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Aion Mods ([personal profile] aionmods) wrote in [community profile] aionooc2022-02-13 02:00 pm

TDM #1

TDM #1
DREAMING
At first, there is nothing. You are nothing. Whatever existed before ceases to be if for a moment. Then, bit by bit, you start to become aware. Where there was not even darkness now is a dim haze, gentle and almost mist-like. You have limbs again and beneath your feet lays a path of light reaching out like limbs of a great tree beneath you, twisting and climbing out into the horizon.

You take a step forward for what else is there to do? As you walk you begin to remember what it was you were doing before the nothingness; maybe something as simple as chatting with a loved one or close friend. Maybe you were just beginning a great journey or facing off against an old foe. Whatever it was, you get the distinct feeling that wherever and whenever that was, it is not here. Not now.

The path of light twists off into different directions. When you look up you can see that it is not a sky above you but the sky of everything, a grand cosmic tapestry littered with not mere stars but galaxies and clusters of galaxies that gleam like crystals against the velvety backdrop of space. Admire it for a moment, if you will. You don't know how long you will drift here, but you are not alone. Other wanderers will come and go as you bask together in the vastness of creation.

It seems to you that there are two paths to walk in this place, the light and dark beckoning in turn.

THE LIGHT AT THE CENTER
One leads you to the center, splintered fragments folding together and colliding until only one thing remains: a light that speaks to you with the voice of all there is and has ever been. It greets you simultaneously as an old friend and as a lost child, both rejoicing in and mourning your arrival. You remember it too, somehow, with a feeling of complex nostalgia, as if returning to a place recalled from your distant childhood.

You’ll feel the same of the other wanderers that join you in the light; you know their faces, their voices, and as you reflect upon the world of your birth, you may witness fragments of theirs as well. You feel a comradery, then, a synchronicity of thought and emotion. Are the lives of others truly so different from your own? Or are you simply two hands of the same, greater being? Though some individualistic part of you may resist, the longer you spend in the light, the more you will find yourself becoming one with it.

Despite this welcoming call, no matter how eagerly your pursue its embrace, before you can fully submerge yourself in this oneness you will find yourself being torn away. As if seized by the impossibly long, cold arm of a creature unseen, you are plucked from the edge of fulfillment. The last thing you will remember is the sensation of your world, and all the others your experienced here, collapsing into nothingness.

THE DARK OUTSIDE (CW: deep despair, ego death)
The other leads towards the outside, where the splintering becomes so great that the vestiges of reality can do nothing but collapse back into the abyss at the end of everything. As you wander to these barren outskirts, your thoughts will not be drawn to familiarity and oneness, but instead to memories of discontent and waste. The darker the path becomes, the more you find yourself dwelling on life’s disappointments and injustices, of the things about yourself and your world you find wanting.

If you see others here, at first they will feel frightening or contemptible, as if representing to you the worst experiences in your life. Even if they are someone you’re certain you know, that familiarity and affection will be stripped away in the face of the great emptiness before you. In the end, you were all the same. In the end, none of this was worth it. If you approach the end together, you may even form a kind of kinship around this acknowledgment, as the need for paranoia and hatred fades.

Slowly, the darkness encroaches, and you can see it devouring all the things you once knew. Memories of your home, of those you loved, dissolve into nothing, and you can only reflect on the barren emptiness in your heart as you see it happen. In your final moments, though, you feel peace with it all, knowing that there was no other way. You step from the edge of the last dwindling fragment of being and are greeted by silence.

THE END
No matter which way you go, you are left with a single impression: you feel the world you came from die. It's a realization that transcends logic or sense; it weighs on your heart and leaves the vestiges of dark memories dancing in your thoughts like motes of ash. It's a memory of your home crumbling away into nothing as if consumed from within by rot. Returned to the void, all that's left to you is to be reborn.

REBIRTH
In a new time and place, you awaken. Stirring within a capsule of warmth and isolation your senses will slowly return, only to observe that you are trapped. Your body, as it wakes, is tangled in close, yours eyes unable to open, as if still within the womb. You are held tight in the embrace of something unyielding, so smothering that at first you only have the strength to struggle for moments at a time. Yet, as you persist, the pressure begins to relent in turn; it may take hours, but eventually you will find the purchase to push, to claw, to fight, and it will all give way.

