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 Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 9:38 am
"I can't tell...but probably." Crimson eyes glowed faintly and a thick fluffy tail swished as they went to meet the small red-haired woman and his own parent.
"Hi Aunt Huni, hi Dad. Uh...something weird happened in the Study." Quickly and with a proficieny born of having a research scientist as a father Khia outlined what had happened to him, adding that Linny had experienced something similar.
"...and when we came 'back', we were both kind of sick. I don't know what's happening...but I don't like it." He was agitated again. Pacing.
"So...Linny, you were pulled into the Study the same way, and you saw the Twins there with two strange people too?" Syrie was generally a very accepting man, but he was having a hard time with the Twins being back in the Tome...doing something that siphoned all the energy from the other Tales. It was just...hard to swallow in one dose, especially with no hard proof.
He turned to his friend and frowned; "Huni...what do you make of this?" Curiousity reared it's ugly head inside the kitsune's brain and he wondered if they shouldn't go inspect the Study and Tome.
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 1:10 am
Linneas pretty much backed up with Khia had said, merely pointing out small differences in their stories. But over-all, yes, the same thing happened to the red-haired Tale.
Now, Huni was a simple woman, simple of taste, simple of pleasure, and yes, simple of mind. Most of what the two Tales said just went over her head. She got the being sucked in easily enough. But she hadn't quite found a reason why the Tales would fall into a coma unless the ritual these strange people did was designed to put Tales to sleep.
"Uh, I, don't really understand much. Except that if we want to know what's going on we have to ask these people themselves. And I'm guessing they've done something to the Study. That's pretty much all I can get." She was apologetic for not being more help. "And since we own the Study, they should ask us first if they intend to do anything to or with it!" And the woman reached for the doorknob.
Every single fiber in Linneas' mind was screaming that it was a bad idea. But he was too late to stop his mother. The Gaian had already turned the knob. To say the door swung open would be an understatement, it tore itself from its hinges, wood splintering as a vortex of color pulled Huni in.
"MOM!" The young man yelled, and he lunged forward, managing to grab hold of his mother's ankles before they were both swallowed by the vortex.
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 9:24 am
The story spun by the two Tales disturbed Syrie greatly - he would have liked to sit and think about it for a while before acting or reacting to anything that had been said. Certainly it was distressing to hear that the pair had been sucked into the Study and Tome and had witnessed the Twins assisting with a spell that may have possibly put all the other Tales into a magic-induced coma.
Unfortunately, he wasn't given that luxury. Huni was a woman of action and the moment she started moving, he followed - something strange was going on here and she might get hurt by it!
"Huni, wait...I don't think--" The petite woman had already touched the nob by the time the words were out of his mouth and he watched in horror as both red-heads were sucked into the vortex that existed inside the Study's doors. "Huni! Linneas!"
s**t. He was going to have to go after them.
Khia's eyes caught all the little motions, he knew that Huni was going to try for the door but for some reason he was unable to stop it - instead he too watched the tiny woman and his long-time friend dissappearing. 'So that's what it looked like when I went in earlier...' the shapeshifter shook his head and watched his parent reaching into the void to follow.
"Dad, wait!" But Syrie was gone and so the teen did the only thing he could: he followed after.
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 5:50 pm
Upwards, downwards, twisting, spinning, Huni and Linneas zoomed through the vortex for what seemed like ages, or seconds, time seemed to have lost meaning here. Neither red-head could move, their limbs refusing to cooperate, it was a wonder how Linneas managed to keep a hold on Huni.
Up ahead they saw a fork in the stream of colors, and helplessly they were yanked roughly to the left. They tumbled, jolted, swaggered and flopped in the current, Huni was starting to feel sick. Linneas just continued to pray he could hold on.
Finally, they were spewed out with a splash of liquid colors into a room made of gray crystalline.
"Can someone stop the room from spinning?" Huni groaned, eyes little more than swirls at the moment. Linneas got his bearings quicker, and helped his mother onto her feet. "Where are we?" she asked, staring in confusion at her surroundings.
