in the cold winds of the winter morning, he was summoned to the almost vacant ruin as are wing-torn moths to the flickering flames of candlelight. how congregations desperate for their truth flock to the feet of some grand, holy speaker. he cannot help it; he was always drawn to strength as if his soul was gravitating towards whatever he could use, whatever could become part of his seemingly endless arsenal.
some time had passed since the disturbance in cotes. perhaps a week, he could not be sure. time was not in his best interests, at least nothing beyond the mark of the sun within the heavens and the freckling of stars in that sun’s momentary absence. but, he sensed that same strength. as if standing far too close to a river of molten, running lava, the heat washed over him and he could not deny its warmth.
it had led him there, down between the border of cotes and golden, betwixt two visually appealing places as per the opinions of the masses, at least. caught within walls, sephiroth understood that this brand of freedom was truly just that; a figment of imagination for all whom wished to believe it. though most of the island was constructed and not at all broken and abandoned, there were pieces that were reminiscent of midgar and its frailty. homes left empty, coated with a layer of dust but otherwise untouched. there were churches, graveyards seemingly devoid of tombs, gardens left to overgrow thus nature commanded her space.
but it was there, as snow had begun to litter the broken brick of a misplaced chapel, that sephiroth happened upon aymeric de borel.
far taller than most he had met, the almost ethereal stranger occupying the snow-glazed venue was difficult to miss. he stood out, as the moon ought even on a night laden with heavy, dark clouds. as sephiroth approached, his shadow grew to swallow the stranger whole, his clothing darkened by the grey which sought to envelope him despite the difference in their heights. he waited, just for a moment, before tearing through that ambient silence with the low and patient roll of his voice.
“ i have spent a lifetime familiar with death; you reek of it. “
he paused. the winds whistled a haunting, chilling tone and then the son of jenova moved. he took to walking around the back of the stranger, only to stand before him, where the thin trails of light through the broken mosaic glass painted him holier than it seemed possible. an omen of death, his single wing shrouded in the shade of night folded, as he crossed his arms before his chest. upon the freshly fallen snow a few black feathers nestled but nothing else stirred. the stranger, a delicate face framed by curls of rich black, was certainly one to remember. so unlike the many human faces he had encountered, this other was perhaps what many would consider beautiful.
“ and that lingering power; you know of a great strength. " that voice was almost silky, were it not for the domination even that low, brief bout could project. when he spoke, it always felt so arranged, so perfectly crafted, and as he spoke to the tall stranger, clad in his robes of foreign finery, those words continued to be so. “ tell me, does standing here alone in this broken place of worship comfort you? “╱ ╱ — @lordspeaker ☼ ”