Unchaining the Gifts of Corruption

Tina

This was an order RP between myself, Elene, and Azarae. Azarae had enchanted bindings of chains along her skin that gave another mortal control of her limbs. It was decided to repurpose them as this wasn't fitting for a chosen of Chakrasul, and turn them into a learning experience of her tenets.

A sunken ritual chamber
This marble chamber has been filled with a dark liquid that seems to writhe of its own
accord. Various niches in the walls have been carved, holding many different colored
candles which provide a dim light to the otherwise lightless room. Each wall bears
different murals, the scenes depicting the tale of Tiyen Indoron, the northern wall
depicting the castle itself in shadowed glory. Rotted corpses and old bones sit piled
against the southern wall, blood fresh and old staining them. Dark liquid laps at the cold
marble, the scent of decay rising from the pool of liquid Corruption. Glittering in the
dim light is a diamond-bladed knife. A tainted dagger lies here, its blade radiating an
unknown gleam. A delicate silver knife lies here. There are 2 unusually large emeralds
here.

Pool:
The liquid Corruption is thin and watery, though a strong putrid smell rises from it,
reminiscent of rotting corpses. The Corruption is pure black, rendering anything even the
slightest breath underneath it invisible in its darkness. Though no wind carries in the
chamber, the liquid laps at the shoreline gently.

Emeralds:
This large stone has been cut with many facets, each one appearing to reflect a different
shade of green. Its unusual size and abundance of colour suggest that this is not a normal
stone - a hint perpetuated by the freezing cold emanating from its depths. A ghostly fire
flickers somewhere deep beneath the surface of the emerald, and an unpleasant aura
surrounds the cold gem.

Athame:
Wrought of one seemingly solid piece of silver, this delicate knife stretches little more
than a hand's length from the pommel to the needle-sharp point. There is no guard, save
for an inch where the tarnished silver flattens to accomodate the join of the blade and
hilt. A thirteen-pointed star has been subtly etched there on one side, mirroring a trail
of five duskywing butterflies on the other that have been inscribed in such a fine hand as
to be barely visible except under close scrutiny. On either side, a narrow groove spans
the length of the weapon, spiralling smoothly from the tip of the double-edged blade and
through the slender handle. A cord of worn, faded leather has been wrapped and tied
securely into the groove on the hilt, provided some measure of a grip. The spiral
continues on the rounded pommel, the groove becoming finer as the thread-thin etching
shrinks into a seemingly endless descent.

Dagger:
The coiled body of an onyx hydra comprises the handle of this dagger, though the artistry
that designed it cannot detract from the magnetism of the caliginous blade. The blade
seems to warp the air around it, and emanates a distinctive emerald glow. The scents that
seep from the immaterial blade mingle with musk, rot and infection. Its edge is
discernable.

Knife:
Crafted from a single, sharp shard of diamond, this knife is short and somewhat blunted at
the end, though the edges remain capable of cutting any surface. The diamond has been
affixed to a hit of onyx and ebony, upon which the word 'Pestilence' has been engraved.
The blade is stained, faintly, with a reddish tint, indicating the purpose of the knife.


Elene rolls her head slightly, the glint of light shimmering unnaturally upon her silvery
tresses. She smiles as she familiarises herself with the ritual chamber, stepping quietly
upon bare feet to observe the murals upon each wall. It's a slow, purposeful walk before
she returns back to your and Azarae's side. A soft exhalation of breath is issued.

Tina walks to up Azarae and hands her a rag. "Put that in your mouth and
bite down, suck on it till this is over. Scytherus will thin your blood, help us do what
needs doing. You have been branded by a sacrifice, giving command of yourself to something
besides Mother and her gifts. Today we rectify that issue," Tina commands, "Now undress
and float on the pool, face down." With the commands issued she turns her back, laying out
the three sharp instruments, her eyes lighting with jade fire as her body absorbs the
essence of her environment.

