Fantasy ~ FableWood ~

[zCrookedz]

Leo winced as he heard Tigirius speak of Otto. It was as Leo had feared, there was nothing left after the witch destroyed the parts of his friends that made them who they were. Otto had been the first of the witches victims when she took Ruby. Leo gazed up at the moon and the light that it shown through the trees. Tigirius was right, the forest was so much darker than the days past. In his heart, this only made Leo sadder as he blamed himself for letting the darkness spread like it had. Finally Leo saw Tigirius and Ward stopped on the edge of a very different looking part of the forest. The trees slumbered, some quietly, some not so much. Leo knew the trees all to well. He moved close to Tigirius "If only Tin where here eh?" he whispered as he stared at the trees. His comment half a joke, half a wish for his past friend. Leo grabbed the ax from his hilt and readied it as he held onto Ashley tighter. As the other moved closer to the edge of the fighting trees, Leo motioned for them all to slow and continue quietly as they could.

 

[Jecklyn]

Banba leaned down and sniffed at ashley as the group made their way through the forest, ignoring all Leo had to say to her. She instead stared around, and looking to the gryphon, she noticed him checking on something. She grinned wide, moving to Leo's other shoulder to lean out over it, grinning madly as she tried to see what Ward had. She was distracted, however, by the trees with faces, and took note of the quiet tones the two cat men took on. Staring at the tree who snorted as Leo walked by, Banba pulled at her lip corners, pulling out her cheeks as her face turned to bark and she made a silly, but silent face exactly like the slumbering one. Sitting back forward, she once again sniffed at ashley, before turning to Tigirius, narrowing her eyes. Whether it was in distrust or to see in the dim light, none could tell.

 

[DawnAntalios]

Nyr fell more behind as she felt the evil of the forest creeping over her. It was a feeling of shadow, something that tore at her ever since the siege. Then it happened: as she gazed into a slumbering tree she saw a familiar face materializing before her as the strange energy surged in her right arm once more. Trying to suppress it she saw a demonic face before her then the energy in her hand discharged.


In horror she watched as the face of the tree shifted uneasily and then its vile eyes opened, gazing at the interloper with fury. Nyr's face turned pale as the tree growled at her. Realizing that was too late she sent a large gust of wind towards the others, trying to knock them a bit farther away so they can escape.


" Go! " she exclaimed as the branch of the tree sliced towards her. Barely dodging it she evaded the strike and tried to attack back. the strange energy discharged again, this time a white lightning which temporarily blinded the ravenous tree. As she dashed around she noticed something which made her to panic even more - her hair was turning white again. Her eyes wide open in fear she got more desperate.


" Run, leave me here! " she yelled now to the others in fear " I will be fine, but you must escape! "

 

[Bea Delaine]

Elena smiled as some of her concern lifted. The forest was beautiful in a forboding way. She continued, admiring the plant life quietly until Ward and Tigirius seemed to quiet and slow. A tree snorted. That was strange to say the very least. She walked on the tips of her toes and readied her powers. Lucky for her, her command of plant life would be useful here.


A tree awoke by Nyr and attacked the girl. Then Nyr... Said some very self sacrificing and Nyr like things. Elena jumped into action, running to her friend. Her own vines and strong branches broke from the dark soil and clay. They attempted to subdue the living tree with the eery face, wrapping up its root base and branches.


"No! Nyr stop it. You are with Us!! We lose you, we lose a big part of each of us." She all but growled. As the tree was blinded, Nyr took on some odd changes.

 

[SkywardSocks]

Achyls turned to see Nyr attacking the tree. She darted to her, pulling her away with all her strength.


"Stop! Nyr, please!" she shouted, dragging her away from the tree and placing her safely on the ground. She touched her face carefully, trying to calm her as best she could.


"Leo," she called, gesturing for him to speak to Nyr, he had a much better way with words than she did.

