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Floating Islands RP
After some consideration, i've decided to create an RP. Hopefully there aren't too many active ones right now, and hopefully school won't get in the way too much. We'll see.
So! Floating islands. As cliché as the concept may be, it's one that I really enjoy, and, being kinda drained from writing a realistic fiction novel for NaNo, I decided to do a bit of world building based on some ideas I had earlier, and, hopefully, start a story with some of you guys that will get more developed as it goes.
Anyway, the basic plot is that there are a bunch of floating islands in some sort of fantasy empire that we'll call, for all intents and purposes, the Sky. Travel between the islands was restricted long ago, and the reason behind this is a secret to all but elite government officials, who plan something sinister within the confines of their marble walls. The only people who regularly travel between the isles are pilots of trade ships, and the Windtracers, an independent (and technically illegal) class of vigilantes who use magic to fly between islands and search for jobs after completing their training in the city of Spark. There are many clusters of islands with various small villages, but most can be sorted into several main regions that are listed below(the first 2 don't really count).
Subtropos - The area below the islands, masked by a permanent layer of thick clouds. No one knows what lies in Subtropos- The surface of a larger world? Gods? Monsters? The few that have had the misfortune of falling down there, either as punishment or by accident, have never returned.
The Heavens - Subsequently, the Heavens are the opposite of Subtropos. The highest regions of the sky that remain mostly unexplored due to thin air, they offer the clearest view of the stars and are the only place where beautiful multicolored aurora can be seen.
Noventia - The massive, dense capital city of the Sky, built on one giant, mostly flat island. It's architecture looks like a strange fusion of medieval and ancient Greek, and it is surrounded by a thirty-foot wall to prevent normal citizens from escaping. There are several breaches in the wall to allow for airships (which can be used both for trade and as warships) to enter the city, but these openings are heavily guarded. In the center of the city is a huge domed building topped by a statue of the first Emporer, who united many warring kingdoms in an long-past war. The building serves as the home of current Emporer Cerus, as well as members of the parliament and other officials. The government is supposed to be a constiutional monarchy, but has become a bit corrupt as of late, with the "disappearences" of some civillians...
Spark - The city where people go to become Windtracers. Almost no Windtracers come from Noventia, due to it being very difficult to smuggle yourself out of there, and most come instead from small outlying villages close to the Heavens. Spark is built in the valley between 2 massive floating mountians, and has an abundance of castles and spires and bridges and such (think Hogwarts but much bigger). It is the highest of all the island clusters, and is thus cold, often snowy, and filled with people who are obsessed with studying the Heavens. The government of Noventia has been out to get the Headmaster of Spark Academy for a long time, because of his violation of the travel law, and his training of an unofficial law enforecment (both very illegal), but they've never engaged in war due to the fact that the Headmaster has basically surroundded himself with trained magical warriors. Thus, the relationship between Spark and Noventia is unstable at best.
Jetsam - Basically one big steampunk-esque shanty town built on a series of islands, filled with makeshift buildings, and, let's just say, not the safest infrastructure in the world. Jetsam is so imbalanced that it uses giant (and noisy) propellers to hold up its islands to prevent them from sinking into Subtropos. The people who are sent to live in Jetsam are usually criminals, expelled Windtracers, and the poorest citizens of Noventia. Despite its appearance, however, Jetsam is secretly the technologcal hub of the Sky, with scientists all over the town working on tech that will one day allow normal civillians to traverse the sky. Noventia has not yet caught on to this.
Wildersky - Lastly, Wildersky is a series of islands that mostly still belong to nature. They are overgrown with vines and jungle (think Pandora from Avatar), and have a very sparse population living in several primitive villages. Being the lowest of all the island clusters, Wildersky is very warm, and is the closest to Subtropos. The natives are very spiritual and have great knowlege of history, including several myserious ruins in the area, and the ancient forces that keep all of the Sky's islands in the air. The very oldest villagers claim to know what lies in Subtropos.
*takes a deep breath* Alright. Now here's the character sheet.
Name
Age (any age is fine)
Gender
Appearance
Background (who they are, where they're from, etc.)
