"To be quite frank, I had considered burning the tavern down." he said rather casually, he checked his rapier and fiddled with the hilt. It was interesting to note he thought, Alders reaction to the witcher he'd met. It was obvious this man had had some influence on the boy, what he found more curious was why this Witcher had simply just up and vanished on Alder but that was for another story. "Oh yes, maybe two weeks ago. Decent chap though we exchanged some philiosphical talks and a few drinks but he seemed very quiet when it came to talking of his own journey. Who knows." he shrugged. "Never saw him in the morning, he just up and left"
Karcier found the whole situation funny it hadn't been more then 10 minutes ago that he'd been thinking of killing the look alike of his daughter and now they were off to find a Jenova. "Oh the fates do have a funny way of going about it" he paused realizing he said tht out loud then shrugged, he walked past Alder and opened the door. "Well yes, I came here looking for Jenova. She isn't here, you said you can help so why would I waste my time with idle chit chat ?" It was true, why waste time after all. "Come on then, you say you can narrow down the wareabouts of our friend" Karcier kept the door open waiting for Alder "Well go on chop chop."
Karcier frowned seeing a bug on Alder then the mention of hive minds. "Oh great another one that might go crazy and kill if another of the hive buddies decides to take over....greeeaaaaatttt" Karcier mumbled a few curses "I do hope youve kept your bugs off me...I'll really burn your tavern down with Alexise if you have put any of them on me." It was a silly fear but he despised bugs, especially those that had been linked to Kelona's destruction. "So you can slow her down...fantastic. Tell me how do you trick her into taking the posion ?" he asked him "I doubt she'd let you anywhere near."
Assuming they had both left the tavern Karcier decided to answer the next question he had been asked and that which he'd been considering. "Jenova was created by Etaine. Kelrons were created by Etaine. Both our fates are linked to it and whatever that key unlocks I'd rather ensure it didn't fall into the hands of a hive mind for various reasons." he didn't look back at ALder when he replied, just kept walking in the direction the compass led and Alder would no doubt eventually decide to help with the directions. "It does have to do with a Fallen Mage, a pilgrim to be precise. Etaine had the strongest of her creations go on such trails at the end one received the gift of the godess... now who would you rather earnt it...a parasite wanting to have everyone sing Kumbaya or a crazed Phoenix ?" he chuckled slightly "At least I'd keep to myself unlike Jenova"
Karcier had been running low on runes but he still had a few which would come in handy, usually breaking them did the simple task but could also have them combine with his rapier to enchance it but such usually broke the item after some time and Karcier was rather fond of this old Cei'ra weapon he'd asked ALexise to imagine up.
"Well I'd rather use my wit and talk my way out of it, for all my abilities I can't use magic and these runes arn't exactly useful when your wielding two weapons at the same time"
The truth was he had a theory that the gift of the godess was infact magic, to strengthen her royal guard Etaine would of bestowed upon them some form of magic. Pure essence stolen from her enemies which instead of returning the the blood crystal was given to her guard. Such would reignite his magic abilities and maybe unlock more but it was a theory for all he knew it might just be a shiny apple with a text saying the gift was the journey.
When Alder mentioned Alexise karcier snapped from his thoughts, he wondered if he could actaully persaude her to stop doing that. It was a mircale she had gotten bored at the tavern after hitting the man over the head with a bottle but to ask her to stop her ... crime fighting as he put it. "You ought to ask her nicely but quiet frankly if I can't stop her from beating up someone in a tavern I don't think you'll have much success either... as for warning me." he chuckled "See if you were smart...you'd work with her...like suggest she goes beat up another crime boss who upset this crime boss...then vice versa...kind of like a hitman...expect without killing..just severely humiliating them." Karcier flashed a bright grin, with that same insane look his Daughter had. "Oooh that make for a fun game !"
[CRP] Fragments of the Phoenix
Moderator: Community Team
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Silence
Re: [CRP] Fragments of the Phoenix
"Yeah, I figured you'd be considering that... seems pretty sensible when yeh don't care about killing the enemy that's inside, yeh just want em gone, and there's a good chance the enemy is inside while nobody else probably is. About the witcher... all I can say is, damn... well, at some point, I'll have teh catch up with him and find out why he's avoidin me. Thanks anyway."
Alder would have questioned what he'd done to be treated like baggage, but he had been on a few quests with the witcher and even more with Shin and the old changeling. He was, by now, used to being treated like baggage when people were putting their lives at risk. Manners were usually the furthest things from people's minds when things actually mattered.
He placed a beetle on his hand and started to command it, when Karcier commented about hive minds.
"What? Go crazy? Have I given yeh any reason teh make yeh think I could go crazy? Let me make something very clear, I don't kill things. Call it weakness or whatever yeh want, but unless there is pretty much no other option and unless the person is beyond any hope of convincing em, I don't kill, and even then I'm probably too slow teh make that decision. Usually by the time I decide things are beyond redeeming, they really are and I'd be hard pressed teh kill the person anyway... not that I've ever once made that decision... so actually, I guess it would be more accurythingy teh say that I don't kill ever unless I don't mean teh.''
"Pretty much anybody can be infected by Jenova and made teh do what she does... I at least can fight back since the moment she starts to infect one part of me, I can destroy that part or at least get rid of it teh save the rest from gettin infected. I put bugs on most people I think are important... helps me keep track of what they are and what they're doin... so yeah, I had some on you once, mostly while I was trackin down Jenova myself. I figured that since you had somethin teh do with it, I'd keep track of yeh and see if that way of doin things turned anything up... think those ones died if I remember right."
He looked back at the bug on his hand. Technically, he couldn't consciously sense the bug he had left on Jenova anymore. It was out of range of communication of the rest of the hive, and he didn't have a network of beetles in that direction, so he could hardly relay messages between them as he did to keep track of things going on around Widu.
However, Munay knew where it was, and that meant that she could show him. While he didn't mind her flashing images through his mind, they could be distracting at times, so the better way was to have the beetle walk around his hand as if his palm was a compass and the beetle the needle pointing the way back towards its sibling (well, Youken didn't know what the relationship between all of the beetles was, but he assumed that since he sort of cloned them to make more, that made them all siblings).
Huh, seemed like Karcier was leading them the right way anyway, so he stayed silent for now on the directions front. Once he was within a kilometre, he'd be able to communicate with that beetle and so get a full report.
"What makes yeh think she won't trust me? I ain't given her any reason not teh... hell, I even sort of befriended her... well, half befriended her. Either way, me sharing a meal with her wouldn't be that weird. While that's one plan, I got others... the easiest one is just put it on a weapon if yer gonna end up in a fight with her. If the fight lasts long, it'll help, or yeh could hit her once, run away until it starts teh take effect, then come back and carry on with an advantage. Don't worry, it's harmless teh humans... wouldn't do me any good, but what the hell. Anyway, it starts acting in thirty seconds, takes five minutes teh reach full strength, then stays for ten minutes and over the next five minutes, the effects sort of fade away. She's immune teh most things, so just finding this was hard enough... if yeh don't want the poison, yeh don't have teh use it... just figured I'd hand yeh any advantage I could. Don't see why that's stupid personally."
