12911/Meeting The Hellequin

Meeting The Hellequin
Date of Scene:	28 March 2021
Location:	Abandoned Lot, Chinatown, Old Gotham
Synopsis:	Xiang meets some demons. And the Hellequin.
Cast of Characters:	Xiang Zhao, Hellequin

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Xiang Zhao has posed:
Chinatown. Ever a bustling place on the face of it. But deeper into the neighborhood, it's not nearly so bustling. And in one place, a lot that appears to have been a gas station at some point has been left empty for whatever reason. It suits Xiang Zhao's purposes just fine. Before dark, by perhaps half an hour, if that, he has gotten a pair of talismans set up, one on a support at the east, and one on a suport at the west end of what used to be the sheltered place with the gas pumps. Now all that remains of it are the supports and the roof. They have already been imbued with his power and activated, and for those who can feel such things, a steady /throb/ of calling can be felt. Calling to evil.

Here. Come here. Evil is welcome. There's a buffet.

Xiang Zhao stands on the roof of the abandoned gas station building on the south end of the lot. Much easier to survey what comes when one has the height advantage. There's nothing in his hands except... a fan? It waves lazily, stirring the air toward his face. His watchful eyes belie the apparent calm he displays, though he appears to be perfectly serene.

The sun has sunk behind the buildings around this lot, leaving it deep in shadow. The street lights have not yet come on and would only illuminate the northern end anyway. From the east, something comes, a black shape with claws for hands and red eyes that glow sullenly in the shadows.

Hellequin has posed:
Over the years, rather the centuries, Henri became a master at finding the worst parts in a city. It doesn't require being able to detect magic, a simple walk around is enough to spot the most decrepit suburbs. Chinatown, Old Gotham, especially this abandoned lot, is already reeking of sinners' ungodly doings. Perfect for a good Hunt.

Glancing at the sky, Henri notices that yet again - for what seems like a millionth time to him - the sun is about to give way to night. And sin to expiation.

As he strolls this part of the city that is a cry for urban renewal, Henri seems quite relaxed when anyone should rather be on their guards. Wearing his dark green hunter vest, he keeps glancing around, as if something kept beaconing to him. Slowly approaching the location of one of the talismans set up by Xiang, Henri stops for a moment. Magic! Easily detectable to him. So Evil is around.

Then Henri slowly turns around to face the east side, another glance at the sky - not the time yet. Did he spot Xiang? Being the Hunter that he is, it might be possible. But clearly, his attention focuses on what he can't see yet, but which feels quite evilish coming from that part. Oh, a potential nice prey! Rather than flee to save his mortal-self, Henri stays there, waiting. Unafraid. Being the prey, while waiting for his time to come, which won't be long now. Whatever happens, he'll deal with in due time, and in due form. Whatever is coming can kill his mortal form, his soul is protected.

"Hail Marye, ful of grace
God is with the
of alle wymmen thou art most blessid
and blessid be the fruyt of thi wombe, Ihesus.
So moste it be. "

The voice is calm, serene, and tainted with a mix of ancient French and English accent.

Xiang Zhao has posed:
Xiang Zhao is alert, and very aware of his surroundings. His dark eyes find first the man who's come to this area. As the man approaches the talisman, it just sits there and does nothing but that which it was intended to do. Call evil to it. What does that say for the hunter? Xiang watches curiously for a moment, until the demon comes into view. His dark eyes move from the man to the demon, and back to the man. Interesting. The man is staying.

That prompts Xiang to move, and he moves his left hand, seeming to be writing in the air. Pale golden hanzi, chinese writing, appears as his hand moves, and then sinks into the Chinaman. He jumps from the roof of the building, the fall slow, like he's floating. He lands lightly and moves for the demon.

The demon hisses at the sight of Xiang Zhao and its eyes flash crimson. Where it had been creeping toward the hunter, now it turns and all but flies toward Xiang. It doesn't even seem to be running so much as.. flowing.

As it reaches him, Xiang lightly sidesteps it, and that fan flicks out. The demon screams, a high pitched sound of agony. A thin line has appeared, glowing the same sullen red as the demon's eyes, from shoulder down its back and curved toward its side. Black smoke drifts up from the apparent wound.

