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Group 4
Hsa Eulb - Chibimon Blue
Talen Shadowwalker - Hysteria
Sorish mon Larsh - hoytti
Mordelain Saythrou - Mordelain
"I have looked upon all that the universe has to hold of horror, and even the skies of spring and the flowers of summer must ever afterward be poison to me." - Call of Cthulhu
David vs. Goliath: History's first recorded critical hit.
JC Thread - The Bitter King
Talen felt his mind slowly come back from the dizzying magic dreams cast upon him by the old adventurer. The youth blinked away the last dregs of sleep and beheld the island that had the misfortune of being in his way. White sand stretched out from under the youth to the horizon forming a platinum ring around the deep emerald greenery of the island’s flora.
Gingerly Talen pushed himself to his feet. A slight look of annoyance passed across his face as he brushed the sand off his black shirt and pants. The sun beat down upon the beach, and the salty spray of the waves would have been idyllic for anyone but the thirteen year old shadow mage. The boy turned his eyes to the thick jungle that started just a few metres from the shore line. The foliage was a thick mixture of greenery, ferns, palms and so many other random plants it was as if the island was an amalgamation of all things tropical; the epitome of an island paradise.
The youth turned his attention to the other limp bodies lying on the shore and sighed. None of the people he laid eyes on looked familiar, although the youth knew many of the people that had entered the tournament. Talen paused for a moment as he decided what sort of cloths would suit the environment. His black shirt and pants dispersed into a black cloud for a second, before coming back together as a pair of long lose pants and a t-shirt; as always they were black. The youth rested his hands on the pistols holstered at his hips and gazed at the island centre in thought.
Mordelain knew much of the landscapes of the nine planes of the Kalithrism. She had wandered each for decades in search of solitude, answers, and sanctuary. She was almost certain, then, that here on this strange island, she was anywhere but home. The air itself seemed to scream into her lungs and tell a curious tale of falseness and magic. If she had not been so irately wound up by Suresh’s insistence on her enrolment in the self-proclaimed ‘Adventurer’s Crown’, her sudden and inexplicable appearance in such a strange and phantasmal realm might have scared her.
“Then again,” she said aloud with a light-hearted chuckle, “it’s not the most dangerous situation he’s gotten me into,” and that was this last month alone. The planes walker had already narrowly dodged death in the gaping maws of sand worms and ant lion demons, a side-trip to another place was practically a holiday as far as she was concerned. “Though I usually amble in respite alone…” she pensively stared at the shadows on the beach some eight hundred feet south along the shore.
Her fists clenched into tight balls, a cautionary reaction, until she reminded herself about the messenger’s strange comment. He had specifically mentioned the group orientated nature of the competition. The best sort of adventures, according to the lavish, hand-written invitations and directions, were those done in the company of friends, allies, and idiots quite willing to get crushed by boulders in the name of fame and fortune, and the occasional ‘flirtation’ with bar wenches along the way. Mordelain’s hope for a little civility and grace from her patron had died the moment she had read that particular comment aloud. The sound of Suresh’s tobacco stained voice guffawing at the disdainful expression still echoed in her head.
Checking one final time she was in one piece, Mordelain resigned herself to whatever fate awaited her, and set along the beach towards the shadows. In the glare of subdual that was the sun’s beaming glaze, they appeared to be gluttonous seals asleep on a salty shore. To their left the jungle canopy beckoned, steamy, dark, and most likely cluttered with carnivores and creatural nightmares. To their right, a more welcoming sight was found in the sprawling, crystalline, and deep blue expanse of a southerly sea. Neither avenue offered an escape route, and neither gave her a clue as to what exactly it was they were doing here.
She took a deep breath when she reached the halfway point, and took a moment out of her stride to place the aroma. The sands of Fallien, her would-be-home-for-now smelt almost poisonous and sewer-like compared to the island. She stooped, ran the grains between fore-finger and thumb, and rose with a perturbed expression. As she continued her walk, the soft scrunch of warm, sterilised flecks of glass and rock echoing in her wake, a seed of suspicion and paranoia sprouted at the back of her mind. Something about the island seemed malicious to the Troubadour. It seemed almost as if, despite their invitation and purpose on this shore above all overs in the multi-verse, the shore was the only party that had received the invite.
