ofphobos

[ofphobos]

[ofphobos]

Berker Güven as Iskender in "Alev Alev"

[ofphobos]

[ofphobos]

Bastien. The oracle that seemed to be one of Pythia's favorite little pets, Kaan should have guessed as much. He also should have taken action when the witch was still held within the Senate's prison. Perhaps none of this would have come to fruition, if he had only broken the oracle that much further. As it were, if Bastien had been his downfall, then Yurena would be no more safe than he had been. And it seemed, with the choice words that she was using, following in his footsteps was the path that she had chosen for herself.

So long as August remained alive. The son that he had learned so much about when Erik had still been with them, when he had allowed Kaan to stand beside him. The young witch had blamed Kaan for his father's disappearance, and the Narcissus had vowed to assist in any way he could to locate Erik. My, how far they had come from that day. "If Bastien was my downfall, then I was not careful enough," he emphasized as he stepped closer to that which separated them. "If I had considered his power more, then I would have used more of my own to shield what I planned. Or drawn from those around me to try and do so."

"Bastien's ever present sight didn't help you in this matter, I suppose," she mentions, seemingly disinterested but keeping her eyes sharp as she watches the witch. Perhaps she had underestimated the Sovereign, or perhaps they did not understood each other as well as she had assumed. Regardless, her attempt to clue him in to her upcoming moment of reckless idiocy seemed to have escaped him. A more direct approach seemed to be necessary, but she could only visit him for so long. She is aware of the coven's patience and how it is running thin regarding her waffling nature, and she knows sooner or later they will decide that she is not worth the risk and chose to throw her away altogether. She doesn't have Kaan's worth as a hostage, after all, and she doesn't doubt that Tepiltzin or the corpse wearing August's face will soon be salivating at the thought of offering another sacrifice to the book.

"As long as August remained alive, few things would have dissuaded me from my loyalties," she admits, hoping that even in his anger he would notice the past tense on her sentence. Remained. Would Have. August is dead, and with it the last living being she is loyal to. All she has left is her loyalty to the memories of who are gone, and in that case, Erik's desires supersedes all else. "I do believe, however, that Erik would be thankful for your attempts, as few as they were. He was rather adamant about destroying the book himself."

[ofphobos]

Feelings that had been long lost to Kaan had resurfaced, had seized their hold on his heart and gripped with all their might. And beneath those feelings of absolute loss, nestled the anger that he had been far more accustomed to. The anger that he knew should be solely directed at Pythia, for it was them that dictated what their minions did. He knew, despite her being before him now, that his anger should not be directed at Yurena. It would be easier said than done, given how those feelings were all that propelled him forward in the moment.

"Do you know how long I have spent without Pythia? When they, and their other followers, were captured, destroyed, killed." He waved his hand at her, for he did not expect an answer to his questions. "When Pythia returned, I did not immediately run to them. I did not throw myself at their mercy and take my place once more within the Asphodel. I remained with my own coven, my family. I imagine it was from that moment, the inkling of doubt was created." His gaze settled on her, and a moment of guilt, of regret slipped into his features. "I should have done more to keep you from its clutches. Erik wouldn't have wanted this for you." Nor would he have wanted it for August, but there had been little that Kaan could have done for him. Or so he thought. "I'm sorry that I didn't try harder."

Staring at him is like staring unto her own reflection, twisted by what is yet to happen. Pain, tragedy and desolation, all crafted by his own greed, driven by the desire of power. Power he had gained and lost, and with it everything he had loved has turned to ash. Yurena supposes that she could take Kaan's fall from grace as a lesson, but she won't, when all she has to lose is a brother that is dead in all ways that matter. She still has the man she had called Seth, yet she had not joined Asphodel for him. She had sold her soul to Leviathan to keep August safe and alive, and he is no longer either of those qualities. Seth— Well, there is no denying she has irrevocably fallen in love with him, but her duty to her coven, and to what remained of it after it was gone, always comes first. August always comes first. Just as she knows power will always come first for him.

"That wasn't a rhetorical question, Kaan, I need to know if you did something to give away your shift in allegiances," Yurena says, voice steady as she raises her brow in inquiry. She knows the Sovereign is smart enough to understand the implications weighting her words, or at least so she hopes. "And yet, I am here nonetheless. What does it tell you?"

