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Post by Behax on Sept 1, 2022 13:40:35 GMT
“It’s Artemis,” he found himself responding almost automatically as the Dragon once again refused to call him by his name. He stopped suddenly when the Dragon grabbed his hand and pulled him in close, almost seizing up. Artemis felt his stomach twist as the Dragon mentioned the previous night, a weird tingle spreading across his skin. He still didn’t even fully understand what had happened, and his mind felt hazy when he tried to remember parts of it.
There was a subtle blush spreading across his face when they were interrupted by ‘the Butler’. Artemis regarded the manifestation with some confusion, and was taken by surprise when it used his actual name, rather than some moniker.
“You called me by my name?” He questioned.
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Post by Grimm on Sept 3, 2022 3:00:49 GMT
“Is that not who you are?” Butler mused to Artemis. “No, it ISN’T.” Dragon quickly corrected his inner self. “A fractured soul, but Artemis he remains.” Butler argued in a polite patient tone. “He isn’t human!” Dragon shouted back. “Yet Artemis he remains.” Butler reaction stayed the same.
“Artemis would remember our beautiful selves, no matter how damaged.” Dragon was growing frustrated with himself and no longer wanted to be around the offending characters. And Dragon made a big show of it, declaring he was going to go swim in the lake to get the smell of homunculus off him, leaving Butler with Artemis.
“Names are sacred things. It is painful when they are forgotten.” Butler tried to illuminate why Dragon kept refusing to use Artemis’ name. But the truth was even more cruel than that. Dragon had been locked away for so long he had forgotten his own name, the one Artemis had given him. Forgotten the sound it made on Artemis’s lips and he longed to be remembered.
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Post by Behax on Sept 3, 2022 6:28:02 GMT
Butler likely would have noticed the way Artemis’ eyes lit up at the validation, but before he could respond he was cut off by the Dragon denying that very same validation. It hurt. It hurt a lot, in ways that Artemis didn’t even understand. As if his very existence was being denied on some level. It left him feeling very cold inside.
When the Dragon stomped off making his declarations, an anger that didn’t feel quite his own boiled up inside of him, and he wanted to shout after the Dragon, but he knew not the words. The feeling left him feeling not quite himself, and the swirl of emotions inside him was overwhelming.
He almost jumped when the Butler spoke again, pulling Artemis’ thoughts away from the growing tempest of his emotions.
“It’s just as painful to have someone who knows your name consistently deny it to you.” Artemis was starting to feel more and more used by the Dragon. More and more like a thing than he’d ever felt. He knew he wasn’t human, but he still had feelings and emotions, on a level that was unusual for his kind.
He was about to walk away when something Butler had said when arguing with himself struck Artemis. “What did you mean, when you said my soul was fractured?” He gave the butler a confused expression as he asked. He didn’t understand what that meant, and the manifestation might have gleaned this was a truth that Artemis as he was now was not quite ready to hear.
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Post by Grimm on Sept 4, 2022 4:44:01 GMT
The butler grimaced not realizing that that bit had slipped out. It was clear to Dragon something horrible had happened for this homunculus to exist. “Since the pact with the original Artemis was made, his soul and name has been reincarnated time and again within the bloodline of the family. Old souls are full of memories, easy to recognize.” Butler walked to the window that over looked the lake to watch Dragon swimming in his dragon form. “But I barely recognized you. Nor do you remember us. Something happened to Artemis’ soul and I can only speculate that you were created as an attempt to save what remained.” He was studying the homunculus reaction to his hypothesis.
“Do you know what happens when a Dragon loses it’s name?” Butler posed the question knowing that Artemis most likely was never taught that bit of information. “It will become a nameless beast again.” Butler warned, trying to emphasis the importance of remembering a Dragon's name.
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Post by Behax on Sept 29, 2022 17:48:37 GMT
Artemis didn’t know what to do with the information the butler was giving him. It was important that much he knew. But he couldn’t understand why it hurt to hear it. One hand was clutching at the front of his shirt, holding the key he wore around his neck but underneath his shirt. Despite the Butler’s intentions it left Artemis once again feeling like he wasn’t enough.
“I’m…Sorry.” It was all he could think to say. Sorry that he didn’t know, or didn’t remember. Sorry that he wasn’t what the Dragon was expecting to find when he was finally freed from his prison.
Without another word Artemis turned around, and quietly walked away. He ignored pretty much everything and everyone as he made his own way out of the castle. A castle which in its slowly repairing state, now felt unfamiliar to him. He continued to ignore or avoid anyone he crossed paths with as he walked through the grounds. Eventually making his way to the family cemetery kept a little way away from the main building and past a now un-kept garden. Eventually he came to a stop, sitting with his arms resting on his knees in front of one particular grave.
