Where an Empire Stood and Fell [Vetrov/Open]

[Seishin Akanami]

February 2
2:57pm
Rome, Italy

As Seishin strolled along the streets of Rome, he couldn't help but marvel at the sites. He never got to see Rome before. Not once. He felt like a child again,  looking at the old architecture. The cobblestone street he walked down tapped upon his black shoes with each step. Seishin was wearing a headband to hold his long bangs out of his face, and wore sunglasses. His shirt was a plain white button down, his pants consisting of black ragged jeans with black leather shoes. It wasn't his best earthly outfit, but he wasn't known for formality.

The weather was awfully chilly out. While the sun was completely exposed, with the clouds long gone, it did little to to warm the air. He noticed a large cathedral, as he casually walked up the steps. As he looked at the stone features, he placed his hands on the door and opened it.

The pews were empty, save for a prayer here or there. The sunlight from the stained glassed dazzled the floor, as the altar at the back was empty. Taking his sunglasses off, he stuffed them in his shirt pocket as he took a seat at the far pew. He took out a pair of glasses as he casually read through a car magazine, carefully flipping the pages. He had a knack for auto mechanistry, but he never took them out for work. They were vintage, mostly american muscle. As he closed th magazine, he sat it next to him. His hands raised and placed themselves on top of his head as he closed his eyes. This cold weather made him awfully tired..

[Sister Vetrov]

The day had been rather normal for the nun. She had awoken and cleaned herself off like normal. Dressed herself in the same style of robes as she always did. Do her morning exercises as per usual and then prayed for an hour. Praying for the normal things. Peace, the strength to carry on, her sisters, her comrades, and the destruction of the demonic threat. After that is was yet again back to normal. She received her assignments for the day and headed out into the city. It was only then her day had become less normal. During her run to the store to pick up a number of ingredients for the pot-luck that her parish was helping with. She was pleaded with by her sisters to make her divine chicken Marsala and of course she had refused. Any excuse to cook was good enough for Vetrov.

On her way back from the store was when she saw it. A man in dire need. No, not just a man, a priest. She didn't know the father by name but it was her eternal duty to serve Mother Church in any way she could. After a few moments of conversation and the usual exchange of pleasantries she was told of his problem. He was lost. Not only was he lost but he had only recently been transferred to this parish and knew nothing of Rome. The man had come from a small town near the boot and had done very little traveling, until now. Naturally the Sister offered to help the poor young father find his way to his flock. A short walk through the streets brought them to where he needed to be. The man was so relieved he invited Vetrov inside and there they had a glass of water and discussed the Good Book. A fairly normal conversation, however, this man had some interesting ideas. Then again, so did Vetrov. After all doing battle with the Beast directly gives one a unique perspective on how the Bible should be interpreted.

On her way out of the church her odd morning turned to an odd afternoon. She saw someone sitting a pew near the back. A face she recognized from a personnel file. She couldn't place the face to a name but she did know one thing. This man was one of them as well. A Templar. Not that but not from around here. So it was settled. With bags of groceries on her arms she approached the man. Vetrov had her usual warm smile on her face as she reached up and straightened the collar of her robe and tucked a loose strand of her silvery hair back into her hood. "Hello there." she said to the relaxed and somewhat out of place man. Utterly unaware of what languages this man might speak she decided to go with English. He looked somewhat American or maybe British. Either way she would be forced to use her weakest language. Not only that but there was the possibility that she had misjudged him and he still might not understand her. Oh well, better to try and fail than not try at all. "It's a marvelous day to be in the light our Lord isn't it?" her tone was light and a glow seemed to grace her alabaster skin. It truly was a wonderful day out. Cold and crisp, just the way she licked it.

[Seishin Akanami]

Seishin opened an eye to the voice that greeted him. As she now had his full attention, her face was familiar as day. Seishin made it a point to go through EVERY single Templar file twice a week for the past 20 or more years. Although Templars were in every nook and cranny of this rock they lived on, they tended to find each other. Not wanting to be rude, he stood as he stood and bowed himself slightly. Respect was to be given if earned, especially with subordinates. He made eye contact as he smiled. "The lord has indeed graced us with a day of sun in the winter months." As he gestured to her to give him the groceries to carry for her, he smiled. She had a lot of ingredients, so she must be making a large meal. What a task this nun had on her hands!

"All these groceries must be a burden. Let me assist you to your destination, Sister." Holding up his free arm, a pendant slipped out from his sleeve, as the chain was anchored to his wrist. It was one of the Seven Paladin pendants, that had been passed for centuries. With a smile, he gestured for her to lead the way."We can talk along the way. I would like to get to know you, Sister Vetrov." He waited to take her lead, as she seemed to know the city of Roma better than he. The last thing he needed was to get lost.

