It starts off quietly at first. A single, tinkling sound that starts at the back of mind. You think it’s nothing. Ringing in the ears isn’t anything new. But soon enough it rings and rings and rings, to the point where you simply know it’s something more than simple tinnitus. It grows so loudly, developing into a sound beyond the confines of your home.
A mighty urge overtakes you, forcing you out of wherever you are and filling you with a desperate need to locate that awful ringing.
For some, it feels like you walk for hours and hours, for others, mere moments, but either way, you find yourself before a shimmering, frosted archway blocking your path into what seems to be the woods.It seems almost like fogged glass fills it, but you can clearly feel a breeze through it, and when you push your hand through, it gives no resistance.
You choose to...
Turn around to leave
Option 3: While it feels as if the arch is calling you forward, beckoning you to enter through it, you refuse. You’ve had enough of these nightly shenanigans that seemed to happen during the holidays.
As you turn away and start going back the way you came, you feel something wrap around your arms and legs, dragging you backwards.
“Don’t be rude. You’ll be late for the ceremony.” You struggle against what seems to be red ribbons, and end up tossed through the Arch. Luckily, you land only somewhat hard on a cleared path, but your body seems to be quickly heating up. Even with all the snow surrounding you, you begin to sweat. Any snow that might have surrounded you before melts away, leaving you in a small circle of steam.
You look around to see if you can find that voice that yelled at you, or any evidence of the ribbons, but you find no one.
Sounds of almost any variety were not uncommon when you lived as deep in the city as Rakovanite did. People shouted along the sidewalk, sirens blared, and bells tolled. This was simply to be expected, and if Rakovanite wanted to be entirely honest with himself, he would admit that he didn't entirely mind it. He may be a solitary man, but he still liked the feel of things happening around him.
Where would his mind wander if he were left alone in a cold, silent, still world?
Fortunately, there was no reason to dwell on that because the city never slept, and even on particularly cold nights that drove most people into the shelter of their homes, there was always some activity to be had. It suited the needs of the Negaverse and its constant need for energy.
Hence why people like Rakovanite were out, lingering near the shadowy edges of the tree-speckled park. A few people came in and out, observing the holiday lights that decorated the landscape or trying to bustle through a 'shortcut' on their way home from work. Rakovanite didn't consider himself cruel, but neither did he fancy himself especially considerate. When he hunted, he left his drained victims mostly as they were, no warmer than they'd been dressed when he found them, and propped out of the way so as not to draw greater attention to themselves.
It was a cold night, dangerous for anyone to be left outside for who knew how long, unguarded. But Rakovanite could scarcely be bothered to do more than he usually did. It wasn't his fault if someone wasn't dressed to withstand the weather.
He'd finished settling his most recent victim propped up against the side of a fountain when it started: a nagging sound, gentle at first, but progressively more agitating.
Rakovanite's focus shifted, roving over the grounds in search of the source, but none was immediately visible. He stalked deeper into the park, aware almost immediately that this was the fault of magic, rather than a simple sound within the city. Senshi magic? He didn't think it entirely unlikely that if one saw him draining, they would try to distract him.
There wasn't any discernible aura to be felt, though...
Instead, all Rakovanite saw, after prowling through the park, was an archway, tall and a glistening with frost. How... suspicious. He'd patrolled this route before and had never seen anything like it. He rose a hand to brush his fingers over the glass, only there was nothing there. Very odd. And he had no further information on this based on what his eyes could see and the ringing in his ears.
No. Absolutely not. He knew better than to blindly approach a sketchy source of magic.
Rakovanite turned to leave but was met with immediate resistance. Silky red binds slipped from nowhere, sliding around his arms and legs at an alarming pace before plucking him from the ground and tossing him through the archway. Rakovanite stood and whipped around with a tiny frown, searching for any source of the magic.
But there was none. Only an increasing heat that felt like it stemmed from more than just his upset.
Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2020 7:12 am
Prompt 2: The Pathway
No matter how you arrived there, you see a path before you cleared of snow and made of crystalline bricks, all paved out neat and tidy. Along the path are bright lanterns, alternating with cool blue and warm red colors. Between each lantern is a garland of icy white and fiery orange ranunculus flowers, draping downward but still just barely out of reach.
