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Since no one else applied, I myself will take the mantle of Lens for this round. The Focus for this round will be Assassination Attempts, both successful and not. I will start as off with a new Period, between the Age of Kane and Age of Chaos: The Waiting Years - After his seemingly miraculous return from beyond the void, the Emperor appears greatly weakened, having depleted his soul reserve. He secludes himself in his ancient palace, ruling the Empire through proxies. Rumors abound that his magical power, which used to be without peer, is almost entirely gone. Some even say that his body is physically degrading with each passing day. His subjects await the end that they fear will soon come. Meanwhile, respected sages and scholars of the Magic of the Soul are mysteriously disappearing, one by one... -- In Your Future, I See Only Death - Atropos, the last living Elder Witch and de-facto leader of what little remains of the Abyssal Coven, meets the Emperor soon after his return, following his request for her help in rebuilding his reserve of souls. Instead, she poisons him and spiritually maims him, permanently stripping his ability to harvest and utilize souls. Her parting words to him before her disappearance, will eventually find their way into the pages of history books: "Do you remember our Pact, Tiberius? You have lived long, your rule rising over all, even the stars themselves. Yet you chose to deceive my sisters and break our Coven, stealing our power for yourself. So the Pact is no more and neither are you. In your past, I see great power, boundless ambition and ruthless victory. In your future, I see only death."
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Dec 17, 2018 21:31
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I forgot to include a deadline. The deadline for this round is Sunday, the 23rd of December at 15:00 UTC.
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Dec 18, 2018 13:50
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New event in the Age of Expansion, between Thorn in Their Side and Expedition: A Bloody Year A powerful and cruel assassin known by the name "Nero" from the letters he leaves at his crime scenes, kills several of the Emperor's advisers and allies before being arrested trying to kill Tiberius himself. He is unmasked, revealing himself to be a woman named Elrica, whose family was killed by accident in the invasion of Aurelem. However, the knife she used was Soulsteel, and there are conspicuous gaps in Elrica's memory when she is interrogated.
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Dec 19, 2018 22:08
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Scene: A monster's lament Takes place in: Gone with the mist Description: Because of a vision granted to him through his Gift of Foresight, Kane strongly believes that Elise will one day play an important role in keeping him from ascending to godhood. After years of searching her he finally finds her hiding place and that it has been closed off by powerful magic that he cannot break through. Worried that the Abyssal Coven has found about his plans to betray them, he makes the desperate gamble to send out Tiberius to kill Elise. Tiberius finds his half-sister but is talked out of murdering her, instead destroying her crystal sphere, preventing anyone from ever accessing the island ever again. A monster's lament Nothing stirred the night's soupy mist but the flapping of wings and a raven's call. But it wasn't a throaty gurgle or raspy croak typically associated with the animal, but a stream of colorful invective spoken in some tongue long forgotten by mankind. This chatter died out as the ink-colored bird approached its intended location. The raven perched itself atop an open window in the Imperial palace's library and, after making sure there weren't any unwanted eyes around, quickly hopped inside. Uncountable rows of bookshelves lined the walls, each shelf housing hundreds of tomes. The thick layer of dust that covered them a testament to the fact that their current owner wasn't much of a reader. During the reign of Claudius Gaius Kay, the emperor's personal retinue and a select few scholars were allowed entry to the place. But when Tiberius inherited that title, his first act as reigning emperor was to overthrow his father's edict and ban entrance to anyone but himself. A terrible loss not only to many scholars in the fields of history and literature, who all lost access to many uncatalogued ancient texts on that black day, but also to aficionados of architecture. Though many of the palace's structural support columns could be called ornate, they were hardly eyecatchers. Not the library's columns. Each was a lifelike sculpture of a previous ruler of the Empire, holding up their arms in the air to support the ceiling on which was painted a map of Gehenna's known continents. Tiberius meditated under the sculpture of the Headless Sovereign, named so for its missing features. He sat in a cross-legged position, hovering about three feet in the air, and opened his eyes when he noticed the raving hopping towards him. "Nobody else is here. You can take on human form now." No sooner than he had finished speaking those words did Kane become human again. Deep inside of him broiled a sour cocktail of panic and paranoia, but on the outside Kane was his same old unctuous self. "Are you ever going to trust me enough to change shape on your own initiative?" asked Tiberius. "I have told you before that nobody's been here in decades. You're not going to find any place more secure than this in the entire palace." Kane smiled apologetically. "Do excuse my impoliteness, your highness, but I merely practice caution." He watched as Tiberius stood up and broke his spell, softly descending back to the hardwood floor without so much as causing a creak. "I take it you were expecting my arrival?" The emperor gave a short nod of acknowledgement. "Your tutelage has been of tremendous help. Words are too... imprecise... to descriptively explain what I felt." He rubbed his chin in contemplation, deep in thought to come up with an appropriate simile. "Like the vibration a spider feels when an insect flies into its web. Two more lessons -- perhaps as few as just one -- and I'll have this technique fully mastered." One lucky guess and he already considered himself a wizened authority. That was his student alright. Kane barely prevented himself from rolling his eyes. "Be that as it may, the purpose of my visit is twofold. My masters wish me to pass on the message that you're a hundred thousand souls behind on your last delivery. Receiving today's lesson is contingent on you fulfilling your end of the bargain." "Kane, please," he begged in desperation. "My unification campaign is nearing its end; the stream of prisoners of war is running thin. And with all of the Coven's increased demands over the past years, I simply cannot supply the same number of souls I used to." His teacher dramatically turned his back on him; cape theatrically billowing in a conjured gust of wind. "Alas. As much as I disagree with my given orders, I shall take my leave." Kane closed his eyes; mentally reached out for the imperceptible strings binding the immaterial to the physical realm and gently strummed those that connected him to Tiberius. A harmony of dissonance. The emperor was close to what he believed to be an important breakthrough and would gladly give away anything if only to learn more. Not that Kane needed magic to realize this; he merely wished to know the most opportune time to throw his bait. "Unless..." "Unless?", a disquieted mew. Right on the mark. His impeccable timing and ability to read other people would make him an invaluable asset to trader caravans of the Tsuren tribe, though Kane would think their outfits too colorful and frivolous. "I have a little something that needs taking care of. A trifling matter, really." He cupped his hand, in which a translucent spherical object materialized. "But one that only you can aid me in." He passed the orb on to Tiberius, who quizzically inspected it. "Tell me, do you remember your sister? The one who tried to overthrow your reign; usurp you?" An uncomfortably long pause. "Age has not taken her. She still lives. Bring me her soul and I shall teach you the gift of foresight. Not in my official capacity as an envoy of the Coven, but as a friend", he stressed the last word with an unusual inflexion. Elise was still alive? The sudden revelation briefly startled him, but he silently acquiesced to the request. "But, where do I find her?" "You need not worry about that. Simply hold the orb and focus on your sister. It will do the rest." Tiberius did as he was asked to. His preternatural senses informed him of some quaint magical process happening inside the glass sphere, but much like a deaf man seated at the opera or a blind person standing in front of a painting, he was unable to appreciate the graceful dance of the immaterial threads swirling every which way in search of their target. Though capricious, the threads did not move about at random. Kane watched as one thread raced down the stairs of the library, out into the palace garden and up into the leafless branches of a long dead tree. The same tree Tiberius and Elise would hide in to avoid their bedtimes when they were still kids. Another thread plunged straight down into the earth into a storage room that, years ago, was a training room where Tiberius secretly taught his sister the art of fencing. Elise had always wanted to learn how to fence. But Tiberius' father did not think of the rapier as a weapon suited for women and so had forbidden her from training any further after he caught her sparring with the guards. If there weren't infinitely many, then at least the threads were uncountable in number. Most terminated somewhere in or around the Imperial palace. A few landed inside or a little beyond the Imperial city, and a small handful ended far away in distant places. One strand in particular, tenuous and ready to shatter at any second, veered off to the northeast. Kane recognized it instantly; it lead to the location of the island of Diyu. He'd been there less than half