The Chosen [IC/PG-16]

[Andx]

Reinaan's only desire had been to leave but that quickly appeared to be an impossibility. Everything about this place seemed to be controlled by the magic of the council. The way they had entered through was no longer visible anywhere. The walls in the room were in fact solid despite appearance but there were no openings anywhere. The council didn't seem to mind his wandering as he searched every space he could for some indication of a doorway. But there was none to be found. He caught bits of the answers to the other Chosen, speaking of the demons plaguing the world and the gates that could unleash more of them. Ultimately one doorway was summoned by the council but not to the outside. To the Draken's dismay they were to be held here overnight. It was the last thing he wanted to do but knew there would be no arguing his way out of it. It sounded like a weird place to rest. Something about beds and runes neither of which meant much of anything to the boy. Curious to at least see what these things were Reinaan made his way toward the opening. Along the way as the others progressed toward the room he took note of the orc who seemed particularly tired.

 

Upon stepping through the doorway Reinaan found himself in a room that very much perplexed him. There were several perfectly rectangular objects all a good six feet or so long around the room with strange writings on the walls near them. Were these beds? "Uhh... what exactly are we supposed to do here?" he asked out loud to anyone. Ziiyol seemed ready with answers. She gleefully danced her way to the side of one of the beds and sat on its side. Putting a hand down on the top of it. "This is the bed and these," she started as she motioned to the writings on the wall, "Are the runes the council mentioned." she said happily. It still didn't explain what the purpose of the objects were to the boy who hadn't ever seen these sorts of things before. At least the council had mentioned the runes would let them get things they needed. "So, what am I supposed to do with a bed?" he questioned. Ziiyol placed a hand lightly on the side of her face as she looked upward appearing to be thinking and digging through memories.

 

"As I recall humans use them for mating!" she said joyfully. This only confused the boy further and he took a moment to look back as the other chosen entered the room. "They can't mean to..." Reinaan began as he pondered what unnatural and bizarre things the council had in mind for him. "Oh yes they sleep on them as well. I assume that was the intended purpose here." Ziiyol continued to the Draken's relief. The spirit of fire motioned for her partner to come and try the bed out to see for himself. Reinaan set his bag and spear down at the foot of the bed and as he wasn't going anywhere like he had hoped, removed his jacket again once again exposing his back and all of his tail along with the rest of him to view. He sat down next to Ziiyol and was alarmed as he started sinking into it initially and in alarm he shot back up to a standing position. Ziiyol laughed and insisted it was an intended effect for comfort and once again the boy sat down and shifted around some before deciding it was remarkably comfortable.

 

Noticing it was long enough Reinaan took the opportunity to lie down entirely face down. There were other objects at the top of the bed that his head rested on that seemed even softer. His body was tired and tense from the fighting and only now began to relax and unwind. He assumed something of a starfish formation, extending each limb out as much as he could to stretch it along with his tail straight upward. "I had no idea something this soft existed." he stated to no one in particular through groans and sighs of relief. He felt a warmth at his right side as Ziiyol lied down next to him to see what the world was like from this angle and marveled at the ease with which one could observe the ceiling like this. Reinaan might have objected but the presence was relaxing to the muscles she made contact with. For a moment he was almost grateful he hadn't been able to leave right away. But only for a moment. The boy turned onto his back still sort of stretched out every which way and stared upwards at nothing and let out a large sigh. As he did so he could feel the pain in his right hand slowly returning. The water chosen had stated however briefly that it was a temporary aid for the pain. Sitting up on the bed Reinaan began lightly rubbing at his right hand with his left and had a distant expression on his face as he considered the events of the day.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Once given the chance to do so, Anis and Ileca left the scene as soon as they could. The council continue to unnerve them, and it might not be best for either of them to stay there for too long. Ileca was definitely on the edge of rage, and Anis didn't want anything bad to happen to her. Going through the portal following the other Chosens, the two soon reached a room with weird runes on it.  Were they supposed to share a room with the others? The thought made Anis slightly uncomfortable.

 

"Come on, it's not that bad, Anicchi~

 

Or are you just that worried about the Orc and that cute Draken?"

 

"Shut up, Shirin."

 

Well, Shirin was right. She's not really comfortable with the presence of both the Orc and the Draken, but even then, the fact that there were men sleeping on the same room as her was worrying too. It's not really something that her old customs would accept, and even after her travels, Anis still felt somewhat uncomfortable to sleep in the same room as a male that were not her husband or son. Even then, she's too tired to complaint, and went to her bed as soon as she could. She passed through the Draken and visibly winced.

 

How could a kid be so indecent?

 

Pushing the distracting thought out of her mind, she lie down on her bed, and attempted her best to sleep, while Ileca rested herself beside her. She'd like to talk with the others, but definitely not now. She's too tired to think straight.

 

---

[Sethera]

"Your concerns are...noted, Chosen of Ice. We, uh, we'll keep that in mind."

 

Gilly pouted. If they actually noted my concerns, they'd tell me where the latrine is! What a bunch of lamebrains!

 

Then they started talking about the Abyss and Gilly tuned them out. Demons? She could take 'em. She was the unstoppable halfling Gilly of the ice bunny! Future hero and all around awesomesauce! "Haha! Demons? I can eat 'em for breakfast!" she bragged. "In fact I just might! Do you think they'd taste good roasted or baked in a pie? Maybe chopped up for a stew?" she had to think about that one. "Or maybe pickled?" She completely lost track of the conversation, lost in her thoughts.

 

When she finally returned to earth it seemed they moved on to something else. "Yes, of course...if that is all, you may go rest. This portal will take you to a room with beds for you to rest. Anything you need can be brought to you, just press upon the runes next to each bed and state your desire. In the morning you will be allowed to leave, or, if you wish, we can provide a one time transport to any of the bridges on Haven."

 

"Rest? Who needs rest! I'm the great Gilly! Take me to these demons right now and I'll show 'em what for!" she punched the air, then glanced at the lightning chosen. "You can be my sidekick, Mr. crow man!" She didn't seem to think it too important that she didn't know his actual name.

 

Eventually, with the help of Hob, she was goaded into going through the portal where she saw the beds. Choosing a random bed that ended up next to the dragon boy, she took off her shoes and armor. Flopping down on it, she jumped up and down, enjoying the plushy surface beneath her bare feet. "This bed is great! I can always tell if a bed is good because it feels good to jump on! Hey hey, anybody want a pillow fight?" she scooped up a pillow and beamed at the room. She didn't seem to mind the fact she had been injured, nor that she had just been in a fight. She was ready for more action! So ready, she got a bit ahead of herself and threw the pillow right at the dragon boy next to her. After all, her arms were short, so she could only throw so far.

[Alaina]

The girl had stood there, listening to the council as they spoke about what it was they up against and what they had to do. She remained motionless and silent as the explanation on what constituted a demon and what a demon gate was. Given what they knew about them, the demons were likely to be the most terrifying manner of creatures that walked the face of the planet. The demon gates were what they came out of, and since they were an issue, they likely had demons coming out of them. That meant they were likely to be at there whenever they found the gate, wherever there was. As it stood, they had the broad idea that there was one per island, and they could only rely on their spirits power to aid them in destroying them. As these facts had been told and the group was dismissed for the night, the girl turned around and wordlessly walked off to the door, exiting into the room that everyone else had gone too. 