Whew. Thanks for taking the time to read my wall of text. I'll make my character once I know people are interested. This story is heavily based on world building, so feel free to add any details you want to this world. Just make sure to make your character from one of the areas previously mentioned. Peace.
submitted by J.B.E
(December 3, 2017 - 10:31 pm)
(December 3, 2017 - 10:31 pm)
(December 17, 2017 - 12:41 am)
Eliza~
I walk through the large hall as more white robed students pass me with their eyes closed, meditating or some crap. I try to act as calm as them, but I have a plan. I have to go to the Portal, the eyes of the Heavens. It’s in the Chamber of Knowledge, which the Elder’s guards protect with their lives. But I have a few tricks up my sleeve.
I slowly stop at the huge wooden door engraved with gold letterings. I heave it open, and quietly step inside the dim lit hall. How many corridors are in this place?
I walk down it, stopping at the blood red door which guards the Portal. I look at the guards, and holding my hand up, make a brushing motion to the side. They fall, fast asleep. The only time I payed attention in classes.
I quickly open the door, not caring to be as quiet next time. I have to be in and out.
I walk up to the swirling purple matter, and mutter the password in an ancient language before speaking. I take a shaky breath. What if nothing shows up? No, I would know if she was dead.
“Show me my sister. The alive one.” You have to be specific with this thing.
The Portal processes my request and then an image bursts of her. Of my sister. I almost cry with joy. I’m not the only one left.
But the wind gets knocked out of my when rough hands shove me against the Portal. I feel myself fall into it, and I twist around to see the disappearing grin of the Elders.
~~~
I land with a thud on someone. I hear their stifled scream and I quickly get off of them. I didn’t know the Portal was used for travel. But then again, it is called “the Portal.”
“Who are you?” I hear her gasp. I turn to her and my smile quickly vanished to shock. It’s her.
I can’t talk so I lightly touch her face and look into her similar blue grey eyes.
“Who are you?” she asks again. But she knows.
I take my hand away and swallow. “Oh, sorry, my name is Eliza. It’s nice to meet you...?”
”Evelyn.”
“Evelyn,” I repeat. “Well Evelyn, you’re my sister, I used to live in the Heavens, now I’m free, and I want to help you.”
(December 17, 2017 - 9:04 am)
Evelyn~
Somebody falls out of the sky, on to me. They scramble off immediately, then get up, and when I look at their face- it's a mirror of my own, except for the freckles. The girl reaches out to touch my face, her expression probably as shocked as mine. My sister? "W-who are you?" I ask.
"Oh, sorry, my name is Eliza. It’s nice to meet you...?"
"Evelyn." I say, almost unable to speak.
"Evelyn,” She says. "Well Evelyn, you’re my sister, I used to live in the Heavens, now I’m free, and I want to help you."
I might be crying a little bit at this point. "The Heavens? I thought- but we're from Jetsam- I've wanted to find you for so long- you're really alive- I have this photo!" I take it out from my pocket where I keep it. It's dirty from the events of the past 24 hours.
But you can still see the smiling faces of three little girls who look alike and two loving parents.
Eliza smiles, and she looks a little bit teary too.Then she pauses to look around, at the smoke darkened sky and the layers of ash on the ground, at the destroyed city. Her smile falters. "What happened here?"
"The Noventians came and destroyed everything. It's a long story." She gives me a look.
So I begin to tell it.~
(Hopefully this is okay with you, Doctor Who?.)
(December 17, 2017 - 3:21 pm)
Totally!
(December 17, 2017 - 9:15 pm)
(Warning: I apologize in advance for the incoming info dump)
(Warning #2: Galligan is about to go full-on Dumbledore)
Corilis~
The black-clad man looked shocked. I guess he recognized me too. But this wasn't enough for me to forget why I had come up here in the first place. I staggered a few steps towards Terrence, who was still holding Galligan's body in his hands. He looked up at me, his eyes red and his cheeks stained with tears. Galligan was clutching his cane as tightly as he had been when I had last seen him. I reached out for it. I fell.
I'm still not sure whether I blacked out before or after I lay my hand on the purple jewel.
I was somewhere warm now. A warmer place than I had ever been in. The air smelled of olives and was filled with the songs of birds. I was surrounded by marble walls bathed in golden light, and stood on grass greener than I had ever seen. An ethereal landscape of rolling hills and olive trees spread out before me, and sitting in a chair by a nearby pond with a glass of wine in his hand was none other than Nix Galligan.
