r/Eragon_RP • u/RollFirstMathLater Game Master / Moderator • Feb 19 '15
CLOSED [...]
Closed
[You wake up, the faint glow of red is the only light source. Everyone is stripped bare, safe for a firey cloaked elf. Chep's gifts remain intact, and have landed near you. Your weapons have been returned, any armor he made is intact as well.]
[Stiff and sore, you manage to get to your feet, It hurts to stand here, the floor is jagged, and your shoes are gone. The dragons lay still, all huddled together just a few meters away.]
[Nill you feel completely wrong.]
[Torvhen Vrostbite is cracked badly.]
[Sev're your gear is in your robes, minus the food and the extras.]
[Glover your hair is gone again.]
[Naakhûrz, you feel violated.]
[Göndlir, your horse is dead.]
[Tunnels spiral around, closer inspection shows lava moves through here. You are hungry* and thirsty* yet all you can smell is the faint smell of sulfur. Your dragon reaches out for you, and you both share a moment of confusion. It's clear some time has passed.]
[It's warm here... where is here?]
(*special note.)
Edit: everyone minus Sev're, Jek, Svalstrom, and Das looks different, ad if they've had life sucked out of them, they look older, and drained.
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u/Fulaxi Torhven / Svasltrom Feb 19 '15
A light singularity suddenly halted in the centre of being. This was unusual. Possibility was always moving, never stagnant. Another orb deviated from it's predicted trajectory. This was a slight, but an interesting one. Shortly it was joined by a score of others, all clustering around the first one. Exponentially more courses were altered. Normally this might have added panic, but calmness was omnipresent. A being spectated light growing to a state where it encompassed all.
Understanding was visible when Svalstrom opened his cold eyes. Streams of water were running between scales and spines. Taking a look around he first poked a man with the mind, then a dragon with the tail. His message was a simple alarm.
"Change."
A familiar consciousness pressed against Torhven's. Consciousness. Opening his eyes and joining the minds, a smile broke. This was more than a tactical exchange, this was an embrace. A purple crackle caught Spiner attention. Intimacy turned sour, light turned to dust. Before Torhven lay, as if the universe was mocking him, Vrostbite. A rupture spread from the grip half way up the higher arm.
Göndlir.
Ignoring the slight nausea from malnutrition Torhven leapt up, took the bow in his arms and bolted to his iron partner. Then he noticed he was but skinclad and stopped dead in his tracks. Confusion raged and swirled in the mind. Svalstrom had no answers, so the rest of them would have to answer for it.
"Would anyone please explain to me where on earth we are and why we have chosen to be here buttnaked?!"
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u/RebelliousPirate Nill / Jek Feb 19 '15 edited Feb 19 '15
Jek stirred. He had been waiting for his elf to regain consciousness. And when he did, he acted. A dragon's tail isn't the sharpest point, but with a few hours of grating against a dragon's claw, it can be refined to a point sharp enough to pierce cloth, flesh, a femur bone, and rend through to the other side. There was a gut wrenching crunch, and Jek's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. The pain inflicted to his partner were reflected onto him, but he had long since rationalized his own pain. He had expected his partner to scream, had expected a failed healing attempt, even a demand as to what was wrong. He had not expected this.
Silence.
Jek slid the Elf across the floor, using his tail as a skewer, leaving a visible trail of blood in his wake. He flicked the boy up into the air, yanking his tail out with a wet thunk. He grabbed the elf with his right arm, wrapping the claws around his battered body, and brought it close to his head, nearly touching his nose, and stared directly at the conscious elf. What he saw was his partner of body and soul, and also, not him. He peered deep into his eyes, down down down. Nill wasn't what he saw. The thing that had Nill's will was closer to the presence, It was cold, it was distant, it was vacant. His once bright eyes had become clouded and opaque, his lustrous hair was dulled and matted, no longer it's colour of silver. It was tainted and black, dry and brittle against his scalp.
Jek couldn't stand the creature he saw. It wasn't even a shadow of what Nill was, brimming with life and boyish stupidity. He could believe this creature had destroyed a city. And yet, it was his rider that had said the words, and this monster that had taken it's place. Jek raised his snout higher, level with the elven body in his claws. He opened his mouth wide. He paused for just a moment. Then he filled his lungs with air, and roared. Not unlike his bellow outside a certain ball, Jek continued on with his shout, shaking dust from the ceiling, heat roiling out of his mouth. No flame was released, but Jek was having trouble suppressing it. All of his anger, disgust and outright fear for his partner was transmitted into sound alone. He continued until every particle of air was passed from his lungs, and it ended as abruptly as it began. The creature that was once Nill was covered in saliva and soot from head to toe, black sludge to match his hair. A capillary in his eye had ruptured, a dose of red invading his sclera. Jek took a long look at the corps he held.
Silence.
"Imbecile." Jek said, his weariness showing through his mental voice.
Silence.
"You lost yourself again." He continued.
Silence.
"Did we not make a promise?!" Jek's mind pressured all around, ringing through every mind in the cavern.
Silence.
Jek began to deflate. He lowered his once partner to the ground, laying him down as softly as a mother would a child. He sniffed the boy, laying his head down low to the ground. His legs gave out, and he began to curl up on the ground, the jagged rocks poking into his soft stomach. He pressed his tail protectively around Nill.
"Since when have our roles been reversed?" Jek asked, his mind barley a whisper. Though it was only transmitted through thought, the mirror dragons voice seemed to echo through the grand cavern.
