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“And this is where you’ll be staying.” The sister of sin smiled pleasantly enough to the quintessence ghoul. “If you need anything, please just let Arch Demon Special know. He’ll be able to help you out better than any of us could.” She said with a soft chuckle. “Anyway, I’ll leave you to get settled in ok?” The sister gave a curt nod then turned on her heel, striding swiftly back down the corridor they had just come from.
The as of yet Nameless Ghoul looked around his new quarters. They were bigger than down in the dormitories and he noted with some relief there was only one single bed instead of the usual two. It too appeared larger than what he had been used to while he was rooming with another ghoul. In the back of his mind, he wondered what had become of his former roommate. The roommate had been a tall, lanky earth ghoul, skinny as a twig and silent as the night. Although He had grown accustomed slightly to sleeping alone in a room since the roommate had ascended a few months prior, he was almost hoping to have a new friend to share a space with. He didn’t hate it, but he rather enjoyed the company.
Although the Hellish members of the ministry were not strictly forbidden from having or retaining their names amongst themselves, once they moved up in the ranks, they were to be considered nameless by the ministry until given a clergy appointed agnomen. He learned that the tall earth ghoul was known as Taeor and hailed from the swale biome on the border of a water ghoul territory. He had been given the kindness of a name so he had given his in turn: Elod.
He kept himself busy setting himself up in his new living space until a gentle knock caught his attention. Elod looked to where the sound came from and saw a tall, slender demon in the doorway. Elod recognized him as Special. He looked slightly different than the last time he had seen him, though perhaps it was the newer more garish metal mask.
“I see you’re getting along alright.” He said coolly leaning his shoulder on the doorframe. His stance was relaxed yet somehow imposing with his arms folded together over his chest and his legs crossed at the ankle. Special tilted his head this way and that as he took in the minimalist décor of the bland room. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you’ll need to stop and get everything back up together. You won’t be staying here.”
Elod’s ears drooped as his heart sank into the pit of his stomach at the arch demon’s words. Catching this, Special stood upright, unfolded his arms and brought his hands palms forward to cushion the blow.
“What I mean is that there has been…” Special began, trying desperately to choose his words precisely. “There has been… a happening that has caused there to be a, shall we say, vacancy. Your particular talents have preceded you, I’m afraid. You will be relocating to the band quarters, effective immediately.”
Elod could have been knocked over with a butterfly wing. His jaw hung open as his brain worked overtime to connect the dots. He had heard what Special had said; he re-played them with great ease as per his nature as an aether ghoul. The cogs and gears turned endlessly as he struggled to decipher exactly what the arch-demon had meant however.
“I do beg your pardon, my Lord, but I am yet to be Named by the clergy. I am not permitted to go any further among the ghouls without a name.” His eyebrows rose as they grew more confused by the second.
“Yes, I am quite aware. That shall be remedied as soon as time permits, but we won’t worry about that at the moment. Let’s just start with the task at hand.” Special waved his hand to gesture about the room where Elod had placed a few personal belongings. He smiled tightly, though Elod would never be able to tell through the mask. He gave a slight nod to punctuate his point that time was of the essence.
It took very little time as Elod did not possess very many material items, and he was instructed not to worry about bringing any of his robes. He was to receive new sets of uniforms once he settled with the next pack of Nameless Ghouls. As soon as the last item was tucked back properly inside the cardboard box it was initially packed away in, Elod was ushered swiftly through the corridors and then outside the building entirely. He followed the arch demon Special closely on his heels best he could. Special’s footfalls were effortless and graceful as he followed the cobbled paths across the church estate to the upper ghoul’s wing.
“It’s much quicker to cut through the courtyard than go through so many silly hallways. Though if the subterranean tunnels were still freely permitted, that would be absolutely fantastic, but alas,” he spun in a half circle to face Elod, meeting him with a shrug as he continued walking backwards, “it is not.” He tilted his head to his shoulder as if to say ‘what a shame’. Special spun once more now facing the right way as they marched tentatively onwards.
Special sped up slightly so he could hold open the door for Elod. Elod ducked his head in thanks as he passed by the arch demon. Once clear, Special crossed the space with a swift graceful stride only one with long legs could achieve as he spearheaded the expedition.
“Right, so allow me to fill you in as we approach the band rooms.” Special spoke clearly over his shoulder to Elod who was halfway paying attention as they passed numerous closed wooden doors. He craned his neck to try to catch a glimpse of what may lie behind any one of the doors, hopefully willing any of them to be open just a hair. “There was an incident shall we say and now we find ourselves shorthanded as it were. Earth departed, as you know, leaving us with Leif, as again, you should know.”
“My Lord, I-“ Elod interjected.
“Do not interrupt. It’s rude.” Special held his finger up in a matter of fact way. “As I was saying, Leif is, well, unpredictable. Which some of us anticipated, but no, ’Give him a chance’ they said, ’He’ll be fine’ they said,” Special huffed out a bark of a laugh, although it could have been considered a snort of indignation, Elod figured. “Either way, we need a drummer.”
“My Lord, I’m not a drummer.” Elod said mournfully. “I’ve been practicing but-“
“Again,” Special swiveled so quickly Elod nearly knocked into him. “Do not interrupt, little ghoul. It is rude.” He leaned forward, his eyes intensely boring holes directly through Elod’s to the back of his skull and possibly beyond. “Am I clear? Because I very much would like to keep my new prospective band ghoul intact.” The way Special clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth with the precise enunciation of the word intact told Elod he was on very thin ice with the arch demon’s withering nerves. The ghoul nodded as he seemingly shrank beneath Special’s heated gaze. Elod swallowed, his mouth running unexpectedly dry.
With just as much grace, Special pivoted and continued down the hallway as if nothing had transpired. Once he had his arms back behind his back, clasping his elbows, he began to speak again, picking up where he had left off. “As I was saying, we need a new drummer, again.” He spoke through clenched teeth. Elod could see Special’s hands balling into tight fists, their poise dropping. “We have luckily filled that position,” he spoke as if exhaling a tense breath. “That leaves us with the problem of finding a new, hah, well, everything!” Special was exasperated at this point, and Elod was unsure if he were speaking directly to him anymore or just getting things off his chest to someone that couldn’t talk back.
“And that brings us to you, Ghoul. Alpha has decided that he has more important things to do now, as well as Air. Satan only knows what’s going on in that tiny little brain of his after Adelaide…,” his voice softened for the briefest moment before he cleared his throat and powered on. “At any rate, we need a new lead, a new keyboardist, bass and of course a rhythm ghoul.”
Elod’s ears perked up. They needed a new everything from the sounds of it, and he would be a contender for the lead. Effervescent images passed through his minds’ eye at what it might be like under the heavy stage lights in front of a sea of endless devoted fans. They would scream his name as they had for Alpha, even Ifrit for that matter… and he could have his pick of any of them cooing and clawing for his attention.
His daydream immediately shattered however as Special stopped abruptly in front of him. Elod crashed into him, nearly toppling over. It was far from being enough to budge the demon, but Elod still felt his cheeks flush a deep crimson with embarrassment. He knew from the look Special gave that he had missed out some vital piece of information and he knew that Special knew he had not been paying attention.
