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 Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 6:08 pm
There was no general like Kerberos, the last and only surviving member of the queen’s old court. Mean spirited and ruthless, not a single soul has survived under his blade. He was always loyal to the queen, and when she was sealed he went into hiding hoping for a day where he would find a way to bring her back. Now, with Voren bring back patrons Kerberos saw his chance. He h-as been travelling all of Sanctum in the hopes to root out old followers and start his plan, but until recently he still had no way of bringing the queen back. Not until he stumbled on an old book which held the secrets he needed, and thus picked a day.
The general marched back and forth in the great hall of the dark keep where he`d summon everyone. A few had filtered in, but not enough, not enough to his liking. He kept glancing at the small pack, watching them cower from his gaze. His lips were set in a grim line, the rest of his face set in a frown. Kerberos was tall and lanky, glad in dark armor marred by scars where swords and such had hit him. Dark twisted branches protruded from his head, not a single leaf was seen. His eyes were two red rubies full of furry, and there was no one as scary as him at the moment.
More. He needed more people, he’d sent out so many letters, why was no one here? If they did not show up, he would seek them out and end their lives; if he had to he would steal the seedlings of the patrons to raise them. He gave a quick glance towards the throne. “Soon my queen, soon you shall sit on your glorious throne once more.” The moon was ever rising in the sky, it would be midnight soon and the summoning would have to begin.
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Next post will be at 9 p.m EST 01-03-12
You have till then to respond.
Remember, only the Moon fraction may post here.
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Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 7:19 pm
Seru had gotten an odd letter in the mail one day... It had told her to bring her newly-grown seedling. It was at a tender age, where she really shouldn't move it, but she felt that she had to do it. She was nervous, and looked around quietly.
"I...I was told in this letter to come here... I was curious... if someone could help me... tell me what this plant is..." Seru spoke softly, her eyes curious. She normally didn't come out at night... she hated the darkness, but lately.. She had found herself enjoying it, in an odd turn of events. She also felt as though her mind was slipping. She often heard whispers in the wee hours of the night...
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Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 7:43 pm
The snow crunched beneath Pyper's hooves as she made her way through the dead wood. She shivered as the wind blew, causing her cloak to billow up around her. Startled, the wings on her hips ruffled. She tried desperately to re-adjust; brushing herself off, as a sheet of ice began to slide off a nearby tree branch. It nearly landed on the poor unicorn girl's head. "Cursed weather, she mumbled, picking at the snow that was beginning to freeze in her hair. The only good thing about this weather, she had decided, was that being mostly pale white herself, she blended in extremely well. She had made a point to conceal herself from others for the time being. She didn't want anyone to try and claim her horn, as she was convinced they would. Oh, how she wished she was back in her warm cave on the edge of Daya.
She was growing ever closer to her destination though. She had been hesitant to set out on this journey when she received the letter to begin with. I mean, how many people did she know that knew where she lived? But the letter's contents was urgent. And being afraid like she was, she thought bringing about the Queen was the right thing to do; for most of all she feared punishment.
When she arrived in the Hall, the small group of people soothed her tension. Not as many as she had first thought there would be. She hated crowds. But that was when she spotted him; Kerberos. Her eyes grew wide and she gulped in panic. "Who was that?! He's so scary!!!" she thought. Not wanting to make eye contact with him, she lowered her gaze, and stared at the floor as she walked, pulling her hood down over her face, hiding her horn and pointed ears. "............."
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Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 8:41 pm
Rasslyre was mid song when something fell into her lap. Luckily the song itself was in an old language, flowing and indistinct, so that her momentary pause could easily be played off as a part of the original song. As the song faded into silence, Rasslyre smiled at the smattering of applause that was awarded to herself and the other musicians that she was traveling with. Politely excusing herself, she navigated her way to the personal tent that she had been graciously given when she had joined with the wandering entertainers. Running her fingers lightly over the folded parchment, she searched for an opening to the envelope and pulled out a small slip of paper. The shadows cast inside her tent made it pretty much impossible for her to make out the contents of the letter, but moreover, she was wondering how this had gotten to her. Her name was very clearly printed on the front of the envelope, large enough for even her to have been able to make out when she had been out under the bright sun.
