Post by alyadmirer on Aug 5, 2015 1:33:17 GMT
In the woods behind the Madhouse, just after sunset…
TIFFANY MAYES:
“Do you know why she wanted us here late?” Tiffany Mayes asked Adelaide Brewster as they picked their way down the narrow path on the far side of the so-called ‘Witch’s Hollow’. “I hate to miss her spreading the word among those receptive enough to hear it.”
ADELAIDE BREWSTER:
Adelaide swatted a mosquito foolish enough to land on her forearm, then shrugged. “All I know is that she’s been working on something the last few weeks. Haven’t you noticed that canvas bag she’s carrying around lately?”
Tiff nodded, but didn’t look at her sister in arms. She was too busy keeping an eye out for what Miranda had called signposts.
“You’ll know them when you see them, sister.” the Prophet of Pain had told her the night prior. “Find them and you’ll find the tent. Find the tent and you’ll find me. Come sunset you and Adelaide will bear witness to a wonder.”
Focusing back on the here and now, Mayes noted, “You mean the one that looks about a million years old? The one that occasionally moves like there’s something alive inside?”
“Yeah. That’s the one. Any idea how much farther we have to go? We’re getting pretty deep in the woods, even for Miranda.”
Tiffany looked to the brunette and smiled. “What’s the matter? Afraid we’ll meet a monster?”
Brewster snorted. “I’m the only monster that claims these woods as her own. Alas, my ownership doesn’t make me immune from these filthy little freaks.” She flicked out both hands and crushed another pair of those ever-buzzing mosquitoes. Pleased in spite of the speck and spatters on her palms, Adelaide looked to the survivors and said, “Go on. Tell the other mosquitoes what you saw here toNGH!” The Weeping Angel walked right into Tiffany, who’d stopped dead in her tracks. “Damn Tiff. A little warning, next time, huh? Why’d you stop?”
“Miranda told me to look for signs.” the blonde replied. “Think I found ‘em.”
She pointed to one of the old pine trees that lined the path and sure enough, there was a circle, broken on the left side, carved deep into the bark. The groove had been recently colored with red paint, making the tree look if it were healing from a wound.
Adelaide looked beyond it and saw another one slightly off the path. A third one waited a little beyond that and there, through the trees, she saw a flash of white canvas that could only be Miranda’s tent. “You’re right, Tiff. We’re definitely in the right place. Look.” Someone moved in front of the canvas and headed their way, several someone’s in fact.
“Services must be over.” Mayes muttered as the first of their sister’s congregation passed them going the other direction. “Guess we’re right on time. But any idea of what these are?” the blonde traced a finger around that ominous crimson circle.
“Could just be some random hobo marking the route.” Adelaide replied. “But if it’s part of what’s caught Miranda’s attention I’m guessing it’s an Ouroboros.”
Tiffany looked at her, eyebrow arched.
“It’s a snake…. a snake eating its tail.” said a rather pallid looking young man as he passed by on their right. “Sometimes it’s a leach though. Tonight’s one of those times, I think.” Neither of them answered, not that he seemed to mind. Sitting through one of Miranda’s sermons had that sort of effect on people.
Once he was gone, Tiffany glanced at Adelaide again. “Was he right?”
“Yeah. Snake eating its tail. Old, old symbol for rebirth, resurrection, that sort of thing. Never heard that bit about a leach before. You’d have to ask Miranda.”
“No need to ask, sisters.” They both looked up and saw Miranda standing at the far end of the path, the slender blonde looking appropriately seasonal in a purple paisley sundress and her ever-present round black hat. “I will show you the meaning of the Ouroboros as soon as you join me in the tent. Quickly now, timing is crucial.”
MIRANDA WAINRIGHT:
Mayes and Brewster started forth at once. If Miranda said something was important, there could be no doubt. Joining her in the otherwise empty tent a moment later, the other Churchgoers were startled to find their leader standing beside, not her pulpit, but an ancient Cypress stump almost the size of a dinner table. Atop this rested a coffin, not nearly so ancient but certainly far from showroom fresh either. In fact, it looked like it had spent a couple years exposed to the worst these woods could throw at it. The broken red circle was painted across the lid of this casket and like Tiffany had only moments ago, Wainright traced its smooth curve with her index finger. Her other hand hung by her waist. In it she held the moldering canvas bag and there could be no question about it now, something in there was moving.
