Blazing Faith [A Journey's End]

[RedeemedAidan 1125]

 

BLAZING FAITH 

[A JOURNEY’S END]

 

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[!] The Fontesar Gentry House Ablaze

 

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The day had started like any other. Tomas has said goodbye to his wife and their children, leaving home and trekking back to his family in Hyspia. Being blind had been a new issue, this had led to new solutions. Tomas usually acquired help with the youngsters. They were after all eager to show him what he could not see and far more patient than his brother the Sovereign. It however was dangerous to travel the roads while being blind. Getting to Hyspia was not very difficult today. Tomas sat in the square and listened as his younger brother Julian the Sovereign argued with Leomonte. The two were speaking before Cirilla asked if he wished to speak. So they sat on the roofs as though they were children again. Life had been much simpler those days. They discussed their lives before departing. It wasn't long until he could hear Cirilla and Julian arguing on the walls. They did that alot when they were younger. They would also beat eachother blue, which today was no exception. Tomas, who was blind, scaled the walls and loomed towards the two “CEASE” He yelled and the two grumbled but it was over. It had been a normal day and there was something quite peaceful about this sort of life. 

 

 It was around midday that Cirilla had come to gather a group of people at the gates for what she called a “Family dinner.” There was no such thing with Cirilla. Dinner was at a small table within the bright yellow Fontesar home. There were ten people seated. Two Hyspian royals, Three Hyspian children, an Orc, A Numendil Knight, the Lady Cirilla, and a Knight of Hyspia. Dante had been asleep downstairs, he was rather lucky it seemed. Cirilla brought out a soup, which Tomas could not see, however, it was said to be frog and squirrel stew. It tasted awful. No one however wished to hurt the Baroness’ feelings. “It is delicious.” Tomas said with a smile. The yellow home had been warm, a reminder of his darker days when the Fontesars brought light to it. 

 

There came a cry from the Fontesar gentry-home as wretched ensembles filled the desert valley. Singing of an eerie yet truly beautiful song, in a neverending chorus. Without the skip of a single beat, the blind Salazar began to stumble into the innards of the home, crying aloud as he sought to rouse the sleeping Fontesar Baron, urging him to take up arms and fight. Tomas took the time to dip his head and cry out to GOD above, recognizing his uselessness in the fight which brewed in the house above. His prayer was one most sincere and heart-filled, beseeching the creator above for mercy and grace in the ill-fated day and grim hour. Tomas sought forgiveness for his failings, and penance for his lack of action. For thought the man, what true use could a blind man be? Would he not be but a burden for those who fought? Tomas’ guilty conscience soon began to fade as a burning scent met his nostrils and smoke began to consume the room in which he knelt. Had it truly been this long? Had he been so enraptured in his prayers that he lost track of time? Only the Creator up above knew. The basement’s entrance quickly began to flicker with flames and the smoke only grew thicker.

 

While the smoke plagued him, he was left only with his thoughts, blind to the environment which surrounded him. There he thought of his children and their precious moments. There he recalled the love of his family, friends and his life-long duties toward them. Was he failing in his purpose? Was he falling short of his own creed? This he pondered while the wretched chorus from above filled his ears once more.

 

 The smoke grew unbearable for Tomas, choking him slowly but most certainly. His fingers clawed at his throat, seeking after but even a second of respite, of mercy. Yet, that which he sought never came and downward did he crumble with an echoing thud, smoke ever filling the volume of his lungs. But even then, perhaps there was a light within the shrouding darkness in the form of a calling, no, pleading, voice. “Please be alive.” Did Cirilla plea. However no response came from the corpse of the Salazar. Hands then lay hold of his arms, and drug was he against the warm floorboards. Yet Tomas’ savior could manage him no more, and he was left in the blazing doorway. In a cruel twist of fate, the fiery roof above collapsed mere moments after the armor-clad man was left in the doorway, littering the now lifeless corpse in its ruble.

 

Spoiler

OOC:

Wozzah, what a journey Tomas has been. I give my many thanks to everyone who has poured into this character and made him enjoyable. Without every single one of you, this story - this character, would have never been at all. I love you all my friends, and look forward for the stories we create in the future. Bye bye Tomas.