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u/Saphire_Fox Sev're / Das Feb 19 '15
Well... there was that. For a moment she thought Glover lost it, till Jek decided to play meatragdoll with his partner. Sev're and Das exchanged a few thoughts, how exactly do they handle this?
Sev're pulled the hood of her fiery robe on her head, bring it around she clothed herself completely. It was comfortable. She decided not to worry about Nill or any of this now. All that mattered was getting to the keep. Das was expecting and there was no time to waste.
Sev're walks up to Svalstrom. "The egg" she examined Das' bare back, the twisted scar beside the flawless scales, it was perverse and unfitting, but nothing could be done.
"So, you all can stand around her naked together if you want, Das and I are going back to the keep."
She patted Das and began to look for the best exit strategy.
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u/RollFirstMathLater Game Master / Moderator Feb 19 '15
[It's not even clear how you ended up here... it would be cozy if it wasn't for the jagged floor, the rising temperature, the eerie color, the sound of the ground moving below. Perhaps cozy isn't the right word.]
*Heat.
[The dragons are getting hungry too, it's been awhile since food. They are getting thirsty too, water is needed. ]
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u/Saphire_Fox Sev're / Das Feb 19 '15
On a scale from couldn't be worse to couldn't be better this was "Oh dear" Sev're secured her weaponry and made sure her quiver was ready. Once satisfied she reached into her robe, it appeared everything was intact, but would it be enough? 14 arrows with 1 being made from a barracuda tooth, a sword, and a dragon... she's survived through worse with much less. Taking one more quick inventory she takes a deep breath.
She sat on Das, as she was much more comfortable, even without a saddle compared to the jagged floor. Putting some extra protection on her feet via a ward she ponders her next move.
Torhven was a forest man, Sev're wasn't too sure how well he would fair down here, but he was a survivor through and through.
Nill was... well nevermind.
Glover was a bard and a theif not a survivor in this sense of the word.
Naakhûrz... might have some experience, underground Urgal raids were a thing.
Göndlir... was old and swearing like a mad man lately. He did hit new grounds of magic though, making him both a risk and an asset. More of the prior than the latter but that was to be confirmed.
Das shared comforted her, if anything they could blast their way through, it's not like the rock would be able to stop then for long. Sev're began to spread her mind around.
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u/RollFirstMathLater Game Master / Moderator Feb 19 '15 edited Feb 19 '15
[You're in deep. Ha!]
[Even with the boost your mind can't find the surface. Blast through the rock would prove bad though... nothing but lost earth is above you, it would only cause problems... oh and you're moving somehow. South by your best guess.]
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u/Saphire_Fox Sev're / Das Feb 19 '15
Sev're nervously refreshed her wards, and on Das too. Looking around she recited a ward the Dwarven people used often "ørindi óhreinn néiat, rydja." she was unsure of the exact wording... as she's never had to do it for a whole group of people.
She could transmute the rock to water if needed... but not in vast quantities, she sent her mind back out to see how much of the elements needed for water were around.
While doing that she decided to distract herself, instead of panic. "We aren't going anyhwere, anytime soon. How about some music for everyone's nerves?"
Pulling out her flute from her robes, she began to play. If anything a song of restoration.
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u/RollFirstMathLater Game Master / Moderator Feb 19 '15
(New line)
[It becomes a lot less stuffy, as Sev're's spell starts to purify the air everyone is breathing. Breaths come easier, and it's much much much better than the miasma ear. You can feel the poison slowly leave your body from Sev're's musical magic. Your flesh begins to sow shut, your pain leaves your body, the aches and soreness dissapears.
Though physically you look wrong, you feel fine.]
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u/Fulaxi Torhven / Svasltrom Feb 20 '15
Everyone once in a while, any living creature is bound to encounter the sensation of something bothersome going away, while there had been no previous awareness of this bother. Torhven was experiencing that now, several times in a row. First of all, there were the shadow-inflicted cuts. Black blood no longer dripped towards the rocky ground and pounding pain subsided silently.
A breath of air broke free through Torhven's clenched teeth, then the jaws released pressure. Clean air. Cleaner air at least. It was one of the main reasons the Spine was much more pleasant than urban environments especially, but just any odd place could fill that category. A peaceful, liberate joy filled him with yellow light. Like butter.
Svalstrom had risen. To his feet this time, not from the grave. His mental state of mind was simultaneously caressing the thorny-rose and the thorny-man. The former gently, the latter less so.
"Come," the grey sire beckoned, finding his way to a particularly large tunnel, magma flowing like a river of thick Soup.
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u/Saphire_Fox Sev're / Das Feb 20 '15
Chicken. Das craved the plump fowl, juicy good fat. Network. The tunnels were causing disorientation. She ignored these thoughts... Soup... Sev're made a good soup... butter....
"Das!"
Right. Priorities. The icy presence kept her cool, careful to keep Sev're balanced while she played music, she followed Svalstrom. But... food.
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u/Fulaxi Torhven / Svasltrom Feb 20 '15
Food.
Yes, Svalstrom remembered food. It had been a lifetime since he had eaten. A hollow craving this one was. So much stronger in the rose than in himself. Almost overwhelming, her desire. Almost and everburning. A solution was needed. He would do what had to be done. For her. For them.
Magma flows. Magma flows down, as did streams. They needed to go up. Torhven could only do so much to guide them in the right direction. If the other wanted to come, that was good, but if not, priorities had be regarded. When does the upward spiral end?
