[RP] The Epicenter Maze

Yaoi Master Gavin

Yaoi Master Gavin

Gay Cheshire Catboy
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Joined
Mar 7, 2010
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1,584
Location
Between reality and insanity
Gil
0
Eyes fluttering...

Light shining...

As your eyes open and adjust to the light, you realize that you are no longer where you were. More pressing is the unfurled parchment clasped so tightly in your hand that you fear you might draw blood if it were any tighter. Scanning your eyes over it you realize it is an invitation.

"My friends,

I'd like to play a game. Will it end in defeat for you or will you return home with something new? Its all up to you my friends.

There's quite a number of you scattered around my realm and the goal of this game is to defeat each and every one of them. Kill them if you must but defeat is the only necessity.

Or perhaps you think you can stop the bloodshed by attacking the puppetmaster himself? Fine. Come to me in the White Keep. Try and defeat me if you dare; I shall not run, being bound as I am. You and everyone else shall go home but there will be no wish to grant. Can you win out against your greed?

Let the game begin."

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Alexander woke up in the shade of large tree covered in vines, the light shining through the leafy canopy in small rays of light. Waking up in a far different place than his bed, he quickly grabbed for his scarf with one hand and his tarot deck with the other. he found his scarf but he also realized there was a scrap of paper in his hand, rough paper with word elegantly written upon them.

Reading over it, he scowled and shoved it in his jeans pocket.

"Lousy piece of shit..." he growled aimlessly.

Reaching to check for the deck he found it along with the cloth he usually spread out before doing a spread. He was tempted to do one now but he didnt really know enough about his situation to do a celtic cross. Regardless of how it turned out, he had just woken up and he would need something to eat.

Standing up, he instantly felt a bit light-headed, grabbing onto the tree to brace himself. The feeling wasn't coming from his head but his chest, of all places. He pulled up his shirt to look at his torso. As his eyes scanned a pale chest devoid of even the barest hint of muscle, his eyes centered on a black bolt over where his heart would be.

Circular, it had 4 small protrusions that when all connected would make an X. The metal, if thats what it was, shimmered even though he was in the shade like starlight. Reaching to touch it he found that he could but couldn't. Like it was a part of him that he just couldn't touch...ever. reaching a hand around back, he couldn't feel the other end of it where it should be. In fact, it didn't seem to exit at all.

"...The hell is it?" he whispered as he pulled his shirt back down.

Lookign around, he found a banana tree. Taking a few careful steps so he didn't fall down, he made his way to the tree. Next to a bunch of bananas was a card hanging from a string. Picking up the card, he read it.

"You don't need to eat but it feels good to do something normal."

The card fell from almost numb fingers. That bolt had something to do with this, it had to. Still, even if he didn't need to eat, he had to keep his energy up. Grabbing a banana, he unpeeled it and ate it. Tossing the peel to the ground, he ate another one. Grabbing a few more, he stuck them in his pockets.

Feeling full and ready to find out what was going on, he looed around, hoping to find a sense of direction. While nothing came, he did see what looked like a Mayan temple a short distance away. He didn't know what to expect but maybe there was something there, something useful.
 
Ciridan didn’t quite know what to make of it. He had been going through realms of existence for some time, but this was the first time he had gone to one without his knowledge. It was also the first time he had a spike driven into his shoulder because of it. To make matters worse, it didn’t just end there. He also found that his spells seemed weaker, he felt weaker, and his rings no longer worked. The range of his spells were down… by a lot, yet they hadn’t seemed to have lost too much power. It was puzzling, indeed it was.

However, he didn’t want to dawdle on that for too long. Being an adventurer of sorts, he wanted to look around the room he was in. It was somewhat dark, with the only light coming from candles that had the oddest flame to them. The flame wasn’t red, as was typically the case with fire, but instead, every flame on every candle in the room was blue. It also looked as if the candles would never melt down. Thinking it a perfect time to start adding to his book, he reached into his bag, and pulled out traveling journal. It was filled with adventures he had on his home world, and many other worlds at this point. However, once he had the book out, he noticed a note sticking out from the pages.

It wasn’t his handwriting, which was for sure. Nor was it the handwriting of anyone else he had ever met.

“A game,” Ciridan muttered to himself. “This really is interesting.”

Obviously, he wasn’t the only “player” here. Ciridan, not one for unnecessary bloodshed, decided that the best option was to probably go find this White Keep, and question the writer of the note himself. He wondered if he could really earn the right to go home. It seemed unlikely, Ciridan was barred from that place for eternity. If he killed everyone else playing this game, he could wish to go home, but if he killed the writer of this note, him and “everyone else shall go home”. It seemed like a win/win, but Ciridan didn’t want to kill anyone without proper reason. However, he knew that not everyone else would think that way.

