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Role Playing Games => BZ's Games => Disciples => Topic started by: BerkaZerka on June 09, 2016, 09:01:18 pm

Title: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on June 09, 2016, 09:01:18 pm
Ann Arbor Michigan; Friday May 13th 2016
It had been a long day for Elizabeth, cataloging all the new books donated to the university library from that Bakersfield estate auction. Box after box of some choice additions, including two absolutely amazing finds - the 11th century Codex Benedictus and ninth century Lorsch Gospels. The two handwritten and illuminated books being in Latin and estimated at a value of $8,000 and $15,000 respectively.

Once all the excitement over their discovery had died down, the news crews and university administration left, leaving Elizabeth once again alone among the stacks to finally finish her work.

While the two medieval manuscripts and other works in the collection would greatly enhance both student and faculty research, as well as put the university library in the forefront of such studies, Elizabeth was glad to get back to her books. She didn't care for all the attention or hype, especially since the majority of those seeing the news story about the books couldn't care less. It was a fluff piece for the station and an excuse for the university to get a little attention. It took a certain type of individual to really appreciate the true significance of such a find.

Glancing at the clock, Elizabeth was surprised to see that it was past 9:00 pm. It was dark outside and she was the only person still in the library. Of course she had closed up on more than one occasion, but all these crates and boxes still needed her attention and normally, she would be locking the door well before this time of night.

With heavy sigh, she grabbed a cart-bin and began breaking down boxes and crates to take out back. After two trips, she was down to the last of it and filling the bin for the final time, when something caught her eye.

On the floor among the last of the crate debris was a small rectangular object about the size of a man's wallet. In fact, Elizabeth initially thought that it was a wallet someone had dropped, until she went to pick it up and found that it was actually quite heavy, with an oily metallic feel, and unusually cool to the touch.

What she had appeared to be a small bound codex of fourteen index-card sized sheets of lead - each browned with an ancient patina and engraved with the most exquisitely strange text (something Elizabeth had never seen before).

Clearly, it had to be from the Bakersfield collection, but Elizabeth was positive that she had already accounted for all the works on the manifest...
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 06, 2016, 07:42:29 pm
Elizabeth examined the book more closely, hoping to find some clue as to its provenance. 
It was strange for her to see a completely unfamiliar writing system.  Even though she couldn't read Arabic or Sanskrit, she could usually at least recognize the text.
"What are you supposed to be?" she asked the book, carefully turning its pages with her gloved hands.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 07, 2016, 09:50:54 pm
Thinking through all the languages she had ever seen, Elizabeth thought the text resembled, to a small degree, the smooth flowing script of modern Arabic, but she was sure that couldn't be what it actually was.

The plates sure looked authentic though. If they were some sort of fake, they were quite convincing ones.

As Elizabeth considered the strange codex, a sudden loud noise startled her.

A large hardcover book had just inexplicably fallen off a nearby rack. While not an entirely uncommon occurrence in a large library with patrons carelessly placing books back on the shelves, after perusing their pages, the timing of it sure seemed a little unsettling.

That, and  looking, Elizabeth saw that it was a copy of Stephen King's 'The Stand'.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 08, 2016, 09:00:11 am
"How did that happen?" she asked the empty library.  "There's no one here--" then, louder "Is someone here?"

She carefully set the codex onto her desk and leaned over to pick up the book.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 08, 2016, 01:41:45 pm
No one answered; and Elizabeth retrieved the fallen novel.

As she picked it up with one hand, the two thousand-plus page book flipped open and fell back to the floor - landing page-heavy on one side - where the pages started to rapidly flip from one side to the other, as they balanced themselves out on the spine.

As this happened, a page flung out of the book to settle nearby.

The page in question had dried yellow tape on one edge of a tear, where it had once been secured back into the book some time ago - though now the tape was dry, flaking with age, and had zero stick left to it.

Someone had also highlighted a paragraph on the page, in what must have been florescent yellow a few decades ago, but now, it was a faded brownish color.

The highlighted paragraph read, “No one can tell what goes on in between the person you were and the person you become. No one can chart that blue and lonely section of hell. There are no maps of the change. You just come out the other side."

"Or you don't.”
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 08, 2016, 01:58:51 pm
Elizabeth shook her head angrily.  Why couldn't people show a little respect for books?  And was that Scotch Tape someone used?  Really!

She picked up the book again, intending to set it aside for possible repairs at a later date.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 09, 2016, 06:43:40 pm
With that taken care of, and everything else cleaned up, Elizabeth could finally lock up and go home.

Of course, there was still the mystery codex to deal with.

Should she leave it here in the library? Or take it home with her?

Should she call her boss to let him know about it now? Or in the morning?

It was a part of the Bakersfield collection after all. They would want to be made aware of it as soon as possible. It could be equally as important as the Codex Benedictus and Lorsch Gospels.

Or maybe keep it to herself for the moment? At least until she could figure out more about it. It wasn't on the manifest, so no one would miss it - and it would be a shame to stir everyone up again over a potential hoax.

It might be a good idea just to make sure first...
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 09, 2016, 08:34:22 pm
It's not like she'd never taken books home before, after all.

Elizabeth carefully packed the codex in with the rest of her things, and prepared to lock up.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 11, 2016, 12:36:28 pm
With the library secured, Elizebeth walked the short distance off campus to her small studio apartment.

It was later than she would usually be making the trip; and the darkness of the evening seemed unusually oppressive in some odd way that she couldn't quite put her finger on. She hadn't been afraid of the dark since she was a little girl, but this was downright unnerving for some reason.

Arriving home, she hurried up the steps to her front door and fished the keys from her messenger bag. Something buzzed in the darkness above her. An insect of some kind.

Flashing her penlight toward the sound, Elizabeth saw a small paper-wasp's nest in the upper corner of her doorframe. It was something new. She hadn't had a problem with wasps before. A single black and red wasp crawled across its surface, buzzing its wings loudly.

Too loudly.

