The Prince of Foolish Relevations
Rozeta Marga - Ampelones Dry Docks (Nerea, Durnem, Blank, Arizona, The Midnight Stitcher)
The Midnight Stitcher seemingly not understanding what holistic means, his eyes sharpen as the empress claims this is her simulation. The little 'Arizona' however seems unconvinced by her declaration. Though neither seem to react to her next line, the adorable Eldritchian girl looks pleased with herself as Nerea acknowledges the possibility the two languages are connected.
Yet upon being asked what a Brittle is, the harpyeqsue girl looks confused whereas The Midnight Stitcher briefly reflects. "How to explain it... Humans are definitely fragile, yet they don't like being called weak. Though I suppose nothing stands up to me..." Still, as the empress explains her choice of language, 'Arizona' seems amazed.
Her father(?), however, seems displeased when Nerea assumes wrongly about the Eldritchian term. Still, The Midnight Stitcher takes note when Durnem claims there's a connection between Earth and whatever Orenya is. 'Arizona', on the other hand, pouts annoyed upon Durnem referring to Humans as lesser versions of other races.
Nonetheless she seems innocently unaware of Durnem referring to them as potential threats, whereas The Midnight Stitcher simply seems perplexed why she would refer to them as such. Still, with the cyborg introducing herself and then Nerea, The Midnight Stitcher begins thinking over what to say.
'Arizona', however, glances between Durnem and Nerea before speaking up. "Nuh uh, humans aren't cripples! The Brittles are the deformed ones, having bones that snap like twigs and bodies that breakdown long before they actually die. Humans are, like, super cool! They can do anything, and they can grow bones from their bodies at will! Brittles can't do any of that despite technically being the same thing."
Upon hearing her say that, The Midnight Stitcher looks a bit surprised before reflecting. "There's no race on... Is she meaning the Kutians? But..." The inhuman man lost in thought, his daughter(?) smiles happily at Nerea before speaking up again. "The humans learned other languages by poking around the omniverse, but what the Brittles call English is their original language. Thus, the human tongue!"
The Midnight Stitcher placing his right hand on the Eldritchian girl's shoulder and sort of drag-turning her towards Blank, he speaks whilst his daughter blinks confused. "Eldritchians are, somehow, a species composed of extremely diverse specimen. Thus, classified as Wights due to their magicless abilities making no natural sense."
"The Omniverse is the collection of all possibilities, and all possibilities must eventually come to pass."
Magdalene's Realm —> Eneritan (Claire; Emriel)
As Claire waited for the blonde-haired girl to respond to her antics, she noticed that the young girl seemed to fade and disappear. Casting a lazy glance around, the witch noticed that the glade had become enveloped in fog, which then proceeded to condense and settle to the ground. Nay, it became the ground.
She gave a few experimental jumps. They were standing atop a white, fluffy cloud!
"Cloud cuckoo land much?" Claire asked with a childish grin. Her gaze fell upon the golden gazebo, causing her eyes to sparkle. Surely something like that would contain valuable treasures for one such as herself to... "appreciate"?
The witch stopped her gleeful hand rubbing when she noticed Emriel's continued presence near her, and adjust her hat, which had started to slide forward. "Eneritan, eh? Nice place; tis fluffy," she said, feigning an innocent composure before pointing towards the building that had caught her eye and asking, "What's that place?"
Unbeknownst to either of them, a gray storm cloud had begun forming on the horizon; a harbinger of likely doom, for Claire, the Manic Adventurer of Chaos, was upon that quaint village in the sky.
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Rozeta Marga (Nerea, Durnem, Midnight Stitcher, Arizona, Blank)
Durnem was noticeably annoyed when the metallic girl sniffed her hand, and then refused to let go. But even her normally tough, serious expression softened a slight upon noticing the definite fear in her aura. And also in the way that she spoke, as if she had been silent for a very long time. Maybe in all that time she even forgot what a handshake was.
And then she let out a grumble at what Nerea and the two Eldritchians were saying. Simulations? Humans growing bones out of their body? None of this had to be real, right? In fact, none of it is. She knew it - this was all just an illusion brought about by the hypnotist she had been pursuing, wasn't it? None of these people were real; merely projections of some strange subconscious entity. Durnem knew she should not become too invested in this illusion; at the back of her mind was a wonder of how she was going to escape it. Yet for now, she decided all she could do was humor it a little.
...But not try to understand it in the least. "Tch, I am no kruiyeh Eldritchian. And where I'm from, a wight is someone who has lost their sense of identity, either in life or in the afterlife. The undead ones are often a nuisance to the Oradamin."note "And I may not know a whole lot about Earth, but one thing I do know is that their humans had completely normal bone growth. Earlier in this, uh, dimension, I met one." She just now remembered Ayako. "You know who I'm talking about," she told the Midnight Stitcher.
The mention of language was especially absurd. "I don't suppose either of your worlds have a special name for Latori," Durnem said next, glancing between Nerea and Arizona and her "father". "...And why am I not speaking it? Da taiska. Tou nai nen dori-me nya asuli dai? Ata dai, saga nen yaki da mirusen sai pa humi-no dria-min."translation She actually had to speak a bit slowly during the last part, suddenly finding her native language difficult to speak... except for incantations and swear words, apparently.
Suddenly remembering Blank (who had still not let go of her hand), she turned back to the shy cyborg and calmed down. "Apologies... these tanshumi-me are getting on my humi-no nerves," she seethed with a side glance at the other three. "But no need to fear, Miss Blank. I take it you are not familiar with hand-greetings. Allow me to demonstrate how it's done properly." She slipped her hand out of Blank's grasp - quite easy since it was a fish fin - and held her hand this time, intertwining it wither her own and trying not to scratch her with any claws. "Not too tightly," she instructed. "Feel now the energy running between our hands. This, is an aural vibration, a bonding of life force. It means I trust you, and you trust me, and we sense the magic between us." It did not even occur to her that this girl might not even know what auras and magic are.
note
Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Eneritan (Emriel, Claire)
Emriel gave Claire a triumphant look. "That," she proclaimed while standing on her one foot as usual and gesturing widely at the golden gazebo, "is the famous Hall of Healing. It is imbued with a really powerful sort of magic that can heal anything. Diseases, injuries, anxieties... even death or undeath." She still sounded notably excited while saying this.
"Legend has it that in Orenya's Ancient Era, this place was a regular spot for people to venture to cure their ailments. But once people abused the place too much, the hall's golden walls tarnished, until it disappeared altogether, and Eneritan itself descended to the ground and became the gloomy, foggy village of Hakushiari. However, legend has it that it exists in another realm somewhere..."
She pondered a moment, and then starts jumping up and down again. "But I found it! We found it! Man, I've tried to access that place for Telwenthe knows how long... hey, do you think the place could repair your cape as well? It looks... like it's seen better days."
Safon Warehouse -> Shinkyo Market District (Rin, Gwenafer, Marie, Nick, Adam, Phantom, Friedrich)
This woman - American by the sound of it - still didn't seem to trust the doll. Truth be told, Friedrich wasn't completely worried about being shot, but he wasn't sure whether it was because he knew there was a new sort of magic in him, or because Sinistrina's fearlessness had rubbed off on him. But when he looked back at the woman after his pondering, she was gone. And so was any discernible detail in the warehouse. The only thing prominently before him was the mirror he had emerged out of.
