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 Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 12:26 pm
OOC It is assumed that if your student is in this ORP, they have visited the Temple of Nine Dragons (either in an rp or just "off screen"), as the only entrance into this area is through the temple. - If your student hasn't done an rp there that's fine, just rp them arriving from the temple in your post to walk into this location
There was a set of stairs, simple stone slabs that paved the descent, but as any curious eyes continued walking, it was obvious that they were in a rather forbidden area. The ornate feel and design of the Isle of Conquest had been replaced by drab stone slabs, the ground was cold, wet: they were clearly somewhere under the Temple, far far under. The further the students went, the more ominous the Fear, a strange pulsating aura, a feeling that ebbed and flowed in waves, as if breathing. The walls themselves were filled with carvings, archaic even, pictures of Four Clans members and their purposeful destruction of the Human World, through plague, hellfire, arrows, the graphic depictions continued on wall to wall.
And minute later, at the very, very far end, was an alcove-
- A blast of overwhelming Fear stopped all students in their tracks: they were literally unable to move a step further. It was a strange feeling, an overexposure to an entirely foreign Fear that caused strong waves of nausea, dizziness, bordering between pain and agony. Deep below them was a symbol, surrounded in glyphs - Four Clans glyphs, humming, pulsating with a life of their own. In intermittent, consistent waves, the buzzing would grow louder, the Fear radiating from it overwhelming the students entirely, causing their own forms to flicker and begin to dissipate drawn towards the source. They could feel something in them give away, their hands first, then feet slowly fading away, disappearing, feeding the energy source below-
- It would only take a few moments longer for them to disappear entirely, permanently. OOC: THE ??? ROOM REACTION POSTS - This is a little different from a conventional ORP, please read the RP prompt above and then post reactions as necessary. The Fear-pulling effect from this room is very strong. At the end of the alcove, roll a 100-sided dice and match your dice to the results below. You will need to continue rolling with your student until they have successfully escaped! (That means, continue rolling the 100-sided dice until you get the correct ESCAPE response). RP OUT EACH RESULT. - If you manage to successfully exit this RP (with the dice rolling) AND write over 800 words, please give yourself 3 BONUS Four Clans points. You can only claim this once per student. Make sure to link your post when claiming these points. - Feel free to post reactions from this room later on in ORPS/PRPS/ Training orps, as you wish! 1-20: The Fear waves are overwhelming! You collapse on the ground, but as you look down, you swear you can see something: several symbols all glowing an angry red pointing outwards from the main runes in the center. 21- 40: You feel lightheaded, dizzy, everything begins to swim, and you try to grab something to steady yourself. The strange buzzing noise is louder now, practically blasting your ears. You swear you can hear it chanting. 41 - 60: As the room's Fear overwhelms you, you see strange flickers of images: Four Clans members walking into the room, a ceremony, a leading figure walking to the center of the room and - 61 - 80: Everything goes numb and for a second, and you feel good, better than you have for a while. It feels peaceful, perfect, complete. You will be part of the Clans, you will be a protector of this Clan, watching over it with your Fear, with The Fear, the essence of what you all are: a barrier, a means to guard your clan from any harm in the purest essence - - You wake up, back in your body. Maybe you realise how close you were to disappearing entirely. Maybe it would be more terrifying if you weren't so tired. 81-100: You manage, finally, with the last dregs of your effort to escape. You are tired, exhausted still, but you make it out. Whatever it was it is best if you don't go back to the room ever again.
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Boozver rolled 1 100-sided dice:
86
Total: 86 (1-100)
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 12:53 pm
There was a glow in the corner and a black door as if a furnace opened – and the pull was almost unbearable. Now they understood why they were so drawn to the place. But isn’t it an opening that promises an adventure? All their wild temper and the impatience of being a teenager were waiting for it, trembling with eagerness to snatch it up, so the fae actually had no choice left. The die was cast long before they realized it…
There were stairs, simple stone stabs, shabby but ancient, and a sort of spiritual pressure was emanating from them, glimmering and indistinct, transmuting the surroundings and blocking clear sight, even though faes usually do not suffer from any inconvenience that involve shades and darkness. Relying rather on perceiving than seeing, Wylfenne followed the steps, although all their senses were crying out that they were doing the wrong thing, that it was definitely a forbidden area. Slowly the gilder and carving of the Isle of Conquest gave way to simple stone, but it actually felt even more filled with great power, power that was threatening and terrifying, calling and irresistible. They were heading down below – that was as much as Wylfenne could perceive, somewhere under the Temple, and the Fear was growing and pulsating as if a living thing that was ordering them to approach, and that order was not to be defied.