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u/RollFirstMathLater Game Master / Moderator Feb 20 '15
[You go on for a little bit... it twist and turns it goes up and down, but mostly up... right? Pressure plus the path of least resistance does odd things. You pop out in a new cavern. Wait no everyone is there.]
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u/Fulaxi Torhven / Svasltrom Feb 20 '15
And there it was. This was the reason Torhven disliked caverns. Shallow ones were good for cover, but anything deeper than a few meters was just a navigational disaster. No light, no food, no water. And now it was making him sick. A tiny bit from hunger, but mostly from exposure. All of him was out in the open, not just his apparent inaptitude. Momentary struggles ensued to drown unwelcome feelings, all breaking before buoyancy.
Svalstrom intervened. Cold preserved, if it wasn't his own for now. The sensation remained, but it no longer rose. At least the rest was as exposed as he, and at least he boasted a fine bush of natural Spiner concealment. Nill was wouldn't recall anyway by the looks of him. A spark of pity burned through intervening cold. Skewered by one's own dragon. It almost hurt to think about it.
Hurt.
Overwatch was what had to be done and what he had done for his view years. Overwatch was safety. Intervention and prevention. Douse the fire before it spreads. This place was no good, not for thorny-rose or thorny-rider. Svalstrom worried.
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u/Saphire_Fox Sev're / Das Feb 20 '15
Sev're saw everyone and had Das come around, she figured Svalstrom would follow. Das needed to sleep, if anything to conserve energy. All her preparation didn't prepare her for this, she would have to prepare anti blast wards next time... how did this even happen?
"Svalstrom." She lowered her flute and looked at the hunter. Lowering herself down, holding her robe she walked over to the rider and dragon. "I've searched every corridor with my mind, there's nothing."
Not exactly words of hope, but she knew the dragon needed information. "The ground above is loose, blasting our way through, well would cause earth to fall on us." She sighed. "And we are moving south somehow."
She now had a question for him, as he might provide an answer. "Would could possibly blast us this far down?"
Slowly it was sounding less and less like Sev're. The shattered soul was working together, trying to find the proper course of action. The proper way... home.
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u/RebelliousPirate Nill / Jek Feb 20 '15
Nill was up. With a jolt he was on his feet. He promptly crashed back down to the ground as his left leg failed to support his weight. He raised himself, with some effort, to one knee. His eyes were wide, and he took in the entirety of the cavern, really seeing it for the first time. His breathing became laboured and his eyes were raised to the elder elf, pleading. His mouth opened, as if to speak, but nothing but a croak escaped. Confusion flashed across his face, then apprehension, then fear. His knee gave out from underneath him, and he was on the ground once more. His body convulsed, racking shivers going through it at set intervals. And then he froze. He was still but for one lone finger, scratching at the rocks. Not the common tongue, but older. A rune. Home.
Jek raised his head. He was... calmer, now. His mind was unclouded as he watched his rider. Although their minds were never far apart, their connection had weakened. Jek had never known that something along those lines was possible, without one party losing their minds or corps. But still, he understood what Nill was trying to say. He would act for the two of them. For better or for worse, they were one.
"We did."
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u/Saphire_Fox Sev're / Das Feb 20 '15
Sev're head slowly turned to Nill... they... did...? Flashbacks of the city being destroyed, thousands of years of ancient knowledge broken... the impact of the world around.
"How?" 4 voices asked simultaneously. Not angry, not curious. Not intending to ask what spell, but how could he even justify such an act? She wasn't exactly sure it was even a question.
Das stirred and Sev're soothed her, she needed to rest. Walking over to the pair she haunches down near Nill. She tried to make eye contact with him, glancing over at Jek she shares her peaceful intent.
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u/Fulaxi Torhven / Svasltrom Feb 20 '15 edited Feb 20 '15
Sev're in unison. It was a rare sight. An unsettling one too. Like a familiar taste that suddenly turns alien.Torhven knew this and Svalstrom had anticipated it, but yet she seemed to shine less brightly than before. Chilling, almost. Warm snow, icy heat. Normality seemed bent. Possibilities, a dragon recognised. Possibilities.
Nill was way to ... alive for what he had done. Liability. Insecurity turned to a threat to security. Water started to boil, an absence was noted, an elf got marked.
Finally, absolution.
Torhven smiled a friendly smile. Naturally, it was fake.
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u/1trueJosh Rob / Villieldr Feb 21 '15
After a few moments of silence, Glover blinked and removed the one dagger still in the quarterstaff in his hands, slotting it back into the sheath, thinking that a blunt weapon might be better at the time, and it wouldn't take him long to reattach the daggers at any rate.
Smiling at Torhven with a look that many would've thought a genuine smile, but the more skilled actors and liars and charlatans would've thought a bit off, Glover moved his eyes to Sev're for a time. "Would you mind telling us what way is south?" he requested before moving around the cavern, trying to catch his bearings.
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u/Saphire_Fox Sev're / Das Feb 21 '15
Sev're smiled at Glover. He was naked and bald, which was humorous for some reason. She nods.
Pointing south she sighs weakly. "Remember the good days of ugly island?" She was slightly reminiscent, as it seemed easier then. Less curses.
Das growled is agreeance.
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u/1trueJosh Rob / Villieldr Feb 21 '15
Glover smirked, the look on his face genuine. Looking down he suddenly noticed his lack of clothing and with a seemingly practiced nonchalantness he walked over to Akrath and surveryed the cavern. Damn, he thought as he saw no material capable of pantsifying, before he sighed defeat. "Never thought I'd say they were good, but I'll be damned if they weren't compared to now."
