There is immediately a sense of foreboding when you get too close to this building. Something about its construct makes you immediately realize that this was never supposed to be part of the Negaverse. There is nothing evil in its make--and if you look hard enough, you can see the broken symbol of Earth on a fallen slab.
This is the Academy.
Or, at least, a part of what's left of it.
A severely damaged building, with crystals growing out of it as though the Negaverse could ever truly claim it. There is an energy within that gives all Knights an added boost of energy—and foreboding. There is no doubt; the Negaverse has something hidden in here.
It's time to claim it.
There is a winding path inside, though much of the ground is falling away. Be careful where you step! Deep chasms plague the ground, and one misstep could easily be your last. Something shifts in the darkness below. But you need to move forward. You need to find what they're hiding here—for good or bad.
Quote:
For Order: There is an undeniable oddness about this location, though there doesn't seem to be an immediate threat. You may explore a bit (please bold what your character is attempting to do so the mule can response), but there are two things your character should be aware of: Knights will feel an irresistible urge towards a distant corner of the building, and there is a strange, shifting darkness that seems to lurk mostly in the caverns below. Many areas are crumbling into these deep chasms, so watch your step!
Having arrived in the darkness of the negaverse Paris was utterly against finding things to fight. Oh no. Noooo. The short and exceptionally social anxious page was looking more for ways to the find perhaps anything of use, anything insightful. AKA, Paris was mostly just looking around and being exceptionally more paranoid than normal and was having one hell of a time attempting to rationalize everything.
The Academy sounded like the safest, non deadly place to go but as he arrived to said place he just kept regretting every life choice leading up to having made the decision to come in the first place.
A tug inside him said go to one area but- He learned about those weird tugs./ One- That was puberty and he didn't want it. Two- It was aliens Three- It was bad things and bad times and he just didn't want things to tug at gut feelings and stuff it was wrong And really confusing. Rather than seek what called to him, Paris went the opposite direction.
Paris chose instead to do down towards the Caverns. To him, the further from things that called to him, the better.
Newgrange was eager to get to the building—to explore it, (quickly) and figure out what it was that so enthralling. He recognized a few of those who were also heading in that direction, but he did not attempt to make much conversation. Something about this place just sent a chill through him. It felt like a thousand eyes were watching, and even whispers would draw them to him.
And yet, he could not stop himself from being pulled towards the building.
…While someone else seemed to be pulled away from them.
He paused, midstep, and blinked at Paris.
"Hey," he said after a hesitant moment, risking the eyes finding him. "—Are you sure you want to head down there? It doesn't look that safe, and…"
Newgrange was not one to tell anyone what to do, but he didn't want to be alone in this any more than he wanted someone else to be.
"…Do you want to stick with the group, or do you want company?"
iStoleYurVamps
Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2016 1:49 am
Sailor Altair
Sailor Altair, upon checking on Ananke's proximity to her, found that her nervous vision was next drawn to the sight of two individuals, Paris and Newgrange, both of whom from going with accordance to that constant worrying frame of mind she was more acutely aware of now seemed to be indicating to her that they were beginning to go in a more perilous direction.
However, still from where she had paused in place in concern she then took steps in their direction while being careful of where she let her foot fall with each forward progression. And she got to thinking that perhaps things not always being what they seem may apply to these circumstances. "U-um, d-do you think t-that," she asked them as she was now bursting with wariness that had began building at a faster rate on the way here to thus far in this arrival of the lot of them now in progress since setting off from the portal, "there is a possibility some of us are being hypnotized towards heading to a trap in this place?" He had noticed glances in this direction by figures who wore attire with repeated symbols and though she became more curious, she still did not know what to make of her observations and what she was starting to find somewhat increasingly odd about them.
The closer Slievenamon got to the Academy (or what remained of it, anyway), she had to stop some two, three meters from it to swallow thickly. She was drawn to it like a mouse to a trap, but the foreboding that welled up within her made a little hard for her to venture forth. Her mind was at a battle of its own whether to follow instinct and have her turn around to something more safer like the barracks or burst forth with great elation to find out what was beckoning a number of them into its depths.
Rationality lost to her desires as, hesitantly, Slievenamon approached the winding path. She didn't readily step onto it, though. Instead, she traced it with her eyes, trying to determine where would be ideal places to step lest she plunge into the unknown darkness below. Were their any places that offered better support than others? What about any useful tools to make it across? Glancing aqua eyes to the shifting ebony made her gulp again. That certainly... did not look pleasant.
Looking ahead to where the irresistable urge tugged, she pursed her lips. "I'll get to you one way or another," she said to herself. "But... just... how?"
Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2016 4:56 am
Kairatos of Mars
Under any other circumstances, he suspected he'd have been cracking his knuckles and raring to have a go at whatever deep darkness was below their feet, just to see if he could... but this was the Rift; and besides he felt something else drawing him.
What if he was right? What if there was a piece of code down in this black pit in the a** crack of hell, and it had been touched with Chaos. He was afraid what would happen if it was, in fact, here, and left in the hands and heart of the Negaverse.
Also he had to admit, after being dismissively patted on the head and shooed away my that smug son of a b***h Babylon, all c**k sure that he knew best about literally everything... GOD DAMN it would feel good to be right.
In so much as it would be possible to feel good to be right about such an thing.
"I know we're here to dole out as big a black eye as we can but I wanna check that corner." He informed his companions "You don't have to follow me but..."
He let it fall silent. He kind of hoped they would, but he wouldn't stop them otherwise.
"I gotta find out if there's a code piece down here." He insisted, . He didn't even know what the hell he would do if he FOUND it. What did one do to an ethereal shape changing magical computer? It wasn't as though he could wrap it in his cloak or something... that he knew of, though there must have been a way to install the thing... once upon a time. Maybe they could figure something out. Take it someplace safe and clean it up. Maybe.
Or destroy it, if they had to, if they couldn't think of anything else.
It was an idea anyway.
"Be careful either way." He warned, looking around carefully and looking to start trying to pick a careful path in the direction of that corner.
He had left his party to the barracks, but at least there were plenty of people here. There was something about this place that, like everything else, didn't sit right, but it didn't feel as thick with negative energy as the castle did.
As he looked about, he noticed the crystals and wondered - what were they even powering and why hadn't they been taken? If helping Caedus hadn't shown anything, it was that crystals sometimes stored power. So - what was this place powering - or not powering?
He decided to head carefully towards the direction of the nearest crystal.
Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2016 6:57 am
Sailor Ananke
Ananke looked around... well she was mostly looking at her feet to make sure she watched where she stepped. Maybe this wasn't the best place for her to be with her tendency just to be a little bit of a klutz... well just a little bit anyway. She looked up at Altair.
"Traps are possible... I mean if there is something crazy important here..." She wiggled her fingers.
"I would propose we all stay together but..." She looked downwards and then in the other direction. "Well one way could be a trap... though odds are both ways are. I mean it would be safer if we all stayed together... but we don't exactly have all the time in the world you know." Ananke fumbled with her words. On one hand they can get to everything faster and on the other hand that would leave them slightly more defenseless by splitting up into another group.
"I mean I'm just saying... we're kinda in a tough spot no matter what we do..."
For the height of the place, Scholomance recognized very little of its original architecture. As one who looked into the various buildings on his wonder, he grew acquainted with the reality that most forms represented their function - in the realm of the living, and the realm of construction. And yet, in staring up at the surfeit of crystals that peppered the old, rotted walls, so little remained of the place that he could not predict the structure's true purpose - and could only guess at its size based on the footprint left behind.
And, looking onward, seldom more than a few scanty paths of its foundation remained. The squire measured his steps carefully, and tread with gentleness in areas so wretched and deprived of sun and earth that they looked to crumble at a mere touch. Somewhere beyond him, a small group assembled, and a couple scattered knights forged their own paths. A cat ventured here, which he found rather odd, but spared little thought of it. He knew not how much time remained of their venture, and would not spare it on fleeting trifles if he could; instead, Scholomance approached one of the deep fissures to peer into its blackened murk. He crouched, then, with both arms folded over his knees, as he tried to assess the darkness. His eyes strained to adjust.
What is this place. His gaze darted to one of the nearer crystals, whose ominous light refused to penetrate the holes in the foundation. Where is this place.
He would not linger long, however; the instinctual and visceral draw deeper into the bowels of the building urged that he abandon his observations. He could not stay, he knew; the minutes passed relentlessly as he spent his time on such affairs.
Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2016 10:52 am
It was hard to believe that these ruins held much of anything anymore. Everything seemed to have been ransacked long ago, leaving only broken and discarded remains behind. Doors to forgotten rooms revealed only remains of wooden desks that had been flipped, overturned and broken. What they once held had long since been claimed by another.
Everything on this level had clearly seen better days.
Even the fallen symbol of Earth was fragmented and broken. Any of its lost pieces could have easily fallen into the opening that was next to it, lost forever into the darkness below.
Gazing down these holes would prove fruitless. No matter how long one stared into the depths, they would be met with nothing more than cruel blackness. There was only one way to find out what was hidden in the darkness…but there had to be a better way down.
