Post by Rowan MacDonnough on Jul 14, 2017 1:49:57 GMT
Vatican City
Rowan walked through the dark tunnel, gliding effortlessly through the murky shadows of the foul smelling catacomb as Dean Harper followed close behind her. "What are we doing down here?" Dean whispered as he kept pace, furrowing the bridge of his nose against the stench. "This is beneath you."
Rowan chuckled. "This is far below most things and most people... but recent events have shown me well that the scraps I have foraged from the dregs of the cities are insufficient for my needs. I require more to see me, to follow me, to give me their faith to empower my arm."
Dean nodded, only half understanding. Rowan had a few dozen followers still at the Compound back in the United States, and he had felt for some time that it wasn't enough to fully match the glorification that Rowan deserved. He knew that she deserved thousands - millions - of followers all the world over, people who saw her the same way he did. He, her most loyal. But...
"But that still doesn't explain why we're in this tunnel," he pushed.
Rowan's laughter returned, this time darker. "Every action has a reaction, as strong as that which it came from but opposite in force," she replied. We walk beneath the city of faith, one of the few, truly holy cities on earth. With such an echoing bastion of Faith in Light above us... below it is only natural to find a similarly powerful beacon of faith in the Dark."
"So... this is a recruitment drive?"
"If they've managed to lurk unseen beneath Vatican City, then they are organized, well funded, and well informed. Further, they will carry a level of dedication and faith that will be most... satisfactory... if directed towards me."
Dean shakes his head. "And what makes you think they will?"
Rowan turned, eyes flashing as he appraised Dean carefully. "Do you doubt me, Most Loyal?"
Dean replied instantly. "Never."
Rowan's eyes showed enough for Dean to know that she was smiling beneath her ever present mask. "They will follow because they will know of me. People of faith seek signs of validation... and my name has been on the tongues of fringe Christian organizations all the world over, their words spreading the Narrative that I am Satan's daughter. The rumor has persisted, especially given how close I am to the seat of Catholicism this week thanks to Sacrifice... and that rumor has doubtless touched their ears."
"So you'll arrive... and give them what they want. Tell them what they want to hear to earn their devotion."
Rowan nodded, turning to walk down the wretched tunnel once more. "Precisely. The minds of the Faithful have one thing in common - they are so desperate to see something they can cling to as proof that their faith is vindicated, that they will throw themselves headlong into even the barest facsimile of the object of their devotion... and then will be so unwilling to acknowledge that they were wrong that they will cling to it with a singular fanaticism even if the illusion is torn down wholly."
"And their faith will make you stronger?"
Rowan chuckled a third time. "Theirs alone? Yes, but imperceptibly so. However, through their influence and organization, the word of the Abyss may spread through them... and that, my dear Most Loyal... that could do enough to let me truly tear the heart from the Diamonds Division."
Eerie green light of a night vision camera comes into view, showing Rowan standing in what could be a cave or a sewer. Her eyes flare brightly in the camera, and more pairs of eyes are visible around and behind her, though just far enough away from the camera for the bodies connected to them to be visible. "Many people have begun to speculate..." she begins slowly, "that I worship demons. They say I worship demons because a woman as... unhinged... as me could never worship God."
She chuckles darkly. "Two fallacies.
One - Despite the roar of the crowds, the chants that I'm a madwoman... I am in no way unhinged. Madness is the escape for those who cannot endure their suffering. Madness is the big red button to make all the pain go away. Those like me... those who embrace pain in their hearts, welcome it... we go down a very different path. An enlightened path. One that demands you be driven by courage, by instinct, and most importantly... by conviction. Just because you do not understand us does not mean that we are the ones who have gone insane.
Two - How arrogant must one be to believe that the only choices of worship are God and Demons? In truth, I worship neither. It was not God, after all, who was behind the wheel of the truck that killed my family, and it was not Demons who made my baby sister suffer for a week and a half, screaming, screaming until her throat bled and lungs collapsed, begging for release before the Reaper came for her... there was nothing Demonic or Divine behind either of these, nor does any suffering in the world happen because of "God's Will" or "Devil's Malice"... we hide behind those words, scapegoats to hide from our own inner abyss, shiny facades to distract us and convince us that there is no oblivion to fall into...