It was crude. It was one he had had to dig himself, next to two others which were almost equally crude but much older.
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Post by Itsame Grimm on May 24, 2023 18:06:59 GMT
As he swam in the cool water Dragon could feel his frustration cool until it became a nothing more than an mild annoyance. Dragon’s emotional neediness had always been front and center with his life within the family, after all he was a dragon and his emotions weren’t something to be taken lightly. He wouldn’t allow the world to take them lightly, especially after all the time he had spent locked up in the hidden lair.
The keen sharpness of his eyes caught a glimpse of Artemis walking away from the Manor and disappearing down a path. The dragon huffed turning his back on the homunculus. Why should he care about such a broken thing, the imposter of his beloved Artemis. That last thought had felt too cruel, even for Dragon.
The broken soul was Artemis, his beloved Artemis and someone had fractured it. As he exited the water, his form turned back into his splendid human shape, clothed in a long black robe. A hint of fear and of paranoia caused him to follow the homunculus from a distance.
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Post by Behax on May 30, 2023 22:06:57 GMT
Artemis wrapped his arms around himself, and stayed sat there at the makeshift grave for a while. He often came here, especially when he was uncertain and didn’t know what to do. Not that he ever got much in the way of guidance. Anyone there had been to guide him was gone now.
As for the dragon, the sense of wrongness he got about the place he’d awoken to would only grow as he followed Artemis. The closer he got to the cemetery the more of Artemis he’d be able to feel. At first it might have felt like he was there, complete, as he should be. However the closer the dragon got the more wrong he’d realise he was.
The whole area felt like Artemis. The cemetery housed many more graves since the last time the dragon had laid eyes upon it, distressingly many of them were small graves. Not even the graves of children, but infants. Those that had only lived days, or not at all. Stillbirth and infant mortality had never been an issue in Artemis’ bloodline in all the time the dragon had been there…but now…
The implication was clear. The dragon hadn’t simply been abandoned by Artemis, the cycle of resurrection was broken. Artemis hadn’t come for him, not because he wouldn't but because he couldn’t. While the dragon had been locked away, Artemis had been dying, over and over and over again. His soul fracturing just a little bit more with each failure. The dying embers of those splinters were buried in the ground by his own grieving descendants.
And now…this creature with which the dragon was treating with so much disdain, this man made vessel…housed all that was left of Artemis’ soul. Fractured and broken, being held together with forbidden alchemy and the dragon’s own blood.
Worst of all the dragon might come to realise, this was no accident. Whoever had caused this might not have been fully aware of the implications, but the destruction of the Chronis family had surely been the point.
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Post by Grimm on Sept 8, 2023 3:03:02 GMT
As dragon follow the homunculus, he recognize the feeling of Artemis’ energy ahead. It wasn’t like the faint whisper he felt in the creature he had been unsealed by. No, this was a strong feeling; This must be where /his/ Artemis had been keeping. Dragon’s hope and joy grew the closer he got to the graveyard - a place he seldom ever went himself. He made himself presentable, manifesting his horns and tail; Artemis had once told him he looked devilishly majestic in that form. His cheer was met with the silence and a phantom embrace and it was only when there was no real Artemis to met him, when his heart began break.
While he didn’t approach the homunculus, he did not try to hide himself as he wandered the grounds in shock and disbelief, the soul of his beloved Artemis was shattered into pieces. Far beyond just pieces, fragments like dust laid around him buried in the ground. Most snuffed out before they could even begin to shine. What curse could have done this…
Dragon sunk to his knees in the rows of graves, his hands clutching to his chest realizing just to the extent the damage of his absence had done. A desolate stillness that was brought over the estate, as if even time refused to tick on. There was not a sound, not a bird or rustling of leaves, they dare not. The deep silence continued until the sound of thunder clapped overhead in the clear sky; the breaking of his heart bleeding into reality.
Clouds of grief and despair began to stir heavy in the air and slowly Dragon rose and turned his attention to the homunculus, now starting to see the creation in a new light. Something had happened to Artemis’ rebirth process. And for some reason they thought this had been the solution….but why…
Dragon approached the homunculus, the mournful look etched deep in his timeless features. “Forgive me of my rudeness, my ill-mannered and disdainful behavior from before. I had forgotten myself after being imprisioned for so long.” Dragon lowered his head in shame. Forgive me, Artemis.”
