Cradle of Gods

The Cinnabar Tower

Hóu gave Nasira a low-lidded look, before a small smile played on her lips. "You are smart one, I must say.", she said, giving her a respectful nod. While watching Kimiko walk towards the Onna-Musha with one eye, the monkey-woman swung her tail around a nearby post and leaned against it, facing Nasira.

"You are correct. At least, when it comes to the time involved. This Shard has been around ever since the Dread Tyrant murdered his way to power. And this recent age...well, it has lasted well over a few decades now, if not longer. Kiamwe and his ilk set out for the Cradle as soon as they heard the Twelve were gone. I watched it happen. When it got worse and it seemed like we were headed for a bad ending, I decided to intervene. Well, as much as I could..."

She stopped and for a moment, Nasira could see a glimmer of age, true age, reflect in Hóu's eyes. "But you don't have all the pieces, right now. You are making guesses with the simple scraps you have. I...listen, I wish I could tell you everything, but it would just attract the wrong kind of attention. And unlike a certain someone, I am not mad enough to try."

Hóu shrugged. "I'm sorry. If it helps, you and your friends here look like you might just be the solution to the problem. Might be..." She tilted her head and thought. "Actually, let me correct myself there: Ever since that kitsune showed up, is when things finally came out of balance. Thats when their carefully laid plan started to unravel."

Edited by TheNohen on Jan 25th 2024 at 3:04:17 PM

Eines al'Maelenn - The Household of Kiamwe the Terrible, and Company

Eines felt a tangled mess of feelings all at once as Alamin explained Kaimwe's present condition, pity, tension, understanding, admonishment, sympathy and more coloring her mood this way and that. Eines's fluttering heart landed upon sadness, though, mixed with her own personal regrets as Alamin's "Age caught him" caught her as well. Stiffening her shoulders Eines briefly glanced to the side, as if the specter of age and death had come for her too, but there was nothing there. Not yet, not for now.

That's right; I'm on a timer... Eines gulped as she looked down, flexing her fingers, all still there. If I don't make it to the Thrones, I might fade away at any moment... and Mother's hopes along with me...

"Ah, sorry, I got distracted. I'm still listening...!" Eines fluttered after Muasa and Alamin, breaking from her own thoughts and chasing after the present moment. That was that and this was this, and this was important and worth paying attention to. Especially with the odd little discrepancies in Muasa's own memory that seemed to pop up. Her brain jumped about to wild conclusions and Eines had to stamp them down before they got too crazy. Instead she joined the two men at the table, folding a napkin to give herself a cushion to sit on, cross-legged.

She stared up at the cup of coffee as large as she was and pondered how to drink from it before suddenly remembering something. "Oh right; can I borrow an empty cup? Any one will do!" As Sheva gracefully complied and brought over an empty cup, Eines pretend-rolled up her sleeves and put both hands on it, the cup glowing before zoop it was just the right size for the little fairy. Fluttering up she carefully dipped the smaller cup into the coffee cup and had herself a sip. "Thanky thanky~ Most tall people don't have plates and cups and stuff in our size, so this spell is mighty useful for that kind of thing."

Drinking deeply from a second cup, Eines sighed contentedly as the warmth filled her before giving Sheva another glance. "Y'know I thought I might've been seeing things but you look just like someone I just met in town; you could be Nasira's sister! Or her daughter. I dunno how aging works for her." Blink. "Or maybe it won't work for us at all once we all become godly enough? I wonder how that all works."

Eines took another sip as Joru entered the room... quickly followed by his axe. Her eyes widened and she sprang up, waving her arms in the air. "No no no! No axey the throwy- I mean no throwy the axey! You're Joru the spider seamstress lady's husband right? I got recruited into looking for you but I'm confused and Muasasa's looking confused too and old man Alamin was waiting for you to explain things, so can you please tell us what's going on before any choppy choppy commences? Like, at all. No choppy choppy."

Edited by Starbound2 on Jan 27th 2024 at 2:23:43 PM

Kiamwes Home

Just as Eines mentioned Nasira, there was a loud clink, when Sheva put her cup down a little bit too hard on the table. The young woman stared at the fairy, her mouth slightly open and her lip quivering. Alamin reached out for her hand and gently took it. He gave her a look and Sheva quickly lowered her gaze and took up her cup again.

"My studies told me that divinity elevates one from most mortal concerns. Age...I suppose once powerful enough it ceases to be an issue, unless higher powers are at play, like fate. Of course, this does not prevent maladies, if you were to suffer them before you started your journey." He gave Kiamwe a meaningful look, which the Manse met with a confused eye, before smiling obliviously. "And a mind is an ever so fragile thing, as well. So easily afflicted."

It was then that Joru stepped in and Eines once again hastily fluttered up to prevent a fight from breaking out. Muasa too quickly threw up his hands. "She is right. We just came looking for you, that is all. To get you back in one pie—"

The axe flew just over Muasa bald head and slammed into the wall behind him. Joru glared at Muasa with a mixture of hatred and fear. "I...am...not...going...back!", he spat out. "Never again! I rather die a dozen more times, if I have to!"

"B-But why? I thought you and Izua loved each other!?" Muasa rubbed his bald head, making sure he didn't get cut.

"We do!" Joru stopped short, gritting his teeth. "At least...she does. I myself am not sure anymore. It all seemed like a good idea at the time. Heck, the reason we made this journey in the first place was to reach a place where we could be together."

"Perhaps, some context would now be valuable.", mused Alamin.

"Oh, story time?" Kiamwe perked up and grinned. "I do like a good story. And its better than throwing weapons in my house."

Joru gave the mad king a look, before finally giving out a deep sigh. Rubbing his face, he nodded. "Its not that interesting. I met Izua back in Joren. A province of Nenmonchi. She was hunting people at the time, in part because they kept hunting her. I...figured I could help her. At first we lived underneath a waterfall, but then a wandering monk chased us out. Izua...she is a yokai, so she always had difficulties understanding humans and realizing that eating other beings wasn't okay. But she tried. She tried very hard.

When we got here, we thought we finally found a home. Or at least some place to rest. Iande even gave her the role, so she could be a seamstress and everything. It all seemed to go well. But then...Izua just got worse. She kept secrets from me. Some of our new customers juts kept vanishing. And when I confronted her about it she...she lied to me."

Joru leaned against the wall, looking very tired and very sad. "Eventually I found out she was turning certain people into dolls. I don't know when she picked up that ability, but when I confronted her about it, she...she tried to turn me into one too. To keep me safe, she said."

A deep shadow of hurt crossed over Joru's face. "Thats when I decided to run."

Alamin sighed, after taking another sip from his cup. He didn't look at Joru directly, but his expression was deeply contemplative and for once there was no hint of his ever-present slightly amused smile. "Why don't you tell them what happened afterward? Your...deaths."

Muasa looked confused between the two. "What do you mean?"

Joru winced. "I never considered what the price would have been for Izua to become a seamstress. I guess...that there never would have been one in the first place.", he confessed. "But when I ran, I realized what the price was. To break Izua's heart. Over and over and over. You bring me back, she tries to do better, it gets worse, I run."

"But...but why don't you stop running? Or at least tell us?"

Joru gave Muasa and Eines a pained smile. "I did, Muasa. You just forgot."

The Cinnabar Tower

The Onna-Musha didn't move at first. For a while it didn't even seem like she would answer at any point. After several minutes, Hóu gave a disappointed sigh and turned away. "Well, it was worth a shot, I guess. You can stay here, if you like, until the—"

"You talk to the wrong person."

Everybody turned around, staring at the Onna-Musha. She had raised her head and was now looking straight at Kimiko. Her simple, white mask hid everything but her eyes, dead and blind

"My role is Pretender. I am not Pretender. Not anymore..." Her voice was melodious and surprisingly young. "I am the end of the tale. The one to provide the last chapter, so it all may start again. And again. And again. Breaking and feeding."

Outside the Tower, Yvenyra who had been fluttering further back, was starting to sense something. A low tremor in the air, that began to grow ever more intense...

Moonsight Lake

Aisha fell to one knee with an exhausted grunt. Blood poured out of a dozen cuts and she was sure at least one rib was broken. She glared up to the man called Sen, who still held his blade ready. He was unharmed, aside from a cut on the cheek.

It was infuriating, the gap in prowess between the two of them. Aisha knew she wasn't as strong as her mother or her friends, but she had hoped she could at least give a good fight to any other God. But this guy had barely even bled!

"Surrender. We don't want any of you to die.", said Sen, holding out a hand. "Give up and I swear by my honour, you will not be harmed any further."

Aisha looked to the side. The other Nesiree laid on the shore, unconscious or trying to shield each other. Daria was with Zinnia, who was bleeding out, desperately trying to keep her younger sister alive. The warriors were surrounding them with their spears.