You’re sensing a pattern here, but you only have a moment to focus on it before a building begins to glow in the distance. A more focused look reveals what seems to be a cathedral, glowing with an unnatural light. Even from here you can see its massive stained glass windows with images of a dancing flames, icicles dangling off a wintry landscape, and a single star between them surround an intricate gate, covered in those same ranunculus blooms.
And again, the bells ring. Loud and clear and echoing throughout the iced woods that surrounds you and your path.
Whether or not you are soaked, melting, or feeling quite comfortable, you have a choice.
You choose to...
Head back through the arch
Option 2: Whatever this place was, or is, you just don’t wish to be here. You decide to head back through the gate from which you came.
Only… It’s not there. Sometime during the brief distraction from the flowers and the path and the constant ringing, you took your eyes off the arch, and it vanished from sight.
Whether you like it or not, you’re stuck here.
And so, you head forward. Nothing changes, after all, you didn’t really want to be here in the first place, so your state remains the same as before.
Oh well, you don’t feel like you’re in any more danger, so you keep heading towards the cathedral.
Rakovanite ran a finger along the collar of his coat, drawing it away from his neck. He preferred the cold to the hot. He could always add more layers to protect himself from the sting of a chill. Heat felt more dangerous. There was only so much he could remove and remain decent, and when Rakovanite grew too warm, it came accented with a crippling nausea that he didn't seem able to shake until he cooled down.
He looked up from where he'd been tossed in the snow and was greeted with the sight of a decorated walkway. Nothing like this had been here before, Rakovanite knew.
The arch he'd been thrown through had appeared in the park, in an area he was accustomed to patrolling. He knew it well, and there had been no arch, no pathway, no... blooms or lanterns or churches. He stood slowly, gaze focused on the cathedral in the distance. Was this another instance of being teleported? The city sure did like people to go where it wanted them to...
But Rakovanite did not want to be at the mercy of the city's whims.
He spun back to face the archway from which he'd been forced to enter, only to find that the alleged source of his transportation had vanished. For whatever reason, the gateway had closed after depositing him here, and it seemed insistent upon remaining out of reach. Rakovanite huffed softly as he brushed his hands down the front of his coat to dust clinging snow away.
But other than that, it seemed there was little choice. He had to move forward along the pathway, following it up to the cathedral ahead. He was still skeptical, but with no other options, Rakovanite resigned himself to whatever he would have to face once he arrived.
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Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2020 10:24 am
Prompt 3: The Cathedral
The closer you get to the looming cathedral, the heavier the flowers’ scent becomes. The garlands soon become wreaths, then become rows and rows of woven treillage, finally meeting at a point right before a pair of great mahogany doors.
In front of these massive doors stands a man draped in red and blue robes, embroidered with fine golden trim. The most striking thing about him is his hat, rising nearly a foot off his head and covered in jewels that you aren’t quite sure are real. It is magnificent, nonetheless.
Nothing seems out of the ordinary, simply a man with a long list that runs onto the floor. Nothing out of the ordinary at all, except there feels to be something magical about him. If you are powered, you feel the energy from him, though it is neither Chaos nor Order. He is simply there and feels powerful.
Eventually, he looks away from his list, and looks down at you over a pair of frameless glasses.
“Hmm… Are you here for the flames, or the ice?” His voice is monotone, as if he’s asked this time and time again, and the longer you wait, the more annoyed he seems to become.
After careful consideration, you answer that you’re here for…
The Ice
Option 2: He nods, scratching something on his list, before offering you a ranunculus bloom, the colors of an autumn sunset, the edges of it seemingly scorched by flames. You take it, and immediately your hands feel as if they are being burned by fire. The touch of it feels hotter and hotter, and yet you do not burn, your flesh does not sear, and you cannot drop it.. The man seems unconcerned, and ushers you inside those doors.
It’s clear that to the right are a bunch of other shadowy figures, all with the same reddish flower as you. The guests here seem to not mind your presence, and there’s a seat right at the end of the last row for you. You take your seat, then the burning sensation in your hands dull down into the cool feeling of being doused in water.
