The Gate of Lords

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Long ago, everyone lived in peace. Magic helped bring prosperity, and was easy enough to use and evenly enough distributed that it made life easier overall.

This all changed when the Gate of Lords was reopened.

Horrid beasts of unimaginable power and viciousness, nicknamed demons by mortals, started appearing everywhere. Before anyone could act, cities were burning, people were vanishing from inside locked and sealed rooms, dead bodies littered the streets, and not even the greatest of wizards dared to leave their home without a weapon of some kind. It was a time of suffering and terror, and the last century mankind expected to see.

Then, one day, great heroes appeared, able to harness the powers of elements. Who these people were and where they had come from, nobody could be sure, but all the same, there they were. They were greater than even the demons, and the horrified monsters vanished into the shadows. Ever since then, they barely ever showed their faces, preferring instead to send out minions.

And such was salvation brought to humankind, by mysterious heroes wielding the amazing power of Orbs of Caging. However, even if the demons had stopped arriving in the mortal world, the Gate of Lords was still open, and the creatures were still very much alive. While in the past, their fear was enough to keep them away, after hundreds of years, they have regained confidence and are beginning to attack. Though they are not as direct as they once were, preferring to attack small areas and then flee, many are becoming scared, worried that another age of darkness will come.

It is up to the new heroes, the current bearers of the Orbs of Caging, to drive them back and seal the Gate of Lords again.

---

It was early in the day, and many people were still rubbing the sleep from their eyes. It was the weekend, and the academy was quiet, but far from still. A few people were casually practicing their techniques or just relaxing, but unlike a normal weekend, these people were unusual.

It was the first day of the Time of Trials, a week which excited most people. Passing the Trials made one eligible for graduation that year, and people of every age could try out for them. It was the week in which any Orbkeeper's life could change entirely, and accounting for how difficult they were said to be, it goes without saying that it was a time of much stress for even the best.

So here things begin, in the dining hall during lunch on this busy Sunday, with the first trial coming at twilight. It was by far the most unusual Sunday many of the people there would ever face.

edited 8th Jun '12 8:37:46 PM by Speedchesser

Khaine sat at a deserted table and began to eat his lunch. His mind wandered until it focused on the big event. The Time of Trials...how much of it would depend on solo work, Khaine wondered. You never knew. The faculty here just loved to surprise their students. "You can't expect the enemy fight according to your schedule or give you warning of what they can do" was the reasoning, if Khaine remembered correctly.

Khaine had heard a lot of horror stories about the Trials, but he rather doubted it was as bad as some would have led him to believe. That's not to say that they wouldn't be difficult; they would probably be the hardest challenges he had ever had to face. But at the same time, the world needed Orb-bearers to defend it. He doubted that the academy would risk crippling some of humanities protectors. At least, not permanently... he wondered briefly if he should take a nap sometime during the day. They needed to be ready at twilight, after all.

As people began to trickle into the area, Khaine tried not to look at any of them. He liked to keep to himself when he could. It wasn't that he hated people, he just hated some of the questions people tended to ask.

edited 8th Jun '12 5:13:24 PM by AkenJizo

Panic.

That single word described exactly how Greg felt. It was the first day of the Trials, the path to graduation, and right now everybody was eating lunch. Greg ate his food in solitude, preferring to stay away from other people. Growing up in the slums of a rough town can do that to you. While the rest of his town adapted to their environment and became as ruthless as they could, Greg didn't change. It was morally wrong to hurt another person except for in self defense. Even though Greg had a two inch long pocket knife, he didn't like to hurt anybody. Just the sight of blood made Greg queasy.

However, now Greg was facing the fact that he could very well have to stab something, depending on what happened in the Trials of the first day. I need to prepare, Greg thought, trying to calm himself down. I cannot be surprised by what happens in this day's Trial.

Greg took a deep bite into his apple.

Gave them our reactions, our explosions, all that was ours For graphs of passion and charts of stars...

Billie sat next to one of the windows rather than at the tables, eating a lunch that was mostly pilfered from other students dotted about the room. Her eyes were still heavy with sleep, and she was more concerned about waking herself up than the super important exam or whatever it was they had to participate in tonight. She yawned loudly then opened a milk carton, its previous owner just now noticing the absence of it at his table.

they/them || "Forgive me, regent of queer amphibians" - Lt.BGob

Maelt was tired, could barely keep his eyes open. He had been doing night training ever since his nineteenth birthday two months ago, and with morning classes, he could barely make it passed lunch. He was so tired that he barely managed a chuckle when he noticed most of his lunch had strangely missing. 'Dang, and I wanted that milk, too' he tiredly thought.

Today was rather boring for him. Almost everyone was younger than him, and were studying for their Trials, which he had already completed. He was staying in the academy for more advanced training than what was offered for the younger kids, so whenever the Time of Trials came around each year, he was stuck hanging out with the teachers who weren't involved with that.