"What...do you...want?"

"Leverage.", explained Sen. To her surprise, he looked genuinely uncomfortable saying it. "You will be brought in as hostages, that is all. If you would stop resisting, I wouldn't have to keep hurting you."

Aisha staggered back to her feet. Leverage. Hostages. She didn't know what he meant exactly, but she could guess. They wanted to use them against mother. She couldn't let that happen. Her eyes shifted over to her sisters. To Daria, tears in her eyes. Zinnia, spitting out blood, trying to get up again in spite of her terrible wounds.

"I can't do that.", she finally said, staring defiantely at the man in front of her.

A hum went through the air. Aisha could tell Sen sensed it, too. He closed his eyes and cursed under his breath. "We don't have time for this..."

"That is right. We don't.", said Aisha and prepared her last attack.

Hinanosu - Back Alley

"We didn't kill him!", protested Victor. "Please, you gotta believe us. We just found him here already. Emmeline has not drunk anything serious for weeks now and we are running out of time. This was the best chance we would get."

Emmeline had covered her mouth with both hands, tears in her eyes and looking at Valentine and Poppy in a way only someone used to beatings and rejections could have. "I...I am sorry. I tried to never hurt anyone. I tried to only take as much as I needed, ever."

Victor stepped up to Valentine, to shield his sister from his gaze. "Yes, Emmeline is a Bloodlady. But she never meant to harm anyone. By the Light, the reason we started this journey was to find a way to cure! He promised us that it was possible!"'

"Who is he?", asked Valentine.

Emmeline reached out for Victors shoulder, shaking her head. "Victor, please...don't tell him."

But her brother didn't listen. "We needed a way out of Rousson and he gave us one. All we had to do in exchange was to find you and—"

"Victor, he is still here!"

"Who is he!?", asked Valentine again.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed him and Poppy and squeezed.

The Kodoma Forest

For a moment, the Ronin seemed utterly elated when Caitlin decided to make a break for it. Wether he knew she was planning a trap or not was hard to tell...if it even mattered in the first place.

So, when Sword stopped the fight, he was properly incensed for the first time. "Are you kidding me? Not now, it was getting good!", he protested. Baring his blade, he pointed at the two. "Don't you fucking dare blue-balling me now!"

"I'm not laying another hand on you until you tell me what the fuck is happening, you hear me?! I was fucked with and tossed around in the last shard too long to not be able to shout at someone for some me-damn answers when I've got an opportunity for once!"

The Ronin gritted his teeth. "I don't give a crap.", he snarled.

"Do You Understand?"

The ground shook, as the blade went down. Sword didn't flinch, as it parted the earth just an inch away from her. The Ronin grabbed the blade again, throwing another strike, only for it to smash into a nearby tree, toppling it. Again, he dared not to hit the Oni.

"You bitch! You bloody, nasty..." A stream of nasty curses followed, all of which in Nenmon that Caitlin didn't understand, but that would be creative even to Swords seasoned ears.

Finally, the Ronin stopped and gave out a big sigh, filled with resignation. He looked at his hand, at the throbbing black spot and listened to Caitlin. He glared at both of them from the side, visibly displeased.

"Ugh..fine..fine! I don't give a crap.", he finally said, throwing up his hands. "All that secrecy nonsense gets on my nerves anyway."

Pointing at them, he gave them a dark look. "You are in a story, girls. We all are. Ever since you stepped into Hinanosu, you are part of it. Iande has been playing you, me and everyone here since the very beginning. Since he killed the Onna-Musha."

"He isn't a God of Knowledge. He is a God of Books."

The Cinnabar Tower

"I died years ago and now all I am is the beast at the end of the tale. There to slay and be slain. This is not the proper ending, because my tale is already over. You are at the wrong tower."

Hóu's eyes lit up and a strange grin played on her lips.

The Onna-Musha looked at Kimiko and grabbed her shoulders. "This is a trap."

The air began to vibrate and flimmer.

Kiamwes Home

"Forgot? How could I forget!?", yelled Muasa, now clearly distressed.

"Because you wouldn't approve of it. Iande wipes your memories every time he starts anew. Every time you go out and try to find me and either bring me back or kill me. It happened several times by now!"

"B-But...that makes no sense. Iande told me...he told me..."

A low chuckle drew their attention. Kiamwe was giggling, the old man glaring at all of them with a uncharacteristically lucid look in his eyes. "Please, Muasa. You always wanted to the story to finish. Did you ever ask what kind of story it ever was?"

Hinanosu - Mikias' Clinic

Shadow Blossom stared at Natsumi. His tense face started to relax, as his eyes grew bigger. He was angry, she could tell. It hung like a could over his mind, holding her out. "I...I want you.", she finally said.

He took a step closer, his hand still on his weapon. "I wanted you since the first time I laid eyes on you. Your pride, your beauty, your wit...your body." His gaze grew darker, lust and greed slowly pushing away his frustration and rage. Like a moth to the flame, he got ever close, unable to stop himself.

"Iande wanted to get rid of you. Shapeshifters are too dangerous. We can't control you. The book won't take hold on you. And we tried. It worked on Mikias, but you...you just did as you pleased. You always did."

And he stepped closer, his bad breath now hitting Natsumi nose. Shadows expression had melted into one of pure desire, as he reached out for her, like someone dying of thirst. "But this time we will get it right. I will make you my wife. I will tame you. Just like we did it with everyone else. The book could break Izua, so surely it will work with another Yokai."

His hand now cupped her cheek and he was inches away from her. His stance was gone, any semblance of caution melted away under her spell. Shadow wanted this. He wanted it so badly, that Natsumi had taken hold of him for a precious moment. It would not last, but for one singular second, Shadow Blossom was defenseless.

"You will be my goddess, Natsumi. And together, we will take that book from that little shit and make the whole world our playground~"

A hum went through the air, shaking the walls and the roof. Shadow Blossom blinked and the spell was broken. "What the—"

Further he didn't make it.

The Kodoma Forest

"He harvests us. He and his buddies and whoever else tries to get on his good side.", explained the Ronin, holding his arms out wide. The air was shaking now and a tired, but strangely resigned smile was on his lips.

"Contenders come in. He greets them, checks out their potential with that Oracle of his and then looks if he can assign them roles in his...pantheon, I guess. Why ask for compliance, if you can force them with that book of his? Thats how I got in this mess, after all."

He grinned madly. "Not that I complain, of course."

"Oh, and anybody who doesn't fit or makes trouble?" Ronin laughed and pointed at himself. "Well, away to Kiamwe they go to die! Or I pick them off. Or the Hunter does. And the ones who survive all that!? Well, they go right to the tower."

Hinanosu - Back Alley

Valentine and Poppy were dragged back, as the ground began to shake. The walls around them started to move, rise up, vanish and re-arrange. Emmeline and looked around in panic, while Victor was holding her close.

"What is happening?", yelled Emmeline.

"Naughty little children...", came a voice from above and Valentine could catch a glimpse of a familiar Fool's Mask and the sound of ringing bells. Victor yelled, but by now the noise of the entire town changing swallowed his scream.

"Run, you fools!", snapped Vlavuel, who dragged them further back and through the changing, roaming, crumbling alleys, as if it hadn't just been his corpse they had seen moments before. "We have to get out of here!"

The Cinnabar Tower

Hóu looked over her shoulder, as the tremors started. Her eyes grew wide. "He caught us."

Just as she said this, the whole earth began to buckle and shake. Everyone, aside from Hóu and Yvenyra, were thrown off their feet. Trees collapsed and the whole tower began to shake. The apes began to scream and scatter and an ungodly noise filled the trembling air.

"We are out of time!", yelled Hóu.

A gleam appeared from the direction of Hinanosu.

Hóu cursed and started to run, before anybody could stop her. She was gone within a heartbeat, skipping down the mountain towards the town.

Then a beam of light hit the Cinnabar Tower!

The whole thing began to topple. Wooden beams crashed down around Kimiko. Pieces of rock slammed onto everybody, as the whole contruction groaned like a wounded beast. And then...then it started to collapse.

Moonsight Lake

With a roar the Lervondas crashed into Sen. The captain held his blade to block the giant ship, before being flung back by the sheer impact and crashing through several trees. Aisha grabbed a rope flung her way by the ship and was pulled away, as Lervondas swung around as fast as it could.

As she dragged herself on deck, Aisha could see her sister still on the beach. "W-Wait, the others! We have to get the others!", she yelled.

But the Lervondas wouldn't listen. It chased over the water of the lake as fast as it sails could carry it. Aisha scrambled to the steering wheel and grabbed it. "We can't leave them!" She tried to pull it around like she had seen Mother Caitlin do, but the Lervondas refused. The steering wheel twirled, throwing her off, before bursting into flames to prevent her from touching it again.