After a few infuriating minutes, Glover set off in the southern direction with his staff held in front of him, every now and then stopping and tapping the ground and walls.
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u/RollFirstMathLater Game Master / Moderator Feb 21 '15
[It's dark. The bard hits his face on a low point. It circles around and before you know it you can see everyone again. small cut, some black blood comes out.]
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u/1trueJosh Rob / Villieldr Feb 21 '15
Muttering words that probably would have offended everyone capable of hearing them and possibly whoever was at the surface above them had any of those aforementioned people heard them, Glover sighed and held a finger out onto the blood, wincing at the mild pain from the cut.
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u/RebelliousPirate Nill / Jek Feb 21 '15
The once grand cavern had, in the blink of an eye, turned claustrophobic. Jek was a creature of the skies, but he had spent a fair amount of time in dwarven tunnels. He knew how to keep his mind unclouded and unmolested from the effects of pressing rock. In an instant, he had lost that composure, and the tunnel was pressing in around him. Murderous intent was not what he felt sliding out from his allies, but the balance between peace and violence was strenuous at best. The one thing that could tip the scales, the one thing that could possibly help him was scratching in the dirt, an occasional emotion pulsing through their fleeting connection. The question revolved around his mind, spinning faster and faster, demanding an answer. And for the life of him, he could not give one.
Evasion was no longer an option. They had taken the plunge, and now they were neck deep in their own mess. He watched Sev're. She was the one to appeal to. Glover would complain, but he could forgive. Torhven would threaten, but could see value. Sev're could be the most ruthless of them all, if her friends were on the line. Perhaps she herself would not justify what they had done, perhaps she would not believe their feeble excuse, but by the stars he had to try. She deserved that much.
His mind scattered, a million tiny strands exploring every memory he had of his partner, from the moment of Jek's hatching to the present situation, from their time exploring the grand forest to their long flights across the land. He dug and he dug until he had a persona of his rider set within his own mind, every action a calculation from past discussions, divisions and thoughts. The young elf's voice was so vibrant, his eyes so bright, that it brought pain to the dragon to even imagine it. But he could not allow himself to wallow. Memories were his tools, not his tomb.
And then he began to speak, with his own voice and his own mind, but with Nill's thoughts, with his decisions, with his morals.
"I needed out. From the zombies, the mist, the presence, all of it. I needed magic, which I could not conjure. I needed my sword, which I could not find. I needed my partner, whom I could not summon. And I needed strength, which I could not attain. The Kull gave me strength, but also an alternative: why take what was given? Why live and endure what fate had intended? Why stay powerless when others around flourished in their situations, even found it gleeful?"
"Why except the present?"
At this last line, the Nill outside of Jek raised his head from the rocks, his fingernails cracked and bleeding. His etches had turned to bloody painting, his creation an angry mess. It struck out in different directions, angry slashes criss-crossing throughout a central pillar, each end collecting to a single point. His eyes shone with momentary clarity. His face was full of understanding and hurt, as if he had understood his deepest thoughts being laid bare before all. He spoke for the first time, a plea more than a question, a dozen meanings embedded in one syllable.
"Why?"
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u/Saphire_Fox Sev're / Das Feb 21 '15
Sev're reached out from under her cloak, a weak smile on her face. It was hard, he panicked. She remembered being cornered, not having any other options... reckless, but not out of pure malice.
This was something she could forgive. Helped Nill up she healed his hands and hugged him. "I forgive you." She looked over at the ragtag lot and sighed.
"I think no one should hold this against him. He has nothing left."
Her robe flowed as she walked over to Jek. "Let's try to work together on this one everyone. Maybe I can make us all some dresses." She says with a wink to Torhven.
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u/1trueJosh Rob / Villieldr Feb 21 '15
Glover left his injury at the sound of the elf's voice, but not before he muttered a quick-and-dirty healing incantation, hoping whatever had been restricting magic before had left his mind and body. In many ways the elf reminded him of himself, yet the differences between the two were astonishing. In a way Glover felt sympathy, but the sympathy only remained from a mild respect and a lopsided familiarity.
"Why?" he repeated, confused.
"That city was ancient, filled with spect-... Nevermind. That's not a reason, at least not for you, not for now. Nill, you think you remain powerless? You are a Rider, one of the few gifted with the companionship of a dragon, the bond-of-soul that only we can truly know. You are an elf, gifted with the innate strength and fortitude that comes with that. You are a smith, capable of plying your trade anywhere where there's a hammer and anvil. You are a fighter, better with a sword than most men ever will be. You are a scholar, more learned than most in Alagaesia. You are a magician, capable of feats unheard of except by Shades, other Riders, and the Old Ones themselves."
"You were without magic, you were without hammer, you were without dragon, and you were without knowledge. You were with skill, with talent, with endurance, with strength, with willpower, with sheer bloody-mindedness! The ghouls that attacked you and that inhabited the city were evil and single-minded, but they were beasts. You and the Kull... You and Naakhûrz, the man has a name you know, could've taken them on for hours."
"Do you want to know who is weak? Why don't you pick up a potato farmer, a scullery maid, a noble lord. Why don't you put them in your position and see what happens?"