The chrysalis surrounding you bends like flesh and cracks like glass. It tears as you force your fingers through, finding liberation one inch at a time, until finally you have emerged. As if having undergone metamorphosis, you feel old and new all at once. You are weak, piteously so, but the markings and scars of your previous life remain. As you slump down upon the smooth cavern stone, you realize that you've just wrenched yourself free of gigantic crystal, though its hollow, shimmering form is now in pieces on account of your passing. Somewhere on your body, a shard of similar material remains embedded.

The cave itself looks almost like the inside of a geode, the walls and ceiling bedazzled with greyish crystal that shines with all the colors of the rainbow. While they vary wildly in size and shape, only a few have grown large enough to hold a form like yours, and you can see the one you just escaped isn't the only one bearing a passenger within. They may have already hatched, or they may still be lingering in stasis. Either way, there's enough time that you may have a chance to speak to yours unexpected peers, or to perhaps to struggle to find something to cover your naked body with. You feel the chill of the open air against your moisture laden skin, a distant light trickling in through the cavern's opening.

Make the most of this time. It won't be long before you're interrupted.

[Mod Note: If you don't want to deal with your character being naked in front of the others at that location, feel free to assume they emerge at a different time than the others of their legacy. Characters will be 'hatching' over a period of several hours.]

CAPTIVITY
It seems that someone was waiting for you to arrive, and not in the most friendly of ways. Though the specifics of who comes to get you will vary according to which legacy shrine your character awakens at, there are certain commonalities: most notably, how they are ostensibly here to capture and imprison you. It's easy for them, all considered. You can barely stand, so fresh out of your chrysalis, and whatever powers or special abilities you may have had will not answer your call. Even worse, your would be captors are well equipped for the job.

Each group arrives with several 'whips' made of unknown materials. What makes them so special only become obvious when one of them inevitable snakes its way around your body. Whether it be your ankle or your neck, being bound by these cords puts you under the influence of whoever is holding the other end of your leash. Your mind remains untouched, but you will find yourself physically incapable of performing physical actions that go against their will. While the possibilities are frightening, thankfully they all just seem to want one thing: for you to come along as a good little prisoner and to not cause any of them too much trouble.

The rest depends on your character's legacy:

THE LOVER
The small island the shrine is built upon is approached by several modest boats with colorful sails. They carry what appears to be a collection of fearful fisherfolk and town guards. They are reluctant to speak with those being pulled out of the shrine or even look them in the eye. If they have their choice, the entire process will be done in silence. If you try too hard to upset them, the guards will sternly bring you to heel.

THE CELEBRANT
The infrastructure of an entire festival ground seems to be built around this shrine, and as a result, there are an usual amount of people present. While most keep their distance, a few will engage with the local guards that arrive to capture the Aions, complaining that this is going to interfere with their preparations for the upcoming Lover’s Festival. They are pushed aside in short order, and the rest of the retrieval will be done in a stern but business-like manner.

THE MARTYR
At first, those arriving to capture the Aions will be hesitant to even enter the barren crater this shrine is held within. Once the presence of the new arrivals becomes clear, however, they will run in as if crossing the no man’s land of a battlefield and complete their work with gusto. It appears to be mostly military folk and they seem to lack any patience or sympathy for those they capture.

THE SOVEREIGN
The captors here seem to be a mixed bag, almost as if two separate squadrons have arrived at the same time. One is a gathering of people who give off the impression of mountain folk, while the others are well armored soldiers. Though it will be hard to make out the specifics, there seems to be some manner of disagreement between these two parties over what should be done, but the ones kitted out in full military attire win out in the end. By then, they are completely out of patience for further resistance.

THE ARTISAN
The people here seem to have mixed feelings about your arrival. On one hand, it seems to be a moment of considerable trepidation, on the other, they seem unbearably curious about your nature. They will ask questions about any unusual features you have, or what your skills are, while others from the group try just as hard to shush them. Ultimately, they don’t seem that enthusiastic about having to capture you, but they also don’t seem to think they have much choice.

THE INNOCENT
Among rolling hills of flowers, at first it seems as if this shrine may not be visited at all. Before the arriving Aions can escape it, though - naked and weakened as they are - a group of fairly normal looking townsfolk will arrive. They pause as they spot you near the shrine, almost like they are hesitating about coming at all. In the end, they will converge upon you and ask for you to please cooperate. They won’t hurt you, as long as you come with them.

