Lilwen Nickleby - Today at 7:10 PM
A storm was brewing in New Arisalon. Great black clouds built on the horizon in all directions, swelling higher and higher they blocked out the night sky and sent most rational beings fleeing indoors for cover. Right now it was just clouds and light and noise, but there wasn't a soul for fifty miles around who didn't know it in their bones that the storm was going to break.
Lilwen flew on the back of a mythical thunderbird, through the wind, hail, and rain in a great circle around the grand city. They needed big lightning, that meant a big storm, and that's what she was going to give them. The great bird soared on wild currents, nursing the storm closer to the unending fuel source of the sea. Once they got it there it would become its own beast. (C)
Shelzi lay dying in a prison of her own making, fighting to keep herself and their child alive. She'd fled into a small pocket dimension with the last bit of her power, there wasn't enough of her left to get them back home.
And the others are...?
Victor, Reign, Ardyn, Trent - Today at 7:14 PM
Victor had never felt so alive, and so uneasy. Something had his sister tied up in knots, and he could feel it in his own stomach. The spray of wind and rain had the griffon moving in angles that did not help the sense of unease. He held on to the griffon for dear life, having some training with aerial mounts, learning first on a hippogriff. The sea dark below, was illuminated by flashes of lightning- each one holding some measure of serendiptity, as with it he could see the rising towers in the distance, and the ships battered by waves below.
Trent had other goals. Knowing a storm would be generated, one to end all storms- he had insitituted a curfew, secured the city- and in his benevolence even housed the poor in the citiy's many theatres and academies. Those not waiting out the coming storm, were the soldiers- legionaires of great discipline and renown waiting for the moment in which the tide rise- and Tyran would do as it did- and try to swallow New Arisalon whole.
Reign stood- a man without magic, expected to do the impossible. Equipped with something Trent called a "Psionic Matrix" and something called a "Crystal Capacitor" Reign's impression of his brother changed every time he seemed to know something he had no reason to know. These items helped channel Reign's burgeoning psionic power into something that could interface with the magic that would be gathered- gathered by the Towers of New Arisalon itself. The City's spires were not ornamental, but took place around the Ringed City in intervals and patterns some what arcane. From those towers, yes- drakes and hippogriffs landed, roosted, and took off from. But that was not their purpose. The Grand Pact of the city was that magic flowed through every brick of it. Those Spires- so much more than they appeared- collected the sustaining magic for the myriad enchantments that sustained so much of New Arisalon.
Tonight, magic wouldn't be used to shed unneccessary lights, or keep the larders at a 32 degrees. It wouldn't be used to spirit away excrement, the reason for the cities pristine canals. It wouldn't be used to heat water in tubs. No, Ancient Magic would be used- and the Spires above acted as both conduit and receiver. Atop of each, a coil- one that'd draw power from that great and mighty storm.
Ardyn, a man made of magic- without a family name- and with a history little more than smattering of random events- stood beside the 'vanguard' ready to descend into the depths. He wasn't sure what he'd be doing- but he knew that this time, he did not wear 'special' armor. He'd been told to drain as much of the magic as he could- which seemed a rather vague plan. But he acquised. If only, because Elyn's family needed a loyal soldier for now.
Too Many Kalibas and a Butterfly - Today at 7:28 PM
Verity stood with her pretty features etched in a perpetual frown, near her eldest brother. The standing stones that surrounded them like silent looming sentinels did little to keep the storm at bay and Verity was glad she had dressed warmly in a heavy gown and cloak. Dark clouds congealed and crashed together above them as though the gods themselves were signalling their displeasure. The wind whipped the girl's long blonde hair into her face repeatedly, forcing Verity to draw the hood of her cloak up over her head snugly. Her entire body thrummed with anxiety as she paced back and forth with a restlessness she had never experienced before.
