Welcome to Gaia! ::

Linneas awoke with a start, his body jerking to life as the red-haired teen abruptly sat up, an arm outstretched. The darkness was familiar, as was the dank, stale air that filtered into his nose. He was in the Study, that much was clear. Golden eyes peered into the room, noting how much larger it now looked, how much more expansive and empty it now seemed. He wondered just what exactly was he doing in the room and how did he end up on the floor.

He stood up, wobbling as his knees sought to regain their strength. Placing a palm on on his leg to balance himself, he noticed he had a crystal shard gripped in his other hand. Brows knitted in confusion, before everything came flooding back.

"The others!" He gasped and tucked the crystal into his pocket. In the darkness he tried to feel his way for the door, fingers trailing along the wall, brushing against dust and cobwebs. He felt himself shudder at the amount of neglect the room seemed to display, though he and his Fandangle had tried time and again to clean up the Study. The sense of urgency returned in full force when his foot hit something.

Kneeling down, he started to feel the lump, trying to make sense of what it was in the dark. He felt the familiar texture of cotton, felt the familiar shape of legs and realized it was human. No, not just any human, it was his mother!

"Mom!!" He cried out, cradling her deathly cold, unmoving form against his chest. He felt for a pulse and found one, it was faint but steady, mirroring the catatonic state his guardian was in. Not too far away, Linneas could make out another figure in the dark. He didn't need to see him, he knew it was his Uncle Syrie.

As he slung his mother's arm around his shoulders (she was a bit too heavy for him to carry in his arms), the Study was bathed in a crimson glow. A loud, terrifying angry wail sounded, and Linneas found himself being shoved against a wall. Though he fought against this unseen force, he kept ahold of his guardian as best as he could. Invisible tendrils pried Huni from his grasp and when completely freed, the Tale felt the pressure upon him increase.

An ominous crack reached his ears and before he could realize what it was, the wall gave way behind him. In a heap of old plaster, wallpaper and cement, Linneas groaned. He watched helplessly as the gap he had fallen through quickly close and engulf the door.

The Study had been sealed. Frustration gave Linneas the strength to rise from the pile of debris and pound fists against the blank space where the door used to be. His yells and curses punctuated the furious blows he delivered, his anger allowing him to ignore the searing pain shooting through his hands.

It was Lynn who stepped in and forcibly tore Linneas from his task. "You stupid boy," He winced, nursing his bruised knuckles. "We can't heal ourselves, have you forgotten that? Oh wait, I never told you, but it's still your fault that I had to bring that up."

Give me back control, Lynn! I have to save them!

"You can barely life more than a few monoblock chairs at a time, do you really think you can bust through a wall with your bare fists? I doubt you can even do that with a sledge hammer." Lynn snarled.

I don't care if I break my hands, I have to save my family!

"Shut up and think about it. Breaking into that room doesn't guarantee they'll still be in there. And if they aren't, what if the Study locks you in? Huh? What are you going to do then?"

...

"I knew it. As usual it's up to me to make things right, it's always up to me." Lynn muttered, though it sounded as if he was speaking to someone other than Linneas. "Here's what you do, you take the rest of your family out of the shop. Who knows what that room's planning. You find them a place to stay for the duration of this time."

And then what?

"Hell, we find out where are the parents of those kids you saw in that place. Maybe one of them has some magical mumbo jumbo spell they can use. It's obvious our abilities aren't worth squat."

One problem, I don't know where their parents are. I don't even know most of them. How do I find out where they live?

Lynn hated to admit it, but Linneas had a point. Rubbing his chin he scanned the shop, perhaps Huni kept an address book. Rummaging through the pile of phone directories, he managed to find the jade-eyed woman's personal directory. Unfortunately there were only a few names, and Linneas knew only one of these names was an Author. <********, back to square one." Lynn griped and threw the book irritably at the pile of rubble. He sat down onto an arm chair and yelped as he felt something dig into his thigh. Shoving his hands into his pockets, Lynn pulled out the crystal.

It began to emit a soft, comforting glow and Linneas found himself in control again. He winced, feeling the dull throb of pain in his hands right down to his fingers. It wasn't enough to cause him to drop the shard, but it made gripping it tightly difficult.

"It's a beacon..." A voice whispered into his ear. Linneas immediately recognized it as Edict's.

He stared at the shard and understood what she meant. Rising from the chair, he called out to his sister and adopted daughter. The pair had gone to bed and it bewildered Linneas how they had not heard all the noise. He roused them and got them ready while instructing Ning to prepare their things. When asked why they were leaving, Linneas hesitated to reply.