That had been two days prior and with some difficulty and cryptic requests, Rasslyre had managed to get the full message from the letter sent to her. Admittedly she was far from fond of the attitude the writer seemed to be exhibiting, however decided to investigate anyways since the unknown writer had known of her recently grown seed Casimir. Many of the people she had stopped and asked for directions seemed to have been startled that someone like herself was seeking to go someplace like Vritra. A few even attempted to convince her not to go, one going so far as to insist that he accompany her if she was so set in going.
After effectively shooting him down, and a day or so later of extensively careful walking, she had found herself joining what sounded like a small gathering of people. There seemed to be a mixture of people here, some seemed just as glaringly out of place as she, and several seemed right at home in the darkness. Rasslyre had a difficult time making out most of the figures gathered, but if she strained, she could make out blurred outlines of the people around her. While out of her range of sight, it was easy to locate the one in charge here, his presence alone was imposing and made her uncomfortable.
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 5:32 pm
( Note: I'm going to play this out as if Erebus were at the second stage, seeing as my requirements are all finished and I don't really want to go through the hassle of incorporating a growth into this. If I should do otherwise, please let me know! )
Sophia, while shuffling down the stairs early one morning, had discovered a letter slipped beneath the door of her shop, printed on beautiful parchment, but it was different than the letter that had come with her little seedling. This letter seemed rather ominous, even before she opened it, but her curiosity got the better of her. It was a summons to attend a meeting, and to bring her newly-sprouted plant. She had affectionately named it Erebus (she had a rather strange habit of naming things she acquired, even if they weren't always able to recognize a name, let alone respond), after the mythological personification of darkness, given that its branches were so black they looked to be made of oil rather than wood.
She had reluctantly decided to attend, despite a rather looming feeling of darkness and...apprehension, and now found herself in a room with a few other people, all of which seemed as equally confused as she was. However, the person who had called her here seemed to have known about her newly-acquired...friend, and she was still seeking answers about the whole thing; that was her main motivation for attending this meeting, and she hoped to find the answers she sought.
Sophia caught sight of a rather tall, thin man on the other side of the room, but something was strange about him. He had large, menacing branches protruding from his head! They were almost the color of the wood of her own plant; perhaps that was what this would turn into? A whole person! She didn't know if she was correct in this assumption, but her imagination quickly got the best of her. She began thinking of all the possibilities, but her thoughts ended when her gaze locked onto this man's, and she noticed the deep, angry red of his eyes. Something immediately settled in her belly, some sort of anxiety and apprehension. This didn't seem like the kind of meeting she would attend. What...what was this all about, anyway? She held Erebus closer to her, wrapping her arms around the small pot, and almost swore she could feel a soft thrum of energy through the terracotta, but that seemed impossible; a plant couldn't actually pulse with energy, could it?
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 6:07 pm
As time went on, more people seemed to filter in, he glanced at each and every one of them slowly. First the one who seemed to be lost, Kerberos stopped his face to stare at Seru with his grim face. He moved closer to her, starring her down before finally speaking. “That’s a spark, you ought to plant it and make sure it follows the queen once it’s born.” Why of all the patrons did he have to get one that had planted her seedling in a pot? He’d have to rectify that right away and make sure something like that didn’t happen again, if the spark didn’t grow it wouldn’t become a solider.
He glanced at the other patron, another woman, Pyper. Kerberos starred at her too, she seemed scared. She was hooded and looking a the floor. Good, she ought to be scared. There would be no room for her to be off and join the Sun any time soon, this one would be a good follower.
The next one who joined them was another woman, Rasslyre, another frown from the general plastered his features. Then queen would be pleased, but he hoped they were strong enough to stomach a war, or the summoning for that matter. Dead would do him no good when the queen returned, she’d only want followers with unquestionable loyalty.
The last one to enter was, as he could have guessed another woman, Sophia. She too had her spark in a pot, and Kerberos starred at her as well. He was going to have to instruct a few on how to nurture and help their guardians along. This was not his job, this was the queens job, all this lovey plant stuff was not his forte. Until she got here though, he was in charge.