 

As she entered the room, no longer under the gaze of the direct gaze of the council, the girl started to tremble a bit as her breathing started to accelerate. She wasn't entirely sure that she was strong enough to do it, and that Ackrin had likely chosen poorly as to who his Chosen was to be. She might've been strong, but it wasn't as though she were invincible, nor was she the most capable fighter in the world. She might've been experienced, but she wasn't exactly a seasoned veteran. And if they were unable to cleanly defeat those beasts the council had set on them, she wasn't sure that she was able to fight against terror incarnate. Nevertheless, this was now her reality and she had to go through with it, and with that, she had to go to bed first. 

 

Walking over to one, the girl realized that she couldn't very well go to sleep while still in her battle gear, and thus had decided to take it off. The process of removing her armor was one that was far more difficult then it normally would've been. Her hands were far less steady then usual, shaking all the while, and her vision was slightly blurred during this time, causing her hands to not even go to the correct places to remove it. After some effort, the girl finally seemed to finally manage to remove it, being now in only a raggedy looking tunic that she had worn underneath it. The girl attempted to steady her breathing, lying down onto her bed as she did so. As she tried to come to terms with what happened today, trying to find anything to assure herself at all, the girl simply attempted her best to rest at the moment and shutting her eyes. 

[Hälō]

"The Abyss." 

 

Linow didn't even need to look to know that the water chosen's eyes fell on him as she spoke. Not bothering to meet her gaze, the man continued to silently observe the runes that were carved into his body as they attempted to fight off the curse that the council had afflicted upon him. 

 

Though he continued to listen to the other chosen, as they voiced their complaints to the shadowy figures, his eyes were closed tightly due to burning sensation that crept over his body as The Marks of The Abyss did their work. 

 

Only after the council finished its explanation of demons and the party’s lodging situation did the burning subside. Prompting Lindow to reopen his eyes and pull down on the collar of his cloak to observe the markings that were said to be symbolic of the curse. “I thought not…” He said with a shrug, after noting that the council’s magic was strong enough to over power his defensive markings. 

 

"Rest? Who needs rest! I'm the great Gilly! Take me to these demons right now and I'll show 'em what for!" The voice of the Halfling prompted him to glance to his right, just in time to have her address him. "You can be my sidekick, Mr. crow man!"

 

“Hm?” Lindow peered down at the girl with a blank expression. “That’s an odd way of asking me to keep you alive…” He allowed a small smirk to firm on his lips. Though she obviously had no talent for combat, this girl seemed rather amusing. It probably wouldn’t hurt to have the great Gilly close by for some kicks, and the fact that Lily seemed to behave strangely around her ice spirit seemed like to be a nice little bonus. 

 

“Though Lindow seems like much less of a mouthful than Mr. crow man!” He called after Gilly as she was goaded into the portal that led the room that the party would be sleeping in. 

 

“She’s gonna die.” Lily sighed as she watched Gilly’s tiny form vanish into the portal.

 

“Well then,” With the majority of the other chosen gone, Lindow’s glanced over his shoulder to get Keres in his sights. “A witch and witch hunter walk into a magic tower…” Predatory mischief gleamed in the man’s single eye as he began speaking as if he were setting up a joke. “...” Suddenly his gaze shifted to where the council had been addressing the group from, causing him to scoff slightly. 

 

“Actually, let's save that one for another time…” Lindow’s inflection changed slightly as he began to move towards the portal leading to the resting area. “ I don’t think everyone would get.” 

 

After entering the resting area, Lindow silently placed his back against the wall and waited for the chosen of water to appear. When she did, he would gently extend his hand to halt her advance before speaking in a voice low enough so that only she could hear. “What’s your connection to those people? I’m very good at my job, and I can’t say I know of a single person of your profession that matches your description…” If the council was harboring or even training witches without alerting the Abyss watchers, that would of course be a problem. But in truth, Lindow's curiosity fueled the conversation far more than any sense of duty...

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Keres wasn't sure what to do. She certainly didn't want to stay here with the Council staring down at her any longer. However she also would prefer not to turn her back towards the Chosen of Thunder. Especially with that joke of his. He believed her to be a witch. And she had experience with what his kind did to witches.

Flux sensed the disturbance between the two and turned its attention to the Spirit of Thunder. It followed them towards the doorway and began to speak to it, in a voice that only they and other Spirits could hear. "You best keep your mad dog on a leash." It said, surprisingly aggressive for the Spirit's nature.
Keres pursed her lips and nodded to herself, following the man into the doorway.

She was transported into a rather simple, if large, room. She looked around in surprise to find that there was to be a singular room for them all. "Perhaps the Council wishes to observe us all at once? No, they could do that easily enough. They probably just don't want to use too many rooms. What are we to them anyway...this is all so..."

Her thoughts were interrupted as Lindow stopped her.

“What’s your connection to those people? I’m very good at my job, and I can’t say I know of a single person of your profession that matches your description…”

 

She halted completely. Staring straight at the man but also trying to ignore him entirely. She didn't know how to deal with such a direct confrontation. Automatically she began to analyze the situation. She had barely any water at the moment, no real means of attack. She could try and illusion to slip past but that would cause suspicious. He wasn't readying a weapon. There were several others in the room and, soon, the Chosen of Dark should be coming in behind her. She decided that it would be best to try and answer. But how?

 

"Student." She said. "Past, past student." She realized what the man meant by profession and she almost shook her head in disbelief. He thought that all the witches, even if she wasn't one technically, were recorded? His group were hunters but they couldn't possibly think they had a handle on the entire swamp? "Larger than you think." She muttered, which, to her, explained it all.

 

She moved past him in a surprising surge of courage, hoping that he wouldn't follow.
Scanning the room she noticed the Halfling throw a pillow at Reinaan. A curious game, one she vaguely remembered from her childhood, before the students started to exile her.

She also noticed that two of them were resting. No, three...that wasn't right. Two were resting. One was seeming to struggle with that. The Earth Chosen. Keres frowned, her normally neutral expression changing minutely, as she looked at the girl and realized she was in distress.

Steeling her courage, Keres walked over to the girl's bed. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She grew frustrated standing there, knowing that the other girl was having such issues. Keres nodded firmly to herself and sat down at the edge of the bed. She remembered reading about sleep troubles and the multiple ways, physical, mental, and otherwise, that you could relax oneself to get rest. Keres didn't have any components to work with, besides herself, at the moment. And she didn't want to get ingredients from this tower.

So she did the only thing she could think of. Dripping the last small bit of water at the bottom of her flask into her mouth and drinking; she sang. It was a struggle, to get the words out, at first. But once she started she found it easier. She thought about Kitty, at home, and how she would sing to the cat on occasion. It hurt her throat somewhat but her vocal cords were just strong enough to allow her to sing softly. It was unlikely everyone could hear it. In fact, given the ruckus beginning around them, only the Earth Chosen and anyone close, a bed away perhaps, by would be able to pick up anything beyond that Keres was saying something.

[Andx]

Each Chosen's response was different as they entered the small room provided for them to rest in. Some took to trying to rest immediately, others seemed more social. Reinaan's hand wasn't hurting him too bad yet so he took a bit to notice what was going on with them all. As the Chosen of Nature and her bird companion passed by he took note of the woman's wince as though she were in pain. Perhaps she'd gotten injured in the fight, he hadn't exactly been keeping track of her in all of the commotion. But something seemed off with it. Like it was directed at him. He averted his gaze with a sense of embarrassment wondering what he'd done to her. The Chosen of Earth who'd fought more closely by had taken to resting as well and before Reinaan could move to talk to her a certain bundle of energy and words had showed up next to him.

