voidtreckerexpress | closed to event threads

Cont. from here.

It's almost like they're day and night. His eyes flick over the man. He's striking, too. Carries with himself a certain presence. Atem finds himself curious, but business first. He's certain Essek is one of them and watches those eyes meander down to his cuff before traveling back up again.

Though try as Atem might to fit in with his more average school attire, he too held a presence. Walked with a certain authority, spoke with a certain authority. He moved closer, scanning the room and work available for him to look upon. "And they can indeed be distracting, can't they?" A few more beats. "Perhaps you would like to walk with me, Professor? It's awfully late to be working here but I'd love to speak more about your work with you."

Essek's eyes flit curiously over the other, his golden sun like appearance. How the man holds himself, his presence, doesn't escape Essek, too long working in politics and the Queen's court, too long being raised in one of the ruling Dens... no, he had an eye for people and this man hit a beat that was on level with the Umavi or Bright Queen. Definitely curious.

Leaning in, the smile across his lips is lilted with a wry humor, "Very."

His smile returns to something more neutral, polite as he he pulls back. "That would be quite agreeable, it would be beneficial to have a fresh, open mind on the subject. There's only so much one can accomplish alone." He collects his book and notebook, moving to stand and let the other lead the way.

Ah, indeed. This is a person to speak with. It is perhaps advantageous that they speak while the school is quiet and few people are around. Once the other man had gathered his items, Atem leads them through the hallways. Its filled with casual chatter. Nothing too benign, but just enough discussion to further solidify that they both do not belong here.

He had considered leaving the school grounds entirely and while sometimes it is safer to be in the public eye under the chatter of many, Atem feels there are too many keen ears to risk such a thing. So, the God-King leads them up to the rooftop. And a quick rounds confirms there's no one with them at the time. A quick exit could be found, too. They were safe for now.

Finally, Atem spoke freely. "I saw this before. A dream, or vision." Eyes turn toward Essek. "I've always known somewhere that it wasn't real. All of this, but." He couldn't place why for the first while he just didn't want to believe it. It's influence was strong but he also had... purpose here. He shook it off. "Regardless, I am Atem." A hand came into his heart as greeting. "I think you were new, were you not?"

Once they make it to the rooftop, Essek turns to the door they came through and sets a magical alarm on it, something that will immediately alert him if someone breaches comes through it. A simple safety measure.

Turning to the other, he moves with unerring grace to stand near the other, so that they can keep their voices low, but otherwise free to discuss what needs to be. He watches him closely, listening to his words and eyes on his actions. Eventually, Essek gives a gracious nod in return.

"Essek, and yes, I arrived only days prior to this... event," he's not sure if it's a mission or not, there's no objectives and most people are compromised under an illusion. This feels like something different than what he was told about.

"I had the prior mission explained to a degree, but this-- while aspects are similar," he gestures to the rainbow lights above, "it seems to have a far greater and reaching affect than previously." He pauses, focusing again on what Atem said, "You mention a vision, did your foresight happen prior to us coming here?"

There is a grace this man holds that he could draw no comparison to. Like silk and shadows. He moves as if he were the cool wind of night; the dancing sands that whisp along the dunes. Atem finds himself again captivated if only for a short time.

A nod comes soon after. Yes, this felt like no such mission he'd been described to. Something larger was at work but what? There were mentions of a previous adversary. Though it had been described to him he failed to discern the purpose of it all. Then again, some need no purpose. Some were born to sow chaos, and chaos they would sow.

"Perhaps it is returning to finish what it could not," was the only hypothesis that immediately came to his mind. Arms crossed and eyes narrowing in thought. Trying to piece anything he could together but coming up blank. "I did, yes. I had been told that many people receive these but they are often different. Putting them together paints a larger picture of what's to come. This, it had seemed, was the same for all who receive them. Concerning to say the least."