Special drew in a deep breath as he considered Elod. Head in the clouds, just as he was told by the Den Mother. Elod had been summoned only a handful of years prior, or at least it felt that way to the arch demon. When news of a new quintessence ghoul had been summoned, Special was in the ritual chamber in the blink of an eye to witness it. His presence was no longer needed during the sacrament by that time, and he was tasked with seemingly much more important jobs now that the ritual process had grown more streamlined and with exceedingly fewer casualties, but these ghouls were few and far between. In fact, this one was only the fourth or fifth to come through in one piece. The intrinsic nature of the aether was fickle with their type to say the least, but on this miraculous occasion, this ghoul came through without a single scratch of the glowing remnants of purplish energy.
Special made it his duty to keep a close watch on this ghoul in particular from that day forward. Not that he had much of a choice; he shared their element after all. Now, he stood before him ready to absolutely send this Nameless Ghoul straight back to the threads of hellish nature from whence he came because he was too tired of someone else’s bullshit to properly deal with things at the moment. He continued to take deep breaths to clear his angry mind.
“Elod,” he said softly, barely more than a whisper. The Nameless Ghoul folded in on himself at the utterance of his Abyssal name. “Try to be more careful, please.” With that, he turned his gaze down the empty hallway. “The band ghoul quarters are just ahead.”
The corridor, Elod noticed, ended into a split hallway to either side. He continued to follow Special as he turned to the right, then down the next long hallway. He saw an open door to the left, and unable to keep his curiosity to himself slowed his pace to take a peek inside. It was an empty common room not much different than the one he had seen in the Sisters dormitories once before. He heard Special clear his throat. Elod trotted to catch back up to his elder.
Special crossed the space with newly resigned focus for his task, Elod at his heels. It wasn’t this poor ghoul’s fault that Papa had once again decided that his own needs and whims were more important than the rest of the entire world it seemed. Though, to him, his world ends at his fingertips it would seem… Special thought. He reached for a ring of keys from an interior pocket of his woolen uniform jacket. With practiced ease he felt for the key needed for Elod’s new arrangements. Once selected, he tucked the others into a closed fist, holding the one pinched between his thumb and crooked index finger.
Special had stopped once more before a polished dark oak door. He slotted the key, pushed the door open for Elod.
“After you.” Special held open the door for the ghoul. Elod quickly ushered himself forward and into the space. It was clean for the most part and even bigger than the room he had just vacated. The single bed was pushed up against the far wall in the corner. There was a wooden and metal desk with nothing on it save for a small white and black lamp and a set of keys. There was no closet, but a black wooden wardrobe instead. It had small purple flowers painted on its mirrored door.
As Elod took in his new arrangements, Special stepped inside, closing the door behind himself. He thought how best to word the next part. Deciding the easiest way was just to lay it all on the table for Elod.
“The next few days will not be easy; I will not lie to you.” Special stepped further into the room, taking a seat on the edge of the bed, his knees spreading out as his ankles and feet remained close together. “Your Naming will be pushed forward to within a few days, you will need to quickly learn new music and work on your stage presence. After all, you are taking Omega’s spot and without a doubt you will be compared to him. His are rather big shoes to fill. I can only assume you are up to the task, yes?” For the most part Special had been speaking to the floor, but now he purposefully tilted his head up to look directly at Elod who stood stock still, clutching his box of belongings.
Special had anticipated that Elod would interrupt him at some point, or answer when he had prompted, but he was astutely quiet, providing him with just a nod. Special continued.
“You will also need to work on your glamour. Humans do not possess tails or horns as you well know. So unless you want to have it removed and your ears docked, you need to have a tight control on it. Uniform fittings will no doubt follow your Naming.”
Elod shifted his weight as he listened to Special’s little speech. He felt sure of himself, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t feel inklings of doubt creeping in on the periphery. He had the uncanny ability to pick up new music pieces fairly quickly so that was easily within reach for him. No, the doubt came at the idea of following up the Omega ghoul. He had never anticipated that part, no matter how much he had dreamed of performing with the Ghost band. The realization never struck him that there were never two quintessence ghouls on stage together. He should have seen this coming, yet it felt almost like being dunked into ice water.
Whatever the last part of whatever Special had to say was lost entirely as Elod snapped back into the present moment with Special beginning to stand and smooth out his uniform jacket. “Like I said, you have the remainder of the evening to yourself, but I will instruct Ifrit to come by and give you the tour of your new living quarters as it were.”
“I thought you said you need a new everything?”
“Ifrit has agreed to stay for the last leg of this tour, but he will be retiring after. So we are still weighing our options. That is for a later date and none of your concern. Just focus on the present tasks before you, alright?” Special clapped his hand on Elod’s shoulder in a patronly manner. “You’re gonna be just fine.”
Just like that, Elod was left alone with his thoughts. Special had left the door ajar when he exited and he didn’t even think to close it fully. He set his box of things down on the desk and took up the two shiny silver keys, turning them this way and that to inspect them. The idea of having his own room to himself was so new and foreign he couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be on his own. He put them inside his cassock pocket.
Slowly he explored every inch of his new room seeing just what it had to offer. It turned out to hide more secrets that he was not only surprised to find but happy to come across them. He was positive that Omega had not been living here for some time, but it didn’t stop him from leaving behind small traces. He left a few books in the bottom drawer of the wardrobe and a couple of pieces of sheet music he had been working on were left tucked inside the pages. In the margins of another book he had written notes of some kind but they didn’t make any sense to him. Maybe they were song lyrics or something, Elod thought as he sat on his knees reading them nonetheless. His tail gently swished behind him until it found a comfortable coiled position to rest in.
Elod had lost himself in the notebook messages so he never heard Ifrit when he knocked before letting himself in through the open door. The older ghoul watched as Elod flipped through passage after passage seemingly oblivious to his presence. Ifrit’s sleeves had been ripped off his uniform cassock. It was also remarkably tight for the buff ghoul, though it didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest. A heavy chain with brushed silver leviathan crosses connected his lapels across his collar bones.
Ifrit strode confidently over and whipped the wooden chair out from under the desk, turning it around so he sat backwards on it. He draped himself casually over the back.
“Whacha got there?” Ifrit asked, finally alerting Elod he was no longer alone. Elod jumped up quickly, stepping on his own tail, shrieking, throwing the book in the air and trying to right himself all at once. Ifrit smirked, snickering to himself. “Easy there new blood. Don’t get your scruff all ruffled.”
Well, that was easy for him to say now wasn’t it? Ifrit was cool without even trying. Elod had always admired him.
“Special just swung by and told me he brought up the new Omega. What’s your name?” Ifrit tilted his unmasked head as he scanned the younger ghoul.
“I don’t have a name yet. And I’m not the new Omega.” Elod lifted his chin to speak. His nose piercing glinted. It wasn’t that he was trying to act superior or anything, it’s simply how he talked.
“Is that right?” Ifrit’s eyebrow shot up. “You haven’t been Named yet, and here you are, a member of the band Ghost! Imagine that…” he mused to himself, that cool smirk still plastered on his chiseled face. “Well that’s alright. I heard from Leif that the new drummer just went through his Naming not too long ago himself so you’re not too far off.”
“So what’s your actual name?” Ifrit dropped the common tongue, instead speaking in Ghoulish. Elod hadn’t expected it so he stuttered his response. “Elod, huh?” Ifrit rolled his words around his throat, nodding. “Strong name. Let’s hope you get something equally hearty.” The fire ghoul stood and gestured for Elod to follow. He swapped back to common. “C’mon, let’s show you around, give you the full tour.”
Elod nodded.
