RE: Cloudsea - The Chronicle of Alice Van Vaugen
07-29-2017, 05:39 PM
Earl walked over to the table. He began knocking chairs aside. Then he stopped, and walked around the table the other way, knocking all the other chairs over, except for the one that Empty is sitting in, and the one he turns around and sits on, gripping the back of the chair in his hands angrily. He doesn't even notice the grey cloaks fluttering around behind him. Oops.
Earl was reaching for Empty's hood, when he suddenly just- deflated. His arms fell down to his sides, and his forehead rested on the back of the chair. He was searching for something. Some hidden reserve of energy, but Fatalism was out of his range- something this THING did. . .
Empty began to explain, and Earl listened.
A muse, the thing that you call a muse, is largely a figment. A fragment of a broken psyche, a wounded heart, a shattered moral compass. A portion of one's own mind, given form. Each person's muse manifests in different ways, and is an extreme representation of one's deepest thoughts. Qhen is filled with a potent anger at a world that has seen them 'subjugated', and seen their friends and family taken away from them. Just the same, they are filled with a powerful desire to be 'free'. To escape the chains of society and be their own person.
Earl understood that. Qhen and Viss had a bit of a punch up over something related, didn't they?
Yes. Viss' muse reflects a powerful jealousy. An envy that burns hotter than her own blood, a dark reflection of a cry for help. A desire to be held. To be loved. To be 'accepted'. She could not admit to herself or others her desires, and so she gave in, at an early age, to the burning 'envy'. She sated a thirst for acceptance with fear.
Earl did not like where this was going. He nervously gripped his right hand.
Not to worry, Earl. I will not reveal the secrets of yourself or your friends yet. That is something that Alice shall discover on her own. Speaking of. You have asked many questions, but none with substance. But just this once, I shall give you the answers you have been looking for, Earl Viscount.
Once upon a time, there was a girl named Alice van Vaugen. She led a lonely life. Not tortured in any sense, but an extremely lonely life all the same. For most of her life, she was surrounded by guardians, people that she did not know that owed her parents a debt of some kind, and would have their accounts settled by passing on some of their knowledge to this precocious child. Despite all of that, she was still alone. You see, a muse is not some magical intrinsic power one has. Everyone has the capacity to summon a muse from deep inside. Everyone hurts, Earl.
Earl had stood up. Empty had stood up. They were floating towards Earl. Earl took a step back, then another. He gripped around in his head. Fatalism wasn't there. He desperately tried to decipher his own puzzle. If fatalism would not help him here-. . . what did he want? What did he desire? What would save him from this-
No one lives a perfect life, Earl. Everyone hurts. Everyone suffers. Some more so than others. Some so much that they feel a need to escape. Muses are that escape. An attempt to bring one's life back into balance with barely understood powers. It almost never works out. After all, you've written and read so many books, as a histicion, you know how those stories end.
Earl tried to stand their ground. There was something about Empty that was deeply unsettling. It was like a bad trip. Maybe he was just hallucinating. Maybe this was all a bad dream.
Earl's back hit an invisible wall. Empty reached out, their cloak opening up, and a slender arm, formed of the infinite starry expanse of the universe beyond the CloudSea, slowly reached out. Empty grabbed Earl's shoulder, and Earl began to stare into Empty's hood. Jesus- it was full of stars. . .
He licked his lips nervously. He had stuffed his hands into his pockets, and was desperately trying to put something into a pipe. A desperate chuckle escaped him.
Earl stared into Empty. He saw planets. Stars. Solar systems. Galaxies. Nebulae. Moons. Asteroids. He also saw what lay in-between those things. An infinite, yawning abyss. An Emptiness like none other. He wondered if he touched their face, if he would become lost in that Emptiness. He reached out with a hand. . . And Empty grabbed it with their other hand.
He squinted. He leaned in, trying to get a good look into that hood. He studied the shifting patterns- and realized he was staring at a face. He jerked back. Empty did not let go.
Empty leaned in. Closer. Closer. . Closer. . .
Empty took in a deep breath- and Earl heard the the sound of stars roaring into existence, great cosmic fires burning deep inside Empty's infinite confines of their hood. They learned in just a little closer- the heat coming from their open mouth practically scorching Earl's face- and they let out a sharp- quick breath.
Earl vanished, blown out like a candle.
Empty slowly exhaled a cloud of beautiful, glittering purple nebula fire, crackling with electricity. They calmed down, repeating something quietly to themselves- and quickly became the floating cloud of fog wearing a cloak that everybody knew and loved(?).
Spoiler
Spoiler
A muse, the thing that you call a muse, is largely a figment. A fragment of a broken psyche, a wounded heart, a shattered moral compass. A portion of one's own mind, given form. Each person's muse manifests in different ways, and is an extreme representation of one's deepest thoughts. Qhen is filled with a potent anger at a world that has seen them 'subjugated', and seen their friends and family taken away from them. Just the same, they are filled with a powerful desire to be 'free'. To escape the chains of society and be their own person.
Earl understood that. Qhen and Viss had a bit of a punch up over something related, didn't they?
Yes. Viss' muse reflects a powerful jealousy. An envy that burns hotter than her own blood, a dark reflection of a cry for help. A desire to be held. To be loved. To be 'accepted'. She could not admit to herself or others her desires, and so she gave in, at an early age, to the burning 'envy'. She sated a thirst for acceptance with fear.
Earl did not like where this was going. He nervously gripped his right hand.
Not to worry, Earl. I will not reveal the secrets of yourself or your friends yet. That is something that Alice shall discover on her own. Speaking of. You have asked many questions, but none with substance. But just this once, I shall give you the answers you have been looking for, Earl Viscount.
Once upon a time, there was a girl named Alice van Vaugen. She led a lonely life. Not tortured in any sense, but an extremely lonely life all the same. For most of her life, she was surrounded by guardians, people that she did not know that owed her parents a debt of some kind, and would have their accounts settled by passing on some of their knowledge to this precocious child. Despite all of that, she was still alone. You see, a muse is not some magical intrinsic power one has. Everyone has the capacity to summon a muse from deep inside. Everyone hurts, Earl.
Earl had stood up. Empty had stood up. They were floating towards Earl. Earl took a step back, then another. He gripped around in his head. Fatalism wasn't there. He desperately tried to decipher his own puzzle. If fatalism would not help him here-. . . what did he want? What did he desire? What would save him from this-
No one lives a perfect life, Earl. Everyone hurts. Everyone suffers. Some more so than others. Some so much that they feel a need to escape. Muses are that escape. An attempt to bring one's life back into balance with barely understood powers. It almost never works out. After all, you've written and read so many books, as a histicion, you know how those stories end.
Earl tried to stand their ground. There was something about Empty that was deeply unsettling. It was like a bad trip. Maybe he was just hallucinating. Maybe this was all a bad dream.
Earl's back hit an invisible wall. Empty reached out, their cloak opening up, and a slender arm, formed of the infinite starry expanse of the universe beyond the CloudSea, slowly reached out. Empty grabbed Earl's shoulder, and Earl began to stare into Empty's hood. Jesus- it was full of stars. . .
Spoiler
Spoiler
Spoiler
Spoiler
Spoiler
Earl vanished, blown out like a candle.
Empty slowly exhaled a cloud of beautiful, glittering purple nebula fire, crackling with electricity. They calmed down, repeating something quietly to themselves- and quickly became the floating cloud of fog wearing a cloak that everybody knew and loved(?).
Empty Wrote:"Do you think I was too hard on him?"