Closed Books RPG

[The Assassin of Chaos]

Jay didn't know the trickery, but he knew tomfoolery.
If it was magic... Well, he was still no master but he'd mess with it anyway. Just for the hell of it.
So, first things first - was it mental compulsion?
For a second, Jay had stopped moving and was only thinking. The next, everything had gone quiet, the temperature dropped a few degrees and the human had launched himself kinetically towards his target pretty quickly. His intention was to launch himself at high enough speeds that if it was mental compulsion, he wouldn't stop in time. Probably.
His understanding of magic was spotty.  

[lovebrookelyn]

Crow chuckled at Glory's question.

"If I had as many eyes as you, I would fear sharp teeth too," She patted Glory gently.
"Sometimes our hearts change without out seeing it happen.
Whether it be from a person or a large feeling, our minds will change without notice.
Even a mind as old and steadfast as yours.
Life finds ways to make old souls be born again.
Your aversion might be part of a soul you don't even know you have yet."

Crow swung down from Glory's back in one swift motion.
She was careful not to prod his eyes.

"I thank you for escorting me here safely.
Now we must find the others.
Something in the air has changed. Do you feel it too?
It doesn't hold as much life."

Crow's eyes seemed troubled for a brief moment before the barefooted woman took off into the temple.
Following Kaliyah with a renewed urgency, they entered the temple and tracked after the others from their group.
Should everything go smoothly upon entering the building, Crow would approach the others quietly, searching for answers in what appeared to be a tense situation.

"I am searching for the Masters of Karma," The Chief bellowed in a loud voice, one that held many centuries of brave leadership.
"We who seek guidance.
Just as the monks of this world lead your people to renewed life, we, too, seek to do the same for our people.
We come humbly to ask for guidance and to meet with Brahma."

As she spoke, and hopefully all would quiet to hear her, the Chief produced the crystal lotus from her satchel and held it tightly in her hand.

"I demand you to take the three souls you deem purest to Brahma's presence in exchange for this token."  

[cosmos_rose]

BhelliomBlue-Rose

 

[BhelliomBlue-Rose]

(Post in the works, shall be up tomorrow.)  

[BhelliomBlue-Rose]

Again, the voice was hard, but not necessarily unfriendly.
"Everyone sins. You have not paid the debt that those sins have garnered you.
That is all."
As Jay rocketed off, he quickly discovered that it wasn't a compulsion.
Again, from his perspective, he would careen forward and only forward, crossing a half-hour distance in a minute or two.
Of course, that distance ended somewhere around his group, towards the door.
As there had been no violence offered, no harm would come to him; not directly, anyhow.
He wouldn't smash his head open on a wall.
In point of fact, Jay was heading straight for the door...

Although thankful for someone sensible to talk to, and one he was kindly disposed toward, there remained some disconnects.
Glory didn't know if she got it or didn't, with all this musing.
Then again, unlike his partner, he preferred to be straightforward.
It was the endpoint after travelling through the many subtle layers of deceit and artfulness.
I... How does that have...?
You know I was talking about explaining it to Kali's lizard, right?
I already know why I don't want these baby blues popped.
Hurts like hell, takes too long to regenerate 'em.

Jay, still moving at not much less than the speed he'd initially launched, would find himself drawn into a spiral, gradually slowing.
The horse, having caught sight of him on the other group's way in, took hold and was doing his best to slow the crazy b*****d down without disrupting squishy bits that might object to the sudden cessation of motion.
...I'd ask what even happened, but y'know what?
It's not as bad as I thought it might turn out.
Nothin's on fire, the world's not tryin' to smash us. Someone familiar's at the door, not in here muddlin' things.
Good start.

This time, Conquest had had a much better view of things.
Stepping smartly to one side rather than get spun to the floor with a rocketman, he proved distracted when his other half arrived.
"Can't tell if they're bending space or perceptions.
With the time lapses, prob'ly space."
Spreading his arms and the robe above them wide, the Rider's grin took a sardonic flavor.
"Welcome to the party, hope you brought snacks.
We're gonna be here a whi-"

Triple stone-stares fixed upon the ancient Nyllednian as she addressed them.
One had stepped forward to speak, and promptly closed her mouth.
Her expression had twisted from implacability to shock and disbelief, mirroring those behind her.
"How...?
...We question why and what, not how.
You bear a nirvana lotus, and our laws allow three to seek audience.
You, Abeline, and Noire may pass.
Go you well to Brahma."
The three bowed in unison, and the first stepped aside, one arm from each pointing the way forward. Or, more accurately, up.  

[cosmos_rose]

will post tomorrow!  