"Well that is strange..." Picking up his sword and re-sheathing it, he walked toward this mirror. "Perhaps this world was a fluke, then." For a while he pondered as he faced the mirror. Normally, re-entering the mirror he came out of would just return him to the Deathly Glade, and Sinistrina had specifically instructed him to leave the place. But not only was this a dream world, but Misery Manor had been destroyed. To confirm, when he placed a hand on the mirror's surface, ripples spread outward, as if he had instead touched the surface of a stagnant pond. Shrugging as best he could with his porcelain shoulders, he stepped inside it.
He was immediately struck with a sense of deja vu, as he emerged onto a beat-up vanity desk that had materialized out of nowhere. But wasn't Misery Manor... As he looked around though, he noticed that he was in a manor, but it looked too... mundane, lively even, to be one of misery. And he wasn't alone. There was a little old man apparently scolding the members of a motley crew and asking them to leave. Said motley crew consisted of a middle-aged woman looking to be of some military rank, three teenagers who looked like they were buddies (one of whom was a girl dressed in an almost doll-like fashion), a younger woman with a strange eye, and... a moving suit of armor?
The last one really grabbed his attention, as he could see a concentrated ethereal presence somewhere inside it. A soul container. He had seen many, many of them before on the revenants, but this one was, notably, not tainted. Instead of a dark presence, it had... light. Curious and strangely drawn to the armor, he jumped off the desk, summoning a pool of shadow below him to ease his landing, and walked towards the group, following them toward the door.
"Hello there," he finally said to the group, looking up at all the new faces (emphasis on up, as he was just about knee height on everyone else).note "Very nice suit of armor you have here. Which one of you animated him?" He looked around at the group, especially the old man. "And what is the situation here? Have these people been bothering you?"
By that time, the old vanity desk had vanished.
edited 1st Sep '17 11:56:37 PM by ladytanuki
Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.
Eneritan (Claire; Emriel)
Claire's eyes lit up at the mention of a cure-all. "Ooh, sounds like a panacea..." she said, eagerly wriggling her fingers. She then shrugged, "Alas, nothin' ails me right now, so I guess I'll have to give it a pass," she said, before returning her gaze to the gazebo, still, if they do have panacea, I could always take some for later... and that building does look to be made of actual gold... she thought to herself.
The magician then proceeded to take offense at Emriel when she mentioned the state of her cape, "I'll do no such thing; my cape is quite distinguished the way it is." Brushing said cape off, she relaxed slightly before speaking up again after a moment, "I've had it for quite a long time, and besides, it's tougher than it looks, so it don't really need fixin'."
whoops, wrong thread
edited 3rd Sep '17 5:59:14 PM by WillDeRegio
I am...an idiot...lol
[Market Area]
Nick didn't even have time to see what on earth Rin was warning him about before he felt something whack him in the back of his head.
"OW!" he shouted, holding his head, "Augh, son of a..."
When he turned around, he saw it was a very unhappy old man, and now they were being told to leave his home. Honestly, this was the first time in his life where he wanted to fight an old geezer.
Before he could call Jackson to come with them, another person appeared. And with a doll—something that reminded Nick of the dolls he saw earlier in the park.
"Oh!" Adam said, feeling a bit unnerved at the talking doll, "H-hi there..."
Marie, out of strange impulse, picked Frederich up and examined him, "Wow! I've never seen a doll like this before! And ya talk too?"
[Kitchen]
Jackson didn't know what they were talking about again, so he, for the most part, remained silent.
But something was bothering him; he couldn't hear his friends. Were they still in the parlor? Why was everyone suddenly so quiet? Something didn't sit right with him.
"Hey..." he said, "I-I'm terribly sorry to interrupt but...should we see if Rin and the others are still waiting for us?"
edited 4th Sep '17 12:41:33 PM by Masterofchaos
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Eneritan (Emriel, Claire)
As Claire talked about her cape, Emriel's own narrow white cape fluttered in a high breeze, as the rest of her teetered to and fro on the foot she was balancing on. Her face took on a disapproving look. "So you're... okay with your cape being torn?" She shrugged. "I guess if you have a sort of spell on it that requires it to be that way. To me you came across as a performer, so it just looked odd to me. ...Are you a performer? And of what?"
She pondered. "Nah, a panacea is more like a potion made from herbs if I remember correctly. I don't think this place has those. Though you know, since we're in a dream world... I guess anything can happen."
Just then, she caught the slightest difference in the lighting of the place, and looked over at the sun. Notably, the sun was reddish in hue, and dim enough to safely look at. The sky around it looked... different, and there seemed to be some large, nearly invisible round object close to the sun, and a large round shadowy thing, also nearly invisible, right next to and behind that. There was also something shiny in the sky near that, and what looked like a faint ring of cloud in front of the shadowy thing. Now that's weird... And below them, the clouds looked to be a rather deep shade of gray.
Eh, the sky must've been different in ancient times. Standing on both feet for once, she turned around to face Claire, deciding to go with another lofty topic. "Out of curiosity, are you at all experienced with flying or gliding? The only kind of magic you've showed me so far was conjuring flowers."
Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.
This is my good side.
Rozeta Marga
Durnem seemed annoyed, both at Blank and the others. Still, she seemed to sften up at Blank, showing her how a handshake worked. Blank followed her advice, not squeezing her hand, but holding Durnem's firmly. And just like Durnem said, Blank felt a tingling sensation on her hand. Soothing, even if she didnt understand what the fish-looking lady said. Turning around, Blank also acknowledged Nerea with a silent nod.
Still, Blank felt a little out of place, as she had trouble understanding the concept of whatever the others were talking about. Still holding Durnem's hand, her gaze wandered around, first looking at the endless sea. She hadn't paid attention to it before, but seeing it now, its vastness made her dizzy. Instead, she focused on the green-covered town. The half broken buildings, the abandoned ships, she vigilance tower...
Blank went stiff, and she looked again, a cold sweat running down her nape. She was not mistaken. Back on the street, on what was probably a crossroad before, was a six-meter tall grey post, silver-coloured, shiny and clean easily standing out amidst all the green. How hadn't she seen it before? How had she lowered her guard enough to risk being caught? It was almost as if it hadn't been there before.
On top the silver polewere mounted several dishes and spinning radars, and two tube-looking cameras scanning everything in sight. Blank let go of Durnem's hand, and slowly made her way back to the half-demolished wall. The group was far away enough that the hadn't been detected yet, but moving any closer would trigger the alarm. And then, who knows what would jump on them.
Eneritan (Claire; Emriel)
Claire gave a theatrical flourish of her cape before bowing in response to Emriel's questioning. "I am a magician, not a stage magician, mind you, but a practitioner of the magical arts," she said, before adding in a quieter tone, "among other things."
When the sumiri mentioned that Eneritan most likely didn't have a panacea, a look a mild disappointment crossed Claire’s face. She then brightened up slightly, glancing back towards the golden tower, "Perhaps instead they have a philosopher's stone; that would explain a lot."