 

Gilly the halfling was quickly removing armor and jumping on the bed next to Reinaan which seemed fairly fun to try but he was still slightly unsettled by how something could be so soft. She asked around if people wanted to fight with pillows?

 

"Why would you wanna fight aga-" Reinaan began as the pillow the girl threw caught him off guard and hit him in the face. The boy scrambled to get it off but it mostly just fell into his lap on its own. This must be a pillow then. The things you put your head on when you lied down on these beds. The Draken picked up the pillow examining it some and marvelled at how it managed to be even softer than the beds were. It had to be a game he told himself because there was no foreseeable reason for the girl to attack him after just surviving the near death experience that was the council's test. And these pillows didn't seem like the best weapons. It was a chance to learn and have fun so he was going to do his best. Setting his unease aside Reinaan now stood on his own bed. The claws of his feet dug into the covers somewhat as he didn't feel very sure footed on the soft material. His unclad body on shameless display once more only this time a foot or two off the ground he held a pillow in hand and thought for a moment that this must be what the world will look like when he's fully grown.

 

"Like this?" he said somewhat awkwardly and after fumbling with how to get a good grip on the pillow returned fire at Gilly aiming for her face as that's where he'd been hit. It had to be the customary target he thought. In the background the boy took note of Keres who had begun to sing but his mind was focused on the game and did not register any of the actual words the girl sang. Ziiyol sat by simply beaming at the thought of getting to watch her partner fight it out with the Chosen of Ice even in a play setting. He had to win in her mind. Fire was simply better and she knew Reinaan would prove it.

[Ren✧]

Kha sat in silent meditation. His lips parted ever so slightly as he mouthed inaudible prayers. Kal'bri sat cross legged atop his head, watching the other Chosen, passing her silent judgments. Letting out an audible sigh, the light spirit fluttered down meet Kha's closed eyes. Crossing her arms, she tapped her foot in midair, making a show of her own impatience. Finally, she gave up on waiting and flicked the orc in the nose, causing his eyes to flick open. He didn't show any sign of surprise, however, his eyes immediately focused on the sprite in front of him, looking at her as though this was a common occurrence. A half-hearted smile stretched itself across his face. "You need to learn patience."

 

"And you need to learn how to take a bath, you smell like a savage." Kal'bri retorted, her face twisting into its patronizing smile. 

 

"Perhaps you should go interact with some of the other spirits and Chosen. Make friends." Kha suggested.

 

"Why would I want to make friends with them?!" Kal'bri asked her voice laced with her obvious disgust as she pointed to Gilly and Reinaan who appeared to be playfully brawling with the pillows.

 

"Well, I can't entertain you right now." Kha shrugged simply, trusting that no matter what he said that she would do whatever she wanted. Closing his eyes, he resumed his set of prayers.

 

Kal'bri made a rude gesture at the unaware orc before doing the flying equivalent of stalking off. Trailing little bits of stardust, she floated above the heads of the other Chosen, trying to figure out who would get the pleasure of entertaining her.

 

The ugly halfling was immediately crossed off the list, of course. As was the giant lizard she was in the process of contaminating. The Earth Chosen seemed to be pretty melancholy, Kal'bri promptly crossed both her and the Water Chosen off the list as she heard the witchling begin to sing. That left the old woman sitting by herself. At least she was human. 

 

Landing on the shoulder of the woman that appeared to be resting, Kal'bri immediately started to talk. "So my name's Kal'bri. Call me Kal or Bri. I'm sure you've been wanting to talk with me for a while now. So go ahead, ask me any questions that you may have. Now's your chance."

[Alaina]

The earth chosen had lied down in her bed, attempting to get rest, but despite her attempts, her mind kept focusing in back in on the situation she had found herself in. Each and every time she thought about having to go stop these demons, she seemed to shudder a bit more and wonder why it was she had to do this, out of everyone in the world. As she restlessly kept trying to finding some kind of way to get comfortable, it would not come. Soon enough, things only became worse as she started to feel a looming presence over her. She wondered if she was really getting this panicked that she started to feel some kind of paranoia, thinking that something was right beside her bed. This feeling continued for a small few seconds before it was then replaced by a one of slight confusion. 

 

The odd presence that she thought was near her suddenly started to be replaced by her hearing a singing voice. As she was still turned away from the source of the voice, slightly worried to see what it was, she started to become more worried that she was starting to hear things that weren't there, most randomly some kind of singing. Yet despite this worry, she started to have this grow into more curiosity then anything else. While the voice was definitely pleasant to hear, she couldn't help but feel as though someone was singing a lullaby to her. Opening her eyes and turning around to face the voice, she was somewhat surprised at the sight before her. 

 

As it turned out, the presence that she felt looming over her was none other than the Water Chosen. Furthermore, she was also the source of the soft singing that she heard, and the Earth Chosen couldn't help but look in a bit of marvel and curiousity towards the girl. Her voice was quite pleasant, but the pink haired girl couldn't help but wonder why she was singing her a lullaby all of a sudden. Was she trying to put her to sleep? She continued to simply listen to the song until the Water Chosen had finished, to which the Earth Chosen sat herself back up on her bed, seeming less panicked than she was before. "Th-thanks?" While she was definitely less frightened, her voice showed that she was far more confused now. "Th-that was a, um, ni-nice song." She struggled to find what words she should actually say to the girl, as this was not something that happened to her, prompting her to ask, "is this something you, um, usually do where you're from?" 

[Hälō]

 "You best keep your mad dog on a leash." 

 

"Yea? Well I couldn't control him even if I wanted to! So you better hope he doesn't decide to DO HIS JOB an-" Lily puffed out her chest and hissed back at the spirit of water as Lindow advanced through the portal, only to be cut off mid sentence.

 

Moments later, as Lindow and the young witch exchanged whispers, she found herself hanging her head low in shame. She had lost her cool and mouthed off to another spirit as if she wasn't the one who brought a... whatever Lindow was to what was supposed to be a meeting of this realm's most worthy mortals. Though her pride wouldn't let her apologize...

 

Watching as the Water Duo hurried away from her and her "chosen", Lily gently nudged Lindow cheek from his shoulder to get his attention. "What was that about?" She enquired without her usual air of irritation.  

 

He seemed to ignore her at first. "Larger than I think, huh?" Lindow mumbled to nobody in particular as he watched Keres's back. Despite her limited responses, Lindow knew exactly what the girl meant. His interests were definitely peaked with this one. "Nothing really. Apparently the Watchers need update their methods..." He finally responded to the Thunder spirit rather dully before moving towards one of the few empty beds. 

 

"Praying for the Wind Chosen?" He addressed the Orc that sat with his eyes closed in meditation. Gently plopping down on his bed, Lindow smoothy removed his belt and all of his weapons before placing them to his side. Not threatened at all by the neighbor's hulking form, Lindow casually laid back against his pillow as he watched Gilly and Reinaan toss pillows at each other. "By all means, no need to respond if you're in the zone. The name's Lindow." He offered the Orc a brief greeting.  

 

[Sethera]

"That’s an odd way of asking me to keep you alive… Though Lindow seems like much less of a mouthful than Mr. crow man!"

