Knell
Founder
"Silence! Think before making baseless claims!"
Posts: 141
|
Post by Knell on Oct 16, 2013 10:50:31 GMT -5
River's Location: The Forsaken Plains
____________________________________________
River stood overlooking an ancient battlefield, pieces of weapons and armor littered it, he had been traveling for a few days when he had come across this area. He could still feel the aura of darkness in this area, the nature here was starved of life, it saddened him, but he couldn't dwell here any longer, something...dangerous was coming his way. He grabbed the hilt of his buster blade which was attached to his back with a sheathe, something very bad was about to go down. Suddenly over the hill next to him, through the cold foggy night air marched an army of goblins. He drew his blade with his right hand and lay it on his shoulder, the army of nearly 100 drawing closer now. He sighed. "Another day...another army." He ran toward them.
|
|
|
Post by Metroid Life on Oct 16, 2013 11:40:01 GMT -5
Hakkyou's Location: The Silver Lake
Hakkyou sat next to the lake, wondering what she should do. As long as she had lived, she had been feared as ghost, a phantom that existed only to cause mischief and wreak havoc. She did what she wanted, when she wanted, and no one could stop her. Humans feared even being near her. And yet, she felt much the same way about them. She loathed their cites, their rules, the tidy orderliness that ran their lives. As far as she could tell, they did not live, simply followed paths made for them by their rules. It sickened her, but she did so enjoy disrupting it, destroying the status quo.
But now things were finally changing. The servants of Blade Soulheart were moving, planning his resurrection, and she could join them... or fight them. But, which should she choose? As she did often when faced with a dilemma, she looked into the lake. It's magic showed one's true desire, no matter what illusions or justifications they use to hide it. The lake showed herself facing a dark army, marching in unison, lead by Blade himself, a stoic, lifeless expression of hate upon his face. The vision faded away, and Hakkyou knew what she must do. As much as she hated how the humans lived now, Blade would crush what little spirit the humans had, reduce them to mere machines to do his bidding. He had to be stopped.
She stood, gathered what little provisions she had, prepared her weapons, and walked off.
|
|
|
Post by obliviousnature1 on Oct 16, 2013 23:16:16 GMT -5
Barron's Location: Vermilion Village
It was a cool morning in Vermilion Village, the citizens were sleeping still, the guards of the town watching over the outside walls. Outside the village stood Barron, ready to start off on a long trek to seek more knowledge to share to the people. He smelled the air, knowing he might not make it back to the village, his home. He waved goodbye to the guards that allowed him out, and looked at the landscape in front of him.
"Hmm, looks fair, the road's a bit dangerous, but I know I'll manage," he said. He started to walk down the road, passing by the welcome sign, "Welcome to the Vermilion Village."
He walked down the road for a few hours, humming a soft tune to himself. Around him there were the broken wheels of carts that were abandoned long ago by travelers that didn't quite make it to the safety of the village. He thought to himself, maybe it was a horde of wild creatures, or an angry demon that killed these poor saps. The sun was high in the sky, and Barron sat under a tree to cool off and ate some of the food he brought with him. He sat and admired the landscape, though it wasn't the first time he was on this trail.
Suddenly he heard a voice behind him say, "Gimme your money and anything else valuable. C'mon! I ain't got all day!"
"Oh my," said Barron, keeping his grin, "Is this a robbery? I've never been robbed before."
"No," said the thief sarcastically, "It's a trade. Of course this is a robbery!"
"Well, I don't want any trouble, but would you allow me to turn to see you," asked Barron.
The thief contemplated this, "Fine, but keep your hands in the air."
Barron held his hands in the air and turned to see his robber, a shaggy-haired man with a grin that looked of pure evil, as though robbing people gave him motivation everyday, and held a sword. Barron asked, "So, killed anybody in this line of work?"
The thief proclaimed, "A few, you don't seem very scared, like many that trek here."
"These roads are dangerous," Barron said, "It would be foolish to think you'd not die."
"Smart man," the thief proclaimed, "But you die today."
"Oh, I'm not, but you will. Flames!" Barron pointed his hands at the thief and set him ablaze. The thief let out a shriek of pain and tried to slash down Barron. Barron dodged his slashes and pulls out his knife, then rammed it into the burning thief's throat. The thief fell to his knees, and fell to the ground, blood gushing from his neck like a sanguine water fountain, and he died, still burning.