[ofphobos]

In an existence that stretched over centuries, of old lives shed and new lives created, Kaan did not remember many that had slipped through each of them. For so long, anyone else had mattered little, for his own life had been based upon survival. Once the Asphodel had been disbanded, stripped of what made them a coven, he had been just a blood magic witch on the run. From that moment, survival had been at the forefront of his mind, even with a vampire at his side. Yet, in all the years that had slipped by, of those that had blurred together, Kaan had not forgotten about Alvaro. He had been his only familiar, a necessity at a time when the witch had needed him the most.

It had been a humorous twist of fate that found the demon back in his life, and connected to the one person that Kaan could not fathom to see. She had lied to him, had swore she would protect Jianyu and Raffaele. The trust that he had held on to so strongly had become to break, to shatter within his very hands. It seemed he wasn't the only one that questioned her, as his gaze met Alvaro's through the bars of his prison. "Alvaro," he returned, void of any emotion that he once might have given to the other. "Why are you here?"

closed starter for @sacrilcgiovs location: blood prison note: oop

Once upon a time in his life, he'd been a familiar to Kaan. It was a long time ago now, but it had been a stretch of time where he'd actually been summoned by a witch for the first time. He'd met Andruil then, too. That had been part of the reason why their bond had been severed. Alvaro had been too distraught to stay in this realm and was sent back to the Inferno with the promise that the witch would call upon him again. But it had never happened. The demon didn't really hold any resentment towards Kaan for it, but the two of them were always just passing ships in the night now. Their reunion had been unexpected though. Yet Alvaro had been happy about another person he'd come to care about re-entering his life. Unfortunately, circumstances had lead them here. To the probably deaths of the man Kaan loved and the man he'd grown to care for as a son. Alvaro still hadn't been able to process it, but he'd said what he needed to say to Efigenia to keep her moving. That was all he could do, wasn't it? So why was he down here? As he met the witch's eyes, he wasn't sure what he wanted to say. "Kaan."

[ofphobos]

where. blood prison who. @fxllenpythia

Raffaele and Jianyu were gone. Or rather, within a realm that he could not get to. That he could not save them from. For his betrayal, for his want to destroy Pythia and the Necronomicon, they now suffered a fate worse than death. If they could not be returned to him, if they could not be saved, then there was nothing left for him in this world. And that he would use to ruin Pythia, in any way that he possibly could. He would not give up, not yet, even if his magic no longer flowed through his being. He would find another way to rip the demon apart, even if he had to use his bare hands. "Come to gloat then?" He questioned idly, as if the want to destroy his once sovereign did not burn so hotly within him.

[ofphobos]

where. blood prison who. the traitor ( @efigeniax )

There was no magic upon the tips of his fingers. Sealed away, severed, there was no longer the connection to the Necronomicon that he had felt for so long. At one point, Kaan would have seen this as a blessing. To no longer be indebted to the book, tonot have his power be mandated by it would have finally given him the freedom that he had so desperately yearned for. If only it had not come at the cost of a betrayal, of the lives of Jianyu and Raffaele.

His mind replayed those moments, of watching his husband and son be butchered before his eyes. To watch as they were fed, body and soul, to what had once given him all that he had wanted. A power unlike what he could have acquired as a simple witch. Oh, how the tables had indeed turned. And now, he stood within their prison, an uncertainty upon his mind. While Efigenia remained within their forces, as if she had not witnessed precisely what he had. "You told me you would protect them. You told me nothing would come between us." His gaze shifted to her, as she stood not far from the prison that was his own. "And even now, you still do their bidding."

[ofphobos]

Every thought that swirled within his mind revolved around Jianyu and Raffaele. And in every thought, Kaan did the only thing that he could; he blamed himself for what had happened to them. All those years ago, when he had been nothing more than a wayward witch, eager and willing to do all that was necessary for power, Jianyu had been by his side. He had made the necessary sacrifice, had put every ounce of himself into necromancy and blood magic so that he could rise through the ranks. To become a shining example of what an Asphodel member should be. And he had been, for so many years, until the destruction of the coven had come.

Through it all, from the loss of the coven that had been his family, to the new one that he had built stronger, Jianyu had been there. And now, because Kaan had believed himself to be untouchable by Pythia, he had lost him. So if he had still held even a fraction of his magic, he may have caused the air to be stripped from the druid's lungs as she presented such a question to him. "I watched my husband and my son be sacrificed to the Necronomicon, and you want to know whether we have met before?" A cold gaze shifted to her, "If we had, you did not leave enough of an impression to be remembered."

who? @sacrilcgiovs where? blood prison when? night 2

There is a heavy weight in the silence that sweeps across the blood prison every once in a while, when they grow too tired or too dishearted to fill the silence in hopes of pretending they are alright. Hope is a fragile sentiment, and it is wavering across all of them, the realization that they are stuck in the deepest pit within New Dis sitting heavy on their chest. A rescue is unlikely, if they do not rescue themselves, and they can't do that, not with their magic leashed by the prison itself. Still, the silence is oppressing, so Evy does it's best to break the silence.