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Post by Behax on Nov 6, 2023 20:15:42 GMT
Artemis could feel the dragon was there. His arms only tightened around himself, he didn’t want to deal with the creature's pride or its misplaced ire. He shuddered as he felt the air grow chill as a stillness descended on the grounds around them, the silence broken only by the crack of thunder overhead. He tensed up when the dragon finally approached him. He could feel the grief as if it was his own.
He wasn’t sure what to expect and didn’t even turn to look up at the dragon until he asked for Artemis’ forgiveness. The homunculus’ eyes blew wide when he finally heard his name from those lips. Then he felt a deep sorrow build inside of himself..One that wasn’t completely his own, but it wasn’t the dragon’s either.
Slowly the homunculus rose to his feet. He reached up with one hand to cup the dragon’s face.
“As am I.”
The intonation was different from the way this Artemis had spoken so far, more refined....more mature. When the dragon raised his head to look, Artemis’ eyes were aglow. Before the dragon could say anything, Artemis pushed a finger to his lips to shush him.
“Time is short, and this child is more fragile than even he knows. Keep him well because he is the last of us,” as he spoke he then motioned at the rest of the graveyard around them. The various graves around them faintly aglow. The implication clear, if Dragon lost this Artemis, that would be the end of it, he wouldn’t be able to return anymore. “But take care of him, and you will finally have an everlasting companion…..” his words began to trail off towards the end.
Artemis’ eyes lost their glow as the power faded, his hand dropped away from the dragon’s face and he fell to his knees before collapsing completely on the ground. Still alive, but what power he had exhausted for now. Channelling his own shattered soul too much for his artificial vessel to handle for too long.
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Post by Grimm on Dec 16, 2023 4:48:12 GMT
A hand cupping his face lifted his gaze, such a familiar touch. The warmth. The smell. His voice. Artemis’ finger was pressed to his lips before he even had a chance to utter a word. Wide eyed he listened to each word wanting to interrupt and ask his questions but he dared not.
As Artemis collapsed Dragon gently cradle the homunculus in his arms. He froze now too afraid of mishandling the remaining fragile shard. The thought of the things he had done, the liberties he took - it only added to his distress. Trembling he pulled Artemis to his chest. It took sometime for him to find the courage to move. Picking up his Beloved and leaving the graveyard behind, hastily and cautiously making his way back down the path. Each step he took so soft it was almost as if he was gliding upon his feet.
As he walked the thunder rumbled restrained above them behind ever growing storm clouds. Dragon was doing his best to keep his emotions in check, he didn’t want so much as a rain drop to hit his treasure, least he shatter into nothing. He entered the manor with great urgency, almost flying up the stairs to place Artemis back into his bed. The moment he laid him down Dragon took several steps backwards bumping into dresser with alarm. He had been holding back the fury, the fear; it now flooded to his composure shaking and full of rage.
The storm outside began to whip up. The winds howled with a sorrowful moan and Dragon retreated even further from the room. Servants were busy closing shutters and preparing for the storm brewing outside, none of them said a thing as they went about their duty silently. Further and further he went until he was back on the balcony he had once pushed the homunculus off of. And it was there the storm began to rage. Lightening ripped opened the sky with Dragon’s mournful roar, spilling heaven’s tears in a torrential downpour. Dragon stood out in the elements, the rain drenching every inch of his beautiful celestial form. But it still couldn’t mask the golden tears cascading down his cheeks. He would have to inspect the locked library, but that could wait until he could get the tears to stop.
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Post by Behax on Apr 15, 2024 1:05:47 GMT
Artemis was completely still in the Dragon’s arms, not stirring even as he pulled Artemis tighter to himself. In his deep slumber he was oblivious to the Dragon’s care, his caution and...His rage. Artemis found himself in a deep impenetrable sleep. He stood in a deep enduring darkness, lit only by tiny pieces of falling glittering stardust. The shattered fragments of his own soul. Even if this incarnation of him didn’t know that yet. Little wonder he couldn’t remember the Dragon’s name, there wasn’t even enough of him left in this vessel to remember himself.
He stood there in the never ending darkness. He could hear someone trying to call out to him still, but their words sounded extremely far away. Eventually all he was able to make out was that someone was pleading for him to remember....But to remember what he couldn’t make out. All he knew was that it was not the same voice that had been calling him before. No...Before it had been the Dragon calling to him, this was someone else. Begging him to remember.
It would be a full two days before he awoke again.
Artemis sat up slowly in his bed, dazed and confused. He felt fatigued, both physically and mentally. He had no concept of how much time had passed or how he’d even come to be back in his own bed. When he looked to the window he could see the storm shutters were closed, and could hear the still raging storm outside.
—
Meanwhile, several regions away, far across the lake and over the forest laid the capital. A large imposing, blackened castle at its centre. In this castle the strange phenomena which was the storm being created by the dragon hadn’t gone unnoticed.
