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Re: Wrae'Vexenari

Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2022 1:41 am
by Rickter
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With the way everything had tied together so quickly, and Rickter having only moments to interact with each arrival, the chaos ended just as quickly as it seemingly began for Rickter. The limitations of his own will had felt tried and truly tested today, and given he'd only acted as support for his companions this round, it was truly bothersome how quickly he grew exhausted from all their combined effort. Something was wrong that he hadn't noticed before, something that definitely connected to the Echo.

Yet Rickter did not care for that right now. Once the light around them waned and the pressure in the air was gone, Rickter's crumbled shields finally dissipated into neon lights when he'd fallen onto one knee. That took a lot out of him. Even just by shrugging off the meteor strike alone he would've felt tested, but now that he hadn't an entire horde of enemies to worry about, the rest of him that he'd put off seemed eager to finally catch up. It was while those present celebrated their sudden victory, that Rickter felt the impressions he'd staved off finally push on through.

He felt the rush of cool air chill his skin in a way that wasn't quite what he felt before, understanding that the very impression he received from Imogen was of a memory at an inn. Rickter knew that smell! That northern mountain air scent was home! Even when they were apart, somehow, it seemed that Imogen was never far from the wolf. That meant something to Rickter. But as the rest of what he felt hazed on through he witnessed a brief gathering, some sort of meeting with plans laid out across a table. He understood from the way Imogen felt and how she spoke with them, they were familiar as though they were fellow Sunsingers to the secretive Ork.

Where she planned to go? Rickter didn't catch that as the next wave already assailed him, feelings of butterflies and passion washed through him like a ghostly nostalgia. It was late in the evening as far as he could tell, and the feelings that poured through into him were so alike in ways he'd felt before. Hector's night of romance stirred those memories deep in Rickter, as he reflected long and hard of those days with Talon that were now lost. When that wave of resonance faded within him, the wolf briefly looked at the elf with a melancholic stare, before the next wave that came through wrenched his heart into action.

Heartache. The death of something beloved. These were just the underlying feelings that resonated deeply beneath the outer layers of fear and terror. Clearly, Rickter knew who this woman was by just a strand of fate alone, only because the demons that haunted her dreams were the same that haunted his in turn. Yet to finally meet the savior of the Knob in Zaichaer's final hour, when the storms threatened to blot out the city in it's entirety, well, the wolf himself felt a sick twisted sense of irony over how they would meet again. Vanessa was as fine a warrior as ever, and clearly, an asset he could count on if he were to make it worth her time.

But most of all, the sheer exhaustion as the final resonance came crashing through him, as Rickter felt the last of the impressions pass through him when Avamande's thoughts filtered through as well. They were excited about something, an understanding the wolf finally started to grasp about them, and it was clearly a puzzling excitement the Hytori seemed to hold onto. There were the ruminations of an interesting journey ahead of him, before the pains of Avamande's overstepping carried through as well. Rickter felt as though his skull were ready to split in half by now. As he clutched over his temples momentarily, he took a moment to reassess the situation, while his auditory senses took a mixture of ringing and questions related to what exactly happened.

Finally, the ringing too had passed. And with the resonance within Rickter settled, at last, he felt better able to focus and concentrate on what took place before him. So... That was what it was like to Echo someone of the living. It was no small wonder the wolf's ancestors mainly stuck with calling upon themselves, a sign most obvious when he felt a red warmth trickle out of his nostrils. "Shit, Av!" The wolf realized when he heard the hoarse tone his friend had shared, yet even so, Rickter could even feel a sense of pride at the moment as well. It was strange, for whatever reason, he felt as though he were bonded. Only not.

The overall familiarity between everyone one of these people, that alone spoke of something to Rickter, which is why he minded them all before he turned to rush near the Hytori. "Far too many to be pushing yourself overboard, mate!" The wolf quickly enthused when he knelt down next to Avamande. "Beautiful as that spell was, you should never call it on your own." Though who was he to lecture a peer on his approach with magic, and yes while nearly overreaching, the sheer expression of his will brought down in the smite of a meteor... Not even Rickter would've guessed at how to make such a potent spell.

