Fantasy The Curse of The Void

[Cartreck]

Thousands of years ago, the world had been riddled with undead, demons, and devils. It had taken years to vanquish the threat properly. With every failed attempt, the void released deadly versions of the previous horror. As the horrors got worse, the world slowly unraveled.


Finally, a hero emerged from the chaos. Andromeda. A sorceress. She spent all of her magic into one spell. Which closed the void. Upon doing so, she was named hero, but at the cost of her powers.


Now, the void is opening up once again, and the demons that are emerging from it are nothing of what the world had ever seen. With Andromeda dead, the world needs new hero's, will you be one?

 

[Cartreck]

I stepped outside the gate of the town, taking in a deep breath. I rarely ever steeped outside of the walls of Alister. So the crisp morning air that filled my lungs felt new, clean. My whip, brushing against my leg with every step. Esol stayed on my shoulder, her head slightly moving from side to side taking in the surroundings. "Esol? Do you mind doing a little reckon and looking up ahead for me?" "Of course Olier." She flew off my shoulders and above the surrounding trees. I had never decided to actually leave Alister, but being their for so long. Watching it grow, then fall into utter chaos. I knew at some point I would have to leave. The place was toxic to say least. It was either going to be leave, or get run out, or worse. "There is nothing but trees further out from here. you have a long walk till we reach anything truly interesting." Esol landing back on my shoulder and continued to take in her surroundings.

 

[LocKeii]

The burning remains of the orphanage sat charred and blackened atop the grounds it once stood upon. The light morning air shifted slightly, filling Wicked's lungs with gray ash and the stench of burnt flesh. Normally a person would have gagged but all he could feel was his stomachs insistent rumbling. If it weren't for the current situation he would have laughed and maybe that's exactly what he needed. A good, long laugh —because this, this right here was some hell of an elaborate joke. He'd been gone for one day. One. Out collecting the orphanages monthly food rations only to come back to this. A pile of fucking ruble. And his first reaction to the smell of scorched children was hunger. Gods, if he started laughing now he wasn't sure he would be able to stop. For a second he was very close to doing just that until his sensitive ears picked up on the sound of a wheezing cough.


Almost immediately Wicked was bashing through the weak foundation, his claws ripping through pieces of wood like they were butter. At that rate it didn't take him long until he uncovered the tiny, broken figure underneath. Immediately he made the connection. Her name was Daisy, she had been 5 years old when both of her parents died from a raid and she'd been living in the orphanage for 4 years. Something that Wicked had a hard time understanding since she was about the least brattiest kid in the whole house. Of course considering the harsh times children were more than hindrances, another mouth to feed. Despite this he still firmly believed that she deserved a family of her own. A mother to appreciate her daisy crowns and a father to protect her, hell maybe even an older brother like she always for. In the end, while he she did miss all of those things, she considered everyone in the orphanage her family and even Wicked was pulled into her innocent fantasy.


All at once the cold touch of reality settled around him as he stared at her far too still chest. Before he could assume the worst she let out another wheezing cough.


"W-Wic—" Her eyebrows scrunched together as if uttering no more than a single syllable was painful.


"Right here, kid." He whispered, sliding an arm under her head and gently propping her forward. There was nothing he could do to this fix this, not with his mediocre grasp on magic and it made him want to chew right through his useless tongue. His entire purpose was to prevent something like this from happening yet here they were. A child was dying in his arms and he couldn't do shit about it. He could feel laughter bubbling from the pit of his stomach, renching it's way up until it caught painfully in his throat.


"...Ma..ny...so...m-many..." The sudden choked phrase caught his attention.


"Many?"


"F-flying...from...sk...y...so...man...y..." Another cough and this time accompanied by the sticky red splotches of blood. In that moment she must have truly realized that she was dying as her coughs slowly turned into racking sobs. It was filled with desperation for the will live and the sadness of resignation to the inevitable. A sound Wicked was all too familiar with. In the end he couldn't offer any words of comfort because no matter what he said nothing was going to be 'okay'. Instead he held her in his arms until slowly her sobs receded, her small fingers falling limp from where they had gripped so tightly against his shirt, and the beating of a tiny heart fell still.


Slowly, Wicked stood up, carrying Daisy's body in his arms and walked over the rubble towards the surrounding forest. The trek was filled with silence, his feet carrying them deeper and deeper into the foliage until he finally found what he was looking for. The tree line opened up into a field of dandelions, their white tufts swaying lazily in the breeze. This was the place he and the children would come to every Tuesday for the past 3 months. A tradition that started ever since Jorge, the little pudgy kid, insisted that they be allowed to have a little more free range now that they had a bodyguard. That earned him a good bonk in the head from yours truly but the very next day they were all frockling around the clearing while Wicked himself had to keep all the brats in line. He had...he had a really good time.