You're in my memories. Came another female voice.
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Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2007 10:16 am
There was a long list of things that Syrie didn't enjoy or tried to avoid, and oddly enough being knocked about and tumbling in vortexial space was on it. That was how he'd been thrown to Gaia in the first place; he didn't relish reliving the experience.
There was no up, no down, no top nor bottom - just the naseauting sensation of free-falling helplessly through a nothing of colors. Khia was spinning and tumbling next to him - the weren't holding onto each other, not really - that would just make it worse though the shapeshifter did have an elongated part of his tail wound around Syrie's ankle so they wouldn't be separated.
Just at the point both of them were becoming increasingly sick of the never-ending movement, there was what appeared to be a split - the duo were rudely jammed off to the right. From there, it was blinding lights and darks as they were thrown about with ever increasing-hostility until they finally were rudely dropped onto a black marble floor.
The kitsune groaned and pressed his forehead down against the cool, glossy black of the floor until his heart stopped skipping beats and his breathing measured out. Khia lay on his back, huffing; every strand of his fur bristled out - he was pissed at being drawn in again, but even more upsetting was that the ordeal had affected his parent so badly.
"What's the meaning of this!?" He all but roared the words out once he'd righted himself and moved closer to his parent. "Where the hell is this!?" Khia calmed a little when the smaller man placed a hand on his arm, but he still wasn't happy.
"Calm down Khia..." He spoke and just moments later a cranky sounding voice came bellowing through - payback for Khiahru's yelling, most likely.
HAVE SOME RESPECT FOR A MAN'S MEMORIES WOULD YOU!? Ouch.
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Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 1:05 am
"Memories?" Linneas echoed with a cant of his head. Golden eyes scanned his surrounding and each crystalline fragment seemed to reveal a moment in time, perpetually looped within. Both red-heads watched in confusion and amazement as each facet revealed glimpses of a realm beyond Gaia. Towers and butresses, arcs and bridges, a fortress within a town within a glen.
Like what you see? I used to live there. A wistful sigh.
Lynn was starting to lose his patience, it was bad enough they were engulfed the first time but now it seemed they were trapped.
"That's all fine and dandy," Lynn snapped, voice slipping through Linneas' lips "But tell me, who are you and what are you up to?"
Huni quirked a brow at her son, she had never heard him speak that way before.
No sense in keeping my silence. I have lost my name eons ago, but you may call me Edict because I like how it sounds. a wry chuckle. My Master and I had attempted what no wizard had done before, to travel to realms outside that of ours. To not only peer into them, but to actually live in them. We chanced upon Gaia, back when it was young, and new, when there were hardly any people here living but for a few. We did all we could to ensure our journey would be a success. But there was a problem.
We lacked power, and when we realized it, it was too late. We were stuck midway, adrift between our world and Gaia. Only a small portion of our essence was able to arrive, and to stay in Gaia we had to take on a new form.
"The Tome!" Linneas exclaimed.
And the Study. She sounded miffed. My Master and I managed to discover this little alcove within the void. By sheer focus and will, we shaped and formed it to the exact replica of our old dwellings. Needless to say it was a taxing endeavour, which is why the Tome and the Study remained dormant for so long. We had to regain our strength but by then, the house we lodged ourselves in had been abandoned.
It wasn't easy finding a suitable candidate to take over. My Master needed someone trusting, easily fooled and manipulated.
"So you found my distant relative?" Huni piped up.
... Certainly, let's go with that.
"Wait, wait, so how are you going to get back? And what do the twins have to do with it and what about all those Tales who are probably comatose?"
I'm getting there. Together, my Master and I realized if we sent our essence into Gaia, it would gradually grow stronger and feed off your realm's magic. Of course there was the risk of being destroyed altogether, which is why my essence was used first. Linneas, you are made purely of my essence.
