Stephanie's Heart: The Archive

[reading_rainstorm]

In your dreams you are in a thick and foggy forest. It could be mistaken for the woods around Tributary if you don’t know your plants. You are on a trail leading into a clearing, in the center of which is a simple, concrete structure with a single door. A chaos star has been spray painted on it with a stencil.

You approach the structure. Looking over your shoulder you see a large shape lurking in the fog, obscured by the foliage. Two shining Feline eyes peer at you from the brush. You feel your heart rate spike as you turn the knob and find an old fashioned elevator tucked neatly inside with an accordion grate standing between you and the ornate, gilded interior. It creaks open as the presence behind you steps into the clearing. It is a sphinx, an eight foot tall lioness with the face of a woman and the large brown wings of an eagle on her back . The feminine face and olive skin tone of a Greek woman from antiquity smiles as she readies herself to to pounce, the wings on her back stretching and give a few readying flaps.You back into the elevator and close the gate with shaking hands as the sphinx leaps at the elevator. Her claws twisting and shearing the metal of the grate slowly, but she is too late. The elevator springs to life and you descend.

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A small light above flickers on as it illuminates your view outside the exposed elevator as you sink into the concrete structure. You descend for a few moments before an opening in the concrete gives you the view of an observation deck on a hill, looking down on the sprawling suburbs and campus of a college town. The elevator continues downward. The concrete gives way to old, dusty marble as you continue sinking. You see a vast maze stretch far and away that gets nearer and nearer. This has to be it, right? Your destination? No. You plunge further down, past the walls of the maze and the marble is replaced again by well polished wood. Beautiful stained mahogany rises past you as your descent finally starts to slow. You are greeted by another grate that creaks open for you. Entreating you to enter.

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[reading_rainstorm]

"We do not have to be enemies. I want my own name."

[maskformask]

Okay. I'll tell her.

Do you think I should go through the remaining memories? My goal was to collect all, in case that was important, but this part itself feels pretty important.

[reading_rainstorm]

"I know one of the missing memories is of how...I came to be. If you think that is worth it.

I will leave you now. Light the contracts on fire if you want to see the rest of this memory."

The sphinx flaps her wings fades away into the darkness

[maskformask]

[quiet for a moment, then, yeah, goes over to light those contracts up and see what happens]

[reading_rainstorm]

The contracts light and their flame turns a soft lavender hue. The smoke from them swirls around Louis to form two figures that start to take shape and definition. Stephanie standing rigid and sweat beading at her brow and an inhumanly tall and mint green skinned woman standing in the ritual circles that speaks to her with a smug tone.

"That was wrong again mortal. What should I take from you this time? How about...your warmth."

"Fine it is yours. My turn...

Eight brilliant scholars take their chairs;
I pray you, please observe them.
A steward's seat looks down on theirs
That he might better serve them. "

"...A place setting? Shining cuttlery and a plate?"

"Wrong. It is a menorah. Eight candles that are lit by a center one placed above the rest."

"Fine take the last mortal as your prize. We continue."

"Actually, since I have beaten you thrice, and you only twice. That's game. Best of three."

"What? I never agreed to-"

"You didn't I was the one who set the terms of the game though, and it remains my right to. The game is done."

"If you think you have gotten away with this disgrace mortal-"

Stephanie takes out a balled up rag and tosses it at one of the sigils, smudging it and breaking the spell. The woman in the circle disappears. Stephanie collapses to her knees and shivers.

[maskformask]

[is she still there and interactable, or just a mirage? If real, he'll go over and put a hand on her shoulder]

[reading_rainstorm]

She's there briefly. She puts a hand on his. It's cold. She gives him a weak smile.

"I saved them. I did actual magic and I saved them. That's what matters."

And she's gone. In the ash of the contracts, you see a card. Death.

[maskformask]

[softly] Yeah. You did it.

[gonna pick that up, carefully putting it with the rest, then head to the next door]

[reading_rainstorm]

The the white metal door swings open and you are in a modern hospital room. Tile floor, the smell of antiseptic, eerily quiet. Someone moves behind the hospital curtain. You can see Ava's crutches leaning against the wall beside the bed. A knot forms in your stomach. This is wrong. You don't want to be here. You can't leave though, the door behind you is gone.

[maskformask]

[oh. i hate this.

there's no choice but to move forward] Ava?

[reading_rainstorm]

"Glad you finally remembered me Stephanie!"

