Fantasy The Maw

[WaywardJester]

The Pillars

Methodical, precise, and quick were the footsteps that rang out through the large hallway leading up to the chamber of the Pillars. There was no mad rush to their rhythm, only a purposeful urgency. The footsteps echoed louder as they approached the 14 foot doors barring the chamber entrance. They swung open silently as the figure stepped through the threshold, not breaking stride until stopping smartly in the middle of the chamber. The Pillars sat facing him with their backs towards the north wall. The power the six of them exuded was staggering to most, making them sweat nervously under all that attention. They sat silently gazing at the man who had presented himself and he gazed right back, observing each Pillar and noting each one. Earth sat at the far left. He was mainly responsible for agricultural affairs in the capital, using his mastery of the earth moving, manipulation and plant growth. Next to him was Wind. Her mastery and knowledge of the wind and weather helps her manage all aspects of trade and travel within the capital. Fire and Water sat to the far right overseeing aspects of war and industry, health and growth respectively. In the middle were Justice and Wisdom, both fair skinned white haired individuals. Wisdom, being male had a long smoothly combed beard while Justice's moonlight colored hair reached her ankles. Wisdom spoke first, addressing the tall man in the center of the room.

"Have they arrived, Bastian?" His voice was deep, smooth and ancient as it rang throughout the chamber. "They have." Bastian responded promptly. "A disturbance at the edge of the Fillary Woods near the Harken Valley Overlook has been detected. I sent a carriage to...", "You will go and retrieve them." Interruoted Wisdom. The frustration was clear on Bastian's face but he sighed inwardly and bowed his head. "Right away."

Fillary Woods: Rama

A quick death is something you think you don't really feel, except for that split second that you do feel it. And then you realize the cacophony of sound leading up to that moment being cut off by absolute silence was the longest, single most painful moment you ever experienced. That's exactly what sensation flooded Rama's conscience after the car crash. The abrupt drop of sound and the surrounding white nothingness had a deafening affect that made his head ache. He rubbed his temples trying to relieve the pain and thought he heard the sound of birds and rustling leaves in a breeze. He rubbed his eyes and upon opening them again he found he was staring at the edge of a forest, in the middle of the day! He remembered it was evening when they left the dinner. He remembered the sensation of flipping, the pain and noise of crashing and then the sudden stop of it all. With a sudden panic Rama remembered his parents. He shouted for them and began surveying the treeline for any signs of their car. As he frantically skimmed through the trees, he stopped dead at the edge of the plague and tried to comprehend what he saw before him.

A vast valley, coming to an even larger mountain range at the horizon. Two suns lit the sky in an array of fiery oranges and yellows. With the grass at his feet as green as it was and the dark contrast of the mountains painted a very surreal picture for Rama. "Where .." he began but he felt rather than heard the disturbance behind him. He turned sharply trying to brace himself for whatever came through this transparent breach of reality.

 

[FireMaiden]

Aurelia LeRouge
Fillary Woods
Interaction: WaywardJester
Mentioned: N/A​

Cold. Freezing cold and endless silence were the only things that Aurealia knew now. That was fine though, she wasn't really all that scared, just waiting for the sweet embrace of death, because she knew that nobody would get to her time. Holes in iced over ponds and lakes this this once closed quickly and by now she was to far from it to make any rescue attempts viable. But, damn, this sure was taking a long time, the light was starting to hurt. Not to mention what felt like a burning sensation had gripped her entire body. It felt nice for a minute or two, but it quickly grew a bit to warm until she noticed something. She could heard birds.

Slowly opening her eyes, Aurelia was laying on her back, staring up at a beautiful painted sky, colored by the oranges of late afternoon. "Finally," She thought, "I must have died." There's no way she was under the ice for hours and rescued only to wake up soon after like this. People who were in her situation just, well, they didn't wake up. Reagurdless, she seemed to be taking the idea she had died rather well. The girl raised her arms up for a second, before pushing herself up off the ground to her feet, as her eyes were greeted by an incredible sight.

A valley that met a mountain range in the distance, the cause of the orange sky's being revealed to be two suns. She could only stare out in awe, her attention completely stolen by the scenery infront of her. It was like, something out of a Bob Ross painting. She almost didn't the notice the frantic voice coming from nearby. Almost. Turning away to look in the direction of where it came from, she began to cautiously make her way to it. Though, as this was a forest, and she was no master of stealthy approaches, whoever it was most likely heard her.

Aurelia stepped past a few trees, now only a few years from the man she had heard. He looked frantic, scared even. But so far there hadn't been anything to be scared of. Aurelia stood there for a moment, waiting to see if he would do anything, before stepping away from the trees. "Hey, are you alright?" She asked, an unidentifiable accent clinging to every word.

 

[Torack]

Darkness filled every corner of his conscious. Where he was expecting pain and agony, the familiar feeling of helplessness, that his body wasn’t as invincible as he had thought it to be, the feeling of bones grinding underneath heavy metal and the screams of shock and pain that followed. Where he was expecting all of that, he instead got nothing. Not even numbness, it was as if the bus hitting him in the face had suddenly not happened, and instead, he was outside of all existence, as if pulled out by the hand of some god that saw fit to save him for some reason.

And now he was reeling. Or, at least that’s what it felt like to him. Spinning in that darkness, as though he were falling deep into some sort of whirlpool; the only way he could ever come close to describing the feeling was like going to sleep while drunk, everything just twisting around while he was motionless, confused, and slightly frightened. And still, the spinning continued.

He didn’t know how long he lasted in that space, it felt like years, but at the same time it felt like an eternity. And yet, moments later, he opened his eyes.

Michael looked around, his breath shallow as confusion and fear began to slowly set in. Where was he? Before him was a massive rolling plain that stretched onto mountain ranges, and behind him a wall of trees that extended into a forest. Heaven was the first thought that came to him.

Did he die?

Getting hit in the face with an oncoming bus would probably do that, but he’d seen death before, watched the life leave out of the eyes of both friends and enemies alike. It wasn’t always as abrupt as many people that it was, there was always a piece of life that desperately clung on to the world, fighting and struggling against the inevitable until whatever force snagged the light away.

He hadn’t gone through any of that, and what he’d gone through he’d much rather forget.

With a grunt he sat up and looked down. His legs were still gone, but the stumps looked longer than they were before. Were they always that long? It wasn’t like he’d measured out his leg, but there was a subtle change to them. Either that or he was going crazy. Most likely the latter. Definitely the latter. Regardless, he needed to find his prosthetics; as heavenly as the place looked, something in his gut told him he didn’t want to be a sitting duck in this place.

Looking around for the prosthetics, he saw on his far left another figure, standing and looking at the wall of trees.

“What the fu…,”

With another grunt, he turned his body towards the man just as another figure stepped out of the trees. As wary as he was of the strangers, he couldn’t deny that he needed some help. “Hey!” He called out, trying to catch their attention, “mind giving me a hand?”

 

[BillyGGruff]

"What's on the Agenda today Agatha."

Traffic was a nightmare today, especially for a stretch limo like Brandon was sitting in, sipping Coca Cola out of a wine glass. His slightly chubby legs fidgeted off the edge of the fine leather seats, playing around with his loose fitting sandals absent mindedly. His eyes were still and focused however, focusing on the laptop on his lap while he checked his stocks. They said micromanaging your portfolio hurt your investments in the long run, but that was only if you didn't know what you were doing.

"We have you booked to do an interview with Jimmy Fallon! Isn't that exciting."

Brandon raised an eyebrow and pressed his thick prescription glasses up the bridge of his small nose while he glanced in her direction. He would have much rather stayed out of the limelight, but at the same time it only helped his budding fortune and opportunities.

How many 13 year olds were self made millionaires, on their way to become billionaires in a few more months time? How many were weeks away from their doctorates in theoretical physics?