Why was it so loud? How could it be so loud?!?
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 11, 2016, 06:25:58 pm
Reflexively, Elizabeth swatted at the wasp. Not trying to smash it, just brush it away.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 12, 2016, 12:47:05 pm
The wasp flew off the nest and around Elizabeth a few times, then landed on her messenger bag. There, it crawled inside before she could stop it - the buzzing of its wings going silent as it disappeared within...
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 12, 2016, 01:34:45 pm
"Oh! No no no no no!!" Elizabeth tipped the contents of her bag out onto the porch.  "Oh, why'd you have to go in there?!"
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 12, 2016, 01:45:10 pm
Everything fell out with a clatter on Elizabeth's doorstep - her mace, taser, various paperbacks, the mystery codex, cell phone, magnifying glass, hairbrush, lipstick, etc.

Elizabeth uncontrollably winced, as the small lead book bounced off the concrete - though for a moment she wasn't sure which to be more concerned about - the ancient relic or her cell phone, which made a nasty cracking sound as it landed screen down (of course)...

No wasp came out however.

Was it still crawling around inside the bag?
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 12, 2016, 02:33:17 pm
"Arrrrrgh, what do I do?" Elizabeth asked no one in particular.  She really didn't think sticking her hand in there was a good idea, but she couldn't just leave her bag outside all night. 

Could she? 

Better than taking the wasp inside the house, she supposed. . .
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 12, 2016, 04:05:08 pm
It wouldn't hurt the messenger bag to stay out all night; and hopefully, the wasp would head back to its nest by morning.

Opening the door and scooping everything up, Elizabeth went inside, then shut and locked the door behind her.

Laying her things out on the kitchen counter, she saw that the codex hadn't even been scuffed at all, but her phone now had a single long crack going across its screen.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 13, 2016, 02:52:56 pm
"Dammit! Dammit dammit damnit!!"
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 14, 2016, 12:24:27 pm
With a sigh, Elizabeth put her phone down and picked up the lead codex. She could get her screen fixed later, but something about this strange text seemed to be calling to her now.

Heading to the computer, Elizabeth logged on and started surfing the web for any clues to the odd script. After a few hours going in circles, she found herself frustrated, tired, and nowhere nearer the information she sought.

Maybe it was a hoax after all.

No... even if it was a hoax, there would be something about it. At the very least, a claim of discovery and someone seeking to profit by it.

Oh well, tomorrow was a new day.

Heading to bed, Elizabeth set the codex down on her nightstand and slipped into the sheets. After the day she had just been through, it didn't take long for her to fall asleep.

---

The next morning, Elizabeth woke up, recounting the strangest dream she'd just had.

In the dream, she had awaken in the middle of the might and begun reading the lead codex. She simply picked it up and read, as if she had understood the strange language her entire life.

She wasn't able to get far into it, but it was some kind of testament to an ancient djinn who walked the lands of Sumer before recorded history. Apparently, this being (who's name she couldn't recall), was precursor to the legend of genies and the granting of wishes.

In the dream reading, Elizabeth was just about to get into details of how to summon the djinn, but then woke up for real.

---

Looking, the lead codex was still at Elizabeth's bedside, where she had left it the night before.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 14, 2016, 12:43:23 pm
Elizabeth got up and went to the computer, curious to see if perhaps there was something to this Sumerian djinn idea.  Maybe she was remembering something subconsciously in her dream?
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 15, 2016, 01:50:12 pm
Looking some more online, Elizabeth found information on the ancient Sumerians, their lore, and even a bit on the Anatolian prehistory as far back as Catal Hoyuk (8,000 B.C.). None of it was really helpful.

The problem was that the script in the lead codex was nothing like the Sumerian cuneiform – or even the Vinca proto-script that predated cuneiform from as early as 5,500 BC.

If her dream was anything but her imagination running away with her (which it very well could be), then the codex was something even older than all that.

As Elizabeth gave this some thought, her phone began to ring. Glancing at the cracked screen, she could see that it was from her boss, Mr. Pique, at the University Library.

He knew that she wasn’t going to be in today, especially after the circus yesterday had turned out to be.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 15, 2016, 02:15:42 pm
"What you you want?" Elizabeth asked the ringing phone. "You know I'm not in today. Did someone call off?"

She picked up the phone and carefully pressed 'answer.'

"Yes?"
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 16, 2016, 06:37:27 pm
"Miss Hastings?" Mr. Pique began on the other end of the line, "I have the Coordinator for the Bakersfield Estate here in my office."

"He thinks an artifact from the estate may have accidently been shipped with our collection. It would have been a small sheaf of lead plates."

"Have you seen anything like that, while cleaning up last night?"
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 19, 2016, 11:57:06 am
"Oh! Yes!"  Elizabeth happily replies.  "I took it home for further research. It wasn't on he manifest and I wasn't sure how to catalogue it."
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 19, 2016, 05:01:30 pm
"Ah, excellent," Mr. Pique replied, relaying the info to someone with him in the office.

A moment later, Mr. Pique came back, "Can you bring it to the office? Or would you like Doctor Toht to stop by your apartment to pick it up?"
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 20, 2016, 12:32:41 pm
"Uh, I guess I'm not doing anything," Elizabeth replies.  "Should I come down to your office then?"
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 20, 2016, 12:54:37 pm
"That would be fine." Mr. Pique replied - "See you shortly."

He then hung up.

Less than a minute later, Elizabeth's phone signaled an incoming text message. It was from Mr. Pique and read: 'Couldn't say over phone with him standing here, but be sure to get pictures of every sheet before you bring it in!'.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 20, 2016, 01:05:16 pm
"That's weird," Elizabeth said to the phone.  "I wonder why Mr Pique is so interested.  Didn't think he even saw it."

Still, she took her cracked phone and began to take pictures of each page, intending to send them to mr pique, as well as save them to her desktop and store them in the cloud, and email them to her brother. (Elizabeth had learned a long time ago that you could never have too many backup copies.)
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 20, 2016, 02:13:20 pm
Mr. Pique was probably just taking advantage of Elizabeth having the codex in her possession. He was always looking for new acquisitions to add to the library and had been very excited to get the Bakersfield Estate.

Knowing that there was potentially even more treasures to be found in that collection, Elizabeth could guess that Mr. Pique wanted the pictures to study the codex, in order to determine if it was worth going after for acquisition.

