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Sweenys_Revenge generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
3!
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 Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2020 6:21 am
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...
Walk through the arch
Walk around the arch
Turn around to leave At first, Mahogany thought it was just a result of the volume of his music. He had been trying to drown out the sound of his sister on her phone, but it would seem that now it was causing more harm than good. But while the ringing usually stopped when he turned the sound down, this time the ringing seemed to be growing. And growing. And growing. He looked through his open tabs to see if something he had open while looking for inspiration for a new video, but found nothing. Then it must be coming from somewhere in the house. Mahogany rose from his seat with more vigor than he had intended, knocking his chair out from under him. Pressing an ear to his sister's door, she was still on the phone. While her friend's voice was high-pitched, it wasn't the high ring that was currently haunting him. His parents were in the living room quietly reading. Nothing was on that would make the sound. Maybe he would have better luck outside... And while he did find something, it wasn't necessarily what he would call an answer. An archway. Something that was so different from his mother's minimalist taste that it couldn't possibly be a new addition. Who had put in there? Turning, he opened his mouth to ask after the arch, his hand already on the door handle. 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 backward.
“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. He didn't have time to open the door nor make a true sound. Something wrapped itself around his wrists and ankles, dragging him backward. Don’t be rude. You’ll be late for the ceremony.Ceremony? Hell no. Mahogany struggled but was ultimately powerless against whatever was pulling him. He didn't even have time to power up into that fabulous new warrior he had become before he found himself splayed out in the most unflattering way down on a pathway. Leaping to his feet, he opened his mouth to protest loudly but found no one. Not even the ribbons that had pulled him through.
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Sweenys_Revenge generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
3!
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Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2020 6:32 am
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 wintery 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 towards the cathedral
Head back through the arch
Wander off the Pathway to explore the area further. With nothing to scold for kidnapping him, Mahogany searched around him for any answers. He found pitifully few answers, but several intriguing details about his new surroundings. Beautiful crystal bricks beneath his feet. He had a color like this in a shadow pallet, he was sure. Complimenting red and blue lanterns worked with dark iron. A massive structure further down the path. All notions of powering up left his mind as he stooped down to feel the bricks. They were smooth, nearly unearthly so. And chilly, but that may have been the ambient air. None were loose, he had tried. He even reached up to try and snag a flower from the garlands above him. Just for research, he told himself. Just as a kind of swatch for inspiration for a look. Just out of his reach, Mahogany was reminded of a story he'd learned in Classical Literature last year. Something about a guy reaching for water... Arash would have known more. The thought lasted little more than a moment before it left like a drifting cloud. Mahogany stretched. Rose to tiptoes. Even leaped. His fingers didn't even brush the petals. One final leap. He was no closer to grasping the flowers, but he did succeed in missing his landing. His ankle went out from under him. He rolled forward into snow that he had not noticed before. Option 3: As pretty as the pathway is, your eyes wander to the surrounding woods. It seems the snow ends exactly where the garlands lie, and stepping under them to the snow beyond hits you with immense cold.
So cold, you fall forward. So frigid that you fall to your knees, sinking deeper into the snowbank that seems endless.
Further and further you slip, the surrounding winds blurring your vision, covering you in sheet upon sheet of whipping ice and sleet, until a pair of red ribbons wrap snugly around your waist, and hoist you free from the snow.
It takes a moment, but eventually, you are sat down gently on your feet. As long as you don’t struggle, the ribbons brush off the snowflakes that cling to you, before fading away.
You are warm, dry, and seem to be clean as well, though your clothes remain the same. Now that you’ve learned from your mistakes, you head towards the cathedral. Cold. Penetrating, paralyzing cold. It hit Mahogany so hard and so unexpectedly that he stole his breath. He was helpless against the pull of something dragging him down, further and further. He was reminded again of is Classical Lit class, learning about fairies and their treachery. Why wouldn't that be real? Sure. Why not. As snow and ice covered him from head to foot, Mahogany simply watched, like a corpse helpless against the forces of nature that battered it. Until something familiar wrapped around his waist and saved him. Welcome warmth replaced the crippling cold. Seemingly-friendly red ribbons cleaned him as he stood, still-paralyzed from either cold or shock. "Erm... thanks?"
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Sweenys_Revenge generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
1!