Baracus - Today at 7:30 PM
Baracus stood on the shores of the lake when he felt the small flicker of power tickle his spine. Tyran was speaking to him. "No." The lands could feel one born of their embrace was in danger. The flicker was more intense. "No, She is as I, god no more. Let her fate be decided." The feeling grew and could not be ignored. He paced as he knew a former entity holder laid in danger. "Why? Answer me that?" Was he delusional? Crazy? Then he knelt beside the waters edge seeing an image of Dreanna, her silent pleas to lend his aptitude. "Tyr damn it, Fine. But only for you sis." Unknowing how, and quite frankly uncaring he would appear with the rest present. A low growl, as he searched the faces looking for something that didnt piss him off..."Great...no one." He would curse Dreanna later for this.
Lilwen Nickleby - Today at 7:36 PM
Beneath the city, standing at the entrance into the catacombs, they could feel the deep, vibrating hum of growing power. The pendant in Zephyr's hand buzzed at a slightly higher pitch. One step, Baracus was walking towards New Arisalon. Two steps, he was face to face with what the book had labeled 'the legacies.' Ardyn with far more potential power than any mere human ought to, Elyn looking very much like Reign Kaliba's daughter, Zephyr who felt like family but was clearly Laelia Kaliba's son.
There was a reason they were all necessary.
The pendant pulsed brightly at Baracus' entrance and then began to lift like a dousing rod pointing the way forward.
Too Many Kalibas and a Butterfly - Today at 7:37 PM
With pendant in hand, Zephyr glanced back towards his mother with an unreadable expression. Laelia wouldn't be accompanying them. She would be remaining within the palace to ensure it was secure during the storm, and to ensure no surprises came their way while the others were occupied. Though she as gaining strength, Rosewyn still hadn't fully recovered from the sleeping poison and was vulnerable.
"Go and do what you have to do." She said to Zephyr, Elyn and Ardyn, expression mildly veiling pride. "For New Arisalon and our family." She would not tell them to come back safely. That much was already implied.
"Lets go." Zephyr said and led them down through the sewer grate into the dark, grime and stench. (Put that before Lilwen's)
Victor, Reign, Ardyn, Trent - Today at 7:41 PM
Trent looked on to his Father's progeny, his niece, and the behemoth he joined them- arms of obsidian, heart of stone. His lips triwsted up in a slight smile. Unexpected. But appreciated. He'd need to make donation to the coffers of the ToE, or maybe- he'd just need to enchant something for the curmudgeon.
" Baracutis. Welcome to New Arisalon- a shame I can't offer you hospitality. We do however, have plenty of things to kill. " Trent remarked.
Ardyn had a relaxed appearance at the 'pep talk' from Laelia, and nodded deeply to acknowledge it. He had hoped Victor would of arrived- they could of used his strength. But- all the same. He glanced to Trent with an expecting look- as if he was under the impression that Trent had to come too.
The pendant would patiently show them the way, leading them through suspiciously silent catacombs. Occasionally they'd pass a burial urn toppled onto its side or fresh scuff marks surrounding weirdly placed corpses, who had somehow managed to fall from their nooks within the walls.
Too Many Kalibas and a Butterfly - Today at 7:45 PM
The necromancer was rarely far from Trent. At the moment she stood not ten feet from him with her hands clasped demurely inf ront of her. Her unnerving stare was focused on nothing in particular, but make no mistake - she was paying attention.
Zephyr held the pendant out in front of him, letting it lead the way with it's flickering light. As Baracus came into view, he remembered their conversation from before and a hum of solemn greeting acknowledged the former god. There was no goading talk this time, only focus towards their goal.
Baracus - Today at 7:49 PM
Baracus remained silent, he would keep his eyes open and watch. He was here to aide Shelzi, and return her. Glancing over the one who spoke to him he nodded with blackened pupils, and a twisted grimey grin. A low pitch growl showing more acceptance than attitude was given, as he walked with them. He stayed in the back as he could keep an eye on the group. He was the odd man out and he wasnt sure about most of these people.
