Announcements: Cutting Costs (2024) » January 2024 Copyfraud Attack » Finding Universes to Join (and making yours more visible!) » Guide To Universes On RPG » Member Shoutout Thread » Starter Locations & Prompts for Newcomers » RPG Chat — the official app » Frequently Asked Questions » Suggestions & Requests: THE MASTER THREAD »

Latest Discussions: Adapa Adapa's for adapa » To the Rich Men North of Richmond » Shake Senora » Good Morning RPG! » Ramblings of a Madman: American History Unkempt » Site Revitalization » Map Making Resources » Lost Poetry » Wishes » Ring of Invisibility » Seeking Roleplayer for Rumple/Mr. Gold from Once Upon a Time » Some political parody for these trying times » What dinosaur are you? » So, I have an Etsy » Train Poetry I » Joker » D&D Alignment Chart: How To Get A Theorem Named After You » Dungeon23 : Creative Challenge » Returning User - Is it dead? » Twelve Days of Christmas »

Players Wanted: Serious Anime Crossover Roleplay (semi-literate) » Looking for a long term partner! » JoJo or Mha roleplay » Seeking long-term rp partners for MxM » [MxF] Ruining Beauty / Beauty x Bastard » Minecraft Rp Help Wanted » CALL FOR WITNESSES: The Public v Zosimos » Social Immortal: A Vampire Only Soiree [The Multiverse] » XENOMORPH EDM TOUR Feat. Synthe Gridd: Get Your Tickets! » Aishna: Tower of Desire » Looking for fellow RPGers/Characters » looking for a RP partner (ABO/BL) » Looking for a long term roleplay partner » Explore the World of Boruto with Our Roleplaying Group on FB » More Jedi, Sith, and Imperials needed! » Role-player's Wanted » OSR Armchair Warrior looking for Kin » Friday the 13th Fun, Anyone? » Writers Wanted! » Long term partner to play an older male wanted »

Scattered Dreams, Fragmented Unreality

Scattered Dreams, Fragmented Unreality

0 INK

To the average person, a dream is just a glimpse into an impossibility and nothing more. To those few, however, it is the place your inner self--your persona--lives, where your imagination thrives. And this connection is all that may keep you alive...

3,217 readers have visited Scattered Dreams, Fragmented Unreality since Igari created it.

Introduction

Image

Plot

The world of dreams is a world that is glimpsed by very few indeed. It is a world that does not function based on the logic of the rational waking world and in many ways defies expectations and beliefs. It is a world where morals do no exist and the line of what is right and wrong is very blurred. A single thought can create a very large ripple in dream space and cause creation or destruction.

Many humans who dream have no recollection of their interactions with this world or what they had done during the course of the night. For you see, adults do not bear nearly as much imagination as children do, and the belief in mana has long since faded in their minds. But to a child who has not yet been forced to grow up, there is a bond to their subconscious that allows them to accept and perceive dreams in a different light. These are the few that do remember--the few that can hold on to those brief glimpses of the world beyond reality. And it is those few that possess the greatest threat to the Dream Entity, an organization that rules over the entire space.

It was passed off as a "peaceful death" experienced in in one's sleep, supposedly natural and not worth investigating. However, an increasing number of children seem fell prey to this type of death, baffling authorities around the world. What they didn't know was that the Dream Entity is targeting children, as they are the main supplier of dreams within the other world and without their influence, the Entity can grow more powerful. Children provide mana--the dreamscape's natural life energy. Their colorful imaginations and open minds keep the unreal dimension healthy, but make it impossible for the Entity to hold any influence over the subconscious minds of dreamers.

The world is not as it appears--the state of waking is a thing of the past. Adults, unable to stop the mysterious deaths from piling up, were forced into a state of uselessness, allowing The Entity to gain enough power to force the world into slumber. Things have reversed and unreality has become the new reality; what was once thought impossible has now become a normality. Most of the dreamers are idle and without purpose, mindless drones for the Entity to control. There are a scarce few left that remember lucidity, and who can take control of themselves within dream space; the last obstacle left to be conquered.

You are one of the few that can see and remember this world--and the form you take in it is different. It is the inner self, the form that you are most strong in and the one that communicates your will the greatest. It has turned into a game of survival and perhaps the only way to get by is to find others that are like you--ones that are from reality and ones that can still dream. Time is running out, the longer that you linger in the world, the greater the risk you run of being killed. But even as you fight, there is still one lingering question. Who, ultimately, is the Dream Entity...?


Author's Note: This roleplay is a sort of "sequel" roleplay, if you want to call it that. There was an Act One beforehand and this story is resuming at the end of it. The prequel was basically a prologue and I would like to regard this as the start of the true story. While previous players will be returning once more (hence the reserved slots already), do consider that for the most part, we will all be on the same page. If there are any questions, do not hesitate to comment in the OOC or PM me.

Character Guidelines

"A child" does not specifically relate to an age that one has to have physically, nor does it influence the inner self's age appearance. Though very rare, it is possible for an adult to still have the belief system of a child, one who has only grown physically but mentally, still holds on to that subconscious connection. Thus, it is not unreasonable for an adult in their thirties to exist and be able to have a persona in the dream realm.

The Inner Self

The Inner Self/Persona of a person is reflective of their will and mental state. The limitations and rules that are binding in the waking world have no implications on the inner self whatsoever. Inner selves can range in age, appearance, and can look virtually nothing like their real host body. In addition, they may not necessarily act completely like the original host. Persona's are the true nature of the heart and mind of the individual. This is why there is no correlation to the age or even, to an extent, personality of the conscious mind of the person. These persona's are also capable of having powers, abilities, on the dream plane. These attributes can also vary, some amazingly fantastical indeed. Each ability is unique only to that inner self and no two persona's can have the same power.

Soul Spheres

Soul Spheres are small pulses of energy that represent the mana flow of the individual. Some have stronger pulses than others, and this represents a stronger affinity to the subconscious and dream state. Soul spheres can also channel the mana and change it's form to reflect the power or ability of the individual. It is possible to have multiple energy flows, thus, more than one power; however, everything flows from an origin point in that power tree. So, for example, if someone were to wield fire as an affinity, they could not, in turn, also wield water, as it comes from a different power tree. There are no limitations on soul spheres and as such, powers come in all different forms and varieties.

Dreamer Types

There are two types of dreamers: normal dreamers and lucid dreamers. Normal dreamers exist inside of their respective dream bubbles, a space created in the dream world that hosts the dream of that particular person. While inside of a dream bubble, the person cannot normally communicate with outside parties or leave the area. The person in question is not conscious of this bubble of created dream events and just flows with the events before them. They are guided subconsciously out of the dream when it is time to awaken. Lucid dreamers are fully aware of this bubble and can influence it, creating a dream to their liking or preferences. They can even leave their area and travel in the dreamscape. In the state the world is in now, normal dreamers will merely think that the whole dreamscape is their bubble and not be aware they are actually moving about in the world. Lucid dreamers will not yet understand the severity of the situation and therefore will not possess a sense of urgency.

Note: The slots for lucid dreamer have already been filled but don't worry! Eventually all characters will awaken as lucid dreamers, we will just have two in the beginning.


Code: Select all
[center][img]Your Character's Name Here--Go to www.fontmeme.com[/img][/center]

[left][img]Your Character as their Inner Self[/img[/left][size=85][b][u]Name:[/b][/u]

[b][u]Inner Self's Name:[/b][/u]

[b][u]Type of Dreamer:[/b][/u]

[b][u]Age:[/b][/u]

[b][u]Gender:[/b][/u]

[b][u]Appearance:[/b][/u]

[b][u]Theme Song:[/b][/u] [url=Youtube Link]Song Title Here[/url] (this is optional)

[b][u]Current Relations:[/b][/u] (For returning players only--this notes any friendships or interactions your character might've had with others during Act One.)

[b][u]Personality:[/b][/u]

[b][u]Abilities:[/b][/u]

[right][img]Your Character as their Waking Self[/img][/right][center][b][u]History[/b][/u][/center]
[/size]


Spots

As the number of people with an affinity to remember their dreams and have access to their dream persona are limited, likewise, so are the number of people that can participate. I am accepting up to nine participants of dreamers so things don't get too hectic~ There is one additional character slot you will notice. PM me about this particular slot. This are open but it very essential that we discuss over this particular role ahead of time. It is important to note that I only hold reservations for a week's time. Unless otherwise notified via PM, OOC post, etc; I will have to garner that you are not interested and open up the slot for someone who wants to be involved.

Dreamers

One: Erixianti as played by Igari
Two: Zoen as played by Howlkin
Three: Quinera as played by Loki
Four: Nohizar & Razihon as played by Binsetsu
Five: Martellus as played by Fabricator
Six: Zhaleh as played by Icy
Seven: Kiyu as played by Qaida
Eight: Spectrum as played by Juju
Nine: Korias as played by Life
Ten: Taken by Ezarael

Special Slots

One: Compendium as played by Igari
Two: NPC Slot--To be introduced as the RP progresses
Three: NPC Slot--To be introduced as the RP progresses
Four: Enforcer as played by Keywork

Toggle Rules

Rule One
Literacy is an absolute requirement. You aren't expected to have the most expansive vocabulary in the world but please review your posts for grammatical/spelling errors and correct them if needs be.

Rule Two
One sentence posts will be disregarded. It isn't that difficult to make an adequate posting so put in effort! We're all working together to make this turn into a wonderful story so contribute fairly to make that possible~ Posts should be 600 words minimum. Frankly speaking, I prefer long posts ranging somewhere around 800-1200, perhaps even more but I won't push it so long as it's 600.

Rule Three
Make sure to always remain polite and respectful of other people's characters! Always ask for permission first. There isn't any favoritism--so even people who have been pre-accepted I will call out if there is rule-breaking.

Rule Four
Don't god-mod. You may be as creative as you like with your powers, but bear in mind limitations. No power is without fault. I will allow two slip-ups, the third and I will ask you to leave.

Rule Five
Be active! All successful roleplays need constant contribution. This doesn't mean you have to post several times a day but remember to stay involved~ I'll be expecting posting once daily or every other day. If you don't think you can keep up, then please don't join.

Rule Six
Keep everything realistic. While romance can be possible, try not to make decisions without making sure both parties are alright with it. I don't discriminate based on gender so you can knock yourselves out if it strikes your fancy. Also take into account that using powers constantly will tire out your character.

Rule Seven
And of course, have fun~! If there is ever any disagreement or discrepancy, whether it be with a person, post, or otherwise, you may always PM me or post it in the OOC section.

Browse All » 7 Settings to roleplay in

Dreamscape

Dreamscape by Igari

"Overworld"

Eludrest City

Eludrest City by Igari

"Remnants of a once grand city"

Illusionary Fields

Illusionary Fields by Igari

"Deception Area"

Expanse Plane

Expanse Plane by Igari

"Origin Point"

Mechanoid Paranoia

Mechanoid Paranoia by Igari

"A disturbing place of childish fantasies..."

The Grey Boundary

The Grey Boundary by Igari

"Mirror Mirror"

Tinker Tocker

Tinker Tocker by Igari

"The city of engineers, spell weavers, and clock makers"

The Story So Far... Write a Post » as written by 11 authors

Setting

1 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Erixianti
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

#, as written by Igari

Image



A small girl with tumbling locks of white hair was lying on the ground, her petite frame curled up almost defensively. Her breathing was slow--paced even. Her body was still numb and she did not feel the faint breeze that skimmed across her cheeks and rustled through her curls. There was a light layering of dust that was sprinkled over her face, partially scattered about her clothes. Her breathing hitched as her eyebrows furrowed slightly, fingers twitching. Something...

This didn't feel like that place anymore...

The female breathed out as she became a tad more aware of her surroundings. She was lying in a grassy field--this wasn't the cold, stony feel of the streets of the city. She had to open her eyes. The skull upon her head felt heavy, too large, obtrusive even. Why did she feel so weak? Her eyelids fluttered, hands clenching into light fists as she tried to raise her eyelashes. The process was a tedious one but she took deep breaths as she did so.

At last, a few scant rays streamed into her vision, the girl wincing as she finally opened her lavender eyes. Her gaze settled on the ground first. There was a river nearby but it did not work to calm her. How had she ended up here? She looked over her shoulder but there was nothing there. Only more fields, more river, more open space. Her arms trembled as she propped herself up, straightening as she got a better look at everything. This definitely wasn't the city, nowhere near it. But how had she ended up here?

She could only recall brief flashes of the instances right before her memory blanked out. She recalled the odd jester girl who had aided her against the odd engineer in the alley and the witch that had been taken away by the hounds... She had wanted to look for her, get a better view of what was going on... She and Quinera had been scouting the city, the girl had wanted to go to the center. They had been on the rooftops... but then the tiles had given way. She had fallen... there had been some kind of cushion below her but then the flash of light came. And now she was here. She frowned, a bit of worry leaping into her stomach.

Where was Quinera now? And where were the others? She was sure there had been other figures around her at the time of the explosion... but it seemed that she was alone, at least for now.

And why here, of all places? The only open areas away from the city were a far ways off. Had the explosion really knocked her that far? Then again, logic like that couldn't be used here. She reached up, fingers brushing against the skull. Dead. Her lapse in consciousness must've been quite awhile for her skull not to be directly connected to her energies any longer. She would worry about imbuing it with her pulse later. There was no one around anyway so communicating would not be an issue.

Her body felt stronger than it had when she first came to and she decided to test it, attempting to balance her weight and stand up. She stumbled, very unsteady on her feet for the first few attempts before finally standing properly. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. She didn't like being alone again. A light blush coated her cheeks with this realization. She had always traveled around by herself, had she really adored the jester's company that much?

That was a silly question, of course she had! That was her knight and her protector. Right after she'd found her, they'd been separated. Her first priority should be to find the other and then maybe reconvene with any of the others that had been at the city. She glanced once more to the distance. It was hard to get any landmarks in an open place like this. Her best bet would be to simply choose a direction and take her chances... Once she got her bearings, she'd be able to more accurately travel.