 

[Rulf Bypharrk 74]

Rulf would be hit with a sense of grief hearing Tomas's passing... there was... an established bond... despite it being severed. He could only wish he spent more time with him while he still could, but alas. "Auf wiedersehen, Goodbye Forever." Rulf would only bid him.

[tadabug2000 4918]

Pricilla Fontesar lay, fitfully asleep within the clinic. Her burns were bandaged, and nightmares haunted her of what happened that day. A half-scorched cat lay atop her stomach, very much awake and yowling awfully with each twist and turn of the Fontesar.

 

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Xiomara would not hear of the news until the next day. Her brother, he was that in all but blood, was dead. Her husband was missing. Her citizenries home was burnt, their belongings rendered to naught but a pile of ash - their children traumatized, Ser Cirilla and Dante not without their own injuries. Something bubbled up past that grief of which clogged her throat, as she donned a darkened veil, and the dark fabrics of mourning overcame her. Rage. These creatures would pay in blood, even if she had to claw it from their undead flesh, or pry their bones apart. A prayer is uttered to DIOS above, for she had no mercy to show.

[DahStalker 3692]

Ljúfvina unironically thought Tomas was the coolest Hyspian she ever met. Should she ever discover this information, she will be very upset.

[EmiliainWonderland 2309]

Asteria saw the fire on one of her walks and the charred ashes of the Fontesar home, yet she had not yet known what had occurred. The moment she found out, she would be devastated. Tomas was like family, like the brother she’d never had because her elder one had died from illness so long ago. She had sworn that day she saw him injured in the clinic she’d do everything within her power to help him and yet she failed again. Time and time again she’d been reminded of her failure, the utter lack of control she had over the lives of others. It was like sand constantly slipping through the cracks between her fingers, she could not grasp the ever fleeting passage of time, could not change the people she cared for dying. It was an inevitability she would face, an endless and brutal cycle with no ending until she met her own. 
 

She only hoped she could still be strong enough to bear it.

[MonteGiant 891]

Leomonte would be in utter shock, while death was no stranger to him, this one was... different. A great ally and friend that could never be replaced, he would be graced with a terrible feeling. No tears would befall him, it is not fitting to cry, a man of his position. He gives an emotionless laugh, "Death by flame... While we may never meet again Tomas, I promise that you will be avenged." Leomonte would swear with a fury, that he will flay all of the aggressors that caused his friend's death. To remove their Eyes, their Noses, and their Tongues, so that they shall wander the world blind, deaf, and dumb. He binds this oath with his blood, promising no quarter for any foes in his way. The horrid whispers begin flooding his mind again, oh the possibilities of what he will do to his enemies.

[HIGH_FIRE 5490]

The first born child of Tomas spent the next few days after wondering where her father had gone. She seemed lost as to the answer to the question she was asking. Of course she'd soon be told by her mother of her father's passing, however she truly did not grasp the fact fully due to her age.

 

Every morning she'd wake up expecting to her his voice again, to see him greet her with a smile, a hug and a gift. Days turned into weeks, and slowly she began to understand what had happened, she'd lost both a Grandfather and her Father in such a quick time. Adriana was scared and felt alone, she did not know who would disappear next. Her Mother? Her twin? Her friends?

 

She was lost and she felt utterly alone.

[Cheeseycereal 829]

 

Maybe she was cursed. Maybe God had decided to punish her for the sins she withheld, her tongue forever placed at the back of her throat. For holding her tongue back, for she was just as bad as the sinner.

God, have mercy upon her soul, for that is her lover, her only one, her first one. The one she had always adored and wouldn’t see any differently, for she is no sinner for holding herself back. She knew there would be consequences, yet she would stick with him. Stricken by fear, but forever held together by love.

Maybe her carelessness had gotten her into this situation. Was she too relaxed about the scenario? Perhaps it was that, to lose her father and her amor in such a short span of time. How could her heart handle that?

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How could a mother tell her youngest children, who had not even reached their double digits, that their father was gone? How could a woman of stature do something of the sort? She was quieter than one might perceive, for her quietness would only falter with Tomas’.

But Tomas is not here. She had to explain it to her children. And explain she did. Her soul forever ached as she watched her children wonder what had happened to him, unable to fully grasp the truth. @HIGH_FIRE

And yet, her work was already done. She could only mother them, for it was not time for them to truly understand what had happened. She didn’t think she could, either, despite her age.

