Fantasy Where Dreams go to Die

[DJ MagicHat]

Xavier McAllister II - "Anderson"


@Zahzi


Xavier knew it was too late as soon as he heard the voice. He didn't start, or really give any kind of outward reaction; he just closed his eyes and ran silently through his options.


Damn...and I was almost enjoying watching them fail so miserably, he thought. Alright...probably can't ignore this...thing, whatever the hell it is. Probably just some other messenger, here to convince me to-


Xavier opened his eyes and turned to the thing on his shoulder, whatever it was.


"Oh? Is that what the cool kids call it, these days?" he asked quietly, malice dripping from every syllable. He leaned in closer and growled, "Tell you what, buddy - howsabout you go try giving advice to someone who actually gives a flying fuck? And on a similar note, why are you even bothering to talk to me in the first place? Are you one of the Dreams? Did she send you after me?"


The shaded area where Xavier sat huddled started to get darker on its own. His eyes began to glow like a moonless night.


"You know what? I still don't give a flying fuck. If she did send you, you can just tell her I said 'Better fuckin' luck next time, sweetheart.' If not, then do us both a favor - mind your own damn business, and stay the hell away from me."


He could feel the shadow spreading, his emotions gathering. He turned his head back towards the entertainment for the evening, and with a little concerted effort on his part the unnatural darkness faded away, the glow in his eyes vanished. There, he thought. I may not have had to deal with this one yet, but they all learn at some point. Welcome to the family, little dreamlet.

 

[Mordecai]

NPC: The Discovery
Primary Tags: @Elle Joyner, @Liberty Penn , @Kharmin (Mentioned), @Writer (Mentioned)​

The Discovery was known by a lot of names over his years and while he only looked to be about ten years old, and only acted about ten years old, he was actually considerably older—centuries, even. He had been there for all the important breakthroughs known the mankind: penicillin, Christopher Columbus’s’ sail, the apple that fell on Isaac Newton’s head, the realization the Earth was round. He remembered them all, though the memories were as fuzzy as his face, things that had past a long time ago. Yes, The Discovery had been known by a lot of names, but ‘Blurface’ had never been one, so he went on blissfully unawares of Dio’s despairing attempts to grab his attention when he attacked the shield, as the knight wasn’t handsome enough for his attention. The Discovery was a shallow creature, above all else, and fancied only those he identified as being beautiful. Dio was not beautiful.


His eyes were, however, locked on something that was, and that something was the red-headed little tart he had done so much to impress and, quite honestly, he had already believed he succeeded, for the young lass had stated that she had been impressed. Not once did the thought that she might be just saying that to make him feel good cross his mind, for The Discovery might have been centuries old, but he was as naïve as a child. “Wasn’t it great lass!” he chimed, his voice thick with an indistinguishable accent, eyes, round like golf balls seemed somehow illuminated, though fuzzy. She introduced herself, this lass, and extended a hand out to him, though he didn’t really understand the connotation. Instead, he took her hand and kept it in his own.


“Olive? That’s a pretty name, lass! They call me lots of things ‘round ‘ere. The Discovery is most common, some even call me the Patron Dream a’ Discovery n’ stuff, but I like to be called Johnnie,” he explained, his voice friendly but a little immature, “Johnnie used to be a knight ‘round here, see, but he died—my sister up n’ killed ‘em, just like that! I liked the name so I thought to meself, ‘you know, ‘Scovery, why you don’t just take it?’ So I up n’ took it!” he explained the whole back story carefully, trying to keep her attention on him, though noting she was looking elsewhere, his gaze followed hers. The severed head didn’t seem to faze him, though he squeezed Olive’s hand very reassuringly, like he was trying to be a dutiful boyfriend of sorts, shielding his love from all the viles of the world.


“That’s real normal ‘round here, lass Olive. Ya best be gettin’ used to it. Say, all the folks ‘round here have powers. What’s yours?” he cooed, glancing out amongst the crowd once more. There were a few other nice faces he supposed, like the woman who was impaled by Dio’s staff, causing the fingers of his free hand to twitch at his side. They were an interesting bundle, this group, shame his sister would probably slaughter at least a few of them… He really hoped she’d kill the ugly ones though, like the one leaning on her sword with the long silvery hair (he never liked the colour silver… it reminded him of old people, and old people were not beautiful).


A hiss escaped from between his lips, quiet, though rattling deep in his chest like a growl. “Don’ worry though, lass Olive. I won’t ever let me sister get ya! She’s a real ass taxi. All ‘oooo, Imma make ya trip! Oo! Imma make ya fall!’ Same thing! Every day! Ain’t very original, me sis. Not like me, lass Olive.”

 

[Elle Joyner]

...Sweet Dreams...

Location: Etherea


Mood: Buoyant


Tags: @Mr. Grin (mentioned), @Sunbather (mentioned), @Y'all (cuz...)

He was just darling. Sometimes when children tried to behave like adults there was an uncomfortable quality to it. It was a little like watching spoiled children get their way, or rude children who weren't scolded by their parents. There was something in it that disagreed with how things ought to be, and it often bred feelings of uneasiness.


But this sprite, he was a gem, for sure. He took her hand and Olive didn't mind, entirely. It was an innocent gesture, and if she were honest (which she always was, of course), she felt greatly comforted for a moment, knowing at least to some degree she wasn't alone in the bizarre and vexing world she'd been plucked into.


"Popped like a Piñata, that old shield. Clever of you. No one else has figured it out, yet..."


All around, so much was happening, that had she been a master of concentration, Olive still would not have been able to keep up. The boy, who as it turned out, had a name after all, was an anchor to focus on, and she smiled as he introduced himself properly, "Well. Johnnie it is, then. It's very nice to meet you."


In the center, where the disturbing thing lay there appeared to be a momentary fuss and while Olive couldn't understand for the life of her why someone didn't just... throw the thing away, she was drawn to watch the chaos like one might a train crash. One of the figures, a creature that appeared to come at the beckoning of the Dementor and the other... rather beastly thing attached to the back on an unfortunate girl's head were engaged in what appeared to be the most disturbing version of tug of war she'd ever witnessed (and she had been privy to one particular game involving large, naked men with beards). Unable to watch, Olive turned away swiftly, making a face.


"I'm not so sure I like here's version of normal very much... And I'm definitely sure that's not something I want to get used to. Yuck." Looking back over her shoulder, she grimaced. It was over, for now, but she had a swollen feeling in her stomach that this wouldn't be the last incident of that sort. Graciously, Discovery... Johnnie continued, his eager voice bringing to light a detail that Olive had been most curious about. Managing a smile, she looked down at her hands, "So that's what that was. Cool."


Flexing her fingers, she tried to meet the boy's eye, but with his face wobbling the way it was, only managed to confuse herself. Instead, she turned her vibrant gaze to her hand, "Watch carefully..." She flexed again, and as she did, a bubble appeared in her palm. Beaming, Olive lowered her hand so he could see it fully, "... And when you poke it, it doesn't pop. Nifty, right? They grow, too. If I give 'em a little pull..."


It was much better than a severed head, anyway.


That small voice dashed through her thoughts and Olive turned to Johnnie again, a little taken back by his words. She didn't know who his sister was, and privately she hoped that it wasn't any of the frightening looking things she'd seen already... but something about the way he said it, almost as if he expected to need to protect her made her extremely nervous.


Whatever she had stumbled into, this dream that didn't feel like a dream, that felt like some sort of warped reality... she was suddenly quite keen on waking.


"...That's awful sweet of you, sugar. Thanks. And you certainly are... original. Looks to be everyone 'round here is." She reached out, ruffled his hair and winked, just as the second shield exploded with a POP, making Olive jump like a frightened cat, "Oh for Heaven's sake!" Laughing at her own expense, she shook her head, "Ain't exactly the type of mixer a girl's used to."


Watching the confetti fall again, she shook her head, then cast a quick glance to that blurred face again, "...Think you could show me how to do it, sugar? Break one of them things? Don't think I get a sticker just for tryin'..."

 

[ViAdvena]

Marianne Ross




The Ruby Knight


Sentinel Garden


Mentioned:


@Mr. Grin



​

Mary woke up in the middle of clouds.


With a yawn, the girl pushed her polar bear blanket aside and slowly stood up. The blanket inflated into a real polar bear and walked away. She looked around, rubbing her forehead while trying to fully gain her consciousness. Huh, strange, she hazily pondered, what time is it?


Right after that thought, a spider web fell down and dangled before her face, with two spiders languidly crept to its side, mimicking hour hand. "Ah, still a long time before morning," Mary commented aloud, "sweet." With a flick of hand, the spiders melted into the cloud under her feet. The leftover web encircled her wrist and turned into an emerald green snake. As she was admiring the color of her new snake bracelet, she wondered what made her woke up this early. What should she do with all of her extra time? Perhaps she could think of a way to make snake bracelets into a new trend in her school. And then as a sole supplier, of course she would get all the profit when her friends flocked to buy the bracelets. But she had to make sure she had enough stock of spider webs for tha-


Wait wait what, since when spider web produce snakes?


Ah, of course. Mary felt like facepalming for not realizing it sooner. Clouds, polar bear, spider clock. The lovely Etherea.


As she fully regained her lucidity, her form changed together with her state of mind. What had been golden tresses now morphed into striking red feathers, almost seemed to be ablaze in its intensity. Both silk red dress and leather armor materialized on her body. Black helmet enveloped her head and eyes, leaving only the lower half of her face for view. The Ruby Knight knelt down to observe the surface of the cloud. Then with her metal-covered finger, she drew a jagged line on it.


The cloud split right on the jagged line, leaving a big gaping hole. There, far below, Mary could see the outline of the city. Good, her today's hunting ground had been decided. She stood up, and without any hesitation, she let herself fell into the hole.


As gravity pulled her down, Mary felt the familiar numb sensation that come with the fall and deafening sound of the wind in her ears. In Corporea, this situation would mean death. But not in here. That's one of her favorite thing about the dream land; no matter how high or how fast you fall, you still could land with your bones intact.