Eventually he reached the center of the patch and gently laid Daisy among the plants. Wiping away the dried tears and blood it would have looked like she had just fell asleep. Wicked could feel that persistent laughter again but instead of getting lodged up his throat it burned the corners of his eyes.

 

[Cartreck]

Olier Searched through his satchel looking for something to snack on. "Shit..." He looked up and tried to see if he could spot something to catch and eat. "Esol. can you go find something for us to eat?" The raven nodded and took off. Olier mentally kicked himself in reply to forgetting to steal a couple things of meat to take along. Esol came back and hovered before him. "I found a small herd of deer. You might be able to catch one of them." He nodded and Esol took off towards a clearing.


As they reached the clearing Olier saw the deer. One stood tall near him while the rest where closer to the tree line. Olier started to move his hands in a sort of martial arts sort of motion. Before he was done, he could feel a strange presence in the clearing behind him. "Esol. You feel that too right?" Esol nodded and flew behind them. He fallowed and stayed within the shadows. "What is that?" Olier questioned, more to himself than to Esol. "It seems to be a fairy." Olier nodded. Studying the figure now. "Olier look. In the trees. It's a Creal. Though weak alone you know those things can be deadly when catch someone off guard." He nodded and started to move his hands in the same motion as before. Concentrating on the demon hiding in the trees. Though now it looked ready to lunge. But it didn't move fast enough. Olier lunged out his hand and a barrage of dark purple orbs headed towards the trees. as the Creal jumped. It threw itself into the deadly wave. "Well, it's good as dead now." He said, walking out into the clearing.


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[SeratheUnicorn]

Ebony glided through the trees gracefully, like a swan, or a kite, or a- WHAM! She fell out of the air and landed on a tree branch below her. She watched the world swim in and out of focus, shaking her head to clear it. Once the world stopped spinning and regained its usual stationary form, she decided it might be better to climb. She hoisted herself higher and higher, wings out as an emergency parachute. She stopped occasionally for a drink, or to wipe her sap or bark covered hands. She could see bright light, shining through the dappled treetops. She reached for it, almost there.


She pulled herself out of the canopy and on top of the tree. On one side, there was just vast, endless forest, stretching as far as she could see. On the other side were the scorched and blackened remains of what must have been a cluster buildings of some sort. She tilted her head, trying to see better. People wouldn't do that to their own settlement, would they? It was abandoned and a mess. She didn't want to investigate any further, but she could see a few slashes of red on the floor. She shuddered, and flew down for a closer look.

 

[Cherrywitch]

"Hm hm hm hm hmhmhm..."


A sweet voice hummed from somewhere hidden behind a thicket of trees. Between the openings of the wooden trunks, a girl seem to be floating just above the ground, her feet bare. She danced in the air happily, her dress flowing about her with her smooth movements and glimmering under the sunlight which filtered through the leaves below, casting green shadows down into the little area. A little turtle-like creature chased after her, trying to copy her movements but fell flat on his beak, winding up with it stuck in the earth.


The bluette gasped, floating down and helping up the creature into a sitting position, him seeming dizzy from his fall. "Oh no! Little Cucci, are you alright?" The woman spoke with worry ebbing out of every syllable for the cute kappa.


The little creature stood in a stumbling way, but turned and raised his little hand in the air as if to say he was fine. "Ah-ha!" He said, making the nymph giggle with relief.


"Oh Cucci, you are so silly!" The girl giggled, picking the little creature up into her arms and starting to dance with him again, holding him out in front of her under his arms. "Hm hm hm~"


"Ha-ah... Ah-hah!" The kappa tried to repeat the beautiful voice, only making the nymph laugh more in joy. "Oh, Cucci, you are so adorable my little friend!" The nymph pulled the little creature into a big hug, the kappa only seeming more happy about it. "Ha-ha!"


(Open!)

 

[Capricornus]

Lilith woke up, drenched in sweat, her eyes widened in panic. She was breathing heavily and covered her face with her hands at the sight of her usual room. It had been just another nightmare.


She tried to calm herself. The day light that was filling the ever so small room through the semi closed blinds were Lilith's only indication of what time it was. She wanted to try to get back to sleep, but this was nearly impossible once she was awake. She stood up and started packing her stuff. She usually didn't stay in a city for longer than a week. As she left, she was heading towards the bar, to drink her pain away like she always did, but this time, she took a different route. She decided to skip the bar and headed directly for the woods.