The darkening of the sun caught Claire’s attention as well. Whistling softly, she held a hand to her brow as she gazed at the sun, "Well, that's a pretty trippy eclipse you've got goin' on around here," she commented while she mused about the significance of it.
Emriel's further questioning brought the magician's attention back to earth, or rather cloud. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve, but I wouldn't call it flyin' per say. More like boosted moonwalkin' and gale powered jumpin'," she said, before holding up her hands, displaying the various colored rings, "I've got spells for different elements and stuff; not many though, just enough for a varied offense and nifty utility spells for hardcore parkour."
Yukijou-minato ~ Snow Castle [Main Keep 1st Floor ~ Parlor Kitchen] (Megumi; Gliosem; Jackson)
Megumi relaxed slightly when Gliosem explained the difference between the teas she used. "I see, then m'lady is in no danger from it. Good," the maid said, before frowning, "though, I presume pressing matters would force your hand to using such a dangerous drug."
With Gliosem's general explanation on the process her sister used and what a lich in general was, due to the Senjimese ninja cat maid being unfamiliar with the term, Megumi gave a nod of understanding, "There are rumors that the Balamar Empire is researching something similar, though if they had a third of what they were rumored to be researching, they probably would have taken over the world by now. I've heard other researchers are looking into it as well, but I'm particularly keen on reading too many academic journals in my spare time."
With Jackson speaking up to inform them of the rather unusual silence in the castle, Megumi responded by picking up the 'rice cooker' and tucked under her arm. "I suppose we can return to the parlor; we can take this to work on in a less cramped environment," she explained, before heading back towards the parlor.
Upon arriving there, the lack of anyone else was quite noticeable, much to Megumi's concern and displeasure.
Rozeta Marga ~ Ampelones Dry Docks (Nerea; Arizona, the Midnight Stitcher; Durnem; Blank)
Nerea gave Arizona a pensive stare before responding, "These Brittles that you describe, sound exactly like a human, nay, many things with no skills. Weak, feeble, prone to dying. But when developed properly..." she said, trailing off as she gestured towards herself.
As Nerea gave more thought into what everyone was saying, the empress's tail swayed gently, a flowing ribbon seemingly with a mind of its own. She stopped her tail when she was ready to speak; "Wight, a common term with many meanings: corpse, body, human, creature. Some-thing that we all apparently can agree upon, no?" Curling her tail tip under her chin, she narrowed her unseen eyes, "though the un-death aspect is new to me."
With Durnem asking about Latori, followed by her demonstration of said language, the empress gave a perplexed stare in response; "What?" The demi-merlady crossed her arms, "I am afraid I did not under-stand that. This marks the first time I have heard this language, Latori, you said."
She then watched the exchange between Durnem and Blank, observing the green (and a few other colors) pulses of energy traveling between the two as they held hands. The quite girl's observations of the surroundings didn't go unnoticed by the empress's attention; Nerea had been wondering why this once bustling port was void of people. She was certain she hadn't been away from Rozeta Marga for no more than a few years(her means of time keeping had been compromised in one way or another during that time), so it shouldn't be so desolate, nor look like it was being assimilated by the island.
And then she noticed the alien object. The nearby tapir bolting from cover and away from the tower was what tipped her off. To her, it was a strange blend of gray, light green, and enigmatic aethers, with encroaching blues and greens of the kudzu as it began it ever growing march (though not one readily observable to the others if they didn't know what to look for) to cover every available surface— Wait, what? It is not supposed to grow that quickly, Nerea thought as she frowned at both the odd tower, and the anomalous vines creeping slowly up it.
Unbeknownst to the empress, she wasn't completely aware of the potential danger as she began to move towards the tower to get a better 'look', a hand drifting towards the knife sheathed at the small of her back.
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Eneritan (Emriel, Claire)
Claire's mention of magicians got Emriel pondering... well, more like scratching her head and giving her an awkward glance. "...Stage magician? Doesn't that apply to anyone who uses magic in their performances? Aaaanyway, if you are ashamed of what other things you do on stage, I suppose it's fine not to tell me - though judging by your look, you'd make a wonderful visualist. Especially if you can do anything that... sparkles."
"And what's a philosopher's stone? Might be a question to ask the..." But as she looked around, she grew disappointed. "...healers. Where are all those fabled healers though? Normally this place is inhabited by people with wings, sort of like me only smaller, and they are very knowledgeable about the healing arts. They might even know how to make panaceas. But this place is... empty... not even a hint of an aura." Indeed, looking around, there seemed to be not a soul. No lights or activity in the houses, no movement on any of the clouds below... even the town square they appeared to be in was completely barren.
When the so-called magician took a look at the horizon, Emriel looked that way as well... and her eyes flew open for a brief moment as she got a better look. "You are right... that is... are those... all the moons?" She made a few pointing motions, then looked back at Claire. "All four of the moons are about to eclipse the sun at once. That... I wonder..."
For a while she seemed a bit worried, but for the time being she shrugged it off, especially with the mention of parkour. "Well what do you know, you happen to be speaking to something of an expert on parkour... though I'm mostly a dancer myself. Though those rings... are those the source of those enchantments of which you speak?"
Snow Castle - Kitchen -> Parlor (Megumi, Jackson, Gliosem)
Megumi's mention of taking over the world seemed to ignite worry in Gliosem's eyes. I hope something similar does not happen to Zurem... "Well the good thing is, though, that most undead seem to have a weakness to healing magic, so that might be something to consider if the research goes as planned."
Once they entered the parlor, though, it was empty. "Now where did everyone... go..." But as she spoke, she heard something faint in the awkward silence. Something of... a melody. The same melody, in fact, of the song she had sung for everyone earlier. In this space, there was somehow a memory of that song, as if the walls had ears and the song was still ringing inside of them. There was even a lingering presence of Rin having been there... but now she was nowhere. Not even in the other hallway leading off of the parlor...
She heard something else as she looked down that other hallway, and walking closer to it even confirmed it. This was the tune of the same song she had been singing when she first arrived at this place. For a moment she tried to remember how she even arrived here... she had just randomly wandered here from the Twilight Ball, hadn't she? And the tides of the Dream, it seemed, carried her here, where at last she had discovered some idea of a purpose in the war going on in the world she had escaped. Then in that case...
"I do not know for sure," she said to Megumi while still gazing into the corridor, "but perhaps Rin and the others accidentally wound up in another dream world altogether. Only problem is, we cannot be sure where exactly they ended up. But, since both of you know someone in that other group, it may not be completely impossible to see where they went. In fact..." and here she looked back at the rice cooker, "if that rice cooker there has any spells that have been placed upon it, it could even be used to divine their location. Shall we have a look at it, then?"
Regardless of their answer, she wandered back to the rice cooker, trying to decide what to make of it.
Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.
Eneritan (Claire; Emriel)
Claire reeled back, hands and arms akimbo at the implication that she was a "mere" stage magician; "Oi, I'm a genuine magician, unlike those char— charlemagnes! They just make ya think there usin' magic, when its just trickery and slight-o'-hand." She paused for a moment to calm down and collect herself, "Though I suppose I am quite the theatric."
Meanwhile, the magician continued to stare (unwisely) at the absolute total eclipse of the star of Orenya; eventually she gave an impressed whistle. "So," Claire said, tilting her head a bit towards Emriel, "four moons... Earth's only got one Moon. Must have some pretty freaky tides around here, then," she mused.