"Hello, Mr. Asterlon. Took your time, didn't you?"
"How?" I took a step towards him, to find that my leg did not hurt at all. In fact, it had never felt better. Galligan looked fairly healthy, too. He looked the way he would look on a good day, and certainly not like he had just fallen out of his own tower after blowing it up.
"Come, sit," Galligan gestured to another chair that I could've sworn was not there before. I cautiously sat down in it.
"I was hoping it would not have come to this," he said, smiling, but sounding sad. "I know it must have been horrific, what I did. I would've much rather preferred to have this conversation in the world of the living. In fact, we should've had it a long time ago." Galligan sighed, "But there was no other way we could've won. I do hope I didn't cause you too much pain."
"Well, you broke my leg."
"It doesn't appear broken," he quipped.
"So where are we?"
Galligan took a sip of his wine. "The Crystal Arbor, I believe. I expect you've heard of the place?"
I nodded. "Near Noventia. But why here?"
"It was always one of my favorite locales. Ironic, isn't it? That my final resting place would be so near the city I was at odds with for so long? You could say one of my regrets in life was not coming here more often. And now here I am."
"Final resting place. You're really... gone, then."
"I'm afraid so," he said. "But this is not yet the end for me. I am in... Limbo, one might say. I cannot truly pass into the next world until I fulfill the purpose I've had in this one for quite a few years. Unfinished business, you might call it."
"Unfinished business?"
Galligan set down his glass on a small table that had definitely not been there before. "Corilis, do you remember the many attempts to unlock your Windspark?"
I certainly did. How could I not? The bitter pain and humiliation that I felt every time I was hit by a rock that the Masters swore I would be able to defend myself against with a spontaneous burst of ice magic was hard to forget. "You always just told me to 'try, try, again'," I said in a slightly mocking voice. "Until you gave up, that is."
"Well, I was certainly aware of that old saying. But that does not mean I believed it. In fact, you could say I believed against it. In your case, at least."
"You thought I would fail, then."
"I knew you would fail, Corilis. As demotivating as that might be to hear from a Headmaster, well, former Headmaster, it is because I failed, too. The problem that you have is one that I had as well. A problem, and a secret, that I took to the grave."
I leaned forward. "So you're saying, you never...?"
"I never unlocked my Windspark either."
My throat went dry. "But then, how could you...?"
"Did you ever learn the legend of Afingard the Mighty?"
I thought this might be another one of Galligan's tangents, but based on the situation we were in, I doubted he would discuss anything unimportant, so I answered his question."The King of Spark who fought against the first Noventian Emperor, wasn't he?"
Galligan smiled. "You always had an affinity for history. One of your strengths. Now then, do you remember why he lost against the Emperor?"
I tried to think back to the many books I had read on the subject. "It... was his crown. The Emperorr knocked his crown off of his head and then stabbed him through the chest. Afingard didn't dodge the attack because he got disoriented by the sound of the crown hitting the cobblestone."
Galligan chuckled."Yes, that is the excuse the historians usually use for his defeat. But a few, such as myself, know the truth. The real reason Afingard lost that day wasn't confusion over the loss of his crown. It was because of what was in the crown." Galligan held up his cane, and then suddenly pulled the purple stone out of the handle. It came out surprisingly easily, with a slight popping noise. "This."
"Your gem was... in Afingard's crown."
"It is not mine, Mr. Asterlon. And it is more than a mere gem. Do you want to know the real reason Afingard was able to become so powerful?"
Galligan stood up, stretching his legs. He knew that I wanted to know. You'd be crazy not to.
"When Afingard discovered the sheer magnitude of the power of the Thystus," Galligan explained, "He was consumed by the desire to harness it, especially after being unable to unlock his own Windspark. Some call him mad, but others still say what he did that day was completely justified. Afingard went to the Thystus, with a sword made of the strongest material known to mankind, and struck the Thystus as hard as he could. What he then possessed was a shard of pure magical energy. The Heart, as it became known. Afingard embedded the Heart in a personal object, his crown, as many others would do after him. In the end, the Emperor knocking off his crown, thus severing his connection to the Heart, was his downfall."
Galligan turned away from me and began to walk leisurely throught the gardens, twirling his cane. I got out of my chair and hurried to catch up with him. "Wait, so your power doesn't come from a Windspark?"