“Hail and good today!” she cried, when one of the groups rose and flickered into and out of her attentions. The instant sign of magic use amongst their number gave the less-spectacular talents she possessed a screen and veil to hide behind. She veered around a driftwood log, hopped over a large, smooth, and well-worn rock, then approached the abyssal youth with a broad, pleasant, and inoffensive smile.
Her bright garb and fur-trim clashed riotously against his midnight eyes and black clothing. Mordelain’s thoughts wondered to their fortunes, if the first life she encountered was one so young. Though the boy appeared to be just that to the Troubadour, a boy, his ocular display gave her ignorance pause for thought. She did not wish to make the early mistake of assuming anything she saw was real, or indeed, anyone she saw was just whom they appeared.
“My name,” she said, pausing to catch her breath in a comedic show of knee slapping and grins, “is Mordelain.” She left her titles and surnames to the wayside, where in this situation, they truly belonged. She extended her hand in greeting, a clumsy clubbed and finger-gloved appendage that shook slightly, half through nerves, and half with excitement.
The sense of aloof familiarity she hoped to conjure between them would be one part of her intricate game plan.
If indeed, this so called island forged by Kenneth Stern’s fickle sense of humour was just a game.
Roxi woke from her sleep. She and Sorish was walking in the merpeople city of Alibar. It was one of the few underwater cities where a Coralian had to use the breathing bubble spell. As they got close to their inn for the night sleep started to overpower them. Roxi was the first to socom to it then Sorish falling to the floor. Now that she awoke she looked around they were on a beach with a ton of plants. some looking like they would eat her if she gave them a chance she hid herself back in Sorish's skull and tried to wake him.
"Sorish, time to get up," Roxi thought to him so that the others wouldn't notice her. She doesn't trust strangers. Especially after the first day that they had set foot onto land.
"Five more minutes Roxi," Sorish thought back to her.
"Sorish please, I'm afraid. We are no longer in the merpeople's city," she cried into his head.
This woke Sorish up. he looked around studying the Island from his pronged position. They were definitely not in the underwater city anymore. He stood up to get an even better look. Upon seeing the other people that was there, two who was awake and one who was asleep he started to laugh. "It has begun Roxi. The day I was anticipating has begun," he thought to her.
"Sorish what is this?" She asked him.
"The Adventurer's Crown Tournament has begun," he thought to her then calmed himself. These must be his team mates for round one. I must look crazy to them, He thought in his own section of his mind.
He just stood there and watched as they conversed for during that conversation, they had all awoke and introduced themselves to each other only noticing him when he laughed.
Last edited by hoytti; 08-19-12 at 04:28 PM.
It had been the first time since Hsa had become a Chibimon trainer that the boy had run out of available Chibimon to use in battle. The odd thing was, the youth had not actually been in a battle when he blacked out. However, the teen had seen no other explanation as to why he would go unconscious unless his Chibimon had been poisoned and fainted after Hsa had walked around for a bit.
He stirred when he heard the sounds of people talking, his eyes fluttering open as if he had just had a good long sleep. Hsa rubbed his eyes and stood up straight, trying to focus on the other three people. The crashing waves behind him did nothing to soothe the aching headache that the child had currently been experiencing. Taking a step towards the voices, Hsa groaned when the noise of his foot crunching against sand had the same effect on someone beating on the inside of his brain. Apparently, fainting after running out of Chibimon was not a pleasant experience.
He felt around his person, trying to make sure he had everything, that thieves had not robbed him in his passed out stupor. Both of his chibiballs were available, though when the child pulled them out, he could see that both MysLight and Servapour were both available for battle, although they both had serious injuries. No, using either of his Chibimon for battle at the moment would have been cruel and unusual punishment. He stuffed the chibiballs back into his pocket as he got with a couple feet of the talking people.