Following Emirel's cue, she too looked around at the unpopulated dreamscape. "Maybe everyone's on holiday?" she dubiously asked, before crossing her arms. "Though," she said with more confidence, "this place seems like a town from an old Western, just before the big showdown at high noon, where everyone's hidin' inside and peerin' through the windows."
Uncrossing her arms, Claire tapped her chin for a moment before grinning, "So ya don't know what a philosopher's stone is, eh?" she said, "A philosopher's stone, one of many names for it, has been the big goal of alchemists everywhere for centuries; to create a substance that can turn lead into gold, create the elixir of life and achieve immortality, and be a cheat code for everyday tasks and stuff."
She shrugged, "It's rumored that some folks were successful in craftin' it, but as far as I know, they're just rumors; I, myself, have never come across one in my travels," she said, before frowning in thought, "Then again, alchemists haven't exactly been entirely consistent in describin' it, so..." She shook her head before turning back towards the Hall of Healing, "Anyway, giant golden tower, can heal anythin' up to and includin' death, it makes me think of a philosopher's stone," she explained with a faint smile.
She smiled as the sumiri took notice of her rings, "Oh, these? Yeah, they provide some enchantments, as well as bein' the focuses of my magic. Have a tendency of misplacin' them, though, especially just before goin' on a trip..." she said, her mood briefly souring before cheering back up, "Ya mentioned sparkling and other magics, eh? Well then, allow me to demonstrate some more magic for ya."
She quickly adopted one of her many pointlessly unnecessary spell casting stances; she held her right arm outstretched to her side, palm facing away from her, and her left arm cocked back at ear level, pointing in the same direction as her arm with her middle and index fingers. A split second later, a magical circle formed in front of hand before unleashing a stream of pale blue dagger-like shards of ice. They flew strait and true, before embedding themselves in the side of a building and shattering into shimmering clouds of diamond dust.
As if invoked by her performance, the bleating of a goat sounded from somewhere in the general vicinity, prompting the magician to cast a puzzled look around the deserted town.
Upon finding nothing, she turned towards Emriel, asking, "I don't suppose they have goats here?"
The bleating did not originate from a goat, but rather, something potentially more dangerous.
feeling blue
It looked like in the process of suddenly being transported from one place to another they ended up accidentally invading an elderly man's house and so he was understandably angry. Phantom was ready to simply leave the man be and head outside when a new arrival showed up and this one was most unusual. He looked to be like some type of doll that could talk and he seemed to have gotten an interest in the guardian, asking the others about who was responsible for animating him.
"I'm afraid no one here will be able to give you an answer, not even me," Phantom replied, then gestured towards the door, "either way, let us not bother this elder any longer and resume our conversation outside."
With that said, he began heading towards the front door.
edited 22nd Sep '17 9:04:51 PM by FullMoon
Shinkyo Market District (Rin; Gwenafer; Friedrich; Adam, Marie, Nick; Phantom)
Rin shepherded the growing group out of the old man's home and onto the street-roof-balcony-whatever outside. "Our continued presence in that man's home was the only thing bothering him," she told the newly arrived micromaton (as per her assumption; miniature automatons, much like lapdogs, seemed to be fashionable these days).
Shifting her gaze upwards, Rin addressed Marie; "If I am correct in what I know of the capitol, I am fairly certain there are automatons similar to him that can be found in this market," she said, gesturing to the busy thoroughfare of various vendors down below, "and I am sure you could find want at a reasonable price," she continued, before redirecting her attention towards Friedrich, "I am Admiral Rin Tachibana; I presume you have a name and coordinator, little one?"
She then turned to Gwenafer before lowering her voice as to be heard by only the two of them, "Three words: horned fertility goddess. Do not invoke her," she said with a faint note of hostility in her voice.
Meanwhile, the old man gave the group a rather pleasant sounding farewell for one so crotchety as himself... before slamming the sliding door shut after them.
The Waking World (c. 2081) ~ the Gaelatain (Fuwa, Ruka)
In the waking world, the sleeping Ruka, with Fuwa in temporary command, sensed danger. In an instant, Fuwa awoke the pair, dragging herself and Ruka's ghostly self rather abruptly from their respective dreams. The remerged pair groggily regained their focus to deal with whatever threat lurked in the Gaelatain (and to berate the raiju for ruining yet another undersuit in their sleep).
Approaching the Eight Wings Library (???)
A hooded figure, clad in a long white coat with many pockets and bearing the marking of black triskelion atop a red cross on the back, sturdy travel boots, and carrying a stout staff tipped with a crystalline mechanism of some sort and a black bag was drawn to this enigmatic place located in this vast and confusing dreamscape, akin to the necropolis of Viridis amongst the dark mires, the shadowed forests, and abysmal fields of Magna Terras.
Pausing to deal with a wheezing cough, the figure continued her approach towards the library, unaware of how little time remained before it would disappear from this dream.
edited 25th Sep '17 12:58:38 PM by WillDeRegio
It's a bird.
Shinkyo Market District (Gwenafer; Friedrich; Adam, Marie, Nick; Phantom; Rin)
Once outside, Gwenafer took some time to give the newest addition to the group an inquisitive look. At first, she had assumed him to be a child, but she tensed up and instinctively took a step back - bumping into a low wooden fence at the edge of the balcony - once she noticed that his face was made of porcelain. She'd seen a few mechanical constructs like this before, but none which had such an eerily human voice and mannerisms.
Gwenafer stepped up to Marie, pointing at the being in her arms while sending meaningful glances between it and Phantom.
"I don't think that's just an automaton..." she said to the girl, before looking down to address the being itself.
"You're alive, right?"
Next, she looked over at Rin, suddenly realizing that the admiral had whispered something to her. The words "horned fertility goddess" naturally made her think of Virana - daughter of her own god Merwon and sister to the Pale Lady, according to the legends - but she couldn't imagine why anyone would have this kind of reaction to her being mentioned. And since this was clearly a different world altogether... A different horned fertility goddess, then?
Gwenafer tilted her head to the side, raising her eyebrow.
"Why..?"
Graveyard - City (Moreena; Nathan; Sinistrina, Antoinette)
"So what is this place? It looks as if they are searching for people who can use magic - but whatever for?"
"To make weapons, mostly," Moreena answered. "Or to serve as spies and assassins of course, though they never advertised that as much."
She gestured towards a spot in the spectral crowd where a group of wooden soldiers had been just a few moments ago.
"A memory of yours..?" she asked, before pointing at the black building across the plaza down the street. "I believe that more more of those might be waiting for all of us in there."
She began to walk, the hem of her long dress silently flowing across the rubble of the ancient street without ever getting stuck or even catching the tiniest speck of dust, but suddenly stopped and quickly turned her head in Nathan's direction as she felt the spike in his magic.
"Don't strain yourself too much," she said, in a tone that wasn't quite as cold as when she had first greeted the man. "There isn't much to kill around here anyway."
His and Sinistrina's little discussion about resurrection, on the other hand, was something she wouldn't let slide.
"Your intentions might be noble this time," Moreena said, keeping herself calm but also baring her sharp teeth. "But that sort of endeavor rarely ends well. Trust me."