"No...No!" Aisha stumbled to the railing, staring out as her sister shrunk in the distance. Then she saw it. The town, Hinanosu. It was...changing, breaking, forming. Then, with a mighty shudder, it rose out of the ground.

The whole town was starting to fly!

"W-What is happening?" Aisha stared in shock.

Then a flying cut nearly beheaded her and she quickly ducked away. Sen, the Black Lion Captain, rushed after her. His feet skipped over the water, while he held up one hand in a praying sign, and struck with his blade in the other. Aisha covered her head and dove to the ground, as cuts started to rain down on her and the ship.

The Lervondas roared once more, racing towards the opposite shore. It looked like they were about to crash into the treeline, when suddenly the entire ship lifted up. Wood creaked under the tremendous effort, as the Lervondas summoned all of its might to defy the laws that bound it low and rose up beyond the trees.

Sen come to a skidding halt. Staring after them, as they flew over the forests, he ended his pursuit and sheathed his blade. Turning towards his men, he made a gesture and they surrounded the rest of the Nesiree.

Aisha didn't see what happened next, as darkness veiled her consciousness.

Edited by TheNohen on Feb 4th 2024 at 2:32:17 PM

Val (Shit Just Went From Zero To A Million)

"Wait, who's he?"

"Seriously, who's he—?!"

And then someone grabbed them and started dragging them away. Val whirled around, intending on giving the person a piece of his mind when—

"Naughty little children..."

Val froze. Slowly, he looked up to where that voice had come from.

Everything stopped.

Someone stood above them. Another assassin, in a fool's mask and belled hat like what Val had worn. Even through the mask, Val could feel the piercing stare, void of any mirth or love or compassion.

Normally, another assassin would be a mild concern at best to he who'd been the best in Rousson.

But this was not just another assassin.

Val did not scream. He did not run. He did not do anything. He just stared, eyes wide, face ashen, as Vlavuel dragged him and Poppy away.

Mikias

The absolute fuck is everyone here on—

Mikias didn't quite get to finish that thought before the walls started shaking. He gasped and gripped a nearby table to steady himself, looking at Natsumi with a tad bit of panic. "Natsumi? We have to go. Now." Whatever was happening here, Mikias wanted no part in it anymore. He'd come here to become a god and help others, not be drafted into Iande's fairytales.

Natsumi: Mikias' Clinic

"Go soon, Mikias..." was Natsumi's only reply, still in that honeyed voice that she was speaking to Shadow Blossom with. It had two purposes. Partially to suggest to him that even if she didn't go, he should. The other purpose was to fool the oni into thinking she was aching to stay with him.

Even so, she maintained her alluring stare without fail, never straying her eyes from her victim. Even when Shadow Blossom declared his ownership, she leant into it. She let him touch her, demean her, speak of her like she belonged to him. She took in everything, and allowed him to take in everything, as a good actor would. A shapeshifter not only changed their physiology, but their physiognomy, and their psyche as well. Even their persona would shift with their form. Natsumi's persona in that moment was languorous, drunk on love. A satisfied hum radiated from her throat, as she nestled herself against the oni.

Then with no warning at all, she erupted. Her spine folded backwards, as the entire upper half of her body snapped like a twig by some unseen force. Out from her abdomen, her ribs shot outwards—fused together like a jagged spike of bone, piercing through Shadow Blossom's body to impale him until the prong stuck out of the other side. Blood would spatter, uncertain which was his and her own, as her broken body trembled and convulsed before slowly straightening back up again; her face splitting apart from forehead to neck as chittering mandibles emerged with an accompanying squelch, pushing aside her teeth in the process.

"Summertide passion..." she hissed, her voice a gurgling whisper befitting her new appearance. Her vulpine eyes bulged out of her skull as she leant her face into Shadow Blossom's, still holding him captive with her ribs. They were by this point splitting apart again, pulling outwards against his wounds like claws trying to prise apart his body. "Sweet, burning love, brave and true..."

A spectral, bluish-white glow began to well up from the depths of her throat, visibly building behind her mandibles as they parted with an almost mechanical synchronicity in order to make room for the building luminescence.

"...blossom forth... 'til gloom..."

As the haiku finished, and her mandibles touched against his face in some monstrous cataglottism, the ethereal flames burst out from her mutated mouth with the intent of filling up his own; the ghostly fox-fire searing not at the oni's flesh, but whatever tainted soul he could claim belonged to him. A primal shriek of rage and hate escaped the kitsune's form, as while she continued to breathe her fire on him, her ribs kept straining to amplify the pain in his puncture wound as much as physically possible.

She wanted him to die screaming.

Edited by Enirboreh on Feb 4th 2024 at 2:27:47 PM

Mikias

...oh.

So that was her play.

Before he'd gotten to know her, Mikias wouldn't have hesitated, would've run off without a thought to save himself. The Realms needed him and his wisdom, what was one other Contender to that?

Now...

Mikias stared at her, stunned.

There was no talking her out of this, was there?

He swallowed thickly, then headed for the door, fumbling it open. Over his shoulder, he cast Natsumi one last worried look (and mildly regretted it when her spine snapped in front of him) before he ran through the door and started heading for...anywhere but here, really.

She'll be alright.

She'll survive.

That's what he had to tell himself, anyway.

Kodama Forest

Ohhh, this temper tantrum was worse than she thought. He really was just buying time! Killing them would do nothing! Sword's hands trembled as he swung on her, so tempted to do the cool thing and catch the blade with her palms, snap it in half or something... but she could tell when someone was trying to put her on a path!

"I fucking called it, by the way. From the minute I saw the door, actually!" Sword tapped her feet back and forth in giddy vindication. "I said, a perversion of Onogoran life. So Ronin, listen."

She stepped away with slow, deliberate footsteps and went to go get her jacket again. "Man. So... almost like some kinda thing combining mind control and like... manipulation of fate. Kids playing dolls. Or like the one guy in the Kabuki audience who's trying to be all controlling about the story..."

Sword made vague wavery gestures in the air. She was very slowly putting the pieces together. And maybe The Ronin could help? "So I'm just saying. None of these fights are any good for you. You think any of your best fights up till now had definite outcomes?" She slipped her jacket back on, smoothing things out. "What do we do then? So—ohhh boy." Sword turned and grimaced at... whatever that horrible noise was. What was that, up in the air...? Was... huh, angle was bad, she couldn't really figure out what it was.

She turned back to the Ronin, and Holloway. She could feel herself getting overwhelmed again, pulled in too many directions. The tower, he said? Kicchan and a couple others had gone there right? And, and Kiamwe, what was his deal, hadn't they gotten split there too?!

"Cap, call it: Iande's prolly got something to do with whatever that shit is." Sword pointed aggressively at the big rock in the sky. "But we've been split off. The tower and Kiamwe are the intended killboxes for a buncha the rest of the crew. I bet the Lerv is gonna get got soon too. So do we try to get the crew back together, or do we go up there, try to get Iande, and hope to meet up with them. Ronin, shit's gonna be crazy but you gotta act too. Like, make a call for yourself. Or at least follow the Cap's lead."

Sword held out a hand to him, not with an expression of soft acceptance but of a giddy, burning excitement. "You could be a guy so badass their blade comes right out the pages and stabs his writer. We got a fight for you if you follow us." She clicked her tongue, looked him up and down. Little scrungly for her. "And we on the Lervondas throw some fuckin' afterparties, lemme tellya. Just follow the Cap's lead and we can get to a new endpoint."

Kimiko

Her power did not answer, as though the being in front of her held no karma. Then it spoke, and she understood why.

The one before her was not the Pretender.

The one before her was not even alive.

Kimiko rose, moving even as the words left the corpse-puppet's lips. She tore away from the hands on her shoulders, cursing and stumbling as the world shook. Sheer adrenaline pushed her to avoid the beams, ignoring the rubble that pelted her body.

Scrambling to her feet, Kimiko flung herself out of the tower, barely witnessing the beam of light aimed to bring it down.

"So Iande is either really stupid or a lying bastard." She summarized, running alongside Nasira as they fled the collapsing tower. "The real Pretender must be pissed off. We need to meet back up with the others, find it, and kill it."

Her fist clenched, and for a brief moment her fur gleamed with power at the thought of how long the people here had been trapped in the 'roles' some monster had given them.

Poppy Blake

"Vlavuel! You're alive...!" Poppy barely had the time to breathe or express her surprise before she and Valentin were pulled away, fleeing from a strange and ominous figure in a fool's cap and bells with a chilling voice and an even more chilling message. It was all Poppy could do to keep pulling Val along, given that he was lost in shock upon seeing said stranger. But she didn't like their current situation, and she liked the look of the assassin that had suddenly appeared even less, given that they apparently scared even the Pilgrims' resident assassin.

