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 Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 2:34 pm
As Naiad entered the shrine and looked at the goddess she smiled. Walking up to the goddess she listens as the goddess tells her she needs a reason, a reason to become more. Then when beckoned she steps up to the statues and realizes there are only two there, and one of the two is empty. Reading the plaque she cocks her head.
The Goddess, wrought with Paranoia, created ====, her last and final project before ====. It was then that she discovered how to replicate ====.
Naiad looks back as the goddess mutters something more. Nodding slightly as the goddess seems busy with the item in her hands before handing her a simple bag. It was tied shut with a simple string, however was locked in the center and at one end of the string tying it shut was a key. The goddess tells her to go ahead and open it, a gift she told Naiad. However when she opened the bag, she found nothing inside. Blinking she returned her gaze to the goddess before her.
However, the goddess seems only slightly put out as she tells Naiad she can fix it, if only Naiad would go and get her more parts to help her. These parts were supposedly in the goddess' secret labs that had been left to become rather cluttered. Naiad was to look for chests to open there and bring back the heart when she found it. With this information she was handed a pair of scissors and told only bring the heart, as the others were not needed as they had not made it. Whatever that had meant.
Nodding Naiad went towards the small opening. It was just a small box with a very tiny opening, and within Naiad hears steady thunks. Nodding to herself she steps inside and notices three thick doors facing her. Each one with its own sigil and word. The first seemed the least.. dark. The sigil was a pumpkin and the door itself seemed to echo the look. It gave off an ambient vibe that she rather liked. The second seemed a bit darker, the reverse hooked spiral seemingly crossed or scratched out many times until it was all but covered in the unsteady gouges. The strange unnerving vibe coming off the door off put her but also seemed to beckon her as well. The last took the shape of a tree with its branches hanging low, the branches splitting into several uneven ones at the base. It gave a very dark vibe, one filled with malice and terror. This one more made her want to take a step back.
Naiad knew she should choose one of the doors and knew also that she would not be taking the third. The darkness of the malice and terror causing her to not want to go near that one. Looking at the other two her lips form a tight line. Then nodding she walks up to the first door. She had liked that one and for some reason she liked the sigil of this door the best.
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 3:30 pm
[ Extracting the Heart ]
Naiad opens the door and steps inside, a light humming sound reaches her ears as she walks down the hallway. The sound causes a strange nostalgia inside her and she imagines smiling glowing pumpkins for a moment before the sound quiets and all is still for a moment. Then familiar voices linger in the distance, providing a sense of warmth. Naiad's lips turn into a smile as she continues, feeling as it she is to meet someone for the first time in a long time.
As the door shuts behind her she is almost blinded by the light of he brightly glowing pumpkins, forming a field around her. They seem to have a path already running through this field, filled with flickering yellow lights and orange carved faces. When she reaches the end Naiad smiles again as she sees the large open field covered in small glowing orange flowers, illuminating the ground as she is filled with a peaceful feeling.
She walks over to the single tombstone standing in the center of this field of flowers. "HERE LIES MARINA LEE" is written on the stone and Naiad doesn't recognize the name. Looking down she sees the dried yellow flowers that had been placed against the base of the tombstone. Leaning closer her eyes widen as she hears a sound coming up through the ground from underneath the grave.
Thump-thump.
A heart.
Thump-thump.
Naiad feels no pain or fear as she realizes what she must do. She kneels and pushes away the flowers as the heart calls to her. There is the heart, glowing a bright orange and waiting. She pulls out her scissors and starts pushing at the pliant ground, moving it away until she fully uncovers it and cuts it away from it's confines.
Taking the heart into her hands it glows a steady yellow and she is filled with the memory of meeting Marina Lee. The demoness was standing there scolding her for glomping the servants fluffy tail. Naiad couldn't understand why this woman she had never met before this moment was so angry at her, the child. She knew at the moment that she was talking with someone close to her, as she was telling the woman that she understood but that keeping from doing it was so hard. She stood there taking Marina's lecture as the memory fades and she looks down at her hands once more.