THE SEEKER
Armored soldiers are the ones to first pull you from the shrine, but as you arrive outside of it you'll see that it is situated at the edge of a great forest. An ancient observatory is build into the cliff face behind the shrine, and your captors are apparently in the process of negotiating with a series of robed individuals that have emerged from it. According to them, the soldiers kidnapping you are trespassing. Unfortunately, they are not the ones with weapons.

THE WANDERER
When you first emerge from the shrine, it will appear as if you have just missed a skirmish. There are a few bodies scattered about, all wearing woodland armor made of leather and fur. The victors, it seems, come in the form of fully armored soldiers. Thoroughly irritated by the fight that just happened, they will not waste time on niceties. If you try to ask them what just happened, the best you may get is a sneer about ‘those damn forest people.’ You may spot a couple more bodies on the trail leading out of the forest as well.

THE FIREBRAND
The first thing to be seen beyond the cavern entrance is a sheer drop into a raging canyon river far below you, with only a narrow path leading up the steep cliff face. It would be a difficult situation, even without black-cloaked warriors making their way down it to collect you. Struggle too much and you'll be at risk of being thrown into the chasm. These masked assailants are largely unmoved by your protests and will drag you the entire way up the cliff if you force them to. "Your soul will be claimed," they say.

THE VISIONARY
The view from the mouth of the cavern is awe inspiring, revealing the foreign shapes of a world you've never seen before. Unfortunately, the altitude of this shrine means you will also be greeted with sharp wind and biting cold. Fortunately, or not, a party of mountaineers and three black-cloaked warriors will arrive to collect you. Despite their seeming inability to defy the orders of the warriors, the mountaineers will toss you some shoes and blankets for the trek down, even if they are taken away from you later. If the warriors speak at all, it's mostly in the form of ominous utterances.

THE CHAMPION
Even if one were to stagger out of the shrine's cavern before being approached, the Aions arriving here will swiftly find themselves in a hopeless situation. Not only are there soldiers here to collect there is a moderately sized military barracks built around the shrine itself, and this particular squadron is not on your side. You will be swarmed before you can get far at all. There seems to be a mix of two squadrons here, some wearing heavy armor and red accents, while the others wear full face masks and dark cloaks.

Once you've been captured and pulled from the shrine, you will given a formless white gown made of moderately comfortable fabric, with sleeves reaching your elbows and its bottom reaching down past your knees. You will not be given pants or shoes. You're in for a journey, apparently - no matter who plucked you from the cave, most of the heavily armored soldiers in the prompts above will turn out to be 'Hylician soldiers', while the smaller number of black-robed warriors are referred to 'Achamites'. After the initial dealings with the shrines, all prisoners will be passed off to a squadron of Hylicians, though a few Achamites may follow along depending on the location.

Where are you all going? Back to Hylici, apparently.

WAITING
After you've been handed off to the the Hylician military, you have a long road ahead of you. Loaded up onto carts, and then eventually onto river borne boats, the people collected at the shrines will all be brought to a forest in the center of Horos. Along the way, the squadron ferrying you will combine with others from neighboring shrines, more and more captives arriving in your group the closer to your destination you get.

Along the way you will be fed and watered well enough (though only with military rations), and at night you will be given flimsy bedrolls to sleep around the fire with. Captives will be under constant watch by the Hylician guard, and anyone who shows any signs of resistance will be required to be bound by one of those magic whips, usually around the ankle or wrist. The rest of the trip is spent being pulled along in carts or the storage bays of boats. After the groups start converging, captives of the same legacy will not necessarily be kept together.

The final muster point of the Hylicians and their captives will be among forest ruins. For what purpose you have arrived they will not say, but the entire group will be camping there until preparations are complete. Sadly, you won't be allowed much space to explore - not without being bound and under watch. If you've behaved yourself it's possible to move about the central ruins, but only if the guards are confident they'll be able to wrangle you when necessary. It does allow for moderately private conversations along the pillars and walls of the ruins, but venturing out into the forest itself is definitely out of the question.

From beginning to end, characters will spent about two weeks in transit and waiting in the ruins. To what end is yet to be seen, but if you listen closely, you may hear whispers of a 'ritual space' being prepared.

QUESTIONS
Are everyone's homeworlds really gone?
That's a complicated issue, and while the fate of their world is not without hope, they may certainly get the impression its been destroyed from the dream they had. Alternatively, they may refuse to believe what they felt and attempt to dismiss it as only a vision. More about this situation will be revealed as the game goes on.

