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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The Stacks

[reading_rainstorm]

You have arrived at what appears to be the main hall of a large and grand library. The bookshelves are wide and tall. Absolutely brimming with books. The windows and skylights provide a dimming purple glow of an unseen sunset. The hall is lit by warmly glowing wall sconces and two chandeliers. At the center of the hall is a large mosaic chaos star on the floor with “Tell no lies. Keep no secrets. Keep your word as a bond.” enscrolled around it. Long tables with chairs are in rows down the hall, a few of the tables have small piles of books and loose papers on them..

To your right is a large reference desk, currently unattended with a “ring for assistance” placard by a silver service bell. At the far end of the hall is a spiral staircase that leads to the upper levels of the library. On the second floor signs point towards hallways on either side. The left goes to Diorama Hall, the right to Remembered Rooms. Beneath the balcony is a pair of double doors with an arch that has Hall of Fate carved into it; beside the doors there's a table with purple velvet cloth draped over it.

[whatpossessedyou]

[Rowan stands still and looks around herself for a moment, then walks over to the reference desk and rings the service bell.]

[reading_rainstorm]

A lively sweet voice calls from behind the card catalogue.

“Just a moment please!”

There is a sound of papers being rustled and a drawer closing before a figure rounds the corner of the card catalog drawers.

It is a woman carved entirely from wood wearing a brightly colored paisley dress. She shares a striking resemblance to Stephanie. Her brows are thinner and her lips rest in an easy smile. Rowan would recognize her as Harmony, Stephanie's mother. She moves strangely, like she is at a lower framerate than a living person, like she is being animated by stop motion.


“Welcome to the Archives of High Priestess Spiros. How can I aid you today?”

Re: The Stacks

[maskformask]

[silent for a long moment, unnerved. He slides his mask on because he doesn't know what his face is doing, then takes a short walk down those tables to look at the loose papers. He doesn't want to summon anyone until he's got his bearings.]

Re: The Stacks

[reading_rainstorm]

It's quiet and peaceful here, though there's a slight chill to the air. The loose papers appear to be the pages of a journal noting the progress on some magical projects. They are written in Stephanie's fine handwriting.

"Inability to do magic when I feel still stands as a major hurdle to the location spell. Naoki's progress is good, should touch base again. Rowan's mist making pulled on what was around her, should ask Zoya if her weather magic depends at all on present conditions. Lark Much and Mithrun's curse breaking was a great success. Much said mine could be dangerous as it relates closer to my soul. Need to think of more ways to ensure it's a safe operation " So on and so forth over a few pages.

The books here are Curses and Curse Breaking, Myth and History of the Sphinx, Transformation of Body and Mind, Effects of Vampirism, Storm Calling and other Weathermagic, Gods of the Pathfinder, Wayfarer and Traveler, Telepathy and other Psychic Phenomenon. There's something sticking out of Myth and History of the Sphinx.

[owlimony]

[gasps shakily, tilting his face to look up and around]

. . . oh. No. Right now? Tonight . . .?

[he stands there uncertainly for a moment, pressing his eyes closed, like. maybe this will just go awaaayyyy? if he tries hard?]

[. . . nope. still here when he opens his eye again.]

[tentatively looking around, then giving the bell a little ring]

HelloooooOooO?

[reading_rainstorm]

A lively sweet voice calls from behind the card catalogue.

“Just a moment please!”

There is a sound of papers being rustled and a drawer closing before a figure rounds the corner of the card catalogue drawers.

It is a woman carved entirely from wood wearing a brightly colored paisley dress. She shares a striking resemblance to Stephanie. Her brows are thinner and her lips rest in an easy smile. Rowan would recognize her as Harmony, Stephanie's mother. She moves strangely, like she is at a lower framerate than a living person, like she is being animated by stop motion.


“Welcome to the Archives of High Priestess Spiros, Stolas. How can I help you today?”

Re: The Stacks

[turntoash]

Metis slouched towards the reception desk with her hands in her jacket pockets. The placard had perhaps the opposite effect on her than intended; on reading it, she stepped back from the desk and up the stairs instead, aiming for the Diorama Hall.

Re: The Stacks

[maskformask]

Ahhh. This is definitely Stephanie's heart. Sorry, Stephanie.

[checks what's in that book, flipping to the page in case it's a marker]

Re: The Stacks

[reading_rainstorm]

The Diorama Hall is a more dimly lit corridor, with the light mainly spilling out from alcoves which have a few scenes being portrayed by skillfully carved wooden figures. Only a velvet rope separates the hall from the dioramas. Three scenes are on display: two adult male figures in a dorm of some sort holding books in front of a drum with a fake fire glowing within it, a woman opening the door to an empty storefront with a model Stephanie standing at the center, and another model of Stephanie with a cloaked women embracing in a kiss in a brightly lit office. The last alcove doesn’t have a velvet rope. From here you can tell it seems contain a diorama of a landscape in a large glass case, instead of the scenes like the others. The path further into the hall is blocked by a velvet rope which seems to be guarded by a young woman with strawberry blonde hair sitting in a chair by the rope. She is reading a book on astronomy and barely looks up when you enter. There’s a pair of under arm crutches leaned against the wall beside her.

Re: The Stacks

[reading_rainstorm]

The Marker in the book is a tarot card, The Hermit. The page marked by it has a highlighted section about the differences between how sphinxes were depicted in the ancient world, the androsphinx being a male protective figure in Egypt and the gynosphinx being a malevolent figure in Greece.