an hour ago; or to be more precise, near it. He still roiled with anger when he thought back about finding the island covered in a thick, impenetrable mist. And hiding behind it, the one thing that stood between him and his righteous place as ruler of the Moons, Sun and Stars. Had the Abyssal Coven finally caught on to his secretive scheming? Nothing in their demeanor suggested so, but spatial distortion fields did not spontaneously generate themselves and were costly enough to the point where they were only constructed in times of great need. That the Coven was involved was a foregone conclusion; no amount of magical power could turn the clock back on that. All he could do now was take out his one threat to his apotheosis and deal with the splinters wherever they were going to fall. Tiberius felt a slight tap on his forehead and, not much later, was replete with horror as he watched his body lifelessly fall to the hardwood floor from a bird's eye perspective. Before he could ask his mentor anything the sensation subsided and was replaced with a different kind of terror as he felt his own essence suddenly accelerate toward, and then through, the library's window. High above Gehenna's clouds soared a soul through the black of night, the planet's three Moons as his only silent witnesses. But the trip did not last long. The angle of his upward arc began to flatten, until eventually his ascent turned into a descent. A misty wall of fog below him that only got bigger and bigger as he rushed toward it, unable to slow down or change his course. Tiberius threw up his arms in front of his face, only to notice they were mostly translucent. The milk-white mist began to envelop him, and right as he made peace with himself, he heard Kane's voice. "She's somewhere on the island. Bring me her soul." The Emperor regained his senses to the sound of screeching seagulls, harassing a group of three fishermen in the process of bringing the day's catch on shore. Despite being close enough to touch them, the three seemed completely oblivious to his presence. One even walked straight through him without so much as saying a word, a quaint sensation which Tiberius mentally filed away on an ever growing list of interesting magical effects to investigate further. He clearly remembered the island being covered in a thick layer of mist when he made his entry but here on the ground the weather was radically different. Looking out to sea, the sun lazily dipped behind the horizon on an otherwise cloudless summer evening. This struck him as odd and unusual but the Emperor was not skilled enough in the arcane arts to recognize that the actual sea only stretched out a few kilometers beyond the island's shore, and that the sun and the sky were carefully crafted facsimiles. But he had a task to complete, and so he set off for the village further in land. Most of the village's houses were made of wood. Sturdy wooden constructions, often in the shape of a boat or ship, firmly planted on massive tree trunks embedded deep into the soil. Most, but not all. A few houses had notably Aurelamian features; such as visible support trusses on the outside of the walls and thatched roofs. Other houses looked like those one might find in the Empire, built with red bricks and shingles made of slate. He searched the city for the oldest looking building with Imperial architecture, passing unhindered through groups of Diyun citizens who did not so much as acknowledge his existence. After finding it he simply phased through the building's side wall. On the inside the house was modestly decorated with a blend of different styles. Diyun, Aurelemian and Imperial styles were all present, though not one was overly present over the other and on the whole the interior seemed harmoniously balanced. Not finding anyone on the bottom floor, Tiberius went up the only flight of stairs in the house. From the second floor landing he peeked through the open door of a study, where a woman was hunched over a writing desk, her back turned to him. As he approached, his heart skipped a beat. Elise's skin, though evidentially wrinkled and tanned through years of exposure to the tropical sun, had aged gracefully. She didn't look a day over sixty despite being well past a hundred and fifty years old. Tiberius had last seen her at their father's funeral and his crowning ceremony, when she was scarcely twenty and he even younger. All these years apart, yet he still recognized so many of the things in her that made her family. The Emperor stretched out his hand and gathered arcane energy in it. He aimed it at the back of her skull. Reconsidered. Pointed it at her heart instead, then back to her skull again, trembling, surmising there probably wasn't a dignified way of doing this. "What makes it harder to do than last time? The fact that you have to do it yourself instead of sending someone do it for you?", asked Elise without turning around or standing up from her desk. She could have chosen to speak those words with harsh indignation. Instead they were spoken softly, as if she was a mother disappointed with her son's actions. "Or for that matter, what makes murdering a single person harder than murdering thousands?" Elise knew of his presence? Startled, Tiberius stretched out his palm a bit further and produced more arcane energy, which crackled audibly. "This-- this is not a murder", he spoke. A tremble in his voice announced his doubt. "I am merely enacting a sentence that should have been passed long ago. You rebelled against the Empire; tried to usurp me. Just because you managed to evade justice doesn't mean you're granted clemency." She stood up from her chair and, despite her brother demanding her to stay in place, turned around while holding a glass sphere between her fingers. "I do not pretend to be an expert on artifice, but I do roughly know the fundamental principles of this device. When you sent out the call, I saw everything. And it confirmed everything I've known for decades. Kane and the Abyssal Coven feed you lies and half-truths to further their own interests. I covet the throne as much as I coveted my immortality-- not at all." "You know of the Abyssal Coven?", he exclaimed in surprise, though he still held his spell. "And their plans; the weapons they construct, the suffering they inflict upon mankind. Think about all the rules and laws they asked you to enact. Do they truly serve to make the Empire a better place?" Elise was unable to see her brother, but she made a guess as to where he was standing. Looked him straight in the eyes. Tiberius could barely stand to look back. "There was once a time where you needed all the power you could get, yes. But those wars ended ages ago. Please, when you return home, try to end the contract. I know that deep inside of you some good still exists. Stop expanding the Empire, stop being complicit in spreading misery and suffering." "Good? You... you don't hate me?", sputtered Tiberius. "Despite all that you've done, the friends you have taken away, you're still my brother, Tiberius. I should have been more responsible, and been there when you needed me. But we're not beyond the point where things can't be fixed." Though he was a disembodied spirit and was incapable of shedding tears, he could feel them well up in his eyes as well as feel a dozen needles puncture his throat. A reed in the wind, he was barely able to aim. "Elise. Please forgive me." He unleashed a bolt of arcane energy; glass shattering on the floor in pieces as the bolt buried itself into the wall. Tiberius' ethereal form began to evaporate, and soon his consciousness dissipated from the island. Tiberius laid on the floor staring at the world map of Gehenna painted on the ceiling. In his right hand he held the shattered remains of the glass orb used to locate his sister. Kane's frowning face appeared from the periphery of his vision. "Elise's soul. Did you bring it?" "No. Her soul dissipated before I was able to stabilize it." "But is she dead?" "She'll never lay claim to the throne." Kane considered his words, then noticed the shattered remains of the orb. With the only way in or out of the island destroyed, he had no way to verify Tiberius' claim and had to believe him on his word. "Very well. You have earned your lesson. Get up. We'll start in five minutes." The student and teacher trained throughout the night until the rise of the morning sun. However, Tiberius failed to gain any deeper insight into the gift of foresight, much to the frustration of his teacher. Faraway, on a tropical island secluded from the rest of reality by means of a magical barrier, a woman kneeled in front of a broken glass sphere. "Xander, Grace, Jean... Please be careful out there." Zybourne Clock fucked around with this message at 12:38 on Dec 23, 2018 |
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Dec 22, 2018 22:15
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The deadline has passed and the round has come to an end. Here are my closing additions, a new Event at the end of the Age of Chaos and a new Scene in that Event: -- Consider Regicide: Let's Finally Put the Empire to Rest - A secretive radical anrcho-republican group circulates a series of articles that strongly urge the execution of all descendants of the Imperial blood and the breakup of the Empire into hundreds of republican polities ruled by the local people of each region. They end up as the genesis of a substantial popular movement, far outstripping the authors expectations. ### An Eventful Meeting at Headquarters - A large mob gathers in front of the Reinhardt Corporation Headquarters after hearing that Tatiana, the presumed successor to the throne, is meeting Asbel to discuss his findings. Violence seems imminent, and the future of the Empire is about to be cast into doubt... The Scene's Question is: How does Tatiana resolve the situation? Required Characters: * Tatiana, successor-apparent to the Imperial Throne * Asbel Banned Characters: * Anyone else with Imperial royal blood * Any Witch AFancyQuestionMark fucked around with this message at 20:00 on Jan 4, 2019 |
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Dec 23, 2018 21:05
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I claim Asbel.