"Eh, couldn't we snag someone more interesting like John Oliver Or that Stephen Colbert guy? Fallon is rather irritating and fake as far as those late night guys are concerned."

Agatha was rather fake and irritating herself. A portly woman that made Brandon seem thin by comparison, she was always exuding this false sense of business friendly happiness. Just jovial and polite enough to not be offensive. If she weren't so cutthroat with deals behind the scene, he'd have nothing to do with her. Her trademark smile flashed at him while she jotted that down.

"We'll definitely look into that in the future! I'm sure they'd love to have you. Also I must say you look very handsome. I see you combed your hair and everything"

He snorted and smirked wryly. He was not fond of dressing up for occasions. Simple shirt and shorts with flip flops is all he ever really needed. He could afford whatever he wanted of course, but he had made his first million in clothes like that. Why change what wasn't broken?

"The shirt shrank a bit. I keep telling them to be careful washing them."

He hated having to keep pulling his shirt over his belly button. He knew that it could easily be the case that he had gained too much and was too big for the shirt now. His weight had been getting a bit out of hand lately. He would always push off doing anything about it.
"If I wanted to lose it" Brandon would say, "I'd hire a personal trainer."

Still the tabloids were jeering about it constantly. They were worse than school bullies. Not that he had much experience with those. He had skipped almost all of public school before the age of 8, and was well into college before he had became a teenager.

Before he knew it, the limo was stopping and Agatha was stepping out. It took her some effort to do so, grunting and breathing heavy as she moved her large body through the door.

Maybe he would hire one of those personal trainers...

He waited patiently for the driver to open his door. He was fine perusing more of his investments and projects, seeing how they were progressing.

However he began to notice something odd. Nobody came to the door. Normally Agatha would have popped back in with a false sing song voice, asking if he was coming. He then noticed the internet was no longer working. That in and of itself was quite odd. You could bring his devices in the Sahara desert and get reception. Something was wrong.

He tried opening the door, but it wouldn't budge. Brandon was getting annoyed now, rapping his small knuckles testily against the window to be let out. It sounded... wrong. The window didn't have the same sound to it that it usually had. It sounded stiffer, like it was pressed against something instead of in the open air.

He made the window roll down with a pull of a switch, and yelped as dirt spilled into the limousine on top of him and his computer. He tried to push it back up in vain, but the soil continued to pour in until it resettled. He was noticing now that his breath was getting shallower.

He was running out of air.

How had the limo gotten underground? That didn't make any sense! Agatha was right there! He moved away from the seat and brushed himself off. The limo was big enough that he could stand properly without needing to crouch or anything.
"Okay" he thought, "this isn't like being in a coffin, there is a lot more square feet of air in a limo. I just need to stay calm and..."

The lights in the limo shut off. All became dark save for a little patch of light faintly pouring in from the middle of the vehicle. The skylight.

Adrenaline kicked in as he leaped into action, slamming his palm into the glass. Surprisingly it cracked, and his next hit shattered it, causing a patch of grass, dirt, and glass to fall onto him. He could have sworn he had payed for tempered glass.

Wheezing and gasping with exertion he climbed out of the limo, looking like a zombie rising from the grave as he scrambled to the surface. One of his flip flops fell back into the limo during the climb up, but he didn't care, there were more pressing matters.

Like two suns. He had not been expecting two suns. Kidnappers, ransom notes, and other things of that nature he could have easily imagined. Multiple suns in an orange sky was pretty far down the list of possibilities.

He wasn't alone either. People were nearby. They all look confused, as confused as he did. He was still breathing hard, clasping his knees as he leaned over, feeling a mix of both exhaustion from the physical exertion and no small amount of panic mixed in.

He looked around in this position, taking in his surroundings. There were a few options that he mulled over.

He was dreaming? He never remembered his dreams, but perhaps it just seemed lucid while you were in them?

He was dead? He disregarded this. If this is where people were sent when they died, assuming such a thing even happened, it would be a lot more crowded than it is.

Abducted by aliens? Maybe, though this would be a strange way to go about it.

No, it seemed more like... he just appeared wherever this was. He just happened to be sent underground. He would need to test this idea, but this could very well be some kind of... macro scale quantum phenomenon.

He shifted to another part of the universe somehow, maybe into another dimension entirely. It was just wild speculation of course, fueled by adrenaline and fear, but he had a gut feeling he wasn't too far off.

 

[WaywardJester]

Rama
Fillary Woods
Interaction with FireMaiden & Torack ​

The humming of the reality tear was easy to follow through the trees. Rama didn't have to go far into the tree line to know he was getting close to it. Then as suddenly as it arrived it was gone. Perhaps it was his parents? Were they brought to this strange place too? Was this really heaven? He searched frantically through the trees, shoving branches and bushes aside. "Ma?! Da?!" His voice broke the more he called out for them. Did they not come through as well? Was he alone here? Maybe this was real and he was just being punished for...footsteps rustled nearby and he turned at the sound of a feminine voice. A young, pale girl stood but a few yards from him. He was in shock. He expected, no, hoped it was his parents but he was looking into the eyes of a young woman who could've gone to his high school a few years ago. The confusion, disappointment and frustration all flashed across his face. Thoughts flooded his mind and pressed his palms to his temples hard while squeezing his eyes shut. When he opened them again and still saw her standing there, it really started to sink in that this was real. She was real. He was real. This place, situation and the likelihood that he would never see his family again all became real. "Oh God...it's real..." Rama mumbled as he waved a hand towards the girl apologetically while stumbling out of the woods and back into the clearing.

He stood at the edge and stared out over the valley. The despair washed over his face as tears began to streak down his cheeks. But then clarity began to sneak back into his mind. If this was where he was at, he would have to make the best of it. Hell, he went after a gang boss as a child! He could toughen up for a minute and get himself and this surreal situation under control. Rama took a deep breath and wiped away his tears. He then turned back towards the treeline and caught eyes with the girl again and sighed. "I'm sorry. Still in shock I guess." He ran a hand through his black hair and exhaled loudly. "This is just hard to process and to see..." another voice called out from Rama's right, stealing his attention from the young woman. He strained his eyes to see a man on the ground waving them over. Rama gave the woman a quick glance and a shrug and started jogging over to the man. As Rama approached he saw the man was missing his legs from the knees down! Rama quickened his pace and knelt down a couple yards from the man. All the craziness of the situation slowly leaked away from Rama as he focused on this man. Helping people is what brought the focus out of him. Rama nodded at the man, "What can we do?".

 

[FireMaiden]

Aurelia LeRouge
Fillary Woods
Interaction: WaywardJester BillyGGruff
Mentioned: Torack ​

The man looked frantic, and Aurelia could do nothing but watch as he called out for someone two people actually because closing his eyes. He pressed his palms to his face and looked back up a few moments after, before running off after some odd comment about how this was real. Again, she was unsure of what to do, taking a slight step out of the treeline. She kept her eyes on this mystery man, though she didn't get closer than what she already was. Aurelia had way to much common sense to go up an try being all buddy buddy woth someone she didn't even know the name of yet. Or you kmow, if he was a threat. Though the way he had reacted, Aurelia was pretty sure he was safe enough to be around. A few minutes pass, before the man moved again, standing up and facing her again.

"Oh, it's alright," She started, "Do you know where we are?" Though as another voice rang out, Aurelia knew she wouldn't be getting an answer. Looking off in the direction of the other male voice, she noticed a figure a little bit off in the distance obviously the one trying to get their attention. She was going to follow the first man, until she noticed another figure a little closer. "You help him," She said as Rama was already leaving, "I shall check on the boy." With that, Aurelia began her approach to the chubby boy, who Aurelia had to wonder about. The other two were adults, and legally so was she. So why was a child here? He looked confused, and put of breath, not to mention a little dirty, but that didn't matter.