Xiang half turns to watch the demon, the fan lazily moving in his hand again, as though he has not a care in the world. The demon, on the other hand, watches the Chinaman warily before turning and treaking toward him again.

From the other side, the west, two more black shadows with glowing red eyes come into the no longer deserted lot.

Hellequin has posed:
There's a puzzled look on Henri's face, as he watches with great attention Xiang facing and fighting the evil creature. Clearly to him, one is a sorcerer while the other is a demon. Just as in the good ol' days. Clear cut, no question asked! But what's puzzling, is that a sorcerer would fight a demon. They usually tag along, not fight each other!

Always with the same calm - the calm of someone knowing the end of a play before it starts - Henri turns to the west, from which side more demons are coming. The Asian sorcered can fight his own fight, the Hellequin does /not/ protect sorcerers.

In the last minutes of daytime, a smile - yes, a smile - can be seen on Henri's face as he stands his ground against the approaching demons from the west side.

"Allez, venez, suppôts de Satan! (Come closer, Satan's spawns). I have a surprise for you."

To an observer, Henri would look like suicidal, standing there instead of starting to run, as the demons swiftly circle him, striking him with their claws as they start attacking him. No cry, no sound can be heard from Henri as he is slowly engulfed in a dark whirlwind of demonic attack. Only one last "Amen". Oh, it /is/ painful, being slowly slashed to death. But death? He doesn't care about death. Pain? Pain is always welcome for penitence.

And then, the demons seem to be finished with Henri, as their blackness cover his body, no longer visible. The attack was that quick, easy, against an unarmed human. Done with him, the demons turn towards Xiang.

And the day is over. Nighttime follows. The Hunt can begin!

Xiang Zhao has posed:
There's also more different to Xiang Zhao than that he's a sorcerer fighting a demon. His magic isn't the same as most of the sorcerers that the Hunter has hunted down. There's a different feel and scent to it. It's definitely magic, though. Xiang isn't paying the slightest attention to the Hunter, however. Nope, his attention is all on the demon at present. As the demon streaks toward him, Xiang's fan flicks out again, then he sidesteps and the fan flicks again. Two more thin lines appear. The first on the demon's chest, the second again over its back.

The demon staggers, screaming that high pitched inhuman scream again. Xiang pivots and moves, gracefully and in no hurry at all, toward the demon. The fan flicks out again and catches the still reeling creature across the back of its neck. This time the wound is larger. Reeling, the demon hadn't even tried to evade the blow. Most of its head parts from its body and lolls forward. The demon goes to its knees, and then topples over. Black smoke pours from the gaping wound, as well as still from the less serious wounds. The smoke slows, and eventually stops. The demon doesn't so much as twitch after.

Once the demon is down, Xiang turns to look to the man. Just as said man is going for the other two demons. And apparently suicidal. That surprises Xiang. This time, his movements aren't lazy and he moves with speed toward the demons as they engulf the man. His motions are still graceful and precise, however.

He reaches them just as the sun sinks below the horizon and day turns to night. That fan flicks out as he slides past one, working to keep it between him and the second. Fighting two could prove to be problematic. On the closer one, a thin slice appears on its arm, across its wrist. It hisses that high pitched scream of pain that they seem to favor. Black smoke starts to pour from the wound, just visible as a darker shadow in the darkness. The street lights to the north have come on, providing enough light to see by, at least.

Hellequin has posed:
Although there was no rainstorm forcasted, the sky suddenly darkens and rumbling thunder can be heard in the distance. Which thundering sound closes in quite quickly as the thunder now seems to be localized directly above the deserted gas station. As if stepping out of a large lighning bolt, a greyish figure of a horseman appears. The facial features of a ghostly appearance are not clear. By his side, two ethereal mastiff dogs growl, ready to pounce at their targets.

But which targets exactly? Demons, sorcerer, all of them? Clearly, the demons must be sent back to Hell. So with a movement of the hand towards one of them, the Hellequin sics his faithful canine companions to take care of one of the demons who was about to strike Xiang.