"According to the men who are attributed for recording the canonical myths of Greece, the gynosphinx is a daughter of one of the mothers of monsters in their pantheon. A demon of bad fortune, and described as having gore and rotting flesh in its teeth and talons."

The page continues with information on sphinxes and sphinx like figures of cultures outside the mediteranean.

Re: The Stacks

[turntoash]

Not eager to disturb without more information, Metis took her time looking over the dioramas. She didn't much know what was going on, but any info was good info: now she knew that Stephanie was involved here.

After committing the dioramas to memory, she approached the woman in the chair. "Hey, 'scuse me. Mind if I ask you a few questions?"

[peccatore]

[First: Marco misreads Diorama Hall as Diorama Hell, which may or may not be indicative of where he's at mentally tonight. Second: Lost and a little overwhelmed, he opts to ring the-- Is that silver.

... If he's in Stephanie's Heart, like he thinks he may be, the Usual Rules may not apply. That has been the case so far.

He still taps the silver bell very lightly, just in case one of these dreams has decided to treat him like a vampire for once.]

Re: The Stacks

[reading_rainstorm]

Putting her book down, Metis can see that woman in the chair, like the models in the dioramas is carved from wood. She moves strangely as she straightens her posture and regards Metis, like she is a character in a stop-motion animation. Her voice is low, tinged with boredom.

"Sure. It is my job to assist guests in the archive, even if the High Priestess prefers to hide me away in the darkest corner. What can I do for you?"

[reading_rainstorm]

Sorry Marco, if there's one person who's mind works on rules, it's Stephanie's. The light touch means it only burns you lightly. Like accidentally touching something hot. It's enough to make make a bright chime that echoes in the hall. A lively, sweet voice calls from behind the card catalogue.

“Just a moment please!”

There is a sound of papers being rustled and a drawer closing before a figure rounds the corner of the card catalog drawers.

It is a woman carved entirely from wood wearing a brightly colored paisley dress. She shares a striking resemblance to Stephanie. Her brows are thinner and her lips rest in an easy smile. She moves strangely, like she is at a lower framerate than a living person, like she is being animated by stop motion.


“Welcome to the Archives of High Priestess Spiros. How can I aid you today?”

Re: The Stacks

[turntoash]

Metis blinked. The list of questions she wanted to ask had just gotten longer.

What the hell, she asked herself. Let's start there.

"Who is the High Priestess? And why's she got it out for you?"

Re: The Stacks

[reading_rainstorm]

"High Priestess Stephanie Spiros." She gestures to one of the Stephanie models in the dioramas. "More humble moments on display today, it seems. Feel free to take a closer look at any if you want. I'm Ava. One of the caretakers of the archives, so assigned because the High Priestess, in all her benevolence, can't get me out of her head permanently. I'm her one and only ex."

[peccatore]

[Ouch. He withdraws his hand with a start, and...

And the sight of the strangely animated woman does not make him feel any more at ease.]

Um. He... Hello. I'm... looking for Stephanie?

[reading_rainstorm]

Her smile fades a little, seeing Marco's concern.

"The High Priestess has unfortunately kept her office a bit inaccessible to guests without a library card, unfortunately. If you want to reach her, you'll have to go through the Hall of Fate. It's...currently locked though, and with so many memories missing it's hard to get to open. Oh! I did find one just a bit earlier though."

She opens a drawer and presents a tarot card to you. The Tower.

Re: The Stacks

[turntoash]

That answered a number of questions and raised many more. Metis rifled through her mental log and made updates where necessary. Some sort of representation of Stephanie's psyche? Odd. This was surprisingly lucid for a dream.

She didn't usually know she was dreaming, for one, and her dreams usually involved way more unintentional nudity.

"Thanks. Am I right in thinking we're basically in Stephanie's head right now? Am I here for a reason, or is this just something that happens sometimes?"

Re: The Stacks

[reading_rainstorm]

"Head, heart, soul, however you want to say it. As to why you're here, probably says more about you than it does about her, frankly. She tends to attract certain types of people. It is something that happens sometimes but I know the High Priestess has been...neglecting some of her duties, which might be why the archive has suddenly opened its doors."

Re: The Stacks

[turntoash]

Metis grinned, carefully ignoring the jab but making a note that passive aggression may have explained why the woman in front of her was an ex.

"What's she been avoiding? And is this something that can happen to anyone, or is this a 'Stephanie' thing?"

Re: The Stacks

[reading_rainstorm]

"Taking memories, actually dealing with her memories. Great archivist she is, right? She's left a bunch just laying around as cards. One of her arcane organizational systems.

It's far from a 'Stephanie' thing. She's rooted around a few peoples heads in this way herself. Be careful, if you get too close she might end up in yours."

Re: The Stacks

[turntoash]

"Hold on a moment. Let me make sure I'm following. Her whole thing is archiving... memories?"

Metis thought about that for a moment.

"Is that meaningfully different from... remembering things? Or writing them down? There must be something here I have wrong."

Re: The Stacks

[reading_rainstorm]

Ava sighs and flips her hair over her shoulder. "No, the archive is the sum of all her knowledge. That, of course, includes her own memories. She has neglected filling and organizing her shelves by focusing on projects and all the other mess she gets up to while she isn't working."