Waves in the crowd

[Ashavari]

He shrugged a response and her heart sank. Perhaps one of the only advantages to being so overwhelmed was that it made it easy to let the feeling sweep aside, immediately replaced by something else.

The crowd expectation soared as the Ascendancy finally stepped into view. It was deafening, their reaction to him; she hadn't anticipated that her surroundings could become even more heightened. But she'd planned today even before she'd found Elias in the crowd. Her heart beat shallow and fast under the duress, her palms clammy again, but she rode the crest of it as best she was able, hooking in when she needed steadying. She picked an emotion - one there was plenty of, one that was easy to bear, and plucked it out. Used it as a focus in lieu of a single conduit.

Awe. So much awe. Many of these people loved him.

Asha pushed up onto her toes to get a better look at the man who had moulded the Custody. He was too far away and there were too many distractions to feel anything specific from him, but she felt the moment he blinked out, his absence as stark and uncomfortable as all the other small holes in her senses. The boom of his voice made her flinch, too vast to be natural. Then there was a moment of stillness. Anticipation thrummed. Her chest felt as though it might burst from the tension and the bright spectrum of emotion all around her.

The ground began to shake.

Peripheral fear leaked in, entwined with her own, made her body begin to tremble of its own volition. The ringing bells chilled her skin. And then the mausoleum began to melt. Asha's eyes widened, her mouth ajar, and she stumbled half a step backwards.

Elias' irritation was cold like a sudden dowsing of ice water. The sensation startled her before she realised he'd grabbed at her hand. They were different skills; treading water amongst a group of people, concentrating on the easiest emotions to bear, ever seeking and ever vigilant, compared to the focus of one single thread; one that wrapped her up and stole her attention whether she willed it or not. The snap of change dizzied her, but her fingers curled around his reflexively, and squeezed tight.

Asha stood speechless long after the earth stopped its tremor, staring at the giant gateway. Slowly, her heels thudded back to the ground. She'd be exhausted later - already an ache settled behind her eyes. But it had been worth it. She could barely fathom that this was a thing created of mind-made power. Hardly Nox's parlour tricks. And suddenly it occurred to her that all those blank spots shared the same power. That Elias did. She glanced at him then, mind revolving slowly backwards to piece together what he'd just said. "Yeah."


He wasn't phased. Smirked. Sarcasm dripped from his tongue.

A breath of laughter escaped her lips. "White horses?"
Spoken mostly to herself, unsure if she was reassured or disturbed by his disregard.


Edited by Asha, Aug 4 2016, 04:08 PM.

[Jensen James]

Jensen wiped his face with his hands, winching when the palms smeared tears across his swollen cheek. The Arch was an ominous structure all black and red, like some yawning mouth. Or a gateway to hell.

He glanced around him. So many expressions of wonder or fear - they were transforming into something else however. He recognized the adoration. He'd seen that face a thousand times before, every Sunday for years. He used to yearn for it, to crane his neck, waiting on pins and needles when it first appeared in a previously cold face. When the hardness of a man's heart eroded away, and let in the love of a greater being to take hold.

These faces, Jensen turned in a slow circle, they worshipped. More than his were wet with tears. Their hands were lifted high, reaching out as though the Ascendancy might brush their fingertips with his.

It terrified him. Ascendancy wasn't God. He wasn't Christ. Maybe he was the Devil - or as Jensen and Doulou used to talk about frequently - the Antichrist.

But why would God bestow the same Gift to his children, Jensen included, that the Antichrist wielded? Did the answer matter?

No. Not really.

Finally, he noticed Giovanni. Alone among his brethren, he was seemingly unmoved by the Ascendancy's work.

Jensen pushed his way through the crowd to reach him. But once he was standing before Giovanni, he didn't know what to say other than:

"hello, Giovanni."


((Ooc: Giovanni if you already had left forgive me! I'll change my post if so.))


Edited by Jensen James, Aug 5 2016, 03:35 PM.

[Ivan Sarkozy]

The man with the Sigma also had that exact same sense of arrogant entitlement and Ivan shook his head, wanting to roll his eyes. Lord. Probably was a requirement to get this high up in government.

Interview question #4: How much does the world actually owe you?
Interview question #5: How did you become so freaking special?
Interview question #6: How often do you like your ass kissed?

Anyway, the tension between them seemed to defuse. The power level the Sigma held lessened a bit. And hanging around these douches was not exactly on his list of things to do.