[cosmos_rose]

The Assassin of Chaos

lovebrookelyn

BhelliomBlue-Rose

I should stop posting that I'll post the next day....
It's like I set myself up for some kind of curse that makes it so I can't post on that day.

Vasieya crossed her arms as she glared up at these figures.
The more the said, the more the old tree's cheeks felt hot.
Blasphemy! Haven't paid for my sins? Hmph! These gleeking common-kissing bugbears!
So sacrificing my needs, my vary way of life, to save my people from evil queens/goddess isn't enough to pay for my sins? Being forced to live for a thousand years so that I might save others from death, which I had desired so much is not enough??
All I ever did was sing songs and sleep around in my youth! Oh yeah, until I was forced to be a concubine to the queen!
Although she ranted and screamed in her mind, which aloud might've sounded terrifying, all that was seen on the outside was the impatient patting of her foot on the floor.


When the rest of their party arrived, Abeline could not help but feel relieved. The rest of the group was safe, and it seemed they brought the missing piece to this previously unsolvable puzzle.
The princess could not be sure why the Sanskara had chosen her to be one of the one's who had passed, but she would not complain.
To the Sanskara, she would bow, before lifting the lower part of her dress to walk past them, and go up towards where they pointed......


When the three girls were gone, that left the rest of the party to awkwardly stand around to still face these strange Sanskara who refused to let them past.
Olive would sigh, and look down to the ground.
She couldn't help but wonder what her sins were.
Was it that she killed titans and witch hunters?
Killing was killing, even if it was for defense...
Or was it simply because her very soul, the soul of Apocalypse, was stained with evil...

Time passed as it always did, yet it felt unbearable slow while they waited anxiously for the three girls to return. Especially for Kaliyah, who was not used to standing on the side.
But if any of these hero's thought for a even a second that they might finally catch a break, they'd be sorely mistaken.

A shrill cry echoed in the air, and it could not be mistaken for other than Kaliyah's mount, Nimco (renamed, couldn't find or remember the original name). Kaliyah immediately perked up and stared in the direction the cry came from.
Without a word, she bolted out of the building and raced towards her beloved creature...

She raced past the gate, where the red Sanskara was still standing with her arms crossed.
In the clearing, Nimco was on the ground, groaning like an injured dragon, unable to move.

And before her, in plain site, was the other party.
Ceres, Layla, Mayble, Dolos (the red sanskara) and, Osiria Rose.

Kaliyah ignored them though, and rushed to the side of her mount to soothe her.

"She's not harmed," Osiria reassured warmly, "only temporarily paralyzed. She will return to normal function within a few hours."


Olive would rush after Kaliyah, knowing full well that it would be reckless to let another party member run off on their own. As she caught up to the scene however, she found herself coming to a tumbling stop as she nearly tripped over her own feet.

"Mother?!"  

[lovebrookelyn]

Crow nodded respectively, giving a quick wave to her companions as she flew around the trio onto the stairs.
Unsure of what would be at the top, the old Chief braced herself for anything.
Crow had latched onto Noire's wrist, dragging her along behind her to make sure she was keeping up with her and Abeline.
She wasn't entirely sure if the strange medicines had worn off or not, but she thought it was best that they stay together.

"This Brahma, from my understanding, is very divine.
A dance must be performed but the monk I spoke to did not know the ritual.
I'm hoping, at the very least, we may be able to speak with someone and get closer to the next book.
Or perhaps we will have to make something up, for I do not really know what lies ahead," Crow spoke swiftly to the two others.
"I know we do not have much time, the life of the worlds fades in the airs around us.
Something big is going to happen very soon."

As she spoke, Crow felt the hair raise on the back of her neck, goosebumps dimpling her skin briefly.
It was as if the universe was in a death throw and it nearly caused her to shudder.

"I hope this works." She said, taking the stairs two at a time.  

[BhelliomBlue-Rose]

(Okay, maybe not this one. But the post is in the works.)  

[BhelliomBlue-Rose]

The Judges, their oaths upheld, let those allowed pass.
Vaseiya in particular might note that while they'd focused on individuals, they never quite seemed to see the person that had their attention.
It was like to a thousand-yard stare that afflicted those who never really came back from a war.
They might not have been seeing the here and now.
It might have helped to know what it was they saw...

Conquest had no such qualms.
He knew for a fact that the line of his former selves, stretching back through universal life cycles, were mostly pricks.
No way 'round it.
Then again, it didn't make much difference to him.
He might not reach the gods now, but he'd find a way.
Violence had a fiery sweetness all its' own.
Speaking of which...