"Halló there," She said, somewhat softly. That one guy seemed to be in shock, and he was a grown man, so who knows what condition this boy was in. "Are you injured?" She asked, as she got closer, stopping about half a yard from the kid, looking around. There was a hole behind him, and... "Did you crawl out of there?" She asked, taking a few steps towards the hole to peer in, simply out of curiosity. Inside, she couldn't see much, but looking back at the boy, he most defintaly crawled out of there. There was something odd about this kid as well, like she recognized him, but she couldn't quiet put a name to his face. Glancing back at the hole, then back to the kid, she walked back around to the kids front. "You actually look rather familiar, ég get ekki sagt hvers vegna."

 

[BillyGGruff]

Interaction: FireMaiden

He recognized that language. Islandic, he had business partners in Denmark so it had behooved him to learn a passing bit of the tongue.

"Uh... Sæl. " He said stiffly, feeling the language on his mouth with some discomfort "Ég heiti Brandon White, Gaman að kynnast þér...," he seemed dissatisfied with the accent he could hear. He would need to polish that one "...apologizes it has been awhile since I had to speak Icelandic."

He stood up a bit straighter and shielded his eyes as he looked at the strange sky with two suns. He should be freaking out, but a large part of his mind was coping by processing the information.

"It appears we are on an exoplanet in the goldilocks zone. Gravity feels roughly the same as ours. Those two suns dont seem to be burning away the atmosphere here."

He breathed deeply and took off his glasses while he continued. His chubby face seemed pensive, his eyes darting back and forth as he mentally took in the situation

"Atmosphere is slightly different than our own" he continued at a fast clip, speaking more to himself than to the iclandic woman ",but not enough to be fatal. Plants here seem to have evolved in a similar way as earth ones, and seem to be carbon based. We were brought to a specific location, which speaks to artificiality, of design."
He put back on his glasses, sliding them back into place as the thick lenses reflected both suns in them.

"One macro quantum effect is improbable enough, but multiple speak to intent. Yet whatever had caused us to come here is not as refined and precise as one would expect. Perhaps a budding technology? An experiment? Hmm..."

Though his voice rattled on, it was clear in the shaking of his legs, his disheveled appearance, missing flip flop and the way he kept trying to process what was happening belied how scared he was. In truth, he had only wild speculation to comfort him.

 

[Torack]

Michael Vince
Fillary Woods
Interactions: WaywardJester
Mentions: BillyGGruff , FireMaiden
​

He watched with some apprehension as the first man he saw came towards him, but he couldn’t help notice a figure crawling out of the ground some distance away and spark up a conversation with the woman that had come out of the forest. What was going on here? Where were they? Even though he could see more people, it didn’t at all answer his question.

As confusing as things were, however, he tried to remain calm and focus on his breathing, his jaws bunching up as the man finally reached him.

At his question he looked around for his prosthetics, and even though he knew there was no chance they’d come with him to this strange place, he hwas still hoping to find them somewhere. Nothing caught his eye, however, and he looked back to the man and offered him a hand. “Michael,” he said, then nodded to the treeline, “help me get over there so I can try to make some sort of makeshift crutches. I’d really appreciate the help, friend.”

​

 

[FireMaiden]

Aurelia LeRouge
Fillary Woods
Interaction: WaywardJester BillyGGruff
Mentioned: Torack ​

She looked surprised when the boy actually replied in her native language, even if his execution was a little, well, she didn't expect anyone to be fluent. Reguardless, she clapped gently, "It was very good though. You can speak English however, I know quite a bit. Oh! And I am Aurelia LeRouge." She was actually fluent, though English wasn't what she was most comfortable speaking with. And she occasionally forgot words. Though she had a feeling that-"Brandon White? As in that genius kid with a lot of...uh..." Shoot, she forgot the word for it. Claims? No, that wasn't it. She stood there for a second, thinking, before her eyes suddenly lit up as she remembered. "Patents! You have a lot of patents, self made millionaire...does a child really need that much money?" Aurelia didn't mean to say the last part out loud, but she did, reguardless. Howver, her questions would go unanswered as the kid went on about their surroundings. It was then, as she watched him for a few moments, she noticed his missing shoe.

Looking back at the hole, she walked back over to it, taking off her thicm red jacket. She was surpised that the heat hadn't affected her yet, though she chalked it uo to her skinny jeans and lack of scarf and gloves for that. Anyway, she put her jacket over one side of the hole, to protect her from any broken glass, she slid down into the hole. Though...well, she was still kinda sticking out of it, the realization of which making her chuckle. Anyway, she knelt down some, feeling around for what could have been a shoe, until her eyes adjusted a bit. After that happened, she grabbed the shoe, before pulling herself out of the hole. She then tossed the flip flop over to Brandon, before dusting herself off.

Turning on her heel, she bent over to pick up her jacket, dusting it off as well, before araoing it around her waist, leaving her grey t-shirt out in the open, before she looked back at Brandon. "I think we should go see if we can help the other two. One of them called for help."

 

[WaywardJester]

Rama
Interaction: Torack
​

Rama smiled lightly as he shook Michael's hand, "Rama. Nice to meet you." He glanced over to the treeline Michael referred to then back at Michael's legs. "Makes sense." Rama made his way behind Michael to squat down and get his arms under his. Rama linked his hands, took a deep breath and hefted himself and Michael up and began a laborious drag towards the trees. "You know..." he huffed, taking glances behind him to see the treeline not approaching as fast as he hoped, "...you're a bit....heavier...than I'd thought...you'd be..." Rama breathed heavily. "No...offense...". He glanced back and finally saw he was merely yards away. When they arrived Rama let go of Michael gently then paced around with his hand atop his head, expanding his lungs and making his labored breathing more tolerable.

When Rama got himself together he glanced around the trees and noticed just how thick the forest was. Visibility dropped significantly ten yards in. It was a wonder none of them ended up in the middle of it. They were fortunate to have arrived in such proximity to each other given the situation. This really could've gone bad for any of them. Absently he began wondering if there are others that arrived as they did, but not in such an ideal scenario. Then Rama thought about that again and realized the true ideal situation was emerging in a log cabin in the woods by a waterfall in bed with Scarlet Johansson. Rama shook himself out of his thoughts and looked back to Michael. "Crutches, huh? Ok, sure. Let's do it." And so he set to work helping Michael where he could.

 

[BillyGGruff]

Interaction: FireMaiden WaywardJester Torack

"What?" Asked Brandon. The woman kind of reminded him of a school teacher with her bearing and disposition. They would always praise mundane achievements like remembering words from another language and generally try to have a falsely positive attitude. At least he assumed it was false. He had both not attended conventional schooling long enough and had had far too much experience with business to take kindness from strangers as anything but a front. He had also registered her comment about if a child needed as much money as he had. That had irked him out of his shock of being transported to an alien planet.

Uninformed people tended to think he didn't deserve his fortune. Some even thought he had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The internet threads disparaging him as a lazy fat brat who landed into that fortune one way or another had made it impossible to use social media without scorn. Sure, news stations and talk shows adored him, but humans were jealous, conniving creatures. Even this nice sounding Icelandic woman, however subconscious it may be, felt similar.

He tried to keep this annoyance out of his face after she had snagged his flip flop from his now subterranean limo. It would do no good to chide her words. Rarely do people without his eye for business and finance understand how his world worked. It might as well have been magic.

" Thank you Ms. LeRouge," He said formally, adjusting his glasses and causing them to glint in the twin sunlight, "Let's see what our fellow abductees might know."

Gone was the confused and scared boy, and replaced him was the stone faced businessmen that had ruthlessly acquired his fortune. Despite his weight and clothes, his bearing and aura had taken on a commanding presence to it. He expected to be followed.

He had practiced this appearance well. It was very subtle, but the change was enough to give bitter rivals pause on the negotiating table.