As she was close to entering the woods, she whistled once and her pet companion caming flying towards her, landing on her shoulder. She gave him a quick scratch in the back and continued to head towards the woods.

 

[LocKeii]

A snarl ripped itself free from his throat as he heard the distant crunching of foliage. Wicked's state of mind was currently very fragile and in turn his need for mindless bloodlust was multiplied. Bending over in a semi-crouch he let his fingers stretch and transform into ragged claws, his eyes pricking ever so slightly but other than that remained completely in his normal form. Subconsciously he knew this was his ghoul nature talking, to override all emotion but the need to kill, to survive in favor of forgetting whatever trauma ran across Wicked's life this time. On any other day he would have held back, tried to at least hold on to some semblance of control but if was going to be perfectly honest, he gave no shits at the current moment. Especially when his prey smelled nothing like a normal human or a forest animal. 'Creal' his inner beast growled as he began stalking closer. Not a human, not an animal but fucking demon.


At that point he had no inhibitions left and exercised only a bit of his sanity to keep from completely transforming. But just as he was meters away from the tree line the smell changed into something raw and rotten, the smell of death. Of course whether it was dead or dying didn't faze Wicked at all if not only a bit disappointed that he couldn't watch the thing struggle before breaking it's neck. Then the winds shifted sending a flurry of white dandelions bursting into the air and the scent of something warm and living straight into his lungs. Instinct ridden he immediately pounced at the emerging figure, tackling them down onto the forest floor and restraining whatever limbs he could.


The change of odor momentarily confused Wicked, enough for him to actually get a good look at the body pinned under him. His eyes widened as he made the connection that whoever this white haired boy was, it was no Creal. @Cartreck

 

[Cartreck]

As Olier fell, pinned to the ground. A position he was surprisingly used to, but not in a situation like this. He squirmed, trying to break free from his grip. "Buddy. Let go. Now." He said in almost a growl. "I just saved you from what could have potentially been a dangerous situation. Let. Go." Looking at the hands retraining him, he realized that were not that what so ever. They were claws. The claws of a ghoul to be exacted. 'What are you exactly.' Feeling danger now he struggled once again. "Dude. Get off of me." He struggled again this time he was think of going for a shot he never liked to take. A really cheap shot. "If you value your jewels. I strongly suggest getting off."


@NicotinePuffs

 

[Cherrywitch]

"Ha-ah-ah!"


The kappa pointed his little hand out at the tree line a short distance away, waving frantically to try and get the nymph chasing him to understand.


"Ah-ah!!"


Vivi gave him a skeptical look before sighing deeply, picking the struggling little green creature up into her arms. "Cucci... What did I say about going this far out? I can't leave the lake so far behind..." She whispered soothingly to the little turtle-like creature, but with a gasp from the woman he struggled free and again landed beak first into the ground, having to use all of his strength to pull himself free. "Ha-ah!" He pointed out again.


The bluehaired girl gave a pout at her companion, relenting to his cute face. "Fine. If i look at whatever you're upset about, will you feel better?"


Without hesitation, Cucci grabbed her hand and pulled the floating nymph quickly along to the dandelion patch. Vivi touched her bare feet to the forest floor at the edge, looking out upon the field. "I don't understand, Cucci, what are you-?" The girl cut herself short, seeing the two men, apparently fighting. "A ghoul..." She whispered, Cucci whimpering and cuddling up to her leg, the nymph lifting him unconsciously into her arms out of habit. "We shouldn't get into others business... I'll wait to see what happens..." Vivi patted the little creature in a comforting way, he hugging her shoulders.


@Cartreck @NicotinePuffs

 

[LocKeii]

The combined sight of a wriggling prey and flashes of exposed flesh had Wicked's canines aching for the first bite. For a second it looked as if he was going to do just that, leaning forward and very nearly pressing his nose against the young man's unprotected collar bone his lips peeled back to reveal razor sharp teeth. Instead he leaped back. The jump alone had him digging his feet into the packed soil, stopping his momentum and thankfully allowing him to retain his balance. Due to his less than subtle landing, a mass of dandelion seeds had been sent flying into the air, allowing for some semblance of a camouflage as well as an opportunity to put some distance between him and the stranger. Slowly, he forced his heart to settle back into a steady rhythm as the adrenaline rush drained from his veins, muscles able to once again relax.


