Encounterlogs
Phoenixs Odd Encounter Sr Takeshi 250207
Phoenix's ordinary day transforms into a bewildering experience when he stumbles upon an enigmatic art exhibition in the town square, orchestrated by a zealous collective known as the Sapphire Martyrs. This group, through their hauntingly beautiful but apocalyptic art, warns of a catastrophic event threatening havoc upon Haven. Among the exhibits, a particular piece—a distorted structure reminiscent of Haven's town hall, burned and bent out of shape—catches his eye, veiled in symbols of destruction. Another striking statue depicts a man in agony, a sapphire lodged in his chest, hinting at internal strife and despair. As Phoenix interacts with these pieces, he's thrust into a surreal vision that challenges his perception of reality and death, leaving him to ponder the profound messages embedded within the art.
The encounter takes a more personal turn when a seemingly innocuous artist, a young woman with an eagerness that borders on eerie, engages Phoenix. Her knowledge of Phoenix's encounters with death and cryptic mentions of the world's end unsettle him. Her assertion that the Sapphire Martyrs will safeguard their eternal souls while dismissing the physical body as mere disposable vessels reveals a blend of fatalism and optimism unique to the group's ideology. Phoenix, while shaken by the mystifying and somewhat terrifying art, debates the notion of the world's cyclical end and the essence of survival and identity. The conversation leaves Phoenix with more questions than answers, facing the unsettling fact that his strange journey intertwined with existential threats and philosophical dilemmas is far from over, hinting at deeper mysteries and potential encounters with the enigmatic Sapphire Martyrs in the future.
(Phoenix's odd encounter(SRTakeshi):SRTakeshi)
[Thu Feb 6 2025]
At The Trove Barcade
This room is dominated by a sprawling, weathered bar. The bar's surface, polished to a high sheen, is inlaid with a mosaic of colorful sea glass, glinting in the dim, lantern-like lighting.
The walls, painted a deep, oceanic blue, are adorned with an eclectic assortment of nautical paraphernalia. Aged maps, and faded flags are interspersed with vintage arcade game marquees. The ceiling, draped with tattered sails and thick, knotted ropes, gives the impression of being below deck on a ship.
In the corners of the room, clusters of arcade games flicker and beep, their colorful screens casting a kaleidoscope of light onto the wooden floorboards. The air is filled with the clatter of pinball machines, the electronic melodies of video games, and the occasional thud of an axe hitting its target.
Behind the bar, a vast array of bottles is displayed, their contents ranging from craft beers to exotic rums. The bartenders, dressed in pirate garb, deftly mix cocktails, their movements punctuated by the clink of glass and the hiss of a freshly opened beer.
North/South: Restrooms
Northeast: Games
East: Axe Throwing
Southeast: Competitive Games
Down: Laser Tag
It is afternoon, about 33F(0C) degrees, and there are a few wispy white clouds in the sky.
(Your target and their allies come across a cryptic warning, an art installation in the town square that is hauntingly beautiful but filled with symbols of destruction and despair. Upon investigation, they find a small, sapphire blue emblem hidden within the artwork. This is the sign of The Sapphire Martyrs, and the installation is a countdown to a catastrophic event they are planning in Haven. The characters must decipher the clues hidden in the installation to prevent the disaster and unmask the Martyr in their midst.)
As someone makes his way through town he would notice the presence of something that had not been here last he looked! The town square had been cleared out, the usual decorations and stalls and signs replaced instead with what looked like some kind of massive exhibition. A few young looking people in plastic "Staff" jackets were passing out fliers and people were milling around the area as they took in the massive abstract pieces of torn and wrought metal, smooth towering marble, and perplexing combinations of everyday items assembled into creative spectacles.
One of the staff would spot Phoenix as he makes his way past, waving him down as she quickly makes her way over to him "Hey there!" She greets him, energetically. It was a cute little thing in her early twenties, brown eyes, a freckled nose, pixie cut hair. She wore a modest but stylish outfit underneath her bright orange "Staff" jacket and on her head was a black french beret!
"Would you like to take a look at the exhibition?" She asks him in an excited voice, it seems as if she might have been one of the artists who had art on show here given how eagerly she looked up at Phoenix with wide, sparking eyes "Me and my troupe have been working on the pieces of art here for months, we feel like there's a really important message here for people!"
As Phoenix makes his way through town he would notice the presence of something that had not been here last he looked! The town square had been cleared out, the usual decorations and stalls and signs replaced instead with what looked like some kind of massive exhibition. A few young looking people in plastic "Staff" jackets were passing out fliers and people were milling around the area as they took in the massive abstract pieces of torn and wrought metal, smooth towering marble, and perplexing combinations of everyday items assembled into creative spectacles.
One of the staff would spot Phoenix as he makes his way past, waving him down as she quickly makes her way over to him "Hey there!" She greets him, energetically. It was a cute little thing in her early twenties, brown eyes, a freckled nose, pixie cut hair. She wore a modest but stylish outfit underneath her bright orange "Staff" jacket and on her head was a black french beret!
"Would you like to take a look at the exhibition?" She asks him in an excited voice, it seems as if she might have been one of the artists who had art on show here given how eagerly she looked up at Phoenix with wide, sparking eyes "Me and my troupe have been working on the pieces of art here for months, we feel like there's a really important message here for people!"
"Art?" Phoenix asks, looking a little confused, he had been looking down at his phone, likely sending off a message or two in the process. Though as he looks up, he gives the full of his attention to the woman before him. "Yeah? I think I could take a look..." he adds, moving to tuck that phone away then as he offers an easy smile. "What kind of art? Are we talking paintings or...." he lets his words trail off, having already taken the time to let her lead him along to whereever it is she is looking to go.
