The Legacy of Shiru - The Balance of Light and Shadow (Started; Accepting via PM)

[Hydra of Ages]

Sollus steadied himself as he got up and made a couple clumsy lunges down the many lanes and areas of passage in the city, harp clutched in hand. Sweat poured down his forehead and his movements were erratic and wobbly, like he may topple over at any moment. Most who passed him by thought he was simply another drunkard and took no notice.

 

After a few moments, he was forced to rest, as he lied down against the cool bricks of a building behind him. He panted for a moment, to allow his mind to settle and his body to rest; the sun was hot at this time, and Aeramel was not the coolest city in the Land of Light. In fact, its position was fairly close to The Mountain of the Eternal Flame- a barren wasteland, for more reasons than one. Its positioning and colored stone made it a massive heat sink, absorbing the sun's rays easily. Any plant life had long since shriveled- people claimed that, in the height of midday, anyone who was at its summit would burst into fire from she sheer heat.

 

Sollus had to wonder what could possibly be there for him. To even get to the mountain, you had to pass through the nearly impermissible Ziri Sands- a wide, circular desert that stread outward from the mountain. Only the fabled Labyrinth Forest provided passage nearly to the mountain's base without going into the scorching and nearly impermissible smog of heat kicked up by the sands and their kind, the mountain.

'The Gods must be crazy...' He thought morbidly to himself. He had lied to himself earlier, there were mineral deposits in the Mountain- some iron ore, though insignificant as much of it was locked in dust and fused into the other stones, a bit of bronze, but mainly, Onyx. The dark mineral made up a large portion of the mountain's composition, though much of it was made useless by the iron fused into it.

 

He paused, as he glanced next to him and saw an ordinary-looking wooden spear, with an iron tip. Without thinking, he stood up and took the weapon, using it as a crutch to continue to walk.

 

-

-- V

--- V

-- V

-

 

Artemis frowned as she looked around the black sands. She had found crabs, shells, feathers, but nothing that called to her like earlier. Even more infuriatingly, the call constantly echoed in her mind, unrelenting and making it impossible for her to forget it. She sighed and crossed her arms, then picked up a small rock nearby, quickly tossing it across the dark waters. The water of the Shadow Ocean was never illuminated- even when the sun shown on it, the waters were often too deep and algae too prominent for it to penetrate more than a meter down. Still, she got some amusement as the rock skipped several times, before dropping into the murky waters.

 

And then, she growled slightly, getting down onto one knee. The resonating in her head grew and grew, until it was a great calligraphy of noises rattling in her skull, calling her, beckoning her to them... So many voices, calling, calling... "Stop it...Stop it..." She said, nearly crying at the strain put on her mentality. She couldn't think, she couldn't hear, she couldn't see- all she felt was the beckoning.

 

And then... it all went light.

 

She awoke in a chamber of pure light, cascading around her and eliminating any and all features of the room, if there were any, including walls and floors. Indeed, she felt as if she were floating.

 

Before her was a gaping maw of darkness, absorbing the light; it stayed in the middle of the room, its king and ruler, a core made up of Darkness.

 

Ages die... memories fade... secrets are buried. The light of truth is obscured by the waters of deception and time. Wait until the sacred hour... when all that is dark draws away... and then you will witness the opening of the doors of power.

 

There was a pause, and then the light intensified. She felt herself black out.

 

Artemis picked herself up, groaning a bit, wondering how long she had been out. She carefully retrieved her long knife from its scabbard, looking around nervously, and brushing sand from her side. "What WAS that?" She asked herself.

[Silver]

The weather was hot, and Kareem could slowly feel himself baking under the heat of the sun. Kareem wiped the sweat off his forehead with his forehand. He walked to a tree, and sat under it. Slowly he hummed a tune to himself. The tune was greatly emotional to Kareem, as it was the song his parents would sing to him while he slept. It helped him sleep even now, 16 years on. While humming, he stared up at the tree. The leaves swayed gently, with sunlight peeking through the gaps. His humming slowly turned to singing.

