[PRP] It Never Fails (Preacher & Mercer)

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Seems like everybody's a b***h when there's magic involved." Preacher shrugged, wincing at her stiff shoulders.

"Yeah tha original sigil is pre' interestin'. I understand why theyall chose those symbols n' stuff, But like... the residual sigil is prob' what keeps everythin' ********' up here. We made tha new one n' didn' dispel tha old." She sketched the two sigil side by side in glowing lines before swiping them away.

"I can't make anythin' so big as all that. Just lil' sigils."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah snorted in agreement. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." The words were dryly spoken before he tilted his head at Preacher at the mention of the old Sigil.

"Essentially, yes. The old one is still in place but scattered. I'm actually in the process of trying to gather up what was used to make it - the pieces of it - but I am only certain of two pieces. The rest is ... burned into my mind in imagery but not explanations." He watched as she put the two sigils side by side.

"It's still a powerful magic to be able to handle, even on such a scale, Preacher. Don't sell it short."

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Oh," she said, surprised. "I know whatall ya need. A ring, Vivien's, some kinda grimbook - think it's apposed ta be Renard's. Annnnnd one o' the sirens - Pride made 'em by feedin' birds dirt and Renard's blood, gross." But that meant they could possibly make another if they really wanted to. "Some dirt, crossroads dirt from tha town, tha 'riginal town. And Sunny, which is prob' tha hardest since, well, she ain't really around anymore." Preacher had made herself a tidy little list of thing after talking to Pride, but hadn't gotten around to actually gathering things.

"We should prob' tryna dissemble that 'un before s**t goes down with the charter, huh."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah paused, head tilting. "I suppose that explains the flock of birds I've dreamed about for months as well as the town itself." A hand flicked and a notebook dropped into it, a pen popping into his left hand a second later.

"You remember when I was out of work because of the seizures? The Burning Man burned the knowledge into my mind but not the explanations of it. Only parts of it made sense: Sunny and the ring primarily." The book only recently made sense but that was after talking with Vivien and then Eve. He was writing things down quickly and neatly before he paused.

"I don't know that we'll be able to do that before the Charter is dealt with. They're also influencing two different aspects. The original Sigil affected the world outside of this one and the Charter's sigil affects this one. In a way," he said with a sigh, "the Sigil was created to cage Renard's magic and then the Charter Sigil was created to give structure and focus - cage it, in a way - to the magic that had been bound."

It had taken a moment before Jeremiah realized just what Preacher had said. "Sirens? Was that word used specifically?"

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Yeah, ya just said it was big fire daddy's bullshit but not hower why. Yeah so it's like tha first sigil made tha cage, n' tha charter governs whatall goes on in tha cage." She chewed her already chapped lips thoughtfully.

"I think it's somethin' we gotta focus on anyhow, even if it ain't get done afore the charter. N' yeah, Pride said sirens. Why? Ya know whereabouts in bullshit land they are?"

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"We're not necessarily equipped to see the fabric of the magic and come out unscathed. I asked for knowledge of the pieces of The Enemy." Which at this point the true Enemy seemed to be the cage and less so Renard, even though people considered it to be him.

"Regardless, it's always there for me to pluck at even if not all of it makes sense." A breath escaped. "I agree that we need to be focusing on it as I've redirected attention to it. We only have so many months left before either we will see a cycle reset or ..." Jeremiah frowned. "Well, we've no idea given that this new world we're in is not tied to the cycles or the original cage."

His eyes were bright, brighter than usual, as he spoke next. "Did Pride say why they were referred to as Sirens?" Fingers stretched in and out uneasily. "... as for where they are, they're in Ashdown. They're bird-like children."

Which meant things got a little more complicated.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Sounds like I got an easier deal o' it wit jus' words." Time was running out and it set her teeth on edge. "Yeah I feel like we ******** up a right lot bumpin' over here with a new sigil." She sighed loudly.

"Pride called 'em sirens cause I think of how 'e made them? Liek taught them to mimic an air raid siren.It was meant as a.... as a alert system in case good ol' Renard tried to break free. I guess if they look like kiddos, people will be less willin' ta off 'em. Hmm."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Considering I still have lingering effects? I would certainly say you learned from a better person than I." Jeremiah's expression was one of wry amusement. Then he was frowning slightly as Preacher mentioned what had happened. "I agree but I am not sure how <********> we are yet. Not until we try to unravel this not."

His fingers continued to stretch as Preacher explained. "Wasn't- during the void when you were all in the eras, wasn't there a siren that was heard?" Then he was sighing. "And, yes, they look like children. I've watched them. They read books and want to go to school. It's ... more than a little complicated."

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Ain't magic a b***h," she said after a moment. "So let's make a new 'un. I'm p sure if ya tol' ol' Leroux, he'd be up fer donatin' his blood to ******** his cage." No way in hell anybody'd agree to offing one of the kid-like ones.

"I dunno 'bout in tha eras. Coulda been a siren. I was in tha 20s. Sunny was... somethin' was wrong and she just tipped her damn self into the rift what opened - like within ********' seconds, crazy b***h - up so I jumped in shortly afta."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"I believe Zac mentioned something about an air raid siren in the eighties ... I would have to find Shun," another frown, "or simply ask Leila and Eve about the sixties." A glance towards Preacher. "If a siren was heard within each era that would seem to imply that Renard was close to breaking the cage, would it not?"

Then his focus zeroed in on Preacher. "In the twenties ... What was the year? Exactly."

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Yeah, though I dunno howlike... nothing was too weird then. Like some crazy dude tried ta shoot someone, but..." Preacher shrugged. "It was 1922."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"How was Sunny?" Then he stopped and let out a breath. "I ask because Sonny was admitted to a mental asylum in the early twenties and I believe Sunny was as well."

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"She was all catatonic. Like I talked ta, uh, Arthur? N' 'e said they shoved her inna 'sylum 'cause she'd been havin' fits n' talking to s**t what ain't there." Preacher frowned. It had not been pleasant to how she was in that era. "Sunny n' Sonny are parallel, but not tha 'xact same. Like Sonny used to have green eyes, but they turnin' purp."

"But yeah. Then she tipped her damn self inta the rift, I nyoomed after n' ended up in tha place whereall we made tha new sigil. Sunny weren't there, though."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Sonny was as well," Jeremiah replied flatly, "in the twenties." Obviously Sunny was, they just discussed it. Notebook in hand, he was flipping to a page to make a note. "I had concerns that this isn't a changed world but an entirely different one. After all, I'm meant to be five years older than I actually am." Never mind all the other differences: the leg that required a cane during colder months and sometimes when the weather got particularly poor.

"We all saw Sunny then, that dawn after we came out but-" Jeremiah was quiet. "Technically, Ascenscion Shore was already dead."

The Semblance of Unity

LOL you have stumbled onto a different topic, whoops

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Wait, whut. I thought old Sunny ain't come through wit us... but I guess that don't explain how we saw her..." There was a lot of mental frowning going on. "How d'ya know she's dead?"

"N' I already knew 'bout tha worlds. This is a pre-existin' one. Like parrallel. N' we ********' jumped over and essentially murdered our double ta take their places. We took their lives from 'em. Who tha ******** knows if they got punted back inta our world or no?" Preacher paused, took a breath, wriggled her toes.

"Our old sigil is leakin' in with us, even tho we made a new one. The new one is here - but we brought tha old one wit' us. That's why we gotta get rid o' it."

azuredreams