The two had left the tavern by the time Karcier again said something that put Alder's teeth on edge. He had been trailing behind up until that point, but he felt that he'd better confront this while he still could, so he doubled his pace and drew up next to Karcier
"Look, do you have somethin against hive minds? Cause I can't help what I am... I can just learn teh use it. All that things like us are is a whole bunch of small things which were really weak, coming together teh try and stand up teh things which are much stronger. You got a problem with that? Cause if yeh'd rather I didn't come cause yeh don't trust what I am or somethin, I can turn around right now and go back."
"Honestly, I just want teh make sure that yer not gonna do somethin stupid like bring the mage back inteh this world... cause that wouldn't be fun... at all... teh be honest, yer one of the few people I reckon can be trusted with power, so sure, go find whatever the hell yeh want. So long as yer not doin somethin stupid, I ain't gonna stop yeh... all I want is teh finish this business with Jenova somehow, preferably without killin like, then go back home and get back teh my own problems, cause I got enough of those. Plus, this has somethin teh do with Reaver I think... that's just an educated guess, but I'm gonna figure out where he connects... I still got a debt that needs repayin. But if yeh'd rather I went back now, I can follow this up in my own way without yeh and I won't get in yer way."
((Assuming that Alder is not told to go back, if he is, he'll just turn around, then go back another way, then start up at a faster pace in a less direct route to Jenova, or at least, to his beetle so he can be around when the two meet and intervene if he feels he should))
At the mention of Alexise's potential hiring as a hitwoman, Alder could only chuckle. It would be nice if things could work that way, but nobody would want to admit that their best fighter was a little girl, even if that little girl could beat up every other fighter in the town. Still, it was worth a shot.
"Maybe when I get back, I'll try somethin like that if I ever meet her again... I mean, I only ever met her once for maybe an hour or so. That doesn't exactly lend itself teh bein able teh sort out a business arrangement, but sure, I'll try it."
After a few moments of silence, Alder chuckled "Well, I guess I should explain what I know. See, first I knew about this, the witcher and me, well, mostly him, were hired teh like go and investigate a crypt. Apparently people had been hearin weird noises... group of adventurers were sent in and well, they hadn't come back out."
From there, Alder related everything he knew about Novajen, skimming past his encounter with Teide "Well, she kinda told me what I wanted teh know... yeh know, about Novajen bein related teh the dark mages and what she was probably after, as well as a bit of what she could do."
((The rest, TPB should know, since one of your characters was there for most of it))
"... So after gettin kicked around the arena, I figured that a direct approach wouldn't work, so I'd go find some of her blood and see if I could make somethin that'd work... also figured I could try stuff like infectin my own beetles with the stuff, makin sure they were cut off from the rest of me first though, and then seein what affected them. I was real careful like, didn't get infected myself, I'm sure of that. Anyway, that's about all I know teh do with this."
Alder would have questioned what he'd done to be treated like baggage, but he had been on a few quests with the witcher and even more with Shin and the old changeling. He was, by now, used to being treated like baggage when people were putting their lives at risk. Manners were usually the furthest things from people's minds when things actually mattered.
He placed a beetle on his hand and started to command it, when Karcier commented about hive minds.
"What? Go crazy? Have I given yeh any reason teh make yeh think I could go crazy? Let me make something very clear, I don't kill things. Call it weakness or whatever yeh want, but unless there is pretty much no other option and unless the person is beyond any hope of convincing em, I don't kill, and even then I'm probably too slow teh make that decision. Usually by the time I decide things are beyond redeeming, they really are and I'd be hard pressed teh kill the person anyway... not that I've ever once made that decision... so actually, I guess it would be more accurythingy teh say that I don't kill ever unless I don't mean teh.''
"Pretty much anybody can be infected by Jenova and made teh do what she does... I at least can fight back since the moment she starts to infect one part of me, I can destroy that part or at least get rid of it teh save the rest from gettin infected. I put bugs on most people I think are important... helps me keep track of what they are and what they're doin... so yeah, I had some on you once, mostly while I was trackin down Jenova myself. I figured that since you had somethin teh do with it, I'd keep track of yeh and see if that way of doin things turned anything up... think those ones died if I remember right."
He looked back at the bug on his hand. Technically, he couldn't consciously sense the bug he had left on Jenova anymore. It was out of range of communication of the rest of the hive, and he didn't have a network of beetles in that direction, so he could hardly relay messages between them as he did to keep track of things going on around Widu.
However, Munay knew where it was, and that meant that she could show him. While he didn't mind her flashing images through his mind, they could be distracting at times, so the better way was to have the beetle walk around his hand as if his palm was a compass and the beetle the needle pointing the way back towards its sibling (well, Youken didn't know what the relationship between all of the beetles was, but he assumed that since he sort of cloned them to make more, that made them all siblings).
Huh, seemed like Karcier was leading them the right way anyway, so he stayed silent for now on the directions front. Once he was within a kilometre, he'd be able to communicate with that beetle and so get a full report.
"What makes yeh think she won't trust me? I ain't given her any reason not teh... hell, I even sort of befriended her... well, half befriended her. Either way, me sharing a meal with her wouldn't be that weird. While that's one plan, I got others... the easiest one is just put it on a weapon if yer gonna end up in a fight with her. If the fight lasts long, it'll help, or yeh could hit her once, run away until it starts teh take effect, then come back and carry on with an advantage. Don't worry, it's harmless teh humans... wouldn't do me any good, but what the hell. Anyway, it starts acting in thirty seconds, takes five minutes teh reach full strength, then stays for ten minutes and over the next five minutes, the effects sort of fade away. She's immune teh most things, so just finding this was hard enough... if yeh don't want the poison, yeh don't have teh use it... just figured I'd hand yeh any advantage I could. Don't see why that's stupid personally."
The two had left the tavern by the time Karcier again said something that put Alder's teeth on edge. He had been trailing behind up until that point, but he felt that he'd better confront this while he still could, so he doubled his pace and drew up next to Karcier
"Look, do you have somethin against hive minds? Cause I can't help what I am... I can just learn teh use it. All that things like us are is a whole bunch of small things which were really weak, coming together teh try and stand up teh things which are much stronger. You got a problem with that? Cause if yeh'd rather I didn't come cause yeh don't trust what I am or somethin, I can turn around right now and go back."
"Honestly, I just want teh make sure that yer not gonna do somethin stupid like bring the mage back inteh this world... cause that wouldn't be fun... at all... teh be honest, yer one of the few people I reckon can be trusted with power, so sure, go find whatever the hell yeh want. So long as yer not doin somethin stupid, I ain't gonna stop yeh... all I want is teh finish this business with Jenova somehow, preferably without killin like, then go back home and get back teh my own problems, cause I got enough of those. Plus, this has somethin teh do with Reaver I think... that's just an educated guess, but I'm gonna figure out where he connects... I still got a debt that needs repayin. But if yeh'd rather I went back now, I can follow this up in my own way without yeh and I won't get in yer way."