Upon the shore that his Elven friend had collapsed on, there came a clearing of the residual mists before an island resided before them. Nothing impressive beyond its shores, of course, just a cluster of trees and foliage found gathered through the isle's center. Yet it felt familiar to be here again. And somehow, Rickter knew this place in particular tied in with him somehow. "That was an invasion of the soul. And a very risky response to the situation." The sound of a young man faded in from mere echoes before his physical avatar manifested.

Standing on the beach near Rickter was the Dawnmartyr Alistor, a knight Rickter regarded with respect after having met the ancestor. What seemed uncanny, however, was the startling resemblances both wolf and knight had with one another. "But hoo boy, that was certainly somethin' to see." Another voice came through as the Zaicher private investigator manifested, the exact resemblances between him and Rickter uncanny when he stood between Vanessa, Imogen, and Henry.

"Alistor," Rickter called within moving away from Avamande's side, "did you get to see or hear anything Tiberius said before he left?"

"Only in whispers. I'm afraid I know only enough to inform your friends, speaking of which," the knight's stoic eyes fell on the Hytori as he too knelt down to check on him, "how fair's your companion here?"

"Common" "Synskrit" "Norvaegan"
"Dialogue" Thought "Alistor" "Callen"

Re: Wrae'Vexenari

Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2022 7:19 pm
by Imogen

In dreams, one could probably rely on a certain level of... narrative consistency. When an army of shadowy foes were vanquished by a mighty spell and disappeared, the idea that they might simply return was almost offensive to a basic sense of proper causality. Here, surely, a victory meant that you were no longer at the mercy of your nightmare in whatever form, and so it was probably not necessary to actually take the mundane action of checking to ensure that everything was gone.

But Imogen was not so trusting about these things, and so she spent some time stalking the periphery of Mr. Maze's dreamscape, waving her silver-mantled spear like an overlong brand and examining the water's surface with great suspicion.

Once her distrust was satisfied, the Orkhan warrior forced herself to move onward and inward, stalking towards Rickter's island and its ghostly inhabitant. She ignored Alistor, who seemed like another one of Mr. Maze's dream friends and of dubious external validity, and focused on the exhausted Avamande and Rickter himself.

"Now your business is your business," Imogen said, "And I don't ever ask clients for their secrets. But if you're so banged up outta shape about something-"

(Imogen's mind supplied her with the image of Arcas in Rickter's dream last year, blazing like a lighthouse's beacon against the void, the strange knight standing awe-struck, Rickter naked and in tears... but she banished that well before it could manifest in the darkness of Nod. Client business was client business, and her suspicions weren't useful.)

"-that you've got to whistle up a damned master wizard to get a good night's sleep, that seems like something you've gotta work on, and right quick. Otherwise you're liable to go to sleep and stay that way for good, you know?"

The Ork crossed her arms, leaning back a bit. She really had no idea what magic the strange Kalzasaern man was using to pull people through Nod like this, but she was certain that you couldn't simply kill your problems in your dreams and expect things to work out well. If it were that simple, kings would just be the people who owned all the somnosyte, and every war would be won without spilling a drop of blood.


Re: Wrae'Vexenari

Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2022 2:56 am
by Hector
TIMESTAMP: -
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► Show Spoiler
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With the danger seemingly over, the vampyre stood now surrounded by a group of strangers who, by all accounts, appeared to recognize one another in one way or another. Precisely how, however, he was as yet still very ignorant. Present company included a man who looked Human, one dubbed Rickter, a Human woman whose name he didn’t know, an Orkhan woman whose name was not stated, and finally, one crumpled up Hytori whose name he was also entirely unaware of. How fascinating!

Of the group, he found the Orkhan woman and the Human woman to be the most interesting, mostly because of the words that they had said. The crumpled Hytori’s magic was of great intrigue, but the figure on the floor did not appear to be that available for conversation at the moment. Plus, others were already tending to the poor soul. All things considered, there was nobody in particular with which the young vampyre felt compelled to interact with and so he would opt to speak more to the group as a whole.

Echoing the sentiment of the rather crass, pirate-like woman, “...yes, have you any idea what those wily little things were?” This first question was directed to the one called Rickter, given that he gave the feeling of a lynchpin in this situation. “And pray, do tell me– what is this? Who are you people? Who is ‘Tiberius?’ Did you rip me from my slumber on purpose?” Hector continued, peppering on additional questions, though none of these were granted to any one person in particular. In his confusion, he did not care from whom he would receive answers, the elven boy merely wanted them. Any information at all, really, would be helpful.

