaz|Kaz]] was never mentioned. The interior detailing, [[farne:protagonists:boyce:index|Boyce]] indicated, was all very obviously dedicated to [[farne:cosmology:kaz|Kaz]]. He had noted that there was something behind the altar that seemed like it would have been very appropriate for holding the [[farne:cosmology:kaz|Kaz]]-gem. Also, the Vicar indicated that [[farne:actors:anzja of the rivers|Anzja]] would be in town in a week to hold mass, and that we should attend. Apparently he was going to "mark" [[farne:protagonists:boyce:index|Boyce]], but [[farne:protagonists:boyce:index|Boyce]] somehow managed to finagle out of it.

We decided to stay here until the next day, get the word on the street about the imposing cathedral, and I would acquire a picture of the cathedral the next day and then we would head back to talk to [[farne:cosmology:kaz|Kaz]] about it. We did manage to track down some young nobles later that night who carried a strange aura that might be the equivalent of this "marking" thing that [[farne:protagonists:boyce:index|Boyce]] mentioned.

The next day, after gating in to talk to [[farne:cosmology:kaz|Kaz]], we tried to discuss what things we could do to jog his memory more. I mean seriously, what kind of god completely didn't know who he was granting powers to or why, nor how he was doing it, nor what other powers/abilities he had, or how he could help us, or how he could at least stop helping THEM. I mean since the beginning this guy has been basically useless to us, gotten us in more trouble than he's helped us out of, and he continues to "help" our enemies, unwittingly or no.

Frustrated with our inability to get any answers, we decided to do a little hands-on research regarding [[farne:cosmology:lesser powers#fugiri|Fugiri]]. Once back in [[farne:locations:city of alestia|Alestia City]], we tried to find a temple dedicated to [[farne:cosmology:lesser powers#fugiri|Fugiri]], but apparently there was none. Didn't bode well for the huge temple in [[farne:locations:Pernicdel]] actually having ever been dedicated to [[farne:cosmology:lesser powers#fugiri|Fugiri]]. So instead, I decided to head to the temple of [[farne:cosmology:lesser powers#Hathandar|Hathandar]], and the boys decided to tag along as well.

I was hoping that we might be able to get some insight into how all this religious stuff works since [[farne:cosmology:kaz|Kaz]] is clueless. Not only did we manage to be able to get in to talk to one of the higher ranking priests, we were actually able to speak with the Bishop of [[farne:locations:city of alestia|Alestia City]], a man named [[farne:actors:Gastalld Müllenberg]]. We peppered him with questions, picking his brain about how churches tend to work, and what this "marking" thing might be. His answers basically pointed to the situation being that the [[farne:cosmology:lesser powers#fugiri|Fugiri]] stuff was a cover-up for the real religion of the giant temple in [[farne:locations:Pernicdel]], the little cult of [[farne:cosmology:kaz|Clueless Kaz]]. The marking seemed to be basically the equivalent of bestowing a god's "blessing" onto someone.

After we were done questioning the poor fellow, I kicked the guys out and stayed at the temple for another hour or so to meditate on recent happenings. After I returned and met back up with the boys, we decided to head over to [[farne:locations:Masayume]] to research [[farne:cosmology:lesser powers#fugiri|Fugiri]], since this region of the world seemed to be a bust for him, and while there, it was decided that we would pick [[farne:actors:doak fossil|Doak]] and [[farne:actors:liri fossil|Liri]] up and bring them home.

After visiting a few of the temples of [[farne:cosmology:lesser powers#fugiri|Fugiri]] in [[farne:locations:Masayume]], it was quite clear that the bigass temple in [[farne:locations:Pernicdel]] had absolutely nothing to do with [[farne:cosmology:lesser powers#fugiri|Fugiri]] and any symbolism of him was merely a cover for [[farne:actors:anzja of the rivers|Anzja]]'s cult of [[farne:cosmology:kaz|Kaz]]. [[farne:cosmology:lesser powers#fugiri|Fugiri]]'s real temples weren't very organized at all, and were all very small and quite far from ornate. The priests weren't very forthcoming either way, and it generally seemed that the entire religion surrounding [[farne:cosmology:lesser powers#fugiri|Fugiri]] preferred to remain in the background. Quite different from the temple in [[farne:locations:Pernicdel]] indeed.