Vermin were also fleeing the collapse of the town, all but trickling and flooding out of the falling buildings. As Poppy concentrated, which was admittedly hard to do in the current context, a few of the rats turned around and all but flung themselves at the mysterious masked person. At least, at first it was a few. A few turned into a dozen, and then into a swarm. Clawing, biting, doing anything their little bodies could to hurt and hamper the assassin. Anything to keep him from catching up to them.

Edited by JumpingFruit on Feb 10th 2024 at 8:35:00 AM

Captain Holloway: Kodama Forest

"Oh, delightful..." was Caitlin's sneering response to all of this, covering her hand momentarily with her face as she clenched her nails into her skin. "Bloody… selfish git... trying to control us. As if he thought it'd end well… can only live in a cycle for so long..."

She was briefly distracted by something flying over them, which Sword also seemed to notice, and she gave the oni a confused look before shaking it off and turning her attention back to the conversation between her and the Ronin. As she was brought into the discussion, she stepped forward with her hands on her hips, giving the Ronin a wry smile as she nodded to him as an offer of morbid friendliness.

"If there's one thing I hate more than anything, it's domineering little pissants who haven't even felt the pleasure of a leather boot on their necks lording over everyone like it's their bloody right. Sword, out of those suggestions, always gather the crew. We need to coordinate, and fast. So let's stick close together, play pick-up-our-friends, and—darling?"

She interrupted herself, spitting into her hand and then stretching it out towards the Ronin alongside Sword's own; turning the proffered handshake into a hand-stack instead.

"Welcome to the Pilgrims."

Edited by Enirboreh on Feb 5th 2024 at 2:46:19 PM

Mikias Clinic

The entire place was starting to apart. The guards were shouting in panic, running for their lifes. Lim was calling for Mikias. It was pandemonium. Mikias himself stumbled towards the door, even as Natsumi had Shadow Blossom in her deathgrip. Her ribs having impaled him all the way through and now throbbing with deadly intent, ready to rip him apart from the inside.

Mikias could feel the foxfire even from his position, burning and scalding and Natsumi otherworldly screech.

A screech that got answered by an equally unworldly roar.

Looking back over his shoulder, Mikias saw the oni reach up with both hands and grab Natsumi by the shoulders. The giant Black Lions Captain slowly lifted the kitsune up, squeezing her together to the point one could hear her bones popping. Blood gushed out of his midsection, her ribs still writhing around in his insides, but somehow...somehow Shadow Blossom was still alive.

Fire licked over his features, spreading around the room. Soon, the entire clinic was alight. Peering out of the blinding flames at Natsumi was a visage twisted with hatred. Pure, visceral and bloodcurling. Vast, interlocked tusks. Two giant horns growing out of the inferno. And a pair of blood-red eyes, flooded with a hellish purpose.

Shadow Blossom rose out of the fire like a man possessed. His mouth opened and a second roar drowned out Natsumi's own. A second pair of arms burst from his body, rising over his head and holding his blade. The two stared at each other in unending fury.

Schadow Blossom burning. Natsumi getting crushed.

He roared. She answered in kind. Both more monster than man.

Then the blade came down, Natsumi screamed one last time, before falling silent and the whole clinic collapsed on both of them.

Mikias ran. Ran as fast and as far as he could...

Mikias

"NATSUMI—!"

Too slow. For the first time, he was too slow. There was nothing to be done except watch the blade come down, watch the clinic collapse, hear Natsumi's final scream.

Then, nothing.

Mikias stood there for what could've been hours, staring at the rubble. He wanted to scream, cry, swear vengeance, but he didn't. He didn't feel anything. Not yet.

He didn't understand. Just an hour ago, Natsumi had sidled up to him and been strange and annoying and— and alive. Now, she was dead, making it only two Shards before her journey had come to an end. He'd been there for only one of those Shards. Logically speaking, they barely knew each other, lacked the years of friendship he'd shared with those back in Menwa.

So why was his vision blurry?

Why were his eyes burning?

Why were his cheeks wet?

Mikias ran. Not by choice. He ran because he had nowhere else to go now. Nothing else to do but collapse and wait for death, and— and he couldn't do that. She wouldn't have wanted that. The Realms needed him.

The streets collapsed and shifted like pieces of a puzzle. Most of the town's residents were panicking, running about in the streets, screaming. A few looked eerily calm, like they'd expected this. How could they have expected it? How could everything have gone so wrong so quickly? Just...just three weeks ago (gods, that felt like a different era almost), he'd been helping introduce newcomers to the Shard, treating Theophanu, told them about the Pre...tend...er...

A memory suddenly rose in Mikias's mind, unbidden.

"He is...crying...crying, because he wanted to pretend. But it couldn't last. It never could have lasted. Dreams and lies, it was all he had."

Mikias's eyes widened. He stumbled, finding his footing a second before he fell over. And then, his eyes hardened.

"No. No, I suppose the Onna-Musha was never the Pretender, wasn't she?"

The realization awoke something within him, and he ran with a new resolve. Hinanosu was shaking, collapsing, lifting into the sky—but none of it could sway him now. "I should've seen it sooner...but I suppose 'should have' is a useless thought. This, all of this...designed to make us give up, to make us point fingers at anyone but you."

Red tinged the edges of Mikias's vision, and fury began to roar within him. "But then everything fell apart. Because Jing died. Because Natsumi arrived. Because you forced people into roles they might not have wanted, all to sate your sick selfishness!"

He was at the edge of town now. It was several feet off the ground.

In Lemuria, they called fables and folktales 'spider tales', like how Arcada called them fairy tales. The spider was a common creature in this tales, a trickster figure of deception and cleverness. Mikias had developed a fondness for the Arcadan word, he'd admit—but nowhere was the Lemurian term more fitting.

Iande was the spider. Hinanosu was the web. He...he'd been the fly.

No more.

"HEAR ME, IANDE!" Mikias screamed as he ran, rage pulsing through his entire being as he put on one last burst of speed. "YOUR STORY ENDS HERE! For Jing, and Natsumi, and everyone who died wrapped in your strings—"

He reached the edge of town and pushed his foot off, leaping off.

"I WILL TEAR DOWN YOUR WEB IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!"

The proclamation hung in the air for a few seconds.

Then Mikias fell.

He landed with an oof, rolling on the ground before coming to a stop. He lay there, panting, then looked up. Hinanosu was rising further, further...anyone who didn't escape now would be trapped.

How could everything go so wrong so quickly...is what he would be asking himself if things hadn't been wrong from the second he'd stepped into this Shard. Mikias stared blankly, a storm of emotions whirling in his mind. If only he'd realized sooner, if only he'd declined Iande's offer in the first place, if only they'd taken another door, if only if only if only—

Stop, he told himself.

Because what was done was done. Natsumi was dead. Hinanosu had revealed its true colors. He was stuck in this Shard. Overall, a bad situation.

But not quite.

Because Mikias knew who—and, more importantly, where—the Pretender was.

The vulkende stood up, white-hot rage hardening into iron resolve, and began walking into the forest. He needed a way back into Hinanosu. He needed allies—those strange Pilgrims, perhaps? And then...

Then he'd make Iande pay for everything.

Edited by LilyTheLitten on Feb 6th 2024 at 8:45:01 AM

Eines al'Maelenn - House of Kiamwe and Guests

"Hmm... hmm... huh...? What?" Eines folded her arms and blinked several times as she tried to process everything. "So what you're saying is... Iande a bad, Muasasa a forget, and you be suffering? Mmmmmmmmmmmmm..." Eines tapped her forehead in thought. "...oh, but that explains why Muasasa didn't seem to recognize Kiamwe on first glance despite working for him with Iande. I thought that was kinda weird. Unless you never met him in the first place but if both you and Iande were working directly under Kiamwe then not knowing him even if he seems a... little different would be odd. Hrm."

There was a beat before Eines realized she totally killed the mood. "Oh, uh, sorry, didn't mean to make light of everything, I'm just trying to understand-"

Rumble...

"...what was that?" Eines looked up as she heard a sound in the distance, following it to a window and pushing it open to peek outside.

Whereupon she saw something huge rise up from the ground in yay direction she and Muasa had come from, in the vicinity of where Hinanosu was. "...sorry but what is that?"

The little fairy turned to the others and pointed - seconds before a flash of light burst out from the floating something and struck a tower in the distance. Eines did a double and triple take before looking back at everyone again, expression even more flustered than before.

"...and what was that...!? Sorry but what in the Twelve is going on!?"