"I have been wondering, have we met before?" It's a lame question, but it's not like breaking the silence by apologizing for Jian's and Raffaele's fate would be better. "Since you do the whole, body jumping thing, I figured that if we had, I wouldn't know."

[ofphobos]

Gone. They were both gone. In a sense of the word, but gone all the same. Because of him. Because Kaan had thought that he could go against Pythia, go against the Necronomicon, and come out unscathed. The loss of his magic meant little to him in the moment, when the images of Jianyu and Raffaele being fed --- the palms of his hands pressed so roughly into his temples, as if he could shove the images from his mind. Every part of him was broken, from his magic to the heart that beat so rapidly in his chest. Jianyu had been with him for centuries, from each druidic life to the next, from one host body to a new one; they had remained by each other's sides. The ring that had signified their last marriage was still upon his finger.

Kaan hadn't heard her approach, had not known that she was there until the question was voiced. And he could have laughed. Some sick, twisted version of what humor had once been for him. Instead, he remained stoic as his gaze shifted to her. To the prodigy that had once been Erik's, a young witch that Kaan should have looked out for just that much harder. "You shouldn't be here. You know you shouldn't."

who? @sacrilcgiovs where? blood prison when? after night 2

Visiting Kaan is a rash choice, a decision made out of recklessness more than anything. It's clear that Pythia has ways to monitor them that the coven is not aware of, clear that every second that passes brings her closer to unspeakable horrors unleashed by her current sovereign. August is dead and whatever remains is nothing but an empty shell, and she cannot remain within the coven. She had joined for him and him alone, and her conversation with him and her vampire had been enlightening in ways she is sure they will find troublesome. Alas, with August dead, the last piece of Alstroemeria died with him, leaving her with nothing but her memories of her family. Memories that reminded her of Erik's last wish, of the work he had done to destroy the damned book that had taken everything.

"For curiosity's sake, do you know what gave you away?" It is likely impossible to avoid Pythia's gaze, but that does not mean she cannot try.

[ofphobos]

Family. That was precisely what they had been for years now, since Kaan had sought her out and brought her into the Narcissus. Since he had told her more than he'd told anyone. There had been times when they had not seen eye to eye, when they had argued against each other. But those moments had never put them on opposing sides. She had been his friend, then his watcher, and then his family. And he had promised that even though she made the sacrifice to the book, that none of that would change. It was a statement he needed to remember, that he needed to take into consideration despite the anger and worry and fear that seized him. "I have never needed to worry about them," he breathed, a hand lifted to push fingers through his otherwise tidy hair. "I should not have considered you an accomplice to what has happened to them. I apologize," he affirmed, though he would not let go of the fact that Pythia most certainly had a hand in this. That the Asphodel coven was to blame for this, if only Kaan could figure out where they had been taken to.

The risk of corruption was an inevitable, one could not turn to the dark arts of necromancy and remain unalloyed by the darkness. "You said my decision would not change us, but you sit here and toss accusations as if I do not still bear the mark of Narcissus." Her words were clear cut and stern, borderline venomous as though currently incapable of restraint. "I am your family, your friend; the same courtesy extends to Jian. There is nothing I would not do to protect them," not unless the book had something to say upon the contrary but Efigenia would only hope that Kaan had half the mind to purge her mind of the Necronomicon's corruption if it ever dared to turn her against them. A pained look flared in her eyes, the subtle inclination towards what she truly felt in this moment, "I will not let her come between us, even if one of us must suffer from what she may inflict as a result." Corruption of her soul was inevitable, but Efigenia had never once figured that the corruption of her familial binds to Kaan and Jianyu would be tampered with, too. Weeks in and already Jian and Raffaele were a victim of Kaan's deflection and her ascension.