Wicked could still feel a disappointed growl threaten to rip itself from his chest but the more he focused, the more the beast grew silent until finally it was still. By the time the white cloud settled his eyes were no longer glowing a dull gold, his hair shifted from spiky to tousled, and he had regained the use of opposable thumbs. Even with his body back in control Wicked did not try and approach the boy still laying where he had pinned him. At best he was expecting a punch in the face and at worst a full retaliation. @Cartreck

 

[Cartreck]

Olier got up and dusted himself off. "Well then..." He cleared his throat and looked over the fairy ghoul. "That, was very, very unnecessary." He rested his hand on the hilt of his whip cautiously. "I would have like introductions first." He then noticed that Esol wasn't on his shoulder. Even if she flew off when he was attacked, she would have returned.


@NicotinePuffs


Esol was flying in a circle around the clearing. Noticing there was another clearing just to the side. "My my, just how many clearings are there in this area?" She said curiously. When flying over to the other, she noticed a girl being dragged along by what looked to be a turtle. "Curiouser and curiouser." She flew down and fallowed the two as the ran. Once the girl stopped she hovered over her for a second, then landed down on her shoulder. "Well then my dear, who are you?" She asked, her voice changing, to the voice of yet another stranger. As it had always been if she were to be speaking in the presence of others, her voice would sound like the voice of a person the others missed dearly. Whether they knew it or not. "Please don't be frightened. We mean you no harm as long as you mean us no harm."





@Cherrywitch

 

[Cherrywitch]

But as the nymph whipped around with a squeak of surprise, it seemed she had no idea who's voice it was. After all, Vivi's only friends were animals, and the only one of them who even came close to talking was Cucci.


"Ah! Hah-ah!" The little turtle like creature pointed at the bird furiously from the nymph's arms, as if angry that the other had startled his friend. Vivi gave a soft, pleasant smile as she realized the bird meant no harm.


"Oh, my. I'm sorry. I'm not used to hearing another's voice..." Vivi spoke in her sweet, soothing voice. A trademark of all nymphs. "Oh, my name is Vivianne, but please call me Vivi. I am the naiad of the largest lake here, Heaven's Lake, you may know it? My friend Cucci here showed me to these.... Two." The naiad paused to glance back at the endings of the battle. "I was only waiting to see if either would require healing, as they seemed ready to truly hurt each other. I'll take my leave now that they seem alright."


@Cartreck

 

[SeratheUnicorn]

Ebony soared down, her hands over her mouth as she looked sadly at the mess. She could smell acrid smoke and other scents that made her want to gag. She wrapped herrings around her, for protection, and moved toward. What had happened here?mWho had done this? Questions like these haunted her as she looked around themes of death and destruction.


As Ebony walked around what was left of a stone wall, she noticed two figures, somewhat far away, near the other side of the forest. Did they know anything? This was the third such decimation of a village she had seen in 12 moons. She shivered slightly. Had they done this? She should probably go and find out... Right?


As she neared them, their figures became more distinct. What looked like a man, and a man with wings... Was that blood? She was quite scared at this point, and she went to turn around, but tripped over a stick in the grass. She landed on her hands, but pushed off quickly and regained her balance, holding her wings out to help. They must know she was here now. She approached them apprehensively, hoping they wouldn't see her slightly quivering hands.


@Cartreck @NicotinePuffs

 

[LocKeii]

All that Wicked managed to respond with was a grunt. He knew he should have apologized, maybe set the record straight that he does not in fact attack people he just met but honestly he could care less. There weren't exactly people who would sing praises and back him up on it anyways. And if there were then the last one was laying in that field. At the mention of Daisy his posture sagged, if the stranger noticed the body it was more than likely that Wicked would either be accused or questioned. Neither of which he wanted to deal with. Not at the current moment. Not next week. Not next month. Not ever.


All the half ghoul really wanted was just some silence to respect the dead but apparently even that was too much ask for. Evidence by another random appearance, this time it was a pink haired girl with bat wings. The rational side of Wicked's mind concluded that all the smoke and debris, no matter how far away from any large settlements, were attracting their fair share of attention now. Probably warning others in a 10 mile radius that the area was possibly unsafe and had just been recently attacked. So whoever this girl was, she was either an unexpectedly skilled fighter or had the self-preservation instinct of a tea cup.


@SassyAndroidSera

 

[Cartreck]

"Okay, dude look. I don't care what happened here. At least a small thank you would be nice." He said in a slightly monotone voice. "Also, as I said, when it comes to pinning me down, I would have at least liked it if you would have bought me some food first." Olier chuckled at his own joke. Noticing that the person wasn't looking at him any more he turned around to see a little bat like girl standing behind them. Tilting his head to the side at the site of the girl. "Well then there...." His hand started to throb with pain. Upon further inspection he noticed that his hand had been scratched open, with a deep gash left in place of where his skin should have been. "Shit dude, those nails a sharp."


