Armistice of Malice Epilogue
Still written by socialPariah
And so time passed, the Dearest Preacher of the now dead Orphaner walked over the lands, with little time to rest. He had to go on with little trouble regarding the rest of the world was now at war with itself. Given the Tyrant King had now fallen, The Dragon's Keep in ruin, The mutant now free beyond usual comprehension.
It seemed he got his wish, though at the cost of something he may have wanted more. Regardless when the rains came, they came hard. Splashing down upon the ground, making everything soggy and incapable of being tread upon. Such a pity but still, The Cancer had to continue on his journey. There was no way he could allow things to end in this manner. Surely they would understand?
One day whilst walking, having resigned himself to being incapable of finding this Mystic land of Eastern influence. A rumbling came along the road up close behind him, allowing for a great Whoosh ff air to go just beyond his head, allowing for Karmine to look back in absolute curiosity. There before his gaze was a hoof-beast. Of steely hoof and fiery breath as they all were.
Though it was tethered to a wagon upon, this was a troll with lengthy horns, and quite few bandages upon his body. But a winning smile and warm eyes, "Hi there...Need a lift?" He offered oh so very casually, however soon joining him was a Gemini of red and blue eye and rather sour look. "Rufio, do you really need two offer help two every troll we run acroth?" The yellow blood had a lisp of course due to his split tongue and unusually sharp teeth. He had been resting on the roof of their one team caravan.
"I suppose so." The mutant tried to smile back, but they both could see the sorrow in this being's eyes and eventually even the gold blood welcomed him. With further a development, he ended up in the hold of this semi crowded wagon with the psychic troll who regarded him with little more than a mild frown as he read. Obviously not a social butterfly unlike his Taurus friend.
"So..." Karmine tried to start a conversation only to be met with a rather bored stare.
"Tho what?" came the reply, the yellow blood closing his book. Crossing a leg over the other and lacing his claws together impatiently.
"Well I just, wanted to say hello...Ask your name?" The Cancer whispered rather awkwardly, he never really was good with trolls in a bad mood. Hence why he lived so long with the indigo blood. "I'm Karmine Vantas if that helps any."
"Never heard of you, but hello I gueth, I am Gethtimath Tholemn Captwor." It seemed to piss him off even further trying to say his own name. A sigh and the Gemini just went back to reading as though he had never heard the mutant speak in the first place.
This made the mutant sigh, kind of curling his limbs up close to himself. They were headed to the Eastern lands, dealing with a gloomy Gemini is better than walking alone and risking getting attacked. He was starting however to miss the nice cushy bedding he had back in that palace, but could deal with this. It was fine, before his forced marriage to the deceased Capricorn he had been an out-doorsy troll.
And so their journey continued, though the diet continued to consist of entirely of anything they caught and could cook. With Karmine's skills in the culinary department, although he did not look like the kind of troll who liked to cook. In fact The Cancer absolutely loved it, especially when they rifled through the crates in which they had put the supplies to make this trip. Having come all the way from S'ren made for a trip almost all the way across the continent and they were going to need to take a ferry to cross into the Land of Gales. Due to most every one there having some degree of magic mastery regardless of your standing on it. This would be relatively easy and not take overly long, as soon as they whisked through the land of Gale, it would be nothing but smooth stone roads all the way into the Eastern Lands.
Though why he wanted so desperately to go was beyond their comprehension and so left to mystery thankfully. He did however learn the story of Rufio and Gestimas coming together on this little band, mostly it was due to their occupation as showmen. The Taurus had a winning smile and knew how to up talk a crowd while Gestimas could string together a bunch of jargon that sounded even more official with his lisp. So they wryly stuck together and made a fortune off of selling plants and pastes of a mystic persuasion with enough science behind it to stick.
A beautiful partnership and they were more or less best friends, although the cancer tried to smile he couldn't help but feel all the more empty. Seeing how they hugged close on occasion and just seemed so perfectly in tune, as their journey progressed the more Karmine was left to his own devices which was usually just sitting alone in the cargo hold of their caravan. Sniffling softly, nose pressed to his cloak trying to find some vague inkling of the sea dweller's scent. Failing miserably each time, only finding solace to some degree in a batch of bottles brought from the beach that smelled of open water, sand and fine brandy for that was what they contained.
The Cancer was not a drinker though as heavily that temptation did rest upon his mind. Laying curled up in his bedding pile for long stretches of time. For some reason, as they drew nearer to what he wanted, the mutant couldn't help but feel all the more empty. Seeing all these happy couples together, dressed colorfully amongst the greatest walls of terrace and paper lamps strung all above the streets. He knew of the Sea walker's stately home by the shore. Its seahorse decoration leafed with gold rose above the pagoda like architecture. Many a rosy garden surrounding its high walls, where servants scurried with water holders upon their backs to gently sprinkle all of the foreign and exotic plants peeking over. The utter perfume of it all was enough to make a normal troll dizzy, let alone one who had been locked away in a fort like structure for a good deal of time.