So anyway, we picked up [[farne:actors:doak fossil|Doak]] and [[farne:actors:liri fossil|Liri]] at the crane compound and brought them back with us to [[farne:locations:city of alestia|Alestia City]]. We returned them to the [[farne:locations:Occluded Rainbow Inn]] so that they could get it up and running again, letting them know where we'd be at and that if they needed anything at all, to just come by and ask.

From there, we headed off to [[farne:locations:Dis]] to do that research on [[farne:cosmology:azranael|Azranael]] that we'd been needing to do for a while. I took some blank bound books with me, and we were able to find a decent, if high-level, history of [[farne:cosmology:azranael|Azranael]], and I copied it into the book. [[farne:cosmology:kaz|Kaz]] was not really mentioned at all, definitely not by name, but the "big event" in which all his pals died and he was imprisoned was mentioned, if only in passing. Nothing, however was mentioned about how to detect someone of [[farne:cosmology:azranael|Azranael]]'s bloodline. I mean it was obvious there was a way to do it, but that answer did not lie here.

We decided that the rest of our questions were too farne-specific for the likes of the realm of devils, and so we headed back to Farne to take care of them. Specifically, back to [[farne:locations:Masayume]], as we'd have a greater chance of finding more information there regarding all of this [[farne:cosmology:kaz|Kaz]] stuff. We gated into [[farne:locations:Mikake]], and then traveled from [[farne:locations:Mikake]] to [[farne:locations:Yamazakura]], the capital city, to peruse their libraries for any further info on [[farne:cosmology:kaz|Kaz]] (by name or no), [[farne:cosmology:azranael|Azranael]], and "the city that was nuked before".

Of the three, we only found info on the "the city that was nuked before". It was in the Elven kingdom of [[farne:locations:Valenesti]], a city near the mountains of [[farne:locations:Upper Thalia]] by the name of Vandaria. I copied that information into my blank books as well.

From there we headed back to talk to [[farne:cosmology:kaz|Kaz]] about all the info we'd found. I handed him the book and let him peruse it until we returned again. While there, we talked about the religious stuff surrounding his cult a little more, but didn't really come to a whole lot in terms of conclusions. We discussed the "marking" thing at length, and eventually [[farne:protagonists:boyce:index|Boyce]] told [[farne:cosmology:kaz|Kaz]] to "bless" him, which he did bemusedly. [[farne:protagonists:trent:index|Trent]] reported in that the aura seemed to be very similar if not exactly the same as the strange aura that those young nobles in [[farne:locations:Pernicdel]] had. We weren't exactly sure what it all meant, but we all had [[farne:cosmology:kaz|Kaz]] "bless" us before we left so that we might be able to get into the temple if not the city this time without hassle.

From there we headed back up to [[farne:locations:Pernicdel]] to attend this church session thing that [[farne:actors:anzja of the rivers|Anzja]] was in town for. We dressed well and rode in on horses, and were not even stopped at the gate this time. I don't know if it was because we looked the part or if it was [[farne:cosmology:kaz|Kaz]]'s blessing that got us in that easily, but whatever.

The mass started at 10pm, and so we showed up around 9:30 and sat near the back. Close to 10pm, the three devils showed up at stood behind us at the back of the temple to observe the goings-on. Eek! We watched with great trepidation as not only did [[farne:actors:anzja of the rivers|Anzja]] show up, but so did [[farne:actors:sanria veris|Veris]] and [[farne:actors:tenris melfir|Melfir]]! Gah!

The ceremony was a lot of what I would've expected, except for the part near the end where they walked in 30 of those red headed people, channeled their essences out of of them and into [[farne:actors:sanria veris|Veris]], and then the 30 dropped dead on the floor. I tried to keep myself calm. I did consider running up and attacking [[farne:actors:sanria veris|Veris]] with sword blazing for a brief instant, but logic immediately set in, pointing out to myself that there is just no way any of us would have any success doing that in this situation, especially not after she just got a load of power channeled into her. My eye twitched irritatedly for the remainder of the service. I was also kind of pissed that no one else of the congregation here seemed to care that they just murdered a bunch of people so casually right in front of them.