Sensing the presence of her sisters, Miranda said, “Many in my position would tell you the only resurrection one needs to worry about waits on the other side of the veil. But that line of thinking is such a gross oversimplification it borders on sinful. It ignores the butterfly emerging from the chrysalis or the return of new growth after a cleansing fire… or the snake shedding its skin.”
The bag shifted ever so slightly and Tiffany took a half step back, just to be safe.
Miranda seemed not to notice. “The Ouroboros is credited to the Greeks, but it’s much older than that. One of man’s first symbols to properly acknowledge all those things that squirmed and crawled around in the dark just beyond the reach of their fires. Those creatures have always terrified those who dwelt too close to the fires, no? But they hold no terror for us, because we’ve seen what lurks in the dark. We ARE what lurks in the dark.”
“Of course.” Adelaide agreed. “We are the Church of Eternal Midnight and we grow strong in the shadows.”
Wainright nodded, but still didn’t look. “Indeed we do. And tonight we grow one stronger.”
Tiffany tilted her head to one side. “You’ve found a convert? Where is she?”
“Right here.” the Malevolent Moralizer patted the weathered casket. “Like I said, there are several kinds of resurrection. This one was of a more spiritual sort, certainly our new sister hadn’t sloughed off this mortal coil, but you couldn’t call what she was doing living, either. Not that I could blame her. She and I suffered a similar fate, cast off into the aether and all but forgotten. By the same woman no less. Still, I survived and she will do the same. She will do more than survive. She’ll thrive. In doing so she’ll make our Church that much stronger and eventually FAWN will bow down or be crushed in our coils.”
The bag twitched again but instead of checking on it, Miranda slipped a finger into a tiny hole in the top of the casket and pulled out the chunk of wood in the center of the Ouroboros.
“The sun sets and a fresh night falls. The snake devours its tail, the world is whole again and waaaaaaaaaaaay down in the dark, the Children of Old Leech smile in anticipation of new conquests. HEAR ME, CHILDREN! Miranda bellowed into the freshly fallen dark. “THIS SISTER OF OURS HAS SUFFERED ALONE FOR TOO LONG! RAISE YOUR VOICE IN SONG SO THAT SHE MAY HEAR YOUR LOVE AND WAKE! WAKE TO THIS GLORIOUS NEW NIGHT!”
Tiffany and Adelaide opened their mouths to respond but the swamp beat them to it, a veritable choir of cicadas, frogs, nightbirds and other less easily identifiable swamp denizens filling the gloom with an eerie song. Beaming out into the dark, Miranda raised the bag, reached in with her free hand and earned a gasp from her sisters when she removed a python the length and diameter of a bullwhip.
Utterly unconcerned by the serpent, Wainright drew its face close to hers and whispered, “Go on, Dementia. Go wake up mommy.”
The Straight-Edge Siren lowered the python to the opening in the lid and stepped back as it slithered inside. For a moment the wildlife got even louder, then all went dead quiet, the sort of silence that would’ve unnerved anyone not under Miranda’s thrall. “Wake, sister.” the blonde said to the casket. “Your time has come.”
There was the sound of something shifting and then a groan. Not a human groan, but the tired sound of a wooden door when someone pushed it too hard. A moment later the lid popped loose and clattered to the soft ground only inches from Miranda’s feet. A woman with dark hair and bronze skin rose from that dank coffin and turned to look at her new sisters with eyes seemingly as yellow as those of the snake draped over her shoulders. Moving with a grace inconsistent with someone who’d been confined for very long, the newest member of the Church of Eternal Midnight slipped out of the coffin and bowed her head to Miranda.
Returning the gesture, Wainright turned to the rest of her flock and stepped aside. “Adelaide Brewster, Tiffany Mayes. Behold a woman burned by the light only to be resurrected alongside us in the glorious darkness. Allow me to introduce your sister and mine… Ashley Conda. Ashley, would you care to lead us in a prayer?”
ASHLEY CONDA:
The Constrictor scratched Dementia’s head with one finger, then nodded ever so slightly. “Angels fear where serpents crawl.” she said. “And Midnight comes for one and all.”