Paris would nearly have been one to find out that wandering too far away from the more supported main path would lead to a free ride down. Had he continued forward, he would have found that the floor there could barely support the weight of itself. Two stones broke free next to his foot and dropped into the darkness.
However, the strange tug towards the distance corner of the once proud Academy only seemed to increase the longer one stood on its grounds. It felt familiar and yet…off. But one thing was clear: it wanted them to find it.
As Kairatos raced towards the corner, he would find not the source of the pull, but stairs. Long, winding stairs led down into the depths of the Academy. Along the edging, crystals stuck out from the wall glowing with a strange purple light. It was just enough to see the steps and a few feet in front of yourself.
The same crystals were around them even up here. They proved to be growing, thriving on something within the walls. The larger they were, the lighter the glow.
A falling rock jostled one of the crystals from its slot on the wall; it chipped off and fell through one of the nearby chasms. Its tiny glow disappeared as it fell lower, and lower—until it disappeared in complete darkness.
But something else had seen it.
From the depths below, a low, deep growl reverberated through the area. It shook the floor below the visitors. The sound alone was so fierce it shook the ground; chips of rock and stone broke and fell into the darkness, taking along the lighted crystals along the walls. Though there were still plenty of glowing crystals, at the rate this place was going, their only light source seemed to be diminishing—fast. It might be a good idea to take what you can.
Especially since whatever thing was calling them here…didn't seem to be alone.
Sunshine Alouette
Palatine
Guine
Super Varuna
serpentsong
Nirvana
Shanyume
Sailor Sidouer & Sailor Alcor & Sailor Eleonora
Unoderi
Slievenamon
a-disgruntled-dragon
Andronicus
shyanimegrl
Sailor Altair
Strickenized
Scholomance
Ryuthulhu
Kairatos
Stump_Fairy
Ananke
Fiction1119
Havasu Falls
Kyuseisha no Hikari
Newgrange
litian
Sailor Athene & Guardian Liryn & Falias
LP
Niflhel & Guardian Snowball
Ruriska
Sailor Centisima
baby_gwing
Dallol
Torvil
Corinth
Stump_Fairy
Sailor Ananke
shyanimegrl
Sailor Altair
Beckoning Chaos Crew
Offline
Kyuseisha no Hikari
Crew
Dragonslaying Dragon
Offline
Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2016 11:25 am
Newgrange, Squire of Earth
Newgrange immediately tensed when the ground just a bit in front of Paris gave out; his eyes went to the ground to search for any weaknesses that might affect their little group. He held a hand out protectively, as if to catch anyone who might fall. Thankfully, the destruction avoided them, for now.
He cleared his throat and glanced to Altair. "It might be a trap," he admitted, "But I don't think it's worth setting up a trap for this place. It looks like it's dangerous enough on its own. It looks like someone got here a long time ago. Traps would be…a wasted effort."
His eyes raised to settle on the broken Earth symbol and he swallowed, eyes fixated on it.
He had to force his gaze away to meet Ananke's. "Staying together sounds like a good idea. If you want," he added; he did not want to be overbearing, but he didn't feel right if he wasn't watching someone's back. "I don't feel hypnotized, but I do feel…compelled," he confessed.
"…I'd like to figure out whatever it is that's over here before something is thinking the same, though."
The echo of a growl still rang in his ears; he didn't like it, and he wished now more than ever that he had something a little more useful than gloves--and magic that shook the Earth.
Stump_Fairy
shyanimegrl
iStoleYurVamps
Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2016 12:03 pm
Palatine had absolutely no intention of going off anywhere on her own. She might be older than most and arguably more mature (debatable, really), but she was also smart enough to know that she was out of her element and therefore at risk of doing something completely stupid.
So she followed after Kairatos since he seemed more familiar with this place—if not this particular building than Negaspace in general.
She thought she knew what this place was as soon as she entered it, but since she hadn't really been all that heavily involved with Knight stuff and had only been to Olympus and encountered the Code once, she couldn't be entirely sure. The building itself filled her with a sense of apprehension. They didn't know what they'd find here, or what sort of dangers there were lurking in the darkness. Palatine made sure to stay as far away from any chasms as she could. She stole a look down one as she passed and decided she had no desire to fall.
When they made it to the corner that seemed to be pulling them onward, Palatine looked down the steps that led from it. She didn't particularly want to make her way down them. She'd only come to have a quick look before heading to the castle, after all. But her senses kept urging her in that direction.
Palatine heard the low rumbling from below, felt the floor shaking beneath her feet, and watched as their only sources of light started falling away.