 

"Aww, but I like Mr. crow man," Gilly pouted. "The name I mean, not you. But you're pretty cool too, so I guess there's that. Just not as cool as me."

 

--

 

The halfling squeaked when the pillow hit her in the face. "Yeah, like that!" she cried out from behind the pillow smooshed to her face, voice muffled. Giving a thumbs up, the movement caused the pillow to fall from her face, where it landed on her bed with nary a sound. She scooped up the pillow and threw it back at the dragon boy, and then picked another up and threw that one at the orc. And then a third one went flying at the woman with the bird. And then the bird itself.

 

"Gillian, that might not have been the best idea," Snow cautioned, glancing at Ileca nervously.

 

"Aww, don't be such a scaredybunny, Snowy!" Gilly said, patting him on the head, but it only went through. "I wish you had a real body sometimes," she whined.

 

"Well, that's because I'm a spirit and--"

 

"I know why, but, I don't know, it's dumb. You should be able to be touched. It helps to build affection and trust between you and someone else and once that happens you feel all warm inside and warmth is good and I know you're ice cold but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be happy sometimes cuz we all need to be happy it's just a part of us."

 

Meanwhile, while his owner was rambling, Hob was chewing on the lip of one of the water Chosen's boots. It was a very nice flavor, he had decided. Spicy, with a hint of sourness.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Having a quiet life is hard.

 

Quite disturbed by the noise going on around her, Anis was barely able to sleep, and the most she could achieve was simply standing between the boundary of being asleep and awake. She considered to just plug her ears one way or another, but it'd be awkward to remove the next day, and it could have some unpleasant side effects when she woke up. It was quite unlike her to be this disturbed by the turn of events, but perhaps she was just really tired from all the events that happened that day. However, she soon realized something had landed on top of her shoulders, and its voice took her attention almost immediately.

 

"So my name's Kal'bri. Call me Kal or Bri. I'm sure you've been wanting to talk with me for a while now. So go ahead, ask me any questions that you may have. Now's your chance."

 

"Uh..." Anis, still groggy as she attempted to fully wake up, turned around to face the being. "Are you...the Light Spirit?

 

Did I really have those questions...?"

 

The prompt confused her. She was sure she hadn't had any interactions with the spirit before. Did the spirit mistook her for someone else? Nevertheless, Anis decided to reply to that prompt. She was somewhat disturbed when a pillow hit her, but she shrugged it off and returned her attention to the spirit.

"Oh right, I remembered now. See, I happen to have a quite...unreliable and absent-minded spirit with me, and asking it didn't seem to help me much.

So, first of all, how much do you, or the spirits here in general, aware of regarding the task that the council onesidedly decided to bestow upon us? What are exactly us Chosens, anyway? 

 

And lastly, who are those council people?"

 

Ileca was soundly sleeping, and the pillow hit strangely didn't wake her up. Anis would've expected that the bird would go on one of her tantrums. but perhaps dealing with the shadow earlier drained her too. Shirin was quiet too. Awfully quiet at that. Ever since the council's verdict and decision on them, it barely talked. As Anis waited Kal's answer, she wondered. Did Shirin hide something from her?

 

---

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Keres finished her song and had to keep herself from a coughing fit right after. She had stretched her vocal cord's limits and spoken more than she had in a long time. But hopefully it was worth it...

"Th-thanks?"

Keres gave a small jolt as she heard the response. She had hoped perhaps the girl would have fallen asleep and that was it. Seeing as how she didn't, Keres turned to look at her with a blank expression. "Th-that was a, um, ni-nice song."

Keres was surprised. She knew her voice was at least good enough to not scare her cat away but for someone to describe her singing as nice was something different. "is this something you, um, usually do where you're from?"

 

The girl frowned, unsure how to respond to that. "...No." She said. The swamp was not a very jovial place, not exactly somewhere that singing was commonplace. "Just for.." Keres coughed, her voice coming out a bit croaky now. "Kitty." The only one she had even sang for was her cat. This was her first time actually singing for a person, she just realized. She should record that.

She brought out more paper and wrote down the date, time, and location, as well as the reaction of her audience. This could help her in the future. There was a pause as the other girl had stopped talking.

 

This was the point that she should say something right? Had she introduced herself? Should she? She wasn't sure this girl really would care for it. And she couldn't know what this girl would want to talk about. Perhaps it would be best not to say anything, actually. "Nice...meeting." She said finally before realizing something was off.

 

...Keres glanced down. There was a sheep. And it was currently eating her boot.

It seemed the creature was specifically an Aries Sheep, the larger cousins of the normal breed. Often found in mountains. So was the girl that owned the sheep from there? The idea of such a small girl crossing the mountains, even with a group of Templar if that's how she arrived, seemed unlikely. Was there something the Ice Chosen was hiding?

Keres looked towards the girl, who was in the process of having a pillow fight with the still unclothed Draken boy. "Secret powers?" She muttered, loud enough for Ryia to hear. The girl's thoughts were wandering to the possibilities that were opening in her mind about the Halfling. So engrossed was she that she forgot all about the sheep. Meanwhile Flux was hovering over it, ineffectively trying to convince the creature to stop. It had even made itself visable in order to try and steer the determined animal away from the evident delicacy of Keres' boot.

[Andx]

The halfling verified Reinaan was performing the pillow fight correctly which for a moment made the boy relieved. It would have been an awkward start to meeting the girl to mess up her pillow ritual game thing. Before he could have time to introduce himself or ask her about anything else the girl returned fire and all across the room at that. Quickly Reinaan's face was engulfed in the soft objects humans slept on. But this one wrapped around and got caught on one of the spikes of his head keeping it over his face longer than it would have stayed on its own. Caught off guard by the throw and already still not entirely sure footed while standing on the bed the boy flailed his arms out trying to balance himself as he fell back off of the bed. He managed to stay on his feet however slightly but the momentum kept him going and with a few quick panicked steps he soon found himself crashing down hitting something with his back and ending up in a sort of awkward looking sitting position like he'd started out leaning against the bed and had begun severly slouching. As it turned out his back hit the side of Lindow's bed shaking it rather violently for a moment.

 

After a moment of staying put and another to remove the pillow from his face Reinaan sat up some reaching back with a hand to rub his back some where it had hit the bed. Looking behind him he saw Lindow who had been resting on it. After a bit of panicked stammering he finally replied, "Sorry!" as he stood and backed off back towards the direction of the bed he'd been on earlier. Ziiyol was still laying across it giggling to herself. "You were rather graceful up until the fall Reiny." she called out to him. It wasn't helping. Ziiyol had already acted so strangely around Lindow and Lily when they had met outside the tower and now this. The first human he'd really gotten a chance to talk to and he'd already messed everything up. And then to top everything off Reinaan's stomach let out a rather formidable growl reminding the boy he was hungry. Awkwardly excusing himself Reinaan stepped back over to his bed and took a long stare at the runs at the side on the wall. Ziiyol got up resting her arms on his shoulder as she looked on with him.

