It is dark, you stand alone. In front of you is a table, but unlike the dining room table, this one lacks elegance, crude and incomplete. It is even missing one of its legs. On the table are two objects, a red marble and a black marble. The black one is cracked, fastened to the table.
"Go on," ushers a voice, but you can't see who it is. "Go on," it prompts. "Take it. Honour it, it is your right as horsemen. This is your story and this is our story. This is our rebirth."
The darkness does not go away until you do, as terrible or ominous as you feel. As empowered as you feel. You do, and everything turns a blazing white.
The sight that greets you is baffling to explain, almost surreal. The first thing you see is a giant crevice that dips deep into the ground, where sand has even tapered off into a glassy, black mass at the edges. Seven strange pillars stick out, more warped trees than pillars, each one a tower of their own. In the distance, buildings, monuments crumbling in the sand stick out sorely, giant fallen colossi of the past.
Medea is waiting, and she stands next to a portal that is slowly dissolving. The Head Priestess stands out from other horsemen, from her Fear alone, a strange ancient prsence, always the feeling of staring at a sealed cage with something waiting to unravel from within. She flicks her wrist, and the portal disappears entirely. "This, all of this, was the birth of a great kingdom, this was where the gods reside. Thirteen thrones have turned to seven remaining. A war lead by human corruption created an unspeakable plague within this kingdom. This is the last sacred land of the old gods, and has been given many forgotten names. They were once us and are shadows now. They are forgotten."
She paused. "But we do not have to follow the same path. We all have a choice. What did we ever do to deserve to fall lower than gods, to where mere Halloween citizens and even Humans mock our existence and treat us as a passing afterthought? We have always had a choice and can always choose to fight for who we are. We have given Halloween a chance, and they have forgotten us. This is what remains of the choices of the gods in the past. This is what remains of our path should we decide to take it. This is our reckoning and this was all once ours as was this world. We will reclaim it, all of it. We will reclaim everything starting from where everything originated here."
"And this," corrected Charon, stepping in from another portal, crossing his arms, "is not the right choice." Charon is the older of the two, a tall individual always cloaked in black, face eternally hidden. He is commonly known as the representative of Death, and more commonly known as passive, eternally watching but never quite acting unless necessary. "The old gods did not fall due to Humans, they fell from fighting each other. This is a lost grounds tainted by internal bloodshed and Insanity. We are only here to put to rest our fallen kin and nothing more. Reclaiming anything in the Human world is a declaration of war to all. We are not uncivilized. Anarchy has never done favours to any civilization in the past, and it will not do so now."
"It is not anarchy," Medea corrects, her eyes flashing, "it is pride. It is trust that we will do the right thing and that we carry our own fate."
"Our fate is determined not just by us but also by those around us," Charon argues. "Medea, you will step down. This is not the time to fight, or engage in any of your petty wars for revenge. Many horsemen are still broken and they need time to recover and repair. We are here to help the lost. They need time to find themselves."
The head priestess did not step down. Instead she stood her ground proudly, head tilted high. "No. This is our time. Our time is now and all horsemen will have to pick. To act or to stagnate. That choice is for them to make. There is no point of being found if you continue to remain lost."
OOC
HORSEMEN QUESTS ARE NOW OPEN
There is a divide between the horsemen, an internal politics that makes all decisions difficult. You can pick EITHER Medea or Charon for these quests. Either or will determine the outcome of what happens! If your horsemen picks one NPC they can always change their mind and pick another or try both to test the waters. A divide in power is beginning. - Please write a rp reaction in this thread, and you are free to linger her longer and orp with other horsemen or [ EXIT ] and go do one of the quests below. If your horsemen returns back here just write [ RETURN ] and continue rping in this thread. QUOTE players where necessary. This rp may get large so in your OOC please DO spend a small moment describing or linking to an image of your character. - QUEST HORSEMEN: Go to quest 3 below to see how to enter this thread! once you have been ICly "found" you can rp anywhere else as well! - RP POINTS: It is worth your time to do these small quest rps! Each one you join is is +2 rp points (to a max of 10!)
gaia_crown OOC: [ WHEN 5 QUEST THREADS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED (ie: you filled the objective) you will unlock the [ Horsemen Backstory ] to gain more insight as to what is going on. This will not help your character icly but it will help you oocly be able to piece together a story! Who knows! Maybe it will be of use later on! When an objective is fulfilled change your quest PRP title to [COMPLETED]. Even if an objected is fulfilled you can still continue rping on! You can also make orps and invite as many users as you want to it, but each thread only counts as one "quest". Quests can be completed multiple times by different groups. You can do as many as you want on a character.
gaia_crown Quests can be done for 48 hours. They are not long, just snippets of whatever you want to PRP. They have no minimum word count. You can continue RPing quests even after the 48 hours. 48 hours is when the FIRST of the big ORPs will happen.