He was going to have to be careful, and cautious. Until he could prove otherwise, everyone else that he saw from this point on was going to have to be treated as an enemy until given other reasons to believe differently. It was only logical.

After he was finished writing the details down in his journal, he surveyed the room closely. The walls, old and in some places rotting, were covered in a series of marks. However, they were exclusive to this room in particular, almost as if they were designed to keep something in… or out. Ciridan couldn’t be sure of which. He drew them in his book, a hammer, a map-like square of some sorts, and a pair of parallel zig-zagging lines.

Once he made sure that he had them replicated in his book perfectly, he wanted to try something. Using his finger nail, he started scratching at the hammer. Perhaps if he was able to break the design on the wall something would happen…
 
Rouge had regained consciousness slowly. She wasn't exactly sure how she blacked out, but her senses were taking their time in recovering. Her vision had slowly begin to regulate itself, first starting off like she was seeing half red and white swirls of color infiltrating her sight. While this was happening, she had noticed that there was something in her mouth - and it had an uninviting taste to it. She had began coughing, realizing that it was actually sand in her mouth - but she hadn't remembered there being sand in the last place she was in. In fact, she couldn't really remember the last venue she had went to. Finally, her vision cleared up, and she noticed that she was lying in a whole dune of sand.

Confusion had increased within her, as well as her thirst. The bits of sand that may have still been in her mouth left a bitter aftertaste, and she very much felt dehydrated. Lifting herself up slowly, she felt that some parts of her body were numb - most likely from lying in the same position for who knew how long. Though one part of her felt the strangest. Feeling across her shirt around the chest area, she felt no lumps or anything sitting on the surface of her skin, which only struck more puzzlement. Realizing that no one else could be around where she was, she sat up completely and brought her hand down to lower her cut-off sweater so she could examine her chest.

What Rouges's eyes caught sight of was very usual. Marked on her chest, right between her breasts, was a black bolt - and she knew that it wasn't there before. Rubbing the area with her finger, she noticed that it was a part of her skin - almost like a tattoo, so there would be no easy way to remove it. It sparkled when the sun's rays hit the area, which was something else that seemed supernatural. The rest of her looked alright though, and once her senses came back to normal, she didn't feel too different either.

Rouge had then spotted an object - a piece of paper- sticking out another mount of sand in the dune. She figured she would have to take it out and read it fast considering that there were a few gusts blowing around on top of the dune, and it was bringing in more sand to fill it. The words that were written on the piece of paper were very much puzzling. Being in a different place was one thing Rouge noticed, but in a different realm? This was definitely up-surd; and apparently there were more people within it as well, wherever they were inhabiting. Whoever wrote the note, Rouge guessed that they put her in this area - she took a guess that it was a desert, and that she was expected to "defeat" all of the other players in this game.

She found the bloodshed part to be unnecessary unless she absolutely had to kill someone she encountered. She didn't attack unless she was being attacked in some form, but she wasn't going to go to every person she saw and immediately classify them as dead to her. But she still knew that they were strangers, and trust was definitely going to be put to the test if she were to meet someone. For all she knew, they could be in the same state as she is right now - confused, contemplating, wondering what could have happened. But there was another option she noticed, and it was to defeat whoever this person was in the White Keep, and the result would be for her and everyone else to go back home. But that was the the thing confused her the most. She had abandoned her 'home' a few years after her parents were killed, and she had aimlessly explored other cities and towns since then, only staying at each venue for half a year before moving onto the next spot. If she were to go to the White Keep and defeat whoever resided there, where exactly would she go? That was something that definitely boggled her mind.

She decided it was time to stand up now, and she brought herself up she noticed that the dune wasn't very tall. Her head poked over it, and she saw the rest of her surroundings. Her guess of being in a desert was correct, but she was in an oasis as well. Thick patches of vegetation had covered several spots of the surroundings, and a vast lake were a few meters away from where she was standing. Bringing her hands in front of her to push against the ledge of the dude, she pushed herself up and swung her leg over to bring her out of the dune. There were several more dunes besides the one she had awoken in, and the air was very much dry - and hot. Rouge's outfit had fitted this terrain perfectly. She wasn't covered up enough to get overheated if the situation were to arise, and the boots she wore would make it easy to walk in the sand.