Wylfenne felt as if they were being dragged into some place, a place that was filled with fear, a place that had nothing to do with the reality of classrooms and homework and even petty fights with other students. They closed their eyes and allowed themselves to be dragged… A blast of overwhelming Fear suddenly passed through them. What was that feeling? Never in their life would the fae be able to forget it. A complete alienation freezing them from the inside, an entirely new, terrifying experience of Otherness (is it what the humans feel when they meet us, Wylfenne thought, if they are able to think coherently by that moment? I have always had contempt for them for that fear in belief that our kind is immune to that; now it seems a silly and vain and dangerous thing to say). They felt they were divided into two halves: one, detached and analytical, was fixating what was going on as if writing a narrative; the other, paralyzed with horror, was overcome by dizziness, nausea and physical pain. Then, suddenly, it seemed that their legs had a life of their own and decided to go in different directions – torn by that feeling the fae fell on her knees. Strangely there were no more steps.
The air felt hot and exhausted and almost impossible to breathe, and Wylfenne was irritated with being stuck in their female form – the one that was easier to succumb to such tricks and fall prey to petty grievances of inconvenient surroundings. But they couldn’t change it, so the weakness of their own form was just another obstacle that needed to be overcome. They fought with their failing body to regain control of their frozen limbs…
The fae opened their eyes to find themselves in a strange room, and they felt as if they were reading an occult story, the sort of books little gullible people describe in meetings with their kin – powerful terrifying spirits or demons (at least, that’s what they heard of). They felt lost and forlorn, and that is not an easy feeling to inspire in a fae.
Now through the dim light Wylfenne could at least see what was around her. Quite a small room, though different from what they have seen on the island. The walls were filled with ancient carvings depicting all the Four Clans members and their causing havoc in the Human World. And in the very end there was an alcove – an alcove so old and Other that it caused physical disturbance to look at it. There was a symbol, surrounded in glyphs, what Wylfenne perceived to be Four Clans glyphs, and it seemed this symbol was hypnotizing them, sipping their life from them, causing reality first to lose colours, then to fall apart and dissipate…
… and moreover, Wylfenne felt that there was something in them that was ready to succumb to that symbol, actually, was willing to succumb to it. Once again they felt divided between the cold analyzing mind and the failing flesh that was drawn towards that alien alcove and whose existence was about to be forced to cease. There seemed to be a ceaseless hideous murmur that was getting clearer and the fae felt somehow deceived and howled in fear… They went too far, and they had no strength left to fight…
Though their limbs were weary and paralyzed with fear, the mind was still hard as still, and it ordered muscles to move. The old instinct of survival was strong enough to make the body move, the beast inside waking to avoid the fate of dissolving into nothingness. It seems it took ages to climb up, as if they have already grown old as a hag, or worse still, dead and crumbling down, but with each inch the Other presence was fading away, and so Wylfenne made themselves crawl, and crawl, and crawl….
And suddenly they found themselves in the familiar wealth of the temple and exhausted, collapsed to the floor, and laid there for some time, and then went out of the temple blindly, as if mad, no longer caring for the path.
((WORD COUNT: 924))
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Seiana_ZI rolled 1 100-sided dice:
20
Total: 20 (1-100)
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 12:58 pm
((20! Let the games begin~ Posting her entrance from the Temple too!))
The Temple of the Nine Dragons.
Serafina had decided that, today, she felt like going exploring, especially considering how beautiful this place was. She had never set foot in their temple before, a place she could only assume was very important, perhaps due to its name itself, its title, whatever a Temple meant was usually something deep, important, worth worship--she knew that much, and she knew that meant she should be revenant, very careful as she decided to step into the large open shrine, eyes flicking around and taking in her environment.
That statue was absolutely gorgeous. Venturous, Serafina stepped forward, moving to, perhaps, stroke a hand over the material, to learn it, to understand it, when her eyes suddenly flicked elsewhere.
Was that a door?
Suddenly distracted by something much different, Serafina's eyes widened, moving towards the direction of the door. She needed to know what was hiding behind, perhaps more than she needed to know anything else about this location, and it was with this thought she let herself open the door and step through.
... What was this place?
She probably shouldn't be here, she thought, as an afterthought, her legs propelling her forward, down the stone slabs, towards whatever was yanking her to it. Why was everything so wet? Was this the feel of the rivers that had been floating in the Lotus Pavillion? Why were the walls pulsating? She set a hand on a carving, cautiously, and nearly jumped back, a noise leaving her lips much like a squeak. What was she doing? Why was she here? Why was she continuing to walk, and what were these things on the walls? Were these the horsemen's thoughts? She, cautiously, darted finger out to trace along the outline of fire and brimsone... before drawing it back again, once again frightened, perhaps pushed back by the Fear itself.
Or, perhaps, it was pushing her towards the alcove, something her eyes took in, wide, the ghoul unable to help how she nearly broke forward, holding onto her head as the Fear overwhelmed her. What was this place? She shouldn't be here. She really shouldn't be here, not with these pulsating ... things on the ground. This was not beautiful. This was not the peace that the Isle of Conquest felt like. She wanted to go home.