"And I can see a land with water nearby..." Kareem finished the song. He slowly raised himself from the tree, supporting his weight on the rough bark. He walked through the field, shielding his eyes with his hand. The gentle breeze that kept him cool had now disappeared, and with a sigh, Kareem continued walking. His steady strides soon became a quick paced run, and he ran along the fields to his home. Although it was small, it seemed cosy and inviting. Kareem sniffed, and a grin spread across his face. Mother has been cooking, he thought. He opened the door and burst in.

"Mother! Do I smell food?" sang Kareem happily, as he walked in. His mother was at the stove, whilst his father was reading the morning paper. His older brother Kajan was already waiting expectantly at the table, wearing a frown that was no surprise to Kareem. He had grown up with Kajan, and he was never in a good mood. His solemn eyes were blank and told nothing. He turned to Kareem.

"I was here first, Kareem. I will get the most food." was all Kajan said, before focusing back to his mother's cooking.

"Hello to you too?" asked Kareem playfully. He jumped in the seat next to Kajan, and waved his hand in front of Kajan's face. "Are you on another planet or something?"

"Stop that. It's distracting" said Kajan coldly.

"What's got you so busy?" asked Kareem

"Don't be so curious, Karee!" said his mother sarcastically. She was growing old, and it was showing. She had wrinkles that looked as if they had been drawn on, and her hair was greying.

"Mother! I was just asking!" pleaded Kareem. "You cannot get an answer unless you ask a question. Isn't that right, Father?"

"Huh?" grunted Kareem's father. He briefly put the newspaper down. His face resembled Kajan's greatly, except it was a lot more broader. He had a black moustache, and he tended to stroke it while thinking. He was thinking now, slowly brushing his moustache into place. "Kajan and I had a conversation about the next Crystal. We were wondering where it could be."

"In the backyard?" suggested Kareem.

Before either Kajan or his father could reply, food was served. The steamed vegatable and rice smell was enticing. Kareem could feel the scent dancing around his nose. Kareem stuffed his mouth and chomped happily.

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Terkon was practising fighting. He seemed as if he was dancing, his moves were both graceful and powerful. Slowly, he raised a hand against a board and punched it, damaging it but not breaking it.

"More speed in the punch..."

He returned to the rest position. He bent down, and his hair covered his eyes. He picked up a water bottle, and drank. The cool water refreshed him completely. The sky had turned a grey-blue and Terkon could sense that rain would come later that night. Whether rain or sun, Terkon thought, I will fight to get stronger. A hard gust of wind blew and some of Terkon's facial clothing was removed. An ugly gash that ran across his closed eyelid was revealed. Terkon tied back the strand, carefully. Never again will I be so careless, Terkon thought. He produced a sword from a holder on his belt. He held the sword directly in front of him, focusing both on it's weight and size, trying to balance the two to get the best out of this sword. Suddenly he turned and ran to a tree and rammed his sword through it. It was a clean cut through.

"Father... you're sword is remarkable" Terkon murmured to himself. "You could have got a lot more out of it than me."

Terkon returned the sword to the holder. Now it was time for meditation. Terkon sat in the lotus position, and emptied his mind.

[Shradow]

OOC: I just want to point out Sephiran is not the quiet type when talking to himself.

 

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Sephiran wandered through the Labyrinth Forest. "I think I'm lost. And I'm almost out of rations. I have to find some food." Sephiran sneaks through the trees to see a wild boar taking a nap in a clearing. "This is my chance. As much as I am adverse to killing animals, I'll have to deal with it." He pulled out his hunting knife from his pack and tied his pack to a branch in a tree.

 

He snuck up on the boar, about to deal the finishing blow, but at the last minute, he tripped over a rock and fell on the boar. Waking up, the boar slid out from under Sephiran. Outraged, the boar quickly charged at Sephiran. Sephiran barely dodge out of the way before the boar bore down on him. Sephiran chased after the boar, but it ran away into the trees. "Blast! I'll have to try again later."

 

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OOC: I'm going to make him go OCD over the boar, it's really going to be funny.

 

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Ragaror dashed through the barren fields of the remains of the previous war zone of his army. He had been running for a straight two days, trying to make his way to the nearest dock. "If memory serves, I still have about a day's worth of travel ahead of me. Even when I do get there, I'll have to procure a ship to take me to Blackbird Island. Guess I could just kill someone and take their boat, but it lacks the finesse and stealth of stealing one right from under someone's nose. I'll have to plan ahead."

