Time had passed like a dream-scape haze since Sebastian had parted ways with Bryony. The chaotic eldritch being that had reached out to him from Beyond had not released him immediately after sparing the Oracle and himself from a doom-driven excursion in the Laeto rain forest. Sebastian felt the being's intentions were still somewhat unclear to him, but it had not harmed him or Bryony; this was enough to not be alarmed, for now. It mainly seemed hostile towards many others of its kind, and cults centered around making contact. He knew not what he was made to do when he did not own his body; frankly, he didn't even want to know.

Summer was at its end. The Sundering Gardens mirrored the outside world, and also began showing signs of mirroring Sebastian's own clandestine Autumn gaze. He was quite sure the entity had taken its leave of him completely, but the rich palette of colors still made him picture the twisted realm he now began to associate with himself. He could almost picture the low-hanging moon, Canelux, as the dying sun in his visions. Rather than the untainted, starry night of Angela's realm, he imagined the bloodied sky, with the dark tendrils spanning through the clouds. While before these sights had unnerved him, they now lent a strange sense of comfort.

Sebastian approached the temple with great caution. Every step through the Earth Mother's realm was uncertain, in fact. The creature in him had gone, but it had definitely ingrained some of its essence within him. Many of the changes were nearly intangible - his psionic abilities being enhanced being the exception. Traversing by means of blink now was….frightening.
He half-expected to burst into flames, be halted by some unseen forces, or even be detained by members of Angela's clergy at any point. Nothing came to claim him, nor impede his progress, however.

Crickets chirped in the endless fields by the road, presently bereft of their harvest. Instead of the wheat billowing in the wind, there were only quiet rolling hills, and smoke rising from the flues of the servant's quarters in the distance.

Climbing the steps of the temple, and slipping silently inside, Sebastian stepped lightly through the halls in search of Bryony. He hoped enough time had passed in her recovery to at least be semi-lucid. He didn't know what sort of vile toxin was given to her, he only vaguely recalled word from Angela herself that it would take a couple of months to heal her.

Memory of Sebastian's previous visit served him well. He easily located Bryony's room, and sat down at her bedside as she slept. As quietly as he could, he slipped out of his boots and his clothes, and crawled into bed next to her. His arms wrapped about her, and his fingers intertwined with hers. He kissed her shoulder and closed his eyes. Exhaustion from the journey to see her, and from the unspeakable time leading up to this moment easily claimed him. He began to drift off in his lover's embrace as though no time had passed at all. His slumber was heavy, akin to a man surreptitiously tainted by beast blood returning home after a long, harrowing night of hunting.

Dealing with the situation at hand Angela found herself more stressed than usual. When she was just Fertility people didn’t actually need her except for the harvest. Now, it seemed like more people were coming to see her. Their sick children, their dying family, themselves, it was a never ending open door. It wasn’t exhausting, fixing people was easy. It was rather that the Goddess never asked for it which reminded her that she had never asked to be a goddess in the first place.

She mumbled to herself as she held the pregnant belly that housed her baby. People were crediting her love for Rohan that made her miracles possible, Angela had another theory. Once again the Voice had been messing with her. The Voice might have thought she was ready to take on the next challenge. It made her want to drink. At least no one died this time when she ascended, it was the opposite.

In Bryony’s bedroom, Angela sensed a visitor. Well she had sensed him way before but didn’t want to even check to see who it was. She had enough of the visitors and just wanted a tiny moment of peace. She peeked in the room with her magic eyes and smiled as she watched the two of them cuddle. Sure, Bryony couldn’t move her lower body yet but the Oracle was awake enough to snuggle into him and sigh happily.

After a night’s rest the Goddess came in and knocked on the door. “It’s good to see you here Sebastian, we didn’t know when you would show up.” Her hands were gripping her belly once more as she watched the two of them. “It is good to see you are alright I should say. Bryony has regained consciousness but her lower body remains paralyzed for the moment. Her magic is also blocked off but I did that, so she doesn’t get stupid and try to gate places. I’m working on the potion right now to take the paralysis off.”

It was not shown too much outwardly, but when Sebastian's heavy sleep came, it was riddled with fits. His embrace of Bryony had tightened, and released completely several times through the night. Grotesque dreams came to him - nightmares of blood, death, and fear. Such disturbing images were familiar to him…but not when the deeds were wrought by his own hand. This was not the past that his soul had lived, these were images of things that had likely happened when he was not in control of his body, and possibly things yet to come.

