Fantasy Arivale, The City in the Sky

[SmittenKitten]

After the fall of the human world (land dwelling world), the Avians fled to the sanctuary of Arivale, the city in the sky. Winged beings of all kinds flocked to it from far and wide, hoping to start over in a world of their own. Time flows much slower here than before the fall of the land below. On the thousandth day of the thousandth year, it was foretold that the fall of the city will begin. The leaders of the factions have banded together and sent two of the best from each realm to form a team together. They must find and retrieve the five ancient scrolls from the ends of the forgotten lands – one from the Karakota, the city of the Sea Snake; one from the mountains of D'vrell, the Dwarf King of Bloodshed; one from the forests of Asatroth, the Elven King of Misfortune; one from the sky city of Gold; and one from the grandmaster Leviathan in Katharos City, the city of the Underworld.

 

[SmittenKitten]

(please do not post here until we are ready to start. Thanks!)

 

[SmittenKitten]

Avianna was at the market when she heard the bells toll in the center square. Her mind went through every possible reason as to why they would be going off. Nothing she thought of made sense. It was high noon, the sun blazing down on her shoulders. The skies were clear, and the factions were behaving well enough. She quickly paid for the things she needed, making her way with the crowds to the square, wondering what kind of announcement was going to be made. A rumble shook the ground, making everyone stand still. As quickly as it began, the quaking stopped, making Avianna feel uneasy. What in the world was going on? She hurried along the path, eager to figure out what was happening.


---


Avara was bored, resting her back against the trunk of the tree she was in. Nothing was going on in the Lahare faction - which was normal. No bloodshed, no visitors, no nothing. She sighed, legs swinging over the edge of the branch. Bells from the center square tolled in the distance, followed by a deep rumble in the ground below her. She took flight as the rumble knocked her out of the tree. "What the hell?" she asked to no one in particular. She looked in the direction of the square, her interest peaked. "Well, this is going to be fun." she said to herself, making her way through the skies toward the tolling of the bells.

 

[animefordaysXD]

"An sword, an flail, an bow... Why is it so hard to find an scythe?" Joseph grumbled under his breath. He kept walking down the streets looking for something fun as his home was just boring right now. No fights, no duels, no torture... where was anything fun? But just then, an loud rumble followed by an ringing from the bells disturbed his thoughts, making him take flight. "Finally, something interesting.." He grinned to himself, heading towards the center square.

 

[The Snowiest Owl]

Zodiac felt the tremor, something that he felt on Earth millennia ago. He was used to such geological occurrences on the land, but Arivale was a floating city. If Arivale did indeed have it's own geological shifts it would explain. But Zodiac doubts such trivial answers. Something bigger was going on.


He adjusted his mask and stepped out of his cottage door.


"Hopefully this will be interesting..."


He cracked a smirk under his mask and buttoned his cloak at the collar.


Maybe I can see something wondrously devastating He thought.

 

[SecretRock]

Lilura was leant over a small cauldron, carefully measuring out chopped leaves into the bubbling mass below her. She was slowly sprinkling the leaves onto the top of the liquid, trying not to add too many, when loud bells from the centre of Arivale rang, destroying the silence of her house/lab and socking her as she dropped all the leave in her hand into the cauldron. She sighed irritatedly as a sickly green colour spread out from where the leaves had landed in the bright blue liquid. He pulled her wand out from behind her ear and extinguished the flames under her potion with a flick.


She fell back into her chair, still annoyed and drew a big cross on the paper in front of her. She already tried three times and that potion was no longer appealing to her. She grabbed her bag, throwing the strap over her shoulder and pushed herself up. She marched over to the door, shoving clutter out of the way with her foot, and pulled it open, cold Daknar air hitting her face, a large change from the warm, stuffy air of her lab, and she stepped out, heading to the centre square to see what happened. From looking around, she could see that she wasn't the only one doing so.

 

[scaryyangell]

June was walking down the streets of the markets around center square, enjoying the good weather. She absolutely loved the feeling of the warm sun shining down on her. There weren't many sounds aside from the chirping birds and occasional ruffling leaves from small bursts of wind coming from no apparent direction. A few younger children would run by her from time to time, playing some game that came from Earth so many years ago. Oh, how she wished she could've seen what Earth was like... She daydreamed about what it used to be like. She stood still in a dreamlike trance until a ringing noise snapped her out of it. 'The bell? Why would that be ringing on a day like this?' she wondered. June began making her way to the center square, curious but somewhat worried about what the bell could mean.

 

[The Snowiest Owl]

Each stride was like Zodiac's own dulled heartbeat. Step, Step, Step, Step. It matched the same rhythm of Badum, Badum. Each quick thrust of his leg only made his heart rate go faster. Zodiac stopped playing the silly little rhythm game and focused at the matter at hand. He saw a lot of other people coming out of their dwellings toward the square.


Perfect He thought.


Just more bodies to see if there really is a catastrophe...