((Assuming that Alder is not told to go back, if he is, he'll just turn around, then go back another way, then start up at a faster pace in a less direct route to Jenova, or at least, to his beetle so he can be around when the two meet and intervene if he feels he should))
At the mention of Alexise's potential hiring as a hitwoman, Alder could only chuckle. It would be nice if things could work that way, but nobody would want to admit that their best fighter was a little girl, even if that little girl could beat up every other fighter in the town. Still, it was worth a shot.
"Maybe when I get back, I'll try somethin like that if I ever meet her again... I mean, I only ever met her once for maybe an hour or so. That doesn't exactly lend itself teh bein able teh sort out a business arrangement, but sure, I'll try it."
After a few moments of silence, Alder chuckled "Well, I guess I should explain what I know. See, first I knew about this, the witcher and me, well, mostly him, were hired teh like go and investigate a crypt. Apparently people had been hearin weird noises... group of adventurers were sent in and well, they hadn't come back out."
From there, Alder related everything he knew about Novajen, skimming past his encounter with Teide "Well, she kinda told me what I wanted teh know... yeh know, about Novajen bein related teh the dark mages and what she was probably after, as well as a bit of what she could do."
((The rest, TPB should know, since one of your characters was there for most of it))
"... So after gettin kicked around the arena, I figured that a direct approach wouldn't work, so I'd go find some of her blood and see if I could make somethin that'd work... also figured I could try stuff like infectin my own beetles with the stuff, makin sure they were cut off from the rest of me first though, and then seein what affected them. I was real careful like, didn't get infected myself, I'm sure of that. Anyway, that's about all I know teh do with this."
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Krail
Re: [CRP] Fragments of the Phoenix
All this talking, for what the boy lacked in fighting skills he made up by talking. Him and Alexise must get along just fine he thought. He could feel his head slowly getting fuzzy as the boy kept talking on and on, Karcier prefered silence when he walked it was easier to focus and keep track of every minor detail. It had saved him before from ambushes and left him aware of when he'd escaped others but it seemed Alder lacked the insight.
The morning mist had dissipated a while ago and nature had begun to wake up. He'd spotted a few rabbits jumping around the fields and it was hard not to hear the chirping of happy birds, singing their songs ever so loudly.
"Coming from one that hides in abandoned taverns filled with traps and prefers sneaking up on someone rather then just welcoming them. Isn't that lacking trust ?" he said rather coldly "I don't like hive minds because they do what is 'right'. That could easily mean killing an obstacle because its the quickest and efficient route. If you are different then thats wonderful."
The old karcier had been infected by Novajen, that much he remembered. However being nothing more then a memory brought to life by Alexise, he was simple a jumble of thoughts and feelings some of which he suspected weren't his but it didn't matter he had a goal, become a Cei'ra and that power would help him achieve it. "Why would she trust anyone." he stated rather then asked. He had to wonder how common sense could escape some "Why would you trust anything that isn't part of your hive."
He juggled with the thought, bringing back a fallen mage. He had to laugh at the notion but to some degree he could, it would bring balance to all that is but at the same time he didn't want to deal with it. He just wanted his powers back.
"Your like a puppy, over excited" he muttered to himself. Then he turned to talk to him "If you only care about Jenova then you neednt concern yourself with what I seek. As for you and Mr Reaver, fate had you cross paths with him no doubt it'll happen again or it won't. I disappear on people all the time, don't take it personally. Sometimes you just do whatever you feel like doing."
He simply shrugged, he had done it before and he'd also died a few times. It hadn't changed much between him and his friends...or enemies. "I want to fly again, I want my powers back and honestly thats all I need. To be strong again, if a fallen does arise then it can be killed or sealed once more." The trees began to thicken around them the sun disappearing as its rays are filtered through the leaves. The compas had kept them on a northern path and Karcier had noted that a few miles before had they turned west they'd of come to the Akavari estate insted they had headed near the coast line and past Kienien lands.
No longer were they in any viceroyalty lands, this was the wilderness. A reason to keep ones words short and he'd be sure to remind ALder was he to do another speech. "Thats odd" he said as he shook the compass with an annoyed expression on his face as he took another look "Its just spinning around in circles..." he frowned as the arrow spun madly "Right...how is that beetle sense of yours coming along ?"
The morning mist had dissipated a while ago and nature had begun to wake up. He'd spotted a few rabbits jumping around the fields and it was hard not to hear the chirping of happy birds, singing their songs ever so loudly.
"Coming from one that hides in abandoned taverns filled with traps and prefers sneaking up on someone rather then just welcoming them. Isn't that lacking trust ?" he said rather coldly "I don't like hive minds because they do what is 'right'. That could easily mean killing an obstacle because its the quickest and efficient route. If you are different then thats wonderful."
The old karcier had been infected by Novajen, that much he remembered. However being nothing more then a memory brought to life by Alexise, he was simple a jumble of thoughts and feelings some of which he suspected weren't his but it didn't matter he had a goal, become a Cei'ra and that power would help him achieve it. "Why would she trust anyone." he stated rather then asked. He had to wonder how common sense could escape some "Why would you trust anything that isn't part of your hive."
He juggled with the thought, bringing back a fallen mage. He had to laugh at the notion but to some degree he could, it would bring balance to all that is but at the same time he didn't want to deal with it. He just wanted his powers back.
"Your like a puppy, over excited" he muttered to himself. Then he turned to talk to him "If you only care about Jenova then you neednt concern yourself with what I seek. As for you and Mr Reaver, fate had you cross paths with him no doubt it'll happen again or it won't. I disappear on people all the time, don't take it personally. Sometimes you just do whatever you feel like doing."
He simply shrugged, he had done it before and he'd also died a few times. It hadn't changed much between him and his friends...or enemies. "I want to fly again, I want my powers back and honestly thats all I need. To be strong again, if a fallen does arise then it can be killed or sealed once more." The trees began to thicken around them the sun disappearing as its rays are filtered through the leaves. The compas had kept them on a northern path and Karcier had noted that a few miles before had they turned west they'd of come to the Akavari estate insted they had headed near the coast line and past Kienien lands.
No longer were they in any viceroyalty lands, this was the wilderness. A reason to keep ones words short and he'd be sure to remind ALder was he to do another speech. "Thats odd" he said as he shook the compass with an annoyed expression on his face as he took another look "Its just spinning around in circles..." he frowned as the arrow spun madly "Right...how is that beetle sense of yours coming along ?"
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Silence
Re: [CRP] Fragments of the Phoenix
There were a few things Alder would have liked to say in response to Karcier. For a start, he didn’t need to worry about ambushes. If somebody could see him, he could probably see them. It was that simple. Having an army of ten thousand watching your back at any given time along with a sixth sense for danger meant that ambushes became so much less threatening. After all, the moment something started to feel dangerous, he would go onto high alert. Talking left the ambushers think that they were unobserved, which meant that they could be taken by surprise.
The added bonus was that the more he could get Karcier to talk and do things, the more he could read his expression and body language and gain some insight into what his motives and thoughts were. That could be useful later. Plus, if the two were working together, any information they could give each other would only be useful.
Of course, he didn’t say any of this. There were more important things to do.
“Huh...”
Youken couldn’t help but feel a little pleased with himself. The beetle hadn’t contacted him, but even without checking where it was, he could put two and two together. He stepped to the left, then to the right, then moved his hand around in a circle, watching the beetle struggle to adjust to him passing the spot it was leading him to so quickly.