Hector was a waifish, unimposing figure on his own, and the curiosity and softness in his voice did little to make him any more intimidating. And yet, surrounded by the constructions of his blood, he would be an odd sight. He made no attempt to move from within the rune on which he stood, nor did he attempt to dissipate the chains that now floated dormant at his back like wings. For all intents and purposes, everyone present appeared to be friendly enough, but one could never be too careful, no? After all, he’d had relatively friendly folk immediately turn on him in the past upon the discovery of his strongest rune and, well, he’d outed himself quite clearly in this scenario.
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Aidolon Speech
'Thoughts'
"Kathalan Tongue/Speech"
"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Mythrasi Tongue/Speech"

Re: Wrae'Vexenari

Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2022 6:50 pm
by Vanessa Quill

The sudden incursion of unfamiliar voices sent Vanessa's hand right back down to the hilt of her sword, and the blade rasped as she drew it halfway from its sheath before even realizing. Once the physical forms behind the voices collapsed into being, Vanessa slipped her sword back into place. Her posture nevertheless remained that of a predator, though now at least she looked sated. With one hand resting on her sword, the other pushed back the sweat-slick locks of brown hair that had begun to irritatingly obscure her vision.

"A curse?" Vanessa guessed blindly. "I mean, can't be nothin' else. What in the pit could do that?" Though Vanessa knew more about magic than the average Zaichaeri, that did not necessarily imply she had anything resembling a working knowledge of the art.

Vanessa then stepped over to Avamande and offered her hand "Alright, showoff. Enough milkin' the moment. Up ya go." She tried to keep her voice cool and even, but how the hell could she do that when the elf had called down a damned meteor? She wasn't made of stone! So sure, she smiled. Dimples and everything. It was a dream though, so it didn't count.

She looked back to Hector and nodded in agreement. "Seconded. I ain't too fussed about getting pulled in here, but explanations are in order."

She figured it only fair that she start. if nothing else, it might encourage others to pipe up. She pointed to herself with her thumb. "Vanessa Quill. Captain-" There was a pause as she debated whether or not this was something Anton really needed to be roped into. He already had enough to deal with. But was she not proud of her service to him? Would she continue to hide it now that there was nothing left to hide from? It almost sounded like him. Almost. "-And sworn sword of House Michaelis." she concluded, the pause having hung for just a second too long.


Re: Wrae'Vexenari

Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 7:54 pm
by Avamande
Avamande regarded Rickter with a look even more serious than usual, which was no small feat all considered, before giving him the weightiest of nods. "You are correct, it was far beyond even my capabilities. It is a wonder I survived the Overstepping," they conceded, looking suitably chagrined as they considered how close they had come - and the fact that logically speaking, they should have succumbed. "But. You must admit, it was wondrous." The sudden appearance of yet more figures into the dream was, frankly, standard to the Hytori by this point, and they simply nodded at Alistor. "I believe I shall be fine, with rest," they replied to the man as he checked in on them. "It was a trying spell, to be sure, but... less than it ought to have been. Curious."

Following Imogen's admonishment, something very strange happened, something Rickter had never seen or heard before. Avamande laughed, wincing in pain as they abruptly cut their mirth short. "I can say he is working on it, but she does have a point, Lord Rickter," they said softly, even as they accepted Vanessa's hand and slowly stood up. Again, they wondered at how the pain was less than it ought to be, still not having internalized that since this was a dream they could of course accomplish something that they had dreamt of doing. That, after all, would be admitting to themself that they had wants and desires, and that was far harder to accomplish for the master mage than summoning a meteor from the sky.

"Thank you for the assistance," they replied to the pirate, smiling back ever so softly at her grin. They were as ecstatic as they could ever remember being - not that that meant that much, but still! "I am Avamande Val'Istar, mage of Kalzasi, apprentice to Lady Lyra. Now, if I remember rightly, this is the part where I am to encourage you to visit Ale'Ephirum for all of your arcane needs."

Re: Wrae'Vexenari

Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2024 8:40 pm
by Chronicle
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Comments: As this thread took place in the Dreamscapes, there is no XP to grant for review of this thread. There are, however, a few implications that will be later brought back to light when this plot is returned to. Those who participated, thank you, and hopefully when the time comes the seeds of this plot shall tie in some interesting narratives together. <3