 

"Just touch it." she said suddenly in his ear. Hesitantly the boy placed the claws of a hand on the markings and spoke. "Uhhh... could I get some food?" he said wondering if it had worked. There was no audible reply however a basket suddenly appeared as a portal overhead opened and closed. It landed on the bed with things in it Reinaan had never seen before. Any human would have recognized them as BLTs or bacon lettuce and tomato on bread. Bread wasn't made by the Drakens of Blagos and vegetables weren't eaten there either. "This is food?" he said curiously as he poked one of the sandwiches with a claw. Uncertain what to make of this but still rather hungry he took one and nibbled on it and shuddered and cringed as he swallowed the bite. Opening the sandwich to his horror he found greens and some sort of slice of a large berry or something.

 

"They put grass on this!" he yelled in outrage. He disassembled the sandwich on the bed and knelt down to closely examine the several components. There was the fluffy outer things, the greens, the berry slices and some strips of what looked like very overcooked meat. The bread was alright on its own. It definitely wasn't meat but it wasn't that awful grass stuff. Trying the bacon Reinaan was met with a crunch but also a strong flavor of meat. Not how he was used to eating but still rather good. He went through the rest of the sandwiches disassembling them on the bed as well until there were piles of bread and bacon and lettuce and tomato in the basket which he then set on the floor so that no one would mistakenly eat the disgusting plants. The bacon was devoured rather quickly. Then he sat on the bed and ate slowly at the pieces of bread as he wasn't overly fond of them but needed something in his stomach. He'd messed up the pillow fight and disturbed Lindow so maybe now it was best to just sit here quietly and sleep after eating.

[Alaina]

While the earth chosen had been surprised by the girl next to her singing to her, the girl who had been singing seemed to be completely taken off guard by the girl having...noticed her doing so? She wasn't quite sure, but she felt as though she said something wrong as the girl seemed to frown a bit, after she seemed to have take in the pink haired girl's question, and replied with a simple no. "Oh," the earth chosen replied, realizing what she asked might have sounded somewhat silly, only to then hear that the water chosen apparently only ever sung to someone named "Kitty." Well, if she had only ever sung to one other person before, it likely made sense why she would be surprised with anyone else reacting to it. Her train of thought was soon cut short, though, as she curiously looked at the girl as she seemed to start jotting things down, making the earth chosen wonder it was she was trying to record. However, before she could ask, the girl seemed to be finished and tried to convey that it was a nice meeting between the two. Still unsure of what to make of the girl's incredibly concise way of talking, the pink haired girl seemed to be far more at ease then she was just moment ago and said, "it was nice meeting you as well." 

 

While the water chosen looked ready to go back, her attention was then absorbed by what the earth chosen could only assume was the frantic pillow fight that seemed to have started between the others. While that was indeed something that was not what she had been expecting, the pink haired girl's attention was quickly directed to something that seemed more pressing. There was a sheep that had walked towards them, and it was now attempting to eat the water chosen's boots. While the earth chosen had thought this was odd enough, she found it even more confusing that the girl's whose boots that were being chewed on took no notice to it whatsoever. Looking back and forth between the two, she was trying to wonder just how she should handle this rather bizarre situation. It didn't seem like the sheep was really all that dangerous, or at the very least malicious, and so trying to just brute force yank it away was probably a bit excessive. 

 

Stepping out of bed, the girl decided to try and attempt to get the sheep off the shoe of the water chosen, as the latter seemed to not be consciously aware this was even happening. "Um, could you, uh," she seemed very unsure of what to do here with this creature, keeping her hands at bay at first before going into to attempt to nudge its body. "Could you stop eating her boots?" she asked the sheep, briefly wondering how much it was that the animal would even understand. However, while caught up in this, she heard the water chosen mutter something about secret power or something else, which only lead her to getting more confused as she just asked, "hm? Did you say something?" towards the girl. After asking that she seemed to be filled with a small sense of urgency again as she looked back to the sheep and then back to the girl and said, "could you, uh, help me get, um, this" she nudged the sheep again, "off of you?" 

[Ren✧]

"Are you...the Light Spirit?"

 

"And I thought Orcs were dense..." Kal'bri muttered, though quite audibly. "Yes, take a look at me. I am the Spirit of Light." She confirmed, letting out a sign that was tinged with a bit of laughter. 

 

"Oh right, I remembered now. See, I happen to have a quite...unreliable and absent-minded spirit with me, and asking it didn't seem to help me much.

So, first of all, how much do you, or the spirits here in general, aware of regarding the task that the council onesidedly decided to bestow upon us? What are exactly us Chosens, anyway? And lastly, who are those council people?"

 

Kal'bri's brow furrowed as she noticed that these questions weren't about her. This wasn't what she wanted the woman to ask her about. 

 

"The Demon Gates are why we are here." Kal'bri said simply. "Do you think we would choose to be around you mortals if we didn't have a reason? They didn't really assign you a task. They just made it so that you'd die if you didn't complete it. Technically, we were the ones that 'bestowed' it upon you. As for what you are? You're nothing special. I mean not compared to me, of course. And the council...well they seem like a bunch of bastards, don't they?" 

 

---

 

 

"Praying for the Wind Chosen?" One of Kha's eyes flicked open to assess the speaker. It was the one-eyed man. Chosen of Thunder, if he wasn't mistaken. 

 

"I'm praying for us all." Kha responded, relaxing his posture a bit and opening his other eye. "Impossible to tell where the next threat is coming from. I had thought the council would be a friend." He explained, a somber tone in his voice. "It would do us good to leave here as soon as possible." 

 

"I am Khadba Dulaga." He introduced himself. "Kha." He amended. 

[Sethera]

Gilly giggled at seeing the dragon boy fall. "I win!" she cheered. Then, glancing around, she realized that neither the orc nor the lady nor the bird had responded at all to the pillow fight. "I win the whole game!" she cheered. "Though I should've known better than to play it with stinkypants who wouldn't respond," she pouted.

 

"There, there..." Snow patted the shoulder he rested on with one white paw.

 

She soon lost interest in her failure to involve the others at seeing the dragon boy somehow summon food. "How'd you do that?!" she gasped, hopping down from her own bed, and looking over the runes. "Like this?" Touching it, she loudly declared, "The great Gilly requests you, to summon the greatest of feasts for me! Also, where's the latrine?"

 

Snow couldn't help but worry that they would soon be bombarded with food. And a toilet somehow. Or food in a toilet.

 

Hob, meanwhile, had his own food. When Keres mumbled "Secret powers?" his ears pricked up, but aside from that he made no reaction. Hob wasn't particularly intelligent, though he was more intelligent than most sheep, being an Aries breed, but he still wasn't on a human being's level. All he could comprehend was that the owner of these delicious boots seemed interested in his master, but it wasn't in a malicious way, so he didn't care. By then, a large jellyfish had materialized and seemed to be nudging the sheep away from the boots.

 

"Um, could you, uh. Could you stop eating her boots?" And then a new human appeared. By her questioning tone and her own nudging, it seemed as if she was asking him not to eat the boots? But...they were good boots. How could he stop?

 

"Baa," he opened his mouth to reply, letting go of the delicacy before him. Well. Maybe it was bad to eat boots that hadn't been thrown away. And he wasn't a bad sheep. Just a hungry one. So he wagged his little sheep tail, and tilted his head to show he wasn't bad. "Baa baa."

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Keres was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't notice anything was amiss until..."could you, uh, help me get, um, this off of you?"