But as she was falling down, the sky above her disappeared, and she felt her surroundings warped. Whoa, what's- her initial confusion turned into understanding. She was being summoned by the boss, and in the blink of an eye she was once again back to the ground. A soothing sound of flowing water greeted her ears, lush green grasses under her feet, and not far before her was a group full of unfamiliar faces. New people. New recruit? How nostalgic. Mary remembered her own recruitment not too long ago. It happened right after the first day of school. Talk about dramatic way to start her year.


For a while she just stood there, observing the newcomers. Then her lips curved into mischievous smile. A bunch of clueless people, how could she ignore the opportunity to (mis)guide them? Making her way between the knight, Mary silently slipped between the newly recruited dreamers, made it easy to be mistaken as one of them. She arrived at the group just in time to see someone being impaled by a spear. That's every day in Etherea for you.


Mary approached the impaled girl and gasped. "God, that's horrible!" she sounded convincingly horrified. "Good thing you're okay!" Then she continued with a confused tone, "Yes, everything is so absurd. I have never seen something like this!" Well, technically this was the first time she saw the inauguration of the new knights. Her voice lowered at her next sentence so only Claire could hear her. "The lady over there said something about missions and knights, didn't she? Oh, oh my, what if-" she clasped her hands on her mouth. "-What if we are already dead and this is a purgatory?" If her eyes were visible, they would've been widen with shock. "That's why we can't die, we have to fight our own corruption before we move on."


She looked around and saw the Desidiab Knight (whom she dubbed as metal-spider girl in her head) dueling with the hooded guy (who looked like someone who accepted a ring from the wrong person). Wait, did he just summon Cthulhu to the battle? That's a bit overkill. "And the one who can't do that will end up being-" she gestured at Desidiab knight "-like that! And they have to-" Right at that time the knight swallow a monster's head whole. "Eat something like that for eternity!"


Wild speculation is so fun.

 

[Carl]

Mauro Caprioli - Juniper Knight

​

“So, you see, I'm not insane...” The hesitation while finishing his bold statement must've sounded almost comical. Indeed, Dr. Jeremy Calué would have given at least a seemingly sympathic smile to indicate he was 'feeling' him, before prescribing his patient even stronger prescribed drugs than before. However, this particular's patient has dumbfounded him with one of the strangest stories he had ever heard. Which says alot, considering he's a 53 years old therapist who thought he had heard it all by now...Knodding in faked empathy and understanding, Dr. Calué was on the verge of convincing poor Mauro to enter a closed institution to battle his hallucinations, which were clearly getting more vividly and convincing...


If it hadn't been for his patient's ability to seemingly still function in today's society, even if it was as a dead-beat punker, he would have given him a one-way ticket to whichever asylum had open places for this lad. Deciding on giving him at least until next appointment, with some heavy medicine that could knock out a horse, he let Mauro Caprioli out of his office with some heartwarming one-liners to get him through the week. He had almost managed to escort Mauro out of his fancy office besieged with the stench of pharmaceutical products of all types, when he started rambling again... “Yes, Mauro, I understand. Yes, I understand that a..Sentinel..has visited you in your sleep. Of course, I believe you...but in some moments you should be very critical of your own thoughts and beliefs. Remember, your worst enemy is yourself!” The last one-liner Mauro received for the day, as Dr Calué practically shoved him out of his office with a limp handshake and thank you-come again.


'I wonder when she'll come again...' Mauro thought to himself while lighting a cig and walking home, not caring a bit about all the ridiculous acting that just went on in the office of the 'kind-hearted' Dr. Calué. But as he walked through the area, doubts and worries started to kick in. How surreal was what he thought actually? I mean, who in their right mind could think they were being hand-picked by a … dreamangel or whatever the hell The Sentinel was, to fight for humanity's sake and battle monsters who otherwise might break through into the real world...He had since long thought he had given up on thinking he was a special snowflake and just lived life as one of the many. Granted, inside him that thought had always gnawed at his heart and soul, that he just had to 'settle' for living as one of the flock, just one of the sheep or cogs in the unfathomable world they lived in...Maybe, this was just another delusion, and that time at the fare with the seer had just been a hallucination as well, one he had stupidly and naïvely placed his hopes in...


Feeling under the weather and out of fuel to face the rest of the day, he stumbled home in a daze and covered himself in a blanket, drowned his face in a pillow and tried to shrug his stupidity and disillusioned state of mind off. 'Fuck it!' was the last thing he thought before he found himself back in those green'ish halls where he usually was before dozing completely off. This time however he was so irritated by this place, believing he was just hallucinating, another looney who'll soon be in the bin forever if this keeps going...Unable to constrain himself, he let out a pained screaming roar of fear and blind rage as he started destroying the place around him while fighting back the tears swelling up, almost giving up hope on ever being normal again.


~~


“What are you doing?” The voice came from closely behind him and made Mauro almost jump, completely taken by surprise as there had never been anyone else in these dreamscape-before-dreamworld areas, except for... “Sentinel?” Mauro asked while already knowing the answer. Trying to make out her silhouette from the oddly tinted darkness covering the room he was in. Straining and squinting his eyes as he peered through the open door of the room, only pitchblack darkness swallowed his sight whole, not even a speck of light came from beyond this room. “Sentinel?” He repeated, hopeful and afraid at the same time, would he dare to believe again? Would he even be able to? No figure, no appearance, no nothing. Without form, a voice rang and echoed into the room.


“I am here to ask you one more time, one last time. Are you ready to fight in my name, as The Sentinel's Juniper Knight. For the sake of Etherea, for the sake of all. Pass through the door only if you are willing to stand up and face your destiny head-on!”


He had so many questions, so many concerns.Yet he couldn't speak a word, his mind was racing at high-speed, still all he could hear in his heart and mind was “What if?” Placing the last of his hopes, his belief and his trust into the Sentinel's words, he stepped towards the door and the complete darkness. Last thing he thought when he placed his foot through the doorway was “I'll never settle!” Catching himself looking around, ready to face reality yet again, waking in his bed and room with a heavy heart; Needless to say he was wide-eyed and completely dazed when suddenly finding himself out of that godforsaken foggy area he had been in so long, so damn long...


He turned and twisted neck and body, stared his eyes out at everything and everyone around him. He was in some sort of .. some place.. He had no clue how to describe it to himself, he was in a courtyard or secluded park of sorts, but everything in and about it screamed that he was not in a courtyard, not in a park...He was in Etherea! He was so abdundantly overjoyous by now that he felt like shouting out a triumphant roar, but when he heard the Sentinel's speech, he contained himself to simply grinning wide, even in the face of the many eyes surrounding the small bunch of odd looking people, or creatures, whom he seemed to be a part of. He figured all of them were also prospects or initiates of the Sentinel Knight's. Deducting the ones standing more distant were the veterans than, he tried to headcount them but failed because of the massive rush and information he was experienced, even while trying his best to remain calm he couldn't help but stop grinning wide.


After a few of the assumed new Knights tried to break the shields evoked by the Sentinel, Mauro itched to try giving it a go when he wondered how he would be able to with just his fists though. As he glanced at his hands, he saw red veins and pulsing light come from within them, staring in joyous surprise, he wondered what that could mean. He wasn't in shocked disbelief or worry anymore, far from it, he felt like nothing could surprise him or shock him anymore...When a plop made him look back up, and some sort of creature's head came into his sight, eyes bulging out and blood smearing the courtyard beneath its contorted and severed neck. While it didn't really shock or disturb him all that much from the get-go, the realization that he would too probably fight these things, did. Frowning and lost in thought, he had forgotten all about the shields, wondering just how he would fight these monsters. He wasn't a weak fighter, but that was in human terms...He figured he was nothing in Etherea, compared to these monsters, or even Knights.


When a small childlike appeared in the corner of his eyes, Mauro barely even looked at it until he heard a loud explosion and a broken shield. This child, or whatever it was, had managed to break it with ease apparently...He made a mental note to see if he could ask for help or training from the being, but let it be for now as it seemed to be occupied with one of the other initiates. Wondering what he was supposed to do now, he hear the Sentinel's voice asking one of the seniors to demonstrate their skills. Eager in anticipation, Mauro looked around with a smile to see which one would step up. A strong looking knight with some sort of shell armor or exoskeleton shouted a challenge to the group. Before he decided to step up, another Knight did. 'Ah well...' He made sure to keep most of his attention on the veteran knight's actions during the spar of sorts, he figured he had more to learn from a veteran than a new Knight, but then again, nothing was known to him in Etherea...

 

[welian]

The Sentinel

“What, indeed…” The Sentinel lowered her head and rubbed her temples as her attempts to corral and direct the Knights fell apart around her. There were regrets, many regrets. The Sentinel tugged on her white and gold hood – perhaps if she blinded herself to the chaos, it would stop existing. Yes, wouldn’t that be nice?


It didn’t work. Malachite and Serendibite, Desidiab, whatever she called herself these days, struck up a duel that ended with the devouring of the Terrors head. STILL not quite proper disposal, but… effective, at least. The woman shuddered. Couldn’t they just fight normally, without the monster summoning?


Discovery was still trying to flirt with Citrine in his own boyish way, Silver had been impaled by Pyrite (thank god the spear missed her core) and was now being trolled by Ruby, and Mercury and Obsidian were… Having a reasonable duel. Well, alright then. They could continue.


“Please listen to me,” she said, her voice artificially calm. “If we could just stay focused – oh, excuse me…”


A familiar tune came from within her robes. The Sentinel went fishing in her sleeves, until she found the source – a pink-colored iPhone, a gift from another knight. She swiped across the screen, and quickly read the new text message.


“Hmm. Alright. Mercury, stay here. You will assist me in training the new Knights. Discovery, sweetie, I have a favor to ask you.” She walked toward the dream and the Citrine knight, the hem of her robes gliding across the grass as she approached them.


“My brave, little Discovery… I think I felt a tear in the Weeping Woods. Would you do me the honor of going to investigate? I’d like you to take Pyrite and Malachite with you, as well. Just look at them – Pyrite mucked up breaking one of my shields, and Malachite lost his duel. They’re so rusty! I think they could use your guidance for a little while.”


