[ AW ] ♦ The Stars Above

Exalted Bacchae

None. No stars. His words were enigmatic, heretic, and yet, he did not see what she saw. "Your path has already been carved by The Crone above." It was a guess... but his words, what she saw in him. She was almost certain that was his Creed, whether he wanted to believe it or not. Even as he tried to deny it, that was what he was.

Still. Nonbelievers should not be tolerated here. Should not be allowed to roam freely without being tested by The Polaris. Her gaze flicked to the owl and she gave a small nod. Without a sound, the bird took off, eyes searching for the nearest reinforcements.


She thought she had seen something in him. The trickery of The Crone, the pushing and the testing of boundaries that that might entail. However, she realized that she was mistaken when he continued to speak. The only test was from the stars above, as they continued to watch what their daughter and wayward son would do. "If you do not bow to the stars, then you do not serve Ildhrune and you do not render justice, but folly. The good of the nation and the will of the stars are one in the same. The Polaris is a conduit to those above, those below should strive to fulfill their Creed and serve how their birthsign demands it. You need reeducation, Guardsman." How he was on the guard as a nonbeliever, she didn't know. But she did know, he needed to be reported and she would be the one to do so. Perhaps it would net her a promotion or set her on the right path in that direction.

"We are not the same." She was touched by the stars, guided by them so that her steps would not falter. He? He was led astray by mortal whims. A heretic that thought they knew the right path but instead were wandering lost in the shadows, defiling the very name the swore to serve.

"Whatever you speak, we will see if the Captain thinks the same. That will be the weight of your judgement. I am through speaking with you, your mouth breeds lies." She hissed at him, leaning forward, pushing more of her weight down on him.

English | French | Latin
OOC

Art & Coding (c) Plymouth

Dire’s breath was steady, even as the weight of Exalted pressed down upon him, her words laced with sharp conviction. The stars above burned bright, indifferent to the clash below, and yet they were the very force that dictated her every step, her every belief.

Folly? he said, his voice low but unyielding, his golden gaze locked onto hers. I call it freedom.

There was no pleading in his tone, no wavering hesitation. He did not seek salvation under celestial law, nor did he regret the path that had shaped him. He knew what he was - a force of will, not divine decree.

You think the stars have carved my path, he mused, the words edged with quiet defiance, but it is not the heavens that tested me - it is the world itself. Flesh and blood. War and silence. Strength, not prophecy.

Her owl had vanished into the night, its task clear, its presence now a harbinger of judgment soon to come.

But Dire did not resist such things.

Not yet.

Instead, he watched her, watched the fire that raged within, the loyalty that dictated her every move. She did not see doubt. She did not falter. And perhaps that was what intrigued him most - she was a soldier of faith, unrelenting, unforgiving.

We are not the same, she declared, and he smiled - small, subtle, as if amused by the certainty with which she spoke.

No, he agreed, the word curling between them like smoke, rich with meaning. But that does not mean you understand me.

You are a soldier, A guardswoman - bound, shackled in chains of faith so heavy they might blind you to the weight of your own actions.

She pressed down harder, her conviction crackling in the night air, her presence unwavering. Dire did not expect her to falter. He did not expect her to like him, nor did he expect understanding - but that did not mean he would not speak.

You cast accusations so freely, yet you stand here, speaking with me, testing me, questioning me. He tilted his head, eyes gleaming with something unreadable. Could one not say you conspire with a heretic? That in entertaining my words, you have let doubt touch your creed?

Table @Calatiah, Art @glacialee

Exalted Bacchae

Freedom? There was no freedom without the stars. Only darkness and sin. Someone who lived without the stars thought they were living freely but their whole life was a lie.

He spoke more. Thrusting the careless lies into the night air, fouling it with his spewed filth. Defiling the sacred ground without a care. She felt the growl rumbling out of her chest, spilling past her fangs, out into the air to challenge his false statements. "The heavens created the world that has tested you, fool. The stars knew your path before you ever even came into this world." Could he not see? Did he not know? Of course not, he was blind to the truth. He thought he knew better than the gods above.

Just like any other heathen.

"My faith makes me stronger. Your lack thereof makes you weaker. If you were so free and I so bound, why is it me who stands above you now and not the other way around?" She sneered. Ears flinging backwards as she struggled to keep herself from ripping into him further.

"Fall silent. Or I'll rip out your blaspheming tongue, heretic." She snarled, voice low and cold. She was not entertaining his words any further. It was good then, that she heard the sound of two sets of paws running towards them. She lifted her head to address the two guards who came to assist her in bringing the culprit back. "Gentlemen. Help me deliver this heretic to the captain. He speaks ill of our guiding stars and I would have our superior hear it for themselves." She didn't know if any proper punishment would be met... if it wasn't she would know what to think of the captain and their starlessness.

English | French | Latin
OOC

Art & Coding (c) Plymouth

The stars may have watched, but they did not dictate his steps.

Dire had never been one to submit - to kneel before judgment without a fight, to be cast into the depths beneath the world like some nameless criminal. He would not allow it. Not now. Not ever.

The moment Exalted called upon the guards, something shifted. The air grew charged, heavy with expectation, with fate closing in like an iron cage. And yet, Dire smiled - not in defeat, but in knowing.

He exhaled slowly, golden eyes catching the gleam of hers, and in that single heartbeat, he made his move.

A sudden burst of motion - power coiled, unleashed in a single fluid twist. He shoved upward, breaking her grip, uncoiling like a storm freed from restraint. He was smaller than her, but leverage was his ally, instinct his weapon, and in one swift motion, he wrenched himself free.

The ground barely caught sight of his face before he surged forward, slipping into the mist-laden shadows that enveloped Heaven’s Tears. Waterfalls would mask his departure, the dense forest swallowing him whole. He did not hesitate, did not slow, weaving through the tangled undergrowth with the ease of one who knew the land well enough to vanish within it.

He would not be shackled. Not here. Not now.

- Exit Dire -

Table @Calatiah, Art @glacialee