Fantasy The Return of ☾ℒℯtℴ☽ (Always Open)

[animegirl20]

Starfire wasn't really paying attention to Naumon she was looking around at everything. It was so crowded with people. While she was looking a booth caught her eye and she wandered over towards it. It was a food stand. Her wolf Blazed watched her walk off and followed her leaving Naumon behind. She wasn't that far away but their were a lot of people. But even in a crowd it probably wasn't hard to find her seeing as she kind of stuck out.


@Darth Gangsta

 

[Soviet Panda]

"Right then, it's a deal." he replied, a smile thrning up the corners of his mouth. Pulling out his grimoire, he opens to the rough area of the ritual, turns a couple pages left then right, runs his finger down the page, and stabs it at the right spell. It wasn't that complicated, was barely even two paragraphs really. Just a circle on the ground, have him stand in it, then say a couple of words and there you have it. "Right. We'll be needing some room so I can get that circle. And some chalk...." He trailed off, and with the free hand not holding his book he pate himself down and reaches into a pocket on the opposite side. "Aha! I knee I had some on me somewhere." he said triumphantly as he pulled out a much used nub. "Oh, I'll need to buy another one soon." he continued with a frown. "The bane of all rituals, a steady supply of chalk."

 

[tuocs13]

HAVIARN IRISWOR


(haav-ee-ar-n) (er-ehss-worh)


All Haviarn had brought with him was a loose hanging backpack of sorts, made from a cloth-like material.


The most he wanted to do with the day was simply look around.


The town must have changed, considering he visited over 300 years ago.


With one of his friends.


Come to think of it... where was that wolf he had met here?


Surely it was alive. He has left it in the care of a local tamer.


He walked quickly to the tamer's cavern and peered inside... There it was! His wolf, the same as always.


He paid the fifth generation tamer, and got his wolf.


What a great duo.


He was sure to be successful in saving Leto... right?

 

[Zayuz]

"Achieving anything..?" Kerra wondered aloud, placing her forefinger thoughtfully on her chin. "Well.. As of yet, my goals are simply to follow the instructions of whoever sent the message. Finding some coin or an artifact on the side wouldn't be half bad either.." The girl smiles of herself, losing interest in the knight's conversation. "Honestly, I'm here on my father's request. He thinks the darkness is more dangerous than others might believe. And you? I'm sure you have your reasons for participating as well."


..And thus, the two men exited the inn. Kerra had only slightly nodded in response to their question before - In fact, now that she thought about it she may not have nodded at all. Oops. Hopefully they didn't think her too rude.


She gestured for Inmento to follow them with her, eyeing the witch as he rummaged through his spell-book. A tinge of jealousy rippled through her.. Being able to cast magic like that on demand would make everything so much easier.. "Perhaps you might find it easier to encounter chalk if you charged coin for your services instead of favors. She suggested in a skeptical manner, eager to see the spell despite how she felt. "..The road should be wide enough.. I don't see the point in going further; why don't you show us some magic?"





@GreenEyedStranger @Inmento Riku @Beowulf @Veyd Sahvoz

 

[Soviet Panda]

"Unless the favor is to get me some chalk, then really it's the same thing." Connor said over his shoulder. "And the streets may be wide but they are currently in use by everyone. I don't want to bring it to a halt for something like this." Especially on a festivsl day, where everyone was out and about. Even the alleys would be a bit more crowded then usual. But there was one place.


"There'll be plenty of room at the shrines. Everyone will be to busy offering prayers to bother us. And we won't be to loud, at oeast we shouldn't." Plus odds were there would be a few witches there in case he screwed up.

 

[Veyd Sahvoz]

Pondering on his suggestion he agreed, he had to get this armor off sooner or later. "Fine, fine. You'll have to wait miss because we all seem to be heading to the shrines." Draconus laughed. He usually didn't keep a lot of gold on him all the time but he found it much more friendly to buy him a meal for the service. That is if it was successful.


@Beowulf @Zayuz @Inmento Riku

 

[GreenEyedStranger]

@Beowulf


Da'Os snickered and laughed at seeing him struggle to try and cast a spell. He was bored out of his mind, and expected to leave much sooner, so he decided to show them a little thing or two

"It tries and tries to gain control of something it can't understand. My powers are beyond their reasoning. Perhaps I shall show it some."