What the hell were those things?
They looked furious, almost, if a rune could look furious, but her head was swimming, so it was difficult to tell if it was just her imagination or if they really were glaring at her, trying to tell her to stay down--and oh, did she want to--attempts to stand up failed, and she found herself stuck on the ground again, still holding onto her head, wishing it would all stop and end.
She really needed to get out of here.
But she was far too dizzy to really process how she would go about doing that.
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Face your demons rolled 1 100-sided dice:
97
Total: 97 (1-100)
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 1:02 pm
Without even giving it a second thought, Amarus had already left the shrine in favour of the void that had opened as a response to whatever thing Olivia had done or discovered. After all, Amarus had not seen the earring, nor watched it fall off, nor seen the statue vanish. She had been busy on the second floor, being rejected by one of the clan who did not want her to read the scrolls. Weird. Was it that they were secretive...? Because she honestly did not understand why they would allow students to walk around the scrolls but not read them.
She didn't need to get into any more trouble than she'd already gotten into, really; she had been caught by a denizen while she was swimming in the lotus pool, had to be prevented from reading a scroll by a clan member and she was certain more trouble would be by soon. At least it kept her awake, and interested? She was really miserable at the clan-related training, though.
Because she was so excited about the prospect of exploration, Amarus had not noticed that no one but the students really saw the gaping hole. They had just been talking about a "rough" side to Conquest, and wishing that it would reveal itself, so entering the void and seeing how plain and rough the stones of this area were made sense to her, suddenly. Was this the forbidden underbelly of the Conquest land? How many places like this peppered the underground?
Amarus trailed her fingertips across the uneven surface, moving slowly. Thankfully, a ghost couldn't really slip, exactly. She was still being careful. "I wonder how far down this goes..." she mumbled to herself, and her group members if they'd come with her.
It was the aura that bothered her, mostly. The pulsing sensation of FEAR, making her feel kind of nauseous, like someone was kneading her stomach. Each carving was fascinating, and Amarus did not ignore a single one: this was the Clan of Conquest's history, then? Plague, fire, combat. One after the other, systematic destruction. It send shivers down Amarus' spine. Was this why they weren't allowed to read the scrolls? Every step she took, the uncomfortable nausea increased. She wasn't sure what to do about it, except to proceed on, and hope for the best.
Finally, she reached an alcove. And she understood why she had been so uneasy: the glyphs representing the four clans seemed to be feeding on her essence, and the essence of anyone else who stood before them. She saw her hands, which were typically the most visible of her body, wavering. Before she could succumb to its essence and lose herself in it entirely, Amarus folded her hands into the kuji-kiri first for Kai; it would allow the manifestation of any fear, to determine whether or not it was founded. It was also known as "Intuition." Having confirmed her suspicions rather rapidly as her hands became even less visible, she smoothly presented the kuji-kiri for Retsu: it could be considered one of the ultimate kuji-kiri, a symbol she seldom needed to employ. It solidified her desires into this one endeavour: conquer her current location in time and space. Because these were not real powers, so much as a style connected to her fighting prowess, she was nearly crushingly sick as she finished Retsu and finally escaped the nauseating pull, dragging herself back up the stairs with single-minded purpose. Halfway up, she realized:
Where were her group members? She turned, to make sure they had made it out, had they followed her in. She had been lucky to break away so quickly, especially given how disgusting the glyphs made her feel. She had not even had time to understand their purpose, however, as she had been in such a hurry to escape. What was that chamber for? Why would Conquest have something like that under their archives? Or perhaps she should view it more in terms of that it was below the shrine. Was it religious, in some way? She sincerely doubted anyone from the Clan would explain this to her.
In fact, it was probably better if she didn't mention it to anyone but her friends, really, wasn't it? Whatever was down there, it was clearly offlimits. For jack's sake, they hadn't even let her touch a single scroll in the archives; as if they'd allow the students into a void which could apparently dissipate their very being. Amarus wasn't even able to think about how terrified she had been that she would cease to exist... not for the first time. She'd spent so long in that haunted house, FEAR accumulating. Once she had gotten back to the surface, then she could let the full gravity sink in... For now, she was still in battle mode.
[[ Entering & Exiting ]]
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Baneful rolled 1 100-sided dice:
86
Total: 86 (1-100)
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 1:08 pm
Zar enjoyed exploring the island, there seemed to be some new extravagance wherever he looked and it gave no end of motivation to seek it all out. The sacred temple was a place he'd come across purely by chance on his wanderings and had been drawn to look closer thanks to the scrolls. He'd been deeply saddened however to find they weren't allowed access to them. Not that he would have been able to appreciate them to as great an extent as he might have liked, his natural reading abilities were stunted significantly by the new pin. It was frustrating. Still, the engravings had been marvellous, if he ever managed to attain his own company, he would have to employ this sort of wondrous decor in its design. He wouldn't half mind a big engraving of him on a throne too, could go well with everything else.