The woman starts to proudly lead him along, her stack of flies clutched to her chest in both arms. "We have a few paintings at the back, but most of what's in the center of the square!" He tells him excitedly "Think, more like, post-minimalist sculptural interventions!" She says as if it was the most obvious thing in the world "We also have some conceptual assemblage, and bit of site-specific installation ... Though those piece in particular are less ambitious since we've only got the square for the day." She tells him as she takes him to the edge of the square, and stops outside it.
She turns to him with a smile, fliers still held to her chest "As for themes and meanings, everyone has agreed it's really important we don't say anything about it, so the pieces can impress onto you their meanings themselves." She continues, holding up a finger as she continues to talk "A piece of art that can't communicate it's self is an artistic failure, and a piece of art that communicates something even the artist didn't know they were trying to communicate until someone looks into their art and finds it is the greatest artistic success of all" She says with a wistful sigh, gesturing over to the square as if looking forwards to anything Phoenix might find in her art "I'd love to go with you and gawk over your shoulder, but I'd just end up getting too excited and telling you everything you're supposed to think. And also I have to hand out fliers .... Could you come back and tell me what you thought of everything once you're done, though?" She asks him, batting her eyelids
"You sound like you really love your job." Phoenix grins to the young woman, seeming to be led along haphazardly. There is an easy smile that is sent her way as he listens to her as she tells the story. His eyes focus on the area around him for a time, keeping his attention drifting this way and that. though he comes to pause for a moment. "Oh man. Just me?" He offers a sheepish grin then before he says to her. "Yeah, yeah that is fine. Can I have one of the fliers?" he asks holding out a hand then. "Do I just keep going this way?"
She nods her head twice, quite happily as she hands him the flier "It can be hard! But once everything is set up, it's so rewarding to see what people make of everything!" She says happily as she watches Phoenix make his way into the art exhibition ...
The front side of the flier:
A bold, minimalist design in black and white with abstract geometric shapes scattered across the page, almost like pieces of a shattered whole. At the center, in sharp, angular letters:
A SITE-SPECIFIC EXHIBITION"
Below it, smaller text reads:
Presented by the Collective of Unseen Voices
The border is adorned with a series of enigmatic, barely perceptible symbols, some resembling twisted, broken objects. At the very bottom, the date and time are listed:@line "Today Only Town Square 10am-8pm"
Back Side:
The back is a continuation of the abstract theme, with more scattered designs some sharp and jagged, others smooth and organic. A single phrase stands out, written in large, distorted font:
"THE MESSAGE IS IN THE ART"
Beneath it, in smaller, more muted letters:
Interpret the work. Find the truth. What does it mean to you?
Further down, a section reads:
"A work is not complete until it is seen by the viewer."
And at the bottom, a final note:
"No explanations. Let the art speak for itself."
As Phoenix makes his way into the square, it would be impossible to miss the largest piece of the exhibition. Dominating the center of the square is a massive structure of wrought iron beams, it looked to be a 1 to 1 recreation of Haven's town hall building (Though obviously not quite so big, it still needed to fit inside of the square), the beams looked as if they'd been initially connected together quite sturdily, but the piece in front of Phoenix is a wrangled mess. The beams are blackened and charred, bent and melted, the entire structure barely even still standing as it looks as if the piece had been first built, and then placed into a furnace to create a destructed effect!
She nods her head twice, quite happily as she hands him the flier "It can be hard! But once everything is set up, it's so rewarding to see what people make of everything!" She says happily as she watches Phoenix make his way into the art exhibition ...
The front side of the flier:
A bold, minimalist design in black and white with abstract geometric shapes scattered across the page, almost like pieces of a shattered whole. At the center, in sharp, angular letters:
A SITE-SPECIFIC EXHIBITION"
Below it, smaller text reads:
Presented by the Collective of Unseen Voices
The border is adorned with a series of enigmatic, barely perceptible symbols, some resembling twisted, broken objects. At the very bottom, the date and time are listed:@line "Today Only Town Square 10am-8pm"
Back Side:
The back is a continuation of the abstract theme, with more scattered designs some sharp and jagged, others smooth and organic. A single phrase stands out, written in large, distorted font:
"THE MESSAGE IS IN THE ART"
Beneath it, in smaller, more muted letters:
Interpret the work. Find the truth. What does it mean to you?
Further down, a section reads:
"A work is not complete until it is seen by the viewer."
And at the bottom, a final note:
"No explanations. Let the art speak for itself."
As Phoenix makes his way into the square, it would be impossible to miss the largest piece of the exhibition. Dominating the center of the square is a massive structure of wrought iron beams, it looked to be a 1 to 1 recreation of Haven's town hall building (Though obviously not quite so big, it still needed to fit inside of the square), the beams looked as if they'd been initially connected together quite sturdily, but the piece in front of Phoenix is a wrangled mess. The beams are blackened and charred, bent and melted, the entire structure barely even still standing as it looks as if the piece had been first built, and then placed into a furnace to create a destructed effect!
"This... is... incredible." are the only words that Phoenix manages to get out as he looks around at the artwork, and specific tags in general. He lets out his breath and then begins to speak to himself, "Take it all in. There is more to this, isn't there?" the man starts to mumble to himself, his eyes settling curiously on the shapes of the flyiers, trying to study those specifically. "The message is in the Art?" THis seems to cause the man to take a pause, looking intently at the artwork with a bit of a frown.
