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Post by ev1lpoptart on Jul 20, 2007 19:11:33 GMT -5
Pritchard immediately tensed at the shockwave, and braced against the wall of the stables he had left his horse in. Something was direly wrong at the Tower. He spurred his stallion on with all haste towards the Tower, abandoning his mission for now. This amazing display must have been the culmination of what he was sent to investigate. He knew the captain would not be happy...
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Post by Rekona on Jul 20, 2007 19:39:16 GMT -5
The day prior seemed to be quite fortunate for the ragged elven archer. He had been allowed a few odd jobs for enough money for a few meager meals. Thanks to a few kindly words to a barmaid, he had managed to con his way into a warm house for the night and a sweet cream desert. He was even able to purchase a few oils from the apothecary! Granted they weren't the high quality lacquers, and thus were pungent with a foul stench, they would suit him well enough nonetheless. The brittle wood he was able to cut from the forestry near the village boarder needed a good rub down for both flexibility and strength.
In the corner of the tavern, Kaine sat at what he now claimed as his table, flocked with a wrenching combination of the bitter scent of oil and the sweet musk of sawdust. What had, only two days prior, been a full block of lumber, was now shaped into an elegant curve. The bow-in-progress was of a strange shape. The center of it was flattened, rather than rounded like the ends. Either this was intentional or eluded the carver's attention. He hummed a simple hunting hymn, using his fingers to knead his softening wash, a wet, slippery oil, into the woodgrain until it was soaked through deep enough, afterwhich he slid his knife against the craft, peeling thin ringlets away and letting them flutter to the dirt floor, already littered with his debris.
His song stopped short, the man's body falling still. The buzzing of glass bottles and pewter plates vibrating against eachother assaulted his ears. Keeping his chin lowered and his jaw shut tight, he lifted his eyes, scanning the room. He wasn't the only one that stopped acting, it seemed the whole of the bar's patronage was at a standstill for what seemed like ages. Several left to examine the quake. It didn't feel right though. It wasn't some earth-shake that were only natural from time to time. This was invoked, summoned. Thats what it felt like. The instinct didn't dissipate when it ceased, either, instead the mans fears only grew.
Suddenly he stood, dropping the project he had taken such care with, and let it clatter to the ground. Moving as fast as he could, he corked his liquid oils and twisted metal caps on to his waxes and, much to the shock and surprise of those left within the building, thrust the table he was seated at to its side. One of the worker women approached him, but before she could open her mouth to scold the elf, he grabbed her by the waist and forced her to the ground with him, behind the cover of the table.
Moments later the entire town screamed with shattering glass, splintering wood, bending metal, and frightened people. Kaine wrapped his body around the young maid, taking a number of thick shoots of the table in his arm, leg, and side, his head being tucked down under his elbow, in her stead as the table gave way under the shock.
It was only a momentary thing, a wave sent from a single point and moving on its merry way. The very ground seemed to hum, reverberating with the aftermath of the attack. Panting, Kaine slowly let go of the frightened blonde, whimpering wide eyed where she stood. He stood cautiously, his legs shaking as he grabbed the remnants of a chair to steady his wavering stance. "What... was that...?" He asked in a course whisper, afraid of who may hear, but too anxious about it to keep the question hidden at the back of his throat.
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Post by mutilateddragon on Jul 20, 2007 20:06:14 GMT -5
The dealings with his clan hadn’t gone as delightfully as Aeron hoped, Bane had wanted to further his authority after the briefing of what he was ordered to do. Now standing to his feet Aeron covered his bleeding nose carefully with his hand, catching the thick blood in his palm. On his face there were the beginnings of a few bruises, some turning straight to a sickly green-yellow colour. Not that his opponent had got away unscathed. And with the memories of the battle along with the last few remnants of alcohol in his blood Aeron laughed loud into the sky, an inane grin plastered on his rough stubble-covered face. He sat there until morning humming remnants of songs he had listened to in the past. Those passing by had kept a distance from him as the alcohol could be smelt from meters away and along with his terrible humming of fun fairs and rainbows. When Aeron believed it was finally morning he decided that it was time to be on his way. A bottle of unopened alcohol still clutched in one hand Aeron eventually managed to stagger to his feet, after many failed attempt of landing flat on his face. The dark clouds deceived his eyes and for a moment he stood, head pushed fully back to look at the sky, squinting to try and look through the thick black clouds.