No, he hadn't seen it, but that Doctor Toht fellow had certainly described it to him - which would have gotten Mr. Pique's salivary glands going.

Finishing up her backup and copies, Elizabeth took the codex and went to gather her things. They were still scattered across the kitchen counter, where she had left them last night.

Crap... that meant her messenger bag was still outside on the porch... with that wasp...
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 21, 2016, 10:21:56 am
"Oh right. . . that weird wasp. . ." she said to no one in particular.  "Maybe I could just get a different purse?"

Elizabeth went to the front hall closet and began to search for another bag, conducting an imaginary conversation with Mr Pique under her breath as she did so.

"So, it looks like it's probably Proto-Sumerian in origin. . . Something about a djinn, granting wishes. . . Isn't it strange that the codex is made of lead? . . Crap, none of these are large enough."

Having failed to locate a purse capable of containing the lead codex in addition to the rest of her belongings, Elizabeth was left with no choice but to brave the suspicious candywasp.

She opened the front door, and looked out.  "Hey, are you still out there?"
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 21, 2016, 12:13:28 pm
A cacophony of buzzing seemed to answer Elizabeth back.

The messenger bag was still where she had left it, but the nest... Oh My! It was no longer a small little affair, as it had been last night.

Dozens and dozen of the black and red wasps now crawled and buzzed across the surface of a huge nest that filled the entire upper corner of her door frame.

'How...?!?'
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 21, 2016, 12:32:21 pm
"Eeep!" said Elizabeth, slamming the door.

"What the hell, wasps?" she shouted at them from behind the relative safety of 3 inches of reinforced plywood.  "What is your problem?"  She backed away from the door and considered her options.

"It's a good thing Dr Toht isn't coming over here," she told the codex.  "But how am I going to get out?"  She looked out the window at her messenger bag.  "Oh, right!  The window!"

Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 21, 2016, 01:50:18 pm
Elizabeth slowly slid the window up (praying not to alert the wasps) and fiddled with the screen - 'How do you get this thing out?!?'

Eventually, it dawned on her, that she could simply head out the back door.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 21, 2016, 02:25:11 pm
"Oh.  Right."

She gathered her things, and went out the sliding glass door.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 21, 2016, 03:11:57 pm
The grocery bag that Elizabeth had shoved all her things into didn't look too far out of place. After all, plenty of people went shopping on or around the campus.

'Yeah, right! Got to get my messenger bag back from those wasps, as soon as possible!'

After the short walk from her apartment to the university, Elizabeth hurried up the library steps and went in. Nearing the office, she saw a man sitting there with a newspaper. He got up when Elizabeth approached.

It was a squat-faced German fellow, with round wire-rim glasses and unusually thick lips. He wore a dark suit and tie, with a black leather overcoat and matching hat and gloves. He certainly had a 'European' look about him.

"Ms. Hastings?" the man asked, extending a handshake, "I'm Doctor Ernst Toht, Coordinator for the Bakersfield Estate."
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 21, 2016, 03:28:49 pm
"Oh hi!" said Elizabeth, holding out the grocery bag before hurriedly switching it to her left hand so she could complete the handshake. 

"Um. . . " and back to the grocery bag in search of the lead codex.  "Here it is!"
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 21, 2016, 09:33:13 pm
"Excellent!" Doctor Toht replied - his eyes lighting up at the sight of the codex.

Taking it, he held it up to admire; "This little marvel has been carbon dated at 16,600 BC. Obviously they don't have a name for the text and no idea who could have produced it, but I've taken to calling it 'Wormwood'."

"It came into the Bakersfield Collection last year and I've been studying it ever since. Can't say I've gotten terribly far with the language, but I believe it to be some form of prehistoric religious work."

At that point Mr. Pique came out of his office.

"Ah, so we have everything sorted out then?" He asked

"Quite well, thank you!" Doctor Toht smiled.

"You know," Mr. Pique continued, "We have a wonderful Linguistics Study program here at the university. If you ever need someone to assist in your studies of that language, our Professors would be most happy to help."

"I will definitely keep that in mind," Doctor Toht replied, putting the lead codex in his coat pocket and then shaking Mr. Pique's hand.

He then tipped his hat to Elizabeth, "Fraulein," and turned to take his leave.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 25, 2016, 09:05:57 am
"Why do you call it Wormwood?" Elizabeth wondered out loud.  "You mean, like the star in Revelations?  The codex is about djinn, isn't it? What does that have to do with the Apocalypse?"
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 25, 2016, 11:01:48 am
Doctor Toht wheeled back around in disbelief - his face a mixture of shock and a nervous smile. "Y, You have read some of the codex?!? But how?"
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 25, 2016, 03:52:48 pm
"Well, I didn't really 'read' it, so much I 'had a really weird dream about it.'"
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 25, 2016, 05:19:43 pm
"That is... fascinating," Doctor Toht replied awkwardly, rubbing his chin. It wasn't clear to Elizabeth if the man was being genuine or facetious. "I would love to hear more about it, but I have to get the codex back to the Estate as soon as possible."

Then raising a finger in a 'eureka' moment, he added, "Ah! I don't suppose you would want to ride along would you? We still have an extensive library up there and would have access to the codex, at least long enough for a chat."

"I'd be happy to bring you back here or to your home after we drop it off."
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 25, 2016, 06:30:44 pm
Self-defense Rule #97: Don't take rides from strangers.  But dr toht wasn't a stranger, he was a fellow academician.  Plus, everybody knows intellectuals use strength as a dump stat.  Well, okay, that or charisma.  But dr toht seems personable.  Sort of.  What were we talking about again?

"I'd love to," said Elizabeth.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 25, 2016, 08:48:16 pm
"Excellent!" Doctor Toht clapped, leading Elizabeth to his car out in the lot. Being Coordinator for the Bakersfield Estate must pay well, as the doctor stopped at a white new model Lexus GS F Sedan and opened the passenger door for Elizabeth.

'Fancy luxury car, eighty grand and up,' Elizabeth found herself thinking. One of the perks of being a librarian, Elizabeth was a veritable font of useful (and sometimes useless) information on a wide variety of topics.

"The estate in about twenty miles northwest of Ann Arbor," Doctor Toht explained, "Adjacent the property of the Timberland Game Ranch. Should only take a half hour to get there."