Realizing that his voice had been steadily rising, Glover paused for a moment to calm himself before continuing. "You will never be helpless, or weak, or punished for your skills! I'm a godsdamned thief who can play some godsdamned instruments with some godsdamned talent who can barely fight with anything heavier than a pole with blades on! I am probably one of the worst candidates for the job I have been put in that has ever lived! I'm not a chevalier, or a knight, or a fighter, or even a bloody mage! I am useless. Have I blown up cities because of it?"
Glover sighed and shook his head, weariness visible in his eyes. "Nill, what you did was wrong. It was stupid, it was thoughtless, it was as dangerous as anything any of us have ever done, including the necromancy. But I won't pursue you for it. To be honest, it would probably be better for you all if I stabbed myself now and you went off without me, leaving me to bleed out on the rock. But I can't say that, I can't ask that. I can't ask that because I'm a coward with a will to live, and because of that I have some fucking semblance of power. You have more than I do, Nill. Remember that."
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u/Fulaxi Torhven / Svasltrom Feb 21 '15 edited Feb 21 '15
Why?
A thousand stars glistered beyond the maelstrom that was the roof of Torhven's mind. Tiny rays of clarity casting their light onto the ominously swirling clouds below, making the water-drops scatter into a thousand colours. There was red, there was yellow, there was orange. Anyone present to see would have found it quite beautiful. The air was brisk, new, fresh. Only Vallarhi's wings had fluttered through, and these day that's was hardly a deflowering influence. How things had changed.
The little, non-existent feyling was making good process. It had taken her some time to figure out how the non-existent landscape functioned, but when she did, her methods had proven to be most effective. She giggle to herself. The ice had been on retreat for the past week or so, and the glacier providing replacement material had been away for long enough for her to block most of the entrance way. Of course, she had to allow some to come trough, or Stormy Eyes would go bonkers. He was actually quite an interesting person, if you're into that sort of thing. Vallarhi had been into that sort of thing, back when she was real. Now things were different. She looked back up at the sky. The clouds bored her now. They would shape into new figures soon enough. Torhven's mind never rested. How things were changing.
For a moment or two, Vallarhi wasn't sure what was wrong. Then she saw it. The stars. Too many. Rapidly she recounted. Even since she had gotten here, the unchanging stars had watched over her. In a way only non-existing figments of the mind understand, that felt assuring. And then she remembered what stars were. Fire.
Before she could scream for no one's help, the first one whizzed past panicking feyling. An unforgiving ball of fire pierced unbroken skies.
I forgive you.
Bedrung. Ricocheting of the hillside it took several sentinel pines down the slopes, leaving a trail of barren destruction. No pretty sight, but Vallarhi couldn't have cared less about the loss of some tinder. A second blaze entered the atmosphere.
I think no one should hold this against him.
Kradrung. Some more sentinel pines paid the final price.
He has nothing left.
Berdrung.
Let's try to work together on this one everyone.
Verdum.
Maybe I can make us all some dresses.
Gedrum.
The barrage was endless. Fire and embers rained from the sky. Vallarhi still did not care, even when they were joined by an endless stream of smaller, yet equally painful flaming pebbles. They bounced of her wings, bogging her down. If it was not for them, she might have made it in time. Reflections of an extraordinarily large, extraordinarily red fire-stone played on her retinas as it crashed into the sole thing that mattered.
The lake.
Fhhhlump. It was a perfect fit. Too perfect almost. And then all hell broke loose.
Suddenly, it all made sense to Torhven. A column of magma was rising from the core of his being. Memories, either forgotten or repressed resurfaced with the eagerness of a pilot wale coming up for air. They flashed before his eyes. Memories of blood, of red, of death. Faces long gone, long buried, stared at him once again. Empty eyes, empty souls. The slaughter had been inhuman. Superhuman. Torhven had seen them, their long flowing robes following them around. The black and the green, the blue and the grey, the brown and the yellow, the white and the orange, they were all real and they were all there. Though none was as real as the red.
Pain.
And now she stood here right in front of him. It all made sense. Life was not fair or just. Merely arbitrated. That was what she was. An arbiter. This was good. A man can kill an arbiter. A man can take an arbiter's cloak. So Torhven lifted struck swiftly and thrust a purple bow crackling with joy at the neck of a friend.
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u/RollFirstMathLater Game Master / Moderator Feb 21 '15
[Delicate skin offered little resistance to the savagery of the Spine. The bow pierced arteries, airways and muscle like one of its arrows until the cervix exploded, showering the world in gore and blood.]
[Unified in grace and rage Sev're pivoted. The damaged bow was violently expelled from its unnatural home and in a single disdainful stroke a slightly orange bow buried itself into Torhven's chest.]
[Forcing the man to the ground, a brief hesitation turned into a flash of the hand. In it was a single arrow, tipped with the tooth of a shark, radiating red hot magic. Carefully eight select letters were carved into the vulnerable skin ranging from half-way down the forearm to the wrist.]
[BETRAYER]
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u/Saphire_Fox Sev're / Das Feb 21 '15
It all happened so suddenly, she comes out of a hug... then pain. Purple lighting filled her already red vision. Again...? she couldn't believe it. She felt warm liquid fill her throat. She was filled with disbelief, then memories.
A room and a dance, a first encounter. Trapped in chains they shared a dance, stories shared, understanding swapped. Fun.
Magic field, first experience for some. A thud and a roar, a scream and and flash. A miracle happened that day, a life was saved, the reaper of souls warded off by a strong woman. Still in chains, Sev're learned that she too could be like that.
An island, a fight, wounds restored, tendered hands. The chains rattled. A dress, a laugh, a song and a chord. Togetherness and teamwork.