 

[zCrookedz]

Leo foze as the trees began to shift and awaken. He looked to Tigirius and looked down at Ashley. He quickly placed Ashley in his arm and turned to the others "Tigirius get this one out of here, i will shepard the rest through the forest along your trail." Knowing the tigers protest had grabbed his other ax from its holster and did not give him the chance to protest. Leo dashed through the trees swinging arms as they cam rushing towards him. The limbs thrashed around trying to hit anything that moved. One of the trees timed its thrust just right and its arm came hurtling towards Leo mid run. With his axes drawn, Leo brought the heads of his axes down on the arms, slicing it off with ease. The tree screached in pain as its limb fell to the ground and lay there like a normal log. Leos attention was drawn to Nyr and the others as Achyls yelled for him. Hacking through any of the limbs that crossed his path Leo reach Nyr and the others quickly. He looked to Elena and Achyls "The trees arms are weak against blades. Follow Tigirius and get to Glinda i have Nyr." He turned back to Nyr and placed one of his ax's back in its holster. He swept her off her feet and gave her a slight scowl "No one is leaving anyone, least of all you little Raven." Leo gripped the ax hilt tight and dashed back the way he came hacking back the trees arms as they came swinging at them.


@DawnAntalios

 

[SkywardSocks]

Achyls smiled, knowing for certain that Nyr belonged with Leo, she was safer, more grounded beside him. She stood up carefully and caught up with Tigirius, darting through the limbs of dying trees until she reached him.


"Where is it you are leading us?" she panted, addressing Tigirius with a tired smile. She stole a glance back at Nyr, a small smile blossoming on her face seeing her with Leo. Looking forward, she was just behind the tiger now, her powers readied in case a branch would come charging at them.

 

[Hel]

Alexander had followed along, and so had Anya. They both stayed quiet most of the way, and here decided to stay that way still.


(Short post is short to establish that they are still there, they'll be more involved in just a bit.)

 

[Flutterby]

Quincy stayed close to the group, half-listening to the conversation as she checked herself over, noting all the stinging cuts from the fall. Most stubborn was the one through her eye brow, which wouldn't quit running into her eye. It was mildly upsetting to lose moisture almost as soon as she was feeling better. But not as upsetting as the next sequence of events. At the front of the group, Nyr woke one of the sleeping trees. Quincy only had a few moments to realize the raven's hair was no longer its proper color before she was once again battling with branches, although now they were fighting back. She tranformed to her more equine self, using her hooves and teeth to break the swinging branches. She looked around for Alexander and anyone else left, hoping to carry then out, but couldnt take the time to really look. She whinnied to them, hoping they would understand.

 

[SilverFlight]

Tigirius tried to stop Nyr, rushing forward a moment too late. The tree awoke. And if that wasn't the worst of it the noise of fighting slowly woke the others.


"Run!" he yelled. their only hope was to clear the fighting trees before they came to their senses.


Seeing the wound on Achyls leg for the first time the tiger scooped her up effortlessly and headed the party through the forest.


"The one thing I tell you not to do!" He grumbled, dodging the low swing of a particularly disgruntled willow.


Ward rushed to Elena's side with the intention of protecting her...in reality however she was more capable of protecting him. He parried a blow with his sword, feeling his arm go numb with the shock. His sword was not meant to cut through wood.


"Lets go!" he conjured a fireball and threw it at the tree attacking Nyr in hopes she would be able to disengage. Then they would run.


Tigirius ducked and weaved through the branches, holding on tightly to the young girl in his arms. He took a blow on his back and kept running, a pained growl escaping his jaws. It seemed like an eternity before they danger finally subsided. Thank the sky above that the fighting forest was more like a grove than an entire forest.


The tiger slowed to a halt in a clearing that opened onto a small path. Before them stood a set of gates, shattered to pieces long ago. As Leia burst through the foliage after Tigirius and Achyls she stopped to wonder at them...they looked like they were made of porcelain.


The tiger carried Achyls to the gates and set her down gently. "Inside, quickly. We can catch our breath."


Leia didn't argue but slipped over the broken gateway and her face fell at the scene before her.


It was a village...or, it used to be. The houses were small, two stories only reaching the height of her shoulders. The quaint little town looked like it had been made for dolls, but now it lay in complete devastation. Nearly everything was made of china, shattered and bone-white in the dust and weeds that grew there now.


