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 Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2017 10:29 am
Pyrrha - 10
"How interesting, that something would attack us right in the exact moment the elaria began to push for independence. Something that only the alkidike themselves have knowledge of." The words slipped out with any sort of filter, and though she said them in a lackadaisical tone Pyrrha's mind was whirling with accusations. Their cousins had attacked their own kind to weed out the weak, so it wouldn't be beyond them to do so again, especially if it kept the elaria in check.
Whatever the case something would have to be done before the poor woman was taken away. Surly or not, she was one of their own, so she would need to be saved.
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Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2017 2:56 pm
NIVALIS
Post: 10
Rationality did not guide Nivalis as she wove her way through the crowd of her shouting, alarmed, and angry cousins and sisters. She knew only that she needed to be near, that it would be her duty to guide her tribe, and she could not do so if she only ever stayed in the back. So she moved closer to the 'dretch,' the source of this calamity. She had no idea what she would do when she came upon it, but it hardly mattered. Instinct guided her steps, and once she could see, she would know-
"Not. You." A hand snatched out and caught Niva just above her elbow, dragging her backward a pace and making her stagger from her momentum. She whipped around and pinned angry mint orbs on the woman, an Alkidike, far taller and broader than Nivalis by at least twice as much. And in no mood to be argued with.
When she twisted Nivalis' arm, not enough to be painful, but enough to 'encourage' her back, Niva hissed, "Release me. I must go to-"
The woman's gaze snapped up and found Naqenni in only an instant. She gave Niva another 'encouraging' shove back toward the eldest Elaria. "Take this girl before she gets herself or someone else killed by standing in the way." Nivalis' frustration spiked to new heights, and she opened her mouth to retort that she was not a girl but a warrior, and she deserved this chance to protect her cousin, but the Alkidike spoke faster, as her dark orbs landed on Niva again. "You are a child. Your emotions get the better of you consistently. You have no control over yourself or your magic, and you cannot be trusted to not injure yourself or another. Go back with Naqenni. She will protect you."
Niva held fast, but the Alkidike had already turned away from her and trained her attention on the dretch again. The argument was still like fire on Nivalis' tongue, searing and waiting to lash out at any who drew near. She was desperate to do anything, but... Not at the expense of any life within her tribe.
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Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2017 5:48 pm
Ceylinae - Post 5
Ceylinae blinked a couple times as the mystic pushed past her, telling her and Naqenni that she didn't need protection. Ceylinae opened her mouth, about to comment, before closing it again. It wasn't really her place to argue with the mystic now as it? As such she supposed that she should do as she was told, to make sure that the others such as the younglings and prentices were kept safe. It was an order from her mystic after all.
She gave Naqenni a glance before she moved, wanting to see about trying to keep those around her safe while trying the flank the creature called a 'Dretch'. Especially those who weren't armed since they were the most vulnerable. Strange though that they were the most vulnerable but it was one of their older, supposedly more powerful cousin was the one that was grabbed. No matter she couldn't worry about that right now, she had to focus on the situation at hand instead. If she could get to just the right place she might be able to make her shot and free her cousin from its hold.
As she moved she lifted her weapon again, eyes on her captive cousin and the monstrous Dretch, waiting for her chance to take a shot.
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Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2017 6:48 pm
Chapter 9: Grave Expectations
|| IC ||
 Sisters and cousins rushed forward, some looking to stand the front line while most looked to surround their mystic. They stood near the two first blooms, showing solidarity and determination to protect the girl. While one seemed keen to pull the girl back, others took a more gentler approach, realizing the girl was about to snap.
One turned, a younger Alkidike and a mother of an Elaria, spoke with soft respect to Nivalis, "We will always protect our mystic. You must understand that you are a blessing, a true blessing when we thought we were lost. If you are harmed it may be a full generation until another blooms. There is a reason why a mystic must never risk herself and allow her sisters to do so instead. Please, mystic, please allow us this honor..."
It was clear in her pleading voice that she meant to ensure the young girl did not get in harm's way. Mystics were not front line fighters, not so much fighters at all. The Alkidike sisters still struggled to protect the young girl raised by Extremists, even if they felt pride in her determination and strength compared to mystics of the past.
Alkidikes led the approach, but the stories of ages past caused them to hesitate, as well as the fact that the creature all but hid behind their sister. They inched closer, fanning out in a circle just as the creature let out a strange hissing scream before it suddenly shimmered and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"NO!" The Matron let out a cry, showing true horror across her features as cousins and sisters alike stood shocked at what they saw. Some ran forward, examined the forest, and the paths, but all agreed. They had disappeared. She was gone.
