Maria Mentar

"Very well." the automaton says, holding his hand out to for her to take. Their mind is already trying to determine every reason why she would decline giving her name. As they lead her down the street, they settle on that she is likely an illegal immigrant. They've been seeing more and more of them as of late it seems. Though they could hardly blame these poor souls. Kaming was a paradise in comparison to their neighbors.

Still, that did not excuse her crossing the border without proper papers and identification.

They would take the woman to the central headquarters.

The automaton would lead her to the front desk where a young man in uniform sat filing papers. "Good day Officer Aiguo." the automaton greets "We have what we believe to be an illegal immigrant here to be processed."

The man looks up and jumps slightly, his eyes widened, at the sight of the woman. "Er... S- She's not violent. Is she?"

"No, she's actually been fairly cooperative. Either she has more sense than the rest or you may want to have a medical check done."

He nods "U- Understood."

Getting up, Officer Aiguo moves around the desk to gesture for the woman to follow "This way, please." He would lead her through a door into a room with more officers and several criminals being processed. He stops at one of the open counters and grabs a sheet and opens up a small box filled with ink "Finger prints, please." He slides the sheet and box towards her, tapping where on the sheet she was to place her finger prints.

#nomercyleft #v; copper age warrior

She followed without complaint, keeping her hands behind her back - where she was from, this was a sign that she meant no harm, as most people used their hands as an output for their magic.

She understood that the same gesture might not have such a meaning here, but without anything else to go off of, she'd rely on what she knew.

This building - more strange lights, more strange sounds, more people.

She scrunched her eyes closed, wishing she could block out her other senses.

She opened an eye to look at this... Officer Aiguo, was it? She studied him quietly when he requested her fingerprints, but made no move to comply.

"I do not understand," she said, punctuating the sentence with a tilt of the head. "What is fingerprint?"

The summer sun is high overhead - but Maria can't bring herself to sleep.

Again there's been a rise in the frequency of spatio-temporal rifts showing up. Again she's worked herself to near exhaustion trying to track them all down.

Such are the joys of being one of the few sensitive enough to even detect them.

She was tired, but her mind raced with worry.

There were only two capable of closing the rifts - were they just as exhausted as she was?

What would happen if things got out of hand? She couldn't save everyone. Not alone.

But the people of Iraclaad relied on her. The Royal family named her 'Caretaker'.

Maria wasn't sure she could protect them all.

She stared blankly at the window.

"Dating apps were a mistake."

#;open

The automaton's look to each other at the woman's words before looking back to her.

"Miss, if you could please follow us. I'm sure we can help you find your way back home." the Wukong Guardian holds out their hand for her to take. They aren't sure what she is talking about, but it's best to get her off the street for now and somewhere she won't cause harm or further panic. They would take her back to their precinct and go from there trying to identify her.

"If you don't mind me asking, would you give me your name?"

#nomercyleft #((Need a verse tag for this. :thinking:))

The woman hesitated.

She knew her name, of course.

But ever since the flood, it felt foreign on her lips. It hung in the air and echoed through her mind, even when there was nobody around who could have said it. Like ghosts, calling her name, desperate to drag her away.

"I do not know if it is mine to give," she said finally, shaking her head. "But I will go with you."

"Oh no. Oh no no no no."

Strange, isn't it? To see someone so confident with herself shrink. To see genuine fear in her eyes.

"Please. Not again."

#;dash commentary #seekingomnion

seekingomnion-archive

There is no mercy in death. No beginning in these endings. Instead we are left to fight, without a foe to fight against. Will we ever know peace again?

Rules | Chaos | War

((Sideblog to @hymnofshadows - a multimuse featuring different OCs within my Omnion setting.))

#;self promo #;ooc

(Previous)

Maria bowed her head, hands curling into fists.

She couldn't get angry. That would only make things worse.

A pause. A deep breath.

"If the only reason I was called here was to listen to baseless accusations, I'll be taking my leave," she said tersely.

"We're not finished."

"But I am." Maria raised her head defiantly, then turned to leave.

Disobeying an order wasn't necessarily the best option, but she needed time to cool off before she did something she regretted.

((Reminder that hate will not be tolerated, get fucked.))

#;ooc #;psa

(Previous)

"And that's a bad thing?" Maria asked. "I thought that was what you wanted."

Ever since the war had ended, the Spirits had made one thing clear - that in order for their shattered world to properly heal, more Spirits would need to be born to replace the countless ones who died.

(Previous)

The Realm of the Spirits was never high on the list of places Maria Mentar liked to be. Even before the Age of Shadow had begun, a place so steeped in magic - so full of power - could be overwhelming.

But these days it was different.

This realm was, after all, so deeply connected to the universe that, like a mirror, it reflected the truth of the world.

And thus, a place that had once been vibrant and full of life - place that had once housed a city full of spirits of all shapes and sizes - now felt almost like an extension of the Void.

