𝔳𝔞𝔪𝔭𝔦𝔯𝔢 𝔠𝔥𝔦𝔩𝔡 & immortalmarshal ℭ𝔬𝔯

[keymemory]

Centuries have passed since the boy was disturbed from his coffin, and he would have likely gone for a few more centuries had the area not been under attack by the Empire. It was something of an odd circumstance in which the town, insignificant in and of itself, was more than less in the crossfires of the Kings Glaive’s finest. The ground had split open and it was a bout two months afterward the townsfolk discovered the underground temple. It was fortified by steel walls, thick doors, and long dark hallways. Electricity once worked down there as there were switches, lights, and other things like old boxed computers, it was nothing like what technology looked like today.

They discovered more and more of the rooms and pathways, completely undisturbed by daemons and eventually they came across a strange room with empty shells that looked like giant eggs on a conveyer belt. In a room stood a lone egg, not a speck of dust would be found in the pristine white-room, and once the villagers got their lights set up in the room they could make out a ghostly figure of a young boy who simply appeared to be asleep. As if a spell was put over him.

Some began to speculate this was the crystal’s doing and perhaps these egg shaped pods were designed from the crystal’s power. That they were organized here, obviously, through great effort from the ancient civilization that dwelled here so many years ago.

Yet, one brave townsperson brushed their hand against the pod and the white egg began to pull apart like a flower blooming in the light of the sun. Hushed voices and curious whispers sounded through the room at the sight and then gasps as the boy began to move forward with a breath.

From there, the rest was history. As in, nothing was ever going to be the same again. A week or so after the boy woke things began to change in the small remote town. The people began to obsess and fuss over the boy and began to call him the sleeping prince. The town’s physicians and healers fret over the condition of the boy and tried their best to bring color back to the boy’s cheeks but nothing seemed to help. What certainly didn’t help, however, was the sun’s light and they soon adjusted their routine, around the boy, to be done so at night.

It was three weeks since the boy’s awakening did it finally happen. Sora took his first draw of blood on the wrist that reached over his face to dab a cool clothe to his forehead. It surprised them both but with just the taste of the blood in his mouth he regained color, energy, and his voice. Which is why they had come to know him as Sora. After that he regularly began to feed on the villagers and regain health at a much more rapid speed than he had with the food and drink they had tried to give him prior. It was clear to them all what Sora was and what he needed. There wasn’t one villager who had the resistance to deny Sora his drink. Perhaps that was part of the allure and soon enough the village turned solemn and grey, but happy as the villagers flocked to Sora to provide him his meal.

This, however, began to leak of suspicion as travelers came with trade and noted the pale state of the town as they wandered through expecting business as normal. Yet, they were turned away with their goods and left with more questions than they cared for.

Comments

[keymemory]

The mayor stepped up and began to shake his hands at the crowd, his open palms shaking gently at the townsfolk. “Here, here, c’mon now! Everyone, settle, settle now..” He looked then back to the prince and gave him a reassuring smile. “Go back up to your room, son, we’ll send up someone shortly.” Sora gave one last glance at the stranger and closed the door behind him before he treaded back up to the room.

“Now, we’ve got an order.. remember! Um, lets see.. what is it now..” The mayor mumbled a bit before a few volunteers pressed up the steps of the mayor’s home. “Oh, is it you? Okay.. okay.. one at a time, don’t fluster him now!” The mayor looked over to Cor and gathered his hands together. “Will you wait until he’s fed, ser? He’s just a boy, as you saw.. yes, just a boy… a good boy.. you know, he must stay here.. with us.. he’s the chosen one, one to look after us and we him.. our treasure, a gift from the crystal!”

[immortalmarshal]

Cor watches all of this happening, and he nods in reassurance. See? No threat here... After all, he's not picking up anything that's overtly threatening about the young vampire. At least, not in his currently weakened state.

Yet...there's still something off about how everyone seems to be falling over themselves wanting to feed and protect him, even after knowing what he is...