Suddenly Stephanie is there beside you, or...a ghost of her, she is younger, no sphinx eyes and for once she isn't dressed in her cloak. She wears a black blouse with an olive skirt. She passes you and pulls away the curtain to reveal Ava, fuming.

"Finally got the courage to face me hm?"

"The courage!? I didn't even know you were here! I haven't heard from you in a week, I was worried Ava."

"You made your worries quite clear before I left, Grim." Stephanie cringes as Ava uses that name for her. Ava's frown burrows into Stephanie. "Your little superstition spooked you away from a trip we had planned for weeks!"

"Superstition? You know- You've seen my magic! You know the things I can do."

"You let cards keep ruin a trip with my family."

"I told you I thought it would be dangerous, and-"

"AND YOU WERE RIGHT? Is that what you were about to say Stephanie? Oh great, your predictions came true and the doctors tell me I'm going to walk with a limp forever. So what, I should have listened to you and just stayed home with you? Holed up like a pair of hikikomori?"

"That's not what I-" The knot in your gut turns. You didn't deserve this. All this spite Ava was throwing at you, no. At Stephanie. That fear turns into anger. "You're going to call all this superstition after all you've seen. After all the luck charms that got you straight A's."

"Doubling down on the creepy girl act. Very nice Steph."

"You think I want people to call me creepy!? You think I want their attention? I sure know you do. That's why you started dating me, right? To look like the nice girl deigning to date the Freak" Tears prick at the corner of your eyes. You're crying. Ava points to the door and tosses a card at Stephanie. It slides to your feet.

"GET OUT. Take your stupid luck charm with you. We're done Steph."

[maskformask]

[grimaces] Well, this seems messy.

[reading_rainstorm]

The door is back. The card at your feet is strength. The last one.

[maskformask]

[takes that, then. There's no more doors?

Goes to. look behind the curtain if anyone's still there]

[reading_rainstorm]

The hospital bed is empty save for a book on astrology.

There's another door in remembered rooms, though. The bright cheery blue one if you want to check it out.

[maskformask]

[that'd make sense, given what the sphinx said. Goes to check that room, yeah]

[reading_rainstorm]

You are in a finished attic room. It is very warm here. There are fairy lights strung up and a tapestry of the tarot card “The High Priestess” hangs above the mattress on the floor that has it’s sheets neatly made. This whole place would seem incredibly clean and organized if there wasn't a stack of books and papers spread across the desk opposite the bed and a trash can that needed to be emptied two days ago overflowing with energy drink cans right beside it. Along the wall is a window with a bookcase beside it, chock full of books.

[maskformask]

Girl, don't drink that many.

[checks the bookcase first, then will check the desk]

[reading_rainstorm]

The bookshelf is all fantasy, science fiction, horror and mystery novels. Wow, she really likes Steven King.

On the desk you see homework, an essay on the fall of the Roman empire, half finished. There's a to do list for the weekend: Homework, Carving, Sewing, doctor's appointment, date with Ava.

As you rifle around you hear someone coming up the stairs. It's Stephanie stomping upward followed by...a different dad? She's sniffling a little.

"Stephy. Please, I know it's hard."

"Shut up! 'It's hard.' I saw enough of that jackass at the cult I don't want to be part of his fucking trial. They know what he did!"

"Stephanie...you're a key witness."

"Why...why do I have to be the one to do this..."

Her father gives her a hug.

"It's the right thing to do dear. Your testimony will make sure he can't hurt more people."

[maskformask]

[oh. Grimaces. He... sits on the bed to wait for her? And eavesdrop.

This is familiar. Though he didn't wait for any trial, himself.]

[reading_rainstorm]

She flops next to you on the bed arms splayed out over the mattress. She stares up at the ceiling as she thinks . A deep frown on her face.

"I want something..."

Her dad laughs.

"For doing this, anything."

"...How about a cloak. Winter's coming."

"A cloak? Not a coat?"

She pops back up.

"Cloaks are cool!"

Her father fades from the memory and teen Stephanie's eyes go over to you.

[maskformask]

You're right. Cloaks ARE cool.

[reading_rainstorm]

Teen Steph gives you a big smile before she fades away. A sense of comfort settles over the room.

[maskformask]

[softly, to the air] You're very brave.

This can't be where you first met the sphinx, then. Was it... right after the breakup...?

[reading_rainstorm]

There's a shake to the room. It's different slightly. The walls and floor look more like the shop you saw in the diorama. The desk has stayed the same. A vague outline of an older Stephanie hunched over something.

The memory collapses back to the attic room.