-=+=-*-=+=-*-=+=-*-=+=-
The band ghouls had an entire wing pretty much to themselves. It was an older sibling dormitory that had been decommissioned and then renovated sometime in the 60s under Papa Nihil, then once more within the new millennium under Papa Emeritus III. There was a common room in the center of the wing with rooms wrapped around it much like a blossoming flower. Each member had their own bedroom, but shared one of two communal type bathrooms. Supposedly it was a men’s and women’s thing, but there had never been any women in the band up ‘til this point with Mist, so one of them had gone mostly unused.
Ifrit explained that though Elod was free to go to the dining hall for meals, it was perfectly fine if he wanted to make something for himself in the kitchen in the common area. Normally the band tended to stick together most often, just because it was convenient for them all to keep to a similar schedule as it was easier to get things done as a group such as practice without having to hunt down missing members.
“We don’t exactly have the luxury of much free time since Papa always expects us to be in tip top shape so we have work outs, practice, meals, and just about everything else together as a group. So, don’t worry much, you’re gonna be spending so much time with us, it’ll be damn near impossible to feel left out.” Ifrit ruffled the taller ghoul’s hair with a smirk. “Oh! Almost forgot. You got your phone with you yeah? Let me see it a sec.”
Elod reached inside his cassock pocket, withdrawing his cell phone and handing it over to the fire ghoul with barely more than a second thought. He watched as Ifrit tapped and swiped multiple times before typing rapidly onto the slick screen for a few moments.
“There ya go,” Ifrit tossed it back to Elod, “I put in the numbers I could remember for us; ‘us’ being me and Papa. You won’t need to really text him a lot, mostly because he’ll text you all hours of the fucking night and day. He means well, but he worries a great deal, so try not to think too much on what he says, and don’t take it personally.” Ifrit offered a weary yet slightly worried smile. It was as if he were trying to warn Elod as well as instruct him. “Did Spesh tell you you weren’t the only new hire?” Ifrit changed the subject before Elod could begin to ask questions about ‘not taking things personally’.
“No, I didn’t actually know I was going to be recruited until, well, about an hour or so ago?”
“Is that right? Let’s see if we can’t say hi to any of the others then. Mist as you know was only a fill in for Agua until we could get back home. I honestly don’t know what’s going through Papa’s brain at this point. He’s been swapping us out like clothes or used tissues.“ Ifrit scratched at the back of his head before rubbing his neck and leaving his arm there, his biceps bulging. Not that Elod was paying too much attention to them.
“Mist was really not meant for anything more than a tech, pretty much like I was, but then Agua went and did some dumb shit, and then Adelaide passed, so Air just couldn’t deal with that,” he explained as he lead Elod down the hallway and around to the western hall. “Leif was pretty combative for a fucking earth ghoul. Had a mouth that would make Sister Imperator blush, if you could believe it. So anyway, Papa sacked Leif and to be honest, I’m not really sure what happened to Omega. In here,” Ifrit pointed into an open door as they walked past it, “that’s me. Feel free to drop in if you need help learning the parts or whatever.
I’ve been a tech ghoul for a handful of tour cycles so I know pretty much all of the parts. And the same goes for this one,” he stopped just outside a closed door with a hand written paper sign saying in very angry-looking capital letters ‘GO AWAY’. “This fun little shit is our new bassist. He’s been a tech nearly as long as I have and I think he’s still a little, how should I put it,” he looked quizzically has he searched for the correct verbiage, “upset that he isn’t the lead.”
Ifrit raised his voice as he banged on the door. “Isn’t that right Dewdrop?!” He laughed, those dazzling white teeth shining spectacularly. Again, not that Elod was paying attention. An angry yet equally loud howl sounded from the other side of the door.
“Fuck right off Ifrit!” the disembodied voice yelled as it grew louder, closer. The door suddenly swung open with a fury that Elod took a step back, afraid of the mountainous ghoul that no doubt would be facing him in the next split second.
Elod blinked once. Then twice. A confused look crossed his face as he leaned forward. Surely that wasn’t right. The space he expected to come face to face with this monstrous ghoul was empty. He heard a sharp thuum of a foot stamping with unbridled fury. Elod tilted his head forward, looking down until he was met with the most ferocious looking water ghoul he had ever seen in his entire life.
“Who the fuck are you?” the blond ghoul spat at Elod. “Who the fuck is this broad fuck?” He barked at Ifrit, a blaze of vitriol blaring from behind his eyes. Ifrit took it all in stride as he gleamed smugly down at Dewdrop.
“This,” Ifrit puffed his chest out slightly as he presented Elod, “is our new rhythm ghoul. Dew meet our new Nameless friend-“
“Hi, now piss off.” Dewdrop gave a sharp smile that could have been seen more as a threat than any pleasantry, slamming the door in their faces.
“Don’t worry; I’m sure he’ll grow on you.” Ifrit shrugged. He hasn’t taken the news very well. But, he plays the guitar like his fingers are made of fucking fire. He always kept Alpha’s shit in line and was ready to jump in at a moment’s notice; he just never got the chance. He’s a water ghoul, so you know he would be relegated to bass anyway, so…” Ifrit trailed off shrugging.
“Whose idea was it to categorize ghouls to instruments by their element anyway?” Elod asked. He oft wondered but no one really ever gave it much thought enough to give an answer more than ‘It’s always been like that’.
“I’m not really sure. But who knows, maybe after this leg you could take up my bit, huh? Just gotta get you learned up on the lead parts.” The fire ghoul laughed heartily. “I’m honestly unsure who decided it. Probably Nihil. Or who knows, could have been Spesh. He’s been round for fucking ever so that would make sense.” Ifrit shrugged. “Anyway, poor ghoul who got stuck with the most unfortunate living arrangements ever, is our new drummer, Mountain.” He stopped outside another closed door. “My only guess is they thought this ghoul was so gentle that he might rub off on Dewy over there,” Ifrit pointed over his shoulder to the very hostile water ghoul’s door.
“The thing I don’t get is that he literally could move to any other room, but he just won’t. They offered him this one, and he just… stayed. Braver than I am, that’s for damn sure.” Ifrit shrugged as if to say I don’t get it. Elod nodded along with him. He could never be next to someone as antagonistic. And yet, he was now expected to perform alongside him, and when it came to be time for it, tour with this violent ghoul for months on end. Elod said a quick prayer to the One Below for mercy.
Ifrit knocked gently on the door. Elod couldn’t hear footsteps of anyone on the other side if they were approaching. He strained his ears and listened harder. There was still nothing. Elod nearly thought to put his ear to the door and tell him that he didn’t think anyone was inside when the door creaked open slowly. A very tall and strikingly familiar face greeted the pair.
“Taeor?” Elod asked, not quite sure he was seeing the ghoul he thought he was.
The tall, thin ghoul nodded, smiling widely. “Indeed it is, Elod.” He stepped aside to allow the pair of ghouls to enter if they chose. “Though, it’s Mountain now.” The tall ghoul smirked with a rare spark of pride. “I’ve had my Naming ceremony and everything.” The smirk slowly fell as he moved behind the door now, unsure of what exactly to do since neither Elod nor Ifrit were coming inside his room. “I’m uh, the new drummer. Well, the newer drummer. I mean the replacement for Leif. I um, I don’t know for sure if Papa will decide to keep me on, you know? He’s kinda… “ Mountain looked up at his ceiling before continuing, “particular.”