"Of course...though I'm curious as to how he could be tied to the Crystal. I thought only those from the Line of Lucis would have such an honor." Was this some long-lost member of that same family line? Or is this some other form of influence showing itself?

[keymemory]

The mayor was old, wrinkly, and pale. Despite this, he had a shimmer in his eye, a glow to his expression as he talked about this fortune. “He is the key to our salvation.. we’ll no longer feel loss and suffering, so long as he remains. We feed him and in turn he will be forever young, forever ours..” Despite the obvious tone of possession in the mayor’s words, the old man seemed genuinely glad for Sora’s presence. As did the rest of them.

Behind the mayor the volunteers went in and the rest of the crowd waited to get a glimpse of Sora once he was ready to come out.

Someone behind Cor spoke up, a middle-aged woman and she had a loud voice that quieted everyone else around her. “Sora is our champion!” The others softly whispered in agreement. “You can’t have him..” Again there were whispers of agreement.

The mayor held out his hands. “Nonsense! Shh, people.. don’t start that talk! Our good King’s man here has said nothing of the sort.. calm yourselves… be still.”

[immortalmarshal]

There's something about the way the mayor spoke that puts Cor on edge, even if he doesn't show it. It almost sounds like he's a preacher...or a cult leader. And neither of those ideas makes the fear curling in Cor's heart go away.

"He's right," Cor tells the crowd. "I'm not here to take him away. Merely to see who he is...and if he needs help."

He then turns back to the mayor. "How did he come to be in that state? Is he a native of these parts? I only ask because if he is tied to the Crystal, I'm sure that his Majesty would want to lend some form of aid..." They still seem friendly in regards the the Crown...surely, that wouldn't bother them, right?

[keymemory]

“Oh, yes… he’s come from ancient times, deep within the earth.. Buried here for our finding, our treasure, our chosen one.. he carries the light within him! The light of the crystal!” The mayor said merrily. The folks behind Cor began to softly chatter amongst themselves as they once again went back to speaking about their experiences with the boy.

The mayor turned and gestured toward his door, he insisted Cor follow him inside and once they both were inside the mayor lead Cor to the visiting room to the left of the foyer. There he took a seat and offered Cor one for himself. “Some months ago… the King’s glaive drove the Empire back into our lands… there was a terrible fight and bombs cracked the earth up north in our town. Some were hurt, some were lost between lava and earth..” He cleared his throat and gestured to himself. “I lead the team up that way, see what the damage was.. what could be salvaged and that’s when he saw the hole… a new system, we thought, a cave or something.. but it wasn’t so.. rather, it was steel and brick that met us down there.. a home, a building.. a tomb, … ah, a tomb we come to find out.. seen this boy sleeping in a crystal egg!”

The mayor gently tapped his knee as he told the story. “He’s sleeping in a room, clean as if it were kept each and every day.”

[immortalmarshal]

What the mayor said in front of the crowds made the hairs on the back of Cor's neck stand up. And it took all his willpower to not show how upset and frustrated he is with the realization of what might be going on here. By the Astrals, he hates people that show cultist tendencies; they cause more headaches than a rabbid were-creature in city limits.

Still, he keeps a stoically curious look on his face as he follows the mayor inside, settling himself into the offered chair. Muttering condolences at the mention of the fighting, Cor does vaguely recall reports of battles being waged in this area around that time frame. He will have to question Titus Drautos about it when he gets back. Or Clarus....

However, his eyebrows shoot up upon hearing of an underground tomb being found, with the kid just sleeping inside a...crystal egg? "Do you know how far back this...tomb goes? As in, when it might have been built? I have a friend who loves history, and he could probably pinpoint when it might be built..."

Of course, said 'friend' is the King himself, but there's no reason for Cor to let the mayor know about that trivial little detail.

[keymemory]

The mayor shook his head. “Technology found within it was from so long ago.. its of writing we’ve not seen … for centuries.. Instead of the Lucian alphabet .. I believe it is of … English? Old English, at that.” He speaks with a distant gaze to his eyes. “Well, we’ve closed it off, it’s not safe.. but uh, ah, if you insist we will not be known to deny his King’s man anything here, no, no trouble here..” Although there is a threat hidden there beneath his look that speaks otherwise. It’s obvious the mayor will not appreciate any poking around or drawing any attention to their boy prince or the egg he came from!