Of course, really all Sentinel wanted was Citrine, for training. Although, Discovery was genuinely helpful when it came to finding tears, so it wasn’t like she thought the dream was useless. She just needed a little peace and quiet and… alone time. Sending Pyrite on a mission would put his energy to good use, and Malachite… well, Malachite was responsible, and would be able to distract the Arachnid if he were in a foul mood.


As for a certain, more monstrous knight…


“Serendibite, Iron, there’s a group of dreams in Firefall Forge that have set up… they’re calling it “cage matches”? They’re getting a little too exuberant with it though, and some of the humans are getting scared. You may use force, as I’m fairly certain the dream of Victory is there, and you know how she gets… Ruby, go with them. If they break something, let me know.”


“Now go, and don't tarry on! When our new Knights have completed their training, you will be taking them on smaller missions.”


@Mr. Grin @Liberty Penn @Zahzi @Sunbather @ViAdvena

 

[Lady Warlock]

Jocelyn Vontair

Location: Sentinel’s Sanctuary, Etherea

Core:	Amethyst
Title:	The Guardian Knight
Tags:	@Writer

Jocelyn went from confused to terrified very quickly. She had asked a question, sincerely hoping for an answer because it might have made the strangeness of this dream make more sense, but with all the chaos that ensued around her, she couldn’t even bring herself to demand a further answer. At least, she couldn’t do such a thing right away. Her attention was way too distracted by everything else that was going on.


In fact, as her eyes tried to take in the entirety of everything that was going on, their attention was taken up by one seemingly simple thing - one thing that was not possible. The girl with the parasol had been impaled by a spear and Jocelyn had immediately started running towards her. Of course, she didn’t exactly know what she intended to do about it; she didn’t have any of the supplies she was used to having - heck, she didn’t even have any bandages so her ability to help would be minimal to none. However, injuries were real... so much more real than destroying some stupid shield when she didn’t even know why she had been told to do such a thing in the first place.


Her eyes widened when she saw the girl pull out the spear. Although Claire might not have been watching at the exact moment, Jocelyn was and she saw the entirety of the girl’s skin close back up - magical stitching if you will. “That… that’s not possible,” Jocelyn muttered softly. She couldn’t even blame the girl for her following outburst.


“Can someone please tell me the WHAT THE FUCK is going around here?”


“I’d like to know that as well,” Jocelyn added in before she turned to see if anyone else had even noticed what had just happened there. It didn’t seem that anyone did although another girl walked over and she looked sort of human. Jocelyn wasn’t sure how to describe any of these people, though.


And as Mary spoke, Jocelyn recognized the tone in her voice; it was a voice she knew very well. It was a voice more commonly used with children especially when you wanted to scare them and Jocelyn hated it with a passion because she could never imagine letting anyone terrify her own little girl like that. Even though Jocelyn couldn’t hear everything that was said, her face was quite a bit enraged. People were making fun of the fact that they knew nothing. She didn’t say anything though. Some of these people seemed like they would be bad for her to mess with.


Jocelyn sighed when some of the weirder ones were sent away and she glanced again at the abdomen of the woman with the parasol. There was still no injury where there should have been one. “Are you ok?” she asked sincerely. “Any pain? Nausea? Swelling?” In all reality, she didn’t know if any of those questions still applied in the dream, but it was instinct for Jocelyn.

 

[Pentagon]

Richard chided himself for hypocrisy. In the same breath he had derided those who did not understand that Etherea was a dream world full of the unexpected and impossible, he had subconsciously expected the individuals which made up the world to behave in ways resembling the real world. The lapse in his thinking, laid so bare, was remedied to the best of his abilities, as he watched two entities more in keeping with the fantasies of absinthe-fueled gothic daydreams than human beings do furious battle without reserve or apparent reason. A woman impaled by a spear reflected off an imaginary shield was being interrogated by a plain woman in the center of a convulsing, animated mass of the bizarre and otherworldly.


It reminded him of one of those huge still-life paintings, a thousand stories compressed into one frame, all part of something both large and incomprehensible, the scenes digestible one at a time with relations to their neighbors only implied. Curious, and seeing a new application for his ability, Richard extended his hand, a jet of lithium pouring out into the free space before him. It splayed from the immobile stream, fanning out into a circle that eventually stopped its expansion once in the form of a thin square, embossed at the edges to resemble more clearly the frame it was created to emulate. With his canvas having been created, Richard began to sketch the details of the scene in front of him. It was a few seconds of work, well below his peak output in the interest of dexterity. He ‘painted’ the sentinel first, a grey shadow raised on the flat surface. The two women followed, then the completed battle, working his way through each discrete drama with diligent haste. Within half a minute, his work was complete, and taking in the full product, Richard was disappointed. Even working from view, his rendition was flawed, forms misshapen and proportions twisted in ways almost undetectable, but sufficient to cry out to the observant eye ‘wrong, wrong, wrong!’. Richard’s ‘painting’ vanished into nothing again, and Richard tried to stave off his disappointment in his control over his abilities.


Only when his silver-black product had winked out of existence, did he register the orders being given by the Sentinel. He knew he would have recognized any of his appellations, and had heard none. Apparently, he was not needed elsewhere. The lack of duty suited him just fine; a night of calm and enjoyment was just what he needed, hectic as his days were becoming in Corporea. Though, just as one part of his psyche wished for tranquility and spectacle, he could not help but feel the pangs of inadequacy ring like bells within him, questioning why he was to stay and others were chosen to go. The bells inside heralded anger, and Richard shifted his concentration inwards once again, unhappy with the paths his mind were wandering along.

 

[Giyari]

Mood: - Energetic Impatient


Location: - Far side of Sentinel's Garden


Company: - Sentinel, Dani Kezia


@'s: - @welian


Other: - Collaboration novel post, brought to you by @Kharmin and myself.

The Blood Knight - Kezia Silverstone


The Obsidian Knight - Dani Swanson


Danielle regarded the tall, metallic warrior with the long spear as she considered the merit of the challenge. It was intriguing the way in which the warrior spoke to the Sentinel – maybe not everything was as controlled in this pseudo garden as it appeared on the dream-surface. The warrior did have a valid point though: hands-on fighting was infinitely more revealing than attacking these shield things.


For all of her bravado, though, Danielle was still skeptical of the challenge. Nightmares were more straight-forward for her; fighting against another person was a different matter. Still, if doing so would get her out of this place sooner, then Dani was quite willing to give it a try.


She hauled her great sword over her shoulder, again, and sauntered toward the masked, metal warrior. She raked her platinum blonde hair back with splayed fingers. "My name is Danielle. I agree that this "test" is senseless and really teaches us nothing. I am willing to take your challenge; I have nothing to lose in trying," Danielle said plainly as she cocked her hip to one side, placed her off-hand on it and looked up into her adversary's four eyes. "What are your terms?"


While she waited for a response, Danielle began sizing up the lengthy spear and trying to strategize around the wickedly sharpened blades on the end. Yes, this will be a far better test, she thought.


Listening as the Sentinel spoke out, Kezia gave a quick answe, before returning her attention to Danielle.


"Wouldn't have it any other way."


"My terms." Kezia repeated towards Danielle as she sized up the one to take up her challenge. She was smaller than Kezia, definitely lighter by the way she moved, faster? That would have to wait. She looked less confused than the other trainees, which was good, made more sense for a Knight recruit to already be aware of Etherea's 'atmosphere' and workings. Casting her silver eyes over Danielle's sword, Kezia answered the blonde haired rookie Knight.


"First to fall flat on their back loses." Kezia began, walking Dani away from the majority of the crowd to a more open section of the garden.


" Wounds heal fast in Etherea, as you may have noticed thanks to Mary Poppins' and Jungle Wannabe's spear incident so, full contact… If you're brave enough." Kezia's words almost oozed with a lust for the coming fight, the effect of her pulsing core now in full swing.


Taking up a fighting stance, Kezia readied her spear towards Dani, bent her knees, and spaced her feet out, turning her body sideways to her opponent. As her heart rate climbed the green markings covering Kezia's armour pulsed, letting out a visible glow. Her four silver eyes focused, their unblinking almost liquid forms sharpened into lens like structures, facing forward to her opponent.


"Give me your best shot, Rookie." Kezia almost sneered as she awaited Danielle's first attack.


Danielle crooked an eyebrow, curious as the being didn't identify itself by any name. No matter, she thought. Chances are we won't see each other beyond this stray meeting anyway.


She listened to the terms. They seemed simple enough which was fine with Danielle. Simple meant easy and she knew that she was acrobatic enough that even should she fall, she would be able to roll out of it. Full contact didn't bother Dani all that much either and she was certain that her obsidian sword would slice through whatever this tall warrior could bring to the table.


Without preamble, Dani eased the great sword from her shoulder and held it in two hands between them. Her stance was casual and she allowed the tip of the sword to waver unsteadily in a ruse of her control of the weapon. She approached and swung lazy, powerless strokes at her opponent which were easily dodged or turned aside as she started their martial dance.


This was no nightmare she with which she was sparring so her usual tactics would avail her nothing. With nowhere to really hide and strike from the shadows, Danielle's typical advantage had already been lost. She knew that the more experienced knight was toying with her while at the same time analyzing her abilities and critiquing her every move.


Her offense was half-hearted and somewhat haphazard as Danielle worked to ease her adversary into overconfidence. That was when she would really turn on her skill.


With the first swing, Kezia found herself slightly surprised, for all the confidence that Danielle was leaking in her words, the trainee's swings were… half hearted, in fact they were almost like she wasn't trying… With a side step, and another, and another, Kezia could see where this was going.


"Really?" She mouthed, again spinning out of the way of a swing. It was time to heat things up a notch. Lifting her spear higher as she avoided Danielle's slab of a sword, Kezia spun it around with a firm hand, bringing the shining tip home on Danielle's ribs. This wasn't getting any of them anywhere.


"Fight like you mean it, Greenhorn, or I'll waste you and find someone who's actually worth my time!" Kezia shouted loudly as she spun her spear around, bringing the end of the staff into contact with Danielle's stomach, bringing herself closer in doing so.


"I could end you right here and now if I wanted to." Kezia whispered straight to Danielle's face, before taking a few quick steps back to let the rookie have another go.


