Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Okay, I'm ending the farce. In case anyone who read this couldn't tell, Lyric is my character on my sister's account...I do plan to hand her over to the chibi at some point, but not right now. I'm having too much fun with her.
Now, at this point in time I am feeling too lazy to log into her account, so I shall simply post as if it were on her account anyway.))

Lyric winced in sympathy, spiritual backlash hurt. As the three spirit maidens looked on curiously, Lyric raised the pipe to her lips and played a tune that would put the spirits in a frozen like state. The spell was a nifty one she had picked up about 300 years ago and modified to fit her casting style. The spirits froze in place and took on a grey tinge, the odd magic that clung to their essences turned a sickly green color and began to leach off.

"Well, that's odd..." She trailed off as it turned to a shade of red that resembled dried blood and returned to wrap tighter around the particles of the spirits.
"Well, damn. I had hoped that would be the end of it, apparently we aren't that lucky."
She banished the spirits to a quarentine center imbued with the holy energy of a minor Goddess of Protection with another trill from her instrument.

'I wonder if this is the physco they had warned me about...her energy signal just sort of...dissappeared about 15 or 16 years ago without a trace. I couldn't find it anywhere, neither could they...this could be really bad.' Lyric cut off her thoughts with a little shake of her head, she would tell Asuka when they reached the twins'.

"Well, that whole thing aside, I believe they are residing in another plane of existence. I found the pocket dimension about twenty years back and they tried to curse me when I went to check it out. Now, it's an unauthorized pocket dimension, so we have to be careful and not draw attention to our shifting there. Luckily, I have just the spell!"

She began to scribe runes into the insubstantial ground at their feet when another thought occured to her.

"Oi, you left your body on the other side right? We have to go get it or your spirit particles will fracture and your soul will implode in the transition between dimensions. It's an affect of traveling between time when you are a living spirit or a demon. Myself being a celestial being, I don't have to worry about such things but you do."

((Oh shush, you spelled 'boredor' wrong a few times too; it's border.))

Lyric pulled out her pipe again and played yet another song. The notes materialized in the air and traveled swiftly to where Asuka's palm lay, they went through the back of her hand to flow out into the Realm of Life and hooked around the essence of Asuka's living body.

"This might sting a bit..." She trailed off as Asuka's spirit form dissapated and her real body materialized where the spirit form had been standing seconds before.

"Eh...correction, this might sting a lot." Asuka finished, she played a last tune that made a rune appear on Asuka's forehead. It was a symbol that would allow her living body to function in the spirit realm. A similar symbol had been placed on Lyric a few thousand years ago, though with time the rune dissapears into the skin.

"There, now we can get to the real work."

((Naomi=beauty Mara=bitterness))

Lyric smiled as it was widely known by those that knew them that the twins were somewhat anti-social. They valued their privacy and went to great lengths to sustain it.

"I can only imagine. The last time I visited them I nearly had my eyebrows singed off by a fire/pit trap combo they had set." Lyric smiled at the memory, Mara had thought she deserved it but Naomi had been somewhat sympathetic. (This did not mean that she hadn't laughed at Lyric for a while however...)

Lyric considered her options, it was likely that Mara and Naomi had foreseen their coming. It was also likely that they had set up traps simply for the amusement of watching herself and Asuka attempt to evade them. If it was one thing the twins liked doing, it was setting painful traps for future visitors to discourage a return visit.

"Well, since we are in the spiritual realm it won't be to hard to cross over to the realm they have carved for themselves, but the problem is that it takes a lot of energy on my part to open a portal. This is the reason that I summoned your body here instead of having you return to it. I don't have enough power to open a portal in the living realm because I would need a body to do so and it also uses a lot of energy to create a temporary body for myself. We don't really have very much time on to waste with such things so this is really a lot easier." Having finished her explanation, Lyric prepared to cast a spell.

