Fantasy Destiny Court: Guardians of the Arcana

[Dusky]

Destiny Court: Guardians of the Arcana

​

A Court Without Leaders

In the Destiny Court, the two most important Guardians have gone missing.


Dunya, Guardian of The World Arcana, represented all of them - the perfect balance of everything that made them all unique. He had seemed so cheerful, so ready to celebrate anything and everything.


Visi, Guardian of The Hierophant Arcana, was Dunya's second in command, and he represented not all but most of them. High Priestess, Magician, Empress, and Emperor had all followed Visi closely. Visi was always trying to do what was right.


Dunya and Visi, though they worked well together, really only had one thing in common. They would never just... leave. Foul play was suspected.


When the two had been gone for some weeks, a few of the Guardians resigned. Resigning was not meant to be an option, but with no direction the Court was floundering. Unfortunately this only doubled the problem; Guardians of the Arcana they were, but also Containers. An Arcana without a Guardian was an unhappy Arcana indeed, and it would feel inclined to wander into worlds where it does not belong.


And then there was a letter.

The World and The Hierophant live.

The letter was traced back to the depths of Inan Barath, the Abyss. It was not really an abyss, just a very large ravine with a slightly shady reputation, but the name had been given many centuries ago and it had stuck. A large party of Guardians left to investigate, leaving behind only a handful to hold down the fort and deal with the wrath of the unfettered Arcana as they desperately attempt to replace or retrieve the Guardians who broke their contracts.


As the Arcana threaten to spill over into a world they never belonged in, a world the Guardians were sworn to protect, a handful of them are feeling rather overwhelmed. Forget the divine beings - the Court needs to continue running smoothly, a task left to a few of them but a task meant for twenty-two. A frequent correspondence with the search party for their leaders reveals more and more puzzling and unsettling developments - everything they know is being threatened.


And it's up to them to defend it.


Rules

Thank you for dropping in on this role play! I've been hard at work on it, and I really hope that it gets off the ground! Here are a few things that you should know.

1. Of course, follow all RPNation rules.
   
2. Please write at least five sentences a post. My preference is two paragraphs or one really good, juicy paragraph. Please don't write more than six paragraphs - though I doubt that will be a problem.
   
3. We all understand the occasional mistake, but PLEASE check your spelling and grammar. Despite the relatively small post size requirement, I would consider this RP literate, which means I expect realism, sensible writing, and a certain degree of maturity. I do want the RP to maintain a mostly light-hearted feel, but chatspeak, squealy doki-doki narration, extensive clothing and appearance descriptions, jumping right into the romance aspect without really getting into the plot, etc, are all pet peeves of mine and a bit of a no-no.
   
4. Romance is fine, great even, just don't let it get bigger and/or more important than the actual plot.
   
5. In the mood for some mature scenes? That's fine, but fade in, fade out. A little gore is okay.
   
6. Please include "nodokidoki" somewhere in your character sheet if you read this. Thank you!
   

Deje - Death

​

The Guardian of the Death Arcana stood at the edge of the floating island, leaning over the railing and watching the search party depart. She had begged The Emperor - somehow an unofficial leader - to bring everyone back safe. And yet, being honest with herself, she was quite aware of all of their mortality. If foul play was indeed afoot, she sincerely doubted that all would come back alive. But the Emperor had offered her a trade - if she could keep The Hermit, The Devil, Strength, The Moon, The Hanged Man, The Empress, and The Fool (Fool being optional) alive (or in The Fool's case, undead), he would keep the search party alive. Neither of them could do anything for the ones who had quit - The Magician, The Lovers, The Wheel of Fortune, Judgement, the former Empress.


With a sigh, she sent out a wish into the heavens. "May Dunya come home safe." She clasped her hands together, then added, "And Visi of course."


She then turned to face the rag-tag group of Guardians, replacements, and stand-ins. They had all only just finished saying their goodbyes to the searchers and some faces were flat while others clearly upset. She turned back towards the railing, knowing that at least there would be an end to the way they felt.


Everything had an end, she thought with a pang.


"We should get back inside," she heard herself say, though she was still clutching the rails.

 

[BloodThunder27]

Clearly, Tasha was upset. She felt like there was a bucket of responsibility being dumped on her. She was now a Guardian when there was already enough on her mind. Her Husband is dead, her training was physically and mentally demanding and, above all, she has a little one on the way. Yes, she was taking on her duties as a guardian while she is pregnant. So her predecessor chose the worst time to resign and leave. Because not only she was seven months along, she couldn't even fit into her pants! However, she tried not to fret or stress, because it would be bad for the baby. She was silent for the most part. After a few minutes, she walked back inside with Deje.

 

[Girouette]

Chai For lack of a better word. Was sad.


He of course came to the departure 'ceremony' although standing far away from the rails. Trying to make himself as hidden as possible.