“You any good at diggin?”
Alright, if he was this close, it meant that he could probably get a report from that other beetle, and any information was useful.
The first thing he got from the beetle was how overjoyed it was from the hive once again finding it. After calming it down, he received a few primitive thoughts along with a handful of at first jumbled images, which soon started to slot together to form a sequence of events.
It had been moving very quickly. There had been an image of... well, this had just gotten personal. Anyway, after seeing that guy, the beetle had been forced to hide as Jenova had almost noticed it and it had been ordered to remain unseen.
Earlier, a barrier, an entrance... it was quite a way underground, digging wouldn’t be quick enough if what he thought was happening was happening. But the entrance was sealed by that barrier... well, he’d deal with that obstacle when he came to it. Right now, he couldn’t figure out a better way in unless Karcier really was good at digging. Well, that was an option, but he felt like he should at least explore others.
Ok, where had the entrance been. Youken’s first thought was to look around himself to see if anywhere around looked familiar to him. Maybe the beetle had passed by this way already.
No such luck. Damn... this was going to have to be done the hard way.
Youken shifted his stance and his form until he presented to the world a fairly accurate representation of Jenova, held up his hand towards Karcier to indicate that it was still him, then started pacing. Three steps in one direction, turned around, paced three steps in the other direction, then paced around in a circle. Every three steps, he changed his gait slightly. He then looked up and ran six steps, then stopped and took on Alder’s form again.
Right... the beetle was not the smartest thing in the world, so giving him directions to where it had come from utilising a basic sense of direction was difficult. That meant that he had to work out where it had been from second hand information.
Hmm, so he knew the way Jenova walked and how much distance she covered with a step. The beetle had been hidden in the creases of her clothes for some time, so it hadn’t seen the distance they had covered or the turns they had taken. What it had done was feel the rise and fall of the ground beneath it as Jenova walked (and at a few points, ran).
Ok, now just track that backwards. Seventy paces with a gradual right turn, another fifteen straight, sharp left of 30 degrees, spin on spot, back the way she came, fifteen paces, then turned right to 87 degrees, started at a bearing that, if he was right so far, was twenty two degrees from North...
Youken followed her path through in the space of ten seconds, his mind traversing several minutes of travel within a second.
“Ok, she’s underneath us... we could dig, or we could go in the way she went, which is that way. There’s a barrier in our way that way though, a pretty strong one too. It’s supposed teh be locking her in there. I might be able teh get us a way through it... I’ve worked with those barriers before, but that’s a big might... I ain’t ever seen one so powerful, and only got half an idea of how teh get through em. I think we’re runnin out of time though. If we don’t hurry, either she’s gonna escape, or she’s gonna get killed before we get there, which might not be the best thing for you if she don’t have this key on her or if she loses it when dyin.”
“I don’t know why, but I started teh get a feelin like there’s something nasty gonna happen the moment I said about where she was... fairly sure there’s nobody watchin us, so that’s probably teh do with the idea of us goin inteh there... just thought you should know. Changelings have a sort of sixth sense for when things are about teh get dangerous, but it can kick up even when things aren’t that bad... usually the longer it stays, the more likely things are teh get bad, but it can probably be ignored for now... I mean, I get it every time I step into a duel ring which was arranged teh be teh first blood, so it’s nothing too nasty yet. Probably just that I could be meetin with Jenova soon, and if things go badly, she might try teh kill me.”
“Right... your choice, wanna dig, or go try the entrance? It’s not too far away. We could get there in maybe five minutes if we run. The barrier’s the problem though... digging, I’d guess, give me a sec...’’ Ceiling was five feet above the beetle, floor was three feet below. They had gone down... ah, that wouldn’t help. He didn’t know the incline of the land above ground between here and there, and there was no way to find out.
“Well, it’d take longer. We’d have maybe, and this is just a guess, don’t have enough information teh figure it out, maybe two teh seven feet teh dig? Maybe more?”
“Unless you’ve got a better idea... I mean, we could just blast the ground away with a rune if yeh’ve got one that powerful, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. We could end up buryin her and yer key, and the other guy down there.”
The added bonus was that the more he could get Karcier to talk and do things, the more he could read his expression and body language and gain some insight into what his motives and thoughts were. That could be useful later. Plus, if the two were working together, any information they could give each other would only be useful.
Of course, he didn’t say any of this. There were more important things to do.
“Huh...”
Youken couldn’t help but feel a little pleased with himself. The beetle hadn’t contacted him, but even without checking where it was, he could put two and two together. He stepped to the left, then to the right, then moved his hand around in a circle, watching the beetle struggle to adjust to him passing the spot it was leading him to so quickly.
“You any good at diggin?”
Alright, if he was this close, it meant that he could probably get a report from that other beetle, and any information was useful.
The first thing he got from the beetle was how overjoyed it was from the hive once again finding it. After calming it down, he received a few primitive thoughts along with a handful of at first jumbled images, which soon started to slot together to form a sequence of events.
It had been moving very quickly. There had been an image of... well, this had just gotten personal. Anyway, after seeing that guy, the beetle had been forced to hide as Jenova had almost noticed it and it had been ordered to remain unseen.
Earlier, a barrier, an entrance... it was quite a way underground, digging wouldn’t be quick enough if what he thought was happening was happening. But the entrance was sealed by that barrier... well, he’d deal with that obstacle when he came to it. Right now, he couldn’t figure out a better way in unless Karcier really was good at digging. Well, that was an option, but he felt like he should at least explore others.
Ok, where had the entrance been. Youken’s first thought was to look around himself to see if anywhere around looked familiar to him. Maybe the beetle had passed by this way already.
No such luck. Damn... this was going to have to be done the hard way.
Youken shifted his stance and his form until he presented to the world a fairly accurate representation of Jenova, held up his hand towards Karcier to indicate that it was still him, then started pacing. Three steps in one direction, turned around, paced three steps in the other direction, then paced around in a circle. Every three steps, he changed his gait slightly. He then looked up and ran six steps, then stopped and took on Alder’s form again.
Right... the beetle was not the smartest thing in the world, so giving him directions to where it had come from utilising a basic sense of direction was difficult. That meant that he had to work out where it had been from second hand information.
Hmm, so he knew the way Jenova walked and how much distance she covered with a step. The beetle had been hidden in the creases of her clothes for some time, so it hadn’t seen the distance they had covered or the turns they had taken. What it had done was feel the rise and fall of the ground beneath it as Jenova walked (and at a few points, ran).
Ok, now just track that backwards. Seventy paces with a gradual right turn, another fifteen straight, sharp left of 30 degrees, spin on spot, back the way she came, fifteen paces, then turned right to 87 degrees, started at a bearing that, if he was right so far, was twenty two degrees from North...
Youken followed her path through in the space of ten seconds, his mind traversing several minutes of travel within a second.