Everyone turned to the Matron, Alkidikes looking forlorn and subdued, but the Elaria looking furious. They held their tongue, and some looked to their elder sisters and mystic to ask the question on their minds. What was happening, and what weren't they told?
It was time for some answers.
|| OOC ||
||. If your character is not signed up for their thread, they may not participate. You can PM Suhuba for late entries.
||. Please limit to up to 2 posts between NPC posts (these should be spaced out by responses from others to your post, no needless posting just to get more points).
||. NPCs will post twice a week, on Monday and Thursday.
||. If you have any questions, please post them in the Main Thread.
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Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 6:59 am
NIVALIS
Post: 11
Nivalis stepped back with an almost mechanical detachedness while others of her tribe moved forward against the creature. She understood what she was supposed to be. She knew her role- or what would one day be her role, and knew that (despite her attempts) her place was not at the front of every battle. It felt like it should be, but now was not the time to be brash, and it was especially not the time to lose an aspiring mystic to recklessness.
But she wanted to be more than all those who had come before her. Maybe the Alkidike mystics on Chibale had been content to stand back. Maybe they had been content to watch their sisters die. Maybe they were content to stay at the Great Mother’s side and nothing more. She could not know what had gone through their minds during trials like these. But being still and guarded wasn’t enough for Niva.
She had been raised by only the bravest and the fiercest of those Alkidike. It wasn’t in her to be idle, just as she’d never been taught to stand behind.
This time, she had no choice, as Alkidike and Elaria alike put their bodies between her and the dretch. Nivalis refused to believe that it would be like this forever because she was their ‘mystic.’ It was only unfolding like this now because her skills as a warrior were not fully develooped, as most of the Elarians’ weren’t. Some day they wouldn’t be able to expect her to merely watch while her sisters risked their lives in their own home. Today she would do nothing, but not forever.
Despite the sheer number of Alkidike as opposed to the single dretch the faced, none moved close enough to touch it, let alone stop it. Though Nivalis couldn’t see everything from between those around her, she could hear it. She heard the creature’s hiss, and watched as dregs of smoke, from whatever magic it had cast, rose into the air and dispersed into nothing above their heads.
Nivalis didn’t have to see to know that it was gone. The cries of shock and outrage and despair among her tribe were enough. Niva’s first thought came with a tiny hint of guilt. ’It wasn’t an Elaria. Thank Elzira that it didn’t take an Elaria…’
A stronger sense of guilt followed hot on the first sensation’s heels. She should have kept moving toward it. She shouldn’t have stopped. She wouldn’t have hesitated as many of her cousins had. If somehow had only moved near enough to reach out to the captured Alkidike, if only someone had grabbed her- How many people could the thing teleport with it? Surely not more than two. Or three. She’d never seen anything like it… Her fists clenched at her sides, curling and uncurling in a mad mix of frustration and uncertainty.
The Matron had seen it before.
Niva’s gaze moved upward to land on the woman. “You knew of that thing?” She demanded. “Is that what you’ve bee hiding from me? That creature’s existence? If you knew it was here, why would you keep that from us? We could’ve been more prepared! We could’ve stopped it- We could’ve…”
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Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 3:43 pm
Naqenni | 4
I do not need your protection.
For all their interactions and arguable failures in communication which might have lead to frustrations on Naqenni’s part under other circumstances, she would not have said before this moment that she had ever been impatient with or thought her mystic foolish. Nivalis was young and eager, but all very understandably so. Even when she had traveled out with her friend in attempts to take on earthlings at the eventual cost of Zinnia’s life, Naqenni couldn’t say she had felt a negative or cross disposition towards Nivalis herself. Whether that be due to her having developed an overly soft spot for the girl or otherwise, such was reality.
In this instant, however, she felt an unanticipated flare of emotion—don’t be stupid—and her teeth locked on the words before they became more than a fleeting race of thought through her headspace. Her feet moved-
There was too much commotion, and before Naqenni could yank her back herself, someone else played the part for her. Frustrating as it was not to have made it quick enough herself, it was at least a relief that others had the same thoughts in mind, and truly, what had the girl been thinking? She understood the gist, of course, or could guess, but even as brief as it had all been, her thoughts had become so focussed on Nivalis in her attempts to follow and see to her safety that any help she might have been to the rest of the tribe had vanished in the wake of that.