Scarred fingers entwine about each other as she watches Azarae intently, Elene pattering
over to the edge of a pool of liquid Corruption before crouching downwards to inspect the
liquid. In her hands does an athame find its way within.

Azarae holds her clawed hand out and takes it, bringing it in close to her as she gazes
down at it at first until she hears what it is for. She peers up and nods. "Alright." The
Djeirani woman says, tracing her tongue over her shark teeth before raising it up to her
maw and clamps down on the cloth, forming it around the points as she clenches them
together and letting the venom to soak. When she hears the next command, an eyebrow raises
at first, but she nods slowly, understanding that the cloth can get in the way. Being
acquainted with the substance inside the pool already, she disrobes as she steps into the
black liquid, allowing it to cling to her form and cover her body in turn instead of the
silken material. However she does not remove her blindfold, keeping it on the entire time
and does as told, falling face first into it and lets herself float.

Tina picks up the two emeralds. She walks out onto the pool, walking
across the surface as easily as the solid ground, the black liquid cradling her feet. She
drops one emerald at the feet of Azarae, and walks to her head to drop the other there.
Instead of sinking as expected, they stay on the surface, being cradled much like Tina's
feet. She nods her head towards Elene saying, "Do what you can to stop the regeneration
for now."

Exposed to Elene's gaze, she utilises the time to observe the tapestry she would be
working with. Her gaze of snow and storm shifts down Azarae's frame, identifying the
brands that spiral down each limb, from shoulder down to the wrist, from thighs to the
ankles in an oscillating black and jade-green hue. As your voice floats up to her ears,
she straightens her frame, before scarred fingers rise to the air. As if tugging upon
invisible strings, the woman plays a harmony only she can hear, tweaking and teasing upon
strings as she focuses upon her. Soft and almost invisible, the woman draws upon that
which she is attuned to, and finally takes steps forward to press a hand against Azarae's
right ankle. Immediately, shadow taints the skin there, working beneath the skin as it
spreads upwards.

Tina walks back to the bank, giving time for the venom and manipulations
of shadowy bioessence to go to work. She picks up the tainted dagger. As the Tainted One
wields her namesake, the emerald glow around the weapon flashes, blinding for a moment,
before dimming entirely. In its wake, all that remains is the room filled with the musky
stench of rot and infection. She stalks back towards Azarae, using her feet to nudge her
limbs apart till she is spread eagle in the pool. She moves over towards her left arm,
kneeling down on the water and saying, "We remove the fake shackles first, so you may
descend without their impedance." With that she jams the dagger in an underhanded strike
up into Azarae's armpit, the tip digging in about two inches. She forcefully drags the
blade around the arm, not stopping till she has pulled it in a full circle, the blade
blackening the skin and decaying it without so much as cutting. After the skin is
separated from the shoulder, she throws the dagger down, and her nails extend into claws.
Slipping them beneath the skin, she latches on. With the vampires blood thinned and
healing clotted, it's more like a meat sack wearing skin than an actual body. Pulling
down, the skin slides free from the rotten limb. As Tina pulls it down, the skin starts
turning inside out as she tries to strip it, her claws cutting through any attaching
ligaments or muscles, removing the skin like a sleeve. Once she gets it down to the hand
however it seems to stop. Tugging a few times it doesn't move. A look of comprehension
turns towards her face and she turns towards Elene saying with a giggle, "Silly me, even
nails grow on corpses." She turns back to the hand and pushes back the skin enough to
expose the claws and leans down, biting at one of the fingers. Her shark like teeth part
the skin, and she chews at it till she has sliced through the bed of the nail, and it
falls out. She proceeds to bite out the other four claws one by one, then finally pulls
the sleeve of skin off as one whole piece, draping it across the emerald by Azarae's head.

Tina says to Elene, "If you'd like to start removing the claws from her feet, that would be
marvelous dear, save me some time."