But it is all us. Man and Woman, all over the world and throughout History, they... we... are the painbringers. We are the ones in all our pride inflicting horrors upon one another that make the unenlightened go mad and the strong walk the path I now tread. I do not know if monsters truly exist, but if they did I would not fear them, for I know that the true heart of fear lies in the minds of every man, woman and child in this world.
I do not worship God or Demons... I worship you. You, in all of your beautiful potential, and all the pain that you will inflict upon those around you every day for the rest of your lives in your shining paths of torment.
Your unending cruelty inspires me... and what I do, I do for you."
She steps closer to the camera, the figures shifting around her as they whisper and make small, inhuman noises. "Which brings us then to my weekly Sacrifice. It is clear to me that, for one reason or another, my strength has not been enough to make the... impact... that the IWF deserves. Though I have inflicted great and terrible pain upon my enemies, many have emerged with the word 'victory' tainting their lips. This has transformed into a pattern of disappointment that has become... unacceptable. And so I pondered, here in this pit, beneath the city of Faith... and I came to my revelation of how to undo the misfortune of the past weeks. What change needed to be adopted to rise from the filth and the muck, and rise to the top of the bloodied heap."
She holds her hands out around her. "Shea O'Hara... Kathleen Conway... They both shared something in common - family and loved ones, who - when broken - gave them more strength rather than sapping it. I destroyed Astrid Hall, and Shea O'Hara became stronger. I knocked out Jake Conway, and his wife became stronger. Perhaps I have underestimated the strength that these connections can provide... and perhaps, in turn, I can adopt it. I am... human... after all."
A cruel laugh echoes from under her mask. "This is why I elevate my Most Loyal, Dean Harper, to stand with me rather than grovel below. This is why the Wolf of the Abyss will no longer walk the halls of the Imperial Wrestling Federation alone. The lone wolf dies... the Pack survives."
The eyes close in around her. "And thus, with purpose renewed, I walk into the pit with Jennifer Williams and Maxine Valentine. A Beast and a Beauty."
She chuckles. "Williams. It is said that Wrestling is in your blood. I am curious how literal you mean those words when I spill that blood all over the arena on Sacrifice, turning your world, Lady Dream, into a Nightmare of your own creation. You cannot run from everything, my dear girl... and though you will run through the woods as the wolves snap at your heels, they will catch you. None have ever successfully fled from me, Jennifer Williams. None escape. I will catch you, little girl, and unlike the games you so heartily throw yourself into, there will be no second chances, no respawn. I will drive you into the ground and crush you underfoot, leaving you little more than the barest footnote in the history of my ascension. People will look at your broken body and remember why they should fear me."
Her eyes flash. "Valentine. Once thought a kindred spirit, now seen a laughing stock. You are a creature rendered obsolete the moment you walked into this company - lingering in my shadow, but never able to be my equal - only able to stand as strongly as you have because you have been fed prey infinitely our lesser. This match will be the end of you, Maxine - it will be the end of your little crusade against what your warped mind sees as the infected. You entered this company at the same time as I did, and you have followed along many of the same beats that I drummed... and when it comes down to it at the end, I cannot tolerate another so alike me within this company who is outside of my control. As such, I am going to destroy you, Maxine. I am going to shatter you, and leave you broken in a way that I have not done to any within the IWF. I am going to make an example of you specifically, breaking you in ways that will never be repaired. Make no mistake - After Monday Night Sacrifice, Maxine Valentine will never wrestle again."
She spreads her arms wide. "This I promise to all of you. Listen to my words and believe them. Let them sink into your mind, soak into your flesh. Have faith in them... and I promise you all that your faith will be rewarded. Such is the strength of the Wolf of the Abyss when she runs with a pack... and you will see that pack for yourselves all too soon."