“Ok, she’s underneath us... we could dig, or we could go in the way she went, which is that way. There’s a barrier in our way that way though, a pretty strong one too. It’s supposed teh be locking her in there. I might be able teh get us a way through it... I’ve worked with those barriers before, but that’s a big might... I ain’t ever seen one so powerful, and only got half an idea of how teh get through em. I think we’re runnin out of time though. If we don’t hurry, either she’s gonna escape, or she’s gonna get killed before we get there, which might not be the best thing for you if she don’t have this key on her or if she loses it when dyin.”
“I don’t know why, but I started teh get a feelin like there’s something nasty gonna happen the moment I said about where she was... fairly sure there’s nobody watchin us, so that’s probably teh do with the idea of us goin inteh there... just thought you should know. Changelings have a sort of sixth sense for when things are about teh get dangerous, but it can kick up even when things aren’t that bad... usually the longer it stays, the more likely things are teh get bad, but it can probably be ignored for now... I mean, I get it every time I step into a duel ring which was arranged teh be teh first blood, so it’s nothing too nasty yet. Probably just that I could be meetin with Jenova soon, and if things go badly, she might try teh kill me.”
“Right... your choice, wanna dig, or go try the entrance? It’s not too far away. We could get there in maybe five minutes if we run. The barrier’s the problem though... digging, I’d guess, give me a sec...’’ Ceiling was five feet above the beetle, floor was three feet below. They had gone down... ah, that wouldn’t help. He didn’t know the incline of the land above ground between here and there, and there was no way to find out.
“Well, it’d take longer. We’d have maybe, and this is just a guess, don’t have enough information teh figure it out, maybe two teh seven feet teh dig? Maybe more?”
“Unless you’ve got a better idea... I mean, we could just blast the ground away with a rune if yeh’ve got one that powerful, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. We could end up buryin her and yer key, and the other guy down there.”
-
Krail
Re: [CRP] Fragments of the Phoenix
The thought that they were close was enough to render him joyful, a sense of excitment rushed over him and for a few seconds he let that show but he was quick to adjust himself. He pondered on Alders comment, under us. He wasn't about to dig, it could damage the trails below and that wasn't something he'd be willing to do nor would Tiede forgive him.
"Unless you can morpht into a shovel I doubt we'll be saving any time" he said bluntly "The entrance must be nearby, hidden from plain sight but that barrier you mentioned should be noticable..."
He searched for a short while but in the end the big blue floating light was a give away in the forest, it floated a meter from the ground sourrounded by nothing but dirt and all the trees around it formed a perfect circle. He drew out his rapier and tapped the empty air around the shield, his blade relfected off a force leaving a few scares in the emptyness revealing stone.
He smiled, letting go of his rapier as he knelt down.
"Sweet Mother, creator of our lands and giver of life. I Cei'ra Aisu Honor thy with my journey, a piligrim to test my steel and earn your love. Reveal yourself, for my pilgrim is at its end"
There was a moments silence, utter silence. The birds, wind and trees had all fallen silent, a rush of energy came rushing around the emptyness, dirt flung in all directions as a tiny whirlwind covered the emptyness and disapepared just as quickly. Revealing an elegant stone structure with an entrance that was sealed by some kind of blue shield, he grinned. Seems like those lessons paid after all he told himself. He didn't turn to Alder when he spoke, instead he merely inspected the stone structure and its symbols as he spoke.
"As a Cei'ra your taught to honor the giver of life, the Lady of the Phoneix whom had many names but one was Etaine. I suspect that she is the same Etaine that is one of Tiedes beloved Fallen mages... this was one of the phrases we used to reveal our own hidden doorways..." he paused and tapped with his finger the blue shield. He felt a violent shock which left him frowning. "Huh." he quickly said then turned to Alder "Well, get to work."
"Unless you can morpht into a shovel I doubt we'll be saving any time" he said bluntly "The entrance must be nearby, hidden from plain sight but that barrier you mentioned should be noticable..."
He searched for a short while but in the end the big blue floating light was a give away in the forest, it floated a meter from the ground sourrounded by nothing but dirt and all the trees around it formed a perfect circle. He drew out his rapier and tapped the empty air around the shield, his blade relfected off a force leaving a few scares in the emptyness revealing stone.
He smiled, letting go of his rapier as he knelt down.
"Sweet Mother, creator of our lands and giver of life. I Cei'ra Aisu Honor thy with my journey, a piligrim to test my steel and earn your love. Reveal yourself, for my pilgrim is at its end"
There was a moments silence, utter silence. The birds, wind and trees had all fallen silent, a rush of energy came rushing around the emptyness, dirt flung in all directions as a tiny whirlwind covered the emptyness and disapepared just as quickly. Revealing an elegant stone structure with an entrance that was sealed by some kind of blue shield, he grinned. Seems like those lessons paid after all he told himself. He didn't turn to Alder when he spoke, instead he merely inspected the stone structure and its symbols as he spoke.
"As a Cei'ra your taught to honor the giver of life, the Lady of the Phoneix whom had many names but one was Etaine. I suspect that she is the same Etaine that is one of Tiedes beloved Fallen mages... this was one of the phrases we used to reveal our own hidden doorways..." he paused and tapped with his finger the blue shield. He felt a violent shock which left him frowning. "Huh." he quickly said then turned to Alder "Well, get to work."
-
TheStoryTeller
Re: [CRP] Fragments of the Phoenix
(StoryTeller is my Npc, easier for me to mix both Reaver and Jenova in one post instead of two seperate mini ones)
Meanwhile in the 2nd Trail Chamber
Its cold. That was the only thought that kept coming back to her over and over again, its cold. She had one of her hands pressed tightly on a wound she had suffered from shrine honoring her mother, the magika golemns had surprised her but not overwhelmed her. She'd quickly dispensed of most of them but not fast enough, the last one had cut her from behind and had it not been for... she shook away the thought.
"I don't like this place" she said "Its cold." there was no reply, even with someone she felt alone. She sighed, taking this trail a step at a time. The freezing floor left cold blisters on her bare feet, her face felt more like an ice block then anything else yet she kept going.
The calling, the reuinion. Jenova had evolved, she had become better and stronger then Novajen and yet she was still suspectible to the reuinion. She hated it and loved it, it was a fate she had wished she didn't have to take but he was here. He had told her all would be well, that fate had no say in ones life. "Thank you" she muttered.
Again no reply, the first trail had been a test of reflex and intinct. How far would she go only to prove herself, why was she doing this. It made no sense, only the reuinon matters.
"Why won't you talk ?"
"Because we've already gone over it a hundred times." that was his reply, she had on so many times questioned him. His answers were always short, yes or no answers. It frustrated her, annoyed her and yet she was pleased because she could 'feel' these feelings. She remembered his words 'Your no monster, no Novajen. I saw it in your eyes and I don't see a monster. All I see, is a dangerous scared girl'. She smiled softly, following him quietly as footsteps curnched under the snow of the second trail.
The trail they had entered resembled like a snow cavern, tall ice formations hung from the ceiling threatening to fall over them as they walked down the only path that lay before them. She didn't understand this trail, the first one had been filled with simple tests but this one seemed to leave you to think.
They soon stopped at a tall pillar, small symbols and figures were written on it. She stepped lightly towards it, her bleeding hand caresses the symbols.
"What is it ?" his voice echoed.