Man. What ARE we going to do? Sure, she might run out of red-heads eventually, but that would mean we just passively let her murder everyone in her stock until the remaining descendants of [[farne:cosmology:azranael|Azranael]] are difficult enough to come by that she can't just absorb power willy-nilly, or spend the power so casually. We need to find her stash and some how free them. Free them AND get them to a place that is safe, where they can't be retaken. But where? And we can't just sit around on it. It seemed there was 3-4 weeks before this would happen again, so that is no longer than we could take with this.

Anyway, after the ceremony, following the departure of [[farne:actors:anzja of the rivers|Anzja]], [[farne:actors:sanria veris|Veris]] and what seemed to be her puppet, [[farne:actors:tenris melfir|Melfir]], [[farne:protagonists:boyce:index|Boyce]] hung around and spoke with a few of the church-goers as people started filing out, while I fumed in the background. The folks did seem to dismissively notice that the gem was gone from its stand behind the altar, but it didn't seem to affect the ceremony at all. Great. They did comment that more people were murdered this time around than usual, but not excessively so.

From there we departed and headed back to talk to [[farne:cosmology:kaz|Kaz]] to see if he had felt any prayers come to him during the ceremony. Nope, nada. I was becoming increasingly frustrating dealing with [[farne:cosmology:kaz|Kaz]]. He wasn't really helping us at all, and he was granting prayers to our enemies, he didn't understand anything at all about his nature and he only barely remembered any of his past which was what this entire situation rested upon. The information we were uncovering just wasn't enough, it didn't really give us any insight into [[farne:cosmology:kaz|Kaz]]'s role in [[farne:actors:anzja of the rivers|Anzja]]'s church, nor how they were using him or how he could be used to assist us.

Maybe it was our fault from the beginning for thinking we had an ace in the hole. It seemed that they didn't really need the gem at all in any way. It was symbolic only; they could still pray to him no matter where the gem was and he could still grant them their prayers. I dropped the topic and instead asked him if anything he read was jogging any more memories? 

He said that he was actually starting to remember a few things. He did recognize [[farne:cosmology:azranael|Azranael]], and he remembered his group of friends, and he even remembered some of the events from the day of the battle so long ago. He seemed surprised that Aya was a goddess now (I thought we told him that already? Maybe it had had no meaning when he didn't remember who she was). He thought it was probably Hiroko who imprisoned him, although he couldn't remember why, other than "that crazy, jealous @*%#". That didn't seem like a good enough reason to go to the trouble of imprisoning someone for eternity, though.

For more detail on the events, he suggested that we head to one of the higher planes and find [[farne:actors:vandriel|Vandriel]]. He would mention that he also thought [[farne:ancient_history:dramatis_personae#rini_vriu|Rini]] might still be alive too. After some discussion, we decided to head back to [[farne:locations:Alestia]] and pursue a few minor, unrelated things to kind of detox from the unpleasantness of the ceremony, and then later all head up into the upper realms of the celestials in search of Vandriel.

Back in [[farne:locations:Alestia]], we stopped by our mailbox and noticed a letter from [[farne:actors:elina parnth|Parnth]]. She was basically agreeing to meet with us in a few days at some Inn in [[farne:locations:Upper Thalia|Dimmersdel]]. We would definitely be there for that meeting.

From there I headed to the temple of [[farne:cosmology:lesser powers#Hathandar|Hathandar]] for a while. Later, [[farne:protagonists:boyce:index|Boyce]] and I decided to attend one of the costume balls we'd been invited to in order to start building up some political connections here locally. I had decided, during all of the recent events, that I would heavily pursue an Electoral position as a sort of a short-term goal and hob-nobbing with these noble snobs would definitely propel me in that direction.