Ifrit snorted a laugh, more like a sharp puff of air from his nose accompanied with a murmuring of ‘heh’. “That’s certainly one way of putting it. I’m glad you two know each other, though.” Ifrit glanced to Elod, nodding. “See? You already got a friend, so you’re gonna be just fine alright? No big deal.” He smiled that dazzling smile of his, his eyes crinkling attractively just so in the corners. “Hey Mountain, go ahead and put your number in our new friend’s phone. I don’t know it by heart yet, an’ my phone is back in my room.”
“I think I should have it, shouldn’t I?” Elod’s brows knit slightly in a mix of confusion and asking for confirmation. Mountain shook his head.
“New phone. I…,” he blushed, clutching the side of the door and looking to the floor. “I accidentally baked it into a cake one day.”
Ifrit had crossed his arms and was leaning against the doorjamb. He snickered. “You should have seen the look on his face when he pulled it out. The cake was ringing!”
“Is that even possible?” Elod asked. He had rarely cooked, as he was not very good at it, but he thought surely that the high temperatures would have actively worked to destroy the phone in the oven.
“If it was any other cake, yes. But our tall friend here likes to try new recipes, and this one in particular just called for a very low temp for a while.”
Elod still wasn’t very convinced, but he just nodded and let it go. He searched his pocket for his phone, handing it over to Mountain to add his number to it. He watched Mountain’s long slender fingers type quickly at the digits. The tall ghoul was clearly still getting used to adding his new Name to things as he accidentally started his contact name with ‘T’. Once he was finished he stuck it back out for Elod to take.
“Did they tell you when you’re Naming will happen yet?” Mountain asked.
“No, not yet. Special said it would be bumped up soon though so maybe tomorrow or so I suppose. What do they do?” Elod asked with slight apprehension, not thinking to ever ask before.
“Eh, it’s a little different a process for each ghoul. But I’m surprised nobody told you what to expect.” Ifrit piped up. He had decided that it was silly to continue their conversation outside of Mountain’s room so he casually stepped inside under the assumption that Elod would follow; Elod subsequently obeyed the silent notion.
There were small potted plants on top of nearly every surface that could be covered. A waft of smoke rose in a stream up from a half-burned stick of incense next to his bed on the nightstand. A pair of shoes had been kicked off and left where they lay at opposing angles near the edges of the shaggy brownish square rug. Mountain quietly closed the door behind the quintessence ghoul and continued to stand awkwardly off to the sideline, even though they were all piled inside his room with space to spare.
“With my Naming, they had these Sisters who were witches who all came in wearing these silky red robes and nothing underneath,” Ifrit smiled fondly as he recalled his tale. “There was about five of them, and they sat at the cardinal points on a pentagram drawn on the floor. They each carried these little plates of something smoking-“
“It’s a solid resin incense.” Mountain interrupted as a matter of fact.
Ifrit turned his face to him, his eyes narrowing just a small bit. “Yeah, I guess. Anyway, they came in with this plate of incense and then the room swirled with all these colours and they had me lay in the middle of these witches. They start chanting I guess in Latin or whatever-“
“Actually it’s Abyssal…” Mountain murmured in a small voice, wrapping his arm about himself, clasping his hand over his elbow. He didn’t mean to keep interrupting Ifrit, but he wanted Elod to have all the facts straight. His soft brown eyes were downcast to the floor; he missed Ifrit’s jaw clench.
“They chanted in Abyssal and then it felt like floating. You know that really nice sort of calm high you get when- nevermind, you probably don’t.” Ifrit waved his hand dismissively. “Anyway, so it’s kind of this- like your conscious is being drawn up in a ball and then expanded really fast like when you stretch out a rubber band and then you let it go and it just soars? It’s kind of like that.” Ifrit reclined himself in the wooden desk chair as he propped up his heavy boot-clad feet on the desk. A plant shifted slightly drawing Mountain’s attention.
Mountain quickly reached out as if Ifrit had kicked the plant on purpose, but seeing that no harm had come and no dirt spilled, he relaxed slightly, but cautiously. His tail twitched in agitation.
“Like I said, not everyone experiences the same thing so it’ll be different, yeah, but same thing still sort of happens behind the scenes. So at least you’ll know sort of what you’re going into.” Ifrit placed both hands behind his head as he tilted it back to stare up at the ceiling. He rocked casually on the chair’s two legs that remained on the floor. “What was yours like Mountain? Did you see a bunch of weird shit?”
Mountain braced himself back against small table against the wall. He hunched in on himself as he set both his palms flat on the wooden surface. “Not really. There was still the women with the red robes, and the incense and chanting. I sat in the middle until the smoke became a bit too much and then I laid down and felt this really nice calm overtake me. It reminded me of being back home in the breezy seasons. I remember laying down and then I was suddenly walking on this footpath through this forest-“
Ifrit cut Mountain off with a very loud and obnoxious yawn. “As amazing as that sounds, we still have to finish up the grand tour. Isn’t that right Elod?” The fire ghoul looked over to Elod with a nod. Elod looked rather uncomfortable as he tried to figure out how to toe the line. With no prompt from the quintessence ghoul, Ifrit clucked his tongue against his teeth, righting the chair back to all four feet swiftly rising to his own. “We still have the rest of the quarters and then the music rooms to check out.”
Elod perked up at the sound of that, much to Mountain’s dismay. He didn’t want to hurt his friend’s feelings, but he would be lying to himself if he didn’t want to get his hands on a guitar with new music. Mountain’s shoulders drooped as his tail curled around his knee. Elod hadn’t even registered the new uniform Mountain was wearing and failed to ask as he was now being tugged along towards the door by an insistent Ifrit.
With a quick goodbye and a wave and a promise to catch up soon Elod allowed himself to be almost yanked into the hallway. Mountain closed the door silently behind them.
“Well, now I know how he can stand to be near Dewdrop like he is: he’s boring as fuck. I’m sorry you had to room with him for so long. In any case, we do still have a few stops before I can turn you loose.”
“He’s still my friend you know. And he isn’t boring.” Elod piped up. He was used to defending Mountain in the past to the other ghouls so this came as nothing new. Mountain, when he was still known as Taeor had always been too shy and timid for his own good, despite being much taller and more agile than the others.
“Hey, I didn’t mean anything by it.” Ifrit put his hands up with a shrug. “I just mean I can see how he doesn’t have a problem staying so close to that fucking jackass of a water ghoul.” Deciding it was a better tactic to change the topic he asked if Elod wanted to see the music rooms and began walking towards the entrance to the band wing.
“We have our own private music rooms and our own instruments so you won’t have to share with anyone. You can even use one of mine until we get yours sorted out. Obviously Omega took his all with him when he left.”
“Wait, Omega left?” Elod had not been told that little detail.
“Yeah? Why do you think you’re here? I don’t know what got into him. One day, we were doing just fine, he and Papa were off doing their own thing like they always do, and then all of a sudden next thing we know word spread around that Omega was seen packed up and headed out on his motorcycle. No words of goodbye, nothing. Not even his lovers said they were told anything. Oh hey wait up, it’s this one,” Ifrit momentarily paused his story to touch Elod on the shoulder. “This is the band’s practice room. Let me find the damn key.”
Elod craned his neck to see if he could make anything out through the darkened glass of the door. He even stood on his tiptoes to peer over the guitarist, but it just wasn’t helping. Finally Ifrit found the correct key, slotted it, and then turned the handle. He shoved the door open, the sturdy door scuffing the short fibered carpet as it pressed over it. The walls were littered with alternating tiles of different coloured wavy foam blocks meant to cancel out excess noise and reverb from the amps and microphones as well as more decorative dampeners. The far wall was what mostly drew Elod’s attention. The band’s guitars were all set up onto special holders and they were all now within reach. He did note sadly, there were several blank spaces where Elod could only assume that Omega had left empty. His eyebrows scrunched up.