"Phew," Barron said, then threw up at the sight of the bloody, charred mass. "That was grotesque, but he was going to kill me."
Barron searched the body and found some money, and bits of metal. He also took the sword and it's sheathe, since the dead man couldn't use it anymore and put the now-sheathed sword on himself. Barron packed his food and continued on his way and did not look back.
|
|
|
Post by kokoroandherkokoro on Oct 17, 2013 6:40:12 GMT -5
Sakiko's Location: Vermilion Village .
"One more round of sake if you would." Sakiko replied calmly as she sat inside of the village's tavern. Of course, it was obvious the first stop she would make would be a tavern. Tengus drink at any place they could, even noble ones.
As the bartender placed a plate of alcohol besides her, she thanked them and offered them some money as a tip. You know...why was I here? Hmm... Oh right, because of that man Blade Soulheart and his resurrection being staged by his followers.
She chuckled. "Oh how I adore people when they try something like that. It just makes their punishment more fitting!" She drank the last of her drink, paid her dues, and walked out onto the road of the village.
"Hmm..Is it always this quiet in the morning? I would expect it to be a least bit bustling." Sakiko said under her breath to herself; then again, this wasn't really where she came from so that's a reason and maybe the fact that the land is so different now with all of the fighting and what not. She decided to keep venturing on until she meet someone at least.
|
|
Knell
Founder
"Silence! Think before making baseless claims!"
Posts: 141
|
Post by Knell on Oct 17, 2013 7:49:56 GMT -5
River's Location: Zellos City
____________________________________________
The battalion of goblins lay in flames with charred and maimed bodies everywhere, as the silent form of River slowly left the area behind, his armor splattered with their blood. "Such fools...to throw their lives away like that." He spoke to himself with he walked with his hands in his pocket, his blade returned to the sheathe on his back. He chuckled. "I guess people are like that in these times...I'd probably throw my life away for something just as foolish."
It wasn't much later that he came across the walls of a huge city, he had reached his destination. "So this is Zellos City, home to the outlaws...seems like my kind of place." He walked up to the huge gate and knocked on it a few times. No answer. "Aren't you rude guys quite rude?" He lifted his right foot up and slammed it into the gate, causing it to swing open, he walked in and slammed it behind him and was suddenly the focus of hundreds of refugee's and bandits. He held up his hands instantly, he had no intention on killing anyone else, especially no one who had no ill intentions.
"Are you with the goblin army!?" A woman's voice shrieked. "We've had enough of you pillaging the city and kidnapping our children!"
"Goblin army?" River asked with a curious tone. "They wouldn't be that group of 100 blokes I happened to annihilate on my way here, would they?"
"You've killed the goblins?" Another refugee spoke up.
"Well I certainly wasn't going to let them continue marching around killing people." His eyes grew serious. "I could smell the blood on their hands, and they just so happened to be walking toward me."
"So we know longer have to worry about them!?" Yet another cut in.
"Unless you're worried about them not attacking, then no."
The crowd erupted into cheers. "All hail the great savior!!!!"
"Whoa now." River said trying to calm them down. "I ain't no great savior, not even close to one. Just a humble swordsman making his way through these parts."
"Still, for years we've been terrorized them, even the bandits of this town have been humbled because of it, and yet you, a single warrior, put an end to them by yourself, truly you are a God!" They all chimed in at once.
Oh my, the desperate people of this age will cling to anyone with strength, won't they? He chuckled shyly. "Whatever you guys say...But I did come here for a reason." He added on at the end. "I'm looking for a certain woman, she's an old friend of mine and last I heard she was seen in this city."
"What's her name?" One of the more stoic men asked.
"Miyako. She's a childhood friend of mine of sorts, but when my village was attacked, we got separated and now I'm trying to find her."
"Shame really then, son. If she's not as strong as you, I doubt she's still alive. These are hard times, people fear for their lives, in fact, it's rare to see someone as bright as you, but perhaps that is because you hold strength. That is why the people of this village instantly clung to you, so afraid, so alone. So scared of dying. That's the sad truth for the weak in this day and age, and to finally answer your question, no, I do not know of a Miyako." The stoic man replied.
