That chanting in the beginning makes me want Ch'dau to get up and use his last breath to make Sloppy D'hurganites.

Absolutely! I thank you for tunring me on to her, today! Sooooooo fitting!

I've been getting into Zack Hemsey, myself, recently. In fact, a song he wrote for the Equalizer movie kept coming up in my head as I wrote Ch'dau's "death scene," today. Not much lyrically, really, but the "Before I die alone, I will have vengeance" bit spoke to me really hard.

...what you're saying is that we make Davey meat, 'bag' Kith, disappear into the wilds of the Sylvari kingdoms and deprogram our daughter whilst holding each other and crying our eyes out once we've worn her down for the day? Is that what I'm hearing?

Seriously... I haven't been this sad for any of my characters since Alex Sharpe. I was gonna skip drinking, today, but man!!!

...but Cat-dad and Blade-mum do not approve! Aaaaand Kazari lessons are pretty brutal and don't usually include magical healing afterward.

As to getting Kith's mind right, well, that's kind of why the "Samuel is here" line might have been included... Baby steps, right?

Also - that play list is awesome! Been listening to the song you shared in HC QA earlier (and those suggested by You Tube after)... Hasn't helped my mood, really, but I FEEL it nonetheless. Good stuff! You've got an awesome ear.

P.S. This song happened to play on my own random playlist while I was writing Ch'dau's post this morning and has been stuck in my head since.

Funny you should say that! I've been entertaining the idea of a female Kazari rogue, recently... More sly and slinky than severe and savage.

P.S. PLEASE don't make me... Keep that sword to yourself!

P.P.S 100000000000%

P.P.P.S. 8000 posts?!?! Holy hell I need a hobby!

... despite the bad, I'm sure that Samuel still would do anything he could to keep his tiny little clan together. How that might work out, I'm not sure but I do hope we find out. I'll be terribly destroyed if he's forced to kill his kibibi!

P.S. Despite the turn HC took, I totally get it and am just in AWE of the whole thing! You're both spectacular players/writers and I would happily join both of you in future adventures.

...and given how things have turned out in HC I'm not sure that dismissing it as a dream/hallucination.

The more I think about it, the more I believe that Ch'dau is gonna wind up just as broken as Ara (assuming he even survives, of course). I have a sneaking suspicion that after leaving D'hurgan's temple, he'll likely disappear for a while... Maybe resume his hunt for a way back to Capasha in earnest? Or go back to Crandel and play bouncer at the Nicked Shill?

Of course, as Olan and I have discussed, I'm not entirely sure that Ch'dau would be welcomed back in Capasha... Too much time among the monkeys, you know? He's a much different kitty than the one who fell through that faerie ring all those years ago. He'd be banished or killed, most likely. A hut in Sylvaria is sounding better all the time.

No worries, kibibi! Ch'dau's a fighter not a lover (most of the time, anyway).

Besides, once you go cat you never... um... wear pants???

I dunno!

It's been a loooooong day.

...blossoming BDSM romance, the team giving in to defeat... I suppose as long as Ch'dau doesn't end up as a tiger skin rug, what's the use in fighting, right?

Great post! So much cute!

Yeah... Gonna need something way more potent than Sweet Vidalia to be able to choke that desert down! Yoiks!

My guy is unconscious and headed for The Hunt... He missed all of that.

Following the Airing of Grievances we can stuff her in one of the heavy bags and move on to Feats of Strength! Happy Festivus!!!

LMAO @ Team D'hurgen T-shirts! I know I give the Death monkey lots of lip, but I'd totally wear that shirt!

...That's why there are heavy bags in the garage and a bottle of Kraken in the bar.

Bring your issues and a favorite glass if you have one and we'll pows-wow! My rates are truly reasonable.

Oh, I will... Just gotta decide if I'm going with the Sweet Vidalia BBQ sauce or the Teriyaki! Always hard to tell when preparing foreign food.

I think being able to relate to the Big Bad (even on some small level) is another piece of what makes a tale like this so intriguing, actually. Depth of character and motivation are crucial pieces of the puzzle (I mean who didn't watch Halloween or Friday the 13th and not feel something for Michael or Jason after their backstories came into play? You didn't want them to 'win' necessarily, but there was some bit of, 'Oh yeah. I get it, dude! Kill that d-bag next!')

As to "hating Kithran" in the end of all this... Hmmm... Ch'dau, for one, could never hate her. She and Ara have been his clan for all this time, after all, and he loves them more than he likely ever should have given his quest to be returned "home." Should he survive to see her, again, he may have some 'trust issues,' but I'm sure that, given time to understand all that has happened, those too will fade soon enough.

Wouldn't have been the same without you, Butterfly! 

...every good story is that way because, somewhere along the way, your guts get twisted with the goings on and the emotions are dredged to the surface for better or worse. While this was one of those situations where "worse" won out, it certainly isn't anything to apologize for. It. Was. AMAZING!!!!

Oh... My... Rrowl!!!  

My poor Little Kitten! 

My stomach literally hurts, right now!