"One's power does not always come from where you would expect. Like Afingard, and many others before me, I was entrusted with the task of bearing the burden of keeping the Heart safe, with the added benefits of quite a bit of power at my fingertips." Galligan smiled slightly to himself.
"So if your power comes from the Heart," I said, "Doesn't that mean anyone could take it and use it?"
"You would think so, and that would certainly put a dent in my pride if I knew any old Joe could do what I could do," Galligan replied. "But, fortunately, our world is a little more complicated than that. When Afingard split the Thystus, he was splitting more than just a stone. He was splitting the very essence of the energy that holds this world together. An energy that some would call, well, sentient. With a soul. And when its master dies, the soul must find a new master. Once it has chosen this person, it will be bound to them, answering to their will and no one else's, for the rest of their mortal life. But if it does not find a new master, it will perish. And if the Heart perishes, the rest of the Thystus will perish too, for they are still bound together, even if not physically."
"And you were one of those people."
"Yes. I was the keeper of the Heart. And, like every other keeper before me, I was never able to unlock my Windspark. Not because it was weak, but because it was blocked by something even stronger. Something the Heart looks for."
"What?"
Galligan turned toward me, and suddenly the walls of the Crystal Arbor faded away and now it was just the two of us, in a void of pure whiteness.
"By hope," he said. "Hope that someday, things might go back to the way they were before Afingard's war. That the islands may one day be able to coexist with each other in harmony. I saw that hope in you the first day you set foot in Spark. And although I wasn't sure of it at the time, I am now absolutely positive of one thing."
Even though I knew what he was going to say, it wasn't any less out of the blue.
"I need you to become the Heart's new master."
(December 17, 2017 - 8:27 pm)
Terrence-
Corilis stood with open, unseeing eyes, hand frozen on the cane handle. Terrence knew, then, that Galligan wouldn't need a burial.
His thoughts were answered when Galligan's body vanished like a candle flame, veins flickering and bursting with purple light for an instant before they vanished along with the rest, his clothes turning to gray dust. Terrence stood for a moment, nothing in his arms, before he reached a hand out and touched the cane held by Corilis.
And then he was young, in his mind. He was walking through a slowly-fading memory, eight years old, descending a staircase through a nightmare. He felt as though he walked for an hour, but was in no hurry. Dimly Terrence realized that only seconds had passed in the real world.
"Dad?" he called, his voice young and bright, "I'm following the stairs."
And he walked
down old stairs
through a nightmare
over a bridge
of books and lace
and eventually
he came
to a little room.
And he opened the door.
Corilis stood, eyes full of confusion, and didn't turn to look at him. Terrence smiled and ran forward, tugging on Galligan's coat.
Galligan turned and laughed and looked over ten years younger, his gray hair once again black. He picked the little Terrence up in his arms and spun him around.
"You'll be coming with me, son." Galligan said. He set Terrence down beside him and turned back to the mapmaker.
"Take care of the Terrence in real life, won't you?" Galligan asked. Then he turned, taking little Terrence by the hand and beginning to walk away.
"Oh, and Corilis? You are strong enough to do this." Nix said, smiling with genuine trust.
An older Terrence stepped forward out of the dark behind Corilis, watching his younger self go. Corilis jumped and turned to look.
"Goodbye, Nix. Goodbye, little me." the older Terrence said. The young Terrence waved. Galligan turned around one last time.
"Any progress on finding a husband or wife? I want grandchildren to haunt." Galligan grinned.
"Father, no." older Terrence laughed. "I'm working on it."
"Very well. Goodbye, Terrence. Goodbye, mapmaker."
And he walked away, very slowly, and dissapeared with young Terrence in a burst of violet and blue moths.
Corilis and Terrence were silent for a long while. Corilis broke it.
"Why was there a little boy version of you?" the navigator said, still holding the jewel of Galligan's cane.
"It's probably symbolic or deeply meaningful, but I guess we'll just have to ask him when we go down below, eh?" said Terrence, shadows under his eyes.
"I-I suppose-" Corilis' words were cut out by a burst of coughing. A glowing purple liquid dripped from his eyes like tears. The dream-like world began to vanish around them.
"We're going back. Brace yourself. The transition of the heart is... difficult." Terrence said.