She wasn't exactly used to being lost like this but it couldn't be helped. Whatever had caused that explosion had had enough force to send them all flying. She grasped her arms more tightly. Admittedly she didn't want to make this journey at all. But she wasn't going to get anywhere waiting for Quinera to come to her.

Trying her best to adopt a firm visage, she chose to go east. Eventually she'd figure this all out.

Setting

1 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kiyu
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

#, as written by Siryn
Image







A groan echoed in the space around him, almost like a wake up call. Kiyu opened his eyes to darkness before him and he rolled over onto his back as he'd been laying on his stomach. What had happened? Last he remembered he had been walking down the street of Tinker Tocker surrounded by people. Though he didn't know anyone, it was nice to be with people, nice to not be alone. Then, something happened, an explosion of sorts. Everything after that was a mess in his mind and he rubbed at his forehead with the palm of his hand.

Sitting up, he hit his head against something cold and hard and he fell back wincing. Cracking his eyes opened again, it was nothing but darkness before him and he felt his breath hitching his throat. Reaching up slowly his fingers brushed across something coldcold and rough. Stone. Over him and around him was nothing but rock. How had he been buried? More importantly, was it too deep for him to get out?

Rolling over to his side, Kiyu pressed his hands upwards against the rock. If the stones caved in on him, at least he wouldn't be crushed by them entirely with how he was situated. The rock moved slightly from his pushing against it and everything shifted with it making him pause in fear of having it all collapse down on him. His heart beat furiously in his chest as he lay there, hoping that nothing happened. When no rocks showered down on him, he pushed again and the stone shifted ever so slightly before suddenly popping out of place.

Kiyu fell forward, his arms flying through the hole in an almost comical way. With the stone gone, several other pieces fell away and then in a short rumble it all collapsed around him. He covered his head, curling into a slight ball as it all showered down around him, none of it touching him miraculously, aside from a few scraps and bumps. When everything settled again, Kiyu peered out at the devestation to find that his little hole had fallen open around him. Pieces of rock lay on him, but nothing heavy enough to crush or kill him.

He stood slowly, brushing himself off from the dust. His hands beat the pants that he wore, turning them black again as they had been gray from the rock. His cloak he pulled off and shook out in the air before putting it back on. Kiyu looked around then, noting that most everything had been destroyed. He was alone too, nothing moved to tell him that there was anyone around. He turned a full circle, hoping to find someone to keep him company as he really did not like being alone.

Nothing.

No one.

Kiyu bowed his head forward, sadness creeping into his visage. Had they all been killed in the explosion? Was he the only survivor? His heart skipped a beat as he thought about the situation. Was it... his fault? Golden eyes widened in shock, his face going slack as he stood frozen to the spot. No... no it wasn't his fault. He hadn't done anything except walk down the street! Shaking his head, he did his best to push those thoughts aside. Those were dangerous thoughts to be thinking, and he was already afraid.

He began humming a tune to himself, the noise slightly calming. The song had words to it, of course, but he couldn't recall them at that moment. Only the melody of the music rang in his head. So his sweet voice carried the tune out into the opened so that his ears could drink it in and put himself in a better state of mind. His heart stopped racing and he began to feel much better. The music grew louder as he looked up and sang the notes full on rather than just humming.

One thing was for sure though, he couldn't possibly stay where he was. There was nothing left of Tinker Tocker, and he wasn't going to get anywhere there. What he needed was a place with people, or a calmer looking place. Something with trees, and green grass. Yes, that was it. A nice meadow to relax in, to take an afternoon nap in and to sing in. With his mind set, Kiyu started out in a random direction that he thought could be west, but he wasn't sure. It was through the rubble of the city, that much he could tell. It was the way that he'd been headed before the explosion anyway, so might as well stick with it.

His song carried forward, reaching out into the emptiness as he passed by the rubble. It kept him going, and kept him in a calm state of mind too. Maybe he would get lucky and meet someone on his way to a nice meadow.

Setting

1 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Nohizar & Razihon
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image





A strange green apparition with static filling its body leaned over the limp body of a boy just barely breeching into manhood. The creature simply stared at the still face for a while, as only wind broke the silence between the two. After a few minutes had passed the green creature picked up on some unnoticeable cue and enlarged its hand, before placing it over the boy’s mouth and nose. It simply held its hand there, even as the boy began to struggle and flail. It only released its grip when the young boy punched it straight in the jaw, causing the creature to stumble backwards ever so slightly.

“Hey, quit it!” Those were the first words that escaped from Nohizar’s mouth as he shot up to a sitting position, rubbing the back of his head while breathing heavily. In front his him the apparition with static filling its body sat on its haunches, staring at the boy with an absurdly wide smile.

”I was beginning to worry the fall had been as destructive as it had been amusing.” The green creature said, heavy static accompanying each and every word, even as Nohizar blinked and stared at it in surprise. It had never been this caring before had it? Nohizar opened his mouth to respond but the green being cut him off. ”Don’t get the wrong idea. I was merely worried about having to find a new partner. I’m a very shy individual, as you know.” Nohizar chuckled slightly before putting up his best imitation of a pout. Suddenly, realization shook him and he got up and rushed for the nearest outcropping of rocks. The green creature stared after him for a few moments, with something approaching surprise in his visage. The boy disappeared behind the rocks and the few moments turned into a large number of moments, which then turned into a long period in which the being was alone. Only after the sixth minute passed after the boy’s disappearance he returned, a relieved smile on his face and seeming more awake then he had been six minutes ago. With a skip in his step the boy returned and spoke.

”Sorry, bathroom break.” Nohizar looked at the green apparition with a smile, inviting the creature to press the matter further, as if something of boundless interest and excitement had just happened behind those rocks. The green creature simply stared, not moving an inch as it sat on its haunches. After a few more moments of silence passed, the creature shrugged, apparently not very interested in the details of what had transpired behind the rocks. Nohizar snorted in response. ”Fine! Then I won’t tell you of the lake over there, see if I care.” The boy said, pouting for real this time.

”Soooooo… where are we anyway?” The boy said, pout vanished from his face and something of a glint in his eye as he looked this way and that, his eyes widening at every little thing that appeared in his field of vision. The green apparition slowly stood up straight, taking its own time to look around. Surrounding the pair were rocks. And sand. And then some more rocks. Some were stacked high, other so low they barely breached the surface topping of sand. After looking around the creature simply shrugged, which elicited a annoyed glare from Nohizar.

”As always, you’re no use.” Nohizar said, as he turned to face the tallest pile of rocks in the area. ”Alright! Since you don’t know either, Razihon, let’s go and climb that, then we can see where we are and where we can go!” Nohizar said as he pointed at the pile of rocks, a wide grin on his face. Razihon stared at the pile of rocks before replying.

”I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I think it’s more prudent to make camp in this area and sta-“ Razihon spoke, but was cut of mid-sentence by the sound of laughter and the sound of small shoes skipping over rocks and making ‘death-defying’ leaps over rocks barely more than a feet high. Nohizar shouted back at Razihon as he continued his latest rock jumping adventure.

”You should leave the thinking to smart-guys! Like me, you dummy!” Razihon stared for a few moments longer, before a sound approaching something close to a mixture of a grunt and a growl that were wrung through a radio with particularly poor reception escaped its throat. After a few more moments passed, Razihon shrugged and set off in pursuit of the laughing boy, who had seemingly forgotten his original plan and was now inspecting some rocks with rather vibrant colours.

The setting changes from Dreamscape to Mechanoid Paranoia

1 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Enforcer
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK


Image



It was a graveyard, the type of place that felt incredibly empty despite appearing full. It always made him uneasy there, the aura of the place putting him on edge. Prolonged stay usually ended in inexplicable headaches, disrupting any possible communication he tried to establish. While that was usually a hindrance, he had come to this place to utilize it for once. He was here to think and contemplate recent orders, and he was there to do so uninterrupted.

Without outside interruption, at least. There were many things inside of that place. They littered the area, disproportionately stuffed animals of various sizes, malfunctioning robots. There were several broken screens hung around the place as well, displaying nothing but static and broken fragments of data. He wasn't sure if any of it was actually harmful, considering he went out of his way to stay out of immediate proximity.

He was to investigate the recent explosion, or more specifically, he was to investigate the cause. The cause, of course, was already slightly identified. He was made privy to information, and told to scout out the cause and determine if it, whatever it was exactly, was a threat. And if it was? Well...

He wasn't told that much.

He was sat on a large plush cube, legs hanging over the edge as he rest his hands on his knees. He began to kick his feet, like a child trying to entertain themselves, and started to think about where he'd start. His thoughts, of course, were thrown off track by a blood curdling scream. Yeah, the place was full of them, too. They didn't really have an origin, just came out of nowhere and always succeeded in scaring the shit out of Enforcer, not that he'd like to admit to it. His reaction consisted of him gripping his knees tighter, then leaning backwards to rock himself off and over the edge of the cube. This propulsion landed him on his feet, and he went through the motions of brushing imaginary dust off of his pants.

"Welp! I think that's a sign that it's time for me to skedaddle the fuck out of here."

He spoke to nobody in particular, but was sure to remain silent for several moments afterwards to make sure nothing responded. That would be too spooky. And so he began to take his leave, heading west. When he reached the outskirts of the place, he paused by a seemingly shut off robot. It was missing an arm, and the front assembly seemed to be completely torn out, resulting it a blown out ribcage look. He narrowed his eyes as he leaned forward to observe it closer, raising a finger and poking at the head of the thing, resulting in it rolling back. He stood up straight and shrugged, the thing must have really been broken. He had taken what must have been a single step away before an arm shot out and grabbed at the collar of his shirt, resulting in him spinning on his heel and forcing his palm into the face of the blasted thing.

It merely dented in at first, but it soon began to smoke and smolder beneath his palm, resulting in his hand completely melting through the face of it before he removed the hand and pushed it away from him. That was more than enough scares for one day, and he promptly left, again heading west and towards the basic direction of the explosion.

Part of him hoped that this would be a simple run for him, just an in and then out as soon as he had been in sort of thing. Another part of him hoped it would turn into a chase, those were always fun. And hey, he was feeling generous, maybe if he did run into anybody he'd let them go and get a head start. That put a smirk on his face, and he began to pick up his pace as he imagined somebody biting his heart to check if it really was made out of gold.

The setting changes from Mechanoid Paranoia to Dreamscape

Setting

1 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Korias
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image


A glint of mankind and industry surrounded by scenic rivers and beautiful fields of green, spotted every so often by the reds, blues, violets, and whites of flowers. It had the metallic shine of polished silver, reflecting every beam of light that hit it all around it, making it almost impossible to go unnoticed by anyone wandering nearby. And, every so often, the clanking of its form shifting its posture would break through the sounds of light breezes sweeping their way through the grass and running water flowing endlessly to its nonexistent destination. All of these aspects made it look more like a threat to its natural surroundings, rather than something that belonged amongst them; something that was not at all helped by the sharp edges of its metal body and the dangerous weapon strapped to its hip.

Even if it looked out of place, it was places like this that, ever since its inception into the confusing world they inhabited, the being occupying the metallic skin and clanging joints had always found itself drawn towards. This object by the river that was always referred to as an it, and that had never really been able to correct those that spoke before the moment had gone stale and the awkwardness repulsive. The only ones that had ever properly identified this shining, silver being with the correct pronoun were those amongst its own dreams and those childish enough to not be stricken with fear by its intimidating and anti-social approach.

It was this scene that was interrupted by something that seemed like it would strike any observer with surprise, confusion, and a tiny bit of awe. At least, that is how Korias, the silver-armored, multi-voiced being on the side of the river, reacted to the sight of numerous bodies appearing out of nowhere and soaring haphazardly through the sky. Clowns, pirates, robots, animals, princesses, kings, and all manner of oddities were flung from some unknown source, with their limbs flailing around unconsciously in the wind as they plummet to the ground. Dumbstruck by such a sight, Korias just watched as their bodies fell from the sky, returning their sight back to the air once they were out of sight to see if any others would be fading randomly into existence as flying debris as well. When nothing else appeared to shock the suit of armor further, they finally realized that they should probably go and see what had happened as well as if anyone had been hurt by whatever had caused this strange phenomenon.

Disentangling their fingers from the tall grass that they had subconsciously coiled around several of their awkwardly large digits, and forgetting the many random thoughts that had been streaming through their mind as they stared silently at every crest and splash of the river before them, Korias leapt to their feet and wondered in which direction they should go first. People seemed to have crashed everywhere besides the immediate area Korias was occupying; though, that's not too surprising considering the utter randomness of their travels and the weirdness of this world they were traveling. To gain a better vantage point and determine if anyone or anything had come down even remotely close to them, Korias dug their boots into the wet soil surrounding the river and moved to climb the nearest, and largest of the small hills that once enclosed the juxtaposed image of silver arms against the slow river and undisturbed grass. It took a moment to find a good footing with the ground hidden beneath a shroud of impenetrable green and every other step being either a loose rock or a patch of mud hoping to suck a heavy boot a few inches beneath the ground, but, after a few seconds of careful treading and several more seconds of ripping his silken clothing from greedy flora, Korias reached the top and scanned the empty fields for anything remarkable.

Nothing out of place could be spotted, and so, it came down to estimation and luck to determine which direction Korias' armored feet should take them. Amongst the many things that comically flew overhead, the majority seemed to have landed in what they assumed to be the northern direction, but, even then, they were likely scattered about. Finding the chances of finding someone in their current location woefully close to zero as opposed to an actual possibility if they were to go searching, Korias wrested their body from the comfortable stasis and descended the hill. Staring at the river had been all well and good, but what they had witnessed within the last few minutes would rouse even the most subdued curiosity, and they hoped to eventually have this curiosity sated by the first person they came across.

Setting

1 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Zhaleh the Inquisitor
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK



Image




The swell of the sea, the chill of the water, the freedom of movement...

...all gone except in her small sphere. Vanished without a trace was the wide open ocean she called home... Everything was surrounded by air. She did not understand how anyone would want to live in such an arid environment, but it was not her place to question the minds of of the unenlightened--

But even then, there were no such people to attempt to convert, no one to sway toward the call of the ocean. She was alone in a sphere of water floating in midair among darkness, a small oasis among the infinite reaches of blackness surrounding all sides.