Sadly, this was only making him stand out more, but luckily, the rest of the group seemed to be more focused on the departure of the search party.


Chai was sad for the reason of his brother leaving with the search party, He had said that he had to lead them to help find Dunya and Visi, still, Chai was saddened by the loss of his brother for a few weeks or months.


But he had these other guardians with him...Although if he knew how to interact with them. He showed no signs of it.





Mosath on the other hand, was ecstatic at the leaving of this group. And was making jokes...Or attempting to left and right.


And he clapped his hands together and attempted to make another one as they left the balcony and the view of the leaving party.


"Ah, finally, their gone. Let's get out the party materials shall we?"

 

[Dusky]

(( @Kawashima Thunder : I think you meant Deje, not Visi. Visi is missing xD ))

Deje - Death

​

Deje walked slowly back, following a worn dirt trail towards an opening in a circle of buildings. One of the newest Guardians, her belly full with child, was the first to follow after her. As she trailed past The Fool, she heard his irreverent drivellings of celebration. Fool, indeed, she thought, casting him a sidelong glance as anger flared through her. She kept walking, though, noting the small boy hanging back as she passed him. The Devil's temp replacement, if she wasn't mistaken. Someone would have to show him the ropes, sooner or later, but she would give everyone else a chance to do it before she would. In any case, they all had to be in the courtyard soon enough to meet with that year's Chinese Zodiac leader - The Horse. They had about an hour to do with as they pleased, however. Leo had just left a few days ago so there was no-one to entertain, and any hearings had been cancelled for the occasion of the search party's departure.

 

[BloodThunder27]

While walking towards the Courtyard, she heard a few servants and other patrons murmuring and whispering amongst each other. Tasha began feeling inconfident about being a Guardian. Would her pregnancy hinder and impair her fighting capability? That was what she was worried about. It also irritated her to hear The Fool speak about celebration. As she held her belly, she felt her future daughter kicking, which made her smile. However, she could only hope that her fellow Guardians could put up with her mood swings, because as of late, her hormones have been jumping around and she has been very moody, as she was sad one minute, angry the next.


((@asduskfalls Don't worry I edited my post...and no touching xD ))

 

[Tugboats]

Kemik, in passing by Mosath heard him talk about celebrating. He put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing a bit.


"It is the foolish fool that gets himself thrown off the balcony, Mosath."


With that, Kemik walked off. Mosath was the one he worried about. He was part of his family, but he was like a little brother that had to be watched. Kemik usually wasn't as aggressive, but with recent events, he was a bit on edge.

 

[Girouette]

Chai, as they all made their way back into the building stayed outside for a moment after, seemignly the only straggler as everyone else, despite reluctance, had to get inside.


But Chai was now alone (as far as he knew) and could stare over the vast landscape at the departing party. As they passed out of eyesight Chai would mutter his goodbyes to a brother now gone. And planned to stay there for what would seem like hours to him.


But no. he had to get back inside soon enough. Without his brother to guide him at this point. He had to rely on his limited knowledge of being a guardian to survive.





Mosath on the other hand, was quite glad to be coming in. And despite his shoulder now hurting slightly from being squeezed. Qutie Painfully.


Depite this, he was still making jokes "So I'm making some jokes at the expense of my masters. Not a reason to throw a fool from a roof."

 

[Madi]

(Sorry I'm late)


Elli, too, was upset over the departure of her fellow Guardians. She wished them the best of luck, and tried to look on the positive side of things, hoping for day when all the Guardians would be together again. But, then again, it could turn out the opposite, with all Guardians broken and bewildered as their Arcana visited whenever and wherever they pleased. Elli shooed away the thought, and closely followed the others inside.


She watched The Fool going around, joking. "I wanted to stay on the positive side," she thought "...but at least save the jokes for when the others aren't so glum. It doesn't bother me much, but the others seem a bit... agitated..." Accidentally, Elli whispered the last word under her breath.

 

[Dusky]

Deje - Death

​

Deje walked around the courtyard once, passing empty chair after empty chair. She noted which ones needed some upkeep, reminding herself that she needed to speak with staff about it. She stopped at Dunya's chair and crouched, affectionately patting a scuff mark on one of the legs that had yet to be removed. She also reminded herself to tell the staff not to touch any of Dunya's things in his absence. Or Visi's, of course. Casting a glance around to make sure nobody was in the area - most were either out or had gone inside and none, at the moment, were lingering in the yard - Deje settled herself into The World's chair. She could almost smell Dunya's essence envelope her. She knew he'd come back. She also knew things would never be the same, she thought as she nestled herself into the seat.