Rowan walks backwards, vanishing into the darkness save her eyes, mingling into the mob of glowing orbs in the background before the video package fades to black.
Rowan chuckled. "This is far below most things and most people... but recent events have shown me well that the scraps I have foraged from the dregs of the cities are insufficient for my needs. I require more to see me, to follow me, to give me their faith to empower my arm."
Dean nodded, only half understanding. Rowan had a few dozen followers still at the Compound back in the United States, and he had felt for some time that it wasn't enough to fully match the glorification that Rowan deserved. He knew that she deserved thousands - millions - of followers all the world over, people who saw her the same way he did. He, her most loyal. But...
"But that still doesn't explain why we're in this tunnel," he pushed.
Rowan's laughter returned, this time darker. "Every action has a reaction, as strong as that which it came from but opposite in force," she replied. We walk beneath the city of faith, one of the few, truly holy cities on earth. With such an echoing bastion of Faith in Light above us... below it is only natural to find a similarly powerful beacon of faith in the Dark."
"So... this is a recruitment drive?"
"If they've managed to lurk unseen beneath Vatican City, then they are organized, well funded, and well informed. Further, they will carry a level of dedication and faith that will be most... satisfactory... if directed towards me."
Dean shakes his head. "And what makes you think they will?"
Rowan turned, eyes flashing as he appraised Dean carefully. "Do you doubt me, Most Loyal?"
Dean replied instantly. "Never."
Rowan's eyes showed enough for Dean to know that she was smiling beneath her ever present mask. "They will follow because they will know of me. People of faith seek signs of validation... and my name has been on the tongues of fringe Christian organizations all the world over, their words spreading the Narrative that I am Satan's daughter. The rumor has persisted, especially given how close I am to the seat of Catholicism this week thanks to Sacrifice... and that rumor has doubtless touched their ears."
"So you'll arrive... and give them what they want. Tell them what they want to hear to earn their devotion."
Rowan nodded, turning to walk down the wretched tunnel once more. "Precisely. The minds of the Faithful have one thing in common - they are so desperate to see something they can cling to as proof that their faith is vindicated, that they will throw themselves headlong into even the barest facsimile of the object of their devotion... and then will be so unwilling to acknowledge that they were wrong that they will cling to it with a singular fanaticism even if the illusion is torn down wholly."
"And their faith will make you stronger?"
Rowan chuckled a third time. "Theirs alone? Yes, but imperceptibly so. However, through their influence and organization, the word of the Abyss may spread through them... and that, my dear Most Loyal... that could do enough to let me truly tear the heart from the Diamonds Division."
Eerie green light of a night vision camera comes into view, showing Rowan standing in what could be a cave or a sewer. Her eyes flare brightly in the camera, and more pairs of eyes are visible around and behind her, though just far enough away from the camera for the bodies connected to them to be visible. "Many people have begun to speculate..." she begins slowly, "that I worship demons. They say I worship demons because a woman as... unhinged... as me could never worship God."
She chuckles darkly. "Two fallacies.
One - Despite the roar of the crowds, the chants that I'm a madwoman... I am in no way unhinged. Madness is the escape for those who cannot endure their suffering. Madness is the big red button to make all the pain go away. Those like me... those who embrace pain in their hearts, welcome it... we go down a very different path. An enlightened path. One that demands you be driven by courage, by instinct, and most importantly... by conviction. Just because you do not understand us does not mean that we are the ones who have gone insane.
Two - How arrogant must one be to believe that the only choices of worship are God and Demons? In truth, I worship neither. It was not God, after all, who was behind the wheel of the truck that killed my family, and it was not Demons who made my baby sister suffer for a week and a half, screaming, screaming until her throat bled and lungs collapsed, begging for release before the Reaper came for her... there was nothing Demonic or Divine behind either of these, nor does any suffering in the world happen because of "God's Will" or "Devil's Malice"... we hide behind those words, scapegoats to hide from our own inner abyss, shiny facades to distract us and convince us that there is no oblivion to fall into...
