Cleansing the Darkness [Luke, Open]

It was tragic to see, really. A newly found world was taken and tainted so heavily by the darkness. Camelot was in a precarious state, to say the least. When it was found, the world appeared to be doing so very well. People flourished, civilization was well off enough that the Darkson rule felt no need to intervene. Something changed that, however. That’s what she was sent there for.

After receiving a very frantic report, Clarisse was sent to Camelot to investigate and possibly remedy the issue should it be within her power. The report claimed that a malevolent force called Blight had taken hold of the world’s capital. Never did the summoner think that it would be nearly as bad was what it was.

Stepping out of the Corridor of Light that she used to transport her to the world, the blonde young woman gazed about at the unsettling state of Camelot. With her ever present companion, Cambria the Ursa, sitting on her shoulder, even she was left shaking her head. Thick, vine like growths had spread over everything in sight. Some of the vines had grown so dense in some areas that it mimicked a conglomerations of muscle fibers. Homes, businesses, and other structures were covered in it. Plantlife appeared to still be growing, but the vibrant colors that foliage has was sapped away. This must have been the aforementioned Blight that was spoken of.

“Good god almighty… What monster would unleash such a stain on an entire world..?” Cambria’s tone was full of pity and sadness as she looked around the scene in front of her. The woman whose shoulder she sat on would shake her head in agreement.

Seeing the state of the world, it was time to set to work. It was now evident why it was her that was sent there. To cleanse the blight with light. Stepping forward into the first place that was spacious enough, Clarisse began to use holy magic on the immediate area to try and heal the world and free it of its affliction. It was a long process, and didn’t appear to be burned away by the holy light all that easily. She worked on one patch at a time, and it took a lot out of her.

The square that she had cleansed took several hours, and it was only a small part of the city. Sitting on the wall of a fountain that sat at its center, Clarisse wiped the sweat from her brow, silently sighing out and she turned her single eye skyward. The Ursa had managed to crawl onto the wall and sat beside her summoner and looked up at her.

“Careful, Clair-bear. Wear yourself out too much an’ you won’t have the strength to continue.” Cambria warned the blonde. She’d get a nod in response, and closed her eyes. The bear-like creature sighed out and gazed about Clarisse’s work. They definitely had their work cut out for them.

After having sat there on the dried up fountain for some time, the sound of footsteps had attracted both Clarisse’s and Cambria’s attention. The man clad in armor was a peculiar sight, and one that had the summoner shivering. Her one visible eye was wide and staring right at the figure, finding the sound of his distorted voice a bit unsettling. Now that she was aware that someone was watching her, the blond grew more self-conscious and turned her eye over to the Ursa, the other covered with a flowery eyepatch.

Cambria would sigh out and turn her attention to the new comer. “Yes, we’re quite alright. Just takin’ a well earned break. I take it you’ll be the bloke that guards us while we cleanse this Blight?” The bear would ask, hopping off of the fountain’s wall and teetering towards the man. She was still on edge, of course. There was a chance that it was someone under the Blight’s influence, but it was more likely than not that he was the man that Queen Morgan had requested come to help them. Standing some feet in front of the armor-clad man, Cambria looked up at him with her paws on her hips, awaiting his response..

It took a moment, but Clarisse had managed to wobble to her feet, taking her staff back up into her hands and remaining silent where she stood. Her head was tipped down in a shy a manner, looking at the stranger with an upturned eyes and clutching her staff close to her budding chest. She wore a smile, yet elegant, white dress that came to her knees. It was a halter-top that tied behind her neck with a big blue ribbon which showed clearly from under she short cut, blond hair. Tied neatly in her hair was a white ribbon that had managed to simulate bunny ears. Criss-crossed up her legs were long strands of blue ribbon, and a pair of white sandals on her feet.

“Clair-bear, honey, c’mere an’ say hello. This man came all this way to help, and you’re jus’ standin’ there bein’ antisocial.” The Ursa waved a paw, gesturing for the summoner to come closer. She’d nod, and would do just that, coming closer and standing before the man. She’d give a polite bow and offer a soft smile and wave.