The general moved away from the crowd, back to his spot on the platform. “First, I’d like to welcome all the new patrons, if some of you would be so kind as to plant your seedling out of the pot at some point it would help us along.” he paused, glancing at the too with potted sparks. “I’ve called a meeting, because tonight we are summoning our great queen back. Anyone know who the queen is?” Probably no one knew who she was, everyone here seemed pretty new, and war hadn’t touched these lands in a long time. But, he could be hopeful, the queen would help them once she had returned.
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Next post will be at 10 p.m EST 01-04-12
You have till then to respond.
Remember, only the Moon fraction may post here.
Anyone can still join in!
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 8:59 pm
"A spark...?" Seru murmured softly, and looked down at it quietly, curious. Then something struck her oddly.
"Born..? Wait. Born as in... humanoid shape? What kind of seed is this?" Seru started, bringing it to eye level, frowning a bit, and then hugging it gently.
"I didn't plan on keeping it in this pot. Just until it gets too heavy to carry..." she smiled gently, and then watched him warily. "The...Queen? Soldiers? Do you mean... Oh, what was her name... I read about it in an old, old book when I was little... The Moon Faction Queen, right?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 4:15 pm
As Kerberos began to speak, Pyper's gaze finally shifted from the floor up to make eye contact with him. It was then or never. She couldn't look at the floor forever, or she'd burn a hole in it. Sighing, she took a deep breath and watched the man address the other members of the group. So far, so good. Scary as he was, he didn't seem like he was going to do anything just yet. That's when he posed a question. Pyper paused in thought at this. The Queen? Who was the Queen? Well she didn't really know exactly. She had heard stories, but she wasn't sure what was real and what was fiction. So she decided to stay quiet, hoping someone else would have the answer.
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 5:33 pm
Sophia had begun to take notice of those around her in addition to the strange-looking man, wondering if any of them came from somewhere other than this land; she had barely even heard of it before receiving her seed! Was she the odd one out? The realization that this could very well be true was embarrassing, and she immediately drew in on herself a bit. But then the man took the platform and began to speak in a booming voice. Or, well, it seemed booming in the rather empty room.
Oh, so it had been bad to plant the little seed in a pot? Oops. Sophia bit her lip and hugged the pot a little tighter, looking down at the small sprout poking out of the dark earth. It looked so small and unassuming, and also fragile. Could it really turn into a full, living, breathing person; someone that could help bring about the return of a queen? Of course, Sophia knew nothing of this "queen" or the "moon faction," and therefore knew nothing of the effects of bringing back this queen. If she had, she probably would have left right then and there.
So, when this man asked if anyone knew who the queen was, Sophia remained silent. She often did this even if she did know the answer, but this time was because she, in fact, did not. But sure enough, someone spoke up and asked if it was the Moon Faction Queen. Sophia was instantly curious, but still remained silent, hoping that someone would explain without her having to ask and, consequently, look stupid.
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 5:53 pm
Rasslyre closed her eyes, it was not as if her limited sight was of any use in the natural darkness of Vritra. Besides, her hearing and other senses could easily make up for it. Her discomfort remained however, and it reflected in her body language as her shoulders tensed when the other began to speak to the others gathered. She was still rather unconvinced, how exactly had this... person had known of her recently appointed position of being a "patron"?
She doubted that any serious harm would come to Casimir even if she traveled further than the small distances she had been venturing more recently. If for no other reason than that the little garden behind the inn she stayed at was ignored by the population of the village anyways. When the loud voice continued along and stated the reason for the summoning of these people, her train of thoughts shifted entirely.
Resurrection of the Queen? Rasslyre mused silently, canting her head to the side in inquiry. She had of course heard the whisperings and folklore from the many travelers that passed through the small village she temporarily stayed at, but was unsure how much truth could be gleaned from the rumors that passed through a village of bandits and thieves.
She chose to simply not respond, waiting for someone else to ask the question in her stead. It was not long after that another voice spoke up and mentioned a "Moon Faction Queen". Rasslyre cataloged the location of the voice mentally, trying to keep track of the people around her besides the obvious presence of the male speaker.