As kind of a longer term item, my eyes strayed to [[farne:locations:Lower Thalia]] on the map. I started gathering geographic information on [[farne:locations:Lower Thalia]], as well as information about their economy, government, exports, army (such that they have), etc. [[farne:locations:Alestia]] was too entrenched in their style of government which seemed well designed to not be able to get anything at all done, there were so many electors. But at least they seemed to have a competent army and could handle themselves in a fight if need be. [[farne:locations:Lower Thalia]], however, had nothing at all going for it defensively, and seemed largely in need of some help dealing with its overbearing northern neighbor. Maybe I was thinking too highly of myself, but once all this [[farne:actors:sanria veris|Veris]] stuff blows over, I started hoping that maybe I could step in and provide a little direction to the scatter-brained country of my birth. Certainly, the connections I make here in [[farne:locations:Alestia]], starting with this costume ball, and many other social occasions to come, will help me in reaching that goal. We'll see...

--------------------------
\\ 
At the costume ball, I tried to talk to a lot of different people, especially the ones my age that seemed to have a little more ambition than just "I get to inherit mommy/daddy's title and be rich!". We needed to find people with useful resources to make connections with who wanted to do something more with their lives, or whose desire for power could be otherwise useful for those ([[farne:protagonists:boyce:index|Boyce]]) willing to exploit it. We were able to meet a few people.

I also happened to run into a couple of guys my age I'd talked to quite a bit at the last party we'd attended: [[farne:actors:Ryncer Hingbury|Ryncer Hingbury]] and [[farne:actors:Andregil Bockermoor|Andregil Bockermoor]]. The two were obviously friends and seemed to have some kind of "friendly" competition going. At least, from the last party, they were definitely running a count against each other. It was sort of amusing. Is this what bored nobility does? Heh, anyway, I ran into [[farne:actors:Andregil Bockermoor|Regil]] first, so I decided to go up to him and start up a conversation and head out onto the dance floor.

We picked up basically where we left off last time, conversation loaded with innuendo and implication. [[farne:actors:Ryncer Hingbury|Ryn]] came over to say hello and cut in for a song, and I could see that [[farne:actors:Ryncer Hingbury|Ryn]] was disappointed that [[farne:actors:Andregil Bockermoor|Regil]] had gotten to me first tonite, especially since he ([[farne:actors:Ryncer Hingbury|Ryn]]) had approached me first last time. That's okay, you'll get your turn.

I was able to dance with [[farne:actors:Ryncer Hingbury|Ryn]] through one song before [[farne:actors:Andregil Bockermoor|Regil]] cut back in. The two exchanged looks as he did so, and it seemed like [[farne:actors:Ryncer Hingbury|Ryn]] was conceding defeat for now. That's fine though, I secretly had been a little more interested in [[farne:actors:Andregil Bockermoor|Regil]] since the last party anyway (although I'd never let either of them know that). But the look they exchanged, I had to wonder just how good of friends they were. There was something weird about it that I couldn't quite understand the meaning. It was kind of like a hi-five smirk and something else. Hm. I supposed I would find out eventually.

I spent pretty much the rest of the night [[farne:actors:Andregil Bockermoor|Regil]], which was enjoyable. He was a fun companion, and despite him not being quite as much "my type" appearance-wise as [[farne:actors:Ryncer Hingbury|Ryn]], something about his personality was intriguing. I felt pretty comfortable with him.

At some point I noticed [[farne:protagonists:boyce:index|Boyce]] living it up with a group of... well, they weren't "ne'er do wells", but they were about as close to that as you could get for nobility. The [[farne:actors:elloie_firenze|chick]] sitting on his lap looked particularly... I hate to say "slutty" because I'm sure plenty of people would describe me in that manner, but there was something particularly "dirty" or "unsavory" about her. I don't know. And then there was the poor, [[farne:actors:brittana_winters|cowering waif]] with them who was obviously uncomfortable.

I could only shake my head at what was almost guaranteed to transpire later that evening. [[farne:protagonists:boyce:index|Boyce]] always did seem to be into the slightly more kinky and weird stuff. The poor [[farne:actors:brittana_winters|girl]]! 

[[farne:actors:Andregil Bockermoor|Regil]] commented on my pointed expression at [[farne:protagonists:boyce:index|Boyce]], and as we moved away from [[farne:protagonists:boyce:index|Boyce]] on the dance floor I replied, "aaah, [[farne:protagonists:boyce:index|Boyce]] is just being [[farne:protagonists:boyce:index|Boyce]]," and smiled up at him. [[farne:actors:Andregil Bockermoor|Regil]] obviously had no idea what I was talking about but he glanced over at the people [[farne:protagonists:boyce:index|Boyce]] was with and commented, "...ah. I think I understand."