​

Da'Os stepped back into a corner, to avert the public gaze from him while still being visible to the party. As he did that, he took out a jagged knife and wrapped his hand around it. With a swift motion, he swung the knife out. The blood was pitch black and floated in the air for a moment before dissolving like a shadow. Moments later, several dead rats, pigeons, and other small animals in the nearby alley stuttered and stood on their feet. They began making terrible screeching noises as they tried to crawl forward. With a wicked grin behind his cloak, Da'Os clenched his fist and caught the black mist he created. In an instant, all of the creatures fell, dead as they once were before.

"The powers of magic are more sinister than it believes. If it wishes to remain as it is. It will seek a different path."

​

 

[Soviet Panda]

"Uh." Connor said, not averting his gaze from the spectacle. "How unpleasant. Magic is only as dark as the person that uses it. So what does that say about you?" With that now done, he continued to the shrines. "Oh, and my name isn't 'it'. It's Connor. You, on the other hand, look very much like an it." He could be just as nasty as the creature that tried to intimidate him. But he did know a spell that Connor didn't know, perhaps he should strain him for that information, run him through the wringer.


Soon enough they were at the shrines (if that's ok with everyone I don't want to hold things up). And he was right about one thing, a lot of people were sitting at one of the various shrines praying, a couple were even burning incense and offering sacrifices to the older deities. But it was a bit more crowded then he expected. "A bit more people then I thought." he whispered. "But I think there's enough room." Taking the piece of chalk, he draws a circle, as perfect as he could manage, big enough for the armored man to stand in. "I'll be needing your name for the ritual." he whispered to him, ushering him into the circle.

 

[Inmento Riku]

@Zayuz @Beowulf @Veyd Sahvoz "I'm here because a voice in my head told me to be, and hopefully I find the person that took everything from me. Your father? Is he royalty?" Inmento asked curiously. As soon as he noticed her telling him with her actions to follow the two men, he gave her a nod and a smile before standing up. "I think I saw someone selling chalk when I went to the tree near the centre of town." Inmento responded softly before sighing. "Oh..m'lady, how rude of me, what is your name? I was so caught up in being here, and in making conversation, I completely forgot my manners. I am Inmento," He spoke as he held out his hand.

 

[Veyd Sahvoz]

"Uh." Connor said, not averting his gaze from the spectacle. "How unpleasant. Magic is only as dark as the person that uses it. So what does that say about you?" With that now done, he continued to the shrines. "Oh, and my name isn't 'it'. It's Connor. You, on the other hand, look very much like an it." He could be just as nasty as the creature that tried to intimidate him. But he did know a spell that Connor didn't know, perhaps he should strain him for that information, run him through the wringer.
Soon enough they were at the shrines (if that's ok with everyone I don't want to hold things up). And he was right about one thing, a lot of people were sitting at one of the various shrines praying, a couple were even burning incense and offering sacrifices to the older deities. But it was a bit more crowded then he expected. "A bit more people then I thought." he whispered. "But I think there's enough room." Taking the piece of chalk, he draws a circle, as perfect as he could manage, big enough for the armored man to stand in. "I'll be needing your name for the ritual." he whispered to him, ushering him into the circle.

Draconus was actually glad for the first time in months. He was trying to find a human effigy to use but this witch happened to know a spell that would have the same effect. When Connor asked him his name he gave an immediate answer, standing tall and prideful as he stood in the circle. "I am Draconus." He replied. So many thoughts raced through his head. What would others think? How did he actually look? Questions that he hadn't cared for for a long while. He stood like a statue, patiently waiting for the witch to work his magic.


@Beowulf

 

[Pandacorn]

The nymph silently followed the group of adventurers into the well-kept hostel. Eyes wide with wonder every step of the way. Observing the way each paid for their lodging and ascended the stairs to their respective rooms. She stepped up to the counter of the innkeeper and smiled innocently at the lanky man. Cocking her head at him as he recited the costs and rates of the rooms they had open. She hummed and nodded in acknowledgement. Not really grasping all the numbers and such that he was spewing, but she did understand that money would be involved.