“Ah, well..” The mayor looks over Cor’s shoulder as the two volunteers return down the stairs and into the foyer. “It looks as if the boy is .. ready?” He questions the others and they both nod their head. “Well, if you will.. follow me,” he begins to stand, it’s obvious the mayor intends to go with this stranger as he “talks” to the boy.

[immortalmarshal]

That makes Cor lean back thoughtfully, hiding the worst of his surprise in that manner. That sounds like...almost as old as Solheim, if he recalls his history lessons right. And if that 'egg' had preserved the kid so well that he only has the usual fledgling hunger to show...

But why preserve such a young vampire? And what happened to his sire? The mayor doesn't seem pleased at the idea of anyone poking around the ruins, though...he will have to wait until he speaks to the boy before he could make...certain calls.

"Of course." And of course, this guy wouldn't let Cor speak to the kid by himself. Then again, the Marshall hasn't exactly let his name be spoken just yet. That particular info, he's going to wait until the end of his little 'chat'.

And speaking of which... Cor glances around the place as he's led to Sora's room, taking in as many details as possible. Can the kid leave of his own free will, if he so wishes? Is there anything holding him back - guards, protection spells, and so forth? Or is the mayor just letting him stay since he's still so new to the world as it is right now?

[keymemory]

Sora was just tying up his shoes by the time the mayor came in the room. Sora looked significantly more awake now and he offered a merry smile at the sight of them both. “Hello!” He sat up, his shoe lace not quite finished being tied but he didn’t mind that for now. Rather, he was glad to see he’s got visitors!

“Hey, you’re from out there, I saw you..” Sora offered lightly his fingers gently pressing against his long black slacks. They were freshly tailored for him and they fit much better than the clothes he had woken up with.

“I’m Sora!”

The mayor gestured to a seat in which Cor may take beside the bed, Sora sat at the end of it. The mayor opted for the chair at the desk in the room.

[immortalmarshal]

Cor nods in greetings, taking his seat at the offered chair. The kid certainly looks much better. At least cults are good for one thing - taking very good care of the object, or person, of their affections.

"Nice to meet you, Sora. I hope you don't mind me dropping by - I was just passing thru when I heard about how you've been helping everyone here." Cor felt that it was a safe place to start, given who their 'audience' is. He does wish to have a more private conversation to ask some more concrete questions...but Cor knows how to work his way thru what he sees to be a 'hostage' situation, of sorts.

[keymemory]

Sora nodded softly. “Yes, … but really, they’ve sure helped me a lot more .. I think then I’ve helped them! I only go out and beat up uh.. what they call daemons.. you know, back in my day.. we called ‘em heartless!” He smiled, the fangs evident in his grin but soon his lips evened out and he gave the other a shrug.

“I’m happy I can be helpful.. you know.. I think I been asleep for a long time, nothing looks familiar here.”

[immortalmarshal]

Cor nods in agreement to all that Sora's saying, just letting the kid talk without interruption. "I can imagine that it must've been a shock to wake up in this new era," he replies sympathetically. "You must feel lucky to have so many new friends here to give you aid and shelter."

Though Cor does wonder if the kid's trust is being misused in this case. He seems a little too trusting, compared to most vampires that Cor has met over the years.

He pauses for a moment. "I'm curious, though, as to how you're able to fight off daemons. I've had to fight them a time or two myself, out on the road, and it's not an easy thing to do." Vampires tend to have their own powers, after all...how strong is this kid, fledgling as he may be?

[keymemory]

“Huh?” Sora blinks and he looks over the other as if he really had to reach for the answer. “I’m not sure.. I mean, I’ve always been able to fight them..” He pulled a breath in and exhaled. “I can use magic and.. I can call on the keyblade to help me.” He licked his lips and opened them to continue to speak before the mayor cut him off.

