Arreyis

Devouring Light

Ayrie cried out, fearing the worst. When Nadia appeared she did as directed and got behind her. "Nadia... I didn't know telling him would do this to him. I couldn't let him find out from anyone else, or on his own. It had to be me."

When Wrath appeared she felt an odd mix of relief and fear, but when the demoness called her Astoria she felt anger.

"I may have her soul, Wrath, but I am NOT her. I would never have done this to him." She glared at the back of Wrath's head. "I'm going to release him from this torment when I have learned how, and you can either help me or stay out of my way."

Devouring Light

Ayrie wanted so badly to reach out and comfort him, but she knew that she shouldn't, not until he heard the full truth from her. She knew she had to be the one to tell him, that if he found out or realized it any other way he would surely hate her more. She was crying for him, though she had thought she had no tears left.

"Asran, I'm sorry, but there's more. You said once that I am not Astoria, and I don't believe that I am the same as her. I have a different personality, different appearance, and a more trusting heart... I would never hurt you, I would never have believed the story Astoria was told, or acted on it, without asking you about it first. I have trust in you that you would never do something like that. But... I do have her memories...." She looked down at her hands. She hated having to tell him, hated the knowledge that he would probably leave and the burgeoning friendship between them would come to an end. "I was born with Astoria's soul."

Devouring Light

Ayrie sighed, this part was tough as it showed how little faith she had had in him.

"When the Angel showed up in the city, someone came to Astoria to tell her why he was here. They told her that you had destroyed a city to the north of here, that you had killed everyone including the women and children. That you had left only one survivor... This of course wasn't true, but the person who told her was someone she trusted. The Angel was the one who had the city destroyed, he made it look like it was you while you were out scouting trade routes for Cornopa. This, combined with the fact that you are a Sin Lord, convinced Astoria that the person was telling the truth, that the Angel was right to come after you. It made her angry, she felt betrayed, and so she did as they asked and cursed you before leaving you that night." She paused for a moment, trying to think of how to say the next part. She did not want Asran to know that it was Nadia, not yet, not until she knew how he would react about Astoria.

"When she and the person she trusted realized what the Angel had done, how he had deceived them, Astoria burned down one of his temples and left to come back to you. To lift the curse and beg your forgiveness, but your siblings attacked her before she could get to you."

Devouring Light

"It's alright, I understand why she did it." was all she said when he apologized for his sister. "I mean, it hurts, and I don't like her, but I get why she wants to protect you and why she hates the thought of me being around you."

She watched him settle, and took a seat on the couch herself, a pillow behind and beside her to help keep her sitting upright. She sighed again, finding it difficult to begin.

"I had a dream last night, about you... and Astoria." She started. "Rather, I should say Astoria came to me and took me through her memories of the events that happened back then... I know what she did to you, and I know how and why. I also know that the God of the Church was behind it all. I'm so sorry, for all of it, Asran. You didn't deserve any of it."

There were tears in her eyes as she waited for his response, knowing that the next thing she said needed to be said carefully.

Devouring Light

Ayrie walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, I'm not much better off and I'm a LOT younger than you. All I got yesterday was a scratch and a burn." She purposely downplayed her injuries.

She smiled at him, realizing this would be a lot harder than she had previously imagined. Thinking she could tell him, and actually telling him, were two entirely different things.

"There's something that we need to talk about, and I would appreciate it if you would come inside, so we can sit. The priests are going out to gather some things we need here." She motioned back to the door, where Darrin and Gerrick were making their way out of the house. Gerrick might be feeling spry, but they were still old men, with old man brains. They had probably remembered fifteen things they needed on the way out the door.

Devouring Light

"I had hoped that he would know me better than that by now." Ayrie sighed, laughing a little at his reaction. She stood, her side and shoulder twinging only slightly as she had recently taken something for her pain. "I will return later, Fathers. I need to find him."

She had put on a simple outfit that morning, a flowing yellow skirt and top that allowed her wounds to breathe. Following in the simple trend her hair was in a bun behind her neck, with tendrils falling around her face. As she walked outside she called after him, hoping he would slow down so she could catch up and not make her chase him all the way to the main temple.

"It's okay!" She yelled, "Slow down dammit, I'm injured!"

Devouring Light

Ayrie had stayed up all night, talking with the priests and deciding on the best course of action. She knew that Asran hated Astoria, and although she knew that she herself was a different person, her soul had committed a terrible act against him. The priests had tried to sway her from her decided course of action, but they couldn't stop her. Even only half trained as she was, she was more powerful than anyone in the Church- and had decided to separate herself from it in a way that would never be forgiven. She had recalled the spell that controlled Asran's curse, and how to remove it, and she planned to do just that as soon as she was powerful enough. The priests had eventually given in to her reasoning, and remained on the promise that they would help her in any way they could, including keeping the Church at bay as long as they could.