She rummaged through her satchel and pulled out a heavy drawstring bag. The clatter of coins rang out sharply. Addua set it down on the counter and pulled the mouth of the bag wide open. The artificial light reflected off of the golden and silver coins and bars and trinkets. The dull brown eyes of the clerk sparked with interest. She slowly pulled out coins one by one and watched as the greedy smile on his face grew with each thud of precious metal on polished wood. When he was satisfied, he flashed her a full toothed grin that she happily mirrored and he pulled the small pile to him. "Collette!" He called out. A squeak and an "Ouch!" echoed followed by hurried steps. Addua returned the coin bag to her satchel.


A young woman no older than twenty-five struggled to catch her breath and greeted the customer. Collette raised her head and her cheeks colored a bright scarlet when she took in the nymph's scandalous form. The innkeeper whispered in her ear and she nodded. Turning to the small nymph who looked to be her age, she smiled as she was paid to do and spoke, "Ma'am--"


"Addua!" the nymph interjected. The maid excused herself and continued.


"Addua, allow me to take you bag and lead you to your room." She gently took her patron's belongings and led her up a couple of flights of stairs. Collette opened the door and hung the bag on one of the hooks. "I hope everything is to your liking. Please do not hesitate to ring for me. I will be back early to check on you."


"Thank you." The maid pressed the room key into her hand and closed the door behind her.


Addua curled her toes on the cool wooden panels. Not what she was used to, but it felt better than pavement. The moonlight bathed her room and she took it all in. Mighty proud of herself. She had come such a long way. She had a clearer goal in mind. She really was making headway.


She ran her fingers along the bed and sat down in the middle of it. Her laughter filling the air as she sunk into it. Titos used to always tell her that he wished he was back home in his bed. It was just as plush as he described she thought fondly. Addua laid back and sighed, content.


It took only five minutes of restless rolling and shuffling for the nymph to give up sleeping in the bed. She sighed, this time in displeasure, upset by the fact she could not share something that brought so much joy to Titos. She paced and resigned herself to the floor at the foot of the bed.


She hated this room, she decided with a fierce pout. Addua curled into a ball and fervently wished she was with Cleon. Or Kar'Lan. She felt so very alone. She hugged the wooden leg of the bed frame and frowned. It felt so very empty.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

​

The rising sun warmed her face and Addua pried open her eyelids. The nymph had never felt so unrested. She bit the inside of her cheek and feared that the frown on her face would become permanent. She massaged her cheeks and pulled out the leather-bound book from her bag and sat down with it between her spread legs. Starting from page one as she had done thousands of times before.


A light knock on the door called her attention and a spry voice asked for permission to enter. Addua opened it and welcomed her in with a, "Morning." The maid responded as such and deposited what was in her arms on the dresser.


"Addua, do you plan on attending the festival today?" Collette made conversation as she straightened the sheets of the bed.


"Yes~!" She sang. Skipping to the window and throwing her head out of it. She gazed at the bustling figures below. The stalls and decorations. She could smell the alluring food from there and her mouth watered. She wanted it all.


"Might I help you prepare for it?" Collette asked in a measured tone so as not to appear insulting. Addua turned and regarded her curiously and then looked down at herself. She hesitated, before nodding her head.


The next hour and a half was a flurry of activity. Some unpleasant, which she conveyed with loud mewls. Some, she found herself enjoying more than she would have thought.


Addua sat on the floor in front of the bed between the legs of Collette who combed through her damp locks. Her legs were crossed underneath her new cotton dress that fell to her ankles. Collett said ladies did not sit with their legs open. It attracted snakes she had warned. The nymph listened intently to every nugget of wisdom bestowed upon her as she placed her folded dress and golden and sapphire jewelry in her satchel. Collette deftly braided the silken strands into two on either side of her and gave her the comb to keep.


Collette stood and pulled her up to her now covered feet. She gazed at her handiwork and chuckled at the way Addua's satchel bulged with all of the things she ordered the poor girl to put in there. "Perfect." She was finally done. "Do you remember everything I told you? Do you have what I gave you?"


