[ the castle is as foreboding within as it had been without, dim and dank with high, endless vaulted ceilings choked with cobwebs, and colored glass windows thick with dust. everything is deathly still and quiet, and yet there is a strange, unnerving.. aliveness to the space, as if a thousand eyes are bent down toward her, a heavy, oppressive presence in the air that presses down from above, crushing the breath from her lungs.
gods, how did her brother come to a place like this? worry clutches at her heart with icy fingers. ]
Hello?
[ she calls, and her voice sounds so small echoing in the vaulted hall, meek and frightened as a mouse. it does little for her confidence. but confident or not, she cannot turn back, not if her brother is here. she must find him. she has no choice. there is only the way forward.
and so she presses on through the door, and her elfin eyes are keen in the darkness yet she cannot entirely pierce the veil. a silver candelabra sits dusty and ignored on the mantle nearby, its candles lit - she is not alone here. she cannot be. someone lit these candles. her brother..? ]
Alphinaud?
[ she calls again, her voice stronger now, and she seizes the candelabra and presses further into the dark. ]
Brother, are you here? Please, answer me!
[ a voice lilts on the too-still air, distant and thin - it's him. alisaie gasps sharply, forgetting her fear and gathering her skirts to dash into the darkness, following the call of her brother's voice. the closer she draws, the more her heart twists with fear - he sounds.. weak, pained, and her feet carry her down, down into dank dungeons - gods, how long has he been here? what has happened? falling to her knees, alisaie reaches thorough the bar for his fingers. he's so cold.. ]
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gods, how did her brother come to a place like this? worry clutches at her heart with icy fingers. ]
Hello?
[ she calls, and her voice sounds so small echoing in the vaulted hall, meek and frightened as a mouse. it does little for her confidence. but confident or not, she cannot turn back, not if her brother is here. she must find him. she has no choice. there is only the way forward.
and so she presses on through the door, and her elfin eyes are keen in the darkness yet she cannot entirely pierce the veil. a silver candelabra sits dusty and ignored on the mantle nearby, its candles lit - she is not alone here. she cannot be. someone lit these candles. her brother..? ]
Alphinaud?
[ she calls again, her voice stronger now, and she seizes the candelabra and presses further into the dark. ]
Brother, are you here? Please, answer me!
[ a voice lilts on the too-still air, distant and thin - it's him. alisaie gasps sharply, forgetting her fear and gathering her skirts to dash into the darkness, following the call of her brother's voice. the closer she draws, the more her heart twists with fear - he sounds.. weak, pained, and her feet carry her down, down into dank dungeons - gods, how long has he been here? what has happened? falling to her knees, alisaie reaches thorough the bar for his fingers. he's so cold.. ]