When the knock sounded at the door, Father Gerrick -now as spry as a thirty year old thanks to Nadia- jumped up to answer it, revealing Asran on the other side. Ayrie smiled at him, though her eyes were still red and puffy from all the crying she had done during the night. She recalled the feelings that Astoria had had for him so long ago, the love and then the feeling of betrayal when she thought he had hurt those people. She knew she had to tell Asran the truth.

"Hello, Asran. That is Father Gerrick, and this is Father Darrin." She said brightly, shifting in her seat to hide her nerves. She was terrified that even if she swore to dispel his curse that he would still revert to hating her once she revealed the truth to him. "They were accosted by Wrath last night, but a mystery woman came to their rescue and we are protected, for now."

She showed him the ring, but didn't mention Nadia, as she was unsure whether he knew Nadia's true identity. The priests had told her that the Seven Lights had fallen out of touch with each other over the years since Astoria had died, having never truly been a group to begin with. Nadia was the only one alive who was alive when Astoria was, and presumably the only one who knew what had really happened.

Devouring Light

Astoria looked at him, tears in her eyes. She couldn't answer him as he struggled to ask her why she had done it. She simply waited for the sedative to take full effect, then took out the piece of parchment with the spell written on it. She looked into his eyes, and for a moment her determination wavered. The hurt there was deeper than any emotion she had seen from him outside of the joy of playing with the children. She closed her eyes against the tears.

"How could you? How could you hurt so many?" She whispered, her voice catching. She placed the parchment on his forehead, chanting the words and putting her power behind them. The curse would drain his energy faster, and keep him from exerting himself in the way he had to destroy that city. It would take hundreds, maybe thousands of years, but it would slowly kill him. She was glad it was such a long punishment, it would give him time to repay the lives he had taken.

Ayrie cried out, unable to be heard by their past selves. She felt the regret well up in her belly, her chin wavering as she fought tears. 'No! No, Don't do it! He did nothing wrong! You know he did nothing wrong!' she screamed, watching as the blue runes from the parchment spread over Asran's body, burning themselves into his skin forever and binding him to a curse he never deserved.

Just as he began to scream in pain, Ayrie was ripped into a whirlpool of memories. Meeting with the Angel, going with him back to his city under his protection. Helping him to further advance towards Godhood, as he was so sweet and generous, serving people with honor and humility. Following him willingly until she discovered his lies, telling Nadia to go to Asran to protect him while she stayed behind to try to undo what she had helped the Angel accomplish.

The whirl stopped just after she had confronted the Angel and fled, planning to go to Asran to dispel his curse and beg his forgiveness of her betrayal. She knew he would never take her back, but she hoped that if she explained herself he would forgive her. Before she could make it back to Cornopa, the other Sin Lords ambushed her, overpowered her, and ripped her apart with their dark magic.

"You will NEVER harm our brother again." she heard Wrath say as they tore her heart from her chest.

As Ayrie watched all of this she cried, screamed, begged. She finally woke after Astoria was killed, Father Darrin was shaking her, trying to wake her.

"Ayrie...Ayrie it's okay. I'm here, it's okay." He had gathered her into his arms and was rocking her back and forth. "It's okay, child."

"F-Father Darrin... I-I..." She couldn't finish as real tears welled in her eyes. She put her face in his shirt and continued to cry until there was nothing left.

Devouring Light

Ayrie suddenly knew why he became so angry whenever Astoria's name was mentioned, and the regret that filled her heart nearly made her start crying. She watched as Astoria happily accepted his offer, wishing that she could reach through the haze of memory and stop her from doing what she did. Explain to her the mistake she made.

"I will, Asran." Astoria said, her smile never faltering. She took his hand, her palm sweaty. "Nothing would make me happier."

Just a few hours ago those words wouldn't have sounded so empty to her own ears, but with the knowledge she had now the words were hollow. The betrayal she felt, the icy rage building inside her every time he looked at her with that smile. How could he smile when he had done something so awful? She took the glass of wine from him and drank from it, at the same time breaking the capsule in her mouth that would counteract the sedative.

Devouring Light

Astoria smiled back, faking a bright attitude. "That sounds lovely, Asran. I'll bring your favorite wine, after all of that you deserve a break."

As she left to meet him later, the wine in her basket was laced with a special sedative she knew would work on him. She and Nadia had come up with a plan, that she would get him subdued enough that she could place the curse and then leave. She was nervous, and unsure that she could follow through. The information that Nadia had given her weighed heavily on her heart, and she wanted nothing more than to just leave without seeing him. She knew she had to do something to control him, to prevent him from ever being able to wreck that much havoc in the world again. This angelic spell would do just that, and he would never be able to break it.