Act One

Discussion in 'Role Play' started by Domino355, Dec 24, 2016.

  1. Erik-the-Enchanter!

    Erik-the-Enchanter! Banned Contributor

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    Year 300

    The shadow of a large bird advanced quickly toward Eliphon, who was watching the bone tower from afar. As it drew closer, it was clear that the bird was an owl with glossy black feathers, high, pointed ears, and glowing yellow-gold eyes. It stopped directly in front of Eliphon and hovered, something that a mere bird should not be able to do, but it was held aloft by a strange wind that carried the smell of herbs and incense. As the owl hovered, it opened its mouth and said: "A message for the nearest god: the Sorceress Supreme, La Mamba Herself, requests a meeting with thee. Follow me and you will be granted safe passage to her tower." Without waiting to see if the god would follow, the owl turned and swooped away, a strong gust propelling the bird at high speeds.

    When the owl reached the acres of land covered by thorny vines of flesh-eating roses, the vines recoiled and a clear path was opened, all the way to the front door of the skeletal tower. In the highest window, the Witch Mother sat on her throne trying to teach a bat-cat how to play chess, without much success. The cat kept swatting the pieces off the board, no matter what La Mamba told him. She sat back in her throne and shook her head, clearly exasperated.
     
  2. halisme

    halisme Contributor Contributor

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    Khaline returned to her homeworld, though her eyes no longer went to the stag, instead, she eyed the Long Tooths. Now was the time for vengeance. "Let the beasts never forget the wilds that birthed them." She murmured, before setting to work. For some time she prowled along the outskirts of the simian tribe, observing them, their culture, their means of the hunt, till she had gathered all that she needed. She would take their children in the night, aided by her wolves who would dive into the shadows and appear within the walls. They would be returned, however, each one was blessed by Khaline, though it would not become apparent till they reached adulthood. They would be stronger, faster, more cunning than their kin, and, with knowledge of Khaline's truth. That the strong held the right to rule, and, as such, they would seek to control their kind by violence and brutality. She planted in their minds knowledge of each other so that, come the time, they would collaborate, creating a brutal dynasty that would take shape. What was a kingdom would be an empire, it's leaders separated from its commoners by miles. Once she had finished, had planted seven infants before she turned her eyes to the spirits.

    Borin's mind was torn from his its form for a moment as Khaline, the true goddess of trees called to him, followed by any other that was a spirit that belonged to something in her dominion which had sided against Yurius. Much like she did to the simians, she did the same here, subtly altering their minds to be more akin to hers. Yurius would learn the price of taking that which belonged to those stronger than him, which she perceived herself to be. At first, it be less noticeable, slightly more bloodlust during a fight, perhaps a little more aggression in conversation, over time though, the truth would be revealed, and they would eventually desert their current lord to either return to Khaline's side, or strive to make their own bloody path in the world.
     
  3. MagicPenguin

    MagicPenguin Active Member

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    Year 300, Northern Plains of Rephlon:

    The second she moved her whip hand, an arrow landed at her feet, as Yurius knew would happen; however, she did not appear to notice it in her mad laughter. Apparently, she was blind as well as stupid. Regardless, she might be immature, but he had misjudged her power and this was the result. He suppressed his growing anger. He could not afford to be caught in an extended conflict here, not when the citizens of Stonebow were without a leader to preserve law and order, not when the monstrous Korombe that threatened the Simians ran free, and certainly not when Khaline was an ever-present burr in his boot. Now, to complicate matters further, there was this strange pulsing power in the South that would require his attention. He had far more important things to deal with than a petulant child with more power than she deserved throwing a temper tantrum.



    Yurius considered the woman's ultimatum quickly. The 3,000 men he had with him were a drop in the bucket compared to the overall force of 500,000 that made up the Immortal Legions; what's more, it was always growing with influxes of new spirits looking for purpose, protection, or power who came because they heard news of the army. Losing these men would be hard, but not insurmountable. Even if it were, Yurius still would not consider negotiating with someone who would threaten his life on a random whim and use the lives of innocent creatures as bartering chips, a terrorist in all but name. Cowering in the face of injustice would make him no better than she.

    Besides that, he noted that he did not hear the screams of the men laying around him echoed in the hilltops. So, this psychic affliction did not affect his archers, perhaps because she did not realize they were there yet. He still had the element of surprise. There were at least 100 archers spread out ahead and another 50 scouts riding in pairs gone ahead to investigate and secure the path. He would not lose every spirit in this company to this disaster. Let's see if she had the discipline to keep to her word even with the pain of an arrow stuck through her body.



    “We won't be intimidated by criminal threats.” said Yurius.

    Then, slowly, he raised his hand high and suddenly made a fist, signaling the archers in the hills.

    A volley of arrows from 100 archers at once came flying with startling accuracy right for the Goddess, whose attention to that point was solely on Yurius.
     
  4. gibble410

    gibble410 Contributor Contributor

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    Watching the man carefully, Wysdom suddenly realized this was actually a new god. Blinking her eyes slowly, she watched as he made the fist, and she heard the schwck
    of an arrow being strung in a bow, and fired. Seething, she twirled around and spotted the arrows speeding towards her, and she almost tripped over an unnoticed arrow at her foot.

    Her life was valued more than the soilders screams however, so she released them from their torture, to focus her energy on the arrows.

    Circular cords of green connected her fingertips, and she used them as shields. Either blocking or blasting the arrows out of the sky, she hit almost every single one. Except one shot from a lone archer, whose arrow lodged itself into her leg, tearing past her robes. Roaring, she collapsed to the ground, and was submerged in pain.

    And there it was, the annoying feeling of her other half, she was taking the chance to surface. "U- u- unfair." She said, as she changed into Realitì.

    Realitì quickly tore the arrow out of her leg, and glanced at the man standing behind her. "That, my friend, hurt." She said, and with a fresh wave of pain. She screamed, and the earth swallowed the men of this god, the archers, warriors, and advance gaurd. The earth of Rephlon was manipulated to take every Soilder to their camp. Only she and the other God was left. "I assure you, my..." She paused, think in of the right word. "My son won't take to kindly to me being injured on our land again."

    Then she waved her hand and she was teleported into a forest. She stared around. It seemed gray, and sick. Shuddering, she asked aloud, "Where am I?" And the word Durbag, Durbag, whispered around her. Shuddering, she studied her wound. "I..I wish this was healed." She said, shaking.
     
  5. Erik-the-Enchanter!

    Erik-the-Enchanter! Banned Contributor

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    "You know what, yeah, just knock all the pieces down, go ahead," La Mamba snapped as the bat-cat jumped on the chess board and proceeded to do exactly as she said. She stood up from her throne and marched to one of the windows to look out over the forest, which was now completely covered in a thick carpet of her flesh-eating roses. The Witch Mother wondered briefly if it was such a good idea to set her vicious creation loose on the forest like that, but she was so peeved that she decided she didn't care. The forest should die. Yeah. If these stupid Overworld gods wouldn't come when she called, then she would take this forest as her own and make it her second queendom.

    That's when Mamba felt it, someone in need, someone in pain. A golden streak flew into her face and she caught it with lightning-fast reflexes. She opened her hand and the golden orb showed a goddess with a leg wound. "I...I wish this was healed." La Mamba almost decided to be petty and let the goddess suffer, but she really did need help, and this could be the opportunity she was waiting for. So, she took a running leap out the window, and chanted as she fell, "Keep me from harm/With this magick charm!" When she hit the ground, instead of breaking every bone in her body, she rolled into a standing position and smoothed the wrinkles out of her night-black dress. Then she raised the hand that was still holding the wish and she let it go. It took off into the trees and Mamba followed closely behind, gliding over the uneven forest floor like a ghost.

    The wish took her to the goddess, who was only half a mile away. La Mamba made it just as a dozen thorny vines were raising up behind Realitì; the roses opened their mouths wide, preparing to devour her flesh. "Back off!" Mamba commanded, waving her hand. The roses recoiled and disappeared into the underbrush. That done, Mamba strode to Realitì's side and held up the glowing gold orb. "I believe this is yours," she said with a slight grin. Then she crushed the wish and it exploded into a shower of gold sparkles that were absorbed into Realitì's wound. The wound healed over flawlessly.

    "I granted your wish," Mamba announced, taking a seat on a tree stump. She cleared her throat. "Eh hem. I don't like small talk, so I'll get straight to business: I am La Mamba, Witch Mother, Secret Keeper, the Queen of the Underworld...and I need your help. Something dark is stirring in my realm. Something dangerous. Will you help me find out what it is and destroy it?" She asked the question bluntly and waited for Realitì's answer.
     
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2017
  6. Domino355

    Domino355 Senior Member

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    Ignus: Glurg III was in a difficult position. On one hand his people wanted blood for their fallen king, and they deserved it. On the other hand, Marama's fury was something none of the Yammu wished to face. "Forgive us, Glumgburg, for we are nothing but trout in face of your magnificent splendor. But the dragon's have decared war on our race, and through that, on you. And we do not mean to desrespect the sister of our magnificence, but she has woken you, Glumgburg, from your slumber, and turned her back when her creatures killed our king. A king whose first and foremost duty was to make sure you rest undisturbed. So, forgive us, your greatness, but the war is upon us. And we need your blessing if we wish to stand a chance to the dragons."

    Ignus's hands shook, as she presented the chimes to Tesni. She blew through them, and for the first time, the harsh sounds of Ignus were replaced with the sweetness of harmony. All volcanic activity halted, the air was still, the ocean a flat plate, apart from the ripples of the Yammu, preparing for war. The entire planet was silent, hearing the first sound of music it ever had.

    Rephlon: Khaline's disciples quickly spread across the Simian Long Tooth empire, each member spreading the teachings in hiding, spreading the word of the law of Khaline, that the strong shall be truimphant, and the world is an ever changing contest of strengths. They encouraged their students to work in positions of authority, and help shape the Simian empire for what it should become. One of the contesters for the Stonebow crown was a diciple of Khaline.

