[ CLOSED ] These are my confessions

[blackscales]

WHO: Wrathion, Wei Wuxian, Marcos, Anduin
WHEN: Early March, Mid March, and toward the end!
WHERE: Ke-Waihu Burial Grounds & Wrathion's farmhouse accommodation
WHAT: Curse breaking, Healing
WARNINGS: Talk of death, grieving, some discussion of fantasy-esque-wounds. Depression Vibes. More TBC, there's plenty of places this nonsense could go


Atonement is something that had been on Wrathion's mind well before they arrived in Ke-Waihu.

He has, after all, much to atone for: Wrathion is not unaware of his own sins. He wears them like heavy chains around his neck, visible to all who know him.

A black dragon. A betrayer, someone who turned on the only friend he had. A schemer. A risk.

Reputations like that are hard to wash away, yet Wrathion has tried.

Everything he has done has been to atone. For his actions, for his family's actions, for his actions toward his family.

For the damage that cannot be undone.

Now, on top of that, he has been asked to atone for others.

Frustration crawls under his skin, a tingling desire to do something about this. To protest it, to reject the additional burden --

Yet it seems rejection is not an option, not if they wish to continue on with this little group. Not if they wish to follow it until it reveals the path home.

Wrathion is not a dragon used to humbling himself on behalf of others, he's still new to do it himself. He can try, though.

Comments

[soloritur]

When he explains, it actually doesn't make the curses sound all that bad in principle. If they'd just invited them and asked visitors to help with some community service, there's probably several of them who would have volunteered. Especially if they told them a story about desecrating the dead.

"Has it helped?" Marcos has no idea how many good deeds they need to cure them, but he hasn't stumbled on the right one yet. He hasn't heard from too many people who said they solved it.

[blackscales]

What Marcos means, Wrathion assumes, is has this broken your curse?

"Not yet," he admits, "but atonement is a process, I am told. I presume there is some... threshold to be reached."

He sounds tired as he says this. He is tired. The stress of uncertainty around the village patron soon to arrive, the weight of proving himself time and again, the lack of sleep and general discomfort from his injuries.

This place is unpleasant. The tower they were at may have been unsettling and haunted both, but he'd take it over this place any day.

[soloritur]

He takes a heavy breath, but tries not to look disappointed. Who knows what breaks a curse? A good deed done for selfish means might not count in their eyes. Or maybe their interpretation is off.

"...I don't know what their beliefs are when it comes to burying their dead. It's hard to say what's enough for them." All those whispers about human sacrifices point to believing in some higher power, but then they turn around and worship their undead patron. Some things are hard to keep an open mind on. "Did you have any help?"

[blackscales]

"Wei Wuxian," he says. "He offered his services to... converse with the spirits here. I had some previous input from others in our group on... traditions as well. Having no personal experience with this process it felt wise to explore expectations."

Reading about them, knowing about them on a dry information level is one thing but understanding how people interacted with these things is something else entirely. Wrathion is aware of his own shortcomings, and research is important to plug these holes.

[soloritur]

That's interesting. Marcos is aware of Wei Wuxian by name, but he only knows bits and pieces about him. From what he overheard on their network, it shouldn't be surprising to hear about his offer. He tends to jump at these types of requests.

"I don't think many people have experience conversing with spirits. At least not before they came here." His own beliefs get in the way of fully approving what he did, but he keeps that to himself. He doesn't doubt that he was only trying to help, even if he might have guided him in a certain direction. "...Do you mind if I ask about the story? How did you know what they needed?"

[blackscales]

He nods easily, turning his attention back to Marcos with a frown of thought.

"It seems this village had concerns their burial ground would be desecrated. They stationed a guard but, well, let us just say he didn't take their concerns seriously and allowed himself to be... distracted. More of the graves were disturbed by morning. I assumed, based on that, this burial ground would be the place to break the curse."

It was the place the wrong happened, after all, and the source of any discontent. Putting to right any wrongs would have to begin here, and begin with making sure the graves were not disturbed any further -- and any damage corrected.

[soloritur]

He listens with his arms crossed in front of him, surprised that it's that simple. They could have simply hired someone else who took the job more seriously, but instead they decided to curse a stranger to do it for them. It's a hell of a way to get out of paying someone.

"That seems straightforward." If very open ended. A cynical part of him wonders if his curse will eventually go away, or if they'll see the good work he's doing and perpetuate it for as long as they can get away with. Guarding them seems like it would have been enough, but he didn't stop there.

"Did the spirits... answer?"

[blackscales]

"They did. Not in a way I am used to, they seem less... whole here. Not able to fully take their shapes. Yet they responded to him and the music he played them, and he seemed able to draw responses from them."

To Wrathion, spirits are not unusual -- there is so much war and death on Azeroth that they are almost inevitable. It is only the shape they take, the way they behave that can be uncertain. If they will wander, listless but still themselves, or if they will become creatures filled with anger and a desire for vengeance.

[soloritur]

Marcos raises his eyebrows. He has no idea what that could mean, but he has seen the dead being used in some pretty awful ways here. If he means their souls are also being affected, that just adds another layer. Of course, he could be jumping to assumptions.

"Was he able to put them to rest?" Or are they trapped here? He feels a twinge of emotion and he clears his throat of it. "This isn't the way it's supposed to work, but it still seems like an odd thing to entrust to a stranger."

[blackscales]

"It seems the way that makes sense to Wei Wuxian. The procedure was unfamiliar to me too, but then was so are many things here. I imagine these things are... individual to our worlds, in some way. Regardless -- it is a work in progress. I have some tasks to perform to appease them, and that should hopefully... allow them to rest."

Allow them to move on, and perhaps allow his curse to break. He's not quite certain he's the best person for the task, but it's a task he's been given so Wrathion will see it done.

[soloritur]

He's silent while he thinks about that. The way everything here works, including the way life and death are treated, are absolutely foreign to the way he's known his whole life. Probably a different way than Wrathion's, but he can empathize with how lost he feels.

"It sounds like a good cause at least." He smiles in an attempt to hide his discomfort. They aren't given much choice. He thinks about asking how long he plans to stay out here, and if he needs anything, but it's not like he wouldn't be going overboard if he thought it might help his curse.

After a moment he steps back, trying for as casual as he can given the circumstances.

"I'll leave the light on for you."

[blackscales]

Leave the light on? Wrathion blinks back up at Marcos, trying to parse why he would leave a light on, before the overall meaning finally sinks in. Ah. In their house. So he can see when he comes back, in case it is dark.

It's -- a simple gesture that somehow Wrathion has never experienced before, because he so rarely stays in one place very long. Rarely has anyone waiting for him, or concerned about his safe return.

His dark vision is excellent, but really that's beside the point.

Is there a normal response to this? He has no idea. He probably shouldn't draw attention too much, in case it becomes awkward.

"Thank you," he manages, and offers a faint smile before turning his attention back toward the graves.

"I'll let you know if this turns out in my favour."

Just in case it helps with anyone else's curse breaking efforts.