Victor, Reign, Ardyn, Trent - Today at 7:54 PM
(Victor) Never had fire been so lucky. Without it, he'd of never seen her. While he rushed onward to his sister, onward to protect his family he had so foolishly left due to his impulse- he urged the Griffon lower, where the wind would batter them and the waves would threaten to swallow them. This time- the Griffon swooped down and banked, enough for Victor's impossible strength to grab ahold of the back of sinking leathers, and tug- fishing the red head from the hungry sea.
Using his hips to guide the beast, and to slip back, in one fluid motion, the young man put the girl over the beast, and used one hand to keep her secure.
(Trent) Having seen them off- and with Baracus no less, Trent could relax as much as he could. It was time to prepare himself. "Milhin. Send your butterflies after them- I want to know everything- as it happens..." he said reaching up to cup her cheek. He could afford no distractions, so he took his moment straight away. He leaned in and kissed her, not one of lust, nor one that oft shared mingled with magic and sex. It was the kind of kiss you'd give someone cherished, someone known. It was not brief, nor was it overly long- it was just right- the perfect expression you'd give before you surrendered yourself to something greater than yourself.
When it was done, his words were simple. "Now...we wait for this so called armageddon." With that he left the staging area, and joined Reign and Verity in the Garden of Stones- the location picked for it's magical advantages. The Sons of Arc each had a role to play, their time- not yet up in the light. One fading. The other rising.
Lilwen Nickleby - Today at 8:03 PM
Below the city a different sort of thunder rolled, the sound felt in the chest before heard with the ears. As the group underground progressed, a rhythmic chanting could be heard. The ground beneath their feet grew slippery with loose pebbles and the walls were peppered with crystal geodes much like the one pulsing in Zephyr's hand.
The closer they got to the end of the final tunnel, they could hear two voices raised in disagreement.
"We cannot do this without the pendant! It's the only thing that can control that...thing!"
"It is happening right now, Rottis! It has to happen now!"
The voices grew louder and higher pitched, the chant in an alien tongue.
The tunnel ended at a massive cavern, the entire center a dripping mound of pure crystal magic that pulsed between painfully bright and total darkness. The darkness was lasting longer and longer in between.
A robed group was standing in a circle around the crystal formation, all of them proudly wearing the Light's Shadows emblem center of their chest. An older gent was the last to take his place around the crystal and join them in the chant.
Too Many Kalibas and a Butterfly - Today at 8:07 PM
"As you say." Milhin crooned, leaning into Trent's palm, lashes lowering to curtain her eyes as he kissed her. Her fingertips skimmed down his arm in a lingering gesture of affection before he pulled away. That hand rose and with a delicate motion, flicked strands of hair over her shoulder. From the tips of her raven black tresses, several butterflies manifested and broke free, fluttering behind the youngsters and their 'guardian', Baracus.
Milhin wandered into the Garden of Stones behind Trent, seeming uncaring of the biting wind as it whipped her hair around and gusted her skirts about. She would relay each event as it happened to Trent, a play-by-play of the happenings within the catacombs.
Lilwen Nickleby - Today at 8:08 PM
The tunnel ends two stories above a straight drop-off to the floor where the robed group is formed up. The cliff face is flat, although there are occasional geodes embedded in the wall.
Too Many Kalibas and a Butterfly - Today at 8:09 PM
Zephyr paused as they heard voices ahead. "What thing?" He murmured to his companions, creeping up to the mouth of the cavern to look below and see the robed cultists surrounding the crystal formation. What was it? And what were they doing here?
Lilwen Nickleby - Today at 8:16 PM
The darkness refused to disappear from the crystals entirely anymore. Black tendrils writhed within the vibrant rock, forcing the light closer and closer to the surface. The air became thick, harder to breathe, and hair raised on arms and back of the neck...
Lilwen clung to Phaen as they climbed higher and higher, dodging lightning, chasing it and then being chased by it in a deadly game of 'tag.'