“How did he carry so many guitars on a motorcycle?” Elod asked passively.
“Who even knows. I’ve heard you quintessence ghouls can do some pretty cool stuff. Maybe he stowed them away with the rest of his shit in some pocket dimension or something. You know, like a hole to nowhere that only you can get into? Hey, can you do that?”
“What? No? I’ve never been told that you could just bend the aether that way. But then again, it isn’t as if there are that many elders topside to teach all the ins and outs of aether-rending now is there? Maybe Omega was just old enough to figure it out on his own.” Elod stared hard at one of the black electric guitars. Its body was sleek and elegant and his fingers itched just to touch it. He already knew how to play the majority of the Ghost project’s songs, but since there were new ones, he knew he would have to work twice as hard at learning them now that he was thrown into the band as a rhythm ghoul instead of a lead.
“You wanna give it a go?” Ifrit suddenly came into Elod’s peripheral, leaning coolly against the wall with his arms crossed. His head was tilted and a sly smirk splayed across his lips. “I suppose you need to start somewhere so go ahead and pick it up. Let’s see what you got, Nameless.” Ifrit reached up and took his favourite down from the hook first, then watched as Elod delicately and with trepid fingers grasped the neck of the black one he had been eying. He nodded in the direction of a worn leather couch, beckoning Elod to follow.
The antique Persian rug in front of the couch had spots where it was clearly worn down from particular patterns of heavy use. Elod found himself following them as he accompanied Ifrit over and plopped down. He flexed his fingers then rubbed his sweaty palms over his thighs to reduce the moisture on them before he even gave it a test strum.
It was perfect. There was no need to even twist the peg a millimeter. It was absolutely perfect. Though he wasn’t one hundred percent positive which dials needed to be turned to which exact point, but that would be coming later.
“There’s an amp cable just to the side there. Pick it up and plug it in. I want to hear you play something.” Ifrit gestured to just over the side of the couch arm. Elod found it without much trouble. He plugged it into the guitar and expected a slight feedback, but there was only the gentle buzzy fuzz hum sound he enjoyed. It was now or never.
Elod started off with an easy riff, checking Ifrit’s face for any sign of scrutiny before moving forward with anything more technical. When he found none, he slid his fingers into position and began to transform the quiet music space into his own realm of sound. Ifrit leaned back into the couch then forward again resting his elbows on his knees as he studied Elod’s hands.
Music flowed easily through the ghoul, and Ifrit found himself rather impressed with the sheer talent that exhibited itself in Elod. He put his hand up for Elod to stop, but the younger ghoul before him had lost himself in playing that his eyes were closed and he didn’t see it. Instead, he placed his hand on Elod’s knee to bring his attention to the present. Elod paused, fingers stuck in position, the last note humming electrically in the air. He didn’t even break a sweat.
“Shit…” Ifrit’s eyes glittered. “I think we’ll make it without Omega after all.” He smirked.
-=+=-*-=+=-*-=+=-*-=+=-
The night had worn on far longer than Elod had anticipated, and he was teetering on exhaustion. Ifrit continued to ask him to try new songs, new techniques, more difficult riffs and chords. Elod hadn’t played for that length of time in… well, ever. His fingers were sore, hands cramping, and all around worn-out. He was sure they would be tender and in worse shape tomorrow, but he knew he really didn’t have much of a choice now that this was his future with the ministry and subsequently, the band Ghost.
Ifrit gifted him two guitars for practice, his beloved black electric one, and a well worn acoustic that admittedly, needed new strings. They had a tinny sound to them that Elod recognized. He knew he would need to hunt down a new set and replace them sooner rather than later. He was permitted to use the electric one to his heart’s content within the music room under Ifrit’s supervision, but until he had more time under his belt, he would only be allowed the acoustic to fully claim as his own. Elod seemed to have a spark in his step after that.
Ifrit had bid Elod a good night shortly after two in the morning, saying he had some small things to see to in another part of the abbey. He gave a two finger salute to the edge of his brow as a wave goodbye before departing. Elod guessed the small thing was probably a sister of sin or two. He knew better than to ask to accompany him and in truth was far too weary and uninterested in chasing after skirts with Ifrit. Assuming that was indeed what was on his agenda.
No, there was music to play and his very own guitar to finally play it on. Why the ministry had never allowed him to have one before now, even though he was a musician in training, was beyond him. It would make sense to keep him sharp and up to date and allow him to grow, but as most if not all things on the grounds, they belonged to the church, and he should consider himself lucky that he was talented enough not to be considered church property as well.
He chose not to dwell on the nonsensical inter-workings of the ministry and instead decided to take a stroll along one of the many manicured and winding garden paths that wound all throughout the premises like miniature labyrinths. Some had reflecting pools, some were coated with more flowers than actually necessary, and others had scattering heaps of statuary depicting various fallen angels, demons, devils, women, and general debauchery. He had a good idea where he was seeing as how he used to help with grounds keeping alongside Taeor many seasons ago.
What he did not expect however was for someone else to be in one of his favorite, more secluded spots. He could hear someone, a male judging by the voice, singing something that plucked his heartstrings, even though he could not understand what was being sung, no matter how familiar the song felt.
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas…
Underneath the partially hidden moon, he followed the gently sloping pathway do a set of stone steps that lead downward into a courtyard. The mournful singer sounded as if their words were spiced with fresh tears as they crooned openly, to the night air.
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas…
Clouds covered the remaining moonlight, sweeping the garden in a blanket of darkle. Deep sorrowful words pierced the otherwise still quiet of the atmosphere. Not even the night crawling insects or animals dared disturb the lament being offered to the darkness. Elod saw the outline of a man performing to an audience of his own mind, giving his all to a show that no one would see. He felt something stir deeply within him, calling him to sit and join. His stiff legs gave way and he found himself sitting on the stone steps, guitar in hands, poised and ready to begin a phantom-like accompaniment.
Ne me quitte pas
Je ne vais plus pleurer
Je ne vais plus parler
The singer stopped suddenly realizing he was no longer by himself. It did not feel like a natural pause in the song, yet Elod continued to play on. He could not stop if even he wanted to; his hands felt entranced by some mysterious and unseen force and it compelled him to continue.
The dark singer in sensing the haunting tune being played by the mysterious stranger in the darkness turned and did something unexpected for both himself, and Elod. He picked back up where he left off.
Je me cacherai là
A te regarder
Danser et sourire
Et à t'écouter
Chanter et puis rire
Laisse-moi devenir
L'ombre de ton ombre
L'ombre de ta main
L'ombre de ton chien
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas…
It ended as swiftly as it began, though the deep anguish hanging in the air did not dissipate. The singer’s frame was heaving as he attempted to catch his breath. He clearly had poured all of whatever he had in him to this lone song in the middle of the night. He faced Elod, pushing his hair out of his face.
As if on cue, the clouds shifted, parting in the sky and allowing beams of moonlight to sweep through the garden once more. Elod for the second time today, could be knocked over with a feather or even a gentle breeze. He nearly let his new guitar slip from his grasp as he put a face to the grief-stricken singer as he walked closer.
Before him stood Papa Emeritus the Third.