"What is this place?" She asked, more than a little uneasy. Tigirius looked at her sadly.


"Most of those who escaped here ended up in Glinda's palace...this was the china village, now it is only a ruin."


She picked up the broken remnants of a small porcelain chair which had been left out in the middle of the street. The largest structure was a formidable cathedral, the stained glass rose shattered and gone, fragments of coloured glass littered the steps before it. Over all it was depressing.


"rest for a while." The tiger said. "We must move on soon."


((I am pulling straight from the books here, if you want to know more, just pick them up ))

 

[SkywardSocks]

In Tigirius' arms, she suddenly felt safe, protected by the guardian. It was a true euphoria in such a dire situation. Only when they reached the China Village did she take her gaze off of the tiger. The sight was just as she had seen in the stories, though was much more of a distopian wasteland than she first hoped. Following orders, she clambered to her feet again she dashed inside, only to stumble upon arrival. She felt exhaustion sweep over her.


"Tigirius, I do not suppose there is respite here?" she asked, her voice sounding wispy and distant. For now, she wished only for sleep, and was willing to sleep anywhere.


"I do not wish to be a burden," she seemed to regret her natural being, feeling weak for not being able to continue onward.

 

[Lioness075]

Luness kept to the shadows the whole time the group moved through the forest, or fighting forest as they called it, listening from a distance to what Tigirius said. She was curious about the tiger, but now wasn't exactly the time for questiosn as such. Once Nyr freaked out and attacked a tree, Luness was bounding through the trees, effortlessly dodging their slow swings. Still, by the time she escaped their wrath and was sitting on her haunches behind a bush near the gate to the village, Luness was already feeling a slight throb from her recently dislocated shoulder. It'd go away soon, but it bothered her for now. Still, it didn't bother her as much as when Nyr had freaked. On top of that, Luness had seen her hair change colors. What was up with that? Sighing, Luness then heard the group making their appearance. Standing up on her hind legs, Luness walked to the back of the group to join them, feeling immensely guilty for having not jumped out to protect any of them in the tree attack.

 

[Bea Delaine]

Elena frowned, anxiety resurfacing as it became apparent that she would have to leave Nyr alone. Instead of running away immediately though, she continued using her magic to render the trees motionless with her own vines. She summoned her sword and chopped through a branch swiping at Ward as it seemed he couldn't use his weapon against the tree. She was a bit impressed by his fire ball though.


Torn between staying and running, she shook her head to herself and looked to the Gryphon.


"Let's go." She ran with Tigirius, hoping Ward would follow. Along the way, she subdued more active and violent trees. In fact, she didn't stop doing so until she passed into the devastated village. Her foot falls slowed and she looked around the sad little town, mourning for it almost. The cathedral wasn't much better.

 

[Hel]

Alexander climbed aboard Quincy's back and rode with her, petting her neck as they ran. "Thank you for the ride," He said, he reached back to pull Anya up with him, hoping the weight wasn't too much for her, and she accepted the help.


When they got to the clearing by the village Anya dismounted quincy and looked around. She had only heard the tale of Oz from other people, not the books or the movie- though she had read and seen Wicked. She wondered how similar Glinda was to the woman she had heard, and hoped the answer was very different. She had always thought Glinda seemed a really awful woman from what little she knew, but she kept all of this to herself as she looked around what she was sure was once a beautiful place.


"What was the cathedral used for? Do the people here have a religion?" Anya asked, suddenly very curious about the beliefs and what not of this world she still barely believed was real. She was not certain who she was asking, but she supposed one of the fable wood creatures would know.





Alexander two got off of Quincy and looked around, he had heard stories of this place before, and found himself disappointed that he only got to see the place in it's ruinous state.

 

[Flutterby]

As soon as her passengers were aboard, the white mare took off, charging through the forest and dodging branches. She only slowed when they reached the broken gates, letting everyone clamber off before changing back. She huffed softly, a little winded from the sprint. Her eyes looked over the ruined town, a frown settling on her lips. It simply made her sad to see such a pretty place ruines by the darkness.