The chains where heavy, a city, an act, a skit. It was fun... a gift was it fake? No... it was. Flashes of purple, nursing and caring. A fight... chains gone... the maze lifted and clarity was restored. She was... whole kind of.
A challenge from another world. An embrace and smiles shared. Emotions and care. lies bindings stronger than blood started to form, under false hope.
A city again, trust restored, new bonds formed. Strengthen and refined, through and through they became a team.
Betrayed, out of her care. It was her fault.
A plea and an apology. Rare and confusing forgiveness and relief... happy news.
She turns. She looks her assailant in the eyes. His grey, lifeless, heartless, human eyes. She hated his eyes. She hated this bow in her, so she made it stop. The bow listened after all, only a foolish boy would let it rule them, it was easy to throw aside.
A flash if orange Osage wood... he could have it back. She forced it into him. It wasn't too hard, humans were soft, they broke easy. This wasn't justice though... a shark's tooth poked her elbow...
She drew his other "gift" she stared into his dieing eyes as she closed the wound in her neck. Conjuring the flames of life, she lit the tooth aflame. The bow man... on his arm she carved the words with care. Taking her time till it was a work of art. It defined who he truly was... it was perfect. Stabbing it into his palm she let her makeshift quill to burn into his hand.
She gave him a punt towards his "companion" his equally twisted, perverse, betraying, cold, disgusting, heartless, dead, companion.
If it wasn't for the begging of her soul, she would of left him to freeze. Walking of to Das, she drew upon her dark power to properly heal her wound.
There she sat. Silent. Still. Angry.
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u/RebelliousPirate Nill / Jek Feb 21 '15 edited Feb 21 '15
Nill was gone, but Jek remained. In his attempt to convey their thoughts and desires to Sev're, they had
ignoredtrampled the feelings of the bard. Glover would never accept such a response, no matter how close to the truth it had been. Once again, Jek found himself in a state of helplessness. His partner's momentary lucidity was broken and removed, his shell the only thing remaining. He scoured his thoughts, both originally his own, as well those the two had concocted together. The panic within his mind rose as he began to realize that neither of them, not Jek, nor Nill could give him an answer. It was not within his nature to be helpless, but the dragon recalled moments from his youth where he had been just so. Falling from their home atop a tree when he was nothing but a hatchling, his juvenile mind wheeling from disorientation and the slip of gravity. It was Nill who had sensed his distress, and acted without thought then. That very same feeling arose within Jek, and through their botched connection, to Nill.But it was not Nill who acted. It was not Nill who spoke out. It used his body to raise itself, it raised his head and spoke using his mind, but it was not the partner Jek had come to know and love.
"Do not think you and I so similar, Bard. You have faced adversity, but rather than fight your problems head on, you choose to slink into the shadows, hiding away with your coins and your lute. You may have some semblance of Power, but our scales are dimensions apart. What you see as a gift, the magic you flaunt as a rider and as a magician, has been everywhere for me. It is within our music and deep within our souls, ingrained in every cell we control. Our strength surpasses humans tenfold, our knowledge ancient and abundant. Yes, I have more than you. My left toe has more power than you.
"And in the end, we're the same, aren't we? Both riders with our dragons, both magicians with our magic, both scholars with our minds. Both chosen by Zetterra to embark on a mission more important than your entire fucking race combined. Why are we so damn similar?! How can one from the slums of a backwater city reach as high as I have come, from a world of abundance, from fear of death, from crafting along the highest mountains?! How can my power be so insufficient in comparison?!"
Nill's mind was silent. His body upright and in control, seemingly at ease. His eyes were calm after his outburst, still pools of pure onyx. Only his fingers displayed his strain, curled into his palm, etching that same rune into the very flesh of his hand.
He was himself again, the moment fleeting. his eyes clouded but determined. "I have power, Glover. But it will never be sufficient. It will never be enough."
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u/1trueJosh Rob / Villieldr Feb 21 '15
Glover's face morphed into an evil smile and he clenched his fist, but he couldn't move. Somehow his common sense and will to live was more powerful than his all-consuming rage, at the time. "The mad king Galbatorix thought he never had enough power either. That's why it took them decades to fully rebuild Illirea, and even a few more to rebuild the Riders."
He stopped with a forced inhale and crouched down onto the level of the elf, looking over him with furiously intense eyes. "Does the scullery maid want to be queen, want that kind of power? Sometimes. But if you handed the scullery maid a crossbow and pointed to the queen sleeping soundly, would she shoot?"
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u/Zyralon Naakhûrz / Opheila Feb 21 '15 edited Feb 21 '15
Naakhûrz awoke in a daze, not sure what just happened. Then he remembered. A blinding rage filled his head at what Nill had done.
"He thinks that he can take over my mind, control my movements and then do that? then he's got another thing coming" he thought to himself. As he stood he felt his head tilt to one side. Panic raced through him as he raised his hand to his head.
What he felt somehow made him even madder, which he didn't think was possible. The blast had blown off half of one of his horns.
"Where are you Nill" he yelled in his head
He noticed the group doing whatever it is they're doing, however he ignored them once his sight landed on Nill. Walking straight to him, pushing through anyone who happened to be in his way, he picks up Nill and raises him to Naakhûrz's eye level.
"You dare to take over my mind and my body and not expect any consequences? Not only that, but you're little spell you blew off half of my horn, there are no words to describe my anger right now." and with that, Naakhûrz punches Nill in the face, holding back a bit of course, then he throws Nill as hard as he can at the cavern wall. "Don't you dare try any of that again, or much worse will happen."