"So, tell me about this dream of yours, " he said, as they pulled out of the lot and onto the road.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 26, 2016, 12:04:47 am
"In the dream I could read the codex," said Elizabeth.  "It was about an ancient djinn that granted wishes.  And I just got to the part that told you how to imminent it when I woke up.  Dreams are funny like that, you know? They'd be terrible tv shows.  Like that one detective drama I was watching.  Four seasons, I was watching it, and the very end?  The detective gets shot!  And that's how the series ends!  Thanks fir watching, I guess he's dead."
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 26, 2016, 10:28:37 am
'Ach, that's terrible!," Dr. Toht chuckled at the ending of the show. "I don't get to watch much television. My work keeps me very busy."

"About your dream though," he continued, "I was astounded to hear you mention the Djinn. And you are absolutely correct!"

"From what I have deciphered, the codex is about an entity from prehistory, that was worshipped as a god and took an active part in shaping civilization over the millennia. According to the text, the liberal wielding of his power for the benefit of his people, gave rise to the legend of the Djinn."

"Quite a coincidence ey?" He then said, "That your dream about the codex would be so accurate... Tell me Ms. Hastings, do you believe in the supernatural?"
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 27, 2016, 09:51:09 am
"Supernatural?!"  Elizabeth exclaimed.  "Absolutely!

"I used to love that show, but after Eric Kripke left it went downhill so hard.  It's just ridiculous now, sad really.  I mean. . . oh.  Oh.

"Um. . . the supernatural.  Yeah. . . I guess. . . I don't disbelieve in the supernatural, would be accurate?"
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 27, 2016, 10:33:32 am
"Good, good," Dr. Toht replied nodding his head. "It is refreshing to find open-minded people now and again."

"And I believe your natural open-mindedness was what allowed the codex to speak to you, as it were. It told you a little about itself in your dream. Where I... I have had to wrestle with the damn thing for every scrap of secret I could wring out of it."

"I quite envy you actually, Ms. Hastings."

The doctor then paused in thought a moment, before continuing, "You asked about the language, Wormwood, yes?"
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 27, 2016, 11:21:06 am
"Um, yeah!" Elizabeth said with surprise.  Dr Toht was turning out to be a pretty nice guy.  "Why did you call it that?"
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 27, 2016, 12:25:03 pm
"Oh, well, it's not completely my own nomenclature," Dr. Toht admitted.

"I found some very very obscure samples of the text online; and it was from them that I learned the script was called 'Wormwood'."

"If the information online is to be believed, then the writing is demonic in nature. Something that came to Earth with fall of Lucifer, when he was cast out of Heaven."

"Personally, I don't believe that of course - as the script itself, predates biblical history by a wide margin. More than likely, some theologians discovered one of these codex long ago and applied their own belief system to it, so that it wouldn't conflict with their particular view of the world."

Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 28, 2016, 07:28:36 am
"Wow, that's amazing," Elizabeth said.  "How did something so special end up accidentally shipped to us?"
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 28, 2016, 01:31:27 pm
"It actually happens more often than you'd think," Dr. Toht replied; "With the entire estate shipping out all at once to a variety of locations, things can get lost, go missing, or end up at the wrong destination."

"By the way," he then continued, changing the subject back to the codex script; "Once we reach the office, I can show you the other samples of Wormwood that I found online. I can also direct you to the site links themselves, but they are from the darknet - which is a dangerous place to roam, if you are fainthearted or easily distracted."
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 29, 2016, 02:35:02 pm
"That sounds exciting!!  Other samples, I mean, not things that are distracting and frightening."
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on July 29, 2016, 04:16:13 pm
As they continued their drive, the conversation drifted between other topics - Elizabeth and Dr. Toht chatting some about the Codex Benedictus and Lorsch Gospels that the university had acquired; and then onto a comparison of their formal schooling.

It turned out, that Dr, Toht was actually a doctor of philosophy in both anthropology and linguistics, having received his PhD's from Columbia University in New York.

By the time the conversation rolled past that, they were almost at their destination, driving on a gravel road in a heavily wooded area.

---

Mr. Pique was in his office, finally getting to his lunch break, when he flipped the television on for the local news and weather.

A picture or Doctor Ernst Toht was on the screen and the banner across the bottom scrolled by - 'Mental Patient Escapes; Still at Large; Considered Armed and Dangerous...'

Mr. Pique's tea sprayed from his mouth in shock.

Fumbling with the remote, he quickly raised the volume, to hear the anchor say, "... are advising residents to be on the lookout for this man, Doctor Ernst Toht."

"The former Director of Bakersfield Estate and Holdings - purveyors of rare antiquities, arts, and collectables - Doctor Toht was institutionalized two months ago, after suffering a sever episode of schizophrenia - attacking members of his staff with a 17th century Turkish kilij - a type of curved saber."

"He is believed to be traveling in a white new model Lexus GS F Sedan, stolen from the facility - License plate number 'ALG-3177'. I am being told that the vehicle belonged to the late Doctor Charles M. Maxwell, Chief of Psychology - who was injured in, and subsequently died as a result, of Doctor Toht's escape."

"If you have seen this man, or have any information regarding his whereabouts, please contact your local authorities immediately. You are advised not to approach, as he may be armed with a .45 caliber handgun, and is considered highly unstable."

"Holy shit! Elizabeth!" Mr. Pique gasped in horror.

Grabbing his phone, he hit speed-dial for her number.

---

Elizabeth's phone made half an attempt to ring. Looking at it, she could see a dropped call from Mr. Pique, but the signal was bouncing between zero and one bars. Crap, no reception out here!

Doctor Toht pulled up to an old sawmill in a small clearing by a wide pleasant looking stream. "Ah, we are here," he said to Elizabeth with a friendly smile, opening the door to get out and stretch.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on July 30, 2016, 02:09:50 pm
Elizabeth can't remember the last time she had this much fun talking to a real life person.  She gets out of the car.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on August 01, 2016, 11:48:25 am
"You mentioned in your Dream," Dr. Toht remarked, "that you hadn't yet gleaned the knowledge of how to call forth this Djinn."