    Eliphon filled with excitement when he felt Realiti's presence back in the two worlds. He quickly appeared by the goddesses, just in time to see Mamba heal Realiti's leg. Finally realising, yet not understanding, the connection between Wysdom and Realiti, Eliphon made a mental note to himself to reward the Witch Mother for heaing his pair, while at the same time to punish Yurius. It didn't need to be done right awaw. He was eternity, he had time.

    "La Mamba," he said. "Take us there."
     
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  7. MagicPenguin

    MagicPenguin Active Member

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    Year 163, Dragons' Domain:



    Yurius noted the look of wary skepticism on Tesni's face as she approached. She was worried about the presence of an army. Understandable. He would reassure her.

    “I assure you, milady, I come in peace. My companions are newly acquired and simply wished to accompany me. My name is Yurius and I have come to be known as the God of Justice and Conquest. I was borne of the anguish of the weak and helpless among the Simian race native to the planet Rephlon, of whose existence you may already be aware. It is on their behalf that I petition your aid today.”

    “Mine are a small and young people, but they grow at a rapid pace. Very soon, they will acquire the art of the forge and craft for themselves weapons of unparalleled make and their hegemony will spread across the planet as that of a vast empire. In anticipation of this as well as in need of natural resources not obtainable anywhere but Ignus, I ask you and your race of wise Dragons for the gift of trade.”

    Yurius gestured off-handedly and several men came forward carrying an abundance of animal skins; wolf, tiger, and lion pelts, among others, animals that thrived in Rephlon's forests but were unknown to Ignus's harsh, mountainous terrain. Yet more men carried with them wood and fruit harvested from the the great trees of Durbag Forest.

    “As Rephlon does not have in great abundance the metals required to create at the forge, I desire the Dragons to trade the necessary ores, in addition to the fine gemstones this planet is known for, for these items of the Simians. As a show of good faith, I give you these items you see here for free, whether you agree to my proposal or not. We can begin a steady flow of trade back and forth if you agree and I will simply leave if you do not. I envision a world, one day in the far future, in which our respective species consider one another committed partners, perhaps even sibling races, of different planets. A world in which each race is much greater and more advanced working together and sharing knowledge than they would be struggling alone. In this spirit, I also propose that we begin a sort of cultural exchange as well as material. I suggest that I take back with me to live with the Simians 5 willing and interested Dragons, and on my return I will send 20 consenting Simians of the Long Tooth tribe, the most prosperous of its species. In doing so, they will trade not only material goods, but knowledge, social custom, and technical skills. These steps, I believe, can be the first on a long road to mutual prosperity for both our people and ourselves.”

    Yurius briefly considered the fledgling water-based Yammu empire of which he'd received reports. He heard the talk of the Toothed Yammu and how inhumanely they were treated. There was also some talk among his men that a Dragon had recently been stolen by their patron Goddess, but since he had no proof, he would not tell Tesni about it for now; however, the idea of this savage empire stepping all over the civil liberties of its own kind for something as arbitrary as what teeth they had under a goddess that would consider kidnapping an innocent for her personal use disgusted him beyond words. He was not in a position to do anything about it now, but perhaps if he could convince Tesni he was an ally, she would call on him and the Immortal Legions when the time inevitably came that she would have to help the Dragons to deal with them.

    “Lastly, regardless of how this negotiation turns out, I offer you my friendship. Should you ever require arbitration of some affair or support in some matter, as long as your cause is just, you can call on me and know that you have an ally and an army at your back in your time of need.”

    Yurius extended his hand to Tesni. “What say you, milady? Does this sound agreeable?”



    Year 250, Arbiter's Meadow, Rephlon:



    Yurius listened to Zokmod's report with interest and considered the many long decades since he'd returned from Ignus. At some point since then, a strange malevolence settled upon the planet Rephlon. Animals, once placid, had gone crazy with rage, Simian crop yields had dwindled, and, even with Ignus's armor, strange new beasts, such as this Korombe, managed to kill large swaths of Simians in short periods. In some ways, though, the change in the planet's mood had been helpful; some tribes had not been able to put up much of a fight under the circumstances and either did not bother to fight before joining the Long Tooth Empire, or they could not resist for long. What was once the smallest tribe among the Simians had now nearly encompassed the planet. Only a few more tribes to conquer and the process would be complete and the road to prosperity would finally be in reach. Just a few more short decades.

    Now, though, as quickly as it had come, the planet's foul, tense atmosphere simply disappeared. All was as it was before. It was very strange, but Yurius had learned from his eyes-and-ears among the spirit world that the culprit was the planet's deity, Rephlon. He had been spurned by the nature Goddess Khaline and went into depression, taking the planet with him. He appeared to have gotten over it, though. All was well.

    Except, according to Zokmod's recent reports, all was not well. Strange irregularities were noted in the last few years among both the spirits in his army and some of the Simians in the Empire. Strange bouts of aggressiveness and unprovoked anger, particularly among the spirits with affiliations to nature. Borin was one of those affected; he had recently murdered a weaker spirit in cold blood for no more arbitrary a reason than he was not learning during weapons training fast enough. The army would be better off, Borin said, without such useless offal to slow them down. Much as it tore him apart, Yurius had Borin tried for murder and found guilty. He was currently imprisoned in the Immortal Legions main camp in what had come to be called the Arbiter's Meadow, Yurius's birthplace and the original home of the Long Tooth Tribe. Yurius recognized that this sudden shift in behavior among so many at once was not natural. He charged Zokmod with Borin's interrogation. He did not give Zokmod limits on what kinds of methods to use in his interrogation and did not want to know what kind of tortures he employed, but whatever they were, they were quite effective. Borin had told all with an insane, malicious glee. Khaline, Goddess of Nature, had become angry with Yurius and displayed that anger by corrupting segments of his army and the Empire against him, making them merciless and uncaring toward the suffering of others.

    In and of itself, the fact that these spirits and Simians turned against him did not bother Yurius. In fact, he had expected many Simians, at least, to adhere to the power above all mentality even without Khaline's interference. They were a particularly brutal species even from their birth, after all. War was a pastime to them and they delighted in bloody combat by their very nature. Every man had a choice, and Yurius never wanted to rule these people as a king or to force them to choose justice, only to guide, protect, and help them seek justice when they sought it from him. He would always be there to protect the weak when the strong made the choice to oppress them, whether because of Khaline or because that was simply what they chose to do for their own reasons. Nothing changed in this regard. What was truly disturbing about this, however, was that Khaline had taken that choice from both the Simians and the nature spirits who were supposed to be able to trust her to protect them. She did not ask; she simply stole them and made their choice for them. It was a denial of their free will, a casual disregard for their right to self-determination, and it was reprehensible beyond words for that reason alone. Something had to be done to help them. Something had to be done to curb Khaline's mad ambitions.

    To the first end, he ordered Zokmod and his network of spies to ferret out all those affected by Khaline. He was under no illusion that he would find them all. The illness had spread too far for that. Despite this, Zokmod found a very large number of them among both the Immortal Legions and the Simian Empire. Once he knew where they were, he ordered them watched very carefully. He would not prematurely punish them for a crime they had not yet committed, but they would be put under heavy observation so that anything they did or planned would be stopped before it caused too much strife. Once caught for a crime, they would be imprisoned until Yurius could find a way to heal them of Khaline's mind control. It might take many long years, but he would find a way to give them their freedom back. They put their trust in him and he owed them that.

    To the second end, Yurius considered many options. He could place patrols out looking for her, but he was not optimistic of their success finding her or his success of killing her even if they did. The first rule of war was to carefully pick your battlefield and minimize the enemy's advantage. On this forested planet, among her element, skilled at stealth guerrilla tactics as she was, Yurius might be able to wound her at great cost to himself and his men, but he could never capture or kill her that way. She was expecting him to attack her directly in force in that manner anyway and knew as well as he that she would have the advantage in that scenario, so he simply refused to give it to her by sending men in force.

    What about a distraction? He remembered during the battle for Durbag Forest, Khaline was being chased by the boy Rephlon. At the time, she took no interest in himself or the Simians. Why? He remembered scouts reporting at the time that she seemed angry and desperate to escape the boy. Perhaps with all her effort put toward escape, she simply had not the time nor ability to deal with the Simians or the newly born Yurius. Rephlon was not chasing her anymore, so now she was directing her anger at Yurius instead. If this was the case, then what if he could get Replon to start chasing her again? If he did, the anger she so enthusiastically directed at Yurius and his cohorts could be redirected at him. Then he could simply have her watched and wait for her to make a mistake, then pounce when she least expected it or set a trap for her to stumble into while she was unaware of the danger. It seemed his best chance of success at the moment, so after Zokmod finished his report on Rephlon's latest whereabouts, Yurius set out to meet him.

    He found the boy frolicking carelessly in a currently uninhabited corner of the forest. He stepped out slowly so as not to startle him and introduced himself.

    “Hello, Rephlon, my name is Yurius. I am the god born of the Simians about 100 years ago. I am glad to see that you are feeling better; this was quite a gloomy planet for some time. I was afraid at the time to approach you for hurting your feelings further, but now that you seem to be in better spirits, I wish to offer you my moral support in your pursuit of the goddess Khaline. You see, I believe your depression was needless; you should not have given up so easily as you did on your chase. From what I know of her, Khaline is a woman who believes in survival of the fittest above all else. Strength and power matter to her more than any other quality in a mate. It is telling to me, given this, that she did not simply kill you when you first started chasing her. It would make sense for her to do so if she were able, for she believes herself stronger than you and she says she believes you a nuisance. The fact that she did not kill you, a being she considers weaker than herself, suggests to me she allowed you to continue your pursuit because she was interested in you, despite all appearances. You simply need to continue your chase without giving up, no matter how uninterested or exasperated she appears on the surface. You might also try displaying your power to her with more force so that she knows to couple with you would not be degrading herself by laying with someone weak. Strange as it sounds, it might be a good idea to display your strength to her by attacking her. You need not actually hurt her, but if she cannot overcome you easily, she will know you are strong and will know you are worth having as a lover. If she persists in running after that, it simply means you must become stronger and continue to display your strength to her. Yes, I think if you persist in your chase, you will eventually win her heart. You must refuse to give up until you do so, for to give up would be a sign of weakness and ruin your chances. I think you have mettle, boy, enough to win her over, and, for whatever else it might be worth, I think the two of you would make a lovely couple. Please, think on it.”