She desired to explain that — You may think yourself brave, but you risk more when you put yourself needlessly in danger at the expense of others… — but instead, it all became for naught. Without any resolution of the issue, one of their warriors was gone, the dretch was gone—and this time when Nivalis snapped out at the Matron, Naqenni couldn’t but wholly agree with her. Perhaps the girl’s rashness in other regards would be addressed later, but in the aftermath of what she had just seen as crisis wound down, it left time for other emotions very much in line with their mystic’s: they had been deceived—by their own ‘matron’.
Anger, like a slow knot weaving itself hotly in her chest and crafted easily with the lingering threads of her left over adrenaline, made a sharp presence within her. She had no desire to speak over Nivalis again and did not think it necessary for her to add many more words to the equation. Her eyes, though, were hard with a mounting fury as they pinned on their ‘leader,’ the old Matron, and she could not say nothing.
“You lied to us,” she spat lowly. “You stood here, before all of us, and told us you were not aware of the source. My sisters have been dying, vanishing, for months, and you have said nothing when you knew of the source all the while…”
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Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 5:16 pm
NIVALIS
Post: 12
The excitement of moments prior, coupled with the inability to act on any of the proceedings despite her heightened adrenaline, left Nivalis jittery. She bounced impatiently on her toes, rocking forward and back like a captive animal with eyes only on their matron. 'You lied to us.' Niva hadn't used so many words. They were ones it hadn't occurred to her to say, but the woman had lied. Niva's cheeks puffed as Naqenni spoke.
Whatever information she'd had was deliberately kept from Nivalis. She and the elders had been so careful not to let her participate in anything or overhear anything, or do anything. Niva was young and reckless, and their actions against her were understandable. She supposed.
But this had no business being kept from the rest of the tribe. Not for this long and not with circumstances as they were.
But it occurred to her, even as the other thoughts filtered through, that there had to be information that the matron didn't know. "You said we'd be safe if we stayed together," Niva piped up. Though this, too, felt like a lie in the moment- they'd been together, all of them, they could not be more together than they were at this moment, and a girl had still been taken- it wasn't a rational thought.
"What more do you know," Nivalis demanded, her bottom lip jutting out. "What are these creatures? Where have they come from, and how can they be defeated? Where has it taken our sisters?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 5:21 pm
Ceylinae - Post 6
Everything seemed to end as quickly as it began and Ceylinae was forced to ease back on the string of her bow, lowering it so that it was hanging at her side in one hand, the other hand still holding the arrow. For a moment she stood there, stock still, starring at the point in which their cousin had once stood. The creature, the Dretch, was gone along with her and Ceylinae felt a hot pain course through her. She hadn't been fast enough, hadn't taken the shot that she should have taken. She'd failed, it was as simple as that. All the training she put in and she'd been unable to even try to shoot the thing, having been too afraid that she might have hit her cousin too.
It might have been better if she'd at least tried because even if she'd hit the Alkidike in the midst of her attack an arrow wound would have been better then being taken. She drew in a breath, holding it for a moment, before she returned her arrow to her quiver and her bow to her shoulder. She needed to redouble her efforts so that she'd be ready the next time one of those... things popped up.
Ceylinae turned slowly to glance in the direction of first Nivalis and then to Naqenni as they spoke up the Matron, demanding answers of her. She blinked her aqua eyes slowly before her antennae all set to twitching. Wait... they were right! How could the Elarian warriors be ready for such a battle against the Dretch if nobody told them that they existed? Turning to face the matron she crossed her arms over her chest and waited, curious as to what she might say about everything that had happened and everything that had been said.
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Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 5:47 pm
Naqenni | 5
Nivalis was pouting.
Naqenni did not realize she had internalized the reaction except that her attention had pinned upon her jutting lip — She’s getting older, isn’t she? — and the thought had come so stray and unasked for in an otherwise serious moment that Naqenni’s gaze flit away again with stubborn defininance. Focus.
Ceylinae at least seemed to have heard them and seen their point, from the look of her, and Naqenni let her eyes move over the rest of her sisters, weighing their reactions. They were only here due to their alkidike cousins’ history. But that did not make them less entitled to the truth, and regardless of how the facts unfolded from here: things would not be the same after. These ‘dretch’ were not a meager secret to keep under wraps, and they would not stand to be held in the dark any longer.
The matron could not treat them like small fools and expect peace and loyalty.
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Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 6:05 pm
Chapter 9: Grave Expectations
|| IC ||
The Matron seemed deflated, her skin pale against her bones. At that moment, as many looked up to her for answers, she appeared beyond her age. She wasn't the same woman who lead them to war, who demanded their tribe be strong and stop diluting with the earthlings. Instead, she was a defeated woman mourning to loss of one of her own, to something she didn't believe possible and scoffed at in her youth. Just like Nivalis, she was a proud mystic that didn't heed the warnings of the one before her, and as a result her she misread the warning signs.