"That so...Well I guess I'll continue my search elsewhere." He left the city behind as the gates closed behind him, it was better to let them live in peace and ignorance for these final days, he did not want to bring them dread when he had just brought them peace of mind. He looked up at the dark night sky, where would his journey take him next?
"Why didn't you tell him?" One of the men in the city asked the stoic man. "That there was a woman named Miyako here, but she was killed in a recent goblin attack. Why do you let him continue to search in vain?"
"Something tells me...that man already knows. He simply searches so that he has a reason for living...he too is searching for an excuse to stay in this dreadful world." He adjusted his glasses. "But if you want my non-pessimistic view...I do not think he's looking for anyone, did you see his face when I told him she wasn't here? He wasn't concerned at all, he didn't press the matters. He had another reason for coming here...and that was to let us know there was hope...to know that he was out there and he was on our side." He chuckled. "That man...perhaps he has what it takes to teach us hopeless people some new tricks. Maybe he really is our savior."
|
|
|
Post by Metroid Life on Oct 17, 2013 13:28:02 GMT -5
Hakkyou's Location: Forsaken Plains
Hakkyou sighed, utterly bored. "These roads used to have more people. Where'd they all go?" The question was retorical more than anything, since no one was here- back when she was younger, people had actually used these plains, trade blossomed, things were happier... and she had no end of fun pulling pranks on people. But now the plains, as the name said, were abandoned. None lived here now and few crossed, for fear of bandits. Hakkyou, being faster and stronger than your average human, had no such fears. She was tempted to let some bandits attack her to relieve some boredom, since she could easily kill them all, but knew she should conserve her energy. Doubtless she would have more important fights soon, so for now she used an illusion spell to hide her presence. Soon she came in sight of Zellos City, the city of bandits, or so she'd heard.
"Gheheh, should be interesting to see how the place has changed in the last few years..."
|
|
|
Post by obliviousnature1 on Oct 17, 2013 18:09:34 GMT -5
Location: Hendorn Mountains
The time was dusk, and Barron's trek had taken him from grassy, fertile fields to a rough, rocky landscape. In the distance, there were the great Hendorn Mountains, the legendary topography that has taken many lives and will take days to cross to the plains. Barron stood there in amazement of the mountain range's majesty in the sunset. Barron thought for a moment to decide if he should start climbing now, or camp until morning. After a quick decision, he decided to camp until morning, as he would die if he went now.
As he set a fire to keep warm, he ate a bit more of the generous amount food ration he had been given in the village.
"Ah, it's so lovely in the night, and the stars are beautiful." Barron remarked to himself as he stared into the sky, seeing the first stars twinkle into existence for the long night. He laid down his head on a rock and stared at the sky as he fell asleep.
He woke up as the sun was breaking over the mountain range. Barron rose and put out the cinders of his fire, and started over the hills of the range. He started a trend of running up a hill and slowly going down the hill's slope. He did this until he reached the more rocky mountainsides, and there he usually traveled by the valleys or near a river, following west.
Although there was a road running through the mountains, it would have been foolish to take the path, as bandits and unspeakable creatures lurked in and on it's twisting roadway. It was much more safe to scale the mountain, as bandits don't usually try to climb it. As the sun was making it's way to sunset, Barron made his way up a tall slope to see his progress, and saw a wonderful view of the sky and mountain range. He made his way to the opposite face of the mountain, and heard something odd, a bird screech in the distance. He looked to the right and saw a silhouette of a bird in the distance. The bird in question was getting closer, and the bird was getting bigger and bigger. Soon Barron could see the more defined look of it, a giant black vulture, twice the size of Barron, with sharp talons and a weird steel helmet. The bird zoomed at Barron, ready to grab him. He scurried up to a flat ledge as the bird grabbed a bit of mountain, and ripped it off with ease.