The first place she went over to was the lake. It was oddly enough crystal clear, as Rouge expected it to be polluted, but it looked safe enough to use to wash her mouth out and then drink. Taking in some of the water using both of her hands, she had gargled it to get any unwanted sand out of their spot, and spit it out a moment later. From that point, she had already felt refreshed. Taking in another handful, she drank the water, and slowly felt her energy regain itself. At least she still didn't feel the way she had back in the dune.

Taking a closer look at her surroundings, Rouge remembered studying about deserts at one time. If there is an oasis, chances are there would be wildlife around; and she didn't exactly know what animals resided in this oasis, so she'd have to be careful wherever she explored. Where she was standing currently, she didn't detect any threats nearby - so she was safe. . . for now. She figured the only way to look for the other people within this realm was to keep on moving, and she chose to look through the oasis first for any clues. There must have been a good reason why she was placed here, and she was going to find out. Beginning to walk around the lake toward one of the scenic routes, she started walking through the forest areas, soon to be covered by the shadows that forbid any sunlight to pass through.
 
Not knowing what happened, Myu-Jishan had awoken from a sort of trance onto a place he did not recognize. He could not see anything, but he knew because of the smell of the area and the feel of the surface underneath his feet. But something had instantly irked him. He could feel a slight breeze on his rotting skin. This was beyond abnormal for him. Myu-Jishans body was dead and the nerves were no exception, so he should not be able to feel anything. Focusing on his own energy to find the root of this, he noticed something instantly. Something foreign was interrupting him within and also altering his physical complexion.

Myu-Jishan knew that it had something to do with his mask. His first instinct was to remove it, but he noticed a paper in his hand. He could not read it, as he was blind and his mask restricted him from seeing as it was, since there were no eye holes. He put this paper in his pocket. Now with both hands, he attempted to free his mask from his head. He puled as hard as he could, but he couldn't help but notice that it was more difficult than normal. In fact, no matter how hard he pulled and how much of his spirit he poured into removing it, he couldn't. This was rather abnormal.

Whoever was interrupting him and his power was ridiculously powerful. To be capable of restricting Myu-Jishans powers ad abilities, while also bringing his nerves back could only take an extraordinary power. This sent chills through Myu-Jishans body. A feeling he was not familiar with. But he had only one choice from here. To walk in the direction he was facing.
 
All there was around her was inky blackness. It was a vast expanse of infinite darkness that seemed to stretch forever into nothingness. A part of her wondered if she was dead and if she would be transported to some spiritual realm. A part of her mused about whether she'd ever see her deceased parents again . . . her father . . . her mother. It wasn't bloody fair!

Struggling to open her eyes, she felt her fingers twitch involuntarily as her hands grasped at air. Frustrated, Jamie Lynn Hawthorne cried out in exasperation and lifted her throbbing head from what she assumed were blades of grass and clumps of dirt.

Upon opening her sore eyes, after having fluttered her eyelids a
few times, she realized that the edges of her vision was blurred.
The young orphan could scarcely see in front of her and squinting to block out the narrow shafts of sunlight gleaming on her face did nothing.

There were blobs and splotches of dark forest green, she assumed that was grass and a blue clear sky, devoid of any clouds. She felt quite daft lying in a supine position, feeling the ache of rarely used bones and muscles seep into her body. Being active allowed the body to work but at the moment Jamie couldn't even lift a finger. Her mouth was dry and her tongue was glued to the top of her mouth and she felt she like she'd been wandering aimlessly through an overheated desert.

'I've got to get a fuckin' 'old of myself, eh!' She thought and so she became resolute, forcing herself to get up through the sharp stinging arrows of pain. A cramp seized her in her left hip which forced her to stop mid action and brought her right back on her back. Pressing her dirt caked fingers into her hip, Jamie gritted her teeth and felt the pain travel down through her body.

Firstly she needed water, basic survival instinct lessons that had been pounded relentlessly into her mind by her father recollected in her mind. Water, where there was a source of cool uncontaminated water then there would hopefully be fish and other wildlife.

Having been forced to travel on all fours, for the pain was becoming nearly unbearable and she was suffering from severe fatigue, Jamie checked her belted sash, feeling the familiar metallic coolness of her dagger. At least she had her precious vessel. Cracking a dry-lipped smile, the spirited girl struggled to regain her footing on wobbling legs, her feet having become ungainly and her gait unsure, as she hadn't walked for some time.

In fact, Jamie didn't even know how long she'd been lying on that patch of grass: it could have been days or even months or years since she'd journeyed from Ardot.

". . . well bite me in the arse and there's no bloo'y map aroun' 'ere eitha'!"