As Phoenix lets out a breath, he flares his nostrils for a moment, his eyes falling on the towen hall building. He seems completely engrossed and then pauses, suddenly aware of his surroundings. "Ah... I should make sure..." he lets his words trail of then, a clearing of his throat. "Nah, there isn't going to be anyone here that is going to come after me. But... Do you think this is ... magic? Like everyone has been telling me the truth?" The words are soft, as if meant for him, though it is likely one could overhear it. He studies the destroyed Town Hall. "Is this a sign?"
The entire thing didn't look very safe. It was made by an artist, not a structural engineer after all. It would creak, threateningly, with the wind, and with the crowds milling around it, it was no mystery what might happen if the badly fire compromised building fell ...
The second piece of art was slightly less ambitious, a marble statue of a man just a little shorter than Phoenix is. There's a look of agony on the man's face as he clutches at his chest, the incredibly well defined skin of his body turning to sharp and jagged geometric shapes that seem as if they're bursting out from inside of him. The shapes open up a hole in his chest between his pecs, where what looks like an actual sparkling sapphire has been placed inside of the man, where perhaps his heart might be. The man seems to be looking as if he's trying to claw it out of himself ...
The entire thing didn't look very safe. It was made by an artist, not a structural engineer after all. It would creak, threateningly, with the wind, and with the crowds milling around it, it was no mystery what might happen if the badly fire compromised building fell ...
The second piece of art was slightly less ambitious, a marble statue of a man just a little shorter than Phoenix is. There's a look of agony on the man's face as he clutches at his chest, the incredibly well defined skin of his body turning to sharp and jagged geometric shapes that seem as if they're bursting out from inside of him. The shapes open up a hole in his chest between his pecs, where what looks like an actual sparkling sapphire has been placed inside of the man, where perhaps his heart might be. The man seems to be looking as if he's trying to claw it out of himself ...
As he seems to look over at the second piece of art, Phoenix swallows, hard. "That... looks too fucking real..." he murmurs to himself, instinctively scratching at his own chest then. He lets his eyes come to linger on the figure, stepping ever so closer to it. His fingers reach out, trying to touch the figure before him, his brows furrowing in the process. It is curious to him, that he seems to be alight, light the color of sapphire. It is a strange thing, almost like the man's body appears infused with something.
Phoenix takes in a deep breath, his fingers tracing the skin. "You have to wonder about the minds of the folks that create these. Where does their inspriation come from? It is almost like they take an image they have seen and then recreate it. I'd hate to be the person that could feel as this guy felt."
As Phoenix's fingers brush against the white marble of the man's skin, it's warm to the touch. Beyond that, however, there's a spark, like some kind of energy had been transfered between the marble of his skin. A moment later the sky turns dark, a silver moon dominating the sky overhead. It was a sight Phoenix would recognize, it was the same moon he had seen when he had envisioned himself dying. Just like in his vision, dark, murky, scarlet ichor bleeding from the suspended lunar sphere, pouring in cloggy waves out of the things pores as it gathers at the bottom, dripping down to the ground behind the piece in a single, thick line.
Before he would know was happening, he was already knee deep in the spiritual sewage, the faces of tormented spirits momentarily pressing up out of the shifting and bubbling surface of the corrupted swamp he know found himself in, the scarlet ichor manipulating it's self into the visages of gaunt, screaming expressions as a sharp ringing starts to grow louder and louder in his ears, overpowering the heavy slopping noise of the ichor and the screaming of the faces underneath him.
The ringing gets louder and louder with each second, reaching eventually the point of pain until it finally seems to reach towards a crescendo that seemed as if it would eviscerate the soft grey matter safely secured inside his skull like scrambled eggs if the noise would last any longer than a second ... But it doesn't reach the crescendo, the noise stops, and within the space of a split second everything seems to have returned to normal. Phoenix can hear laughter and pleasant chatter around him in ears that should have been permanently damaged, everyone around him walking about and enjoying the art as if nothing at all had happened.
As Phoenix's fingers brush against the white marble of the man's skin, it's warm to the touch. Beyond that, however, there's a spark, like some kind of energy had been transfered between the marble of his skin. A moment later the sky turns dark, a silver moon dominating the sky overhead. It was a sight Phoenix would recognize, it was the same moon he had seen when he had envisioned himself dying. Just like in his vision, dark, murky, scarlet ichor bleeds from the suspended lunar sphere, pouring in cloggy waves out of the things pores as it gathers at the bottom, dripping down to the ground behind the piece in a single, thick line.
Before he would know was happening, he was already knee deep in the spiritual sewage, the faces of tormented spirits momentarily pressing up out of the shifting and bubbling surface of the corrupted swamp he now found himself in, the scarlet ichor manipulating it's self into the visages of gaunt, screaming expressions as a sharp ringing starts to grow louder and louder in his ears, overpowering the heavy slopping noise of the ichor and the screaming of the faces underneath him.
The ringing gets louder and louder with each second, reaching eventually the point of pain until it finally starts to reach towards a crescendo that seemed as if it would eviscerate the soft grey matter safely secured inside his skull like scrambled eggs if the noise would last any longer than a second ... But it doesn't reach the crescendo, the noise stops, and within the space of a split second everything seems to have returned to normal. Phoenix can hear laughter and pleasant chatter around him in ears that should have been permanently damaged, everyone around him walking about and enjoying the art as if nothing at all had happened. (Fixed, fuck me I need to grammar check before posting these)
The whole of this experience as he is in that moment while he is in it, dealing with that pain, that ringing, Phoenix is doing everything he can to hold at his head, to not cry out. The pain is intense and to the point that he would almost cry out. The fear, his heart thumping, even the mere thought of his end being now, this moment, with so much unfinished business that he has yet to complete. He claws at the air, at his chest, at whatever he can reach for.