Cambria was left much like an older woman would when referred to as a ‘darling’. With one paw placed against her cheek, the other waved Luke off in a dismissive manner. “Aw honey, there’s no need for flattery. I’m far older than I look. My lil’ Clair-bear over there, though, now she-”

The Ursa was cut off short when Clarisse had crouched down to place a hand over her mouth. The summoner was blushing a deep shade of red with her eyes clenched shut. Now that she was older, Cambria had a never ending mission to flaunt the woman that she had become, to just about anyone that seemed to be ‘worthy’, as she called it. Just about every attempt was stopped short by the summoner herself, though.

Turning her single blue eye up to Luke, Clarisse managed to suppress her blush and nodded her head to confirm the young man’s statement. They were indeed the women that he had been sent to protect. That’s when she received a bow in return to her earlier one. To his question, he received a quick shake of the head. Staff lowered, Clarisse made a bit of her body more visible. Glistening with sweat from all her hard work, the young woman’s fair skin glistened in the midday sun. Beneath the simple, yet form fitting, white dress, her more matured body was made visible. Through the years, Clarisse’s body had grown quite attractive - something her Papa wasn’t quite ready to accept. But Camria sure as hell was. But for the moment, she’d behave.

“We haven’t come across anything to be concerned over, honey. My Clair-bear here had just finished cleansing the square here and was taking a break. It seems like this Blight nonsense is going to be a little more difficult to clear than we initially thought. It took a good bit of energy to cleanse just this area.” Cambria explained, turning her attention to the relatively normal looking square, with the water fountain in the center in the center, and the surrounding areas and streets consumed by the dark sickness. It really was such a pity what had happened to the world. But that was why they were there, to help it get better. “Any ideas of your own to help out? ‘Cause Lord knows that we’re going to be needing the help at this rate…”

Off to her side, Clarisse let out a silent sigh, letting her head drop a bit. She then turned to the Ursa and signed with her hand, wondering if Cambria really thought that it was going to take such a long time. The summoner received a nod in response. "Aye, dear. At the rate you're going, it will take quite some time to heal this world." Once more, Clarisse sighed, casing her gaze to the ground, only to turn them to Luke, wondering if he had any ideas, himself.

With him cutting straight to the chase, both Clarisse and Cambria were rather impressed that the young man was able to so quickly pick up on the summoner’s condition. She had turned an embarrassed gaze to the ground, a rosy blush appearing on her cheeks.

“Yes, Clair is a mute. Though I am able to translate and communicate to you anything she might need to say.” The Ursa had answered to Luke, looking up at him from her position on the ground. It wouldn’t have been the first time that Clarisse’s inability to speak left whoever was assigned to protect and guide them a little doubtful of her capabilities, and she’d be damned if it was the last time. Raising a rounded paw up towards him, Cambria pointed it at him. “That is, unless, you know sign language, or can speak telepathically. Otherwise, I can manage an earpiece, if you happened to have brought one with you.”

With that shy gaze of hers, Clarisse looked at Luke through her bangs, twisting about in an embarrassed manner. It felt like she was a burden when it came to such things, but the blonde was well aware of her situation and the very few things that she could do to change it. Having caught Luke’s gaze on her, Clarisse quickly shot her eyes away and blushed deeper. It was only when he continued to speak that she turned her eyes back to him.

“Yeah, the heartless raid has hit many hard. Though hopefully we can divert another trad-” Cambria stopped short when the young man had suddenly called out to someone, gesturing for them to show themselves. Both she and the summoner quickly turned their gazes in that direction and were prepared to fight back if needed.

The situation had Clarisse rather tense. Scared, would be a better word for it. She clutched her staff close to her chest, standing behind Luke, and even trembling though only slightly so. It had gotten better over the years, but the unknown still greatly scared her. A light tap on her leg signaled for her to take a deep breath. Turning thankful eyes to Cambria, the summoner received a nod in return.


‘Should I?’ Clarisse’s fingers spelled out.


The Ursa’s simple response was a shrug.


Taking another breath, the young lady closed her one visible eye and reached out her thoughts. Not to whoever hid from them, but to another that slinked about the shadows.The woman that was hiding would suddenly feel something rub against her leg, soft and gentle. It appeared as a feline, with blood red eyes and a sleek black body. Looking up at the woman, it was if it was grinning with the way its fangs were showing. And if she listened, she would have heard a faint chuckle that held an air of foreboding. The cat then turned away and trotted off around the corner towards the group.