The creature searched around the area, spinning inside the water as wide black eyes attempted to make out what could be out there. A few fingers breached the surface of the sphere, feeling a strange sensation of nothing--no support or comfort from the water, nothing but inky blackness and air around her. She had no idea where she was at this time; the Depths had never brought her down this far into the darkness before, and she was unsure as to why she would be suspended in midair instead of communing with the waves as was normal.

This felt wrong. She felt so exposed out here in the air, so very naked. It was rather uncomfortable for her--she closed her eyes and hoped that whatever the Depths asked of her would come quickly so she would be able to find the water... wherever it might be from here. There was nowhere around her but the darkness--

And then the soothing sound of currents. Water as far as the eye could see. Just as quickly as the darkness and the air had come out of nowhere, so too had the comfort of the Depths embraced her once more. It was reinvigorating to not have to rely on the claustrophobia-inducing bubble. While she had fun sending out tendrils of water, there was nothing she could really have done in the void anyway. Still, she had returned to her environment... She thought nothing of it as long as she was back in her own environment.

The pulse of the water shifted slightly in a new direction. Shifting so that the currents now shot ahead of her, the creature followed the rushing water, streamlining to ensure maximum speed through the surf. After following the undertow for some time, she noticed the flow moving closer and closer to the surface. A limited amount of light was finally able to pierce through the surface, revealing a rather darkened sky above. The creature flipped onto her back and stared up through the waves--the place was so foreign to her, yet she understood that it was her task to bridge the two different sides...

Atop the surface of the water, a small ripple began to swell up and over the calm. It rose up higher and higher, swelling out larger and larger until her head poked up through the flattened surface, still consumed within the sphere now forming up and out of the water. After a minute of slowly rising up through the barrier between sky and sea, a dripping sphere made entirely of water hovered a few meters above the surface, the bizarre blue creature swimming through the ball and constantly moving forward in doing so.

It was at this point that she noticed the waves--not so much of a spreading in all directions as it was pushing in a single direction: the same way as the currents from under the surface. It was rather strange, she noted, that there were no signs of any wildlife beneath the waves. The creature tensed as she continued to swim in her sphere as it moved above the surface of the water, undulating with the motion of the waves. There was indeed work to be done...

Setting

1 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Khalimandaria
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

#, as written by Ezarael
Khalimandaria



The being was uncertain as to how it had come to this ruinous city littered with the debris of some chaos, yet whether this had occurred recently or eons past was of irrelevance, this world seemed to abide by no strictures concerning time nor distance for that matter. Khalimandaria had been wandering, as it was wont to do, searching for those who needed the strength of another to seek out justice for the wicked and vile beings which roamed haphazardly across this indefinable plain of existence. A forest darkened by the steely-grip of night had been its place of birth, or whatever you might call the coming about of a being in this realm, and eventually Khalimandaria found itself roaming lands cluttered with all manner of children’s toys, eventually coming to his place now. How long this journey took mattered not, nor did the distance covered during that interim, in fact it seemed no single arbitrary concept of which this being had knowledge could be considered of any significance here.

It felt like something had brought it to this place, had drawn its attention enough to warrant this current trek over the remnants of a city whose foundation laid heaped into piles of rubble, for even though this one did wander about the ever-metamorphosing landscape its destination was never aimless. There was always a reason for this one to travel, even if that reason was not readily apparent or seemingly worthwhile for there always seemed to be justice to dispense upon those once Khalimandaria arrived. Some would fight, others would run, but no matter what course of action they decided upon they would beg for reprieve from the punishment they deserved, referring to the provider of their just-rewards in all manner of way, as man or woman, or whatever obscenity crossed their depraved minds.

Khalimandaria always felt it was strange to be referred to definitively as either of the genders for it felt not any particular connection to either, despite taking note of the somewhat strong arguments posed by those whom would refer to their punisher as a woman. Maybe this one’s visage did resemble a woman somewhat, what with the delicate jaw and full, red lips, among other corporeal aspects, but did that make this being a her? Being referred by name was all the was required from those who deserved to utilize it, but it mattered not what title any other might refer to Khalimandaria by as judgment was being meted out upon their deserving being.

Beautiful, brilliant wings beat slowly, their powerful rhythm sending gusts of wind coursing through the air, dispersing smoke which fogged this one’s vision, but also fanning any haphazard flames which might be lingering in the area. The dust, mingled with ash and smoke, stung this one’s nostrils with each inhalation of the putrid concoction formulated by whatever circumstance had brought this place to its destruction, leaving the landscape devoid of any other signs of life. Was it an explosion? If this one remembered correctly it did believe that it was drawn to this area by the sight of a massive explosion, and this one wanted to determine for whatever reason this had happened in the first place. If it was the act of the villainous sort then it would only be just to bring punishment upon those who commit such a heinous act, if that was not the case then this one would merely go about to roaming the strange world in which it resided again.

There were so many things about this world that defied reason, at least what Khalimandaria considered to be reason, but how could justice be served so efficiently in a world which defied logic? Distances which one would presume necessitated a lengthy period of travel seemed to only need the blink of an eye to cover, the landscape metamorphosed from one curiosity to another with seamless ease, time made not a whit of difference in the course of events, and the beings which inhabited this world were capable of performing wondrous, or diabolical, feats with little to no effort. As far as this one knew this world was everything that any should be, life could be extremely easy and justice just a quick, for whatever the definition of time meant here. It was obvious that this one’s preconceptions over how things were supposed to make sense were complete and utter constructions formulated from an incompetent mind, at least it was not incompetent insomuch as justice was concerned.

Khalimandaria let its mind and body rest for the time being, whenever it began musing in such ways something seemed to weigh heavily upon its essence, as if wondering about such concepts would only lead away from enlightenment. The being decided to find a small clearing, away from all the rubble and debris of this ruinous city, and sat down against a tree, feeling what seemed to be the weight of the world releasing from its shoulders in a matter of seconds. It leaned back and waited, it was sure that it could make some sense of what had happened here sooner or later, whatever meaning that phrase might hold to this one, and let its breathing soften. This was definitely a world worthy of this one’s presence and it worthy of this world.

Setting

1 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Martellus
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image
The darkness seemed to be pressing in on him, suffocating almost, and applying pressure to every part of his body. He thought he could feel pain but it was hard to focus on it and the numbness seemed to be overwhelming him. In the distance there was a faint rumble and an even fainter tinkle, similar to the sound of stone against metal. He decided, after some time given that he appeared to be having increasing trouble collecting his thoughts, was a very strange sound in this crushing dark void. He could feel the darkness clogging up his thoughts now; almost as if it was mired in tar as he couldn’t think anymore. Then there was nothing. Nothing but broken memories.


He was falling through something not exactly darkness, not exactly light. It seemed to flash in a multitude of colours, some he knew and some he honestly didn’t; they looked like something beyond the spectrum. Something he could understand but could never explain. They all seemed to rush past him at incredible speeds yet also appeared to slow to a standstill. At first he wasn’t sure if he was moving or the chaos around him, or neither. But when his body began crashing through various broken stones and fractured buildings that seemed to litter this realm he decided that it really didn’t matter, either way his location was changing.

He could think clearly now, or thought he could, but either way his thought process was being interrupted every few moments by a chunk of stone shattering on some part of him and sending him spinning off to one side. He wasn't sure why, but it really didn't matter since regardless it still seemed to hurt more when he turned to meet the impact rather than accepting it. His mind was now awash with confusion and his thoughts becoming scrambled as he tried to focus on what was happening.

Behind his eyes and all around him vague images flashed across his memory; a boy with a slender friend made of glowing green, a dancing jester of ill intent and a falling child... no, was she a falling princess? He remembered a building collapsing around them. He looked at his hands, empty now and without the shield he felt there in his thoughts. He could see them falling from the sky, voices crying out, screaming and the feeling of noble acts and the world crumbling.

He collapsed to his knees, the void holding him still for a moment; and reality becoming all the more terrifying for this sudden stillness in the endless chaos. His ears rang with an endless howl of noise, nothing he could make out but the pain it brought with it was enough to make the fibre of his being ache. The space around him began to buzz and shake as his body trembled and shivered with the first signs of pain


The blackness snapped back into focus, the numbness of his mind draining from him in a heartbeat, to be replaced with roaring agony. He growled as his memory rekindled itself, the weight bearing down on him and the darkness engulfing him resolving into the remains of several buildings piled upon his armoured form. Grimacing beneath his helm he shoved his hands down, the fingers of his gauntlets digging into the hard earth. The rumbling sound of the brickwork rolling off his body grew as they ricocheted of his shoulders and back, causing him to move to better withstand the slow avalanche of shale. The light of the surroundings came into focus for a moment as he moved aside a crumbled down wall with his shoulder and almost lost sight of it against as several bits of rumble almost buried him again.

After several long moments he managed to wrench himself free and scramble out of the almost cairn-esque pile of stones, at the thought of that image he could almost feel a faint tremble through his limbs. As he crested the stones unsteadily he lost his footing and crashed down to the base of the hill his landing appeared to have dented. He sighed to himself and rested for a while in the hope that his limbs would stop aching and causing him to shake. At last he was able to examine his surroundings which appeared to be a slightly mountainous region, cold and slightly barren but also covered in small areas of woodland with various highland streams. He moved over towards some of the nearby kindling by a fallen tree, old and almost white wood but still kindling, and dragged it back towards the roughly hewn trench that his collapse had left and began to light a small fire with which to add a little warmth to the moon-lit mountain.

Setting

1 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Spectrum
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK





Image





It’s Cold.


It felt like rocks were sitting on his eyelids, making it impossible to open. A silent moan escaped from the open holes of his mask, as he forcibly pushed his body up into a more comfortable position. Every breath that escaped Spectrum’s mouth traveled out his mask and into the air. You could hear the desperate gasp for air coming from Spectrum as he shakily struggled onto his feet. Each step took more energy than the last; Spectrum came to the conclusion that he had been out for a while. Once Spectrum had gotten use to moving, he slowly looked around at his surroundings; hoping something would trigger his memory. Sadly, his attempts were futile as nothing around him he could process as familiar. His mind was a perfect example of a blank canvas, just like the world around him, since he could honestly say he could remember nothing at the moment.

Where am I?


The sky was dim, an eerie feeling started to overtake him, causing his heart to go into a state of panic. Though he was soon calmed by the gentle sound of clinking metal; he glanced down at his necklace and he held it tightly. His eye caught the grainy sand whose colour was so light it had seemed like it was white; making it hard for Spectrum to believe it had been so painful to lay on a moment ago. Across the endless masterpiece of sand and beyond, the sky was a symphony of purple, blue, orange and yellow colours which mixed into each other. As Spectrum stood there, he lost himself in the captivating atmosphere. He stood there for a while, the blood starting to flow through his legs once again. He took in a deep breath, letting his senses take over. He knew the longer he worried the more time he would be wasting from trying to figure out where he was at.

Spectrum was now walking along the endless desert, now comforted by the sound of the wind; the rhythmic whispering of their humming voices. Out of the corner of his eye he watched the sand as they danced with the wind; allowing it to be carried around him. He felt a hot sensation as a spray of sand had splashed against his skin. The grainy air blew into his eye as he walked; taking a breath, he could taste the small grain in the air through his mask; the scent of the sand dominated his sense of smell.

Spectrum had finally calmed down enough to figure out three things: One, he was in an endless desert. Two, he was alone…for all he knew. And three, he can’t remember anything before he woke up accept common knowledge about himself.

The desert was quiet, which Spectrum enjoyed, since he really didn't care for company. They were alright, but they would only slow him down. Though he had to admit, it would be nice to have someone by him. There were no sounds of men; the wind howled like a train passing by; the crash of flying sand had given a soft, continuous beat. When he glanced behind him, he spotted the footprints he left along the path he had walked. Suddenly, a powerful sand storm crept up along, and covered the marks he had left, dragged them away with it and into the endless sand kingdom. As his eye followed the sand back into its home, he looked out as far as he could, and saw a never-ending desert of crystal clear sand.

Spectrum had searched along this endless wasteland, searching for...

For What?


Spectrum was now lost, he flopped down and settled himself comfortably into the soft sand. He had been around in circles, and it didn't help that everything looked the same. He couldn't figure out which way was left and which way was right...Okay, maybe, he could blame that on his poor sense of direction. Spectrum moaned at himself; what was he trying to do, walking around in this barren wasteland?

What was I searching?


He had scooped a handful of sand in his hands and watched it slip through his fingers slowly, the feeling of it like silk against his fingertips. He repeated this action numerous of times, enjoying the feeling he got when his hand met the soft sand. He noted that this wasn't some regular desert since it was a lot cooler, and there hasn't been any form of life. Does a desert even have life? Spectrum didn't really know, but he would assume it did, for the moment.

Its kind of lonely here.


Spectrum sat still as he silently listened to the voices of the wind. He looked up along his path and watching the sand erases his footsteps, his presence. Spectrum sat there, for what, he himself didn't know, probably someone to just show up and keep him company, since in all honesty Spectrum felt…lonely by himself.

Setting

1 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Quinera
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

#, as written by Igari
***Posted for Loki [HansenetteHeart] who is still at her summer school and has limited interwebs access--shortened post due to limited time on her line***

Image


A blur of colours and movements shot across the jester's eye lids. A few comforting flashes came and left, leaving Quinera feeling a little empty and sad. She cracked open a dark, dark eye, blearily taking in her surroundings and taking stock of current injuries. She flexed the muscles in her legs and was relieved to find that they were still there. Always a good start. Arms too. Quinn tapped each one of her fingers, counting ten little taps. Again, having all ten fingers, always a good start. The jester then supposed she should get up and check her surroundings but the young woman shoved that thought away for a while. After all, lying down was a lot more comfortable than moving.

Then something occured to the jester. Her little companion didn't seem to be around. The jester opened her eyes and searched around her surroundings. Nobody. No one. Quinn quickly pushed herself to her feet.

"Eri?" The jester called out, her dark eyes growing wide. Where was her little friend? Her new friend? She needed to find her, needed to look for her, needed to look after her. Besides, Erixianti wouldn't leave on her own. She wouldn't leave her protector.