As he approached the two men, his eyes took in details about them both obvious and minute. What were the commonalities between the abducted? What qualities did they share that made them candidates?

Age didn't seem to be a factor. His green eyes shifted between the faces of the three, and there was quite a range. The Amputee was an ex soldier. His musculature and his bearing spoke to that as much as the injury. His arms were quite firmly built as well as his thighs. He is accustomed to prosthetics and self sufficiency. His injuries hadn't dampened his need to be capable. Many ex military gained weight after leaving the highly structured life of a soldier. Not so with this one. If anything he overcompensated for what he had lost.

Brandon slid up his thick glasses with his index finger as he openly examined the body of the soldier further. He had been told he stared too much, that he was insensitive sometimes, but it was vital to learn who you do business with.

He noticed another oddity. The man did not have his prosthetics that his musculature suggested that he used. Unless he slept in his civilian clothes, that would mean he had been transported without them. Brandon himself had been kidnapped with his entire limo.

"Greetings soldier." He said with a surprisingly strong and confident tone, "Tell me, did you lose your prosthetics shortly before appearing here?"

Brandon was confident enough of the mans military past that he did not even have it as a question when he had addressed the large man.

He also took a second to glance over the other man. He was barely an inch taller than the Icelandic woman and seemed rather disheveled. This of course could simply be the jarring nature of their abduction. He also appeared to be foriegn as well. Well, foriegn to an American anyway. Technically they were all aliens in this situation.

What was the common thread between all of them? Simply being from Earth? Perhaps skillsets? The data he had was too vague. He needed to know more. He needed to crack this code.

 

[Yatasal]

She lay in a pool of glass, staring up at the sky. For a terrifying second, she couldn't breathe. Then, when breath came, she found herself coughing and sucking in breath like she hadn't used her lungs for hours. Amber shook as she slowly saw up. She could feel bits of glass fall out of her hair, and Amber stared at her surroundings. There was a forest to her right, but other than that there were open plains all around her. The glass pool only extended a few feet around her, and when she looked closer she realized that the glass wasn't smooth. It appeared that someone had covered each individual blade of grass with glass, like it was a paint. As she got to her knees and then her feet, her palms stung from where the glass had broken, cutting up her hands. Her knees seemed to be okay, since her jeans were good quality.

Amber stared at her bleeding hands. They hurt. Which meant this wasn't a dream... Oh stars and rain, where am I?

She clenched her jaw, trying to stop the anxious tears from falling. She couldn't remember where she had been before this... No, no she could. She had been sitting on the couch with her Da. He asked if she'd grab a juice for him...

"Amber sweetie, could you grab me a juice box?"

Amber rolled her eyes as she popped her head out from behind the kitchen door. "You're such a child, Da."

"I won't apologize for my love of juice boxes, young lady," her da told her. "Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

Amber rolled her eyes a second time and opened the fridge...

Amber's eyes snapped open. The fridge. That's the last thing she remembered. Opening the fridge and then nothing. She padded her pockets, and noted that her hands weren't bleeding anymore. She took a few steps and knelt, pulling out everything she had on her. Cell phone, tarot cards, a few bobby pins, and two hair elastics. Cell phone. She could call someone, figure out where she was...

She tapped the phone, but it didn't have any signal. She stuffed everything back in her pockets, grateful she was wearing her big runner's jacket. It would at least keep her warm until she could reach civilization. Amber pulled out her phone again, and checked the charge. 98%. So at least she'd have power for awhile. She turned it on low-battery mode and closed all of her apps, and nodded to herself. There probably wasn't any cell reception here... Which brought her to a point. Where was here?

Amber glanced around again, and that's when she looked at the setting suns. Suns. Plural. More than one. Amber's mouth opened in shock. This wasn't a dream, and this wasn't Earth. How... What...

Amber swallowed, and wrapped her arms around herself. She didn't understand what was going on, and she desperately wanted to see another face... Then, as if the Goddess heard her thoughts, she heard voices. She turned towards the woods, and lightly jogged to them. She also was wearing her good running shoes, which was another blessing. The trees were thick and dense, but Amber made her way through them easily enough.

Ahead of her she saw two men, and they appeared to be human. Amber nearly cried out with relief, and rushed forward. In her haste to get to them though her foot caught a branch, and she fell right into the sitting man's lap. She scrambled to her feet, and backed up a step or two. "Sorry! I... I don't know where I am. Do you?"

It was then that Amber noticed why the man was sitting... His legs were gone. She felt more of an idiot for not only falling on him but falling on an amputee. Only her.

 

[FireMaiden]

Aurelia LeRouge
Fillary Woods
Interaction: WaywardJester BillyGGruff Torack Yatasal
Mentioned: ​

This boy...Aurelia knew he was going to be trouble at some point, because she could feel on her bones that being taken, this whole situation, was just the tip of a very large iceberg. Also, his tanks didn't sound very sincere, she could have it gotten his shoe for him and made him do it himself, though the chances of him getting stuck were....she gazed at the plump little boy, cocking her head to the sit ever so slightly. Well, if he could get out of the car in the first place, he probably wouldn't get stuck. Reguardless, she walked with Brandon over to the other men, neither of whom she knew the name of, but that didn't matter. Observing the amputee, then the other man, she wondered what solution they had come up with. And then Brandon spoke. "Hey!" While there was nothing wrong with his question, she did have to voice her opinion, "You could at ask a little nicer, geez." And then, before anyone could say anything else, a girl fell in the the amputees leg. Aurelia only stared for a second, as the girl quickly got up and apologized, before asking if they knew where they were. Aurelia chose to answer her. "No, I don't think any of us know. I mean," She kinda pointed in the general direction of the suns, "It defeinatly isn't Earth." With a pause, she kinda shrugged, "Who knows, maybe it's some weird American government conspiracy, and were in a simulation, or worse, we've been abducted by aliens for various experimentation." Aurelia kinda wiggled her fingers a bit for dramatic effect, before she gave the other girl a comforting smile. "I have a feeling we'll find out soon enough. But uh, welcome to the group. I'm Aurelia."

 

[BillyGGruff]

Interaction: FireMaiden Yatasal WaywardJester

Brandon sighed and took a second to clean his glasses with his shirt. Once again his age and bluntness had put him at odds with one of these maternal types. They meant well, trying to "correct" him with how he should handle himself when addressing others. They were always focused on this nebulous concepts taught by children's cartoons and lesser men.

"Ms. LeRouge," he said, turning to her with a flat expression, slipping on his glasses as he did so, " I do not ask this question out of a sense of juvenile curiosity. "

He put both of his arms behind his back, taking on an air of giving a college presentation.

"This is a matter of vital importance. Knowing the circumstances of our abduction is vital to understanding the nature of our abduction. It will also give us necessary clues to the intent of our Abductors. Dancing around the issue with needless social amores, with a man who sacrificed for his country and overcame whatever sacrifice that came from that service, is a waste of all of our time. He does not need my sympathy, only my respect. Of which he has in spades."

That last part was said with sincerity, giving the man a salute briefly. It didn't matter to him what country he was from. Especially now that they were seemingly the only earthlings here.

His parents were like her. They had also felt that need to reign in his personality and attempt to stifle who he was. It's why he has emancipated from the both of them after he had earned enough to afford the lawyers. Those two had wanted to "manage" his money for him, putting his earnings out of his hands for his "wellbeing." So they could force him to grow up like a normal boy. They had even wanted to prevent him from skipping so many grades. They had been like great chains on his progress until he had made the necessary legal arrangements.

People like her rarely understood that he was above the reprimands of childhood. His work, his achievements, his position in Earth's society should have made this clear. However they rarely were able to see passed his age.

"Now I would like to expand the question to everyone, including Ms LeRouge. We may not have much time before our abductors arrive, and we do not know of their plans. Sharing with me the circumstances of your arrival here will give me vital clues to solving this puzzle. My name is Brandon White, and I am at your service."