“Hsa,” The boy said, holding his head to try and stop the throbbing, “Hsa Eulb. It’s very nice to meet you guys. I’d introduce MysLight and Servapour, but they’re very tired and I can’t risk them getting hurt any further than they already are. I hope you understand.” Hsa had a child-like mentality, still being a child and all. As a result, he just assumed everybody knew what Chibimon were, and even studied hard to know the names of every single Chibimon as Hsa had.
When he brought his gaze over to Talen, the boy raised an eyebrow. “You…you’re familiar. Isn’t there a statue of you in Ixian Castle?” Hsa scratched the side of his head for a moment, only to hiss at the pain it caused his temples. “I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it when Sei was giving me the tour of the place. I’m Hsa, Sei’s friend and I guess what you could consider the unofficial scout of the Ixian Knights during their war in Corone.”
Hsa, at this point, had no idea that he (at least temporarily) had replaced Talen during Sei’s siege of the continent. Then again, that war had been over and done with so quick, that Talen probably had not realized such things either. Hsa looked around at the beach, at the foamy waves as they hit and retracted back into the water. There was something familiar about this place also, but Hsa could not put his finger on it.
“I feel….I feel I’ve been here before…” the boy said with the utmost curiosity.
Talen looked the woman up and down, making no attempt to hide his actions. The boy didn’t raise his hand to meet hers, instead glanced back at the jungle. It wasn’t in his nature to trust people, and offering his bare hand to one he had never met was out of the question. Instead Talen rubbed a hand through his short black hair in an awkward attempt to move away from the handshake.
“Mordelain was it? You’ll forgive me if I don’t shake hands. This is a challenge after all, and I have no idea who you are.” Talen paused and turned his eyes to the others on the team member, “You can call me Talen.”
The youth silently cursed his misfortune at the group. None of them seemed to the brash head-strong leader that he had hoped for. Such a person would have charged in and acted as the perfect meat shield. Instead he was standing on a beach of a mysterious island with a group of people who seemed more like followers. For someone who most of the time worked on his own, it was more than irritating.
“Ixian Castle?” Talen turned his attention to Hsa, his ire rising as time ticked past “Perhaps you have me mistaken for someone who wants to sit around talking about old times and jacking each other off while another group takes the prize? We can sit around and play funny buggers all day long after this is done. For now how about we try and win this?”
The youth shook his head and turned his narrow eyes to the group.
“Now, if any of you had bothered to look at the island you might have noticed that the trees stop a few dozen metres in and then start again. Now I don’t know about you guys, but information is key here. We need to scope out the island if we are going to get to the centre. Unless any of you have anything useful say, how about we get on with this?”
"You are correct sir. We, will go this way," he said pointing in the direction of the sea. "We need sea water to survive so it is impotent we get some ASAP. As soon as we fill our cantine We will meet up with the rest of you." He then started to walk in the direction of the ocean.
Mordelain had to pause for thought, just to double check that she was in fact hearing what she was hearing. Whilst she was entirely used to rudeness, abruptness, and indeed, to ignorance, she was encountering all three in excessive amounts in a short period of time. Already she was beginning to forgive herself for doubting Suresh’s motives for entering this so called tournament. The short tempered and latchkey tongued individual who moved towards the ocean irked the Troubadour most of all. She watched him, with daggers thrown, and waited for a few moments for his back to be turned to the remainder of their motley crue.
“Investigative measures will be easy to develop,” she said, finally turning to the youth with the abyssal persona, and the clothing to match. She rested her hands on her hips, let her stance slack, and pursed her lips. “I can’t say I’m entirely equipped to deal with whatever this,” she chose her words carefully, “individual wants to throw at us.”