"Difficult... how?"
"They didn't call him the Winged Wolf for nothing." Terrence warned.
And with that bit of foreboding advice, they were thrown back into reality.
(December 17, 2017 - 9:52 pm)
(December 18, 2017 - 12:22 pm)
sorry, Sorry! I had to study for finals and I haven't had time to write.
* * *
Iesha and Luekas stood in silence for a while, waiting for Terrence and Corilis to come back from whatever the heck they were at.
It was awkward at best. While of course each where glad to see the other, it was bittersweet and filled with regret. Iesha still held grudges, and Luekas couldn't shake off the feeling that something completely rotten had grown inside Iesha while he was gone.
So they stayed silent. Finally, after what felt like hours despite being seconds, Terrence and Corilis fell backward, as if some invisible hand had pulled them into existence. They were both barely conscious, and Iesha saw that Galligan's cane was in Corilis' hand. Luekas raced to Terrence's side, and Iesha slowly walked after him.
"Sir, what happened?" Luekas held onto Terrence's shoulders, visibly worrried. Terrence waved him off and stumbled onto his feet.
"That was utterly stupid and insane," Iesha informed Corilis, helping him to his feet. "What if his cane killed the both of you?"
"Well it didn't, right?" Corilis smiled rather weakly, inspecting the cane with a mixture of emotions. Iesha almost laughed.
Spark was in ruins. All the ships were gone. Survivors muddled about, their pain and anguish filling the air. The four of them stood in the middle of it all, at the broken pile of stone once known as the headmasters tower. Iesha found herself in the same awkward silence as before, not one of them knowing what to say.
(December 18, 2017 - 1:08 pm)
Sasha~
I knock quietly on the door of Blazepointe's study, waiting for him to answer. "Come in." he calls quietly, and I close the door behind me as I step over the threshold. "You wanted to see me, sir?" I ask. Blazepointe leans back in his chair. "Ah, yes."
"There has been news from Noventia. There was an attack on Spark, but it failed, and a huge portion of the Emperor's fleet was destroyed. And there are rumors that Galligan is dead." Galligan? Dead? But surely not... Blazepointe continues. "Emperor Cerus is offering rewards for those who agree to serve him, whatever island they may be from. He wants to know whether Galligan is truly dead."
"Is that all?" I ask.
"No. I have answered his request for help, and he wants the Navigator. Corilis Asterlon. And it is going to be your job to get him." A funny jolt jabs at my insides. I still remember the look of anger, shock, and betrayal on his face when I left the Windtracers. Can I really face him again? Or anyone I knew in Spark? Coward. A tiny voice whispers in my head. Coward, coward, it chants. Am not! I think back at it fiercely, pushing it to the back of my mind.
I nod. "As you wish, sir," I say. Blazepointe smiles slightly. "Good. And one more thing." "Yes?" "You are promoted to deputy." Surprise prickles my gut, but I show none of it. All the same, this is rather sudden. What made him unhappy with Rial, I wonder?
Blazepointe laughs slightly. "What is this, Sasha? No emotion? Surprise? Response?" "Keeping emotions to yourself is safer." I reply simply. He smiles. "Sometimes I think I can never get more than 10 words out of you at a time." I make no response.
"You are dismissed now," he says abruptly, and gestures towards the door. Always so unpredictable. His mood can change drastically in an instant. You never can quite tell. I nod briefly, and exit the room.~
(December 18, 2017 - 5:48 pm)
Corilis~
I'm not entirely sure what happened after that. It all kind of blurred together. But the first thing I remembered with absoulte certainty was that I woke up in a bed in the medical wing of Castle Amberdew.
It was quiet. Daylight spilled in from my window. It was a clear day, a nice day, almost mockingly nice. It didn't feel like the sun should be shining and the birds should be singing. It felt like it should be dreary and dismal and rain-soaked. How dare the sun show its face around here after what had happened?
I had a lot of time to think. My leg still hurt but not nearly as much as before, and I could move it a bit, if not a little stiffly. A healing spell, most likely. Figures that I'd get hurt so bad not even magic could fix it all the way.
After the initial shock of the past day's events had warn off, I was left with anger. Anger that Galligan had kept this Heart business a secret for so long. I thought that he had trusted me. I thought he would've told me the moment he had the hunch. But no. It took death to force it out of him.