Those bells begin to ring again, and soon enough, all heads turn towards the doors behind you.
It was not his favorite state of being to be left with few options, but Rakovanite's dark crimson eyes scraped the pathway just the same. Flowers dotted his journey, turning from bright petals on the ground into full wreaths and garlands that decorated the edges of the path. Where was this? It had to still be Destiny City-
Or did it?
Last time he'd been spontaneously teleported, Rakovanite had been dropped within the confines of the city, but he supposed there was no reason it had to be that way, and perhaps it wasn't out of the realm of possibility, at all. He certainly didn't recognize this cobble-brick path or any of the buildings lining the way... Though perhaps that didn't say much. He was not entirely familiar with all of Destiny City's architecture.
The path came to an end before the cathedral, which he'd seen looming even from a distance. There was still no explaining how he'd gotten here, or why he couldn't leave, but the man standing at the doors did not seem concerned enough to give Rakovanite any more than a passing glance. The agent decided to afford this man the same, no matter how much curiosity and desire for knowledge burned in his chest.
It was not the only thing to burn, apparently.
The strange man posed his question, and Rakovanite, with little basis to select one over the other eventually settled on, "The Ice." Twas the snowy season, after all. Despite his answer, he was handed a flower bathed in colors of a dying sun, warm yellows and oranges and reds, a touch of pink near the middle. An for all that it looked and smelled like any normal flower, when placed into his hands, the intensity of a fire emitted from it. Rakovanite's eyes widened in brief shock, and he was prepared to argue, but the opportunity was stolen from him as he was ushered inside the building and guided to sit among others holding a similar flower.
Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2020 9:50 am
Prompt 4: The Wedding
When the bells began to ring before, it was short and brief, loud enough to echo throughout the land as a sign and a summoned. Now they ring lightly, a happy cheery sound that announced the coming of the couple.
Somehow you now know exactly why you are here. It pops into your mind like you’ve known this for months that you had an invite. The joining of the fire and the ice, the marriage of two spirits who had been fluttering around with their romance and their teasing for nearly a millennium. A story long told about how dearly they loved one another but could never be with one another.
They were far too different, too likely to hurt one another.
And yet through everything they made their love work, and decided to share that love with all who could hear their sweet summons with a bell ring.
The Flower you once held suddenly rises from your cupped hands and joins all the others that reach high above your heads, joining in a dance of swirls and dips before coming together in a single giant flower, then bursts into a rain of petals.
The moment the petals rain down upon the guest, the doors come open, and two bright lights, one a bluish white, another an orangish red, float in slowly.
They dance around one another, entranced, as if any other glimmer or soul in the room never existed.
And you feel that.
You feel the love and the warmth and sweetness all wrapped up into one. No matter who you are, what side of the War you find yourself on, in this moment, a pure, kind, and genuine happiness comes over you.
Eventually the light comes to the front of this cathedral, twisting around until two beings come forth from the light.
Draped in beautiful robes and gleaming gems, they come forth, speaking in a language that no one can really understand, not even the other guests.
One thing is for certain though, they are happy. And you can feel that as well. Even the Officiator who allowed you in can be seen smiling and enjoying the playful words between the couple.
And you…
You can’t help but feel moved.
You…
Cross your arms and wait. No amount of good feelings will make up for forcing you to be here and sit through this.
Option 2: You were forced to this event, and you know it. No amount of laughter and dancing can make you feel comfortable.
And no one forces you to play along either. Even after the Officiant says that they are wed, the two beautiful beings snap their fingers and the feast begins, you remain there, disinterested.
A kindly butler who had been going around checking on the guests comes up to you and offers to walk you back to the exit of this party, if you so choose.
And accepting, he leads you all the way back to that arch from which you came.
“I apologize that this was not to your liking, but we truly, and deeply appreciate your decision to stay as long as you did. Please, take this token to mark our meeting, and… Perhaps next time, we can host something far more to your liking.” while he snaps his own fingers, and seems satisfied, you feel no different.
In the next instant he is gone, leaving you alone before the arch.