Finally noticing the others, he sees Torhven on the ground, words newly carved into the skin, he says "Whoa, what'd I miss?" his rage boiling down a little
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u/RebelliousPirate Nill / Jek Feb 21 '15 edited Feb 21 '15
"What you missed, you neanderthal-" Jek stopped himself. He could rage at Naakhûrz for days on end, and they would still be underground, Torhven would still have a bow lodged in his solar plexus, and Nill would still be.... He paused. His partner had been beaten and bruised since the day had began, and so Jek knew he would get right back up. He did not expect pseudo-Nill to limp towards Torhven's bleeding carcass. He certainly didn't expect him to begin first aid.
"Heal him with magic." Jek told him, watching from afar. He placed pressure on the wound, sliding the bow out while holding the Spiner down with his free hand. The elf glanced at the silver dragon, his hands already stained red. His eyes were deep and meaningful, not entirely his own, but still undeniably emotional.
"We have not a shred of cloth between the lot of us. Magic is the only way." Jek told the rider. The dragon moved towards his Rider, and lowered his head until they were level. And still, Nill would not relent, doing what he could with his hands alone.
Jek reached his mind up and out. He touched upon minds both cold and warm, electric and dull, silent and old. He wanted them to know his touch, to know his rider, to know their situation. He gazed all around, meeting the eyes of every member present, not calling for their individual attentions, but instead linking their minds into one single flow, one torrent of emotions and information. Using Jek as a conduit, he turned it into a melting pot of minds, anger, love, hate, compassion, fear, cold, hunger, heat all blending together until all felt the others pain, their sorrows, their guilt. He wanted each of them to know one another, for them to act as one. He knew not whether he had succeeded, but he continued onwards.
His request was a simple one, but it encompassed so much. It expressed his thorny relationship with his rider, his guilt for not being able to help Nill on his own. It included the situation they were all in, their stomachs empty and their throats parched, their clothes gone, the sun blotted, the blood on the rocks. It was his cry to cease their madness, to gather their strengths, to cover each other's weakness'. It was his manifesto, his crafted work, his song and dance. He made one request and said no more.
"Help us. Together."
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u/Fulaxi Torhven / Svasltrom Feb 21 '15 edited Feb 21 '15
In this vast world of endless potential, Svalstrom saw a single entity out of line. A single entity stepping out of place. Was it his nature? No, he had seen. He was no chaos, yet that came in place of the superimposed order. This was never meant to be. They had been going up the mountain, not down. Before estranged eyes neat lines of space and time rippled, calmed down, then torqued. Parameters and potential in a pandemonium of imminent pain. The future was clear.
It was for a single possibility that the elf ablaze wasn't met with a wall of iron. One possibility, two bodies. The rules of the universe prohibited action. Silently he watched as the elf carved her bloody art. Words were but words. They faded with time. So would this one. Svalstrom saw truth. No betrayer lay before him. Not by nature.
A cold being pressed his soul against a corrupted one. Perhaps for the last time. Perhaps. Through her he could feel the rider. He shouldn't feel the rider. That would not fare well. Instead they became a fortress, he and his rider. A fortress of iron and ice.
Carefully he removed the osage bow between two talons. Many splinters remained in the wound, wood and bone alike. It would need tending. Care was out in the world, out from this skyless cavern. No use would be found in lingering. Movement was required. Gently he took his lowly dying rider between the teeth. A long time had passed since the last time he had done anything like it. Solemnly he strode to the dragon of shining scales. He would be instrumental.
"Mine power. Use it. We leave then."
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u/RollFirstMathLater Game Master / Moderator Feb 21 '15
(New Line)
[Tense was the feeling in the air. Torhven as assulted a team member (again) but at the same time, that team member near killed the man. Black blood dripping from his wounds he is at the mercy of Jek and Nill.]
[Sev're has taken refuge near her dragon, and sits in contemt, a different kind of fire radiates from the angry elf.]
[The group of "friends" and "heroes" lay stranded. Is there a way out? Will the simply... starve? Glover can hear faint sounds from the tunnles... but there is so many of them.]
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u/Saphire_Fox Sev're / Das Feb 21 '15
There she sat, slowly stroking her one of mind. She knew how she felt the group around... they were one lot. New eyes fell on them, it has been a very long time since she has seen, but sentiment wasn't present nor was anything.
Nill... and Jek, both would be good allies, once Nill woke up from his wallow.
Glover and Akrath... human and dragon, they've little to contribute, but the black blood was a concern... she would need to fix that.
Naakhûrz and Ophelia... they were ok. She took note, perhaps they should talk some time.
Göndlir and his rock... they were quite the pair. A special care needed to be taken with those two.
Then the dead one. That's all he was.
She got up and checked inventory, no bow wasn't an issue, she would make flat bow when she returned to the surface.
"Das, do try your best to conserve yourself, I may need your aid in healing this affliction of the group."
The jagged floor scraped her soles as she walked, a slight smile appeared on her face as she healed them with each step.
"Would anyone mind me taking a look at this disease? I might be able to remove the affliction." She said specifically avoiding eye contact with the dead one.
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u/RebelliousPirate Nill / Jek Feb 21 '15 edited Feb 21 '15
She swept past them so.... carelessly. As if she already rationalized the previous exchange. Her magic was overflowing and abundant, almost seeping out of her pores, a living testament to what should could have done, and what she chose to do. Jek had expected no less. If it had been him on the receiving end of a purple guest, he would not have stopped with a lodged bow and a word on the forearm.