It was Lynn's threat that he'd explain things himself if Linneas took any longer in formulating an explanation. "The shop is going to change, so we have to give it time alone."

"Where's mommy?" Paestri asked.

Linneas stiffened "She's helping the shop out but right now she's sleeping so we can't bother her. Alright?"

The Legend seemed to accept it without question, Arya wasn't so easily persuaded. Linneas had to resort to carrying the little girl out, else they'd never leave.

He left the girls and the other denizens of the shop in the care of a friend of Huni's. And once they were settled in, Linneas sought out the other Tale Authors. The shard would emit a pulse of heat and it would grow stronger and hotter when he drew close.

Gaia was huge, now that Linneas thought about it. This was going to take a while...

((Basically, Linneas is going door-to-door -poor guy- looking for the Authors/Guardians. Assume that he had somehow found you. His introduction is as follows))

Linneas looked disheveled, his clothes were dirty and torn in some places. His hair was unkempt and a look of desperation marred his face. Though he tries his best to appear calm and in control of things, the worry, the anxiety, the fear in his eyes cannot be hidden. "Hello, you may not know me or remember me, but I'm Linneas from the Tall Tales Stationery Store. I'm here because, well, I need your help and it has something to do with your Tale."

Linneas was slightly confused by Aiden's reaction. He understood the reaction, but it was what the blonde said that made the teen a little wary about the situation. "She hasn't done anything, but..." he took out the crystal and showed it to Aiden. On one of the surfaces, the crystal showed Khalindra, asleep. "Khalindra's currently in a sort of stasis that she won't wake up from unless I can find a way back into the Study."

Alright so that didn't really explain things, did it? "I was hoping to ask for your help if you knew any magic or knew anyone who could use magic." He looked hopefully at Aiden.

Jerava had been dozing off outside Elena's hospital room, not having convinced the physicians that the girl's coma wasn't merely from physical trauma. Linneas' footsteps snapped her out of her sleep, and she stood abruptly, barring his entry while listening to his introduction.

After he'd spoken, Jer narrowed her eyes, an expression easily taken for annoyance at the Tale, although she was merely thinking furiously. "I knew it wasn't just because she'd fallen down the stairs," she said finally, looking mildly triumphant instead of annoyed or even worried. "What's going on?" the elf asked, ushering Linny into the room. Elena as a patient had the room to herself, but another girl was asleep on one of the other beds in the room, her flaming wings loosely draped over the sides.

Linneas tried his best to hide his disappointment and worry, there was still hope after all! There were more guardians he could ask for help. Right now, he had to assure Aiden that things were going to be alright. A difficult task as Linneas himself wasn't certain of the outcome. But he'll have faith, he had to if he was going to get anywhere.

"Yes, they're just sleeping but it's going to be a deep and long one." he answered, "They'll wake up, eventually. I don't know when but they will wake and they will be fine. I promise."

Don't make promises you can't keep, boy. Lynn chided.

Ignoring the voice, for Linneas would not allow himself to doubt any more than he already had, he bade Aiden goodbye and wished him well. He tried to keep a brave smile that quickly faded the moment he was out of sight. There were more Authors to visit, he'd find one who could help him. Eventually.



It had taken Lynn to keep Linneas from withering under Jerava's gaze but the teen made it. Linneas chewed on his lower lip at the sight of the still Tales, wishing he could find a way to wake them, even briefly from their sleep.

"The gist of it is what made us exist in Gaia is being drained from us. There are two people, magicians I think, one a master the other an apprentice who are doing the draining. They're in some other world with the other Tales and I don't know how to get to it. Do you know any sort of magic spell or device that could find them?" He spoke breathlessly, finding the fatigue was taking its toll. Linneas didn't know who else was trapped, or what was happening at that moment. For all he knew, the Tales had banded together to fight against the Magician and Edict.




Linneas found it difficult to face Anemone, if for the fact she recalled his mother speaking of the woman fondly and telling him he should play with Chailyn more often or something. "I, I'm fine in a way. Mom's been taken by the Study, and what gave the Tales life is being drained away by this magician and his apprentice. I, I don't know what to do but I do know that I have to find a way to get to them. Find them somehow.

"They're in another world, so if, if you know a spell or device or someone who does, who could help..." He sighed, leaning against a wall for support. He felt woozy all of a sudden, probably from hunger and stress as he hadn't eaten anything since this whole mess began. It was a wonder he was still standing.