Thump-thump.
Naiad watches as she fully removes it from it's confines and it stops pulsing. Shaking her head at the odd memory she places the heart into the bag and stands as she closes the bag.
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 4:09 pm
[ The Encounter ]
Taking the bag firmly in hand Naiad walks past the grave that she had taken the heart from and continues through the field. The floor is slowly feeling less and less solid under her feet. Pliant in such a way that it soon takes on a slippery and sticky feel to it. Water slowly seeming to fill the field, however at this moment only seems a couple of inches deep. Naiad hears a sloshing noise behind her from the direction of the tombstone she had left behind. Stopping she turns around. But there is nothing there.
Naiad shakes her head and starts walking again, noticing that the water is starting to get deeper around her. The deeper it gets the colder the water feels and she shivers slightly as she hears the sloshing footsteps behind her once more, louder than before.
"Please give it back."
She hears behind her in a pleading voice. Stopping once more she turns around again. However just as before there is nothing there. Blinking in confusion she shakes her head again. Thinking she must be hearing things. Turning to go forward once more she sighs as the cold water gets even deeper. Reaching her neck now she realizes that she can go no further as she can barely feel the ground under her feet. Turning to go back she hears it again.
"Please give me back my-"
The two hands grab her from behind and push Naiad down into the water. Her eyes widen as the water enters her mouth and she finds she cannot breathe. Naiad tries struggling against the grip on her shoulder, but it seems to strong. She feels a sharp pain as she realizes how deep she is being pushed. She cannot feel the floor anymore as the feeling of almost non existence comes upon her. then those glassy deep grey eyes look upon her and she shudders as the sunken teeth are bared at her.
"Give me back my heart."
At this another memory engulfs her and she remembers her Aunt. The woman is glaring at her as she sits at the dinner table. Again she is lecturing her behavior and telling her how it is un-demon like for her to act in such a way to the monsters ad other races. She is to hold herself to a higher standard as she is better than them. She remembers feeling bad that she had disappointed her aunt in such a way. Then the memory fades once more and Naiad's eyes widen as she is held under the water by the person with the dark eyes that she is sure now is her aunt.
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 4:18 pm
[ The Escape ]
Naiad struggles once more as she realizes that it will either be her or her aunt that comes out of this alive. She knows that she must exist for the Blessings and the Goddesses, then perhaps one day when she herself is one she could return for her aunt. But until then she must get free and get away so that she may finish her task. Pulling out her scissors once more she struggles against her aunt and stabs the scissors down at the creatures open mouth. The woman shrieks in pain and then disappears leaving her behind.
Then there is no more mater around her and she finds herself on her hands and knees coughing up the last of the water. Groaning in slight pain afterwards she slowly gets to her feet, only wobbling slightly as she stands. Looking down at the water she only sees a dark and wretched substance in place of what she had thought was water. Shuddering slightly she looks up as light begins to pour into the area again. This time it comes from a door, she had made it to the exit.
Just as Naiad turns to leave she blinks. Looking back for a moment she sees the same figure staring at her balefully in the distance with hollow eyes. She can see her scissors clenched in one hand and she sighs. Turning back she walks out the door.