 

[BloodThunder27]

The next to arrive was Tasha. She ended up sitting in the seat of the Former Empress. While waiting for her fellow guardian, she wondered about her future as a single mom. It already made her feel awkward enough. When she felt the baby kicking, she began cradling her stomach in hopes of calming her future little girl down. "Guess Mommy did have a bucket of responsibility dumped on her, didn't she, sweetie?" She asked, while looking down, talking to her unborn baby, completely forgetting that Daje was there.

 

[Dusky]

Deje - Death

​

Deje, startling a bit at The Empress' - Tasha, that was her name, right? - musings, quietly slipped out of The World's chair, hoping the other woman had not noticed her impertinence in sitting there. She crossed the room slowly, approaching the woman at her leisure. When she reached her destination, Deje lowered herself onto the floor by Tasha's chair, sitting back on her heels.


"What will you name the child?" she asked, unable to tear her eyes away from the mound that was Tasha's belly.

 

[BloodThunder27]

Tasha was startled when she noticed the current Guardian of Death was sitting by her. She wasn't emberassed because talking to your unborn child was common amongst expecting moms anyway, just not in front of others of course. "To answer your question, I honestly do not know." She cradled her belly, still trying to comfort her baby, this time without saying anything. When Tasha noticed that Deje was staring at her belly, she hoped that Deje wouldn't touch her. Not only it makes her more moody then she already is, but it would feel awkward as well, especially if Deje did so without asking.

 

[Tugboats]

(I just realized that I had been putting Kelik rather than Kemik. I fixed my original post. Whoops.)


Kemik eventually came in, and in seeing Dunya and Visi's chairs empty, felt a pang of sorrow. Be strong Kemik. He snapped himself out of it and started to talk business.


"So Deje, The Horse is still going to be coming for the meeting, right? It would probably be best if you spoke to the newer Guardians and let them know if they should say anything at all or if those of us who have been around for awhile should just handle the meeting." He smiled a bit. "At least the new guys don't have to deal with Ox. Remember last time he led the meeting?"

 

[Larry]

Coren watched as the party went off in search of Dunya and Visi, a solemn expression plastered over his face. For the sake of the others if not your own, you best bring them back safe and sound, the contemplative Guardian of the Hermit thought in his usual manner. The consensus among the others was that there foul play involved to a certain degree. A reaction was spurred on by their absence's but not was as noticeable as the others. Strange, it was to him that he wouldn't refer to them as colleagues but rather just the 'others'. But when the Hermit is the Arcana you are housing, isolating and thinking to one's self is a must.


After finishing his mental deliberations, the Guardian took a look at the empty seats that one envisaged the absent Hierophant and World guardians. An odd sight indeed, but one that must be used as an impetus for the others as well as himself to work harder for them.


"May you come home in good health," he said to no one in particular, heading to his own chair.


(Sorry guys, didn't see it in my alerts! I also took the liberty of changing his name Michael to Coren, if that's okay!)

 

[Dusky]

Deje - Death

​

Deje rose as slowly as she had sat, turning to smile faintly at Kemik. "The Horse indeed. I do remember that year," she responded with a chuckle. "In any case, I see no reason why anyone should not speak if they wish to speak. Except perhaps the Fool. I will do my best to inform the others." Turning to Tasha, she said, "I won't ask to feel your belly. Everyone seems to believe my touch brings Death." She closed her eyes briefly as a wave of sadness broke over her. "Maybe they are right."


With that, she strode across the room, to her own seat (nodding towards The Hermit as she passed), casting one last longing glance at The World's in hopes of seeing him there, as if it was all a bad dream.


((Name change is perfectly fine.))

 

[BloodThunder27]

Tasha couldn't exactly sympathize, mainly because she and Deje had just met and she was a new Guardian. She did not know on whether or not she should be scared because Deje was the Guardian of Death. Even then, Tasha could tell that she was not a bad person. Normally, she doesn't mind if someone touches her belly, it just makes her moody if they do so without asking. "Probably not the best idea to ask to touch the belly. Normally, I don't mind, but if you do touch me without asking, I can get very moody. Last time someone touched me without asking got stabbed." Tasha didn't have any shame in stabbing someone for touching her belly. She was just glad she didn't take a life over the matter.


((Haha, so moody xD ))

 

[Girouette]

I should point out that The fool was, today especially, actingy quite foolishly in the absence of his 'masters'. And Mosath, as he waltzed into the room following the others made quite the show of walking over to the worlds chair. Doing a bit of a dance of looking at it closely, turning around and bringing his posterior within about an inch of the seat, and hovering there for multiple seconds, before jumping up, grinning, and sitting in his seat. He did this all silently, although it was obviously done to agitate the other members of the court, and with no one to reprimand him....


Well, to say he was having a cakeday was putting it lightly. And after he took his seat, and listened to the rest of the guardians conversation, he put in his words.


"The Horse? Augh, I remember the last time they came. Terrible I tell you."