Can I only experience one end of the dream sequence prompt?
Characters may experience one ending, both endings, or neither. If they experience both they will struggle to recall which came first or which feels the most 'true' to them, as both will simultaneously be the thought they are reborn with. If your character refuses to pursue either path they can simply linger in the middle until the infinite worlds above them start being extinguished one by one, eventually expelling them into darkness in a similar style to the light prompt. Which dreams they experience will not dictate their intial sect affiliation.

Is it possible to pull another character back from the end of the light or darkness dreams?
Yes! If your character is able to resist the pull of either end, they will have the chance to try to pull another character back from the edge of the abyss or the edge of oneness. Whether or not they succeed is entirely up to the other character, though.

Do you come out of the chrysalis wet?
For most intents and purposes it's the same experience as hatching out of a real butterfly chrysalis, so yes, a bit.

Can my character resist the influence of the whips?
Those possessed of particularly strong wills may be able to struggle with the whip's control in brief spurts, but not long enough to make a full escape attempt. They may be able to take an impotent swing at one of the guards or fight against being pulled along, though. Naturally, doing this will indicate to the Hylicians that you are a problem, and their handling of you will become harsher the more it occurs.

How cruel will the Hylicians be to the player characters?
The Hylician military are not friendly people and come across as being a bit callous even at the best of times. However, unless you provoke them, they will be primarily focused on just getting the job done with as few interruption as possible. If your character makes a habit of pissing them off, either by constantly fighting back or just by being persistently obnoxious, their treatment will get worse. If driven to it, they may take the opportunity to take out their frustrations on particularly troublesome prisoners, via physical punishment, humiliation, or deprivation.

regretsor: (pic#15459535)

[personal profile] regretsor 2022-02-18 09:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[At some point he just does his best to shield his vitals as he gets disciplined by the Hylicians. It’s probably a pitiful sight to see the tall standing protagonist curled up on the ground. He’s no longer the main character of Dokja’s beloved novel, but another guy dragged into this place for whatever reason.

He watches the others push Dokja back towards the camp. Makes note of where they are so he can hopefully find them once they let up.

He counts the seconds. Minutes. However long until they let up when he hasn’t fought back in awhile. His entire body is aching as he finally drags himself back to his feet when they disperse.

Joonghyuk dusts himself off, the white robes have long lost the cleanliness. He wipes blood from his mouth before he starts walking back to the camp with a singleminded goal to find the elusive reader.
] Bastard. [Is he referring to Dokja or the soldiers at that point?]
aquaveiled: (himeka-431)

[personal profile] aquaveiled 2022-02-18 10:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[ At the acceptance Himeka's smile widens. She knows it isn't much especially considering the lack of appealing flavors or textures, but there isn't a better way to offer an olive branch than sharing food, as far as she's concerned. She nods when the other woman accepts before drawing her own hand back. ]

Caitlyn? I'm Himeka.

[ She shifts so that her legs can dangle off the edge of the fallen pillar she's claimed. ]

To be honest I'm a little surprised they gave us food, but I suppose they need us alive.
goldendeceiver: (into its hands)

[personal profile] goldendeceiver 2022-02-18 10:34 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The magic of being a communication focused individual.

Though the response he gets really throws Ernesto for a bit of a loop. This is really on him for assuming that just because the other man also had his own set of animal features that he was from the same world as Ernesto himself.

Still, it gives him pause for a moment. He has his own questions now, but he's got enough manners to answer the one asked of him first.
]

It's a little more obvious on some people than others, but yeah. We do.

[ And anyone from his world would know that, so... ]

I feel a little silly asking something so obvious at this point, but you're not from Terra, are you?
intermingled: ([malagraphic]wLPMcZ6)

[personal profile] intermingled 2022-02-18 10:39 pm (UTC)(link)
I concur. Better to have as much information as we can rather than acting rashly.

[ It's a comfort to find a likeminded person, even if he seems concerned about the limitations of the other person he speaks of. For many, the temptation to fight or run without thought must be strong, but it will only get them further trapped or watched more closely if they fail. ]
bearshermark: credit: <user name="morninglight"> (concerned bean)

[personal profile] bearshermark 2022-02-18 11:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[Eleven frowns thoughtfully. It isn't the first time he's heard of someone that isn't aware of Yggdrasil, but it still sits strangely with him.