Glory had moved the instant he heard the screech.
The lizard was annoying, but shapes held a power over those that they contained.
And a stallion instinctively felt the need to come to a female's aid.
His partner blurred into position, standing on the stirrup like a trick rider.
I hate being a horse. You couldn't think up anything else when we met.
You'd never even seen a horse; I fuggin' hate it.
Why not change? Kaliyah's Nimmie'd be less into you.
We've been through this. Recently. It hurts like the worst sneeze we've ever had, backwards.

The ever present grin widened, brightened, even as his glare shone towards his rivals.
"BRRRROTHER! IT'S BEEN TOO-"
Before the White Rider could really start the bit, his brother interjected, killing the overacted drama.
"War did that already."
"...Do you just hate fun? Is that your deal?"
Nose crinkling, Famine's sibling hopped down from the saddle, fingering the hilt of his sword.
He wouldn't start anything, not yet. Not until Jay came to a halt, anyhow...
_______________________________________

Unlike an unwanted guest, these three were invited, and that apparently changed things.
The spire's topography shifted, grinding into a straight passage.
The women knew they were going up, instinctively, but gravity was feeling generous, and 'down' oriented towards whatever wall they stepped nearest.
Still a brisk mountain hike, certainly, but not the endless damned spacial loop, either.
As they went, the workers came into focus. Their projects ranged from the necessary to the inscrutable to the outright arcane.
Those last needed time to adjust, and hurt the eyes of the watcher as their brains attempted to sort out what the senses told them.
But more to the point, it felt as though walking was an inevitability, that they had a firm destination and the inverse mountain did its' best to accommodate their journey...  

[cosmos_rose]

The Assassin of Chaos

lovebrookelyn

BhelliomBlue-Rose

"Dance? Gosh I hope not," Abeline responded to Crow,
"I've always been a dreadful dancer.
Ask Conquest, he would confirm it."
Unsuringly, Abeline would press forward(?),up(?) and down?. From what her old partner had told her, the Chieftess was right. Brahma was a divine, and whenever dealing with a divine creature it was best to err on the side of caution.

"I hope it works too though.
I don't even know how much time we have left.
...
Honestly, I sometimes worry that the world might just crumble long before we're even finished.
It feels like an impossible task that Death has given us."

Like all stairways and hallways, this one eventually ended.
Soon enough, as their eyes adjusted, they'd find themselves at the top of this tower, which was surprisingly lacking of walls.
The stone roof was held up only by the colorfully decorated pillars. If you looked closely to detail, the color red, blue and other various shaded pillars were in fact statues of Sansara, holding up the ceiling.

The openness of the room exposed the a higher view point of the world of Sansara. The breeze of the room woke Abeline from her trance. At first the it was all fuzzy and her head hurt.
But as her eyes adjusted....

He had eyes for each direction of the world. East, West, North and South.
It was kind of hard to know which ones to focus on really.
Abeline would bow, as she was unsure how else to great something greater than herself.

-------------------------------

It was, what it was.
Vasieya was just being pissy about it.
Despite her deeds, and the lives she guided to safety.
She'd done it all with a bitterness in her heart.
And truth be told, she would have gladly left her people the minute she had the chance.
Which, actually, she did.

...

Kaliyah didn't respond to the flower embroidered witch, or even the hunky war dude that just showed up.
Rather she was still focused on her beloved mount, whom meant more than the world to her. Gingerly, she cradled Nimco's head on her lap and pet her scaly jaw.


In the corner of her eyes the Rose witch could see Russo's fingers twiddling the hilt of his sword. Slowly she raised her hands as a signal for him to stop.
"Slow it down, rider.
Let's not forget why we're here afterwall.
If at all possible, I'd like to avoid injuries."

To Olive, the witch smiled warmly, and outstretched her hands.
"Sweetheart, how long has it been?"

Olive looked her mother up and down, almost in disbelief in what she was seeing.
"I...okay...I guess?
What are...
What am I supposed to say right now?"

Jay was hopefully running up just about now, Nerein hanging out on his shoulders. Vasieya eventually caught up to the group though, but as soon as she did her eyes shot a glare at Ceres, who mischievously smiled back at her.
"Oh Vasieya? You left home with these folks? I guess you always were saying s**t like you wanted to "jump to stars" or something like that."

Layla looked sorrowfully at Jay, whenever he would ride up.
"Old friend.
This time, I must really ask you to take a step down."  

[cosmos_rose]

The Assassin of Chaos

lovebrookelyn

BhelliomBlue-Rose

Helloooo  

[The Assassin of Chaos]

"Dang it horse, I was make reality questionable for a second!"
Jay's annoyance, albeit futile, was a change. For one thing, it brought everyone else here!
"So, if y'all excuse me... I'm gonna follow the girls rushing outside. Mostly because I'm tired of not GOING IN THERE!" he shouted, pointing accusingly at the 3 silent Sanskarans. Sanskrit? Whatever the San they were!