Zaram Sin'sol, CEO of Sin'sol Enterprises.
Had a nice ring to it.
The place had been fascinating though and he found himself whiling away a good long time within the halls.
Until he noticed something strange. The open door he was sure he hadn't noticed on his previous pass caught his eye this time and he froze, looking around. There was no sign this place was off-limits, at least that he could see, so he very cautiously entered, following the steps downwards into the dim area that lay beneath. He was suddenly rather apprehensive, it went on and on and on and he had to be careful not to slip.
He couldn't shake the horrible unsettling feeling of the place and his instincts turned to leaving, getting out of the nightmarish place, the carvings growing less about the glory of conquest and more towards the very physical aspect of defeating the humans. He wasn't particularly against human maiming, but at the same time it always felt so crude to him. His father always said why kill what you could extort and humans were such an endless supply of minable resources.
As he entered the alcove though he suddenly couldn't run away the way his instincts had been raging at him to do the whole way down. His head hurt, all of him hurt, and he curled his wings and tail protectively around him. It did nothing to stop the waves of agony that seared through him, everything that he was, making him able to do nothing but wish it would stop, wish it would end. Dissipation he could live with. But it was the pull, the draw of the thing that was tormenting him, he had a feeling if he dissipated here he wouldn't ever be coming back. What was fear grew to terror as he held up a hand and realised he was fading away. He was vanishing, and if he didn't do something right now he would likely dissapate forever.
It had been such a nice holiday so far too.
It took every single inch of his concious effort, everything he had to try and haul himself out of the room, his muscles feeling dead and despondent, getting no response for a long time until slowly, so slowly he could step towards the door, the longest most difficult steps of his entire life, every hoof fall like a desperate thud in his mind as it hit the floor. All the while he was fading, fading away and the waves of that horrible fear were like a nightmare distant roll of thunder, waves eroding all that he was, all that he could be. It was like that horrible trial all over again, but far far less pleasant. There he had almost embraced death, here it hurt too much, far too much. Slowly, he made progress towards the door until with a suddenness that sent him sprawling to the floor, it released him. He fell on his face and just lay there for a time, panting, gasping as his shape reasserted itself. Honest and complete terror raged through him as he curled up, wrapping his wings around himself in a shock response.
He had no idea how long he lay there prone, trying to shake off that bone chilling fear he'd felt, but it felt like a very long time. He couldn't stay, they weren't even meant to be there, but he felt as if he'd found just a bit of the puzzle he'd been looking for. What could the horsemen possibly want with such a nightmarish contraption? A room like that, designed to destroy or drain fear creatures to some nefarious end. The old fear and paranoia was back in greater force. Suddenly the motivations for the hunters, for a ruse to conceal their operations here, the possible kidnap of students, the attacks on the school, it all made sense.
They were in very real danger.
He ran all the way from the room and didn't look back.
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Seiana_ZI rolled 1 100-sided dice:
17
Total: 17 (1-100)
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 1:09 pm
(( ... Still stuck on the ground! XD ))
It hurt.
By Jack, it hurt.
It. Hurt.
Her head was swimming, she couldn't stand, she couldn't walk, she couldn't even get her head to lift up properly. In order to see the pulsating runes, she had to roll a bit, to look down at them, instead of being able to properly look at them.
She had started on her knees, but now, Serafina was stuck on the ground, lying on her stomach, nearly groaning in pain. She couldn't take this, and she wasn't certain how to make it stop. She couldn't think hard enough to get it to stop. It needed to end.
By Jack, make it stop.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Kaiyumi rolled 1 100-sided dice:
6
Total: 6 (1-100)
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 1:09 pm
There was a nagging feeling in the back of Xiu's mind, a feeling that told her that this was dangerous and that she should turn back now. However, despite that foreboding feeling, the baku's feet continued to carry her forward. Down the first step, then the second, then the third. With each step downwards, the sensation that something was wrong grew even stronger.
But still, she continued. Was it curiosity that drove her? Maybe. The baku would do well to remember that curiosity killed the cat.
A shiver wracked her body as she continued her descent. What was that strange pulsing? It was almost like a heartbeat, or someone breathing--was this place was alive? And the images that were carved into the wall...what were they of? The baku's footsteps slowed slightly as she gazed up at the wall directly beside her, her eyes scanning the images as she walked past. Images of the four clans, of the human world, and--oh Jack. Xiu paled slightly at the scenes that were carved over all the walls, rather graphic images of maiming and killing and pure violence. Was this really what the four clans...?