But neither has he heard of Ancients, though he does know one legend of a hero that became a star]


Yggdrasil is.. She was the source of all Life in Erdrea. A great tree in the sky. When people die, their leaf falls from Her branches, and when someone is born, a new one blooms. That's what I expected when we were reborn.
bearshermark: credit: <user name="morninglight"> (do what now)

[personal profile] bearshermark 2022-02-18 11:11 pm (UTC)(link)
[He forgets to breathe for a moment, staring blankly while his heart beats between his ears. Confusion asserts itself]

I don't understand.
intermingled: ([malagraphic]DTSTeND)

[personal profile] intermingled 2022-02-18 11:11 pm (UTC)(link)
That would do it.

Spock closes his eyes and breath in deep, nostrils flaring. He cannot meditate in this place. He cannot dismiss his thoughts so easily. How does an entire planet just go and take his mother with it?

He doesn't have the strength to ask about his father, T'Pring, the culture and wisdom that doubtless could not all be so easily saved in such a situation. Michael is gone from his life now, but she is not dead and she will outlive him. This is no more permanent, but the loss is somehow greater.

There's no awareness of his space, nothing but the grief that fills his chest like a tightly packed balloon, and he drops to his knees without even realizing he'd been falling, but the impact only elicits a soft grunt from him. What is physical pain in the face of this?

"How?!"

His voice echoes in the odd space they inhabit. Or maybe it's in his head. It doesn't matter. He's untethered and lost and he's not sure he could regain his composure now if he tried.
baltimores: (053; Peaches)

[personal profile] baltimores 2022-02-18 11:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He looks back at her when she speaks. Notes the pause, the way she looks back towards... he doesn't even know what it is. Lightened, sure. But he's never really seen anything like that before, and has no reason to go towards it now.

She does. A part of him feels more of a pull towards her than the other path, like if she were to lead him down it, he'd follow.

But that's not what she offers, so he nods, takes the first step towards the outside, the nothing, the waste of it all. It speaks to him immediately, and he can feel something like what it must be to return somewhere deeper than home.

He looks back at her, his own hesitation not in going forward, but in seeing if she's going to follow. He would understand if she didn't, he realizes. And really, it's her choice. But... she'd offered. And it just. It makes so much sense. ]


This was the only way things could have ended. [ He's earnest, but... he needs affirmation, he finds. ] You feel that, right?

[ It dawns on him, belatedly, that his judgment was never the best. But the pull is there. He can't see himself going anywhere else, if he has to go anywhere at all. ]
goldendeceiver: (to make your own demands)

accepts tentatively while fearing future displays of affections

[personal profile] goldendeceiver 2022-02-18 11:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Oh... Hmmm...

Between the man in front of seeming to stumble over his words and the clear blush on his face, Ernesto might be leaping to some false conclusions here. Honestly, while his ego isn't huge, he doesn't think he's a bad looking guy. He's definitely had some luck picking people up at bars in the past, though that was usually after he intentionally turned on some charm. Still, these things could happen, right?

What an awkward situation, but he's sure regardless that this man will understand they have more pressing things to focus on right now.

He does pull his tail just a little closer to himself as he clears his throat.
]

I don't mean to be cruel, Señor, but I think we should focus on the current state of things right now instead.

[ No judgement about the clear and immediate crush that Abel formed though. Obviously. What else could explain all of what happened just now?

Ernesto turns his head to glance at one of the crystals not too far from him.
]

I'm guessing you don't know what's up with these things either?
goldendeceiver: (no need to)

[personal profile] goldendeceiver 2022-02-18 11:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Hey now! Ernesto's world is kind of tail spinning too! Just at a much more gradual rate...

Though he can't relate at all to the weird shared dream business, he can nod in agreement at the idea that the soldiers knew they'd be arriving in advance.
]

It's possible, but if that's the case... what happened to the others?

[ He casts a glance around the camp. He wasn't the first group to arrive her, but it doesn't look like it's necessarily designed for a permanent living arrangement. ]
youngprodigy: (∉ on the pure and simple)

II

[personal profile] youngprodigy 2022-02-19 12:10 am (UTC)(link)
[The fact that he doesn't eat at all hasn't escaped Cid's notice. He's not sure what to make of it, but not the sort to confront complete strangers.]

You should eat, you need it more than I. Low aether can lead to health problems, and I doubt our captors will care about such things.
salvageable: (pic#15332068)

[personal profile] salvageable 2022-02-19 12:25 am (UTC)(link)
[ Probably Dokja.

