Legend of Ransera

Posted: **Mon Jan 03, 2022 10:13 pm**

Frost 80 121

The Old Chuch tolled a silent song of beckoning - the blackness of its stone cried out against the backdrop of barren trees with branches kissed by starlight. At its center, kneeling at the foot of the church's inky shadow was a woman with the moon in her hands, lost in the magnificence of the sphere. She saw nothing but endless white light, glowing glowing glowing

The light flickered and she blinked as if rousing from an afternoon nap, lifting her chin to see the structure in its true form, with spires stretching towards the sky, the stars replaced by sunlight. Yeva looked back down at her lap, at the moon - or was it a scrying orb? - feeling the sphere's weight lighten and begin to float from her lap, rising higher in the sky, past the dilapidated broken windows of the church to take its rightful place. As if it had always belonged there, the moon stood before the sun and its brethren followed.

The smaller of the two moons inched across the sky. Yeva watched the convergence complete, night turned to day turned to twilight. The world took a strange lense of grey, disrupted by wisps of iridescent colors floating on the wind like dandelion seeds. The Old Church was whole, not in many broken pieces. Its sheer size, unobstructed by time and unknown challenges was suddenly at its pinnacle, looming and powerful. It was almost difficult to see the structure and believe it to be the same time-worn creation it was moments ago.

What Yeva saw was...

A fortress. A barrier. A gate?

Grand and powerful. As the third moon took its rightful place, the sound of a church bell tolled. Around her the different buildings that made up the church grounds surrounded her. Yeva noticed the bit of scrap nailed to the doors. Cardstock, hand painted. The ringing of the church bells grew louder, falling in tune with the sound of her heartbeat. Gong! Gong! Gong!

She stepped closer, the eerie sense of being watched quickening her footsteps. Each door, a different card.

She searched the familiar symbolism until she came to a door with strips of stained glass on either side of its archway. On the card there was a seer with curly red hair, a mirror image of Yeva painted in watercolor. She stood in the center of a stream and wore a fearful expression on her face. Cradled in her arms like a babe was a lobster. On her right sat a wolf, howling at the full moon. On the left, a dog.

Try as she might, the mystic could not remember its meaning. The toll of the bells blocked intrusive, clarifying thoughts, kept her from piecing together the purpose. Gong! Gong! Gong!

From her peripheral vision, a shadow passed across the colored glass, a figure on the other side. No words and yet she felt the call. Drawing her forward. Her hand touched the wood. The words were whispers, drowned out by the bells. Open the door. She reached for the knob, turned it. The lock clicked in resistance; the door would not budge. She leaned back, the bell pulsing through her body. The sound was unbearable now. She tried to pull herself towards the silver barrier.

Gong! Gong! GONG!

She couldn't think. Her mind felt as if it were being split and a wave of nausea followed. The woman stumbled in the direction of Zaichaer. Fear chilled her and she began to shuffle away with difficulty, as if slogging through boiling water. The bell was too much! She fell to the road, gasping. Just as she felt as if her mind would break, the bells ceased. Silence once more.

Hinges creaked and the door opened.

---

Yeva woke in a puddle of her own sweat, delirious. Fevered and crying. She rolled on her side, fighting the sheets that stuck to the skin of her legs, her nightgown hitched around her thighs. Heat consumed her body, she clutched the mattress, retching over the side of the bed. Every convulsion echoed the bells, memories of the dream haunting her as she emptied the contents of her stomach into the small pot usually reserved for hot water. The mystic could still picture the church, the card, the door. She could still feel it. It was a vision. It had to be.

Hytori weren't supposed to get sick.

► Show Spoiler

Posted: **Fri Feb 04, 2022 2:23 pm**

In this world, there are people who are more sensitive to certain phenomena and occurrences. It is not usually known if this is something people are born into, gifted or cursed with, or is simply a random expression of destiny. But it is known that these things happen, and often to the most unexpected people at inconvenient times. And the Mystic known as Yeva was one of those people who had found herself in tune with the moons, ahead of their grand celestial event, a momentous occasion that has been lost to time and wasted on a people who have forgotten the old ways in the name of progress and efficiency.

But some never forget and and others never move forward.

Yeva, having been tapped, either by choice or random destiny, would continue to receive these visions. Some would feel like memories, of buildings old and decrepit, with the moon high in the sky. Others would feel like foretellings, a world without moons, washed in darkness, filled with the screams of those not accustomed to such a world. And on the night of the 87th, Yeva, and any others that had been in tuned, would be awoken by a feeling of something shifting in the world. Something major.