Sebastian saw the cultists that had attacked Bryony and himself in his dreams. He also saw himself, hunting them down like wild, cowering animals through the Laeto rainforest. The perspective of the dream was not through his own eyes; he merely witnessed his own actions on the outside, as a silent observer. Surely, they deserved justice for what they had done….but to so brutally slaughter kneeling, pleading men…

Similar visions came, of him ruthlessly chasing creatures to the point of terror and exhaustion. Eldritch horrors of hybrid blood, created by the cult…werewolves…anything unnatural that could be seen as a threat. He even saw the old vampire he was currently employed by, cowering in confusion at the dark change in his Seeker.

Waking with a start, gasping for air, Sebastian shook as he wrapped his arms about himself and rocked to and fro.
Was this what he was to become? Were the dreams the things the nameless entity that had made him do? Is this what it wanted for him, in exchange for saving his life…? He shuddered to think that the capacity to do such things lurked within him all along. It took several moments of contemplation and inward looking before Sebastian remembered where he was. His eyes fell on his love, still soundly asleep next to him. He reached out to her, but he stopped himself. He couldn't…not right now. His hands felt too…filthy.

Sebastian's spirits had lifted a little when Angela came knocking.
I didn't know when either, he thought in response to the Goddess' remark. I wasn't sure I would turn up at all.
His expression changed from deep-hearted concern, to indignation, to flashes of righteous vindication at the news he was given. He understood the implications of the toxin Bryony was given immediately, and felt little pity for the cultists. Bash chuckled darkly. "I feel awful. I feel the poor lass has gotten into more trouble from the moment she met me than she has experienced in most of her long life. First orcs…now this," Sebastian chastised himself, softly, so as not to wake her. "Good of you to put that wall up. She's not going to be at all happy about it when she finds out though."

Angela watched the concern on his face drift. “Unfortunately no, this is just a little bit of what she has gone through… If that comforts you at all. I haven’t even reached the tip of the iceberg with her current condition.” There was more too it, there always was in a tragedy in situations like this. “You know her enough to know what she would do to me if she found out.. That’s why this is our secret.”

She took his arm gently and pulled him. “There’s more that can’t be said in this room. I found out information from Eldora that I’m not completely happy about.” Angela walked with him out into the courtyard and took heavy breaths of air as she held her pregnant belly.

“Bryony was pregnant when she had the toxin put in her. Eldora knew something was wrong but she was too busy panicking to think right. There is a reason why I got to you as quickly as I did that night.” She looked oddly frustrated. “There was nothing I could do about it. The toxin ate the baby before I could stop it. At least partially, it just depends on how far in detail you want me to go. It would have been no life for it. What I do know is that this baby isn’t the one you two were seeing. The spirits, voice bless them, had been hiding this event from everyone up until we needed to know about it. It was probably seen as an unavoidable event..”

She turned to him and frowned. “I had to remove it from her so she didn’t have to go into false labor and do it herself. I’ve seen that before, it’s never pretty. She can’t know this happened. Take the information as you will… It’s the other reason she’s paralyzed and what not. I don’t want her to notice, so I kept it that way. The potion is done but I wanted to be out of ear shot.”

She looked more uncomfortable but shook her head. “Even with my new magical abilities, know I couldn’t have saved that baby. If I brought it back what kind of half life would it have had. All you can do is help Bryony and hope she never finds out. She would track everyone down that may have had connections and kill them. I’ve heard about her doing it before when she lost her love in the war. There was no one back then that could sedate her. I’m not scared to keep her locked up if she loses control, just know I will if I have to.”

The goddess’s face was serious now. “If I had to use you as leverage to keep her under control… know that I would. She is a stepping stone for our people. I can’t have her going nuts and killing half the continent. It’s why I told you, Eldora has seen things but I don’t blame you one bit right now. I may be a good woman of power but I know when to draw the line and that line was drawn when they did that to her. Whatever you’ve done to them they’ve earned it. I’d throw them in the Casimir myself if I had the chance.”

This anger that was flowing from her was more towards herself. She felt weak in that moment as she held the belly with her baby in it. “Know that if I could have saved it I would have. I have guilt about my baby when I think about it. It’s not good for any of us to blame ourselves.” 

She pulled a small vial from her pocket and held it out to him. “This will break the paralysis and mana lock on her. You should be the one to give it to her. She'll be up for breakfast here soon, I've had her on a schedule."

Sebastian could scarcely keep from shaking with a swelling rage at the news the Goddess divulged to him. Bash's nerves were already frayed from a list of unknowns as to his own state of affairs, both mentally and physically; not to mention Bryony's current condition. He shook his head as Angela chastised herself for not being able to save his and Bryony's child. "If it is fate, there is little anyone could have done. Even the Gods have their limits."