The strategy didn't appear to be working, but Danielle kept up the farce nonetheless. The unnamed warrior easily managed to side-step her attacks and that was the point. Still, it soon became clear that tactics would have to change if she were to succeed.


The spear tip thrust like a viper at her midsection and Danielle reflexively focused her core on the attack. Instantly, a covering of obsidian coated her ribs as the spear struck but glanced off of the hardened armor. The impact still took Danielle's breath and she was sure another nice, purpling bruise would quickly sprout from it, but the obsidian had done its job which kept her from being punctured.


When the butt of the spear crashed in on her, Danielle repeated the same trick to deflect the brunt of the impact. She grunted at the force but still managed to maintain her stance. The warrior had followed in close with the assault as it tried to goad Dani into recklessness. She glared an icy stare as her steel grey eyes pierced from beneath a veil of platinum blonde hair that had fallen across her visage. Now!


With speed yet unseen, Dani followed her adversary as it disengaged. The obsidian greatsword sliced toward the warrior, no longer hindered by Danielle's false charade. Feather light for her, the great sword launched at the metallic warrior at more than twice the speed of her earlier attacks. She aimed for the arm that held the spear with the intention of knocking the longer pole arm from her adversary's grasp. A gamble, sure, but as Danielle had said at the onset of the melee, she had nothing to lose.


This is more like it, this is more like it! Kezia thought to herself as her opponent's temper rose, that much was clear from her eyes at least. With an unseen grin, Kezia watched as Danielle charged in for an attack, a much faster swing this time, one that was no longer held back.


"Ahahaha!" Kezia roared as the massive sword came crashing towards her. There wasn't much room to dodge, not this time, but like her opponent, Kezia still had tricks up her sleeve.


With a green pulse from her body, Kezia let the sword strike down on her elbow, which promptly splattered in a spray of mercury around the blade. With a dull thud, her forearm and spear landed at her feet on the grass.


"Ouch. But I was right, you are better than you first let on." Kezia informed Dani in a calm tone, before turning to the crowd, or whoever was paying attention. "First lesson! Always start full force, your enemy will. Terrors won't give you a second chance." As she spoke, she placed her foot on her dismembered arm...


"Second lesson, learn your core, utilise it's abilities at every opportunity." She added, as her arm turned into a silver puddle and soaked into her leg, before retaking its natural place on her body. Her spear however never reemerged.


"Now… My turn." Kezia growled, raising her hands, her gauntlet's fingertips extending into large sharpened claws, like an eagles talons ready to strike. In one motion, one step, Kezia found herself face to face with Dani once more, her core seeping through her legs, extending them like stilts to further her reach. Sinking her claw like fingers into Dani's shoulders, Kezia lifted her into the air, extending her arms as she did so.


"Use your emotions, focus on them and imagine they line your weapon, imagine they fill your veins, and your body will do things you never dreamed of!" She shouted to the trainees as Dani was thrown towards the ground, Kezia herself letting her limbs retract back to normal.


Danielle smirked victoriously when the severed arm hit the ground, but she dared not relent. The melee wasn't over yet – neither of them had hit the ground. She retook her stance and waited to see what her opponent, now weaponless, would do.


A crooked eyebrow under the same veil of platinum hair registered as the dismembered arm was re-absorbed. Well, this is the place for such things, Danielle thought with a mental shrug as she maintained her vigilant pose and pondered her next maneuver. She hardly heard the lecture as she bent her focus and will to the fight at hand.


The speed with which the metallic warrior moved surprised her and Dani was barely able to shroud her shoulder from the talon grip. The obsidian held, but the pressure was intense and threatened to crush the bone beneath. Danielle winced in pain as a sudden shock of her predicament flashed across her face. Lifted painfully from the ground, Dani dropped the obsidian sword and tried in vain to pull at the fingers that held her.


Released at last, Danielle relied on her martial arts training to tumble on the grass and absorb the impact of the throw. Without pausing her momentum, she twisted up on to her feet, her hair a wild flight that quickly settled across her shoulders. Dani didn't wait to see if her adversary were impressed; rather, she launched herself back into the fray. She dove for her sword, curled her fingers around its hilt and came up from the roll in a full, two-handed diagonal swing that intended to cleave the metal warrior in twain at the shoulder. As she did so, she envisioned her core extending the blade longer than its original size in the hope of catching her target even if it tried to dodge the attack.


"Nice, nice!" Kezia called out as Dani's recovery flipped into action. As her counter came to play and the large sword swung down, its blade swimming with the will to rend her in two, Kezia roared with a manic laughter. This was fun, a sparring match amongst Knights was fairly rare, but the opportunity to fight someone blessed with the same willpower based abilities was a real treat, even if they were a rookie.


Focusing her core Kezia let it take over her flesh, and moments before Dani's blade made contact Kezia sloshed to the floor in a silvery puddle. In a single wave like motion, the puddle of silvery liquid metal rolled under Dani's legs before it quickly began to reform into the Mercury Knightmare, her head, torso, and arms rose out of the shining pool, grabbing Dani by her ankles and heaving her off her feat. It didn't take much after that to place the woman flat on her back, momentum did most of the work.


Kezia's lower body quickly followed suit, seeping out of the mercury pool. Now towering over her opponent, Kezia let go of Dani's ankles, leaving her defeated on the ground.


"Rule thee, Always keep your best trick till last." Kezia said more calmly, offering a hand to Dani. "You did well, Danielle, but I'm sure you now see you have much to learn. You all have a lot to learn! Luckily there will always be teachers." she added.


"And… I just realised I completely forgot to give you my name, didn't I… Bloody idiot." Kezia said much more casually to Dani, the effect of her core fading from her veins. "Kezia, Mercury Knight, Blood Knightmare. Nice to meet you!"


The blow never connected. In one moment, Dani was assured of her victory, and in the next ... she was flat on her back. The warrior had disappeared from in front of her and before she knew what had happened, Danielle was defeated.


Danielle scowled at the failure from certain triumph. She had slain dozens of nightmares, but none of them had fought like this. Actually, most of her kills came from surprising her targets from stealth in the shadows, an advantage she hadn't enjoyed in this particular melee. Had she found this warrior skulking down a darkened alleyway, Dani was certain that the results ... well, they would have probably have been the same, but she would have made a better showing.


Danielle accepted the hand up as the obsidian blade cut a thin furrow in the grass when she dragged it up with her. She raked her platinum hair out of her face with her fingers and briefly scrubbed her scalp. "Yeah, much to learn," she gloomily acquiesced. At least she had had nothing to lose in her effort and judging by the stares of the few observers who actually watched the bout, Danielle sensed that perhaps something more was growing in the Sentinel's Garden.


She nodded at the introduction. "Thanks for the thrashing," she said with a wry grin as she massaged her bruised shoulder. "As I said before, I'm Danielle and for what it's all worth, I've been called the Obsidian Assassin."

 

[Mordecai]

NPC: The Discovery

Primary Tags: @Elle Joyner, @welian
​

“’Twas awfully clever, wasn’t it? There I was… surreptitiously shananacking all ‘bout when I saw yous and I knew, right then n’ there, I needed to show that lass what a real lad was all about!” he chimed, obviously quite proud of his accomplishment and even more so that she had noticed it all together. She even called him by his proper name—Johnnie—and it made him blush, though he quickly did his best to cover it up with a stern expression, though. It never once crossed his mind that his face not be in focus for her, or anyone else for that matter, for everytime he looked into a spring of water, he saw his own reflection as crisp and clear as a morning dew. How his face went blurry for other folk was a mystery of sorts, though it was probably a prank of some kind. Nevertheless, no one had ever bothered to mention it to him before, so he was blissfully unaware that his facial expressions weren’t as overt as he thought they were.


His little hands, calloused, rough, and blackened with dirt, came up to rest on his narrow hips, his chesting puffing out a bit under the overwhelming pride he carried because of her compliment. From the moment he had laid eyes on her, he knew what a lovely lass she’d be… his internal compass was never wrong. Awful shame about most the rest of the faces in the crowd though. Ugly lot, they were, but he was, above all else, a gentleman (or so he thought, he really wasn’t), and he would never tell an ugly person they were ugly, unless they were insulting first… then a person’s physical attributes were fair game for joshing.


“Beautiful n’ talented! I knew it from the moment I saw yas!” he did exactly as she asked and watched carefully as the bubble wobbled carefully in her open palm. He was just about to reach out and touch it, react the way she ruffled his hair, laugh at the way her bubble popped, when suddenly, the familiar voice of the Sentinel boomed out like a crack of thunder on an otherwise sunny day. At once, his gaze darted to her, lip curling tightly about his teeth as she spoke. “A tear? N’ the Weepin’ Woods? Oo, my sister likes them woods, she does,” he cooed, taking Olive’s hand once more as it took a moment for what she had explained to settle in.


Pyrite and Malachite? He glanced to Olive… no, she was something different, he could sense it… Calcite? No. Carnelian? Nay, nay. Catlinite? Mmm, not quite, closer. Citrine? Yes, yes! That felt right! He nearly squealed in his excitement at his own ability to understand what her core was made of, but then he realized: Citrine was not pyrite or malachite.


“No!” he barked, his voice turning from a boyish squeak to a deep rumble, echoing throughout his chest violently with surprising force behind it. “No! No, no, no!” his hand dropped from Olive’s as he threw himself to ground on his belly in a tantrum, trashing with his fists smacking violently against the dirt, his feet beating the grass with such violence it caused the ground to shake in his wake. As the Sentinel approached, Johnnie only grew louder, more vehement. Tears, blurred at first as they rolled down his cheeks, exploded into the dirt below him, forming massive pools, small stormy oceans all around him. In the pools were three small wooden ships, bobbling along through a violent storm. If one were to look closely enough, his tears provided the ocean that supported a memory, and the ships read: Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria.


“I want lass Olive!” He cried with a sniff, his anger rather quickly declining into sadness as the Sentinel drew closer, cooing to him with words of ‘brave’ and ‘little’ and ‘they need your guidance.’ She seemed to know how to speak to his pride and he looked up to her, the droplets of water glistening, snot coming off the tip of his nose, and his lip quibbling.