"Speaking about asking them, though..." she continued, glancing over at Antoinette. "I did make a promise earlier, didn't I?"
Moreena knelt down in front of the undead girl with the basket of bottles, and gently reached out with a few thin tendrils of her true self to search for her soul. It was never easy to tell how a mortal soul would react to the presence of a goddess, but Moreena did her best to seem friendly and nonthreatening. Or as friendly and nonthreatening as a goddess of death could get, at least.
"Hello," she said, both with her voice and with her mind, "You're Antoinette, right? There's no need to be scared."
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Shinkyo Market District (Rin, Nick, Adam, Marie, Gwenafer, Phantom, Friedrich)
Friedrich did not even flinch in the doll-like girl's arms, for he was used to being carried. Nor did he scowl at the younger members of the group's surprise at him moving and talking, for he had witnessed many a tourist in Solevaille experience a similar reaction to the dolls. But what did make him flinch a slight was the lack of an answer as to who animated the suit of armor - not even he knew. And what did make him scowl a slight was the Admiral's mention of him being an automaton, to which the frightened woman with the mechanical eye expressed her disagreement.
"Yes," he told Marie and Gwenafer, "I am alive, just as any human." He seemed a bit distant though when he said it, for the truth was far more complicated than that. Even now he felt distant from his own facsimile of a soul, the presence of the human soul inside him ever more prominent. The latter was surprised too, he knew, but as with all its emotions, it was subtle. "Brought to life by magic in fact," he decided to add, "though I have no desire to become a real boy."
By that time, the door behind them had slammed shut... which Friedrich saw as the perfect opportunity to answer Rin's question. But he sounded puzzled at first. "Coordinator?" Did she mean the one who created him? "...I am afraid I have no idea what you mean." The truth would certainly make for a bad first impression, after all. "But my name is Friedrich von Schwarzwald." He looked specifically at Rin. "I do not believe you will find any more of my kind around here, but in my hometown of Solevaille, there are many living dolls like myself." And yet very different from myself. "So an Admiral eh? That is quite a fine sword you have there." Speaking from someone who had his own miniature sword sheathed at his hip.
And finally to Phantom, "You do not even know who made you? How peculiar. You remind me of the wooden soldiers in my hometown, only your soul is complete." In fact, he had to wonder why Queen Lucina never bothered to bring any suits of armor to life herself - though he supposed it was because they weren't toys.
Eneritan (Emriel, Claire)
Emriel let out an exasperated groan at Claire's description of what "stage magicians" really were. "I think you mean 'charlatans', right? You're from Earth - that explains a lot. I've heard tales and legends about that place - apparently most people there don't know how to use magic. Is that true? Though faking it... that is an entirely new level of sad. It looks like you might have to start a revolution in performance magic, then!" She grinned.
Listening to the explanation of a philosopher's stone gave Emriel a nagging thought that there was something else she ought to pay attention to and had completely forgotten... and even when replying she had no idea. "Hmm, stones that grant immortality, where have I heard that one before..." She shrugged. "Well, I can see why you saw the resemblance."
To the remark about holidays she said, "Well, nowadays when Kalena eclipses the sun we call it a Night Holiday, but I don't think they had those in this bygone age. This, I think, is back when Orenya had a day-and-night cycle. Kalena is that big blue barely-visible moon back there, by the way." The one that was closest to the sun in the sky in fact, now at least partly obscuring the latter's surface. Claire's worries about looking at the sun directly were unfounded here, as Orenya's sun was comfortably dimmer - and far redder - than Earth's. More like a menacing fiery red eye glaring down at the planet - but now that eye was soon to close.
That's when Claire decided to demonstrate one of her rings. Emriel nodded in approval - they seemed to work exactly like they did on Orenya. Now she felt that longing to go to the jewelry hub of Leshinen where they made them - but that was in Zurem, and in the midst of the Day-Night War, going from day to night was all but suicide. But that halted when some weird cry sounded from where the crystals hit, followed by Claire asking Emriel if there were goats here.
"What's a goat?" she replied while scratching her head. "That there sounds more like a horse with a raekra of a sore throat. Looks like something worth checking out..."
Before Claire could stop her, Emriel took off at a low run, all but obscured by the cloud cover. At last she tumbled over and jumped onto the side of a tiny house, bounding off of it and spreading her wings and stretching out her arms toward the "ground", with her hands faintly glowing. After a quick spin she rose higher, and after gaining as much height as she possibly could (read: only about as high as the top of the Hall of Healing), gliding around the town in a spiral, trying to locate what was presumably a very sick horse.
Eight Wings Library -> Forest (Ferisen, ???)
While Ferisen was still shivering on the floor of the Ruby Wing, the wind of intent coming from Tagui erupted into a bright red flare, shaking the entirety of the fragile place to its very core. The bones comprising the nearby skeletons rattled, bits of spider web fluttered through the air, papers flew everywhere like a flock of terrified birds, and countless stagnant voices sang throughout the walls - a solemn dirge to welcome the energy of judgment coming from that bright red star. And, contrasting it, the triumphant unsounds of the latria, an otherworldly ode to freedom. Near and around this latria, Ferisen was safe, the newfound strength of her soul forming a protective barrier against the debris.
Then all at once the flare expanded in a supernova-like burst, sending a wave of energy penetrating every inch of the library walls. And in a flash, those walls disintegrated into dust. So, too, did the barrier around the latria fall, welcoming the ensuing calmness. The dust fell in gentle sheets, spreading far and wide to the landscape beyondnote in flurries of microscopic feathers. Ashes to dust, dust to feathers... and feathers to fog, slowly awakening after the land lay in a serene lull of blanketed dry snow. Rising ever higher and growing ever thicker, the fog soon engulfed all the space. But before long, it too gave way. Fog to forest, the same forest that formed an intermediary between dream worlds.
"Altenre-ya."
After a period of stillness, Ferisen rose into standing, finally sliding her hand off her forehead, but her gaze still downward, completely unaware that Tagui and Ruka had vanished along with the library. She flinched inside when she saw the blood on her hand, but then remembered that with that spell she cast she had fatally damaged her third eye. And also when she saw her arms paler and the toes on her sandaled feet more bluish than before, until she recalled that the body dies when the soul leaves it so abruptly.
Listlessly, she withdrew a handkerchief from her hip pouch and wiped the blood off of her hand and around the triangular crystal now embedded in the center of her forehead. The crystal was the only part of her that felt warm, burning with the new life enclosed within it. A part of her knew that were she still alive, even she would be panicking at all that had changed, but now, due to the trauma of damaging her third eye and to the grim acceptance of her fate, she felt incapable of such a panic. What she did feel, though, was her latria's presence, a magical bond with it far stronger than anything before.
But after a while she felt something else, coming from the surroundings. Intuitively, she knew it was an animate being, for she could sense the approaching aural presence. Though she was gazing right at the figure, she did not yet see them. Instead, as a curiosity about who it was formed in her mind, she projected it as a subtle force of intent out to that being, who might feel something akin to a nudge in the newly-undead psychic's direction. At the time being it seemed to be a living person, though some nagging thought at the back of her mind hinted that that may not be entirely true.
edited 26th Sep '17 9:53:23 PM by ladytanuki
Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.