Essek is glad for the waning evening sun, enough that so long as he keeps his back to the sun directly, the shadow he casts keeps his eyes from straining painfully in the light. Though this man also has a certain radiance to him, with how the rays of sunlight seem to favor and settle against him like they are meant to be there, like he is not meant to be touched by shadow.

The vision gives Essek pause. So they were common, but often different, pieces to a puzzle, yet this time they were all the same. Divination is far from his expertise, but he can't help but feel compelled by the concerning nature of this.

"The rainbow lights," he looks up, "are the same seen at the end of the last mission, along side this mass illusion and an identical shared divination... I fear this feels like the making of something incredibly powerful. May I ask what the vision you all shared was?"

Cont from here.

Eyes stare at the blade stuck in that board and then turned to her. The world was breaking apart. Bright colors and light. A sensation of fear and sorrow. That weight was heavy during the late hours and early mornings. He could look to the sky and see the truth of it all: he didn't belong here.

He never had siblings.

Atem's jaw tightened. Feet turned toward her, ignoring the knife still in the board as he reached for her shoulder. "Let's stay here today. Order food. Have some drinks. Are you hungry?"

"Not really." She wasn't even trying to be convincing anymore. If he knew the truth, he'd have already asked, right? So he either didn't, or he was fighting it just as much as she was. She was fine either way.

"But staying in would be nice. Can we get ice cream?" Why was she so fascinated with the stuff? Though she quickly chided herself for even going there. No, it was best to not think, to not question. Just relax and be here. Where she wanted to be.

He offered a small smile and nod then outreached his hand. The store wasn't far when they went. Picked up a few things. Ice cream, some candy, and other treats of the like. Returning home, they divided up the goodies and meandered further into the front room. This place that wasn't his. Where they didn't belong.

The silence felt heavy, but he couldn't... ignore it anymore. "You know this isn't real, don't you?"

The trip to the store brightened Selene's mood a little bit. She actually took time to peruse some of the aisles instead of just grabbing the usual — how she knew those things were their "usual" was another matter entirely — and hurrying out, examining the items and reading the labels a little too closely. Definitely not just checking for allergens or validating expiry dates.

But she'd fallen silent on the way back home, the bright lights of the city striking her as odd. Not the sort of odd that had been associated with the Voidtreckers as of late, but odd in the sense that... the world she remembered wasn't this bright.

They didn't belong here. She didn't belong here.

She leaned in to rest her head on his shoulder anyway. "I know. But I wish it was."

His world... well, his was bright. But it did not have all of this. Neon lights and buildings packing into every crevice. It was in many ways much simpler. And as they walked along the pavement back toward their home he couldn't help ache for the feeling of sand beneath him. The smell of air here was even different from what he knew.

So they find their way back and the heaviness remains all the way to the couch where they continued to sit in silence until the words came out. Hands gathered her's up when Selene leaned her head against his shoulder. "You left so suddenly that time, I'd like to know who Selene truly is. Will you tell me? Do you remember?"

Selene wasn't sure how much she remembered, really, though some scenes and faces were more vivid than others. She certainly didn't remember meeting Atem before, though there was something about him that felt inexplicably... familiar. But while she took a moment to mull over his request, her eyes watching their hands as they touched, she answered him eventually.

"I remember Egypt." Images of the Pharos came unbidden; how many times had she looked up and marveled at it? That and the glass tomb of the conqueror who hadn't aged a day since he'd been laid to rest, an armor with a black stone over his chest. "Alexandria, down the Nile."

She closed her eyes. "My mother was the pharaoh." Though she caught herself a moment later and corrected herself, "No. My brother, after her." Why could she remember Caesarion with startling clarity? "Ptolemy Caesar Theos Philopator Philometor." Then she added, her Egyptian accent thick but uncertain, never having used it much in the first place and not having spoken it in so long, "Iwapanetjer entynehem. Setepenptah. Irmaatenre. Sekhemankhamun." Heir of the god who saves. Chosen of Ptah. Carrying out the rule of Ra. Living image of Amun.

closed to event threads

Essek

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Selene

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