Suddenly, I heard a creaking noise. The door at the end of my room opened, and in stepped Terrence. He, and his clothes, looked considerably cleaner than the last time I had seen them.
"You alright?" he asked.
"As good as I can be with this," I said, wiggling my bad leg a little.
Terrence walked over and sat on the foot of my bed. "So. He's really gone."
"Yep."
The room was silent until I spoke up again.
"Terrence..." I said. "How did you know about all that stuff he told me? The Thystus, the Heart, everything? I've known Galligan for years and he never even mentioned it until last night. To anyone."
Terrence looked down, like he didn't want to talk. But he did. "He... always told me everything. He always did. There were no secrets between us. I always thought that when he told me things even the Masters didn't know, he was overcompensating. For the childhood I never had. For the childhood that was stolen from me."
"Stolen?"
Terrence sighed. "He never told you, did he?" Then he explained everything to me. What had happened to him and his parents, how Galligan had found him and taken him in as his own child. It was eerily similar to my own story. Well, except for the fact that I never called Galligan 'Papa'.
"Oh." I said when he was done. "Well, that explains the stuff I saw in that... vision."
That sentence clearly didn't help.
"Terrence, I..." I swallowed. "I'm really sorry. I had no idea you were so close to him. He barely even mentioned you at all. I swear to God I had no idea."
"And I wouldn't expect you to," Terrence said, his voice hoarse. "We didn't exactly part on good terms. A part of me always wanted to have what you have now. It only seemed natural, for a father to pass on the 'family heirloom' to his son. But he always told me no, that I was not the one. That was one of the reasons why I left. And I doubt I was the example of a prime student after that. For a while, I thought he stopped caring about me altogether." Terrence looked up at me. "But I wouldn't expect you to understand. You've had everything handed to you."
The unfair assumptions of that remark ruffled my feathers. "Well, do you think I asked for this?" I retorted. "I mean, I wanted magic, eventually, to like, help with my work and stuff. But this? A part in a centuries-old tradition that I never even knew existed until today? No one asked if I was okay with that. No one ever asked what I wanted. And I would gladly give it to you if I could."
"Well, you can't." Terrence said, standing up. "And you can't bring him back either. And you'll always have your maps and your family to run back to when things get too tough."
My family? That was stepping over the line. How could he, a person who himself had lost so much, be so assuming that other people had not? I was so shocked that out of my mouth escaped a cry of anger, disbelief, and desperation to tell him my own story.
"TERRENCE!"
He stopped in his tracks, halfway to the door. He did not turn around.
"Listen to me. When I was 10, a platoon of Noventian soldiers arrived at my village to collect our monthly quota of corn for the Empire." I took a shaky breath. I had never told this out loud to anyone before. "Our crop had a disease. My father begged with the Commander that if they gave the village just one more growing season, they would be able to replenish the deficit. But instead, they... they... burned it all down. Everything. The crops, the houses, the people..." my hand subconsciously gravitated towards my scar. "And it was four days before my birthday."
Terrence turned around, staring at me, half in disbelief.
"All I'm trying to say is, I understand what you went through. And even though I wasn't as close to Galligan as you were... I understand what you're going through now, too. We're not as different as you think."
Terrence looked like he was about to say something, but before he could, the door opened once more and Dean Hyeweathre entered the room.
"Ah, you're both here. Good." she said briskly. "How's that leg, Asterlon?"
"It's, uh... it's getting there." I said.
"That really was a nasty fall you took," Hyeweathre said. "It's a miracle you didn't break more bones."
Hyeweathre walked over to a chair beside my bed, and sat, putting a small parcel on her lap.
"Whitlock filled me in on what happened on that hill." she said. "And I can't say I wasn't a tad shocked to hear it. I mean, there are some lofty tales in the Sky, but... speaking to the dead?" she sighed. "Well, I suppose Nix always did have secrets. Some he wasn't even willing to part with until after he kicked the bucket." She looked at me. "I was going to take the time to explain his plan for you, Asterlon, but I take it you're well aware of everything you need to do?"
I nodded, but I was anxious to change the subject. I'd had enough magic and destiny and all that for one day. "Are the Noventians gone yet?" I asked.