 

All of a sudden, a bird flew up and started to fly alongside Ragaror. It chirped annoyingly in his ear. "Shut up, you blasted bird!" Ragaror reached out to the bird and grabbed it. He quickly crushed it in his hand and dropped it to the ground.

 

He continued running without interruption until the sun started to set. "Well, looks like I'll have to set up camp. I don't have any materials to make a tent, so I think-" he stopped short as he spotted a cave in a cliff not far off. "Well, looks like I found my camp." Ragaror made his way to the cave, only to find a sleeping bear residing in it. "Well, looks like I won't have to worry about losing out on some training." Ragaror flicked a pebble at the bear, waking it. It bellowed at him. Ragaror grabbed a small stalagmite and tore it from the ground. As the bear charged, he threw the stalagmite like a javelin, hitting the bear in the shoulder. "Damn, I was aiming for the head. I am out of practice." He walked to the now fallen bear and slit it's throat with his sword. "Well, atleast I won't go hungry for a little while. I've never had bear before. Wonder if it's as good as alligator."

[Hydra of Ages]

Sollus checked his belongings.

 

Six refillable skins of water, plus an additional empty 10 wineskins. one military-class iron spear. One hazelwood harp. 23 spare Marks, enough to live in a fair hotel for about three days, providing he got his own food somehow. Three white-iron rings, one broken and two with a very basic heat-warding charm worth a total of 14 Marks to a pawn shop. A set of traveller's cloths, made of light, white cotton to ward off heat. A pair of comfortable hiking boots. Two arms, two legs. One foolhardy mission.

 

He groaned slightly to himself. He didn't want to head to the mountain... the danger was ridiculous, and couldn't possibly pay off for him. And yet, trying to think of doing something -else- was met with mental resistance, like he couldn't comprehend the idea.

 

He sighed, put the two working rings on his fingers, the boots on his feet, the Marks and broken ring in a pocket. His harp, the wineskins and the water were bundled into a sack, and tied to the end of the spear, which was slung over his shoulder.

 

He took a deep breath, and started along the path.

 

-

 

Artemis sighed. Truth, lies, darkness? The Sacred hour? What did it all mean, and what did it mean to her?

 

She sighed again, and doodled in the black sands with her dagger. She really should have been heading towards her aunts house at this time, but she had never got along with the women, and preferred to sleep near the waves anyway.

 

She blinked as a long series of scaley crests rose out of the water like a streamer, and then sung down into the depths of the water again. She shrugged and continued doodling. Many Sea Serpants lived near Blackbird island- they didn't bother the residents, so the residents generally didn't bother them. Sometimes they did make it difficult for ships to dock though, as they suspected there was a nest of them somewhere- a Sea Serpent, while varying from species to species, is generally very docile and inclined to flee rather than fight. However, if a ship were to come even remotely close to a nest of their young, they would respond with the fury of the Sea Gods themselves. A Sea Serpent's coils could crush a ship in three, their mouths could swallow an entire ship if they dislocated their jaws. Some of the more frightening varieties even had the ability to generate electricity in their scales.

 

They were fearsome creatures, to be sure, but she had gotten more than used to them.

[Azerty-of-KoL]

As Serif walked out of the city, the well-worn dirt road slowly turned to sand. He would be walking through the Ziri Sands. The Labyrinth Forest was all the way on the other side of the mountain of The Eternal Flame and it would take months to get there. At least he would be crossing the shortest area of the desert. Serif had stolen a large canteen and filled it with a couple days worth of water.

 

The unforgiving sun beat down on a lone figure making his way across the Ziri Sands. Serif could feel his energy being sapped by the desert sun. Out of the corner of his eye, Serif saw the sand dune to his right tremble slightly. His head whipped around to look at the dune. Suddenly the dune exploded. A Sand Wurm burst from underneath the sand. Serif was frozen to the spot. He had never seen something so massive. It's yellow skin glistened in the light and it's teeth clicked together in anticipation of a meal. It turned it's head towards Serif and lunged at him. Luckily, Serif was able to get legs moving and started to run like he had never run before. Even though Serif was running as fast as he could, the Wurm easily kept up with him, diving in and out of the sand as if it were water. "I'll never be able to out run this thing...", muttered Serif. Serif turned around, grabbed his daggers, and assumed a fighting stance. The Wurm leaped out of the sand and dove for Serif. Serif ran forward and stabbed upwards at the Wurm. It bellowed and decided that catching it's prey wasn't worth it.