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Dec 23, 2018 21:08
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I claim Tatiana.
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Dec 23, 2018 21:13
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I will be Lavender, self-taught mage and insurrectionary leader.
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Dec 23, 2018 21:15
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I am keeping my Learning Legacy. I create a new Event, between the Signing of the Soul Pact and Treaty. First Lesson After giving Kane the first payment of souls needed by the Coven, Kane begins to teach Tiberius the basics of spells. The first lesson consists mostly of simple tricks-telekinesis, fire, ice, electricity, wind, and other simple but useful spells.
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Dec 24, 2018 21:23
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As the lens of the new round, I'd like to introduce our next focus: friends. This round continues until jan 5th, 9 PM UTC. I talked things through with AFancyQuestionMark. In lieu of adding a new scene in a new event, this round I'll start by creating a new scene in an existing event. Scene: The Exam, part II Takes place in: A Thorn in their Side Description: In lieu of written tests the Academy grades all first-year students based on a single comprehensive practicum, the specifics of which aren't known to the students until the day of the exam. Xander's class is split into teams of three and each team is given a large spherical stone boulder. They are then dropped on Darkmoor island and are told to seek out the sacellum of binding vows, and not to lose or damage the boulder. The Exam, part II Day eight. A hazy drizzle still covered Darkmoor island, severely reducing vision and preventing the group's muddied and sopping wet clothes from drying. Kaimana had long given up on constantly casting dehumidifying spells. Not because they imposed a significant mental tax on her -- as a Stormcaller, bending weather to her will came as a second nature -- she had simply become to accept it as wasted effort. The island's terrain was difficult and treacherous; every tenth step or so she would sink down to her knees in the blubbery mud, if not deeper. While scraping the muck out of her boots she heard her camp fire fizzle out again, a sound that had become all too familiar. With an annoyed grunt and a simple gesture the struggling flame reignited. She flashed her two underperforming teammates an equally annoyed look. "See, I told you I'm fine', remarked Julius as Xander pulled back the fabric to inspect his friend's right ankle. "Nothing to worry about. Give me a few hours to rest and everything will be right as rain!" Julius tended to tower over just about anyone else in the Academy and most other citizens of the Empire. His height, somewhat portly build and overall hairiness had earned him the nickname 'the bear'. Due to his large frame it was all the easier to see the full extent of his ankle's dislocation. "Jools. Buddy. That's the post traumatic shock talking for you right now." Xander met his friend's eyes. "I'd be surprised if your tendons were still attached. Come, let's get you back to the boat." Julius froze in place for a second after realizing the consequences of giving up. He'd been so happy when he received his letter of admission; it meant he got out of the Septimus family's tradition of military service without bringing shame to himself. Images flashed before him; of facing his father and brothers to inform him of his expulsion. Of him voicing his objections to the use of war for the material benefit of the Empire. Already he could hear them scolding him for being a coward; a beast-man sympathizer, a traitor to the throne. "No. No!", he yelled as he snapped out of his stupor. "I can't give up. Not when I'm this close." He pulled himself up from his lying position and firmly grabbed hold of his ankle with both of his gargantuan hands. Xander and Kaimana looked on in horror as their teammate realigned his dislocated joint with a sickening crunch, cheeks running red as he bit through the pain. Lacking a straight piece of wood and linen to fashion a splint he improvised and conjured forth an impenetrable layer of force in the form of a cast to properly immobilize his leg. It shimmered a faint blue in the twilight hours of the sky. The three shared a moment of silence, which Xander was the first to break. "I know how your family thinks about this, but please reconsider. If we don't find you some medical aid soon you might permanently--" "Let him." brusquely interrupted Kaimana. She'd been mostly quiet during the entire ordeal, speaking only when necessary or when spoken to. Both turned their heads at her in surprise. "He's a grown-rear end man. He can make his own decisions." Xander snipped back at her. "Don't you care at all?" She crossed her arms, unimpressed by the unexpected outburst. "I care. About completing the exam and getting off this island. Seems to me your friend is motivated to do the same. Perhaps you should take a page from his book." Julius nodded. "I'm fine. Really, I am. Let's camp here for the night and get moving early tomorrow morning." All three agreed to this. After cooking and eating the last of their rations, Kaimana took first watch. Xander awoke to the sound of distant screaming and Julius standing over him. "Wake up", he spoke in a quiet hush. "There's something going on beyond that hill over there. More boglurkers, I suspect." Xander shook off the last of his short midnight rest and motioned to Kaimana, who was vast asleep. "Should we take her along? Maybe it's best to just scout ahead for now and make a decision based on what we find." An affirmative nod. Under the diffuse light of three slithers of the moon, the duo slowly left behind their camp and made for the distant hill. "Where are your pals, Valens?", mockingly asked a familiar voice. Xander and Julius instinctively hid behind the nearest bush on top of the hill, and looked down upon the four figures below them. One laid on the ground clutching a boulder, his robes thoroughly soiled with dirt and clay and blood gushing from a fresh head wound. The other three had him surrounded; circled him like vultures around a soon to be carcass. "Seems to me they gave up and headed home. Why don't you give us your boulder and scram?" "Screw you, Thracius," sputtered the wounded student, "I'm not giving you poo poo." Thracius kicked the wounded student in the ribs, who cried out in a great deal of pain. "I merely offer to take some dead weight off of your shoulders and this is how you treat me? My, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to hurt my feelings." Thracius laughed, the jeering cackle of a hyena. Shortly thereafter his two identical looking teammates followed suit in the abuse. "But that's fine with me. Maybe I'll just leave you here with all the swamp monsters; I'm certain they'll find you more than agreeable." "It's that sentient puke of a Thracius and those creepy Sergius twins," whispered Julius. "How I'd love to grab him by his stupid blonde pony tail and drag him down a flight of stairs" replied Xander as he scanned his surroundings for an unseen way down the hill. "There's no time to get Kaimana. We have to do something or he's going to kill Valens. And we have to do it quick." He dropped to his hands and knees in an attempt to make a quiet escape, but felt a tug on the collar of his robe before even making it out of the bush. "It's going to be three on two and I'm in no shape to fight. That, and it's the head of the dueling club we're dealing with." Xander smirked confidently as his robe transformed itself into an Academy uniform and his facial features shifted into those of drill sergeant Nonus'. "Who said anything about fighting?" Though Julius knew that his friend could disguise himself by means of magic, it still fascinated him to see his body change like that. The first time he had caught him casting illusion spells like those was in their first week of sharing a dorm room together, though he didn't confront him about it until much later. Since then he had made much use of Xander's special capabilities, mostly to subvert the Academy's ridiculous evening and weekend curfew. Xander had made him swear not to ever tell anyone about his unusual skill, an oath which he was all too keen not to break. He placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Ash, please do be careful." Valens clutched