 

[SmittenKitten]

Avianna reached her destination, gazing up at the grand pillars of the bell tower. The ringing went on for a few more minutes before fading into silence. Everyone held their breath, waiting to hear what was happening. The doors to the tower swept open, revealing a white-robed angel with the most strikingly pale wings she had ever seen. The angel's arms spread, palms facing skyward.


"Citizens of Arivale," the woman began, voice easily carrying over the crowd that had gathered. "I bid you welcome. I am the High Council member Aegarith. We have called you all here to offer you a job, if you will. We are in need of heroes to face the dangers of the realms below and retrieve the forgotten scrolls scattered over the horizons. These scrolls hold the history of our past." A curious murmur flowed through the crowd. Some started to turn away, grumbling about the High Council making fools of themselves for wanting to risk lives for paper. Avianna was curious, though, pressing forward, closer to the woman in white. "On the thousandth day of the thousandth year, you will embark on your journey. We must not delay. All those interested in joining, please inquire inside." The woman looked out onto the crowd, seeming to gaze right at her before gazing skyward once more. "Until then..." The woman rose with a flurry of wings, heading back into the tower, awaiting her heroes.


Avianna wasted no time in pursuing her. She had always been curious about the founding of Arivale - the library didn't have much to offer in way of history. She pushed open the doors, moving into the main corridor. She wondered if anyone else was like her, so willing to embark on this quest.


---


Avara yawned. That was the most boring and confusing speech she had ever had to suffer through. She mulled over her choices. She could either stay in this boring city, wishing she could be on some epic adventure, or she could take the offer and go on an actual adventure. It wasn't a hard decision. She flew toward the tower slowly, hanging back a bit, seeing how many others entered the tower. There was a goody-goody angel that practically sprinted through the door - she was the first. Ah, yes. This would definitely be interesting.

 

[The Snowiest Owl]

Zodiac saw the angel and ducked behind a small wall of baskets.


Scrolls Huh? Sounds important, and powerful. Also...interesting.


Zodiac shifted into his Zodiac dog form and walked across the courtyard silently. He shifted back into his original humanoid form. He shuffled in with the rest of the people filing in for a chance to obtain the scrolls. He was eager to find out what power was held within the scrolls and what the Earth might look like after all these years...


He was interrupted by his thoughts when an angel bumped into his side and shoved him.


"Hey Lady!" He called out, standing up and straightening his mask


"Watch where you go, Ma'am." He made a purposefully put a sarcastic emphasis on Ma'am, hoping to provoke a funny reaction.

 

[scaryyangell]

June's eyes widened when she heard what the sudden ruckus was for? She ran past people, not caring about the ones that demanded an apology from her as she pushed them to the side. Nothing was going to stop her from seeing the place she had been dreaming of her entire life, no matter how desolate and different it may be from her day dreams. She saw a black dog out of the corner of her eye, but before she knew it, a normal looking person took it's place. She didn't stop running, though, until she was inside the large building. There were a lot more people than she thought there would be. "Watch where you go, Ma'am," June heard a voice say to an angel.


She turned to whoever said it, a glare on her face. "Hey, how about you watch your attitude?" she said to the man standing there.


@Noivern

 

[SmittenKitten]

Avianna hadn't been paying attention to where she was going until she quite literally ran into someone. She turned, face blazing pink. "I'm so sorry, sir. I... I didn't see you there." she turned to another person who was apparently on her side. "It's okay. I wasn't paying attention. I was just so curious what this was all about. It's kind of... Magical, don't you think?" she looked between the two, a smile lighting up her face.


@Noivern @scaryyangell

 

[The Snowiest Owl]

The cross symbol through the circle mark on his mask displayed no emotion.


"Oh, What do you care? I'm just trying to get by until Goodie-two-shoes over here decided to barge in like a Goddamn bull in a china shop." A wide grin flashed across his face.


That's likely to cause some trouble Zodiac thought.

 

[scaryyangell]

June could practically feel her face turning red with anger. It wasn't like she wanted to make a scene, especially not in front of a room full of angels, but this guys just made her want to scream. "God, you-" June stopped talking when she noticed that the person that had been run into had started talking. "Magical? Hm, I guess you're right," she quickly changed her tone in hopes not to upset the angel. She did say it was fine after all... That didn't mean June was over anything. She was still all bothered about the way he, whoever he was, kept trying to keep the fight going.


She turned to the angel and held out her hand. "The name's June," she said casually. "And you are?"


@SmittenKitten @Noivern

 

[The Snowiest Owl]

Zodiac looked at the two girls in front of them, scanning them, studying them.


Morality kicked into his twisted mind and he lowered his clenched fist he never knew was there.


"Sorry..." He brushed aside a strand of greasy black hair from his mask. "Dunno what got into me, heh...."


@SmittenKitten @scaryyangell

 

[SmittenKitten]

Avianna held up her hands at the man in front of her. "It's okay, really! You were just excited, I'm sure." she giggled softly, turning then to June. "My name is Avianna. it's so nice to meet you." she shook the girls hand, smiling brightly.