 

Serif watched the Wurm tunnel away for a moment before turning around and continuing on his journey. The heat relented as the sun set into the horizon.

 

 

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Derix was in the crow's nest. He scanned the horizon for land and saw a black strip. "Land ho!" A few hours later, they landed in the port of Blackbird Island. As he stepped off the ship, Derix could hear the yelling of sailors and the mixed smells of salt and fish. He looked around the port wondering where to start looking for the voice he had heard.

 

Blackbird Island had many grassy plains. Under the surface of the island was a complicated network of tunnels. The only way to enter the tunnels is to rappel down a cliff side to the entrance. All manners of beasts lived in the tunnels.

 

As Derix walked down the streets, street vendors clamored for his attention. "Pig's ears, pig's ears, deep-fried pig's ears!" "Half-price magic rings, guaranteed to increase your luck!" "Precious gems, high quality precious gems!" Finally Derix reached the edge of the seaside town. Beyond was a stretch of grasslands. Somehow he felt that this was the way to go. As he walked away from the town, he wondered what he would find ahead.

[Hydra of Ages]

Sollus panted a little as he took a drink from his wineskin. Truth be told, he wasn't even in the Sands yet- he was walking along the boarder, hoping to come across the Labyrinth Forests sooner rather than later. He figured the natural maze and trees would be worth the shelter from the heat and Wurms, who were known to prey upon hapless adventurers these days. There were tales of terrible beasts in the forests too, but at least that's all they were-rumors. Nobody could confirm any of it, so Sollus didn't put too much stock into it. Being a bard, he knew when people were likely to embellish, and this seemed like one of those tall-tales.

 

He sighed in relief as he saw the looming form of the Redwoods that made up most of the Labyrinth. They were gargantuan, and some said magical- some claimed that was how they survived the desertification process that seemed to have claimed every other form of plant in the wide area; This was a rumor Sollus found harder to shrug off, as he admitted, up close, the trees seemed...unnatural. He had even heard their trunks were older than the earth they grew in, which, looking at them now, didn't seem too impossible.

 

He almost sighed in relief, but paused, quickly ducking away. He caught a glimpse of a white form slipping away, and blinked as he saw it in front of him- It was white, seemingly reptilian, with six beating white wings. It squawked a bit, its scaled beak snapping viciously as it dived at him again.

 

'Wyvern.' Sollus thought to himself. 'And just a Spawnling at that...'

Wyverns were the closest related animal to Dragons, and indeed, some thought that they were crossbreeds between Dragons and Rocs. Just like Dragons, they went through several stages of life- An animalistic childhood as a Spawnling, in which they acted and thought no differently from a Wurm or other carnivorous animal, A Drakenling, where they developed humanoid qualities and began to lose their claws and fangs and develop sentient thought, and a Drake, where they grew to gargantuan size and gained vast magical abilities, including, some said, the ability to change their shape and communicate with any species. That was where the chain stopped for Wyverns, though some people upheld that Dragons later became Drakyles, God-Drakes that became part of the very earth (due to their massive size) and controlled the very essence of magic.

 

That information was completely useless to Sollus at the moment, however, as he dodged the Wyvern Spawnling's second attempt to gut him. This time he was ready, and slashed out clumsily with his spear. The Spawnling squawked and dived again; this time, Sollus was ready, and stuck his spear at the flying creature. There was a loud whine as the creature was injured, bleeding profusely from one of its six wings- It snapped venomously at him, before flying away.

 

Sollus watched it sourly, before running towards the Forest. Wyverns juveniles were petty creatures; No doubt he'd be back later with a swarm of his siblings in order to devour him, in revenge for that injury. He couldn't stay long.

 

-

-- V

--- V

-- V

-

 

Artemis smiled and sighed as the sun's rays fell apon her. Moments before, the Time of Light had come- for most of the Land of Shadow's day, the sun was blocked by the gigantic Island of Gods; a massive mass of stone and earth found in the skies. The few people of the Land of Shadows who were still religious believed that either Gods or Devils lived there. Artemis was more inclined to believe the the latter- Who else would steal such a precious thing as the sun away from them for most of the day?