But then in a flash, the darkness fades and the light returns. While there is laughing and joy going on all around Phoenix, his life is not such a thing. He is struggling to breath, catch his breath. His own features have paled considerably. Whatever just happened, it was enough to shake him. to... cause that panic to rise. "What just happened?" he asks himself, likely getting a few strange looks as he appears to have just awoken from a nightmare. HIs eyes drift over toward the man, the tortured features he wears like an artistic mask.
As Phoenix looks over the man, he would find that the statue in front of him had changed, the face was different. It was now his face on the statue, and his body being torn open by the sharp geometric shapes. As his hands claw at his chest, Phoenix would feel something in his hand that hadn't been there a moment ago ... A rugged, uncut, saphire gem. It was small, about the size of a nut.
As he feels that sapphire in his hand, Phoenix seems to let the gem roll between his fingers, but his gaze remains on the figure. Well, the figure that is now of him, with his face. His... death? His torment, at the very least. He seems far less excited than when he first arrived.
Given the laughter and the voices surrounding him, it didn't seem as if this was what everyone was experiencing. He certainly wasn't seeing anyone walking around with their own sapphires in their hands like Phoenix had. Everyone seemed to be quite enjoying the artwork on a purely mundane level. A rotund older gentleman with a ball cap and a bristly white mustache brings up a camera from the strap around his neck to take a picture of Phoenix cast in marble and clawing at his chest before looking between Phoenix and the statue he was photographing for a moment, giving himself an amused 'heh, and moving onto the nest exhibit.
There is a moment of silence as Phoenix seems unaware of what is going on around him. Eventually, he laments and that photo gets him at a very strange moment, his eyes wide open and his features ghastly. He looked scared perhaps, but it is the sapphire that draws his attention then. The laughter just sort of blends into the back ground and he himself heads off in the direction of the entrance, not bothering with the rest of the exhibits.
The woman is there, waiting for him, as he makes his way out of the exhibits, she's smiling just the same as before, ear to ear and excited. But, with the experience he just had, something about that smile now seems as it was more ominous, the small and unimposing lady in the cute clothes with the pixie haircut seeming as if she might have been more than an overly eager university student trying to reach a human connection. "So?" She asks, eagerly "What did you think?!"
"I think... that was indeed something." Phoenix says as he looks over at the woman, not quite as excited now as he is leaving as he had been once. He somehow does seem to must a smile for her, though he gives a shake of his head, "I have never seen something quite like it." he admits after a moment. "It was... something."
A look of slight confusion comes over her face as he tells her she's never seen anything like it. "That's, not correct though ... is it?" She asks him in a careful voice, looking into his eyes for a moment as if wondering why he would lie to her like this, almost seeming somewhat hurt by the fact that he had. "You have seen something before, just like that." She murmurs under her breath, clutching the fliers to her chest as she shrinks back a little
he's*
"How would you know that..." Phoenix says, his eyes going wide instantly as he regards her, the fliers held close. He takes a step closer to her, his , hand seeming to flex momentarily before he relaxes, his features shifting. "Wait, how would you know I have seen that before?"
Her face becomes complex for a moment, hard to read. It seemed as if she might be thinking, part of her seemed disappointed with Phoenix's reaction, as if he had not given the one he'd hoped for. Perhaps she was thinking about how her being disappointed with not getting the reaction she wanted made her a bad artist. After a few seconds of deliberation she opens her mouth again, seeming to have decided where was the best place to start "You're going to die, Phoenix ..." She tells him, her voice compassionate and sympathetic, lowered to a soft tone so just he and her could hear it " ... You do know that, right?"
That straight and to the point statement. It just strikes a nerve, something deep at the soul of Phoenix then. "I..." Phoenix starts and then stops, giving a little shake of his head as he tries to figure out the best way to respond. He then just seems to, acknowledge it. "Yeah. I am. We all will, some day, and mine may be sooner than others, but after others still. But that doesn't explain much. What has me worried is that you knew this would happen and... you know my name. Who -are- you?"
She smiles as he seems to take it well, seemingly glad that Phoenix had non argumentatively accepted his death. "That's good, acceptance in the first step." He tells him happily as she looks up at him again. "The world is ending, Phoenix. We're all going to be moving on soon." She tells him in a soft, but somewhat eerily excited sounding voice. "But it's okay." She tells him, optimistically "Our physical bodies may be gone, but Saphire Martyrs are going to ensure the safety of our eternal souls." She says, glancing over towards the statue of Phoenix as he stood screaming in agony and tearing at his chest "Your body is just a statue, no different from that one. It's a physical object, to be used, and discarded when it's no longer needed." She says in a happy voice, as if knowing such things had brought her great peace. "What's important, is what's on the inside ... Do you know what that is, Phoenix?" She asks him, glancing down towards his hand before smiling.
"That my heart is beating, that I live my life?" Phoenix asks, though he sends a glance to his wrist for a moment, his attention drifting to something there, real or otherwise. He takes a moment, collecting his thoughts, what he wants to say next. "I know we are all going to die. LThe world ending though? Maybe. Who is to say it hasn't already ended ten times before and civilization just restarted itself?" he asks the question with an open mind to the answer. "What is it you're after? The same as Apepth? Are you another... Eidolon?"
She giggles and shakes her head "No, I'm not an Eidolon" She tells him, reaching out and taking his hand, holding it in front of her. Her skin was soft, and warm. It didn't seen inhuman "See?" She asks, swaying his hand from side to side playfully, seeming content to hold it for the timebeing unless Phoenix were to try and extract his hand back from her.