He was about to walk away when the crowd seemed to roar. Ivan looked up and there was Ascendancy. He drew the eye. Well, he drew Ivan's eye especially because he was holding so much of the power. More than the two with him had and they were the strongest he had ever seen.

His words boomed over the crowd, the weaves in the air amplifying his voice until they seemed to crash down on them. And then, after he finished speaking.....it was as if the power erupted from in dozens of threads. He tried to follow them, to understand what was happening but it quickly grew more complex than he could follow.

He just watched in awe as the Mausoleum melted- there was no other word- melted into a puddle and from it grew a massive statue and four horses. Something about four horses tickled his memory- a movie maybe? Didn't matter.

The crowd had gone silent, watching in awe at what was happening before them. Ivan could feel the shift. Even the protesters mood had changed. He could feel the sense of quiet...what was the right word? I tried to think of what it was and the only thing that came to mind was when they went to Mass at the Orthodox Church.

Yeah, that was it. It was that sense of being in a cathedral, the walls echoing the quiet. That's what he felt here. It seemed to suck out all the anger and rage, leaving behind only that sense of worship.

It would wear off, he was sure. You felt that way in church but when you left, normal life just kinda took over. That would happen here, he was sure. They'd remember and talk about it for a few days. Might even try keep that sense. But it would become a memory and memories just didn't have the same staying power.

When it was done people cheered, the crowd's energy contagious. It seemed that the Ascendancy had quelled whatever could've turned ugly here. He could go.

He nodded to the Sigma and then look his leave. He needed to get back to Domovoi anyway. There were still a lot of things to do.

[Michael Vellas]

As no threats presented themselves, there was precious little to do. At least down in the Facility, he could spar with one of the students if he was bored. Now, however, he had to wait and adjust once more to normal life.

If normal life was watching giant gates and statues form from seemingly nothing counted as 'normal life.' These days, it appeared it did.

Michael shrugged as he looked at Nikolai's work. "Did any of you see the Webs that were used?"
he asked.

He was answered by flabbergasted grunts or silence.

Irritated, he rounded on his men. "I taught you better than this,"
he said, although there was no heat in his voice. "The Ascendancy told you himself. You are brothers now. He may be more experienced and stronger than you, but he wields the same power as we all do. Do not forget that."


He waited until they all nodded. Eventually, they did.

So tired... the thought was fleeting. Shoved away like so many other things lately.

Michael took a deep breath. "Well, come on. Let us see the Ascendancy's work up close."


There were murmurs of excitement at that.

"Perhaps you can learn something from it."


Unlikely, but he had seen less likely miracles.

[Marcus DuBois]

The demonstration done, the feeling in the crowd was quiet, peaceful even. They had been over-awed. Marcus couldn't help but smile. It was exactly what he had counseled the man to do.

He smiled at Oakland's words. "A single uniform is rather obvious, isn't it. I must meet with the Ascendancy first. And we can't leave you...unescorted in the palace. That would not befit such a distinguished visitor."
Malik smirked, but Marcus didn't let it show. "Come with me please."


The man assented to walk with him and they made their way to Vellas. The man was speaking with his charges, directing their attention to the arch and statues.

Marcus stopped and addressed him with the respect his position had earned him. This was not the place to play their idle games. "Commander Vellas. This is Damien Oakland, acting as Ambassador for the country of Mexico."
He did not comment on the fact that the man had not come into the country with the proper notifications according to diplomatic protocol. Or how he came into the country in the first place, for that matter. That was for Ascendancy to adjudge as to whether that was considered an insult. And what action to take.

Vellas would understand that, he was sure. More importantly, he would understand why Marcus was not letting him leave the square. The man was far too powerful to let wander the city without some idea of his true intentions. "He wishes to meet with the Ascendancy. I must meet with him as well, after the demonstration. Would you care to join me in escorting Mr. Oakland to one of our meeting rooms?"

[Michael Vellas]

Marcus DuBois.

Just the person Michael wanted to run into. Nikolai probably sent him on purpose.

Michael rounded on the man with ice in his veins. He didn't care what damn ambassador or another was meeting Nikolai, and if it was a round about way for him to say he was summoned, the man could bloody well do it himself.

All thoughts of Marcus DuBois disappeared from his mind as he was drawn to the other man. His gaze fixed on him.

"You..."
he whispered faintly. Vertigo hit him like the Hammer of Thor itself and he was physically forced back half a step.

Wha...

Before the thought had fully formed Michael found himself drawing in more of the Ascendant Power. Vaguely, he saw his students look at each other with concern.

Not now! There is no time for this nonsense!

