Fantasy Where Dreams go to Die

[welian]

The Sentinel


Things just never went as simple as she hoped. The Sentinel clenched her jaw and after stern negotiations with the little boy Discovery, sent him on his way with Pyrite and Malachite in tow. In hindsight, she should have sent larger groups – the Knights were quite active tonight – or kept Malachite around as a trainer. This was good, thought. This was an acceptable outcome. Hopefully they would find the tear and seal it before it before something came in – or worse, got out.


And during that, Mercury had couched Obsidian through a rather information training sparr. The Sentinel didn't always trust Kezia to stay on task but when she did, the results were admirable.


But for now, the last shield was finally broken by a new Knights – not one of the initial four women who stepped forward, but a young man with an onyx core.


As Ruby met up with Iron and Serendibite for their own respective mission, the Sentinel felt her chest swell with hope that perhaps the night could be salvaged after all.


This hope was immediately dashed by the hysterical laughter of another Knight. The Sentinel cringed. Black Jadeite, of course. The man was broken, shattered, mentally unhinged. His darkness flooded the courtyard in his tantrum and the Sentinel stood stonefaced through it all, her eyes like hot coals as she tracked the movement of a certain crow. A delicious crow, one that was just small enough to slide so easily down her throat, just big enough to sate her appetite.


If looks could kill, the King and his meddling would no longer have been an issue.


“Goodbye,” the hooded woman said belatedly just after the Obsidian knight took her leave. She was distracted, breathing deeply to control her rage, keeping her hood low so that the new knights would not see and be be fearful of her eyes.


“….. Did everyone hear what the Mercury knight said?” The Sentinel decided to continue as though Discovery and Black Jadeite had never had their outbursts, as though the King was never here, as though nothing had gone wrong at all.


“This is Etherea, the world of dreams.” She paced around the center of the courtyard, the golden hems of her robes picking up confetti like an upside-down birthday cake.

“We are here, because we protect Etherea. We maintain the Veil between the worlds, and we guide dreamers safely through their sleep. Mercury is absolutely correct. There are monsters in this world who have destroyed our dreams, and will do so again if given half a chance.”


“If you are scared, or unwilling, then you may turn around right now. Keep walking until you wake up, and I will never pull you out of your dreams again. But if you wish to stand with us, destroy these monsters, and protect dreams everywhere, then you will stay.”


The Sentinel stood tall, analyzing each of the remaining knights with a piercing glare. It broke, though, and her face softened. Her eyes returned to inky indigo, the color of the night sky. How many of them would stay? She didn't dare get her hopes up.





“…. I'm sorry. I have been unclear with you. You are all likely confused, or scared, or both. I shall explain. This is my Sanctuary. All these gardens you see here, are mine. My home. Each flower has been planted by a Knight at some point in history. You are more than welcome to bring your own seeds and plant something, although I ask you avoid the tree in the center of the temple. It's… my happy spot.”


She paused, and chuckled softly.





“I forgot. I am the Sentinel. You may, if you so choose, address me as Lady Amaia. I run things around here. You may bombard me with questions now – about your powers, your weapons, your core, the Terrors – I promise, there shall be no more interruptions. And perhaps, if the night is still young, there will be time to join up with one of the patrols. It will be like, I think you humans call it… a ride-along?”

 

[simj26]

She just wanted a normal dream for once. She shouldn’t have gone and did all this lucid dreaming crap. She just wanted a dream where it was random, where nothing was part of her control, just her watching the whole thing just collapse into chaos in accordance to her subconscious’ whims. She wanted to be the puppet being pulled along by its strings, not the puppeteer pulling the strings of her dreams. Amelia Langdon was a creature that thrived off stimulation. This wasn’t stimulating. This was boring.


It was a welcome change when the armchair she was sitting in sunk into the ground of the five-star room in a five star hotel that she had conjured up. The freefall she found herself in was better than just sitting around cracking open tarot predictions that were always as she thought they were. Magician, Chariot, Tower, always, all upright. The last of the three was worrying, for sure. Occasionally, it turned out to be the Devil, reversed, for some reason. Like today. As her leather armchair plunged down a seemingly never ending drop, her hand shot out and caught the Devil by the tip of one corner, while her free hand reached out and pinched the brim of her top hat in an attempt to keep it from flying away into the nothing around her. Without a single crease of worry on her features, she slipped the Devil into her hat, and chanced a glance down into the depths under her. She allowed a small smirk to curl on her lips. “Ground floor,” she muttered under her breath as she dug in her pocket for her other cards.


----


The armchair smashed into bits behind the Sentinel, gravity having seen to its work, scattering shrapnel and remnants of its legs around the gathering spot. In its wake, a make-shift flight of stairs, each step made of a mere couple of cards, spiralled downwards, and to the Sentinel’s side. As their owner made her way slowly, as if she had all the time in the world, down the steps, they flew into the deck in her hands that she was shuffling. Amelia Langdon cast a weary gaze at the ruined chair, now a mess of torn leather and spilled cotton, before cutting her deck, and catching the last card between the two halves. She flourished the deck of cards, and held them up to the Sentinel.