Slender fingers continue to toy with the strings of the universe, each intimate tug upon
invisible threads eliciting a further curve upon her ichored lips. Elene pulls tight
abruptly, as if tying a knot to maintain an effect before she is freed to take up another
part of the procedure. Shadowy bioessence churns beneath Azarae's skin, sinking its
metaphysical presence deep into her body as she watches the last few moments of your skin
extraction, observing intently the skin that is detached from the vampire like a layer of
cloth, amidst the slow spurt of blood from the removal of claws. Her withered tongue
escapes from the confines of her mouth, wetting her ichored lips as both her hands fall to
Azarae's feet. Though mastery of pure Shadow is not of her main focus now, her grasp of
Sciomancy is enough to serve her needs now. Drawing deep from the bond she has forged with
Czjetija, lances of insubstantial dark elemental essence form around her slender fingers,
creating claws that shear deep into the flesh of her toes, devouring flesh and blood as
sacrifices before severing each claw at the root, one by one.

Azarae twitches at first as a familiar sensation and yet at the same time not, begins to
envelop her right ankle. A feeling of separation of sorts begins to hedge into her mind,
as if something she is ordinarily connected to is being severed like a fraying thread,
unravelling at the seams. The venom seeps into her gums and into her black veins beneath
her moonkissed skin, coursing throughout her body by the means of her magical blood. As
all this takes place, tension builds as she waits in deafening silence, ears partially
submerged and the rest covered in the liquid. Then like the sound of shattering glass, it
breaks, feeling the tissue of her armpit break, parting around the steel that sends a hot
sensation rippling outward and leaving a stinging sensation in its place. Her jaws flex
and she bites onto the rag as she flinches from the sudden metallic sound piercing flesh,
the vibrations reverberating through her skull as the pain registers and causes a devilish
grin to begin creeping across her face as it begins to travel around her arm, although
obscured by the black substance. She hisses through the cloth, albeit muffled by the tar-
like liquid and her body jerks but quickly settles as her skin begins to decay from the
stroke. As a wave of rot traverses her one limb the sensation grows more intense, the heat
becoming more like fire as it is peeled back from the sinew and muscle. While this takes
place, she can feel her hunger for blood grow, clawing at her insides as the outside is
skinned and rotted away from top and bottom. The dark essence warping her senses further
as she tries to take pleasure from it all, her twisted senses boiling to the surface as
she begins to giggle manically, the liquid seeping onto the cloth as she does her best to
keep her mouth shut the entire time.

The jade fire in Tina's eyes grows even brighter, and her mouth turns up
into a wide manic grin that could only be described as pure bliss. She practically skips
over to the edge of the pool, exchanging the dagger for the diamond knife, and walks over
to Azarae's right arm. This time knowing better she uses her claws and the knife to dig
out all five of her claws from the hand first, putting them in a box along with the
previous claws. Scooting up and jamming the blade into the armpit once again, the skin
rots and falls away as the pestilence of the blade feeds in, and again she makes a circle,
detaching the skin of the arm from the shoulder, and once again, begins the process of
peeling the skin down bit by bit, eventually skinning this arm as well. Like the first
skin, she drapes it across the same emerald, humming merrily under her breath.

Tossing her head back, Elene's shoulders are awash in silver as her tresses settle in
place upon them. Her shadow-formed claws flex briefly as she draws her hands back from
Azarae's frame, and shifts from the feet, taking steps up to the pool before descending
into the murky fluid, quite unlike you. She doesn't seem to mind; indeed, it seems to be
intended as she shifts through the viscuous mixture, floating near to Azarae's side as
hands find her abdomen beneath. There does she begin to caress, fingers running greedy
claws along the surface of the skin before clamping tight, holding Azarae's frame even
more still, pre-empting any jerks against your ministrations.