Upon being let off here by his allies, Karmine bid them good bye and quietly trudged up the smooth stone pathway to ring a brass bell hanging down from the steely exterior of the gate which kept all sorts of strange trolls and beasts out. No salesmen here, that was for sure given a sign overgrown by creepers of a verdant shade of green said. "Peddlers will be shot and skinned on sight." How nice, well his advances were met by a servant of relative low blood who regarded this cloaked troll with suspicion but was immediately lightened by the fact that this troll knew the entirety of their master's name and some other important details he never shared with anyone unless they were an intended guest. Unfortunately, still troubled by the fact that they had not received even a missive from said Aquarius in a perigree or so.
Upon being welcomed in and clothes being exchanged for something of their more natural appearance, being mostly loose fitting and a wonderful shade of plum juice oddly enough. The Preacher recounted the entirety of his tale to the frightened servants who immediately called down the other two important and true residence of this home. The Orphaner had wrigglers it seemed one being around eight sweeps and the other a rather melancholy but alert six sweep old who barely blinked when told of his caretaker's death. To him all this meant was that his counterpart, called Cronus apparently would be more or less in charge of everything and he could still lie lazily on the grassy banks of their private and contained lake. Crystalline blue and perfect for sipping tea beside as birds twittered within their menagerie. Didn't want to lose them after all, exotic Avian species were an expensive import, not that it really mattered considering the trading company ran itself and they both knew how to deal with issues as the older and now dead Lusus would have.
The Cancer wasn't put off by this but he was slightly concerned but thanked them for their hospitality and was about to ask for his clothing to be returned when Eridan, the younger one piped up that since he was so supposedly near and dear to the poor fellow that he had best stay among them. Perhaps his older brother would suit the Preacher's taste even if just for a fling. Ah the nomenclature they used, though sharing the odd and slightly wavering accent of the predecessor it never would sound the same. Even though, as he waited patiently to gain residency here and the days passed painfully slowly, fortunately he got Rufio and Gestimas to stay one evening over for dinner and attempted to persuade himself that this was life now. Sure his dearest love was dead, but he had wrigglers and it was more than simply a duty to fret and worry over them as he would have The Orphaner but it all felt dull at the end of the day.
As though nothing had really changed and he was simply biding his time until death, they noticed too after a while. The Cancer's smile was not nearly as bright, eyes cold and listless, frequently sighing and looking off when in conversation or staring upon the visage of their last known portrait of the ever important troll that had been placed in his sleeping quarters upon request. It really was a pity and Eridan tried his best to soothe the mourning troll, employing all sorts of oddities from his infatuation with science or the strange parlor tricks one would learn in a family who did appreciate a faux-magic display or a very bad joke.
It helped a little bit but a sweep passed and he rarely left his room unless to pick at something and cling stubbornly onto a futile pursuit called life. The Cancer found himself unable to read without finding it upsetting as most of them ended poorly with the hero dying and the villain frequently obtaining their goal. But occasionally a good one would pop up here and there and entertain a sorrow filled mind with the bittersweet thoughts of what could have been. If truly the knight had destroyed the dragon and not forsook the princess within the fiery bellows of an inferno cast hot by the merest of mistakes, and if the princess had not run away like a coward and fought the door open would the knight have lived?
Such things tormented him for no matter the scenery it was always a yes, it always slithered into his mind guilt. Black and stickier than the left over blood of the slaughter one frequently attended when bewed to a subjuggulator of that rank. Ever upsetting it seemed, he could hardly handle it, and found himself lying within an ill gotten bed at night staring at gently painted wall hangings where everything was alright. Where two souls of animatic color could intertwine and never be torn apart by a third or some senseless destruction. Would he ever be free from this torment? It was unlikely, for every thought drifted to the bawdy Aquarius and his entire strange charm border lining on completely inappropriate. Sparked a grand deal of heat within his body but was always struck down by the icy reality that, the sea dweller was dead and there was absolutely nothing he could do to bring his dearest back.
Yes he was cursed to simply suffer this, but after half a sweep more passed and it seemed all was lost. The Preacher found himself at the very pinnacle of his new home, a paradise indeed but it had been destroyed by the fact that. Karmine found pleasure in nothing any more, neither eating, sleeping or wine. For food was ash, his dreams were restless longing where his truest goal was always eradicated before his very eyes. And alcohol simply made the pain so much worse, so now in his chilled hands a long, tightly bound piece of rope was around his neck. Overlooking, the drop that would surely snap his neck as soon as one took one foul footing upon the slickened and perfectly polished slope of his perch. Tied ever more so around the tilted by neck of a seahorse, it would be his death. Fondly then Karmine thought back to his husband, the Aquarius and his dearest mother and friends. Mentally saying good bye to them, wherever they may be and wishing them best of luck for he was no longer strong enough to stand against a tide of darkness.
No one was in the garden at this moment, a clear summers evening where crickets chirped and two gorged moons hung over head, glittering beautifully upon the lake, tiny fish swimming circles around one another. Breezes tilting delicate plants to the beat of very well the planet itself. Perfect, an utterly wonderful evening to perish, with this he stepped off and all was nothing….