[Sister Vetrov]

Katya watched as the man stood and bowed. That was something that she not expected. She supposed he did sort of look Asian. She inclined her head slightly out of respect as he bowed. It was then that she began to recognize him more. she definitely seen him before. He was certainly in the Templar order and important if she could remember right. Perhaps he was one of knights. She was delighted when he returned her greeting with such gusto. it was nice to meet another person strong in faith that didn't live in her parish or serve the church in general. She always reveled in the strong faith of others. it made her remember that she was fighting for something strong and that covered the whole world.

She looked down at his hand as he offered to take her bags. Not only that but she saw the small medallion fall out for only a moment. AH-HA! That's who it was. He was a Paladin. "Oh, my. well..." she shook her head and corrected her speech. It was far too easy to slip from one language to another. Especially when you get a fairly decent shock. That was possibly the last thing she expected to see today. Vetrov shook her head. "Oh no sir." she shifted the bags in her arms as they moved to exit the church. "I am much stronger than I look." she chuckled. Her nun's robes were not a flattering outfit but why should she care? Not like she was trying to attract someone. She was a trained and hardened soldier after all. he had better be able to carry her own groceries.

As they stepped out into the sun light and the brisk air. Vetrov took a deep breath and let out a relaxed sigh as she exhaled. "So, what brings someone of your station out here?" she was forward, always had been. That was the question after. Why was he here? It was not normal for one of the Paladins to be out of their station. She only knew of them coming here to meet with the grand-master or during other dire times. "Is something wrong?"

[Seishin Akanami]

Seishin laughed a little at himself. It was easy to forget that Templar members, while ordinary looking to the untrained eye, were highly skilled soldiers and were warriors in heart and faith. He would let her carry the bags, as she insisted. Following in tandem with the nun, he was greeted by the slightly chilled air, as he forgot how cold it was at the moment. "It is easy to forget sometimes that I deal with ordinary looking people who are battle hardened soldiers." as he walked down the steps of the cathedral, he gave the woman a reassuring smile. "I just felt like getting out of Helsinki for a bit. I assure you things are going awfully well."

As he ran his hand through his hair, he give a shrug."It is always easier for me to know my Templars, Sister. It allows me to report to the Amadeus how best our forces should be stationed." looking around, he almost forgot that they were walking in the middle of a street of people. Seishin had a bad habit of tunnel vision, and sometimes spoke without thinking. "It would probably be best if we talked about business inside." He chuckled as he let her follow the way. He wasn't a fan of cold weather, which he found ironic in his stationing in Helsinki. It was no Siberia, but it was freezing up there. The warmer italian climate was a nice change of pace.

As he walked along, Seishin spotted a dingy vagrant, slumped against a wall, emaciated and asleep. Giving a look to the nun, he walked away from her side as he knelt down before the vagabond. Placing a hand on his shoulder, the man was startled and tried to wrestle away. Seishin managed to slip 500 Euros in his hand, as stood back up, the man shook Seishin's hand violently as the man could hardly hold back tears. As the man got up and bolted to wherever he decided to go, Seishin resumed an upright position, brushing his pants off as he gave a sigh."It must be awful to live out in this cold." Smiling at the nun, he urged her to continue, as he would continue to follow.

[Sister Vetrov]

The streets of this lovely city were always somewhat crowded. Even in the winter when the wind blew and the skis darkened people still too to the streets without the cover and comfort of cars. It truly was an interesting sight. In some countries no one walked around outside if they could help it. Even on marvelous days they would stay inside or only move while in a vehicle. That was something the sister did not understand. then again she had been taught her whole life that idleness led to nothing but a life of disappointment. The wind picked up as the began their stroll through the streets. The breeze caused Vetrov's robes to ripple and whip as the humid breeze whistled through the cobbled street. "Oh yes. it is so easy to forget that even the most unassuming of people can be quite powerful and resilient." Vetrov face lit up into a smile. She liked this man already. he not seem as she would expect a Paladin to be. He was a person more than a focused commander. His personality spoke to her on a personal level. He was a man just as he was a pillar of God's might on Earth. He did not act as though he was above the world, at least she had not seen such a behavior yet. "Glad to hear things are going well." Katya shook her head. "Far too often it seem things are not going well. There are many things that worry me in recent times." and there was much to worry about. it seemed as though the poor misled souls who called demons to this world were becoming more and more direct and brutal in the last month. it was enough to worry anyone privvy to that kind of information.