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Scott Eros Archer rolled 1 4-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-4)
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Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 4:06 pm
[ TASK 2 START ]"Your nature." Naiad hears whispered in her ear as she enters the shrine again. "What is your nature? When you discover this, you will return as more than you are." She realizes it its the goddess speaking in her ear and listens closely to what she says. Shivering slightly as she continues. "You cannot escape forever." She hears as she told to her as the goddess looks down at her. One of the goddess' hands running gently over the curved blade of her scythe as if it is a favorite pet. Naiad shivers at the action but is more intrigued than anything at the moment. "You must face your Fears. Eat or be eaten. That is the way of it here. Were it another time... I wonder which one you would be?" Naiad watches as the goddess drops from her perch and walks up to her before circling Naiad and studying her closely. "I wonder indeed. Perhaps we shall solve this little mystery? Take this."Naiad looks down at her hands as the goddess hands her a small jeweled dagger. The blade seems simple with only a single stone set in it and a small claw dangling from the handle. She finds it to be a rather nice piece and holds it close as the goddess continues. "That should be more than enough, You will need to learn to fend for yourself, to take on your challenges and judge for yourself what it means to sacrifice. That is the only way you will become stronger, else you'll fall prey to someone greater still."Naiad nods slightly as the goddess speaks before looking at the small dagger that has now begun to rust, the blade now looking like it is stained with a dark color reminiscent of Ruin. "You are ready. Go." Naiad nods as the goddess gestures with her scythe. She can feel the goddess' eyes on her until she finally moves towards a thin opening. The gaze remaining until she leaves the goddess' presence. [ ESCAPING THE FOREST ]Naiad awakens to feeling rather chilled. Shivering she sits up as she tries to remember going to sleep however not remembering doing so. Looking down to what she is sitting on Naiad sees the hard table in this bright and starkly decorated room. The white lights almost blinding to her compared to the greys of before. The lights themselves however seem to hum and the sound is a bit painful to her ears as she stands. The dissonance of the sound not making her feel any better as she realizes that other than the table the room is empty. Taking her first few unsteady steps result in Naiad seeing the door ahead. Walking up to it she finds it unlocked and she nods before opening it. However, it seems beyond the door the hallway is just as bright. Taking a few steps through into the hall she yelps as she hears the slamming of a door. Looking behind herself though merely reveals that it was not the door she had just come through. Blinking slightly in confusion she continues onward taking slow steady steps down the hallway. While the hall seems impossibly long though, she spots an exit in the distance. She finds she doesn't need a reason to want to leave. This place seemed hollow and she found it much too clean and empty for her tastes. With those thoughts she continues towards the door. Thud. She stops for a moment at the sound. Turning Naiad notices though that the door behind her is still open. Blinking she shakes her head and continues forwards once more. Thud. She looks behind again only to see it this time. A dark shadowy person, it reminds her of the creature she left behind, and it is watching her. Naiad gets through the door at the end of the hallway finally. She finds herself outside and there are many grey trees hiding her from the figure that was following her. Without looking back to see if it is still following, Naiad continues running through the wooded area. She knows that the figure is following, taunting her from behind. She can even sometimes hear the crunch of the figure's footsteps and an odd sound of steady snipping. Naiad hears the figure taunting about returning it's heart, and taking hers in return. As she reaches the end of the trees she shivers and sees a long bridge in front of her. It looks like it is swaying uneasily, and is very rickety. However, she has a feeling that she must cross the unstable thing. She runs across the bridge as fast as she can. However, about halfway across she feels the wind pick up and the bridge sways precariously causing her to stop for a moment. That moment it seems is enough for the figure to nearly catch her as she feels sharp fingers claw her shoulder and something sharp jab her back. With a shriek she flees the rest of the way across the bridge and sighs as she hears the snipping sound get further and further away.
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Scott Eros Archer rolled 1 6-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-6)
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Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 4:31 pm
[ FINAL CONFRONTATION ]
Naiad finally reaches a dead end. It is a cul-de-sac and there is a single monument standing behind her, an old rickety haunted house. She can see strange shadows being cast from the building. She looks back the way she came to see that the figure is still steadily following her.
The rusty dagger Naiad held in her hand suddenly glows a bright red. Seemingly as if the shadows of the haunted house caused the change. She can hear the goddess of ruins word's in her head. She knew that this was the moment of truth, it was now or never.
[ GAME OVER ]
Turning towards the figure she raises her dagger and runs at it. She sees a sad memory start as she heads towards the figure but ignores it as she remembers brief flashes of what happened between her and the figure. Without hesitation, and in desperation, Naiad plunges her dagger down, only to see the scissors stab into her before she can finish the blow.