Chai, on the other hand, was solemnly the last person to enter the chamber, and silently took his seat, seemingly frightened of the other guardians.

 

[Dusky]

Deje - Death

​

Deje watched the Fool, torn between amusement and anger. As she had actually done the deed and could hardly reprimand his mockery, amusemen won out, but she still said in a clear voice, "Mosath, I thank you for finally seating yourself in your own seat and would ask that you not make such remarks in The Horse's presence. And as for the rest of you - many of you know how our meetings go, but I urge our newest members to be polite, kind, and truthful with the Horse. If you have something to say, say it - but do not interrupt or allow any hostile tone in your voice." She paused, and a small smile graced her face. "It is my hope that you new Guardians will find the Horse's company pleasant and this meeting an instructive beginning of your new way of life... at least, this part of it. The Horse has already been made aware of our situation and will be perfectly understanding, so please, don't be afraid to speak. He will be here shortly. Any questions?"

 

[Tugboats]

Kemik had ignored Mosath, although he would have liked to see someone pull him out of the chair. Neither Dunya nor Visi should be disrespected. And yet here was The Fool, doing it in front of all of them. It was odd to see so many empty seats, while a few others were taken up by others who were completely new to the job. Coren, while experienced, wasn't a particularly social Guardian, so much of the teaching fell to Deje and himself.


Are either of us fit to teach in their absence? He shook his head and pitched in.


"If any of you are unsure of what you can or should be doing, don't be afraid to ask one of the older Guardians. We can point you in the right direction."

 

[Madi]

Elli - The Hanged Man (Don't mind me, just copying you c

​

Elli had since seated herself in her own chair, though was casually seated, as if she weren't even in the presence of pristine Guardians. She'd been twisting her hair around in her hand as she listened to the others talking about various things; Tasha's baby, The fool's actions, Deje's 'speech'... With ease, she listened to each conversation, and in her mind it wasn't eavesdropping. "It's only eavesdropping when they whisper" she thought, remaining quiet when Deje asked for questions.

 

[BloodThunder27]

Tasha had no questions whatsoever. Even before she had become a Guardian, her predessessor had told her about what her duties and commitments were when she took Tasha under her wing. But since she had just become a Guardian, she just expected the unexpected. At the first meeting, Tasha didn't say anything at all, but only listened and remained attentive.

 

[Larry]

Coren appreciated the nod, feeling that it would only be fair if he returned the gesture. And so he did, a subtle tip of the head in her direction, then the man returned to his thoughts. Although he thought about much but little in mind, there was always something his attention would be focused. Even if it was the mos measly thing like thinking of the proper procedure to swat a fly or trying to answer the most commonly-asked philosophical question in the world, a great degree of mental deliberation was in the works for him. This was also the reason Coren looks to tired the majority of the time, simply due that his mind is always buzzing during the night which refrains him from getting the proper sleep he needs. But that was the way and the word of a Guardian of the Hermit; you have to become a hermit yourself to truly understand how it feels.


"Lads and ladies, talk not to this fool in case you become as foolish as he is," he announced to none in particular, the antics of the fool obviously hitting a nerve with the others.

 

[BloodThunder27]

Of course, it was starting to irritate Tasha as well. Despite her trying to be lenient and neutral with Mosath, but at this point, she could throw a knife at him or do something drastic and horrible without feeling bad...or remorseful for that matter. She was now waiting for the Meeting to conclude so she can rest. Bearing a child is no easy task, even for a Guardian. Despite her using Throwing Knives as weapons, Tasha also had a severe case of Aichmophobia, a fear of sharp objects. The cause of it was C-Sections, something that even someone with her resilience seemed to be afraid of. But it was her first, so she didn't know what it felt like, but knew it would be painful. The thought of it did indeed scare her greatly. The fact that she did have Nightmares about them didn't exactly help. At the moment, however, she was just waiting for the current meeting to conclude.

 

[Girouette]

The Fool, not even slightly offended by his fellow guardians. reclined in his seat as much as he could.


Truthfully, he was simply doing what came naturally, being foolish.


"Only a fool cares about an empty seat." He shrugged, still grinning a foolishly wide smile for the circumstances.


"Has anyone signed my petition to change the horses name to ass? I mean. He's not really a horse, so the name is much more fitting."





Chai, still being silent and rather slunken back in his chair, was quiet.


He wouldn't have anything to say...Or for that matter know how to say anything to these people. All talking to eachother at once. And having conversations. And joking...He would wish he could do that, but instead he was scared of talking without the guidance of his brother.

 

[Madi]

Elli - The Hanged Man

​

Elli was agape at the Fool's remark of this "petition". She knew where he was coming from, since he and The Horse never quite got along, but still... it was extremely offensive. Elli was glad she wasn't that careless, as she glanced around at the other Guardians, curious as to what they thought on the matter.