"I myself, am on the very verge of unlocking that portion of the codex."

As he spoke, Dr. Toht walked to the heavy hanging door that entered into the mill and rolled it open. From where she stood by the car, Elizabeth could see that it was dark and dusty inside.

"And perhaps it was serendipity," Dr. Toht continued, "that the codex accidently fell into your hands last night."

"Don't you see? It chose you Elizabeth!"

"And with your help, the codex will finally spill all of its secrets, haha!"

Dr. Toht then reached into his coat pocket to pull out what Elizabeth had thought was going to be the codex. Instead, he produced a .45 caliber handgun and pointed at her guts.

Still smiling pleasantly, he explained - "Don't worry Elizabeth, I won't kill you. The summoning wont work, if you die."

"Now be a good girl and come inside. No trouble. I really don't want to have to shoot - and risk you bleeding out."
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on August 01, 2016, 05:04:14 pm
"Hey! You've got a gun," Elizabeth helpfulkt pointed out to the good doctor.  "Why do you have a gun?"

She raised her hands to the classic 'please-don't-shoot-me' position and walked toward Dr toht and the entrance to the mill.

"I thought you were a really nice guy," she said, pausing as she reached the dr.  "Why is it every time I like a guy, he ends up trying to kill me?  It's always 'oh it's not you, it's me,' or 'Shub-Niggurath demands a virgin' or--"

Quickly, she attempted to kick the dr in the privates & wrestle the gun away from him.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on August 02, 2016, 11:52:39 am
At first, it didn't seem like Dr. Toht was concerned about Elizabeth approaching him. After all, he was standing right next to the door that she had to go in through.

Just when she was within kicking range however, he moved back suddenly - right before Elizabeth swung her leg up like a football-star trying for a field goal! Instinctively twisted sideways, Dr. Toht's empty hand deflected Elizabeth's foot to the side - causing it to glance ineffectively up his thigh.

A terribly loud shot then rang out - As Dr. Toht pulled the trigger of the .45!

It felt as though Elizabeth had just been kicked by a horse! The blast punching through her midsection, and sitting her right down on her ass, as her legs buckled from the shock!

Dr. Toht's eyes widened with concern, as blood began pouring out of Elizabeth at an alarming rate!

"Dummkopf!!!" He yelled angrily, "You shouldn't have made me do that! You cannot die on me now! Not now! Not when we are so close!!!"

He then stepped a little farther back, and pointed the gun with both hands at Elizabeth's head, taking careful aim, as if to finish her off...

"Shit!" he hesitated, lowering the weapon a little, but still on Elizabeth.

"Maybe you can still walk, ya? Get up then, inside now. Enough games!"
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on August 03, 2016, 09:05:01 am
"Oh.  Shit.  Oh."  Elizabeth stared at the blood soaking through her clothing, then gazed up at the doctor in bewilderment.
 "You shot me." 

Left arm clamped over the hole in her side, she grasped the doorframe to pull herself upright. 
"You shot me."

Numb with shock and confusion, she staggered slowly into the darkness of the mill.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on August 03, 2016, 12:21:07 pm
"We've got to get that bleeding stopped!" Dr. Toht fretted, walking in behind Elizabeth with the gun at her back.

"The bullet has gone straight through, I'm afraid."

Come to think of it, there was some discomfort in the small of Elizabeth's back too - but largely eclipsed by the flaring pain in her abdomen. Absentmindedly, Elizabeth reached around to feel her back, and was shocked to find her clothing soaked in blood there as well.

'Now it's two holes...' she though to herself, beginning to disassociate from the situation slightly, due to the shock of it all.

Inside, Dr. Toht directed Elizabeth to a heavy wooden table, and then had her get on it, to lie down on her side. In the darkness of the sawmill, Elizabeth though she could see a small tray of surgical equipment near the table. There was even rolls of gauze and bandage wraps.

'That's convenient,' Elizabeth found herself thinking sarcastically, as she complied with Dr. Toht's directions.

Then Dr. Toht abruptly handcuffed Elizabeth's right hand to an iron rail that ran down the side of the table.

'Wait, what?' Elizabeth began to panic - 'What's he doing?!?'

Struggling, Elizabeth tried to fight the doctor off again, but in her weakened state and handcuffed, he managed to strap her completely down - over the arms, hips, and legs - with some cargo straps.

Held fast, all Elizabeth could do was scream.

Dr, Toht then walked over to a cabinet and retrieved an old kerosene lantern. Lighting the wick, he set it were the light would illuminate the area around Elizabeth.

With the light, Elizabeth could see that she was actually strapped down on one side of the old mill's saw-table - it being two halves, which lumber would run down, to be bisected by the huge blade about three feet further up the table from her head.

"Don't worry Elizabeth," Dr. Toht assured, "the mill hasn't been working for ages now."

Then, arranging his tools - those on the tray beside the table - Dr. Toht pulled Elizabeth's blouse up to get look at her wound.

"Yes, I think I may have something for this," he said, taking out the ancient codex and setting it on the table in the pool of blood beginning to form under Elizabeth.

Looking at the tray, Elizabeth could see that it wasn't covered in surgical tools at all. Her eyes widened in horrible realization - No! Those were implements of torture!

Tin-snips, plyers, an icepick, a steel rasp, a rusty saw, an assortment of kitchen cutlery, and a ballpeen hammer.

There actually was gauze and bandaging too, but how could Elizabeth really believe that Dr. Toht wasn't going to brutally murder her - here alone and helpless in the old sawmill.

"Well, let's see what we can do," Dr. Toht sighed - taking a wad of gauze and shoving it with two fingers, deeply into the bullet hole's entry point.

'My god that hurts!!!'
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on August 05, 2016, 09:24:34 am
Elizabeth screamed.

"Wait a minute, waitwaitwaitwaitwait," she pleaded.  "Why are you doing this and what are you doing and why is it what are you wait just wait a minute wait I---"
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on August 06, 2016, 12:18:27 am
“Don’t worry Elizabeth,” Dr. Toht assured, “The Djinn promised wishes – but he demands suffering, proportional to the gifts that he will bestow. The more you suffer, the more powerful the wishes!”