As her vision fades in and out she sees a blackened, disfigured body near, and a face stare at her, empty and silent. She watches as the hands reach towards her, one of them holding her head gently. She finds she cannot move and she feels as if she is paralyzed. A strange thudding sound seems to roar in her ears, it only takes her a moment to realize that its the sound of her heart.
"Don't worry, It only hurts once."
She hears the voice coo at her before she hears a loud snip and then a second one. Just as the voice said though she only felt a sharp pain once and then it too disappears. She then watches as the figure walks away, one hand holding her heart and the other holding the scissors, rusty.
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 7:59 pm
[ TASK 3 ]
Yet, you are still so little."
The Goddess's smile grows a little larger as the sees her approach.
"Oh! Um, hello. Make yourself at Home."
Naiad watches as the goddess fidgets a bit as she looks for a place to put the tray she is holding. Then she offers her one of the items on it saying that it is a cookie. Blinking, Naiad steps forward and takes one off the tray and watches the goddess as she beams at her.
"I'm glad you could make it! Those others they weren't meanies to you right? I love you most. You love me too right?"
Naiad cocks her head and nods slightly at the goddess as she rambles a bit. She figured she probably loved the goddess in front of her more than the other two. But that was probably due to the fact that she was being a lot nicer.
"Oh, I know! I have a great idea. How about experiencing what love feels like? Love, joy, happiness, despair, hatred, they are all important emotions! We can make the most beautiful tea party together."
Naiad tries not to snort in amusement at the goddess' comment. However, she was curious about those emotions all things considered and so, she nodded to the goddess. When the goddess beckoned to a gate that opened behind her Naiad blinks in surprise. This one was an arc of grey hedges and there seemed to be a large table on the other side.
"Go on, Oh, I'm so curious to see what beautiful emotions you will make!"
The goddess urges and Naiad nods before stepping through, eating her cookie as she goes into the room beyond.
[ Discovery ]
Naiad listens the music playing in the background for a moment, she had never heard it's like before. However the nostalgia the soft chimes that resemble the whispers of voices and bells call slightly to her. Strange white flakes fall from the grey sky above and they seem soft, and powdery. A soft crunch like sound is heard as she watches tiny imprints of her own feet appear in the stuff behind her.
Stepping up to the table she hums slightly to the music as she stares at the two jars sitting on the table. One seems a soft pink while the other a pretty blue color. Naiad looks closer at the blue one first and blinks as it emits a feeling of sadness and a little bit of unresolved tension, as if waiting for something or someone. Pulling back she sighs. She did not think she liked that one but she wasn't sure. Turning she looks at the pink one. Steeling herself she gets a little closer to it, happy to find that it emits a more pleasant set of feelings. Instead of the sadness of the blue this one emitted a happy feeling, one of fondness and kindness.
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 8:06 pm
[ Take the Pink Jar ]
Naiad smiles as she reaches for the pink jar. She had preferred the feelings it was emitting after all and wondered at the thing. Upon closer inspection though Naiad notices a tag on it. This tag merely stated Drink Me.
Blinking she thinks about it for a moment before deciding that the goddess must mean for her to do this. Therefor she quickly drinks the entire contents of the pink jar. Immediately she feels a soft warm happiness overcoming her. Naiad feels a bit lightheaded and cannot stop a silly smile from coming to her face at the peacefulness that came with it. She barely even noticed the spinning of the table as it set itself with a tablecloth and an assortment of snacks. Looking over the selection she sees an extremely resplendent, rich and tasteful cake covered in icing. It looked delicious and her mouth nearly watered at the sight of it. Then there was the slightly more ordinary yet yummy looking cookie as well. Looking between the two she tries to decide which to eat.