Eneritan (Claire; Emriel)
Claire shrugged in response to Emriel asking about Earth's magic users. "Not sure how many can use magic myself; never really had reason to," she said, before reciprocating the grin, "I'm sure not all stage magicians are faking it, so I wouldn't be quite the revolutionary."
The magician raised an eyebrow at Emriel's declaration that this was "back when Orenya had a day-and-night cycle". What the hell could have caused that? A suicidal moon? Claire frowned upwards at the moons of Orenya as she prowled around on the ground for the source of the goat noises as Emriel took to the skies. Claire nearly ran into it. Given away by the faint puffing hoofbeats on cloud, the creature reared to its full height.
A bipedal goat, over fifteen feet tall with red fur and large, leathery wings. Curled horns loomed over those eerie eyes and wispy beard. Powerful looking arms that ended in savage-looking claws; useful tools in limb removal. A crocodilian tail capable of snapping a telephone pole like a matchstick. Most definitely not something one would want to get into close combat with.
Idly chewing on a piece of cloud, the beast, unaware of the startled witch currently trying not to face plant into its tail, lazily scanned the area before letting out another bleat. It felt a faint breeze on its legs, but paid it no mind; there was plenty wind in this town of tasty clouds.
Frantically gliding backwards, Claire decided to employ her go-to distractive technique: light the nearest building on fire. And she did just that, by unleashing a torrent of flames upon a deserted building and whirlwind jumping the hell out of dodge as the giant bat-goat came to investigate the sudden arrival of cloud flambe.
Claire almost cleared a tall building in a single bound. The keyword here being almost.
Instead, the magician slammed into the side of the Hall of Healing at exactly fifty-four miles per hour, having missed Emriel by well over several yards along the way. Surprisingly, Claire was quick to recover... only to frantically cling to the wall somehow as she began slowly sliding down.
Forest (???; Ferisen)
The hooded figure froze upon spotting the well dressed purple-haired person with... wings? They weren't feathered, so that ruled out avia... While she tried to mentally cross-reference her knowledge of the Encyclopedia Aria Anima, the go-to compendium of races, creatures, and other things, in an attempt to figure out what this person was (getting throttled by the neck for a salutational faux pas tend to make one a bit cautious), she noticed that this person was apparently an ambulatory corpse by the looks of things, not unlike herself, albeit with a rather painfully placed crystal by the traces of blood around it.
Given the fact that this woman hadn't broken into a mad dash to inflict horrible injuries in a futile attempt to kill her, the hooded figure relaxed slightly before jabbing her staff into the ground momentarily as to allow herself the free hand to throw her hood back, revealing her face.
Her skin was of almost pure alabaster pallor, with some unnaturally purplish veins visible in the places where they were close to the skin. Staring with iridescent green eyes framed by a head of short black hair, she gave a polite smile before tapping the side of her head in greeting.
"Salutations!" she said in a rather young sounding voice (she had only been a teenager when she had originally died a few years ago) before reclaiming her staff and making her approach closer to the other woman.
edited 27th Sep '17 5:52:46 PM by WillDeRegio
[Market District]
Marie turned to her friends. "Can we keep him? He's kind of cute!"
Adam frowned. "Um...I-I don't think he would like that. He's pretty alive, like a human. It would be like keeping another human being as some sort of pet."
"...Fair point."
As they were kicked out, Nick suddenly realized something; not once did they see Jackson come out. A sudden feeling of dread came over him.
"Guys..." he said, his tone low, "...Jacky isn't here."
Marie gasped. "Oh God! I just noticed! He should've been with us when we arrived here!" She gently set Friedrich back on the ground, "You don't think he's back at the castle, do you? We don't even know how to get there!"
Adam turned to Rin, visibly panicked. "M-Ms. Rin, you know this area, right? You know how to make it back to the castle...r-right?"
[Snow Castle-Kitchen]
To Jackson's horror, everyone else had vanished without a trace. The three of them were the only ones in the castle. But...that was impossible! They were just here a minute ago! How could this happen? Did one of them dream them away? Did they wake up? Not having a clear answer made him all the more worried.
Which also made him angrier that they still wanted to focus on the rice cooker instead of finding missing people.
"...Are you fucking kidding me?" he said, balling his hands into a fist, "Rin and my friends are God knows where, and you guys are still focused on this thing? Do you even care?"
He gave a heavy sigh, "Ok. You want my help? Here it is; it's a bloody rice cooker. It cooks rice." He clapsed his hands together. "There. Mystery solved. Now get your damn priorities straight and help me find my friends!"
edited 18th Oct '17 7:55:17 PM by Masterofchaos
Yukijou-minato ~ Snow Castle [Main Keep 1st Floor ~ Parlor] (Megumi; Gliosem; Jackson)
The cat-eared maid gave an irritated sigh, placed the rice cooker on the parlor table, and firmly grasped Jackson by the shoulders. "I do care. However, my intuition tells me that your friends are with M'lady, who, I should remind you, is an admiral of the Senjimese Navy and would not allow any harm to come to them," she said, sternly, "as for where they may be, I know not, and aimlessly looking for them would not help the situation at all."
Megumi glanced down at the appliance, "I know it's a rice cooker. It's supposed to cook rice, instead it lights it on fire; I was hoping you might be able to do something about it," she said, before sighing, her voice noticeably relaxing, "but I suppose my priorities are off."
She suddenly curtsied before whistling sharply. Moments later, several maids quite literally appeared out of the woodwork, faint clicking echoing around the room as floor boards and ceiling panels were reset to their original positions. The catkin maid explained the situation to them before dismissing them with a head nod, to which she received acknowledging salutes from each of the maids. She then faced Jackson and crossed her arms, "The Tachibana Maid Corp," she explained, "is a very useful and efficient intelligence resource; we should hopefully have word on you friends and M'lady's whereabouts soon."
"Those ofuda were placed by me; attempting to use it for divination would be a fruitless endeavor," she said to Gliosem. She paused, visibly cringing, before continuing "However, there might be... something you can use." She rummaged through one of the numerous unnoticed pockets of her uniform before retrieving a small, tightly bound piece of cloth, which she hesitated on handing over to the sumiri.
"This is something that belongs to M'lady; I'd like this back once your done," she told Gliosem before handing the bundle over to her.
edited 29th Sep '17 7:31:45 PM by WillDeRegio
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Eneritan (Emriel, Claire)
After a short while of gliding around the oddly-empty town in the clouds, she glimpsed down just in time to see Claire light a house on fire and then jump right into the side of the Hall of Healing. Grumbling, she followed her down until she landed on soft cloud, at which she reached her hands up to the pyromaniac. Without any physical touch, a sort of force lifted Claire away from the wall so that she, too, could land on soft cloud.
She sighed. "What in the raekra was that!?" She gestured over to the burnt house. "I don't care if the healers are gone; that is no reason to burn their house down out of-"
It was then that she took notice of the beast. A huge beast... though for now it just seemed to be enjoying a snack. Of cloud? Emriel didn't know what to make of it. Crossing her arms and keeping her gaze focused on the cloud-muncher, she said to Claire, "Okay, there is that. Is that what a goat is? Never thought I'd see something as big as that feed on clouds." Indeed, on Orenya, it was only the odd fly-like creature that gathered mist on its wings and gained nutrients from the dew. "But that's still no reason to burn down a kruin house! A healer's family lives there, and they are going to come back and find all their precious possessions burned. Healing people is easy for them, but restorative magic cannot heal inanimate objects. What were you trying to accomplish anyway!?"