It would happen once she reached the top. This time when Phaen turned his beak down and folded his wings they would come from the sky screaming - and they'd be bringing the lightning with them.
Lilwen Nickleby - Today at 8:16 PM
The darkness refused to disappear from the crystals entirely anymore. Black tendrils writhed within the vibrant rock, forcing the light closer and closer to the surface. The air became thick, harder to breathe, and hair raised on arms and back of the neck...
Lilwen clung to Phaen as they climbed higher and higher, dodging lightning, chasing it and then being chased by it in a deadly game of 'tag.'
It would happen once she reached the top. This time when Phaen turned his beak down and folded his wings they would come from the sky screaming - and they'd be bringing the lightning with them.
A disembodied voice cried out in the garden around the stones, eerily fading in and out. "Reign! Get ready! Get ready!"
Victor, Reign, Ardyn, Trent - Today at 8:19 PM
Ardyn's voice was low, careful to not be discovered. "Should we strike now? End the ritual mid way?" he asked.
Victor did not come with lightning, but he came with a fiery redhead, and a pissed griffon. He landed in a courtyard not far from the Garden of Stones, his trajectory illuminated by flashes of lightning, and a golden light that inspite of him, enveloped him as the dove into a landing. Victor dismounted and with the red head in his arms he carried her into the palace, where she could be safe among the guards.
Without delay, as the storm intensified Victor rushed to his twin among the Garden of Stones- glancing towards Trent, Milhin and the rest.
Baracus - Today at 8:20 PM
Baracus drew his double headed axe. "Lets go ask." He would begin to walk around them to politely engage in...conversation.
Victor, Reign, Ardyn, Trent - Today at 8:24 PM
Victor embraced his twin tightly, against the oncoming storm and reached out to touch his Uncle Reign's shoulder- instinctively. As if another voice urged him to do just that.
Reign did as bid, his mind a tower of it's own design- a bastion of iron will bending magic and matter to his will. The Capacitor hummed with psionic resonance, the fields of Aether rippling visibly as the massive stroke of energy coalesced and followed the Girl who flew on lightning. Reign's violet eyes began to burn- not tears- but an ethereal fire that burned with the heat of true flame- and with brilliance like a morning star.
There was no incantation- only the droning mantra, a focusing of mind and will- where heart did not distract but reinforced. He opened his mind to the universe, all of that power laying secrets bear, stripping the layers of pretense from reality. He did not just wish to find her- but to reach out and bring himself to her, or her to him. The city strained under the weight- the street lamps dimmed, the enchantments of convienciece one by one, failed.
Clutched in Victor's hand was the pendant of a Sister. He could only think it was best if Verity had it, pressing it in her palm and knowing she'd know what to do when the time came.
Too Many Kalibas and a Butterfly - Today at 8:28 PM
"Yeah. Lets crash their party." Zephyr said and grabbed hold of Elyn and Ardyn. Baracus seemed to be making his own way down. Shadows were plucked from corners and the ceiling, attracted to Zephyr like a magnet. He pulled his cousin and his friend through them and they arrived at the bottom of the two story rock face.
"You mean this pendant right here?" Zephyr said holding it up with a cocky smirk.
Verity gasped in surprise as her brother descended on the back of a griffon into the courtyard and only moments later found herself envelopped in his arms. Her arms closed around him tightly and she squeezed him tightly. Already she felt stronger. His strength ensured that she had a solid foundation to stand against the storm. And to stand against what was still to come. The pendant was pressed into her hand, and she didn't need to ask what it was for or where it came from. She felt it, a soft warm light that lingered within. It felt peaceful, but brimming with life.
Victor, Reign, Ardyn, Trent - Today at 8:33 PM
Ardyn could feel the magic around him. Where it felt heavy at first, it then began to feel like water- cascading over his body washing away any weakness, any frailty. He felt suffused by it. It was like the opposite of what had happened in Reign's anti-magic cell. He felt the fire burning in his blood, and while he could've talked trash- and he certainly wanted to be as cool as Zephyr, instead- corruscating beams of unstable arcane energy ripped from his eyes to the first robed cultist he looked at- giving no warning, to him- or the intended victim.