Even so it took her a moment to realize what was going on and by then the sheep had stopped chewing and was looking up at her with its sheepish expression. She thought a moment, overheard the Fire Chosen's exclamations about the food, and an idea formed in her head.
Without a word she walked over to the Draken, nervously avoiding looking directly at him, and pointed at the vegetables. She then grabbed them up and carried them back to Ryia's bed and set them in front of the sheep before gingerly patting its head.

---

The night passed fairly uneventfully after that as the group went to sleep. They'd all likely have a good night's rest, except for the Chosen of Dark, who would find himself having nightmares that kept him up throughout most of the night.

 

The next day they found themselves summoned once more before the Council. Having no way out of this room otherwise they were forced to go along with it. Entering yet another portal that appeared on the wall of the room they woke in they found themselves, not in the dark room of before, somewhere that looked more like a teacher's office. There was a large wooden desk at one end, with papers and books neatly organized on top of it, with a large window behind. Keres knew this was a one-way window. A magical spell allowed the people in the room to see out, despite that the outside was completely solid wall.

Behind the desk sat a single man, as opposed to the ominous group of a dozen shadowy figures.

 

BGM

 

They were an Auran. The longest lived and most ancient races on Fantalius. His skin was a medium grey and covered in splotches of lighter, and darker, color all around his face and arms. Which were the only parts of his body that was visible under his robes. The flowing brown robe covered his neck and ran down his body, leaving his arms bare, and seemed rather simple, albeit of expensive material.

As he stared at them they would notice his eyes; which were milky white with blindness. It made Keres question why he would go through the effort of setting up the one-way window. To make the people he spoke to more at ease? To show his power? Her curiosity was cut off as he spoke once they gathered around. Revealing himself, by his voice, to be the first of the Council who had spoken to them. His voice was calm and neutral without a hint of the intent or emotion behind it. "Good morning, Chosen. There is much to do and an increasingly small amount of time to do it. I won't keep you any longer than necessary and tell you only what is needed. You may wonder about funds, however, you will find on your person a silver card. Keep it with you at all times for it will allow you to purchase all the basic necessities along your travels. Anything more than what is needed will, of course, need to be paid by yourself. There is one thing we must do before you leave."

 

He gestured, with long-fingered hands, towards an object at the corner of his desk. It was a spherical, brass, orb, six inches in diameter, that radiated a slight aura of energy. Two spikes jutted out from the bottom, propping the device up, which seemed to be quivering. "This device will allow you to instantly travel to any of the other islands. Except for Dusk, of course...However it can only be used once. Though, perhaps, you can find ways of charging it. If you wish you may take it and leave the tower, or you can use it now and go to any of the islands of Fantalius. The choice is yours."

[Alaina]

Having successfully nudged the sheep off of the water chosen's boots, the earth chosen let out a sigh of relief at the sight. Getting herself back up, she continued to watch as the water chosen went to go retrieve the leftover food of the draken boy, slightly concerned as to what she was doing with it, only to see that she ended up feeding it to the sheep creature. Finding the whole thing to be slightly charming, the pink hair girl's anxiety felt far less in magnitude. With being slightly at ease now, the girl made her way back into her bed and tucked herself in before thinking back to the day's events. While fear was no longer consuming her, recalling everything that had happened did no good to her over all mental state. As she began to tremble a bit once more at the remembrance of her situation, she had realized there was someone who had not revealed themselves in quite some time. "Hey, Ackrin," she called out to the spirit. He did not become visible to the girl, though she could tell she had gotten his attention. "Are, um, you uh, scared?" 

 

She wasn't sure how on board the other spirits were with this curse, nor their feelings on what had transpired today. Though while she may have been looking for some kind of answers from her own spirit, it was also seeking something else. As he was the only one that she really had the ability to talk to, she was looking for some kind of solace from the Earth Spirit. However, in his general monotone, the spirit responded, "being scared is related to fear. And I know not what that feeling is." 

 

"Oh, okay." The girl was not quite sure what she was expecting from the being, but it did not entirely surprise her. They had only brief exchanges so far, and even those the goat like creature did not seem to have the greatest understanding of expression. As such, she realized that what Ackrin had said was not him acting brave, and thus her anxiety was not at all put to rest. 

 

However, the spirit continued. "No matter what this collection of mortals deems appropriate, my mission remains unchanged. I am a spirit and you are my Chosen, as such, we will destroy these demon gates. Curse or not, that still holds true, and there is nothing that will stop me from doing so." The Earth Spirit said each of these words in a completely matter of fact tone, looking to neither assure nor comfort with it, merely state simple facts. 

 

As such, the girl then realized that she was likely doomed to this fate since meeting the Earth Spirit. He had chosen her to carry out this task, and she was forced to carry it out. Whether or not she had met the council, this was ultimately her fate. And while she had no want to do this, she now knew that there was no meaning in trying to curse what her goal now was. And while Ackrin might not have been a sympathetic creature, and while he may have put her into this spot, his absolute confidence did assure her slightly. There was zero doubt in his voice that he would fail in stopping the demons and to that extent, it meant that he too believed that she would survive through this as well. Her thoughts of despair, confidence, fear, resolve, anxiety and slight anger all swirled turbulently through her mind, before she finally seemed to try and let out a deep breath to calm herself. Thinking more would get her no answers, and attempting to find any solace would likely get her nowhere. And so, doing her best to not think of anything, the girl finally fell asleep. 

 

-----

 

The next morning had arrived, and the group had all gotten out of their beds once awoken. While her sleep might not have been the most comfortable, she certainly did not feel the fatigue from yesterday. And so, getting out of bed, the Earth Chosen realized she hadn't had much to eat since the day prior. Using the apparatus by her bedside, the girl asked for simply "food" when prompted to give an order, and from that order came forth what could only be considered a bountiful harvest. 

 

From the magic came a large platter of food, filled with sunnyside up eggs, toast, and sausage. The food was not only so plentiful as to completely cover the entire surface of the platter, but was stacked up large and high, bringing forth far more food then one person could feasibly eat at once. Being slightly astonished and taken aback by the scale of it, never really being in the presence of such an amount in her life, the girl noticed a note attached to the platter. Reading it, it said, "Sharing is caring ❤". A bit surprised by the way the note was written, the girl eventually looked to everyone else and said, "well. Um, I think this uh, for everybody. So help yourselves." After telling that to everyone, the girl then went to help herself to the banquet and ate from it.

 

With that taken care of, the girl knew that the day's events to come were likely not going to be all that peaceful. And so, with her meal done, the girl went to put her armor back on. Soon enough, they were called forth once again by the council, and so with nothing else to do in the room, the girl left through the portal. Once on the other side, she was greeted with a site that was not at all what she was expecting. Seeming more like an office room then anything else, there sat a being who had seemed to be awaiting them. An auran of pale gray skin, with eyes glazed over with white greeted the chosens. Though she had only known him to be a shadow the day before, it was quite clear that this man was one of the councilmen they had met, judging off his voice alone. 

 

Informing them that time was of the essence, the man went on to explain that most of their basic finances would be taken care of by a silver card that the council had given them. He then went on to explain how they would be using an orb that he presented to them, in order to travel around to any island of their choosing. As it was, the group had to get going from here, and the girl had no qualms with leaving as fast as possible. However, where to go first, she had no idea. She had never thought of going so far from her home that she'd leave the island, and thus had no idea what was really out there. As such, she would likely listen to what the others had to say before offering some, if any input, on where to go. However, before that, she looked to the auran and asked, "so, um, Mr. Councilman s-sir. H-how exactly do we uh, use this orb, device."