    Yurius waited for a response and then conversed pleasantly with Rephlon for a time. He had sown the seeds as best as he was able. Now he simply had to hope that Rephlon would come to the conclusion Yurius wanted: that he should chase Khaline again. From Khaline's perspective, it would simply seem as if Rephlon decided to start chasing her again of his own volition. She would have no reason to think Yurius had anything to do with it. She would suddenly have a reason to forget her anger at Yurius for a time and redirect it toward her old pursuer. He felt somewhat guilty for using the boy as a pawn, but he truly did seem eager for her affection and likely would have ended up chasing after her again eventually anyway. By speeding up the process, Yurius just found a way to use the budding courtship to his own advantage.

    Before he left Rephlon, Yurius left a small scouting spirit named Smee in the boy's care as a parting gift. Most would consider the spirit cute and unerringly loyal, the dog of the spirit world and a perfect pet companion. It would follow him and, unbeknownst to Rephlon, send information about his activities and whereabouts back to Zokmod's agents telepathically. If he decided to chase Khaline, all the better, for the spirit would then serve as a way to monitor her location as well. Khaline herself should not think anything suspicious about the spirit nor be able to trace it back to Yurius even if she noticed it; there were millions just like it even outside the Immortal Legions and it was simply the boy's new pet companion. In truth, even communicating information to Yurius through his spy network, it would grow attached to the boy, and, with time, the two had the potential to become inseparable friends.

    His conversation with Rephlon at an end, he went back to Arbiter's Meadow and waited to see if his seeds would take root.



    Year 300, Northern Plains of Rephlon



    Before his eyes, the being changed from a girl with shoulder length red hair with golden vines to a woman with waist length red hair and a completely different demeanor. Where the girl was haughty, angry, and malicious, the woman seemed almost matronly and mostly bewildered, as if she didn't fully understand how she came to be where she was or why she was in such pain. She screamed, and his men disappeared, but he knew they were not dead, simply returned to the main barracks back in Arbiter's Meadow. What in the world was going on? She declared that her son would be angry with him about her wound, but this only served to confuse him even more. Why attack him unprovoked? Why should anyone find fault with him defending himself? Was he simply to have allowed the girl to kill him with no resistance? He attempted to avoid conflict, but the girl attacked anyway, so he felt no shame for fighting back, particularly against one so willing to abuse such great and terrible power. Still, watching as she fled, he felt that the new personality was no threat and bore him no ill will, at least in principle, but her alter-ego certainly did and would be back to bother him again later.

    A problem for another day. For now, he had a royal line to establish. He marched for Stonebow.



    Meanwhile, near the Witch's Tower in Durbag Forest...



    Zokmod continued to watch La Mamba, unnoticed, from the shadows. He had watched as she erected her tower, seen the owl sent to seek a nearby god, and witnessed the owl's return with Eliphon in tow; however, he still did not reveal himself. He simply watched and waited. Until he knew the woman's intent and her abilities, he would not risk being seen, per the general's orders. Some time later, Mamba jumped from her tower and approached a prone figure clutching her leg. He was amazed as he approached in time to witness the witch heal the leg wound of a woman with striking resemblance to the one who attacked Yurius just a short time ago on the Northern road. This woman could heal injuries? Zokmod immediately thought of his old friend Borin, who still sat imprisoned in a deep tunnel back in Arbiter's Meadow with the others affected by Khaline's magic. Could this woman heal mental afflictions as well as physical? Yurius would be very pleased to hear about this possibility. He'd been seeking a way to free those men for decades. Should he take the initiative and show himself in spite of Yurius's orders? Just then, the woman started to describe what she wanted from Realiti, the healed woman, and decided to stay hidden long enough to hear what her goal was and report the day's events back to Yurius.
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2017
  8. Erik-the-Enchanter!

    Erik-the-Enchanter! Banned Contributor

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    Year 300

    La Mamba nodded to Eliphon as a sign of respect. "Certainly," she said, and with a wave of her hand, they were all teleported through a dark void into the Underworld. All around them stretched lonely gray plains, a cold desert that inspired loneliness and despair. The only inhabitants of this strange land were drifting crowds of shades, translucent ghosts that wondered aimlessly, without purpose. "I would like to retrieve a few things from my house," Mamba told Realiti and Eliphon. She pointed to a glowing crystal tower behind them that flashed purple and green and fiery red. Without another word, Mamba outstretched her arms and flew straight up into the highest window of the crystal tower. A moment later, she returned dressed in a crimson cape and black metal armor with tall crow feathers sticking out the top of her helmet. For weapons, she had a quiver of arrows strapped to her back, a beautifully crafted bow, and a curved knife sheathed at her waist.

    Mamba's feet did not touch the ground; she levitated inches above it, her cape billowing in a non-existent wind. "Onward," she said, her eyes shining so brightly that it was hard to look directly at them. With that, the Witch Mother flew ahead of them, leading the way deep into the uncharted area of the Underworld.

    ---

    Back in Durbag Forest, Zokmod was surrounded by flesh-eating rose vines that formed a dense wall around him. The roses hissed as they reared back, showing all their needle-sharp teeth. And then they struck.
     
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2017
  9. gibble410

    gibble410 Contributor Contributor

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    The moment Realitì was teleported into the underworld, she decided to despise it. With every fiber of her being, she hated the way the air felt on her skin, the way the ground seemed to breath. This was not something she created, and as far as Realitì knew, she was the only god who could actually create worlds!

    But she wanted to help her new friend, and with the presence of Eliphon, she could continue through this place. As Mamba flew off, Realitì looked towards Eliphon. "I'm sorry for leaving you. I..I.. I had no choice." She stuttered, looking down like a child who was caught sneaking candy.
     
  10. Domino355

    Domino355 Senior Member

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    250 At first, Rephlon did not appear to understand Yurius at all. He just stared at the god with a blank expression, every so often looking away at much more interesting things, like a spider eating a butterfly. But the more Yurius mentioned Khaline, the more interested Rephlon became. The process was long and frustrating, but at the end it seemed Rephlon finally understood Yurius. He stood up and gave a call that sounded like a thousand beasts bellowing at once, and every flower on his planet bloomed. Then he sat down some more with Yurius and they chatted. Rephlon didn't converse in words. Instead, the god of justice felt a string of images fly through his mind; a bird flying through the air, an oak struggling in a storm, and so on, jumbled images without any seeming connection, and yet somehow this flow made sense.

    Rephlon cheerfully stood up, and turned to leave. Then he suddenly turned back, and looked at Yurius straight in the eyes. Momentarily, his cheerful demeanor seemed to vanish. Through Rephlon's eyes the eyes of every living creature on his planet looked back, from the smallest fly, to the Simian citizens, to the monstrous Korombe. Yurius saw a beast, chained again and again, only to break from these restraints each time. Then, as swiftly as his cheerfulness disappeared, it reappeared once again. Rephlon turned around and trotted away, his walk carrying a certaim skip to it.

    278 It took Rephlon twenty eight years to muster up the courage to approach Khaline. He did it in the plains of the gray goose. He stood at one of the hills surroundong the valley and called for the goddess. Yurius was right, there's no way that the goddess of the hunt could refuse his splendor.

    300 "Do not worry about it," Eliphon said to Realiti. "Though I would like to know how you disapppeared from the worlds, and who it was who replaced you."

    The plains of the underworld bore an uncanny resemblance to the plains of the gods in Rephlon. As they followed Mamba they noticed other similarities. They saw mountains and like those on Ignus, mixed with forests and plains like in Rephlon. The landscape felt much less substantial though, as if the ground was translucent. Like a mirror image of the worlds.

    Eliphon despised the underworld as well. It wasn't what the area represented, for he himself was the embodyment of death and entropy. It was the chaos of that area. Shades wandered about aimlessly, all over the place. Nobody was there to bring order to the land of the dead.

    310 The three scouted the underworld for ten years. During that time, Realiti felt again the sensation she felt at the beggining of time, that feeling of wrongness, that just opposed everything she ever was. Finally, Eliphon realised what was wrong. The number of shades in there was dropping instead of rising, against any logic. What was going on?

    350 Arzian's book, all of a sudden, burst into flames.
     
  11. Erik-the-Enchanter!

    Erik-the-Enchanter! Banned Contributor

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    Year 310

    La Mamba noticed the dropping number of shades with a feeling of panic in her chest. What could possibly be making this happen?! she thought frantically. But Mamba did not show her inner feelings on the outside, because to her showing emotion was a sign of weakness and she preferred people thinking she was a soulless evil witch. Her reputation made people think twice about messing with her, and Mamba was very careful about maintaining her aura of menace. The only sign of emotion that she made outwardly was to raise her left eyebrow as she looked around them. In a flash, she notched an arrow in her bow. The movement was so quick that if Eliphon or Realiti had blinked, they would have missed it.

    "The shades...where are they going?" the Queen of the Underworld asked out loud with forced calm. Then she chanted rapidly in a fierce whisper, "I call to fire, I call to light/Enchant my arrows for a fight/Dark magick come to bear/My arrows will ravage the air/By the power of three times three/As I will it, so mote it be..." There was an electric charge in the atmosphere as the magic reached a crescendo, thick waves of incense smoke flowing out of the ground. When she reached the last word, the smoke spread out and dissipated in a rush; the tip of Mamba's notched arrow (and the arrows in her quiver) glowed white-hot. The air rippled around the arrows in a ten-foot-wide radius.

    Without any warning, La Mamba raised her bow and fired. The arrow shot into the hazy gray sky, blazing brighter than the sun. It flew all the way to the distant mountains and crashed into one of them. After a brief pause, there was a huge explosion that lit up the Underworld and shook the ground. When everything quieted, half of the mountain was gone, leaving behind a huge, ugly crater. Heavy rubble rained down all around them, ranging from fist-sized rocks to enormous boulders. The debris passed harmlessly through the diminishing crowds of shades.

    "Just trying to see if I can scare out whatever is doing this," Mamba explained to Eliphon and Realiti. "Now we wait and see..." She calmly notched another arrow and watched the horizon with her intensely glowing eyes.
     