“That can't be good,” she observed.
She felt something dark lurking below and wasn't entirely sure she wanted to find out what it was.
When the area shook with a hostile and noisy vibration, she gasped in a horrified breath that held and when she finally resumed breathing it was more deeply and shakily as she looked from one to another among the three individuals in her proximity. And with an open palm, she applied a bit of some pressure over her sternum in an attempt at soothing some of her panic having suddenly spiked to alarming levels.
When her gasping had calmed somewhat considerably as she willed herself not to lose her sanity, she then pushed out some words. "I-I like the idea of moving in as large a group as possible while considering the weight that puts pressure on these scary floors," Altair visibly swallowed between taking breaths intended towards keeping herself stable enough and voicing her concerns as what she felt to be poor contributions to the group so far. And she was ninety nine percent sure she did not want to find out what was responsible for that very hungry sounding growl of sorts, especially if meeting it entailed falling into the darkness. Then, falling would bump the percentage of her sureness up to ninety nine point nine percent. Though if there was falling down on her part, then she hoped whatever had made that terrifying sound fell too so distance was kept or even lengthened between them.
No, no falling, please, she prayed inwardly with great desperation: Please please I don't want to fall, I don't want anyone of us to fall down into the darkness and get eaten or for any other danger to fatally or severely befall anyone, please. Please, I hope we all make it out in one piece first and foremost along with hopefully achieving helpful gains successfully with a safe return on the part of each of us.
She wanted to keep trying to be as optimistic as possible rather than tumbling deep into pessimism, but her want of this and for everything to turn out alright in general was still glaringly obvious to be unable to remove the challenges that exist even in her state of her full attention being fought for to be robbed of any other room to think of anything else by pulsing fear constantly threatening to overwhelm her.
Stump_Fairy
Kyuseisha no Hikari
iStoleYurVamps
Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2016 12:22 pm
Falias, Squire of Earth
Falias couldn't help the feeling of foreboding that seemed to creep up on him as he got closer to the strange damaged building.
But even as the foreboding made him want to keep away, there was also something.. Something that seemed to call to him - something that..
He paused, caught between the conflicting feelings, his green eyes taking in the crystals that seemed to grow out of the building and the broken symbol of earth on one of the slabs.
He could see a winding path leading towards somewhere, although it didn't seem like it was particularly safe...
And then he had to shake his head because who was kidding - there was nowhere that was safe here, be it here or in one of the other options that he could have chosen.
Some of the others that had headed this way were talking and whilst Falias hadn't been particularly paying too much attention, one of them had sounded familiar enough for him to look away from his perusal of the place.
Kairatos. It had been a while since he saw the Mars Knight, but he recognised the other for all of that - but then again given the way the two of them had first encountered each other perhaps it wasn't too surprising - even if it had taken Kairatos telling him for Falias to make the link.
The other appeared to be heading - or at the very least trying to head - towards the corner where the strange pull seemed to come from and Falias made to follow after because he had been kind of moving towards heading that way anyway.
He was not expecting something to suddenly growl, the resulting sound loud enough to shake the ground, causing bits of stone to chip and break and then fall into darkness.
It wasn't just stone however, as some of the crystals also fell.
"s**t" he said, the curse almost involuntary and then he tried to reach for one of the remaining crystals in the hope of trying to take one along.
Because whilst his aspect took the form of daylight, Falias wasn't sure how long he'd be able to keep it up for and something told him that here was probably not the best place to try testing it out...
And besides Mistral had taught him how bad it was to try heading somewhere without a light source.
Ryuthulhu
for Kairatos noticing
Beckoning Chaos
mule quote as Falias is trying to take a glowing crystal
With all his nerves on edge, the sound of stones breaking off near Paris, somewhere off among those exploring the fragile points in the floor, sounded like a thunder clap, and the rumbling growl made the hair on the back of his neck prickle. It hardly mattered if the stones from Paris' careless misstep....
He was briefly so caught up in the growl he almost missed Falias coming up behind him, and was instantly awkward.
"Uh... Here. Let's use part of my cape... you can wrap the base and tie it to your belt or something..." He offered, awkwardly, fumbling for a crystal of his own. Besides, it might be better -not to handle the crystals more than he had to-.
They glowed... but it was still the rift. For all he knew they'd turn out to be some kind of egg to a skin burrowing youma that reacted to body heat.
"It's already ripped up... should tear ok." Or if not maybe he could just find a way to unhitch it. "And I'm going to assume that's the welcoming crew and we just woke it up...."
So much for getting the drop on anything. He supposed the chances of them being that lucky had been slim anyway. At least it might still be confused...