He ran his hand through his jet black tresses, pushing the locks back from his face as he considered the ghoul sitting on the stone steps before him. Words seemed to escape him as he caught his breath. The anti pope was unfamiliar with this ghoul as he studied the handsome features. The moment stretched a little uncomfortably as neither really knew how to introduce themselves to break the silence. When he continued to come up short, Papa simply decided to sit and join the ghoul.
“You play very-“
“Your song was-“
Both men chuckled as they each decided to break the growing silence at the same time. Elod nodded for Papa to go ahead, placing his guitar down between his legs.
“I rather enjoyed your accompaniment, ghoul. Though admittedly, I didn’t expect anyone to be out this late roaming the gardens. I am glad you did however. It seemed as though the forces that be deemed my song incomplete without your certain …” Papa motioned with his hand as he searched for the proper words. “Je ne sais pas encore.” He smiled somewhat sadly. “I do believe it goes without introduction that I am Papa, but I am afraid I do not know who you are.”
“I’m still Nameless, Your Eminence. But I should be going through the ritual very soon.” He struggled to bring himself up to his feet quickly to do a proper bow with his guitar between his legs; he nearly tripped and toppled right over. Papa reached out and placed a gloved hand on his shoulder.
“Nameless, you say? Well, you play very well for an unnamed. Sit down and join me for a spell.” The thin man reclined back on his hands, tilting his head and crossing his legs. “Tell me, here did you learn this song?”
“I uh, well…” Elod scratched his head as he plopped back down on the stone steps. “I’m not sure. I heard it- you, singing and well I was given this guitar to practice with and I found myself just going where my feet lead me, and then you were here, well, there, and I mean I didn’t know it was you and I didn’t mean to interrupt you, but again, I didn’t know it was you, and then I felt like something came over me and I sat down and just felt like this feeling take over my hands, like they weren’t even mine. I don’t know what happened really, it just came out.” Elod grimaced at the uncontrollable word vomit he had just spewed forth.
“Oh.” The word slipped out before he could catch it on the edge of his tongue. That would explain things. This was the new quintessence ghoul. He had not meant to sound so disappointed, but the truth was that it only served to seal in place the fact that Omega was going to be replaced; no, that he already had been. The replacement sat in front of him. The forces that be seem to enjoy my torment Papa thought with an almost imperceptible scoff. He hid it well behind a well timed and collected cough, but Elod could feel the disturbance in the man’s heart. Such was the nature of his element.
“I’m sorry, Papa.” Elod knew he was apologizing for something he couldn’t possibly be to blame for, but he felt it was the thing to say at the moment. He could feel the energy surrounding the anti pope and it was only sad and bitter and filled to the brim with something even he had a difficult time placing.
Papa brushed it off with a wave of his hand. “There is nothing to be sorry for, my ghoul. I am not upset, nor am I displeased with being found. In fact,” he placed his hand on Elod’s shoulder once more, “I think you were supposed to find me here.”
Elod’s ears perked up as the corners of his lips curled into a soft grin. “You think so?”
Papa nodded. “Yes. Though, I must admit, it is rather late.” He flicked his wrist free from the edge of his long sleeve to check the time. Indeed, it was very late. “What do you say we pick this up again sometime soon? I would like to know more about my new rhythm guitarist.”
Elod’s tail curled with the spade tip swishing back and forth not unlike a dog’s would when it was anticipating something nice, such as a reward. “I would like that.”
“Good. Let’s get you back to the band quarters for now then, shall we? If I am to understand, you have a lot ahead of you, ghoul.”
-=+=-*-=+=-*-=+=-*-=+=-
Knock Knock Knock Knock
Elod rolled over, pulling the blanket over his head. The day previous had been rather… well, a lot and the ghoul hadn’t really had the time to process or deal with all he had learned just yet.
Knock Knock Knock Knock
He groaned, hoping whoever it was that they would just go away and let him rest. Even just five more minutes.
They did not, however.
“Elod? You in there? A couple of ghouls are here to bring you down for your Naming.” Mountain’s voice cut through the brain fog. Elod sat straight up in bed. How could he forget about something so important? He quickly shouted that he would be ready soon. Elod dressed in such a hurry, he skipped a few buttons on his cassock in the process. He nearly tripped putting on his shoes, cursing loudly as he bumped into the edge of the wooden bed frame. Mountain let himself inside Elod’s room as the commotion continued.
“You ok?” he asked taking a look around the room. Elod sat back on the bed rubbing his sore thigh.
“Yeah, just an accident. Where are they?” Elod craned his neck as he looked around for the two ghouls Mountain had mentioned, but they were nowhere to be seen.
“Outside waiting. They knocked and knocked and knocked, but they said nobody answered. So I figured I’d try.” Mountain smiled softly. He lowered his voice before asking his next question. “You nervous?”
“Yeah, a little. I wish I didn’t have to go alone.”
“Want me to ask if I can walk with you?”
“Nah, you don’t have to.”
“It’s no problem. I’m not busy at the moment. It’s still too early for breakfast, so I haven’t started-“
“Wait, what? What time is it?” Elod scanned the desk for the clock he was given. “Fuck’s sake, it’s not even dawn yet?!” He scrubbed his face with one massive hand. “No wonder I didn’t wake up when they came for me. Literally no one should be up at this god forsaken time.”
Mountain snickered. “No kidding.” The tall ghoul leaned against the desk. “You sure you don’t want me to ask? I really don’t mind. Not like there’s much else going on for me, and I probably couldn’t even go back to sleep if I wanted so…” He struggled to remain nonchalant, but was perceptively trying to sway the quintessence ghoul.
“If you insist. I still need to finish getting dressed. I’ve got to find my other shoe.” Elod looked down at his feet, one socked foot obviously missing a polished black shoe. Mountain snickered again before exiting. He softly closed the door behind him.
Elod finished up, checking his reflection in the mirror. HE realized that he had made several mistakes with his buttons, which he quickly corrected them. When he was satisfied with himself, he took a deep breath, posing in such a way that made himself appear broad chested and lean. He admired this form until he could no longer hold his breath, puffing it all out in one swift exhale. His belly rounded and softened. Perhaps by some unholy miracle something would happen during his Naming and he would become jacked and ripped like Ifrit.
With a sigh, Elod wrenched open the door at the same time as Mountain was about to knock, startling the both of them. Mountain winced before chuckling lightly, scratching at the back of his head.
“I got the go ahead, but I’m not permitted to stay. You’ll be brought back up by Delta and Labda.” He waved his hands with his palms facing forward. “But that’s ok, they’ve done with for forever so you don’t have to worry.” Elod nodded, swallowing audibly. His nerves were beginning to show. “Come on, they’re waiting in the common room for you.”
They walked together in silence down the corridor pausing only when they reached the open door way. The two elder ghouls, Delta and Labda stood patiently waiting in the kitchenette. Delta was slightly shorter than Labda, but much wider. Elod thought if a crack between the floorboards shifted just right that the taller ghoul, Labda, would disappear, falling straight though.
“Where is your mask, young ghoul?” Delta asked in a voice very different than what Elod expected. It sounded like a gentle brook bubbling in the springtime.
“Shit, it’s in my room!” Elod instinctively brought his hands up to his face, feeling his bare skin.
“Go and get it, please. We must not delay any further.” Labda commanded in a voice very unlike his appearance would suggest. His voice was deep and low, rumbling like an earthquake. What an interesting pair, Elod thought.
He felt foolish for being so forgetful. He dashed back to his room, snatching his mask and shoving it on his face without thinking to put on the black balaclava first. No time to fix it, he jogged back into the common room.