"A warning, a song...its beautiful ... it foreshadows the deaths of thousands...without her we shall all fall..." she said quietly, her soft voice seeming enthralled by the writing. She only regained focus when his hand caught hers and he jerked her away from it, she hissed ready to slap him but stopped.
"Focus." he said, she frowned and lowered her head looking at her feet. He let go and walked past her and she followed him quietly. A dangerous scared girl she thought.
Meanwhile in the 2nd Trail Chamber
Its cold. That was the only thought that kept coming back to her over and over again, its cold. She had one of her hands pressed tightly on a wound she had suffered from shrine honoring her mother, the magika golemns had surprised her but not overwhelmed her. She'd quickly dispensed of most of them but not fast enough, the last one had cut her from behind and had it not been for... she shook away the thought.
"I don't like this place" she said "Its cold." there was no reply, even with someone she felt alone. She sighed, taking this trail a step at a time. The freezing floor left cold blisters on her bare feet, her face felt more like an ice block then anything else yet she kept going.
The calling, the reuinion. Jenova had evolved, she had become better and stronger then Novajen and yet she was still suspectible to the reuinion. She hated it and loved it, it was a fate she had wished she didn't have to take but he was here. He had told her all would be well, that fate had no say in ones life. "Thank you" she muttered.
Again no reply, the first trail had been a test of reflex and intinct. How far would she go only to prove herself, why was she doing this. It made no sense, only the reuinon matters.
"Why won't you talk ?"
"Because we've already gone over it a hundred times." that was his reply, she had on so many times questioned him. His answers were always short, yes or no answers. It frustrated her, annoyed her and yet she was pleased because she could 'feel' these feelings. She remembered his words 'Your no monster, no Novajen. I saw it in your eyes and I don't see a monster. All I see, is a dangerous scared girl'. She smiled softly, following him quietly as footsteps curnched under the snow of the second trail.
The trail they had entered resembled like a snow cavern, tall ice formations hung from the ceiling threatening to fall over them as they walked down the only path that lay before them. She didn't understand this trail, the first one had been filled with simple tests but this one seemed to leave you to think.
They soon stopped at a tall pillar, small symbols and figures were written on it. She stepped lightly towards it, her bleeding hand caresses the symbols.
"What is it ?" his voice echoed.
"A warning, a song...its beautiful ... it foreshadows the deaths of thousands...without her we shall all fall..." she said quietly, her soft voice seeming enthralled by the writing. She only regained focus when his hand caught hers and he jerked her away from it, she hissed ready to slap him but stopped.
"Focus." he said, she frowned and lowered her head looking at her feet. He let go and walked past her and she followed him quietly. A dangerous scared girl she thought.
-
Silence
Re: [CRP] Fragments of the Phoenix
This whole act of superiority could get old very quick. He had sounded like he was pointing out a point when he said about digging taking a while... well of course digging would take a while, it was like Karcier had heard somebody, like a young changeling who used the form of a street urchin, say just that maybe thirty seconds ago, if that.
He had to chuckle though at the idea of himself turning into a shovel.
“Well actually... Well, the other way is probably better anyway, like I said. Just thought I'd give yeh the obvious options that I saw... well, I say they're obvious, but most people don't think of what I think is obvious, so I have teh make sure other people keep up, just teh be sure."
And then he started talking as if he needed to find the entrance when Youken had just told him where it was... alright, that was how this was going to be. He wasn't here to prove himself to Karcier, he was here to settle the score with Jenova. He didn't intend to kill her, but somehow, he couldn't let people around Widu keep dying.
This was the start of step seven in his plan, the plan that he had made at the age of nine and which he still followed to this date. It had been a good plan, even if it had been simple... Well, this was a broad step in the right direction. He had to start this step somewhere, it might as well be here.
Still, keeping Karcier happy would be a nice added bonus. He was after all a friend, for all he acted even more superior than the witcher had done. At least then it had been justified. He had been the apprentice then. Now, he wasn't all that much worse than Karcier if you took into his abilities other than combat.
As everything went silent, and then the entrance appeared, Alder could only stand there and breath the first thing which came to mind. That happened to be a quite nasty curse.
At the words of Karcier, he was jolted back into the moment. Right... barrier. Ignore the ground shifting at the mention of a few words and the whole everything going silent, his job was to deal with this barrier and not look like an idiot while doing it. If he couldn’t do that, he’d be letting down Karcier, and Jenova would get further away from them. The beetle reported. Apparently, Jenova was with somebody else who was assisting her. He didn’t need much more than a single sentence relayed by the hidden creature to tell him who that was. What was he doing? Why was that guy involved? And why had he sealed himself in with Jenova if he intended to help her?
“I told yeh it was a big maybe... I ain’t promisin anythin like.”
Alder moved his hand very slowly towards the barrier. At the point where it touched, he felt a force blow it back. This wasn’t the same as two magnets being put close to each other and repelling, the force didn’t get stronger as you approached the barrier, but then suddenly would blow away anything that touched it.
Well, that settled it. The witcher had been here... but this was a stronger wall than any Alder had seen previously.
Well, fine. The witcher played around with force, so did he. But the witcher wasn’t here to see what was happening to his barrier, so the barrier couldn’t react. It couldn’t change itself or renew itself to counteract what he was doing.
He didn’t need to be better than Reaver, just good enough to remove a barrier.
Well, to do that, being able to touch it would be a good start. Alder reached out to touch the barrier again and this time measured exactly how far away his hand could get before being pushed back. The third time, instead of allowing that force to affect him, he removed it, absorbing it throughout his body, then bleeding it into the surroundings to stabilise his beetles.
Hmm, the force applied seemed to be proportional to the area of the wall you were trying to touch... so something big would be repelled with a bigger force than something small, but would probably both feel the same hit as their mass would differ.
He just wanted to see what would happen if he could touch it to start with. With the force trying to blow him apart from the inside instead of blowing him backwards, he placed a finger on the barrier. It was a strange sensation, sort of like touching a wall, only he could then push his finger forward through it.
Seemed like the barrier was sort of a wall of force. So long as he only touched a small area, by absorbing the force into his own body and then bleeding it out as he went, he could move through. Admittedly, most people with his ability would be insane to even try this sort of thing, but he had two advantages over them. The first was that if the force got too much, it would blow out an arm or something, crippling most, but being only a minor inconvenience to a changeling, who would just have to recollect all the beetles and tend to those wounded in the blast. The second one was that because of this, he had been able to practice absorbing massive amounts of force and distributing it. That was why he had been able to overcome the physical limitations that most changelings had. He could train every beetle in his body at once by just absorbing force and ordering them to bare it. He had even, through this method, overcome many of the physical limits that required humans to study books on how to master the body. (Admittedly, he too had given the books a cursory glance).
So, all he had to do was make sure that no more of his body touched the wall at any given point to end up with more force than he could handle, and he could handle a lot more force than most people.
The best way to do that would be to go through beetle by beetle, but that would be slow, and after a while, losing half of his beetles, or at least, having half of them separated from the hive would mean that his ability to absorb force would be lesser as his strength came from the combined strength of his avatars, the tiny creatures that made him up.
So, the second best option was to crawl.