Out on a balcony stood the country's monarch. A man just about to enter his 30th year. Isaac Deistra had been King for 5 years now. It had been a rather smooth affair since the death of his father. His rule was fair, he had the trust of much of his people and the adoration of many. But that didn’t mean that all was right in his mind. For generations his family had craved power. The power to defend, the power to conquer, the power to expand.
The thing his family coveted more than anything was to have the power of a dragon. In the past his ancestors had been envious in the extreme of one of the country’s many noble families. For they had had the power of a dragon. The King of the time had devised a devious plan to not only strip them of the dragon’s protection, but to bring down the ultimate demise of the whole family and its descendants.
From what Isaac understood the family was likely gone by now. The Chronis family name consigned to the history books, nothing more than dust. And yet...As he stood on the balcony of his castle, he could see a storm raging far in the distance. He had in all honesty thought the story of the dragon a fairy tale at worst and a clumsy metaphor at best. He had not believed there had actuallybeen a dragon. They were rare fickle creatures, and none had been seen for centuries
But now...Well. He’d been watching an unnatural storm brewing in the distance for 2 whole days now. It hadn’t moved at all, and had not subsided and if reports were to be believed...It had manifested suddenly. Magic was at play here he had thought, but the location of the storm...A province once cared for by the Chronis family. In the legend he remembered there had been something about the Dragon being free if the line ever died completely....perhaps the family had finally died?
Whatever the case, dragon or no…he should probably send someone to investigate.
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Post by Grimm on Apr 15, 2024 16:58:19 GMT
In the two days that Artemis slumbered, Dragon’s rage and mournful sorrow did not dissipate. In those two days Dragon returned to the family laboratory, breaking the seal on the door and began to investigate why the family had gone to such lengths to create a vessel like this. The servants all descended into the space, combing over hundreds of books; the knowledge they read returning to Dragon.
While his golden tears had stopped freely flowing from his eyes, their golden trails were left stained down the contours of his cheeks. The pouring rain came in waves, but the wind and lightening crackling violently over head. Learning of the trials and tribulations that the Chronis family had endured in his absence, the heartbreak, the sorrow, the desire to free him from his banishment; they began to darken Dragon’s heart. He didn’t want to return to the loneliness that was without Artemis. He would burn the world to cinders before that.
The longer it took for Artemis to awaken, Dragon fell into despair that he had broken what was left of his Beloved. He had taken one of the most recent journals from the laboratory, the book cradled in his hand while he sat in a chair in Artemis room. A long finger traced the lines of the written words, slowly as if he was reading each letter individually over and over again. This particular page had stopped him, no matter how many times he read it.
When Artemis started to wake Dragon held his breath, afraid to face the last shard of his Beloved’s soul. He was ashamed, afraid, and uncertain what the future held. Dragon was glad for the book he was holding his in hand, as he was sure he might have been trembling.
“Are you hurt?” Dragon asked, concerned his mere presence might be upsetting. “Hungry? I’ll have something prepared for you.” He closed the journal, still clutching it tightly in his hand. “And water, I’ll have water brought up.” There was worry in his voice, the change in his behavior toward Artemis evident.
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Post by Behax on Apr 17, 2024 0:11:10 GMT
Once he’d gained access to the laboratory it would have been immediately apparent to the Dragon why this was the one part of the castle that Artemis found himself barred from entering. The man Artemis had called ‘Grandfather’ had near spent the greater part of his life trying to break the curse the family was en-captured by. The room was a record of his failures.
Artemis Anastasis Chronis XV was a creature of flesh and blood, but that hadn’t been where Stephanian had started. There were many lifeless dolls, perfect imitations of Artemis left abandoned in their failure to take a soul. Stephanian had found himself unable to dispose of them. Papers full of experiments, research, hypotheses, magical incantations and arcane rites littered the room. Some were furiously scribbled out, there was writing all over the walls, some seemed like the mad raving of a man desperate for a solution. It had taken him years to realised the vessel needed to be one of flesh and blood.
Deep at the back of the room was a stone table at the centre of a complex magic circle. The circle itself was written in Stephanian’s own blood, it was a near perfect copy of the contract between the Dragon and the original Artemis. The stone table itself was stained in blood and in the centre of it had been left a letter.
It was addressed simply to “Etoin.”
“Dear Etoin,
No words I can write in my waning years will atone for the great injustice we have inflicted on both you and ourselves. Please know that we never allowed ourselves to forget you, despite how expertly the trap we allowed ourselves to fall into was laid.