Distracted by the images, Xiu was unaware of the fact that she had reached the alcove until she suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of nausea hit her. Clutching her head, she sank to the ground with a whimper, her vision beginning to blur. What was happening?! Why was--
Even with her dizziness and wavering focus, Xiu was able to make out strange, glowing symbols below where she stood. What were those? While she was curious, she soon found that her curiosity came second to the heavy sense of exhaustion that suddenly overtook her. She was starting to feel...rather tired.
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Wandered rolled 1 100-sided dice:
18
Total: 18 (1-100)
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 1:16 pm
Since meeting Lucien at the temple, Jack had found this place to be almost calming, with it's dark looks and old feeling, the smell of paper and ink filling the air around him. It would have been the perfect place to sleep, but for now, he was exploring, his tail twitching left and right with every second step, as if holding a beat to a tune that didn't exist quite yet.
Everything was brought back to the scrolls, the paper that Lucien had been so pained about wanting to read, his eyes flicking between all the ancient writing, his mouth curling up in to a soft smile as he kept walking past, his slippered feet hushing across the soft floor - barely making a sound. It was the quietest Jack had had ever been, having been so used to the sound of heels, clicking and scruffing against the ground, keeping him in tune and making their own music. these slippers were . . . so quiet.
Shaking the thoughts out of his head, he wondered where he had wound up, his thoughts chasing him to a strange dark door, one that he had never seen before. Well. . . he had been here for only a couple days, and it seemed like a place no one usually comes to, so he could safely pat himself on the back, having found it, but it still felt. . . odd. There was a feeling to this door, like the hairs on the back of his neck raising, that kitty-sense coming through tht made him itchy. How exciting.
Taking his first steps in, slippered feet met with a rough rock stair, which made the catking fold his eyebrows in - this wasn't like the Conquest he had come to like, it was so . . narrow and cold, everything was wet and his feet already started to soak from the condensation around, seeping through the carvings.
"Curiouser and Curiouser," he murmured.
It was almost safe to say that they were . . .beautiful and yet . . kind of unnerving, it made Jack uncomfortable, he knew that the four clans were there to oversee all that the human world knew as chaos, but he didn't like being reminded. It was kind of a veil that was sometimes lifted from his eyes, reminding him of reality, a cynicism.
When he reached the bottom, he was rewarded only a few seconds before the ebb and flow of the fear at the middle erupted so fast that he was knocked off his feet, his eyes widening in both shock and nausea, his throat hitching with a gasp for the air that his lungs clawed out for. Nononono His eyes glowed strong, a fear showing through them, as he searched around, panicing, hoping to find something that would save him.
No, this is not how I want to go. He gasped out with his mind, before the shimmer hit the corner of his eye, red marks that danced out and rivaled his own green eyes, the glows burning arcs in the air.
It was as if they felt, as if they screamed at injustice, and it clawed at his mind, making him shirk away, trying to get as far as he could; his own shadow jumping at the sheer amount of fear ripping at it.
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Seiana_ZI rolled 1 100-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-100)
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 1:16 pm
((Attempt 3...))
Ow.
Jack knows ... she could get used to this, really. A ghoul laying on the ground all day, pathetically, unable to stand? Yeah, it wasn't so bad. The jackdamnable pain was pretty annoying, but being on the ground? Not so bad. This was okay. She could deal with those stupid pulsating red angry runes they were giving her a bloody migraine she didn't even know she could get one of those at this point but all she could see was red and that infernal buzzing but at least it was only background noise...
Aw Jack...
Why in Halloween wouldn't her legs work?!
Grunting, Serafina attempted to lift herself, ignoring the way her head swam...
...At no real success.
Her head smashed back onto the ground, and she groaned, simply staying where she lay.
Yeah. She'd have to get used to this.
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Wandered rolled 1 100-sided dice:
93
Total: 93 (1-100)
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 1:16 pm
It was a disaster, a total disaster.
"This is not the place I am going out in." He thought to himself as he fought against the roils of energy, his hands digging in to the ground as he found purchase with the floor, taking all the energy he could to drag his sorry a** out from the fear's pulse, every movement like the weight of five worlds on him.
"I am going to go home, and everything is going to be better." He chanted, it was all that was helping him get out of this tizzy, his breathing erratic as if his lungs clawed at the damp air, trying to pull every breath in.
It wasn't until he was nearer to the stairs that the energy sapped a little, he folded in to a coughing fit, shivvering against the bottom of the well. Whatever was there had disappeared like a snap of a lightbulb, he wrapped his arms around him as his energy slowly came back in meager waves, his eyesight dimming from the sheer amount he had used in his willpower just to get away. Looking back, it seemed as if nothing happened, the somber movement of the middle deceiving from what he had just gone through.