A large screech came from the vulture, and deafened Barron. He pulled out of his sword, and pointed it at the bird, signaling a resistance to it. The vulture climbed up to the ledge, but Barron slashed at the talon on the vulture as it climbed on the ledge. The bird screeched in pain and pecked at his nuisance. Barron was hit, and he screamed in pain as he was picked up by a beak latched to his shoulder, blood coming out the wound. Barron slashed at the vulture's neck with his sword arm and dug through, thus causing it to let go of his shoulder. Barron fell to the ground, but got up quickly, not trying to think of his wound. He stabbed it in the neck, and caused the bird to jerk around, but he pulled out the blade and backed up so he wouldn't fall. The wounded avian flew up and soared back, turned, and launched at Barron. Barron climbed up the mountain with one hand as the vulture crashed into the mountain ledge. Barron saw the opportunity and fell, hold his sword downward. It stabbed through the bird's back. The vulture squirmed a bit, but Barron stabbed it more in the back. Eventually the vulture stopped moving, and it laid there, dead.
Panting, the exhausted Barron pulled out his sword from the dead bird, cleaned off the blood with his sleeve, and sheathed it. He sat down and pulled out a water-skin from his pack, and poured water on the wound, making him wince. He used some down from the bird and ripped the clean sleeve of his shirt off to bandage the shoulder wound. Fortunately, he could still use his arm, so he could climb down. He descended down the face of the mountain, being as careful as possible. He had a long ways to go.
|
|
|
Post by kokoroandherkokoro on Oct 18, 2013 18:56:08 GMT -5
Sakiko's location: Forsaken Plains
Sakiko flew over the plains at great speeds, pipe in her hand lit with smoke coming out of it freely. There was always advantages to being a Tengu like being able to fly over lands, faster than walking on foot. She stopped, making sure to hide in the clouds so none would spot her. "Now..What's around here?" She said, placing three yellow pellets in her pipe and blowing out three small, shining clouds; one was of the village she just left, one of the plains, and then one of Zellos City.
"Ah! The unlawful city! Hm...For such a city, it is actually quite nice and extravagant. How perplexing." She then quickly flew off, traveling further down the plains. As she traveled, she noticed an army's worth of goblin corpses which then she merely batted an eye at all and continued. Her husband may be emotional over things related to armies and such but she wasn't. Her morals were black and white; it doesn't matter if you're a solider in an army, if you're evil, then you deserved death in battle. "Such pitful souls this world has...."
|
|
Knell
Founder
"Silence! Think before making baseless claims!"
Posts: 141
|
Post by Knell on Oct 19, 2013 12:12:54 GMT -5
Sakiko's location: Forsaken PlainsSakiko flew over the plains at great speeds, pipe in her hand lit with smoke coming out of it freely. There was always advantages to being a Tengu like being able to fly over lands, faster than walking on foot. She stopped, making sure to hide in the clouds so none would spot her. "Now..What's around here?" She said, placing three yellow pellets in her pipe and blowing out three small, shining clouds; one was of the village she just left, one of the plains, and then one of Zellos City. "Ah! The unlawful city! Hm...For such a city, it is actually quite nice and extravagant. How perplexing." She then quickly flew off, traveling further down the plains. As she traveled, she noticed an army's worth of goblin corpses which then she merely batted an eye at all and continued. Her husband may be emotional over things related to armies and such but she wasn't. Her morals were black and white; it doesn't matter if you're a solider in an army, if you're evil, then you deserved death in battle. "Such pitful souls this world has...." River's Location: The Forsaken Plains
"Hey you! The one in the sky!" River's voice boomed from below. "What's the hurry?" He was running along the ground, the surprising part that he was actually keeping pace with the woman in the sky. "Late for something?" He was dodging a few rocky outcrops with amazing flexibility as he ran. He came across a river in his way which he just ran over, causing the water to explode behind him several seconds after he passed. What's amazing was he was doing all this while wearing heavy samurai armor and having a huge buster blade strapped to his back. So it's obvious that he could go even faster if he wanted to. "So, what's your goal? Judging by your speed and flight, I'd say you're a Tengu, what are you doing out in these parts?"