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:04 pm
Kerberos leered at all of them, useless. Not a single one of them knew what he was talking about, but he could not get angry for Enfaya had done her best to bury any memory of the queen. This would need to be rectified right away. “Since some of you don’t seem to know why you're here, much less who your queen is, I’ll explain.” The general made his way back to the throne, taking a seat on the end of the massive chair. “Before you patrons ever got your seedlings, before even perhaps you were born, Sanctum was ruled by Queen Iyzebel.” He paused remembering when she had been crowned, he had been so young back then. “She was as fair as could be, but Sanctum had become unruly with visitors from all over the world. Queen Iyzebel decided to close off the portals to the other worlds, making them only visible to patrons with seedling.”
“Though the Queen did not know that evil had already sprouted within her kingdom, and a man by the name of Voren had fled with some of the remaining seedlings.” The real reason Voren had fled was of course not known by the general, though he saw it as a great betrayal. “That little mongrel fled while he sent Enfaya to fight the Queen. But she was tricked!” Enfaya had been given a special item, something given to her by the old tree of life to seal the queen away. Enfaya had ventured forth towards Vritra, and confronted the Queen. Iyzebel cast Enfaya away, calling her a traitor and had ordered her sent away, but not before Enfaya had sealed the Queen away.
“Iyzebel was sealed away in an item, the scroll with the enchantment was hidden away so no one could bring her back.” Kerberos smiled at them. “But I have searched a very long time, and have found these items. We are going to bring Queen Iyzebel back to glory, you will all help me summon her back.” Now that explained the part about the Queen, he stood up again, smiling at them with an evil grin. “The Queen is part of the Moon fraction, just as you are part of this fraction also. You are called the Faithful as you are loyal to the queen, and only the queen.” He turned to the one who had asked the question.To Seru, he chuckled at her, extending his arm and pointing at the spark. “Silly one, you are not the soldier, you are only the patron of the soldier, patron to the guardian. They, who are born from the roots of the life tree itself, your plant will grow into a being, just as I am here before you. It shall also be of the Moon fraction, and will fight for the Queen when she returns.”
He turned to the others. “No questions form you? You ought to be informed before the Queen returns.” Though, Iyzebel would probably enjoy cajoling the patrons, feeding what information she wanted them to know far more than Kerberos scaring all of them.
-------------------------------------
Next post will be at 10 p.m EST 01-05-12
You have till then to respond.
Remember, only the Moon fraction may post here.
Anyone can still join in!
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Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 3:10 am
Rasslyre was startled at the male's clipped tone and words, and for the first time since she had stepped into this land, she felt something besides varying degrees of fear. She was irritated, this man spoke as if he expected an outsider such as herself to know the full machinations and politics of this foreign place. As soon as that thought went through her mind however, her focus shifted to wondering if there were others like her who were not from this world. She couldn't be the only one, not with how this… male had been wording things at least. Still however, her first impression of this male was far from outstandingly positive.
He launched into an explanation of the Queen he mentioned earlier, forcing her to cut off any internal musing if she wanted to fully follow what he was saying. From what she gathered, there was a queen who attempted to alleviate a local problem by taking action. So far she could see no real problem with what she had done, sure the World of the Sanctum was beautiful and such, but overpopulation was something that Rasslyre was personally familiar with. It was one of the things that was an indirect cause for the countless street orphans in her hometown, and for the food and money shortages that would lead to poverty and thievery out of desperation. She could not fault Queen Iyzebel for closing the portals based on that, but despite that, it was still the memory of stark white faces of fear from the other Sanctum population that gave Rasslyre pause.
The familiar name of the blonde man Voren had not been something she had been anticipating however. The intense negative emotions towards him was blatant from this unknown male before the congregated group. Rassslyre frowned in confusion, if this Voren was such a spawn of evil, then why was it that he was distributing seedlings out to new patrons? She had reasoned that she was obviously not the only new patron from this group, so if that was the case why was Voren distributing these "seedlings" out to people with the chance that they could grow to become opposition in the future? Even more than that, she remembered her brief meeting with him and while he was mysterious and a bit cryptic, he didn't sound outright evil.
Rasslyre silently listened to the rest of what he had to say, waiting for the man to finish. When he addressed the questions from another of the patrons, she couldn't help but have her eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Her plant… Casimir would grow into a human shape? He would be able to speak as well? Wait, was her plant even male, could plants really only be one gender? Rasslyre's mind seemed to jump into high gear, at this point.
