The Assumption of the New Flesh

[snarky-padre-v.livejournal.com]

When; New Year's eve
Rating;O for occult?
Characters;Xuchilbara revelations9x6,Henry Townshend wisdom_rcvr,Father Vincent snarky_padre_v, Alessa Gillespie alessalearnt, Keico noh_dancer
Summary;Here be the big bad ritual the Halo of the Sun cult have been up to all this time..
Log;


The circle was drawn on the floor in blood.
The first two circles still somehow looked fresh, although there were no smears or blemishes in the writing.
There was a third circle around the first two, in what appeared to be some sort of dark crumbly substance, but as soon as the others filed in, Vincent knelt and touched something to it, and the third circle slowly flared into being, hungry flames dancing.

The symbol in the center, the symbol that was Alessa's ignited as well, somehow still maintaining its shape.

Vincent could have, maybe should have explained in advance; the runes were sort of like a floorplan, who stood where.
The runes in the top left inside the circle were Xuchilbara's, a secret name he had shown Vincent before this began. Vincent stood behind the god, where he would be more or less leading things. Right now he wasn't doing anything more spectacular than chanting something.

The lower left corner was for Alessa; the runes spelled out her name. Anyone familar with the Halo of the Sun sigil, as Henry clearly was, would know her name had been a part of the sigil all along, as her role was ordained. This new placement of it was so that she would be standing alongside the soon-to-be Conjurer, her rightful mate.

The name of the Conjurer was in the lower right, and Henry's name in Enochian just outside the circle. until the ritual was done, he was to stand there; he would enter the circle when the moment was right, and then take his rightful place over the name he would inherit.

The upper right was for the God-to-come.

This really didn't leave a place for Keico, but it seemed important she come, not just to make sure they didn't have any unwanted intruders, but because she had been feeling left out.
Vincent didn't know how Xuchilbara would feel about this, but he knew he wanted her there, and for now he was calling the shots. He figured Henry'd want her present as well. Tonight was his big night, after all.

Comments

[wisdom-rcvr.livejournal.com]

Henry did want her there. He had the support of the two most important people in his life, but knowing another outsider- someone who had been scared about the changes, too- was there...that helped. And maybe his transformation would make hers easier to stomach.

In any case, it was time. He stepped up to his name, the words on the outside of the circle. He hadn't been born into the cult- hell, he hadn't even known about it until he'd been trapped in Ashfield. He hadn't had any connections with it at all, until he'd been dropped here. Now it was time to fix it.

There was still something inside him that squirmed, something that tried to get him to walk out the door, to claw his way out, if necessary. There was a part of him that would fight becoming like Walter Sullivan to its last breath. But he wouldn't leave, and that last bit of his old self would die tonight.

Henry mistook this decision for strength. If he could only see how terrified he was of being alone again, maybe he'd rethink that opinion. But for now, he's secure in his family dream, and no one was going to take that away from him. Not after this.

He took a deep breath, squeezed Alessa's hand, then stood up straight in his spot next to the symbol, waiting for his next instructions.

[revelations9x6.livejournal.com]

The God's eyes reflected the dancing flames with a glow of thier own.
From the shadows of His hood, those eyes first settled on Henry, then Alessa, and for a lingering moment; Vincent.

They narrowed and joined a quirk of his lips as those flame-wreathed eyes travelled from Vincent's feet, slowly up the length of his body, and settled on the too-green gifts that made up Vincent's new eyes.

Keico, however, she was the last His gaze settled on.

Her doubt, and fear was not unknown, and her role was not superfluous.
The Dragon was twin to The Executioner.
Like a conduit. Where one took power, the other could as well.

Her presence added the power of the judgements that had been visited on the Nameless City for nearly a week leading up to this night.

Xulchilbara crossed the perimeter of the circle, and used nothing more than a look to draw Keico after him.
She trailed in silence, the chains on her mask glinting in the light.

Fire parted as He stepped beyond the first ring to stand within.
The Dragon kneeling outiside the preceedings, yet still behind him.

[snarky-padre-v.livejournal.com]

Vincent handed Henry a goblet. He may or may not have seen something like it before; it was made of a dark stone and seemed very very old.

In it was a bitter white drink, and Vincent clearly expected Henry to drink it.

Vincent closed his eyes and began to speak, loudly.
Periodically he sprinkled more blood into the fire in the circle. This blood must have been mixed with some sort of oil, for it just made the flames dance higher.
"By whatever name I call thee thou art still nameless to eternity.
Come thou forth I say, and aid and guard me in this work.
By the blood that flows in these veins, and by the words of blood given me
by the Order of the Halo of the Sun, and the book which is forgotten
I shall dedicate this thing.
And the waters with their swiftness and the moon with its fullness,
I shall dedicate this thing.
Awakening at the ordained order,
we summon, stir and call ye up,
powers invoked and renounced,
take thy new and rightful heir
Resigned to his poor earthbound state
he who awoke from death
closed the gate we now come forth to open.
Give this key to the Receiver of Wisdom.

Grant him fortune eternal.
By the blood spilled anew by the Sect of the Sacred Lady,
by the blood of sinners renounced by the Sect of the Holy Mother
I give you the Conjurer anew.
Free his soul with the talons of righteous judgement
Cleanse his mind with the flames longing for his rebirth.
The sweet blood on his laughing lips,
the flowers for the dead turned bitter in his belly.

For it is said that flame purifies all,
and for this purpose we gather.
Cast off the old man and make way for the new.
The Assumption of the New Flesh and the powers invoked.

By the love of the mother and the presence of the Crimson One,
by the pains taken by the Judge and the powers vested in me as the last of the clergy,
we commend the Receiver into the hands of eternity.
May he enter the circle without fear, lest he be lost to us forever.
May he be returned to us as the Conjurer.