“Excellent. We’ll be going through to the sub-levels so I hope you are prepared to walk for a bit.” Delta said softly. “Mountain here asked to act as your moral support.” He added.
“You will use this time to reflect on your element, so do not converse too much. You will need a clear mind for this.” Labda followed up.
Mountain leaned in very close to whisper into Elod’s ear “Unless you wanna end up with a name like Dewdrop.” The pair snickered.
“If you are ready, let’s be on our way.” Labda shot a particularly icy glare at the tall earth ghoul, who cleared his throat, straightening his posture.
Delta was not joking about the trek to the ceremony room Elod felt as if he had never even seen about half of the areas of the church and grounds as he had during the last half hour to forty-five minutes. He was also very certain they took the long way twice over and then some. In order to try to do as the elder had instructed, Elod did his best to keep the talking to a minimum. He was relieved when Mountain reached out to him and took his hand. It was warm, calm, and Elod felt himself grow more and more grounded the longer Mountain held his hand. He was pleased Mountain had asked to come along after all.
After what felt like forever, Delta and Labda came to a halt outside of a very large and old as balls looking door. “And we’re here.” Delta said almost cheerfully. “When you are ready, just open the door and head inside. One of the Sisters will be waiting to guide you through the next steps.” Elod squeezed Mountains hand nervously.
“You’ll be fine. We’ll see you in a little while. Don’t be so scared, and remember, it’s all in here.” Mountain squeezed Elod’s hand in turn then let go to tap the side of his mask. The corners of his eyes crinkled, belying his smile beneath the metal.
The quintessence ghoul took a deep breath, steeling himself for the ceremony. He heaved open the heavy door with a bit more gusto than required, he knocked himself off balance. Thick clouds of spicy musky incense wafted through the open doorway. Elod coughed, waving his hand to try to clear his vision as he stepped inside. As if on an invisible cue, the door slowly shut itself behind him blocking the others from his view. This was it, and there was no turning back.
The antechamber was darker than the hallway he was just in, and his eyes slowly began to adjust accordingly. Tapestries and carpets lined the chamber, along with several cabinets willed to the brim with instruments of various rituals and artifacts of both Hell and the Abyssal Plane. Elod walked up to one in particular that drew his attention. It was a ceremonial blade carved from a jaw bone of some creature he was very glad not to be familiar with. He scanned the next shelf finding potion bottles of various ingredients and bundles of dried herbs. Most notably in the room was a large glassless window frame with deeply intricate scorns of power inscribed within it. He traced his finger along one of them, feeling a thrum of low energy singing behind it somehow.
“Welcome, ghoul.” A feminine voice echoed softly around him. Elod started, shifting to see where it was coming from. A Sister clad in a red shift held out a small candelabrum. Flickering lights danced merrily across various surfaces. “You must disrobe now. Place your clothing here,” she pointed to a wooden chair with leather cushioned back and a small fur pelt, “save your mask. When you are done you will follow me.”
Elod blinked. He glanced between her unwavering solemn stance, the entry way she came from, and the chair. He paused for a few heartbeats waiting for her to retreat or at least turn away, but it became clear that she was not going anywhere. With no choice and even less privacy, he began to toe off his shoes, unbuttoning his cassock as he went.
When he was done he clasped his hands in front of him in some feeble semblance of dignity. The cloaked woman turned, tilting her head in a ‘follow me’ motion. Her bare feet passed softly against the flagstones. The dusty white stone contrasted starkly against the deep crimson of her silky shift. He found the slow deliberate swish of the red hem somewhat entrancing. It didn’t need to do anything but follow the rest of the robe. Stay in its place… swish… swish… slow… steady…
He shook his head as the floaty brain fog seeped into his brain. They had entered the ritual chamber and the lady in red had turned to face him. She pulled back her hood, soft bouncy brunette locks falling free from the fabric confines. She held up the candelabra, another woman came to take it away.
“Lie in the center of the pentagram. Spread yourself towards its points.” She instructed before sinking to the floor with her fellow witches.
Hesitantly, he crept forward, nervous and naked as the day he was born. He knew he should toss his pride to the wind but he couldn’t help the shy insecurities that reared their heads when he shed his clothes. He took a deep breath, holding it, and then slowly exhaling through his parted lips before licking them. Intently he stepped into the direct center of the painted star on the floor before lowering himself down. He let out a sharp yip as his bare bottom touched the stone. The air in the sub-level was conversely warm and rather comforting, and gave him a false notion that the floor would be as well.
The echo faded as a blush rose over his face and slowly down his neck. He tried to maintain the even and steady breathing that Mountain had suggested. Once he was still and as comfortable as he felt he could be, the witches began chanting around him. The voices all began as a quiet hum and soft murmurs. They each complimented the others much like the harmony between guitars Elod thought. He stared at the ceiling only seeing the ribbed arches and stonework. There was nothing like the visions that Ifrit or Mountain had described. Worry and doubt crept in, what if they had been making everything up?
No, there was the ladies in red like Ifrit had said, and the incense, and the chanting was pretty nice now that he actively listened to it. He closed his eyes to see if he could make out anything they were voicing. Abyssal was a much older language than Infernal, which is what most ghouls and lesser demons spoke still in Hell. Though there were variants such as Ghoulish and Demonic, they were all derivatives of Infernal.
When Elod opened his eyes next, he found himself floating on his back down a river, the sun streaming though the breaks in the foliage surrounding the waterway. He had no recollection of how he had gotten there now how long he had been floating for, but he knew either way it didn’t matter. He closed his eyes, allowing the current to take him wherever it willed him. Perhaps this is what Ifrit had meant when he was talking about his experience…
Experience of what?
Elod screwed his face up in concentrating on a thought he ought to have remembered. This was for something important, but he just couldn’t put his finger on what it was that it was supposed to be. He felt in his bones that it didn’t really matter, whatever it was. His face relaxed and he allowed himself to just peacefully relax in the cool water.
After some time he decided to take a look and see where he might have drifted off to, but what met him was no longer a lazy river. It was completely dark save for the flowing galaxy-like nebula swirling around him. His outline was like those bioluminescent deep sea creatures he had read about once in some book from the library. His skin glowed with a dull purplish hue except where it met with the glittery substance which suspended him. Where it touched him shone like dazzling amethysts. Little wisps of light glittered around his periphery.
It occurred to him what the substance was suddenly: he was drifting along the pools of aether, his own element. He attempted to stand, or what could be considered floating upright within the aether, but he was unable.
Gravity here felt more like a mere suggestion than a rule to follow. A vertigo-like affect took over his senses as he continued to struggle against the flow. With little grumbles and a dissatisfied grunt, he gave in to the gelatinous substance.
He attempted to just let go and roll with it and just listen to the flow of essence around him, though disconcertingly, he heard no sound. His own breathing and splashing made no noise here; just the stillness of ever present material of the planes. Elod flopped around ‘til he was in somewhat of an upright position, or what he could tell was upright anyway. He plunged his hand into the matter in an attempt to scoop it up. It drifted like fine threads through his fingers and dripped back into the dark pool.
It made sense then for Elod to try to weave it. He plucked thin strands from the darkness around him and slowly began to intertwine them together, adding more and more here and there following a pattern he recognized from somewhere just outside his recollection. It didn’t matter if he didn’t have a pattern in mind, he stitched together what felt right and where.