That means she must have been taken. Stolen. Quinera let out a dark snarl, a deep cruel noise. Someone stole Erixianti. Took her away from the jester.

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Zoen Leed Character Portrait: Martellus
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image



Had he gone blind, or was there merely nothing for the vision to perceive? Did he lose his body, or did it merely have absolutely nothing to sense about itself? The surroundings had changed suddenly, but the movement between placed was not instantaneous. And in the period between there and here was a strange phenomenon. Vision, touch, smell and taste rendered temporarily obsolete, it was as though his hearing alone was left with something it could convey to its owner. And what it conveyed was a strange white noise. Though Zoen himself had little to do with it, the recognition of the sound came inevitably. It came from beyond. The sounds that had put him to sleep, throbbing in the skull of a man lying over his desk, pushed beyond his active cognition. And Zoen knew that this man right now had no place here. Yet the unnatural way in which he'd brought about his lucid dream clearly had some effect here. When the dream was rendered empty, the sound could be heard, the frequency, the overlaying waves, one lost beneath the other, each one eluding focus, merged and tangled into a signal, difficult to decipher, but compelling like a long-forgotten song.

He was more compelled however to have his other senses return. The sound was almost morbid, like the tapping of raindrops on the roof of a coffin, like nails driven into its cover with steady beats. Why such a frightening comparison would spring to his mind so soon he could not tell. Was he not inspired by the prospect of returning here? Was he not smiling genuinely at the sight of familiar places upon the world of Dreams? His journey was at least to an extent driven by necessity, but urgent as matters were, the Dream seemed ill at ease with being grasped forcefully. He needed to avoid tension and to calmly regard every step, else the waking man's rigidity would tear his very presence from this world. And what then? No one knows where a man neither dreaming nor awake could go.

Thankfully for both Zoen and the one beyond him, he remained dreaming. But the place to which he returned was far from welcoming...




Even getting to see ruins was better than the discouraging feeling of being sightless even with both eyes wide open. The kaleidoscope-like patterns in his eyes shifted around his pupils, the strange dance of patterns hidden by golden bangs falling over the upper half of his face. The man with the golden sash sat up from the uncomfortable seat of rubble, observing his surroundings. Was there not supposed to have been a city...? There must have been one, yet now it was gone. There was broken rock everywhere and he made an effort to stand up as soon as he felt enough power over the muscles in his body. Slightly sore, perhaps due to having spent an unknown amount of time on hard ground, he was nonetheless capable of straightening up and drawing in a prolonged breath. The dust had settled in by now, but the air was strangely empty. It got Zoen wondering whether his senses would only return gradually. How could he have made a switch from a place so alive to such an empty one...?

As if unwilling to accept such a twist of fate, he began to walk, treading carefully and testing every foothold in his path before leaning his weight on it. He was blessed with a fairly light body, proceeding onward with little difficulty. But his movement did imply a desire to get somewhere or at least to discover something. Namely whether he was alone here and whether there was a way out? He would often repeat that the Dreamscape followed one's intentions, therefore simply setting off with a clear goal in mind would often yield results, as if reality itself rearranged itself to fetch you that for which you were looking. Yet some kind of will must have brought about the destruction that had made all this rubble. Thoughts on the subject kept Zoen's mind anything but clear for the time being.

With the elevation of the ground changing as he moved, he would find himself both climbing and descending at times. Eventually it seemed to him the rubble became less similar to the remains of buildings and more akin to shattered or upturned boulders strewn about a trench of sorts. Was it made by an impact, or was it here before? Unable to determine how old the rubble was, Zoen touched upon a sturdier-looking rock and focused for a moment. The use of a pulse came naturally and as he continued to move along the trench, he had a shimmering golden string with which to support himself during the descent. Leaving behind the rubble in which he'd awoken, he would move along using the trench as a road of sorts. It wasn't long before he saw something ahead. A slight shimmer, like that of a flame and a large figure next to it. He made his approach, steadily, taking little effort to remain in hiding. He believed there were few hostile beings in this environment and believed that the figure by the fire would do him no harm...

Setting

1 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Khalimandaria
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

#, as written by Ezarael
Khalimandaria



When had it grown dark in this fascinating realm of endless possibility and better yet, when had Khalimandaria fallen asleep, just to awaken to this darkness? Maybe asking about when these things had happened was of little significance, given the circumstances of existence, and that the why was a much better question to ponder. Why had darkness descended upon this one’s form, and why had it fallen asleep? As to the latter, Khalimandaria was clueless as to why it slept, or what seemed like the act of sleep, at seemingly random intervals during its periods of wandering for it seemed like such a silly and useless action which did not aid in the deliverance of justice by one iota. As to the former question though, why did darkness descend upon this being, was much stranger and elusive, it was something it had difficulty understanding at times, even as to its own cluelessness.

The darkness always seemed to follow Khalimandaria as decidedly as this being pursued the wicked and villainous that deserved to have righteous punishment served upon their ever-deserving forms. At first the darkness had always come upon it in such a gradual manner as to seem nigh indiscernible to the naked eye, sometimes taking . . . what felt like long periods of time to fully envelop the angel of justice. It had been steadily growing in rapidity though, the length of time shortening drastically as this one continued their journey through this endless world, and it this shortening of time always seemed to occur when justice was being dispensed upon the wicked. Khalimandaria felt the darkness was born from the wickedness of punished souls, with divine retribution cleansing them of the taint that would then seep into the world of the walking.

As this one began to bring itself up from its seated position, leaning its weight ever so slightly to one side and using its sheathed blade as a slight form of leverage, a brilliant, white aura began to envelop Khalimandaria’s body, expanding ever so slowly until forming a semi-sphere some five-feet in diameter. The light began fading slowly, its assuring warmth leaving just as quickly, and when this one looked again the darkness had fully dissipated, as it always did once this bringer of justice brought forth its pure, cleansing light into the world. This light was always the tide-breaker in concerns to the ongoing onslaught of wickedness that assailed this world, it was the condensation of all that was pure in the world, and Khalimandaria was its conjurer, able to bring the corporeal essence of purity into the world and use it for its righteous purposes.

When this one looked around, all that it could see was a wondrous rolling plain, covered in blankets of vibrant, green grass as far as the eye could see, the horizon broken here and there by trees similar to the one upon which Khalimandaria had rested previously. Why was it here? The reason was unknown to this one; surely it must have had some purpose for coming to this place, a place which seemed utterly devoid of the wicked and vile which Khalimandaria pursued so vehemently. The being looked around, trying to decipher its purpose prior to its slumber and expulsion of the darkness which had enveloped it so. Was the darkness trying to lead this one astray of its intended target, or was this one in pursuit of this indistinguishable darkness?

Ah, yes, this one remembered there being a city that lay in ruins, the smell of smoke and ash still seemed to linger upon this one’s being, but why was this city no longer in sight, had Khalimandaria finished its business there? A light wind stirred the country-side, stirring the grass in brilliant waves which rolled to and fro with the current’s breath and the leaves up above stirred restlessly, the crisp rustling of this verdant world stirring a feeling of harmony deep down within the being’s essence. This one would not have left the city without determining if any injustice had been done to the people there, surely it would have not done such an unconscionable thing as that. Khalimandaria turned around to take in another view of the plains upon which it was currently standing, and brought its vision down upon the ruinous city which had inhabited its thoughts previously.

The world was doing it again, it never stood still, not even for a minute, surely it was not Khalimandaria moving throughout the world for it was standing still, the world must be speaking to it, obviously its work was not done at this place, there was some stone left unturned. Whether figuratively or literally this one set out to find out exactly what that secret was, and it would stay until it was uncovered, that or its duty to punish the wicked called. Meting out punishment was the main priority of this being, and nothing would stand between it and achieving that purpose, it knew that for a fact. Such a situation had come before, where someone tried to stop a wicked being from receiving its punishment, the only thing that Khalimandaria could do was punish them as well, a being who shielded the wicked was no better and deserved an appropriate punishment. This one continued back into the city, hoping to find whatever answers for which it was currently seeking.

Setting

3 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Zhaleh the Inquisitor Character Portrait: Zoen Leed Character Portrait: Martellus
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK



Image




After swimming through the sphere for what seemed an eternity, the surface of the ocean rippled and frothed as she approached the border of her domain--shoreline. The moon shone high above the water, reflecting a perfect white sphere of light down toward the depths, an eye attempting to pry into the inner machinations of what plans were being made underneath the water. Of course, it could not see as far as it wanted to--such information needed to be kept from prying eyes that would wish to know her secrets. She was merely an agent, an extension of the will of the sea, nothing more. Where she wandered was all part of its plan...

The sphere slammed onto the sandy shore, exploding in a shower of droplets that shimmered in the moonlight, leaving the creature inside unharmed and dripping with water. She took a look at her new surroundings: behind her, the calming sounds of the tides moving in and out; ahead of her, however, was a much different beast altogether. Massive outcrops of stone rose above patches of tall objects with greenish growths falling from them. The most unsettling part of all this was how dry this new environment was. This would not do at all! Something had to change.

With a quick inhale of breath, a column of water rose up from the waves behind her, rising up and over before quickly engulfing her once more in a perfect sphere of water. With her transportation at the ready once again, the creature's eyes looked around before turning forward toward a break in the spindly objects with the growths. From the sphere shot forth a long tube of water about a meter in diameter and easily several meters long. The creature swam through the tube, watching as it snaked around the environment effortlessly and created a flawless path through which she could swim. Even in her comfort inside the water, this place still looked ominous, barren, dead.

Up higher on the rock, she spied a spark of light, some speck in the distance that flickered like the other lights in the sky she occasionally saw if and when she breached the surface. This light, however, was unclean--a plume of some condensed gray cloudstuff rose above the stone, above the canopy of growths into the sky. The surface world was rather foreign to her still, but she did know that where there was light, there was life. Even in the murkiest of the depths, creatures existed that created their own light from their bodies and other chemical processes that she did not quite understand--

Her thoughts were wandering once again, as they were wont to do. The goal was now to investigate that light source, to see what sorts of creatures might be sacrificed to the Depths if they would not come willingly... Slowly the stream of water snaked its way up the rock, around the cylindrical spires that blocked the light from the moon. The ascent was far more laborous than in the ocean--there, it was effortless to move up or down, side to side; here, though, her concentration required her to maintain the shape and velocity of the water to move in the direction she desired.

After climbing the incline for a ways, the creature turned and regarded the ocean behind her. So calm, so serene, unobtrusive in comparison to all of this mess behind her. She reckoned that it would all look so much better under a few dozen meters of water--everything looked better underwater to her, but it mattered little so long as she was alone. That spark behind her, though, shone brighter as she swam closer. It was within her grasp now, just to see who or what was up there; she had no choice now.

Finally, she reached a rather rocky outcrop where the light was flickering. She maintained her distance when she spied two figures surrounding the flickering light source: one was a massive hulk whose skin glinted and reflected the sparks shooting from the stationary heat; the other was much smaller and appeared less of a threat, with yellow hair covering his eyes and a somewhat untidy look about him. Still, she waited and watched, wondering whether they would make the first move... or if she would be forced to...

Setting

1 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Erixianti
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

#, as written by Igari

Image



Time moved differently here. It always had. What felt like hours could in reality be minutes, even seconds. And distances were never quite what they appeared to be. The small girl felt as if she hadn't really gotten anywhere at all, despite having walked for awhile on her own. Why did her memory feel fuzzy? She felt as if she hadn't recovered fully from the events from earlier. As if...

She tried to push that feeling off. No, no one could've possibly tampered with her memories or recollection. She was probably just experiencing the aftershock of the explosion... It wasn't quite every night in the Dreamscape that cities toppled to the ground like that, after all. There would have to be a time later she returned to Tinker Tocker, to observe the rubble. By that time, maybe there would be some nice bones for her to collect. The thought made her stomach all aflutter. Mmmm, bones...

She blinked several times, shaking her head and causing her white curls to bounce about. That could definitely wait until later... Ahehehe.

She blushed lightly over her thoughts, re-focusing on the landscape before her. If she was going to make any progress, she had to view the scene not as one that was far... but as an obtainable goal. That was one of the distinct rules of this realm. Sight was merely up for interpretation, everything was virtually questionable. So if she believed that the journey would be a short one, then it would become that.

Her first order of business was most definitely finding Quinera. And walking around aimlessly wasn't going to give her an idea of the landscape. She was going to have to imagine being near the outskirts of this particular area to make any progress. The petite female closed her eyes, breathing out calmly. Alright, just walk fowards. Left foot, right foot. Left foot, right foot.

This wasn't so bad. If she kept her eyes closed, she could put more effort into her other senses. The refreshing scent of the grass, the faint aroma of the flowers. The wind that skimmed against her cheeks. If she wasn't attempting to find her knight, then she would've been tempted to remain here. She had always been a girl that enjoyed beautiful things, after all.

She held her arms out to steady herself, no longer paying heed to the distance so much as directing her thoughts towards her location. Though she didn't know precisely where the jester was, by envisioning her, she was certain the Dreamscape would do the rest and perhaps guide her towards where she needed to go.

Of a sudden, she was thrown completely off balance and sprawled on the ground. She looked near her ankles and discovered she had tripped on a lone rock. The blush on her cheeks heightened to an embarrassed hue. She really had to watch where she was going! She felt foolish. She had never chased after anyone before but then again.. she had never really had a friend. This whole experience was new to her. But it wasn't an unwelcome one, just a worrisome one.

Part of her wondered if she would encounter someone else before she met up with the jester. Would they be friendly? Would they want to assist her? Come to think of it, this whole scenario was rather odd. Why hadn't she encountered any others yet? Perhaps there was just no one inside of this particular bubble but it still struck her as a bit odd...

She pushed up off the ground, steadying herself again and re-closing her eyes. Back to the task at hand.

The deer skull on her head rattled about as she took her tiny steps, antlers swaying a bit. She reached up with one of her hands and brushed her fingers against the bone. Mmm... Comfort--mild comfort but it made a difference when she felt so alone out here. She dropped her hand back down slightly to its previous outstretched position, humming as she did so.