 

The councilman had then went to explain the process of how their travel device worked. The device had to be grasped by two people, each holding onto one of the quivering spikes that jutted out of the bottom of the sphere. From there, the desired location of the travelers must merely be thought about. In order for others to travel alongside it, it required that said others must make some kind of physical contact with those touching the orb in order to be transported with them. Once the location is thought of, a vision of the world will come to the wielder of the orb and it will allow you to concentrate on a location better.

[Andx]

As Reinaan continued eating at what he liked of the food presented to him by the counsel he noticed the Chosen of Water approaching. She seemed to be avoiding looking at him which was weird. She just pointed at the basket full of lettuce and tomato he hadn't eaten and took it. Reinaan reached out a hand to try and stop her from eating the disgusting things but then saw she was giving it to the sheep. Apparently there was a sheep with them. Funny how he hadn't noticed that. That was alright though so long as the sheep was the one eating the cursed grass. It wasn't long before the other Chosen all took to trying to sleep and exhausted as he was Reinaan tried to join the effort.

 

But it wasn't easy at first. Having only ever slept on stone floors curled up with several other members of the village, the soft bed felt lonely and unnatural. Though it was rather fascinating to actually put the covers over himself as he saw the others do. It was like he was going inside the soft thing. But that didn't help the loneliness. Ziiyol lied across the bed and her presence provided warmth but couldn't replace the absence of friend and family. The Draken's heart sank a bit as he thought of home and how long it would be before he got there. But eventually the fatigue took over and he slept soundly through the night.

 

 

As morning approached, though who knew what time it actually was, the various Chosen began to wake up and face the new day. Reinaan apparently moved a lot in his sleep because as he woke up the covers to his bed were on the floor, the pillows other than the one under his head were in disarray and he was sprawled out all over the bed on his back, certainly not the position he'd gone to sleep in. With a large yawn with some weak snarling sounds to accompany it the boy sat up and felt a certain something closing up. Hopefully that hadn't been too awkward for anybody. As he stretched and moved his body about his right hand convulsed some. It hurt though nothing like it had when it had first burned. For now it seemed the muscles in his hand just didn't want to do much moving but otherwise it didn't hurt much. He looked around the room in silence examining the others as they awoke and began the day.

 

A surprise came in the form of food as Ryia had asked the council for something to eat. They sent an abundance and the girl invited the others to help themselves. Noticing meat among the offerings Reinaan took to devouring a few handfuls of the sausage and thanked the girl while in the process of chewing. His stomach now good to go for at least a day or so before he'd need to eat again Reinaan took to preparing himself. He set his belongings up on the bed and slid the metal protectors onto his feet and hands. He really should have had them on earlier but he hadn't been expecting the council to try and kill him the moment he walked in the door. Then he put his jacket on which covered only his arms and back nicely. Putting his bag around his shoulder and spear across his back he was fully geared up for the first time since arriving. It still didn't leave much of anything to the imagination. Ziiyol seemed to be in a particularly good mood today, perhaps happy to be moving on. Reinaan thought to say something to her but thought it over again and refrained. Best to just get going.

 

As the council summoned them another portal opened. It seemed the idea of doors wasn't popular in this building. The group was met by what looked to be a gray human but it seemed he was something else entirely. As the figure spoke the fire chosen recognized instantly the main voice that had spoke among the council and was noticeably irritated by the realization. As he spoke of the silver cards Reinaan searched through his bag and found it just as had been said. It bothered him a bit they were sneaking things into his belongings as they could have just as easily taken something out. The boy ran through a mental inventory of his belongings as the teleportation device was explained.

 

"Let's get out of here then." he said as he zipped over to the desk as the explanation finished and picked up the device. "Come on, grab it and go already." he said to the others eager to leave. It was a strange thing to hold but he saw the spikes as had been described. "Hey gray skin where's the closest demon gate thing we're supposed to go take care of?" he said trying to be as disrespectfully respectful as he could to the council member. The auran seemed to take it rather peacefully and replied, "The exact locations are unknown, only that there is one in each of the islands, except Haven, and, possibly, Dusk. My colleague explained this before but it was a rather hectic day."

 

"It didn't have to be." Reinaan grumbled under his breath at the response. Naturally they had no idea where exactly they were going. Reinaan of course wanted to go back to Blagos but knew if he returned home now he'd probably not ever want to leave again and then the curse would take him at some point. He turned back to the others the device still in hand. Ziiyol seemed captivated by the device and was attempting to touch, and likely burn, it. Thankfully she couldn't exactly interact with it. "Anyone feeling lucky somewhere?" he asked hoping someone would have an idea of where to start.

[Sethera]

Turns out, the Council didn't send Gilly a toilet seat, but there was a doorway that appeared in the wall where the runes were. Entering, the halfling noted it was a lavish place, all polished marble and sweet smells, but that didn't matter. What mattered was her being able to do her business, which she did. Exiting, she saw the portal disappear, but that didn't matter. She'd just ask again if needed.

 

Next was a large assortment of food along with a note saying not to eat too much. Ignoring that, the halfling plowed through the food, making all sorts of noises of enjoyment. "Mmm mmm mmm, this is sooo good," she praised. The girl couldn't help but moan in pleasure, causing the rabbit next to her to tilt his head.

 

"I've noticed. You always sound as if you're on the brink of rapture when you're eating," he observed. "And yet you're just eating. I wonder, is this something common to halflings, or just you?"

 

"What?" she blinked. "I can't be allowed to enjoy the delicious food? It tastes so good, I can't help but praise it! Food is so good. I could eat and eat and eat and never stop and it still wouldn't be enough."

 

"I believe in that case you would explode."

 

"Yeah, but I would enjoy it."

 

"Unlikely."

 

"Ehh just sit down and eat."

 

"Impossible. I do not eat as you do."

 

"Boring. You must find it so boring to not be able to eat. Man I couldn't not eat because food is good and I love it and I would die without food well yeah I literally would but I mean in the other way too. Cuz I wouldn't want to go on if I didn't have food and--" and so on and so forth.

 

Meanwhile Hob baa'ed in thanks to Keres and rubbed against her leg affectionately. Just for that, he wouldn't try and eat her boots from now on. Those boots were off-limits.

 

--

 

The next morning, Gilly woke up from a restless sleep. But she couldn't help it. So much to do and not enough time, so many new friends to make! So many enemies to defeat, and hero poses to create. Not to mention so much food to eat! Speaking of food...! She would admit to enjoying that breakfast of kings just as much and just as loudly as she had enjoyed her dinner. Another visit to the latrine and she was ready to rumble!

 

And then they met one of the council guys. He seems nice, if a bit cold like Snowy. That did it. The halfling bounced closer to the desk. "Hi hi hi who are you how are you my name is Gilly!" she chirped excitedly. "Are you one of the council people? Ooh, your eyes are cool! How did you get them like that? Oh ouch Snowy, what was that for? Uhhh if I said something wrong I'm sorry but I don't know what I said wrong but I probably did cuz sometimes my mouth runs away from me except not literally ya know but it just goes on and on and on and guess what I think you look cool are you one of those Aurochs people? How'd you give me that card? What'd you think of my bag? Pretty cool huh? Can I use that card to pay for food? How will I use it?"