“Please, lass sentinel.” His little hands reached out and grabbed Sentinel’s left ankle, nuzzling his cheek to the top of her foot, sobbing again, a bit more pitifully this time. “She’s such a nice lass n’ I just met ‘er! She said I was awfully clever n’ everythin’!”

 

[Liberty Penn]

Location:


The Sanctuary


Mood:


Annoyed


Tags:


@everyone

[CENTER][FONT='Book Antiqua'][SIZE=24px][COLOR=rgb(0,102,0)]Dio - The Pyrite Knight[/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE]

[/CENTER]



Dio stood there in momentary astonishment. He was impressed. The Umbrella Girl actually broke the shield with HIS spear after pulling if from her chest. Looking at his spear lying on the ground, he willed it back into his hand; it dissolved into mist and appeared in his clenched fist. A simple trick he had picked up years ago. [COLOR=rgb(0,102,0)]Oh shit, she’s tougher than she looks. I bet she’ll be a good opponent one-day,[/COLOR] he thought with a quick smile.


After being stabbed and shouting her confusion to the air, a few others knights came to her aid. The first was that bird one the Sentinel calls Ruby, he had never met her but heard about her through others. The other was one of the recruits, a regular looking girl, who came up asking like she was a doctor or something.


[COLOR=rgb(0,102,0)]“She’ll be fine,”[/COLOR] he reassured them, chuckling, [COLOR=rgb(0,102,0)]“a small cut like that wont do much. Being impaled is almost a regular thing around here, for me at least.”[/COLOR] Leaning in close he whispered, [COLOR=rgb(0,102,0)]“one of my favorite past times, as a mater of fact. I don’t know who or what Vlad the Impaler is, but boy is he fun.”[/COLOR]


At this point the Sentinel stepped forward asking, among a few other things, Discovery to take Dio and the Malachite Knight into the Weeping Woods. [COLOR=rgb(0,102,0)]HIM? Lead me? Through MY home? WHAT?![/COLOR]


Dio was livid. Yeah, the shield might have been a blunder, but by no means should this bluryfaced blockhead lead him though his own domain. Bolting over to the boy and the Sentinel, Dio started, [COLOR=rgb(0,102,0)]“Look here, Bosslady! I wont li…”[/COLOR] The rest was cut off and drowned out by Discovery’s sudden loud whining and cries of repeated No’s.


Glaring angrily at the bawling dream, an idea hit Dio. Discovery was wanting to be with this red headed girl, [COLOR=rgb(0,102,0)]now its time for some fun.[/COLOR]


Dio bolted for the redhead, casting his illusions as he moved. Switching the appearance of two individuals has always been an easy enough thing, [COLOR=#006600]and if i tackle and roll, they'll loose track of who's who, Ha ha! There's no way this can go wrong![/COLOR]

 

[Zahzi]

Ash Weiss

Location: Sentinel's Garden

Around: Insufferable Crow; Legacy Bait; Bimbo Snake

Anderson.

D/C: 45/100

@Sunbather @DJ MagicHat @welian

Lynch gave a chuckle, still perched on Anderson's Shoulder. He wondered how he would react had he known who he was addressing with such language. Fear? Hesitation? He was certain the Knights were unable to soil themselves in Etherea...Certain, but not entirely sure...Anything was possible here.

"Language, child." A new wave of darkness seeped from the crow's feathers, enveloping around Anderson.

"I am afraid you are mistaken with who I am. I am not affiliated with The Sentinel. No, she and I have much different points of views...And it's clear you don't share her views either."

The darkness seemed to bring a feeling of dread to anyone nearby, causing the other Knights near Anderson to vacate the immediate area out of fear. A good choice; it was never practical to challenge this kind of power...Still, many try.

"I wish to ask you, child. Do you want more than to just exist in Etherea?"

The crow's very appearance seemed to change in the darkness, giving Anderson a glimpse of who it was he was talking to.

"I believe I might be able to help you with what you are looking for, Xavier McAllister, The Second."

Weiss gave an annoyed growl, staring at the snake try to order him around. If she still thought she could tell him what to do like her sheep lackeys, perhaps one of her shields applied directly to her face was in order. The satisfaction of the silence after the clang would have given him at LEAST a little bit of peace....Unfortunately, an Insufferable Crow looked his way, making eye contact with him. The fucking skeleton ALWAYS seemed to want Weiss to cooperate with the Bimbo Snake....

"....FINE." he growled, jumping from the balcony and landing near the Knights he was asked to help. A small crater formed upon his landing, the grass he stood on scorched on impact.

Weiss looked over at Chloe, looking from head to toe and sizing her up. Well, at least he wasn't forced to work with the monkey boy again. There were some people he wanted nothing more than to strangle honestly...

"Let's get moving, wannabe Dali. The more time we waste, the less chance I have to scaring some idiot dreamer." he walked towards the exit of the garden, every step scorching another section of the grass.

Clearly, he had some issues with his working arrangements.​

 

[Elle Joyner]

...Sweet Dreams...

Location: Etherea


Mood: Buoyant


Tags: @Mordecai, @Liberty Penn, @welian, @Y'all (cuz...)

There was a lot to take in... an inordinate amount of things, really. For someone with a normal attention span, it might have proved difficult. For Olive, it was nearly overwhelming. Discovery, or Johnnie, as he preferred to be called, was a lot of adorable bundled in to a pretty small package, but Olive still needed to figure out how to break the shield and thus far, she hadn't been able to accomplish much more than boosting his tiny little ego. A little puppy-crush could do wonder's for someone's confidence, but in the end, it wasn't much help.


But before he could actually show her how to do anything effectual, the Sentinel woman was upon them, and feeling miserably out of her element, Olive stood back, watching as Johnnie was apparently given instructions to fix something... a tear in the woods, which sounded like something about as absurd as shields popping up out of nowhere and folks fighting over severed heads. Olive had been ready to accept that she might just need come up with a solution of her own to break the darn shield when suddenly, like a storm eclipsing the sun, Johnnie threw himself down and in the most spectacular and ridiculous fashion, poured out a temper tantrum of quite literally epic proportions.


Staring at the display with a look on her face akin to awe, Olive blushed furiously as her name was wailed, desperately. She wasn't sure what to say - if there was anything to say, really, and her mortification was proportionally magnified when Johnnie latched himself to the Sentinel's ankles.


She was relatively close, she was sure, to discovering if one could actually physically die from embarrassment when from the corner of her eye she saw the movement. It happened rather on impulse, her hand flying up to protect herself from the 'whateveritwas' when from the center of her palm burst a bubble. The projectile spread as it flew, like a parachute, wide and bright, creating a shield which... if collided with, would effectively spread around the object of collision, enveloping them in the translucent vesicle.


Meanwhile, throwing herself backwards with a small cry of surprise, Olive tripped herself and landed with a thump on the carpet of grass. "Ow..." She groaned.

 

[Writer]

Thomas/Claire Ray


The Silver Knight


Sentinel's Garden

​

Claire thought how'd she summarize what had transpired to a stranger. "Have you ever been in an airport? Not just any airport, mind you, but one of those really busy ones? New York, Chicago, London, and such? Picture them at their peak times for holiday travel. Now, give everyone there amnesia, an extreme amount of hormones with egos to boot, and weapons to beat the pulp out of each other with, and you've got a rough idea of what the once tranquil garden was like that day." Suffice to say, the whole thing had become a real shit show.


If Claire had been expecting answers to come easy, she was mistaken in that. As she was recovering from the shock of her healing, feeling the frustrating seething and venting from her body, another Knight came up and approached her, striking up a conversation. Well, Claire wouldn't really call it much of a conversation. It was more like some drive-by commentary. There was something about the woman though, perhaps it was the inflection in her voice, that made Claire doubt her sincerity. The most obvious was that she hadn't been part of the group of new knights assembled, and from what little information Claire had gleamed, it was that if you weren't in the small group to start with, you already knew what was going on.


Normally, Claire would at least have given the woman the courtesy of a reply, but her attention was interrupted by another one of the other members of her group. Of all the people she had seen so far, from strange four-legged spider-like beings to androids and people who looked straight out a vampire-hunter movie, this woman looked perhaps the most normal other than Claire. It was kind of a comforting in a way. Sure, everyone else was likely human, but seeing someone else so normal was different.


"Uhhh," Claire responded at the barrage of questions the woman hit her with. She seemed very much like a nurse from the real world. Perhaps she was. In all honestly, Claire hadn't even taken the time to really take stock of herself other than the wound was healed. Clearly, she wasn't much of a medical person. "It seems to be all okay? I didn't even realize it had hit me until I looked down. I'd lift up this dress to show you, but I don't think that would be very easy to accomplish without taking the whole thing off."


After pausing a moment, Claire swiveled her head around, watching some of the people, apparently people that the Sentinel had called out to, heading out for parts unknown. Maybe that would make things finally start to settle down. Turning back to the other ordinary woman her age, Claire did something she forgot to do.


"I'm Claire, by the way. I guess we're stuck on this crazy train together." She stuck out her hand to the other woman as a sign of friendship. It seemed like she could really do with a friend in all of this mess, and as the old saying goes, beggars can't be choosers.

 

[Carl]

Mauro Caprioli - Juniper Knight

​

He tried his best to force his eyes to stay focused on the spar between the ,presumed by Mauro, eager and feisty new knight with the established battle-hardened shelled knight weilding a large omnious-looking razorbladed spear. Key emphasis being on 'tried his best' as it didn't take long for him to lose track of the intense spar between the two. The movements and combat were far too slick and advanced for the rookie Juniper Knight to really be able to learn anything from at this point in time anyway, yet the real reason for his side-tracked focus lay in the absurdly child-like tantrum given by the small blurryfaced creature that even the Sentinel seemed to approach with caution in mind. Trying her best to lull the creature in a way to do her bidding without blatantly ordering it to, like she had with the Knights, who Mauro couldn't imagine being less intimidating, and weaker, than the small creature that screamed and whined as if mommy had denied him candy in the store.