 

[Yatasal]

"Now I would like to expand the question to everyone, including Ms LeRouge. We may not have much time before our abductors arrive, and we do not know of their plans. Sharing with me the circumstances of your arrival here will give me vital clues to solving this puzzle. My name is Brandon White, and I am at your service."

The name sounded familiar, but Amber couldn't place it. She grabbed her elbow and nervously examined her shoes. They were covered in mud and branches, presents from the undergrowth. Questions spun in her mind, problems too. How would they eat? Drink? Was there water here, or was it a different sort of liquid that gave the plants life? Was everything here poisonous, or could they eat it?

Amber continued to stare at her shoes, as if they would give her the answers. Bless the God and Goddess that I wore my good running shoes. Which gave her another puzzling and worrying question to consider; would They be able to reach her here? Of course, They would. They were part of the universe, and surely they hadn't travelled outside of the universe. Still, would her candle work here?

Candle. Amber felt her pockets, but didn't feel the comforting lump of her black candle. She did find her matches, and that gave her some relief. But the matches would be useless without her candle. Had she dropped it? Maybe she didn't put it back in her pockets when she took everything out... She took that black candle with her everywhere, there's no way she left it at home. Not that she had been intending to leave home through her refrigerator...

Amber licked her lips, and whispered, "I'll be back."

She then turned and headed back through the forest, knowing it was only a short walk to where she had appeared in the world. The strange glass pool she had been laying in. Had the others also woken up in similar fields of glass? She'd have to ask, if she could gather the courage to do so. She might have to. They were all from Earth, as far as Amber could tell. She'd have to stick with them if she wanted to survive. Strength in numbers and all that. Part of Amber--the part she had gotten from her mother, because her father was nothing if not an extrovert--wanted to try to make it on her own, try and find a way back home on her own and forget this ever happened.

Her hands stung again, reminding her that this wasn't a dream, but reality. Amber crossed through the forest, and ended up a little ways away from the glass pool. In the center of which was her candle. She'd have to do her cards tonight, find out what the God and Goddess intended for her here. Some cosmic force had sent her here, and it would have to be the same cosmic force that would send her back.

Amber grabbed the candle, nestling it in her pocket before kneeling and bowing her head. "Oh God and Goddess, protect me this day with your entwined might. Bless my Da. He's going to need your strength. And... Let me go home soon. Please. So mote it be."

FireMaiden WaywardJester Torack BillyGGruff

 

[BillyGGruff]

Ravey

Goblin Slums




"Fear us, Children of the Maw!"​

Goblins hid in their homes as the mob, a mixture of humans and elves stood outside. They were getting more and more numerous lately. Religious zealots, carrying torches and clubs, stomped through the goblin slums, scattering the diminutive people like insects after a light turned on. The unfortunate Goblins who hadn't fled fast enough were beaten down by the self righteous men easily twice their height.

" Darkness shall never win!” Their leader continued, his six foot four frame and booming voice practically rattling the shutters is scared family homes. “We, the humans and Elves, blessed by the light, shall always find the shadowy corners you wretched mongrels hide in! We are the chosen people! The ones who were ordained to save the world from the sorcerer and his minions! You abominations must be driven back to the Maw whence you came!”


Cheers sounded from the mob, but they had no joy in them. This mob would attack soon, storming houses and assaulting any they found. While most of the crowd were men, there were young ones in the mob as well, parroting their parents words and excitement.


It would not be long before the mob would turn into rioters. The boarded up windows and barely functioning shops bore the signs of repeated assaults by people like them. If they weren't stopped soon, it would be disastrous.


In an alley nearby a small cloaked figure was meditating as hard as she could. Rage broiled inside of her as she tried to quell it. If her mind was that turbulent she would never get her strength up to chase off the mob. She gritted her teeth, frustrated with her aura as it flickered weakly.


It would have to do.


She moved from the alley at the rapid pace and halted in front of the mob, her body shrouded in her brown cloak and hood. To the eyes of the humans, she had blurred into place at an inhuman speed. Enough to be alarming and halt them from charging.


Stay calm, Ravey thought to herself breathing deeply as she tried to still her mind.


The leader of the mob took notice of the cloaked figure and pushed himself forward through his mob, club in hand as he towered over her.


“Have you come to receive your just rewards Maw filth?” he said with a sneer, his voice rumbling with how deep it was. He did not wait for an answer before he swung his club down, intending to crack her skull open.


Her hand darted up and caught the swing. From her perspective, the swing had been sluggish, his voice distorting downward as her perception heightened. With a light hand she gripped the club and plucked it from the large hand before slamming her foot into his overly large gut. The anger in that strike brought her back into normal speed. However the damage had been done.


The inertia of that kick, barely visible to normal eyes had knocked the wind out of the towering man and sent him careening back with alarming force, bouncing like a skipping stone on the surface of a lake before crashing into his companions.


She cursed under her breath. She was too angry, it was clouding her use of her power now. It had taken so much meditation to just do what she had. She had hoped this would scare the humans and elves away.


“Get… that freak!” the leader wheezed out.


They charged forward, and she responded in kind by throwing back her hood and roaring out a battle cry. She rushed forward, baring her goblin fangs as she leaped into the fray.


Though a great portion of her power was sealed from her now that she was enraged, she still had her martial training and durability to fall back on. Bones shattered and teeth went flying as she unleashed a volley of strikes. For every one hit the men twice her size landed, the half goblin felled three of their numbers onto the dirty streets. She was like a rabid animal in their midst, difficult to catch and striking out with surprising strength.


Still their numbers piled on top of her, beating her with clubs and kicking her with boots. The more their attacks hurt, the angrier she felt, and the more her power clouded. Her strength and endurance was leaving her now, slowly but surely, and the numbers of the hateful humans who stood so much taller than her grew more daunting.


While the leader hadn't gotten up yet, he was laughing haggardly, sneering at the lone goblin half breed as her face became visible.


“No matter what strength the Maw grants you monster, the forces of light shall ALWAYS triumph!”


And then a single solitary note sounded from the sky above. As if coming the twin suns themselves, three figures floated down. Ravey knew them well. The figure in the center, looking down upon her with warm compassionate eyes and singing that holy note was her Tutor, Gayatri. The two with her were Sun Soul Monks, elderly women with their sacred instruments in their gnarled hands.


Gayatri paid no attention to the mob, staring only at Ravey as she sang the mantra she knew so well


Aum

Bhuh Bhuvah Svah

Tat Savitur Varenyam

Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi

Dhiyo yo nah Prachodayat


Ravey stood to her feet, closing her eyes and letting her mind focus only on the mantra. She joined her voice with it, the elderly women on either side of Gayatri doing the same.


Ravey's aura begin to glow red, permeating her cloak just as the elderly monk women strummed their harsh instruments. The mantra was a prayer, warding darkness from their souls, allowing the light to shine through.


The mob of humans and elves shrank back as the Tutor Gayatri, Ravey, and the monks walked forward, their Mantra feeling threatening and powerful to them. Bruises and injuries Ravey had received quieted themselves as she stared them down with an alarmingly calm expression. Though she could never do this when her Tutor wasn't near, Gayatri gave her strength, stillness.


The few who tried to attack were soundly dealt with. The elderly monks heads rocked back and forth as she played their gruff sounding instruments, flaring their gray hair back and forth wildly while their faces were meditative, not even glancing as they swatted away the clubs without missing a strum on their instruments. The holy procession would not be halted by a simple mob. Goblins, emboldened by Gayatri and her monks presence funnelled out of their homes and marched behind them, further alarming the humans and elves. Their only choice then was to flee. They did, turning and dropping their clubs and leaving their wounded as they ran for their lives.


Gayatri did not give chase. Instead she turned and began to tend to the wounded, not caring if they were goblin or one of the mob she had chased off. Ravey didn't like that about her teacher. You had to draw the line at some point. Some people were not worth the effort to save.