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2017
  12. gibble410

    gibble410 Contributor Contributor

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    300

    Realitì shuddered as Eliphon asked her the question. "I dont know. She is part of me, and yet she is nothing like me at all. She just wants to live, but I do to."

    307
    As the trio trudged tirelessly through the underworld, searching, Realitì was finally ready for a new creation. Since she walked in silence for past 7 years, she had stored enough energy to create something. It to be something small, as this was not her realm. So she created a bird, who feasted on the missed droppings of food. It would have brown eyes and somewhat gray feathers. Its wings beat so fiercely it could carry messages to any one person in the 3 worlds. She would call it a Pagon. She sent it with a message, written in gold ink, that said: Help us.
    She sent it to the goddess Khaline, hoping for her involvement. For the goddess could help them, Realitì believed.

    310
    Realitì watched in awe as the witch shot the mountain. Her arrows gleamed through the darkness, and Realitì longed for their light. She did cower somewhat when the mountain rained down, and although she knew LA Mamba wouldnt let her get hit, she was tempted to created a shield.

    350
    At the same moment Azarians book caught flame, Realitì fell to her knees clutching her heart as her eyes widened.
     
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2017
  13. halisme

    halisme Contributor Contributor

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    278 Khaline looked to the man for a moment, tilting her head to one side before sighing and carrying on. She would not provide the god with any such attention. She stood, examining the weight of her new blades. They were not elegant weapons. They were brutal, and savage and cutting. She held them to the light for a moment, before examining the gems in the hilt. She started to pry them out. They were cut, shaped, made orderly. No. That would not do for her. She took tossed them into the dirt, stamping on them so that they would set and, as she raised her foot, a tree sprouted atop them, with rough bark and wild branches. Now, her blades were perfect. They would be The Goddess's Claws. Then she took the spear, which she had no name for yet, however, as the god continued calling, she decided that now would be the time to test it. She called for her falcon, and flew upwards, before diving down with her spear aimed at his heart.

    That is not to say that Mamba's infringement upon her realm was yet to be noticed. She was going to have to ask for aid in this manner, perhaps from the lady of the underworld herself, or from another being of great knowledge. She sought to cut the ties that they had over her realm. She was clearly not stringent enough on her realm, letting spirits wander and others interfere. She would have to impose brutality on the people once again.

    350 Arzian tilted his head to one side, the flames quickly putting themselves out due to their being no air to burn. The text was not harmed, though he was a little, perplexed was not the word, he knew all things of course, or all knowledge, just not all motivations or the acts. He knew of the smallest blocks that composed reality, and the greatest objects that they might form, and all that had happened, however, he was not aware of the future. He would have to investigate, seek the Lady who could pierce the veil of time and peer beyond. As such, he would travel to Rephlon. However, he had something to do first. Someone was using his image. He appeared in Mamba's tower, his arm appearing from his form and changing into its clawlike form. After a moment, it pierced the owl's skull, killing it instantly. Afterwards, he examined the throne and chuckled. "We are such foolish creatures." He murmured, before standing there, waiting. He would need to illuminate their own nature to the gods, let them know that they were not immutable creatures, or, at least, not all of them. He stood there in silence, calmly waiting for the his kin to return.
     
  14. Mr Mr

    Mr Mr Active Member

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    Year 0

    In a far corner of the universe Mul' amon floated. He drifted along waiting until he found the right spot. But he always found the right spot. He had to. Reaching into himself he patted around looking for something. If anyone else had been around to watch they would have seen something akin to a tool box just behind the curtain of his swirling form. He pulled out. Inside was light the whitest it could be. He opened the front and took a piece out holding it.

    No no, this won't do, far too young.

    The light dimmed until was an orange hue. Mul 'amon nodded satisfied. Adding a small piece of his own black mass he sent them into the air. It grew as it moved away from him. In a few moments a star hung before him. It was already starting to die and this far out it would be able to do that in peace.

    Mul ' amon felt a pull. Something called to him across the void. He moved. The call was from two planets springing into being. Mul' amon pulled out a roll of parchment and a quill.

    Ah yes, Rephlon and Ignus. Right on time. Just a couple touches to add.

    Mul' amon drifted down to Rephlon. Deep within the woods he passed into the earth. Reaching into his toolbox Mul' amon buried a tool to stay hidden until it was needed. Next he journeyed to Ignus and down into the seas. Deeper than any fish could swim or rock could sink he hid another tool. Returning to the planet's surface Mul' amon pulled out a compass the needle pointing straight north.

    Ah right on course.



    Year 350
    Mul' amon was mid way through teaching a flower to grow when he felt something unfamiliar. He could feel existence shouting with its silent voice. He took out his compass, the needle pointing straight down. Something had sent them off course. He wasn't about to let 350 years of hard work go to waste. He couldn't. He would have to find the source of this problem.


     
  15. MagicPenguin

    MagicPenguin Active Member

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    Year 300, Durbag Forest, outside Witch's Tower



    Zokmod just barely dodged the lunging flower and jumped to a nearby tree branch where the beasts could not reach him. Disgusting creatures. Why did the witch create them? She summoned everyone here simply to create monstrosities to attack anyone who approached her call? She was likely not entirely friendly, then; she clearly wanted something, but had no scruples about hurting people unrelated to her goal or lashing out randomly when she felt slighted. Important information. She might have to be bribed in order to heal the Feral Spirits and Simians, and even then she probably could not be trusted completely.

    Zokmod jarred himself from his thoughts of the future and contemplated his current situation. He was stuck in a tree, surrounded by flowers that wanted to eat him. Wonderful. How would he get out of this? He racked his brain, considering the many tricks he had learned from various spirits who had joined the Immortal Legions from all over the cosmos since its creation. Most spirits found in nature had an affiliation of some sort; whether to a natural element or to a particular shrine or place, they were mostly associated with something in the world. Those with such an affinity usually had an ability associated with the thing with which they were affiliated. For example, the volcano spirits of Ignus had the ability to create great fires with a thought. Commander Yurius devised some nasty battlefield tactics out of this particular ability, using units comprised entirely of volcano spirits to create gigantic walls of fire, herding enemy soldiers into one spot, pushing them back as they tried to approach, or simply burning them alive from a distance.

    Zokmod himself was a fairly weak spirit with no natural affinity of his own and therefore no similar abilities to draw on. This was a rarity, but not unheard of; he had no great power and from the moment of the planets' creation, he'd been pushed around and forced to act for those with an affiliation and therefore more power than himself. He learned from an early age that for one such as himself with no talent for battle, he would need to rely on his wits to survive. Since joining the Legions, however, he discovered something interesting. Though he had no ability, he was, with a lot of practice and effort, able to mimic, in a very limited fashion, the abilities of other spirits. He could not create great walls of fire as the volcano spirits, but he was able to summon a small, weak flame. Not enough to burn anyone, but he could call it to the palm of his hand nonetheless. He focused on this ability now, for it would be his salvation.

    Sweat beaded on his forehead as he poured all his concentration into imitating the energies of the volcano spirits. After several minutes and a great deal of effort, finally a small flame appeared in the cup of his hand. It was small and pitiful, and would sputter out at any moment, but like Zokmod himself, it was capable of great things when the situation called for it. He quickly ripped a branch from the tree that he was sitting in and used the flame to set the end alight. The flame in his hand then went out with the passing breeze. He carefully nurtured the flame at the end of the branch causing it to slowly grow in size and strength. Eventually, the burning branch became a torch. Let's see how these monsters liked the heat. He jumped from treetop to treetop until he found the edge of the flesh eating flowers and then jumped to the ground just out of their reach. Then, carefully, he began to set them ablaze with the torch he created in his desperation. They hissed and screeched, tried desperately to bite at the flames that consumed them, but to no avail. They soon shriveled and shrank to blackened husks and their ashes blew away with the wind. Zokmod slowly proceeded to burn through miles of the creatures, carefully choosing where to set the flames so that the fire would not spread too far into the surrounding forest. He could not avoid spreading the fire to the trees entirely, but he would not burn the entire forest down just to pull a few weeds. Finally, after hours of walking and burning, the flowers were no more. The fire would not spread far beyond this section of the forest and would go out itself in time, so Zokmod put it from his mind and focused again on his duty. Yurius would soon be done in Stonebow. He had to report to him immediately. Zokmod started the walk North to Stonebow.



    Meanwhile, in Stonebow City...



    It had taken three days, but the royal dispute was settled and Stonebow had a new king. The outcome was not what anyone expected. When he had arrived, Yurius was presented with three choices to succeed the fallen monarch. The reigning king had been from a dynasty that stretched back to the founding of the city, the descendants of the leader of the ancient and now legendary Stonebow Tribe, but that noble house, known as the Goldtree Family, had apparently had no one left with the King's demise. The three other great houses of Stonebow were descendants of high ranking and well-respected figures from the same tribe.

    The first choice was Dunly, from the Red Hand family, a tried and true battle commander with many years of experience. At 50, he was the eldest of the three candidates. No one doubted his valor or his ability to lead an army, but some thought his skills would not translate well to ruling a nation, for a nation and a military were beasts of a far different nature and Dunly did not have a knack for the maneuvering and negotiating that were so often necessary on the political stage. Still, Yurius thought, he was a good man who had earned, through many years of public service, the love of the city's people and had their welfare uppermost in his mind. He had the makings of an honorable king if not an entirely competent one.

    The second candidate was 21 year old Horatio of the Blackquill family, a well-respected legislator responsible for pushing through the city's senate many innovative laws. He was strong in all the areas where Dunly was weak and weak where Dunly was strong. He was extremely adept at moving in the political realm, but he was not an influential orator and made few public appearances. Horatio instead spent many long hours in his study drafting and reviewing new laws and proposals and was virtually unknown to the people of the city except as a man who occasionally raised taxes to fund new construction projects, military expenditures, or trade initiatives. As such, while he had lead the effort on many movements to pass laws that would forever change the lives of the city's citizens for the better, he did not command their love and respect as Dunly did and was not as experienced in offensive or defensive military tactics as Dunly was. He, unlike Dunly, would be a competent king, one who would take unpopular actions when necessary, but not a well-liked one. Could a King rule effectively when his people loathed him for making hard choices for their good? Yurius was not sure.