There was, of course, no way she could've known that being alone was probably what made the difference in the choice. And why the crimson eyes that followed her progress lightened with relief over the easier act of masking the girl's presence. The dreamer traveled along none-the-wiser, oblivious to the watchful eyes of one much smaller than she.

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Nohizar & Razihon Character Portrait: Korias
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image


Fields of grass. Endlessly repeated toward the horizons of all 360 degrees, with a depressing lack of flowers that graced the spot by the river. The only positive thing that could be said about a trek across this ocean of grass was that the scattered hills, while annoying obstacles at first, became beacons of hope, distraction, and, most importantly, variance. This great positive in a sea of arduous neutrality, was not without its downsides. Every so often these slopes would reveal themselves to be slick with mud or plagued with loose stones mere moments before casting any traveler down to the base in a defiant revenge for rudely trotting upon them.

It is on one of the former, gentler hills that Korias has found themselves, with metallic feet digging into the fickle earth and not another soul in sight. They could not tell how long they'd been walking across the lush, yet barren, landscape. They first thought that it had only been an hour (or had it been even less?), but the distinct lack of the features that had drawn them to the river and their slow, methodical pace convinced them that it had to have been longer. How long seemed like an impossible calculation that, when considered for even a moment, was drowned instantly by the memories of every thought that had been had and every sight that had been witnessed since people began falling from the sky. This left the once mediocre sense of exploration and discovery shriveled and uprooted before it had even had a chance to grow into an actual interest. All of this constantly nagged inside their rattling form, constantly pleading for the abandonment of this inquisition before being beaten down and restrained by a combination of worry for those that had fallen and curiosity for what had caused such a phenomenon.

As the hilltop grew closer and closer, the temptation to rush to it grew and grew. It was Korias' siren, and they had no crew to tie them to the mast and hold them back from enthusiastically answering its call. The negative part of sirens, that of ships crashing into rocks and sinking, became clear the moment a metallic ring echoed for miles as their boot struck the last of the hidden stones on the slope. It was the final test of this great beast of an average hill, and they has failed it, and had suffered the sensation of their entire body painfully vibrating for a moment. After suffering from the armored version of a stubbed-toe, and gritting imaginary teeth to stop themselves from letting some unintelligible noise escape them, Korias regained their posture and finally crested the mound of dirt and was given their reward.

Before them lay a lake, dwarfing the waters of the subtle river and making the journey of unknown length here somewhat worth it. As Korias looked out over this silent and calming scene, light winds caressing their faces and forcing memories of an annoying march into obscurity, their nonexistent eyes haphazardly scanned the beaches; the goal, while currently set aside for a moment, was still present in their mind. It took a few seconds of tracing their eyes over the sandy outline of the lake, with all its stones, wandering children, and green phantoms, before Korias finally managed to rip themselves away from their trance. A wandering child was something that could potentially provide them with information, and a phantom could do the same if it wasn't malignant, though few ever seemed to be.

So, with strict course, Korias began to make their way down the hill they had just ascended, doing as best they could to both be quick and stay unnoticed. Unfortunately, this side of the hill was suffering from an even worse infestation of rocks to impede their travels and give out an audible cry every time metal so much as touched them. Being a shining, silver suit of armor out in daylight also meant that stealth was pretty much impossible, as light reflected off of the plated body like a beacon for any who so much as glanced in their direction.

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Nohizar & Razihon Character Portrait: Korias
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image





”There’s nothing left of that place. It’s all gone.”
”You don’t know that!”
”How do you know that I don’t know?”
”I just do!”
”Excellent reasoning. I especially enjoy the way it only seems applicable to you. In any case, there’s nothing left but bones and the spirits of children calling for their mothers. Perhaps some particularly twisted soul managed to employ the dark arts and bring all of them back, but I doubt anyone besides myself is capable of such a feat.”
”You can bring people back from the dead?!”
”Possibly.”
”Could you teach me?”
”Of course. But it is not easy. It requires time and dedication. And most importantly, a stable, unchanging environment.”
”I can do that!”
”Good. First, you must meditate for three days straight.”
”That sounds really boring… wait! You’re not trying to trick me again are you?”
”I wouldn’t dare.”
”If you say so… anyway! That’s way too boring and we still have to find… eehh… Knight-guy, Cool-guy and the Princess!”

”You forgot their names didn’t you?” Razihon, with static filling its voice, stated the question to a blank faced Nohizar. The silence between them stretched on and on, as the boy’s brow furrowed and the grinding of teeth, almost like the grinding of mental gears, could be heard. After the silence continued to uncomfortable lengths, Razihon finally spoke up again.

”If you can’t remember their names, then there is no point in going off on some fool’s errand to find them.”
”But they’re my friends!”

”The dead make for poor friends.” Once more a statement by Razihon brought a spell of silence over the pair. But where the first one was typified by the grinding of teeth and the intense thinking of a young man, this one was typified by barely controlled sobs and a trembling lower lip. Nohizar sat on a rock, staring at the sand trying to keep his emotions in check. In his mind the short few moments he had spent with Zoen, Martellus and the Princess whose name he never got to ask and forget flew by, as if in a dream. As sudden as the moment of introspection had arrived it left, and Nohizar jumped to his feet.

”I don’t care if they’re dead or not! I’m going to find them and we’re gonna go on adventures together!” Nohizar shouted loudly, partially to his friend Razihon, and partially to the heavens in some heroic vow. Unfortunately, his childish desire and squeaky voice made the whole vow fall quite flat. All around the young man the wind blew sand around, as if in awkward applause to some hammy actor overacting on stage. Razihon merely stared at Nohizar for a few seconds before shrugging. ”Good luck with that.”

Nohizar merely glared at his companion in response, before beginning to pace circles around the large outcropping of rocks, one hand in his pocket and one beneath his chin. In his mind, a plan was forming. First, he would need to find knight-guy. Then, he would help him defeat the dragon that was threatening the Princess. Then, the three of them would go find Zoen together. After that… well, they could all go and find new adventures. A smile formed on his face as his patch-work plan, based on misconceptions and fantasies that did not even slightly coincide with reality, began to take shape.

”You have to take me to Knight-guy!” Nohizar suddenly cried out. His face set in an expression that the boy probably imagined to be grim determination, but in reality mimicked an expression of poorly contained self-satisfaction. Despite the somewhat self-satisfied expression, his smile was bright and genuine, filled with hope. Razihon shrugged again, incapable of handling the bright-eyed youth and his childish delusions.

”It doesn’t really matter. We’re no longer alone.” The smile on Nohizar’s face faded when Razihon finally answered him. His curiosity suddenly awakened, Nohizar looked around for the intruder upon their little meeting. After a few moments his eyes settled on an imposing figure, clothed in an armour that reflected light in a brilliant fashion and a black cape that nearly brushed the ground. Nohizar’s smile grew wider when he recognised the person. It was as if talking about his knightly friend had simply summoned him to him. But a second glance corrected his opinion. Although dressed in a similar way, there were numerous differences between this knight and the one Nohizar had already met. Which led Nohizar to the only obvious conclusion that could possibly be drawn from this. It had to be Knight-guy’s friend. With a bright smile and a happy wave he rushed over to the figure yelling at him from a distance.

”Hello there! You must be Knight-guy’s friend! I’m Nohizar and I’m gonna help him slay the dragon! Are you going to help slay the dragon too? Do you know where Knight-guy or the Princess is?” Even as Nohizar rushed ahead, bombarding the complete stranger with questions and blind blind to any potential danger the figure might pose, Razihon stayed behind, casting a suspicious eye on the stranger as he observed from a distance.

The setting changes from Dreamscape to Eludrest City

Setting

1 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kiyu
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

#, as written by Siryn
Image







Eludrest City

His song kept him company for most of his journey. The soft melody rang out in the air around him as he walked. The gentle breeze brushed the cloak that surrounded one shoulder brushed it back to reveal his well toned frame beneath. Kiyu wore no shirt, it was far too restricting in his mind. Besides, the air was always warm, he never felt cold.

As he walked, the scenery changed abruptly around him, though he didn't notice at all. He was too much into his own thoughts to think about the change. He'd left Tinker Tocker far behind, traveling quite some ways. All the while his song followed him, chasing him even. He did not sing the words, only the melody. Though the melody was sweet enough, he felt that the words to it were much darker.

When Kiyu had sense enough to look up and see where he was, he noted that he was not where he'd wanted to go. There were no fields of grasses, no flowers like he'd wanted and no tree to sit under. However, at the back of his mind there was a stronger wish to be around people instead of alone. Being completely alone was a bad thing. Even so, getting far to close to people was bad too. So he had to find a balance.

Before him was a sprawling city. If one could call it such. Rather than people around, they seemed like walking sticks of paper. Most were merely black in color, holding no faces, no details. Some were detailed, but roughly so. Kiyu, though, felt a little better now that he was no longer alone. Though they weren't really people, they felt better than having nothing at all.

He wouldn't have to worry about getting close to these people for he figured they didn't talk much. Nor would he be without company, for he figured they were just enough to enjoy. Kiyu left all thoughts of finding a solitary field behind him as he walked into the city. The colors around him were of darker hues, gold and orange to be exact. Some browns and greens here and there. The houses were carved out of the earth, popping out of the hillsides.

Up ahead was what seemed to be the main portion of the city, carved streets into the dirt with houses and shops sprouting up from the earth. Many of the structures, however, were not whole anymore. There was quite a bit of rubble laying around, but it didn't seem to bother the inhabitants. Kiyu made his way through the wandering sticks of people.

He wasn't really sure where he wanted to go, but checking out this new city was on the forefront of his mind. Every sight was greedily accepted as he turned one way and then another, his eyes shifting all over to view it all. He'd certainly wandered into a pretty place, at least he thought it was pretty. As he twirled around and around to gain as much a view as possible, he bumped into one of the people that ambled about.

Turning, Kiyu looked directly at the being, an apology on the tip of his tongue. However, his eyes settled on partially detailed stick walker and his heart clenched tightly. The breath in his lungs left him entirely and he found it difficult to pull air back in. Before him was a figure that resembled himself, except a bit younger than he was. To add to it, there was a darker light in the others eyes that terrified Kiyu.

Something writhed inside the paper thin being as it stared at him, unmoving. It was like looking into a mirror, except what you saw reflected back was something harbored deeper inside, a darkness one never wished to have awaken. Kiyu backpedaled then, stumbled backwards away from the thing as it turned away from him. The paper walker disregarded him completely, continuing on it's way through the destroyed city.

Kiyu's stumbling resulted in his falling to the ground where he stayed in the midst of all the ambling people. It was quiet there, except for the rustling of the paper stick beings that moved about slowly. What was once beautiful to Kiyu turned to something rather horrifying. He wasn't sure he really wanted to be there, especially after meeting his mirror image, albeit it was much younger than he was right then.

Slowly he got to his feet and turned away. Starting back down the path he'd climbed up, he had every intention of leaving. Once again the solitary fields, grasses and flowers, a singular tree to sit under, was beginning to sound appealing. His lips parted and his voice hummed ever so softly, wavering a bit from his nervous fear. Lost in his music, he worked his way through the throng of silent paper beings, his voice the only sound around.

The setting changes from Eludrest City to Dreamscape

Setting

3 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Zhaleh the Inquisitor Character Portrait: Zoen Leed Character Portrait: Martellus
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image
He’d been here on this mountain side for a few hours now and had tried to relax and hope it eased his pains, but his body still ached after his impromptu landing. So having given up on that attempt he had instead decided to sit on a small makeshift seat gatherd from the pile of rubble and shaped himself a sword before beginning to use a stone to sharpen its blade. A reasonably futile task given that the blade formed sharp anyways, but it was a simple task. One which gave him a strange clarity of thought and helped to centre his thoughts by directing his body into a manual task that was little more than muscle memory, allowing him to concentrate more on other things.

There was a faint sound of disturbed stones nearby, growing slowly louder and more frequent as he listened. Almost as if another was traversing the rubble that had been strewn across this mountainside, which seemed to be rather odd considering its remote location as well as the chill in the air. But, he admitted to himself as he listened to the noise growing closer, the crash itself was likely to have alerted a rather large radius that something had impacted rather heavily and most likely draw them to its epicentre. That was most likely to result in attracting the wrong sort, which was not what he wanted, but at the same time it may also help to draw the others to him as well, especially considering that he had no idea where they could have went following the destruction of Tinker Tocker.

He lifted his head from his sword and stone at the appearance of a boy, with long flowing blonde hair that seemed to complete obscure his vision of the wider world beyond a brief glimpse of his feet.

"You seem lost, stranger. Take your rest by the fire, I seek no conflict."

He placed the rock into the pile he was currently using a seat before gesturing with the hand towards the fire and smiling beneath his helmet. Though moments after doing so he sighed inwardly and shook his head at the idiocy of trying to reassure someone who could not see anything of your features and even if it wasn’t completely concealed the boy’s hair would likely make sure it was.

Moments after the blonde haired boy had reached the relative safety of the fire, admittedly it was its mere existence which cultivated such a view, Martellus could have sworn there was another shape in the darkness. This time though there was no sound of footsteps on stone to confirm it. Wary that it was there and slowly contemplating that it may have been his imagination he went back to sharpening his blade, waiting for the boy to speak when he was ready.

He looked up again as he caught another flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. On one of the nearby rocky outcrops he could barely make out what appeared to be a faint shadow, though what exactly it was still seemed to be a mystery. As he watched for a few moments more he managed to catch it moving again; doing what appeared to be slowly trying to get a better look at them without revealing itself from what he could tell. The shape appeared to be vaguely humanoid, abet heavily concealed by the shadows, which made him decide to weigh his options.

Either it was someone hunting them or another who was as lost as they, or it may be someone who could direct them? If it was the former then so be it and if it turned out to be the latter then much the better

"You can approach slowly lass, we mean you know harm. Come, sit awhile."