"No, we're just taking a short hiatus from negotiations," she said wearily. "That Lieutenant Amadeo refuses to leave until we give him the emporer's daughter. Keeps insiting we have her somewhere in the city. I really think he might have gotten hit on the head."
At the words 'emporer's daughter', I saw Terrence's face tense up for a brief moment. I wasn't sure what that was about.
"Oh, I almost forgot. You dropped this." Hyeweathre handed me the parcel. I unwrapped it to find the Heart.
"Where's the cane?"
"That dusty old cane has been its home for far too long," she said. "It's time you gave it a new home. Whatever that may be."
(December 18, 2017 - 8:52 pm)
Iesha sat outside the room where Corilis was resting. Her eyes were downcast, her hair a mess and her rich clothing ruined. Her posture was anything but relaxed, as she held herself with a practiced air of control. her head resting on her palms, She stared at a spot on the ground and let her thoughts take her elsewhere.
What was she to do now? She couldn't go back to her people; They probably thought she was dead. She could maybe stay here, in Spark, but this place was definitely not in the best shape, and they would ask too many questions. Noventia was out of the question, and living a peasant life in some random small village? That, even after all of this, was beneath her.
And what of her father? They haven't spoken since the battle. How were they going to make up time? Did they even want to? As Iesha continued to worry about this the door of Corilis' room opened and Terrence walked out. He looked frustrated, and Iesha assumed it hadn't gone as well as he hoped.
"Terrence." Iesha stood up, her arms folded behind her back.
"You finally decided to stop with the Morningstar thing?" Terrence slid a hand through his hair, exhaustion breaking through his smile.
"Sure. Can you tell me anything about Lue--Ba'al?" Iesha immediately decided to ask him about Luekas, purposely leaving out his name.
"Oh, right, he told me you were his daughter." Terrence mused, folding his arms thoughtfully. "Well, we found him one day covered in rocks on an abandoned island off of Spark."
Terrence laughed slightly as he continued. "We thought the poor guy was dead. Then out of nowhere, he came back, pulse and everything. He muttered something about the Subtropos but nothing else." Terrence sighed. "I could never get anything else out of him."
"That was anything but useful information," Iesha muttered with exasperation, not looking surprised at all. "But then, he always did like a good secret."
Abruptly looking up, she asked, "Did he ever mention a wife? Lover? Anything of that sort?"
Terrence shook his head. "He always said he never wanted that life."
Iesha nodded, her brows furrowed. What happened to Jazmi?
(December 19, 2017 - 2:24 pm)
Orson~
I keep my mouth shut during the whole ordeal. Corilis, probably the only one I could talk to right now, was surrounded by Reavers. If they somehow recognized me, I'd be dead for sure. What the hell am I saying? Even if they did recognize me, which was nearly impossible, all the Noventians were being shipped away anyway. Why was I worrying so much?
I stay behind my boulder, gawking at Corilis's dramatic interaction with that cane. Even if I wasn't totally socially inept, I would still have no reason to butt into whatever they were doing. My mind starts to wander to my father...
I slap myself. I was a Noventian prisoner. I used to be, rather. I had lost nothing in this battle. I had no reason to be sad. I focus and look back up to Corilis. The woman in charge is with him now, having him hauled away to one of the more left intact buildings. I guess she finished her conversation with the Lieutenant.
I turn back to Amadeo, he is wearing a very frustrated expression. I figure our Aloise mission turned out to be a failure. I don't blame him for being mad, although that was kind of unusual for Amadeo from what I'd gathered. The Emperor would be on his back for who know how long once Amadeo told him the news. He was probably already enraged about the outcome of the main assault.
A few surviving Windtracers start to gather up the wounded to be treated more professionally. One of them gives my side a concerned look, and starts to herd me towards the rest of the wounded. We start to climb towards the same building that Corilis disappeared into, and I figure it's some sort of hospital.
I pass Amadeo, not even daring to look in his direction. I feel his stare burning into the back of my head. Miraculously, he says nothing. I sigh in relief, and realize that the others are giving me weird looks. I guess if I saw some guy cut off his bun, throw dust in his face and slap himself, I would be a little unnerved too. But that was being paranoid, they probably just looked spooked by the cane incident.
We make our way into the building, and I start to really think for the first time in the night. How the hell was I going to get out of here?