[ Quest 1: Human Sacrifice: ]
Medea circles around you. "You have made the correct choice," she hisses, and she is watching you, carefully, looking right through you. "But nothing ever is complete without a test. You will prove your worth to ascend and move out from insignificance. You will find me a human sacrifice, a Hunter. Find one, and bring them to me, alive. Prove both your dedication and your loyalty."
- Create a PRP thread and title it [QUEST PRP ] Human Sacrifice (PLAYER NAMES HERE). - Next, write your introduction posts to your team having gathered their wits and gotten ready to do the process. When you are ready, have your team start searching by rolling 1d10. They are basically scanning the landscape for a Hunter. If anyone rolls a 1 or 10 you have found a Hunter! You may now round them up and fight them - The goal is to injure a Hunter, and they come with 40 HP and 5 auto damage. When a Hunter is down to less than 10 HP they are unconscious. IF they hit 0, they are DEAD so be careful. - Medea said bring back alive so simply drop the Hunter off with Medea. She seems to prefer them unconscious. - Remember that the quests below are just MECHANICS. It is up to you to breathe life to them, to interact with other players and make things meaningful! Once you have completed this quest you can mark it as COMPLETED.
[ Quest 2: Fragments of the fallen: ] Medea is waiting for you. She asks you to prove your loyalty your kind and search the tower ruins for any discarded distortion fragments. They apparently will come to use later. - The tower ruins is a large, clay tower that seems to span still to the sky, crumbled for the most park and caked in a strange burnished substance. The outskirts of the tower is infinitely long, the inside is barricaded and you cannot enter. Around the outskirts you can see the remnants of a battle, and bloodstains that still look somewhat fresh . - Create a PRP thread and title it [QUEST PRP ] Fragments (PLAYER NAMES HERE). - Next, write your introduction posts to your team having gathered their wits and gotten ready to do the process. When you are ready, have your team start searching by rolling 1d6. There are lots of unusual shaped fossils to encounter, mostly blackened masses with mutated skulls, but none of them are threatening. If you roll a 6, you encounter a distortion crystal to bring back. When a 6 has been rolled 3 times your lime limit is up and you can head back. The quest is considered COMPLETED. Once you have completed this quest you can mark it as COMPLETED.
[ Quest 3: Find the Strays: ] Charon requests that you find the stray horsemen who have gotten lost. These are horsemen who were once unable to join the clans. - This is the QUEST HORSEMEN can be invited into the rp for the REST of the event. This is the only time quest characters of any kind will be invited for this event. - Create a PRP thread and title it [QUEST PRP ] Invitation (PLAYER NAMES HERE). - Next, write your introduction posts to your team having gathered their wits and gotten ready to do the process. They are now on the lookout for quest horsemen. When a QUEST HORSEMAN enters your team can "find" them and bring them back with them. They are now considered a "found" horseman and can be rped throughout this event for the event's duration. Each found horsemen is one quest completed. Mark it as complete. You can still recruit more than one in your thread if you like!
- QUEST HORSEMAN: Please create a thread first, and then you can visit any of the Invitation threads. When you do you are considered a "lost" character. Have your horseman wandering around lost in the thread. When you are quoted by any existing non quest horseman you are now "found" and can rp throughout the entire event. Quest horsemen have foggy memories - they dont recall anything of what happened to them prior or even why they are here after spending too much time too close to the Insanity
[ Quest 4: Insanity Titans: ] You are asked to neutralize any insanity creatures that pop out from the sand. - Create a PRP thread and title it [QUEST PRP ] Insanity Titans (PLAYER NAMES HERE). - Next, write your introduction posts to your team having gathered their wits and gotten ready to do the process. When you are ready, have your team start searching by rolling 2d6. If the first dice you roll is 1 or 6, you have encountered a MOB. It can take any shape or form (of insects), so the person who rolled it can describe the creature. It has 40 HP and does the second dice's worth of damage (ie roll 6, 3 for a mob that does 3 auto damage; 2, 4 isn't an encounter). Use normal battle mechanics to take it out. Once you have, this quest is considered COMPLETED. - If you have started this quest prior to the update please make a post for the mob to determine its auto damage. Or if you want flexible damage, continue to RP while rolling its attack.