“I know this will hurt now, but when he is summoned, I’ll use one of the wishes to fix you right up! Then two wishes left – one for me and one for you!”

“Isn’t that wonderful?”

Elizabeth couldn’t help but feel that ‘no… no, this was not “wonderful”.’

Dr. Toht then shoved a wad of gauze into the exit wound of the bullet hole in Elizabeth’s back – twisting it back and forth as he drove it in.

It was excruciating!!!

“Oh my, this is fun!” he remarked with a chuckle, genuinely excited to be doing this – oblivious to Elizabeth’s suffering cries of pain. The man was clearly mad! And he was going to kill Elizabeth for some delusional fantasy!

“What to start with first?” He asked, letting his hand hover over the implements of torture.

“The ice pick?”

“No… I think you’ve lost too much blood already for that.”

“Kind of rules out the tin-snips, cutlery, and saw too, I guess… A pity – I was really looking forward to the saw.”

Dr. Toht’s hand then came down on the steel rasp.

“Yes, this will do I think.”

He then spent the next five minutes rasping skin off Elizabeth’s arms and legs with the metal sharpening tool. With each scream he encouraged her with “Good good! Louder louder! Yes yes!”

Elizabeth was reduced to sobbing tears of agony, when he finally put the bloodied thing back down on the tray.

He then retrieved a can of turpentine from under the saw table. Opening it, he spent another five minutes slowly pouring it out onto the rasp tracks in her flesh. The intensity of the pain exploded beyond anything that she had ever experienced – clouding her mind with shock!

At this point Elizabeth wished that she could pass out – but that wasn’t happening – and she was forced to endure it still. Her voice was starting to weaken; and she realized that begging the doctor to stop was not going to help. Elizabeth could tell from the sound of her own involuntary cries and her now ragged breathing, that she was literally on death’s door.

“Not too much longer dear,” Dr. Toht said, caressing Elizabeth’s hair – before yanking it hard with a laugh. A handful of it tore out from her scalp.

The sick bastard was enjoying this. He was enjoying Elizabeth’s suffering and distress.

Dr. Toht then picked up the ballpeen hammer.

Grabbing Elizabeth’s elbow to steady her arm – fingernails digging into her skin – he brought the hammer down with a mighty blow – right onto her hand below the cuffs!

White light burst in Elizabeth’s vision – as the hammer smashed the bones in her once lovely appendage – mangling it almost beyond recognition.

The loud crashing/crunching sound reverberated in Elizabeth’s head; and she could now feel herself beginning to let go – her consciousness dancing along the edge of oblivion.

Soon. Soon it would all be over.

“We are almost there!” Dr. Toht cried exuberantly, grabbing Elizabeth’ broken hand and twisting the fingers to send ugly jolts of nerve pain slamming up her arm like waves of hot lightning! It had the most unwanted effect of bringing Elizabeth right back to full consciousness.

“You just need to beg for death and the Djinn will come!” Dr. Toht shouted in triumph.

His eyes were wild. Elizabeth’s blood speckled his face and hands. He was absolutely raving mad. There was no question that he believed what he was saying.

If only it was true.

“I won’t kill you, but you must scream it with feeling! All this will go away and you will be healed – if you just cry out for sweet release!”

“Do it! Do It now!!!”
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on August 08, 2016, 07:54:18 am
Elizabeth made a sound.  The same sound she'd been making for a while now.  She was crying, but by this point she was so dehydrated that no tears remained. Just a ragged, rasping vocalization of the intake of breath.   

What she said was "Ah-hhh, ah-hhh, ah-hhh."

What she meant was "I can't do this anymore.  I can't do this anymore." 
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on August 08, 2016, 09:30:28 pm
“What is that?” Dr. Toht replied, a bit confused, “I don’t understand… You are giving up, right?”

He then threw his hands down with a huff of frustration.

“I really don’t know if it works like that!” he mulled, raising his voice – “I THINK YOU HAVE TO BE A LITTLE MORE CLEAR HERE!”

Elizabeth’s mumblings were still not cutting it for him.

“For heaven’s sake girl! Must I do everything?” he asked, grabbing Elizabeth by the hair again.

She fully expected him to rip more of it out, but instead, Dr. Toht leaned in and whispered – “Elizabeth, do you wish for death?”

Not waiting for an answer, he gently nodded Elizabeth’s head in the affirmative for her. “Yes, yes you do,” he hissed – then began to laugh manically “Ahh haa haa haa haa haa!”

When he had regained control of himself, Dr. Toht reached down and pulled Elizabeth’s fingers over backwards – snapping two of them and bellowing loudly – “BY THIS ANGUISH, I NOW INVOKE THE DJINN OF THE LEAD CODEX! SHOW YOURSELF!!!”

The pain blurred Elizabeth’s vision. She was fading in and out of consciousness. She thought that she could see that little black and red wasp from her doorstep. It crawled across the cover of the lead codex for a second, and then flew away into the darkness.

Then a buzzing – louder than anything Elizabeth could imagine – droned up in her head. Something flittered around in her stomach. Dark motes began pushing up from under her fingernails.

Next, horror unspeakable.

With a great retching – Elizabeth heaved up a cloud of huge black hornets! Thousands of them screamed from her mouth agape – each nearly three inches long with sickly green venom leaking from the stingers at the ends of their bodies!

More chewed their way out from under Elizabeth’s fingernails – while others came through her nose and even a few wriggling to freedom from behind her eyes! It felt as though Elizabeth’s very wrath at what the doctor had done to her, was taking physical form and flying out of her for vengeance.

The swarm went straight for Dr. Toht, who shrieked in surprised confusion as they dove in on him, stinging and pumping him full of venom – until after a minute of it, only an unrecognizable bloated mass of blistered flesh remained.

Near delirious from undergoing the bizarre purge, Elizabeth then saw a warm light begin to slowly overshadow her; and heard a calm female voice speak to the swarm, saying “Be gone. You have had your fill of sadistic torment and wrath this day.”

At the unseen woman’s words, the swarm flew upward from the deceased remains of Dr. Toht – vanishing into thin-air as they went.

The buzzing in Elizabeth’s head died down with their departure and was gone.