"I'm just an artist." She tells him confidently "And an admirer of the Saphire Martyrs that will save us all."
"Sapphire Martyrs..." Phoenix prompts before he starts to shake his head. "Well, you have given me more than enough for one day. I need to get some rest and clear my head. I have a feeling I will see your kind again."
The girl gives him a friendly wave, smiling as Phoenix heads off!
The encounter takes a more personal turn when a seemingly innocuous artist, a young woman with an eagerness that borders on eerie, engages Phoenix. Her knowledge of Phoenix's encounters with death and cryptic mentions of the world's end unsettle him. Her assertion that the Sapphire Martyrs will safeguard their eternal souls while dismissing the physical body as mere disposable vessels reveals a blend of fatalism and optimism unique to the group's ideology. Phoenix, while shaken by the mystifying and somewhat terrifying art, debates the notion of the world's cyclical end and the essence of survival and identity. The conversation leaves Phoenix with more questions than answers, facing the unsettling fact that his strange journey intertwined with existential threats and philosophical dilemmas is far from over, hinting at deeper mysteries and potential encounters with the enigmatic Sapphire Martyrs in the future.
(Phoenix's odd encounter(SRTakeshi):SRTakeshi)
[Thu Feb 6 2025]
At The Trove Barcade
This room is dominated by a sprawling, weathered bar. The bar's surface, polished to a high sheen, is inlaid with a mosaic of colorful sea glass, glinting in the dim, lantern-like lighting.
The walls, painted a deep, oceanic blue, are adorned with an eclectic assortment of nautical paraphernalia. Aged maps, and faded flags are interspersed with vintage arcade game marquees. The ceiling, draped with tattered sails and thick, knotted ropes, gives the impression of being below deck on a ship.
In the corners of the room, clusters of arcade games flicker and beep, their colorful screens casting a kaleidoscope of light onto the wooden floorboards. The air is filled with the clatter of pinball machines, the electronic melodies of video games, and the occasional thud of an axe hitting its target.
Behind the bar, a vast array of bottles is displayed, their contents ranging from craft beers to exotic rums. The bartenders, dressed in pirate garb, deftly mix cocktails, their movements punctuated by the clink of glass and the hiss of a freshly opened beer.
North/South: Restrooms
Northeast: Games
East: Axe Throwing
Southeast: Competitive Games
Down: Laser Tag
It is afternoon, about 33F(0C) degrees, and there are a few wispy white clouds in the sky.
(Your target and their allies come across a cryptic warning, an art installation in the town square that is hauntingly beautiful but filled with symbols of destruction and despair. Upon investigation, they find a small, sapphire blue emblem hidden within the artwork. This is the sign of The Sapphire Martyrs, and the installation is a countdown to a catastrophic event they are planning in Haven. The characters must decipher the clues hidden in the installation to prevent the disaster and unmask the Martyr in their midst.)
As someone makes his way through town he would notice the presence of something that had not been here last he looked! The town square had been cleared out, the usual decorations and stalls and signs replaced instead with what looked like some kind of massive exhibition. A few young looking people in plastic "Staff" jackets were passing out fliers and people were milling around the area as they took in the massive abstract pieces of torn and wrought metal, smooth towering marble, and perplexing combinations of everyday items assembled into creative spectacles.
One of the staff would spot Phoenix as he makes his way past, waving him down as she quickly makes her way over to him "Hey there!" She greets him, energetically. It was a cute little thing in her early twenties, brown eyes, a freckled nose, pixie cut hair. She wore a modest but stylish outfit underneath her bright orange "Staff" jacket and on her head was a black french beret!
"Would you like to take a look at the exhibition?" She asks him in an excited voice, it seems as if she might have been one of the artists who had art on show here given how eagerly she looked up at Phoenix with wide, sparking eyes "Me and my troupe have been working on the pieces of art here for months, we feel like there's a really important message here for people!"
As Phoenix makes his way through town he would notice the presence of something that had not been here last he looked! The town square had been cleared out, the usual decorations and stalls and signs replaced instead with what looked like some kind of massive exhibition. A few young looking people in plastic "Staff" jackets were passing out fliers and people were milling around the area as they took in the massive abstract pieces of torn and wrought metal, smooth towering marble, and perplexing combinations of everyday items assembled into creative spectacles.
One of the staff would spot Phoenix as he makes his way past, waving him down as she quickly makes her way over to him "Hey there!" She greets him, energetically. It was a cute little thing in her early twenties, brown eyes, a freckled nose, pixie cut hair. She wore a modest but stylish outfit underneath her bright orange "Staff" jacket and on her head was a black french beret!
"Would you like to take a look at the exhibition?" She asks him in an excited voice, it seems as if she might have been one of the artists who had art on show here given how eagerly she looked up at Phoenix with wide, sparking eyes "Me and my troupe have been working on the pieces of art here for months, we feel like there's a really important message here for people!"
"Art?" Phoenix asks, looking a little confused, he had been looking down at his phone, likely sending off a message or two in the process. Though as he looks up, he gives the full of his attention to the woman before him. "Yeah? I think I could take a look..." he adds, moving to tuck that phone away then as he offers an easy smile. "What kind of art? Are we talking paintings or...." he lets his words trail off, having already taken the time to let her lead him along to whereever it is she is looking to go.
The woman starts to proudly lead him along, her stack of flies clutched to her chest in both arms. "We have a few paintings at the back, but most of what's in the center of the square!" He tells him excitedly "Think, more like, post-minimalist sculptural interventions!" She says as if it was the most obvious thing in the world "We also have some conceptual assemblage, and bit of site-specific installation ... Though those piece in particular are less ambitious since we've only got the square for the day." She tells him as she takes him to the edge of the square, and stops outside it.