@SassyAndroidSera


Esol stayed on the Nymphs shoulder. "Well darling as much as I hate to drag others into his idiotic problems. You may just well be needed to heal his hand. The ghoul seemed to have scratched it open." Giving a slight sigh at the statement she flew back to Olier and landed on his shoulder. "You do seem to get yourself into such troubling situations don't you?" With the presence of the ghoul she new that he would possibly hearing someone else too. Unless his situation was the same as the Nymphs.


@Cherrywitch

 

[SeratheUnicorn]

The winged demon man thing was looking at her now. Ebony bit her lip. He looked scary, and dangerous.The other man appeared to have a bleeding gash, had the demon done that? Both men were looking at her, and and Ebony wasn't really sure what to say. "Umm...you're bleeding." Ebony said. "I might be able to help with that." She wasn't a healer but she could at least get a bandage on that. She looked around her, and picked up a withered and falling leaf. She focused on it, screwing her face up in concentration. She could do this, this was a more simple Transmogrification. She opened her eyes a minute later, and handed the man the bandage now sitting in her palm.


Now that was sorted she should maybe find out who they were. "So... Who are you? And... Do you know what happened here? I've seen a couple of other places like it and I'm a bit worried." She told them. Something must be happening. Burning or recently destroyed buildings were becoming more common, and that wasn't good.


@Cartreck @NicotinePuffs

 

[Cartreck]

Taking the bandage from the girl he started to wrap his wound. "That should help for now. The name is Olier. This here is Esol, my familiar." Esol expanded her ebony wings and did a slight bowing motion. "It's a delight to meet you my dear." Her voice changing yet again to match the one this little one would be missing. "And I have no clue. I've heard rumor of the rift opening again. Though personally I think that to be very impossible." looking over his hand. "Thanks for this. Now, who are you my dear?" He asked in a kind tone, one he wasn't rather used to using.


@SassyAndroidSera

 

[Cherrywitch]

The naiad, however, didn't move from her spot. The bluette whimpered softly, holding Cucci closer to her chest. She was apprehensive of approaching just two people, which was why she hid in the first place, but now there seemed to be another small girl. "H-he has a bandage, though..." Vivi whispered to Cucci. The kappa gave her a judgmental look.


"What? Don't look at me that." The nymph whined quietly to the turtle-creature. "You're supposed to be on my side!"


Cucci struggled free, making Vivi gasp in surprise as he ran out into the clearing towards the group of three, tripping over his own webbed feet and face planting into the dirt.


"Cucci! Bad kappa!" The nymph scolded the little creature, flying out quickly to scoop him up out of the earth for the third time today. Vivi looked up at the three, turned bright red from shyness, and went to fly back to the lake with a quick "I'm leaving, sorry, please forgive me!"


@SassyAndroidSera

 

[Cartreck]

"Hey! Wait! You're a Naiad right?" Olier called out. "You can heal my hand then right?" "Yes she can, she said she could." Esol added a hint of disappointment I her voice. considering her last conversation with the girl. "Would you mind healing it? It kinda stings like crazy haha." He added, jolting hand a little from a random shot of pain coming from the scar. "Damn, that really stings."





@Cherrywitch

 

[Cherrywitch]

The blush faded, the nymph turning back with a nervous look at the group of people. Carefully, Vivi set the little kappa down on his webbed feet, before landing herself onto the ground. "Um, y-yeah... I can heal it..." She spoke in her soft voice, taking the hand cautiously into her own.


Vivi placed one hand gently over the scar. The palms began to glow a warm, calming aqua light as she whispered a few inaudible words, a healing mantra. The light disappeared as the naiad removed her hands from Olier's, and where they had been the scar was completely gone, not even redness would point out where it had been. It was as if it had simply never happened. "Does it, feel better?" She spoke shyly, playing with a lock of her short blue hair.


@Cartreck

 

[Nostalgic-Writer]

Santeru was spat out of the void high in the sky the air quivering from the pressure of his soul as a distorted voice echoed from the pit 'Satan' being vaguely aware of his new situation he let out an internal sigh realizing the void butchered the sound of his name on exit. Extending an arm he twisted his body over as to face the ground looking at the city skyline as the thunder of the void gate cracked across the land, his violet eyes scanned through the clouds and settling onto a raven a few feet from himself. It's eyes watched him intently as it came closer, Santeru tucked his arms close flipping back over so his back faced the ground the raven landed on his chest and he closed his eyes feeling the wind rush by but a sudden stop caused him to open his eyes. The raven held him up by the shoulders now twice it's size from before it swooped upwards just before impact dropping him lightly onto the pavement before shrinking back down and landing on his shoulder.

@Anyone
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