Nasira - Cinnabar Ruins

For a moment, as the tower began to collapse and the rubble began to fall, Nasira thought to herself that the Onna-Musha was another victim in the true Pretender's game. She wanted to do something for her, even as the world came crashing down around her. In the next moment, Hou was a blur, fleeing the destruction of the scene and with her the answers Nasira craved to hear. Heart and mind were divided but there wasn't time to linger on the choice - there was only time to act.

...I'm a fool, aren't I?

Despite a thousand objections floating in her mind, Nasira dove in as the walls came down, grabbing the Onna-Musha and slinging her over her shoulders before turning to follow Kimiko and the others down the steps. It may have been too late to save her from whatever fate she currently held, but Nasira could at least save her from this one. Even if it meant missing the chance to question the warrior monk once more. She felt Masaru's gaze on her but didn't turn to meet it. "Save your words; I know."

Hinanosu - Back Alleys

The swarm of rats and vermin streamed out of the crumbling houses and streets and towards the masked man standing on the collapsing roof. Somehow, despite everything rumbling and shaking around them, he kept perfect balance. His ever-grinning fools mask staring down at them and yet no humor could be gleaned from him.

The swarm got closer, flooding towards him under Poppy's command. The man then looked at her and it was as if a dagger had been plunged into her chest. Her heart began to stop and her breath arrested in her own throat, like a lump of coal. A terrible certainty entered her mind.

He was going to kill her.

Stop. Now!

The swarm froze up. The rats began to shiver, as if they strained against two conflicting demands. An anger bubbled up inside Poppy. One that was not her own. Her control ceased immediately and the rats began to scatter in blind panic.

"What are you doing!? Run, you fools!"

Vlavuel grabbed her and dragged her with him. He did the same with Valentine, who looked like he had just seen a ghost, his face even more pale than usual. The elf pulled them both with him with surprising strength and they quickly lost sight of Victor, his sister, and the strange man.

"We have to get out of here, before we are too high up!", yelled Vlavuel. They were running now, as Hinanosu slowly rose up from the ground. The edge of the town came closer, the palisade having collapsed into the depths, as the entire place had moved from its foundation.

Vlavuel pulled out a roasted piece of fowl from his pockets and bit into it. Two large wings sprouted from his back suddenly. The elf gripped Poppy and Valentine tightly...

..and jumped.

The Cinnabar Tower

Rubble was flying everywhere. A gaping hole had appeared near the top, where the beam had hit the tower. Broken beams stuck out like shattered teeth. The impact had pushed the entire structure backwards, like a reed in the wind.

Then, agonizingly slow, gravity caught hold of it. The hole slowly collapsed and the entire structure whipped forward again in a deceptively slow manner, as its attempt to stay upright ensured its own doom.

Kimiko came rushing out, dodging flying rubble as she went. Yvenyra cursed out loud and quickly stretched out her hands. Falling debris suddenly began to slow down, its deathly pull towards the ground alleviated. The little fairy gritted her teeth as more and more stone and wood crashed into her invisible bubble, slowing down to a crawl.

"I-I can't hold this...much longer!"

Nasira stared at Hóu vanishing into the forest. Then her eyes traveled back to the tower. Masaru saw it, but said nothing. Then the djinn made her decision and ran back inside.

"Is she insane!?", yelled Yvenyra, flinching as a large piece of the towers roof punched through her gravity bubble and plowed into the rocky ground, spraying earth and stone everywhere.

"Just hold it a few more seconds.", said Masaru.

Nasira came back just as quickly, carrying the Onna-Musha on her shoulders. When she reached them, she threw Masaru a look. "Save your words; I know."

The general did indeed hold his tongue, but Nasira could see for the first time a genuine smile on his lips. He nodded at Yvenyra and the fairy gave a sigh of relief, as she released her hold on gravity and grabbed his arm.

Together, they ran. The tower slowly collapsed behind them, crushing Hóus house and every tree in the way. Closer and closer it came, its looming shadow preceding it, threatening to bury them. Masaru pulled Nasira and Kimiko's arm and they jumped left just in time to avoid the whole thing burying them.

Several seconds passed, as they waited for the dust and rubble to slowly subside. Yvenyra took a deep breath and finally let go of Masaru and fluttered under her own power. "What..why didn't you use your power!?", she exclaimed, pointing at the Nenmo.

"Aside from the fact it wouldn't have helped too much? I can alter terrain, not prevent buildings from collapsing." Masaru seemed calm as ever, if largely because unlike the others he had no breath to be out of after their mad dash. "But really, I didn't dare."

"Why?"

Masaru looked over to Nasira, who was checking on the Onna-Musha. The former Pretender was quiet, but seemed responsive. If anything she seemed mildly curious about being outside, slowly tilting her head to look at the ruined forest around her.

"Hóu mentioned that Iande would hear her, if she revealed too much. I assume, because she stepped too far out of her assigned role. Either way, I wasn't sure if he was observing us. Tipping our hand seemed...unwise. Especially if we are to strike back later."

Yvenyra fluttered up and down agitated at first, before she realized what he meant. "Right...guess we are at war with Hinanosu now.", she said, her voice tinged with grumbling resignation.

Masaru simply nodded. Looking at the ruined tower, he clicked his tongue. "We need to stay hidden and get everyone back together." He turned around and let his eyes travel over the horizon, towards the large Kodama Forest. "Let's go and find Caitlin and Sword first."

Yvenyra huffed and pulled a piece of rock from her hair. "If they are still alive, that is."

Masaru smiled again. "I wouldn't worry about that. They are harder to kill than me." He blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Would you look at that...I am actually getting excited. I suppose Caitlin's lust for battle is rubbing off on me a bit." He gazed up to where Hinanosu was now rising out of the ground.

"Or maybe I am just glad to know my enemy finally..."

Kiamwe's Home

About a day later...

Alamim watched Hinanosu float higher and higher in the distance. Standing outside Kiamwe's house and with a cup in his hands, the old man stared out into the sky with a concerned expression on his face.

It had been close to a day, since the town had begun its ascent. It had taken a lot to convince Eines not to drop everything and rush out to look for her friends. Right now, it was best if they remained here and waited for any survivor or ally to come to them. Kiamwe's House was the one place that was suitable as a gathering place now, after all.

Ironically, it was now the safest place in Nise-No-Tengoku.

"Ah, finally." Alamin smiled, as he spotted several figures approach from the edge of the forest. "Eines, I believe your friends have arrived. Some of them, at least...", he shouted out to the fairy.

It were Caitlin and Sword, in fact. And with them was another unexpected sight.

The Ronin.

All three looked pretty roughed up, but not too worse for wear. Walking side by side, one could be forgiven for forgetting that they had been enemies just a short while ago. Alamin gave them a polite nod as a greeting. "I see you found us. Very good. We will need all the capable fighters we can get now."

"Yeah, well...the two made a good argument. I...I suppose there is no point pretending anymore, now is there?", said the Ronin, scratching his cheek awkwardly. "Also, your damn djinn showed up and told us to find you here."

Indeed, walking just a few paces behind them as Almamun, giving his master a dutiful bow.

"Well done." Alamin gave him an approving smile and turned back to the Ronin. "I confess, I am surprised. I did not expect a man like you to listen to reason."

He was greeted with barking laughter. "Reason!? Get that shit out of here, old man!" The man grinned wide and threw Caitlin and Sword a side-glance. "I just like those two more than Iande, that's all. Not every day you find two gals with their heads straight! That and...I suspect there is gonna be a proper fight soon~"

Alamin sighed, when he saw the glint of bloodlust in the Ronin's eyes. Nevertheless, he gestured for the two Silver Guards to step aside and let them in. "I won't complain. Any assistance is welcome. Go and have Sheva tend to your wounds. I will send Almamun out to find the rest of your friends and—"

He didn't make it any further, as suddenly the whole ground shook and several trees crashed down, as a massive ship suddenly collapsed out of the sky. The Lervondas groaned, utterly exhausted from the sheer strain it had put itself under, with its sails hanging limp from its mast. Cracks had formed all over its sides and it was littered in slashes.

Stumbling against the railing, weak from bloodloss and with tears in her eyes, was Aisha. "T-They got the others. They got my sisters!", she stammered.

Then she collapsed.

Edited by TheNohen on Feb 16th 2024 at 1:34:22 PM

Captain Holloway

"Hopefully it'll remain on friendlier terms. If your bloodlust is so strong it'll be like holding back a dog by its leash, then we might have to reconsider our arrangement..." Caitlin remarked to the Ronin, visibly relieved to see some of the others again once they'd arrived back at Kiamwe's house. As soon as she spotted Nasira in particular, she made a point to beeline over to the djinn to give her a tight hug, smiling at her and planting a small kiss on her lips before she finally let go. Once this was done, however, they were swiftly interrupted by the Lervondas crashing down nearby, and she quickly paled and changed her attitude as she ran towards it and almost immediately began scrambling up its side to get up on deck.