Tina returns to the edge of the pool, putting down the knife and picking
up the athame. Returning to the left leg, she jams the knife into the groin. This blade
cuts like a normal knife, and she has to be careful to make sure it doesn't sink in more
than a couple inches. Razor sharp, it passes through the dead skin without much effort,
making a circle around the top of the left leg. As with the arms, she digs her fingers
beneath the skin, the larger size taking a bit longer to pull down as she's careful to get
it off in one piece, draping it over the large emerald by Azarae's feet. Approaching the
last limb, she encircles the right top of the right thigh in a ring of sand, about a foot
of space between the ring and the skin. "One should always take their descent into their
own hands," she says. With that, she takes the ten claws she gathered from Azarae's hands
and place them along the inside of the ring of sand, equal distance apart. With a flick of
her finger, the ring begins spinning at a rapid space, the claws blending together faster
then can be tracked. The ring of sand gets smaller and smaller, till the claws dig into
the skin, and saw through the flesh jaggedly, quickly cutting through the flesh. Once it's
cut in a couple inches the whole way through, she peels the skin off this limb as well,
draping it over the same emerald with the other leg sleeve.

Azarae adrenaline surges through her body, swirling with the pain as any cohesive train of
thought leaves her mind, staying focused on the here and now rather than trying to escape
what is happening to her. She endures, her fingers stretching out as she is declawed,
thrashing every now and then but fighting the urge to lose control of herself and drawing
on the experience of her multiple deaths where she was misted in combat. Yet this is the
first time that the pain has went to this extent, thankfully she is able to continue
biting down on the cloth which furthers the venom's effects, soaking it up like a sponge
as her tentacles begin to whip around, her wings fluttering like a drowning avian. The
liquid is coats the rest of her as her movements become erratic for a short bit as Elene
steps in to stop her motions. This gives herself some more time to reign herself in as she
embraces the new found pain. The resistance that had begun to build rolls out of her body
as she lets herself go limp, growing more accustomed as things go on.

Tina picks up the emerald by Azarae's feet and walks back to the head,
dropping it next to the other emerald. She takes a few steps further than turns around,
sitting down on top of the pool. She reaches out, one hand over each emerald, and begins
chanting under her breath. As she does, an amethyst light appears in her eyes, battling
for dominance with the till now ever present jade fire. As this happens, the emeralds glow
brighter, and sparks flicker across the skin on top of them, soon erupting in black
flames. These flames do not seem to consume the flesh however, instead settling over the
branded chains, mimicking them. The flames flicker and waver though, not a sturdy link,
and little spikes shoot off. Rather than a solid chain, it looks like twisted, spiky links
of metal intertwined together above the skin. Blood leaks from Azarae's limbs, feeding the
pool as the black liquid slithers over the exposed muscles and nerves of the limbs, waves
rolling across the surface of the pool.

Tina chants, "Blade of fire, blade of ice. Where has gone your once bright power? Darkness
Shapes your every smite. Blood replaces fragrant flowers. Blade of pleasure, blade of
pain. Long since our return was seen. Will you serve the right or wrong? Or become what
once has been? Blade of darkness, blade of light. Weighted down by mortal chains. Comes
the day when chains are broken. Comes the day when they'll know pain. When the sleepy
falls to death. When the cursed shall walk its corpse. Then within its rotted heart, will
your power be unearthed."

Tina makes sure all four skins have been turned completely inside out,
then lays the left arm back on top of the limb of Azarae before giving Elene a nod and
saying, "It's time."

Elene firmly holds onto Azarae's floating frame, feeling the twitches of muscles beneath
as the woman struggles a little against the burning sensation of pain. Once Azarae has
gone still, she makes her way within the pitch-black fluid, heading to Azarae's left side.
Hands rise from the pool, the shadow-created claws dissipating into motes of shadow before
she settles her hands upon her left arm. The Azudim only requires a moment of
concentration, before sending spurts of shadowed essence into the flesh, tugging upon pre-
existing bio energy to spur re-attachment of the modified chains unto Azarae. The progress
is slow, and as it heals, so too comes an introduction of pain with the reawoken nerves.