    The last candidate was perhaps the most high-profile and most loved among the people. His name was Lorean of the Silver Fox family, and he was dubbed the “Hero of the Simians” by the citizens of Stonebow. There were many stories floating around about how he single-handedly crushed an entire group of bandits by himself and saved a beautiful damsel from them or how he faced the deadly Korombe in single combat and gravely wounded him without any help or even how he tamed the Goria and made her his personal dragon steed. All these rumors were highly exaggerated of course, but they captured imaginations and people rallied behind him and called for him to be named king. He was undeniably powerful, a force to be reckoned with on or off the battlefield, but he was arrogant and hot-headed. He rarely thought before he acted, relying on his instincts and superior strength to win the day. Though he was the favorite for the crown, Yurius was skeptical that he would make a good king. Still, he was brave and true, a warrior of great prowess with a strong sense of personal honor, and if the people wanted him, who was Yurius to say otherwise?

    Unbeknownst to Yurius at the time, Lorean was actually a devout follower of Khaline. His family had been raised in her ways from the days of his ancient ancestors of the Stonebow Tribe. It was he who arranged the assassination of the former king as well as all his potential heirs in an effort to secure the throne for himself. On the surface, he fostered his image as an honorable, though headstrong young warrior, but behind the scenes he spread the false stories of his glorious battles to gain the love of the people and spread falsehoods about his opponents to lower their chances in the succession.

    On the day of judgement, Yurius sat in the throne room and placed his scale on the table in front of him. He heard, one by one, arguments from each of the candidates as to why they should be king and how they would rule Stonebow.

    Dunly promised strong defenses above all else, promising that with him as King, crime in the city would plummet and no outside invader would ever breach the city walls. Citizens would know security and safety under his rule and would prosper for knowing it. In addition, he would work to fund new military ventures. He hoped to lay claim to the as yet uninhabited corners of Rephlon. These areas were highly contentious, with all the tribes of the Simian Empire fighting for dominance and whoever took them would have access to abundant natural resources. He promised these things for the glory of Stonebow City and the glory of the Simian Empire.

    Horatio promised new, updated trade agreements with the Dragons that would expand the Simians' already formidable metallurgical trade. In addition, he promised to fund new construction on housing for the poor. These proposals together, he claimed, would give employment to those who did not already have it, both at the forges and on construction sites, and would simultaneously allow the city to expand outward even further into the Northern Plains. Stonebow City would one day encompass the entirity of the Plains, expanding all the way to Durbag Forest and perhaps even beyond it. It was a very ambitious plan; costly, but if successful, it would guarantee prosperity for generations to come.

    Lorean promised to once and for all deal with the menace of Khaline. Too long, he claimed, had his people been forced to live in fear of being turned into her puppets. He would no longer allow it. He would peronally hand pick the soldiers that would fight and lead them against her. After she was dead, he would move on to the Korombe and the Goria. For the glory of the Simian Empire, these threats must be addressed, he claimed, and he was the only one with the power necessary to do it. The women in the gallery swooned as he spoke.

    As each made their case, Yurius's eyes never left their faces. They seemed to bore into their souls and lay all their secrets bare. His scale on the table in front of him bounced back and forth furiously in patterns indecipherable to any but Yurius himself. As Lorean finished his final argument, Yurius inwardly frowned. He gazed at his scale as it still bounced back and forth. Something was not right. The scale should have stopped by now. Was he missing something? It was then that someone new approached him.

    It was a young girl, perhaps sixteen. She was injured and walking with a notable limp and a crutch, but despite this, she was exquisitely beautiful by Simian standards. No one seemed to know who she was and all were stunned at her audacity in approaching Yurius unannounced. Only Lorean's face showed any recognition. He seemed momentarily agitated by the girl's presence, but quickly composed himself.

    “How dare you approach the God of Justice without permission? The penalty for this can only be death! Guards, seize this child at once!” Lorean called.

    The girl responded, “In the name of my late father, the King of Stonebow, I demand the right to speak for the Goldtree family before the Great Arbiter.”

    Yurius was tempted to let Lorean have her. How dare she tell such a preposterous lie? Yurius knew all of the old King's children, and all had died of a strange illness not long ago, the same illness that took the King himself. He was shocked, however, to see that his scale had stopped bouncing as soon as she spoke and the two sides were now exactly level. She was apparently the piece of this puzzle that he was missing before. “Explain yourself, girl. Who are you and how do you claim kinship with the king?”

    Her name, she said, was Lilibet. The King, in the passions of his youth, had an illegitimate relationship with a common woman, before he met his eventual queen, and she was the result. She was a bastard. Her mother kept her existence a secret to keep her safe from those who would wish harm on her to keep the royal line pure. Despite this, she insisted, the blood in her veins was Goldtree and, with her half-brothers and sisters now dead, she was the rightful heir to the throne.

    She then shocked the court again with her next claim. She was the victim of a recent assassination attempt. A week ago, two men broke into her home, killed her mother, and tried to kill her. She managed to kill one of them unsuspecting with a kitchen knife, but the other caught her before she could do the same to him. Before he landed what should have been the killing blow, the assassin spoke to her and said “High Lord Lorean and Great Mistress Khaline send their regards.” It was pure, rabid survival instinct that saved her in that moment. She lashed out blindly with her foot in a mad frenzy and found the man's groin as his ax fell. It missed the intended target of her head and landed instead on her protruding leg, very nearly severing it from her body. This was the source of her current limp. She would probably never walk properly again. In a supreme effort of will, she managed to collect herself from her pain long enough to slit the stunned assassin's throat before he could finish the job he came to do.

    Yurius was stunned. This girl could not be telling the truth. It was simply too fantastic a story to have actually happened. But then, his scale stood stock still on the table before him. If she lied, it would have tilted. Not only was she telling the truth, not only was Lorean a Feral follower of Khaline, Lilibet was the Queen of Stonebow. She finished speaking and her eyes set upon him with an intensity that spoke to her iron will as she waited for him to speak. Lorean madly proclaimed her a liar and demanded that the guards kill her on the spot before she could spout any more treasonous falsehoods. The guards looked from thoughtful Yurius to furious Lorean to calm Lilibet, then back to Yurius, and they were plainly unsure what to do.

    Yurius asked Lorean plainly: “Are you a follower of Khaline? Have you any regard for the people at all?”

    “O-of course not! I serve only the great Empire of the Simians! This girl is a liar and a cheat! She must be killed for her impudence!”

    The scale weighed Lilibet's accusation against Lorean's denial and dipped markedly in Lilibet's favor.

    “Long live Queen Lilibet!” Yurius bellowed.

    Lorean drew his sword and moved in a mad dash toward Lilibet. The guards were not fast enough to stop him as he ran in a rage to take the life of the girl who ruined all his carefully crafted plans. He would have been a king. He could have handed Khaline the strongest city in the Empire on a silver platter. He could have finally purged the weak, common rabble from the empire that only the strongest had a right to inhabit. All ruined, thanks to this peasant-bred little chit who did not have the decency to know her place and simply die quietly in obscurity.

    As if from no where, a throwing knife landed in Lorean's throat just before he reached Lilibet and he fell in a pool of his own blood, staring daggers at the source of the knife. Yurius stood before the throne with his arm outstretched after his precise and deadly throw. “You have been judged, Lorean. You die in dishonor.” He turned to Lilibet. “You too, have been judged, Your Highness. I see great things for you. Rule wisely and rule well.” He turned to the Simians in the gallery. “All will bow before the new queen.”

    The first two to bow were Dunly and Horatio, in a show of support to the Goldtree from the High Houses they represented. Seeing this, every other Simian in the room, from the richest merchant to the lowliest peasant, bowed before Lilibet, Queen of Stonebow.

    Yurius was the last. He beckoned her to the throne then stepped down and bowed before her with the rest. He pulled from his belt a sword he had worn since long ago when he first met Ignus. It was the same sword with the obsidian hilt and a Dragonhead pommel. He presented it to her. "Your Highness, I grant you this sword in hopes that it will lead you, your family, and your people to everlasting peace and prosperity. It is a grave duty you assume. Take this sword and see justice done." The Dragonhead Sword, a divine weapon that would not decay and would slay even the mightiest of foes, would remain the regalia of the Goldtree family and the symbol of Stonebow Royalty forevermore.

    In the years that followed, Lilibet would herald a golden age of peace for the city. She would pursue Horatio's plan to expand Stonebow to encompass a larger portion of the Northern Plains, house the poor, and provide employment for those who needed it. Old Dunly would serve faithfully as one of her primary advisors in military affairs, helping her to secure natural resources and negotiate unclaimed territory for her city. She was shrewd in politics and made many public appearances and speeches, making her well-loved among the people. She eventually married Horatio and left many heirs, ensuring that her dynasty would live on for another generation. Imperial historians would look back at her reign from 300-375 as one of the brightest political eras in Simian and Stonebow history alike.

    The day after the trial, Yurius set off back to the South. The pulsing that had been trying to draw him to it was now gone, but he knew Zokmod would have a report. He met Zokmod and learned of the woman who might be able to heal his imprisoned Feral spirits. He would have to take steps to meet her, though Zokmod knew not to where she and her companions disappeared except that it was a place called “The Underworld.” Yurius decided to investigate the tower himself for clues as to her destination and how he might get there.
     
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2017
  16. Domino355

    Domino355 Senior Member

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    278 The weapon pierced Rephlon right through the abodmen. As it did, a crater portion of land, right below the equator, sank to the ground. It was mostly uninhabited, a large desert where only a small tribe of nomadic Simians lived. The crater which appeared was twenty miles in diameter, and a mile and a half deep. The ground shook for miles on every direction.

    Rephlon yelped, and jumped back. The pain was intense. He turned around, and ran. For months he just ran, the fear causing storms to rage all over his planet. The trees shed their leaves. Until he finally reached a pond, where he sat down and rested. Sadness kicked in, as he knew that Khaline would never have him. The world grew colder then, and darker, while the storms became stronger. But Rephlon was not one to dwell on his sadness. He soon forgot about the incident, and his joy brought light and life to the planet. Flowers bloomed, and the days were lighter. Then finally, he remembered Khaline again. Lust filled his body, and the planet responded with longer days, and became warmer and drier. Until he tried again. This cycle quickly became known as autumn, winter, spring and summer.