"I can't use my pipe for this, it requires a verbal incantation to work. While my pipe amplifies my energy, you can see why I simply can't use it."

Without further ado, Lyric took out a stick of chalk from somewhere in her sleeve and began to draw on the ground again.

"I'm really no good at runic magic, but there are a few required things that I learned while going through training that have been ingraved into my mind. This spell being one of them." Lyric explained, as Spoof thought she was becoming a little too omnipotent for her tastes.

Finishing her drawings, Lyric uttured a few words that were obviously in another language and the symbols glowed. A fancy door arose from the center of the symbol. The door, though it was cliche as it was a typical door-where-there-wasn't-one-three-and-a-half-seconds-ago, it was obvious that the door was the portal to the twins' abode.

The door was made of a dark wood with silver inlays, it had a silver spindly handle that looked as though it would break if you touched it. There wasn't a window anywhere on it and it was carved with thorned vines and birds.
Lyric placed a hand on the doorknob and twisted gently, "Shall we then?" she asked while looking at Asuka inquiringly.

Lyric laughed at that, "Oh, indeed. While I can't die in the sense of the word, my current body can cease breathing and, well, 'die'. It is a rather unpleasent experience that I would rather not relive."

She looked at the runic set underneath the door and prayed that it was correct. Lyric was never any good at runes. She sighed, there's only one way to find out.

"Well, shall we depart then? Yes, I can defend myself just fine."

She played a tune on her pipe and a dagger set appeared out of thin air in front of her. Lyric also pulled back her sleeves to reveal a holster of throwing knives each.

With that, she twisted the handle and pushed the door open. She beckoned towards Asuka and walked into the portal.

Once Lyric saw the other side, she was immediately bombarded by traps of all kinds. It looked like Mara and Naomi were very unwilling to help. The good thing about the two was if you could get past their traps then the would help. The trouble was they could foresee your coming and set many difficult traps if they -really- didn't want to help.

They apparently were very against us asking.

((I don't really want to get into the description of traps as we have to get into the proper position for the event.))

Severely damaged in several places, Lyric and Asuka finally made it to the front door. Now, Lyric was rather weary of a trap door or something similar, but it never happened and instead, Mara and Naomi opened the door. They didn't look happy.

She stepped through the threshold when a huge tremor struck the little cottage with such force it drove her to knees, Naomi grabbed Lyric, and Asuka's hands and pulled them inside with inhuman strength, and slammed the door. The crash echoed in the empty hallway.
When she looked up, The twins were gone, but their glowing footprings wound up the spiraled staircase off the the left. The cottage was many times bigger on the inside than on the outside, it was more like a castle, and the size varyed day by day. Today it only took them a few seconds to walk up the staircase, and reach the study, but another day it could take hours, or even days.
Naomi and Mara gazed at the two of them from high backed chairs, made out of some sort of silver cloth, that looked to have come from the surface of the stars themselves.
(OOC: Spoof I'm taking over Mara, Naomi and Lyric for these next few posts because your obviously in no hurry to post, and I need them for the plot)
You have been to long in coming. Mara's penetrable gaze bore down on them from the moment they stepped into the room. It was little known that the elusive twin normally refused to speak out loud, but her dry uncaring voice would echo through your mind, those who had dared ask the reason for her silence were awarded a stony glare, and kicked out of the twins realm without furthur ado.
Very grave times have befallen us. That tremor was testimant to my statement. That foolish, evil sorceress has torn the veil between worlds, causing a wound requiring far more power than mine to heal.
Naomi stared at them, her face a mask of profound sorrow,
" Queen Jadira has fallen."
"w-what? Fallen, what do you mean?"
"She no longer has her power, she has been drained, and is now being held hostage in a place between worlds. Her sister, Nadira, now takes up her responsibility, and will lead this world in the battle against darkness, if she does not prevail, this world will fall into an age of inpenetrable darkness. Prophecy is a mass of branches, and forks, the smallest decision can change the future, for better or worse, time can only tell. But I see no alternate path on this branch, and this bleak future hurtles toward us with frightening speed, you must help Nadira rescue Jadira, or all is lost.

