[center][h1][color=lightblue]Ignition-Initiation[/color][/h1][/center]

The small monkey sized Armonia launched itself onto the Curator, scrambling over the passive construct as it hovered through the checkpoint built at the base of the stairway entering the Vault of Souls. The little Armonia did little to hinter the floating custodian but its melodic screeching did draw the attention of Auk-Ra-Shatara. The reborn Aroiox had been leaning against the banister that safeguarded vault travelers from the great pit at the vault’s center, which had grown ever deeper as the years passed. Though light now flooded the dungeon the depths of the central shaft where still mostly lost to the black other than a barely noticeable red glow far far below.

“Ah, little watcher-sniffer.” the bird like mortal cawed upon hearing the construct’s racket. “Have you found-discovered another lost soul?”

On stone talons Auk-Ra briskly caught up with the Curator and inspected its haul of crystals that had alarmed their watchdog. Among many pristine specimens one stood out. A wretched purple bile flowed through it like oil, cracking and rotting the crystal wherever it went. Auk-Ra tutted a few times at the sight and then grasped the stone, whistling softly as he did to both call of the soul decay detecting Armonia and to authorize the removal of the crystal form the Curator’s possession. 

“Let’s get you heal-fixed my friend” he told the crystal before walking up the stairs leading to a large structure that had been built into the ceiling of the vault. Hanging suspended as it was the inverted bunker was out of the way of regular traffic and safe from the endless flow of heat that billowed up from the depths. Yet it still had great sighlines for almost the entire of the vault and allowed for easy access to all its levels via a spiral staircase penetrating down into the depths.

Inside dozens of undead busied themselves with the last of a construction had been ongoing for nearly all of the past decade. The new lighting had been an early introduction, as had the addition of garrison posts and checkpoints to help facilitate the eradication of Orvus’s soul decaying bugs. For the past seven years a great works of metal, the same that lined the wings of the soul collecting Alma and vaults of the mighty whale armor Bruna, had been added to the bare stone of the vault. A spider web of the unnatural metal spiderweb out into the halls of the vault before all coalescing back in the central vault. It spiraled down to the lowest shelves and also up, higher and higher through a tunnel that had been bored skywards through the roof of the shaft. At the center of the chamber a central core, a blue whale sized cylinder of luft stone covered in hundreds of Soul Gems and veins of metal, now hung motionless in the open air seemingly unaffected by the aircurents racing through the vast cavity.

Auk-Ra paid none of this any mind, as he was by now used to it all, and exchanged only simple pleasantries with his comrades as they fiddled with various alters or called out instructions to Armonia automatons. 

He had a soul to save.  

The crystal was set upon an altar, the first of many that had been built all across the vault. It was a simple thing, a flat raised bowl of stone with songs of verse carved into it and then painted with pigment made from one of Azura's feathers, causing the Verses to glow softly. A small depressions the center sat above a large jar stored beneath the raised stone. With practiced ease Auk-Ra popped the soul crystal into position, adjusted it a few times to get it just right, and then softly sang a few notes to activate the altar.

The soul was surrounded by gently flowing verse of a myriad of colors which caused it to rise in the air as the magic took its hold. The hungering corruption that had been merely slowed by its pray’s untimely death was drawn out and gathered in a glass jar set into the alter. Drop by drop the soul decay incarnate drained into the almost full jar while the crystal gained its rightful luster for the first time. The damage that had been done already began to slowly repair itself cracks sealing shut. What was lost would never be returned. Memories striped away by the vile blight, cornerstones of personality forever shifted or warped. But the crystal was whole once more and, should it awaken one day, it would be able to try and make sense of the gaps and making new memories safe from the decay.

With a clink the crystal dropped back down onto the altar. Auk-Ra collected the crystal, turned it over a few times to ensure the process had worked correctly, and then tallied down the date on a tablet set near the altar. Dozens of such tablets had already been filled and stored up above in floating archives. Fortunately, the rate of corrupted gems arriving had slowed dramatically after an initial burst of right after the day the moon had shed its destructive payloads. 

The corrupted and decaying still came in in dribs and drabs, but with their project so close to completion the goddesses had been loath to step away for even a second to investigate the source of the decay. 

