Welcome to Gaia! ::

(Koorie and Jazz's Location: Behind an above ground tomb)

When the appearance of one of the kids changed into a werewolf, Koorie grabed her cousin by the collar and pulled her hard behind a large tomb. Her hands shook a little and she was breathing quickly, recognizing the sharp sensation of fear that had overtaken her for that moment. This... this was not good.

Jazz was just as shocked as Koorie had been, and didn't fight much as getting pulled behind the large structure that held the remains of some dead person. There was no way that some kids had the budget to pull off THAT sort of special effect. Glancing at her cousin, she noticed the girl looked a little green in the face. "Kor...? Koorie?"

Koorie snapped her attention to Jazz and glared at her before completely chewing her out in a whispering voice. "Do you even realize how much trouble we're in?! That... that THING can probably smell us from over here. You should have kept your promise and stayed HOME Jazz." And, even more frustrating was the fact she was pretty much helpless as well; there wasn't much she could do in her regular, non-magically-powered form.

"M-maybe this is all just some joke? Oh, what if they're filming for a movie?" Jazz was grasping at straws, trying to make sense of the situation.

Eliza Baines was never one to give in to the ideology of being on time or even fashionably late. No - Liz liked to pull crap and sometimes not even show at all. But tonight was different, tonight she wanted to go out and cause some havoc. When she'd seen the flyers, it'd been the answer to her prayers. Why should she be stuck in a never ending cycle of tedious school days followed by hanging out all hours and partying. She was ready to get out and let loose, get into some real trouble.

That's why she found herself in the graveyard, shortly before the one boy had transformed. "Wicked..." She whispered as she continued to walk to the man. At first she'd thought she was just seeing things but then she saw the corpse rise from his grave. Eliza knew she had to go. Had to join - no matter the cost.

Closing the distance she crossed over to the man with the chains, she tossed her pigtails back and said cockily, "So, can you teach me to do that or is that an only you thing?" This guy had power - real power- and she couldn't wait to join up and cause mayhem.

The harbinger of death chuckled, a dry, fulfilled noise that spread out across the graveyard. Shadows danced, the dry rustle of wind through trees and the whisper of disturbed dirt sucked the noise away like leeches until the young souls who hungered for his offering pledged themselves.
Black energy rolled off the figure like tendrils of some nefarious mind, reaching out into the night, toward the hapless grave markers.
Three more corpses burst from their tombs. The graveyard shivered with the release, with the harsh upturn of the once restful dead. Now pulled from the afterlife, unable to rest until the one who controlled them relented.

The dead did not rest, the Necromancer knew this better than any other chosen warrior. There was no escape in death, only more of the same. Servitude to one more powerful, or the slow rot and decay of the flesh. Perhaps the souls fled the body, perhaps the murmur of ghosts was nothing more than a fractured memory of something once been. His laughter died and he grinned at the figures before him. Willing, ready. Like him, they saw a vision, a future that could be so much better, so much more. He would bring it to them...

The Necromancer's gaze drifted out of the dark inner circle around him, the graveyard was by no means small, stretching over a small hill or two, secluded from the highway lights and forbidding noise of civilization, it was easy to forget that this was not a private locale. The shift of fabric, the scent of fear... and the tiny squeak of whispered voices that the dead did not utter. The Necromancer shifted, closing his eyes- although the act was not obvious under the folds of his hood- and concentrating. The spectre gave a soundless, wailing scream. It was a craven image, decayed flesh, a floating skull bleached of colour, the tattered remains of a long gown clinging to it's skeleton limbs. It flew from the Necromancer and raced through the graveyard. Scouting with empty eyes and the mindless attention that it was called to give. While the thing could not harm any, it could identify the allies of GHOULs enemies. Was this Thief!'s work, or Aphrodite? The Necromancer's lips showed distraction, but only a moment before he focused once more on his flock.

To Kali he presented a choker, dark soft cloth. "Call out to the power inside, seize it!"

For Taiga, the next awed by the GHOUL's transformation, he offered a pendant, the yin-yang of balance. "Do not hesitate, claim it!"

Jeremiah was to recieve a bracelet, decorated with tiny charm figures. "There will be no pain in grabbing your destiny as it was intended!"

Now, the figure turned to Damon, the echo of the boy's refusal to kneel annoyed the Necromancer, he asked only the pledge of obedience, was the hubris so hard to relinquish? But no, some did not like to be servants, some wished to one day rule in their own stead. "I like your spirit, and that is exactly what is needed, if you bow to no man, than you should have the power to enforce it." He held out a silver charm, like any good salesman, the Necromancer knew when he had to give a little wiggle room.

Eliza was levelled with a kindly smile, "Each individual manifests their power from a particular source. Mine..." he touched a small vial on a loop around his neck, "gives me a rare power over the dead. But it is not the man who chooses the power, rather... the beacon chooses you..." She resonated with a power that he was unused to seeing on such a pretty young thing. Like a seasoned veteran, the Necromancer had learned to read the beacons, but it was not a science, more of a gut feeling. "I can teach you to do much, much more. If you are willing to join us."

Maunet's question was met with a devious smile. "Mindless slaves, I have in the plenty. I am not interested in more. We are forging a union, a united front of power that will crush those who oppose us. A zombie is good for running into a target, but nothing compares to the magic needed in destroying a building, or aiming a careful shot at a critical moment." He spread his arms wide. "Besides, isn't it better to enjoy these things with friends?" Again, he laughed.