Naomi's head snapped up in surprise,
Someone, or maybe...Two someones is here...
At the shocked expressions on their face, she quickly corrected herself, Well, not Here, but in death. You didn't leave the door there did you?
Lyric scuffed her foot on the tile, and smiled sheepishly, "Maybe just a little bit...?"
Mara's eyes smoldered like hot coals, Well We better finish up here, the traps aren't...threat-sensitive...?"
Naomi raised her eyebrow, as Lyric snickered evily.
Well, I mean they will kill them whether or not they present a threat.
Asuka watched with a calm detatchment, she stood nearest to Naomi, so she tapped the prophetess's shoulder, " What is it you saw?"
The twins' eyes blanked, and clouded over, He has arrived, he allows his minions to fester, and feed in his palace far to the south, Near esperanza. He searches for something, the continuous vain efforts he throws at the ranks of those who resist him are a mere distraction. Should he obtain what he seeks, the world will be lost to the underworld. But should one pure of heart, rise up out of this chaos of her on free will to do battle with him, it will be she who triumphs. This is a forked branch, certain events must take place for this future to even be possible.
Find the three keys.
(that was terrible, but I wanted to get it done ASAP, sorry)

((Three keys? Ah. Three keys. Of course...duh.))

Mara's head snapped up, her eyes blanked out and she began to speak.

"She is there. Call her by way of the dark amulet around her neck. The Guardian will be called by the dark amulet around her neck."

The glazed look left her eyes and she sighed, "I've done it again. That doesn't usually happen to us anymore unless it's really important...well, I suggest you leave to find this 'Guardian'."

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

Lyric nodded her head. That made sense, the dark amulet was probably something from one of the Mage Towers in the Living Realm. So the one they needed was in Esperanza somewhere.
(Just because she was dead didn't mean that she didn't know the lay of the land...she had had to travel in the Living Realm often of late...)

"I believe it is referring to one of the Mage Towers of Esperanza. I know they give amulets to the graduates that double as a kind of locater."

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

Mara shrugged.

"Be on your way then. We don't need to be involved in this anymore than we already are...I know you'll see more of us before this is over. Hell, me'n Naomi might venture from our sanctuary for the first time in decades just for you lot. Just not right now."

Mara picked up a bag that sat on a cluttered table next to her and handed it to Lyric.

"This will help open the box."

Lyric looked at Mara in confusion, "What box?"

Naomi shrugged, "We don't know. It just now appeared. It's probably some magical artifact...don't let anyone other than her open it though. Otherwise it'll just blow up in your face and release untold horrors upon your world."

"Heh...we'll be sure to let 'her' open this box."

Mara and Naomi nodded in unison and with that the whole group found themselves outside again.

"Well, that was...odd." Lyric said as she put the pouch in a pocket.

"Only a little..." Asuka said faintly.

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

"Okay, it's time to leave. I'm sorry but this might hurt a bit."

With that, Lyric played a note and runes appeared around them both.

"Ugh...not this again!" Asuka groaned.

Lyrics lips tilted up a bit, but otherwise she continued to play on her flute. Soon they were in the Living Realm once again. They were standing next to a large castle, in the distance the White Mage Tower could be seen. Lyric's heart sunk as she noticed the shimmering shields surrounding the structure.

"Oh no. No, no no no..."

Asuka looked at her concernedly. "What's wrong?"

"You see that tower in the distance? That's where we want to go. Now look at the insanely strong magical shield that's guarding it. That must mean that...no, we'll probably have to travel to a different Tower. The problem is that I can't do another jump like that."

"I see...well, we might as well look around in this castle to see if there's anything we could use to signal them..."

Lyric nodded and pulled herself together.

"You're right. Let's go."