 

[The Snowiest Owl]

Zodiac hesitantly reached and held her hand. He couldn't really feel anything since the bandages covering his hand and the whole length of his arm. All he could tell was her skin as soft.


"Hey...Hello Avianna." The name sounded so foreign in his mouth that he nearly tripped on the name itself.


@SmittenKitten

 

[scaryyangell]

June smiled, glad that the small conflict had already been resolved. The guy seemed nice enough; maybe he was just grumpy. It had been a rather odd day with the sudden announcement after all. "So, why are the two of you interested in goin' down there?" she asks. "I personally have always dreamed of what the Earth used to be like and what it's like now... It's kinda like remembering something I never experienced, to put the feeling into words. It's just always fascinated me..." June began to ramble.


@Noivern @SmittenKitten

 

[SmittenKitten]

Avianna nodded. "Oh, I'm just here to learn the history of our world. To be honest, I'm kind of a scaredy-cat." She giggled again, looking down, embarrassed. "I'm really rather fond of history." she said softly. She turned to face the man beside her. "What about you?"


---


Avara flew into the tower, one of the last stragglers to come in. The group gathered looked interesting enough - angels, witches, hell, even fairies and dragons joined the party below her. She hovered over the crowd, surveying the people below, wondering just how this quest would turn out.


@Noivern @scaryyangell

 

[The Snowiest Owl]

"I've been on Earth, pretty place. But I don't think it might be so hot now. By the way, Name's Zodiac. No last name." Zodiac paused, and recollected his thoughts. "I barely remember how Arivale came into existence and how I got up here..." His black-gray cloak shifted as he made gestures with his arm. "I wanna find out."


And hopefully, I can see what those scrolls look like...


Zodiac shifted into his Dragon form.


"I guess you can tell why my name is Zodiac..."


@SmittenKitten

 

[Captain Azulium]

Unlike the rest of the town Malin decided to make something usefull of this day and go adventuring. Earlier this morning he had asked his grandfather if he can go adventuring just like he always had when he was bored. Nothing had changed exempt for one thing, he asked for a purple orchid. "What for?" Malin asked curiously. "Its a secret" he replied solemly. So he went out where he ventures on now. "I wonder what he wants this flower for" he said, unsure of how far into the forest he was now. Out of boredom he began to snap at a tempo, each snap erecting a small spark of fire. It didn't hurt, he did it too often for it to. Briefly after he began to hum a song he couldn't remember the name of. "♪do de do de do♪" he hummed pleasently jumping over rocks and small stones, with no intent to hurt himself, at least before he felt the tremor causing him to loose his balance and fall off of the stone below him. "Sprained..." He muttered to himself when he couldn't make himslelf stand up. He leaned himself against the rock and looked around for some possible solution. Then he saw it. It was a beautiful purple flower that had grown under a skinny beam of light. He picked it and stashed it in his hair. Great now that he had the flower all he need was a way home so he yelled for help in a forest that seemed to go on forever.

 

[The Snowiest Owl]

Zodiac twisted his long slender dragon form in the air, the yellow pylons running along the spine of his current form pulsated with light.


"Neat little thing...."


He changed back to original and fell to the floor with an audible thump He stood on his legs and dusted his cloak and hood off.


"Don't be TOO freaked out, heh."

 

[SmittenKitten]

Avianna watched him in wonder, shaking her head quickly. "That was amazing! Was that magic?" She had never met someone quite like him. She was curious as to what other forms he could take.

 

[animefordaysXD]

"Such an useless speech. Although an adventure sounds interesting... After all, nothing to do here anyways." Joseph muttered. He noticed some angels heading towards the library. "Hmm might as well follow them." with that, he turned into an bat and followed them into the library. 'Now lets see what they are doing.' Joseph thought, hiding in a nearby bookcase. 'Hmm an changling and a guardian angel, along with some wierd dude.' Joseph thought as he watched the fight. After they cooled down and the *zodiac* guy started transforming, he decided to make himself shown. "Interesting skills there zodiac." He calmly said, making an ball of some red stuff that looked like blood appear in his hand. "But how strong are you? I challenge you to an duel." With that, he pulled out his scythe and lit it up with fire.

 

[Ms. Sparrow]

Kynerith lazily layed on the branch of a street, one arm hanging off the branch while the other made shapes with fire in the palm of her hand. Sword. Griffen. Unicorn. A rubble suddenly shook the ground, causing her hair to flame up in alert and suprise, nearly setting the tree on fire. She hoped off the tree and wandered over to the gathering crowd.


She listened to the winged woman and decided, that since she has nothing else to do. She started to walk towards the building, flames trailing on the ground behind her, which was normal, and they were tiny flames which quickly died out before they could set anything on fire.


The flames in her hair calm. Kynerith watched the scene between Zodiac and the easily angered girl. He was Intreasting. she continued walking past them towards the building.