[META ORP] Claiming the First Obelisk

[Pigxels]

Spark was glad for a moment to have stepped off the stone she'd currently been on the second the light blinded her, and she felt as if her feet couldn't move, bound by some invisible force. She stared, ears down in fear, and slowly turned her head around to all the other kin, especially those who stood on the stones. "Is.... is everyone alright?" she tossed out tentatively.

She tried to move, and felt the movement was sluggish with some invisible resistance, shifting to the edge of the tree line a bit to get a better view. She glanced up at the sky wherein the glowing lights had branched off, and then faded back into nothing. Shockingly, nothing seemed to have happened. The ground was still swamp. The trees were still just trees. The kin standing around were still kin - nothing had seemed to be harmed, though the overwhelming feel of dread had been nearly mind-numbing. She shook where she stood, unsure what to do next. Follow where a line had pointed, or stay as still as possible and go home.

There had been multiple arrows of light. But her fear froze her in place. Follow the lines to adventure? Maybe possible death? Or... go home. She sighed, then craned her neck to Orb Sparks. "I guess we go," she said with a shrug. "Does anyone want to go with me?"
 

[theCorniest]

It wasn't until the fourth stone was touched, and that terrible light grew almost blinding, that Motes very vaguely remembered the echoes of a second dream about the obelisk, and realized he may have just done something very, very stupid.

Then the last stone was touched, and the world went roaring blue-white, and he scrabbled off the cheetah stone and screamed futilely in the wash of sound and terror.

After a moment that felt like an eternity, the light faded - and after another moment, he could just barely see again, though his ears were still ringing. Motes looked desperately all around, to see what fresh hell he'd accidentally helped set loose - but the only things remaining were the lights in the sky, and the swamp below, somehow exactly as it was before. Even those bright shafts of light faded quickly, and the world was as it had been once more - except for his damned ears.

Dimly, he heard someone say something - Half Truth, sitting on the ground. stepping a little closer, and almost yelling, Motes asked her, "What?"

Scaramouche Fandango

 

[Scaramouche Fandango]

"what," she said again, quietly repeating herself. She found herself acutely aware of a low, painful pounding pulse in her ears- when had they stopped ringing? When had they started ringing? Shaking her head and grimacing, she wobbled to her feet, her legs a quartet of caterpillars for all the strength they had in them. She was unused to feeling this weak as she turned to Motes and formed an actual sentence. "What in damnation was that?" she yelped, eyes wide as something like realization of the incredibly stupid thing they'd just done settled on her.

Kitty Sprightt

 

[thyPOPE]

It was all so very bright. Soothe would have listened, responded, acknowledged the new information, but of course it happened so quickly. And then Soothe couldn't see, or hear, anymore: all that was was the bright embrace of light, a glow far more intense than a kimeti's eyes or a zikwa's body, by many orders of magnitude.

When it cleared there was still light, but less all-powerful: branching off like unnaturally-straight arrows pointing into the future. Soothe tossed her head. They seemed to go so far...

"I can't imagine how far those lights might even have lead," Soothe breathed. And still, none of them were in the direction of the ocean. "They're all...away." Soothe wasn't a traveler. She just helped prey animals find their way sometimes - soothed their ills. And, in all honesty, she wasn't very comfortable traveling far without someone like Longstride to guide her. She'd heard so many stories about the Ache. So she shook her head at Spark of Life, and stepped, slowly, off her crane stone - and it had been a crane stone, and she was pleased to know that, at least.

She turned, though, to the collection of swamp-blessed kin that had joined them: Sacred Grove, Last Night, Nettle, Longstride. "Do any of you know...anything more?" she asked, eyes tense with worry.  

[phoenix kiss]

"Well, s**t," is what Longstride says -- his hoarse voice always distinctive but somehow carrying more gravitas in this moment, even if he's chosen to curse. He shakes his mane a moment later (the movement rather canine; behind him, a ghostly eaglehound shimmers into being).

He blinks, the bright blue glow of his eyes somehow diminished now, at least in seeming, and then looks at the gathered kin. "Eleven more."  

[Kinu]

Rolling Mist had hardly time to breathe let alone settle his hooves upon the final stone when the world went white. His heart pounding wildly within his chest, what had they done? The intense glow blinding him, enveloping him in a cocoon of sheer power which stole the air from his lungs and then threw him into complete nothingness. He felt as if time, space, the material world, and even his own soul no longer existed here and as the light faded the look on his face was one of complete and utter bewilderment. As if he'd just come back from being reborn. He would have screamed had he the ability. His gaze traced the lines he could see off into the wilderness before his gaze lifted skyward to take in the bright points of light further. What omen was this? What had they begun? He couldn't fathom and yet that fear remained, like a rot, in his heart.