It suddenly became very obvious what Trent's hypothesis had been about the Magus. Whether the cultist was dead or not- the usually poised Ardyn yelped a "Oops! Sorry! Were we talking there? I just..uh. I'm a little new."
Baracus - Today at 8:33 PM
Baracus would grip the side and using his stone arm and hand simply slide down the side using the impervious arm as a repelling aparatus. Once he got to the ground level with the others he would split his single handeled axe into two with a twist of the handle and move in to engage. He left witty retorts to his companions, he had a different skill set.
Too Many Kalibas and a Butterfly - Today at 8:43 PM
Zephyr grinned and lunged forward, drawing his longsword with his right hand while still holding the pendant in his left. He extended the blade, feeling it sink with a satisfied thunk into the cultist's chest. With a savage twist, he yanked the blade back out, leaving a dead cultist on the ground.
Baracus - Today at 8:45 PM
Baracus does what he does best. He moves in closer and puts boot too azz.
Victor, Reign, Ardyn, Trent - Today at 8:45 PM
Ardyn lashed out again, this time- he didn't bother with sporadic outpourings of magic- This time he drew his curved sword as he dashed in motion, drawing and striking in one fluid wave of the arm.
Too Many Kalibas and a Butterfly - Today at 8:46 PM
Zephyr spun on the balls of his feet and lashed out with the longsword towards a new cultist. He was not one who fought with brute strength, but agility and finesse to try and outmaneuver his opponent.
Victor, Reign, Ardyn, Trent - Today at 8:56 PM
Kanashimi once more scored itself with that purifying electricity, before it was sheathed. "I think it's too late." he said glancing to Zephyr. "Do you know how to use the pendant? How do we...defuse this thing?" he asked, his own skin become flush as the magic he was absorbing was creating over flow in his blood. The Aether his body produced naturally was overwhelming his organs. Intermittenly seemingly harmless waves of magical radiation came off him in sheets- invisible to the naked eye, but tangible.
Essentially, though it was quite painful- he was acting like a heat sink.
He also was pretty sure that Trent and Reign didn't like him.
Lilwen Nickleby - Today at 8:57 PM
The air around Lilwen lit up with an eerie rainbow glow as they dived straight for the center of the Garden. Power and energy swelled in both earth and air, leaking out of the crystal node in the cavern and burning in the sky above.
Too Many Kalibas and a Butterfly - Today at 8:58 PM
"I remember when Lilwen and I touched the bookmark at the same time...it did something. I think we all have to touch it!" He said, thrusting his hand bearing the hand bearing the pendant out to the others, urging them to grasp it with him.
Zephyr, Ardyn, Elyn, and Baracus were all filled with a sudden compulsion to touch the pendant dangling from Zephyr's hand. They only had a moment to decide whether to give in, or fight the urge.
Too Many Kalibas and a Butterfly - Today at 8:58 PM
"I remember when Lilwen and I touched the bookmark at the same time...it did something. I think we all have to touch it!" He said, thrusting his hand bearing the hand bearing the pendant out to the others, urging them to grasp it with him.
Victor, Reign, Ardyn, Trent - Today at 8:58 PM
What the hell? Ardyn reached for the pendant over Elyn's hand. Because she wouldn't hesistate, she was always grabbing magical stuff without thinking.
Baracus - Today at 9:00 PM
As old as he is...Baracus would have a hint he was not in control and try and fight the urge.
Too Many Kalibas and a Butterfly - Today at 9:01 PM
"Come on, old man." Zephyr challenged his great great great-something uncle. "Don't let me out-do you."
Baracus - Today at 9:03 PM
Baracus shook his head "If theres one thing Ive learned...dont touch things that want to be touched. You keep it."