If you are reading this, then it means I was successful in calling Artemis back to this world and binding him to a vessel.
Everything you need to know about the doom the Chronis family brought upon ourselves you will find in this room, as well as how “Artemis” as he exists now was created.
Stephanian Chronis.”
In order to not only give Artemis a life, and a body that his soul could take to, Stephanian had used his own blood, that of the Dragon’s that had still remained from centuries past and...The bones of his own deceased child - the last short lived incarnation of Artemis.
The many journals and diaries in the room detailed the struggles the family had had. How many of them had resolved to free the dragon but found themselves somehow compelled not to. How every generation had at least one child lost to stillbirth or early infancy. It was not difficult to draw the conclusion that this child was almost always the “Artemis” of their generation. The contract between him and the dragon constantly calling his soul back, only for the curse they were under to deny him life. Each denial chipping away at his soul over and over, fracturing it with every failed rebirth.
How to break this cycle had plagued the family for years, until Stephanian theorised that perhaps a body that was artificial, that was of their blood so the contract would hold, but not technically of the family nut still a "true child" of their line, would break the cycle and finally allow Artemis to return. There had been no certainty of success, and even up until his death Stephanian had not been certain of it. Only Artemis would have been able to free the dragon, and Stephanian had not lived to see it.
—---
Artemis turned his attention to the Dragon with a start, he hadn’t realised he was there until he spoke. He couldn’t deny that he felt some apprehension, the Dragon would have felt it too. However it was soon replaced by confusion. The change in attitude was almost jarring to Artemis, he didn’t know what to make of it....and he also didn’t trust it.
“Why are you suddenly so concerned?”
It was clear, he had no memory of the brief moment where he’d been possessed by his past self...his true and complete self.
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Post by Grimm on Apr 17, 2024 14:53:40 GMT
Dragon wore a look of guilt and shame at Artemis question, shoulders falling with his gaze. “I’ve come to understand that you are more precious to me than anything in this wide existence,” he clutched tightly at the journal in his hand, “I am ashamed of myself and the ill-manner in which I treated you…..it was….abysmal.” A sorrowful sincerity hung heavy in his tone.
The things he found in the laboratory had broken his heart even further. The family’s struggles as they fell in despair with each rebirth cycle broken before it had a chance to begin. Generation after generation, time and again; heartbreak. The lengths at which Stephanian went to create the homunculus. All of it accumulated in the letter that was left for him; and his name written but unspoken, unremembered by the person who needed to most. They hadn’t forgotten him while he had been locked away and while he suffered in his loneliness, his family had been tortured with grief through the generations.
Thunder cracked overhead with Dragon’s roaring anger at the thought that someone had deliberately cursed the rebirth, and he had a good guess as to who. Trying to come up with a good enough punishment was probably the only reason he hadn’t flown over there and decimate the entire population of the Royal Capital. Eating them one by one? Roasting them with his breath, perhaps dropping them from great heights? They all seemed like good options, but none of them fit the heinous crime that had been committed.
The laboratory had been sealed off once again, not wanting to chance Artemis entering the room of his creation. The risk was too great, he had to keep this shard and it’s vessel safe. Any envoys traveling to the Chronis Estate would find it a difficult journey. The near constant deluge had swollen the creeks and rivers at their borders threatening to even wipe out the bridges that cross them and lightening lashed out toward the ground with fury.
A somber looking servant entered the room a tray in hand, a different array of the various foods that Artemis enjoyed through his reincarnations. She placed the tray on the bed for Artemis to enjoy at his convenience and respectfully backed away until she was needed again. “Forgive me Artemis, my beloved Artemis.” Etoin bowed his head.
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Post by Behax on May 5, 2024 17:16:30 GMT
Artemis wanted to be angry, the Dragon would have been able to feel that, but it was difficult to hold onto it when he could in turn feel the Dragon’s sincerity. His eyes went to the journal in the dragon’s hands, and he found he didn’t recognise that one. There were many such journals in the library...Though he’d been unable to bring himself to read any of them. It was almost as if he could feel the pain inside each volume. Though his grandfather had locked the most important ones away in his laboratory.
He momentarily turned his attention to the servant who had entered. He opened his mouth about to point out that while he could eat and drink, he didn’t need to. However his thoughts were pulled back to the dragon when he not only begged forgiveness, but did so using his name.
It filled Artemis with a strange sort of validation. His existence affirmed and accepted by the creature whose acceptance was the most important. Artemis felt it in his core, so deeply that the dragon would have felt it too. It eclipsed the anger Artemis wanted to feel...Almost eclipsed the anger he could feel bleeding through from the Dragon.
“I forgive you.”
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