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Erixianti Character Portrait: Khalimandaria
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

#, as written by Igari

Image



The times were few and in-between that the girl ever deigned to listen to her shadows. Often times, they spoke words yearning of freedom, for her to use her voice to give them form. She did her best to ignore them and, for the most part, was successful. But in the rare moment she did lend her ear, they would sometimes tell her something helpful. This was not to say her shadows would try and bring her harm... But they were devious and would do anything to be set free. Trick her into using her voice to release them, even if the time was short and lasted for some several minutes.

The girl tilted her head towards the ground, half-closing her eyes as a shade brushed against her small frame. "Mistress," It whispered, the girl in question instinctively shivering and wrapping her arms around herself. She did not respond, only glancing at the barely existent being from underneath her lashes. "You are going the wrong way."

The wrong way? How was that... well, she had not quite gotten her bearings on her location. Perhaps the shadows could sense something she could not. Quietly, she inclined her head in a nod, waiting for it to continue.

"There is another like you... he wanders amongst the drakorehl." Her face paled a little as she heard that word. Drakorehl... the paper-thin shadow reflections that wandered in Eludrest. She had taught herself never to visit there. Beyond the fact that her shadows and those beings might just become chummy... It was a dangerous place for all inner selves that were conscious. That still had links to their waking selves. Drakorehl fed off that essence... Whoever was silly enough to go there willingly..

She sighed a little and tapped the side of her deer skull twice. The object rattled, clattering as it moved its jaw about, as if stretching its muscles. Muscles it most certainly didn't have. "Is he still whole?" The skull voiced her question for her in an air voice, wispy and hesitant. She could sense the disappointment from the shade. It had hoped she would speak up. No, she was smarter than that. Even if she was supposedly alone, it was always dangerous to do that. To let them out for a second, who knew how her words would be taken? Who would fall into danger because of her? The thought of what had happened the last time..

The moment passed and the shadow laughed at her, causing a chilled sensation to settle in her stomach at the sound.

"For now," Was all it said before she felt it fade. The girl sighed a little to herself, reviewing the information internally. Aother like her--had it meant another inner self? A lucid dreamer? She instantly dismissed her recent thought. No, it couldn't have meant that, it had to be another inner self. That was the only possibility. But the shadow had said "he". Quinera was most certainly a "she". But maybe it would be better to seek him out. If he was there, he did not understand the danger he was in.

She had never willingly been the savior and had never consciously attempted to assist someone like this. But if there was even one more dreamer out there... She had to take the risk. She had to try.

The girl turned on her heel, firming the image of Eludrest City in her mind. She'd have to go to the edges of the boundary, then the Dreamscape would do the rest. She took a deep breath as she now walked with purpose. First she would find him, then she'd... hopefully ask him if he wanted to help her on her search of her friend. It would be easier with another person and the journey wouldn't be so lonely anymore. Yes, that seemed like a good idea.

She paused for a moment, squinting off into the distance. The realm always complied with strong will and reaching the boundary had only taken a few minutes of walking. It was what she saw near the boundary that made her hesitate. That made her wonder. Who was that? It looked to be a woman in a full set of armor... were those wings on her back? She had never done well with approaching others. In fact, she wanted to avoid groups as best as she possibly could. The boy was different, he was in danger. But would she be able to side-step this woman without her noticing?

It made her nervous to contemplate speaking... well, maybe if she was real quiet, the woman would just leave her alone. The warrior looked a bit lost anyway. She was going to tell herself that. To give herself confidence.





Two of them now? This was going to be harder than imagined... masking the smallest of them was a simple enough task but to hide two was going to be a chore. There was no way that all could be shielded... With a bit of regret, it knew there was no simple way around it. Soon the hunt would begin.

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Erixianti Character Portrait: Khalimandaria
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

#, as written by Ezarael
Khalimandaria



Khalimandaria’s search amidst the rubble of the broken and burning city was proving to be fruitless, if that term could even justify how little evidence could be gleamed from the rubble or explain how other questions seemed to come to the seeker's inquiry. This one rarely questioned the why of an act, but without an obvious answer as to how or when it was done it seemed only logical to pursue this line of questioning, which yet again left this one with a blank slate. Whomsoever, or whatsoever, had laid waste to this place had done so with extreme efficiency, and if there had been any inhabitants in this ruinous place all trace of their existence was wiped from view, as if some kindly housekeeper had come by and swept it all away. Yet another question to be answered, why could Khalimandaria not find any of the city’s inhabitants? That is, of course, assuming there were any when the city had been destroyed.

For all the seeker knew this city had been abandoned long ago, for whatever that line of reasoning might entail in this world of curiosities and intricacies, and that the destruction had been something harmless and lacking in any evil design. The thought of an action lacking in any purely good or evil motives and intentions seemed inconceivable to this one who considered everything to be black and white, any shade of grey seemed to be the result of a mind incapable of resolve. One who lacked such resolve could not be trusted, for if they could not resolutely set their motives and intentions upon the good and just then there was always the possibility that they could fall from the path of righteousness. Maybe that was the reason this city was abandoned and destroyed; it could have been the symbol of decadence and decay in its time, in which case this one would have gladly assisted in dismantling it, stone from mortar.

Something seemed different though, it was as if the city had changed, no longer could Khalimandaria feel the heat of any fires, nor the stinging of nostrils accompanied with the smoke from previously, but this city seemed to lay in just as ruinous a state, but where the first seemed dismantled by intentional machinations, this appeared as if abandoned and reclaimed by time. This city truly seemed as if it had been forgotten by everyone and lost to the sands of time, the mortar corroding and buildings decaying slowly and consistently, creating the impression of some order to the chaos in this place. How had it come to this place, and why did it seem so . . . comfortable, as if this being belonged here, in this city devoid of any passion, both good and evil. It almost felt as if this one belonged here. The solitude and tranquility was calming to the mind and body, quieting all of the previous turbulence created by its search in the city of destruction, and molding a sense of possibility here. Maybe Khalimandaria could make this city into something new, and not only restore any previous glory but transcend it in a way its previous founders could only imagine.

A feeling of being watched crept into this one’s mind though, was there still someone left in this city? Maybe they were a lost soul, such as this one of pure justice, and needed assistance in this deserted and decaying city, they might even be one who desired to assist Khalimandaria in the restoration and glorification of this city, a resolute being who sought a city of justice. Or they could be one of pure evil, one who would need purging from this place so that Khalimandaria’s desire could be fulfilled. Whatever the circumstances to her accompaniment this one’s resolve remained the same; it must determine the motives and intentions of this stranger’s presence. All that was to be done now was to set out and find this other being.

How long it searched seemed meaningless, but as time progressed the feeling of being in another’s presence and watched grew slowly, until it felt as if the other was standing next to the seeker. When Khalimandaria turned to survey its surroundings better it finally set upon the visage of what seemed to be a young girl, who seemed hesitant and somewhat worried. Why was a child in such a desolate city as this? Maybe she was lost and needed help, Khalimandaria was unsure how it could provide any more assistance than as a companion and maybe protector, but surely that was needed by this lone child. The angelic being approached slowly, stopping before it came too close to avoid frightening the poor child, and addressed her in a firm, but soothing voice, “Do not fear child. My name is Khalimandaria, and I wish you no harm. What brings you to this desolate place?”

Setting

3 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Zhaleh the Inquisitor Character Portrait: Zoen Leed Character Portrait: Martellus
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK



Image




"You can approach slowly, lass; we mean you no harm. Come, sit awhile."

The voice that called to her from the light was rather unexpected--she knew that she was not very subtle at all in her floating sphere of water, but she hoped that she would at least be able to observe their actions for a bit longer. Surface dwellers were always so intriguing to watch, especially in places where they normally were not to be found... such as on the side of a mountain in the ruins of a place long forgotten. The ocean had plenty of places much like this--ancient locales that had been drowned in eons past, before even the Depths had contacted her for her services.

Even still, they had not attacked her on-sight, which was always a good sign. Most land-walkers she encountered thought her evil--then again, most land-walkers weren't hulking behemoths in armor like this. In fact, she had never seen a creature like this in her travels on land. What exactly was it?

The other human with the blond tuft atop its head did not respond to her presence, nor did he seem to respond to the other creature's invitation. Perhaps he was sleeping at the fire already, something that seemed rather rude for a guest to do. The customs of the land-walkers, though, were as foreign to her as her customs to them. They did not understand the ways of the Depths, the rituals and sacrifices that must be performed in order to keep it satisfied... keep it from dwindling down to a puddle...

In any case, if the creature in the armor invited her to join them, who was she to ignore a willing invitation? With a thought, the bubble she had been maintaining immediately splashed onto the ground, allowing her to land on her feet situated on the dampened earth. She inhaled deeply, letting the air rush through her body--it was always a new sensation to her, even after how many times she had actually been out on the surface. She could handle the dryness for a time, although with that bright light and the heat she could feel on her skin, she might dry out rather quickly. It might be a better idea to stay toward the shadows so she did not completely dehydrate herself.

The light glimmered off of the water covering her skin as she walked into the clearing, letting the two see her form for the first time. She imagined that it was rather unusual for either of them to take in her form--most land-walkers did; she looked rather alien in comparison to most of their kind. Still, the armored figure was more interesting than any land-walker she had ever seen before. She took a few steps around the light source, keeping her distance as to maintain as much of the moisture as possible on her skin.

She was certain that both of them were staring at her as she made her way around--it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. What was out of the ordinary, though, was the fact that she was not surrounded by her bubble. Perhaps she wanted to be more sociable, and removing that physical barrier would allow more of a connection between the three of them, even if that meant her immediate discomfort. The water was so much more comfortable than this dry heat, though... she was half-tempted to invite everyone for a quick swim, even the one completely covered in armor. She thought that it would have never tried it--new experiences and all that for potential new candidates... although how would it swim? It was not up to her how that was discovered, though; that was up to the infinite wisdom of the Depths.

As she walked around to the other side of the camp, she reached out and placed a dripping wet hand on the armor-clad figure. It felt unnaturally cold on the side away from the fire, almost as cold as the ocean floor in some places. A shiver of delight shot through her arm at the thought of home. She placed another hand on the armor and smiled, closing her eyes and letting the chill rush through her body.

"Cold... It's so... cold..." she murmured to herself, still loud enough for the armored creature to hear her voice. Some said it was rather soothing at times, like the sound of the tides hitting the beach at midnight. "Cold as the deepest trenches, yet this is only your surface... I wonder what secrets you hide from the world..." It almost sounded as if she was asleep, lost in the swirling memories of somewhere far away from this place...

She understood that this might seem rather off-putting to both of them, but she was intrigued by this figure. She released her still-wet hands from the armor and placed the backs of them on other shadowed spots, letting the chill run down her arms again. Her gills stood on end, emitting a bit of condensed air in response as she closed her eyes once more and grinned, displaying some sharpened teeth before slowly lifting her hands off of the figure and stepping back away from the fire.

"Shall I... sit here?" she mused as water began to trickle up from the ground and around her legs. "I... I believe I will..." Soon, a large hemiphere of water consumed the lower half of her body, forming larger and larger until her entire being was encased in a large sphere. Being careful to stay away from the hot light, she rolled the sphere around to the opposite side of the site, swimming in her bubble and staring at the other two all the while. She poked her head out of the side of the sphere closest to the others, making sure to keep the gills on her neck submerged.

They would have questions for her. Land-walkers always had questions for her. This did not bother her one bit. Large black eyes stared out at them, the faintest hint of a smile forming at her lips. Perhaps she was more than the armored figure had imagined her to be. In any case, she had been invited--she would remain until circumstances necessitated her exit.

Setting

4 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Quinera Character Portrait: Zhaleh the Inquisitor Character Portrait: Zoen Leed Character Portrait: Martellus
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image


The jester stomped around the landscape angrily, her gaze firmly fixed on her feet. How could this have happened?! How could someone have stolen Erixianti from her, from right under her nose?! ...Granted she was unconscious for the most part, but still! It was her responsibility to look after Erixi (sort of), protect her (not really) and make sure she's OK! (She may have decided on this and not actually told her new friend but alas, details.) And somehow she'd managed to let her get kidnapped.

Well, this. This was not going to fly. Who had the audacity to even think that they could kidnap her friend? Did they not know who she was? She was The Jester, the terror of Tinker Tocker, the thing children thought hid under their beds, the monster that stalked the city and she was not going to stand for this. Nope, there was no way this was even close to acceptable. But...what if they hurt Erixianti?

Oh, that would be...They couldn't...No... Quinera froze as all the anger drained from her and she gripped her sides tightly for comfort. What if her little companion was scared? What if they left her all on her own somewhere in the wilderness? What if she was hurt? The jester let out a little wail as she gripped her hair tightly and pulled. This was all her fault! She should have saved her, made sure she was OK! The young woman paced quickly, muttering under her breath. This was terrible and it was all her fault. Quinera fell to her knees as worry moved to despair. What if she never found her? What if Erixianti was lost forever? What if she...or...or what if...no. No.

The jester climbed to her feet, a determined look upon her face. What if Erixi was waiting for Quinera to get a move on and save her from her evil kidnappers?! And instead she was here, kneeling on the ground, complaining? Well. That simply wouldn't do! Not at all! She would save her friend! No matter what! And if anyone got it her way? Well, she'd have the mildly annoying task of either terrifying the living daylights out of them or driving them insane. Whichever came first. And with that, the jester started walking once again, her head held high and a determined grin on her face.

She had been walking for ages now. Her feet were tired, her eyes were drooping and she needed rest. But yet, the jester refused to sit and sleep a while. She had no time for sleeping when her dear companion was missing! Erixianti may be waiting to be found and Quinera was not going to delay the rescue in any way. Thus, she kept walking. Occasionally she stumbled. It was dark and there were many rocks for her to catch her foot on. Thankfully she hadn't fallen on her face yet but the jester sort of knew it was rather inevitable. At least the moon gave her some light, a silvery overlay upon the rocks. Quinera was aware just how dark and shadowy she must have looked walking under the moonlight.