The spectre wafted through the graveyard, passing between trees and stone as though they were immaterial, not it. And even through the hiding bodies of two of the interlopers. It was looking only, a ghostly search, like all undead, it was mindless, and it saw little of interest to its master. The living all looked alike to this creature. After a swoop it grew hungry for magic and retreated back to the Necromancer's arms where it would suck at his swirling aura. The alignment of powers to his own, the pledging of a beacon to the dark figure, it made his power swell, strong enough to raise many of the corpses in the graveyard. Then, once his business was done, perhaps the dead might be allowed to rest once more... perhaps.

Kali took the choker it was beautiful, the black velvet was soft against her skin the black cat the hung off it was beautifully designed and detailed. She put it on smiling it was a perfect fit.

She shivered feeling the power the small object offered. She closed her is listening the choker trying to find the words need at activate it. Her eyes snapped open the instant she found the words. "Ater feles tenebris!" Her pupils narrowing into a cat like slits for a second as the transformation began.

She grinned cheekily before she tilted her head and asked, "Do I have to kneel? I'd love to join but I'm not exactly a type to play the role of inferior well. I can be your partner in crime as well as your protégé. But I'm not going to be your minion following your orders blindly." She paused for a minute. "Unless it's something evil and dangerous."

Rubbing her hands together, she looked at the transformations. "But maybe this time, I can make an exception." She wrinkled her nose, but knelt before him, despite what she'd said earlier. "I solemnly swear I'll never do good if you choose me to join you."

(Feywild Location: Tree overlooking the gathering grounds)

More pawns to a bleak and black gathering. Feywild felt a bitter sense of disapproval as she watched as one, then another, then another bartered for trinkets of power. She did question though if she should have been so judgmental of them. Who was to say that their current lives were not sources of anger and resentment? Such that would motivate them to take any offering just to try and reclaim some part of their own social justice or pride?

Still, this was a wicked power, and clearly evil in every aspect. They had to know what they were accepting, and for that they could be judged at least. Feywild's head shook from side to side, her eyes closing for a moment. Where she sat, the robed figures voice carried pretty well. There were no mounds of stone to provide a sound barrier. The wind carried his voice, and his damning words, with a clarity that set Feywilds skin tingling.

Or maybe it was the sound of the very earth cracking and heaving that really was raising the fine hairs on her arms and neck. She had lost count of the undead that had been raised, most likely due to their constant shuffling about. She didn't dare move too much in her hiding spot, lest it draw attention to where she sat in the tree's cradle. Already she knew that this was a very uneven fight for her. She could not take on all of...of this army by herself. Was this even supposed to be part of her job? She could not recall anything being mentioned about a boy handing out these magical items. Just some other girl...and that voice was too defined to be a females. Of course, with the robe it could be possible?

She supposed it didn't matter, magical items were magical items. And evil was evil. And it was her task to protect those who did not have magic from those that did. Feywild lifted a hand to her head and gently rubbed a temple. Fine. So then...she would sit here and watch. This would give her a better idea of what she was going to have to deal with later. A guy, or a very masculine girl, who could raise the dead. That had to have some drawbacks of some sort. Clearly there was a boy who turned into a werewolf....the moon had come out nice and bright first though. So that would have to be something to consider. The rest?

Feywild opened her eyes and gave a small jerk of her head. While she'd been inwardly focused something white and silent had slid past her tree. Oh crap...what was that? Had it seen her? Had she been discovered? Her right hands fingers curled in a subconscious desire to clutch her bow. Where had it gone? She carefully shifted her position to glimpse through the tree limbs out over the rest of the graveyard. She couldn't see everything from here, but she could see enough to know it was moving through the rows. Why? What was it doing? The zombies and skeletons seemed like they were just milling about. A show of power she had guessed. All the better to show these fools that were showing up that this was his turf. The specter seemed to move with a eerie purpose for a bit, before it returned to the main group.

What was she going to do if a fight actually broke out? She'd be overwhelmed in minutes...well the zombies and skeletons couldn't get her as long as she was in the tree, but the wolf could probably climb up here easily. She could hope that none of the other kids had any flying abilities, then she could just sweep overhead and try to pick them off with her arrows before they left the graveyard....god's. She was rather glad she did not recognize any of them...

Rakurai silently watched the angel debating what he should do. It really seemed out of place and reminded him of a little lost puppy. Once he felt the other guy was not going to bring attention over to them he crept closer to the angel. After getting a better look at the fellow he highly doubted the kid had anything to do with the cloaked freak. "What are you doing here?" He asked in a hushed voice. Despite being trapped behind a mask it didn't seem to muffle his voice at all.

Suddenly Rakurai froze. He had felt a chill run down his spine as if something was wrong. To his horror he watched as a specter suddenly passed by moving through him as if he wasn't even there. How rude! Once he had recovered from the shock Rakurai harrumphed and watched the other nearby undead. He was concerned the ghost was going to draw the undead towards them. It was a pity he might not be able to simply sit back and not get involved. He had been rather enjoying staying away from the activity and basking in the adverse weather conditions.

The edges of Damon's lips curved up in slight amusement. Was that resentment he caught in the cloaked man's voice? But never the less, the man was willing to accept a comrade, rather then a minion, and that was good enough for Damon. He reached out to take the charm when he heard a scream. He turned and looked behind him, then back to the cloaked figure and quickly grabbed the offered charm. He had a feeling that something bad was about to happen.

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

(Atop the decrepit steeple)

It didn't sit well with Gargoyle that this man was raising the dead. The graves were going to be in shambles. It was completely disrespectful to those resting here, and the families who had laid them to rest. He hadn't noticed the spirit until he heard a scream. He couldn't help it, the reflex that caused him to spread the stony wings and lunge off the building. This had to stop, people were going to get hurt, if they hadn't already.

(Oh yes, s**t just got real. Gargoyle is going after the undead things, not the kids. So feel free to, you know, get your beacons and try and fight him, other kids, each other. <3)