"They got the bloody ship! Bastards...! Where's Mikias...?! Sheva...? Aisha needs help...!"

She rushed over to Aisha's side, gently cradling her collapsed body as she did her best to press down on her major wound and try to stem the bleeding. She was ashamed that she didn't know these Kiln-born as well as she should, but even despite her ignorance of them, she felt sick to the stomach at the prospect of one of these faithful surrogate daughters dying in her arms.

"We'll get them back, alright? All of them," she promised. "No matter what, and in whatever condition... we'll take them home. We'll cut down the bastard responsible for it while we're at it. Just... hold on a moment, darling..."

Edited by Enirboreh on Feb 16th 2024 at 9:29:04 AM

Val (Somehow, The Collapsing Town is the Least of His Problems)

"What are you doing!? Run, you fools!"

But Val still didn't. He just stared. Even as Vlavuel pulled him away, even as the assassin disappeared from sight (or was he still following them, and they just weren't noticing), even as Vlavuel sprouted wings and flew them out of Hinanosu.

Because everything that had happened today—Jing's murder, Iande's lies, the entire town lifting into the sky—was nothing in comparison to this. Nothing in comparison to the horrible truth that had just revealed itself, and that Val had never once even considered until it was quite literally staring him in the face.

He found me.

Val (One Day Later)

So here they were in Kiamwe's house.

'Enemy of my enemy' and all, plus Kiamwe had been riddled with some form of mental degeneration for quite some time now and was basically harmless at this point. It helped that the other Pilgrims were there. So they'd been there for the past day, trying to plan their next move.

...

Most of them, at any rate.

"Il nous regardait, combien de temps a-t-il regardé?"

Val had been, to put it simply, a twitchy, nervous wreck since he'd arrived. He'd been constantly checking the windows, looking up at the ceiling, cracking open doors to peer into the room before actually entering, all while muttering to himself in Rouen—and, throughout all of this, refused to actually talk about what had him so paranoid. Poppy could fill the others in; Val didn't want to. Talking about it made it too real.

Right now, he was peering through a window, eyes darting left and right, fingers gripping the sill so hard his knuckles were turning white under the gloves. "Je ne peux pas rentrer, il ne peut pas me faire revenir, pourquoi est-il—"

CRASH!

Val was out the door in seconds, staff already drawn. "Quoi?! Qu'est-ce que c'est?! Qui est—" He stopped, noticing the broken Lervondas and dying Aisha. "Oh. Oh, wow, you two got put through the wringer, huh. Guessing it's a hostage situation? We don't comply, all the Nesiree get killed?" Val was not unfamiliar with hostage situations, but they were not particularly common either.

"Preeeetty sure Mikias is in Hinanosu," he said, absently twirling his staff. "And I dunno what Sheva can do—hey, what is your Throne—?"

Rage.

The feeling hit like a club to the face, and Val's stomach plummeted down to his toes. "They found us," he whispered, turning to the undergrowth.

Seconds passed. Nothing happened, but the feeling got stronger and stronger. They were getting closer. Val swallowed thickly, gripping his staff so hard the handle began to splinter. They followed her they followed Aisha she led them to us how many of them are there how angry are they at us— oh gods it's him it's him it must be him everyone here is going to die I don't want everyone here to die—

The undergrowth tore open.

Mikias Kidane Anom stormed into the area, face dark with fury. "So, anyone here want to help me commit murder—"

Then he actually seemed to register what he was looking at, and stopped, staring at them in total bafflement.

(Something felt wrong about this, but Val wasn't entirely sure what.)

"...I'm sorry, but what is this? How did you landlock a boat so far from water? What the hell are all of you doing here? What is with the fucking boat? I apologize, but unless it got literally launched out of the lake I don't see how—"

"We'll, uh, explain later." Val pointed to Aisha. "She's dying."

Mikias stared at Aisha, then at everyone else (who all stared at him expectantly), then sighed and stepped over to her. "For the record, she's lost a good deal of blood, so unless one of you can replace it, she'll likely die within the hour. Unless your goal is simply to make her more comfortable as she dies..."

Val watched Mikias, squinting a little—and then he realized what was wrong.

Mikias was there. Natsumi was not.

Edited by LilyTheLitten on Feb 16th 2024 at 7:16:01 AM

Kimiko

The most annoying thing about Iande being the Pretender was that she'd been standing five feet from him and he didn't have a physical Throne.

Obviously she wasn't going to start killing anyone she didn't like on the off chance they were a Pretender, but the fact that they could lie would make future challenges a pain in the ass. Iande only revealed himself because they'd managed to break his 'story', somehow.

What if the next Pretender didn't? If they were more composed, willing to hide in the dark for all of time, they could create an impassable Shard. Contenders, trapped until they went mad. That's probably what happened to Willem, isn't it? She thought. Why he didn't follow us.

A hint of rage simmered under her skin, but she exhaled and forced it out. She rose from her meditative position, where she'd been sitting against a tree, and began to dance.

She imagined a ribbon on her tail, like the one her mother had tied to her so long ago, when she first learned the steps. The ribbon had long since been replaced by a chain and blade, after mother had revealed to daughter the true meaning of the motions.

Battle is a dance, Sachiko had said. And indeed, the flowing motions of the ribbon-dance were no different than the motions of attacking with her shoge. Kimiko wondered if she'd have a daughter one day, who would learn the ribbon dance from her.

When her thoughts were interrupted by the crashing ship, she moved with calm swiftness, smiling at the Lervondas's approach for only a moment before Aisha emerged. Cait caught the fallen woman first, while Kimiko turned at another movement, frowning as Mikias also stumbled out of the tress. Alone. No Natsumi.

His expression said everything.

"The Lervondas is a magical ship that followed us from the last shard." Kimiko explained. "It holds a magical kiln, that could create life. That's how Aisha and her sisters were made. It might be able to help her, though I'm not an expert on that sort of thing. I'm willing to offer my blood, if needed."

She stepped closer, putting a hand on Mikias's shoulder. "Justice will be served. I promise you that. Here, and everywhere beyond." She smiled. "I am the Goddess of it, after all."

Removing her hand, she put a fist over her heart. "Even if I have to fight the whole world... even if I have to destroy the Cradle... I will end these Cycles, and make a world where people don't have to kill each other for power. I swear this oath on my life and soul."

Poppy Blake

They soon arrived in a hurry, which was no great shock given that Vlavuel had flown them over, and whenever someone had some spare time, Poppy made sure they got a bit of the mussel plate, which was beginning to look sparse by the time that she was done with it. While Val was in a state of shock, she had filled in the others on what they had encountered alongside beginning to inhabit insects and rats as scouts and spies. There was no sense in getting surprises sprung upon them, and Poppy kept her suspicion, if any, of the other djinn to herself. She was the most worried about the other assassin, who was apparently going to try and kill her.

What else is new? she thought to herself.

When the Lervondas arrived, it was in a state that Poppy had never seen before. And the damage! She rushed forward to support the Nesiree, or what was left of their number, at any rate—they were her bigger sisters, even if she was older than them. "Please, please, breathe," she begged Aisha. "Stay awake! Isn't there anything you can do, Mikias? Where's Miss no Mori?"

Indeed, the original fumble with Natsumi's name was now an affectionate nickname she used for the kitsune. But where was she? Surely she hadn't...

Edited by JumpingFruit on Feb 18th 2024 at 12:06:27 PM

Val

"Where's Miss no Mori?"

Mikias's face visibly fell, and he looked down at the Nesiree. Val felt the rage quell, and beneath it...a deep, abiding grief.

"She's gone," he said. It wasn't a question.

Mikias was silent for a moment, then inhaled sharply and looked up at them. "Yes. She is." There was a hollowness to his voice.

"I saw it. Shadow Blossom, the oni—she tried to impale him. Bought me time to run. I looked back, and...he survived. Barely even slowed him down. He brought his sword down on her. I heard her scream. The whole clinic collapsed, she's..." Another sharp inhale, this one shakier. "She's dead."

There was a prolonged silence, as everyone let the words sink in. "Another body to bury at the end of the Shard, then," Val murmured, mostly to himself.

Mikias cleared his throat. "I-if anyone has any...clothing they do not mind ruining, give it here so I can press it against the wound. We have to keep her from losing even more blood. Kimiko...I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about, but if you believe it'll help, go for it. And again, if anyone has any means of replacing the blood she's lost, use it." He redirected his gaze onto Aisha, brow furrowing. "I will...inform you all about what occurred in Hinanosu once she isn't going to die within the hour."

Val remained silent, staring at him. He was distracting himself. Trying to avoid thinking about what had happened. Val supposed if his only friend had just died, he'd have done the same...

Ah. So Mikias had considered her a friend after all.