“It’s all right, I’ve got you,” the woman’s voice said, as Elizabeth could feel someone removing the bindings that held her down.

‘Oh god, it’s finally over,’ Elizabeth thought, finally able to slip across the sweet sweet threshold of unconsciousness.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on August 08, 2016, 09:30:38 pm
The woman’s voice continued to speak to Elizabeth, as she floated sleepily through sightless dreams on a soft bed of light.

“It will be alright. I am with you. I will keep you safe while you rest. Nothing can harm you.”

Time had no meaning here – wherever here was – and Elizabeth had no way of knowing how long she drifted in the peaceful calm.

Was she dying then? Was this some river of light to heaven?

Another woman’s voice then joined the other.

“Thank you Rebecca,” it said to the first.

“My pleasure Sarapheen,” the first replied. “I can see why you chose her. Such an inner strength and a mind given to drink knowledge in like a sponge. She will make a good Disciple. Were I in need of another for my own Ministry, I would not be so quick to share, haha.”

“I may be new to all of this Angel stuff,” Sarapheen answered, “But I’m pretty sure that keeping all the good ones for yourself might be a tad ‘greedy’.”

“Oh fa,” Rebecca retorted lightly, “You know I am joking.”

“Yes,” Sarapheen replied, “of course; as am I.”

Sarapheen then asked, “have you healed her then?”

“I have healed her body,” Rebecca confirmed, “but her mind will have to learn to cope on its own.”

“I have faith in her,” Sarapheen replied.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on August 08, 2016, 09:31:14 pm
The next thing Elizabeth knew, she was waking up in her own bed.

She was under the sheets in an old pair of pajamas and smelled like she had just gotten out of the shower.

Looking at her hand, she saw that it was normal. Uninjured. She slipped it down to check her belly – no bullet hole.

No rasp marks. None of the wounds that Dr. Toht had inflicted on her. ‘Had any of that been real?’

Dr. Toht… what had happened to him? Those voices she had heard talking, what of them?

What did it all mean?

“I imagine you have quite a few questions,” a woman standing at the foot of Elizabeth’s bed asked.

‘Ack! How long has she been there?!?’

Looking, Elizabeth saw a woman dressed in celestial robes with a red sash over one shoulder and what looked like a sling wrapped around her waist.

She was comely, but not overly so, a brunette, and spoke with a calm voice.

“Elizabeth, I am the Angel Sarapheen,” she said, “I am here to help you understand things. And in so doing, to extend to you a new calling from on high.”

As she spoke, golden wings of light and a fiery burning halo became visible briefly, as if to confirm her angelic claim, then slowly vanished away again.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on August 10, 2016, 09:02:20 am
A thousand questions fluttered through Elizabeth's mind.  What came out of her mouth was, "What do you mean, you're new to all this Angel stuff?"
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on August 10, 2016, 01:42:35 pm
A blush of embarrassment momentarily flashed on the angel's cheeks, before she composed herself and answered, "It wasn't too long ago, in the grand scheme of things, that I was much like you Elizabeth - a mortal girl on the threshold of something new; and adventure most grand!"

"The Angel Benjamin, appeared to me in the year 1896, at my home in Harmony Pennsylvania. I was a young farmwife then, and my entire family had just been lost to a house fire. The fire had been caused by an angry mob, who was convinced that my husband Cole, was blighting their crops with unholy curses."

"It turns out, that they were right; but I had no idea at the time."

"The Angel Benjamin offered me a new life, as his Disciple, and taught me the reality of this fallen world. He opened the eyes of my understanding - and for the first time, I saw the world as it truly is - the veil of man's ignorance forever cast from mine eyes."

"I received power from on high, to fulfill my calling, and did so faithfully - until recently Ascending from mortality - to become the Angel that stands before you now."

"I am here Elizabeth, because I would that you become my Disciple. That you would accept this calling, as I once did over a century ago."

"Help me purge the world of demonic influences, such as what you experienced first hand, in the sawmill today. Help me to continue that battle in places that I cannot go."

"The choice is yours alone to make. I cannot compel you to accept the calling. But if you do, and endure it faithfully, you will be given the power and knowledge to surpass the mortal world and one day Ascend above it all, as I have."
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on August 11, 2016, 10:29:52 am
Once again, Elizabeth said the first thing that came to mind.  "I-- why do I want to Ascend? Wait, people become Angels? This- what about my life?"
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on August 11, 2016, 02:11:09 pm
"Life," Sarapheen attempted to explain, "is just a game that mortals play. And they play it mindlessly, without all the pieces, made up rules, and no idea of the true goal."

"Take Dr. Toht for example; He actually believed that he was summoning an all powerful Djinn. Not so, as you witnessed personally."

"Blinded by his own hubris, Dr. Toht self-justified his own sadistic compulsions, and walked right into a trap. One left by ancient worshipers of The Hornet's Nest."

"The Hornet's Nest is a relatively weak demon of wrath," Sarapheen went on, "but it does have the unfortunate disposition of always killing its own summoner. Which is why its worshippers long ago devised the trap of the lead codex."

"With it, they hid the ritual of summoning their own demon, inside a false ritual about the Djiin, to tempt wicked fools into accidently summoning the Nest for them. Worshippers would then wait out of sight, to glory in their false god's wrath, as it poisoned to death the true sacrifice - the very one who had summoned it in the first place."

Sarapheen paused a moment.

"Where was I going with this again?" She asked herself, "Oh, yes, 'life'."

"See Elizabeth, there really are demons in the world. There really are angels too. And like mortals, we are playing our part in an elaborate game (of sorts) against each other, but unlike mortals, we know what we are really doing and what's really at stake."

"Mortals can become Disciples; Disciples can become Angels; Angels can become Archangels; Archangels can become a part of something even greater."

"It can go the other way too. Evil has its own hierarchy."

"Mortals can sell away their soul to become Sorcerers and Witches; Sorcerers and Witches can eventually merge with the demons who bought them, to become Demon Princes; Demon Princes can become Demon Imperators; Demon Imperators can become something even worse."