Autumn eyes meeting Angela's emerald, crimson-tinged gaze, Sebastian's expression held equal, if not greater intensity at the gravity of the situation. "I am thankful it was not the child I met in your trials…but the pain is presently boring a hole in my heart that will not soon be repaired. This is something that I must share with Bryony, you must understand…using me will not be necessary, however. I will share it when the time is right…after I do what now has to be done." His voice was tinged heavily with grim conviction and purpose. "Whatever I was made to do in the state I was in…that will be brought upon them now ten-fold."

Taking the vial from Angela, Sebastian turned it over in his fingers thoughtfully, looking at the aqua and gold liquid held within. "This too, she will have when I know I can keep her safe. The people that did this to her only want to get to me. This never would have happened if…"
Sebastian closed his eyes, shaking still as he clasped his fist around the vial. He took a long, deep breath, and tucked the potion away in his overcoat. "You're right though, of course. None of us can blame ourselves."
Approaching the Goddess and leaning around her swollen belly with care, he embraced her in a heartfelt hug.
"Thank-you," he intoned softly, before taking his leave of her.

~~~

The thick satin curtains in Bryony's room had been drawn while she was recovering. Sebastian opened them, letting the morning sunlight pour into the room, and onto her beautiful face. He quickly made his way to the bed side as she stirred, tenderly touched her cheek, and traced her lips with a feather-light touch from his fingertip. He ran his fingers through her long dark hair as her shifting oceanic windows opened to look upon him. It pained him to see her move to stretch, but not have control of her entire body…but he would remain silent on that matter. He had promised.

"Good morning, love," he said as he greeted her with a solemn, yet broad smile.

Angela nodded. “A lost child is still a child lost. When you and Bryony are ready.” She took a moment and tilted her head. “I’ll show you where I buried the baby.” It had it’s own special space for its parents to visit which hinted at Angela wanting to tell both Bryony and Sebastian. It wasn’t far to lose it’s life so early but like Angela said, there was nothing she could have done.

Angela gave him a smile. “Bryony is a strong woman, one of the strongest I know. You should know the only reason she is still down is because I don’t want her destroying cities to find these people. She can protect herself, this last time was just… it was just unfortunate timing Sebastian.” Angela knew it sounded harsh.

She hugged him as tightly as she could. “You are like family and always welcome here.

-

Her dreams were like  the vast ocean and she was drowning. It wasn’t the bad type of drowning though, she felt at peace in the water. It was like she knew that her time was ultimately coming yet, she could see Bash in the distance and that was when she started to panic. “Not yet,” she screamed into the ocean. It wasn’t her time. It was the same dream she had every night since the attack. She wanted Bash with her and she wanted to be with him.

Her body convulsed as much as it could before she opened her eyes to the burning light of the sun in Angela’s realm. She blinked a few times as his voice reached her ears and suddenly she was smiling towards him. “You.” She was tried to reach but found herself unable, she wanted to start to cry. “I can’t move to you.” She stuttered it out before shaking her head and being strong. “I’ve been dreaming of you.”

She nuzzled his hand softly and smiled up at him. “I’ve missed you even if I am stuck like this. I miss our conversations.”

Bryony's mention of dreams gave Sebastian pause. "Nothing good, I hope," he jested, an unspoken, private jab at his own disturbing visions of himself he'd endured. Lying next to her so she did not have to strain to touch him, he wrapped his arms around her. He was sure to remove his overcoat first. Bryony was strong; of this, he had no doubt. In this moment, however, she felt so fragile, so pitiful and helpless. It would be difficult to not divulge everything to her now. Her safety would come before anything else. He didn't know what else the cult could have in store if she went after them. He only knew that it was he that was…fashioned…to combat them, and Gods knew what else. They had created a monster, and it was coming back to haunt them. Several lifetimes in the making.

Sebastian involuntarily shivered, even as the warmth of the sun kissed his flesh.

"So far we have 'overwhelmed by an orc war band', and 'attacked by a depraved cult' to scratch off the bucket list," Sebastian mused as he kissed Bryony's forehead. "What spice of life would you like to sample next? I was thinking perhaps you could get swallowed by a dragon."
He chuckled and kissed her. "Although you do look good enough to eat, I foresee the creature keeping you up in its musty trove instead, among its prized trinkets. You'll live like a mountain queen, with praise, adornments and fresh slaughter. You'll never want to leave. Unless it was one of the intellectual breeds that often have a fetish for speaking in riddles."