Aeron was still standing outside of his clan’s shelter at the time of the appearance of the tower. At first he started to note the slight quaking under his feet as his mind was beginning to sluggishly clear itself from the night before. Although, the reality of the vibrations was much more than his body felt, it was then Aeron’s eyes began to be drawn to the attention of the tower. He watched it grow, mouth hanging open in awe, not noticing the bitter cold wind that was rocking his body backwards and forwards. Entranced only by the powerful purple light that shone in the distance. Believing he was still drunk and that this was simply another drunken hallucination Aeron rubbed his bloodshot eyes roughly with the backs of his hands. When the bright light didn't fade it slowly began to dawn on him that this was really happening and that some form of energy tower had actually appeared and was giving out lightning, shaking the ground with it's terrible might. 'What...what is this..." Aeron mumbled frowning whilst turning his head slowly to look at the others witnessing this event. Suddenly the shock wave hit him. Aeron had the slight notion that something was going to happen; somewhere in the slow ticking of his numbed brain he became aware of the fact that the rumblings under his feet had seemed to stop for some reason. Despite the fact the reasons for this change were beyond his partially sober mind Aeron quickly started to twist his head back round knowing something was about to happen. He felt the air being pressed in one sudden movement out of his chest, so quickly that Aeron struggled to take another breath lungs feeling crushed within his ribcage. The ground rushed beneath him, his balance was completely lost as he flew vertically through the air, a plaything to the wind that surrounded him. Waving his hands madly in the air Aeron searched for something to catch himself as he felt the tip of his body falling dangerously fast back down to the cobbled street below. After what seemed an hour of simply floating in the air, all around sounds of destruction and screams from the people, his head hit solid ground, stopping just short of colliding with a giant oak that had been planted in the middle of the square. Waiting with scrunched up eyes until his body had finally scrapped to a stop, Aeron slowly relaxed his tensed muscles and pushed his battered body up into the sitting position, coughing and spitting out the large amount of dirt he had inhaled from the shockwave. There was an unexpected dizzyness in his head and his ears were muffled as if stuffed with cotton wool. Slowly the man reached up a scratched hand to the back of his head, wincing slightly as his finger touched his wet, matted hair. Blood was already begining to trickle down his neck. (Modified-not sure if it's any better but I tried)
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Post by Airkshil on Jul 20, 2007 23:44:16 GMT -5
Iro was still in the throes of waking up when the quake hit. Only half awake and struggling to become more so, the smaller vibrations escaped his notice. When the real movement began, Iro became fully awake in a panic suitable for a life-and-death situation. Only after the vibrations ceased completely did he begin to realize where he was or how he came to be there. Running through mental exercises to calm his mind, Iro stood up and began to get dressed. He did not want to be the fool who ran outside in his nightclothes because he wasn't thinking, straight now did he? After dressing, He proceeded to pack all his possessions as well, not that that took notable longer. No more time would be spent here. Not after this.
Stepping outside his room, Iro noticed everything around him was chaos. Things strewn everywhere, glass on the floor, and the sound of people panicking were among the first things he noticed. He assumed it was all the quakes fault, but it was an ill omen just the same.
Proceeding up the stairs and out the front door, Iro was greeted by the site of a giant, purple tower that had seemingly sprung out of nowhere. At first he simply stared at it, think it would go away after a couple seconds like a mirage did. Then, he muttered sarcastically, "Ah, h***. I liked the snow better."
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Lyra
Knight
Negawakuba.......
Posts: 197
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Post by Lyra on Jul 22, 2007 13:55:52 GMT -5
~Isra heard it before she felt it. The shock wave. She stood just as the ground beneath her shuddered, causing her legs to give way. "d**n," she muttered, her head still aching from yesterday. Isra gripped the end of the bed, gritting her teeth against the pressure of the shockwave. Then, as suddenly as it came, it stopped. Isra stood, breathing sharply.
"Not exactly my first choice on how to wake up after a hang-over, but it's effective." Isra shook her head. "Oh well. Better get ready." Isra grabbed her bag and began making herself look decent. But her mind was distracted. 'What was the deal with that shockwave?' she wondered. 'What in the world is happening?"
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Post by Swift on Jul 22, 2007 18:03:20 GMT -5
More dreams... My mind feels so numb... d**n that magic... whatever caused it. This feeling... it just feels so odd. It's as though I am not sleeping, but not awake all the same... It's as though I'm just... there... ... ... ... What is the reason for all this...?
It had been a minute or so before Aueron finally came out of his unconciousness--the face of some man that was older than him stared down at him, muttering something that sounded like 'finally, you're awake.' But the effect of the contact between his head and the fairly big rock sticking out of its embedded tomb didn't leave simply with his blackout, unfortunatly; Aueron's ears ringed with a vicious noise that seemed to grind into his brain, and his eyesight was blurry, leaving his coordination hazy and dizzy as well. Simply mouthing the word 'thanks' to the man that woke him up, the young swordsman sat up and rested his face in the palm of his hand trying to grip-out the pain that filled his head. By the time he remembered about the bright, purple light that shot up from the ground and looked up to see if it was still there, it had all but disappeared--it must have evaporated into non-existance after the explosion. "What on Maya was that..." he wispered in a barely-audiable tone to himself as the question seemed to add even more pain to his already throbbing head. Magic was quite commonly used in the world, and it came to no surprise to him seeing it (though he never learned how to himself, prefering the assurance that 'a blade didn't have as much potential to fail in combat than magic did' like he told himself), but he... maybe even no one had ever seen something like that before. Was the goddess to blame for its appearence? Or did someone actually summon up that much power...?