 

[Jecklyn]

Banba immedietly leapt off Leo's shoulder when the trees started attacking, landing among the branches as a ginger tabby cat. She swiftly made her way along the branches to the tree's face, where she hissed, the tree growling back. This only made Banba hiss more, and after a few moments, rake her claws across the tree's face, letting herself fall sideways off the branch. She made her way to the forest floor, running along the trunks and roots of the trees, out of reach of the branches. She slowed to a stop after she leapt over the porcelain gates, her cat ears flicking this way and that, nose twitching as she sniffed the air. Then, in a puff of light blue dust, she reappeared as a tiny human made of the same stuff the village was, ornate designs painted along the hems of her glass dress. She tottered around, tutting at things broken and left in the streets.


"This won't do much good..." She muttered, bending down and turning over a pot. "This won't do much good at all! Theres no blood here! How are we to do the dance without blood?!" She stood up straight, playfully grabbing at her face in fake horror. She glanced to the others, gauging their reactions.

 

[DawnAntalios]

Nyr panicked when they came back for her... no, they can not endanger themselves like this. Not now on a crucial mission like this. When they reached the magical place where the tiger lead them Nyr felt a throbbing pain in her head and she came to a halt. She felt the force overwhelming her again and now her hair completely turned white - and so did her eyes and clothes.


The entity now stood there with expression unreadable. She radiated some strange, light energy which was soothing... almost as the pale rays of the moon. She turned back, walking towards the raging trees, leaving the others to flee, facing the trees alone. They immediately lunged her to attack but she spoke with a booming, otherwordly voice.


" Hash tarak, mannur'ra. " she said as the vicious foes of her stopped for a moment, hesitating " Sleep, misguided children of the Earth Warder. Sleep and return to your vigil. "


With that rays of white light bathed her foes and they started to recede once more, yawning sleepily. The rage of the forest subsided and now the white girl stood there, observing them to return into their original forms.


" In the realm of Nya'dargunth, they only sleep... " she muttered to herself. " Just as the Pale Moon wills... "

 

[zCrookedz]

As he broke through the edge of the forest, Leos saw the broken remains of the Procline gates and was lost for words. He scanned the wall and the town hopping to see any movement from the dolls that usually inhabited the tiny town, but none emerged. He made his way over to Tigirius "What happened?" He continued to watch scan the ruins of the town, when he heard Nyr speak in a strange way. Leo watched as Nyr completely changed. This is was not something he had ever seen before. The area filled with bright light and splashed the trees with a white glow. As they began to settle and eventually go dormant once again, Leo turned back to the others. He took a quick head check and made sure that everyone had mad it through the forest in one piece. One he was satisfied, he turned back to the forest. Once again, a long and fearsome howl echoed through the trees they had just passed through. Leo gripped tighter on his ax as he walked a bit closer to Nyr. He knelt down on one knee and placed a hand on the girls shoulder. "Nyr.....are you alright?" Leo watched the forest, keeping an eye out for any kind of movement that might try to make it through the forest as well.

 

[Lioness075]

Luness stiffened at the sound of a howl from the forest. For a moment, her eyes began to glow red, a part of her new Alpha abilities. She let out a huff and then looked back at her friends, mostly at Nyr who seeemed to have changed in appearance entirely. Luness' eyes shifted back to the normal green and golden colors, as Luness cautiously walked up to Nyr's side, opposite of Leo, and asked her, "Nyr, are you...okay?" Luness frowned slightly while looking at her, unsure of what to think about this sudden change.


@DawnAntalios @zCrookedz

 

[DawnAntalios]

Hearing the howl the white girl did not fret but rather let out a tired sigh. When she felt the hand of the elder guardian on her shoulder she turned around to look at him and Luness who approached her. Her white eyes looked at both of them but ultimately looked at Leo first.


" Cry of help of friends of old. The pain of loss still lingers in your heart. " she said, pointing at him " He who fights the darkness will face his greatest challenges. He who wishes to help all may fail to do so. The Pale Moon whispers so. "


She then turned to Luness.


" She who fights doubts of old, she who wishes to overcome the darkness. She who sees others as friends and precious allies yet dares rarely to show it. Feelings suppressed, love chained - be weary how long you hold it. "


Now she looked at herself then back at the others.