[ Quest 5: Unfriendlies ]
- This is an ORP that is technically not a quest but open to ALL factions. In it you can PRP with characters from any other faction of your choice. If a Horsemen encounters a Student OR Hunter it is up to them to decide what to do with them, either negotiate, hide, or battle (using general battle mechanics, max 6 people in a thread) If you do this, it does not count as a quest completed, but it is fun RP fodder.
Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 10:42 pm
Aeron crossed his arms over his chest, the usual stance of the usual stoicness of the death horseman was the only comfort he could take this all in with. They had gone from their tents to somewhere in the human world.
Ripped from a life they were trying to start, to avenging a life they never knew or didn't care to remember.
He would not disobey the priestess though, as he was of her clan and if she wished him to do it, then he would do it. The only sign of hesitation that came from the death horseman was focusing on the mare beside him, should she choose a different course...he would think to follow her more.
Lan had been hesitant to do anything Medea wanted. Ever since Invictus had all but parted ways she'd felt herself drifting further from the goals of those seeking such a blindness revenge. She'd read the book he'd tasked her with. She'd taken to study the arts of the other clans. Her view had never changed in the sense of wanting revenge, but this was no longer how she'd do it.
While said cousin was not present to issue any command, nor had he taken the crown, his past actions and words still made Lan hesitate to hear the priestess and feel the need to follow one who'd only gained power for a brief time.
She had snuck herself next to the side of the taller guardian, and briefly looking at him, then towards the two who would urge action and action through inaction...
"If one walks on a bridge made of wood, is he safer than walking on a bridge made of stone?" She asked herself more than her companion. "I would seek revenge, yet not by borrowed power. What of you Aeron?"
Nyxtsuki Moon
Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 10:58 pm
Ying flitted uselessly in the restaurant and even more uselessly in the area with Medea and Charon. After what Medea had put her through .... after what she'd needed to do to gain ascension, she could never trust the priestess again.
And Ying's trust was a very difficult thing to lose.
She stood proudly on Charon's side, albeit somewhat timidly. "Yes, sir," she murmured in agreement, nodding her head and trying very much to stay out of the light.
Was anyone else here to stand on Charon's side? Was she alone in the plight of not wanting to kill humans?
"It depends on who made the bridge, Lady Lan." He looked over at her, "Should the bridge be made of wood by an expert carvesman, it would be safe to assume that not only is it sturdy but stable...while the bridge of stone, if made carelessly could crumble at the first step on the wrongly placed stone."
One arm unfurled from his chest, reaching over to gently touch her hair before pulling back. Lan, a figure that surprised and unsurpised him at every turn.
"I do not think of myself as capable of revenge..." He began, "I am a guardian and solider. I will do what is best for the clan and what is best for..." He looked at her before trailing off. "If you asked me it, I would follow the same path you walked."
Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 11:17 pm
Mengyao did not trust Medea.
Nor did he feel any particular loyalty towards her, which had already been made rather obvious by his general lack of respect towards her. He treated her with a cold indifference most of the time, but now, it seemed, there was little he could do to pretend that she was not saying something necessary that he needed to hear. And try as he might, he could also not deny that he agreed with much of what she was saying.
"It is pride."
The word made him stiffen where he stood at the back, Mengyao lifting his chin and leveling an even look out across at the priestess where she stood. Her words were conflicting with Charon's - in fact, they were all conflicting together, and Mengyao gave a little sigh and turned his head, a frown on his face as he eased back towards where a familiar young woman stood.
"Choose wisely, Lan."
His eyes drifted briefly towards her companion.
"And acquaintance."
nyxtsuki moon
istoleyurvamps
kuropeco
Dramatic Marshmallow
Offline
medigel
Anxious Spirit
Offline
Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 11:28 pm
Shik was tired of dreams pulling him in, but for once this was something he was not irritated by. There was no doubt about what the landscape of the world was, no need to wonder why he was there, no hesitating thoughts: his mind was as clear as the red brand of Destruction on his hand, his purpose set in stone. This was the moment he and Shaheen had been waiting for, prepared for by their own means.
He did not need to look to know Shaheen was there with him. Together, they would do as they always would: bring the horsemen back to their former glory, and make a name for themselves while doing so, infamous or otherwise. Shik sneered at the petite one moving to Charon, but for now it was Lan, Aeron, and Mengyao who had his attention, their uncertainty or ambiguity sticking out to one who was already so devout to Medea's cause for war.