Glancing around here wildly as the acuity of her vision gradually returned to her in slow increments, Jamie's bright green eyes flitted over a discarded roll of yellowed parchment. Toeing the unfamiliar document with the scuffed toe of her laced up boots, Jamie bent down, hissing as her bones cracked and pain jolted up through her legs. Her grimy fingers grasped the parchment gingerly as if it were a frail little child and she skimmed the contents of it.

She was never one for reading solely for scholarly pursuits. Get to the main point and that was all that needed to be done in her eyes.

From what she'd gathered about the mysterious documentation, she was now a part of a contest. As a participant or 'player', her role was to kill the rest of the participants and thus she would be granted the choice to go home.

" . . . not like I 'ave a 'ome anymore anyway," she muttered as her eyes roved over the words in a frenetic and impatient sort of way. There was another option: she could slay the supposed leader of this contest. He or she or it (it could be genderless, not that Jamie was one to discriminate or question that) even, was to be found at the White Keep, and by defeating him she could go home with the other contestants.

Groaning in agitation, Jamie suppressed the urge to kick the nearest pebble or other inanimate object for fear of injuring her precious toes. Instead she sulked and stewed over the now dirt-smeared parchment with calloused fingers. Worrying her bottom lip, she traced her fingers above the spot on her navel and gasped in surprise, recoiling in horror: as if her discovery was a physical entity separate from her.

Lifting up her flimsy cotton shirt (which was perfect for the clime she was in) she glanced down and noticed a peculiar foreign object attached to her skin. There was a black bolt, circular in nature; with four tiny protrusions (whether they were spikes or something entirely different failed to concern her) that when all connected together would make an X shape across said bolt. She could not tell if the bolt itself was fashioned out of some form of metal or mineral yet it glimmered even when there was no light shining directly upon it.

"What a curious lil' thing this is," her fingers poked at the surface of it, barely able to touch it, as if some metaphysical thing held her back. It was as if gravity was resisting against her . . . ? She wasn't sure, but she knew that she definitely could not make physical contact with it and that alone puzzled her. Reflecting on the guidelines that governed the nature of the contest, Jamie decided that mindlessly killing contestants would be thoughtless. Although her mother was murdered, she never thought of stooping down to the elementary level of a burglar or a murderer mainly to commit a crime in order to compensate for herself.

In short, Jamie was decidedly selfless as an individual and she would only kill someone if she were to be in great peril and if said person was the cause of her being in that predicament. Her next plan of action after spending quite a while mulling over her role in the contest, was to find the leader of the White Keep. Her surroundings were flat, devoid of any mountain or hill, it was quite different from Ardot geographically. She was on a plain. Any direction could lead her to the White Keep since there was grass, flowers, and some weeds growing. Yet there wasn't a bird or a horse to be found at all. She was alone.

Feasting on some nuts she'd found whilst searching for . . . well other contestants since there was no 'White Keep' to speak of, Jamie pocketed the remainder of the nuts and came upon a narrow cut in the earth. The quietened song of a small winding river led downward from . . . a mountain. Smiling eagerly at the distant smudge of a white crested peak, Jamie stooped down and cupped her hands in the bone-chilling water. She tasted it cautiously, deciding to guzzle it down when the water was indeed odorless, colourless, and tasteless. Now she was getting somewhere, with a full stomach, she could properly search for the rest of these participants.
 
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Never could never remember exactly every place he had visited. He could however remember grand places such as the library in which he stood. It felt as if he had merely blinked and his world was gone. For him the feeling was natural. It would have been years since he had been traveling to different worlds and dimensions fighting off evil forces with his Ever sword. This particular in place in which he ended up was very eye catching.

Around him were dozens and dozens of wooden book shelves lining the dome room. The ceilings were high and contained art imagery upon them. The only place near by was a desk of the library looking place. Marble pillars reaching from the marble floor up to the ceiling shined and illuminated the room with light. Never quite enjoyed the scenery but after a while he had tried so hard to remember how he ended up in this strange place.

Though he reached deep down into his mind nothing but a voice replaying a message of his task in this world would appear. Nothing else could be recalled. Apparently he would have to defeat others, like in a game of sorts. "Hello?" Never's voice echoed throughout the place.

He walked to a nearby desk in the empty place. Never read the placard sitting quietly on the desk but had been confused on it's meaning. "James L. Hoffman, Librarian of Creation Theory? I don't see anybody here..."

He examined the desk further which contained a pair of spectacles atop a tome. A piece of paper and a quill pen lay right beside them. Never could make no use of the object but decided to investigate. He picked up the sapphire spectacles and put them on. He looked around the room and then had begun to examine the other tools. He attempted to read the scroll and everything that was written inside.
 