"Yes Collette." Addua drawled and stomped her feet, unused to the constriction of shoes.


"Then, get out there. Enjoy our festival." Collette said softly. She felt like a mother. Addua handed her back her room key and opened her hand. Within moments a beautiful pink Camellia bloomed from her palm. Standing on her tip-toes, she threaded it through Collette's brown hair as a way of thanks.


Leaving the inn, she almost walk right over Kota who lay soundly on the ground near the door. She crouched down low and observed the way his sharp canines peeked out from his lips with every exhale. 'Kota. . . Kota. . .' Addua silently attempted to rouse him from his slumber and wondered where Draconus could be.


@Veyd Sahvoz

 

[Veyd Sahvoz]

Alarmed by the voice, the wolf's eyes opened up, revealing his blood red iris's and black pupils. For a second he didn't recognize her and opened his maw a bit in a low growl. 'Who are you-...Oh. It's just you.' He relaxed and lowered his growl to silence. He had almost forgotten her in the length of time between yesterday and today. 'Where is Draconus?' Kota asked, moving his head around in all directions to try and get a look around where he was. That's right, the inn, and apparently there was a festival going on with all the people, not to mention he had heard of it the other day.


@Pandacorn

 

[Zayuz]

"..A fair point. To the shrines then."


As the group started to move towards the holy area, Da'Os would gather her attention.. She glanced over, and was instantly met with a mixture of shock, disgust, and wonder. ..The dead animals were walking..? In Streywood, magic was very rare.. Seeing someone use it so casually, and.. In that way.. It sent a chill down her spine. The blinks slowly, allowing the others to take the lead as they lead her to the temple. That had to have been black magic.. There's no way it could be anything else.. Was she not here to fight the demons in the south? Gods.. Did this make the figure her enemy? A person from the south who wields black magic.. What if he was a double agent? ..And to think she was so casual with him.. Kerra cursed herself for her lack of insight, vowing to be more careful in the future.


Luckily, she had company to keep her from her paranoid thoughts. The girl looks to Inmento, nodding. "A pleasure to meet you. I'm known as Kerra of house Lare. ..Weather or not my father is royalty is actually a fairly hot topic. If you asked him though, doubtless he would say he is. We hold a claim to the throne, though we find that sheer military might keeps us from taking our family's rightful position." Kerra described the conflict the way she had learned of it - However far from the truth that might have been. For nothing was ever so simple. She turned again, and noticed the knight announce his name. Draconus. It sounded western to her, but she still liked the sound of it. After all, she had heard tales of dragons.. Large, elegant and powerful beings.. Being named after one such creature is an honor in itself. ..What kind of spell might he need done?


@GreenEyedStranger @Inmento Riku @Beowulf @Veyd Sahvoz

 

[GreenEyedStranger]

@Beowulf @Zayuz

"All things that do not open their eyes to the truths are things that do not deserve acknowledgement."

​

Da'Os grinned at the response from Kerra and Inmento. Yes, it had been spontaneous, but he would rather let everyone know what he was capable of early on rather than let them think he was weak. He had begun to trust Kerra a bit, and although he showed off his power, he felt that she no longer trusted him.

"You has never seen black magic before has it?"



​

He spoke, trying to stop on his use of "It" for Kerra partly out of respect and pity though struggling still.

"All magic has its common roots in black magic. Things who believe they cast magic free of sin are foolish, I merely accept the powers it offers me."



​

Despite the explanation, Da'Os still felt he hurt Kerra a bit. Inside his mind, a small part of him cursed to himself for acting too freely with his power.