 

She smiled, seeing the sun reflected in the glossy black waters, before they washed up onto the featureless black sand. Blackbird island was an island of almost entirely one color- Black. They had fields and grasses of course, but it was scarce growth on the darkened earth. At night, anyone who looked towards the coast would be completely blinded, unless the moon happened to be showing itself; there simply was not any more color towards there.

 

Ah, the moon. Sister of the Sun, she came out to play as often as he brother did, but only when most people were sound asleep. She lit up the night only a little, but it was welcome at that darkened hour- the bulk of the night, where she was hidden by the Island of the Gods, were always the worst ones of any given day, when crime ran rampant and justice seemed suspended... Only in the moonlight were such criminals revealed.

 

She blinked and jerked upward with sudden revelation.

[Shradow]

OOC: Time for OCD time!

 

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Sephiran looked around the surrounding forest, looking for the boar, with a shrub on his head, army-style camoflague face paint, and a crazed look in his eye. He spotted the boar sleeping on a rock. He sneaked towards it, having the utmost care so he wouldn't trip again. He drew his hunting knife, and threw it expertly at the boar. Unfortunately, due to gravity, the knife sailed lower than expected and embedded itself in the rock, leaving a large crack. "Blast! He pulled out his hunting bow and quiver from his pack and prepared to fire an arrow. Just as he was about to, a loud screech was heard behind him. "Uh oh..." Sephiran turned around slowly to find a wyvern right in front of him.

 

Sephiran ran away very fast, but he grabbed his knife from the rock before the boar on top was snapped up by the wyvern. "Aw man..."

 

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OOC: There are things like wyverns/dragons/other mythical creatures in this, right?

 

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Ragaror was awoken in the cave by dripping water landing on his face. He got up, ready to finish the trip to the port town of Soralia. "Well, I have a long run ahead of me, I better-oh damnit." Ragaror stood in awe as he looked at the entrance of the cave. The entrance was caved in with large boulders. "Hmm... You think I would've woken up from that. Oh well." Ragaror grabbed a pickaxe out from his pack. "I can't believe I'm actually going to get to use this."

 

He set to work on the rocks, knowing it would take many hours to break free of the cave.

[Hydra of Ages]

OOC- Yes, there are. Gah, I'm posting these days more to bump than for anything else... I'll have to send out reminder messages to people if it drops near the end of the second page again, :?

 

----

 

Sollus panted slightly and took another drink, as he put his hand on one of the redwoods of the forest. He smiled a bit to himself, before walking into the forest- I'd be best if he used the foliage to guard himself from the Wyvern swarm's eyes, plus they'd find it difficult to fly with their six-wings in such a place En Masse'.

 

He tucked his sack back onto the end of the iron spear, and swung it over his shoulder again before continuing. He didn't believe there'd be any more problems.

 

He frowned to himself. It was much colder in the woods than it should be... perhaps too cold. He glanced around- inexplicably, there was MIST around. Mist, in an area so close to the Mountain of the Eternal Flame? That was unheard of!

 

He quickened his base a bit. It took effort not to close his eyes... he felt fingers of mist, light touches like moth wings on his body, his hands, his face... it felt like he was being probed by the spirits of the dead.

 

-

-- V

--- V

-- V

-

 

Artemis yawned, still wandering around the dark beaches of Blackbird Island. She felt the thing that had called her- the crystal, the dark shadow in the light- wanted her to be here. But if so, what did he want her to do? Wait until the Sacred Hour? When was that? And how would she know?

 

She crossed her legs in puzzlement.[/b]

[Azerty-of-KoL]

Serif shaded his eyes with his hand. He felt delirious from from the heat. A dark shape shimmered in the distance. Serif sighed, "It must be another mirage". He had seen many of them, but he was smart enough to not follow them. Weird, the mirage seemed to be pointed at the top... Serif shaded his eyes again. A large plume of smoke rose from the top of the mirage. Serif sighed in relief, he was almost there. The snakes and lizards buried themselves in the sand in the midday heat. Serif took a swig of water and continued on his way.