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 8:22 pm
[ Eat the Cake ]
Naiad looks between the two pastries one last time before taking a bit of the cake. It was extremely rich and the sensation of euphoria goes straight to Naiad's head as she feels a bit overwhelmed. Gulping she starts to think that perhasps she should get something to drink and looks around. Seeing the tea cups sitting there she smiles slightly. Looking between them once more she cannot help the fact that she is always choosing between two things. Still she will continue, if no other reason than she feels she Really need a drink. The old tea cup seems extremely ornate, as it is covered in decorative shapes and what looks like expensive materials. She rather liked the look of that cup. Still she looked to the other as well. It was a very colorful teacup. The surface of it seemed covered in bright red glittering hearts and she almost liked that one better. Biting her lip she tries to decide between the two.
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 8:33 pm
[ Take the Gold tea cup ]
Looking between the two cups one last time she smiles and takes the gold one before taking a sip from it's embellished rim. As she did Naiad was overcome with a sense of pride and she feels carefree, strong, accomplished, and empowered. She could feel that she knew that this cup, this feeling, was once her and Naiad smiles.
Naiad looked up at her parents with a smirk upon her face. She had just told them that she had gotten into that school they had wanted her in. She knew that they would be happy for her and she herself was very proud of the fact that she had actually made it.
Truthfully she had not expected to get in! There were many others in the world who wanted to be a part of the school and it was hard to make it through the selection process just to get your enrollment form on the desk of the principle. Still she had managed and just like her parents before her she would be a student there as well. Although, her and her parents differed on why she should go, they and herself were filled with pride that she was going there.
Blinking Naiad looks at the teapot that was now in her hands instead of the cup. She had no clue where that memory had come from but she did feel.. happy.
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 8:41 pm
Tea Guest Log Colour of Tea Tasted: Pale yellow. Description: Paperwork, red tape, and triumph. Your commentary on its flavour:Hard work. That he knew, from his short life, but he had yet to feel the outcome of it. Not like the memory: here hard work had yielded fruit, and there was a shared satisfaction in one person's success despite the differing natures of the goals. It buoyed him up. There was hope, then. Maybe it was not that the work was futile--just a way to keep himself busy out of some desperate need to not be idle--but that he had simply not done enough. So this was the feeling of being good enough. A strange flavor, but not unpleasant.
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 10:17 pm
Tea Guest Log Colour of Tea Tasted: Pale Yellow Description: Happy, bright, accomplished. Your commentary on its flavour: Axel gave his silent congratulations to the child - achieving something like getting into a high caliber school was something to be very proud of! He'd have liked to go to a high quality school, he thought, to learn and become a master of his studies. Yes, that'd be very nice.
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 10:57 pm
Tea Guest Log  Colour of Tea Tasted: Pale Yellow Description: Bright, a sense of accomplishment and success. Your commentary on its flavour: Now if that wasn't something to be proud of, she didn't know what was. She found herself grinning at the memory, giving a small nod of her head. It was a great thing to get into something one had such high hopes for, and she certainly earned the right to be proud about that. As Ixy moved away, she wished the girl good luck and to keep working hard.
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 11:18 pm
Tea Guest Log Colour of Tea Tasted: Pale Yellow Description: Pride and success. Your commentary on its flavour: Through hard work, something was earned, and Decyl nodded in agreement that it was indeed something to be proud of. To enter a place that she had wanted, he couldn’t help but smile and silently congratulate her even though they will probably never meet.
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Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 1:19 am
Tea Guest Log Colour of Tea Tasted: Pale Yellow Description: Pride, happiness, with a little bit of nervousness and surprise. Your commentary on its flavour: Ralifa felt like this memory was perhaps similar to something she had experienced before. Trying to gain a parent's favor by accomplishing a task that you worked so hard at to get done. She had a hard time recalling the memory associated with this familiar feeling, but it brought a smile to her lips none the less. The feeling of accomplishment when the odds seemed a bit stacked against you was a pleasant feeling. One she often felt during these tasks and battles. Hoping to do your best and when the outcome was success there was nothing more satisfying than that feeling. She felt happy for this memory.
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