Too Many Kalibas and a Butterfly - Today at 9:03 PM
"Gawd, if you have a girlfriend, I feel sorry for her." Zephyr muttered.
Baracus - Today at 9:04 PM
"Goes double for women."
Lilwen Nickleby - Today at 9:12 PM
The chant was ended only a moment before completion, the entity behind those invading black tendrils pushing with all its might to wrangle the magic out of Trent's control.
The eerie glow around Lilwen blocked out everything else, making it impossible to see the ground. She would have to rely solely on how well she knew her bird. Phaen pulled up at the last possible moment, colliding with the ground on his belly and sent in a violent tumble towards the farthest Garden wall.
The ground did not stop Lilwen. She and the lightning struck the ground dead center in front of Trent, Reign, Verity, and Victor - the same moment the crystal node in front of Ardyn, Elyn, Zephyr, and Baracus blew up...
The pendant flared before it all went BOOM, the entity letting out a piercing screech of pain. It gave Trent an opening, but it was the only one he was going to get.
Victor, Reign, Ardyn, Trent - Today at 9:16 PM
Trent licked his lips in that moment, as the rain seemed to stand still. He no longer heard the droning mantra of his brother, who had always been a bit of a meditant. He closed his eyes, "Your butterflies, Milhin. Go to the pendant." He said calmly, himself beginning to draw that magic out, and further--- to open up what Reign never would. His grasp of the Darklight was true. Pure. He knew it's real power- he knew where it came from- where it truly lived, in the Far Plane- unknowable. Primordial, and that the Codex- this dead god's work- was only a vestige, only a window.
Trent knew that a window could be opened on either side when one knew how. A croaking inhalation sounded bestial as the incantations were made, energy being drawn to a point in space like light is drawn through a blackwhole. Trent was going to feed himself with this energy, energy he could never contain- but The Darklight needed something to push it along- it had been starved by Reign. Trent needed it fit, needed it whole. He had plans.
Something in Trent shifted in that moment as he held ancient power from the dawn of entropy and his own magic- his blood began to stir, and for a moment he felt the Divine echo, just for one moment, Trent glimpsed creation, oblivion, the ever and the after.
He did not blink.
The energy, the explosion, all of it- the entity itself, Trent did what any Emperor would do. He dominated it, he Devoured it, and he turned it to his purpose. His lineage never more clear, his shadow never stretching any further than this specific moment.
Baracus - Today at 9:22 PM
Baracus would raise his stone arm to deflect the blast, he hoped to block enough to survive this blast and move forward.
Victor, Reign, Ardyn, Trent - Today at 9:23 PM
Somewhere, a Father wept for his son's soul. Proud of accomplishments, sure. Happy that perhaps his family would survive the day. Secure in the future, no matter how dangerous. But at such a great cost. It broke his heart.
But close at hand, a Son reached out for his lover, plumbed the depths of the chaos and energy and steeled himself from the tangible dread that was being coursed through the are from that yawning singularity of magic and darkness. He couldn't allow it to distract him, he reached into the madness once more- his hand outstretched for the woman' who couldn't leave well enough alone- and the Daughter that may be Grace for them all.
Reign's form in lotus position scorned the earth, lifting inches from his seated place among the artifacts- within the Garden of Stones, and like that- his body was little more than a shell, as Reign projected Astrally into the maelstrom in search of a needle in a haystack.
Too Many Kalibas and a Butterfly - Today at 9:29 PM
"They are there, darling." Milhin reassured absently, her focus set to the task of carefully monitoring the situation within the catacombs. She grimaced visibly, a discomforted crease forming in her brow. All but one of her butterflies in that location was destroyed in the explosion.
There was no time to curse as the explosion rocked the chamber. Zephyr threw himself against Elyn and Ardyn, attempting to knock them over and flatten them all to the ground.