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Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 9:35 am
"Memories?" Syrie slowly stood, one hand splayed against the cold marble floor; whatever they'd gotten into, it didnt' seem friendly in the slightest! As a matter of fact, the voice seemed really crochety and grumpy in a manner that reminded the kitsune of Khia on his 'bad' days.
In the middle of the room there is a large marble fountain rising up from the floor as though it were an orgranic thing; multiple streams of shimmering, thick water pour eternally from several twisted spouts. Each wide stream falls silently down into a gnarled shelf (of sorts) and further breaks down into smaller water-falls. The pair moved towards the strange fountain; drawn to it by curiousity and an odd compulsion to see what was flickering through the water.
Much as Linneas and Huni are seeing flashes of a long-distant homeworld in crystal, Khiahru and Syrie see a slightly different view through the waterfalls. Through one fall, they saw spires and vast landscapes - rain and shine and a whole world. Another held stone walls, perhaps a fortress, with just the tops of great trees peeking over the top. So many different views a world that was quite obviously not Gaia...nor was it any world either knew.
Needless to say, the pair were more than slightly weirded out by this....there was something almost...malignant to the fountain and the views shown within. Not quite because of the views themselves, but from the twisted place that they found themselves...at any rate, both Syrie and Khia's fur stood on end.
Beautiful, isn't it? I used to reside there in a Tower far above the commoners, working my spells and dreaming up new ones. For the first time, the voice didn't sound twisted with anger or hate. It sounded...wistful, filled with longing.
Khia flicked his ears back and forth, picking up the nuances and the feel of this strange not-quite-place that they were in. It was like being in Dream, only...worse. (At least in Dream he knew how to get out.) "Okay whoever you are, so you used to live there...what does that have to do with us?" He hadn't snapped, but Syrie still put a steadying hand on his arm - just in case.
This was an unknown area...they would have to be careful lest something bad happen...
Long ago, I attempted to do what no other wizard had done before - inter-dimensional travel. Something went wrong and there wasn't enough power to complete the bridge between our world and Gaia. Nevermind that the voice hadn't explained anything about the apprentice; it was rather obvious that whomever's memories they were stuck in (and Khia was getting a good idea who that might be with each grumptastic word) didn't care enough to explain things very well. Impatient, most likely.
For that reason, only a small portion of our essences were able to manifest in this world - you know them as the Study and Tome. The effort of establishing ourselves here required that we lay dormant for a long while, slowly soaking in energy from the innately magical nature of this world.
There was a bitter tone to the 'voice' that both the kitsune and the Tale were hearing, however, neither opted to speak just yet. Syrie's hand on Khia's arm steadied him and kept him silent - the russet fox seemed to understand that if they interrupted, it would just take longer - or perhaps the 'wizard' wouldn't bother explaining further...and they needed to know.
The amount of time that had passed between our insertion into Gaia and our re-awakening was long enough that our chosen location had been abandoned. We had to find a suitable...puppet. Someone that was gullible, trusting...and oblivious enough to not question the odd goings on. Gaia is full of such people.
Here there was a pause as the fountains "water" changed colors briefly and new images flashed along the silken surface. In order to gain the power necessary to return home we would need to 'feed' from Gaian energies. The process of sending an essence into another world has a chance of destroying the originating source, so mine essence was only sent once it had been proven to work properly. There was a bit of a pause. That is how you came about, Beast.
"Wait...so we're only here to soak up magic energy for you? Is that what that dream was about - everyone falling asleep because you took their energy?" Khia's eyes flashed brightly and his fur shuddered as though alive; if what this...wizard was telling them was true...then Jiro was collapsed somewhere - his friends collapsed somwhere - because some jack-a** of a magician stole their essences!
This did not bode well. Syrie knew.
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Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 6:46 pm
Linneas and Huni blinked, the former's lips pressed into a grimace, the latter's jaw hung agape. "So you're that girl I dreamt about!"
Well, yes, it would make sense that in those brief moments I lived through you, you'd be privvy to what went on in my mind. Although I have to admit, it's rather crowded inside you.