[ofphobos]

Had Kaan not already done this with Efigenia, perhaps he would not have been able to keep his anger in check when Caradoc approached him. Though, the sight of the familiar was enough. For if the demon were still here, then that meant Raffaele was still alive. Unharmed, however, was still a very real worry within his mind. Not to mention that Jian had also been taken. "I did not do anything," he bit out, but he knew that was not entirely the truth. For Kaan had made the decision to separate himself from the Asphodel, to keep the information well hidden from nearly everyone. "No, they do not. But please, be my guest and tell them all about it," he sneered, before he took a deep sigh. He needed to watch his anger. "I am doing everything possible to find them, to get them back."

@sacrilcgiovs

"What did you do?" The demon had been attached to this little family of Raffaele's for as long as they'd been in the coven. He was used to Kaan's wine mom moments, to Jianyu's overprotectiveness, but this? This was new. They were gone, and Raffaele was still alive – proof of that being Caradoc's presence. The demon was pissed, however, his fury directed at the sovereign. "Does the coven know why they're gone? This is the Asphodel. Getting back at you. And now Raffaele is going to get hurt."

[ofphobos]

There had been no reason to direct his anger at Efigenia, but Kaan was not in the right headspace to step back and dictate where it landed. Not when his husband and son could be in danger. "I would think that the book could blur your judgement, could make you an accomplice without your say," he stated, though he inhaled sharply, if only to regulate the anger that simmered within him. Kaan had been connected to the book for thousands of years, Efigenia barely a handful of weeks. He had always known what the Necronomicon, and Pythia, were capable of. What they could make one do for their own selfish gain. "I do not believe that you would let harm come to them, but I am a traitor to the book. To Pythia. And I think they would do anything to remind me of where I stand." He had not spoken these words to Efigenia before, had not voiced what he had done to more than a select few. But it seemed that if Pythia had Jian and Raffaele, then it was known that Kaan had further distanced himself from the Asphodel coven.

His anger, pointed directly at her in all it's fury, only allowed Efigenia's carapace of dispassionate restraint to be solidified. It burned her to the core, allowed her own jaw to flex in anguish and ire, but she summoned a smirk, nodding grimly. "You would think so little of me? To be an accomplice in their disappearance?" Her jaw tensed, subtle inflections of her hurt; where normally the Narcissus Watcher would advocate for leaving no stone unturned, Efigenia now stayed quiet. She would search for Jian and Raffaele herself and hope not to come up empty handed.

[ofphobos]

where. narcissus house who. @efigeniax

They were gone. Nowhere to be seen or found, with messages and calls that went unanswered. It couldn't have been minor coincidence, that much Kaan was certain of. However, he couldn't very well go storming into Necromanteion. Certainly not without putting the rest of his coven within harm's way. But especially not without knowing precisely what had caused Jian and Raffaele to be missing, and where precisely they were. Which is why he had called Efigenia, why he had instructed her to meet him at the Narcissus house immediately. "Where are they?" He questioned the moment that she had stepped through the door, anger barely held within check.

[ofphobos]

The time would be upon them soon, and any such talk of battle strategy would be in vain. Even in that moment, he could feel the draw of the Necronomicon, could hear the calling of the book in the flow of his blood. His gaze shifted to Vivianne as he almost wondered what she thought, of their recent conversation, of his being there, in that room. Kaan was still a Sovereign, however, with a coven of blood magic witches who were at the ready. Rome was their home, just as much as it was for Vivianne's coven, or Hazal's coven. And they too would go down fighting to ensure its survival. His gaze shifted once more to Virgil, as the words of strategy seeped into his conscious. Much of what they decided upon would be dependent upon so many factors, and in the end, nothing of what they decided could come to fruition. It was a game of hopefulness, but Kaan would not run. No longer would he consider his own survival, not when he had Raffaele and Efigenia, and the rest of his coven to think about. "Anything to do with Necromanteion, you leave to me. I will do what is necessary to get them here," even if that put him within Pythia's playing field. "And then what? After we have sealed their magic, we what? Leave them to their own devices? Lock them away?" He considered August in the moment, Yurena who had found herself tangled with the book, and Efigenia, who had only recently made the sacrifice.