"Pas de merci! (No mercy!)" can be heard from the man as the mastiff dogs pounce on the demon, first tearing it away from Xiang, proceeding to put it into pieces, like real good attack dogs would do. And more. They seem to possess a guenine will to destroy, as efficiently as possible, the demon. In no time, the demon is positively tore apart, dismembered, its claws having no effect on the ghostly dogs. There was no resistance possible against their eagerness to obey their master. Then the ethereal beasts turn their attention toward Xiang and the remaining demon. Ready to pounce at them. From his position, hovering above the gas station, Hellequin raises his hand, a silent order for the dogs to return to his side, which they obediently do.

There is one demon left, against Xiang. Is it out of sadistic curiosity that the Hellequin remains still, watching with great interest, how the sorcerer will overcome his opponent? Or is it that something about Xiang is still at odds in his mind? Of course, Hellequin sensed the magic. But then, multiple recent encounters with magic users had him puzzled about the /evilness/ of some magic users. So maybe the Hellequin is just waiting this time, and might ask questions /before/ striking.

Xiang Zhao has posed:
Xiang Zhao's people have tales of immortals and gods of their people arriving with thunder and lightning and storms. Normally, this would get his attention. But he's a little busy, right now! One demon is fairly easy to take on, so long as one keeps their wits about them. But two is problematic. Potentially. Stil, he seems to be holding his own for now. He waits for the hissing demon to come at him again. The fan flicks out, and slices left then right. The demon hiss-screams and recoils, two lines in a narrow, sideways 'v' shape are on its chest.

The appearance of a ghostly figure with a pair of hounds draws a single glance from Xiang, and nothing more. He turns as the second demon comes in from the side of the first one. He steps to the side as it comes toward him, and the fan strikes again. This time Xiang misses his mark and the demon slides on past with nary a mark on it. The right sleeve of Xiang's blue and grey robes, however, hangs in tatters from the demon's claws.

Then the dogs strike, as Xiang is turning to keep an eye on that second demon, the one that he'd missed that had marked him. The other demon, the first of the pair that Xiang had already marked is summarily torn apart by the dogs, disappearing into a cloud of black smoke that slowly wafts away, like the morning sun burning away mist.

Xiang notes the activity, notes the dogs seeming ready to pounce at him and the other demon, and then returning to their master's side. But his eyes never leave the demon. Who streaks in with an ominous hiss. This one seems more powerful, and larger, than the other two had. Xiang whirls away from the thing. It comes in a narrow arc back at him. The fan flicks out and actually scores the demon this time. It hisses again, in fury, as black smoke pours from a wound that opens along one of its arms, angling toward its wrist. Its red eyes glow crimson, furious it had been cut.

Xiang waves the fan lazily with his right hand, watching the thing. He still seems perfectly at ease, perfectly calm. The demon comes again. This time, Xiang holds his ground, the fan slashing in front of him, between him and the demon. With a hiss of pain for more cuts appearing on its chest, the demon recoils and leaps back away from him. It hisses angrily at him and charges forward again.

Hellequin has posed:
While watching with great interest, the Hellequin slowly reaches for his sword. The trusted sword that dispatched so many evil to an afterlife in the fires of Hell would finish this demon with a single blow. Approaching, as if to have a better look, he remains at a distance, not interfering in the fight between Xiang and the demon. If the infernal being isn't dealt with by the Chinese man, Hellequin will oblige. But for now, Xiang seems quite able to take care of it, especially after the blows that he already gave to the demon. With another movement of his free hand, Hellequin dismisses the mastiff dogs. - they had their /fun/, as some human use to say.

Xiang Zhao has posed:
While the demon is charging, Xiang Zhao seems to be writing in the air again with his left hand. Glowing pale golden hanzi appear with each motion. Before the demon has made it halfway, Xiang waves the hanzi toward it. The gold turns and streaks toward the demon, seemign to turn in midair. It slashes straight through the demon. This time it screetches in agony as its body is cut in two by that golden light. The halves each collapse to the ground, black smoke pouring from either side. Within moments, the demon is no more, wafting to smoke and disappearing into the night. Of the first demon Xiang had killed, there is no sign. It had turned to smoke and dissipated as well, apparently.

Only now does Xiang look to the ghostly being who had arrived with thunder. "Ni shì shén ma? Háishì bùxiu? Wo xiang ni bùshì èmó." The words are quiet, the voice soft in a manner that says he rarely raises his volume above what it is now. And curious.