Staring at the interesting scene, he couldn't help but frown and lose himself in thoughts about the Sentinel and her seemingly uncanny ability to effortlessly try and manipulate someone who Mauro couldn't help but to think of at least an ally or friend. He'd be stunned if he was an enemy of sorts considering he was throwing a major hissyfit amidst the Sentinel's Knights after all. There was so much going on at the same time, he almost missed the blonde-haired young man glaring at the blurryfaced creature and the woman with orange hair, while Mauro was looking him with suspicion, the blonde kid suddenly smirked and then dashed for the woman with a quick spring in his steps. All Mauro managed to do, more by instinct than anything else, was stretch out a hand in warning and shout out 'Careful!' but the boy had already collided head-on with the woman.


No idea whether his warning had come in time or the woman intuïtively had raised her defence upon impact, but as he rushed to the scene. He saw the most peculiar thing baubled in a .. soapbell? He didn't give it that much attention for now though, he had no idea what the boy's intentions had been or if he had assaulted the woman with a blade in his hands or not. So Mauro quickly scanned and asked the woman planted in the grass if she had any injuries, while offering her a hand to get back on her two feet.


"You alright?" Asked Mauro once more as he turned his face just enough to keep the soapbell in his line of sight, just in case. While at first he looked at what was on the inside of the bauble, he couldn't help but see his reflection shimmer back at him...


"What the..Is that me?! It looks like I got roadkill on my chin, damn it!!"

 

[Lady Warlock]

Jocelyn Vontair

Location: Sentinel’s Sanctuary, Etherea

Core:	Amethyst
Title:	The Guardian Knight
Tags:	@Writer @Liberty Penn

“She’ll be fine; a small cut like that wont do much. Being impaled is almost a regular thing around here, for me at least. One of my favorite past times, as a matter of fact. I don’t know who or what Vlad the Impaler is, but boy is he fun.”


Jocelyn shivered at the man’s comment, her face scrunching in disgust at the thought of such a person. She wanted to scream at this world in which she found herself; she wanted to destroy all of the things that didn’t make sense simply for that reason alone. “Would you mind explaining to me what isn’t normal around here, then, since it seems that everything I thought wasn’t normal happens all the time!” She was frustrated at the lack of logic and she wanted to understand things.


Yet before she could’ve even possibly received an answer, that same individual ran off and Jocelyn had to restrain herself from screaming at the fact that all of her questions had thus far been ignored. She tried to listen to everyone and so she didn’t understand why no one was listening to her.


That being said, Jocelyn’s attention turned back to the girl who had made the miraculous recovery from a spear in her gut as soon as she started talking. “I’ve never seen a wound heal like that…” she commented briefly. “Do you think that’s normal around here too?”


For a moment, Jocelyn had completely missed the hand that Claire had extended to her although her eyes caught on quickly and she smiled as she took Claire’s hand, providing a gentle handshake. “I’m Jocelyn,” she added in, “and yes. It does seem that we are on the crazy train together.”


Looking around, Jocelyn had to admit that they were indeed on the crazy train. Nothing followed logic. People started brawls at random. A severed head was thrown into the middle of a crowd. And the smallest boy there had been the first to shatter a shield. It seemed a lot of impossibilities were possible there.


“Hmm,” Jocelyn mulled over a thought as she pulled out the knife she had been attacking the shield with a few moments ago. She held it over her own arm, her eyes flickering between the point of cold on her skin and Claire as her curiosity was peaked. “Care to join me in trying to figure out how the crazy train works? Do you think I’d heal just as quickly? He said it was normal…”

 

[Giyari]

Mood: - Aggravated


Location: - Sentinel's Garden


Company: - The Sentinel, The Rookies


@'s: - @Writer, @Carl, @Elle Joyner, @welian, @Kharmin, @DaughterofAthena, @Liberty Penn


Other: - Shit needs to calm down a notch, characters all need to be on the same page and not be confused for maybe a few posts at least until we can move on.

The Blood Knight - Kezia Silverstone


"Obsidian, good core, strong." Kezia responded, before turning to the other trainees. Questions, confusion, it was amazing how many of these trainees didn't know their situation, after all, only someone who was at least aware of Etherea could have the strength to become a knight...


Approaching the small gathering of new trainees once again, Kezia Looked them up and down. There was a nice variation amongst them but they definitely needed work. Kezia shot a glance towards The Sentinel, conveying her thoughts without words. These rookie knights needed some tough love.


"Good god you're all idiots." She sighed, watching them fumble about amongst each other. "You have questions, Mary Poppins? You wanna know what the hell is going on?" Kezia started, motioning with her hands at her their surroundings around her as she spoke. Maybe the sarcasm was uncalled for, but it was fun, for her anyway.


"You're all asleep! I'm asleep, Knife Chick's sleep, Bubbles and Wannabe Slash over there are asleep. You're all in Etherea, a world made by dreamers and their thoughts, you've probably been here loads of times and been aware enough of your surroundings to become physical, hence your invite to be a bloody Knight, which also means you must have accepted since you're standing here. Jesus, people, get your shit together and stop crying." Kezia ranted, her irritation showing in her voice. As she looked over the trainees before her, she waved her arms around, pointing at everyone as she talked. Was she this dumbfounded when she first arrived in the Sentinel's garden? Hopefully not, because this was bordering on ridiculous. Sighing, Kezia stood still and looked towards the sparse fluffy clouds lazily floating above them. She needed to calm down a little, this wasn't the time or place to get angry, not in front of The Sentinel, not for this anyway.


"You're dreaming, just so happens that all dreams are connected and exist in another dimension or some shit, most people never notice." she continued, her tone much more collected than before. "So now that that's all settled, how about you get on with the task at hand and learn how to control your cores, learn how to influence Etherea. Because you're sure as hell gonna need to know how unless you want to get eaten by a Terror, Untrained Knights just so happen to be a delicious easy meal for Terrors." It wasn't a lie, Terrors ate cores to move to the Corporeal world, Knights had powerful cores, and the more powerful the core the more powerful a Terror becomes... Untrained knights were perhaps more dangerous than the Terrors themselves, actually.


"Is everyone following me..." She asked to those around her. "Asleep, dream world, fighting to protect yourselves slash the real world from monsters that want to eat you. Got it?"


"Also Dio quit your shit! People are weirded out enough as it is without you going native all the time!" She yelled, watching the tailed knight dart across the garden with his spells.

 

[Semblance]

The Onyx Knight

Location: Etherea | Sentinel's Garden


Tags (interacted): @Mr. Grin

Spoiler

[dice]18038[/dice]

Spoiler

​

"Vincent!"





He heard an angry voice shout his name from across the office. Sighing, a man with dark brown hair and piercing pale blue eyes stood up from his cubicle and made his way over to his boss.





"Why is Audric's financial analysis not on my desk? I thought I told you to get it to me by this morning. I'm meeting with him this afternoon," his boss asked impatiently, his eyebrows creased with irritation.





"You literally called me at 8pm last night," Vincent retorted. "Last time I checked, I wasn't getting paid for overtime."


"Don't give me that attitude, Vince. I could fire you right now if your stepfather wasn't the CEO," he spat.





Anger boiled inside of him. He didn't know why he was putting up with cocky businessmen and arrogant bosses every day. Had his mother's death wish not been for him to take over the family company when he was ready, Vincent would be pursuing his dreams of becoming a traveling journalist instead of persevering through the dull, monotonous days in business. However, even he had his limits, and his patience was being pushed more and more every day.





"I'll save you the effort, James. I quit," he hissed, emphasizing that last word. The look of shock and desperation on the man's face was more than rewarding as he swiftly turned around without another word and walked right out of that god forsaken office.





As Vincent walked through those doors, leaving behind his cursed cubicle forever, he had never felt more free in his life. Finally, he had built up the courage to release the very words that had been itching to leave his mouth for the past five years, ever since he had started college. I'm sorry, mom, he sent a silent apology to her, hoping she would understand.





However, as soon as he stepped outside, expecting to be in the usual parking lot, Vince found himself in the middle of a soft, green courtyard with a terraced temple in front of him. He looked down and found himself clad in a light, silver armor that covered his entire body save for his biceps. He held a long dagger in one hand and the metal armor-like wrapping on his other forearm protruded out into a sharp knife-like blade.





His piercing pale blue eyes focused on a fair-skinned woman with long black hair as well as a variety of unique beings that stood on the outer edges of the courtyard. They came in all different shapes, sizes, and colors. One's body even appeared to be an odd sphere with multiple stubby legs while another seemed to be a mechanical android-like humanoid. Soon, the woman began to speak to him and a few others in the middle of the field, who he assumed were newcomers as well. At the end of her noble speech to recruit the Knights of Etherea, she summoned three grand shields and challenged the new recruits to break them.


Vincent listened to the woman intently, his blue eyes widening with curiosity and wonder. This was the life he had been hoping for. After years of being stuck in his dull office job, dreaming of a more exciting career, it seemed as if his hopes were finally coming true. That is, if the dream world counted. Vince knew that this wasn't reality, and that he would just wake up the next morning ready to go to work as always, but a man could dream. Literally.


He watched as three female knights try to break the shields to no avail, each with varying skill sets and abilities. The fourth knight, however, seemed to have tripped over a black severed head, which he assumed to be that of a so-called Terror's. The head appeared to belong to the oddly shaped spherical being with multiple stubby legs he had noticed earlier. Finally, a young, nude boy with a rather blurry face appeared out of nowhere and managed to break one of the shields with just a scratch. Confetti exploded everywhere and rained down on the crowd. How a tiny boy had managed to break the shield while the other knights had failed was lost to him. Before Vincent could react, the spear of a blonde boy impaled the chest of a woman with a pink parasol, only to be yanked out by the lady herself with little to no injury. The spear flew across the clearing and pierced another one of the shields, confetti popping into the air once more.


Chaos seemed to explode into the clearing as the aforementioned beastly, spherical being engaged in a disagreement with a green glowing cloaked being (or lack thereof), resulting in the severed head being devoured by the odd, spherical being after some demon-like creature had been summoned. Vincent, still attempting to absorb all of the havoc that was occurring, began watching an educative duel between a platinum-blonde assassin and an armored being covered in a metal exoskeleton. It concluded with the new recruit flat on her back and a concise, but informative lecture about Etherea by the victor. The exoskeleton being seemed rather irritated by the apparent confusion amongst the new recruits.