As Auk-Ra descended part way down the stairs to return the crystal to the hands of the curators he spotted a small group of Armonia clad dead entering the vault and heading straight for the bunker. Among them where Ossian Bem, who like Auk-Ra had been one of the first to rise. She had been teaching the dead her otherworldly knowledge and ideas and had risen to prominence among them as a result while Auk-Ra had remained simply one among the many risen dead. He didn't really mind. The voidsoul was presently enwrapped in quiet decision with the avatar Cerule. The memory of Azura’s former self had The Watcher, a strange Void soul that none of the dead really understood or interacted with much, draped itself across her shoulders.

They began to ascend just as a curator came to retrieve the crystal, leaving Auk free to greet them after his charge was sent on its way.

“They’re not restrictions, but rather agreements of procedure to ensure that...” Ossian was saying as they approached the Aroiox. 

“Hello-hay there. Are we almost ready-prepared for the big event?” he asked, interrupting the present line of conversation as he joined the party's ascent.

“Ah. Shatara. Good to see you again.” Ossian replied, a touch of irritation in her words that she quickly erased as she informed him that “That we are. Seven years of work are moments away from coming to fruition.”

[color=007fff]“Infact I’m quite sure that when we step in they’ll tell us that...“[/color] Cerule began, before cutting herself short as they entered the bunker propper. Their entrance garnered a far greater response than Auk’s own had, bringing the work going on inside to a momentary halt.

“Ah! Cerule. Ossian. And company! welcome!” said a former Servant as he stepped away from an alter displaying knot of glowing verse that looked like the trunk and roots of a tree “We’re just moments away from being ready, we’re simply awaiting Alfarn’s return. He should be here any”

The Servant was interrupted by another arrival, this one coming in from a doorway that opened out onto the central shaft. As the Armonia, a Nebulite known as Alfarn, stepped through the doorway a two pairs of fin like glossier wings folded down behind their back. These were attached to a limpet like creature which adhered itself to their stone back. Behind them in the central chamber numerous curators and other Armonia bourn by the same type of wings as the new arrival or crawling along the ceiling where in the process of vacating the open space between the vaults corridors, carrying various stone tools and freshly mined rubble with them as they left.

“Ah, there they are” the former Servant concluded. 

“We’ve finished the last installation” the Nebulite informed them as the rest of his motel construction team entered the bunker behind him. “I hope we didn't keep you waiting, there were a few issues linking up the two spiral structures perfectly. We uh, had to get Azura to rotate the upper section by about a thumb.”

[color=007fff]“Don’t worry, we’re both right on time.“[/color] Cerule informed them with more than a hint of smugness at her own near perfect timing. Auk-Ra was impressed, as where most of the other except for the feline watcher who muttered something in the Avatar’s ear and eliciting a wordless tone of annoyance from the Avatar.

[color=007fff]“And don’t worry about the minor error.“[/color] she continued [color=007fff]“I’m sure my dear Azura though nothing of making the correction“[/color] 

Alfarn nodded in appreciation and joined his colleagues. 

[color=007fff]“Now, I’m not one for speeches, I’m sure Azura has me covered up topside, so how about instead we let actions speak louder than words and activate this marval we’ve built together.“[/color] 

There was enthusiastic agreement among the crowd, to which Auk-Ra added “yes-yes. Let’s get moving-going!”

[color=007fff]“Then my dear Ossian, if you’d care to do the honours“[/color] Cerule said. The Void soul nodded and, as Auk-Ra and the others watched, the avatar tore open her own stone chest, into which Ossian plunged her hand and tore out the goddesses soul. The body she had worn slumped to the ground as the general carried Cerule’s soul crystal to a great altar set on a raised dais at the front of the bunker, overlooking the central chamber. The Watcher discarded its perch on the abandoned body and followed after its charge to watch the proceedings. The altar was shaped like a ship’s wheel, though none but Ossian would recognise this shape. Crystal was placed into a crevice at the center of the wheel filled with strange metals. For a few moments nothing happened as Ossian stepped back. Then the Alter flared to life, verse streaming up out of the crystal in and into its spokes. As it did so too did the Vault of Souls.