|
|
|
Post by kokoroandherkokoro on Oct 19, 2013 12:41:41 GMT -5
Sakiko's location: Forsaken PlainsSakiko flew over the plains at great speeds, pipe in her hand lit with smoke coming out of it freely. There was always advantages to being a Tengu like being able to fly over lands, faster than walking on foot. She stopped, making sure to hide in the clouds so none would spot her. "Now..What's around here?" She said, placing three yellow pellets in her pipe and blowing out three small, shining clouds; one was of the village she just left, one of the plains, and then one of Zellos City. "Ah! The unlawful city! Hm...For such a city, it is actually quite nice and extravagant. How perplexing." She then quickly flew off, traveling further down the plains. As she traveled, she noticed an army's worth of goblin corpses which then she merely batted an eye at all and continued. Her husband may be emotional over things related to armies and such but she wasn't. Her morals were black and white; it doesn't matter if you're a solider in an army, if you're evil, then you deserved death in battle. "Such pitful souls this world has...." River's Location: The Forsaken Plains
"Hey you! The one in the sky!" River's voice boomed from below. "What's the hurry?" He was running along the ground, the surprising part that he was actually keeping pace with the woman in the sky. "Late for something?" He was dodging a few rocky outcrops with amazing flexibility as he ran. He came across a river in his way which he just ran over, causing the water to explode behind him several seconds after he passed. What's amazing was he was doing all this while wearing heavy samurai armor and having a huge buster blade strapped to his back. So it's obvious that he could go even faster if he wanted to. "So, what's your goal? Judging by your speed and flight, I'd say you're a Tengu, what are you doing out in these parts?" "Hm?" Sakiko looked down at River upon hearing his voice. Inside of her mind, she was actually a bit shocked at how he was able to keep up with her and with all of that armor onto his body! It seemed impossible to anyone of her species. Her lips moved into an interested smile. "I would say I'm rather amazed at your speed newcomer! You aren't a Tengu and you can catch up to me!" She then lowered herself to the ground, putting herself in front of River, twirling her pipe between her fingers. "My goal? I would say it varies depending on the mission but for this, I would say I'm scouting places while stopping a revival. Apparently, my smoke clouds told of a man named Blade Soulheart and how his servants are trying to revive him; If this man is as feared as my clouds show then you can't have him live, can you?" She then chuckled. "I guess it is strange that a Tengu comes out to a place like this; consider this...a home leave for my job. Now enough about me, why don't you explain yourself? I'm rather curious."
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2013 13:06:38 GMT -5
Forest of Zender
In the treacherous seclusion of rain forest that is the Forest of Zender, there are fearsome beast that reside there. Of the beast, there is one that makes her home in the roots of a tree, a hybrid demon, Themopoles. Her home was dirty and smelled of rotting wood, but it was home. Her walls contained delicious bugs that occasionally came out, only for her to eat them. Beetles were her favourite. She did occasionally come out, but quickly, and only for water, as many creature could swoop down and eat her alive. She was content, and fit.
Suddenly, the entire ground began to shake, the walls cracking, the tree moaning and creaking. The entire tree was then uplifted in an instant, dust and dirt flying everywhere. After the dust cleared, she saw the culprit, a giant. The giant's booming voice frightened Themopoles. “Demon, I shall devour you!”
Themopoles was frightened, and ran away fast. She dodged trees and other animals to get away from the approaching giant, gaining speed as he started to move. Clutching her doll, she spread out her wings, and took off flying through the forest canopies. The giant deterred and extended his arm to grab the hybrid. Themopoles barrel-rolled out the way. The giant kept grabbing at her, not stopping for anything, knocking over trees and killing other animals in the process.
She finally broke out of the treetops, the night sky exposed to her since ages ago. The giant, jumped and made one final grab at her, catching her leg. Themopoles, in an act of rage, slashed the hand with her claws, cutting though the giant's skin. He let go in pain, and fell to the ground, landing on his feet.
Themopoles flew away with great haste, holding her precious doll to her side. She flew towards a vast plains in the distance.
|
|
|
Post by Metroid Life on Oct 19, 2013 13:28:09 GMT -5
Hakkyou's Location: The Forsaken Plains
Hakkyou was about to enter the city, when she heard the two talking. One was a Tengu, the other clearly a warrior of great power, though probably not her equal in speed. Ordinarily she'd steer clear of such beings, but it seemed the Tengu had the same goal as herself. As for the warrior, she would listen and see. If he proved an enemy, then with her current illusion she'd be in an ideal position to kill him now before he made a nuisance of himself. She sneaked over to get a better grasp of the conversation... and to get them within range of her throwing knifes.
|
|
|
Post by obliviousnature1 on Oct 19, 2013 13:31:19 GMT -5
Location: Hendorn Mountains
Barron was exhausted. Since the vulture incident, he traveled for 3 days non-stop, to avoid being another freakishly enormous animal's dinner. His magic was depleted from the long mountain scaling. His wound was getting bad, and started to fester, attracting flies and other insects to it's smelliness. The feather did not help in absorbing the blood and made it worse, so he threw it away, but kept the sleeve, washing it in valley rivers frequently. His food supply was shortening by each passing day, inching him towards starvation. If he continued like this, he could die.