Once through to the other side, Youken slowly stood up and allowed himself to breathe only after bleeding the rest of that force into the environment. He coughed into his hand once, and then rubbed his hands together to hide the fact that he had just coughed up some blood. Yeah, he could absorb loads of force, but it would tax his body heavily if he tried to take in too much too quickly. Although the effects weren’t obvious for most to see, doing this sort of thing was far from easy for him and really made a mess of the structures that the beetles created within him. Yes, Munay would reform them in seconds for him, but it still hurt like being punched repeatedly in the gut while having an illness that meant that breathing was difficult.
Unless Karcier was very observant, he wouldn’t have noticed anything. What Youken lacked in direct fighting capability (something he was rectifying, if a little too slow for his liking), he actually made up for with several niche skills. He could put on a perfect facade over any emotion, including pain, and he could make a coin (or in this case a small amount of his own blood) disappear in the palm of his hand.
“Right... crawl through. If yeh could try not teh touch too much of the wall at once, that’d be helpful, but also, if yeh could be fairly quick about it, that would also be nice.”
He had to chuckle though at the idea of himself turning into a shovel.
“Well actually... Well, the other way is probably better anyway, like I said. Just thought I'd give yeh the obvious options that I saw... well, I say they're obvious, but most people don't think of what I think is obvious, so I have teh make sure other people keep up, just teh be sure."
And then he started talking as if he needed to find the entrance when Youken had just told him where it was... alright, that was how this was going to be. He wasn't here to prove himself to Karcier, he was here to settle the score with Jenova. He didn't intend to kill her, but somehow, he couldn't let people around Widu keep dying.
This was the start of step seven in his plan, the plan that he had made at the age of nine and which he still followed to this date. It had been a good plan, even if it had been simple... Well, this was a broad step in the right direction. He had to start this step somewhere, it might as well be here.
Still, keeping Karcier happy would be a nice added bonus. He was after all a friend, for all he acted even more superior than the witcher had done. At least then it had been justified. He had been the apprentice then. Now, he wasn't all that much worse than Karcier if you took into his abilities other than combat.
As everything went silent, and then the entrance appeared, Alder could only stand there and breath the first thing which came to mind. That happened to be a quite nasty curse.
At the words of Karcier, he was jolted back into the moment. Right... barrier. Ignore the ground shifting at the mention of a few words and the whole everything going silent, his job was to deal with this barrier and not look like an idiot while doing it. If he couldn’t do that, he’d be letting down Karcier, and Jenova would get further away from them. The beetle reported. Apparently, Jenova was with somebody else who was assisting her. He didn’t need much more than a single sentence relayed by the hidden creature to tell him who that was. What was he doing? Why was that guy involved? And why had he sealed himself in with Jenova if he intended to help her?
“I told yeh it was a big maybe... I ain’t promisin anythin like.”
Alder moved his hand very slowly towards the barrier. At the point where it touched, he felt a force blow it back. This wasn’t the same as two magnets being put close to each other and repelling, the force didn’t get stronger as you approached the barrier, but then suddenly would blow away anything that touched it.
Well, that settled it. The witcher had been here... but this was a stronger wall than any Alder had seen previously.
Well, fine. The witcher played around with force, so did he. But the witcher wasn’t here to see what was happening to his barrier, so the barrier couldn’t react. It couldn’t change itself or renew itself to counteract what he was doing.
He didn’t need to be better than Reaver, just good enough to remove a barrier.
Well, to do that, being able to touch it would be a good start. Alder reached out to touch the barrier again and this time measured exactly how far away his hand could get before being pushed back. The third time, instead of allowing that force to affect him, he removed it, absorbing it throughout his body, then bleeding it into the surroundings to stabilise his beetles.
Hmm, the force applied seemed to be proportional to the area of the wall you were trying to touch... so something big would be repelled with a bigger force than something small, but would probably both feel the same hit as their mass would differ.
He just wanted to see what would happen if he could touch it to start with. With the force trying to blow him apart from the inside instead of blowing him backwards, he placed a finger on the barrier. It was a strange sensation, sort of like touching a wall, only he could then push his finger forward through it.
Seemed like the barrier was sort of a wall of force. So long as he only touched a small area, by absorbing the force into his own body and then bleeding it out as he went, he could move through. Admittedly, most people with his ability would be insane to even try this sort of thing, but he had two advantages over them. The first was that if the force got too much, it would blow out an arm or something, crippling most, but being only a minor inconvenience to a changeling, who would just have to recollect all the beetles and tend to those wounded in the blast. The second one was that because of this, he had been able to practice absorbing massive amounts of force and distributing it. That was why he had been able to overcome the physical limitations that most changelings had. He could train every beetle in his body at once by just absorbing force and ordering them to bare it. He had even, through this method, overcome many of the physical limits that required humans to study books on how to master the body. (Admittedly, he too had given the books a cursory glance).
So, all he had to do was make sure that no more of his body touched the wall at any given point to end up with more force than he could handle, and he could handle a lot more force than most people.
The best way to do that would be to go through beetle by beetle, but that would be slow, and after a while, losing half of his beetles, or at least, having half of them separated from the hive would mean that his ability to absorb force would be lesser as his strength came from the combined strength of his avatars, the tiny creatures that made him up.
So, the second best option was to crawl.
Once through to the other side, Youken slowly stood up and allowed himself to breathe only after bleeding the rest of that force into the environment. He coughed into his hand once, and then rubbed his hands together to hide the fact that he had just coughed up some blood. Yeah, he could absorb loads of force, but it would tax his body heavily if he tried to take in too much too quickly. Although the effects weren’t obvious for most to see, doing this sort of thing was far from easy for him and really made a mess of the structures that the beetles created within him. Yes, Munay would reform them in seconds for him, but it still hurt like being punched repeatedly in the gut while having an illness that meant that breathing was difficult.
Unless Karcier was very observant, he wouldn’t have noticed anything. What Youken lacked in direct fighting capability (something he was rectifying, if a little too slow for his liking), he actually made up for with several niche skills. He could put on a perfect facade over any emotion, including pain, and he could make a coin (or in this case a small amount of his own blood) disappear in the palm of his hand.
“Right... crawl through. If yeh could try not teh touch too much of the wall at once, that’d be helpful, but also, if yeh could be fairly quick about it, that would also be nice.”
-
Krail
Re: [CRP] Fragments of the Phoenix
Watching Alder work had been an interesting lesson, the boy had his odd skills which Karcier took note of. Something to be careful of if the boy ever turned on him at least he could expect strange tactics instead of the more standard. He frowned slightly once Alder suggested he crawl as well, he'd of hoped the boy could remove the barrier not this. He shrugged, it would do.
He got through to the other side with only a few aches and a weird fuzzy feeling most likely emanating from the barriers magic. He wiped the dirt off his mantle as he slowly stood up and examined the sourrounding area. There was one path, a set of steep stone staircase that led down a few green flames lit the descending staircase. Karcier closed his eyes and took a deep breathe.
As he walked past Alder he gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. "Good job" he said as he made his way down.