“Midnight comes for one and all.” the congregation repeated.
TIFFANY MAYES:
“Do you know why she wanted us here late?” Tiffany Mayes asked Adelaide Brewster as they picked their way down the narrow path on the far side of the so-called ‘Witch’s Hollow’. “I hate to miss her spreading the word among those receptive enough to hear it.”
ADELAIDE BREWSTER:
Adelaide swatted a mosquito foolish enough to land on her forearm, then shrugged. “All I know is that she’s been working on something the last few weeks. Haven’t you noticed that canvas bag she’s carrying around lately?”
Tiff nodded, but didn’t look at her sister in arms. She was too busy keeping an eye out for what Miranda had called signposts.
“You’ll know them when you see them, sister.” the Prophet of Pain had told her the night prior. “Find them and you’ll find the tent. Find the tent and you’ll find me. Come sunset you and Adelaide will bear witness to a wonder.”
Focusing back on the here and now, Mayes noted, “You mean the one that looks about a million years old? The one that occasionally moves like there’s something alive inside?”
“Yeah. That’s the one. Any idea how much farther we have to go? We’re getting pretty deep in the woods, even for Miranda.”
Tiffany looked to the brunette and smiled. “What’s the matter? Afraid we’ll meet a monster?”
Brewster snorted. “I’m the only monster that claims these woods as her own. Alas, my ownership doesn’t make me immune from these filthy little freaks.” She flicked out both hands and crushed another pair of those ever-buzzing mosquitoes. Pleased in spite of the speck and spatters on her palms, Adelaide looked to the survivors and said, “Go on. Tell the other mosquitoes what you saw here toNGH!” The Weeping Angel walked right into Tiffany, who’d stopped dead in her tracks. “Damn Tiff. A little warning, next time, huh? Why’d you stop?”
“Miranda told me to look for signs.” the blonde replied. “Think I found ‘em.”
She pointed to one of the old pine trees that lined the path and sure enough, there was a circle, broken on the left side, carved deep into the bark. The groove had been recently colored with red paint, making the tree look if it were healing from a wound.
Adelaide looked beyond it and saw another one slightly off the path. A third one waited a little beyond that and there, through the trees, she saw a flash of white canvas that could only be Miranda’s tent. “You’re right, Tiff. We’re definitely in the right place. Look.” Someone moved in front of the canvas and headed their way, several someone’s in fact.
“Services must be over.” Mayes muttered as the first of their sister’s congregation passed them going the other direction. “Guess we’re right on time. But any idea of what these are?” the blonde traced a finger around that ominous crimson circle.
“Could just be some random hobo marking the route.” Adelaide replied. “But if it’s part of what’s caught Miranda’s attention I’m guessing it’s an Ouroboros.”
Tiffany looked at her, eyebrow arched.
“It’s a snake…. a snake eating its tail.” said a rather pallid looking young man as he passed by on their right. “Sometimes it’s a leach though. Tonight’s one of those times, I think.” Neither of them answered, not that he seemed to mind. Sitting through one of Miranda’s sermons had that sort of effect on people.
Once he was gone, Tiffany glanced at Adelaide again. “Was he right?”
“Yeah. Snake eating its tail. Old, old symbol for rebirth, resurrection, that sort of thing. Never heard that bit about a leach before. You’d have to ask Miranda.”
“No need to ask, sisters.” They both looked up and saw Miranda standing at the far end of the path, the slender blonde looking appropriately seasonal in a purple paisley sundress and her ever-present round black hat. “I will show you the meaning of the Ouroboros as soon as you join me in the tent. Quickly now, timing is crucial.”
MIRANDA WAINRIGHT:
Mayes and Brewster started forth at once. If Miranda said something was important, there could be no doubt. Joining her in the otherwise empty tent a moment later, the other Churchgoers were startled to find their leader standing beside, not her pulpit, but an ancient Cypress stump almost the size of a dinner table. Atop this rested a coffin, not nearly so ancient but certainly far from showroom fresh either. In fact, it looked like it had spent a couple years exposed to the worst these woods could throw at it. The broken red circle was painted across the lid of this casket and like Tiffany had only moments ago, Wainright traced its smooth curve with her index finger. Her other hand hung by her waist. In it she held the moldering canvas bag and there could be no question about it now, something in there was moving.