And here I almost thought you didn't have a heart...way to prove me wrong, Mikias. Shame it had to happen like this...

Poppy Blake

Poppy had let out a tiny little "No," at the news, but rifled through her pockets for a few rolls of bandages all the same. She had them ever since she had served as Mikias' aide back at the clinic in Hinanosu, because they were a common commodity she had to fetch, and she figured she might as well keep a few on herself just in case. She also pulled out a few spare handkerchiefs from her rucksack, in case the bandages themselves weren't enough. That done, she retreated back into the house to get a slice of bread. There was a specific kind of mold that was useful for treating infection, which she had learned under Mikias' tutelage and could induce to grow here.

And it was a good opportunity to hide her tears from the rest of the party.

Edited by JumpingFruit on Feb 18th 2024 at 12:26:27 PM

Sword had kept her head on a swivel the whole way to Kiamwe's place. Ronin she trusted, sure, but after some walking she'd finally clocked that it was the village that was flying, and that set her on edge. She was still no good at handling a ranged attacker, and Iande seemed the spiteful type. How aware was he of... everything? Was he letting them gather the crew because it'd make a jump more effective? She didn't know how the growth of a god worked but next Shard she was gonna focus on trying to get some powers that'd protect her from intangibly getting fucked with, the power of Greed to cross all borders and close all gaps.

She spent most of her time once she'd gotten there eyeing Val. He'd gotten burned, hadn't he? Or nabbed, or something. He'd been had, and now all that confidence was crumbling. She wasn't gonna shake that off him until he'd passed the high-energy freakout stage though. He needed to be at simmering, non-manic tension first. Same for... everything with Natsumi. That was still raw. She didn't even know if the girl really was gone—how did you even kill a shapeshifter? Must investigate further.

This would be delayed by the fucking Lervondas finally joining them, more battered than anyone else. And Aisha—the leader, right? Sword hadn't had much of a chance to talk to Nasira's kids. They were the crew to her, and sorta their first worshippers too. It was instead the knowledge that they'd been again fucked with—and probably let the girl go to send a message. So, call it: did she help the girl, or did she investigate the Lervondas's damage, plan out a means of striking back, do the hard stuff while everyone else tended to the girl? The Guilds knew not everyone was gonna make it. The Throne of Greed was not an idealistic pursuit. And she was a killer. Every pantheon needed a villain, right?

Hard cut, Sword was crouched down next to Aisha, holding out her hand. That beautiful jacket that she'd worked so hard for she'd silently slid into Mikias's hands with a couple small tears started on it for his convenience. "If she's lost blood, but she's partly a Djinn, maybe her body can work with just... whatever gets in her, like the Kiln, right? How much do you need? You need it from someplace in particular? Oni blood's red and blue like humans, is that good or bad? She look like she'd got splinters or arrows in her? I can extract that clean with this TK power I've got. We get this girl on the mend and we're golden, no fuckin' sweat man."

Nasira - Reunions and Tragedy

In the stories Nasira read, places hidden by illusion or enchantment were a common motif in more fantastical tales. Mansions hidden in the depths of the forest, an empty valley revealing a bustling city once a person stepped closer. But the journey to the Gilded Palace was the first time she saw such elaborate trickery with her own eyes. As Nasira and her group tread closer, the mountains rescinded, their imposing height and elaborate profile shrinking ever more, like if a painting lay on the surface of the water in a tub whose drain had been pulled. Mountains which pierced the sky became mountains that merely reached for it, a dozen towering figures dwindling and melding slowly together into one, more humble being. Rugged blues and grays gave way to earthy browns as the mountain shrank further still, until it was nothing more than a lone, muddy hill sitting all to itself. Nasira wondered whether to be impressed by the scale of the illusion or disappointed by the ramshackle locale it had been hiding.

I don't think the ground even sloped much on the way here, Nasira thought. A blessing then we didn't have to make that treacherous hike, after running up and down the steps to the Tower, trying to outrun a falling building on the way. I'll take what small fortunes I can get.

As they crested the lonely hill, Nasira could make the familiar figures of a captain and an enforcer (along with a third she didn't recognize), along with figures she knew in a past life. Weary legs found renewed life as she sprang after them, only to be stopped by what she presumed were guards of the "tower" (for lack of better description), eyeing their silvery armor which flowed rather than buckled on their persons, straining and tensing more like muscle than like plate. Pondering their craftsmanship and purpose, her speculation was cut short by a voice that bade them entry. It had aged with the decades that passed the two of them by, but Nasira recognized it well. Nasira faced ahead to see the visage of someone she thought she had long escaped, waving her welcome as though she returned home.

The thought made her wince.

"...Sharizar." Nasira's voice was stiff, same as her shoulders, same as the expression on her face. It was clear she was tense, though what animosity one might've expected from her wasn't present in her gaze. "Or do you prefer Al'amin?"

Nasira let the question stay in the air for a moment before pushing ahead. She wasn't surprised to see Sharizar here. If anything, she carried a suspicion about his presence since the day they had arrived in this Shard. Based on Iande's information - though now everything he had said was thrown into question, once he proved himself duplicitous. She remembered her stray thought when questioning Hou. "Good faith." Sometimes that's all we have. And sometimes it's the wrong tool to hold. So to what persons should I hold my good faith to, and to who shall I raise my skepticism...?

Nasira furrowed her brow as she considered the implications of Sharizar's presence. What is this...? Some illusion by the Pretender? But it doesn't feel as though my memories have been probed. Were they pulled in from the outside? Unlikely - a Pretender's power seems to not leave the confines of their given Shard. The work of some third party then... someone who can freely move outside of Shards, back into the Realms themselves. Neniu? Suspicious or not, she does not seem like one for such machinations. Who does that leave then...? I have my doubts that elements of our past arriving is mere coincidence. Could it be the Unspoken? We know next to nothing about them, but if they can cross Shards, then they aren't a Pretender or a Contender... Too many unknowns but if they're gone from this Shard, it would explain why we've found no signs of them or Neniu. ...could they have reached the Thrones already? I sincerely hope not...

Caitlin's greeting pulled Nasira out from yet another maelstrom of thoughts, smiling as she returned her embrace and the touch on her lips. No; there's more urgent, more important things to worry about right now.

Nasira took a side glance at the Ronin, who evidently chaffed Sharizar the wrong way as a hint of frustration wrinkled the old man's brow. "I see you and Sword made a strange friend. Though saying that..." Nasira glanced over at the Onna-Musha, who was quietly observing the world around her, tracing the flight of a (silver?) butterfly through the air. "I guess we've done the same ourselves."

"I died years ago and now all I am is the beast at the end of the tale. There to slay and be slain. This is not the proper ending, because my tale is already over." So you say, but you had the will to tell us the truth behind the fiction, didn't you? I don't know if you're an illusion, an automaton, or, true to your word, a corpse made to move. But you have a will of your own. To me, that's enough to want to rewrite your ending. Stories end, but stories still live and change with each retelling. I want to help you find a more satisfying ending than this.

And then a crash. A plea. A collapse. A new arrival. A confession of loss. A hundred new questions and a thousand new worries. Nasira didn't remember when she went to Aisha's side, only that she must've, now that she was gently squeezing her hand to silently comfort her. She chaffed at Mikias's words but didn't admonish him as he too was processing a grief of his own. Nasira wondered what happened. She admonished herself for leaving her daughters on their own. She wondered what she could do to help. She wondered if she even could help. Questions, worries, questions, worries, battering her thoughts and leaving her no room to breathe...

Nasira heard Sheva's name. Another name from the past. She took a look at the Silver Guards, a look at Sharizar, a look at the silver butterfly. A click in her mind. "Mikias. Please, do what you can for her. I'll go get Sheva. I think she can help."

Eines al'Maelenn - A Ways Away

Sighing in relief at the arrival of most everyone, Eines scurried her way further into Kiamwe's household (missing the arrival of the Lervondas and its subsequent disasters by a hair's breadth). Lots of people now in the little ramshackle house but it seemed like they all had each other to lean on, so Eines was sure they'd be fine. There was one person present though who didn't have any support - not yet anyway. She snuck into the area where Joru was working before - where he was keeping Muasa now. The woodsman was watching Muasa like a hawk but Muasa's head was elsewhere.

What Muasa needed now wasn't a warden but a friend.

"Hey, Muasasa? You... okay? If you need to talk, to sort things out or even just to get it all out no matter how messy, I'm good to listen. I may have small ears but I'm a big listener!" Eines gave Muasa the biggest grin she could muster at the moment before settling into a softer, more sympathetic smile.

Kiamwe's House

Wether by fortune or fate, almost everyone managed to find Kiamwe's house within a day. Some got guided there by Almamun, while others realized on their own where the only safe place in Nise-No-tengoku now was. Soon enough, the humble abode was bustling with activity it had not seen in quite some time.