    300 Lilibet's coronation, while being a righteous decision by the god of justice, was not popular by all of the Simians. In the coty of Stonebow itself, many of Lorean's followers filled the streets with rage and protests. Only after about twenty pf them were killed by the enforcers of the city did the rest of them return to their homes. In the south kingdom of Greenbow Jungle, a Simian king in the name of Kobalt decided to withdraw his people from the empire. To his words, "My nation would prosper on our own, not by being schooled like children by the gods." This caused the king of thr nearby Ferrous kingdom to declare war on Kobalt, for his dispicable behavior towards the true god of justice. The war raged on for many years.

    320 Khaline's deciples hit a rough period following Lilibet's ascention to the throne. Most of the Ferals have died out by then, and their persecution across the planet left their numbers depleted. Only a couple of groups survived, and most of them formed tribes of hunters, who moved around across the outskirts of the empire. They welcomed the hard life. For them, living in hiding and being constantly targeted and killed was what would make them stronger, and selerate the strong from the weak. This, they knew, would make them worthy of the hunter goddess.

    One of the deciples, a bright woman who named herself Khal, would change that. She was Lorean's daughter, born on the eve of his demise. From her birth she heard of how her father was born to be king, and how the god Yurius murdered him in cold blood. This made her grow with hatred to her so caled god of justice. Travelling across the empire, taking a disguise after another, she would talk to the crowds about her father's story. She told them that their nation would not be able to grow under Yurius's constant meddling. They were like children, who had to be told off by their father every time they put a toe out of line. Only Khaline will give them the freedom they need in order to truly grow, for she cares about one law only, the law of the jungle. Many people followed her, and formed the Smalltooth Clan.

    310 At first, there was no response. Then, a small laugh filled the Underworld from corner to corner. Then the laughter was gone, and for a moment (a few years or so), the number of shades in the Underworld steadied.

    Where the mountain was, a hole was revealed. The hole in the ground led to a large cavern, from which tunnels seemed to go in every direction. Eliphon took a look around.

    "It looks as if you almost hit that thing," he said, not finding a better word. "It appears to be tunneling underneath the underworld." He began exploring the tunnels, signaling the goddesses to follow him.

    325 After fifteen years, Eliphon fonally found where all the shades were going. It was a cavern as large as the city of Stonebow itself. Shades were moving everywhere, and every so often one of them would touch the walls of the cavern. Then it would simply disappear.

    "Interesting," Eliphon said to himself. One of his hands went under his robe, and with momentary pain, into his body. When he withdrew it, a small bead of light was laying there, taken from the cosmos within him. He played with it idly, while looking around, searching for whatever it was causing the shades to disappear.

    350 Mul' amon felt a sense of familiarity. Like he knew the being about to exit the underworld. The ground beneath Mamba's tower shook, and plants in every direction began to wither and die, reaching advanced levels of decay within minutes. Then they simply sank into the ground.
     
  17. halisme

    halisme Contributor Contributor

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    322 - "Consider the world around you." Khaline stated, sat around a fire with the Smalltooth tribe. They knew the truth of the world, but the articulation of it was so often difficult. So, that is what she would now provide. The words through which they could make others understand. "The tree is mighty, strong, unbending. Yet its seeds are weak, taken by the small for food. Rats, squirrels and other small creatures. They take that strength for themselves because the acorn is incapable of defending itself. Now, the squirrel requires it for food, but has it not killed a life in return for its own? Should Yurius not seek justice for the poor parent tree who had its child devoured? No. Now, if it was purely due to the fact that the squirrel must eat to survive, then surely it should wait till it is near starvation to feed? And eat as little as possible. But no, that is not accurate. We eat to ease ourselves of the discomfort of hunger, therefore, we are allowed to kill to ease our suffering. And to Yurius, what would be more heinous than killing?"

    She gave a pause, letting it fester in their minds before speaking again. She would cover many topics, such as questioning what gave Yurius the right to dictate who would be the rulers, that it was his strength, and justice was simply the term he used to protect his own interests. She would also leave them with a gift. She told them where she had buried the jewels of her blades, and told them that she would make it a haven for them to work from. She returned to the area herself, and spawned a great forest, weaving the branches thickly together to form a wall which would only let those judged strong enough through. To serve as its wardens, she went to where her purified spirits had been imprisoned and freed them, before housing them within the branches. By the time she was done, the branches were so thick that an axe would take days to break through one.
     
  18. Erik-the-Enchanter!

    Erik-the-Enchanter! Banned Contributor

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    That laugh unnerved La Mamba. It sent chills down her spine. She did not recognize the strange new feeling that caused her heart to flutter, but then she figured it out and quickly stifled it. It was fear. The Witch Mother, Sorceress Supreme, was afraid of a disembodied laugh. She cleared her throat and looked at Realiti and Eliphon to see if they had noticed her moment of weakness. Then she realized that she had levitated closer to the ground and that her cape dragged behind her. I am a goddess, she told herself. I do not cower before the Unknown. I am the Unknown. With that, she pushed off the ground and levitated higher, her cape spreading out behind her in a dramatic fashion.

    "How long do you think you can hide from us, Enemy?" Mamba cried in a powerful tone that was imbued with ancient magic. Her voice carried far and wide, causing the air to take on a hazy purple quality and black clouds to sweep across the sky. She twirled in a circle and her black armor was replaced by a sparkling black cloak that looked as if she had wrapped the starry night sky around her. She flung out her arms and the clouds started to churn and broil, purple lightning skittering across the underbelly of the terrible storm.

    "As purple flashes illuminate the dark masses!" the Queen of the Underworld chanted darkly. "I call forth my Cauldron! I stir, shake and summon thee! Hark! Take heed! I call to thee! Witch Mother calls to thee!" A ball of black vapors descended from the storm and morphed into a large cast-iron pot, the Cauldron, and levitated in front of La Mamba. She raised her hands to the clouds and purple lightning struck her outstretched arms. Then she directed the lightning into the Cauldron and it turned to liquid fire, bright neon-purple, hot enough to melt diamonds in seconds.

    Then Mamba turned and conjured a black hole in space. A dozen bat-cats swooped out of the portal and circled around her as she cackled madly. One by one, the flying felines dove merrily into the Cauldron, meowing a happy tune. The liquid fire burned even brighter, bubbling and spitting, until Mamba chanted, "Rise, my pets! Rise to the skies! Heed my call and come back alive!" The Cauldron erupted and fiery purple comets rained down, slowly changing into enormous bat-winged lions with huge fangs and claws like swords, made completely of fire. As soon as they landed, Mamba's new creations whipped around and stared up at the Unspeakable One, lashing their tails restlessly.

    "I name thee Hellcats!" Mamba commanded, her voice raw and gravelly from shouting so much. "Go find the Enemy! Bring it to me, dead or alive!" The Hellcats roared in response and took off into the tunnels, leaving tiny purple flames floating in the air behind them. Mamba smiled and floated down to the ground, looking tired but satisfied with her spellwork. "If my Hellcats sink their teeth or claws into the Enemy, it will melt on contact," she told Realiti and Eliphon. She turned to them with a smug grin and they saw that her braid had come undone and it was streaked with silver. She also looked older, as if she was in her late thirties or early forties, but her ebony skin was still radiant and smooth. "And even if they don't find the Enemy, I will be able to sense which ones are killed and where. That way we can find the Enemy and deal with him in person."

    Mamba turned and crooked her fingers in a beckoning gesture. The shining white spike on the horizon, the Crystal Tower, disappeared and reappeared directly in front of her. She levitated into the top window and called down to her fellow gods, "There's no need to chase after the Enemy and the Hellcats like underlings. We are gods. Let us drink and eat and be merry. We will see what my pretty pets can find..."
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2017
  19. gibble410

    gibble410 Contributor Contributor

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    325 Realitì watched as Eliphon manipulated the universe by bringing light to a place where light was so abolished. It astounded her that he did such a thing. Trying to manipulate powers beyond a gods understanding could have dangerous consequences.

    310
    Realitì watched, almost amused as LA Mamba cast spell. Though she was powerful, she greatly wanted the power La Mamba possessed, being able to summon such with just words. She of course, could do the same, but what she did felt different. Such as the summoning of the Crystal Tower. It was glorious, and Realitì was impressed with the designs And watching LA Mamba fly up to the tower and beckon them, Realitì slipped her hand into Eliphon and asked, "May we follow the witch?"
     
  20. Domino355

    Domino355 Senior Member

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    310 "No," Eliphon said. "We need to find this creature, and sooner rather than later." And he headed into the tunnels.
     
  21. Erik-the-Enchanter!

    Erik-the-Enchanter! Banned Contributor

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    La Mamba shrugged at Eliphon's reply. "Your choice," she called after him. Then she turned and sat down at a crystal table and poured herself some piping-hot wormwood tea from a silver kettle. Let Eliphon trudge through the dirty tunnels and get his clothes all mucked up. Witch Mother was tired from all the spellcasting she had done. It wasn't easy work creating new creatures out of liquid fire. Speaking of the Hellcats, Mamba waved her hand and a huge mirror in a silver frame appeared against the far wall. The mirror swirled with purple and green vapors, until Mamba gazed at it with intense concentration. The colorful smoke cleared and the mirror showed the Hellcats flying through the tunnels much faster than Eliphon, who was merely walking on two feet.

    Mamba rolled her eyes. Eliphon may be older than she was, and perhaps a tad bit more powerful, but he was certainly not the sharpest tool in the shed. She raised her cup and took a long draught, then lowered it and sighed happily.

    325

    In all the time that Eliphon squandered wandering the tunnels beneath the Underworld, La Mamba had been busy. Ever since she had created the Hellcats, she couldn't shake the urge to create something else, something in her own glorious image. And so, she flew from the Underworld to the Overworld and toiled away in the Bone Tower for years, perfecting a ritual to create a new race of witches. Unlike the other gods, who had created their peoples in a rather hurried fashion, Mamba took her time. If she was going to do this, she was going to do it right. She collected rare and exotic herbs, she harvested the spinal fluid of several animals, she took a star out of the sky, and she sliced her own wrist to add her rich gold blood to the mix. All these ingredients and more were added to the Cauldron, then poured into hollow statues made of blue, purple, and black clay.