 

[Inmento Riku]

Inmento gave the female a quick nod and a bow. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance. That sounds like a rough kingdom if you ask me. Maybe you could give me a tour through it someday? I've never really left my 'nest' except when I heard the message. I'd love to explore it," he gave the woman a smile before quickly stammering. "That is of course, if a vampire would be allowed to explore with you. In the kingdom." He just sort of stopped talking and faced the man who had been talking. "Black magic?" ~Could he be one of the shadows the message told us about?~ Inmento thought to himself. "Are there other colours of magic? Are they as powerful? Why is it called black magic?" Inmento, although curious, was actually just trying to learn more about this...being that stood before him. @GreenEyedStranger @Zayuz

Spoiler

This was written on my phone. I apologize if it's shorter or longer than usual

 

[GreenEyedStranger]

Da'Os smiled at the question, though it wouldn't be right to call it a smile, more of a sneer hidden behind his cloak

"Black magic does not use the powers from the sky or any celestial bodies... It draws power from the souls of man. The soul of man is strong, enduring, relentless. But also one of the most wicked things in existence. All other magics try to diverge from it, but it is impossible to separate. It is just a guess, but I believe the creatures far down south feed off the same power."



​

He turned away from the Mage, not used to constant eye contact. Without any more words, he waited, watching the ritual.

 

[Soviet Panda]

"Black magic is simply magic most people frown upon." Connor said himself as he studied the text in his book. "Alright." he mumbled to himself as he reached into a pocket with a free hand. Withdrawing the item, it would appear to be nothing more then a bag. "Can someone open this and pour a small bit into my hand?" he asked. The contents of the bag was simple salt. Nothing special, simply salt. Or perhaps it was sugar. Either way, it was white and grainy.


Once that was done, he nods to Draconus, and gets on with the ritual. "Draconus, I grant you a presence in this world. May you no longer be a hollow shell of what you were." And with that, he threw the salt onto the armored figure. "There, simple as that." he said, closing the book shut and tucking it away into yet another pocket, this one on the inside of his robe. "Now, for that meat pie."


((I'm going to leave it up to you on whether it works or not, and what the whole thing looked like when your soul, that's what I'm getting from it, returns. @Veyd Sahvoz)) @Zayuz @Inmento Riku @GreenEyedStranger

 

[Veyd Sahvoz]

(All that this would do is bring back his actual appearance so he doesn't look like a monsterous undead. He still has the curse.)


Did it work? He felt no different than before. Maybe he had verged beyond the point of no return and he was now stuck as a Hollow. Bah! Why am I overthinking this?! He mentally shouted. There was only one way for him to find out. His armor creeked from rust as he reached up and grasped the base of his helmet. After months of wearing the armor it was rusted, scraped, and smelled like rotting flesh and was stained with black blood. The helmet came off his head and tumbled onto the ground with a thud. In a jolt of excitement, he threw off his gauntlets and reached up to touch his face. It wasn't ridged, nor sticky and rotten. That's when he caught a glimpse of his hands. Pale white skin from the lavk of food, sunken black eye bags from looking out of his helm for so long. It worked... HA HA It worked!! "How do I look?"

Spoiler

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@Beowulf @Zayuz @GreenEyedStranger @Inmento Riku

 

[Pandacorn]

Sensing the sudden hostility, Addua reared back swiftly. The ends of her braids whipping against her cheeks in the process. She clutched her bag in fright. Addua observed him cautiously and calmed herself as he did. She looked around them into the crowds of people once more. 'I don't know. I figured you would.' She mentioned with a shrug. Adjusting her bag on her shoulder and hiking up her new dress since the length was cumbersome, she shuffled a bit, desiring to explore the festival. 'I'll look for him over that way.' She offered. Finger pointed in the direction of delicious smelling stalls.

 

[Soviet Panda]

"I hate to say this," Connor began, "but disappointingly normal." With a broad smile spreading across his face, he walks over and slaps the armored man on the back. "Actually, you look a bit worse for wear. Let's go get those meat pies you said you'd get me. I'll be a good friend and share with a man that looks starved." 'Oh thank the gods that worked.' he thought, mentally sighing in relief.

 

[Zayuz]

"N-No.. I have not seen such sinister magics before.." She says quietly, glancing away. She heard the request to learn of the other kinds of magic, but promptly pretended to be disinterested. In truth, she knew next to nothing of magic.. But they would not know that. Da'os's explanation eased her considerably. ..So it wasn't a life ending magic that was created to tear apart your soul.. It was still unsettling, but it least it didn't seem straight up evil.