(December 19, 2017 - 7:00 pm)
Corilis~
I was left alone again for a while. The only other intrusion happened when a nurse came into my room and leaned a pair of crutches against my bed.
"A bit more dignified than a tree branch," she said with a wink. I flushed, realizing just now how many people must've seen my struggle towards the cane. Well, the Heart. In the end, the cane bit didn't matter.
After the nurse left, I sat in bed, fully awake. I had put the Heart, still partially wrapped in paper, on my nightstand. I looked over at it, noting how it looked like any old jewel. If someone had told me yesterday how powerful it was, I wouldn't have believed them.
I tentatively reached a hand toward the surface of the stone. My fingers became cold before they even touched it, as if it was radiating coolness. Then my skin met the surface of it and it was cold and smooth, much smoother than it looked, feeling almost like an orb of water. It made me wonder how that Afingard character could've carved such a perfect sphere out of the Thystus with a mere sword.
And then suddenely my vision was obscured by a flash of light that lasted only an instant but was long enough for me to make out the vague image of a figure sitting on the edge of a dark lake and it turning around at me and its face being empty save two eyes that were pale ghastly stars...
I quickly pulled my hand away from the Heart. It had only been a second but I was sweating and I could nearly hear my own heart.
I need to get some fresh air.
Leaving the Heart on my nightstand, I reached for my crutches and lifted myself out of bed, grunting with mild pain. My foot had been wrapped in a cast and my hood and cape had been removed, and I was in a clean white tunic. They probably hadn't left the night unscathed, but I hoped I would get them back. I liked that cloak.
Surprisingly, my dagger was still on me. Not the safest thing to leave on a sleeping patient, but I wasn't complaining.
Iesha was outside. She was leaning against the stone wall of the hallway, her arms folded, staring off, clearly thinking about something. She nodded at me slightly when I came out. I wasn't going to force her into a conversation.
I looked out the window down into the valley and saw that Hyeweathre and the Lieutenant still seemed to be in a heated debate. Most of the wounded, includng Orson, were gone, so they must've been here in the medical wing as well. I also noticed that someone had stuck the flag of Spark, three purple spirals on a pale blue field, into the ground, and was surrounding it with flowers. Someone else was setting up a few chairs.
"I think I heard someone say they're holding a memorial service for... him, later," Iesha said quietly, when she saw me looking. "I'd call it a funeral. But I've never seen a funeral without a body."
(December 19, 2017 - 11:08 pm)
(December 21, 2017 - 7:26 pm)
Terrence-
Terrence’s dreams swam with liquor. The funeral had been a Reaver-Spark sendoff, and it was more like a party than a vigil.
Terrence laid on his cot, coughing. He was cold as the ice he wielded, frozen to the bone by something he couldn’t quite see.
”Terrence.”
Terrence lurched into his dream, somehow knowing that he was asleep yet ignoring that very fact. He stood beside a dark and smoky room, lungs catching on thin air.
”Terrence. Morningstar. Beautiful among demons.”
The voice rolled like a fog over Terrence’s senses. In the center of the room, a jagged sphere sat in the bronze floor, watching him. It was waiting. Terrence approached on heavy feet. He realized that he was wearing only a robe, a cloth, white as the wool of a lamb about to be slaughtered.
He looked in the hole.
A handsome man sat, crouched, head bowed over the twitching body of a goat. The man looked up. His eyes were white, and whisps of wind seemed to crawl within the irises like worms. The man’s skin (perhaps once a warm brown) was ashen and cold. His hair was black and matted.
His mouth and chin were coated in blood.
He was eating the goat. Terrence felt magic pulse around him, old and great and powerful.
”Noventia made me this way,” the man said, “sent me to Subtropos. There is magic there, Terrence. Want a taste?”
Terrence shuddered. “H-Hell no. What are you?”
”Your brithright, Terrence. The Thrystus. This magic I have is better. It’s enough to destroy Noventia with a wink of your eye. And it’s in Subtropos. Waiting.”
Terrence felt himself beginning to float away. Someone was shaking him.
”I’m waiting, angel,” said the man, “I am Gabriel.”
And Gabriel vanished. Terrence opened his eyes.
Iesha stood over his bed, shaking him.
(December 22, 2017 - 9:16 am)