The Devil Kings' Domains

Eleanor frowned. "Is [Dark] in this case necessarily the same thing as 'Evil,' though? You could just as well say that the darkness is the 'good' side that shields people from the burning sun, or something... Unless being part of the forces of Darkness requires you to murder a bunch of people and Light doesn't. Hm."

She turned as Jack whispered in her ear and slapped him on the back of his head. "And if you ever try to do that again, I'll kick you in the nuts, you creep. Have you never heard of personal space?" She shuddered.

edited 4th Feb '15 5:46:06 AM by KarrinBlue

"Ow"

"While you may not realize it, this is something we should discuss without the other party being able to here us.", Jack said with a growing contempt for Eleanor.

Eleanor glared at him. "Why, exactly? Surely being prompt about telling you that you were doing something incredibly creepy after you do it offers the best chances that you'll remember next time?"

Oh, there was no doubt that this situation was true. But the veracity of this guy, who was apparently responsible for snatching them away from their homes? That was another story. "So - this illusion - he calls us here - he tells us we're stuck here, in another land - and you'll just believe him because he's the first to greet us?" Anna exclaimed, scarcely believing how readily these others were going to accept this phantasm's premise.

No - there had to be others she could speak to. If things were as bad as this thing said they were, Anna wanted to see it for herself, before agreeing to any deal with this former Devil King. It was bad enough she was summoned through trickery; she did not want to be bound to anything else through more devilcraft.

edited 4th Feb '15 6:56:53 AM by HazzyHaz

Jack took a breath and, though he hated to admit it, "You're right; sorry. Would everyone like to walk a few feet away from the phantom recording and discuss this in private?"

Jack was proverbially kicking himself over what he just did. Working in a pawn shop, he was much more used to dealing with people that would rather discuss things in hushed tones. But these were not those people and should be treated as such.

Eleanor looked around. "Apology accepted. And I'm not sure that'd help. I mean, why should a magic recording have the same earshot as a normal human? If I were making one I'd make it work throughout the room so I could use it from any point."

edited 4th Feb '15 7:54:50 AM by KarrinBlue

"Can't hurt to try.", he countered.

Gerard shook his head.

"Look, he's not trying to hurt us, and we're in a strange land with strange rules. We may not get straight answers out of him, but we can easily take his bias in to account while he helps us not die from some stupid random encounter."

"Seems most of us are in." Jack turned to Rachel and Anna, "Rachel, Anna, what do you two say?"

George let those who wanted to talk about it amongst themselves do so. For him, however, there was only one logical answer. If he was to attain the ability to go back, he had to help the dark forces. And in the meanwhile, it would be a wonderful opportunity to learn about this new, strange world. Most likely that would be far easier by accepting the invitation of the Dark than by trying to figure it out by himself. Especially what the spectre said about the Covenant had really piqued George's interest.

However, George felt sympathy for the red-haired woman who seemed to be about his age, the one they called Anna, and felt the urge to try to cheer her up.

"Miss Anna, I, ah, I am afraid that so far he is, well, the only one who seems to have any knowledge about our, uhm, present situation. By following him at least for the time being, at least temporarily, we may become able to ascertain if...if he's telling the truth."

He winced internally. Talking with women was still difficult.

"I, at least, will accept for the time being."

Anna exhaled explosively. "I guess..." There was really no choice. Everyone else seemed to buy this apparition's words. And it was true that this was a strange land, and Anna was without money nor knowledge. "...I guess I'm in as well," she sighed.

Strength in numbers.

edited 4th Feb '15 4:55:54 PM by HazzyHaz

"So phantom recording, what does the party do now?"

"Indeed. Glad to see you've all decided to go along with this for now." The specter intoned before drifting forward, smiling somewhat eerily in eagerness? Anticipation? "Now, we learn the fundamentals. The basics are best. If you all would intone [Domain], then a certain window should pop up." Shannaro said, before he materialized his own floating windows. It actually surrounded him in a half-circle, each showing off trees that stemmed off many branches that streamed from the origin.