A look to the sky would see the beginning of the eclipse from the dreams. And as it did, there would be a moment, a sliver of light that would only make sense to those who look for the signs and respect their power, was revealed. It would show a pathway, a direction of sorts, a guide for those wishing to follow. And if any of those did follow this path, they would eventually find themselves heading for the Old Church.

The common person of Zaichaer didn't know much about the Old Church. The typically held information was that it was a set of ruins along the road that strange stuff happened and should be avoided at all costs. But most just viewed it as a landmark, that they were entering or leaving Zaichaer's territory. Many a household fable was constructed around the idea of the Old Church. Disappearances, curses, annoyances, all of the inconveniences of life were often blamed on the superstitions surrounding this church.

But now, the grand monument that could be seen from the road, far off, was obscured. There was a silvery dome seemingly made of pure moonlight encapsulated the old church and the surrounding area. Being technically outside of Zaichaer territory, the government had simply stationed soldiers along the road, warning people to avoid the Old Church. And most needn't be told twice. Zaichaer had sent a couple of official researchers to establish a camp at the edge of the barrier close to the road, but would not allow them to share any information with civilians. They would not prevent civilians from entering the barrier at their own risk.

Should one approach the barrier, they'd find it completely opaque. Nothing but silver, and it seemed to be moving and flowing, rather than a solid surface. Moving through the barrier would be a comforting, welcoming feel, embraced by the moons. And on the other side of the barrier, the Old Church stood tall.

And it stood intact and whole, and it looked the way it did when it was newly constructed, many thousands of years ago. All of the support and out buildings that had crumbled away into ruins were now standing and whole once more. Decorations of silver and cerulean trimmed the buildings, and windows with ornate crystalline stained glass with depictions of the moons. And there appeared to be an entire bustling populace of people living their lives here. There were those in silvery robes, others in plain clothes. Some were working craftswork, others at food stalls. They were warm and welcoming people, speaking in an ancient variation of Common that sounded older but was largely still understandable to those who knew modern Common.

After some time, a bell tolled loudly, and every person in the village began to file toward the Old Church and disappeared inside.

Posted: **Mon Feb 07, 2022 1:39 pm**

80 Frost 121 Lokir had been plagued by many different but insignificant problems as of late which nothing seemed capable of resolving. He was getting too impatient with the humans for someone of his blood. He was getting too angry in too many situations. He reeled it in most of the time but how long before bar brawl ended with him held down and his horns ripped off? It was a threat many who didn't believe his story made. A threat he never really feared so long as he was armed. Still, Zaichier was a dangerous place for him to be. It made it perfect. Where there was danger for him, there was danger for others.

The Knob was a relatively safe place to lay low but he could not get over the irony of living next to a fortune teller who had no idea who or what he was. He was crossing back home from a tavern where he'd tried to cheat a few men out of a card game when he heard a strange but familiar sound. It was the sort of sound that someone heard outside of a tavern early in the morning only it was not coming from a tavern, it was from the apartment beside his. He couldn't suppress and initial chuckle at the suffering of whoever was inside and drank so much they got sick. He thought about mocking them but considered the many ways it could go wrong. He didn't even have a weapon on him if he started a fight.

He adjusted his hood over his head. He didn't need to cause any problems without good reason. Power might have been easiest to clench in chaos, but chaos you did not control could consume you just as quickly as your enemies. Lokir quietly moved into his apartment and sat down in his chair. He took a few slow breaths to ease himself into a little bit more rest and the sound of the retching didn't stop. He sighed and rose to his feet again, crossing back out of the door and moving towards his neighbors. "Fortune teller!" Lokir said loudly enough to be heard through the door while banging on it.

Posted: **Sun Feb 27, 2022 8:13 pm**

The morning that followed was unforgiving to the poor elf woman who had never known illness. With the contents of her stomach emptied to the floor, Yeva panted with her hair held back half-hazardly. She peeled herself away from the mattress, scooting towards the edge, her legs weak and uneasy as she brought her weight beneath her. A chill ran up her spine and she wobbled, dressing gown falling to its proper place. She gripped the metal bed frame, her breath coming in slow, deliberate exhalations. Shuffling forward with blurry vision, she found the basin where she could draw water and splash waves across her face. Droplets cascaded down her chin and neck, dampening the collar of her dress. She rinsed her mouth, wiped her burning nose, and prepared a cloth to scrub the mess away.