Her eyes moved back to Inmento. "Someday perhaps, if I return it would be a pleasure.. But that might not be for a while." Kerra shrugs, hearing that he was a vampire.. Were these more common in the west? She had never actually met one before.. "Well.. As long as you dont do any thing too openly I'm sure they would have no problem with it.. The guard there try not to spend too much time looking for trouble." Kerra smiles, thinking back to her city.. In fact, it didn't matter if the guard investigated or not if your family had already payed them not to.. If he stuck with her they wouldn't have any trouble - But that wasn't the kind of thing someone said openly.. "..After all, we're supposed to finish the mission first anyways."


The ritual she had been waiting for was surprisingly quick - And simple at that. The knight threw off his gantlets, seemingly overjoyed with his regular flesh.. It made her wonder what was wrong before that. ..But it was none of her business. "Looks like you're going to be getting your meal." She remarks.


@GreenEyedStranger @Inmento Riku @Beowulf @Veyd Sahvoz

 

[Veyd Sahvoz]

"Can you believe it? I'm normal, after months of searching and I'm finally normal!" Shouted Draconus gleefully, his voice was back too, not so groggy and slurred. Finally he could breathe air and the scents of perfume and oils instead of rotting flesh. His eyes were blinking quite a bit as he glanced around at everyone neat him, all normal looking and now that he wasn't confined to that damned helmet he could get a good look at them. "I give you my thanks, Connor, and yes you may get that meat pie!" He yelled, trying to control himself by taking deep breath's and cracking his knuckles, stretching etc. He even wondered what meat tasted like...


'I guess it won't hurt to get a bite to eat.' Kota agreed even though he didn't eat sweets. Already she wanted to try out new foods at the festival and he couldn't blame her. It was a great time of the year and usually he would showed off his abilities of telepathy and looked around the more tribal stuff at events like this, but he doubted she'd want to go there. Judging by her desire to try out food, that gave him the assumption she liked trying new things. Something a lot of people preferred not to do.


@Beowulf @Zayuz @Inmento Riku @GreenEyedStranger @Pandacorn

 

[Pandacorn]

The nymph squealed in exitement. 'Well let's not wait any longer!' She pleaded. Addua almost slipped in her effort to skip to the fascinating booths. It was going to take her awhile to become used to the diminished traction she now had due to the slippers on her feet, but she would honestly admit that she loved the way her dress billowed about with every turn and refreshing breeze.


Addua held on tightly to her heavy satchel. The thrill coursing through her distracted her from the way it weighed her down on her right side. Bouncing from stall to stall she flashed her widest, most innocent smile. Pearly whites making themselves known. That, and a few exotically accented words got her many free samples of food and small knickknacks. Those of which she scarfed down happily and struggled to store in her bag, respectively. Though, the nymph refrained from eating any of the samples of meat given to her, being inherently vegetarian, she would not deny that it smelled wondrous in her hands. Instead, offering every piece of flesh to Kota.


@Veyd Sahvoz

 

[GreenEyedStranger]

Da'Os' patience was wearing thin. At this rate, the South would have already engulfed the north twice over, he thought to himself. He looked back at the idle party and narrowed his eyes, showing his discontentment as best as he could.

"For once I agree with the small nymph thing. I will not wait for any more of them. I venture on wards, whether it follows or not is none of my concern."



​

He didn't know exactly where to go, but he heard something about "night of the three moons". Probably a festival back at the town. Much to his pain, he realized he still didn't exactly know his mission. Da'Os balanced the two ideas between returning to town or just venturing down south. After a few moments he decided to stop by the town only for a few minutes before heading south.


At that, he departed from the others and began walking back.

 

[GreenEyedStranger]

The sun was beginning to set. In Da'Os' mind, he questioned whether he should stay another night at the inn. The creature shuddered at the thought of stale food and uncomfortable beds. At he outskirt of town he turned back towards the forest. He had known many nights without a home so sleeping under the stars was not unusual. Besides, if anything disturbed him he could easily defend himself. However, just to be sure, he cast a black fog spell around where he lay. The thick black fog hovered in the same place, ignoring the gentle breeze as if powered by another force. At that, Da'Os laid on the grass and fell asleep.