As he was climbing, he then tripped, rolling down the cliff he was on and hit a flat ground with a thud, hearing a cracking noise emit from the arm with the wounded shoulder. He screamed in pain, wincing with every second of the pain afflicting him. It was over, he was in the dark of night, and going to die.
“You look like you're in pain”
Barron heard a voice, but with so much pain in his side, he blacked out.
Barron awoke to warmth, and the smell of food. He was still hurting, but opened his eyes slowly to see a fire, a pot with a lovely aroma from it, and an old man, stirring the pot. He looked down to see his arm in a sling and his shoulder bandaged and smell free. He sat up.
“Now, now, don't be so hasty to get up, you've hurt yourself badly,” the old man remarked as he filled a bowl with a thin aromatic broth, most likely soup, and handed it to Barron.
Barron takes the soup and drank it down, ignoring the heat of the broth. “Thank you, Sir, for all of this.”
The man remarked, “You are welcome. It was from one man to another. We need to help each other, or we'll die out as a race.”
Barron nodded, and asked, “Who are you?”
The old man replied with, “I'm only a merchant, traveling across Xenozal, selling my wares. I have no name, for business purposes. And your name?”
“Barron. Why come to the mountains?” asked Barron.
“Well, I'm making my first-ever trip to Vermilion Village. Never been there, so I plan to sell my wares.” The merchant pointed to a horse-driven carriage.
Barron remarked, “I wouldn't go through here, you may not even make it, with all the giant vultures around, that's how I got the wound.”
The merchant chuckled at the story, and said, “Vultures, huh? Sounds terrifying. Of course, I've been in a lot of danger myself, and always made it out alive. Although, with the seriousness on your face, I may want to hold off on my rash journey.”
Barron nodded, hoping to convince the man.
The merchant simply said, “But, I'm at my elder ages, so I care not for the well-being of myself anymore.”
Barron was saddened by the elder's decision. “Are you sure?”
The merchant said, “As sure as life itself. So, what are you doing here? You don't look like a person that would scale these dangerous cliffs.”
Barron replied, “I want more knowledge, so I'm traveling around the world, hoping to see it all and come back to Vermilion with plenty of stories.”
“Then you've done what many cannot in a lifetime.” the merchant said, drinking the broth. “Foolish to some, but precious to others.”
Barron asked, “You said you were a merchant, do you have any books?
“Books, eh? Yeah, plenty. I'm much of a litterateur, myself, so yeah, many books, but let's save this for tomorrow.” The merchant said. “We both need some sleep.”
Barron nodded, so they ate the soup and slept the rest of the night through.
The morning sun rose, and Barron and the merchant preformed trade, Barron buying and selling some books, and depleted his funds on getting some food and medical items for the road, in case he had another attack on him. They waved goodbye and went their separate ways. Barron traveled on the path he was on, and saw yellow in the distance, he ran to it and from there he saw the Forsaken Plains.
|
|
Knell
Founder
"Silence! Think before making baseless claims!"
Posts: 141
|
Post by Knell on Oct 20, 2013 8:45:44 GMT -5
River's Location: The Forsaken Plains
"Me?" River said with a chuckle. "I'm River D. Scarlett, just a humble nature deity traveling these plains. Running into a few enemies here and there, but anyone who's an enemy of nature it's my job to defeat. Gotta keep the peace, you know? Although I'd rather avoid all combat if I can help it, it's hard these days with Blade Soulheart's revival being close at hand." He sighed. "That guy's gonna cause a lot of trouble, I'm gonna have to put those fragments down before they start ruining all the beautiful nature areas"
|
|
|
Post by Metroid Life on Oct 20, 2013 13:31:36 GMT -5
Hakkyou's Location: The Forsaken Plains
Hakkyou chuckled and put up her weapons. She walked a bit closer and removed her illusion. "Well well, it seems we have the same goal, then. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Hakkyou, master of illusion and bringer of chaos, blah blah blah, and you two are?"
|
|