    When the time was right, under a full moon the Sorceress Supreme chanted, "With my lifeblood, I give thee form/With my breath I give thee life!" Thick incense smoke filled Durbag Forest, which Mamba had renamed the Witch's Forest, and whispered voices filled the air, growing stronger by the minute. "Heed my call and take thine first steps/Grace this earth with your presence!" The clouds of incense smoke was sucked into the statues and they began to crack. When the statues were covered in jagged lines, they shattered completely and revealed Mamba's new race. They were tall, taller than any other race, and slender with lean, sinewy muscles. Their skin ranged from dark blue to dusky purple to purest black, and their hair was like lamb's wool. They wore long black robes and bits of gold jewelry.

    "I name thee Alfar," the Sorceress Supreme said. "You have powerful magic running through your veins, but there are only a hundred of you, fifty men and fifty women. You must build defenses against the outside world. You must stay united. Nothing can break us if we stand strong together."

    After getting the Alfar started with building homes, Mamba retired to the Bone Tower for a refreshment and happened to glance at the mirror...and she saw the Hellcats swarming around a huge cavern. Eliphon and Realiti were there as well. Mamba watched as a shade touched the wall and disappeared. "So, that's where they've been going," she muttered over her drink. She would portal there after she finished drinking, or if something exciting happened. Whichever came first.
     
  22. gibble410

    gibble410 Contributor Contributor

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    Realitì glanced around. Should she go with LA Mamba, and follow her into her tower, or should she go with Eliphon? She desperately wanted to travel, and learn more from LA Mamba, for while she may be the oldest goddess, with powers neared unmatched, she couldn't control them. She had a feeling however, that behind the cakcling laugh and midnight skin, she could find help for her mind and powers.

    On the other hand, she didn't want to leave Eliphon, for the last time she did, disastrous events followed suit. He too could help, maybe not as proficient or with as much insight, but he understood her on a level no one else had so far.

    One option was clear, she didn't want to go alone in this dark shadowy place. Drawing her arms closer to her body, she went over that last sentence. Shadowy place. The shadows were everywhere, and with that particular aspect of their abilities, she could use it to her advantage.

    Reaching out into the air hurriedly, while Eliphon stated disappearing into the shadows of the cave, Realitì formed a man like shape and kissed it passionately. Instantly, it became a copy of herself, She split her plane of reality into another, and now she lived on two planes. Her main plane flew after Eliphon, while her other half floated into LA Mambas window, and settled herself on the floor. "Hello!" She happily said to the witch.
     
  23. MagicPenguin

    MagicPenguin Active Member

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    Year 300-330, Witch's Tower, Durbag Forest



    When he arrived at the Tower, Yurius, Zokmod, and his men immediately began searching for a clue as to how to get to the Underworld. There must be some means for mortals and gods to enter this mysterious realm beyond the two planets. The Tower was a mighty structure and had a plethora of strange rooms. Many of them were libraries filled with books on magic and other subjects Yurius could not even begin to comprehend. One library had a collection of books solely dedicated to some game called “chess” involving pieces moving on a board to capture other pieces. It involved planning and tactics and Yurius decided he quite liked what he read about it. He decided he would teach himself the game when he had some free time and pass it on to the mortals.

    Other rooms were simply for storage, holding strange looking relics of power or foodstuffs and still other rooms were empty and seemed to have no purpose at all. For all the Tower's outward simplicity, the interior was a dizzying maze of chambers, hallways, and staircases placed seemingly at random with little forethought involved; it was going to take a long time to find anything useful. For ten years, Yurius and the Legions turned the Tower upside down room by room starting from the bottom and working their way slowly to the top. Seven years into their investigations, a messenger from one of the archer battalions stationed near the Great Tree reported they had seen a strange creature flying away from the tower and, unsure whether it was a threat, shot it down. The creature was injured, but it lived. An animal that could fly was unlike anything that had come before and, even more interestingly, it had a message tied to it. The message simply said, “Help us, Khaline! From Realiti” It appeared, based on the direction the bird came from according to the archers, that it hailed from the Tower, but he had been here for years and never seen it anywhere near. It must have come from the Underworld, then, from one of the immortals who left some time ago.

    Yurius couldn't help but snort a brief chuckle. Asking Khaline to help you in a time of need was like an insect trapped in a spiderweb asking the spider for help getting unstuck. They would get no help from her, he wagered. He already had a reason to travel to the underworld himself, however, to seek the healing abilities of the Witch for Borin and the others, and now he knew that the other Gods who went with her were in some danger. He vowed to redouble his efforts to find an entrance to the underworld all the faster and help those in need. He left the winged creature in the care of Zokmod. Its wing was injured from the arrow that took it down. It took many months of care, but the bird was eventually fit to fly again. In their time together, the bird, as the men had come to call it, had bonded with Zokmod quite strongly; it sat perched on his shoulder and often ate food straight from his hand. When it was finally healed, however, Zokmod tied the message back onto the bird and, with some difficulty, sent it on its way. There was already a spy, the canine spirit Smee, following Khaline's movements after she met with Rephlon some years ago, but one more never hurt. Some nature spirits had the ability to commune with animals and, in his time with the animal, Zokmod used his mimicry power to similarly commune and link telepathically with it. When the bird found Khaline and gave her its message, Zokmod would have a direct line of sight to her. Between the spirit Smee spying on her after Rephlon's rendezvous and now the telepathic link with the bird, Khaline would not even be able to go to the bathroom without Yurius receiving a prompt, detailed report on it. Her location, activities, and movements were transparent to them now and, as far as they could tell, she was quite unaware how well-watched she was. It would be easy, when the time came, to ambush her when she least expected it. First, however, they must focus on finding the Witch and healing the damage the nature goddess had already done. One thing at a time.

    Three years later, in 310, all of the many voluminous chambers in the tower had been searched multiple times. Yurius had almost given up hope of finding anything, but then Zokmod found a wall with a hollow space behind it near the roof of the Tower. A hidden room. Yurius demolished the wall with his hammer, Throgmir, and stepped inside. Within, there was a small pedestal with a small feline statue and a scroll resting upon it. The small black cat statue had piercing green eyes that seemed to gaze into the soul of whoever looked upon it. The scroll beside it contained an explanation of what the statue was and instructions for how to use it. This was odd, for there were many rooms in the tower containing countless relics, but none of them had a companion scroll explaining their purpose. This must be something awfully special, then, Yurius thought.

    The instructions indicated that the statue was the key relic in a ritual designed to bestow one with the ability to travel to the Land of the Dead, what others had been calling the Underworld. The statue could only be used once and then it would disintegrate after imbuing the wielder with its power. The ritual required was a magical test designed to measure the strength and discipline of the one who sought the path to the Underworld. Take heart, the scroll said, for whether you pass or fail, the World of the Dead is your destination should you choose to undertake the trial, for if you are not worthy, you will die painfully, God or no. If you survive, however, and you are still sane, you will be granted the path you seek as well as a power unlike any to come before it. It was as if the scroll were speaking directly to Yurius rather than to anyone who happened to read it. It was somewhat unnerving.

    Yurius followed the scroll's instructions on how to start the trial. He drew in chalk a giant circle with an elaborate star pattern within it around the pedestal and then sat cross legged before the dais where the feline statue sat. He instructed his men that he was not to be disturbed no matter what. Zokmod was in charge until he finished and, in the event that Yurius died, Zokmod would take over as general. He did not plan to go down so easily, but he must plan for every eventuality. As he finished, everyone left the room but Yurius and he ordered it once more sealed shut from the outside; no one was to enter or leave until he either conquered this trial or died trying. He placed his hammer across his lap and stared directly into the eyes of the cat statue, wishing with all his heart for the path he needed. The cat's eyes glowed a malevolent bright green, and it began.

    Yurius's mind was transported to a place composed entirely of magic and spiritual essence. It was a vast void full of swirling, undulating colors. There was no up or down, no left or right. His mind floated in a seemingly endless stream of colors. He remained calm and composed, mentally preparing himself for what was to come. He could not know the hell that awaited him.

    He was skinned alive. Despite his armor, he felt the knife as it flayed the flesh from his bones. He howled in pain and cursed the heavens, but the knife just kept on skinning. For hours and hours he was skinned again and again, never ceasing, never giving him a moment's peace. In truth, his physical body was not harmed at all, for it was safely back in the hidden chamber within the Witch's Tower, but within this realm of mind and spirit, the knife was real and the flaying was happening.

    Abruptly, the flaying stopped and the burning started. There was no fire, no hot coals, nothing of the sort, but his body was cooking and boiling beneath his armor. The pain was unbearable, the heat searing, but he could not falter. His men were counting on him. The Gods trapped in the Underworld counted on him. Too many lives were at stake. He could not surrender. He could not. The imaginary fire cared nothing for his resolve, for on it burned and on he suffered.

    His limbs were severed from his body with a guillotine. His eyeballs were plucked from his skull with a hot knife. He was dropped from great heights. His fingernails were ripped from his hands. His throat was slit. He was denied breath until his lungs burned and his chest caved in on itself. He was beaten to within an inch of his life. He was crucified. He was stabbed. Again and again, he was burned, bled, broken, beaten, and battered. Sometimes, more than one torture would occur at the same time; his flesh would be cut from his bones and, simultaneously, he could feel it bubbling and melting away as it boiled in the invisible fire. It shouldn't have been possible that both could happen at once, but in this realm of sorcery, anything could happen.