But it is all us. Man and Woman, all over the world and throughout History, they... we... are the painbringers. We are the ones in all our pride inflicting horrors upon one another that make the unenlightened go mad and the strong walk the path I now tread. I do not know if monsters truly exist, but if they did I would not fear them, for I know that the true heart of fear lies in the minds of every man, woman and child in this world.
I do not worship God or Demons... I worship you. You, in all of your beautiful potential, and all the pain that you will inflict upon those around you every day for the rest of your lives in your shining paths of torment.
Your unending cruelty inspires me... and what I do, I do for you."
She steps closer to the camera, the figures shifting around her as they whisper and make small, inhuman noises. "Which brings us then to my weekly Sacrifice. It is clear to me that, for one reason or another, my strength has not been enough to make the... impact... that the IWF deserves. Though I have inflicted great and terrible pain upon my enemies, many have emerged with the word 'victory' tainting their lips. This has transformed into a pattern of disappointment that has become... unacceptable. And so I pondered, here in this pit, beneath the city of Faith... and I came to my revelation of how to undo the misfortune of the past weeks. What change needed to be adopted to rise from the filth and the muck, and rise to the top of the bloodied heap."
She holds her hands out around her. "Shea O'Hara... Kathleen Conway... They both shared something in common - family and loved ones, who - when broken - gave them more strength rather than sapping it. I destroyed Astrid Hall, and Shea O'Hara became stronger. I knocked out Jake Conway, and his wife became stronger. Perhaps I have underestimated the strength that these connections can provide... and perhaps, in turn, I can adopt it. I am... human... after all."
A cruel laugh echoes from under her mask. "This is why I elevate my Most Loyal, Dean Harper, to stand with me rather than grovel below. This is why the Wolf of the Abyss will no longer walk the halls of the Imperial Wrestling Federation alone. The lone wolf dies... the Pack survives."
The eyes close in around her. "And thus, with purpose renewed, I walk into the pit with Jennifer Williams and Maxine Valentine. A Beast and a Beauty."
She chuckles. "Williams. It is said that Wrestling is in your blood. I am curious how literal you mean those words when I spill that blood all over the arena on Sacrifice, turning your world, Lady Dream, into a Nightmare of your own creation. You cannot run from everything, my dear girl... and though you will run through the woods as the wolves snap at your heels, they will catch you. None have ever successfully fled from me, Jennifer Williams. None escape. I will catch you, little girl, and unlike the games you so heartily throw yourself into, there will be no second chances, no respawn. I will drive you into the ground and crush you underfoot, leaving you little more than the barest footnote in the history of my ascension. People will look at your broken body and remember why they should fear me."
Her eyes flash. "Valentine. Once thought a kindred spirit, now seen a laughing stock. You are a creature rendered obsolete the moment you walked into this company - lingering in my shadow, but never able to be my equal - only able to stand as strongly as you have because you have been fed prey infinitely our lesser. This match will be the end of you, Maxine - it will be the end of your little crusade against what your warped mind sees as the infected. You entered this company at the same time as I did, and you have followed along many of the same beats that I drummed... and when it comes down to it at the end, I cannot tolerate another so alike me within this company who is outside of my control. As such, I am going to destroy you, Maxine. I am going to shatter you, and leave you broken in a way that I have not done to any within the IWF. I am going to make an example of you specifically, breaking you in ways that will never be repaired. Make no mistake - After Monday Night Sacrifice, Maxine Valentine will never wrestle again."
She spreads her arms wide. "This I promise to all of you. Listen to my words and believe them. Let them sink into your mind, soak into your flesh. Have faith in them... and I promise you all that your faith will be rewarded. Such is the strength of the Wolf of the Abyss when she runs with a pack... and you will see that pack for yourselves all too soon."
Rowan walks backwards, vanishing into the darkness save her eyes, mingling into the mob of glowing orbs in the background before the video package fades to black.
Well howdy there pardner.