Taking to the stairs slowly, a rogue idea hit him midway, throwing him in to a fever pitch, a couple giggles bubbled up through his chest, but he wasn't sure if it was laughter, terror or the sheer confusion that came with the only words that bubbled through his mind as he slogged up the stairs, one at a time, hand on using the wall carvings as aide.
Curiousity Killed the Cat, but Satisfaction Brought It Back~
(word count = 842)
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Kaiyumi rolled 1 100-sided dice:
9
Total: 9 (1-100)
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 1:22 pm
From where she lay, Xiu could see the red runes glowing below, but she found that she was still unable to focus on them. Not only was her vision swimming, but she felt her eyelids growing heavier and heavier, threatening to close. While the majority of her mind was encouraging her to close her eyes--she was so tired--the smaller and stronger part of her demanded that she hang on.
I need to get out of here, Xiu thought sluggishly, If I don't, then--ah, am I...fading?
Staring at her hand, she struggled to turn it over, noting with an odd mixture of both impassiveness and panic that she was beginning to fade. And her legs--while she couldn't see them, she could most definitely feel the parts of her FEAR breaking away the longer she lay here. Despite the situation, her expression was surprisingly calm, though Xiu would have doubtlessly been more afraid had she not felt so groggy and heavy.
Still, seeing what was happening to her was enough to encourage Xiu to try pushing herself up to her feet and get out of there.
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Seiana_ZI rolled 1 100-sided dice:
82
Total: 82 (1-100)
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 1:39 pm
((Escape!))
Yup, she could totally get used to this, this lying around thing. No problem! No problem at all! The migraines weren't annoying, not at all. The lack of ability to move her body? That was okay too. At least she likely couldn't be harmed any further down here, down underneath the temple. Who would possibly come looking down here? Of course, this meant that she couldn't exactly do much more than just sit here, and just sitting here was boring and didn't provide her with anything new and interesting to learn other that those pulsating, angry runes.
... Aww Jack, who was she kidding?
This place, she couldn't stay here. She had to get out of here, no matter what it took. She had to find some way to lift her legs. It certainly couldn't be impossible, right? This Fear she felt was overwhelming, but it couldn't be that overwhelming. She had managed to dance gracefully, she had made an incense hold together and waft with a wonderful scent, this couldn't be so bad...
Of course, physicality was never a ghoul's strongest point, especially when that ghoul was also a ghost. Right? Perhaps she should just lay down and let it go. She'd still see people pass. Maybe she could watch them fall over too and have a nice, good laugh at them...
Stop.
The Fear was overwhelming, but she wasn't going to sit down, or lie down as it were, and take it. No. She had to get herself up. Cautiously, carefully, Serafina edged towards the wall, managing to get a hand up, clawing at the walls full of carvings that had initially shocked her, but now seemed comforting in comparison to whatever had been pulsating in her eyes. Driving humans before them, hearing their lamentations, yes, that was a good thing. That was something this ghoul could ... climb ... up ... to.
Finally, shakily, she managed to get herself on her feet, holding onto the wall as if it was a person, supporting her.
And now the ghoul knew better.
There was no way in Halloween she was letting herself stay in this Jackdamnable place. Not with its horrid migraines and the inability to move around. She just had to get up the stairs, right? No more venturing down any further. There was no way she could stay here. She knew it was forbidden, and going any further was just a damned bad idea. She didn't want to fall over again, anyway. Perhaps, next time, she wouldn't be able to claw her way back up, back towards the exit, back out of whatever in Jack this place was--and, really, in the end, she didn't really want to know what in Jack this place was other than it was bad and it needed to go away, or, at least, she needed go away from it, she knew, with the way she clawed up every step, holding onto every little groove in the wall like her life depended on it--and, perhaps, it did--she had no idea, really, what was going on in this place--another step, and another, and another...
That door, that escape, was taken so welcomed, her legs pulsating and groaning with every step she took.
When she stumbled out the door, she nearly fell over again, falling forward and just barely catching her balance on the ground in front of her, smashing her hand against a nearby pole for balance.
... No more temple adventures for this ghoul.
... Okay, no more creepy room adventures for this ghoul. There were people in the temple, after all...
Maybe she'd deal with them after she got off her legs for a while.
((Total Word Count between all 4 Posts: 1381))
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Kaiyumi rolled 1 100-sided dice:
93
Total: 93 (1-100)
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 2:00 pm
With a great deal of struggling, Xiu managed pushed herself up, first into a sitting position and then onto weak, quivering legs. Staggering towards a wall, she pressed her palms against it for support as a wave of nausea suddenly swept past. Taking deep, shaky breaths, she rest her head against the wall and squeezed her eyes shut, willing the painful pounding in her head to stop. A part of her just wanted to keep her eyes shut, sink down on the ground, and sleep, but Xiu refused to give in so easily.
Get out of there, Her mind whispered, a sense of urgency in its tone, Hurry up and get out of there! Get out of there before you dissipate!