Oh, but they were obvious, and oh but the guilt raged. It took a moment for her to collect herself, and during that moment she took in the yells and demands of the young Elaria. A few Alkidike sisters spoke up, but most came off as confused and lost. None of them showed anything but surprise and disbelief, none expected such a thing.
Finally, the Matron took a breath and rose her head high, her back straightening as she finished mourning. She would seek guidance from Elzira later, but for now she might as well answer the young mystic and her sister. For that's all it could mean...the Alkidike sister was gone. As were the others before her.
"Enough..." she said softly, looking down at the two Elaria who were speaking out, "Enough of your childish demands, mystic. If you want to joins us as a member of this council, you need to learn to hold your tongue and listen."
She was frustrated with the loss, and she did little to hide her disappointment in both Nivalis and Naqenni for their demands and conclusions. Especially Nivalis. If the young mystic wanted to be treated as an adult, the Matron would stop pulling her punches when the girl acted out.
After a long moment when it was clear that everyone was ready to listen and not make so many assumptions, the Matron finally shared what she knew.
"The dretch are an old tale, a story passed down from mother to daughter for generations. None here have ever seen such creatures, nor our mothers, or their mothers. We grew up assuming these creatures were stories to keep us in bed at night and nothing more. Tales to scare us into listening, over exaggerated but unproven."
She shook her head and opened her arms, "Look at your cousins, Nivalis. Look at their faces and tell me you still believe that we knew, that we believed such a thing was possible." She paused as some of the Alkidikes shifted, many not sure how to explain what happened, "Had we known...had we believed...we would have trained you since bloom to know the signs and to fight...because if all of the stories are true..."
She trailed off...but it was clear in her tone. If the rumors were true...they were in grave danger and faced a threat much larger than the sisters across the sea or the earthling army.
The Matron took another breath.
"The Dretch are a disgusting species of magical beings, said to use forbidden powers. Our stories say that with a single touch of their skin they can burn off the flesh and spread a disease that will kill an entire tribe within a week. They can control creatures to fight on their command, and have been able to steal the soul of Earthlings with a single glance. They are dangerous...but we thought until now they were only a story..."
Shaking her head, she hardened her voice, "Do not take this personal, Elaria sisters. We would not have hidden this from you had we thought it real. We believed such a story was best left behind with the weakness of our sisters across the sea...Stories from hundreds of years ago with no proof...they became simply stories."
|| OOC ||
||. If your character is not signed up for their thread, they may not participate. You can PM Suhuba for late entries.
||. Please limit to up to 2 posts between NPC posts (these should be spaced out by responses from others to your post, no needless posting just to get more points).
||. NPCs will post twice a week, on Monday and Thursday.
||. If you have any questions, please post them in the Main Thread.
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Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 9:40 pm
Pyrrha - 11
The young elarian clasped her hands behind her back and rocked up on the balls of her feet to properly see the matron. Tensions were running high once more, and for good reason. Just a moment ago they had prepared themselves for a fight against a creature that had, up until that point, only existed in old stories, only to have it all go away in an instant.
Even the free thinking Pyrrha was having a hard time putting it all together.
Maybe she would have to speak with her mothers after this, as delightful as that sounded. The older alkidikes would have answers or at least, more insight than she did on the matter.
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Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 11:03 pm
Pruu- Post 10
Looking at the mist dissipating where the creature had just vanished, Pruu took a deep breath and resumed watching the border that she was closest to. Her hands trembled with anger, and she prayed that it was enough to cover the trembles of fear that set a stone in her belly. She had to remain alert...
Some old story had come to life? Seriously? Though, did not most stories start from some kernel of truth? Every story needed a source of inspiration. Hopefully.. hopefully, some of those powers had been exaggerated over the generations. "They are no longer just stories," she said to no one in particular; mostly thinking out loud. "I hope the stories also have solutions hidden within them.."
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Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 7:40 am
NIVALIS
Post: 13
'Childish demands.' Niva's gaze narrowed, her lips pursed and her teeth clicked together. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing childish about her questions. They were some which all of the tribe wanted answered, and if it didn't fall to her to speak them, who else would do so? Naqenni, probably. No one told her she was childish. Nivalis huffed in her irritation, and the answers she received did nothing to quell it.
