Saint Joseph School

I like the picture it gives me the impression that somone grabed a camra and pointed it at her face and cliking it during a humorious moment as shes saying "No Dont' -and many giggles to fallow- =D

The ruins of the old church were nearly impossible to distinguish from the fog. The grey haze hadn’t lifted in days and the denizens of Croatoa were beginning to whisper about it. Francis paid the fog little mind, pausing only momentarily to wipe the accumulated moisture from her brow. Her destination, what remained of Our Lady of the Immaculate Heart, sat at an odd angle from the ground. During the invasion, it had slipped from its foundations nearly twenty feet but had remained remarkably intact. She passed beneath the ruined statues of saints, making her way swiftly from the narthex, across the sanctuary, and into the ambulatory. Hidden behind a small pile of unremarkable stones was what had once been the door to a confessional. Its small wooden carvings had long since been scrubbed off by wear and the varnish was beginning to show signs of surrender. A brief backward glance into the unseeing eyes of oblivious saints and she gave the door a shove.

The tunnel that ran from the old confessional entwined its way through more than twelve feet of rock and rubble, twisting and turning in a macabre maze. From time to time, small chalk drawings marked a turn or adorned a slight flaw in the walls. Francis kept moving, the pain in her side was quickly becoming untenable. Her hand came forward to steady her steps and came away from the wall slick and warm. She glanced down, it was a lot of blood.

Francis let out a sound almost like a growl, she had been hit worse than she had thought. The green robed mage, now long since having met his end in a shower of sparks, had seen her far too soon. She suppressed a chill and kept moving.

Later, the hearth fire on the far side of the chamber was giving a welcome glow to the cold stones. The carefully applied herbs to her side crunched and crinkled when she moved, but Francis finally sat back without a wince, the pain was nearly gone. She tilted her head to examine the small rolls of paper spread out on the table before her. They were spattered in blood and soil but were still readable, and for that she thanked any god who cared to be listening. The room was silent all but for a cheap, plastic clock clicking its life away in the corner. Slowly, she unfurled the first of the rolls, laying them out carefully each in turn. It was a letter, or at least, what remained of one. She squinted in the light trying to make out the words on the ruined paper.

‘Beloved,’ It began.

‘By now you have seen to it that the ghost's confession will not have repercussions into the foreseeable future. I simply cannot tolerate anymore of this 'terrorist cell' of magic users. Either you find the one they call Witch Warden, or I will have your head faster than the Queen of Hearts.

~M'

The soft pink hair that adorned the head of the young mage glittered in the fading light. It was going to be a long night.

((OOC: I will be continuing a story I wrote over a year ago; Bells, Books, and Candles. Enjoy....whoa...check it out. My 900th post! Whoo! Anyway, after nearly two years of a strange and stormy romance, Franky and Misericorde are still together. This amuses some and frightens others. Aside from that, Francis is still haunted by the events of a raid on a Croatoa Cabal house she took part in a year ago (The Bells, Books, and Candles story thread). She went in believing the head of the house was her missing mother, Mary Cross. Such was not the case, though the house of mages fell to an SJS squad anyway. Secretly, quietly, in the time since then, Francis has been forming the first vestiges of a magical underground within Croatoa under the name Witch Warden. She is still hunting her mother, Mary.))

“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled, was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”
~Verbal Kint “Usual Suspects”

As many of you know, Francis Cross was one of the first members of SJS over 2 years ago. In that time she has been a part of dozens of storylines including the infamous and ill-fated formation of Cheer Squad with Jasmine St. Cloud, the heroic coming-of-age of Obsidian Seraph, and her own involvement and investigations into the Cabal presence in Croatoa. She is also nearly infamous herself for a bizarre incident in the Chapel involving the tattooed biker chick turned nun-librarian, Sister Salvation, the Wingra Tree, the Devouring Earth, and three weeks of talking salad in the cafeteria.

Bells, Books, and Candles
Shadows and Light
When the Time for Study is at an End

I also seem to remember something about arguing with giant monkeys in Atlas…but I digress.