He was supposed to be using this time to plot out an escape, but instead, he's seated away from the others on the ground with his back against one of the stone ruins. His gaze is unfocused, whole demeanor despondent as he stares at nothing in particular. Seeing Joonghyuk here had pushed him off-kilter and uncentered his very core.

His head lolls down, bangs draping over his eyes as he stares at his fingers. Intact. They should have disappeared. Dokja should have disappeared. The way he had wanted to on that subway. He's a meaningless existence... No, even a meaningless existence would be better than what he is.

It was only a matter of time before Joonghyuk found him again. The dread building inside of him only grows deeper and darker with every anxious thought that unfolds in his mind. He has nowhere to run. ]
brutallyefficient: (Blue Caustics)

[personal profile] brutallyefficient 2022-02-19 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
It's what I was designed for.

[ He explains. ...Given the unfamiliarity with androids, perhaps a more detailed explanation is in order. ]

Each android is specifically designed with the capability to complete specific tasks. Their model is tailored to the functions that specialty requires.
regretsor: (pic#15433794)

[personal profile] regretsor 2022-02-19 12:38 am (UTC)(link)
[Joonghyuk slowly approaches the man and stands next to him. He still manages to look better than someone should after getting beaten up honestly.

He’s irritated and frustrated and incredibly tired.

He could tell something was off. The other felt different. It has been three years for himself, but it felt different. It was as though Dokja felt out of reach despite him sitting right before him. Why did they feel so far?
]

Why did you run from me? [His voice was even, but there was so many emotions behind it. Anger at the forefront. Annoyance. One could feel the tiredness of the man. Buried deep down though was something softer though. Concern? It’s almost like the man had missed the other.]
youngprodigy: (∉ take a breath)

[personal profile] youngprodigy 2022-02-19 12:48 am (UTC)(link)
You're right.

Sooner or later, we'll find out something, it's just a matter of whether or not it'll be aught of value.
salvageable: (pic#15344871)

[personal profile] salvageable 2022-02-19 01:01 am (UTC)(link)
[ That's a great question, and Dokja's own gaze follows along in looking over the campgrounds. Hearing something like a "ritual space" makes it hard not to think of something along the lines of sacrifice, but to go through all that trouble?

For every single one of these people? Unlikely. ]


Maybe whatever happened to them is the reason we're here now.

[ Maybe they failed. Maybe they were lost. Maybe this whole theory is bullshit. ]

Ha, this is frustrating.
goldendeceiver: (into its hands)

[personal profile] goldendeceiver 2022-02-19 01:17 am (UTC)(link)
[ Something that will result in their deaths is the easiest answer to jump to, but Ernesto is of the same mind. There was so much hassle involved in dragging this group of people this great distance, and keeping them corralled here for even longer just to kill them off.

What they might be doing with that ritual is still beyond him though. He's not the religious or spiritual type at all, so this kind of thing never really held his interest.
]

You can say that again.

[ He glances back to see the grumpy looking guards still following at some distance now. ]

At least our shadows have really fallen behind at this point.
zauneyete: (Or not)

[personal profile] zauneyete 2022-02-19 01:31 am (UTC)(link)
[ Breaking free was exhausting, and Silco's limbs felt it, quivering and weak, covered in slime, he wheezed, looking around, his eye fell on him first. As if possessed, he slid out all the way, still wheezing, but anger, fury had always been able to push him through anything. This was so much not unlike the night Vander had tried to drown him, pushing through that weakness, that temptation to give up.

Even with his limbs like jelly, he held himself up when he slipped to the ground, one eye like fire in the dark. He had no voice, not yet, a croak of an angry grunt was all he could get out. Jayce had the presence of mind to look for a weapon, all Silco had was his hands, and that would be enough to wrap his fingers around the neck of the man that had asked for his daughter's death.

He waited, though. Like a snake slithering through the grass. He stared at him, waiting, that pitch-black eye, red pupil glowed in the low light. He didn't stop staring, an implied challenge to the councilor.
]
lachtara: (Look Up)

[personal profile] lachtara 2022-02-19 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
"Where?" He repeats, trying to sort through the gestures and their meaning.