the spherical boulder between his stomach and arms like a cat holding its favorite ball of yarn. The Sergius twins tried to wrest it from his control with Thracius cheering them on from a little ways away. His cheerfulness immediately soured upon seeing a livid drill sergeant Nonus pass around the corner of a nearby hill. There was no doubt about it, the instructor had taken note of the fight and made his way straight to them. Alarmed and panicking, Thracius grabbed the twins by their shoulders and pulled them away from their victim. "Drill sergeant! Good to see you here!", a tremble in his voice belied his sincerity. "Ah, you're probably wondering what the commotion is all about." His sudden nervousness inflected into a faux outrage, and he pointed an accusing finger at the heavily manhandled Valens. "The truth is, this THIEF here lost both his team and his boulder. Instead of keeping his honor and dropping the exam, he tried to ROB us! The nerve! Thank goodness you showed up to right this wrong!" Nonus gazed at Thracius in utter disbelief. When Xander was still a kid Elise had enrolled him in acting classes at Diyun's first theater as a way of getting him started on making new friends. At the time he hadn't fully mastered the Diyun language yet and spoke with a notable accent, often to the amusement of his peers as he pronounced words wrong or spoke in complete non-sequiturs. Speaking roles had never really been his thing, but roles that required conveying ideas or feelings through body language or facial expressions were things he both enjoyed and excelled at. At this instant he tapped deep into this well of experience as he brought his face millimeters away from Thracius', staring straight into his soul with the dourest glare he could come up with. He held on to this expression for an uncomfortably long time, long enough to soak in the look of fear and regret that slowly traversed Thracius's face. The feeling of Nonus' skin, the crow's feet near his eyes, the faint aroma of the oakmoss based perfume he was known to wear on occasion, in all aspects the illusion was perfect. All, except one. Xander still hadn't figured out how to synchronize speech with the movement of his illusion's mouth. True, it was better than it used to be, but this wasn't the moment to experiment. His performance had to be a silent one. Having sufficiently terrorized the bully, Nonus pushed aside the two twins and helped the heavily battered Valens to his feet. He handed him his boulder and set him on his way, staring down the psychopathic trio for a good minute to keep them from immediately assaulting their classmate a second time. Dejected and fearing for this future, Thracius fell to one knee in front of the sergeant. "Sir, please. I beg you to forget that you ever saw anything here. We lost our boulder and we panicked." The drill sergeant predictably kept quiet. "Is-- is it wealth you desire? This can be arranged under the table. My father is in possession of a fortune. Name your price and it will be done." Part of Xander made him want to swear never to bother the girls of the cafeteria personnel ever again; another part toyed with forcing him to cut off his pony tail and eat it in front of him. Either option required him to speak so instead he simply backhanded Thracius; a message that was for the bully to decipher on his own. Nonus turned his back on the trio and walked back the same way he came. Thracius clutched his cheek. It smarted, but not as much as the realization that his career as an officer at the Academy had gone up in smoke in the blink of an eye. He was the son of a wealthy aristocrat and, as a result, had never been told 'no' before ever in his life. A violent urge began to well up deep inside of him. Driven entirely by an animalistic drive for retribution, he called forth a wave of telekinetic energy that lifted a surprised Nonus into the air. "I tried to be nice to you, you filthy animal. But you refused my offer. And look at you now, struggling helplessly against my superior magical abilities. Why, perhaps I should be the one teaching classes? Let me help the Academy incentivize hiring new personnel!" Keeping Nonus helplessly afloat in the air with one hand, he jolted him with a bolt of electricity with the other. Nonus cried out in pain with a voice not entirely his. "Plenty more where THAT came from!", shouted Thracius as he released a second bolt. But instead of burying itself into the flesh of a helpless victim, the bolt seemingly froze in place. It still crackled and shimmered violently in the telltale shape of a lightning bolt, but it did not move forward. Atop a nearby hill a gargantuan figure appeared, bellowing from the top of his lungs. "LAY SO MUCH AS A FINGER ON HIM AND I SHALL DROWN YOU IN THE SHALLOWEST PART OF THE SWAMP". Eyes aglow with arcane might he rotated the impenetrable and invisible cylinder of force he had created around the lightning bolt, rotated it 180 degrees and dissipated the forcefield. With a roaring sonic boom the bolt illuminated the night's sky as it hurtled itself towards its initial caster, who was only able to dodge the surprise at the very last second. The Sergius twins looked up and shouted in unison. "It's the Bear!" "Well, don't just stand there! Kill him!", shrieked Thracius. His subordinates outstretched their palms, began to prepare their spells. But before they could fire a bank of fog overtook the battlefield. It dissipated as fast as it appeared, but when the twins looked around they noticed that both Nonus and Julius were nowhere to be found. Kaimana gently floated down from high up in the air, carrying her two teammates in tow on two conjured whirlwind balls. She dissipated them just a bit too high above solid ground, causing Xander and Julius to land unpleasantly but without injury. "Very brave of you two to step up for justice and put a demented psycho in his place," she said with her back still turned towards them. "Also, incredibly foolish. Next time you two lightweights pick a fight with someone, choose a target not way above your punching weight. Or if you must, ask me, and I'll fry them like an egg on Saturday morning." The two looked at each other, not entirely sure if her offer was sincere or a joke. Kaimana was hard to read. "Hey Julius", she said. "Yes?" "How's your ankle. Doing better, I hope?" "As long as I keep it immobilized, the pain isn't too horrible." "Good. You need to recover. How about we let you skip watch for the rest of the night?" "That... Would be nice. Thanks, Kaimana." "Ash?", she immediately followed up. "I'd like to have a word with you. In private. Please." The two disappeared off into the distance, out of earshot of a very tired Julius who didn't feel like eavesdropping anyway. Kaimana placed the palm of her hand on her forehead and moved it backward, fully revealing the large scar that ran horizontally across her head. She addressed Xander in fluent Diyun. "Please tell me, do I still have a scar on my forehead? Or has it turned into a tattoo saying 'colossal moron' without my knowledge?" Her intonation was confrontational. Xander apologetically raised his hands in self-defense; replied to her in her own language. "Kaimana, I don't know how much you witnessed of the altercation but--", she cut him off. "This goes beyond today's events." Raising her fist and uncurling her fingers, she began to count her observations. "One. You speak fluent Diyun. Two. Despite being a lowly muck farmer you have detailed information about the disbanded Stormcaller clan that I am a descendent off. Three. Your hair is as red as fire and your skin is whiter than milk, a trait shared by not a single person in my home land. Four. You can somehow perfectly copy the appearance of Academy personnel and keep this ability a secret to everyone. Ash Renata, just who the gently caress are you?" He still defensively held up the palms of his hands. Though his lips moved they made no sound; his brain tried to find the right words for the situation but it came up blank. Xander wanted to kick himself for so recklessly endangering his mission in the most pointless of ways. After carefully deliberating a response, he finally began to sputter. "Kaimana, do you remember what you said earlier today? About caring to finish the exam?" She crossed her arms; didn't dignify the evasion with a response. "Let's focus on that for now, OK? I know this sounds evasive, and you have lots of valid questions, but I'd rather not start a discussion here in this dreadful wasteland." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine. I'll pretend the last week straight up never happened. But when we get off this island, you and I are going to have a long talk." The underbrush cleared away as she made her way back to the camp. Xander slumped to the swamp floor, thoroughly aware of the fact someone was onto his secret. He put his hand in the fold of his robe and produced from it a glass orb, which he had smuggled with him onto the island. Paying attention to his surroundings, he made a call home in the hope that somebody on the other end would pick up. Zybourne Clock fucked around with this message at 18:15 on Jan 5, 2019 |