With a grimace, she forced her eyes back open, using the wall for support as she tried to make her way back out. Her vision swam with each step that she took, but she tried to shake it off, dragging her feet along the ground as she tried to carry herself to the exit. It was right there--right there--and yet at the speed she was going at, it seemed like it would be ages until she would finally make it.
Fortunately, all it took was one look down at her quickly-fading limbs to prompt the baku to move faster.
And finally, she made it out of the alcove.
Even then, she didn't stop. While still incredibly exhausted, the baku kept moving, unconvinced that it would be safe to rest until she made it back above ground. Being away from the glyph definitely helped though--the farther she moved from the alcove, the more her headache lessened. She dragged herself up the stone slabs, making her way up the stairs as fast as she could and then--
--Safe. The ghoul's legs gave out under her as she collapsed on her side, eyes shut as she lay there and tried to recover. What had just happened? That strange, glowing rune, those pictures on the wall...just what was that place?
And then a realization hit her: there had been other students down there. She had spotted some of them moving in front of her as she ventured downwards, but her attention had--understandably--been focused on other matters the moment she had been hit by the overwhelming FEAR. Were the other students...? Her stomach clenched at the thought of losing someone down there, but going down to help someone was probably out of the question. She had already nearly disappeared--now that she was exhausted, she wasn't so sure that she would make it out if she went in again.
Put simply, she would probably be more of a hindrance than help.
Pushing herself to her feet, Xiu eyed the entryway with a tight lipped look. She hoped that everyone would make it back out.
[ 3 posts -- 929 words]
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chirigami rolled 1 100-sided dice:
87
Total: 87 (1-100)
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 2:23 pm
Olivia had gone into the weird vortex because the others had and the ghoul was always inclined to follow, especially when her adventurous group was so set on going in . Faustus and Amarus seemed to dead set on it. They had wanted to go exploring after all, even as early on as when she had met them in the Tea Houses. Who was she to say no to such eager spirits? And there was also an underlying pride of being connected to the finding of this location. She had spotted the weird piece of jewelry, so why would she want to leave it alone?
But with the first few steps, Olivia could feel an overwhelming dread and started to regret this decision. The journey down the stairs wasn't terrible at first. It was rather fascinating really with the uneven surfaces. For there to be something so organic on the island of Conquest was bewildering, it seemed so out of place against the ornate textures that the clan seemed to pride itself with. But as she continued to descend, a wave was beginning to hit her slowly and steadily, it was both familiar but new and something she was unsure about. It felt like FEAR, the essence of it. She knew what it was, but this felt too raw and how could it be in such a form to want to swallow her up yet push her back in the same instance.
With each step further down into the alcove, the powerful FEAR swept into her, like it was going into her core and sucking out everything she was. It was subtle at first but then it was like a pounding in her ears. Even with being an undead, she shuddered a breathe as she continued down, unsure why she was continuing - were the others still going? She had lost track of them somewhere along the way.
Maybe they were still going down, perhaps this had separated the trio or they had merely gone on ahead ad she struggled behind like always; was this affecting them like it was her? Olivia wanted to shut her eyes, to drown out the pain, her hands gripping the walls in desperation as she continued her way down, hoping to keep up with the flame demon and the lotus eater. They had to be still going, they were so much braver than her. They were probably finding some wondrous treasure up ahead.
Another step, the FEAR increased, Olivia began to wonder if it was her imagination that it felt like her body was vibrating. The ghoul wanted to scream but she felt past the point of being able to produce a sound. She opened her eyes into narrow slits - when had she closed them? - vague shapes of symbols and pictographs could be seen at the walls but her mind couldn't make them out or make sense of them. She was unfamiliar with this history and her brain didn't want to concentrate on deciphering them or even locking in on them. The clan symbols, those she knew though. Pulsing and almost beautiful in their eerie lights, surrounded by so much that felt wrong.
Olivia felt weak, almost ready to give up and go to her knees. She didn't know what this place was, she didn't understand any of it. But it felt so bad, it was making her feel sick... she never got sick... she was dead, she didn't know how such a thing could be possible. She had to go back up, she had to escape. She didn't know what these depictions were trying to tell her exactly, all the arrows and the death and destruction. There were even images of fire, her eyes quickly diverted from those. She had to get out, she didn't want to stay here any longer.. she didn't want to have to figure this out.
With the last bits of energy, Olivia made her ascension back up the stairs. It was so slow but the undead ghoul managed to power through it in a steady manner. Her body couldn't give out, she had to make it back. Almost there, only a few steps more, she told herself as she began to see the doorway in which she had come through.
Finding the last bits of energy she could muster, Olivia finally made it back out and into the Temple of the Nine Dragons. How she was still on her feet, the ghoul was unsure of but when she was back into the temple room, her legs gave out. She was tired and shaking and all her body could muster to do was curl into a little ball. She hugged her legs and put her head onto her knees, trying to get herself under control.