“I have a new lesson for you my child.”


Ravey also hated when her Tutor did that. Addressing her like nothing had happened.


“Yes I know, I let my anger get the best of me and I almost got killed, that isn't a new lesson Master.”


Despite her tone, Ravey was visibly embarrassed and flustered, fiddling with her red hair as she thought about her failure. A mob should be nothing to her. A mere nuisance. Yet she could not use her stupid power long enough to do any good. If only she had been granted a power fueled by rage. She would have been unstoppable! Instead she had this infuriating esoteric ability as fickle as a candle floating in a lake.


“I do not speak of that child. You know that lesson well enough. No, this will be a whole new lesson for you.”


“What then? Humility? A new form of meditation? How to channel ki?”


“Teaching.” Gayatri said simply, a knowing smile on her lips as she looked down at her green apprentice. Ravey hated it when that woman looked mischievous. Though the public knew her as a pinnacle of holiness, Ravey knew she had a crafty sense of humor. Whatever this teaching would entail, it would almost certainly not be enjoyable for the young apprentice.

 

[WaywardJester]

Rama
Fillary Woods​

In the midst of gathering enough sturdy branches and younger saplings for long bark strips, Rama looked up from his work when the other two arrived nearby. He noticed the portly teen boy who looked put together by big business owners and stock brokers initiate conversation in the most blunt way possible; asking the legless veteran about his legs. It was strange to witness a typical shameless young boy type question asked with the reasoning of an old man. Rama could only look on in confusion then smirked a bit while the first young girl he met attempted to call him out on his brashness. If he hadn't lived in the states as long as he had already, Rama would've suspected all Americans to be like this boy.

Rama nodded and waved at each in turn after their introductions, starting a bit when someone new literally dropped into the conversation. And now they were five. This was a strange situation indeed. After the initial awkward introduction Rama simply shook his head, piggybacking off Aurelia's response. "Government, aliens. Whatever this is it's definitely real. The more I tried to question it the more it just knew it as fact." Rama did a lazy wave of his hand, "I'm Rama by the way. Just glad I'm not going through this alone." His accent bled through some of his words, reminiscent of Philippino Americans. His grasp of the English language was quite good thanks to his schools and parents but sometimes his native tone and pronunciations snuck into his speech. He was over it now but this was the one thing Rama was extremely self conscious about throughout most of high school. He glanced over at the new girl while she padded herself down growing more frantic in her expression every second she didn't find whatever she was searching for. Before he could inquire she was off rushing back into the woods, likely back to where she last remembered arriving here. Rama gave a worried look to the others. "No one should be anywhere out here alone." He mentioned. "I'll go check on her." With that Rama jogged off.

It wasn't long before he finally caught up and spotted her from a distance, slowing his approach. He watched as she searched the area and finally finding what she was looking for. A candle? An odd thing to be sentimental about. But after seeing her praying after pocketing it Rama understood. His parents were zealous in their faith with God. He had come to know, understand and even believe himself. Rama then brought himself to a stop to allow the girl some privacy with her prayer, though it certainly was a strange one, not one of any religion he had heard of. Regardless, he shrugged it off and glanced around the woods, marking where they had come from and where the others were. It was when he glanced back at the praying girl that he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. An odd shimmer in the air off to his right. Rama watched in growing horror as the shimmering distortion began to take shape into what could only be described as a six-legged tiger made entirely out of shadows. It was a walking void of space, a solid silhouette with the skeletal head and a predatory approach. Each of its six limbs moved over the forest floor silently, barely disturbing the underbrush. It stalked forward, right towards the praying girl. Time slowed down again as Rama was frozen with fear. The very site of this thing was an affront to reality but he knew this thing could rend him and the others to pieces if it so chose to. He was immediately taken back to the incident with his father; the feeling of helplessness, the horror of watching someone die and having no way to stop it. Then something else clicked inside him. The same thing that drove him to go after the gang boss. He would not let it happen again! He felt a rage like never before and snapped out of his frozen stupor finding a marble-sized rock by his feet. As he picked it up, Rama could feel his anger literally seep into his arm, down into his hand and even into the rock. Did it just spark the color purple? No matter, he let fly and by luck alone his aim was true. The rock slammed
the side of the creatures head with the sound and power of an m80 firecracker. The force of the blow sent the creature tumbling off to the side, meters away from the girl. Despite not having expected that at all, Rama rushed over and helped the girl up from her kneeling position, "We need to head back. The others might be..." a rustling sound interrupted Rama and he looked over to where the prone shape of the shadow creature lay. But now it began to bring itself back to its feet, shaking off the miraculous blow Rama delivered as if it were his with a pillow. It turned it's strange silloute skull towards them and even without eyes it conveyed a glare of pure hatred. Rama tugged on the girls arm as he began to backpedal towards the path they came through. "Need to go. Right now!"

Rama glanced back frantically as they made their way back to others. "Something! Something in the forest!" He warned as they ran up. As they reached the others, he noticed another creature form nearly ten yards behind the group. It slowly manifested itself from the distortion, its shadowy silhouette of a body smoking vapor trails as if it was a recently doused fire. As it stalked forward, the first creature emerged from the trees hungrily glaring at Rama.


Interaction: Yatasal BillyGGruff FireMaiden Torack

 

[FireMaiden]

Aurelia LeRouge
Fillary Woods
Interaction: WaywardJester BillyGGruff Torack Yatasal
Mentioned: ​

"Questioning wasn't exactly the issue, neither was respect. It's empathy," She said flatly, with a rather stern glare aimed down at Brandon. "Little boys like you are why American's have a rather ill image with the rest of the world. Especially the ones you bomb for no reaon," she said with a quick glance towards the man on the ground. Though it was not a statement ment to insult him, or his occupation choice, more, the choices of their government. I mean really...look at their president. "Anyway, I cell into an iced over pond. You have a very small window of time to get someone out from underneath it, because ice like that freezes over quickly," She paused, "I was on my way to work when I passed said pond. A boy was trapped out on it, the ice cracking. So, I got him. It was breaking, so I actually had to toss him to shore, before I went under," she explained. "Judging by the fact you came out of a car, I doubt we need an explanation as to what you were doing." She glanced over to the other girl as she ran off, Rama following shortly after. She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Kid, I don't think there's a real puzzle here to solve. At least, one solved by logic." Honestly, she hoped she was wrong. Very wrong, and this was so some practical joke some guy with a little too much time on his hands was playing. "Or, we're all dead and don't realize it." In her case, it was a very real possibility.

Her attention now turned to the man on the ground, "What did you want Rama to get these for?" She asked, nudging the sticks and stuff with her foot. There were a few possibilities, makeshift crutches, materials for a stretcher, though they would need to find some big leaves for that. He coukd even be building a magically wheelchair, who knew what was possibly now. In the senerio where one of them had to carry him, the job would fall between her and Rama. She may not look ot, but Aurelia was strong as shit, it was fun really. Non-regulars at her gym were always surprised to see her squat 320 pounds, and she could bench around the same. She just didn't make an effort to look all beefed up, she had found a great balance.

Anyway, she squatted down, musing through the stuff Rama had gotten, before something in the distance caught her attention. "What the hell was that?" She muttered aloud, looking off in the direction him and that girl had gone off in. A loud sound, resembling what she remembered a small firework to be, had gone off. She took a few subconscious steps in that direction, before she could just barely hear what sounded like Rama's voice. Only a few moments later, him and that girl had come through the trees. "What do you? Something like what?" She asked, looking back in the direction they had come from, before she turned just in time to see something manifest.