...such a thing seemed impossible, for even with the mortals that did possess the ability to harness mana within their bodies, there were always limits.
... ...or were there?
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Post by Airkshil on Jul 23, 2007 11:47:37 GMT -5
For the longest time Iro stood, immobilized by fear, wonder, and speculation. For the life of him he could not grasp what could have caused such a huge huge light to emanate from the ground like that. Magic seemed to be the only answer but the back of his mind seemed to doubt that any person in the world had enough power to make a thing like that happen. But, supposing it had been created using a power of some kind, there had to be a purpose behind it. Iro doubted whether he would like that purpose.
There were three courses of action, Iro knew, and each of them had to be thought about carefully before a decision could be made. First, he could do nothing. Leave all the discovering and examining to other, probably more qualified, people. That option he did not like. It left him right were he was before, knowing nothing and with nothing to do. The second option was he could see what people knew about it, see what the general consensus was, then decide what to do about it. Taking that a bit further, he thought he already knew what people would say. People seemed to have things implanted into their very souls sometimes. Every time something like a crisis happened everyone screamed that it was the end of the world. Once they gave into that thinking there was nothing rational that could come of talking to them. He rejected that one as well. Lastly, he could simply go decide for himself. Indecision was the only thing keeping him away from it right then. He knew that the pillar of light was likely probably for something devious and that it could very well be dangerous, but in the end it didn't seem to matter.
Smiling slightly as he came to his decision, Iro drew his sword for no other reason than he wanted to start his quest with a weapon in his hand, the same way he hoped to end it. That action caused many questioning looks from the people in his immediate presence, but he was oblivious. Goal clear to him now, he set off in the direction of the strange light. He was glad he packed his things earlier. Going back would have been a pain. (OOC: edited, makes more sense now doesn't it?)
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Post by mutilateddragon on Jul 23, 2007 18:07:49 GMT -5
Aeron lifted his aching body slowly to his feet, as the ground spun beneath him. Aeron's head was heavy and there was aloud pounding throb pulsating near the back of his skull, causing everything around him to twist around him as if he was in some form of carnival ride that had become broken whilst Aeron was still riding it. His stomach convulsed suddenly and bile shot up his throat, burning the back of his tongue with its vile taste. He hunched over, spitting out yellow coloured saliva onto the dust-coated floor, stomach lurching frequently. After a while he calmed down, and opening his bloodshot eyes Aeron straightened himself again. A few passers by were watching him cautiously, some muttering complaints about drinking to much as they slowly began to join the rest of the crowd of people, steadily carrying on their everyday business. However, despite things were once again flowing as normal, the shock and confusion was obviously etched on all their faces, seeping into the air around them and creating an atmosphere of unrest. Aeron’s eyes scanning over the crowd until he spotted one man standing out from the rest. He was sat on the floor with his head in his hands, the man had blackish hair tied into a ponytail and slightly tanned skin. From what he was wearing Aeron guessed he was some kind of traveller and so was more inclined to have money, or if not his shield and sword would last him a few rounds. With a glance at the smashed whiskey bottle on the floor and a moment’s mental preparation Aeron approached the man on the floor, putting on one of his very rare friendly smiles. “Are you ok? Here, let me help you up.” Aeron said, in his most pleasant voice, offering a hand down to the stranger.
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Post by Swift on Jul 23, 2007 20:21:52 GMT -5
Aueron rose his head up slightly, but didn't turn to face the voice that called to him, despite the fact that it sounded at least somewhat friendly--add in the fact it wasn't the man who woke him up before. "I'm fine." The wanderer said rather bluntly in a normal tone of voice. Afterwards, Aueron struggled to his feet despite the dizzyness and the ringing in his ears, and moved on simply... like he always tended to. It was obvious to anyone who happened to witness the whole event that Aueron wasn't the most amiable of people... but at the same time, he wasn't exactly rude or spiteful either. With his hair slightly out of place and his clothing all wrinkled and dusty because of the shockwave emitted from the massive explosion, the black-haired teenager walked down the street, heading in the direction he had intented to travel since yesterday--the next populated area along the way was the sea port along the coast.