“The boy, as I said.. he’s our chosen one.. he’ll save us all, somehow.. in the likes the Oracle never could.. in fact, I am sure he may yet make a pact with the Astrals to fight beside him.. he’s spoken before about summoning forces in the past to help him.”

Sora frowned and he lowered his eyes to his fingers. “But I.. I haven’t their gems anymore.. they all went back home.. when the..”

“No matter, young prince, I am sure the summons will return to you when we find a way for you to reach out to them.” The mayor offered his sympathy.

[immortalmarshal]

Cor blinks in surprise. "Keyblade...?" That...sounds faintly familiar, but he doesn't know from where. But the bigger surprise that he can use magic and has summoned beings at some point in the past. Is he from a time before the fall of Solheim, then? Before the Astrals put limitations on how magic is used?

Cor looks a little perturbed at the interruption from the mayor, but his friendly mask settles back into place after a moment. He'll let the slur about the Oracle slide...for now. "He may have a point. If they sense that you need them, and if you prove yourself worthy...they will come, should the way open for them to do so."

Even though Cor knows that this Sora kid isn't the Chosen King of the Crystal. He's pretty sure that Regis would've found him a long time ago if he was. Still, it doesn't hurt to act like he's on the mayor's side, just to keep him from suspecting Cor's true motives in this moment...

[keymemory]

Sora’s brows push together and he gives the stranger a small nod. “I can do that.” He promises. He then looks to the mayor with a confident smile. “I’ll protect all my new friends! Ah, … from the daemons.” He looks then to the stranger. “Where do you come from?”

The mayor interrupts. “He is but a traveler from far away lands.. safer lands than this.”

Sora nods then looks to the stranger, a curious and uncertain expression to his face. Something in the look might very well indicate he may not believe all of what the mayor has to say himself.

The mayor quickly stands. “Come now, fellow, let us get you settled in for the night.. Sora, fair him well.”

Sora’s expression quickly changed and he offered a kind smile. “Oh, okay.. bye! Thanks for talking with me!”

[immortalmarshal]

Cor nods in agreement, and then rises to his feet as he's ushered out of the door. Before he fully steps thru, though, he turns to face Sora one last time. "If you ever need any help, don't be afraid to ask around for Cor Leonis. I'll help in any way I can."

And then he leaves the room, before he could see or hear the mayor's reaction to the fact that The Marshall of the Crownsguard, one of the three strongest warriors of Lucis, is here.

[keymemory]

Leon..is? Sora gets a flash of a familiar face from his past and his interest is piqued quickly but dwindles as the mayor shuts the door between himself and this man named Cor. He looks to the mayor and finds the other seems a bit perturbed. He can sense an uneasiness as well and he feels somewhat at a loss of what to do or say about it. He licks his lips and lowers his body toward his shoe again where he finishes tying it.

Sora was not allowed out that night, the mayor had forbid it on the account of something far too dangerous looming around their town at the present time. Of course he had no idea what it was or anymore details than that but all Sora could do was accept the villagers inside the mayor’s house that came to visit and play with him. He figured it was alright if tonight he wasn’t going to be outside, there was always tomorrow night, wasn’t there?

[immortalmarshal]

Cor, meanwhile, is escorted back towards the gas station, choosing to stay in the caravan there for the night. After feeding the large bird and letting it run loose in the immediate area - he'd be a fool to leave it tied up in case the villagers get too paranoid - he returns into the caravan after a quick meal of Cup Noodles.

And then...came the phone call to Insomnia.

"I see..." Regis states on the other end of the line, once Cor explains the situation. "So this...fledgling...was found after that battle and was essentially taken in, but the mayor seems to be abusing his trust and abilities...is that it?"

Cor sighs and he leans back against the creaky bed. "Pretty much... The mayor is turning his revival into the foundation for some new apocalyptic cult. And you know how much I despise cults."

"All too well, my friend. However...a fledgling without a sire can still be troublesome if he isn't given the right education. And even if he did have one..."

