Dragon Rising

[Asa]

"Move on from what, precisely?"

Asa studied the other man; motionless, unblinking, cold and pale skin for once affirming his undead state. His first thoughts, he allowed to luxuriate in imagining tearing the other man's head off. Imagining yellow shards bursting from below flesh and the cold, dark dead blood that would cover his hands. Once, in this very room, Shadow had attempted to recruit him for the Onyx. How many students had she had, himself included?

"You said you would appreciate my willingness to help with your studies. I have yet to determine if I am willing, largely because I do not know whether it would be a waste of time. If you had shown half as much vehemence in describing what you had done as you just did with what you have not done, I might have had an answer. Instead, you chose to make light of your situation and even openly mock the Impalement as a 'pleasure'."

Asa closed his eyes, replaying their words. In Jacob's defense, Asa himself brought half a decade of Invictus protocol with his expectations.

"It might be that you're trying to be witty and personable." Eyes opened and focused. "If that is the case, Mr. White, I would advise you to refrain from targeting your wit on what others consider important. Humor is fine, but humor at the expense of sanctity rarely goes over well -- At least with strangers or near-strangers."

He stood slowly.

"If you have nothing pressing tonight, and want to express both a sincere desire to learn and respect for at least one way in which Change is contemplated, we will Impale you tonight. I will return in three days to relieve you from your enlightenment. Or we can 'move on' and ignore one another as Dragons from this night forth."

[White]

"Past failure." He listened to Asa carefully, meeting his gaze when the Princes eyes focused. "If nothing else, I will always take advice." Gilroy's advice was why he pursued the Order in the first place.

"I did not mean to offend, I had never heard of impalement as a means to understand. Without context, it seemed a bizarre machoism." Still not convinced it isn't. "I have the time and desire yes, anything I should know about the process?" Like why the fuck I would put myself through one of the worst tortures imaginable?

[Asa]

"As you like."

Personally Asa thought the other man should dwell quite a bit more on past failure given it energized him more than anything else he'd witnessed. The large Ventrue stood and moved out of the room to the doorway he'd paused by earlier.

"The Impaled are a those within the Order that study it's founder and themselves through his most famous act. A study of who he was by his deeds and of themselves through the ordeal itself."

The door opened; a light was turned on, and he began walking down creaking stairs into the cool depths. At the bottom was a tall chamber with steel tubes set into a concrete floor. Against a wall were wrist-thick poles, sharpened at each end. In the middle of each pole, large nails were driven through, forming a ring.

A brake to keep a bod from sliding all the way down.

From their tips to nearly their ends, the spears and floors around the tubes were stained pitch black with old, dried spattered blood.

"You should know it will quite ruin those clothes if you leave them on."

[White]

Didn't he impale other people? Jacob wondered if he was studying or being studied, probably both. He followed the Prince and tried not to show a reaction when he saw what lay in the bottom of the steps. The dried blood and utilitarian instrument before him quickly eroded his social concerns. Were he alive, bile would be rising in his throat. His body's complete lack of reaction to what he was contemplating was disquieting and despite everything? It fascinated him. He began to, with lethargic purpose, unbutton his shirt.

"Have you ever done this before? Anything I should pay attention to?" In spite of his best efforts to hold steady, his voice held a raw edge of fear. He really couldn't help it, he'd been through some shit but nothing even close to this. He briefly wondered how much sanity would be left to retain after his studies completed, he briefly wondered where the implement would occur, he pushed both from his thoughts. Instead, forcing himself to look square at the thing, his hands getting close to the belt line as they did their slow work.

All the while, trying to ignore his Beast's increasing restlessness.

[Asa]

Asa removed his jacket and drew in a long breath as he pushed Vitae into his body.

Headstrong had called it UnReason. The Curse of the Beast, but harnessed as inhuman, unyielding strength. Coupled with the natural strength he'd been blessed with before his death, he was able to pick up one of the huge spears and spin it as effortlessly as a pencil.

And ignored the question.

When Jacob was ready, he came low and sweeping upwards. Into the soft tissue of the man's gut and up into his rib-cage, tearing through dead organs until the tip burst out of his back.

Asa lifted the spear and set the butt into a pipe.

"Three nights."

And left.