Returning to her knees, she sopped up the bile on the floor. When most of it was wiped away, she sat back on her heels and tilted her head back, fevered wisps of her dream playing through her mind. She could still hear the gong of church bells and see the road traveling out from Zaichaer. What could it mean? Yeva swallowed, still dazed when a fist began to beat upon her front door.

"Fortune teller!" an unfamiliar voice shouted. She shrank back, holding her breath as her stomach dropped and a pit of fear weighed inside her stomach.

An inquisitor? she wondered, eyes darting towards the sound.

Like a deer frozen by fear, she did not move until the second round of pounding commenced.

"J-Just a moment!" she shouted back, voice cracking. Yeva rushed to finish cleaning up the mess and threw the soiled rag into her bucket, rinsing her hands as the impatient visitor. Her strength was slowly returning, although she still felt dizzy when she moved too fast, she grabbed a cloak to wrap it around her petite frame, her bare feet pattering softly against the wood.

There was a small pause and then the sound of a chain being slid aside and a deadbolt unlocked. Yeva cracked the door and looked up at the dark-haired stranger, gripping the door a little tighter at what she saw. Yeva did not recognize the man, whose dark eyes were unreadable. He looked displeased. Tall, but not overwhelmingly so like the Orkan or some of the Avialae, he was rugged with unkempt stubble and wore a hood inside, stirring a sense of deep unease in the redheaded elf. She glanced beyond the figure, down the apartment's hallway where the stairs would lead towards the alley's side door, where it was a clean run to Franky's tavern. A woman alone could never be too careful.

"You caught me just as I was leaving," she said, only somewhat lying. Yeva intended to exit quickly; but first she needed to drop off a message with Franky or one of his staff. The vision had been strange but clear. There was a road and she had to follow it. The more her body settled, the greater her sense of restlessness. What was strange, was the timing of this man. Who was he, and... was it possible he was destined to be apart of whatever this vision was pulling her towards? "Did you- Nevermind. Sorry," she seemed scattered, distracted. Had he had the same dream, he wouldn't be beating at her door, would he? Yeva dropped the train of thought, only beginning to wonder what time it was.

She took a deep breath, grabbing her boots by the door and stepped out of her apartment, shutting the door behind her. She tried to slip past the man, scooting along the wall, "I've got a few errands to run. Uh..." the color was beginning to return to her face, a rose flush, "What can I do for you?"

Yeva never stopped moving, inching further and further down the hallway. Wherever she was going, she was in a hurry.

Posted: **Thu Mar 24, 2022 1:04 am**

80 Frost 121 Was she going to pretend that he had not heard what she'd been up to? Did she think the walls that thick or just him? Maybe she thought the horns were piercing his brain and making him a fool. No. Probably not. She was probably embarrassed and trying to cover it up. Just a moment. How dare she waste his time? Could she not have just kept to herself! Could he not have knocked on the door? Perhaps- but no, he had been disturbed by her troubled night. Lokir was too invested in his own thoughts to hear the chain and deadbolt coming undone to indicate that she'd reached the door. As a result, when it opened Yeva would be treated to a very irritated look. It wasn't so much anger as it was disappointment. He could have gone without getting hit by the residual smell of her stomach contents.

The fortune teller was quick to make her exit and Lokir, forgetting his hood was on, thought it was because she'd seen the horns. He had a bad habit of taking personal offense when people tried to get away from him because of them. He had an even worse habit of sticking to that person to irritate them. "You are a terrible liar." Lokir said in a flat tone as Yeva slipped passed him. He was no master of reading people but even he could see that she was frazzled. Something, probably that something which smelled, had bothered her. No. It was more than that. She looked... unbalanced.

She began to ask a question and Lokir's brow rose in curiosity when she stopped herself. That was always far more interesting than a strange question. The fear that stopped someone from asking something. Lokir wanted to know what she was going to ask now more than ever. He let her scoot past him but he did not move from where he was standing. If she was uncomfortable, that was on her. He hoped she was... just a little. She didn't stop moving once she got past him but she asked if there was anything she could do for him. She had said she had errands to run a moment ago. It seemed like an odd time for that but who was he to judge? "What sort of errands? You seem to be in a hurry." Well that sounded better in his head.