A steam of Verse burst forth from every corridor in the vault, following along the surface of the metal veins that had been installed by Arrmonia automatons. The streams power, glowing with every color of the rainbow, flowed out into the open air between the catwalks, pooling and swirling into a pure white mass around the central core of the vault before the very eyes of the amazed onlookers. They had known this would happen, but to see it in action was something else entirely.

The white energy pulsed and thrummed as if it was the heartbeat of a great beast before it suddenly burst upwards, flowing into the tunnel in the ceiling, guided by the spiral of metal lining its surface as it accented.

High above in the Blue Azura was indeed in the mists of making a speech to the vast majority of the revived mortals that inhabited her domain. They were gathered in the stands of the Lightning Dome while azrua stood before them with her back to the sky bastion.

[color=lightblue]”Each and everyone of you has contributed to this project in ways great and small. Over three long years together we charted our course and drew up our plans. For seven long years we have worked to plan and perfect the construction. The vault of souls fully realised as more than just a resting place, but as as beating heart of the knowledge and power of the people of Galbar. Now, today, our toils come to fruition as we take the next step in our journey to surpass death itself!”[/color] 

With exquisite and dramatic timing the energy from the depths of the vault arrived just as she finished her proclamation, leaping skywards up out of the tunnel bored all the way through the north pole mountain, through the center of the sky bastion and up into the blue.

The great beam of power lanced up until it reached the warped space found at the top of the sky, up where distances shrunk. From below it seemed to spread across the sky as it accented until it reached the point where all horizontal direction was one and the same and it engulfed the entirety of the vault of heaven. Across Galbar the daytime sky suddenly went white for the briefest of moments before the test was completed and the energy beam sputtered out, returning the sky to its usual hue.

Sitting together watching this where Garna’Tenth and Kabarna. The former, who had only arrived a few days ago and was as a result not caught up with the plan asked with awe “What on Galbar was that supposed to be”

“Power.” Kabarna replied “Power accessible from everywhere in the Blue that we will used to rewrite the laws of death itself.”

Down below Cerule’s soul was extracted from the alter via which she had sparked the ignition of the vault and was placed back in her body. As she awoke and was helped to rise once more by  Ossian the assembled undead where staring in quiet awe both at her and at the energy still coalesced around the central chamber. 

“Did it work-function?” Auk-Ra finally asked

Cerule glanced up at a seemingly specific point in the ceiling for a few moments before nodding. [color=007fff]“Yeah. The power went up and out. The warped space interacted with the energy just as you said it would Watcher. Zero point energy. Amazing really.”[/color]

“A few simple tweaks and it could do so much more.” informed her

[color=007fff]“We’re trying to solve problems, not cause more. Breaching the Void will do exactly that. Plus, ‘a few simple tweaks’ is a massive understatement.”[/color] 

The cat that contained a tiny fragment of an eldritch horror simply shrugged before it leapt atop her shoulders once more and went back to silently observing the proceedings.

“And the other purpose of the vault?” asked one of the other undead whom Auk-Ra recognised as an archivist.

[color=007fff]”Right right.”[/color] Cerule responded before stepping up to the wheel shaped alter, that remained active even after her soul had been removed from it, and gripped two of its spokes with her hands. 

[color=007fff]”Vault?”[/color] 

After a moment of silence the ball of power surrounding the core pulsed and rippled as it spoke back [color=silver]”Listening. What is your query?”[/color] 

The avatar was silent for a few moments before stepping away from the wheel and glancing at the small assembly [color=007fff]”Well, what do we want to know? The wisdom of a whole world is at our fingertips.”[/color] 

There was muttering and discussion at this. While the archivist went searching for their notes on what to ask Auk-Ra glanced at the tablet he had added too, and the jar of corruption below the decay curing alter. Both where almost full and yet represented but a fraction of the harm the decay had inflicted upon the dead. 

The Aroiox stepped up to the wheel, grasped it, and asked the Vault of Souls to “Tell-speak about soul blight-decay.”

There was a pause during which Auk-Ra felt the vault gently prodding at his soul till he offered up a more complete understanding of soul deacy before querying the untold number of lifetimes it had at its disposal for souls who could and would provide answers to the questions.