Sebastian kissed over his Oracle's heart, resisting the temptation to leave trails of kisses all across the swell of her breast. He nuzzled into the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent deeply. "I've missed you too," the perpetual mirth in his voice at last being replaced with intimate warmth.

Bryony stared at him for the longest time. It wasn’t even a joke that what he said was true. “You were the ocean and I was drowning in you. It wasn’t unpleasant but I couldn’t breath.. not that I  minded completely.” She gave him a smile. She moved in closer to him and appreciated how he took care of her. 

The woman laughed and shook her head. “Why not something less exciting… like a babe or settling down for a time? Though a dragon does sound fun. I could put it on our list of things to do when I am well.” She chuckled at him. “You are enough dragon for me.” She said it fondly to him.

“Remind me to conquer you when I can move.” It was enough of a challenge for her to think of. “Hunt you down and hold you. Yes, sounds mighty fun for my first mission.” She laughed a bit and kissed the top of his head. “I have dreamed of a deep ocean, deeper than any other ocean that exists… and it’s always felt like you. Like you are near and bringing me in. Lower and lower into your depths and I am alright with that. The fact you are something as sacred as water in my dreams fastens all that I know about you. I have faith in you and all you do.” She wanted to snuggle into him and she resisted the urge to even try to move her arms, for she knew she could not.

“Can you move my arms around you unless you have a different idea for what we could do… Or carry me out into the sun… I miss the real thing.”

The directions in which the conversation was being pulled continued to give Sebastian hesitation. The words scattered glass about his tongue's feet, and clouded his heart with the self-doubt that had lingered since this supernatural campaign began with him. Indeed, it often felt like drowning. He did not imagine himself as the ocean itself, but rather, as the vast monster that would drag a ship into the abyss - an octopus would be an apt characterization, given the nature of the cosmic being that had attached itself to him.

Sebastian did not visibly cringe when Bryony mentioned settling down with child, but stirred uncomfortably with her descriptions of him as the ocean in her dreams.
"I can do that for you," he said with a barely-managed smile.

Scooping the Oracle up in his arms, Sebastian carried her through the temple, and out into the sun. The light being directly upon him still felt wholly unnatural, though it very could be all in his head. Not unnatural in the way of a vampire, either; he did not feel like it would burn or consume him. He felt like he just…didn't belong. Like his existence was a mere figment, a fleeting thing, that would be blown away and carried along a ray of light like a puff of smoke. He tried not to consider that this inherent discomfort and depersonalization could be from being possessed still without being aware of it.

He carefully lay Bryony out on the grass outside the temple, and sat next to her.

"…I have to go away again for awhile," he sighed after no small amount of tense silence. He leaned on his elbow and touched her cheek. "I don't know for how long this time."

Sebastian was quite aware his behavior and tone had been odd since their reunion. He was only surprised Bryony had made no mention of it yet. His silence hid much. Even now, he resisted the urge to withdraw his touch, for wandering imaginings of the Entity somehow able to touch her through him, even if he was not being actively controlled. Could that feeling really be chalked up to paranoia, though?

He knew he needed to take his leave soon. He would not be forced to lie to her. Goddess' word be damned.

Bryony had been watching him and the way he spoke. He was hiding something and he was also severely uncomfortable with it. Her deep blue eyes were ready to skin him alive for being so uncomfortable around her, but she knew he had his reasons after everything they had been through. She took deep breaths in the grass and looked up at the skies that Angela made.

“With the way you’ve been acting, I figured it was something like that,” She moved her head and stared at him with all the love in the world. “Look, whatever is troubling you. I know you don’t want to tell me right now and that’s fine. However, when the time comes just make sure you do. I know that you wouldn’t lie to me for the sake of just lying. It would have to be something you know I can’t handle at the moment.”

The oracle groaned a bit. “The young person in me says to interrogate you until you tell me but I’m too old for those games. You’ll tell me when I’m ready to hear it… and I’m in no shape to hear anything. Just promise me you won’t disappear and not come to get me. I’ll have to hunt you down and kill you then.” She joked with him softly as she motioned him to her.

He came to her and she kissed him gently. “Now stop being so foolish to think I would be mad about anything. The worst could come from your mouth in the future and I would not be mad at you. I would be understanding. I’m in no shape to be worried, pissed, or on a war path. If it needs to come later then it will but right now I’m tired and I can’t move. So just get your ass out in the world and do what you have to… so we can be together again.” She gave him a wink. “I can tell it’s urgent.”