Unnaturally dark. Unnaturally still.

@hymnofshadows Continued

Creatures might not be the right word for what was standing before her. They were machines. Automatons more accurately. Their faces resembled people, but their bodies were shaped more like the monkeys found high up in the mountains. Though only just. Their limbs were much longer with leather tails that curled at their side. A whip most likely.

Their copper skin was decorated to resemble a uniform. A white steam seeping out from in between their joints every now and again that smelled of sweet lotus before dissipating into the air.

"Well, Miss, if your home is nearby, then we would be happy to escort you." the automaton's voice crackles "However, I have a feeling you are not from this area, yes?"

"No one in the area recognizes her." the officer interjected before the woman could speak.

A small twitch was the response the Automaton gave before turning to the officer "Thank you, Officer, but I would like to speak with the woman. If you wish to be useful, however, you can go back to directing the traffic." Their attention turns back to the stranger "Apologies about that, Miss, please, as you were saying?"

"The desert."

That... wasn't necessarily helpful, all things considered - but what more did she know?

"Aselae, near Zamas." The name of the town - and the nearby lake - didn't seem to be helpful either. She was truly far from home, that much was clear.

Did Aselae even exist anymore, or had the waters washed it all away?

She shook her head. "I think they call our nation Claadir these days? It's changed three or four times in my life, those southerners can't seem to agree."

#nomercyleft

"Destroyer."

Maria opened one eye, peering at the figure that was perched on her balcony. Only the spirits called her that, and oh how she loathed the reminder.

"I was under the impression that you, specifically, weren't to be contacting me anymore."

The spirit cackled - grin much too wide, teeth much too sharp. She tilted her head, hair falling out of her face to show off all four of her jet black eyes. "Worry not, precious Destroyer. The Council wouldn't want you to be late."

Maria sighed. A summonns from the Council. This was never good.

Even worse if they had to send chaos herself after her.

"Very well. I'll go."

"Stop pointing that at me."

Bold words coming from the barbarian woman who had, somehow, managed to thwart capture thus far.

She was practically a giant next to the guard restraining her - with long pointed ears, large cat-like eyes, and sharp teeth. Strong and muscular, with clothing that was clearly foreign in design, and her hair shaved close to her head.

"You would be surprised what I know how to do."

Foreigners were becoming more common in Kaming. Thanks to the Empress' new international trade policies, it wasn't as unusual to see others of different race or culture. Though, that didn't exactly mean there was always a warm welcome waiting for them on the streets.

Even with all that had changed, some things simply stay the same.

So when a giant woman with long ears, cat-like eyes, and dark skin showed up, the common people were alarmed simply by her appearance. Claiming that she was disturbing the peace despite the woman having taken no real action to do so. With all the fuss the people were making, it had only been a matter of time before the Wukong Guardians showed up to inspect the matter.

What they found was chaotic but... Not in the way they'd been inspecting as the local town guard tries to restrain the barbaric woman in an attempt to claim back some form of control over the situation.

The two guardians that had shown up looked at each other. Their copper features unreadable to all but them. They look back to the chaotic bunch and one of them steps forward. Their voice box crackling to life to simulate the fallen soldier their features had been based upon.

"Now, now, step aside." they gesture to the guards who follow the command "I think there is a piece of this puzzle we are missing. You, what is your name?"

"Zu-Tieng!" the guard responds.

"Master Zu-Tieng, what is this woman's crime?"

"Disturbing the peace. Resisting arrest. Assault of several officers."

"What was she doing to disturb the peace?"

"She was... Uh..."

"I thought so." the automaton, standing a full head above the woman, turned to the stranger "Miss, could you please explain your side of the situation?"

The woman straightened, defiant, studying these... strange new creatures silently.

"I am lost. I simply wish to find my way home."

Home, at least, would be less overwhelming. Less crowded. Less strange. Less... everything.

She'd rather be wandering the desert alone than be surrounded by strangers in a strange land.

Alone. Alone. Alone.

... Had anyone even survived the flood? Did she even have a home to go back to?

Would they even recognize her?

"Forgive me."

#nomercyleft

Dawn was coming.

Maria frowned in the direction of the greying sky. It probably wouldn't be too much longer before the sun started to peer over the horizon.

It was frustrating how short the nights could be as spring moved into summer. It felt as though there was little that could be done before people had to retreat indoors to avoid the scorching desert heat.

She hated leaving work unfinished.

Maria stretched languidly before jumping down from rooftop. A final walk around the Temple grounds before she went home for the day sounded nice.

Plus there were always some stragglers who didn't realize how quickly things heated up in the daytime and she felt she had some obligation to try to send them home.

"Should I tell her mother before or after she gets herself killed?"

#;dash commentary

"Any education system that doesn't teach you to question what you were taught ought to be questioned itself."

sins-of-the-sea

"I'd love to see you try to say this at a Catholic school."