Since he didn't have much else to do in the dining room, he walked over to the window, and, after taking the time to charge his orb, he jumped out the window and pulled himself up the two stories to the dorm room he was sharing with his roommate, Adam Spratt, and fell fast asleep.

edited 8th Jun '12 8:06:18 PM by Rockonman

It was the d-day for the Trials, and Vann, who had practiced vigorously over past month to prepare for it, couldn't help but feel nervous. It didn't show, however, as he was used to keep himself reserved in front of other people. At the moment, he was eating out his breakfast in the cafeteria, and there he witnessed that the nervousness was not shared by him alone.

The Trials, he had heard the rumors of it teaming you up with another Orbkeeper. Vann was never the one for teamwork, no doubting it. He let out a sigh, and shifted his view to the outside scenery.

"I have to think of the possible scenarios, and strategies I should use for each." He thought. The academy's purpose is to train the students into good creature-busters, and that means defensive tasks are unlikely to be the trial. 'Clean the area of monsters' and 'Slay the beast' kind of tasks are very likely candidates. Even after finishing his food, Vann continued to think.

edited 9th Jun '12 12:55:52 AM by LimitRemoval

A young woman walks straight into the lunch room, somewhat ruining the tense aura caused by the upcoming trials as she pushed the door to the room with her feet. Right at the entrance she let out a big yawn a she stretched her whole body, right hand reaching up in the air and her left one holding onto her right elbow "Ahhhh, damn that was a good night sleep"

This mood breaker dressed in shorts, a crop top and over it a long blue jacket. She had shoulder length black hair and lively looking blue eyes. Megan Wilder, mage and general inventor, walked towards the serving area, sleepiness seeming to fade from her as she got the scent of some nice lunch "Alright then, time to hit the grub"

If I'm sure of something it's that I'm not sure of anything.

Vann jerked in surprise as a girl came in a manner that would surely grant her a ticket for bad manners. Although it would seem to the girl that Vann was spacing out, he was actually thinking. Besides that, the tense, subdued atmosphere was ruined.

Vann gave a sharp stare to the girl, "Mind your manners," he said.

Carwyn sat silently while eating, at the edge of a fairly large group of people, although not interacting with them. He, alike everybody else, was thinking about the trials. There was a fair chance he would fail, but passing was still a possibility.

Ugh. There's always someone obnoxious in every town. Or school, in this case, Greg groaned inwardly. Up until then, he'd been having a nice lunch. Quiet? Yes, but Greg liked quiet, unless it was the quiet that was caused by everyone in the vicinity being dead.

Greg reached across the table to get a salt shaker, but as he reached across, he accidentally sent an empty can of soda rolling across the floor with his shoulder. Greg's eyes watched the progress of the can, which was rolling and rolling and- thunk! It hit one of the legs of the table where the guy who was talking to the loud girl was. Well, I suppose I'll have to get that...

Hurriedly Greg runs over to the table and picks the can up slowly, careful not to get any of the crumbs on the ground onto him. "Sorry," Greg muttered under his breath, starting to stand back up again.

Gave them our reactions, our explosions, all that was ours For graphs of passion and charts of stars...

"Controlling my irritation is a Trial on its own, I guess." Vann was itching to voice his thoughts as the can struck the leg, but he refrained from doing so.

"That makes two disturbances." Vann said in a monotone. Vann realized that he sounded rather arrogant, but he had more important things to think about. Hearing Greg's apology, he only replied, "Don't cause the third, please."

Adam stayed loose and relaxed. He was one of the older students, but this would be his first time attempting the trials. He did not engage in excessive practice or drills, preffering to focus on being physically ready. He'd sharpened his hatchets, did half his daily exercises, made sure to eat in a less Build Bulk fashion and more High in Vitamens way. He wasn't worried, as he knew it would mean little, and that he would pass or fail based on his training the last few years. After finishing his lunch, Adam did what he did every year around trials time. He put up a sign that said "Free weapon sharpening and repair from a Metal Orb user". It was generally well received and made for fun convo, and he always heard something new from those who had tried and failed before.

Greg glanred at the speaker, annoyed. "Well, sorry. It's not like I rolled the can over to you on purpose. Besides... who are you? I've never met you before."

Gave them our reactions, our explosions, all that was ours For graphs of passion and charts of stars...

Finishing the milk Billie quickly got to her feet, unusually quick and agile for someone so tired. Grabbing the apple from Greg's now vacant tray she made her way over to him and Vann, plopping herself down onto his table and biting into the fruit. "Ignore this dude, he's a regular debby downer, aren't you Vann?"

they/them || "Forgive me, regent of queer amphibians" - Lt.BGob

[Up] Ninja'd

Vann remained ignorant of Billie's remark, instead raising a hand telling her to stop. "Not now, Billie. I really need to blow off some steam."

"Vann's the name." He said, locking his dark blue irises upon Greg's in a trade of hard glares. With his currently bad mood, Vann was reluctant to back out, "It's not surprising, as I belong in the antithesis of the 'popular' group."

edited 9th Jun '12 9:33:41 AM by LimitRemoval

Greg smiled grimly. "Ah, well, I can't see why. The 'popular' crowd usually think they're better than everyone else. You'd fit right in." Regardless of his annoyance, Greg sat down at the table next to Vann. "My name is Greg, the only sane person left from the slum towns of the south."