She turns to him with a smile, fliers still held to her chest "As for themes and meanings, everyone has agreed it's really important we don't say anything about it, so the pieces can impress onto you their meanings themselves." She continues, holding up a finger as she continues to talk "A piece of art that can't communicate it's self is an artistic failure, and a piece of art that communicates something even the artist didn't know they were trying to communicate until someone looks into their art and finds it is the greatest artistic success of all" She says with a wistful sigh, gesturing over to the square as if looking forwards to anything Phoenix might find in her art "I'd love to go with you and gawk over your shoulder, but I'd just end up getting too excited and telling you everything you're supposed to think. And also I have to hand out fliers .... Could you come back and tell me what you thought of everything once you're done, though?" She asks him, batting her eyelids
"You sound like you really love your job." Phoenix grins to the young woman, seeming to be led along haphazardly. There is an easy smile that is sent her way as he listens to her as she tells the story. His eyes focus on the area around him for a time, keeping his attention drifting this way and that. though he comes to pause for a moment. "Oh man. Just me?" He offers a sheepish grin then before he says to her. "Yeah, yeah that is fine. Can I have one of the fliers?" he asks holding out a hand then. "Do I just keep going this way?"
She nods her head twice, quite happily as she hands him the flier "It can be hard! But once everything is set up, it's so rewarding to see what people make of everything!" She says happily as she watches Phoenix make his way into the art exhibition ...
The front side of the flier:
A bold, minimalist design in black and white with abstract geometric shapes scattered across the page, almost like pieces of a shattered whole. At the center, in sharp, angular letters:
A SITE-SPECIFIC EXHIBITION"
Below it, smaller text reads:
Presented by the Collective of Unseen Voices
The border is adorned with a series of enigmatic, barely perceptible symbols, some resembling twisted, broken objects. At the very bottom, the date and time are listed:@line "Today Only Town Square 10am-8pm"
Back Side:
The back is a continuation of the abstract theme, with more scattered designs some sharp and jagged, others smooth and organic. A single phrase stands out, written in large, distorted font:
"THE MESSAGE IS IN THE ART"
Beneath it, in smaller, more muted letters:
Interpret the work. Find the truth. What does it mean to you?
Further down, a section reads:
"A work is not complete until it is seen by the viewer."
And at the bottom, a final note:
"No explanations. Let the art speak for itself."
As Phoenix makes his way into the square, it would be impossible to miss the largest piece of the exhibition. Dominating the center of the square is a massive structure of wrought iron beams, it looked to be a 1 to 1 recreation of Haven's town hall building (Though obviously not quite so big, it still needed to fit inside of the square), the beams looked as if they'd been initially connected together quite sturdily, but the piece in front of Phoenix is a wrangled mess. The beams are blackened and charred, bent and melted, the entire structure barely even still standing as it looks as if the piece had been first built, and then placed into a furnace to create a destructed effect!
She nods her head twice, quite happily as she hands him the flier "It can be hard! But once everything is set up, it's so rewarding to see what people make of everything!" She says happily as she watches Phoenix make his way into the art exhibition ...
The front side of the flier:
A bold, minimalist design in black and white with abstract geometric shapes scattered across the page, almost like pieces of a shattered whole. At the center, in sharp, angular letters:
A SITE-SPECIFIC EXHIBITION"
Below it, smaller text reads:
Presented by the Collective of Unseen Voices
The border is adorned with a series of enigmatic, barely perceptible symbols, some resembling twisted, broken objects. At the very bottom, the date and time are listed:@line "Today Only Town Square 10am-8pm"
Back Side:
The back is a continuation of the abstract theme, with more scattered designs some sharp and jagged, others smooth and organic. A single phrase stands out, written in large, distorted font:
"THE MESSAGE IS IN THE ART"
Beneath it, in smaller, more muted letters:
Interpret the work. Find the truth. What does it mean to you?
Further down, a section reads:
"A work is not complete until it is seen by the viewer."
And at the bottom, a final note:
"No explanations. Let the art speak for itself."
As Phoenix makes his way into the square, it would be impossible to miss the largest piece of the exhibition. Dominating the center of the square is a massive structure of wrought iron beams, it looked to be a 1 to 1 recreation of Haven's town hall building (Though obviously not quite so big, it still needed to fit inside of the square), the beams looked as if they'd been initially connected together quite sturdily, but the piece in front of Phoenix is a wrangled mess. The beams are blackened and charred, bent and melted, the entire structure barely even still standing as it looks as if the piece had been first built, and then placed into a furnace to create a destructed effect!
"This... is... incredible." are the only words that Phoenix manages to get out as he looks around at the artwork, and specific tags in general. He lets out his breath and then begins to speak to himself, "Take it all in. There is more to this, isn't there?" the man starts to mumble to himself, his eyes settling curiously on the shapes of the flyiers, trying to study those specifically. "The message is in the Art?" THis seems to cause the man to take a pause, looking intently at the artwork with a bit of a frown.
As Phoenix lets out a breath, he flares his nostrils for a moment, his eyes falling on the towen hall building. He seems completely engrossed and then pauses, suddenly aware of his surroundings. "Ah... I should make sure..." he lets his words trail of then, a clearing of his throat. "Nah, there isn't going to be anyone here that is going to come after me. But... Do you think this is ... magic? Like everyone has been telling me the truth?" The words are soft, as if meant for him, though it is likely one could overhear it. He studies the destroyed Town Hall. "Is this a sign?"