 

===========================================================================================================================

 

Derix wandered through the knee-high grass. It was evening, the only time the sun shone besides dawn. The grass swayed like a sea of green. When he reached the edge of the plains, he saw a girl sitting on one of the black sand beaches Blackbird Island was famous for. Maybe she knows something, Derix thought.

 

As he made his way towards her, the earth beneath him suddenly fell away. Luckily, the ground wasn't to far down and Derix was able to land without breaking any bones. When he got up and looked around, he discovered that he was in a large cavern, surrounded by glowing red eyes. Derix had heard many legends about the underground tunnels. It was said that tribes of Imps lived in the tunnels, feeding off anything they could find. Imps were described as scrawny creatures, with pointed ears and and sharp, needle-like teeth. As the first imp jumped at Derix, he thought, this is going to be a long battle.

[Hydra of Ages]

Sollus shivered, still walking through the mists. He couldn't see more than a foot in front of his face, it had gotten so bad. Everything in Sollus' mind told him this was unnatural... he kept hearing whispers, small mutterings in his ear, caressing his cheek, his neck, light touches along his back...

 

He growled, yelled out, and swiped out into mid air with his spear. Of course, he hit nothing but the mists in front of him.

 

The hairs on the back of his neck prickled.

He felt a squawk form somewhere.

 

 

-

-- V

--- V

-- V

-

 

Artemis blinked, as she glanced back. She cocked her eyebrow; "That's funny" She muttered to herself. "What was that crack?" She muttered, glancing around. She knew, that due to the complex network of tunnels under Blackbird island, that there were some pitfalls occasionally- did one just give out due to old age, she wondered?

 

She glanced around, poking the ground lightly with her stick, in the general direction the sound came from- she froze when she heard a slight scurrying, high pitched-whine; some would thing it was from a rat, but she knew it was the sound an Imp made (though the two were nearly one and the same).[/i]

[Silver]

OoC: Sorry for the inactivity!

 

"So, seriously, any idea where the crystal lies?"

Kareem had broken the silence in the house. Everyone had been silent, eating the food. At once, everyone was at thought. At last, Kareem's father spoke.

"I have heard many things, Kareem" said the father. "Some people I know claim it lies West, while others claim it lies East." He sipped his tea, thinking.

"You boys!" said the mother, serving a second plate to Kareem. "Always on about this crystal! The only man of the family I can think of that doesn't care is Kuez."

The mother covered her mouth, greatly regretting mentioning the name. Kuez and his father had a large argument in the morning, and Kuez had stormed out, furious. At once, the house returned to an eerie silence. The mother looked as if she would cry. The father had his fists curled into a ball, and Kareem looked confused. Kajan spoke out.

"Kuez will return," said Kajan. "He wouldn't leave us like this"

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Terkon awoke from his state of meditation. The sky had been blanketed with the black night sky, and the stars were twinkling quickly. Terkon tasted the humid air and felt rain coming, and he slowly got up, leaning his weight against a tree. He walked towards his cottage, and opened the broken wooden door. As he entered he noticed the sudden change of temperature as he entered. The warm air hugged Terkon as he walked through the cottage. Terkon's prediction was right, as it had started to rain. Terkon heard the drops tap the roof of the house. Pitter, patter, pitter, patter. The sound was memorising and for a moment, Terkon was just sitting there, listening to the sound. Soon, he broke out of his trance, and walked to his bedroom. He heard a sound as he entered, and at once Terkon drew his sword. He lowered it when he realised what it was. It was a mouse that Terkon had been keeping with him for some time. It was oak brown, with wide black eyes. It sensed Terkon's presence, and at once bolted to his feet. Terkon bent down and scooped it up in his cupped hands. The mouse curled up into a ball.

"Xaslar, are you sleepy?" asked Terkon. His voice was deep, yet clear. The mouse replied by shutting it's eyes. Terkon bent under his bed, and found a cardboard box. It had been lined with grass, and some nuts. He placed Xaslar in the box. Xaslar adjusted his sleeping position to match the box. "Goodnight, Xaslar."

Terkon placed the box back under his bed, slowly so not to wake the sleeping mouse. The rain had grew heavier, and he could hear it beating through the roof. He looked out of the window, and saw the water streaming down the window. Terkon jumped into bed, and produced a book. "The Tales Of Banter" was inscribed on the cover. Terkon sunk into the book.