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Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2020 6:43 am
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 Flames
The Ice
That Funny hat of his. You demand he hand it over. Fair enough, Mahogany supposed as feeling and his wits returned to him. Stay on the garden path. Easy enough. He began heading for the cathedral at the end of the way, watching as the teasing garlands became more and more abundant with those beautiful flowers. That color really would look stunning on him... So entranced was he by the flowers that he almost missed the man standing before the looming doors, draped in something that walked the line between glamorous and garish. While Mahognay was living for the gold trim, he wasn't sure about the rest... except for that hat. Mahogany was certain that hat was a crime. No, a felony. No, a devastating sin. He was so appalled by it that he nearly missed the question. "Me? Oh... um..." He looked around him for some kind fo clue, and finding none he simply answered, "The flames?" Fire seemed better than whatever devastating cold had taken him earlier anyway. Option 1: He nods, scratching something on his list, before offering you a ranunculus bloom, bright white like the fallen snow all around, and kissed by bluish frost. You take it, and immediately your hands feel freezing cold. The touch of it stings your palms, and though you try to shake it off, it remains. 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 white 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 chill in your hands slowly eases into a comfortable warmth.
Those bells begin to ring again, and soon enough, all heads turn towards the doors behind you. At last. While the flower wasn't the firey orange he had wanted, Mahogany still greedily reached the flower. Maybe a jack frost kind of look with lip art inspired by this flower. Yes. Images and colors flashed before Mahogany's eyes as he wrapped his fingers around it. And then cursed loudly. He had never felt something so cold before! What the ********!? He'd chosen fire to avoid the splitting cold, not hold it in his hands! Still, though he had to keep shifting the flower from hand to hand to avoid the pain, he refused to drop it and followed the ushers inside. Oh... Oh!This was a wedding! He followed the gazes of those gathered as, he presumed, the bride prepared to enter.
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Sweenys_Revenge generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
2!
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Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2020 6:54 am
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…
Enjoy the wedding and scoop up more flower petals, adding them to endless shower of them.
Cross your arms and wait. No amount of good feelings will make up for forcing you to be here and sit through this.
Focus on the nearest exit. The moment it’s over, you’re outta here. As he waited, a love story unfolded in Mahogany's mind as though he had been present for the whole thing. Passing glances. Lingering touches. Sighs and laughter and pain. All wrapped up into one. All at once. As he clutched the now-warm flower, he tried to process all of these new and strange images and sensations that flashing through his mind. And today it's finally happening. The flower slipped from his hands and joined the gathering blooms. Mahogany watched in wonder as the events unfolded before him, basking in the ambient glow of love and warmth that he'd never felt before. And then the bride and groom appeared. Thought Mahogany didn't understand a damned word, he knew. Somehow he knew. He'd also sent the same teasing, flirtations cadences at others who had caught his attention before. He knew the dance of love as well as the back of his own hand. 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 But wait... he wasn't present for the whole romance. He had been brought here. Forcibly. Against his will. And annoyed before that, which seemed, to Mahogany, like the greater sin. Obstinately, he crossed his arms and ignored the warm and fuzzy feeling, which he could only assume was a creation of where ever he was and whatever was with him and not his own genuine feeling. He looked around to see if anyone noticed, and much to his increasing chagrin, they did not. The dance continued as though he wasn't even there. If... they were going to kidnap him... why wasn't more focus on him? "Do you wish to leave?" God, finally. Mahogany turned haughtily to the speaker and considered him for a moment before he answerd, "Actually, I'd like to be released. You know. After you kidnapped me." He nodded and walked away. Mahogany followed with his nose in the air and refused to look back at the party. “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," the butler said once they reached the arch. "Trust me Jeeves. There won't be a next time." But he took the token without looking and stalked through the archway. But no one seemed to notice.
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Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2020 7:21 am
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. Time to leave Fillory, Mahogany thought as he passed through the archway. He should have known it wasn't going to be that easy. That same devastating, paralyzing cold wrapped around him like a frozen fist and Mahogany found himself falling, buffeted by a blizzard. He would have screamed if he could, but no sound came out. How long was he going to fall? How long had he already fallen? Damned fairies, annoying him, kidnapping him, and then freezing him. Irritation mixed with fear as he fell and fell and fell and then... Nothing. Mahogany woke up sometime later, shivering and slumped against the sliding glass door of his house. He leaped up and knew that was immediately the wrong choice. his whole body ached like he'd worked too hard at the gym. Was he hypothermic? Was that what this was? Slipping inside, he had no idea how much time had passed. He'd be late with this new video, he knew that much for sure. Everyone seemed to have gone to sleep, assuming him still in his room most likely. Sinking gratefully into his bed, Mahogany released a long, satisfied sigh. When he woke up the next morning, however, the fairies seemed to have dropped off a little gift for him.
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