@senatusstarters location: Ivy Coven's Tower notes: open to Kaan, Viv, and Hazal (we'll just say they're all there but I don't wanna do a 4-way thread)

“There’s a lot of value to what Hazal said, bring the necromancers here, fight them on our own terms. On our turf. They're stronger in the Otherworld, it'd be a mistake to try to take them on there.” It put Rome in danger, but it gave them an advantage, Kaan would be preoccupied, Virgil knew that much. Good for him. “I modified the Amaranthus’ witch’s mark,” the Ivy’s resources were extensive, and like the Amaranthus they were highly skilled in hunting and putting down witches. “As it stands spreading my own mark requires physical contact, but we can enchant a given space to bind the power of those within.” A mass conjuring would take time and magic, but covens from across the globe were flocking to Rome, “we bring them here, seal their magic, and strip them of their power.” It would require someone in necromanteion to draw the runes, it was a principle of conjuration. He'd suggest they execute them from there, but Vivianne had already been vocal on her feelings about all that. Out of respect he didn't press it any further, but still, a witch without magic was still a threat.

[ofphobos]

To go. The thought was such a simple one, as if Kaan were simply moving to another city. As if his life were as normal as finding a new job elsewhere, or something of the sort that would mark him as mortal as a human. Alas, the notion was far greater than that, and with the choices that Kaan had made, to go could be as far as the Underworld. His very life would be on the line, given how his connection to the book would likely be severed once Pythia discovered what he had done. Determined him to be the traitor that she had likely thought him. The atmosphere around them seemed to shift and change, a visual representation of both of them it seemed. For too long, Kaan had only ever cared for himself, and then Jianyu. The Asphodel had once been his coven, his source of great power, but it had hardly felt like a home, much less a family. The Narcissus had changed that for Kaan, had become something far more for him. "The battle is not long off now, and much to my dismay, some of the younger coven members wish to fight. I need your help to ensure no harm comes to them." Or rather, that they make it through with their lives. "And to watch over them after."

To go. The thought was such a simple one, as if Kaan were simply moving to another city. As if his life were as normal as finding a new job elsewhere, or something of the sort that would mark him as mortal as a human. Alas, the notion was far greater than that, and with the choices that Kaan had made, to go could be as far as the Underworld. His very life would be on the line, given how his connection to the book would likely be severed once Pythia discovered what he had done. Determined him to be the traitor that she had likely thought him. The atmosphere around them seemed to shift and change, a visual representation of both of them it seemed. For too long, Kaan had only ever cared for himself, and then Jianyu. The Asphodel had once been his coven, his source of great power, but it had hardly felt like a home, much less a family. The Narcissus had changed that for Kaan, had become something far more for him. "The battle is not long off now, and much to my dismay, some of the younger coven members wish to fight. I need your help to ensure no harm comes to them." Or rather, that they make it through with their lives. "And to watch over them after."

[ofphobos]

There was a moment of pause, as Kaan took in the words that she had spewed, and thought upon them. His conclusion? Vivianne knew absolutely nothing about what she was speaking. An annoyance settled into the pit of his stomach, and as he considered her words further, it quickly became a feeling of anger. "United?" The word was repeated with disbelief, as Kaan rested against the edge of his desk. "For years, the practice of blood magic has been forbidden. Considered a stain on the reputation of the Rome covens. Witches that were forced to turn to its power were shunned, marked to prevent them from being within the coven any further. And you believe it was my fault that the covens are not united?" He lifted himself from his desk, stepped closer to the other Sovereign. "I have, and will continue, to put my coven first. The witches of covens such as yours that were exiled with nowhere to go. You can choose to trust me or not, the notion matters little to me." He stood but a breath away from her now, "I have made deplorable choices in my life. I have done a great deal for the power that I now have. There will be a cost to what I have done, perhaps even my own life." His head canted, a thoughtful look on his face, "Now, since you did not choose your words carefully in my home, you can see yourself from it. We're done here."

There was a moment of pause, as Kaan took in the words that she had spewed, and thought upon them. His conclusion? Vivianne knew absolutely nothing about what she was speaking. An annoyance settled into the pit of his stomach, and as he considered her words further, it quickly became a feeling of anger. "United?" The word was repeated with disbelief, as Kaan rested against the edge of his desk. "For years, the practice of blood magic has been forbidden. Considered a stain on the reputation of the Rome covens. Witches that were forced to turn to its power were shunned, marked to prevent them from being within the coven any further. And you believe it was my fault that the covens are not united?" He lifted himself from his desk, stepped closer to the other Sovereign. "I have, and will continue, to put my coven first. The witches of covens such as yours that were exiled with nowhere to go. You can choose to trust me or not, the notion matters little to me." He stood but a breath away from her now, "I have made deplorable choices in my life. I have done a great deal for the power that I now have. There will be a cost to what I have done, perhaps even my own life." His head canted, a thoughtful look on his face, "Now, since you did not choose your words carefully in my home, you can see yourself from it. We're done here."