"These are hardly the first ruins I have seen. One could spend lifetimes learning about the bygone civilizations lost to time." He folds one arm over the other. "As for where..." Emet-Selch glances out on the ruins and narrows his eyes. The view is largely alien in its view, both visible and invisible. It's strange to him not being able to see the world how he usually can. "that answer may depend on where 'here' is."
aquaveiled: (himeka-214)

[personal profile] aquaveiled 2022-02-19 02:00 am (UTC)(link)
[ She wrinkles her nose at that, an expression that does not at all carry the full weight of just how dire the implications are. There is a sense of panic slowly brewing as she watches the soldiers round the other ones up.

Why spare them, but not whomever these animal skin-clad people were?

It is note-worthy that, once they are under the control of these soldiers, they apparently don't see the need for excess violence.

They're not here to be killed--...at least yet. ]


Maybe the others had the kinder fate.

[ One of the bodies is only a few yalms away. Her tail flops sadly onto the ground. ]

Does any of this look familiar to you?

[ It's...a forest. That's about it from her end. ]
wolof: (Hi Cat)

Akua Sahelian | A Practical Guide to Evil | Sovereign (?)

[personal profile] wolof 2022-02-19 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
⟳ Dreaming
[ Nothingness is... expected. She's not quite sure why, yet. Not really. She's formless, but alone. That feels wrong. Formless isn't the concern, no. Has she been like this before? Has she been nothing before?

Yes, the void echoes. Or is it her soul? Blackened though it was, she is -- ah, yes. It is her soul, it's her memories, isn't it? Quick to put things together, she remembers, bit by bit, the strands of roles and names, the pattern being something to follow -- until it wasn't. The question then, is why is she here? Oh, she was dead before, certainly, but her soul had been housed after the Doom of Liesse. She'd still been present, if not alive. That nothingness had been cold, particularly when faced with Catherine's fury.

She shivered, despite herself. She was alone? For the first time in...quite some time. At one point in her life -- was this still her life? -- she would have welcomed it. After all, someday, she would have been the Dread Empress, yes? That was a role for one who was always alone. After so many years, however, either with Cat alone, or after their trip to the Everdark, and after --

She didn't quite so fancy it anymore. Imagine that. She'd thought she wouldn't be alone here, but perhaps this is what a true death was? But no, she walked, and there was the impression of figures. Others?
]

Who's there?

⟳ Rebirth

[ It's so different than the mantle of Woe. Being trapped there had been... cold. Particularly after Cat had been the sole mantle of the Winter Court. This, in a story of opposites, was warm. Akua wondered, then, if there was a story to be found here, as she found herself somehow stirring awake. Her mind already working through. Would sorcery be the thing to free her? She was tempted, but her body still felt weak, her mind numb, still. The vaguest stirring in her mind about something she was supposed to be doing kept her locked in.

The coin, forever spinning. The balance that could only be achieved by above and below.

She stirred, and as she tried to claw herself out, the first pushes were weak, but another, after another. She had something to do. Her body moved, almost possessed as she clawed her way out. She was Akua Sahelian, and she would not be trapped again. She would have the freedom of choice. She would be free. Her fingers slipped to open air, and she found the home she'd been born in -- the chrysalis -- shattered. On the ground, on her knees, naked and cold.

She looked up, golden eyes searching, before she tried to reach out for the magic she held so dear, a precise computation of sorcery, before her fingers stopped. Would that even work? No -- careful. She will not use it yet. Careful.

She sat, shivering, arms wrapped around herself -- one alive, the other withered and dead, curse-touched -- while she slowly examined the space around her, trying to find an answer to the millions of questions bursting forth in her mind.
]

⟳ Waiting

[ It was an uneventful trip down, Akua found. She played nice, the temptation to wreak havoc, create a working to disrupt these guards was so very tempting. But there would be no answers. The former Heiress instead allowed herself the indignity of being captured, and when she found herself garbed in a white robe, her lip curled, but she wore it all the same. ]

White, dearest? [ She asked the guard, but they were hardly going to put up with her slight teasing. Somehow, the formless robe looked fetching on her, a tie at the waist found to at least give her something comforting. She felt... at least somewhat better, with clothing, although White would have Cat laughing at her, she knew it. Perhaps it was for the best, that she wasn't here. Then again, Cat likely would have attacked the guards, and cut herself to the bone to escape, knowing her.

This was for the best.