Sensing the presence of her sisters, Miranda said, “Many in my position would tell you the only resurrection one needs to worry about waits on the other side of the veil. But that line of thinking is such a gross oversimplification it borders on sinful. It ignores the butterfly emerging from the chrysalis or the return of new growth after a cleansing fire… or the snake shedding its skin.”
The bag shifted ever so slightly and Tiffany took a half step back, just to be safe.
Miranda seemed not to notice. “The Ouroboros is credited to the Greeks, but it’s much older than that. One of man’s first symbols to properly acknowledge all those things that squirmed and crawled around in the dark just beyond the reach of their fires. Those creatures have always terrified those who dwelt too close to the fires, no? But they hold no terror for us, because we’ve seen what lurks in the dark. We ARE what lurks in the dark.”
“Of course.” Adelaide agreed. “We are the Church of Eternal Midnight and we grow strong in the shadows.”
Wainright nodded, but still didn’t look. “Indeed we do. And tonight we grow one stronger.”
Tiffany tilted her head to one side. “You’ve found a convert? Where is she?”
“Right here.” the Malevolent Moralizer patted the weathered casket. “Like I said, there are several kinds of resurrection. This one was of a more spiritual sort, certainly our new sister hadn’t sloughed off this mortal coil, but you couldn’t call what she was doing living, either. Not that I could blame her. She and I suffered a similar fate, cast off into the aether and all but forgotten. By the same woman no less. Still, I survived and she will do the same. She will do more than survive. She’ll thrive. In doing so she’ll make our Church that much stronger and eventually FAWN will bow down or be crushed in our coils.”
The bag twitched again but instead of checking on it, Miranda slipped a finger into a tiny hole in the top of the casket and pulled out the chunk of wood in the center of the Ouroboros.
“The sun sets and a fresh night falls. The snake devours its tail, the world is whole again and waaaaaaaaaaaay down in the dark, the Children of Old Leech smile in anticipation of new conquests. HEAR ME, CHILDREN! Miranda bellowed into the freshly fallen dark. “THIS SISTER OF OURS HAS SUFFERED ALONE FOR TOO LONG! RAISE YOUR VOICE IN SONG SO THAT SHE MAY HEAR YOUR LOVE AND WAKE! WAKE TO THIS GLORIOUS NEW NIGHT!”
Tiffany and Adelaide opened their mouths to respond but the swamp beat them to it, a veritable choir of cicadas, frogs, nightbirds and other less easily identifiable swamp denizens filling the gloom with an eerie song. Beaming out into the dark, Miranda raised the bag, reached in with her free hand and earned a gasp from her sisters when she removed a python the length and diameter of a bullwhip.
Utterly unconcerned by the serpent, Wainright drew its face close to hers and whispered, “Go on, Dementia. Go wake up mommy.”
The Straight-Edge Siren lowered the python to the opening in the lid and stepped back as it slithered inside. For a moment the wildlife got even louder, then all went dead quiet, the sort of silence that would’ve unnerved anyone not under Miranda’s thrall. “Wake, sister.” the blonde said to the casket. “Your time has come.”
There was the sound of something shifting and then a groan. Not a human groan, but the tired sound of a wooden door when someone pushed it too hard. A moment later the lid popped loose and clattered to the soft ground only inches from Miranda’s feet. A woman with dark hair and bronze skin rose from that dank coffin and turned to look at her new sisters with eyes seemingly as yellow as those of the snake draped over her shoulders. Moving with a grace inconsistent with someone who’d been confined for very long, the newest member of the Church of Eternal Midnight slipped out of the coffin and bowed her head to Miranda.
Returning the gesture, Wainright turned to the rest of her flock and stepped aside. “Adelaide Brewster, Tiffany Mayes. Behold a woman burned by the light only to be resurrected alongside us in the glorious darkness. Allow me to introduce your sister and mine… Ashley Conda. Ashley, would you care to lead us in a prayer?”
ASHLEY CONDA:
The Constrictor scratched Dementia’s head with one finger, then nodded ever so slightly. “Angels fear where serpents crawl.” she said. “And Midnight comes for one and all.”
“Midnight comes for one and all.” the congregation repeated.