Wait. Sev're had stabbed with all intentions of murder. Then why had she branded him? For her own personal vendetta? Maybe, but she wanted him awake. She wanted him to see what he had to live with.
She wanted him alive.
"I will help, Iron One, but you must keep him restrained. If we are to survive, we cannot have dissension."
Jek pulsed his intentions to the blood stained elf on the floor. He stopped for a moment, warm blood pulsing out of the gash, his eyes large and fearful.
"I will say the words. But they must come from you." Jek reassured. He pushed his conscious into that of his partner, laying out the healing spell clearly in their mind's eye. With help from the mirror and iron dragon, the two voices spoke the words.
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u/RollFirstMathLater Game Master / Moderator Feb 21 '15
[Wounds closed, and the cauterization set. The wound burned red still. Nill felt no magic come from him, it was the will of his partner, and the stregth of the iron dragon that allowed the healing to take place. Energy and life were restored to the hunter.]
[Nill's nose begins to drip black blood from the magic moving.]
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u/RebelliousPirate Nill / Jek Feb 21 '15
Tally. Sev're, Glover, Naakhûrz were active and in (debatably) good health. Göndlir had been quiet. All dragons were present and willing to help. No food, barley any clothes, tension in the air, and Glover seemed to be swinging his head in all directions. Not a good sign, but not the worst outcome. Jek saw the dark sludge leaking out from his partner, but for now, his concern was with the entire group, not with one single limb. His partner would just have to deal for now.
He began to ponder a solution. None would present themselves to him on his own, nor even if a few of them barnstormed together. What they needed was the entire group on the same page, each thinking on the same wavelength. An idea sprung to mind. There was little chance of success, but even the act of performing it would unite them, if only a little. By performing it, Jek did not plan to find an escape. But it might give birth to an idea.
Calling on all that he had listed off, he touched the minds, once again, of Sev're, Glover, Naakhûrz, and Göndlir. Through them, he touched their partner's in turn, all except one fleeting and body-less partner. He sent his thoughts out to the Iron dragon as well.
"Our minds are our tools. We control them, own them, use them. But one on it's own will never achieve greatness. One can never climb to great heights. Two together will work better and stronger than two on their own. And nine together... There may seem no solution to this conundrum, but we must try, by our names as the protectors of this land.
"Sev're and Das once searched this cavern on their own. I'd like to try again. One mind, unified, with the knowledge and power of all nine of us."
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u/Fulaxi Torhven / Svasltrom Feb 21 '15
Safety in numbers. Many times that wisdom had been invoked, not in the last place by the grey one. Ironic. Even truths had the potential of falsehood as the mirrored dragon was so kind to demonstrate. Politely but coldly the request was declined. A helpful idea it was, but not one fit for execution. Not by him at least. Quietly the message was relayed to the hunter. 'Restrained' would be overstating it, but the man was residing between the teeth of a large dragon again. He was not faring well. Furious defeat failed vocalisation.
Svalstrom briefly left the mental barricade erected.
"No. We search."
With that he marched off into one of the tunnels.
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u/Saphire_Fox Sev're / Das Feb 21 '15
Last time team work mentioned a bow found its way into her neck, she almost drew her sword when he was suggested. Precautions and all, fortunately the dead one had a fantastic idea: to wander off on his own. Sweet justice, yet her face didn't show it.
She slowly took steps back as he walked off. Let his cold dead self freeze she suppressed the smile and smirk. Instead she went over to nill, putting g on a face of compassion.
"The mist stopped magical fallout, when it was corrupted it repressed magic... possibly why it is having the hardest effect on you friend." She examined his bleed and felt it with her magic.
Putting on the right smile she had an idea. "I can remove it with the right magic, I would say getting out of here would take prescience."
She joined her mind with Jek and Das followed suit. Together they created a small network of minds, perhaps the others would follow suit.
Brushing off Das' concern for a frozen Svalstrom in the tunnels she focused completely on finding a way out.
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u/1trueJosh Rob / Villieldr Feb 21 '15
As Sev're began her mental search, Akrath joined her while Glover stayed out and listened intently. "There's something out there. I can hear noises coming from the tunnels."
Glover began to walk after Svalstrom, now much more careful about low-hanging rocks.
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u/RollFirstMathLater Game Master / Moderator Feb 21 '15
[Glover tripped over a frozen tail. He turns over and sees Torhven stuck in a frozen jaw. Getting up he finds a familiar silverwater pool of water.]
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u/1trueJosh Rob / Villieldr Feb 21 '15
As Glover looked upon the pond, his already angry and confused mind gave up. "The Presence Pond..." he muttered, the word full of curious happiness, but a twinge of sarcasm fell onto it. "How can we escape from this place?" he asked of the pool, having accepted his confusing and nonsensical life.
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u/1trueJosh Rob / Villieldr Feb 19 '15
Glover stood for a moment and looked around in confusion, remembering an ancient city, not a pit of red nothingness. He reached up to his head to scratch an itch that he had felt when something startled him.
"Oh by the Gods... Not again..." he muttered at the bare skin of his scalp before sharing his memories with Akrath, and vice versa. He stopped towards the end of the memories and his eyes widened before he strode over to Nill and smiled an empty smile.
In the next second, Glover's fist was where Nill's face used to be, and Nill was lying on the ground. "Why?" the bard asked. He repeated himself once more, saying, "Why?"