Welcome to Gaia! ::

You run just far enough out of the invaders grasps. Unsure where you are now, you notice the fog around you is starting to fill in. Its a dense fog, but you no longer feel in sudden danger. The tiny droplets of moisture fall gently on your muzzle and fur as you stand there, blinking, trying to clear your vision well enough to see where you might be. You walk a little ways, ears swiveling to pick up any sounds that you could, your muzzle shifting as you stopped to sniff the air from time to time.

After only a few moments of walking, the mists seem to lift slowly. You are walking among a ravaged mostly dirt field. Ahead of you is a giant camp of sorts with giant wooden poles sharpened to a point facing outward to keep enemies out. As you get closer it is quiet obvious that even though the same shares one base that there are actually two sides to the camp.



In the wake of the disappearance of the dark, twisted invaders, the silence felt uncomfortably heavy. Oppressive. Nearly as terrifying as the pursuit the survivors had endured. Moments passed, however, and the very air seemed to lighten, as if the trees themselves had finally exhaled a breath of relief.

When the whispers of concern became murmurs of curiosity and then questions about how to proceed, the survivors found themselves joined by one final pair of unicorns, locked in debate themselves as they came on.

"Destroying them won't accomplish as much as you think," a pale-coated mare insisted. "Giving them a fight is exactly what they want. Obviously they're stronger than we are. There are more of them than there are of us." She paused, one forehoof lifted, when she turned her attention to those gathered in the clearing. "Do you see what I mean? Count them if you don't believe me."

Leaving her companion to do so, she stepped forward, announcing, "You are all safe here, but we won't be for long. The invaders will undoubtedly come back. We must band together and work to build up our defenses. When next they come for us, we will stand our ground and defend ourselves. We cannot let them succeed."

Her companion, a dark-coated stallion, blew air through his nostrils, the sound echoing around the clearing. "You're fools if you believe that we can just stand and wait for them to come again. Worse if you believe that any defense we build will last. You all saw them," he insisted, catching the eye of many of those looking on. "You heard them. You saw our friends and companions fall. Waiting accomplishes nothing. We must take the fight to them. We must catch them and crush them, divide them and destroy their numbers before they can strike again. That is the only true way to survive. Which of you will stand with me?" His ears went flat. "And which of you wish to cower with her?"

Main Event: The Nothingness

- As part of the Nightmares, you have chosen to follow the dark stallion. Look at the questions below and answer these questions ICly, whatever pertains to your character. Please do these in order! You can do all of this in one post. You must finish this event before you can move on to any Shrouding Mists side events.





x4 Tracks
x1 Red Marble
x1 Green Marble



*Credit TiH for framework*

Lapels did not agree with the stallion's eagerness to fight, especially against such a large and unknown foe. However, of the two choices, she felt that action was better than reaction and, if she was being frank, she was not sure what else to do (well, except run away, ahem). When he called for those who'd stand with him, she did not go up to him right away, but instead indicated with a slight dip of the head that she would join his party.

Lapels was not sure what to expect after that, but it certainly wasn't an interview. At the very least, it showed he was taking his role seriously.

"I'm only a civilian caught in this mess," she said, sticking to replies she felt were relevant to battle. "If you're looking for a skilled fighter, you won't find it here. I'll try, though," she added with a shrug.

"As for my journey... ah..." Well, it would be embarrassing to admit she had let squirrels get the better of her temper. And, though she thought it valiant indeed that she'd taken down the rodents' ringleader, she felt the stallion would not be so impressed with that. "I've... garnered the respect of the fire spirits..." If that meant anything. As for the part where she swiftly fled from their dangerous foe; well, she'd keep that on the down-low. Why was she here again?

"The world we live in is vast; there are so many people, but even more spaces in between..." She was beginning to wonder what these questions had to do with fighting. It seemed a little philosophical to her, and this was emphasized by his next question.

"Love? Erm... no..." Her eyes shifted back and forth. "To be hurt by someone you love requires you love someone in the first place, no?"

She cleared her throat repeatedly until the stallion consented to move onto the next question.