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Dec 27, 2018 00:46
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I create a new Event in the Opening of Eyes, at the end. Love Blooming In Diyu, Elise meets a young nobleman by the name of Connor, who is an accomplished scholar, as well as his son, Xander. Elise's knowledge of Lyon's artifacts piques Connor's interest, and he begins to spend more and more time with her. Xander is distrustful of her, though, as he has bad experience with noble women, like his mother. Over time, their shared interest in research and natural compatibility grows into something stronger-love.
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Dec 29, 2018 17:47
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I have a new Event, after everything else so far in the Age of Chaos: -- Unlikely Partners - Katrina, a descendant of the Imperial line wanted for her alleged involvement in the death of the weakened Tiberius, surrenders herself to the movement of would-be regicides. She expresses an unexpected solidarity with their ideals, telling them that the Empire's death is her foremost desire. After a somewhat awkward conversation with the movement's leaders, they agree to soften their demands and merely seek the imprisonment of all the potential successors to the throne, instead of regicide. Katrina joins the movement and works to bring this goal into reality alongside Lavender, one of the movement's most prominent leaders... and Katrina's first real friend in decades. AFancyQuestionMark fucked around with this message at 20:26 on Jan 4, 2019 |
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Jan 4, 2019 20:22
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The round has ended, leaving me to create a new scene. If anyone wants to be the next lens, now is the right time to claim the position. Scene: The Exam, part III Takes place in: A thorn in their side, after The Exam, part II Description: Xander and friends finally arrive at their destination, the sacellum of binding vows. There they discover that the exam was orchestrated by the 13th class as a way to recruit new members. Upon their return from the island of Darkmoor Xander reveals to a suspicious Kaimana that he is secretly an informant relaying information about the Academy back to Diyun. Kaimana is convinced of his cause and vows to join them in righting the wrongs of the 13th class. The Exam, part III Day eleven. Kaimana filled her cupped hands with the bog's muddy water and extracted the dirt from it by means of a simple spell. Lacking a storage vessel she simply let the blob of water hang in the air above her, not unlike a balloon, so that whenever she or her companions were thirsty they could take a bite from it. Though free of sediment and other small particles the separation process did little to improve upon the bouquet of compost and rotten vegetation. Dehydration wasn't going to be a problem for them any time soon. Hunger, however, was their constant companion. Darkmoor's vegetation consisted mostly of bushes and small plants carrying no fruit, and if the island had any indigenous fauna it was certainly good at remaining undetected. Their rations had long since depleted and foraging or hunting for food wasn't an option. The three students, tired from their long trek, stopped for a short rest. Julius' stomach loudly rumbled. "No. Don't say it." said Kaimana, accusedly pointing her finger. "So hungry..." replied Julius, pushing his gut in with both of his hands. He looked around and found a small patch of moss, of which he plucked a tiny piece and started to chew it. To his disappointment it tasted exactly like the filtrated water he'd been drinking (eating?) for the past three days, so he spat it out. An earthy residue lingered on his tongue. Kaimana's stomach rumbled empathetically, the mournful symphony of a lone phalainas separated from its flock. "Great," she remarked, "thanks for reminding us all, Julius." Xander pretended not to hear their complaints and dropped his boulder to fetch the map. He poured over it again, unsure of how many times he had already done so over the past hour. "We're nearly there. Let's bite into the final stretch." The intent to uplift their spirits was met with a lukewarm groan. The landscape began to change as they got closer to the location of the X marked on their map. Slowly but surely the puddles of putrescence and mud pits made way for firmer ground and more verdant patches of grass. Curiously accompanied by a change in weather. Not only was the last leg of their journey free of mist and the light drizzle that had continuously pestered them throughout their ordeal, the warm rays of the sun even breached through the clouds to offer them some much appreciated warmth. But perhaps the most welcome discovery was that of a well-maintained red brick road. It wasn't listed on their map, but it did seem to lead toward their intended destination. The last few days had given them the impression that Darkmoor was both uninhabited and uninhabitable, so this reminder of being close to civilization reinvigorated them. Eventually they spotted something on the horizon. A small, white dome-like structure, the sacellum of binding vows. Tired, starving and caked in mud, they summoned every last bit of willpower to muscle their way through to it. It was difficult to see from a distance, but the little chapel's singular marble wall was minutiously decorated with carvings of intricate patterns and figures. Some were impossible not to recognize, like the carvings depicting the three moons in their different phases, or the major constellations. Others were more esoteric. Xander recognized a handful of symbols used by scholars of the arcane to communicate ideas and concepts with each other, though the vast majority were as unknown to him as they were to the average wainwright, vintner or muck farmer. The three encircled the chapel to admire its decorations for a bit. It didn't take long for them to make a curious discovery: the sacellum had no entrance. "Oh! Latecomers!" jubilated a cheerful voice coming from behind them. Xander twitched; turned around to find the source. There where he had walked just a few seconds ago stood a diminutive figure, slightly hunched over forward and leaning on a sleek ebony staff. Though the person's facial features were mostly obscured by a mask -- a purple, vaguely heart-shaped thing with bright yellow eyes painted onto it and four sharp spikes jutting out from both of its cheeks somewhat reminiscent of a wooden beard -- her long hair and the sound of her voice made it clear she was a woman. The old woman's apparent materialization hadn't just jumped Xander; Kaimana already threateningly floated three feet in the air, sparks of lightning jumping between the splayed fingers of two outstretched hands and jolts dancing from her eyes. Julius dropped to one knee and touched the ground to create a shimmering field of force large enough to shield all three of them. "Goodness," softly chuckled the old lady, "you lot seem awfully on edge. Perhaps we should rethink how we conduct our examinations, what with all the injured, missing and traumatized students we seem to get each year." Realizing they were standing in front of an official of the Academy, Kaimana dropped her spell and Julius slowly stood up again with a sigh of relief. The masked woman slowly hobbled towards Xander, who felt a light tug on the boulder he was holding. It slowly released itself from his clutch and gingerly floated over to the masked woman, who bade it to stop in place with a simple hand gesture and then slowly made it revolve along its central axis. "Yes, yes. Hmm... No blemishes or cracks. And the eidos... It's positively suffused with hardship!" The masked old lady stood there for a good while, seemingly transfixed by the otherwise perfectly ordinary stone boulder, until she snapped out