"If you do not seek revenge now, you never will," he told the mare disdainfully, as if expecting Lan to be so hesitant, so unreliable. Her fighting skills alone had made him doubt her, personality aside.
He turned his head to include Aeron and Mengyao with his next statements, his hands beoming animated as he spoke, as if waiting to grasp at a weapon and strike down their enemies, to slice flesh open or burn it until he breathed ash. "We have all waited long enough, no? Already the white coats think of us as a passing dream--they do not fear us, and biding our time any longer will only feed their arrogance. Are you not tired of skulking in the shadow of a school that barely tolerates us, confined to a reservation as if we are a dying breed of animal? This is an opportunity we cannot squander."
iStoleYurVamps
Nyxtsuki Moon
chimarii
just a look but just in case anyway
kuroopu
Seussi
Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 11:34 pm
A wise answer. And a bold touch that almost had her leaning towards him. Almost, as she held herself back from the action. Instead, she reached over, fingers brushing against him as if her arms and simply been hanging thoughtlessly by her side.
".....The Clans are the proper way to think of these choice. What we do is not for one but for all." His words made her blush, "I-"
Then Mengyao arrived, making it known just where he stood and what he expected. "As should you Mengyao." She snapped back. Her expression one of annoyance and petulance she looked back to Aeron, softening until a look of uncertainty shook her before falling into a curious stare. "Where would you walk? Behind, in front...beside me?"
"Another dream." A statement, rather than a question. Nergui gazed down at the table that stood before her and what rested atop it. Two items again, two colors. The corners of her lips twitched, pulling up at a sharp angle as a bubble of laughter threatened to spill free. She retrained, barely, reaching outward to claim the marble the voices were so keen to urge her towards. It was so familiar, so terribly familiar, that the priestess did not so much as flinch when the scenery shifted around her. Not, as it had before, into a lake of blood, but to lands as of yet unexplored.
Darkness gave way to desolation. A crag, with spires and crumbling mountains in the background. She swept mismatched eyes across the chaotic landscape and felt herself smile. A wild twist of full lips that split and parted gleefully as Medea appeared proudly before them. There was their voice of reason. Their guiding hand in the dark. Medea, high priestess. Nergui had sorrowed at disappearance.
Charon's rule was a stagnant ordeal. Scare the humans, do not harm the humans. The Death priestess tired of such human dealings. That was not the way of Death, that was not the way of their Lost Clans. They were a shadow of their former selves. Sad, broken down fragments of a great, proud race. Medea wanted to rebuild, Charon wanted merely to survive.
Well Nergui was through with mere survival. She was tired of the reserve, of the school and the town. The students were accommodating, but they were not horsemen, would never be.
This was their time, and the priestess knew which leader she would follow.
And she knew who would follow her. Her stallion, her guardian, her shadow, and protector. Reunited again, bond. He would be there with her. always.
Others gathered, familiar faces, allies. "It is pride," she echoed. Coming to stand beside the tall conquest stallion before a fierce grin found Shikoba. Her gaze took in Lan, delicate and refined, but every bit the warrior. Power and skill wrapped in delicate packaging. A nod was offered, the flicker of a smile, then heterochromic eyes slid to Aeron, lingering on the guardian a moment before her attention fell to rest on Charon on the petite figure that had sided with him. It caused lips to purse, chin twitching in small, disappointed shake, but she didn't know that mare.
"We are not merely refugees to be content with meager handouts. We are much more than that." It had always irked her, the reserve, the town, all of it; it made her lip curl in obvious disgust. "We are horsemen, and we will take back what has been stolen from us."
kuropuu
istoleyurvamps
ol-j-man
nyxstuki moon
chimarii
ramenli
Letting you know your sugarplum is here, stud muffin.
For the most part, Something That Waits had watched each exchange with a very bored expression upon his face; especially the squabble of those of the Death clan. His golden eyes playing a small game of ping pong as it bounced between the two as they talked - really, it did seem rather interesting and for the most part very important information but the sights around them was very distracting. Such a fascinating dreamscape had been created after all. It begged to be explored but such didn't seem to be the time.
No, it was back to those important words. This seemed to be a call to arms and from the chatter around him, he didn't seem as caught up in half of everything as the others. His stay in Halloween had been very brief so far and his need for vengeance not as bloodthirsty - not that he didn't not like humans or anything, but ... eh.