The god who commands is in my mouth. The god of wisdom is in my heart.
May these things come to pass as I have spoken them.

Henry?
It's time."

The flame in the center hadn't burned down any, and looked plenty hot. Vincent nodded towards it anyway.
"You may enter the circle and claim what is yours."

[wisdom-rcvr.livejournal.com]

Henry had definitely seen the goblet before. He'd been expecting it here, as well as the white liquid. It didn't surprise him to see either. He drank the bitter liquid in one gulp, and was immediately glad he had. If he hadn't surprised his tastebuds with it, it might never have gone down.

He stood and listened quietly to the priest's words- never had he been so impressed. He realized then that he'd never really seen Vincent at work before. The man was commanding. It was perfect. The words wrapped around Henry's ears and wiggled their way into his mind. They solidified and became real, writhing things, and he could see them clearly.

Soon it was apparent that he was going to have to step into the center, walk into those flames. He stared at them as Vincent set them dancing higher, following the curve and snap of each lick. He could see them all, and his attention was taken until Vincent called out his name- his old name.

He blinked and finally realized that his eyes seemed to be acting weird. Better, maybe. He glanced at Alessa, and he could see the darkness, the rot and rust, the peeling paint, the torture, the pain. He could see it all and he loved every bit of it. And he could see how he had been made to love it, and he smiled.

He smiled at Alessa, passing his heart to her. And then he stepped into the circle and let the flames crackle around him. The fire was as hot as it looked. It felt like it was melting him, but Henry wasn't concerned. It was taking his old self away. Flame purifies all.

[revelations9x6.livejournal.com]

The Red God, Xulchilbara tilted His head back, and let the hood fall away.

He listened to Vincent, no, The Prophet speak, and smiled.
A smile that encompassed the edge of reason, and the burning away of all that tainted the world.

This world
The world beyond.

Tonight so many pieces were coming together.
Tonight, the new would truly begin.

Eyes closed, head tilted back, the flames licked higher around him. His pale hands extended level with them, and he took a breath as they curled lovingly between his fingers.

No pretty mockery, or imitations of humanity tonight. There were none here who would be harmed by the sound.


His voice, His true voice spoke in tones that simultaneously conjured sensations of the lash and the thorn.
Pain, pleasure, life, death.

Rebirth.

SpEaK.
I aM tHe CRIMSON ONE.
ThE liES aNd tHe mIsT aRe
NoT tHeY bUt I.
YoU aLl KNoW tHaT I aM OnE.
YeS, AnD tHe OnE iS I.

He dropped all pretense of shielding his essence, and let the flame take on a crimson edge, though it burned white in the center.

BelIeVerS hEaRkEn tO mE!
TWeNtY sCoRe MeN aNd
sEvEn tHoUsAnD bEaStS.
HeEd My WoRdS aNd sPeAkEtH tHeM
tO aLl, ThaT tHeY sHaLl EvEr Be
oBeYeD eVeN uNdEr tHe LiGht Of
tHe PrOuD aNd MeRcIlEsS SuN.

His hands fisted in the flames, seeming to hold a handful each.
His head came back, but His eyes remained closed, as he spoke.

I ShAlL BrInG DoWn BiTtEr VeNgEaNcE
UpOn tHeE aNd tHoU ShAlT SuFfEr
My EtErNaL WrAtH.

Now those twin stars burned as hot as the fire at his feet, and His hands opened, palm up, to show red curls of fire, that leapt and jumped from His palms.
Raising his hands, palm foreward now, the flames split into quarters, and started to etch sigils in the air around him.

THe BeAuTy Of tHe wItHeRiNg FlOwEr
AnD tHe laAsT StRuGgLeS oF tHe DyInG
mAn, tHeY aRe My BlEsSiNgS.

Before him, and between his hands traced the same mark that adorned Vincent's head and chest.

ThOu shAlT EvEr CaLl UpOn Me aNd
aLL tHaT iS Me In ThE PlAcE tHaT Is
sIlEnT.

On the right, Alessa's mark burned and danced, sending small curls of bright flame to twine with the sigil on the left.

Oh, ProUd FrAgRaNce Of lIfE wHiCh
fLiEs tOwArDs ThE HeArT. Oh CuP
wHiCh BriMs wItH tHe WhItEsT oF
wInE, iT Is iN tHeE tHaT aLL BeGiNs.

And on the left, burned a brand that mirrored the mark on Henry's shoulder. It too reached for Alessa's, and braided flares of energy with her seal, tying them together with ropes of heat.

Flame Purifies all

As Henry stepped into the pyre, Xulchilbara stepped out.
There would be nothing to aid Henry, should his resolve falter.
Nothing save his own inner strength.

[wisdom-rcvr.livejournal.com]

Henry's resolve did not falter. His fate had been decided long before, when he'd first met Alessa, then again when he agreed to do this. The only thing that had been left was fear, and even that was pulled away by that bitter white fluid he downed.

He couldn't tell how long he'd stood in that flame. It was both an eternity and an instant. All he could say about it was that it was 'enough'. There was a point where he just knew, he had finished. He'd passed this test.

Later on, when he had time to think about it, he'd realize- that was the moment that squalling thing inside him had silenced, and he suddenly felt stronger than ever before. His doubt was carried away, and in it's place was the insanity inherent in unconditional certainty. And there was power.

He'd never really wanted 'power'. He hadn't searched for it and certainly hadn't asked for it. But it was being given to him, and he would accept it. The pain of the others in the city was feeding him, and it tasted sweet. It was something he could get addicted to.

He stepped out of the flames and took his section of the circle, automatically standing on the inside. A faint smile crossed his face. He didn't really look at anyone, other than a quick glance at Alessa. "It's done," he said quietly.