Hellequin has posed:
And then, the last demon is vanquished. The Hellequin watched in silence, as Xiang - showing obvious sorcerer's magic - used some infernal signs draw directly out of the ether. Still, the /sorcerer/ vainquished a demon, so, although the large sword is raised and pointed at Xiang - always from a safe distance for him - the Hellequin again remains still.

"Tu parles la langue du démon, vile vipère. What is your name, who is your master?" The voice is booming and commanding. The Hellequin is not afraid, the magic he witnesses could barely harm him. In other times, he would have made this sorcerer pay for his sins, for using magic, without even asking a single question. Times change. And so maybe is the Hellequin, as he stands, asking questions before serving divine justice. Or maybe there is something else, something that makes him unwilling to attack. Impossible to say, just by looking at him with a sword pointed at Xiang.

Xiang Zhao has posed:
Despite having a sword aimed at him, Xiang Zhao stands as he was. Perfectly calm and at ease. There's no fear at all in his features, nor tension to his muscles. He is completely relaxed. That fan waves gently in the air. He doesn't look to understand the first part of what is said, but the questions, those he understands. "My name is Xiang Zhao," he says, words accented with the flavor of China. The two parts of his name are spoken like they are one name, however. Like Xiangzhao is his name, rather than having a family name and a given name. "I am my own master. Fate shows the path, but I choose how to walk it."

There is a short pause as Xiang Zhao studies this ghostly being without any hints of nervousness. "Are you a god or an immortal? You are not a demon, I think."

Hellequin has posed:
Intrigued, maybe by the lack of terror in the man before him, Hellequin hovers down to ground level, remaining well in place on his ethereal horse. The sword is slowly lowered, and the horseman leans slightly forward, to pat the side of the horse's neck.

"Ego sum qui sum," Hellequin finally replies in a less booming voice, offering the traduction, "I am who I am."He pauses, then considering Xiang's words, comments. "Fate is destiny, and God has a destiny for each of us. He gives us the freedom to choose our path towards good or evil."

So while it is quite probable that Xiang is referring to paradigms of his own culture, they find an echo in the Hellequin's own conception of fate and free will. So it is that wisdom has no borders.

"And pray tell, why these demons attacked you? You are a sorcerer." The last is said with a mix of condemning tone and maybe, just maybe, a hint of curiosity.

Xiang Zhao has posed:
Xiang Zhao watches as the ghostly horse and rider lower to the ground. There is no change when the sword is lowered. There is curiousity though, for this being before him. He remains where he is, not approaching. For the moment, at least. Very slightly, his mouth curls up on the edges, and the edges of his eyes crinkle some. "Yes. That is how I see it as well. Perhaps my culture's Heavenly Emperor is the same deity." Wisdom really has no borders. And even if the names aren't the same.. perhaps they really are the same things. Fate and destiny. Heavenly Emperor and God.

"The demons attacked me because I am a man. They steal the spiritual energy of men to boulster their own power." He reacts not at all to the condemnation, but to the curiousity, he offers further explanation. "They came here because I called them here so they would come to me to die, instead of preying on innocent people." He waves his fan toward each of the two talismans posted. "The talismans can call or repell evil, depending on how they are written."

Hellequin has posed:
Ah, now now! Summoning evil, can only be done by miscreant sorcerers and witches dealing with the Devil! First, good witches, then holy demons, and now evil-fighting sorcerer. If there was no witness, the Hellequin might be wanting to scratch the back of his ethereal head.

"God has many ways to show himself to whom he wants to," Hellequin replies after a moment. "If he wants to show himself as an Emperor to you, who am I to question his ways." As he speaks, the tone of voice now becomes almost normal, just a bit tainted with bit of ethereality.

"As you said, you are a man. You should not worry yourself with the demons, it is..." No, he is not going to say /my job/. "It is my duty to deal with them. I noticed your talismans, they beaconed to me."

And actually, he wanted to rid the world of another sorcerer! Details on how the talismans beaconed to him is left aside, surely Xiang is intelligent enough to figure it out.