 

And then after he showed them the orb, she raised her hand, as if being called on in class. "I have a quick question before we go! Where do you think is the best place? Where's the friendliest and unfriendliest place? Cuz I wanna make new friends but I wanna know if they'll be poopyfaces at first or if they'll be super nice and just be all 'hi how are you?' and then I can talk to them about food and maybe they'll join us in our adventure and we can all kick some demon butt!" she pounded a fist into a hand excitedly.

[Hälō]

Lindow stood silently at the back of the room and watched his fellow chosen. He noticed immediately that Reinaan seemed quite irritable and was in a blatant rush to leave the tower. Having slept like a log the night before, Lindow also found himself eager jump head first into this journey, and to make use of the new found energy that he found himself filled to the brim with.

 

He listened to the explanation of the orb's use with a lazy half small. Only lifting his gaze from the object upon hearing Gilly's voice. 

 

"I have a quick question before we go! Where do you think is the best place? Where's the friendliest and unfriendliest place? Cuz I wanna make new friends but I wanna know if they'll be poopyfaces at first or if they'll be super nice and just be all 'hi how are you?' and then I can talk to them about food and maybe they'll join us in our adventure and we can all kick some demon butt!" The girl exploded with her usual energy. 

 

"What if we split up?" Lindow finally spoke up. Smoothly gliding towards the desk then turning to face the other chosen, he studied their expressions for a moment before continuing. "There are eight of us. It would be an effective use of our numbers to split into two groups of four and travel to adjacent islands..." He paused for a moment to allow the group to pounder his idea. "One group would head to The Restless Marsh and the other to Solarus desert. We could then rendezvous at Izlaton once both teams have destroyed their Gate, and discuss where we go from there." 

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Anis' mind roughly addressed what the Light Spirit had in mind, but she was so tired, and she fell asleep in the middle of answering the spirit.

 

Rough morning. Rough feelings, Really didn't want to get off her bed. It was like she regressed back to being a child, but Anis was mainly still quite tired after everything that happened yesterday. Perhaps her journey so far that had her be bound no more to the customs and norms of her society ended up making her care less and less on the developments she had done.

 

"This device will allow you to instantly travel to any of the other islands. Except for Dusk, of course...However it can only be used once. Though, perhaps, you can find ways of charging it. If you wish you may take it and leave the tower, or you can use it now and go to any of the islands of Fantalius. The choice is yours."

 

That had just happened. She was still half asleep. Ileca repeatedly attempted to shake her so she could focus, but it mostly only managed to keep her barely conscious. She did her breakfast earlier. She tried her best to listen to how the device were supposed to be used. She felt she could understand it, but she wasn't really sure yet.

 

"What if we split up?"

 

That was a prompt.

 

"There are eight of us. It would be an effective use of our numbers to split into two groups of four and travel to adjacent islands..."

 

The question would be whether a group of four of them would be able to survive. Granted, perhaps it's a risk worth taking to save a lot of time. Ileca's head rose up in response to hearing it.

 

"One group would head to The Restless Marsh and the other to Solarus desert. We could then rendezvous at Izlaton once both teams have destroyed their Gate, and discuss where we go from there."

 

That seemed reasonable enough. Shirin was still very quiet. Anis was getting worried about her now. But she realized they just said about Solarus Desert. The name took her attention. There was something she could do there. Land of her people's origin.

 

"If we do split up, then I shall go to the Desert.

 

That's all, I guess."

 

---

[Ren✧]

Kha was thankful that Kal'bri dozed deeply in the niche of his collarbone. His mood was still sour from the events of the day prior and he knew that if she saw that they were being addressed by an Auran, then she would undoubtedly be abuzz with excitement. She might even try to switch to him as her Chosen, now presented with an Auran face-to-face. However, she continued to sleep peacefully as the rest of the Chosen and spirits conversed with the council member, Kha's face dark with distrust.

 

He didn't like the idea of relying on the council at all to complete their mission. Maybe it was a sentiment born at stubbornness or spite or maybe it was something more akin to learned precaution, but Kha felt as though the council was playing at some other game here. He didn't doubt they wanted the Demon Gates destroyed, but there was also no way to know if there weren't other motives behind the curse that now held his life in his hands. The evidence of which was clearly emblazoned on his shoulder. Absentmindedly, he passed his hand over it like a painful rash. 

 

"Where's the friendliest and unfriendliest place?" The Halfling asked. Kha waited for her to finish explicating before speaking.

 

"It may be good to avoid Oebrushire. For me, anyway. I have killed many Kelnese warriors and the Coombian Eldris tribe exiled me." Kha explained. "Would be very unfriendly." 

 

Kha wasn't sure how he felt about splitting up. The idea that they would already divide their party seemed premature, considering they did not know the dangers they would be facing. Still, he was not exactly opposed to the idea either. He figured that the group splitting up would probably be a situation that the council wasn't prepared for and, if they were planning to exploit them further, would make it somewhat more difficult. It could also expedite the process of destroying the Demon Gates, which was Kha's goal. 

 

Looking at the one-eyed man he had met with last night, the one who had suggested the idea of splitting up, he couldn't help but take into account that this Chosen seemed to be suffering from what the orcs called bremes-durem. Still, Kha couldn't help but agree with him. He nodded. "I agree with the One-Eyed One." Kha paused for a moment, thinking on the issue further. "Only if there is a healer in each group." The image of the elf's broken body came to Kha, the belief that he could have saved if the Chosen hadn't been separated. He didn't want that to happen again. 

[Alaina]

While the group was deciding on where to go, the draken male seemed to be rather impatient in getting their job done. Of course, neither he nor the halfling seemed to have any real preference on where they went, and it wasn't until the man in the eyepatch spoke up that they seemed to have a clear idea on where they wanted to go. However, while he had decided on one or two locations to go to, he also came up with an idea that sent a chill down her spine. His idea to split the group into two groups of four and thus try to clear the demon gates in relatively half the time. This, sort of, in concept sounded like a good idea. But thinking more on it, she was less than willing to accept it. And while she felt that others might have felt the same way, there were two others that spoke up to voice their agreement to the idea. However, what the orc had said about his preference to the party, made her only realize something even more. 

 

While she was sure that others might see the flaws in this, at this point she couldn't be so sure. Which meant that she had to speak about it herself. "U-um, I, I don't think this is a good idea." While she was sure that she had garnered some kind of negative reaction from everyone, and because of that she was likely the center of attention now. However, if she backed down from this she was sure only something bad was going to be the end result of it. And so, she cleared her throat as she looked up and spoke to everyone else. "This world, it's not very forgiving for mistakes. Even if you have a good plan or have people with experience, one small misstep can end a journey." Despite she herself having not looked that confident at the start of her disagreement, the girl's voice seemed to be absolutely sure on this matter. "And we're just eight people who don't know anything about each other and have to go fight these demons, something none of us know anything about."

 

"W-we might be Chosen but...but," her voice seemed to be trailing off as she started to recall the events of yesterday, before seeming to let out a softer, "b-but we're not invincible." Looking at everyone again, her voice more confident she said, "so...So we can't be sure that if we were just four a group something won't go wrong. An-and, if it does, then we don't even have a way of knowing what happened to the others." The thought of them failing this task was not one that she wanted to think, but they already were aware that the danger they were facing was very real, and they couldn't afford to take an unnecessary risk like splitting up if they were to succeed. "S-so, I don't think we should split up."