She had no idea that her shouting might attract the attention of the "goat".
Forest (Ferisen, ???)
As she predicted, Ferisen's aural "tap" got the figure's attention. But the closer said figure approached, the more... unusual they seemed. There was a sort of intensity in the aura of this teenage girl, as she now saw, but it seemed... concentrated. Less like the free-flowing force of life and more like a facsimile thereof, the kind achieved through certain forms of necromancy.
Her eyes widened a slight. A wight. Or a revenant? Indeed, unlike the typical wight, she did not seem all that lost, with an actual self rather than a shell of one. But most definitely someone who, whether through their own fault or the will of malevolent magic (or both), felt the need to continue their physical existence in death. Much like Ferisen, who was still trying to grasp that truth. What was most odd about her though were... two things. Her strikingly bright eyes, for one, which at least to her did not seem natural.note But more peculiarly, her staff, which despite the ornate crystal on it, had no particular magical signature at all.
For now, Ferisen decided to bow with her head and extend a hand in greeting. "Hello-" she croaked... and then realized that duh, she was dead, and thus did not involuntarily breathe. So she took a breath and continued on. "...Apologies, I am... still becoming used to the state of things, if you know what I mean." Just after she spoke, her latria, clearly visible atop the cart it was sitting on, played a little tune into the surroundings, and Ferisen felt it before it was "heard". Instinctively, she stepped in front of it before continuing.
"In this space in between worlds, two who have evaded a proper afterlife meet together." She let go of the revenant teen's hand. "My name is Ferisen..." She paused - should she tell anything else? Though in her current state, her surname and occupation were... foreign to her. "and I seek direction after rising from the ashes of a fallen world. Tell me, what is your name and how have you come upon this place?"
Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.
Eneritan (Claire; Emriel)
Dusting herself off, Claire sheepishly glanced at the ranting sumiri. "Sorry," she briefly apologized, the lone word not even coming close to covering the damage she did. Instead, she idly kicked a tuft of cloud like a child.
With Emriel now momentarily aware of why the magician had lit a house on fire, Claire gave a few brief summation of the beast: "Not a goat, demon. Sort of."
Emriel continued her rant, the sumiri's voice gradually getting louder. All the meanwhile, the color began draining from Claire's face. "Keep absolutely still. Its vision's based on movement," she advised very quietly to Emriel as she tried to freeze in place.
A billow of warm, moist air rustled Emriel's hair, the goat demon looming behind her.
Forest (Milly; Ferisen)
The girl tilted her head thrice; first in response to failing to initially understand what the other had meant, second at the odd, musical object on the cart the other woman had behind her, and lastly at the unexpected hand shake. Meeting new people outside of Magna Terras usually had... mixed results. It was rather pleasant response, all things considered; less panic, fear, and preemptive assault.
With Ferisen, as the woman introduced herself, giving clarity to her first statement, a look of understanding crossed the girl's face. She then paused a moment to reflect on Ferisen's words; rising from the ashes of a fallen world was a rather apt descriptor for Magna Terras right now. "I am too," she finally said, before breaking into a brief coughing fit. "Sorry about that," she said after catching her breath before continuing, "My name's Milly, and I'm seeking esoteric answers from obscure places for arcane problems," she said.
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Snow Castle - Parlor (Megumi, Jackson, Gliosem)
Gliosem looked up and tilted her head at Jackson's complaint. "Believe me Jackson, I understand - I am as anxious to find my sister as you are to find your friends. I take it you are not familiar with divination. Enchanted bowls like this rice cooker are excellent for scrying - in other words, seeing into places one cannot see with their eyes."
The ninja maids coming out of nowhere startled Gliosem a bit though. "A-are they... are those all Rin's servants? The place seemed so empty earlier..." Shrugging, she gazed at the cloth bundle, perplexed. "Object divination? I do not believe I have ever tried that before. But it does seem to have her essence on it at least..."
Accepting the bundle, she walked down the hallway, where again that song she had sung upon first arriving here played in her mind. Sitting down in the middle of the hall, she placed the bundle down before her and made a slow circular motion with her hand around it.
"Sio shiora-yo la tei-bi ishta-mi lu itha-ya."translation
Gazing right at the bundle, she took out her selunor instrument and strummed a small chord on it, at the same time singing the chorus of the song she had sung earlier for Rin - the one about the moon of Kalena. A faint bluish mist chilled the air further ahead in the hallway, in which Gliosem could make out the very faint outline of an archway.
"That looks promising," she told Megumi and Jackson as she grabbed her cloak and draped it over her back, wincing a slight as it covered her wings. "How about the other maids search around this place, while we try that archway? Also, can one of you bring the rice cooker?"
She also grabbed the bundle, handing it back to Megumi. "What is this anyway? It seemed important."
edited 8th Oct '17 10:54:00 PM by ladytanuki
Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Eneritan (Emriel, Claire)
Emriel froze at Claire's mention of the goat actually being a demon. And also at the thing's breath behind her, especially with how it smelled like someone who had been neglecting their teeth. Claire had told Emriel to stay completely still, but...
She burst into flailing arms, legs, and cape (accompanied by panicked cry), followed immediately by a sprint. Once she got a distance away from the goat-demon, she jumped up and pulled her body into a dive, dropping straight through the cloud. Once through, she bounced up on another cloud and glided over to another, where she hid in a particularly tall and puffy region of it.
Fortunately the demon was too big to fit through the cloud (maybe)... though it could eat away at it.
Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.
Yukijou-minato ~ Snow Castle [Main Keep 1st Floor ~ Parlor] (Megumi; Jackson; Gliosem)
Megumi gave a flat look towards Gliosem at her insistence that the devious "appliance" was "enchanted". "Possessed would be the more appropriate word, I believe. You'd be more likely to scry myself or the madmen down in Research and Development then M'lady," she said before pausing as a stray thought came to mind, "though if you do scry R&D, maybe you could find my original rice cooker; they seem to have hid it quite well against one such as myself."
"They are onna-bugeisha-in-training of the ninjutsu forte. You're not supposed to notice them," Megumi casually explained before sighing, "Though, their competency outside of running errands leaves a lot to be desired."
When Gliosem mentioned Rin's essence on the bundle, the maid concealed the mortified blanch crossing her face, "Right. So it does." Fortunately, her moment of panic didn't last long, as Gliosem used her magical music to summon a way to another place, perhaps somewhere where they could find the Admiral and the others.
Giving a sympathetic glance as she remembered the sumiri's wings were still injured, the maid took the bundle and stashed it away on her persons as she picked up the rice cooker. "That was M'lady's... chiffon linens; I'm the only one she trusts to ensure they don't get damaged when they're washed," she said before changing the subject, "Shouldn't we wait so that the physician I sent for can tend to your wings? They look quite delicate, and I wouldn't want your injuries to cause permanent damage; I know from personal dealings that the lamentations of a tengu experiencing an unexpected molt is quite pitiable."