The speaker seemed to invite the option of questions after he finished speaking, and Rasslyre opened her eyes and lifted her head to look up towards him. She briefly wondered where to start and how she should begin, so as usual, she just opened her mouth and began to speak. It was only when she tried to address the male by name that she realized she did not know it. From what she could remember, he had never offered a name to any of the people here. After a few moments of indecision, she shrugged and spoke.
"I certainly can't speak for any of the others considering I have never met anyone here, but I happened to get my seed from an man named Voren. If he is so evil, why would he go about giving away the seeds meant to be serving someone that he openly opposes..? Moreover, how did you even know about or manage to find me?"
She seemed to realize the way she had worded things only after the words had slipped past her lips, and her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. She wondered how much visibility the dimness granted those around her, and if her face was as hot as it felt. She did want some answers to several unanswered questions, namely what exactly this summoning entailed, but all things considered, Rasslyre was more than willing to just shut up and fidget uncomfortably after that outburst.
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Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 7:37 am
Well Pyper had no idea where to begin, since she didn't know anything about these strange plants that people were carrying around. But they seemed important. And she gathered that she would eventually need one, to be of any real use to the Queen. And to imagine that they would grow into humanoid beings. Was that even possible? Well the scary man had said he himself had come from a plant so, she guessed it could be true.
And the Queen had closed the portals due to.....overpopulation? Well that was understandable. Though Pyper wondered why Enfaya would be so mean to seal her away over something so petty. Should she ask why?
She stopped and turned to look at Rasslyre when she spoke. She brought up an interesting point too. If she really had met this thief Voren, and he had given her a seedling despite the fact that it could turn into the enemy, then why would he do that?
So much confusion.
"Um mister.....I don't believe we caught your name.... but this lady brings up a good point. Why is Voren doing this? And why would Enfaya seal the Queen over something so ridiculous as an overpopulation dispute? Was she jealous or something?" The thought had come about. It wasn't unheard of that people became jealous of authority figures. And with Pyper's naive nature, she'd never suspect that the Queen could have possibly done something wrong. Who was truly evil here? Enfaya or her Queen? The thought never even crossed Pyper's mind.
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Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 8:54 am
"Sounds to me like we're not getting the full story... but for now, what choice else do I have?" Seru murmured, more to herself, before looking down at her spark. It was murmuring something now, and she shook herself. She paused a moment, and then pondered on what this seal breaking would mean. Usually, in the story books, to break a seal, there had to be a sacrifice or something...
Which lead to her speaking quickly. "So, what's this seal breaking ritual anyway? How do we do it? Anything special that we need?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 11:52 am
The letter had been sent to her, though her Bonded-and-Rider had opened it. It had almost been thrown out until the black haired, twelve year old girl had snatched it from certain burning in the camp fire. It had been weeks since she'd found the dark looking seedling, and the Black Queen had kept it in a pouch around her neck when she took on her humanesk form.
You really couldn't call Thealin Blackwings human when she was in that form. The stark blue eyes beneath black bangs, and the twin silver horns that curled around her head, with the elongated canines and slit pupils really threw people off. That, and the pointed ears below her horns. Her normal atire of a simple white dress had been forgone for a form fitting light blue tunic, light leather pants, a simple belt with travelers pouches, and a harness holding a smaller version of Hers' wind spear. It was costomary of Hers' Flight and their gear, if entirely too restrictive. Her knee length black hair had been pulled into a high pony tail and Hers had insisted she wear boots. She hated the comfounded things.
It didn't help Thea looked like a twelve year old human, not even come into her womanly assets. She was an adult dragon, a Queen dragon no less. Why she had to be stuck with this body, she'd never figured out.
Thealin arrived at the meeting a few minutes late, but heard most of the chatter about a 'Queen'. So she wasn't the only royality in this place? Well, that made things interesting. She stood near the back, simply listening. Heh, if only she'd been a dragon right now... but it seemed the Sanctum did something to that particular ability of hers, and she was stuck in this rather silly form.
Ah well. She patted her seed in her pouch and continued to listen.
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