Xiang Zhao has posed:
The world is full of strange and wonderful things. A good half of them, at least, are good rather than evil. Xiang Zhao nods his head solemly at the ghostly figure. "I am agreed. Gods do what they wish." He doesn't say anything for a long moment, then nods slowly. "Duty. It is also my duty," he says. "It is my duty to protect the innocent. It is my duty as a member of Xiang clan. And my duty as a son to follow in my parents' footsteps. This is what my clan does. We fight evil and protect those who cannot protect themselves."

He glances to the talismans and then back to the ghostly figure. "They should not beacon to you if you are not evil. They should only attact evil." Xiang pauses, now looking thoughtful. He turns and starts to walk toward one of the talismans. "Did I get a stroke wrong?" That seems to have been questioned of himself, not the ghost. That the being is a ghost seems to not bother Xiang Zhao at all. He, perhaps, has a fluid sense of what is good and what is evil.

Hellequin has posed:
The world is full of puzzling things. At least, that's how Hellequin's world is now, in New York City. There is truth in Xiang's words, and true as well that evil can be found in many places. Not always where you expect the most. Most annoyingly, it cannot be found where it /should/ be.

"You say that your /clan/ fights evil, is it a divine mission?"

One could doubt that the Hellequin is worried about competition, but over the centuries, he only encountered a very few individuals - mortals - involved in such dealings. Most met with a grizly death.

At the mention of the talismans possibly beaconing him as evil, the Hellequin frowns, visibly not happy to be considered even remotly evil.

"I act on God's order!" and the booming voice returns, filled with indignation "I hunt the unrepentant sinners, evildoers, the magic wielders, demons and evil's spawns!"

In saying so, Hellequin might have given Xiang a good indication of his purpose in afterlife. And also a hint of him having quite some remnants of being human, by the feeling put into his words.

Xiang Zhao has posed:
New York City is full of the strange and the wonderful, the crazy and the terrible. And everything between and beyond that. Sometimes, evil is annoying in that it can't be found where it should be.

Xiang Zhao nods. "Mm." That could be acknowledgement or confirmation. Or agreement. It's hard to say! At least, until he elaborates. "Yes. My clan fights evil. As our stories go, it was a task handed down to us by the Heavenly Emperer along with a mythical weapon. The weapon was lost long ago, but we still keep up our charge."

It's possible that a lot of the Xiang clan meets with grizzly deaths. Fighting demons and evil is not an easy task by any means of the word 'easy'!

As for the talisman, it doesn't seem that Xiang is considering the ghost to be evil. He seems more to be wondering if he'd made a mistake in the making of it. Perhaps his intent had been off.. He studies the talisman he'd stopped at, and pokes a finger at it. "Why are you not working as you should be?" He sounds puzzled.

The ghost's reaction brings a blink and Xiang turns to properly face him again. "As do I." His brow furrows the slightest bit, and he looks from the ghost to the talisman, then back to the ghost. "You were not drawn here because you are evil," he says, thoughtfully, as though he's trying to puzzle something out. "You were drawn here because you sensed the magic of the talismans? And the evil of the demons coming here?" It doesn't seem to have occured to Xiang to consider this being as anything evil. Afterall, the ghost had sent his hounds to kill a demon. That's not something evil would do. Is it?

Hellequin has posed:
The ethereal horse rears up, and up horseman and horse ascend above the ground. True evil and unrepentent souls /do/ exist in New York City, and everywhere else. The night has just started and... without saying that duty calls, the Hellequin has work to do.

"I came here, because it was my place to be. And now, my place is elsewhere."

And no, he doesn't provide any answer to Xiang's questions, although he might be curious as to why the man is talking to inanimate objects. And then, the ethereal horseman slowly diseappears in the night.

Xiang Zhao has posed:
Xiang Zhao simply nods, and watches the ghost make way.. elsewhere. He's not sure where. As for why he's talking to innanimate objects... perhaps the object is sentient? Or perhaps Xiang is sick in the head! It's hard to tell, really!

Either way, he watches until the ethereal horseman vanishes. Then he turns to his talismans and writes with his left hand again. Golden hanzi appear again, and then form into a tiny flame in his palm. He pulls the closest talisman free of where it had been stuck, and sets the edge to the flame while walking to the other. Then it, too, gets burnt to ash.

Only then does Xiang Zhao also vanish into the night.