The entire thing didn't look very safe. It was made by an artist, not a structural engineer after all. It would creak, threateningly, with the wind, and with the crowds milling around it, it was no mystery what might happen if the badly fire compromised building fell ...
The second piece of art was slightly less ambitious, a marble statue of a man just a little shorter than Phoenix is. There's a look of agony on the man's face as he clutches at his chest, the incredibly well defined skin of his body turning to sharp and jagged geometric shapes that seem as if they're bursting out from inside of him. The shapes open up a hole in his chest between his pecs, where what looks like an actual sparkling sapphire has been placed inside of the man, where perhaps his heart might be. The man seems to be looking as if he's trying to claw it out of himself ...
The entire thing didn't look very safe. It was made by an artist, not a structural engineer after all. It would creak, threateningly, with the wind, and with the crowds milling around it, it was no mystery what might happen if the badly fire compromised building fell ...
The second piece of art was slightly less ambitious, a marble statue of a man just a little shorter than Phoenix is. There's a look of agony on the man's face as he clutches at his chest, the incredibly well defined skin of his body turning to sharp and jagged geometric shapes that seem as if they're bursting out from inside of him. The shapes open up a hole in his chest between his pecs, where what looks like an actual sparkling sapphire has been placed inside of the man, where perhaps his heart might be. The man seems to be looking as if he's trying to claw it out of himself ...
As he seems to look over at the second piece of art, Phoenix swallows, hard. "That... looks too fucking real..." he murmurs to himself, instinctively scratching at his own chest then. He lets his eyes come to linger on the figure, stepping ever so closer to it. His fingers reach out, trying to touch the figure before him, his brows furrowing in the process. It is curious to him, that he seems to be alight, light the color of sapphire. It is a strange thing, almost like the man's body appears infused with something.
Phoenix takes in a deep breath, his fingers tracing the skin. "You have to wonder about the minds of the folks that create these. Where does their inspriation come from? It is almost like they take an image they have seen and then recreate it. I'd hate to be the person that could feel as this guy felt."
As Phoenix's fingers brush against the white marble of the man's skin, it's warm to the touch. Beyond that, however, there's a spark, like some kind of energy had been transfered between the marble of his skin. A moment later the sky turns dark, a silver moon dominating the sky overhead. It was a sight Phoenix would recognize, it was the same moon he had seen when he had envisioned himself dying. Just like in his vision, dark, murky, scarlet ichor bleeding from the suspended lunar sphere, pouring in cloggy waves out of the things pores as it gathers at the bottom, dripping down to the ground behind the piece in a single, thick line.
Before he would know was happening, he was already knee deep in the spiritual sewage, the faces of tormented spirits momentarily pressing up out of the shifting and bubbling surface of the corrupted swamp he know found himself in, the scarlet ichor manipulating it's self into the visages of gaunt, screaming expressions as a sharp ringing starts to grow louder and louder in his ears, overpowering the heavy slopping noise of the ichor and the screaming of the faces underneath him.
The ringing gets louder and louder with each second, reaching eventually the point of pain until it finally seems to reach towards a crescendo that seemed as if it would eviscerate the soft grey matter safely secured inside his skull like scrambled eggs if the noise would last any longer than a second ... But it doesn't reach the crescendo, the noise stops, and within the space of a split second everything seems to have returned to normal. Phoenix can hear laughter and pleasant chatter around him in ears that should have been permanently damaged, everyone around him walking about and enjoying the art as if nothing at all had happened.
As Phoenix's fingers brush against the white marble of the man's skin, it's warm to the touch. Beyond that, however, there's a spark, like some kind of energy had been transfered between the marble of his skin. A moment later the sky turns dark, a silver moon dominating the sky overhead. It was a sight Phoenix would recognize, it was the same moon he had seen when he had envisioned himself dying. Just like in his vision, dark, murky, scarlet ichor bleeds from the suspended lunar sphere, pouring in cloggy waves out of the things pores as it gathers at the bottom, dripping down to the ground behind the piece in a single, thick line.
Before he would know was happening, he was already knee deep in the spiritual sewage, the faces of tormented spirits momentarily pressing up out of the shifting and bubbling surface of the corrupted swamp he now found himself in, the scarlet ichor manipulating it's self into the visages of gaunt, screaming expressions as a sharp ringing starts to grow louder and louder in his ears, overpowering the heavy slopping noise of the ichor and the screaming of the faces underneath him.
The ringing gets louder and louder with each second, reaching eventually the point of pain until it finally starts to reach towards a crescendo that seemed as if it would eviscerate the soft grey matter safely secured inside his skull like scrambled eggs if the noise would last any longer than a second ... But it doesn't reach the crescendo, the noise stops, and within the space of a split second everything seems to have returned to normal. Phoenix can hear laughter and pleasant chatter around him in ears that should have been permanently damaged, everyone around him walking about and enjoying the art as if nothing at all had happened. (Fixed, fuck me I need to grammar check before posting these)
The whole of this experience as he is in that moment while he is in it, dealing with that pain, that ringing, Phoenix is doing everything he can to hold at his head, to not cry out. The pain is intense and to the point that he would almost cry out. The fear, his heart thumping, even the mere thought of his end being now, this moment, with so much unfinished business that he has yet to complete. He claws at the air, at his chest, at whatever he can reach for.
But then in a flash, the darkness fades and the light returns. While there is laughing and joy going on all around Phoenix, his life is not such a thing. He is struggling to breath, catch his breath. His own features have paled considerably. Whatever just happened, it was enough to shake him. to... cause that panic to rise. "What just happened?" he asks himself, likely getting a few strange looks as he appears to have just awoken from a nightmare. HIs eyes drift over toward the man, the tortured features he wears like an artistic mask.