"Oh? What I want the most? Well," she flicked her tail dismissively. "It's nothing you can give."

My name: Abrax
My faction: Nightmare
Small IC description of character: Aloof, self-centered, selfish, judgemental.
Oracle Scribe: Abrax's Oracle Scribe

splat

splat

splat

Drops of blood rolled in a slow way off only Abrax's right shoulder now, the gashes on the top side of his left shoulder miraculously clotted already. Breaths came shallow and ragged, and with great effort. Everything felt so heavy. So weary. An inordinate amount of energy had been spent on battling the shadowed leader of... whatever the attackers were. There were whispers and murmurs among the survivors as they moved slowly away from the site which was too painful and too dangerous to remain at. It was all speculation.

No one really knew anything.

With naught but adrenaline to keep him moving Abrax eventually found himself somehow in a clearing different than when he first exited the mist. The mist retreated over the next few steps and the mere clearing revealed itself to be a devastated field devoid of almost any form of life, save for a few sad patches of grass and the incoming survivors.

"Next time, remind me to stay away from the mist," he sounded like a crotchety and grizzled old man with little energy for adventure or excitement. His voice was all gravel and scratches and singed hair, coarse and near broken. Abrax's ears subconsciously swiveled forward as two heated voices rose above the buzzing din of the gathered unicorns. He strained to hear what he could of the debate from where he stood, having neither the energy nor the true desire to shoulder his way forward and listen closer. From what Abrax could gather, one wanted to stay and defend while the other wanted to go and fight- and the survivors would be pressed to choose a side.

Now, Abrax thought it utterly stupid to divide what small force they had left. The enemy seemed so vast and powerful, and they had already used the element of surprise to pick away at them once. The only smart choice they had was to put aside all their differences and come up with some sort of compromise to work against the common evil. Abrax kept that opinion to himself though, and allied himself on the side of the dark stallion. He was already injured, and had already found himself locked in one battle today and emerged alive. Might as well keep riding that luck... if it was luck, anyway.

"I don't like others much," that part was far from hard to admit. At least the stallion did not press him for why he was here, then. Abrax would not have much of an explanation for that. "I mostly operate solo. S'just easier that way, don't have to worry about nobody else." Abrax's tone was made all that much more gruff by his battling of pain from his injury.

"My journey here? Unexpected. I can't give you a good reason for why I'm here. Or why I stayed. Some strange creature begged my assistance in flushing out some sneaky little fire spirits," Abrax snorted brusquely at their memory. "Aaaand then the celebration was suddenly under attack..." he trailed off, then shook his head suddenly and tossed his short mane."Ah, but before that I wandered away for a little break and found myself in some strange graveyard. Or something." Now he was rambling, not offering up too much helpful information. Luckily the dark stallion pressed him forward.

"The world I live in?" Abrax eyed the dark fellow closely, stretching out his neck and drawing ina deep breath to maybe ascertain a bit more about his interrogator. But all Abrax could smell was fear, the metallic tinge of blood, and smoke. Heavy, permeating smoke. "Where are you from, that you know nothing of our world?" Abrax watched suspiciously but the stallion did not appear too forthcoming with a response. "My world is not so different from this one, though I don't know much about this world... We live, some love, some lose, we all die. It is the same there as anywhere."

The next question was rather peculiar. Each time the stallion spoke, Abrax grew more and more suspicious and wondered if maybe he had made the wrong choice by joining the fight. What did losing a loved one have to do with fighting for survival in the here and now? But much the same as any previous questions, Abrax would not be allowed to abstain from answering so the stallion floundered in searching for the appropriate words.

"Love is a very subjective thing," he began rather sagely, which was surprising for the gruff and aloof persona he typical portrayed. "But by the typical definition, I have not lost a loved one." And that was that, Abrax would clearly stand his ground on the subject if the aggressive stallion attempted to push any further.

At the last question, Abrax could not keep a deep rumbling laugh from erupting despite the pain that shot in lightning rods across his chest as it expanded so rapidly. "You want to know what I wish for the most? I wish to begone from this place and go back to my simple life."

842 words