She listened as the sea roared gently, waves lapping against the shore. The jester wanted to run down to the beach and splash and dive but, alas, she was on a mission. Perhaps, later, she and Erixianti could come back to the sea. She wasn't sure if her new friend liked the sea that much, she'd have to ask later. The ocean's roar was comforting in a way and it also helped mask the sound of her footsteps. From whom, she didn't really know but from someone. That unknown person wouldn't here her coming. Quinera looked around quickly, taking stock of her surroundings. The night sky glimmered with all the stars, the murky sea was dappled with silvery reflections and the rocks shone in the moonlight. And a plume of smoke rose above a rocky outcrop. Aha! A fire in such an isolated area, in the middle of nowhere? Very suspicious. The jester smirked as she moved quickly. Perhaps these were the kidnappers! Those thieves thought that they could outsmart her, huh? By climbing up there and hiding away in the dead of night? They didn't know who they were dealing with. The jester hid herself with dark illusions that melted into the darkness. There. Now they wouldn’t be able to see her approach. The element of surprise and all that after all. The jester snuck closer, quiet as a mouse, ready to fight. After all, these people (might have) stolen Erixianti! And that was an unforgivable offense. Quinn narrowed her eyes before she slowly made her way over to the fire, hiding behind her shadowy mask of illusions.

As she got closer, she began to make out shapes. Three people. Well...not really. Two people and a large...floating...sphere...Huh. Well...Quinera had to admit that that was not something you saw very regularly. The jester shook away that thought before moving closer and closer, her feet making little taps against the stones. The other two figures...seemed familiar but she couldn't (or, more precisely, she didn't want to) place them or recall very much about them. One was clad in armour, lots and lots of armour while the other seemed more casual with no armour and blonde hair. Something nipped at the back of her mind, telling her that she knew these people. Perhaps she caught a glance of them when they were kidnapping! Of course, that makes a lot more sense! No wonder she recognised them! Quinera snarled quietly, barely a sound, her illusions rippling. She stilled, not breathing as she readjusted her visual barrier. It simply wouldn't do to have them spot her now after all the trouble she went through to get here unnoticed. The jester quietly padded around this little site, her dark eyes taking in the people and the surroundings. Where was Erixianti then? If they had kidnapped her (and they had), surely she would be around? And yet, the jester saw neither hide nor tail of her friend. Although, perhaps they had hidden her away somewhere! Perhaps that was one of their pulses, making things invisible! Maybe they made Erixanti invisible so that it wouldn't seem suspicious. Thoroughly confused and more than a little angry, Quinera started looking around, gently searching the air for her possibly invisible friend. No luck. Now enraged, she decided that this sneaking had gone on, long enough! Now was the time to instigate fear and show these people just who they were up against. Quinera grabbed hold of her illusion and stretched it, encasing the site in her shadowy darkness. Dark hounds emerged from the shadows, hell beasts that snarled and gnashed teeth (of course, they couldn't actually bite...but pain was in the mind after all and if Quinera had one of them bit and then accidentally let the mind feel it...would it be such a hardship?) The hounds encircled the group, loud and fierce. The jester herself stayed back before walking through the shadowy barrier. Her head was held low, her eyes dark and glinting with hatred. She raised her long sinewy arms above her head and the hounds ceased their noise, making it clear that they were under her command. She slowly looked around the site, locking with eyes with everyone the best she could. When she spoke, her voice coated with venom and laced with poison.

"Where is she?"

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Nohizar & Razihon Character Portrait: Korias
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image
Image



Taken slightly aback by the child's endless questions and confusing statements, Korias stammered out an um or an uh with every new statement that came out of the boy's mouth. When they finally managed to break the silence imposed on them as an audience, they tried to stem the tide that continued to crash over them. "You need to calm down or else I won't be able to understand you." They tried to be somewhat firm with the statement, but their surprised posture and the rhythm of their words wound up making it seem more like a plea than anything else.


Nohizar frowned slightly at the armoured figure's comments. Had he said something wrong, or did something he shouldn't have? He tried looking over his shoulder to get some form of assistance from Razihon, but the green apparition had stayed put and seemed quite happy staying where he was. With a shake of his head Nohizar turned back to the figure in armour and nodded once, as if confirming something that was said. A bright smile appeared on his face after he took a deep breath in preparation for speaking. "Hi! I'm Nohizar! Adventurer and mystery solver! You must be Knight-guy's friend, right? You're dressed the same way anyway. Are you gonna slay the dragon too?" Nohizar spoke quickly, barely capable and partially failing to keep his cascade of inquisitiveness under control.


Korias stood motionless as the barrage of questions were reworded and cascaded over them once again, sullen at their failure to stem it and thinking of what to do. This curious child was something disturbingly familiar, but, throughout the memories they were able to call upon, no similar scene could be found. Regardless of this lack of a concrete memory, they decided on an appropriate answer after a few, admittedly awkward, moments of silence. With this decided upon, Korias raised their right hand and placed it upon their chest, and regained their straightened posture despite the slope they now stood on. "I am Korias, knight and servant of justice. Though I may look like your friend, I cannot say that I know him, but, if you take me to this dragon of yours, I will bring justice to it."


Nohizar nearly stood on his toes in an attempt to get closer to the knight as he spoke. A glint of pure and unfeigned admiration clear in his eyes and his hands balled into fists as he soaked up what the knight was saying with glee. He had never expected Knight-guy's friend to be this amazing. Not only was he a knight, but a servant of justice as well. It was like he had stepped straight out of a fairy tale. Not only that, but he wanted to help slay the dragon as well. Sure, he was saying he didn't know Knight-guy, but that wasn't a problem, he must just have forgotten. The knight's question did put Nohizar in a bind, however. Nohizar put his hand up to his chin as his brow furrowed in thought. His brow furrowed further and his teeth grinded together as he desperately searched for an answer he had no means of knowing. After a few moments of intense think the tension released and a care free smile spread over his face.

"I forgot where the dragon is! It was after the princess, so I'm sure the dragon caused the city to explode, but it wouldn't stick around would it? I bet if we find the princess we find the dragon so we can slay it!" Nohizar said happily to his newly found companion, the mere thought or idea that anything he said might not be entirely true not once crossing his mind.


Stiffening slightly as the youth artificially made himself taller and, by doing so, brought the two of them somewhat closer physically, Korias was happy to see that shine in his eyes and the sheer enthusiasm he displayed with every tiny detail of his body. There was still the matter of the green phantom that he had repeatedly glanced towards and constantly made them on edge, but it didn't seem actively malicious so dealing with it could be set aside until after learning about this dragon. When the boy's body relaxed and he started to show that weird beard scratching gesture that everyone loved using, despite the majority never having beards, when they were deep in thought or mocking the idea of being deep in thought, they relaxed their body now that the two weren't awkwardly staring at each other. Whichever it was, when it broke and his smile returned, the posture Korias once had fell under the strain of maintaining it on a hillside for so long and their arms returned to their sides while their knees bent under their body's weight.

But, when the mention of a destroyed city came up, all of that looseness disappeared as Korias gripped the youth's shoulders tightly and almost shouted in anger at only just hearing about a destroyed city now. "Where is this city? Who is this princess?!"


Nohizar barely had time to react when Korias reached out and grabbed his shoulders, holding them tightly. The expression on Nohizar's face changed from blissfully excited to genuinely frightened in a matter of moments. He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly in an attempt to speak, but the sudden aggression and strength of the knight had instilled a fear that kept his throat so tight no sound could emerge from it. Nohizar stood there for a few moments, tears from the sudden shock slowly filling his eyes before a static filled voice appeared from behind him.

"How unusual. I believe it is a crime to accost young boys in such a manner, sir knight. To answer your questions, the city is somewhere not here, we were moved from its location by unknown means and have no way of knowing where it is. As for the princess, I'm not sure. Apparently she was in some form of danger before my young companion here saved her, or so he says. In any case, I can only theorize at this point, but I would assume she was transported from the city in the same manner we were." Razihon spoke coolly and sounded almost bored having to explain all of this, although any nuances in his voice were hard to detect over the static that accompanied it. Even as Razihon spoke, Nohizar hung limp in the knight's hands, tears slowly leaking from his eyes and a dumbfounded expression on his face.


Realizing that grabbing and shouting at Nohizar wasn't the most tactful way to go about getting information, with the phantom providing that extra bit of common sense to make such a failure even more severe, Korias released their grip and took several small steps away from the boy with their quivering hands held up as if in surrender. They had set their mind to trying to reconcile this gross display of traumatizing a youth the moment fear took his cheer away, but, with the unclear voice of the phantom and the need to investigate this city forced back into their focus, such a thing seemed rather unfeasible. Before unintellible sounds starting echoing from their form again, they decided that they needed to steel themselves for the moment to have any chance at resolving this. They straightened their legs, turned their head towards the one who had answered their questions and spoke with a seven-voiced monotone.

"You are right, that was very... crude of us. But, such a lack of information leaves us stranded in these endless fields and without even a sense of direction. Do you truly have no idea of where to find either?" Korias tried their best to ignore the constant desire to plead for forgiveness from the one they had seemingly traumatized, but a clear task had kept them from breaking their stoic demeanor. Though, it had not kept them from glancing over at the boy every few seconds, not that anyone could really tell where those hollow eye sockets were looking.


When Korias released Nohizar and apologized in an awkward manner, Razihon's smile seem to grow even wider, as if the knight's and Nohizar's combined discomfort was somehow pleasing to him. Nohizar at the same time seemed to have lost his glint of admiration, only to have it replaced by a somewhat cautious fear, clearly evident in the way he was suddenly silent, giving a slight glare in Korias' direction and hiding behind Razihon. The green phantom chuckled slightly when the knight asked his next question, before shrugging in a pure expression of non-commitment. After a few moments of silence in which it seemed the apparition had no intention of offering answering his static filled voice suddenly broke the silence, Razihon possibly caving in to the intense stare from his younger companion, who seemed as interested in finding out the answer as Korias was.

"How troubling. First you assault my companion and now you ask questions, apparently being a servant of justice says nothing of one's manners. But, whatever. To answer your question, the exact location of the city is truly a mystery to me, our mysterious means of moving from the city's location to this location makes even guessing our distance from it a foolish endeavour. The princess on the other hand..." Razihon's voice trailed off for a few moments, until a burst of static marked some form of sigh on his part before continuing. "Well, I have no exact location for her... but I theorize that she might have been transported from the city in the same manner we were and as such, she might be nearby. If we search together, we may just find her." Once Razihon finished Nohizar smiled carefully, still wary of the knight, but clearly happy to hear the news.


The low hum of metal scraping against metal came from Korias' hands as the phantom's mockery both infuriated them as well as kicked the beaten remains of their ego. Still, other than their hands turning into two slightly trembling fists, the knight remained still as omewhat helpful information had finally been given. The city, which Korias only had the adjectives of "ruined" and "far away" to describe it, was impossible to find amongst these fields or along the entirety of the horizon, making it, for all its likely involvement in the incident that had gotten Korias away from the river, lost to them. This princess though, could easily be nearby and be more informative than a boy and his phantom.

With this new goal in mind, Korias finally broke free of their entrenched position and turned to scan the surroundings; they couldn't stand to look at the phantom without feeling irritated or the boy without feeling incredibly guilty. After a moment of tracing along every crest and trough of the hills, they turned back towards the phantom. Even so, they did not look at either of them, and looked at a certain stone behind them, though they kept their head in such a way to attempt to make it seem otherwise.


Thin eyes slowly followed Korias' movements, like the eyes of a snake observing its next prey. When the knight's gaze passed over a particular outcropping of rocks, Nohizar's eyes followed, examining the same bit of rock. Now that he was over the initial shock of being grabbed by the much larger individual, it seemed something of admiration had returned, whether Nohizar realized it or not. Subconsciously he was mimicking the knight's posture and movements, but made no attempt to engage Korias again, seemingly content to let him examine the surroundings. A few steps away Razihon had elected to settle on a rock, casually observing a faraway cloud or something else only he could see in the skies. But after the knight returned his gaze to the pair, the apparition turned around and observed the armoured individual. A look in Nohizar's direction made it clear that he wanted to ask a question, but was fearful of the experience now and was depending on Razihon to ask it for him. With a shrug the apparition finally spoke.

"Found what you were looking for? Truth be told, I don't mind sitting around. But my companion seems eager to get started on what he no doubt believes to be an adventure of some poetically epic proportions." Fierce nodding from Nohizar who had his hands balled into fists from the strain he felt from not being able to ask the question himself. After a few moments, self-preservation was defeated by youthful eagerness and Nohizar spoke up, his voice loud and booming, though by no means intimidating as his youth shone through in the lack of a deep timbre to his voice.

"We should go that way, I'm sure she'll be over there!" Nohizar pointed in a direction that seemed picked at random. But a bright smile accompanied his exclamation, which was apparently enough to elicit a shrug and somewhat begrudging acceptance from Razihon. With both seemingly ready to move, they then looked to Korias for the final go-ahead.


Seeing Nohizar's fear give in to his enthusiasm lightened the heavy burden that had been placed upon Korias, and with a soft sigh he nodded as the boy pointed out the direction he believed in. It didn't really matter how he had come up with his decision; no one else had any idea which way was correct and this at least gave them to push to start moving. Vocalizing their approval of this new march, Korias spoke in a less formal, almost cheerful voice. "Right." Their feet pulled themselves out of the dents their weight had left in the earth and they began slowly marching in the random direction that would either lead them to something they sought eventually, and being enthusiastic about it would make the odyssey across an ocean of grass less arduous. "We shall find this princess of yours, and then we shall slay that dragon." With their palm resting on the pommel of their sword, and with mental springs attached to their heels, they marched blindly in the direction Nohizar had chosen.


Smiling brightly once more and all concerns he might have had about Korias seemingly forgotten, Nohizar set off after the knight with a skip in his step. After a few more moments of observing the sky, Razihon followed, sticking to a respectful or perhaps careful distance behind the pair. Now that his previous fears of Korias were forgotten as quickly as they had arrived, Nohizar once more got close to the knight, looking at his armour with admiration and seemingly trying to decipher the intricate patterns on the suit of armour, which at the moment seemed more interesting to him than the prospect of finding the so-called princess.

Setting

1 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Enforcer
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK


Image



"I should get a cane, a cane would be badass. I could have a bounce in my step and throw it up and catch it and look fucking awesome."