As Phoenix looks over the man, he would find that the statue in front of him had changed, the face was different. It was now his face on the statue, and his body being torn open by the sharp geometric shapes. As his hands claw at his chest, Phoenix would feel something in his hand that hadn't been there a moment ago ... A rugged, uncut, saphire gem. It was small, about the size of a nut.
As he feels that sapphire in his hand, Phoenix seems to let the gem roll between his fingers, but his gaze remains on the figure. Well, the figure that is now of him, with his face. His... death? His torment, at the very least. He seems far less excited than when he first arrived.
Given the laughter and the voices surrounding him, it didn't seem as if this was what everyone was experiencing. He certainly wasn't seeing anyone walking around with their own sapphires in their hands like Phoenix had. Everyone seemed to be quite enjoying the artwork on a purely mundane level. A rotund older gentleman with a ball cap and a bristly white mustache brings up a camera from the strap around his neck to take a picture of Phoenix cast in marble and clawing at his chest before looking between Phoenix and the statue he was photographing for a moment, giving himself an amused 'heh, and moving onto the nest exhibit.
There is a moment of silence as Phoenix seems unaware of what is going on around him. Eventually, he laments and that photo gets him at a very strange moment, his eyes wide open and his features ghastly. He looked scared perhaps, but it is the sapphire that draws his attention then. The laughter just sort of blends into the back ground and he himself heads off in the direction of the entrance, not bothering with the rest of the exhibits.
The woman is there, waiting for him, as he makes his way out of the exhibits, she's smiling just the same as before, ear to ear and excited. But, with the experience he just had, something about that smile now seems as it was more ominous, the small and unimposing lady in the cute clothes with the pixie haircut seeming as if she might have been more than an overly eager university student trying to reach a human connection. "So?" She asks, eagerly "What did you think?!"
"I think... that was indeed something." Phoenix says as he looks over at the woman, not quite as excited now as he is leaving as he had been once. He somehow does seem to must a smile for her, though he gives a shake of his head, "I have never seen something quite like it." he admits after a moment. "It was... something."
A look of slight confusion comes over her face as he tells her she's never seen anything like it. "That's, not correct though ... is it?" She asks him in a careful voice, looking into his eyes for a moment as if wondering why he would lie to her like this, almost seeming somewhat hurt by the fact that he had. "You have seen something before, just like that." She murmurs under her breath, clutching the fliers to her chest as she shrinks back a little
he's*
"How would you know that..." Phoenix says, his eyes going wide instantly as he regards her, the fliers held close. He takes a step closer to her, his , hand seeming to flex momentarily before he relaxes, his features shifting. "Wait, how would you know I have seen that before?"
Her face becomes complex for a moment, hard to read. It seemed as if she might be thinking, part of her seemed disappointed with Phoenix's reaction, as if he had not given the one he'd hoped for. Perhaps she was thinking about how her being disappointed with not getting the reaction she wanted made her a bad artist. After a few seconds of deliberation she opens her mouth again, seeming to have decided where was the best place to start "You're going to die, Phoenix ..." She tells him, her voice compassionate and sympathetic, lowered to a soft tone so just he and her could hear it " ... You do know that, right?"
That straight and to the point statement. It just strikes a nerve, something deep at the soul of Phoenix then. "I..." Phoenix starts and then stops, giving a little shake of his head as he tries to figure out the best way to respond. He then just seems to, acknowledge it. "Yeah. I am. We all will, some day, and mine may be sooner than others, but after others still. But that doesn't explain much. What has me worried is that you knew this would happen and... you know my name. Who -are- you?"
She smiles as he seems to take it well, seemingly glad that Phoenix had non argumentatively accepted his death. "That's good, acceptance in the first step." He tells him happily as she looks up at him again. "The world is ending, Phoenix. We're all going to be moving on soon." She tells him in a soft, but somewhat eerily excited sounding voice. "But it's okay." She tells him, optimistically "Our physical bodies may be gone, but Saphire Martyrs are going to ensure the safety of our eternal souls." She says, glancing over towards the statue of Phoenix as he stood screaming in agony and tearing at his chest "Your body is just a statue, no different from that one. It's a physical object, to be used, and discarded when it's no longer needed." She says in a happy voice, as if knowing such things had brought her great peace. "What's important, is what's on the inside ... Do you know what that is, Phoenix?" She asks him, glancing down towards his hand before smiling.
"That my heart is beating, that I live my life?" Phoenix asks, though he sends a glance to his wrist for a moment, his attention drifting to something there, real or otherwise. He takes a moment, collecting his thoughts, what he wants to say next. "I know we are all going to die. LThe world ending though? Maybe. Who is to say it hasn't already ended ten times before and civilization just restarted itself?" he asks the question with an open mind to the answer. "What is it you're after? The same as Apepth? Are you another... Eidolon?"
She giggles and shakes her head "No, I'm not an Eidolon" She tells him, reaching out and taking his hand, holding it in front of her. Her skin was soft, and warm. It didn't seen inhuman "See?" She asks, swaying his hand from side to side playfully, seeming content to hold it for the timebeing unless Phoenix were to try and extract his hand back from her.
"I'm just an artist." She tells him confidently "And an admirer of the Saphire Martyrs that will save us all."
"Sapphire Martyrs..." Phoenix prompts before he starts to shake his head. "Well, you have given me more than enough for one day. I need to get some rest and clear my head. I have a feeling I will see your kind again."
The girl gives him a friendly wave, smiling as Phoenix heads off!