of it. "Ah, but you didn't come here to hear me talk to myself now, did you? I would love to tell you all that you've passed your exam and that you can go back to the Imperial city, but there's still one thing you still need to do. Really -- it's a formality at this point. Please follow me into the sacellum, if you will." She approached the sacellum's white walls and touched one of the inscriptions with her ebony rod. But moments later a faint light began to seep from some of the inscribed symbols and the very earth began to lightly tremble as the sacellum's domed wall neatly split open along a previously unseen seem running vertically through the structure. Once fully separated from each other they revealed what appeared to be an empty door frame. The masked woman stepped through it and, surprisingly, seemed to disappear into nothingness. As if she had walked around a corner. "Do... Do we follow?" asked Julius. Xander and Kaimana looked each other in the eyes, then at Julius. They nodded simultaneously. Passing through the empty door frame was an experience in own right. Around them the world rapidly grew devoid of color as if the sun had just set, only to grow darker still. Xander swung his arms in front of his face. Even as his fingers stroked his skin he did not see them. But the sensation was fleeting. A pinprick of light appeared in the periphery of his vision, rapidly followed by more of them. Stars. He recognized them as stars, and looked up. Above him were the three moons, Magioska, Tarinth, and Prizka. More surprisingly there was a fourth, much larger moon below him. One he didn't quite recognize but somehow did seem familiar. Some parts of it were blue like Magioska, others green like Tarinth, and on both extreme ends of the moon were white spots not unlike those found on Prizka. Just where was he? His eyes told him he was floating in a sea of black nothingness. Intrigued, he tried to tap the apparent void he was standing on with the heel of his shoe and, surprisingly, found some resistance. Something in the back of his mind told him this beautiful panorama was all an illusion. One more intricate and complex than anything he could conjure, but an illusion nonetheless. He quickly glanced around him. Kaimana and Julius were standing right beside him, captivated by the display of heavenly bodies. But they weren't alone. Circled around them were twelve other figures of varying size and build, each fully cloaked and wearing a face obscuring mask. And amidst them, right in the center, stood the old lady from before. Magically suspended in front of her hanged a large copper cauldron, heated by a fuelless flame. With a gesture she lifted the stone boulder the group had carried over the past few days and gently deposited it in the large kettle. She then turned to face the trio, brought her hands to her mask, and slowly removed it. To Kaimana and Julius, her face meant nothing. Perhaps they had ran into her before in one of the Academy's hallways, perhaps they had once glanced at her from the mess hall. The Academy's faculty numbered in the hundreds; memorizing each of them was nigh impossible. But Xander recognized her instantly, which put him off ease. Her name was Medea, one of the 13th class' principal researchers and a high-ranking member within the secret organization. On more than one occasion had he rummaged through her office in the hopes of finding a comprehensive list of 13th class members. While his labor never beared the desired result he did uncover her research interests, which were disturbing to say the least. A terrifying thought crossed his mind. If the other twelve masked figures were also 13th class members, then had he just walked into a trap? The possibility of having brought innocent people into this greatly pained him. Kaimana, used to fighting sea demons and other terrible monsters, was made of sterner stuff and Xander didn't particularly worry about her safety. But Julius, his best friend in all of the Academy, was in no shape to fight. "Perhaps you may have wondered a number of things over the past few days, such as 'what does trekking through a swamp have to do with testing my skills as a magician' or 'why did they make us lug around a large boulder'. Well, the truth is..." she paused for dramatic effect. "The exam isn't so much a test of one's magical prowess as it is of one's character. Persistence, hardiness, and most important of all, teamwork; all of these are things we value highly, and you have them in spades. As such, we would like to reward you with a life-changing opportunity that will allow you to serve the Empire off the battlefield as a member of an elite research institute." She gestured, causing the empty door frame to appear once again. Looking from the right angle they could see the outside world through it. "Should you wish to decline our offer for any reason, leave us now. You will promptly forget our encounter and shall continue your course at the Academy as if this meeting never happened. But if you wish to see magic's beauty in its true splendor, I implore you, please stay." Julius beamed from ear to ear as his lifelong wish had just become a reality. Kaimana listened coolly. She was a fighter who cared little for academic pursuits, and wasn't a citizen of the Empire to boot. Her journey so far had been one of self-discovery, to temper the fire that burned within her. Was this what she needed, desired? Xander tried to remain equally stone-faced, but celebrated internally. He reckoned they probably weren't going on the attack if they were willing to offer him a position within their circles. Not one of them moved for the exit. The old woman smiled warmly. "Good. Good. An excellent choice. My name is Medea, and I and the other people you see around you are all members of the Academy's 13th class. Formal introductions will follow at a later time. For now, know that we are the Academy's branch that deals with the most secret of arcane research projects." Medea beckoned the students to approach the cauldron. Much to their surprise the boulder inside had melted into a thick bubbling sludge. She inserted her ebony staff and stirred; the soft bubbling turned into a roiling boil, causing much of the odd liquid to evaporate. "Fire, lightning, protective fields... Up until now you've wielded magic in its most primal form." She paused to nudge Xander. "Mostly. To great effect, I admit, but with little regard to its governing mechanisms." The boiling stopped and the liquid went flat. No longer was it a thick sludge, but a translucent, almost ethereal liquid that shimmered under the dim starlight. Wispy tendrils emerged from the cauldron that climbed into the air, then coalesced into an egg-sized ball that Medea held in the palm of her hand. "We shall teach--" with a sudden motion she crushed the ball. Flittering motes of light escaped from between the gaps in her fingers. Opening her hand, the ball was gone. And in its stead were three rings. "so that in time you, too, shall learn how to manifest miracles." Medea gifted each a ring and motioned for them to put it on. With some trepidation they all did. Their rings shimmered once before turning invisible. "That concludes our brief outline of your future curriculum. Go now, back to the Academy. Speak to no-one about what you saw here today; detailed instructions on how to proceed will be sent shortly." Xander, Kaimana and Julius made their way through the empty door frame, back onto Darkmoor island. The sacellum's walls closed in on themselves to seal off the entrance as they set route for the designated pickup point at the beach. Getting to the sacellum had been a multi-day gauntlet, and while objectively speaking the journey to the pick-up point couldn't have lasted more than an hour, in Xander's experience the two lasted approximately the same amount of time. Soon he would be initiated into the 13th class, leaving him free to gather some much needed information on a foe that up until this point had been incredibly elusive. But he had also almost been outed as a spy by Kaimana, a headache he had to treat sooner than later. After carefully deliberating his potential options over the last few days he had come to the conclusion that the only possible move was to come clean to her about his mission and to convince her of the righteousness of his cause. To be alone with one's worries was a terrible thing, but Xander realized that worrying in the company of others and having to pretend to be fine was worse. Kaimana kept eyeing him with suspicion