Eneritan (Claire; Emriel)
Emriel had decided to run off and hide in a cloud somewhere, leaving Claire to deal with the giant goat demon by herself. Most people would be dumbfounded. Claire wasn't most people. Cockily grinning from ear to ear, the magician prepared to unleash her magical fury on the beast.
Only nothing happened.
Now Claire was dumbfounded. She glanced to her outstretched hands, and noticed something horribly, horribly off that she should have seen coming a mile away; all of her rings were gone. No rings, no pretty fireworks. Her smug grin turned into that of extreme discomfort and embarrassment. Hopefully the goat demon wouldn't take offense to her theatrics.
Fortunately it hadn't. Unfortunately, it was now interested in the interesting winged creature cowering in a tasty cloud. And then it produced a magic circle in front of it's outstretched. The design was very familiar to Claire; it was generally used for lighting things on fire.
"Ugh, that stupid thing really loves its clouds well done..." she said to no one in particular, "but I’m not sure Emmy would. Welp, here goes nothin'..." With a coprophagous grin, Claire drew a rather ornate stick from her Bedazzled scabbard and took a flying leap off her cloud, shouting at the top of her lungs, "Allons-y!"
The demon turned just in time to see a deranged colorful girl hurtling towards it's face, pointing a stick at it... and a glowing dart of (rather pathetic) magical force emanating from the tip of the stick, now aimed directly at it's eye. It didn't blink fast enough.
Claire hit the ground in an awkward roll, her hand and blasting rod covered in clear, gooey, demonic vitreous humour as the demon goat howled in pain. Scrambling to her feet, she made a mad dash towards the nearest cloud formation, and upon brushing fabric, miraculously managed to grab Emriel's cape, "C'mon, lets go, I distracted it, but I don't think we should stick around much longer."
edited 23rd Oct '17 3:51:52 PM by WillDeRegio
Magdalene's Realm -> Eneritan (Emriel, Claire)
Kraguor. I'm a dancer, not an architect. Where's Lute when I need her? Listlessly, Emriel fumbled around in the branches of the rose tree, picking the oversized "shadeleaves" that had grown on it. All because I cannot help but listen to the whims of a little pseudo-sumiri girl with an overly bright aura.
She glanced over at her new boss who was about half her age, shooting her a dirty look... but it missed its target, as its target was no longer there. Moreover, there were no more flowers on the ground. Instead the ground was a silvery white, and fluffy. "Whaaaaat!? Is that..." Perplexed, she jumped out of the tree and landed on something impossibly soft, feeling a refreshing coolness around her half-bare feet, and around her hand when she reached down to touch it. The soft stuff felt like... fog.
Once she looked around, even the tree had disappeared. Instead of flowers, she was surrounded by clouds. Fluffy, silvery cumulus clouds all around, some with adorable dome-shaped houses atop them, some shaped like roadways connecting them, and somehow, a few with miniature gardens of flowers, bushes, and/or herbs on them. (Don't ask how they grow. Hydroponics maybe?) All of these clouds were white, but near the horizon, a large red sun shone in a deep purple sky, bathing them in an amber glow.
Emriel stood on the largest cloud in the sky, all the smaller ones surrounding it. It functioned as a town square of sorts, with many paths lined with small lights leading toward a gazebo of sorts coated in gold, about as large as the house Magdalene had built. Next to it was Claire, who may have witnessed Magdalene's realm suddenly becoming shrouded in fog immediately after Emriel landed, giving way to this place. But Magdalene herself was nowhere to be found.
"Oh, Claire, good, I thought I'd lost you," she told the magician. "Where's the flower girl though? Must not like the clouds I guess. Anyway, if this place is what I think it is..." Her eyes widened in a suddenly energetic excitement, and she jumped and spun around in a circle before landing, spreading her wings wide. "YES! Yes it is!! This is the fabled village of Eneritan! I was right all along! It is real!"
When she glimpsed Claire, her wings retracted and her face grew more serious. "Sorry. Magdalene must've possessed me or something for a moment. But, uh, what do you think?"
Although Eneritan is a canon place, feel free to have other things appear in the clouds - or even other types of clouds.
Graveyard - City (Moreena, Niru, Sinistrina, Nathan)
Sinistrina glanced back at Niru, listening to her explanation of the screens - though after about a third of the way through, she hadn't the faintest idea what the horned shapeshifter was talking about. Her eyes widening, she said to Moreena, "Old?" She glanced at one of the screens, closely studying the scrolling text along the bottom. "The technology seems quite more advanced than anything I am familiar with. You must be from the future, then. ...My future, anyway."
When Niru called her "her majesty", she glanced downward and her bony cheeks turned a deeper shade of gray. Finally she said to Niru, shaking her head, "You are a divine being who can bend reality to the will of your spirit. Therefore you are above me, so there is no need to call me such. I am only queen by default, as everyone else who moves or speaks in the Deathly Glade would be motionless piles of flesh or clay forever lost to their souls without me."
Then she noticed the star glistening above the strange building. But for a moment, it was not so strange - instead she saw a castle, its walls overlaid with old white marble and more recently, what looked like porcelain. Only she saw it though, and in a flash it was gone. But in addition, visible to all (except for perhaps the specters), a few of the gun-wielding soldiers on the ground had been replaced by oversized toy soldiers made of wood, towering over the people, holding halberds, and modeled after Buckingham Palace guards - red coats, tall wigs, stoic expressions, and all. However, after a brief moment, they were back to their original form.
"So what is this place?" Sinistrina asked the goddess of death. "It looks as if they are searching for people who can use magic - but whatever for?"
Then Nathan spoke, and Sinistrina pondered over his mention of an "area of effect" in response to her question about his magic. "Area of effect? That is a combat term I believe, and can apply to anything. Do you mean your life-draining field? ...I suppose I should have asked when you discovered it. For example, I didn't know I could use magic until I was five or so, when I managed to animate a dead spider." She glanced over at her staff, where a lifeless black widow spider sat inside a black web spun in a ring of black twigs poking out of the earholes on its skullnote - and just now crawled in a circle around the web's perimeter. "Perhaps if you were to use your magic more often, to allow your area of effect to spread itself once in a while. Powerful magic like that can drive one mad if it is held onto without use for too long." She bowed her head for a moment, knowing it was all too true for herself. Fortunately, the Deathly Glade was an ideal place for her to practice her own life-draining magic without consequence, as zombies are already dead. "So you are from across the pond then. Originally I am from the town of Solevaille, which is up in the Alps."
But what really surprised her was his mention of resurrection. "You mean you can bring the dead back to life?!" she replied in a hollow whisper. "I... would not have expected that from someone with powers over death." This got her thinking - specifically back to the incident with Armory Knight, where the Golden Being had offered her a chance to return to a mortal life herself. But that wish seemed so distant now, for she knew that while her revenants were trapped alongside their bodies and likely longed for free will and therefore life, she herself had gotten quite used to being dead over the years. "If it is possible, that might be a better option than setting their souls free, for their deaths were most untimely. Still, it might be best to ask them first... and unfortunately, my abilities seem focused on control and decay rather than communication." There was a definite tone of regret in the last part.
edited 27th Aug '17 1:15:59 AM by ladytanuki
Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.