Tina grips tightly on the left arm saying, "You will know fear. You will
feel it, the icy grasp upon your mind, stealing you rational thinking. The thrill, your
senses heightened by fear, everything pushed to the edge. Everything pushed to the limit
as you claw to find your way through." The fire dies on the skin, the brands now twisted
and, blackened lines running through the jade, looking like barbed wire twisted together
in a parody of chain links. With that, she picks up the next bit of skin, and lays it
across the right arm of Azarae.

Azarae's thirst grows deeper, feeling quite parched as more of her black blood is drained
into the dark substance. Unbeknownst to her, Tina chants above her, only aware of the pain
that wraps itself around her form, nearly suffocating in nature. As the nerves in her left
arm reconnect themselves it becomes almost euphoric for a time, a moment of clarity grants
her able to hear the words that Tina speaks about fear. The words root themselves in her
mind, ringing true like a bell signaling twilight.

Elene shifts to Azarae's other side, dragging her fingers across her back as ripples are
made in a pool of liquid Corruption. With every caress of her fingertips against decayed
flesh, spurts of bio energy slither downwards, knitting firm the flayed skin to the flesh
beneath as pain is reintroduced to the limb. Her ichored lips part briefly, allowing her
withered tongue to slide outwards to taste the air and the emotions that run high in this
chamber. "Mmm," she murmurs in wordless affirmation, working down the armpit to the hand
in slow, expert hands.

Tina grasps the right arm saying, "Fall into despair. No longer
heightened senses, but none. Unfeeling, everything dead, blocked. Feel nothing, be
nothing. Experience nothing. Try to survive the onslaught when it all comes rushing back."
As she finishes speaking the black flames on that limb die out, the brand shifting into
the new twisted metal design. She reaches over to the other gem and gets another skin of
flesh, draping it over the left leg. Once again she moves back to let Elene work before
binding on the next reworked chain.

"Be nothing. You are nothing." Elene murmurs, her voice a soft lilt as she watches the
brand manifest into a new design of twisted metal upon Azarae's right arm. As if like
clockwork, the woman follows your movement, making her way in a quiet slosh down to her
legs. Her fingertips provide a contrast of softness, a tickling sensation that teases at
the senses as she drags them along her frame. Again does the spurt of bio energy get sent
beneath the flesh, the knitting mechanism accurately applied upon the limb. She takes her
time now, staring into Azarae's face as she does her job, ekeing out the thirst for blood
that flits to the surface.

Azarae's senses are heightened still, feeling the epidermis lick and cling to the sinew
and muscle as the the nerves in her right arm are reattached. As soon as they do the pain
vanishes and not only that, all sensation altogether fades from her body as if she is but
a husk. Her body having gone numb but her sight, hearing, smell and taste remain.
Disjointed she hears Elene speak, only abling to focus on the words spoken for the time as
she becomes disoriented by this overwhelming sensation of despair.

Tina grabs the left leg and says, "Feel your malice. Settle for nothing
less than total domination. Draw your victory out, savor it, torture them in their
helplessness. Make them know your superiority. Let all fill your malice, revel in it and
take your fill. You will take your fill, and leave them empty husks." The black fire dies
from this limb as well, the familiar twisted metal chains taking root. Grabbing the final
piece of skin, she drapes it over your right log, nodding at Elene a final time.

At last, in the culmination of the procedure, Elene lays both her hands upon Azarae's
right leg. Flooding beneath her warm contact, bio energy slithers beneath the flayed skin
to the flesh, before knitting tight the inversed chains that starkly adorn Azarae's frame.
Pain is like kin to Azarae's senses, as sure as the binding words spoken by you. She
tosses her head back, sending her silvery tresses flying as she now withdraws from Azarae
in a pool of liquid Corruption, climbing out slowly.