"What I offer you Elizabeth, is a complete understanding of the true nature of reality. And when you have that Elizabeth, your need (and even desire) to play this boring old game (called 'life'), will become as a woman, who has grown up, and put away her childish things."
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on August 12, 2016, 08:51:15 am
"'When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness.' C.S. Lewis," Elizabeth said automatically.  Her brain felt like an overclocked computer trying to avoid burning out. She needed to focus her scattered thoughts.  Focus on what was most important.

"Will I still be me?"
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on August 12, 2016, 11:32:49 am
"Of course," Sarapheen answered kindly.

"The only thing that will really change about you, is your understanding, and capacity to influence the world around you for good, or for ill."

"You will still be mortal (albeit translated into a higher form of it); and you will still be free to make your own choices, according to your own moral agency."

"I will mentor you of course, and help to direct your efforts in culling the Infernal Influences from the world. I will be your teacher, your guide, and (in a sense) your dispatcher. Sending you out to handle problems as they presented themselves."

"There is so much more that I can explain to you, but... only after you accept the calling."

"In its entirety, the knowledge I bring, is more than the purely mortal mind can receive, and would not only overwhelm you, but make it impossible for you to go back to a normal life afterwards, should you decline to serve as my Disciple."

"But in all this, you would still be you, and you would still be free."

"There are rules of course."

"But again, the moral agency to follow them will still be yours. Perfect obedience will lead to Ascension. Less than that, will lead to varying degrees of success in fulfilling the calling, before you are finally released through death and sent on to your paradisiacal rest."
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: Sethaniel on August 20, 2016, 04:17:51 am
Elizabeth nodded. "Then . . . Yes. 

Or, I do, or whatever I'm supposed to say."
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on August 20, 2016, 05:29:35 pm
"Good. I'm glad to hear that Elizabeth," Sarapheen replied, pleased with the choice.

"Now," she then continued, "I want you to choose a place that we can meet over the next few weeks, for regular private discussion and instruction. I have much to teach you Elizabeth; but the lessons are not something we can risk other mortals seeing."

"Believe it or not, the sawmill would work, if you can overcome the background it now has with you. If you have another place in mind, that would work also."

"When you have decided on the place, call my name 'Sarapheen', and I shall know to meet you there."

"I must go now Elizabeth," she then said.

Once again, the angel's wings and halo became visible - and the ceiling above her abruptly rolled opened like a scroll - revealing a pure white portal of mist beyond.

Ascending upwards, Sarapheen disappeared into the portal, and it closed, leaving Elizabeth alone in her room to ponder what she had just seen and heard.
Title: Re: Words Can Never Hurt Me (Elizabeth Hastings Prolog)
Post by: BerkaZerka on August 20, 2016, 05:32:35 pm
The next several weeks were spent meeting regularly with Sarapheen, at the place Elizabeth had chosen, and what Sarapheen began to refer to as Elizabeth's 'School of Enlightenment'.

There, she formally taught her the true nature of reality (Cosmology (http://www.bountyheadbebop.com/forum/index.php?topic=1828.0)), and the Lingua Intelligentia - or Language of Intelligence.

The premise of Lingua Intelligentia, was that all Matter and Ephemera, at its subatomic level, was made of Pure Intelligence. Using the Lingua Intelligentia, one could speak to the intellect of anything on this level, in order to instruct or direct it.

Sarapheen explained that Matter and Ephemera adamantly obeyed the 'High Laws', acting only as they had been commanded to act by Creation (a rock remained a rock, subject to Natural Laws, no matter what for example) - but using Lingua Intelligentia, and enough of one's will, one could command the rock (overriding the High Law) to become gold, explode violently, or even come to life.

It was this language, and the supernal knowledge that went along with it, that formed the basis of all Angelic Magic. And it was the fundamentals of this magic (Casting Reference (http://www.bountyheadbebop.com/forum/index.php?topic=1802.0)) that Sarapheen taught Elizabeth, explaining that it would be integral to her work against the Infernal as a new Disciple.

Sarapheen also went on to explain, that as a new Disciple, Elizabeth was now foreordained to one day surpass mortality and become an Angel himself - called as an Avenging Angle. That wouldn't happen however, unless Elizabeth perfected her current calling of Disciple first - and that wasn't something one could simply do overnight.

To help her better understand her destiny, Elizabeth was introduced to yet a third Angel – the Avenging Angel, Jarome – who instructed her in all the areas that Sarapheen could not.

Apparently, there were five types of Angels, each with its own strengths and Supernal Calling (Disciple Creation Guide (http://www.bountyheadbebop.com/forum/index.php?topic=1863.0)).

Sarapheen was a Ministering Angel and also known as a Ward. As such, she watched over a Ministry, encompassing a defined geographical area, and monitored the levels of Infernal Influence therein. When the Infernal Influence in her Ministry overstepped a certain level, she would send her Disciples to 'deal' with it.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v651/BerkaZerka/Mythos/3_Regions_zpsm8pawhyp.jpg)

Sarapheen's Ministry covered the entire east coast of the United States, known as the North America Region East - everything east of the borders of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama.

There were four other Ministries that covered the rest of North America.

The Avenging Angel Jarome, was Ward of the North America Region West - everything west of the borders of Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Louisiana.

The Guardian Angel Rebecca (who had rescued Elizabeth from the attentions of The Hornet’s Nest), was Ward of the North America Region Central - everything in between the West and East Regions.

The Spirit Warden Morrow Wind, was Ward of the North America Region North - Everything north of the United States/Canadian border.

The Angel of Death Yoz, was Ward of the North America Region South - everything from Mexico on down through Panama.

Of course, there were Regions like these all over the world, each with its own Angelic Ward and handful of mortal Disciples to keep the machinations of the Infernal at bay. Their work was not to stop evil itself, but to ensure the freedom of mankind to choose between good and evil - of their own agency - which was something one lost when they sold away their souls for the corrupting power of the Infernal.

It was these Witches and Sorcerers, and the occasional Demon itself, that the Wards sought out, and the Disciples went forth to destroy. For they sought to enslave mankind, by employing a corrupted version of Lingua Intelligentia, known among the demonic, as Wormwood.

Finally, Sarapheen explained that she had recently called four other Disciples, in addition to Elizabeth, and that once everyone was well grounded in the practice of Angelic Magic, they would all meet...

End of Prolog