When complete, he stepped back, holding whatever it was out at arm’s length. It was a ring-like structure on a handle that was missing it’s insides. The empty pit began shimmering like iridescent shards of glass before swirling together around each other, slow at first, then faster and faster until they seemed to form a solid surface. He squinted his eyes to see if he could make out what the picture was morphing into. It looked like a figure was looking down at something. He tilted his head. The image did too. Upon closer inspection as he drew the looking-glass close to his face, the image shifted. It appeared as if he were now looking directly down at his own naked body as it lay on the ritual chamber floor.
No sooner did he see himself in this vision, all air fled from Elod’s lungs and a bright searing fire ignited through his veins. His skin cracked then was burned away with a glorious purple energy that was all consuming. He no longer felt the floating sensation. Instead he felt gravity clawing at what was left of him, dragging, no, hurtling him back into his ghoulish body.
He sucked in a breath as if for the first time, wheezing only one word before his vision blacked: Aether.
-=+=-*-=+=-*-=+=-*-=+=-
Papa smiled over at the sleepy ghoul. He looked almost as peaceful and tranquil as Omega had when he slept. Perhaps that was a quintessence ghoul trait. Papa’s smile faltered then faded completely as his heart began to break all over again. The new rhythm guitarist rolled over in his sleep. Papa wondered idly how much longer he would be out for… wondered what ghouls dreamed of, or even if they were capable of dreaming at all… Perhaps things would have been so different if he had ever bothered to ask these sorts of questions before…
Accusations rang harshly through his mind; clear and cutting as when Omega and the ghouls had first hurled them at Papa.
”You only think of yourself!”
“You don’t really care about us at all do you?! No, you just give a shit about yourself!”
“How do even have the audacity to be jealous of them when you bed the first thing on legs to cross your path?!”
“We do not belong you! We aren’t here as your little playthings to take advantage of!”
Papa clenched his eyes shut in a vain effort to will the angry cacophony of voices away.
”You’re nothing but a selfish, spoiled brat! You’ve never worked for a single thing in your life, always been given everything on a silver platter, even your place in the church as Papa.”
He felt the bile climbing up his throat even with his incessant swallowing to shove it all back down again. The worst of all of these would come from Omega himself. Two simple words that shattered the illusion of his own creation: ”I’m leaving.”
A lump had formed where the bile stopped, stinging and closing in on his throat. He reached up to his neck, tugging and loosening the collar of his white dress shirt from the tightening he felt internally. He knew it was all true; everything the ghoul’s had said and more. All of it was true.
What’s more, he had no real way to prove to them that he could change. That he had changed. Omega, Alpha… Air… they were gone. They were all gone and they were not coming back. The final straw had been laid, and could not be undone.
Hot salty tears slid from beneath closed eyelids one after the other. He caught the first ones quickly with the back of his gloved fingers before they could streak and mar his skull paint. He sighed, fluttering his eyes open and closed quickly to dispel the remaining tears that threatened to slip up.
Across the room Aether rolled over again, this time breaking wind as he settled and got comfortable. Papa couldn’t help but biting his lower lip to try and stifle the giggles quietly. Apparently no matter how old he was, flatulence would never be un-funny in any situation.
-=+=-*-=+=-*-=+=-*-=+=-
Sometime later, Elod swallowed. He ran his tongue over his teeth before attempting to swallow once more. His mouth had never felt more cotton-like in his entire life, including the time an Initiate tried to trick him into actually eating a cotton ball. He cracked open his eyes, before a big wide yawn forced them close. He smacked his lips together as he glanced at the clock on his nightstand. He instead, thankfully spotted an upside down glass and a covered pitcher of what used to be ice water. Not it was mostly just melted ice water with the condensation pooling at the pitchers base.
Without even a second thought, Elod snatched the pitcher from the nightstand, threw off the cover, and turned it up. Ice remnants and water dribbled from the corners of his mouth and sides of the pitcher haphazardly over his bare chest as well as the blankets.
“Glad to see you’re finally awake. The dry mouth is one of the worst side effects I’m told. My apologies.”
Elod’s eyes shot wide open. He failed to notice that he was not alone in his room. Slowly, hesitantly, Aether turned his head to face the person whom the voice belonged to, hoping beyond hope that it was simply a lack of sleep in combination with whatever else hallucinogenic was in the incense that caused the fever dream and that he was still trapped inside it.
Papa sleepily smiled at the disheveled ghoul. Aether swallowed hard, lowering the glass pitcher to his lap. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Um, er, hi Papa. I um, I wasn’t expecting anyone else to be in here just yet.“ Elod admitted with a blush. Papa waved his hand dismissively.
“Don’t worry. I just came to check and make sure my new rhythm ghoul was alright. You seemed nervous about things last night- well, this morning really- I just wanted to check on you.” A moment passed between them silently. It was more awkward than uncomfortable as neither really knew what to do now that the moment of checking in had passed. It was obvious he had been there for quite a while as Papa had a spare blanket draped over him, so Elod thought it a bit odd that the leader of the church was just watching him sleep.
Papa opened and closed his mouth a few times, struggling to figure out what to say to fill the growing void. He hit his knee with his hand suddenly as the figurative light bulb went off.
“Ah, yes, of course. Are you aware of the results of your Naming?” Papa asked suddenly. “Not many are able to recall the aftermath, so there is no shame if you do not know.” He adjusted himself in his seat, crossing his legs one knee over the other in the similar fashion as he had during their previous encounter.
“Oh, um…” The ghoul struggled to think back, but the thick brain fog had not cleared out fully. “No?” He scratched his head, and then took another big gulp from the water pitcher. Papa chuckled at him. Even he had to admit that it was cute.
“Your name from here on is ‘Aether’.” Papa explained proudly. “It must have been what you were seeing, er- envisioning. I’m told it’s beautiful, though I’ve never had the good fortune to see it myself. The ether, I mean.” Papa waved his hand as if he were swirling a wine glass. “I am told it is imperceptible by mortal eyes.”
Aether swallowed, his face souring somewhat. “But aren’t the um, your bloodline, I mean, I’m not trying to be rude or anything or speak out of turn, I was just always told, er, um, under the assumption that the Emeritus’ aren’t mortal?” The ghoul asked in a very roundabout and panicked way. He instantly wondered if it was the exact wrong thing to say and judging by the pallid paint on Papa’s face, he couldn’t be too sure what was lying beneath it.
Papa hesitated while Aether’s words caught up to his brain. A slow and wide grin stretched its way broadly across his face. “You know, now that you mention it, non, I don’t suppose we are, are we?” He ran his tongue across his teeth before sucking a breath in inbetween them. “Still doesn’t mean I’ve seen it though. Perhaps one day I’ll be so lucky.” Papa tugged the blanket off and tossed it over the arm of the chair before standing with a stretch.
“I don’t wish to keep pestering you with such trivial matters however. You need your rest.” He bent down and jiggled Aether’s foot. “We have much work to do with rehearsals beginning back up again tomorrow. And plus, I must check on my other band ghouls; see what they’re up to and get progress reports on the other new ones.”
He slid the practiced suave façade back into place as he waved goodbye. He began to feel the unease of the anxiety slowly slithering its way up his throat again and thought it best to leave the room before another situation like earlier presented itself. He had meant what he had said. He had changed. He was a better man. He just had only to prove it to himself and what better way than with this new ghoul and his fresh beginning? Papa squared his shoulders as he ventured through the band quarters and left for his own. He was determined to make this his fresh start as well.