Olivia did not want to do that again. Ever.
[word count = 808]
[entering and exiting]
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Stratham rolled 1 100-sided dice:
93
Total: 93 (1-100)
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 2:27 pm
The Sacred Temple was a massive, impressive presence among the trees; at the same time, it seemed to radiate calm. Peace, calm, and stillness-- that was a place where you were guaranteed to find Ouranos.
The boil stood beneath the entrance, a slight figure amidst the vast hall. He looked up, and up, and up-- into the curved roof, the high rafters, all built with lofty elegance. The only sound was the wind whispering through the trees, and the occasional faraway twitter of birds. It was quiet-- perhaps even a bit unnaturally so. Oura felt a faint sense of foreboding, as if something dark were coming his way... but it was hard to be sure.
He wandered through the open, airy space, laying a hand on a pillar here, touching an engraving there. He liked to fully engage his senses whenever visiting a new environment-- it was good reference for his dreamweaving. Observe the details of the waking world; bring them to life in the sleeping world. Approaching the monumental statue near the center, the boil tilted his head to see clearer. The statue stared back with stern wooden eyes. He could almost hear it speaking in his mind: "Do -not- set anything on fire."
That was when a patch of shadows, far behind the statue down the hall, caught his eye. The darkness seemed strange... as if from another time, another place. It was mysterious. And it drew the young sandman like a moth to flame. His feet took him automatically towards it, closer and closer, until he could see it was a rather plain-looking door. Against the elaborate carvings of the hall, the glimmer of jade and gold, this door looked remarkably out of place. And it piqued Ouranos' curiosity quite effortlessly.
He pushed open the door, only to be met with more of the strange, ill-feeling darkness. Ouranos poked his head in and looked around; the only source of light seemed to come from far below, faintly illuminating a long set of steps. Curiouser and curiouser. This was exactly like something Ouranos would use in his fledgling nightmares. Perhaps that was why he was so drawn to it...?
The sandman stepped forward, closing the door gently behind him; immediately, he was plunged into near darkness. The light from below was very distant, a strange red and orange in color. Ouranos began to descend. Down the stone stairs, one by one... soon, the air became cool, and damp. Was he heading underground? This was definitely an odd contrast to the grand hall he had just come from.
Just as odd was the sense of foreboding that grew with every step. There was no doubt by now that something ominous lay ahead... but what? Ouranos' pale eyes glimmered in the darkness, trailing across the detailed carvings on either side of him. They were graphic, often brutal-- they depicted all manners of death, slaughter, and fire. What was this? Did the Four Clans create this? Had he walked into one of his own nightmares...?
The orange light became brighter and brighter. Oura could see an opening up ahead-- but at the same time, some invisible force seemed to pull him back, to root his feet to the floor. The boil looked down in faint alarm. It was becoming harder and harder to move, and the air around him was positively thick with fear. He struggled forwards, however, as that eerie light ahead of him beckoned...
Oura burst into the light, and into a monstrous cavern. But not before he gasped in pain and confusion, falling to his knees-- something had taken hold of him, grasped the very core of his heart. The pressure in this cavernous room was unbelievable, crushing his body to the floor. Where did all this power come from?! Ouranos forced his head up from the dirt, teeth gritted, and looked down.
By now he was certain that he'd wandered into someone's waking nightmare. Far, far, below, in a swirling vortex of color and light, were glowing symbols-- they were ancient, and powerful, and obviously not meant for commoners' eyes. Ouranos pushed his chest upwards, breathing heavily, his eyes wide as saucers. The more he stared into that bright abyss, the more disoriented he felt, as if the very air around him tugged and ripped at his limbs...
Ouranos looked at his hands, and stifled a small cry. He wasn't imagining it-- his extremities really were disintegrating, becoming one with the pulsing pool below. Oura bit his lip hard. He forced himself to take a deep breath, and return to the calm he knew so well. This was just like an episode of sleep paralysis. If he stilled his heart and mind, he could escape its grasp... he would have to, or lie here eternally...
He closed his eyes and mind to everything around him. The ancient aura raged against his body, but slowly, became more and more distant. When Ouranos felt he had regained control, his eyes snapped open-- and he fled. He ran as fast as his legs could take him, faster than he knew he could even move. Up and up that endless stone staircase... leaving the cavern of destruction behind. When Ouranos finally reached the top, he slammed the door behind him, panting and heaving. The sounds were harsh against the peaceful calm that enveloped him again, as if nothing had just happened, if he hadn't just nearly been sucked away into oblivion.
Oura lay his head back against the cool stone, and breathed. His heart was a constant hammer against his chest. But he thought he understood a little better now how humans felt, when trapped in a nightmare...
( Entering and exiting! Word count: 952 )
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