and Julius -- oblivious to this tension-- kept going on about the splendor inside the sacellum. When they arrived at the extraction point, Xander built a signal fire as instructed. Nonus eventually showed up in the same boat that had brought them to the island and wordlessly ferried them back to the main land. Wearing a fresh change of clothes and without so much as a crumb of dirt between his nails Xander left the bathhouse feeling cleaner than he'd ever felt before. Opposite the bathhouse's exit stood Kaimana, leaning against a wall with her arms crossed. "Patience isn't one of your virtues, is it?", he said. "Straightforwardness isn't one of yours. Seems both of us have our own flaws to work out." A pause. "I was going to go to the mess hall to get something to eat. But if we're going to have this talk we should find us something a bit more private." "Do you have any place in particular in mind?" "A little hole in the wall. Best honey glazed pork in the city if you ask me. Off the Academy's ground so we'll have to sneak out." Xander surveiled his surroundings; didn't see any unwanted onlookers. He pressed himself against the wall. "Do you trust me?" "Not sure about that," said Kaimana. "But I could go for some solid food right about now." "Remove that ring they gave you, and try not to make any noise. The experience is a little jarring the first time you go through it." "What?" asked Kaimana. "Just do it." Somewhat surprised at the odd request she removed her ring, only to see her skin tone grow several shades lighter and the scar running across the length of her right arm to disappear. Altogether her arms looked more masculine than before. So too did her outfit change into that of the Academy's custodial staff. Xander, also sporting a similar outfit, pointed a finger at his mouth. "Maintaining such an illusion on just myself is hard enough. I can do it for both of us but not for an extended period of time. Come with me, and whatever you do, don't try to say anything. It just doesn't work convincingly." Kaimana did as she was told. Both of the guards stationed near the Academy's exit let them leave without stopping them. Crossing the street they passed by all of the Imperial city's greatest hallmarks. The Imperial palace, the temple of the Great Wyrm, the memorial pillar for the victims of Aurelemian aggression and the Claudius Gaius Kay museum; each of them tourist attractions in their own right. But the thin veneer of glitz and glamour was skin deep. Just a few blocks away from the city center and they found themselves in the middle of one of the Imperial city's many less than savory slums. The pair of undercover custodians ducked into an alley, only to walk out without their disguises. The sun dipped below the horizon when the Hungry Hivemind's hexagonal front door opened with a cheerful jingle. Kaimana took in the restaurant's atmosphere. The furniture looked clean enough, if old and weathered. But it was the personnel and most of the clientele that caught her attention. Standing behind the counter stood a six foot tall humanoid figure, the wings on his back, fuzzy yellow-and-black coat, antennae and large compound eyes outed him as a member of the bee tribe. Xander approached the being and danced his order. Kaimana stared in disbelief as the bee danced back at Xander. "There's a quiet table at the back. Our order will come in fifteen minutes or so." They sat down in a corner at a table for two. "Don't tell me the red hair is also fake and that you've secretly been a bee-man all this time. I'm not ready for that." "You're right about one of those things", replied Xander dryly. The two remained silent for a short while. Kaimana spoke up first. "So. How does a muck farmer coming from a long line of other muck farmers learn a language only spoken on a small island in the middle of the ocean?" He inhaled once. Held his breath for a couple of seconds. Exhaled. "Kaimana, I won't fool you any longer. What I'm about to say is extremely dangerous information. I beg of you, for your safety and mine, keep it secret. If it spills it could, no, will, endanger both us and our families. My name isn't Ash. It's Xander. I'm not a farm hand, and I wasn't even born in the Empire. My father is Aurelemian." She took a napkin from one of the napkin holders and used it to polish her cutlery without making any eye contact. "Aurelemian. At the end of your rabbit hole there's just a new and deeper rabbit hole." "But I spent the better part of my childhood on Diyun. My father was an Aurelamian nobleman who fled the country when the Empire invaded his nation. When he and a number of other noblemen learned of... corruption within the upper echelons of the Empire's institution, he became curious. Eventually he learned of a shadowy group operating within the Imperial Academy. What he learned frightened him so much, he sent me out to investigate it." A human waiter walked by to bring them their honey glazed pork. The yellow and black lines tattooed onto the man's face marked him as a human member of the bee tribe. Xander took a rose-shaped copper brooch from one of his pockets and pointed it at the waiter. "Hey, waiter, I've got a bold and cunning plan." The man briefly inspected the brooch and gave a nod of acknowledgment. He bowed once and took his leave, disappearing into the kitchen despite the fact he still carried a tray of undelivered plates of food. Kaimana grabbed hold of the pork ribs by the bones and teared into them. Half chewing, half talking, she continued her interrogation. "You're a spy then." "I prefer the term 'informant'." "Well, what kind of information have you discovered then, informant?" "That the 13th class is morally reprehensible and not nearly as noble in intent as it is trying to present itself." "Their masks were kind of unsettling and they sure seem keen on remaining secretive, but I'd hardly call that--" The doors to the kitchen swung open, and the waiter approached them again. He stealthily dropped off a package of papers in Xander's lap and quickly returned from whence he came. Xander picked out a few pages and put them in front of Kaimana, text and pictures facing her. "You remember the whole boulder smelting ceremony, right? We carried that stone around for a number of days, and because of that, it got infused with something immaterial. Suffering, if you will. You'd think that something like 'suffering' is an emotion, immaterial and beyond mankind's grasp. But as displayed by Medea's trick where she extracted the suffering from the rock and turned it into something tangible, you'd be wrong. Eidokinesis, they call it. Transubstantiating ideas and sculpting them in whatever form you see fit." He tapped a piece of paper and moved it towards her. Kaimana picked it up and started to read. As best as she could tell the paper listed the names of people who had disappeared without a trace from the Imperial city in the past year. "Funny thing. You know what else is believed to be intangible? The human soul." He showed her a different sheet of paper. A copy of a lab journal, maintained by Medea herself. "And an incredibly powerful raw material for eidokinesis as well." Xander and Kaimana sat at the table for nearly two hours, reading document after document. Laboratory journal entries. Shipping records from the Imperial city's prison to the Academy. Eye witness records from local citizens. Slowly but surely the sun sunk under the horizon, and as it did the expression on Kaimana's face grew as dark as the night. Despite being hungry half her plate of ribs remained uneaten. "Despite all this documentation that I have, there's a lot I still don't know. For instance, who all the 13th class members are, and whether these members are even aware of the fact that the fuel they're using is extracted from human souls." Xander looked her straight in the eye. "Kaimana, the only reason I leveled with you on who I am and what I do is because I cannot have you spread wild stories about me. I implore you, forget about what you learned today. Pack your stuff and leave the Academy while you still can." Kaimana balled her fist; audibly cracking her knuckles. "No. I told you about my heritage. Even though the Hiapo clan is no more, its blood runs through my veins. A Stormcaller defends the powerless against demons and monsters. If there are people at the Academy who extract souls from the weak and oppressed, then it is my sworn duty to track down these monsters and put them to the sword. On the honor of my title as a Stormcaller, I shall assist you