Soon, he found himself rather distracted as his sharp blue gaze kept on darting over to the last, remaining shield. The large ivory-colored shield was practically begging to be turned into confetti. Figuring he had nothing to lose, Vince placed himself in front of the lone shield and studied it for a few moments before unconfidently raising his dagger into the air. Focusing on his Onyx core, he could practically feel its strength and energy flowing through his veins. In one swift movement, his dagger lashed out swiftly towards the shield. The moment the metal blade made contact with the tower shield, it exploded into confetti, raining down once again in the clearing. Vincent practically jumped back in surprise at the sudden pop. He looked down at the dagger in his hand in shock, as he certainly hadn't expected it to actually work.





Turning his attention back onto the other knights, his pale blue eyes landed on the woman with the pink parasol, as she had been one of the other two people who had succeeded in breaking the shield. She appeared to be speaking to a blonde woman as he made his way over to the pair. Along the way, Vincent realized that they were a few of the only normal-looking humans in this miscellaneous collection of beings. "So how do you suppose that happened?" he asked the pink parasol woman, still questioning how they had succeeded in breaking the shield.


His gaze shifted over to the blonde woman, who was now holding out a knife, clearly about to test her healing abilities by slicing her arm. "I'd certainly be willing to try it out. If she's all fine and dandy after getting impaled, I'm sure we can handle a little cut," Vince replied, gripping his new dagger and ready to push the boundaries of this new world. "I'm Vincent, by the way," he added with a friendly smile, looking at both of them.

 

[ViAdvena]

Marianne Ross




The Ruby Knight




Location:

Sentinel Garden

Mentioned:

@Writer @DaughterofAthena @Giyari @Sunbather @Zahzi

​

Mary would have spouted even more over-the-top speculation about this place, if only Sentinel didn't call her name. Damn, there went all her chance to keep pretending as a new knight, although some recruits most likely had picked up about this. Hearing the leader's order, Mary couldn't help but being amused by the arrangement. So Sentinel decided to send the man in a flaming demonic armor and the grotesque spider-metal hybrid to stop dreamers from getting scared. Clearly there's nothing ironic about it.


Turning her attention back to the (formerly) impaled girl, the feathered knight noticed another new recruit had come, now fussing over the girl's nonexistent wound. She sounded like a combat medic Mary knew back home, although the woman didn't give an impression of someone who was used to the battlefield, so maybe she was a regular doctor or nurse.


Then Mercury knight came in and verbally hit them in the head with the bluntest explanation possible. "Oh whoops." Mary grinned. "Finally someone said the truth and nothing but the truth. But that doesn't mean my theory is completely false." She wiggled her finger. "We do have to fight our own corruptions. The Night Terrors are humanity's corrupted dreams. Beside," her voice softened, "sleep is a little slice of death after all."


She turned around, about to join her assigned group. Cage matches, huh? Obviously some dreamers were responsible for the existence of that place, where else those dreams get the idea? Mary looked over her shoulder and waved, "See you later, newcomers~" Her voice reassumed her usual cheerful tone, "Do good in training and you will get your own head-trophy!" With that she walked away, her red dress fluttered behind her. The new recruits were probably still confused about what the hell cores were. Eh, she was sure someone would eventually explain it to them.


As she made her way out of all the commotion, she noticed the flaming knight had joined the spider-metal girl. Mary was familiar with Desidiab, but her interactions with the other knightmare were limited to big knight gathering events like this. "Greetings," she said lightly at Desidiab and the Iron Knight, "I saw you eating a very fine dinner, Desidiab, how does it taste?" She said with a laugh. "And I'm placed as our group's damage control, apparently." Only time would tell if this was really a wise decision or not. "Let's go."

 

[Ozmic]

A Tear in The Woods?


V.A. Blackwell >> The Malachite Knight


Sentinel's Garden
​

Things were happening very fast and Malachite simply fought to take them all in.


The Discovery went on and on about himself to the Bright Woman; the Impaled Girl had flung the very weapon that had pierced her into another of the shields, making it too burst into confetti; new faces were showing up in droves, it seemed; and before he could do much to react, the Sentinel was addressing him.


He faced her and listened carefully, giving a bit of a start when she'd mentioned them being rusty and him losing his duel. There was a tinge of embarrassment that washed over him, but he quickly quelled it. She was correct, after-all.


Looking over toward The Discovery's blurred face and the Pyrite Knight, he glared unseen behind his mask. It wasn't that the two weren't good companions, they were just so very much his opposite. Full of energy and emotion. Ugh.


He pushed the thoughts away and moved toward The Discovery and the Bright Woman that had called herself Olive. Beginning to say something, he was halted by the resounding and powerful 'No!' that pushed forth loudly from the wee form of The Discovery. He stepped back a bit to defend himself if necessary and then halted when the boyish form slammed onto his belly on the ground, throwing a fit of epic proportions.


"Erm..." Malachite began, trailing off as he realized he had no idea what to say after such a display. It was likely quite the sight to see such an imposing being as the Empty Knight so utterly flabbergasted.


In that moment, the Pyrite Knight decided it would be in his best interest to dash for the redheaded woman for some reason. "Why?" he uttered weakly, holding up his hands in an expression of dismayed confusion at the scene before him.


Before he could move to help the redhead up from her seat on the grass, another new face appeared and helped her up instead, then eyed the bubble and his reflection, shocked at it. "Heh, yes it's always quite the shock to see one's new 'face' in Etherea," Malachite said plainly, his gravelly voice fitting his own appearance quite nicely.


Turning at the voice of 'The Blood Knight', Malachite gave a chuckle as she called the newcomers over. "Heed her words and keep them in memory," he said, attempting to shuffle them toward the others and gather them all together.


At The Blood Knight's mention of Dio, Malachite gave a small unseen smirk and turned toward the Pyrite Knight. "We should let the trainees get accustomed to this place and instead discuss our mission away from all this madness, don't you agree?"

@Giyari, @Carl, @Elle Joyner, @Liberty Penn, @Mordecai, @welian

 

[DJ MagicHat]

Xavier McAllister II - "Anderson"


@Zahzi


Xavier started to retort at being referred to as "child," but stopped.


Everything was getting dark again.


...Interesting, he thought to himself. I didn't think any of her pets could-





"I am afraid you are mistaken with who I am. I am not affiliated with The Sentinel. No, she and I have much different points of views...And it's clear you don't share her views either," the creature said from his shoulder.


Xavier remained silent. Dream world mechanics notwithstanding, this suddenly felt far too similar to dealing with the Untraceables for his liking. Not that this was very difficult to do, of course. Nobody who knew they even existed liked dealing with them, Xavier least of all. But he knew how to deal with...things like them, so this would be no different.


Hopefully.


The darkness grew thicker, and Xavier noticed other would-be and full knights leaving the area - some at a measured, casual pace, and others as quickly as they could manage. This is no ordinary Dream, then, he mused. I wonder-





"I wish to ask you, child. Do you want more than to just exist in Etherea?"


Another spike of annoyance. But before he could react to that, a familiar voice chirped in his head:


Who is this? Friend? Foe? Seems like foe. Should crush foe.


Patience...as much as I want to agree, we should-


And then the crow...flickered, for just a brief moment. It had almost felt like Xavier had blinked twice, it happened so quickly. But before he could react, it spoke again:


"I believe I might be able to help you with what you are looking for, Xavier McAllister, The Second."


For a long moment, Xavier just sat there, motionless. And then his shoulders started to shake. For a few seconds, that's all that happened; but then his laugh became audible.


He threw his head back and laughed, his laugh filled with as much venom as his words. The crow...thing on his shoulder flew off and landed on the ground nearby, still watching him as he laughed. He laughed harder in that moment than he could remember laughing ever before in what some would technically call his life. As he regained his composure, he stood up, still chuckling.


"Oh...I'm sorry. It's just that...that's so rich, coming from you...Lynch, king of nightmares."


Attack! Attack! Wring neck! NnnnnNNGGNGNGGHhhhHHhh...Destroy! DESTROY!!!


Xavier's own darkness fought back, spreading further, writhing. His eyes began to glow again, and through the darkness an aura of shadow appeared around him that somehow seemed...alive.


JUSTICE! BRING JUSTIGNGNGHGHHGNGHGHGNNGGHGHNGNHGH-


"I don't know who you thought you were addressing, but you may call me Anderson. Nothing more, nothing less. I am no child - surely, you know how long I have walked here...and what I have done to your precious minions."


The aura flowed over his body, coalescing in his hands into a wicked-looking scimitar, which he dropped point-first in the ground, resting his hands on the pommel.


"But let me correct some errors you seem to have made, if I may be so bold. Firstly, I don't exist. In any sense of the term. Whether here or the other world, my life is not my own, no matter who you may talk to or what you may wish to believe."


Xavier's darkness continued to spread, creeping across the open garden like a poison fog, tendrils of darkness curling and lashing like tentacles as it spread. The scimitar started to glow the same color as his eyes, only brighter.


"Secondly, you cannot help me...no, that isn't the right way to put it - not only is there no one out there willing to help me, but even if there were someone - even one - they would not be capable of doing so. Fate has played her games, and I continue to pay the price for it. With every breath I take, with every pace I walk...every swing of a blade, every shot fired...I am always the one who pays for it."


The sword flickered for a moment, then regained its form. Not good. He could feel it slipping away...Another day, perhaps.


Vengeance was only gurgling incoherently now, overwhelmed by his rage. The scimitar flickered again, more visibly, through the shapes of a broadsword, a musket, what looked like an octopus with about ten times as many tentacles as it should have, and back to a scimitar again.


"But FINALLY, your biggest mistake...You thought I would want to join you. YOU! I'm not going to lie, if I were in your position I probably would have done the same thing. I mean, LOOK at me!" Xavier spread his arms wide. "I'm no hero. But neither am I made of stone. If I had my way, I would dispatch every single one of your nightmare minions without a second thought.


"You were right about one thing, though - I do NOT share...HER views on just about everything." He pointed at the Sentinel as he said this, arm snapping out quickly. He lowered it again and continued.