    On and on it went, never ceasing, for twenty years, and all the while his physical body remained hale and healthy in the Tower. So loud were his cries of pain that they could be heard for miles from the Tower. The Long Tooth Simians who inhabited that section of the forest eventually fled the cries of agony. They thought his cries were from grief, for he no longer answered prayers as he once did and the Simian Empire he had helped to create and shepherd was slowly fracturing into many factions. One of those factions, Khaline's Disciples in the Smalltooth Tribe, took great pleasure in his cries of pain and his apparent newfound indifference to the prayers of his worshipers for justice or adjudication. These things were a sign that he realized his time had come to an end and a surrender to the inevitable truth that strength and brutality ruled all. None knew of the true reason for his cries, the tortures he endured. Indeed, he himself often forgot, in those long 20 years, why he was going through such suffering. He forgot even who he was, where he had come from, forgot anything that wasn't the mind-erasing pain that became his entire reality.

    From time to time, Zokmod would sit outside the wall that separated the chamber from the rest of the Tower and speak to Yurius through it of what was happening in the world. He had no idea what was causing him such pain and did not know if he could hear him wherever he was, but he thought that if he heard a familiar voice it might help him cope with his terrible trial. As it happened, Yurius did hear him, but he could not understand what he was saying or what any of it meant. He was too addled with pain and suffering to focus on Zokmod's words, but the sound of his voice was indeed a small comfort that very well may have saved Yurius's life.

    In 325, the Witch Goddess, La Mamba herself, returned to the Tower to lounge and create the Alfar. It was almost as though the universe was mocking him, for if Yurius had not been undergoing the trial for the purpose of meeting her, he could have asked for her healing right then and there. If she noticed his cries of agony, she gave no sign. In fact, it almost seemed as if the cries of pain were a sweet symphony to the Witch, for she simply sat back and watched her mirror, occasionally sighing contentedly as she drank from her goblet. The Alfar themselves, having just been born, simply assumed the screaming was normal in this world, for it was all they had ever known. Eventually, they figured it would have been strange for them not to hear someone screaming constantly in utter agony as they lived their lives peacefully.

    Finally, mercifully, in 330, twenty long years after the torture began, the cat's eyes stopped glowing and the statue and scroll both crumbled to dust. Yurius's mind returned at last to his body. The sudden absence of the pain that had been his constant companion for so long was almost as frightening as the torture itself had been. Physically he was well, but mentally he was utterly destroyed. He gradually remembered who he was, what had happened, and the reason he subjected himself to such torment. He could not suppress the irrational anxiety and fear he felt, though he knew he was now safe. He could not cope with the memories that assailed him of his tortures. Again and again, he imagined himself beaten or skinned or burned and his fear and panic were ignited anew. Eventually, after several days of cowering, lying in a fetal position and silently weeping, he managed to shatter the walls of the room once more and descend the tower.

    As he did, he realized that no portal had appeared. Had he failed the test? No, he was still alive, so that must not be the case. So where was his pathway, he thought as he opened the front door to the Tower. There, he saw several tall, thin creatures with blue-colored skin. They were somewhat panicked themselves because, after five years of constant yelling, it suddenly stopped and they did not know why. It was as if the sky turned green and the grass turned blue for them. It just shouldn't be. Some of them noticed Yurius as he emerged and looked at him quizzically, wondering who he was and where he'd come from. At seeing these creatures, he felt a small well of panic within himself again rising to the surface and forcefully kept it bottled within him. He had to compose himself and maintain his strength. He could not give in to these irrational horrors that tormented him. Then he felt it. The magic. These creatures had the same kind of aura as the strange, colorful world in which Yurius had been imprisoned and tortured. The magic from which they were created was identical. His resolve crumbled. The panic he managed to suppress a moment before flared and overtook him.

    They're going to beat me and burn me and skin me and sever my limbs! I cannot take it anymore! I will not! I must escape! Escape, escape, escape! I MUST GET AWAY!

    Yurius wailed and screamed and fell to his knees clutching his head. The Alfar recognized his screams and suddenly all was right in their world again. They let out a collective sigh of relief and returned to their daily tasks.

    Yurius, however, could only think of how to get away from these creatures who clearly wanted to return him to the spiritual realm where his tortures took place. He was in a desperate panic and, distantly, he felt something stir deep within himself. Then, in front of him, a crack appeared in mid-air and it pulsed as if resonating with the sudden, strange new power that dwelt within Yurius. The crack responded to Yurius's frenzied cries for a way to escape. It abruptly and violently split the air vertically in two to form a man-sized window and on the other side of it he could see a dark, dreary tunnel and two people, a man and a woman, standing in front of a wall, watching some ghostly shades collide with the wall and disappear. He thought he vaguely recognized the woman, but in truth he did not really know or care who they were or what they were doing; all he knew was that he had a way to run from these creatures of sorcery who wanted to hurt him. He jumped through the portal and ran to the two figures standing there. The portal remained open behind him, but he thankfully could no longer feel the pressure exerted by the sorcery those creatures wielded that was so similar to the Spiritual Realm in which he'd resided for 20 years, nor could he see them any longer. He took great gasps of deep breath and slowly but surely calmed himself down. The two figures watched as he collected himself and simply seemed bewildered and confused as they waited for him to explain himself and what had him so afraid.

    “Were you two the ones to send a creature with wings along with a message asking for help? I have sacrificed much to find a way to come here, but the tear in the air that you see behind me is a portal that leads back to Rephlon near the Tower by which you came. I do not know what you hoped to accomplish by coming to this damned place, but if you wish to leave, do so now. Tell me, do either of you know the whereabouts of the Witch who brought you here? There is something which I must desperately ask her.”

    Finally calm, breathing normally again, Yurius put his brief episode of irrational panic out of his mind and decided to deal with it later. He had finally found his portal and now it was time to do what he came here to do: find the Witch and help the immortals. He looked at Eliphon and Realiti and awaited their response.
     
  24. Domino355

    Domino355 Senior Member

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    310 Although the dozen Hellcats raced through the tunnels much faster than any creature yet to be created, apart from Khaline's hunt perhaps, Mamba rarely managed to see much of the creature through her mirror. A claw here, tentacle there. There was something wwrong about the creature's skin, as it kept changing its form and texture. It intercepted every Hellcat it came in contact with, and tore it down viciously. Whenever a creature was killed, its spirit would be snatched by the monster, and absorbed into its skin. Then the monster will disappear. Before they died, however, the Hellcats did manage to cause some damage, leaving long woumds in the creature's unnaturaly looking skin.

    322 The Smalltooth tribe cheered at Khaline's words. Most of them settled in Khaline's tower, while a few others scattered around the Simian empire. They sold the gems, and with the money they gained came influence. Soon enough, most of Khaline's disiples joined the Smalltooth tribe.

    325 Eliphon saw the Hellcats entering the cavern after him. There were eight left now. He nodded with approval. Then he continued looking around at those shades, disappearing into the walls.

    "Reveal yourself, whoever you are. Or you shall feel the wrath of Eliphon, Last of the Ash."

    His voice rang through the cavern. With it came images of death and decay, with the certain promise that, should the enemy not reveal its face, it shall suffer its miserable fate immediately. Eliphon raised his staff and fire bellowed around him, engulfing everything in its path.

    The creature merely chuckled. "Don't worry, old man. I'll reveal myself in time. You are alone here, and your power cannot touch me. So I will give you a chance to leave with your..." he paused. "Woman." The last word came out much dofferent that the rest of the creature's composed tone. It was higher pitched, and quicker.

    Before Eliphon could intervene a tentacle appeared out of one of the walls and wrapped itself around Realiti. Her double next to Mamba disappeared. Eliphon grabbed Realiti's hands, and tried to pull her away, to no avail. He tried to teleport elsewhere, but the creature would not let him. The Hellcats attacked the creature, but they were all flung away. Realiti was slowly being deagged into the walls.

    330 The struggle seemed to last a moment in Eliphon's eyes. They were at a standstill, the creature unable to draw Realiti in, Eliphon couldn't take her out. When suddenly a portal appeared behind them. Eliphon didn't hear what the god said. He didn't care. He snatched Yurius's hammer, and, engulfing it with his own fire, struck the creature. The Hellcats attacked at the same moment, and, with the combined effort, they managed to severe the tentacle. Eliphon grabbed Yurius and Realiti, and jumped back out through the portal.

    "Thank you," he said, handing Yurius his hammer. "The creature will not follow us here. It is not ready, yet." He thought about it for a moment. And niether are we."

    He quickly took Realiti back to his tower, and placed her on the bed. Only then did he notice that she had been turned to Wysdom.

    Leaving her, he travelled to Ignus, to meet with the goddess.
    "Goddess Ignus," he said. "I require you to make me a weapon."
    "I don't make weapons anymore," she said, looking down. "Beside, it's not like my skills would help you. You should ask Tesni."
    "But it's your skills which I need," he said, drawing out the piece of the cosmos. "I need you to weave this into a net for me."
    Ignus examined the bead for a moment. "It is pretty," she said, giggling slightly. "But I will need a tool for it."
    Without wasting time, Eliphon appeared on Rephlon, and returned with a piece of wood from Khaline's new forest. "Will this do?" he asked.
    Ignus nodded.

    350 Ignus and Rephlon worked together for twenty years. First she worked with the wood, and fashioned it into a spinning wheel. Then they took the bead of light and spun it into a long thread. Then they cut the tread, and weaved the pieces together, until a large, net-like, weapon was created. Eliphon named it Fate's Weave.

    The land around Mamba's tower continued to shake. Cracks appeared at the tower's base, and the circle of decay around the tower only grew larger. The Alfar and Simians who lived around the area fled it with fear.

    Eliphon appeared near the tower, his weapons ready. "Here he comes," he said. He looked around, and saw Mul'amon and Arzian, the latter who seemed far too keen torturing some bird than stopping whatever was going to come out.
     
  25. gibble410

    gibble410 Contributor Contributor

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    "Dont worry old man. I'll reveal myself in time. You are alone here, and your power cannot touch me. So I will give you a chance to leave with your..." he paused. "Woman."

    Realitì stood next to Eliphon, her eyes blazing. Her fingers twitched and just as she was going to attack the creature, a tentacle from the dark snatched at her. What a fool it was, trying to attack a goddess. It was her mistake underestimating this beast, he had a power to match hers. She called out in a panic to Eliphon, as she was dragged away.

    She glanced at Eliphon, and knew this may be the last time she ever saw him. "Wysdom." She whispered, and just before it all went black she heard a laugh in the darkness.
     

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