Waits found his attention shifting to the others - and noticing how many there seemed to be not of Famine. (Huh, where was his brother...) And pondered which course of action would require the least amount of work and would provide the best opportunities of sitting and breaks.
Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 11:47 pm
It may have been a dream, but Shaheen knew better then to think of it as only such. Dreams like these were powerful, and real, and could change the course of the future in an instant. Dreams like these were the ones that filled her with excitement, with a burning desire for what she and her partner had been fighting so hard for. Was this the time? Had it finally arrived? All she had to do was look around to know that it was so.
A wing extended, feathers brushing against the man who stood beside her, the man that she had started this with and who she would finish it with. Golden eyes set in black were, however, locked on Medea as she spoke, and Shaheen's teeth flashed in a feral grin, her head already nodding along to the words, because what the priestess offered was hope. Hope for their kind, for their civilization, for their beliefs and purpose.
What Charon offered, what Death offered, was a cheap imitation of what their power could and should be.
It was Shik's voice that tore her attention away from Medea, her gaze resting on those he spoke with, all of which Shaheen recognized, though her grin faded as she gave each a steady look, her eyes holding fast on Meng's for longer then the others.
Shikoba's words spoke all of which that Shaheen herself would have conveyed, and wings shifted as they folded in close behind her back, her fingers flexing at her sides.
"Lan, you know what is the right choice. You must know." She wasn't pleading with her, just telling, as Shaheen focused on her, on who she deemed her closest friend of those currently gathered, and who she would be most disappointed in if her path would deviate from that which Shaheen had already set herself upon.
Aeron's demeanor changed ever so slightly as a conquestian royal joined them, male and close to Lan. He took the stallion in with a thoughtfulness look, though it couldn't be seen due to his ever neutral expression.
They moved past Menyao, to Shikoba who he considered one of his few friends of the pony colony and considered the war elder carefully. It was not uncommon to think that they idea of battle would get the war elder pumped, as well as the idea of revenge. Even Aeron couldn't deny that he too would want revenge. It was just buried under layers of duty.
"Humans always fear us." Aeron turned his head away, "It is why they fight. It is why they continue their struggle. Their arrogance, I have seen it and I have seen it as bravado." He made a small shift, wings furling and stretching before settling again, as if to say that he was indeed riled over it. "I will do....what I am ordered to do." Even as he said that, he stiffened slightly, bowing his head respectfully to the priestess that had joined their group, as was his duty.
"Priestess." He murmured to her, but never quite meeting her gaze. Nergui, if he remembered, paired with the guardian stallion Soren.
He felt the brush of Lan's hand once more and returned his focus to the mare, leaning down closer to her to answer her question for her, and only for her.
"If you asked me Lan, I would be where you wished me to be. With you at your side, in front as your shield, in back as your guard. Your wishes...that is my duty."
Kuroopu
iStoleYurVamps
Beejoux
Ol-j-Man
Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 11:53 pm
Ying slowly scooted towards the edge as more people began amassing, not wanting to get in anyone's way (heaven's no!) and not wanting to let anyone fail to hear Charon and Medea speak either.
In backing up, she bumped into a tall Famine horsemen in a very cliche fashion. With all the rags and piles of cloth, Ying blurted out, "S-Salbei?"
But it was not Salbei! "O-Oh my I'm very sorry sir, so sorry, um oh gosh- ..." It was a very odd sight, to see a fully garbed elder artisan bumbling around like this.
chirigami
chiickadee
Princess Hoarder
Offline
chirigami
Swashbuckling Sentai
Offline
Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2014 12:09 am
There was so much talk of killing the humans, it was interesting to watch which way each of those currently present seemed to side; their motivation and mindset displayed for all. Opinions in the forefront, Waits kind of had to wonder what sort of events he had missed with being away for as long as he had been and -
He blinked, long and owlishly for a moment as another found their way right into him. His wings gave a twitch and a few of his current inhabitants - a few centipedes and a few ants, a fly - scattered out from within the depths of his layers. "No," he said without hesitation and as bland as ever. The name seemed familiar to him, he probably knew it. Couldn't place it at the moment but it was wrong. And this one he couldn't place except the attire. Stuffy, clean, bright in color and made with care. Conquest.
"It's alright." He drawled on. Hm, he had never know this clan to be fidgety. Pulling back a sleeve, Waits reached out with a bony fingers and touched the tip of one of her black horns.
