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]

You are in a grey, cement room of decent size with nothing in it except for a beat up futon mattress. There is a large, heavy metal door that you know is locked. Sitting in front of a wall with “I WISH ENOCH’S PROMISE WAS DESTROYED” written in what is clearly drying blood is the child Stpehanie. They have shaggy brown hair and are dressed in dirty, threadbare clothing. They look to be eleven years old. They look up at you with a cold, empty look in their eyes.

"Hello, Metis. Thank you for returning my journal."

[turntoash]

"Oh... yeah, don't worry about it." There was a lot going on in this room for Metis to take in at once, but just as with last time, her attention is drawn first to the child. "Are you... okay, clearly you're not okay. But how can I help you? Even if it's just..."

She took her coat off and draped it across Stephanie's shoulders. No kid ever deserved to be cold.

[reading_rainstorm]

They wrap themselves in the cloak and smile weakly at you, nodding in thanks.

"All there is to do here...is wait."

Stephanie turns her gaze to the writing on the wall and you feel the time passing. Minutes, hours, days. Suddenly you can hear shouting coming from behind the door, not the door you entered but one that looks heavy and made of thick metal. A bell starts ringing, a raised alarm. Gunshots coming down the hallway.

[turntoash]

"What in the hell--?!" Metis knelt down on one leg, positioning herself between the child and the door. Her hands swept forward in a practiced motion and--

Nothing happened. When her mind caught up with her, Metis wondered why she'd done that.

At least she wouldn't have to wait long for everything to come to a head.

[reading_rainstorm]

More gunshots. Louder and louder, ringing in your ear. Stephanie clings to you as she shudders in fear. The gunshots stop.

The door suddenly explodes inward. A man in SWAT gear leans around the doorway, checking the angles. He puts a finger to his ear.

"There's a kid in here, send medical down the east wing. He looks in rough shape."

You can see past the man, in the hallway Stephanie's father is on the ground. Shot dead.

You are in the Hall of Fates again. Your coat has been put back on your shoulders, it still has child Stephanie's warmth on it.

[turntoash]

Metis remained kneeling as she processed what had just happened. She hadn't been shot dead, which was an immediate improvement over what she had assumed was going to happen mere moments ago. Stephanie's father hadn't been so lucky, and a small sense of regret over trying to rile him up earlier rose in her chest.

Gods above. She'd had to see her own father killed. Nobody should have had to go through that.

After a moment to catch her breath and brace herself for seeing Ava again, Metis entered the second door: the Lovers.

[reading_rainstorm]

No Ava yet, it seems. A teenaged Stephanie is at a work bench carving something, a gentle smile on her face. She forgot to shave this morning.

She looks up from her work. "Oh hey, it's you again. Sorry if that last one was rough. Should be relatively smooth sailing from here."

[turntoash]

"Oh." Metis blinked. "Uh, good to know. Sorry you had to live through that. Glad to see you're doing okay now."

She craned her head to see what Stephanie was carving.

[reading_rainstorm]

It's an eagle. Nowhere near as good as the ones you've seen about this place, not even the ones on the store shelves. Around the base are little constellations.

"What do you think? It's a luck charm...I think this one will work. We've been working on it all summer. You think she'll like it?"

[turntoash]

Metis carefully didn't let her face show the maelstrom of thoughts that swarmed her head. "Honestly? I don't think she will, and that's her loss. Anyone who cares enough to carve a good luck charm by hand deserves someone good."

[reading_rainstorm]

Stephanie's face falls, saddened a little. The door to the shed you're in creaks open a crack, and then bursts wide as a teenaged Ava rushes past you, seemingly not able to even notice your presence. She takes Stephanie into a hug and kisses her cheek.

"I got your text! Is it really done?" Ava looks at the carved Eagle in Stephanie's hand, she tears up a little, looking at it. "Steph...it's beautiful. Let's test it out!" Stephanie smiles and takes Ava's hand and you are standing in the Hall of Fate again.

[turntoash]

Metis looked at the ceiling. Not a good feeling, knowing what was going to happen and being unable to change it, even if it was in the past. Should she have lied?

A question with no answer, she supposed. She headed for the Strength door this time. Her hand hesitated above the handle - but then, ultimately, she stepped through.