to the best of my ability. And when we find out who is guilty of these terrible crimes against humanity--" she slammed the palm of her hand on the table, sending a shockwave through the restaurant that caused a number of pans hanging from the ceiling to fall down. "I shall fry them with my lightning until only their ashes remain, then ship their remains to Daemonius in a glass bottle." Xander felt relieved. "Kaimana, I-- Thank you. This means a lot to me." She needed a few moments to let her anger dissipate. Then turned to her cold ribs and finished eating what was left on her plate. "Have you told Julius yet?" "No, I haven't. He's a good guy, my best friend inside and out of the Empire. I know his family history. His father, grandfather, great-grandfather, all of them have served the Empire as army officers of some rank or another. And his family expects him to follow in their ancestral footsteps. What he hasn't told them is that he opposes the use of state violence upon other countries for the material benefit of the Empire, something they would never understand. I figure that if he learns that the Academy uses human souls to power their sorcery, he will do the right thing and leave." "And what if he never makes that discovery? Does ignorance absolve him of any wrongdoing?" "That's something I've discussed with myself. Quite frankly, I do not believe it is my place to answer that question. It dives far too deep into philosophical--" "Think back to Darkmoor. Remember your fight with Thracius," she interjected. "Julius is a textbook gentle giant. But when Thracius so much as threatened you, Julius didn't waste a moment to spring into action. The guy loves you." "And I love him like a brother, too. All the more reason for me to keep him in the dark. Getting involved puts him in danger." "No. You don't get it," said Kaimana, "he loves you. As in, he's completely smitten. I've had my suspicions for a while, so I strongarmed an answer out of him. You might not reciprocate his feelings, but the least you owe him is complete sincerity as to who you are and what you do." Unable to process this sudden revelation, a rosy blush appeared on Xander's cheeks. Not that Kaimana could see this, as he immediately planted his head in his hands. "That... Just made an already difficult job that much more complicated," he softly bemoaned.
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Jan 6, 2019 00:59
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As the next Lens, I claim the next focus, an institution mentioned several times, but never focused on much: The 13 Temples I declare that it will end January 21st, at midnight. To kick this off, I create a new Event: Water King's Raging Tides, located in the War of Souls, between Lucia's Surrender and Aave's Last Night. Tarvoth, the Manipulator of the Deep Currents, has taken solace in a giant whale, and mounts constant attacks on Diyu. Stormcallers try as they might to hold his wrath back, but have trouble. In this tense war of waves and rain, the beach is the battlefield. I add to that, a Scene: An Assassin In A Healer's Mask Aeric, an apothecary and healer who doubles as a priest for the Temples, makes his visit to Diyu to treat the sick and injured. However, he is secretly part of a plan to end the stagnant war between land and sea. Tarvoth will die tonight. Required: -Aeric -Tarvoth Banned: -Imperials -Elise's family The question being asked is: "How does Tarvoth's defeat affect Diyu, the Stormcallers, and the Aurelemian refugees?" Junpei fucked around with this message at 22:57 on Jan 13, 2019 |
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Jan 13, 2019 22:09
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Claiming Kaimana, fledgling Stormcaller.
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Jan 13, 2019 22:19
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I will be Tarvoth.
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Jan 19, 2019 21:19
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Which will leave me as Aeric.
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Jan 19, 2019 21:22
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 22:17 |
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New scene: Driftless (part 1) Takes place after: An assassin in a healer's mask Driftless (part 1) Diyun's four Stormcaller clans kept to themselves out of necessity. Spreading themselves over a wide area meant that it was possible to mount a quick defense against a sea demon invasion regardless of where it would make landfall. But even if the Stormcallers were loath to admit it, there were political reasons for the divide as well. Though they all felt responsible for defending Diyun against threats, their motivations for doing so differed. In truth they were only ever unified on the battlefield. And on the graveyard. Kaimana stood in the center of the newly built burial grounds, surrounded by 46 black obelisks. Diyun burial rites prescribed that victims of demonic invasions were to be commemorated by erecting a marker in the garden of the victim's mayor. Or if that person did not live in a city or village, the place where the victim's body was discovered. These rites had let to a diplomatic quarrel of where to honor the fallen warriors. During the fight against the Great Manipulator the island itself had come alive, revealing that the group of islands sat atop an enormous turtle's shell. When it came alive the waters around Diyu receded, either pulling the bodies of the fallen out into the vast ocean or burying them deep in the beach's upturned sands. With the only other available option being a thinly veiled pretext to bring up old grievances, the clan leaders quickly decided on one place to remember their collective loss. Her right ear twitched as it picked up the rustle of moving foliage; with a graceful flick of the wrist she manifested a shard of ice and hurtled it at the hidden foe. The branches parted and out stepped Aeric, unaware of the frozen blades of death that were about to embed themselves in his skull. Only inches before impact did they melt back into liquid form, forcefully but harmlessly splashing in his face. "Oh. It's you," said Kaimana, still assuming the stance of the dancing hydra. "You shouldn't sneak up on me like that." He wiped his face dry on the shoulder pads of his tabard; his heart pounding from the unexpected surprise. "My apologies; I did not intend to scare you. I came here to pay my respects but it seems I've come at an inopportune time."Aeric turned on his heel, ready to make the trek back through the jungle. "No," she said bluntly, only to immediately repeat herself but kinder after realizing how gruff she had sounded. "Don't let me keep you from doing what you want to do. I've been hiding the past five days in the wilderness. If anything I could use a friendly face to talk with." "Hiding? On purpose?" He approached the center of the field and stood next to Kaimana; opened his pack to fetch incense and sacred oils. "A third of our defenses were wiped in the span of an hour and the island has literally been uprooted by this turtle that seems to be taking us who-knows-where. Half the people are in favor of constructing boats to escape while the other half desperately tries to convince them that if they do they'll have to give up their autonomy and join the Empire. It's a quagmire I'd rather not jump into." He casually looked up from his tinderbox while trying to light the slightly damp incense. "If it's of any help to you, I know the journey's destination." Kaimana squinted at him quizzically. "Do tell." "Some place called the 'Edge of the World'. I've never heard of it before myself, but Moku claims that it's the safest place on the entire planet. He says no Great Manipulator would ever think to--" "Wait," she interjected, "the turtle talks?." "Yes?" His tone was innocent and straightforward. "Did you not hear him speak during the battle? He was quite loud if I recall." The battle replayed again all over in Kaimana's mind. The blood, the viscera, the horrid ghost-whale flying through the sky and transfiguring her allies into abominations with little more than a thought. And that turtle, its head bursting through the sea floor, producing a tortured wail. That... was a language? She gave Aeric one last funny look, pulled him up by the yoke of his tabard and made her way to Diyu's southern most point.
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Jan 23, 2019 20:55
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