Her brain almost couldn't comprehend what she was seeing, her eyes widing as some for of panic set it. You ever find yourself in the situation where you see something that you can't ecplain, and then you try to rationalize it, this was like that. Except there were only a few things that Aurelia could rationalize. It was dangerous, that much was obvious, and it obviously wasn't of this world. Or Earth, or, what ever that thing was it wasn't natural and it was going to hurt them. But, much like with those boys on the ice she wasn't going to stand by and let someone get hurt. But now she had a choice to make. By now the other one had come out, Rama and the other girl it's target, this the one behind them had a shot at Michael and Brandon. And Bradon looked like he wouldn't be able to even outrun it, and Michael was a sitting duck.

Taking one of the sticks that Rama had brought back, thick sturdy looking one, she put herself between shadow beast no.2 and the two boys who wouldn't have a shot of defending themselves. Her hands were shaking a bit, though her brows were furrowed with the kind of focus you see on a soldier. Not that she was anywhere near that of a soldier. Aurelia knew how to throw a punch, and sure she could lift a good amount, but she has only been in a few fights, and those were with elemtenary kids when she was still in grade school. Reagurdless, she wasn't going to sit by and do nothing.

Anyway, there was a change in the creatures demeanor, it could tell that Aurelia was now also a proper threat as well as prey. Seeing this change, Aurelia put a little most distance between herself, and the group, putting her just a bit closer to the monster. It charged, Aurelia's feet getting ready to move, as it got closer. When it finally lunged, Aurelia side stepped at the last second, stumbling a bit, and letting out an audible grunt as the creature took hold of the stick. It wiggled with it for a few moments, forcing Aurelia even further away from the group, before just biting clean through it. Once again, it was focused solely on her, inchling closer and cloaser, and she inched away from it, until her feet caught a printmaking her stumble again. It took this opportunity to lunge, getting whole of her arm.

Aurelia screamed, writhing under it as she panoced, unsure of what to do, or how to get it to let go. It was dragging had back towards the others, in what almost looked like a display of power. However, it was probably just dragging her away from the trees so she couldn't pick up a rock or something to use as a weapon. Aurelia grit her teeth as she was dragged over the ground, glancing at the others to see what was going on with thme, before the creature clamped down harder. This just pissed her off, and when it came to a stop, with no other option, she punched the creature in the fucking face.

She didn't even realize her hand was on fire. Both of them actually. It took three, maybe four good punches before it let go, and another before it backed off, which allowed her go stand up. Blood from her wound was running down the entire length of her arm, dripping off her balled fist she she kept eye contact with the thing that had injured her. She had noticed her hands at this point, just in time to watch the flames flicker out, before she glanced back at the group, before she went and picked up another stick. "So, uh, hmm...i thought I'd have something to say, but...yeah, no." The creature was prowling again, trying to shake off the damage it had revived thanks to Aurelia.

 

[BillyGGruff]

Brandon had been incredibly indignant at her comments about him being some American boy, as if his wealth and status meant nothing on a global scale. That was what was wrong with these maternal types. They just could not see the big picture. He was going to explain that to her in as dignified a way as he could... before those things attacked.

He had watched her struggling and screaming with a dumbfounded expression as he tried to process what was happening. He was... he was terrified.

His knees were quaking. He peed a little in his shorts. His mouth and throat had gone painfully dry as he watched the horrible things happened to her, and how she struggled.

"Get...get off..."

His face scrunched up and his eyes hardened. His breathing picked up.

"GET OFF OF MISS LEROUGE!"

then his mind seemed to blink into silence. For the briefest second, the world slowed to a crawl in Brandon's eyes. He ran, his flip flops breaking under the strain. The air felt like molasses but he did not care. He kept pumping his legs, his now bare feet digging into the grass, slowly kicking up exploding clumps of dirt in their wake as he charged for the charred creature attempting to attack her again.

He tackled into the creature, leaping into the horrifying thing only to start to realize what he was doing. And the more he thought about it, the more that time seemed to come back to normal.

The next thing Brandon knew he and the creature barreled through the air into a tree with a resounding crack, moving the sturdy trunk in the earth and uprooting it enough to make it topple over. The creature looked like it had its chest crushed and Brandon flipped backward, tumbling awkwardly and sitting dazed on the ground feet away, dazed and confused.

To everyone else, it had looked like Brandon had yelled and then blurred like a chubby cannon ball into the creature, the air ripping and roaring after he had connected.

Still more of the creatures were around, and Brandon seemed like he had lost control of whatever had given him that strange burst of speed, if he had ever had control in the first place. His glasses were broken as well, only one lense remained untracked and it was hanging awkwardly on his face, twisted and mangled.

FireMaiden WaywardJester Yatasal Torack

 

[Yatasal]

As she finished her prayer, Amber snuffed out the candle and began to rise. She set the candle back into her pocket, but before she got to her feet completely her body tensed and flinched as there was an explosion to her immediate left. She scooted away from it, not even sure where it came from or what it was. Just that it was loud and sudden. The man from before appeared out of the trees, and he hurried to her, hauling her to her feet.

"We need to head back. The others might be..."

A sound interrupted him, and they both glanced towards the source of the explosion. A creature, some alien beast with glinting eyes that in the dim light appeared to be glowing, was rising to its feet. The man's grip on Amber's arm tightened, and he pulled away back towards the forest, away from the creature that was struggling to its feet.

"Need to go. Right now!"

Neither of them knew the terrain of the forest, but the man didn't let go of Amber's arm until they reached the others. More creatures had joined the first, and Amber's breath caught in her chest. A prayer of protection repeated itself in her head, the only coherent thought she had. She stepped behind the man, backing into a tree. She froze, and was almost a bystander innocently watching a movie. She wished she could blend into the forest, where these strange creatures wouldn't be able to see her or know she existed. Unknown to her, glass started to form and spread across the tree's bark, making its rough surface smooth and polished.

The woman from before stood protectively in front of the amputee soldier and the teenager, wielding a stick. Amber's fear mixed with dread as she realized that they were probably going to die here, on some alien world, and their families wouldn't know what happened to them. Her da would be praying to the Goddess, wondering what became of his little miracle, forever. Her prayer switched from one of protection to one that the Goddess would give her da that revelation, so that he wouldn't have to wonder. Though if her da would believe such a thing was another question. Amber gulped, and then her eyes widened.

The woman's hands were on fire. Two, three, four punches later, the creature was in retreat, but not for long. Two more creatures joined it, and then the teenage boy was shouting and dashing with inhuman speed towards the creatures. He barreled into one, screaming the whole time. The layer of glass went deeper into the tree. Amber watched the creatures attack the boy and woman, attempting to bring them down. They had to run.

Running was their only option. They couldn't beat these creatures. Not even if the boy and woman had abilities beyond what was earthly possible. Shaking, she looked at the man on the ground. He had no legs, no way to escape the creatures. And they had no way to carry him. She was a runner, not a lifter. Amber shook even more when one of the creatures focused its gaze on her. It left the others, and jumped over the fray towards her. Amber's brain froze, and time seemed to stop. All she could think of was that last conversation with her da, how he would never know what would happen here.

She threw her arms up in some vain attempt to defend her face. The claws descended, but they barely dug into her arms. It hurt, but no more than a regular cat. The shadow creature had jumped back, and when Amber brought her arms down she saw the creature's paws. The creature was made of shadow, until you got to its paws, which had solidified into what seemed like glass blocks. They were frozen in an outstretched pounce, and the creature seemed to be in extreme amounts of pain. It slammed the paws down on the ground, shrieking with an inhuman sound as the paws disappeared completely.

Amber's mouth dropped open in shock, so much so that when the creature moved forward again, she just put her hand out. The creature tried to snap its jaws at her, but as soon as her fingers brushed its skin glass spread across the smoke, hardening it. It yowled in pain, and shook its head vigorously. It tensed the glass areas, and Amber could tell it now had pits where the glass was gone. Amber just stared at it, and it turned its eye on easier prey. She glanced down to her arms, covered in bleeding cuts. None were deep or very serious, but they were all bleeding. And all Amber could do was stare.
Was that... me? Did I do that?