Gave them our reactions, our explosions, all that was ours For graphs of passion and charts of stars...

An amused laugh left Vann's mouth, "The southern parts of the town is a cruel place, indeed. But you know, people originating from cruel places tend to have varying definitions of sane."

Intending to amuse himself further, Vann changes the intonation in his voice to an aggressive one, "And it most likely differs between me and you. If you get what I mean."

Andel walked into the lunch room with his bow and quiver still strapped to his back. He had been practicing since early this morning and he was aching for some food. He saw a few of his fellow students were rather lively this morning and there were just as many who didn't appreciate that. He had a grin on his face as he usually did. It was going to be an interesting day for sure and he was ready for his trials come what may.

After getting some food he found an empty table and sat down. As he began eating he waited for someone to join him. Some wondered why the friendly Andel sat alone but the answer was simple: He felt that variety was important so he let whoever wanted to join him do so. He reflexively clasped his Orb and he could sense the many life forces in the room and his smile grew that much wider. This was shaping up to be an amazing Time of Trials.

I, for one, welcome our new Basketball Z overlords. All hail The Generation of Miracles! (Aomine is the best though)

"Oh, does it?" Greg asked, not intending to be aggravated by Vann's comments, "Actually, yes. I'm probably much more saner than you. What you don't understand is that sanity is not just a matter of being able to think properly, it's a matter of being better than the rest of the filth that clouds the world. They are parasites, getting underneath the skin of humanity and eating it whole from the inside. Tell me... Do you find yourself falling into the crowd? Do you find yourself turning under the aggression around you? Do you find yourself becoming one more victim of the rage that circles in the shadiest corners of the world? Do you?"

Gave them our reactions, our explosions, all that was ours For graphs of passion and charts of stars...

"The south? Psh." Billie took another bite of the apple. "You boys have obviously not ventured out to the west that much. Some nasty loonies like to hang out around there." She turned to Greg with a slightly mischeivous smile on her face, ignoring his rant against humanity. "My name is Samantha Carter. Pleased to meet you."

edited 9th Jun '12 11:16:55 AM by whizzerd

they/them || "Forgive me, regent of queer amphibians" - Lt.BGob

Phoebus Solarion was running late for lunchtime, not that it mattered much to him. He had spent all of the morning since dawn training with his spear, an heirloom that Phoebus held dear to him. One of his ancestors, who was among the Orbkeepers during the first event of the infamous Gate's opening, wielded this spear against the forces of evil. It was the treasure of the Solarion family, and was given a place of honor in the house of Phoebus' family.

Phoebus was now walking into the lunch hall, using his Fire Orb of Caging to feel the warm presences of the other people inside. Not wanting to get caught up in the chatter so as to clear his mind in preparation for the trial, Phoebus kept his spear on his back and sat down across from Andel, hoping to eat his food in peace.

edited 9th Jun '12 11:22:45 AM by Insano

Allurand and surrounding world loading, 28%...

Vann was starting to realize that he's pushing it. The fact that Billie was not telling her real name doesn't help. Thus, to prevent the argument from devolving into an exchange of witty insults and lies, he calmed himself down by a deep breath.

"Am I a victim of rage? No." Vann answered, "I know very well how humans, including Orbkeepers, become parasites for their own personal gain. Not to say that I've never been one in my life."

Then he turned to Billie, deciding to play along, "Bil—-Carter, I sincerely believe that someone else will join this discussion saying the North and the East is dangerous. Before that happens, you should elaborate."

Andel noticed the man who joined him at the table. Something told him he wanted some peace and Andel was happy to leave him alone but he did at least want a name. So he asked for it "Hello there, might I ask your name? Mine is Andel, Andel Orlay." He awaited a reaction as he looked the man over trying to discern what kind of person he might be.

He had red hair and a spear which was the first thing he noticed. It was an interesting weapon because he found most people preferred swords since they were the weapon of heroes in the minds of many. Either way he could not tell what kind of Orb he had but he was getting curious.

I, for one, welcome our new Basketball Z overlords. All hail The Generation of Miracles! (Aomine is the best though)

"Well, you've heard of the monster attacks right? They hit the rundown areas of the west a lot. People start to get suspicious of other people. Then paranoid. Then before you know it you can't even go from A to B without nearly getting shanked three times on the way." Billie shrugged. "Of course I'm a Northerner, but there's never anything going on up there. Or was I born in the east?"

they/them || "Forgive me, regent of queer amphibians" - Lt.BGob

"Monsters," Greg spat in disgust. "They're the worst. But, then again, sometimes the people are so bad that they cause as much damage as the monsters."

Suddenly, Greg realized something. "I haven't told you who I am, haven't I? That'll be important... Greg Nabbitz is the name, and Light's my game." He snickered. "Pleased to meet you, Bill Carter. Now, would you mind telling me your real name? I don't see what the point of keeping secrets is, especially when your friends aren't any good at preserving them."

Gave them our reactions, our explosions, all that was ours For graphs of passion and charts of stars...