Victor, Reign, Ardyn, Trent - Today at 9:34 PM
Ardyn summoned up all his strength and threw up a barrier, not unlike the one he used in the riot- he did it this time like a dome- straining himself to the point of breaking, if only to help filter the magic he had taken on just by being this close to the node- it was a feedback loop in reality, the force that blasted the barrier was being used to reinforce it- though with diminishing returns.
Lilwen Nickleby - Today at 9:36 PM
Magic in its purest, most primal form erupted from the center of New Arisalon and pushed outward in an unstoppable wave for a fifty mile radius.
Trent's indomitable strength of will batted the entity aside leaving it nothing but gathered scraps from Trent's neverending buffet of power. He could do almost anything in that moment. Grant himself near any wish. Did he save New Arisalon or destroy it?
Anyone with a drop of the magic gift felt the impact of that blast like a physical blow. Some would find themselves eternally altered, others would never notice what they carried until they passed the burden on to their children.
Shelzi latched on to Reign's reaching, winding what little remained of herself around him, for the rest coccooned a screaming bundle. They fell out of the rip in the Web in a wet and bloody heap. A baby girl screeched and squirmed within Shelzi's arms. Shelzi lay within Reigns, bleeding. She was cold. Pale. And she wasn't breathing.
Lilwen Nickleby - Today at 9:41 PM
Lilwen lay unconscious among rubble near Elyn, Ardyn, Zephyr, and Baracus. The sky above them was suddenly open, and if they looked waaaay up they'd see what remained of the Garden.
Too Many Kalibas and a Butterfly - Today at 9:44 PM
Zephyr gasped as searing pain roiled up his back, licking like fire and magic and burning. He arched, gritting his teeth against the pain, a gutteral cry wrenched from his throat. Once the light had faded, he shakily pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, glancing about for his companions to assess their damage.
Lilwen Nickleby - Today at 9:45 PM
The pendant in Zephyr's hand dimly pulsed, a weak and pitiful thing compared to its earlier splendor.
Victor, Reign, Ardyn, Trent - Today at 9:45 PM
Trent could not make man less evil. He could not free them of their frailty, of their insolence, of their hubris and greed. He could not make the perfect city. He knew it. He knew that to even come close, greater evils than this would be done. But Trent knew one other thing. He knew the Darkness waited for him, far beyond the deepest fathoms of the Far Plane, a hunger surpassing even his own Darklight came to the endless magic of Tyran, the endless rebirth, the endless renewal. A maw, wide and gaping- something that knew nothing of evil- nothing of good, it did not care for nations, or philosophies. It had no plan,but it's hunger.
He had glimpsed it in the mirrors of the Goddess. He had felt it when he first communed with a taste of his brother's former power. He knew, that he had to do this.
So when ultimate power came in that instant- when he was more god than man...Trent hesitated a brief moment- the moment where all things were equal. The Presence of the Darklight was oppressive, but full, satiated, so pleased with it's new host.
The Darkforce, the dimension in which it spanwed in the Far Plane open to Trent- stuffed to fill with a monstrous energy. Trent looked at the paths before him. He looked to the Darklight, the semblance of sentience- the primordial force whose serpentine whisper brought the fall.
Baracus - Today at 9:46 PM
Baracus was angry he got a splinter of shard in his thigh. Pulling the crystal shard from his leg he looked around otherwise unscathed. He checked for dead comarades...they had eyes and ears too...
Victor, Reign, Ardyn, Trent - Today at 9:46 PM
Trent Kaliba in that instant, vanished- and the endless singularity collapsed upon itself with an audible boom.
Too Many Kalibas and a Butterfly - Today at 9:54 PM
Verity's eyes widened, torn between running to Lilwen or Shelzi. Once she noticed Lilwen's chest rising and falling, and Shelzi's was not...And there was a baby. She tore free from Victor with a cry and ran for Shelzi and Reign, skidding to her knees beside them. She was more afraid than she had ever been, afraid of failing as the book had said she would. But that would not stop her from trying.