Stepping from the platform with shaky legs he shook his head. What a ride that had been. Blinking over at the others as they slowly began to collect themselves he trotted up beside Half Truth and Motes, equally as curious to find out what their next move might be. He cast the Obelisk another glance and shuddered, no matter what came of this he had to see it to the end and he intended to be there. He didn't say anything, merely shook his head and rolled his eyes to indicate that what they had just been through had been madness itself before he cast his gaze towards Longstride, hoping he might just have some insight to guide them or at least and idea of what they should do from here.  

[theCorniest]

Motes shook his head vigorously, a shake that turned into a shudder down his back. "I have no idea what any of that was," he said, "or why. All I do know is..." he gave Half Truth and Rolling Mist a wan smile. "I don't think I want to solve any more riddles for a little while."

Motes' gaze turned to Longstride, too - he was the one who'd organized this expedition, and one of the swamp's blessed besides. Surely he might have some insight - but Motes only winced at his short, pointed statement; eleven more. Eleven lights in the sky, radiating outwards... Towards more of these things? Eleven more. Would he be asked to go? Would he - curse his stupid curiosity, despite the terror of this event, would he want to? He thought, eventually, he might.

However, right that moment, the thought of it was more than he could bear. He sank down onto his haunches like Half Truth had moments ago, then let his forelegs slide out in front of him, and laid his head gently down. "Too much," he muttered.

Scaramouche Fandango

I K i n u I

 

[Scaramouche Fandango]

"If I never solve a riddle again, it'll be too soon. And I like riddles," she groaned. "I... damn. Eleven. Eleven of the things. If there's twelve of them total... How did we not know? It just- you'd think that there'd be stories about these things, you know? And yet before this, nobody had heard of them. They were just a dream thing. I'm no soothsayer, but I don't see this ending well." Half Truth shook her head, the turned her gaze to the grey buck. "How 'bout you, fella, you ok? I mean, as much of any of us can actually be ok right now." She found herself actually concerned for the stranger; somehow, being able to voice her worry was helping her. Was his silence helping him? Or was it a pained silence? Either way, she figured he could at least nod or shake his head and she could suss things further from there.

Kitty Sprightt

I K i n u I

 

[Kinu]

Rolling Mist gave a silent laugh after Motes made his comment. He understood exactly what he meant. He had no idea what had transpired or what they had gotten themselves into and the questions nagged all the more persistently with each passing moment. Why did it appear now? What would they find where each of the lights had fallen? Was his unease valid or was he simply being a worrier? Too many questions, they were making him dizzy so he nodded in agreement when Motes stated he basically wanted a break. They all deserved a break after that.

His funny way of laughing silently came again as Half Truth joined the conversation, if there truly were eleven more obelisks then they all had their work cut out for them indeed. He nodded in agreement, wondering why something of this magnitude, size, and raw power had no stories behind it. It certainly wasn't the easiest thing in the swamp to overlook. His features became puzzled as he tried to remember if he'd heard any before, perhaps Tattered Moth would know. The older Kimeti was a fountain of lore and legend knowledge. After she made known her ominous feelings over their journeys conclusion he nodded, his look serious, deep down he felt the exact same way. Something about this object just wasn't right.

As she asked after his well being he seemed to grow a little shy but smiled warmly and nodded, rolling his eyes and waving his head gently from side to side to indicate that he had been shaken but that he was fine now. He cocked his head and lifted his chin towards her in a nodding gesture as if asking her the same. He was certain everyone had been shaken to their core but the aftermath would likely affect them all in different ways. This obelisk didn't seem to play by the rules of normalcy in any sense of the word. It touched him that she was concerned. Mist didn't have many friends. It wasn't easy to make them when you had zero ability to hold a meaningful conversation, or to easily express yourself, so he treasured these moments and appreciated the company. It was nice to be among kind Kin.

Kitty Sprightt

Scaramouche Fandango

 

[Scaramouche Fandango]

"Good, I'm glad." She really was- as the kin around her moved, there was an air of fear and tension, yes, but few cries of physical pain. "Me too. It's just... overwhelming. I almost feel like I shouldn't be ok- that things should look different. After that light... it sounded and felt like it was just ripping the world in two. Like a litter of owlcats when their mama comes back with a mouse. But it went away and things were just like they always were." Half Truth laughed bitterly. "The rightness seems wrong. It's not a feeling I like, and I have this horrible suspicion I'm not the only one who feels that way." She craned her neck, stretching, still unsure of her own hooves. She lifted one, then another, then shook herself as if to make sure everything was still in its proper place. "This whole thing's got me asking more questions than I think can be answered. Kinda makes you feel lost. Or makes me feel lost, at least."