Cor waits until Regis pauses before speaking up. "I'm not leaving the kid here any longer than necessary."

"And well you shouldn't. I do expect you to fulfill your oaths as a Hunter...and as my Marshall. I shall expect you both here in Insomnia soon."

Cor nods in agreement. "Understood, Majesty." Even if the town 'escorts' him out the next morning, he already has a few plans forming in his head on how to best extract the kid with as few casualties as possible...

[keymemory]

The thing about being up all night is that during the day time, all the townsfolk were asleep. Most of them, that was, the ones that weren’t were tired enough to be dead on their feet, but some of them had to tend to crops, or provisions of something or the other. So, in that, Cor would have a ghost town to navigate through, essentially.

Sora, on the other hand, having been kept cooped up all night in the mayor’s house, was a bit too anxious to fall asleep at sunrise. So, he had been wandering around the mayor’s home looking at books, or listening to the radio to voices talk about things he had no clue about. He enjoyed his friends here, quite a lot, but he still missed the friends he had left behind. It felt like it was another world behind, rather, and Sora had woken up to some new world without them.

His history was a bit fuzzy, but he knew some of it. He was pretty sure, nonetheless.

[immortalmarshal]

Cor blinks at the town looking so empty during the daylight. Such a reverse from how towns and villages normally are during the day... Still, he takes the roundabout way back towards the mayor house, just to see if there's any guards posted around.

If there aren't any, or if it's mostly around the front door, he'll sneak over to a shaded side of the building to peer into a room. And if he finds Sora in there...he'll start lightly knocking on the glass window, mentally checking to see if his camp blankets are still stored away in his pocket of the Armiger.

[keymemory]

Sora is downstairs in the same clothing he had worn the night before. He had a book open over his lap and he was studying the pictures, rather than the literature, as he couldn’t really read it. Although, some of the letters were familiar to him but others seemed a bit weird— like ‘4’ was used for ‘a’ in some of the words, in any case it was a long time since he had a book in front of him. Maybe he just forgot how to read all together.

Could be either conclusion, honestly. Sora smirked down to the page as he slid the next one over and soon there was a soft thumping at the window beside him. He turned to look through the curtains which were a see-through kind of grey and he picked himself up from the couch and walked over toward the window. The soft cover protected him from the intrusive sunlight but it was still awfully early enough that the sun wasn’t high in the sky yet.

He then smiled wide as he recognized the man at the window. It was Leon-is! “Hullo!” He waved happily.

[immortalmarshal]

Cor nods in greetings, giving a little wave back. "Mind letting me in?" He inquires. "There's a few things I still wanna ask you, without having anyone to interrupt us. Just as long as we keep quiet so that everyone can still sleep..."

Just enough private time to ask those questions...and maybe convince the kid to come with... Or just find a way to take him along in daylight - or around sunset...

[keymemory]

Sounded completely fine to him! Sora pulled the curtains back and unlatched the lock so that Cor can come in. Sora then stepped backward and gave the other room to come in. He didn’t want to wake the mayor upstairs either, so he was glad to invite Cor in under that understanding as well!

Of course, really, Sora was glad to make another friend and since everyone was sleeping having someone else to talk to was too good an opportunity to pass up!

[immortalmarshal]

Cor takes note of how easily Sora took him at his word and...well, on the one hand, it does grant him the means to get into the building without alerting everyone. But on the other hand, it also confirms how too trusting this lad is...

"Thanks," he murmurs, just as he quietly shuts the window behind him. Sliding the shades shut as well, he gestures towards the seats. "I'd rather like to do an exchange of info - you answer my questions, I'll answer yours. Is that okay?"

[keymemory]

That sounded like a fair exchange! Sora grinned with a small nod to the other. “I’ll do my best..” He was still quite excited but he kept his tone low. He lead the other over to the sofa he was sitting on and he pulled the book aside to make more room for Cor.

Although, honestly, he wasn’t sure what Cor wanted to know, it’s not like he had an idea of what was going on here. He was so far removed from this time and place. “What do you want to know?”