Images began to form, displayed in thin flat projections hovering in thin air in the same way the Alma did. It showed the wave of decay that had spread out from the gateway to Veradax before suddenly stopping, only to begin again for but a short time while the moon wept. It showed the reapers advancing towards the Pigmy’s city thought he eyes of a Jotunder who was killed moments later by a meteorite fall. Through the eyes of a Selke it saw the fate of those beset by reapers. They aslo saw the cruel slavery and butchery wrought by the Ihokhurs and through the eyes of an Ihokhetlani their creation. 

And finally through the eyes of Nebulite they saw the source of all this destruction. A god who had made himself into simple farmer and a family man who showed not a hint of having committed these atrocities to those who called him creator.

“I don't understand-comprehend. Why do all of this-that.”

“My parents told me he abandoned us and that was why they went to live in that wretched city.” Alfarn noted “After seeing what he was doing, maybe that was for the best. Better to suffer there than have my soul tore apart when he got bored of us.”

“The next phase of the plan doesn't need us to be here” Ossian said carfuly, glancing breinfly at Cerule for confirmation before continuing “We need to go out there. Build ‘Monuments’ to facilitate the rebirth of all those stored here. And we need those monuments to be safe, which they won't be with all of those monsters of Orvus roaming around out there.”

Cerule nodded in approval while Auk-Ra wondered where she was going with this.

“We’ve built, we’ve trained, learned and strategized. It's time we set out to put all that work to use.” The the otherworldly General said with firm conviction. There were nods from many around the chamber, just as there would be up above when she made the pitch again. Many had wanted this for years, and now it finally felt like the right time. The dead would march forth and as they had pledged to Azura inorder to be awakened they would make the world a better place, no matter who or what stood in their way.  

[hider=summary]
Auk-Ra-Shatara, a different kind of undead Aroiox who was one of the original 7 to be awoken by Azura, discovers a corrupted soulcrystal being brought into the vault of souls after it is detected by a specialized type of Armonia. He then takes it up into a new building in the vault to be purified. The vault has also had a number of new additions, including a load of metal like the stuff used to hold soul crystals on Alma wings and a new floating core at its center made of soul gems, Luft stone and more metal.

After the crystal is cured of its decay he goes down to give it back to a curator only to run into Cerul and Ossian who have arrived to activate the vault of souls. They talk for a bit and then get on with the task. Cerule trusts Ossian to rip out her soul and shove it temporarily into the vault’s new control alter. Then she kick starts the vault with 10 mp. Power flows into the core from the soul crystals and then shoots up into the sky where it will be used to ‘power’ Azura’s new afterlife/death system that it starts getting built. 

Cerule is unplugged and then activates the second function of the vault, which pools the wisdom and knowledge of the dead into an easily queryable interface. Auk-Ra asks this database about soul decay and it tells them all about Orvas’s words and deeds as seen through the eyes of dead people. This does not paint him in a good light. Ossian more or less declares a jihad against all the awful shit Orvas has put into the world. Cerule approves.
[/hider]

[hider=The Windweavers]
[i]Start:[/i] 12 Prestige
1 for post, 1 for starring role, 1 for following a quest (abraxas end times)
[i]End:[/i] 15 Prestige
[/hider]

[hider=mp summary]
Start: 13 FP 12 MP

0 mp (discounted by soul crystal) monuments that cure soul decay in crystals placed upon them.
0 mp (discounted by soul crystals) to mutate some Armonia and create a variant able to identify soul decay in soul crystals
0 mp (discounted by Tonnikala) lift limpets. A type of flying snail that adheres itself to an object and can extend wings to move that object. Normally a chunk of Luftstone, but can also move an Armonias body through/into the sky.
0 fp (discounted by Tonnikala) taught the undead using lift limpets as a method of slow flight. 

10 MP. Holy site for soul crystal port: the Vault of Souls. Able to retrieve the memoirs of the (willing) dead and display/convey them to users of the vault. This makes it a useful information gathering tool, though one with a bit of delay and plenty of bias and gaps. Also it will narratively act as a power-source for the future rebirth system Azura wants to implement but that power doesn't actually do anything on its own. Other than change the color of the sky I guess.

End: 13 FP 2 MP
Portfolio progress:

Birds: (9/10)
The Verse: (6/10)
Rebirth: (7/10)
[/hider]