Ah. It was to be that way, was it? The reasoning for his presence came as naturally as any realization would. Rakovanite was supposed to be here, as if it was planned, an invitation he had received months prior. But rationally he was aware that couldn't possibly be true. He did not make plans to attend events like these, with magical spirits he did not know in a place he was unfamiliar with. The logistics seemed unusual.
Rakovanite had to assume that at its base this was an effect of just that: magic, twisting his perception of what was true and real and altering it to make room for... whatever this service was. His head canted to the side, dark gaze narrowed inquisitively.
Had it only been happenstance that led him here?
Were the other, shadowy figures present actually other residents of Destiny City, obscured from him in the same way his glamor obscured his powered identity from being matched to his civilian self. His attention flicked from the spirits as they entered, to the shadow person seated next to him. How would he know if that was or was not the case? How would he know? It seemed... impossible. There was no way of knowing, and from what he could perceive no one felt the discomfort of their situation as he did.
How could he know anything now? Magic could warp reality in undefined ways. Even know, this could be a hallucination. His body could be standing in the park, vulnerable and out in the open, while his mind was helplessly dragged off to this event, made to feel safe, content...
And there was so little he could do about it.
The flower lifted from his hands, and Rakovanite folded his arms in front of his chest, sitting straight and stiff in his chair, and that was how he remained. His gaze wandered toward all the facets of the celebration, but his body remained tense, alert, mistrustful.
After too long, an officiant approached Rakovanite to offer to escort him out. And this, he thought for sure, was the point of it all. To see where he ended up when his mind didn't fall too deeply into the magic so as to be enveloped by it. Where would he end up? What would happen if he agreed? There was nothing to do except find out, and so Rakovanite agreed and departed the cathedral with the butler in the lead.
They walked the same cobble path that was filled with banners and wreaths of flowers until they ended up precisely where Rakovanite remembered entering.
The archway had miraculously returned, and he regarded it with narrowed eyes. Was he to believe this was the way home? Or was there some kind of ambush on the other side?
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Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2020 10:01 am
Prompt 5: The Night’s End
When all is said and done, you find yourself at that very same arch you first came through.
No matter how you feel towards the end, you know that the night is over, and that it was finally time to leave (or you were finally allowed to leave).
The moment you pass through the arch again, you feel yourself start to fall. You are surrounded completely by an endless blizzard, the same you may have encountered had you wandered off the pathway earlier. Only this time, there are no ribbons to save you.
You black out, and when you next open your eyes, you’re near where you first arrived in the park, face down in the snow.
Your body aches as you drag yourself up, a hard night of partying (or not) has taken its toll, but as you head back home, you learn that no time has passed at all.
Whether or not this was real, or a strange hallucination caused by stress from just living in this city, you do not know… But you head home all the same, exhausted and pondering just what was it that you saw.
When you wake up the next morning, you find something on or near you that most certainly wasn’t there when you went to bed.
There was no choice to make besides walking back the way he'd come, and as Rakovanite stepped foot through the arch, the ground seemed to yank him down, down into frozen, inky darkness offset only by crystalline flakes as they whipped around in a wind he couldn't feel.
There was no sudden stop to accompany the drop, only a lurching of his gut as Rakovanite pushed himself up from where he'd apparently fallen in the snow. His breathing came roughly, as if panicked, and obviously further labored from the chill, but...
There was no one else.
He'd been almost positive there'd be someone else here, or perhaps he simply wouldn't wake or... Or... Both there was nothing. The archway was gone, and there was only the imprint of his own body in an otherwise unbroken expanse of snow. Perhaps... Perhaps hallucinations really did run rampant in this city. Maybe whatever vein of magical power DC sat on forced an unchecked edge into even a civilian's psyche. Maybe it was worse when you'd accepted the same source of abilities that Rakovanite had...
There were a lot of unanswered 'maybe's in the world, and the number grew ever larger.
What Rakovanite did know was that he had a bed at home. A heater. The comfort of familiarity and companionship. And maybe he'd been a fool for leaving any of that behind this night. He trudged home, brushing snow from his coat along the way.