However, before he could reach the one of the gates that were on either end of the town hanging over the dirt-covered roads, a platoon of guards clad in armor and armed with spears and shields soon blocked it off, calling back any person who had just recently passed it and holding off others from getting out. One stepped forward when the small deed was done and cuffed his hands by his mouth, shouting into the street:
"Hold fast, all of you! A message was just sent in from the Holy City of Diosa to restrain any and all witnesses of the recent event! A speaker for the royal court will arrive momentarily--remain here until he arrives."
A message from the Holy City...? Aueron thought to himself as the guard continued repeating what he just said, while the other guards rallied any townsfolk that had started to leave after that accident--he figured they'd use force if nessisary if they had too... if they were restraining witnesses here, and most likely in the nearby cities as well, then what that speaker has to say must be very important.
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Post by Airkshil on Jul 23, 2007 21:09:49 GMT -5
Iro was so absorbed in his newfound quest to study the light pillar that he did not see the guard until he had all but bowled over him. Snapping out of his near-reverie of obsession, the words of the guard that had been spoken moments earlier came to him, "You may not pass. Return to hear the words of the royal court." Thoughts of dashing past the guard became smoted ruins as Iro realized that there were more standing behind the one who spoke to him. D*** fancy pants guards think they own everyone. The thoughts in his own head were foreign to him; he never recalled thinking that way about anyone in his life. There were always people he didn't like but never anything like that.
Looking around, Iro quickly spotted the spot where the townsfolk were gathering and moved to stand close enough that the guards weren't going to think he would dash off when they turned their backs. Though he very much felt like making a break for it, he did not want to have to kill any people today.
I hope that messenger gets here soon. Frowning, he idly wondered why he was so eager to be off. There was certainly danger around that light and Iro knew it; they wouldn't be detaining people to tell them about it otherwise. He supposed that, whatever the messenger said, he was going to warn everyone away from the source of the light. He also knew that there was nothing able to stop him from reaching his goal. Another odd thought. My thoughts just aren't my own today
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Lyra
Knight
Negawakuba.......
Posts: 197
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Post by Lyra on Jul 24, 2007 19:30:52 GMT -5
~Isra sighed. "Messenger?" she questioned a loud to herself. "How long will that take, I wonder?"
Isra recalled the events of that morning. The strange tremor, what could it be? After thinking so hard about it that she could not concentrate on anything else, she had gathered her things and left the inn. She had headed out into the street, still wondering what to do. That's when the guard had informed the crowd.
Isra looked around and spotted a familiar face. 'What was him name?' she thought, her mind still on the tremor. 'Oh, that's right." Isra remembered.
"Hey, Iro!" she shouted, waving her arm to get his attention. He, too, seemed to be lost in thought.
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Post by Airkshil on Jul 25, 2007 11:38:06 GMT -5
Iro started raised his hand in greeting and was surprised to find his sword still clenched in his hand. He stared at it for a second, struck dumb, before sheathing it with a fluid movement. Now he knew why people were staring at him so intently. A subconscious movement brought his cloak to hide the sword. Muttering a salutation to Isra, he realized he could not bring himself to smile at her. It simply seemed beyond him at the moment. Wondering if she was hungover he asked, "Did you sleep well?"
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Lyra
Knight
Negawakuba.......
Posts: 197
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Post by Lyra on Jul 25, 2007 17:55:00 GMT -5
~Isra approached him. "Like a rock. But I still feel a little sick. I guess that's what I get for drinking so much!" Isra was grinning. "What about you?" Buit before Iro could answer. Isra raised up her hand to stop him. "Sorry, but...did you feel the tremor this morning?" Isra shook her head, knowing it was a dumb question. How could he not have felt it?
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Post by Airkshil on Jul 25, 2007 18:13:06 GMT -5
Iro felt a little confused. Almost everyone had been talking about what had happened earlier that morning, but the tremor had been the least of the peoples' worries. "Yeah, but... I think the explosion was a little more noticeable." He could understand being hungover but still... The shock wave alone had caused considerable damage to the town. He was glad to have been sleeping in the basement now. He turned once again to face the purple enigma in the sky. "I wonder what caused it." he said to no one in particular.
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Lyra
Knight
Negawakuba.......
Posts: 197
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Post by Lyra on Jul 25, 2007 18:41:59 GMT -5
~"Explosion?' Isra looked up at where Iro's attentoin was drawn. She felt foolish, having not noticed the light. Probably due to the fact that she was so distarcted by her thoughts of the tremor. That, and the act that she had a hangover. In one way, it was beautiful. But in another, it was frightening. 'Must be connected to the tremor.' she thought. 'But what caused all of this?' Isra looked back in the direction of the guard. "I wish that "messenger" of theirs would hurry.
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