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Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. Forever lying on the barren bed meant to fit the two of them, Augusta’s bed, formerly her father’s, now held only her.

Her painting, unfinished, remained eerily in the corner of her bedroom. The sketches cascaded across the artistry corner, following suit. She stared up at the ceiling, her pale skin nearly as lifeless as the room around her, her hands folded over her stomach. Servants would enter now and then, attempting to coax the Countess out of bed.

Yet she lingered, searching for answers, answers to what she had done so wrong.

Something was off. 

 

Spoiler

Aidan bro, next time we're in vc, you're absolutely cooked. 

 

[Jayphynph 279]

As Charles heard the news, a mix of shock and grief quickly covered his face. Tomas had been a kind face when he first arrived in Hyspia. He cursed himself for not being there to protect his friend, mumbling a prayer in memory of the Salazar. Charles then gathered his supplies; he had some Darkspawn to tear limb from limb.

[IrradiatedGoose 305]

Word hadn't reached Kieran until he had already limped out of the clinic in Hyspia, the man still regaining his bearings from the skirmish at the Fontesar household. He passed by several friends on the roads and in Garenbrig, not saying a word to any of them. Kieran reached the top of the hill where his house stood, and entered his home finding Freya asleep on the furniture with both her cats laying by the fire. Kieran looked to the flames and back to the cats, hearing the screams of the young Pricilla yelling for her own pet as the fire had engulfed the Fontesar household. A silent and pained sigh emitted from Kieran as he went up the stairs to his room, going to the balcony and leaning on the railing. He looked out to the forests below, hanging his head in shame and guilt. The memories of the man he considered his brother washed through his mind. They had a strange relationship but through thick and thin the two were always close. He remembered Tomas' wedding day and how happy he had been; the day he had told Kieran his children had been born and that he had to visit them; the night they spent talking for hours on end in Balian. The warmth of the sun began wash over him as it rose. Kieran brought his head back up to view the rising sun, he made to turn to Tomas as if he were with him but found nothing. He was dead.

The man he knew for most of his life had been engulfed in flames, nothing he could have done to save him. He'd carry this guilt until the end of his own days, but he made note to visit Augusta and the children, to help them should they require; and to Julian, the two having a strange bond from Tomas but one he would not break. 

[Cheese 8882]

An elfess whom had met Tomas but only once let out a wistful sigh, sitting atop a tree branch that overlooked Hyspia. "What a shame. He seemed to have been a good one." Juniper stood, the branch creaking beneath her weight. "It really is too bad he never got to see again."

[Security_ 2287]

Casimir Wick was sweeping off the front porch of a Broomtown home when a courier rat arrived with the news. He unfurled the note, frowning at its contents. “Tomas, may he rest in peace. Rare is it to meet a man of such complexity, of juxtaposition at times. But he made a good man, a great leader nonetheless.” The Wick signed the rhodesian cross over himself, setting his broom on the doorway. Making way for his chandlery, he murmured, unable to come to terms with it.  “Consumed by fire. Oy vey.” 

[LoxyTheReindeer 356]

Kerina heard of this after a mere trip into the wilds to gather herbs, eager to learn more about alchemy at the hands of her new teacher. She could not believe her eyes, or her ears. Necromancers had taken so much from all of Hyspia-- taken so much from her. She burst into tears, silently sobbing into her hands. So much loss in so little time. Her mother, father, friends... How much more could be taken?

 

After awhile, she planted some roses in memory, uttering a quiet prayer. For Tomas was a dear friend, and she would miss him greatly.

[Bethinwonderland 2213]

Valencia had treated Pricilla in the clinic that night, as well as the Fontesar's family cat in hopes of giving them some relief from the physical pain they both felt. News travels quickly in Hyspia. She felt crushed.. There were no tears shed on her end, at least right away. She expressed her willingness to help the Fontesar as they just lost their home.
 

When all was said and done. She went home, locked herself in her room, and thought. Cirilla had her leave the house before the attack.. Had she stayed maybe she could have helped.. Maybe it could have been her and not Tomas? There was no point in dwelling on things, she lit two candles, the first in his name, and prayed that he'd be welcomed into the seven skies and be allowed to stay there. The second for his wife and the children he left behind