Something Funny Happened on the Way to Atlas

Originally from Salamanca, Francis lost her father to a Halloween night Cabal sacrifice led by her mother, a Cabal witch. Her subsequent scholastic pursuit of magic and hunt for her mother has led her, time and again, into the dark mysteries of Croatoa. Ultimately, this all came to head in an RP Mary Macomber Task Force where Francis learned that the famous Mary Macomber was not her mother, as she had come to believe.

With her faithful, if odd-ball, boyfriend Misercorde and her undead best friend Lycia perpetually helping her navigate the weirdness that is her life, Franky continues to pursue her vengeance against the Cabal and grow in her magical repertoire. Facilitated, of course, by the benefits of a SL 50 Hero Card.

With such a long and storied past, I began to think that Franky’s story was told. With the creation of SJS Chronicle, I figured that it was time to retire Francis Cross to the background of SJS.

Like so many times in my life, it turns out, I’m only half right.

I have a new story to tell for Francis Cross, but not in the way I thought. I have an idea that I want to try and I believe it will breathe new life into a long-standing character.
While investigating a nearly unheard of Cabal template deep in the woods of Croatoa, Franky came face to face with a creature calling itself The Battle Crow. The bizarre fae creature dueled Franky long into the night employing riddles, cantrips, and vicious chicanery. In the end, however, Franky, worn-out and tired, won the fight. Her unexpected reward was the discovery of thick tome bound in pale leather. Embossed on the first, badly damaged, page were the words: The War of Words and the Fate of the Sons of Muirthemne.

This book will become the catalyst of Franky’s transformation. This book claims to hold the secrets of the origin of Cabal magic and in that, also claims that all Cabal magic is a false and destructive version of true magic. The book’s “Earth-Mother” focused philosophy demonstrates a doctrine and scripture that proclaims a magic of earth and plants, storm and nature. By using her tried and tested spells, Franky is harming all creation with wicked and perverted magics. This is an epiphany for Franky that shakes her to her core.
This causes a deep and fundamental shift in Franky’s outlook and personal viewpoint. With book in hand, she renounces her magic (Note: She is still able to cast these spells, she simply refuses to. In some ways, this explains the possible moments where Francis Cross from SJS Chronicle might be present if needed.). Now, she hits the streets of Paragon City determined to remake herself in the image of a true mage and a true hero….this hero is called Witch Warden.

Witch Warden is a Plant/Storm controller. Witch Warden and Francis Cross are the same person, one the hero mask, the other the Catholic schoolgirl. It is my intention to still use Francis Cross for things such as Cheer Squad events, special SJS events, and high level content. Witch Warden, however, is the new main character and all subsequent in-character interactions anyone will have, will be with her.

With that, I retire Francis Cross and introduce, Witch Warden.

(Update for I15)

"Dear Diary,

The irony of the fact that I am specifically addressing a book with the intent to divulge my latest secret thoughts hasn't escaped me. In fact, the last time I confessed my deepest, darkest thoughts to a set of pages and glue, I ended up in exactly this situation, sitting alone in my dorm room contemplating my navel. Well, navel, listen up, because my hand is cramping up and I've got, like, a million more "Franky + Mis" doodles to cover my notebook with so that the next time I get called into Conrad's office I can at least pretend to be a normal teenage girl.

So here's how it is. I've been pretty busy lately, what with learning new magic and this pesky inner ear infection. Between the antibiotics and the Book Never Written (or whatever he called himself), I don't get out much. Now, I don't want to say that I've been, you know, hiding in a corner or anything but well...damn...guess I'm more goth than I thought.

I've been learning better living through gardening. ok? There, I said it. Of course, it's more like extreme gardening...you know...Little Shop of Horrors meets The Warriors, that kind of thing.

Well, if you want to find me, I'll be in the back of the room. You know, the chick with her nose and eyeliner buried in a book that looks suspiciously like it might bite back. If you're too scared, you can always catch me at half-time. I'll be the one standing in front of the cheer squad trying not to take revenge with the Astroturf.

Later Diary. Franky + Mis."