"I've said this to her more times than I should ever have to tell anyone...or I suppose anyTHING in her case..." Xavier's lips curled into a cruel smile for a moment, eyes still glowing from behind his sunglasses. "...but I suppose now I should tell you as well: I. Stand. Alone. I'm not looking for anyone's help, or pity, or any of that crap. I have my motives and reasons, just as you have yours, she has hers-" he pointed at the Sentinel again "-and these newbie runts who've only ever dreamed about ice cream and unicorns and sliding down rainbows might have some of their own if they sharpen up for about a year or so. But know this..."


As he spoke, he started to sink into the ground, eyes and scimitar still glowing, weapon still flickering to other shapes and back sporadically. His unnatural shadows retracted, following him as he slowly vanished.


"I walk a fine line, and I walk it alone. I always have, and I don't intend to change that. I'm riding the line between the wrong side of heaven, and the righteous side of Hell. And take it from me - from here, even Hell itself is a welcome paradise."


He continued to sink into the darkness, his unnatural shadows writhing and flailing as if being dragged away. His voice grew distant, and echoed as his head and shoulders finally vanished, leaving Lynch standing on the ground nearby.


"Even if those newbie runts DID want to try and help me, I think I've made my position clear. If, somehow, I haven't...they'll learn. They'll see that sometimes, darkness really can show you the light. They always do...eventually..."


The echoes of Xavier's malevolent laughter faded away before the laughter stopped.


Some time later, Xavier received a text message. Thirty seconds later, he put his phone away, sighed, and began to head back the way he had come. He had known this day would come, sooner or later. As the garden came back into view again, there was one thought that stood out in his head: If they haven't learned it yet, he thought, the scrubs will know soon enough. Sometimes, darkness really can show you the light.

 

[Zahzi]

Lynch

King of Nightmares

@DJ MagicHat




Sentinel's Garden

Humorous. Humorous indeed. The child believed he knew everything about him. So much to assume those mindless terrors belonged to him. It was a common theory, sure. But most eventually came to the conclusion that someone capable of turning most of the Nightmares from a mob in disarray into a formidable 'Army of Darkness'. A rather adorable name from one of the other Nightmare Knights. A motion picture, if he recalled correctly.. But back to the matter at hand...Anderson seemed to be set off on a tantrum rather easily. Lynch as already having second thoughts with offering him a place as one of his Knights. Not because of some fear of the child, but for the tantrum itself. He already had one destructive-prone Knight to deal with...

As for Anderson's affliction...Honestly, an actual child would be able to see that Lynch is the optimal one to seek for aid in his situation. Not because of his title. Not for his powers. No, Lynch used his time in Etherea to house information- knowledge of Corporea, Etherea, and everything in-between. The idea a way to remove his parasite was laughable. Nevertheless, even with his answer, Lynch would keep an eye on Anderson. It was clear the Sentinel was failing in her job to see to his troubles...Like others in Etherea.

As for Lynch, he decided it was time to leave the Sentinel's grounds. He felt that he had created enough of a disturbance here...Well...One more couldn't hurt.... The crow flew into the air, looking around at all the other Knights still trying to grasp where they were- perfect targets. The crow then flew high into the air before diving down towards one of the targets, the crow letting out a loud shriek as it aimed for the center of their body, disappearing right before contact...Ahh, that gets the newcomers every time....

And with that, Lynch returned to the Abyss. Back to his own work.

...

Hey, if the Sentinel is going to spread bad rumors about Lynch just because she doesn't agree with him, he was going to have some fun at her expense.

​

 

[Liberty Penn]

Location:


The Sanctuary


Mood:


Surprised


Tags:


@Mr. Grin @Carl @Elle Joyner @Mordecai @DJMagicHat

Dio - The Pyrite Knight

​

Dio glided to the side in surprise, his face just barely skirting around the expanding bubble. Damn. Them’s some reflexes! he thought as he viewed his passing face, stretched across the shiny surface. Flying past the bubble, the girl, and sliding into a practiced three-point landing, Well so much for my surprise advantage there. Dio just sat down on the grass as another newbie and Mr Tall&Cloaked walked up to the redheaded girl. It’d be pointless to try now, and I was really hoping get that Blurface this time!


Now that he actually stopped and took a look at the crowd, he muttered to himself, “Well, this group is less of a push over than usual.” Leaning back, still slightly pouting over his failed plan and chuckling as the Discovery continued his tantrum (apparently unaffected by his attempt at his new ‘lass’), a small golden ball of light flew over and around his head, humming loudly in his ear. “Midas! Sorry buddy, forgot about you after Blurface showed up.” The light flared a reddish shade of gold and Dio responded with a smirk, “Hey, it’s not my fault I didn’t know she could throw a bubble up that fast. I was just trying to have a little fun.”


Midas’s angry humming continued as Dio appreciated the red hat of the new knight standing by the bubble until a low voice rang out across the courtyard, bringing attention to the tendrils of shadow that reached far from the one who cast them. Like a fog, the darkness spread throughout the area, making Midas dart into Dio’s shirt pocket to hide. Looking through the field of knights Dio saw Anderson standing there among shadows arguing with what looked like a bird.


As he finished and disappeared, it seemed to bring a small moment of quiet over the crowd. That was until the Discovery seemed to have recovered from his tantrum with a loud “FINE” and started stomping off out of the gardens. Giving a quick look and nod at the Malachite Knight, Dio darted after him. If I have to do this, I might as well show that Blurface up! he thought, picking up his pace

 

[Kharmin]

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Danielle Swanson - Sentinel's Garden, then Corporea


This chaos is interminable, Danielle thought as she cast her glare around the Sentinel's garden. New knights, old knights and perhaps those like Dani who weren't even knights at all argued, countered, fought, tussled – it was true pandemonium. I've wasted enough time.


Morning was practically upon her mortal body; the evening's hunt had been lost to this summons for apparently no legitimate reason. Danielle scowled in disappointment and her eyes thinned as she watched the farce that mingled and danced around the glade. Yeah, this has gone on long enough.


"Ok, look," Danielle said to the Sentinel, "clearly you have your work cut out for you with all of this ... whatever this is ... so I'll tell you what." Danielle hitched her great sword over her shoulder. "When you get yourself organized, let me know and then we'll talk. If working with you means slaying more nightmares, then yeah I'm all about that but for now things are just a bit too hectic around here."


Danielle turned to Kezia and nodded with a modicum of respect. "Thanks for the lesson," she said with a wry grin. "I won't forget it."


With that, she turned on her heel and, in a randomly chosen direction, walked from the garden. With the cacophony of sound finally way behind her, Danielle allowed herself to fall into that awareness that would carry her across the barrier and back to Corporea.


Her timing couldn't have been much better as the alarm clock on her side table started its daily chirrup that invariably pulled her from slumber and back into the waking world. Danielle turned off the alarm and stared up at the ceiling as she lay in bed. Her mood was sour at not having had any success at hunting due to the Sentinel's interruption. With a resigned sigh, she sat up, lifted herself out of bed and stalked toward the shower.


Forty minutes later, with the sun teasing the eastern sky through a collection of low, dense clouds, Officer Swanson, showered and dressed in uniform closed and locked her front door. She looked around, but saw no dog depositing on the sidewalk. Straight black hair tied smartly in a bun under her cap allowed the cool, morning air to play lightly across the back of her neck and her breath steamed in the morning light that preceded the sun's arrival.


She drove her cruiser from the neighborhood and headed toward the barracks. She sipped her coffee from the travel mug as she mechanically progressed along her regular route. The early morning commuters had started clogging the thoroughfares, but so far the rush hour traffic hadn't really gotten underway. Danielle saw several moving violations from some of the other drivers, but nothing so egregious as to require her to stop anyone.


As she turned on the last road toward the station, the radio in her car came to life. Officers were investigating another strange death, this one of a college aged student who had been found in his car. The initial conclusion was that he had drank himself into a stupor from which he didn't return.


Something about it all tickled at the back of Danielle's mind. She pulled her cruiser to the curb and listened as the details continued to dribble in. The scene wasn't too far from where Dani had stopped and her mind fumbled over her curiosity. She hadn't been specifically told to stay out of such investigations, only that she wasn't officially a detective. There couldn't be anything wrong with heading over and lending a hand? It was still early; they might need another officer and it would allow one who was on the graveyard shift to go home.


Decision made, Danielle started off and headed for the scene.

 

[Elle Joyner]

...Sweet Dreams...

Location: Etherea


Mood: Perplexed


Tags: @Mr. Grin, @Carl, @Giyari, @Y'all (cuz...)

Olive wasn't one to get angry. She imagined that when you lost your temper, really, you were only giving the people making you angry the power over you. She could endure all manner of catcalls and rudeness, childish displays of pride and inappropriate acting out. Being nearly tackled off her feet, then, by an ill mannered boy with a tail, she could only frown a little. It seemed absurd, his behavior, but in a world with confetti shields and severed heads seemed to be par for the course. And people who were inconsiderate of others, intentionally, well... they weren't worth the tick of a clock, as Idgie would say.


She turned her attention, then, to the spectacle of a man standing before her, who reached out a greyish hand for her to take. She smiled and gripped the hand, pulling herself upright. He was comparatively taller than her, but graciously not another giant.


"Just peachy, sugar.", She said, with a small, easy grin, "Thanks."


A voice rose, loudly, bouncing around the courtyard with all the venom and angst of a pissed off goat (Goats, incidentally, could be quite frightened when agitated). Olive turned to watch as the woman berated them, and for a moment the words felt confusing and a little unfair - they hadn't exactly been given ample instructions, after all. And maybe Olive wasn't exceptionally bright, but she was pretty sure no one knew quite what they were doing. Of course, the woman didn't seem too concerned with the emotional well being of... well, anyone. She barked out details, very few of which made much sense, and after that things seemed to settle.


More importantly, Discovery seemed to cool down and as he and the others, including the mountainous Dementor, started off for whatever quest the Sentinel had sent them on, Olive gave a little wave and a smile, "Be safe, Johnnie!"


The man who had helped her up turned, caught sight of himself in her bubble and with a laugh she snapped her fingers. The bubble popped with a puttering noise, "Hardly! It's just a little scruffy. And, well... maybe a smidge like a squirrel. But I like your hat. I'm Olive."