"Wooh, I'm ascendiiiing! And I'm getting high toooooo!"
Noire was excited! She was special! And apparently she'd dance!
Oh dear god she had to dance!

Well now, Jay was just starting to get annoyed with all this standoffish-ness.
"And if I do, everyone else will? Not gonna just let everyone get into a fight without me, Layla. Not today. Maybe not tomorrow. How about after we stop the universe dying? I'm happy to step away then. But Olive's following - she still needs to teach me some magicks."
Yup, still trying to be a sarky man like usual. Still...
"Anyone moves, I'm gonna learn what happens when every single one of your atoms stops moving - and I mean actually stop moving, not just a lot stop moving. You think they'd freeze to death first or would the inability to breathe do them in before that, Conquest? Legitimate question, I forgot the difference between need for air and need for heat. It's like... 3 minutes for oxygen, right? So what about heat?"
Dammit, now Jay was questioning that part.

... Dude, this was not the worst trip she'd been on.
The drugs in Noire's system were probably the only thing stopping a headache, but for a while she felt like she understood a lot more about things she never considered.
Given her rather simple nature, this might've been for the best. If Jay was here, he'd probably be focused more on understanding it to use as a weapon or something.

(i deed it
i deed a poost) pirate  

[lovebrookelyn]

As the trio approached their destination, Crow fixed her eyes on the large spirit that stood at the end of their path.
Her mind seemed well adjusted to this strange realm that the others might be struggling with.
Her wild soul was very in tune with worlds that could not be seen.
Not only was Crow the chief of her people, she was also a religious guide and door to the spirits.
She had spent countless days in the Spirit Lands.
She saw every aura of every living thing, and even the auras to the undead.

The helpers worked along in the peripherals of her vision, creating things to make the living world continue to function as all had known it to.
But their auras glowed with a muted color, as if they were made ill by something.
This did not stop their work though.

Crow, too, bowed and pulled Noire along with her.

"We seek word with Brahma," She declared, lifting her head to address the room while remaining bowed out of respect.
"We seek favor."  

[BhelliomBlue-Rose]

Annoyed blue eyes shifted to the Priest, the head whickering ahead of them.
Then you should've said that, idjit!
Ain't like I've usually got better than science to do!
Neither Horse nor Man really blamed Vasieya for anything she'd done.
She'd done right by them and theirs, and that was what mattered, from their view.
Unable to scoop her into the saddle, the former Nyllednian would brush her cheek with outstretched fingertips as he went by.
"Enough of that boring nonsense.
Come and see, come and see!"

That was an odd scene. Not Famine's shutting down his drama, that was only to be expected.
In Conquest's view, a Rider should always take the spotlight in any stage they'd set.
Then again, accounting for Adam's contrasting modest nature, someone else taking point might not be so very strange at all.
And anyway, the b*****d had chosen well.
From everything he'd heard of this one, her deeds demanded respect and fear in equal measure.
The White dismounted at the younger witch's side, plopping a warm hand on her shoulder.
"Osiria. Your girl here's been a big help.
We're workin' on the confidence issues, by an' by."

While the Rider focused upon the front(wo)man, Glory took in the rest of the opposition.
Apparently, they'd recruited the current War's foster father, as well.
Originally a god of battle himself, that man might easily tip things against a weakened crew like they had.
More to the point, he'd actually turn it into a battle (rather than a mess of disorganized duels) in short order, and probably crush his evenly-matched opponents.
Though friction wouldn't be hard to stir up, with some thought.
Russo didn't suffer fools, and Ceres didn't strike him as particularly wise...
______________________________

The concept of up would be an even murkier thing here, at the center of the inverse world.
Sense at what lay outside the dome needed imposing by the viewer, as no two of the women beheld the same view.
Abeline, luckily, was no Sun Wukong, and did not activate unhinted-at laser eyes with her courtesy.
Some of the statues, however, would nod their nearest faces towards those that greeted them, and pay respect in kind.
Noire's chemically opened mind would take in much more than she would normally have comprehended.
Of the three, it was she that saw most, and nibbled most at understanding all of what she sensed at once.

...On the other hand, Crow was the one with experience and access to all her faculties when dealing with multiple layers of reality.
Some of the pillars that lay behind others, or above, or within, answered when she stated intent.
"Your courtesy does you credit, children. We sense that you are mortal, and will accommodate you as best we may.
In what form would you meet the Shaper? How would you be most comfortable perceiving Him?"
Not a one spoke in time, but their words wove a harmony, just on the cusp of song.
Fresh-made words, still echoing the strings from which they were played...