Linneas had never felt so violated before, it was bad enough that Lynn could snatch control of his body from time to time, but now another being was also using him? Though not the one to give into anger or violence, he found himself shaking in suppressed rage until he felt his mother's hand on his shoulder.
He saw in her jade-eyes that she was worried, scared, concerned. And though she didn't fully comprehend what was going on, she told him to calm down. The Tale took a deep breath, clenched fists relaxing.
"What did you do to the other Tales? Why are they all asleep, or did you-"
They're alive, fret not. We won't syphon any more essence than necessary. Unless...
"Unless what?"
A long, uncomfortable pause.
No, it's nothing. After you and Khia, the others are a mixture of both my essence and my Master's. Some had more of my essence, some had more of my Master's. The Twins, though, are like you in that they're composed purely of each of our essence.
"What will happen now that you've drained them of this essence you speak of?"
If everything goes well, my Master and I shall be able to return home.
"We're talking about the Tales!" a barely suppressed snarl.
Oh, well, so long as they're not completely drained of their essences, they should wake up in a day or two. A week at most.
"Would it be too much to ask if we can see which Tales have the majority of your essence as opposed to your Master's?" Lynn requested, careful to avoid eye contact with Huni.
The Gaian was growing more and more suspicious everytime Lynn spoke, it sounded exactly like Linneas. Right down to the accents. But his voice was tainted by something that made her feel uneasy.
A thoughtful pause, I don't see why not. You're not going anywhere.
A crystal broke from one of the walls and hovered in front of the pair. Small enough to fit in the palm of one's hand, within the multi-faceted sides of this fragment were images of some of the fallen Tales.
Be careful with it.
Linneas reached out, and Lynn grabbed the crystal. A sneer crossed Linneas' face and his fist slowly clench tightly around the fragment.
Don't!
A blinding light, an ominous crack, and the floor began to give way beneath Linneas. The Tale found himself falling into utter nothingness. Huni screamed, her hand shot out to try to catch her son. Flesh latched onto flesh, but the yawning void below proved too strong as Huni felt him slip from her fingers.
"Linny!!!" a heart breaking shriek.
And then darkness closed around Linneas' vision.
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Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 11:58 pm
Essentially yes. For my purposes, that is what you were created for. The wizard was apparently no where near as kind as his counterpart, the slightly bumbling female assitant. Many of the Tales are made from a combination of essences though it is not equal. Only you, that insufferable boy with the mop and the twins are 'pure'.
Khia's muzzle skinned back and a low warning growl rumbled up from deep inside his chest. He didn't feel violated so much as violent at the thought of their lives having no purpose other than...as batteries. Perhaps if he'd had it explained differently he wouldn't have felt such deep and limitless rage...but as it were, that's all he felt.
Not sympathy for what had happened to the pair from another world, but rage that he and his loved ones were being used so completely. "Who has your mark on them. I want to know."
Syrie could only shake his head in horror - this was wretched...the children were being drained of energy for this wretch to live again? Where was the justice in that? Sweet Aido and Viddy, gentle Blue...courageous Captain Tybalt, Lance and Jiro...all of the small ones.
Were it not for the troubling rage that came from the shapeshifter, the calcuating tint to Khia's words, Syrie might not have been able to hold onto his anger so well. One of them had to stay calm, after all.
Very well - you're going no where, I suppose it does nothing to let you see. A thick stream of the fountain separated from the 'water' and floated over to them, coiling into itself until it formed a crystal that Khia snatched from the air, the gems on his wristlets flaring up red.
Khia's eyes glowed brightly in the psuedo-gloom; his nails dug into the gem in his hand - images of Tale after Tale flitted through the surface rippled as his sharp claws pressed in more.
Careful with that - what are you doing!? No! Stop that!
But it was too late, there was the sound of reality ripping and Khiarhu was sucked through; Syrie's shout fell upon deaf ears - by the time the kitsune was able to react the ...tear...or whatever had mended itself and everything went black and empty for the shapeshifter.
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