Tina places her hands on the right leg saying "Feel Avarice. Do not deny
the longing inside you. Stoke it into an insatiable, uncontrollable need to get what you
want at any cost. No matter the cost. That you want it is all the reason there is, and
nothing shall stand in the way of you getting it." The black flames die out once again,
revealing the new brands, before a thirteen pointed star of flame appears on Azarae's
lower back where all the brands come together. Tina places both hands there, speaking for
the last time, "In corruption you are bound to Chakrasul. Through might the gifts are
controlled. To Chakrasul alone you are given, by might you shall move forward. First by
those skilled more than you, eventually you shall take the chains of the brands yourself
with enough might gained. Learn all the gifts, chains do not weigh you down, they are
weapons to wield." Esityi appears inside the star. Flowing along the chains black fire
wreathes all Azarae's limbs again. On the left arm fear is ingraned into each link of the
chain, shrinking and merging with it, depsiar on the right arm, malice on the left lag,
and avarice on the right. Finally the flame dies out completely. Tina stands, and walks
out of the pool, joining Elene on the bank as she gazes down at your form, face down in
the pool.

Her voice a silken caress, Elene says, "Are you lucid, Azarae? Lucid enough to understand
what has been done?"

Azarae as the left leg rejuvenates, nerves springing to life, all the pain comes flooding
back at once. It batters her senses and she snarls beneath the black substance, bubbles
rising to the surface like liquid magma as her blood curdles and her vision flashes white.
The dark returns almost just as quickly, her head swaying from the rush that struck her
and is momentarily paralyzed as her body tries to recoil. At the same time she forces her
claws to regrow, bursting from the bones and through her flesh, only to end up digging
themselves into her palms and opening fresh wounds that further feed the pool. Her chest
heaves from the pain and by the time she has recuperated, her skin has been mended back
onto her right leg. A wide cheshire grin creeps across her face and the venom soaked rag
still between her razor-sharp shark teeth. She begins to contemplate on what has just been
done and said, the woman rises, liquid corruption still clinging to her form like a second
skin. Azarae gathers her barrings and yanks her blindfold upwards to reveal her all
consuming amethyst eyes that had been hidden. She blinks, her eyes straining against any
light that may shine into them as she turns around to where the sound of the voices are
originating from. Her attention falls onto Elene and she nods, acknowledging what had just
been said. "I do." She says, wading through the pool as she lurches forward and staggers
slightly. She cackles in amusement and tilts her head backwards and seethes through her
teeth in an exhale through her tainted lungs. "That I do." The eyes on her wings open,
manifesting themselves amongst her feathers, the jade and emerald-hued eyes blinking on
their own accord.

Tendrils of translucent jade mist wisp up from the marble, hard to discern against the
dark liquid. The shifting green reaches for you, grasping at any flesh it can reach with a
chill that pushes against your mind in a mixture of fear and despair, before coalescing
with your own thoughts in a triumphant flash of Might.

In a sensuous shift upon the floor, Elene's bare feet patters forward to the very edge,
before unfurling a hand out towards Azarae, as if to grant assistance to her in getting
out of a pool of liquid Corruption. Her chest rises and falls with soft exhalations of
breath, a soft growl caught within her throat as she smiles, her ichored lips curving into
that uncommon emotion. One of her other hand rises up to tangle within her silvery
tresses, pushing them off her shoulders to reveal her pale, bare neck and bunching those
strands up upon her crown. "Come then, Viyveti. Take your step out from the pool, renewed
in body and mind along with your spirit to Her."

Azarae's attention is gripped by the jade mist that wracks her mind, a fresh reminder of
what she had just undergone and experienced causing her to giggle manically as her arms
overlap another to clutch the opposite sides of her waist. As she notices Elene's
outreached hand, she takes it without a second thought as she steps out of the pool to
redress. Azarae does nothing to remove the liquid corruption however, the large grin of
razor sharp teeth still plastered across her face. "Ever downwards."