" Time is short. The balance is fragile. You may be the only ones to restore it. The Pale Moon whispers so. "

 

[BloodThunder27]

By this time, Ashley had fallen asleep in Leo's arms. Considering the speed they were going, it was a surprise that she wasn't feeling nauseous or ill. Normally she'd be throwing up or vomiting by now. But she was sleeping, so she should be fine. However, she was in a deep sleep, so unless one of her companions woke her up, she would be sleeping for at least the next while, if that. She could use some rest, especially after that super-bumpy ride they had in the sky...

 

[Lioness075]

Luness blinked at Nyr, hearing and yet, not hearing her at the same time. When she spoke to Leo, Luness was left baffled at who exactly was speaking. Whoever it was didn't sound like Nyr at all, yet...they didn't seem to be dangerous. More...peaceful than anything else. Luness' thoughts were interrupted when Nyr, or whoever it was, addressed her. Furrowing her brows at what was said, Luness felt a heart string tugged at what was spoken. Who was this? Mother Moon? The Pale Moon? How did she know exactly what Luness was going through and struggling with? What was that about love chained? That part made no sense to Luness. It wasn't exactly like she had someone that she was falling for unlike Ward and Elena. Those two were obvious enough. Shaking away the stray thoughts, Luness refocused on the current moment and asked Nyr, "W-What are you talking about? Love chained?" Frowning slightly, Luness crossed her arms over her chest and then added, "I'm not exactly falling head over heels for anyone and trying to hide it here."


@DawnAntalios

 

[Flutterby]

Quincy watched Nyr carefully, uncertain of what had happened. She had changed completely to white, and was speaking in riddles. Maybe Banba could help us out, she mused absently, stepping a little closer. “What do you mean? What is the Pale Moon, and why is it whispering?" She asked softly, wondering if there were important answers embedded in her strange, cyclical speech.

 

[SilverFlight]

"Nyr?" Leia moved closer to her friend, but dared not touch her. "You look, different...its a good different! But, please, quit freaking us out."


Ward burst into the clearing closely behind Elena. When they entered the town he surveyed the destruction and sighed. It reminded him a lot of Branbern. The entire place held a defeated, gloomy air.


Nyr looked completely different and he tilted his head in concern, unsure of what to do. The verses she spoke were curious to say the least.


"We cannot stop long," Tigiruis explained. He answered Leo with a somber voice. "The dark forces under Otto's control. This village is the most vulnerable in all of Quadling country. Glinda thought this would be one of the first places they attacked so most of the citizens are safe at the palace...they ravaged the town however, the savages." He turned to Achyls, taking one of the curtains still hanging in the window of the house and using it to bind her wound gently. "There is no rest here I am afraid, but you may rest in my arms, I will carry you to the palace."


He listened to Anya's question and gave it some serious thought. "The people of the china village certainly had one, though I am ashamed to admit I know little of it. I suppose if one is made of such a fragile substance one would have great need of that belief."


He rose again, taking Achyls carefully into his arms once more. "We are nearly there. You can see the spires of Glinda's palace in the distance, look." before them rose more forest and in the distance you could just make out small pearly turrets, glowing faintly in the light of the moon. Tigirius lead the way once more.


"Otto's servants do not usually come this close to the palace. However I do not want to chance moving slowly, if they've caught on to our presence they will follow."

 

[zCrookedz]

Nyrs words rang in Leos head before he turned away and hear Tigirius. During his first tirp to Oz he and his group had traveled to the china village on there way to see Glinda. It wassuch a beautiful little tow, polished white everywhere. The intricate paintings on the milky white sirfaces made the town look so unique. Now the town lay in ruins and seeing it like this was disheartening. He listend to Tigirius recall the events of the tiny town and a swirl of emotions both sadness and dispare, churned his in hie head. He looked up and saw the tops of Glinda's castle and took in a breathe. Looking down at the sleeping pregnant girl in his arm, Leo smiled and shifted her gently to make her more comfortable. He stepped up beside Tigirius and gave him a nod to lead the way.