[reading_rainstorm]

You are in a high-school hallway. Stephanie is taking things from her locker, you can see she's got a black eye that's on the mend. She flinches hearing you approach and whips around with a look of fear and anger, then she sighs.

"Ah, just you...This is your grand finale before the real deal I guess."

[turntoash]

Metis gave a casual wave. "Hey. Everything all right? That's a nasty shiner you're nursing there."

[reading_rainstorm]

"...I was not a fan of high school, well, mostly the people in it. The feeling was mutual." Stephanie shuts the locker and a troupe of large high-school boys round the corner. They all get horrible grins on their face as they see her.

"Well well, if it ain't the grimy Grimoire. Don't you know it's dangerous for you to stay late."

Stephanie looks at you sighing. "It's a memory, remember. You can't do anything to stop it." She turns her attention to the one that spoke to her. "Just going home, Zeb. Don't you have a girlfriend to cheat on?"

Zeb continues walking up to Stephanie. Getting right in her face. The are equal height. Stephanie doesn't seem to move in deffence or care about his aggressive posture.

[turntoash]

Metis clenched her fists. It might have been a memory, but standing back and doing nothing didn't feel right. She could have been this girl, and she suspected that once her memories started returning there would be some similarities.

She rounded the group of boys, getting behind them. Was there anything of notice from this perspective?

[reading_rainstorm]

Yes. Ava, rounding the corner behind Stephanie. When she sees what is going on she looks FURIOUS. She takes a hard back book out of her backpack and chucks it at Zeb. It beans him right in the forehead.

"Leave her alone you douchebags! Jesus christ, everyone knows who gave her that black eye. You think the principal is gonna look the other way when a valedictorian gets a broken arm?"

Stephanie turns to see Ava, seemingly totally surprised by this. It dawns you...this came before the last memory. Stephanie doesn't even know Ava's name here.

Stephanie takes Ava's distraction to stomp on Zeb's foot and run to Ava. She takes her yet to be girlfriend by the arm and runs around the corner.

You are back in the Hall of Fate.

[turntoash]

Messy teenage relationships. They were prevalent enough that Octavius Esry had even written on them in his titular collected journals. Metis shook her head. Some things seemed universal.

That left one door - the High Priestess. Metis made to open it, hoping that it worked this time.

[reading_rainstorm]

It did. Opening the door you see the main chamber of a temple. A black and white pillar suspend a floral patterned cloth behind a throne. On which, is Stephanie adorned with fine red and gold robes, headdress with a Chaos star like a halo behind her head. There is no trace of her usual cat features about her but wears a golden gorget around her neck, that is chained to a headless winged lion that sits at the foot of her throne. She looks up from the book in her lap. Smiling.

"Hello, Metis. Good work out there."

[turntoash]

"Hey, Stephanie. Thanks." It was another scene that was hard to take in all at once - as Metis registered bits and pieces of it, she felt underdressed, sympathetic, and confused.

"So... what in the hell is going on?" she asked with what she thought was admirable patience.

[reading_rainstorm]

This is my heart. You got to the core of it. What's out there. That's like...my psyche. Sometimes the wild magic likes to crack us open to give people a look around.

[turntoash]

"Ah. That's a little distressing, if I'm being honest. And while I'm being honest, I should say I saw a bunch of stuff you were probably keeping under wraps."

Metis had the grace to look apologetic.

[reading_rainstorm]

Stephanie smiles gently at her.

"The stuff you saw...certainly isn't comfortable to look at. I'm sorry you had to see some of that stuff just to get to me, being honest. I just...have been keeping my distance from it all. I guess it built a bit of a wall around me. I don't mind you seeing it though. I don't keep secrets."

[turntoash]

"Can't say I blame you. It's rough. I'm sorry you had to deal with all of that."

Metis approached the throne. "I didn't know much about you. I still don't. The headless lion is throwing me. But... you shouldn't have had to live through all that."

[reading_rainstorm]

"Ah right, I haven't gotten to tell you yet.

I'm cursed. Turning into a sphinx."

She points at the lion.

"Winged lion"

She points at herself.

"With the face of a woman."