Kitty Sprightt

I K i n u I

 

[elderheart]

From Beyond was stunned, his head locked on the sky where the lights had trailed. That bright light captured his entire being and froze him, but he wasn't afraid. But he was as after last time, in his dream, still in the swamp. Did this mean there were more Obelisks? More puzzles? The day's trip and the intensity of the puzzle's solution was a bit much for him - perhaps he'd spend the night in this clearing. Near the bat rock, the one that supposedly represented what he really was. He really wanted to keep an eye on the Obelisk, how had it come to be here? He wandered over to the rock inscribed with a bat-like symbol and curled up next to it, but kept his head up to observe the other kin and their reactions to what had happened. He didn't think anyone was expecting something so...bright. So curious. An even bigger question in his mind was what brought them all here to begin with, what were they looking for? And how long would it take any of them to find their answers...  

[Baneful]

Half Waking didn't need much reason to travel, constantly moving was the thing he enjoyed the most, spooling out the miles under his hooves and seeing new places and challenges. So when he found himself prompted by strange dreams to follow a group heading out into the unknown wilderness of the swamps, he thought nothing at all of it, it was an excuse to do something and go somewhere and that was all he needed. He wasn't much of a believer, the Motherfather was an entity which concerned itself with other more important kin he assumed and though he was not a sceptic neither was he expecting too much mystical destiny with his particular name on it. For the most part he treated the journey like a daytrip, an excuse to meet and interact with others he had never met before, he was not afraid because fear was something that happened mostly to creatures who were clever enough to perceive it, to feel the tension on the air and react accordingly.

When they came upon the obelisk it was closer than he had expected but much larger, strange and stark against the swamp itself, all polished and sleek moonlit symbols written like a question mark before them. He eyed it and snorted, tossing his wild mane of hair, almost irritated by how curious it was. It was not a simple thing, not a simple obstacle which could be outrun or leapt, it was a problem.

And the thing was, Half Waking was not particularly smart, or at the very least he did not enjoy being smart. Physical exertion was all well and good but mental exertion left him feeling worn and unhappy, thinking too hard was a blight and something to be avoided at all costs. Puzzle solving was definitely not his thing at all. So he left it to the others, watching with only the most superficial interest as they poked and prodded at the looming monument, taking the time to groom some of the thickly caked mud from his pelt while the others made the problem their own.

When the obelisk began to glow, he stared a little more concerned, wondering if he should have come, if perhaps he shouldn't simply have found his own path to run and left the mysteries to those for whom mysteries were destined.

He was on the brink of turning back and heading back towards the parts of the swamp he knew when the light exploded out from the terrible creation and made him start. This could not be outrun or overcome, it was too vast and too horrible. He did not like it, he didn't like it one bit. When it was over he could finally exhale, but it was only tentatively, still giving the lights permanently etched into the sky an uncertain and slightly irritated look. They had no place being there, they had no place defying what made sense.

As always when faced with something he didn't like or didn't understand, he sought out his sister to see what she had thought of the horrible and too-much light, ears back and with his tail still swishing angrily as if despite everything, he intended to try and have a fight with the beams of intrusive light over their heads.


 

[Toshihiko Two]

When they woke, it was with the same dream stirring in their head. It wasn't often, but they had foraged for breakfast and then set off at a long, loping pace, only straining against each other as competition.

They had been born in the swamps, and were used to the tangled mire of rotting and watery obstacles, but when they got to open spaces Sleep hardly knew what to do herself. It felt like she could go on running the rest of the day. Right now, however, they were on a journey, and Sleep didn't know what to expect.

Sleep skidded to a stop at the clearing around the obelisk, ears forward. She wasn't great at puzzles either, and this thing was....way beyond puzzle level.

"Can't climb it," she whispered to Waking, knocking at the base with her foot. "Nothing in earth or sky could have crafted it. What, did it just grow here? Who does it think it is?" She said indignantly.

She made a startled noise when it started shooting light too.

"It can't even make up its mind! Is it a rock or a star! It's...it's some kind of, rockstar."
 

[Baneful]

Waking had touched the obelisk also, trying to see if he could crack it if he struck it hard enough with his hooves. It had just given him a bad feeling and remained entirely unharmed. He stepped back from it, shaking his head.

"I don't know what it is." he said irritably. "I don't like it. It has no place just being here without any explanation at all."