[Hydra of Ages]

(No problem)

 

Sollus' eyes widened, as he jumped and lashed out again with his spear. There was a loud snarl of fury, as he heard something slink back into the shadows. He glanced incredulously at his spar- it was coated in a thin layer of oddly light-colored red blood.

 

He felt his scalp prickle. This mist wasn't safe... wasn't safe at all. There were... things in it. Worse things than a Wyvern swarm, he was afraid. At least Wyvern Drakes and Drakenlings would listen to his pleas for mercy; whatever was in this mist seemed... Beastial.

 

He broke out into a full-on run. He closed his ears in fear, as he hear a loud, reptillian snarl from somewhere. He wasn't afraid of hitting a tree- the mist already reduced his vision to the point that was almost inevitable, he thought, as the brambles and branches scratched his arms.

 

-

 

Artemis blinked as she found the hole in the ground. She blinked when she saw a guy in there, fighting off what was indeed a pack of Imps, savagely jumping and clawing at him with their yellowed fangs and teeth.

 

"Hey!" She called downward to him. "Do you need h-heeelp!" She yelped, as the ground underneath her shifted and gave away also, widening the hole and dropping her in there. There was an undignified snarl and growl from the imps, as they backed off a little, trying to decide if it was worth it to attack TWO humans. Evidently they decided it was, as they propelled themselves once again at two humans, bearing their sharp fangs.

 

Artemis shied away a little, and pulled out the knife she carried on her person slightly nervously, using it to bat away an imp that launched itself at her, and strike awkwardly towards its stomach.

[Hydra of Ages]

Bump.

[Azerty-of-KoL]

As Serif walked under the blistering sun, the white sands slowly turned to red and black dust. If it was possible, it seemed to get even hotter. As he started to walk up the mountain, Serif noticed something in the distance. There seemed to be a green spot on the side of the mountain. When Serif got close enough to see it, he discovered that it was a circle of trees with a clear pond in the center. He sighed in relief. Right before he walked through the trees, Serif paused. How could the trees survive? And how has the water not evaporated. Serif squinted into the trees. Dark shapes swirled around in the clearing.

 

Wraiths. They created illusions to draw travelers into their trap, where they would feed on your life-force. Wraiths could read the part of your mind that controlled cravings. That way, they would always appear as what you want the most.

 

Serif slowly backed away from the Wraiths. He skirted the clearing and continued on his way, shaken from his near-death.

 

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Derix slammed an Imp in the face with his shield and crushed the skull of another with his sword hilt. The girl he had seen on the beach had jumped down to help fend off the Imps. Even with her help, Derix knew that they wouldn't last. There were just to many Imps. As if to prove his point, a large Imp leaped at him and delivered a vicious bite to his shield arm. Derix's shield clattered to the ground. He gripped his arm and tried to think of a way out.

 

He ran at one of the tunnels and cut a swath out of the ranks of Imps. As he ran out of the cavern, he yelled to the girl:"Come on!"

[Hydra of Ages]

(Geeze, where's Forlorn Shadow been?)

 

Sollus panted heavily as he tore through the foliage and brambles, blooding his forearms. He didn't care- all he knew was that he had to escape the mist, chocking him like a noose around his neck. The cloying mist... he couldn't think of anything but escape, and the strange, dangerous creature that was loose in the forests. He could still feel it following him, stalking him like a piece of particularly interesting prey. He had already drawn blood, so it was wary of his spear... and mad.

 

Finally, he took in a gasp of dry, desert air, as he inwardly rejoiced. The sun beat down on him, but he hardly cared- he was FREE!

He glanced back and blinked at the maze of trees behind him, swathed in mist. He heard a guttural hiss... and then, amazingly, the mist seemed to retract back, like it was a predator denied its prey.

 

He fiddled with his spear nervously.

 

-

-- V

--- V

-- V

-

 

Artemis blinked in surprise as the man yelled at her. She blinked. "Uh, y-yes, sir..." She said, stuttering. She lashed out with her dagger again, batting back another imp that attempted to take a bite out of her arm, and ran towards the direction he was in, attempting to kick away the imps that got too close.