Katya nodded. "Oh yes, it would be best to speak with discretion. No knowing what ears listen in." Vetrov nodded and dropped the talk of what the two of them were and what they did for now. there would be plenty of time for them to speak later. Vetrov took in a deep breath of cold air and let it chill her lungs. She missed this kind of weather. Where she was born this would be considered rather mind but it was still chilly and the air was wet, it reminded her of her life before the convent.


Charity was a thing given to us by the Lord so that we might be closer to his love. We are allowed to give to those in need because we have more and they have less. We work to be like our Lord so that we might one day join him. If a rich man has much and gives none his soul is doomed to hell. If a poor man has nothing but gives all of himself to God he shall be blessed with eternal life. And here Vetrov saw a rich man give to a man with nothing. Vetrov often worked in shelters and helped to feed the poor street people but she did not have the means to help so directly and on such a personal level. After all, she only owned her faith and had no worldly possessions. Vetrov looked on to her companion with bright and hopeful eyes as he returned. "Bless you Sir." she said in a soft tone. "Your generosity is a marvelous trait that many burdened with the weight of your position forget about."

Their path took them down the streets a ways more before they would reach the small convent that the sister spent most of her time at. "Please do come in sir. Maybe I could offer you some tea or coffee?" she pushed open the heavy wooden door with her back and she back peddled into the main atrium with a practiced step. Se turned and stepped around the bowl of holy water and lightly dipped her right finger into the pool. She set her groceries don and dabbed her forehead with the anointed water. She turned back to her companion. "Come, sir, I'll show you around as we talk."

[Ryan Farrel]

Sophia walked the streets of the rome as she looked around, scratching the back of her head and smiling. "So, this is the place where I will preforming in 2 or 3 weeks, huh?" she asked her self, still walking around. "This should be fun. Its a big place, no one will notice if anyone goes missing." she saidm using an innocent voice to portray how sinister what she was saying really was. However, speaking Swedish I doubt anyone could understand what she was saying. Romealking, wasn't known for its Swedish culture now was it.

As she continued walking, she walked past a window. Not paying any attention to the two people next to her, one of which was opening up the large wooden doors for the other, which led into the same building connected to the window she was gazing upon. She began to look at herself. As she reached into her black, skull designed purse, she pulled out some brown lipstick. "This should do." she said, smiling to herself as she put it on. As she kissed the window, she used her lipstick to write her name right under the kiss. 'There, I just made this store 10 times more popular with the gothic public." she said, smiling as she walked away, it was then that she looked over, seeing that the women was still holding the door open, she slipped inside, "Thanks Sister." she said, guessing she was a member of the church due to her attire. "I really need some coffee." she said, looking down at her large black boots and her tight black skirt as she walked up to the counter.

[Seishin Akanami]

The air made his long mane slightly damp. The cold was one thing, but humidity was what fatigued a soldier. As he looked back to the nun after watching the vagrant take off with his gift, he gave a warm smile. "No person should have to live with absolutely nothing. I care nothing of my material wealth. I only care for the Lord, the sharpness of my fighting ability, my comrades, and justice. Im glad to see you are a selfless being. The world is cruel enough already. You are a light in the darkness, Sister." As he chuckled at the site of the man fading away with his newfound treasure, he followed behind the nun.

As he watched her open the large wooden door, he stepped next to her and held the door open with his hand. But a peculiar site perturbed him. Out of the corner of his eye was a gothic looking woman. He couldn't discern her age, as he was bad at making guesses, but she seemed to be a rocker. She had kissed the glass to the building, and wrote something with what appeared to be.. Lipstick? Seishin's light demeanor became more of a serious nature. How dare this girl defile this convent with graffiti? Sure, he remembered what it was like to be a child. Hell, his naturally long blonde locks made it easy back in the 80's to look like a rebel. He was young once too. This chick gave him a nostalgic feeling, back when he moshed and permed his hair (Yes, believe it or not, Seishin permed his hair back in the 80's a few times. Deal with it!). As Sister Vetrov had entered, he continued to support the door. If he was ignorant, he would have slammed it on her, byt whether she was a follower of the lord or not, it was only common decency to allow her sanctuary from the winter. As he entered, he closed the door, shutting out the cold.

As he entered, he also dipped his fingers in the bowl of holy water. He clasped his hands together, as he responded to her. "I am fine. Thank you, Sister. And please, call me Seishin. You do not have to be formal with me." Turning to the newcomer who had joined them inside, Seishin smiled. He kept his tone soft. If Seishin knew better from her attire, he guessed that she wasn't too religious, which was understandable. One didn't need to be religious to be a good person."Hello, dear. May I ask what your name is? You don't look to be from around here." Seishin would ignore her act before outside. But that would be her only chance at forgiveness. Even if one did not believe in religion, it was still the right thing to at least be respectful.

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