Enforcer was talking to himself again. He was bored. He had long since located his targets, not that it was that hard. As soon as he was in close enough proximity, they practically made themselves obvious. There were things he saw, among the other four, that he couldn't. Strings. Or maybe threads would be more accurate, they were too thin to be strings. They descended from the sky, sort of like fishing line connected to a marionette below. They had no solid form, so to speak, just seemed to distort the air around them, making it shimmer like the air above a heated surface.

They appeared to be small at first, because each target was still on their own. But as he sat there, waiting, they gradually become bigger, drawn to each other. There was some sort of force that natural pulled them together, and soon a select few would form up and all the threads would intertwine, becoming a bigger one together. He often wandered if it was some metaphor, some poetic representation of fate or some bullshit like that. He never really came to a conclusion.

From what he could tell, there was a bigger group of four that had just recently met up, along with two smaller groups of two and then one more thread still off on it's own, but it appeared to be headed in the direction of the others. Again, as if drawn by some magnetic force. It was natural in this place, the attractions. Though, again, they were bigger now. Which meant he had a better general direction. Which meant he could head toward that general direction and actually complete the task he was given and stop procrastinating.

Then again, that wouldn't really be all that fun, would it? Just getting it over with and going back to having nothing to do. No, it wouldn't. It'd be boring as fuck, what would he have to do then? Nothing, that's what. Abso-fucking-lutely nothing.

"Nah, I don't want that. I don't want that at all. I should play with them. Mess around a bit, fuck shit up. Maybe go all barbarian and rape and pillage a village with my little minions." Again, talking to himself. It was a joke that only he got, considering he didn't really have any friends to share it with. The joke being that his little 'minions' probably wouldn't even hurt a fly if they could help it, but then again, when your body is made up of molten lava and hot as balls obsidian, it's sort of hard not to accidentally burn up puny little insects. Or fleshy humans, for that matter.

He let out a sigh before getting up and stretching out, bending over to touch his toes and such before shielding his eyes and looking off towards the threads. Fortunately, he wouldn't have to be shielding his eyes from the sun for too much longer because he was about to cross into the area that was night. Time functioned differently there, it was sort of confusing as fuck. He didn't tend to mind it, as he was often too absent minded to really perceive it. Hell, time was hardly even an applicable concept there, but people still desperately clung to it as to still have something familiar in a place so surreal.

He started out walking, not really paying attention to the time that passed or didn't pass as he did, he just kept heading towards the threads in the horizon until they got bigger and until he reached the region of nightfall. It was there he paused for a moment, because he felt he needed a bit of comic relief and company for the next bit. He arched his back as he laced his fingers together in front of him and bent them towards his body, cracking his knuckles. Afterwards, he pointed a single finger at three places on the ground in front of him, the dirt beginning to steam and melt away in each area. Soon there were three little pools of lava, putting off a similar shimmer in the area as the giant threads in the sky. He was close now, and he smirked a bit as he watched these little fuckers climb out of the pools, resulting in three little cute as fuck golems standing in front of him.

His eyes appeared to gleam as his observed them, like the eyes of a child in a candy store. He absolutely adored these little fiery idiots, and they were probably the closest thing he had to companions. All three stood there momentarily, looking up at him and rubbing at their eyes with their stubby little arms, making Enforcer let out a noise that could only be compared to a very effeminate person d'awing at some puppies. He cleared his throat after wise, of course, and puffed out his chest a bit to restore masculinity, even though he was aware nobody was watching.

All three were small enough to fit in the palm of his hand, and stood at about six inches tall each. They smiled dopily at him as he motioned for them to follow him and began walking again, the golems falling behind him like baby ducklings behind their mother in a pond.

It was cute as shit, yo, and he couldn't wait until his targets saw him coming.

"Fuck discretion."

Setting

3 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Erixianti Character Portrait: Khalimandaria Character Portrait: Compendium
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

#, as written by Igari


Erixianti




The woman was approaching her, that much was certain. The girl swallowed, wrapping her arms around her small body. The woman did not attempt to touch her, merely stayed a suitable distance away. The angelic figure was much taller than the younger girl, a fact that she was well aware of.

“Do not fear child. My name is Khalimandaria, and I wish you no harm. What brings you to this desolate place?” What was she to say? She doubted the woman would go away, even with a proper answer. She furrowed her brows, tilting her gaze downwards and shifting slightly.

"I... am Erixianti," The deer skull clattered to life, speaking in a soft wisp of a voice that barely had any strength to it. She was always so nervous around other people! She wished that she could somehow project the answers to them preemptively so that she wouldn't have to deal with all this conversation. It got her in a tizzy and made her nervous... "I am looking for someone, my protector."

She looked at the woman from underneath her long lashes, letting her bangs cover the top parts of her eyes. She would just have to tell herself that this being was not scary. If she did that, she would have nothing to fear, right? It did not seem like the knightly woman would be harming her, if the approach was anything to go by. So all she had to do was stay calm, relax

But that wasn't the whole truth, now was it? No, she had to find the boy, the one in Eludrest. He was in danger. That was her first prerogative. The city was a dangerous place, even for one such as herself. The beings there, they were not the same kind of shades that she controlled. No, they were only imprints left behind by old inner selves who no longer had a link to the waking self. A mere visage of a memory that leeched off others... Far different from her shadows who were coherent and conscious.

If it came down to fighting, which she hated and wanted to avoid at all costs, would she make it out okay? Part of her realized she was counting on the boy to be capable, in that sense, to make up for what she could not do. Maybe it would be wiser to open up more to this woman after all. If there was no sense of aggressiveness, then there was no harm in companionship. She just had to learn to be less scared! She wanted friends, right? One didn't get those by always running away from the first person that approached!

"I am... headed towards the city, actually," The skull spoke a bit more clearly, the tone filled with more surety. "There is someone who I need to retrieve from there," Nevermind the fact that she did not know him. It took all her strength to force the next words to pass from the deer skull's mouth. "A-Are you going in that direction as well?" She nearly shook for how much effort it took! Oh, how she wished Quinera was here. At least the jester was able to talk to people a lot better than she was...

Some heroine she was, barely able to communicate and fearful of the slightest interaction. She could only hope that time would aid her in getting better. She gestured ahead of them with her hand, pointing towards the edge of the boundary to indicate where she needed to go. "It's that way," She mentioned quietly, unable to hold the woman's gaze. The skull portrayed the urgency she felt. They had to get there soon. Before the boy found himself in an irreversible situation.



Compendium




He was being a show-off again, wasn't he?

She sighed to herself, running a few fingers across the holographic image. He always made things difficult, not that he intended to. She knew that, of course. He did not know of her, he did not know of here. But she knew of him and Enforcer had always been the type that enjoyed a flare. Perhaps it came from his affinity with fire. She placed her hands atop her lap as she gazed at the small figures within her reconstruction of the Dreamscape. They could not sense her watchful eyes, surprisingly, the lucid ones were not aware either.

She suspected it had to do with... no, she daren't even think it. She had a brief moment alone, a lapse of peace that surely would be shortened if she so much as thought of her... ward. Yes, that would be the polite way of putting it. The dreamers were all so... oblivious. Almost like young children. And here she was doing her best to defend them without them having the slightest clue.

He had stumbled, no, he had sensed that small group located by the campfire. Hopefully that would keep Enforcer busy-busy enough for her to shield the others and keep attentions away from those that really mattered. Indeed... the girl with the skull fascination and that angelic knight would act as a beacon for the scattered dreamers to gravitate towards. But they were not who she really had to protect.

That little witch was going to owe her a lot more by the time she was through with all this.

View All »Arcs

Arcs are bundles of posts that you can organize on your own. They're useful for telling a story that might span long periods of time or space.

There are no arcs in this roleplay.

View All » Create New » Quests

There are no quests in this roleplay.

Add Group » View All » 0 Factions to align with

Here's the current leaderboard.

There are no groups in this roleplay!

Events

Soon™.

Game Master Controls

Welcome home, Promethean. Here, you can manage your universe.

Arcs

Arcs are bundles of posts from any location, allowing you to easily capture sub-plots which might be spread out across multiple locations.

Add Quest » Quests

You can create Quests with various rewards, encouraging your players to engage with specific plot lines.

Add Setting » 7 Settings for your players to play in

Settings are the backdrop for the characters in your universe, giving meaning and context to their existence. By creating a number of well-written locations, you can organize your universe into areas and regions.

Navigation

While not required, locations can be organized onto a map. More information soon!

Dreamscape

Dreamscape by Igari

"Overworld"

Eludrest City

Eludrest City by Igari

"Remnants of a once grand city"

Illusionary Fields

Illusionary Fields by Igari

"Deception Area"

Expanse Plane

Expanse Plane by Igari

"Origin Point"

Mechanoid Paranoia

Mechanoid Paranoia by Igari

"A disturbing place of childish fantasies..."

The Grey Boundary

The Grey Boundary by Igari

"Mirror Mirror"

Tinker Tocker

Tinker Tocker by Igari

"The city of engineers, spell weavers, and clock makers"

Add Group » 0 Factions to align with

There are no groups in this roleplay!

Collectibles

By creating Collectibles, you can reward your players with unique items that accentuate their character sheets.


Once an Item has been created, it can be spawned in the IC using /spawn Item Name (case-sensitive, as usual) — this can be followed with /take Item Name to retrieve the item into the current character's inventory.

Mobs

Give your Universe life by adding a Mob, which are auto-replenishing NPCs your players can interact with. Useful for some quick hack-and-slash fun!

Mobs can be automated spawns, like rats and bats, or full-on NPCs complete with conversation menus. Use them to enhance your player experience!

Current Mobs

No mobs have been created yet.

Spawns

Locations where Mobs and Items might appear.

Events

You can schedule events for your players to create notifications and schedule times for everyone to plan around.

Permissions

Add and remove other people from your Universe.

The Forge

Use your INK to craft new artifacts in Scattered Dreams, Fragmented Unreality. Once created, Items cannot be changed, but they can be bought and sold in the marketplace.

Notable Items

No items have been created yet!

The Market

Buy, sell, and even craft your own items in this universe.

Market Data

Market conditions are unknown. Use caution when trading.

Quick Buy (Items Most Recently Listed for Sale)

Open Stores

View All » Add Character » 15 Characters to follow in this universe

Character Portrait: Erixianti
Character Portrait: Nohizar & Razihon
Character Portrait: Quinera
Character Portrait: Martellus
Character Portrait: Kiyu
Character Portrait: Zhaleh the Inquisitor
Character Portrait: Khalimandaria
Character Portrait: Zakiriya

Newest

Character Portrait: Zakiriya
Zakiriya

"Everything's fine and dandy... until someone dies..."

Character Portrait: Khalimandaria
Khalimandaria

"I shall bring justice upon the wicked, and punishment to those who object."

Character Portrait: Zhaleh the Inquisitor
Zhaleh the Inquisitor

"My mission is to drown the world... Perhaps you may still be saved yet..."

Character Portrait: Kiyu
Kiyu

"Dreams are fantasies, but Nightmares... are very real."

Character Portrait: Martellus
Martellus

Iron Within, Iron Without.

Character Portrait: Quinera
Quinera

"Hang on a sec, Imma gonna try somethin'."

Character Portrait: Nohizar & Razihon
Nohizar & Razihon

"A whole world to explore and no limits to hold me back! Let's go!"

Character Portrait: Erixianti
Erixianti

"I'll find those who will be precious to me one day..."

Trending

Character Portrait: Martellus
Martellus

Iron Within, Iron Without.

Character Portrait: Erixianti
Erixianti

"I'll find those who will be precious to me one day..."

Character Portrait: Zakiriya
Zakiriya

"Everything's fine and dandy... until someone dies..."

Character Portrait: Khalimandaria
Khalimandaria

"I shall bring justice upon the wicked, and punishment to those who object."

Character Portrait: Kiyu
Kiyu

"Dreams are fantasies, but Nightmares... are very real."

Character Portrait: Zhaleh the Inquisitor
Zhaleh the Inquisitor

"My mission is to drown the world... Perhaps you may still be saved yet..."

Character Portrait: Nohizar & Razihon
Nohizar & Razihon

"A whole world to explore and no limits to hold me back! Let's go!"

Character Portrait: Quinera
Quinera

"Hang on a sec, Imma gonna try somethin'."

Most Followed

Character Portrait: Erixianti
Erixianti

"I'll find those who will be precious to me one day..."

Character Portrait: Zhaleh the Inquisitor
Zhaleh the Inquisitor

"My mission is to drown the world... Perhaps you may still be saved yet..."

Character Portrait: Quinera
Quinera

"Hang on a sec, Imma gonna try somethin'."

Character Portrait: Zakiriya
Zakiriya

"Everything's fine and dandy... until someone dies..."

Character Portrait: Nohizar & Razihon
Nohizar & Razihon

"A whole world to explore and no limits to hold me back! Let's go!"

Character Portrait: Martellus
Martellus

Iron Within, Iron Without.

Character Portrait: Khalimandaria
Khalimandaria

"I shall bring justice upon the wicked, and punishment to those who object."

Character Portrait: Kiyu
Kiyu

"Dreams are fantasies, but Nightmares... are very real."


View All » Places

Dreamscape

Dreamscape by Igari

"Overworld"

Eludrest City

Eludrest City by Igari

"Remnants of a once grand city"

Illusionary Fields

Illusionary Fields by Igari

"Deception Area"

Expanse Plane

Expanse Plane by Igari

"Origin Point"

Mechanoid Paranoia

Mechanoid Paranoia by Igari

"A disturbing place of childish fantasies..."

The Grey Boundary

The Grey Boundary by Igari

"Mirror Mirror"

Tinker Tocker

Tinker Tocker by Igari

"The city of engineers, spell weavers, and clock makers"

Mechanoid Paranoia

"A disturbing place of childish fantasies..."

Tinker Tocker

"The city of engineers, spell weavers, and clock makers"

Fullscreen Chat » Create Topic » Scattered Dreams, Fragmented Unreality: Out of Character

Discussions

  • Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Most recent OOC posts in Scattered Dreams, Fragmented Unreality

There have been no posts in the OOC topic for this roleplay!