He hadn't noticed at first the engravings on the walls, the lighting was poor but upon making it half way he saw a picture detailing some kind of battle. He stopped to look at it, traces of blue blood left faint traces on fallen soldiers. She'd been here, she'd touched it. Why did he feel angry at this, at first glance it meant nothing but this picture scratched into the walls by ancient tools was a memory he remembered.
He sighed and pointed at a figure "The stone has withered away but I can still...feel the rage. The anger and hatred that we suffered in that battle, our last fight." he felt the words leaving him before he could even think of them, this stone wall held history magically sealed as a memory for those few that were linked to it...it would remind them of their past like a dream. "We were ambushed, our priority to protect the King Sebats but in the end we...I failed. The rebels overwhelmed us, only a few of us stood shoulder to shoulder...swords raised and magic roaring in rage...I was a wild animal, young and impulsive...I felt a hundred daggers peirce my soul but when I saw the clouds part and the emerld and ruby ribbons of magic burst through the skies...I feared a fate worse then death...pain worse then any...as your soul is pulled from your body...I don't know how I survived...I suppose I refused to be forgotten..." he touched the traces of blood then the figure some of it had covered. It had been him, she knew him back then or was this just luck.
"The trails ahead, their will be three. The pilgrim is said to have tested dedication...strength and the mind...I don't quite know what to expect...it scares me a bit...and sends chills of excitement through me..." he said as he started walking down the rest of the staircase until he reached the main doors that were sealed shut. "Memories of life." he quietly said as the doors dimly shined as they reacted to him rather then the words he'd spoken. Words appeared on the seal doors, words which spoke to him and possibly Alder.
-Child of mine, thy hath come to test your steel and earn your goddesses love. Know that you may be tempted, you may be injured or even fail. But such is the persuit of knowledge, we seek it all greedily forever losing our lives as the grains of sand disappear through our fingers...beyond shall be halls of knowledge, of what has been and what will be...'
The light that came from the first trail was blinding, the smell of ancient books and warm comfort rushed past them. Karciers eyes adjusted to the light, he clasped his hands behind him and walked with grace as if he was visiting an old friend. Hundreds of thousands of books, all holding history.
He got through to the other side with only a few aches and a weird fuzzy feeling most likely emanating from the barriers magic. He wiped the dirt off his mantle as he slowly stood up and examined the sourrounding area. There was one path, a set of steep stone staircase that led down a few green flames lit the descending staircase. Karcier closed his eyes and took a deep breathe.
As he walked past Alder he gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. "Good job" he said as he made his way down.
He hadn't noticed at first the engravings on the walls, the lighting was poor but upon making it half way he saw a picture detailing some kind of battle. He stopped to look at it, traces of blue blood left faint traces on fallen soldiers. She'd been here, she'd touched it. Why did he feel angry at this, at first glance it meant nothing but this picture scratched into the walls by ancient tools was a memory he remembered.
He sighed and pointed at a figure "The stone has withered away but I can still...feel the rage. The anger and hatred that we suffered in that battle, our last fight." he felt the words leaving him before he could even think of them, this stone wall held history magically sealed as a memory for those few that were linked to it...it would remind them of their past like a dream. "We were ambushed, our priority to protect the King Sebats but in the end we...I failed. The rebels overwhelmed us, only a few of us stood shoulder to shoulder...swords raised and magic roaring in rage...I was a wild animal, young and impulsive...I felt a hundred daggers peirce my soul but when I saw the clouds part and the emerld and ruby ribbons of magic burst through the skies...I feared a fate worse then death...pain worse then any...as your soul is pulled from your body...I don't know how I survived...I suppose I refused to be forgotten..." he touched the traces of blood then the figure some of it had covered. It had been him, she knew him back then or was this just luck.
"The trails ahead, their will be three. The pilgrim is said to have tested dedication...strength and the mind...I don't quite know what to expect...it scares me a bit...and sends chills of excitement through me..." he said as he started walking down the rest of the staircase until he reached the main doors that were sealed shut. "Memories of life." he quietly said as the doors dimly shined as they reacted to him rather then the words he'd spoken. Words appeared on the seal doors, words which spoke to him and possibly Alder.
-Child of mine, thy hath come to test your steel and earn your goddesses love. Know that you may be tempted, you may be injured or even fail. But such is the persuit of knowledge, we seek it all greedily forever losing our lives as the grains of sand disappear through our fingers...beyond shall be halls of knowledge, of what has been and what will be...'
The light that came from the first trail was blinding, the smell of ancient books and warm comfort rushed past them. Karciers eyes adjusted to the light, he clasped his hands behind him and walked with grace as if he was visiting an old friend. Hundreds of thousands of books, all holding history.
-
TheStoryTeller
Re: [CRP] Fragments of the Phoenix
The cold was clinging to her like a deathly touch, gracefully grasping her arms and letting go as they walked under sunlight or at least a mimic of it. They both walked for hours, passing walls with history frozen into them. Her own history was lost to her, she couldn't remember her past because she had none. She knew of her predecessor Nova Jen but she wasn't like it. She liked to tell herself that but for all she made up in her mind she knew how deadly and dangerous she was, a small flicker could cause a loss of control and let her age old cells return to their basic form.
She let her mind wonder many times before he spoke again.
'What do you know of this Phoenix Lady...Etaine or your mother as you call her." he always liked to ask questions.
"She isn't my mother in that sense but it is what we ought to call her...she has many names like we all do. Many shades of herself but all I know is so little compared to what she will know."
"She ?"
"The gift of the goddess" Jenova replied, he stopped and turned to her she gave him a quizzing look. As she stopped, thats when the pain came back to her the numbing had disappeared and thrown pain at her. She winced but said nothing.
"She is here then ?"
"No, the gift of the goddess is"
"And what is this gift ?"
"Her love...her power...anything..I don't really know I can only tell you how it feels...what my mind tells me to do...I don't want to be a slave to her but I have to deal with this...that's why your here no ? It is fate." she felt powerless, so many times she had tried to resist the calling for the reunion but in the end it had been stronger then her own will and it would call to any who shared her blood. He chuckled and walked on.
"Don't believe in fate"
She tilted her head slightly, an old habit from a dead Novajen. Then she shrugged and followed him, the final chambers were close.
She let her mind wonder many times before he spoke again.
'What do you know of this Phoenix Lady...Etaine or your mother as you call her." he always liked to ask questions.
"She isn't my mother in that sense but it is what we ought to call her...she has many names like we all do. Many shades of herself but all I know is so little compared to what she will know."
"She ?"
"The gift of the goddess" Jenova replied, he stopped and turned to her she gave him a quizzing look. As she stopped, thats when the pain came back to her the numbing had disappeared and thrown pain at her. She winced but said nothing.
"She is here then ?"
"No, the gift of the goddess is"
"And what is this gift ?"
"Her love...her power...anything..I don't really know I can only tell you how it feels...what my mind tells me to do...I don't want to be a slave to her but I have to deal with this...that's why your here no ? It is fate." she felt powerless, so many times she had tried to resist the calling for the reunion but in the end it had been stronger then her own will and it would call to any who shared her blood. He chuckled and walked on.
"Don't believe in fate"
She tilted her head slightly, an old habit from a dead Novajen. Then she shrugged and followed him, the final chambers were close.