Her arms slipped around Shelzi, forehead pressing to her's. She summoned everything she had. Ever last flicker of light she could muster, pulling from the very depths of her soul which had been infused by the Light her father had absorbed from Dreanna. Golden light began to shimmer around her, around Shelzi and the baby and Reign.
"Please." She whispered. "Please."
Victor, Reign, Ardyn, Trent - Today at 9:56 PM
Victor, he couldn't help. But he knew someone who could. He followed Verity, and helf the hand he'd pressed the pendant in. Sinead's pendant. And he did what no Kaliba had done in many years. He prayed.
"You said that when I needed it- you'd intercede. You made a promise- Intercede for my sister. Aid her, as you wanted to aid me." It was unfortunate that Kaliba's couldn't even pray without seemingly using leverage.
Too Many Kalibas and a Butterfly - Today at 9:57 PM
Verity hiccupped through tears as they streamed down her cheeks, pressing her hand, Victor's hand, and the pendant between them against Shelzi's heart.
Lilwen Nickleby - Today at 10:03 PM
Shelzi begins to breathe, but opening her eyes is still too much. Lilwen and Raylinn are both unconscious, but breathing. Raylinn is very hot to the touch.
Too Many Kalibas and a Butterfly - Today at 10:05 PM
Shelzi began to breathe, and currently there was no indication that anything was wrong with her mental state. She wasn't dead. Which was quite a feat since she'd seemed rather dead when she'd collapsed to the ground. "I'll...I'll keep trying, Reign." Verity sniffled.
Zephyr pulled himself to his feet, looking at the pendant in his hand which continued to pulse. "What...does it mean?"
Baracus - Today at 10:09 PM
Baracus stands over Shelzi seeing her breathe and talking about unicorns and flowers. "Whatever..." He looks to the air and speaking to the land and Dreanna. "She lives, and Im gone." He'll walk past the others and make his way back the way they came letting them deal with the lolipop princess.
Victor, Reign, Ardyn, Trent - Today at 10:11 PM
"Shh. Verity. You did good. You did real good." he said as he opened his eyes unable to find her consciousness. They might not know how damaged her mind might be- but Reign- he was a burgeoning psychic. But thankfully...he was also a dad to a new baby girl, who he held close as he rose from it all. .
"The book, Zephyr. Shelzi was the author. The Pendant could have uses later. Keep it handy. " He said looking around and realizing his brother, was quit gone."
Victor rose to his feet, and his hand moving to Verity's shoulder. "She needs, rest. I'll make sure she's put to bed. Help me. Then we need to see to the girls, Lilwen...and this red head. Then...maybe find out what happened to Trent."
Lilwen Nickleby - Today at 10:13 PM
If Zephyr followed the pendant, it would lead him to where Lilwen was sprawled out among the rubble. But it wasn't the girl it was tugging towards - it was the faintly glowing mythril staff underneath her.
Too Many Kalibas and a Butterfly - Today at 10:17 PM
Zephyr frowned, looking at the pendant, following it towards Lilwen. He frowned, seeing the girl sprawled unconscious. He knelt down beside her, gathering her against his chest while he pulled the glowing staff from beneath her. "Where did this come from?" He wondered aloud.
Verity nodded slowly, trying not to take it to heart that Shelzi's eyes didn't open. But Victor was right, and she grasped his hand, pulling herself up to stand, then wiped her tears. "Alright." She inhaled a shaky breath.
Too Many Kalibas and a Butterfly - Today at 10:29 PM
Milhin frowned, her violet gaze narrowed at Trent's disappearance. There was no sign of him. He had not been struck. He had given no indication of his departure. Was he in danger? She didn't know. And that caused something akin to panic to gnaw at her insides. Her gaze flickered about to his family members, with whom she relied upon Trent to remain in their good graces.
She could not feel him at all. Usually she could at least feel him. And it absolutely devastated her that she could not. Her expression blanked, hiding her anxiety beneath a mask of neutrality.