"You should all have at most four Domain Trees. These are your special powers and derive from talents that you all are capable of. An example of how things work." Selecting one window out of many that was titled [Archaeology] before showing it to all, he then scrolled down the selections. "From the Domain, you get certain techniques that has to do with your Domain's concept. Like so. [View History]."

And then a mirage formed that showed the castle site sans castle. At an accelerated rate, everyone could see the object being constructed by many different "monsters", such as giant cyclopes and green-skinned goblins. They were all directed by a horned and becloaked humanoid figure whose magic moved the stones and metal into place to let his underlings tinker with the exact details. Like watching a documentary on fast forward, it grew until the base stood erected like it did now. "Over time, your Domains will grow more and can achieve such effects as this. For now, conceptual abilities are a bit out of your range. In any case, see what you have to offer the forces of Dark."

Eleanor raised an eyebrow. "Really? [Domain.]" She made an interested hmm. "Oh this is cool. [Physics/Stars]! And... [Meteorite]?"

Eleanor grinned with all the happiness of a small child who had just been given a unicorn as a tiny, glowing stone with a delicate blue tail appeared over her palm. She oohed in fascination as it followed the path of her finger and spun over her open palm. "This is the coolest thing ever. Even if 'meteorite' is entirely the wrong name."

edited 6th Feb '15 6:19:49 PM by KarrinBlue

"Okay, um... domain [salesmanship]" Nothing as spectacular happened to Jack, though his suit was now inexplicably far more comfortable than before. Then when he looked at each of his companions, he saw what each of them wanted most. He also saw in his hand a piece of paper. It was mostly blank, but read at the bottom, in small, fine print: Disclaimer: This contract is magically binding. All parties must fulfill their ends of a any and all agreements made it on this contract to the letter of said aggreements on pain of death.

edited 7th Feb '15 6:24:12 AM by deadpool616

"[Domain]... [Architecture]?" Gerard nodded. "That makes sense... woah." Suddenly he could visualize the entire castle in his head as blueprints. "It all... makes sense."

"[Domain]..." Anna muttered under her breath. "...[Mask]." That sounded eerie. This whole thing, especially the being in front of her. The woman absentmindedly brushed a strand of hair out of her face. Her body shimmered and shifted, leaving behind a perfect replica, save for thought, knowledge, and ability, of Shannaro standing before the apparition.

"...What?"

edited 6th Feb '15 11:07:11 PM by HazzyHaz

"[Domain]"

George was as excited as a child at Christmas. This was truly amazing. What powers awaited him? [Books], [Hot Drinks] and...[Magic]?! Although he really did thirst for a cup of tea (since he'd let his last one get cold back home), there was no way he could resist the urge to actually try doing magic himself. A very short list of options appeared under [Magic] and one in particular stood out.

"[Summon Magic Level 1 - Ignis Fatuus]!"

A circle of light and strange symbols appeared on the ground, and in the centre appeared a ghostly ball of light: a will-o'-the-wisp. It floated around, kinda like a balloon hovering in one place. George resisted the urge to touch it. Legend said it was a fairy or spirit of the dead that kept these small lights afloat, and he did not want to test his luck just yet. For now, the ghostly familiar seemed to have no other purpose than shed a soft and slightly flickering light on its surroundings.

"This is absolutely extraordinary."

“[Domain],” Ellie intoned somewhat sceptically. Three windows popped up before her, titled [Tea], [Cognition] and [Bureaucracy]. She raised her eyebrow. “[Touch of Corruption]? Do I want to know what that does?”
Instead, she looked at the other two windows. “[Would you like some tea?]” she asked, and a small porcelain cup, complete with a saucer, a teaspoon and a small milk beaker appeared, hovering in the air at chest level. “Oho.”