“No need to fear, Lady Clarisse, tis but a soldier woman of a foreign world.” The feline spoke with a pompous tone, wandering up to the summoner and rubbing against her leg in an affectionate manner. Clarisse crouched down to pet him, her way of thanking him for his service, and smiled. She was startled when Cambria suddenly chimed in.


“Him? Him of all people? Clair-bear, you have so many at your beck and call, and you chose the cat?” It was needless to say that the Usra was a little upset. Offended, maybe? And all Clarisse did was give her an apologetic smile.

Picking up Noir into her arms, Clarisse stood up and listened to the soothing sound of his purring. It helped calm her fragile nerves. So much was going on, and the summoner had such little time to adjust to it all that she was starting to clam up. Not that she could speak in the first place, but that was besides the point. Both the creatures at her side, Clarisse felt a slight bit more confident, and stepped up to stand beside her companion in the armor.


She felt as though the way that Luke explained what they were doing was a bit beyond vague, and could have been better explained, but she nodded in agreement. Though when he mentioned the fountain, the summoner turned to give him a confused look and began to shake her head. A tap at her calf from the Ursa that stood there told her to let it go.


Cambria understood the need to conceal certain information from potentially hostile individuals. Until intentions were made clear, it was best to hide their true reason for being there. One could never tell what another’s agenda was usually until it was too late. And though the feline in her arms was a nuance, if anything else, he could at least assist the samurai in combating the woman should it come to that. Though with the world’s current situation, it was understandable that anyone be on edge.

The bout between the two was both amusing and informative. It was encoded, in a way, but the Ursa and the Cat were able to understand the gist of it. Unfortunately for their summoner, she wasn’t as learned in the ways of coy conversing, being that she didn’t converse much in the first place. Though when Luke had suggested that they team up, Cambria turned a quirked brow in his direction. The distorted sound of his laughter through the voice modifier gave a bit of the shivers. It reminded Clarisse of a movie villain.

What he said in response to the woman’s question left her feeling a bit unsettled. It was rude, and mean. True, they had no business with the woman, and as such, would have no reason to ambush her, but to state it so… callously was just mean. Then again, the worlds were full of people far worse. That was one thing that the summoner had learned over the years, the hard way.

A pat at her calf reminded her that she wasn’t there alone. “Now that we’re not in any more immediate danger, Clair-bear, why don’t we get back to work, hm? You’ve had a long enough break by now.” Cambria told her. They were there for a reason, and they’ve dallied long enough. Sending a look to Luke and their companion, she wanted them to simply go about their business, do their jobs, whatever it was they were there to do, and to just let the summoner do her work.

At Cambria’s suggestion, Clarisse nodded and let Noir down from her arms so that she could pick up her staff and turn to the nearest Blight infected building. Noir took this time to dismiss himself. The light never agreed with his complexion. Once more, the summoned a holy light that surrounded herself and the area around her, and the others. It was a highly specific set of motions that needed to be made, that almost looked like a dance with how she performed them. And little by little, the Blight in front of her dissipated. She didn't dare creep to close to the building, however, due to the fear of whatever may be creeping inside.

Clarisse was quite capable of operating on her own, that much wasn’t a concern. She knew her limits, and when it came to it, she was capable of handling herself in battle. Training under her surrogate parents and from Queen Morgan ensured that much. It was the other two that Cambria was concerned about. Sure one of them was sent to protect them, which was helpful, yeah. But one could never be sure. As for the other one, she was all sorts of suspicious. Though being on such a contaminated, dangerous world as the recently discovered Camelot did warrant being on edge for all parties. To that extent, that woman’s behavior was understandable. Didn’t mean the Ursa trusted her any more.

She watched as she communicated with someone over an earpiece, and as Luke did the same, and wondered what sort of conversations or directives they were being given. It wasn’t really her concern in the first place, so long as Clarisse remained safe. Turning her beady eyes over to watch the summoner at work, it really did amaze her just how far she had come.

How far she had come was little concern to Clarisse, though. All she knew was that she still had far yet to go. One area of concern was her inability to endure long purification sessions. Already, she could feel the fatigue catching up with her. Even still, she pressed on and continued her work. If she stopped for too long, all the work she had already put in would be for naught and the Blight would return in no time. The fact that she was one of very few who could perform such a feat only made her presence on the world that much more important. She would succeed. There was no other option.