From there, nothing else was mentioned of [[farne:protagonists:boyce:index|Boyce]] and we decided to escape away to a private room for a short period of time to hmmm... vigorously take care of some very pressing business.

We returned to the dance floor some 20 minutes later, and I could see [[farne:actors:Ryncer Hingbury|Ryn]] across the floor who looked over as we re-entered, noting our return with a smirk. If [[farne:actors:Andregil Bockermoor|Regil]] noticed his expression, he didn't make any indication to me about it. I may have to get these two alone together some time in the future to see just what exactly is going on here.

Not too much later, [[farne:actors:Andregil Bockermoor|Regil]] and I decided to head out from the party early. We were being silly, chatting, as we walked back to his place, a town house in the nicer part of the city. Earlier, the discussion between us had turned to the fact that I was "just looking for some fun, meaningless sex" of which he had already commented earlier that he was a fan. His reply to this, though, was not what I expected, such as "come get some over here!", but that he "knew a few people". This pronouncement intrigued me, and I wondered what exactly he could be talking about (although I had a few guesses). So, in exchange for him introducing me to his "few people", I would of course let him sample the wares first. I mentioned to him that I was getting the better deal here, and he asked how that was the case. So I mentioned that I would've let sample the wares without him introducing me to anyone, but now that he's agreed to it there's no way I'm letting him get out of it. He chuckled and told me I drove a hard bargain.

And so, I stood before the door to his place as he opened it for me and motioned me in. As soon as the door closed behind us, he closed the space between us in an instant. The whole night was pretty intense, even though his amusing personality left the mood pretty light and airy. Now that I think on it, this is the first time I've ever done this at the other person's place of residence, y'know, where they live, come home and sleep every night (whether or not they're getting laid). Come to think of it, it seems I was often getting laid in Inns in towns I don't live in or in the muck and mud while traveling between towns. This was certainly a nice change. I will definitely take more of this!

Anyway, the shenanigans went on quite far into the night, and we both finally passed out around 4am. I left late morning the next day, and [[farne:actors:Andregil Bockermoor|Regil]] said he'd be in touch. 

I headed back to the new house and spent some time with [[farne:protagonists:grey:index|Grey]] taking the house that [[farne:actors:nicele hames|Nicele Hames]] gave us and somewhat reconfiguring it to our needs, as well as fortifying it (sadly, we would probably need it). [[farne:protagonists:trent:index|Trent]] assisted by generating some magical protections, while [[farne:protagonists:boyce:index|Boyce]]... wait, where is [[farne:protagonists:boyce:index|Boyce]]? [[farne:protagonists:boyce:index|Boyce]] rolled in late afternoon looking a bit tired, but joined in with our antics and provided some Space barriers/wards around the house as needed.

Later in the day I headed by the temple of [[farne:cosmology:lesser powers#Hathandar]] to meditate some more. I think the priests were beginning to recognize me. Well, aside from [[farne:actors:arilus merkus|Ari]], who definitely noticed every time I came in when he wasn't tied up with other work. 

Speaking of, I gave him my new address while I was at the temple since he wasn't too busy and came by to talk to me (and asked for it). So I shouldn't have been too surprised when [[farne:actors:arilus merkus|he]] turned up on my doorstep later that evening. I figured he probably just wanted a roll in the hay, but to my surprise he actually prompted me to come out with him on a really long rather romantic sort of date-like-thing. I tried to remember if [[farne:actors:koga akira|Akira]] had ever done that... no, no I don't really think so. [[farne:actors:koga akira|Akira]] and I had always just kinda hung out like friends and then headed off somewhere to screw. The flavor of the whole thing was a good bit different than I was used to, and the thought of it made me uncomfortable.

But date or no date, he did eventually come with me back to the house, and we did settle into my room for a long night of bed exercises.

Only a couple days from when I woke up with the priest of [[farne:cosmology:lesser powers#Hathandar]] curled around me in my own bedroom in my new house would we be meeting [[farne:actors:elina parnth|Parnth]]'s son and get this alliance ball a' rollin'. I couldn't wait!