Posted: **Thu Mar 24, 2022 10:43 am**

Frost 80 121

"You're a terrible liar."

"Yes, I am," she admitted, clearly distracted. The fever had lessened and her strength returned. Yeva had stepped further down the hall, when the man continued to inquire about her exit. If he wasn't here for a reading and he hadn't brought up his grievance with her yet, then what did he get from calling her out? The odds of his arrival were too aligned for it to be mere coincidence. She couldn't overlook this.

"What kind of errands? You seem to be in a hurry."

She stopped, looking back at the hooded figure, "Do you have a carriage or a horse?" she asked genuinely, debating how much she should tell this stranger. She had caught glimpse of his shadowed expression when she opened the door, displeased with her, "I'm going next door to say goodbye and then I'm going... someplace. I think a church," she closed her eyes and looked to be thinking hard about something, grabbing at the memories of her dream, "I need a map, and... something to settle my stomach."

Her thoughts were scattered, which must have been leaving quite the unfortunate impression on this individual. Although his own wasn't exactly starling. He was rude and abrasive and dressed... well... suspiciously.

Most curious was why he had been at her front door. Customers came to the shop, was he a neighbor? A friend of Franky's? "I had a vision, if you believe in such things," Many in Zaichaer did not. Even more thought her practices akin to witchcraft, which wasn't exactly true. Nevertheless, there was risk to saying such things, but trusting the fates was always an act of borderline madness to faithless, "Surely your arrival was timed by the fates. You should come with me," Yeva put her faith in signs, not men. But sometimes the first demanded the latter, "Or stay, if you'd rather," she shrugged. He hadn't been in her dream, she was somewhat indifferent to his abrasive company. It was also a rather ungodly hour with little or no planning, "I'm leaving either way, but if you walk with me, you can at least tell me why you were banging on my door."

Yeva spun on her heel and went bounding down the stairs, her footsteps light and eager as she marched along the path of destiny.

Posted: **Tue Mar 29, 2022 4:14 pm**

80 Frost 121 Oh, so she was insane. That made sense. He was living next to a fortune teller who had lost whatever marbles she once had. Maybe she never had any marbles to begin with. She made no effort to conceal that she was a terrible liar and Lokir found it amusing to an extent. It was good that she could not lie well unless this was part of some larger deception. People who could not lie could be relied on to do the same thing over and over. The fortune teller turned and asked if he had a carriage or a horse, prompting a confused look from Lokir. Yes, she was most certainly insane. He shook his head. He didn't have either at the moment and if he did, he would not have let her have it.

She proceeded to explain what it was that she was doing which further entertained Lokir. She could have tried to lie again and yet he felt the truth in what she was telling him now. The story was as confused as she seemed to be. At least something lined up. She claimed to have had a vision, as he expected a fortune teller would, and then claimed that he should come with her because of fate. Fate. Ha. As if he would let any power control his life. He would play the game until a time when he could take the reigns. It was odd that she spoke so openly to him about something he knew she would be mocked for by most. Well mocked at best. He chose to look suspicious all the time rather than to let most people see his horns. Those who were not entirely mundane were not easily accepted.

Maybe that was why he felt compelled to go with the fortune teller when she asked him to. A moment later she posited another option- he could stay and not go with her. A difficult choice. Follow a woman who seemed to be losing her mind to a place she did not really know the location of or stay and mind your own business. How long could he really do that since they were neighbors? Sooner or later she'd figure that part out. He took a breath and shrugged. What was the worst that could happen if he went with her?

Well... a lot really. Still, better not to be the last person seen with his neighbor before she disappeared forever if this girl walked into her own demise thinking it was fate. He caught up to her after a few seconds of debate and said "I live next to you, divine the rest yourself," in regard to why he'd been at her door at such a terrible hour. "What do you think you saw?" He wasn't committed yet. He could still turn away at any point... but if there was a chance he might be able to benefit from the fortune teller's visions... why not?

Posted: **Sun Jan 22, 2023 8:38 am**

REVIEW TIME

Yeva

Lores:
6 Skill Lores

Loot: The weight of an unexplored curiosity.

Injuries: FOMO

Points: 10, may not be used for magic

Comments: Maybe one day Yeva can return to explore this.

Lores:
6 Skill Lores

Loot: -1 day of doing something interesting
Injuries: Probably none

Points:
10 points, may not be used for magic

Comments:
Hope to see you return sometime and find new adventures with old and new friends.

Legend of Ransera

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