For all the matron's age and alleged wisdom, she answered very few of Niva's inquiries. If these creatures were so fearsome and dangerous, why were they only attacking now? The Alkidikes' stories were old, so surely the dretch were even older. They could have wreaked havoc upon the whole of Tendaji with no one strong enough to stop them, if they were as dangerous as her cousins believed.
Instead, they'd remained hidden for this long, for generations, it sounded like.
It seemed peculiar for creatures so feared to have waited so long by choice. They had been around before, if there were stories to be told, and something had stopped them from reappearing for ages. Though the matron hadn't said what exactly that was. Perhaps she didn't even know.
Nivalis huffed shortly. She was not afraid of scary stories, nor was she afraid of creatures who hid about in the shadows and only occasionally attacked with cursed magic. No one had responded with a way that hey could bring her cousin back to the tribe, but she was sure there must be one, and among all of those gathered here, they were sure to find a way to manage it. Perhaps Elzira would even offer her wisdom on it, if she focused very hard...
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Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 9:27 am
Ceylinae - Post 7
Ceylinae found herself gritting her teeth ever so slightly as the matron called out the Elarian Mystic, treating her as though she were still a youngling. Sure, she was young but she wasn't that young. It seemed as though it wasn't quite how a mystic should be treated no matter her age. Was it because the Elarian were cousins and not sisters that they were treated as such? They were the future though, there would be no Alkidike born of Elzira after all, so surely that couldn't be the case. Right?
Giving a little humming sound as the Matron turned from scolding Nivalis to talking about the actual issues at hand she found herself listening closely. So they were something that were supposedly just stories? Things that were used as threats against younglings and nothing more? Lifting a hand she set to chewing on her thumb nail. Did that mean that they weren't prepared for the coming battle against these Dretch? Not just the Elaria but their Alkidike cousins as well?
Her aqua eyes went rather wide as the supposed power of the Dretch were described to them. How much of that was real and how much was story? Would they come back? Would they wipe them all out with that disease power of theirs? It was a thought that had her many antennae twitching. She didn't much care for the idea of such creatures skulking about meaning that she'd need to redouble the efforts of her training and perhaps take up patrols around the village? She wasn't allowed to leave anymore so she should at least put herself to work as much as she could. Next time she was determined to fire at the Dretch without hesitation.
At the mention of them 'leaving the stories behind' along with their weaker sisters her antennae gave another twitch. That seemed almost... silly. Just because they were the stronger of the two tribes it didn't mean they should turn their backs on such stories. It felt like throwing away information that could have been useful... though she supposed that it was easier to think that now that something had happened. If the Dretch had never shown their faces such stories would have probably been something they were threatened with as children and forgot about when they got to the age that Naqenni and herself were at. As such she supposed that she couldn't really complain about not knowing the stories since she really never had been one for sitting still for story time anyway.
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Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 2:24 pm
NIVALIS
Post: 14
Despite her own feelings of bravery and steadfastness, as Nivalis cast her gaze around she noticed that some of her cousins and even her sisters carried with them a sense of anxiousness and worry. She believed that many Alkidike had heard the stories the matron spoke of, so they likely had a greater understanding of the perils their tribe faced. Though Nivalis stuck to the belief that since none of these dretch had ever been seen by anyone here, those tales had probably been very exaggerated over the years and those monsters' powers more limited than was let on.
Nivalis and the other Elaria had heard no such stories. Her head tipped as she gazed upon two younger girls, clasping hands and tucked close together, younger than her and clearly far more frightened.
But why should they be? What they had just witnessed- a cousin's capture and a monster's sudden appearance and disappearance was nothing like what the matron spoke of. They had not been stricken with any illnesses. Their tribe still stood to fight another day. They were not earthlings who would fall so easily. They hadn't heard the stories. The information they had was gathered only by what their eyes had seen in this last encounter.
The dretch were ugly creatures, and it was clear that they possessed a brand of magic inaccessible to Alkidike and Elaria alike, but they did not look invincible. The had mortal bodies. They walked on two legs. They did cast magic. And there would be a limit to that power. The dretch could be defeated, she was sure.
Until proven otherwise, Niva had to stand tall, pray to the Great Mother for guidance and answers that could help them reclaim their lost cousins and sister, and encourage her tribe to remain steadfast in their beliefs and efforts.
Perhaps it had been... too forward of her to demand independence immediately. They would need each other during this time, as the matron and Naqenni had said. And there came with that thought the notion that if she could prove herself during these trials, perhaps the old woman would see that Niva could stand on her own, if given the chance.
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