“Pick a card, Miss Lady Amaia. Any card at all.” Amelia knew the goddess wouldn’t. She never really played along with her little jokes and tricks. It just wasn’t part of her personality. She would love it if the stoic goddess would break the mold for once. Especially since there were a few new and fresh faces around them. She saw the old crowd, the usual meanderers of the dream, looking to get the unfamiliar ones familiarised. With one hand still holding out the fan of cards, she reached into her hat and pulled out the Devil. She turned it around in her hands, and brushed one thumb across the image of the horned man on the card. As her thumb passed over the picture of Lucifer, it melted away, and reformed into another image in its place: A man taking one step into the emptiness ahead of him, his other foot on the edge of the cliff that he stood on, while his pet dog barked at his heels.


Right. She supposed that the ‘old timers’ like Malachite and Dio and whatever else were supposed to be the dogs barking at the rest of these Fools’ feet. She can deal with that. What she was really afraid of, however, was if the Sentinel or any of these newbloods thought to follow someone like her. Wouldn’t that be a hoot?

 

[Giyari]

Mood: - Curious


Location: - Sentinels Garden


Company: - Trainee Knights, Sentinel


@'s: - @welian @DemonKitten


Other: - An intro chance post for DemonKitten's character, Faline!

The Blood Knight - Kezia Silverstone


Kezia stood back from the crowd as Sentinel took over, reaffirming her comments about their situation. This seemed to be hitting a nice sane level of calm now, so at least they could organise something useful for the new knights to do. Sure they could tag along with missions, but was that the best idea for a fresh trainee? Who knows what they could run into, or who...


"I planted those daises over there." Kezia mentioned to whoever was listening, pointing at a clump of white and yellow flowers on the corner of a flower bed behind the tree. Most knights planted something at some point in their time in Sentinels service, and those flowers stay, even if the knight eventually stops visiting... or "goes rouge"


With things going smoothly, and the appearance of Zircon to the mix, Kezia felt herself relax slightly. Things were easier when it wasn't as busy. Without any words, she gave a nod of recognition towards Zircon as the magician knight stopped on the other side of Sentinel. Zircon had such flashy entrance as far as entrances for visiting Etherea goes.


Speaking of visitors, Kezia picked up on... something, someone? Focusing herself, she began Counting the heads of the trainee knights. There looked to be one missing, or rather there was an extra force without a body to show it. Maybe a wayward dreamer in a light sleep? A small Terror that had slipped through Malachite's portals unnoticed? Scanning the knights intently, Kezia looked towards Sentinel.


"I'm picking something up amongst the trainees..." she muttered quietly. It was hard to make out, but around the rear of the group there was what looked like a light fog materialising out of the ether.

 

[DemonKitten]

Faline Diggory- The Shapeless Knight

​

Floating lightly above the ground, Faline seemed to be in a daze as she tuned out the voice of the knight. It would do her well to listen, but this new found freedom she felt in this misty form felt so foreign and enlightening. For once, she was more than a body, more than a face, and more than just a dreamer.


Her ears, where ever they may be, picked up the word flower as she noticed the silver clothed knight that's armor seemed more of a liquid than a solid form and along side her the Sentinel or as she said her name was Lady Amaia. Faline had barely listened to the two, but her interest peeked as they brought up 'powers, weapons, and core.' Looking at her shapeless form, Faline noticed the mineral like substance at the center of her being almost like a heart. I wonder if it works like a heart too? She thought before examining the rest of herself.


And powers? I wonder what kind I have? Faline felt jittery at by her own shapeless body, but soon felt a familiar lingering of eyes. Even in this almost invisible form people still gaze at me? Faline felt her disappointment and borderline rage at the thought. Her dream was suppose to be her escape and yet she was trapped with the creatures she wished to run from. Locking eyes with the culprit, Faline studied her face that was shielded in a liquid like substance. Mercury, Faline recalled, held four eyes that beamed through Faline as if analyzing her very being.


Why does she focus so hard on me? I am nothing here, literally, and that is when it hit her. The liquid coated knight was looking at her because she was so hard configure. Feeling slightly better, Faline relaxed and wondered if perhaps she could wear armor before her body started to take form. Slightly shocked from being in air one minute and weighed down by clothing another, Faline fell to the ground with a thud.

Covered in head to toe, she looked at her now armor clothed skin. Faline panicked for a moment until she realized that even her face was covered. Is this my power? She wondered before looking over to Mercury and the sentinel. "I don't understand," she spoke up in a voice unlike her soft bell one. It was deeper, powerful, but wispy at the same time.


"Why do appear like smoke, but a mere thought clothes me?" She inquired again. "What is this weapon? How was I chosen?" Her words and wonders just poured out of her.


"I don't even hold an empathetic bone in my body for another human, so why me?" Not that she didn't mind this world, this freedom, but why should she help those that have only treated her with negative emotions.


@welian @Giyari