****************************************

Personally, as much as it hurt to see happen, the "twist" with Kithran was incredible, imo, and added soooo much more weight to all of this! I don't know that a better result could have come from the original plan, really! Kudos to you, Olan, for taking that particular turn and, kudos to breebls, as well, for fueling the fire!

Don't say that, Rer! 

Let's survive this, then have Ch'dau and Ara retire to some obscure corner of Antaron and live like hermits.

In all honesty, and for all the death and darkness, this has to have been one of the more fun (not "fun?" ) romps I have embarked upon! The plot, the players, the passion, and even the pain have been fantastic! If I never play again (which I will, of course) I can say, without a doubt, that I participated in one of the absolute BEST RPs ever and point to this game!

You people did that! And I love you all for it!

That was a hard post to write... but there it is, anyway.

Good stuff all around, folks! Such a pleasure to have shared in this will all of you talented people! Now, someone fix the kitty so he can eat Kith... you know... to save her from the clutches of evil!  

With the Kazari’s roar still reverberating from the temple’s walls, the chanting of the cultists is ended, giving way to panic and confusion. The temple floor, then, is awash in chaotic tides of dark-robed figures fleeing, falling, or fighting for their chosen faction. Ch’dau is indiscriminate as he wades into the tumult of battle, carving a bloody swath through the throng, sending both the living and undead to their deserved damnations regardless of their allegiances. The Silver Cat is already spattered with the blood of the fallen as, upon the dais, Garn tears back his hood and draws his blade in answer to the Kazari’s challenge.

Yes, t’mbili, Ch’dau snarled as the big warrior stepped from the dais and the crowd seemed to part to facilitate the fight to come, bring me your blood!

And then Garn is on him, the warrior’s skill on full display as he and Ch’dau, at last, cross blades. The man was a much more capable fighter than the kazari had imagined he would be, though, and was quick to open several wounds in the cat-man’s furry hide. Ch’dau didn’t allow himself to feel them, though. Instead, he seemed to almost relish in the fact that his own blood now darkened his fur… seemed to ask for more as he continued to press the warrior’s practiced bladework and test his defenses. Then, as Garn’s blade raised for what would have surely been a grievous blow, Ch’dau found his opening. The human’s sword sliced through the air, whistling for the kazari’s neck, and Ch’dau stepped into its arc, punching the hilt of one falcata into the man’s forearm to deflect the blow and, simultaneously, driving the second falcata through the big man’s chest.

“Smile at me now, k’tomba t’mbili,” the Silver Cat snarled as the blade exploded from Garn’s back. The dead man blinked once as the feral feline face pressed closer to his own and the blooded maw growled, once more; “Smile at me now!” Garn did not smile; he simply crumpled to the floor as the kazari ripped his blade from his guts and waded away into the tide of cultists and zombies that surged around them.

It had taken only a second to spot Aranwen through the fracas. The bladesinger had made her way to Davena and very well may have been about to end the witch but, even as Ch’dau cut his path toward her, the Dhurgenite’s dark magics came into play. Aranwen was staggered and stunned, her borrowed sword ineffectual in a helpless hand. Davena, though, despite her own injuries, had found the strength to lift her own blade, prepared to slash the thing across the Sylvari’s throat…

No!!! Ch’dau launched himself furiously over those that remained between himself and the high priestess.

…Just as Davena’s blade began its sweep, the Kazari plowed into her, knocking her from her feet and depositing her on the dais a few feet away.

Standing between Aranwen and Davena, the Cat – now far more red than silver – chuffed and, then, roared in fury and bloodlust. It ends, now, he raged, a feral grin spreading across his feline features as he strode toward the prone form of the blonde witch, YOU end now! He raised his blades, prepared to take the slitch’s head from her shoulders, and then they fell… along with the rest of the world.

The sounds of battle dimmed and disappeared. A vision of his home jungles, in all their perfection, filled his vision for an instant and a soft, chuffing moan escaped him as his eyes fell to the sword that issued from his gut. “Huh,” he rumbled, his gaze tracing along the familiar blade, to its ornate hilt and the even more familiar hand that held it. As his eyes lifted, the vision of Capasha faded away and he was left blinking in confusion into Kithran’s obsidian gaze. “Kibibi?”

At the other end of the sword, a playful grin touches Kithran’s lips and, at the sight of it, Ch’dau nearly smiles, himself… It is good to see you, again, Little Kitten… He was unsure that he spoke the words aloud as he was trying to hear whatever she was saying but her words, too, were lost to the bewilderment that had laid claim to his mind and the pain that threatened to sunder his heart… Everything will be alright, now.

The sword was torn free of his stomach, then, and he slumped to his knees. As he did, Kith swiped the dagger she had given him long ago from its sheath. “I believe this is mine,” her voice warbles in her ears as she flips the blade in her hand, “thank you…”

Ch’dau blinked again, his lids heavy and almost unable to open, then nodded faintly. “It is… alright, kibibi,” he sighed, strength and sight fading almost as quickly as she, “Samuel… is… here…” The floor rose to meet him, then, and he saw no more.

But Eols do... 

My heart!!!

I'm gonna be in the corner sucking my thumb.