And bustling the most was Kiamwe himself. The former Mansa ran around, greeting people, bringing refreshments and in all respect playing a magnaminous, if very scatterbrained host. "Welcome, Ronin! You sure made a mess of things last time, so please don't do it again. Oh you brought friends! So nice to see you make friends. Oh my, women! We only had quarters for young Sheva, I gotta dig a bigger room! I can brew coffee, if you like. Rats? A walking, talking rat! Wonderful! The Realms spit out the most curious of beings! Oh dear, my child, you look starved. I mean it, one can see your bones! Literally..."

As Kiamwe waddled around like a star-struck child, having the time of his life, Al-Amin was standing to the side, carefully watching everyone with his deep, calm and yet calculating gaze.

His serenity only wavered, when he spotted a familiar figure emerging from the forest. His eyes widened and he had to put his cup of coffee down, so as not to shake too much. Then he took a deep breath and gave Nasira a calm, welcoming bow with his head, along with a wave of his hand. "Najlah, its been so long..."

His tone was hard to read, but his smile was cautious, almost awkward on the normally so eloquent man. Indeed, Al-Amin looked lost for words for a moment. "...It is good to see you again. You look well.", he finally said.

Their reunion had to wait, however, as the Lervondas crashed just a few yards from the house and chaos broke out. Mikias was called over, Poppy rushed to get bandages and medicine, while everyone else was shocked to see the state of the ship and of Aisha. Only Kiamwe seemed to take a while to recognize the prevailing mood, trying to prod Sword with a tray of dried dates.

Before Nasiras could enter the house, she was greeted with yet another familiar and painfully nostalgic sight, as Sheva stepped out. She looked so different from when they had last seen each other. No longer the little child, leaning against Nasira's shoulder when she read her stories, but a fully grown woman. One that looked so like Nasira and yet so different.

When she saw her, Sheva froze up like she had seen a ghost.

"Omm...", she only managed to say. From behind her, Al-Mamun stepped up and laid a hand on Shevas shoulder. The young woman looked up into the djinns veiled face and he subtly shook his head. Her expression fell, but she nodded, before stepping past Nasira and rushing to Mikias' side.

Al-Mamun then looked at Nasira, as stoic and taciturn as ever. And yet, in his eyes one could see the slightest hint of familiarity, even warmth in the normally so aloof djinn. He gave her a curt nod. "Hm.." It was the first word he had said to her in decades.

He then looked over her should to see Aisha and the people crowding around her. Then he gazed back to Nasira and one could see he was putting two and two together. His expression was hidden, but his eyes were smiling, before he patted her on the shoulder. She will be fine., he seemed to say.

"What can I do to help?", asked Sheva, as she approached. As she saw Aisha's state, her normally so demure expression hardened and her demeanour became more confident, as she pushed her way through and kneeled next to Mikias. Taking off her first layer of robes, she then started to rip them into pieces.

"I appreciate the gesture, Oni. The spirits will smile upon your grace, but its better we use silk for this.", she explained, unusually stern. She then gave Mikias the strands of silk from her robe, who immediately began to expertly clean out and cover Aisha's open wounds.

When Poppy showed up with more bandages and desinfecting mold, Sheva and Mikias went to work in earnest.

"My Throne is Alchemy, healer. I can stop her from dying, but it won't be an easy process.", she explained. "I can replace her lost blood with Argenum. It should save her life. But I need my urn."

"I get it!", said Yvenyra and fluttered as fast she could into the house.

Meanwhile within the house...

Muasa sat in the corner. The big man was practically crumpled together on a cushion too small for him, her entire posture one of deep-seating confusion and heartbreak. Joru stood to the sidelines, keeping to himself and whittling away on some piece of wood to keep himself busy.

Muasa didn't even look up when Eines approached him, her tiny hand tapping on his massive shoulder. "I...I am fine." The tear-choked tone made the lie even more painfully obvious. "Just...just need some time."

I-I mean...my brother...Hinanosu...all my friends. I really thought they all were my...that we were going to...going to make a home." Muasa stopped, putting a hand over his mouth. Big, undignified tears rolled down his cheeks. "Oh, Eines...I think I made a mess of things. Iande...oh by the Creed, Iande...I didn't think he would do that. When I first laid eyes on him, I really thought things were going to get better now...that he would fix everything..."

They were interrupted by a loud noise and when Eines looked, she could Yvenyra doing her best to drag a a large urn about three times her size through the room. "Oh, Eines! So glad you are okay. Might lending me a hand?" Her wings fluttered hard, as she tried to drag the urn another inch. "I would...normally...use my powers...but I think I am not yet recovered from trying to keep a whole tower from falling on us."

The urn scraped forward a mere inch, before Yvenyra stopped and rested on top of it. "What is in that thing!? I can lift a horse normally, but this here is even heavier than that."

"Let me help..."

Yvenyra quickly fluttered away, as Muasa rose up and grabbed the urn with one hand. He then lifted it up without even the slightest hint of effort. Wiping away some of the tears from his swollen eyes, he sniffed. "At least I can be useful for something...", he said and tried a brave, but quickly faltering smile. "Iande always said that moping about doesn't get me anywhere."

Muasa exited the house, along with the two fairies, bringing with him a large heavy urn. The ground sunk in a bit, as he gently put it down next to Sheva. The young woman gave him a thankful nod and then opened up the lid.

Inside the urn seemed to be little more than a silvery liquid, reminiscent of quicksilver. It moved under its own volition, even as the urn itself rested still.

Sheva dipped a hand into it and pulled out a large portion of the silver, itself malleable like clay and stretching like thick molasses. She then looked over to Mikias with a stern expression. "I would need your assistance now. I will need to concentrate for the infusion, so you need to put the Argenum into her veins yourself. Do not rush and keep her conscious, else she could die from the stress."

She added, a little under her breath so only Mikias could hear it. "I never done it on someone this close to death before..."

Edited by TheNohen on Feb 24th 2024 at 10:21:26 AM

Mikias

Mikias's eyes briefly flicked up at hearing Kiamwe's voice—and then he double-taked, staring at the former king in in utter bafflement before sighing and leveling him with a flat stare. "So this is the tyrant Kiamwe the terrible, huh," he said dryly, then sighed again. "Add that to Iande's list of lies. It's a long list."

And also means whatever reason he had for keeping us here is dead in the water. If he was trying to stop a cruel god from ascending, I could see it, but with how harmless Kiamwe is now, there's no excuse.

Plus side for me, I can hate him with no reservations.

When Poppy arrived with the bandages, he set to work...though he wasn't entirely it would help anything. She'd already lost so much blood, and as confident as Sheva seemed, Mikias was still unsure about the whole process. Whatever 'argenum' was, it almost certainly wasn't blood.

Then some of the Pilgrims brought over an urn, filled with a silver-like substance. Sheva drew some of it out, and Mikias watched her slim it down into something like silvery blood.

"I will need to concentrate for the infusion, so you need to put the Argenum into her veins yourself."

The sinking feeling in his chest hit rock bottom. "Sheva, it won't work."

The words hung in the air like an executioner proclaiming the death sentence. "Well—more like it can't work. I appreciate your efforts, but there's...there's no way to get the argenum from here into her veins unless you expect me to drip it into an open wound." And despite how callous he'd seemed earlier, when talking about Aisha's near-certain death, he was genuinely sorrowful now. Failing to save two people in a row was like a weight in his heart. "I'm sorry."

Silence filled the clearing, that of anticipatory grief.

Then, someone stepped forward. A young-looking, dark-skinned man with brown hair and green eyes. He approached the two of them, looking at Aisha with some sympathy...and then, with wisps of smoke, created a small thing he handed to Mikias. A glass tube, with a plunger and a needle.

"...this works," Mikias said, after briefly looking it over. "Thank you...person whose name I don't know," he added somewhat awkwardly.

And then it was to work. Very simple work, actually—gathering the argenum into the syringe, finding a vein on Aisha's arm, and then injecting it with said syringe. After that, they waited...and waited...

...and eventually, the color began to come back to Aisha's face.

Mikias let out a sigh of relief, shoulders sagging. "Oh, thank gods, that could've ended so much worse... Okay. She's stable." He stood up, stretching his arms a bit. "I recommend she rest for a week, give herself time to—"

And then he saw Muasa.

"..."

When he and Natsumi had first come to Hinanosu, he'd...stared at Muasa. And stared. In a perfectly normal way that perfectly normal men did. Natsumi, naturally, had teased him about it, and he'd squawked his protests while she laughed.

She'll never do that again.

He knows.

In a flash, Mikias drew his kaskara and pointed it at the larger man. He heard Valentin let out a yelp of surprise, but he truly could not care less. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, fire burning in his eyes.