For seconds that seemed like hours, Michael wrestled with something deep within him that threatened to shatter the ice around his heart and flow around him in waves of pure, molten rage.

He stopped himself short of grasping the full extent of his power, but he held far more than either the Sigma or the other man did.

"Oakland,"
was all he could manage. His voice could have frozen liquid nitrogen.

He pulled his attention away from the man and looked at the Sigma. "Yes. I think we shall."


With that he barked at his students. "Come, let's escort the Ambassador to the Palace. We can't keep the Ascendancy waiting."


He did not look back at the man. He dared not.

[Damien]

Damien followed the Sigma with a nod. "Lead the way."


He sought to put the fellow at ease after he nearly attempted an unfortunate venture earlier in the night. He sorely wished that he hadn't suggested it.

"You..."


Damien could hear the man's voice with the Light flowing through him and it set the hairs on the back of his neck on end.

Something happened in that moment. For the first time in a very, very long time Damien felt something that was now foreign.

Anxiety.

It was not fear. That emotion, Damien had shed long ago. One thing was certain. He did not want to spend any more time with this man than necessary. Not surrounded by so many others.

Whoever it was, he turned around and started walking immediately. The others in their uniforms in tow.

Damien looked at the Sigma. "Some friend you have there. I don't think he likes me."

[Ascendancy]

Damien and his party were led through the Red Square, purposefully and incidentally, past the newly raised Triumphal Arch still teeming with the echoes of the flows used by the Ascendancy, and along the fortress walls to the Clock Tower, the gothic and grand Spasskaya Tower, considered the main entrance to the Kremlin.

Within, the strength of the CCD presence was made clear. Members of the military guarding the fortress marched in rank along the periphery. The flag of the Central Dominance was displayed, fringed with gold, high over the central square. But it was the Ascendancy's symbol billowing highest of the flags, the orange crescent fringed and flowing on the air that drew the eye.

Inside, the immaculate and ancient buildings flowed from one to another unlike the remainder of the continent's royal palaces of old. It was a complex of more than seven hundred interconnected rooms and halls that the party could hardly guess at their exact location. The luxurious interior rooms still spoke of the Imperial Family, with its splendid and grand reception halls. But the styles observed were a mix of Russian, Eastern and Italian architectures. It was into one of the smaller halls in the Grand Palace that they were led.

Walking through the palace was like traveling through the epochs.

Marcus would break away at the Grand Lobby in search of the Ascendancy with instructions for Michael and the ascendants to escort Damien on to one of the smaller drawing rooms to await presentation.

[Ascendancy]

Power roaring through his body, Nikolai basked in their love for some time before he turned away. Euphoria flooded his mind, and he hated to break the connection. Never was the temptation stronger to draw more. To draw it all.

In that very moment, he stepped backward until obscured by the shade of Senatskaya Tower, and released the Power. The dread emptiness that followed was vast and dim. A weeping, monotone world replaced the glorious cosmos he had controlled. That was exactly why he had to release it. Any more was sure to rip him apart. And the world with him.

Without the pillar that was the power encouraging his strength, his legs were gelatin, his shoulders rounded. He searched, but saw only faces blanched with fear, even those in uniform. They feared him. As well they should! the thought spiked angry. Anger for weakness he didn't anticipate.

No benches lined the battlement, and he fell to a wall. Leaning one palm against the brick, he lowered his head and closed his eyes. And there he remained until he willed himself vertical once more.

He turned to meet the gazes of those who bore witness to the moment. There were few aware the Ascendancy possessed any vulnerability at all. That number must be kept minimal.

"Come!"
He spoke to those in his presence, "I imagine the world is waiting."


Minutes after the Arch was formed and responses exploded worldwide. Their strategy going forward was to be formulated anew. Others out there also ascended from mere humankind were enrolling in watch lists at rapid pace - lists likely to be invaded by the Atharim already. In fact, Nikolai counted on it. Although if Aria replaced the current Regus, that plan would need altered as well.

As he descended from the wall, the Barrier Preator agents successfully located the Sigma and Nikolai directed a message for Marcus to meet him immediately.

He was already feeling stronger, but he looked forward to sitting down.

[Giovanni]

Giovanni was approached by Jensen, who was visibly upset. Giovanni looked and saw that others in the crowd were also upset. The Ascendency's speech hadn't upset him as much as others. Internally it had excited him.

"Hello Jensen,"
Giovanni said, in response. "I was just leaving. Care to join me."


Giovanni's voice was even and without fear.