A Fallen Angel

[Archon]

He narrows his eyes, remembering the words from their previous discussion.
"This is different. I am willing to wait and plan this out. I *want* to discuss this with the Circle and the Queen."
Archonus looks away as he mentions Jaine.
"I know it does not have a high possiblity of success. I know there is a good chance that i may become lost to darkness."
Archon then turns to Xath.
"But we are running out of options. We are fighting this war blind and no one else has any solutions to give us the eyes we need. Desperate times call for desperate measures and i am willing to pay the cost."
-Archon

 

[Xath]

"I'm sorry Archonus. I didn't realize that you wanted to plan this out and discuss it with everyone before enacting it. Maybe I thought that because I seem to recall you saying that you don't have time to talk. We need to act for the benefit of the war."

"I realize that we don't have alot of information on the shadowpath, but we're not going to get it by sacrificing one of our most powerful compatriots. We need information? Then let's gather it. But let's at least attempt conventional methods before we start to sacrifice ourselves."

"And don't you dare tell me that this would take too long, or that we have to be willing to make sacrifices for this war. I am willing to sacrifice to win this war, but I will not sacrifice you for this." She reaches out and puts her hand on his chest, as tears begin to well in her eyes. "We lost our son for the good of the war, and we cannot save him without risking everything we have worked for. I lost my life in this war, and I came back from the embrace of the light out of duty, for the cause. But the reason I came to see my return as anything other than duty was you. You made me live my life again. And I will not lose you."

She pauses for a moment.

"I love you." she says quietly. so that only he can hear her. "And nothing you do or say could make me feel otherwise. So stop pushing me away."

 

[Archon]

Archonus pulls away. Then says quiety with his back to her.
"I love you too. And it's tearing me apart."
Turning back to face her,
"But we've tried conventional means and we've nothing to show for it. The hour is getting late and who else will take the risk? This is something i'd never ask of anyone else."

 

[Xath]

Xath looks at him incredulously for a moment for that incredibly sappy line. "Could I speak with you in private for a moment?" she rings. She looks to the rest of the circle. "Excuse us."

 

[Archon]

Xath looks at him incredulously for a moment for that incredibly sappy line. "Could I speak with you in private for a moment?" she rings. She looks to the rest of the circle. "Excuse us."

Archonus stands unflinching.
"I want to hear what the rest of the Circle has to say."

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

Justice is quick to speak, "I understand that you two will need to talk this over personally. But, there are several things you need to understand before you make any decision, Archonus. The Shadowpath will bind and bend your Will to it. It will twist and mold your soul to meet its dark purposes.

So far as I can tell, in all my prayers and study - the only way to bring you back would be to develop our own Lightpath... but, to do so would only be to engage in the brainwashing of the enemy for a different purpose - it would not be in line with our goals and motivations.

If you choose to do this - based on every shred of evidence we currently have - you will not come back. As such, you will simply be giving your powers to Tain and Mordred."

 

[Archon]

"Then pray again. Commune with the Light. Ask if this is even possible. But as long is there is a chance, no matter how small, at success i believe that this is the right thing to do. There must be a way, and it is worth looking for. If i'm wrong and we can find absolutely no way of making this work i will abandon it for the good of the group. But first i insist that we try. We have a chance here at beating them on their own ground, on their own spiritual ground and in doing so we may discover Truths we could never have interrogated from one of Tain's fanatical followers."

 

[AIM-54]

"This is folly. A chase after shadows and smoke. We have just received word from Citadel Refuge. That is our current objective. Now is not the time to run off after illusions, hoping the impossible. There are too many people relying on us and too much to do. I will not have anything to do with this. If you will not see reason...well, it is your soul after all, though the harm you do to our cause may be the greater loss."

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

"Archonus - I have Communed. If you walk the Shadowpath, you will no longer be yourself... nor will you be of any use to our Cause." She sighs, "I would say that you would be as good as dead to us, but it will be even worse than that. You would become our enemy."

 

[Archon]

"I AM no longer myself!!"
Taking a breath and calming down he continues.
"I understand we have pressing affairs, and i am not saying we do this now. I am saying that we look into it. That we consider it. That we don't just toss aside a potential fountain of information on our enemy that no spy, no matter how daring, could never discover. This may be a folly. But let's make sure first. We have a powerful ally that we do not use. The Bluestar's magics are powerful, there may be something in his foul arsenal that may help with bringing me back from shadows. You are discounting this before giving it a chance. What if we *did* find a way to bring people back from the shadowpath? Think of all the souls we could save. Think of all the powerful allies of Tain," Archonus motions to Arissa. "we could take back."
"By the Light, think about it. Before you call me a fool, think about it. I have and i know that if we can save all those lives with but chancing one more that it is worth it. I will consult those i can. I simply ask that you do the same. Until then we have defences to fortify and a trip by sea to plan, Neither of which should be done here."
Archonus bows,
"Now, if you'll excuse me?"
Then Archonus turns and follows Xath.