The sun continued to shine overhead, almost oblivious to the revelry and confusion reigning supreme on the lapsing shore of the island below. Whatever lay beyond the treeline, the primordial surge of verdant life that swaddled the beach’s ridge without concern for the needs of man, was obviously only going to get more perilous for them all. “You?” she asked. Her question, split apart from the rest of her train of thought came across aloof and confused.
“Me?” Talen blinked, a flash of malice in his eyes brought Mordelain’s faux paunch to light. It reflected the disparaging nature of their unnatural placement on a wholesomely natural landscape.
“I mean,” she stepped forwards, to make for the trees, casually and calmly, “sorry, I mean, what about you? Can you think of why we’re here, why, in all the cosmos, on any plane, we’ve been brought here?” when she said brought, she meant stolen away in the night.
“Of course,” she glanced over her shoulder to Has, the enigmatic youth who claimed to conjured beasts from the very fabric of reality, “the same question applies to you my good sir,” she grinned at the youth, unparsed by his innocence, unlike their companion.
All this hubbub seemed horribly overcomplicated for what appeared, on the front of it all, to be a simple competition between rival groups of ‘would be adventurers’. Gold was not something Mordelain particularly treasure, she had plenty, or at least, Suresh did. Fame was something she chose to ignore, avoid, and deflect. If she were in the limelight more than she was already on the desert isle she now called home, people would become…jealous of her providence amongst the ranks of the il’Jhain messengers of the Abdos.
She turned back to the treeline.
“When our…” she sniffed, “final team mate composes his water reserves, let us see what rests beyond the tangle chord,” she pointed defiantly to the trees, in spite of the fear growing in the pit of her stomach in face of the unknown.
The planes walker knew, somehow, that come the end of their endeavour, she would have to travel many more worlds than this strange one to see them all through the trials that awaited them. Bells tinkling in the soft breeze, and soft silk damp with perspiration, the troubadour spread her legs and took her Kukri into her right hand.
Sorish returned a little while later with Roxi coming out of the back of his neck. She had lost track of time and travel distance that she didn't hide herself before they left the trees. By the time she noticed this it was to late, everyone else had seen her. She stared at them then quickly withdrew hoping beyond all hope that no one would have spotted her. She really didn't want to have to introduce herself to them. She just didn't trust them.
Sorish sensed Roxi's fear and quickly came up with a solution. "The creature you just saw come out of my neck is my pet. She is only there to protect me and help me out of trouble. Please, do not try to touch her or me or else she will bight."
Roxi relaxed a little knowing that they probably wouldn't come near them now, but she hated being called a "pet". She would have to talk to Sorish about that later, but for now it was fine.
Hsa found himself in awe at his teammate’s rude behavior, as well as the fact that most of his team mates, besides the woman, seemed to have little respect for him. He was going to be the very best, like no one ever was, after all! However, the woman’s direct question showed that she saw the child somewhat on level ground with her. In answer to her question, Hsa nodded excitedly.
“Well that’s simple,” he said with a smile, “I know I was brought here as part of my Chibimon journey! I was just kind of assuming the rest of you guys were Chibimon trainers as well. After all, he looks to be the right age for a new trainer,” Hsa motioned his head over to Talen, though his eyes remained on Mordelain.
It was around this time that Sorish had returned with Roxi, introducing the creature as his pet. This caused Hsa to point at the man, his smile growing wider. “See? He’s a Chibimon trainer too! Though his Chibimon looks really weak and easily distracted. Maybe he hasn’t earned its respect yet? Nothing like me and my Chibimon. I haven’t even got an arena talisman yet, and they respect me.” It was at this point that Hsa realized that he was rambling. Trying to get himself out of his rant, the youth shook his head vigorously.
He looked towards the trees that Talen had pointed out earlier, his feelings of déj* vu increasing. “I swear I know this place...” he mumbled to him himself. He was tempted to bring out MysLight, to have his faithful companion lead him to where they needed to go, but the pup was still weak from the previous battles, and thus still not ready to come out. Hsa looked towards Mordelain, then Talen, and then finally Sorish.
“I don’t suppose any of you have a tonic with which to heal my pals?”
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