WaywardJester FireMaiden Torack BillyGGruff

 

[WaywardJester]

Instinct took Rama over. He couldn't focus on the terror these...things induced. If he did he'd be dead, the others would be dead and this, whatever THIS is would never be revealed to them. The awesome beauty and absolute horror this place had already exposed them to was too tremendous in scale to not at least try to learn about. They were owed that much at least. And Rama would have answers, but not from these things. Right now he would only get death from these living shadows; either his, or theirs.

Taking up Aurelia's tactic of grabbing a large stick from the collection, Rama found a solid branch four feet in length. He remembered thinking Michael and him would have to break this one down a bit to work with Michael's shortened height. Rama started for Aurelia but was shocked to see the attacking creature being dealt with handily by both Aurelia and Brandon. The more stunning feat was the...abilities they both displayed. Then a ghastly shriek of pain made Rama turn around to see Amber defending herself. Wherever she touched the creature solidified. It looked brittle, it looked like a target and that's all Rama cared about. As Rama approached Amber the creature turned to him and snarled. Rama felt his anger rise at it's gaze. He continued his march towards the beast, stick held aloft in his right hand. Unbeknownst to Rama the stick began crackle with faint purple light. It ran up and down the stick in chaotic paths and patterns but always seeming to pulse from his hand. The creature pounced at Rama, exposing the spot Amber had touched. Rama dropped to a half seated position and thrust the makeshift staff forward, focusing solely on the one spot he wanted to hit. It was the one move his father drilled into his head when using a staff. It was because he was so small that it was meant to hit a grown man in the groin, so his father focused on accuracy. Rama's father was no master but he was a good teacher, and an even better father. It proved invaluable in that single moment when the energy being stored up into Rama's stick went shooting up the shaft and slammed into the beast with the force of a grenade. The impact and explosion launched the creature high into the air and caused it to dissipate on the way back to the ground.

It took a couple seconds for Rama to realize he was on his back looking up into the sky. The force of his attack sent him back a couple feet as well, though he faired much better than the creature who's wisps of smoke trails were still being carried off by the breeze. Rama forced himself to his feet and made his way back to over to Amber. "You ok?". He gave her a quick once-over, glancing at the multitude of cuts on her arms. They weren't there earlier so this must be a drawback of her ability, like himself being too close to the explosive power he releases. All things that will have to be discussed later. Rama glanced around then waved over at Aurelia and Brandon, "You guys ok?" He shouted. Rama glanced back at Amber and nodded, "Good to walk? Let's get over to the others."

They were halfway over to the others when a high-pitched tearing sound erupted behind them. They turned around to see the biggest rift Rama had seen yet appear between himself and Amber, and Michael who was still over by the treeline. Rama went to call out to him but a cacophony of unearthly sounds bellowed out from the rift, interrupting him. Then all hell broke loose, literally. Dozens of shadow beasts emerged from the rift. Some like the ones they just fought, others more humanoid in appearance. But they all were walking silhouettes compiled of shadow, and smoke. Some even towered over the group with heights reaching up to nine or more feet! Rama backed up quickly with Amber until they reached Aurelia and Brandon. Rama kept trying to peak in between the shadowy horde to catch a glimpse of Michael but he just could see through their mass. The large bipedal shadow stalked up to the group, pointing and shrieking a guttural groan. The mass of creatures began to fan out around the group, snarling and chomping their jaws, anxious to get a hold of the new flesh that was all huddled together before them. Rama attempted to swipe at one that chomped within striking distance and he managed to bat it on its snout with his stick, but there was no power in it. The stick broke upon impact and the creature lunged forward, swiping at Rama's arm, cutting deep into his flesh on the outside of his right forearm. White hot pain seared into his head and fore a split second he saw only white. He backed up quickly holding his damaged arm, two large gashes running it's length from elbow to wrist. This was it now. He felt certain of that. And yet, there was still a small voice in the back of his head that screamed in anger. He wished he had to strength to fight them off. To survive at least another day. He couldn't possibly have been dumped here just to meet a gruesome end to those such as these. But now he could only hope that he and the others would make it out of this alive.

Mentioned: Yatasal FireMaiden BillyGGruff Torack

 

[Yatasal]

"You ok?"

Amber could barely hear him. It took a full five seconds to process what he had said, and then she just gave a quick nod. She wasn't sure what okay was anymore. Certainly not this. A tear escaped her eye, and she quickly wiped it away. She didn't have any bandages on her for the scratches on her arms, but they weren't bleeding very much either. Amber wrapped her jacket around herself, hugging it to her. She was warm enough, but she was nowhere near fine.

They turned around to see the biggest rift Rama had seen yet appear between himself and Amber, and Michael who was still over by the treeline. Rama went to call out to him but a cacophony of unearthly sounds bellowed out from the rift, interrupting him. Then all hell broke loose, literally. Dozens of shadow beasts emerged from the rift. Some like the ones they just fought, others more humanoid in appearance. But they all were walking silhouettes compiled of shadow, and smoke. Some even towered over the group with heights reaching up to nine or more feet! Rama backed up quickly with Amber until they reached Aurelia and Brandon. Rama kept trying to peak in between the shadowy horde to catch a glimpse of Michael but he just could see through their mass. The large bipedal shadow stalked up to the group, pointing and shrieking a guttural groan. The mass of creatures began to fan out around the group, snarling and chomping their jaws, anxious to get a hold of the new flesh that was all huddled together before them.

Amber's breath caught in her throat when she glanced at the horde of creatures. The shrieks made her grab her ears and wince, trying to block out the sounds. As one of the creatures stepped forward, shrieking like the nazgul from Lord of the Rings, Rama tried to hit it with a makeshift sword. But the creature wasn't abated; it quickly lunged forward and its claws cut into Rama's arm. As soon as Rama screamed, Amber didn't hesitate. She turned tail and ran into the woods.

Fear pumped into her legs, propelling her forward. The creatures saw that she was running and at least two of them, maybe three, gave chase. Amber batted away branches, jumped over logs, and was suddenly grateful for the woods behind her house, and her many hours of learning to run from them. Everything she touched, glass formed, and without realizing it Amber was creating a pathway for her to be followed. The creatures weren't as adept as Amber at the forest running, but they were also much faster than Amber, which made up for it.

Amber was breathing hard, and took one second to look behind her. And, like an idiot, what she saw were four creatures chasing after her. Two bipedal, two lions. It only took that one second for Amber to trip and go tumbling down into a ravine. She fell into a creek, and having hit her head on the way down was dazed. She heard the creatures screaming above her. Amber didn't dare move. The creatures screamed again, but Amber held her breath. She closed her eyes, listening to the screams move away.

Glass spread out from her, and Amber shook as she laid there in the cold mud. She took in a few shuddering breaths, and slowly looked up towards the edge of the ravine she had fallen off of. The creatures were gone, but that didn't mean they were far away. Amber slowly crawled to her knees, and went straight to the undergrowth, covering herself as much as she could. The mud looked like ice had grown over it, and several of the plants and roots around her were also growing the glass.

My glass. I'm doing that, Amber realized in shock. She grabbed a small bunch of leaves, leaves that were strangely colored black. She focused, and imagined glass covering the leaves. To her amazement, the leaves began to be covered by glass, starting from where it was touching her skin and growing outward until it was completely encased. She turned it, astounded by the sudden smooth surface. Did this world give them all abilities? What were the others' powers? The woman had fire hands, Rama had some sort of explosive purple... stuff. She wasn't sure about the boy, or the amputee man.

Amber hugged her knees to her chest. She wasn't sure how long to hide, but she definitely wasn't going to come out of her hiding spot any time soon. I hope the others make it. I don't want to be on my own out here...