She sat, instead, almost poised atop a a stone structure, and watched. Her golden eyes scanned the gathering, looking for...information. The guards wouldn't give it, and those in the white robes were like her. They were the only ones talking, though. She wished she could see like Cat saw, in this moment, that gathering of stories, the strands that united people. Perhaps she was across the sea? Elsewhere? She didn't know anyone here. It was concerning, as she knew most people in Praes.

She hopped from her perch, and approached the first person she saw, her lips quirked in what she hoped was a friendly smile -- although it was likely more haughty. It couldn't be helped.
]

Excuse me, perhaps you would answer a few of my questions?

⟳ Wildcard!

[ Feel free to choose anything else! I'm pretty flexible! ]
salvageable: (pic#15344883)

[personal profile] salvageable 2022-02-19 02:11 am (UTC)(link)
[ And there he is.

Dokja keeps his head down, doesn't react much besides his body tensing and his breaths rattling past his throat. The pain he'd tried to smother down upon arriving in this strange place claws its way back to the surface. It's reopened now, raw and festering.

It's been 21,763 years for him.

Not even a fraction of what he has to atone for. ]


You're not supposed to be here.

[ He ignores the question as he continues to stare at his hands. None of this makes any sense. Yoo Joonghyuk should be back in the 1864th world-line... living with everyone, the others, the half of himself that he'd given away. ]
lifespanned: (pic#11743290)

[personal profile] lifespanned 2022-02-19 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
In your "experience"....?!

[ He completely succeeds in freaking her out, because now she's like, does this guy sacrifice people on the regular? She has the audacity to find that creepy despite her side gig as a mass murderer. ]

Hey, c'mon, don't you think they would've got rid of us already if that was their plan all along? And don't say this is the normal way of doing rituals like that, please...!!!
aquaveiled: (himeka-324)

[personal profile] aquaveiled 2022-02-19 02:17 am (UTC)(link)
Curious...it makes her wonder if the bodies she found strewn outside of her emergence were townsfolk as well, mayhaps denizens of a nearby village. Yet given their fate, she feels they were not so keen to have them handed over.

But to what end?

Himeka gives a nod with a light smile before closing that distance and taking a seat upon the ground, wrapping her tail around herself in the same motion.

"I saw the remnants of some sort of battle. I wonder if they had cooperated as your townsfolk did if they'd have been spared.
epiprocta: (62)

[personal profile] epiprocta 2022-02-19 02:29 am (UTC)(link)
[ Haha. He saw that flinch. Maybe getting stuck in this shithole will have been a little bit worth it if he can hypothetically add 'made a demon flinch' to his mental resume.

And on some level, Gen knows prodding at a so-called-demon is a monumentally stupid move in the event that this guy's really telling the truth. He knows he shouldn't be so quick to make enemies of unknown caliber in a place like this where he has no resources, no connections, nothing at all to defend himself with, but ... it's kind of freeing, having nothing left to lose. Sure, why not. He'll antagonize this pretty-boy demon for a few moments longer just for the immediate rush, to distract himself from the miserable circumstances and the ache of the bruises he earned from those guards. And if he manages to properly earn this guy's ire from all this shit-talking, then. Well.

If he dies because of it later, then he dies. ]


Yeah? All that tells me is that it doesn't matter what you were before ending up here -- we're all the same sad sacks here.

[ That said, his gaze hardens a bit as Makoto continues. Spouts some bullshit about 'anything' the heart desires. Some of that insufferable, arrogant confidence seeps out of his expression, replaced by something much colder, and Gen meets Makoto's gaze flatly for a moment before lying: ]

Don't have anything like that.

[ Or, well. Maybe it's it's true. After all, the person he wants more than anything is probably dead, embraced lovingly in the arms of another. The thought grates at his nerves, whatever endorphin rush he'd gotten from bullying a reaction out of Makoto rapidly fading, and Gen looks away as he scuffs a hand through his hair. Though it's not like he's necessarily scared of the way that Makoto looks at him, hand propping up his chin like he's some insufferable scientist observing a sample, the fact remains that Gen isn't particularly eager to pursue this line of conversation. So he switches tack. ]

Point is, we're not on Earth at the moment ... I think. So all your talk about 'anything' [ he does a half-hearted job of mocking Makoto's cadence with that word, just obnoxious enough to be annoying but not quite there in terms of being truly grating ] doesn't mean much, yeah? Aren't you just the same as being human again? Or whatever you were before you 'became a demon.' Just with weird eyes and faster healing. Fat load of good that's gonna do you.