Rachel hadn't noticed her companion's debates as the ex-demon lord had achieved the impossible. He had gained her full and undivided attention "[Domain]" She forced herself to take her eyes off the ghost. "[Animals]...[Bird Call]" a small and somewhat dingy crow flew in and landed on her shoulder. ".....Ow." With his story checked out she returned to glaring at him "You avoided my question. More importantly how do we get back home if you can't do it yourself."

edited 7th Feb '15 8:12:23 PM by Yewleaf

Shannaro smiled, losing much of his intense edge as his ghostly form subtly relaxed from the sight of the humans displaying their various Domains. To be sure, they were weak at the moment. Still, some of the saplings he saw had great potential, enough to become great trees given a little time and nurturing. The humans from the Otherworld would do.

And then that one person was still skeptical tried to wring more answers out of him. He quite liked people who went for what they wanted. "The most obvious way to do so is to build up your Domains. Given that eventually you all would gain enough power to churn the seas and shake the lands from mere presence alone, opening a door back to your world with the appropriate Domain would be child's play for a fully fledged Devil King."

The visage of the elder being then turned his back, and began floating into the castle. "In any case, this building is now yours to control. When you are all done playing about with your beginning abilities, please come in and acquaint yourself with the structure. And then when you've gotten a moment to refocus, we'll begin discussing the specific plans for the resurgence of Darkness. For Kings need people to rule..."

Those that would enter the castle would find it rather less sinister inside than the exterior, given that it was lit up by warm golden lamps, chandeliers, and even a merrily ablaze fireplace. Paintings of previous generations of Devil Kings lined the walls, most humanoids but with decidedly strange additions such as horns or scales all assuming every range of expressions ranging from gentility to barely restrained bloodlust.

Further explorations would reveal a large kitchen and dining area armed with a substantial pantry, cooking equipment, and larder. Among other rooms were a sizable library, bedrooms that looked like they belonged in fancy hotels with their very own bathrooms, what looked like a war room consisting of a great round table carved from marble set before a large map of presumably the world they were in, and several other locked rooms besides doors that led outside to the balcony and the great garden bustling with all sorts of plants both floral and edible. Everything looked well maintained and orderly, though the caretakers were nowhere to be seen yet. All in all, a rather comfortable place to live.

edited 12th Feb '15 7:55:58 PM by Makaioh

George entered the castle and started exploring, paying little thought to if the others followed. What the ghost had told them had only made him even more curious. The will-o'-the-wisp followed him like a loyal, floating puppy. After claiming the first bedroom he could find by throwing his bags on the luxurious giant-size bed, George walked off in search of the library. Hopefully, his [Books]-domain could be of help.

However, before he could find the library, he happened upon the war room. Getting out his notebook, he poured over the map to glean what knowledge he could about this world's geographical features and their current position relative to everywhere else.

Rachel watched as her only source of information ran away. When it was clear he wasn't coming back she turned to the crow on her shoulder. "Alright get off...Shoo...Look a meteorite!...two moons?......mist." She knew better than to try to move a wild animal but that didn't mean she had to like it. She headed after her kidnapper. "I'm gonna get you two back for this."

edited 16th Feb '15 7:20:45 PM by Yewleaf

Eleanor peered at her other Domain trees. "Hm, [Preparation]...[Otherworldly Inventory]?" She made a sound of surprise as the weight of her pack vanished. "Wha - ooh." She focused. "O-K, then..." A pair of safety headphones appeared in her hand, before vanishing again. "That's cool."

She spun around. "Now where to..." She walked over to Rachel. "So, where are you headed to? I like your crow."

Rachel took a deep breath and mentally prepared her statement so that she could convey everything she needed to without leaving room for further questions. "Thanks. First I'm going to try to get our benevolent kidnapper to give me some information that's actually useful. If that fails I'll see if the castle is safe and sturdy enough to rest in and figure things out. If that fails as well I'll kick everyone out, grab something shiny and expensive looking, and set fire to the lot of it." Finally she stopped looking slightly winded and just a little red faced.