Taking his first few dozen steps gingerly, Alexander kept watch for whatever or whoever these other 'players' were. If they were like him they wouldn't think much of destroying him. And to make matters worse, he didn't have anything to defend himself with.

Passing through the trees and vines, he finally came to the steps of the temple. Running down the stairs was a rusty red stain that started from the top and came down. Squatting down, he scratched at it with his nail, cracking a litle piece off. He held it up looking at it for a few seconds before sniffing it. Smelled like...blood. Therewas a trail... of dried blood...comign from the temple.

"This is not going to end well. I just know it."

As if to confirm his feeling he pulled out his tarot deck and shuffled it. As his slender fingers went through practiced movements a single card slipped out and began to flutter towards the ground. Catching it swiftly, Alexander turned it to see what it was. The gaze of a red-haired young man leading a horse with a sword in a sheath upon his back stared back.

"The Knight of Swords... Interesting..."

So he was to go forth into it without a moment's thought. Sidenoting that it made sense. Here he was involved in some sort of 'game'. And he would apparently be using his skills in a sitution that would arise soon, more than likely as a result of his going forward.

"What skills?" he sneered. "None to make any note about..."

He took the first step up then a second making his way up the hundred or so steps to the temple atop it. Much bigger than he had thought, it was clearly in a state of disrepair, as though it had not been used in some time. More pressing were the assorted human skeletons scattered around, many of them around a stone table which had another laying atop it. It was from this stone table that the waterfall of dried blood came from.

His well-worn Converses scratching across the surface of dried blood, he made his way to one of the outlying ones, Examining it, he found it was covered in teeth marks, as though some large animal had gnawed it. A roar sounded from deeper in the temple.

Alexander pressed up against the wall, trying to hide in the shadows. Before him, a tiger padded out from inside, yawning to reveal its sharp teeth. It sat down at the edge, looking over the jungle. The longer it sat, the faster Alexander's heart beat, despite the spike that had seemingly been driven through it. At several points he had thought it so loud that the great cat would hear it.

Fortunately for him, it never saw him. At least, until the wind picked up. As high as they were, Alexander should have known but at the time he had been thinking more about how to save his ass. The wind whipped up grabbing his scarf and tossing it out, the end of it hitting against the stone doorway, whipping as the wind kept blowing.

This the tiger heard and it instantly leapt to all fours and snarled at him. Alexander closed his eyes and waited for his life to end. He heard the padding of its paws ont he ground and his heart sank. It was toying with him, prowling after him, begging him to make a run for it. he was just about to when he felt somethign soft and furry under his hand.

Openign one eye, he looked down to find the tiger nuzzling him. Tentatively, he began to scratch its head. A sound like a purr came up from the cat's chest, thrumming loudly. Alexander's heart began to slow down as he realized that this tiger was friendlier than the ones at the zoo had been.

As the thrumming continued, Alexander found himself smiling. He sank down and sat beside the tiger in what was one fo the few places not drenched in blood. The animal laid down beside him, putting its head in his lap. The massive thing had a head that nearly covered Alexander up. Hell, he could probably ride it if he wanted to. And if it would let him.

He continued scratching it, using both hands now, one running down its spine. He could hear the reverberations in it now, a sweet sound of affection. Not once had the tiger in the zoo purred but this one...seemed a lot happier.

As the heat from the cat seeped into him, he remembered that another aspect of the Knight of Swords was romance, someone who sweeps you off your feet. Here was a cat that had taken a liking to him, one big enough to ride, something else the Knight of Swords told of.

"So...want to come with me?" he asked.

The tiger looked up at him with glowing green orbs as if to say 'Of course I am you idiot.'

"I guess that settles it then."

Gently pushing the tiger off of him, he got to his feet. The tiger padded back to what Alexander could only assume was its den. It came back out with a ragged and chewed wooden box. Placing it at Alexander's feet it sat on its haunches as if waiting for him to open it.

Carefully he took it in his hands and popped it open. Inside was a pendant, inset with what looked like amber. Inside was a thin sliver of blue that shimmered like a gem. It was set in a silver metal with the strength of steel and was splattered in places with the rusty splotches of dried blood.

"I wonder which one of them wore it," he mused, already figuring it out that it was worn by what he had assumed were tribal witchdoctors in rituals similar to the Aztecs.

He stuck it in his pocket and began to walk down the steps again, the tiger following at his heels.
 
As Ciridan continued to scratch at the wall, a piece of wall withdrew further into the wall, almost like a button. Suddenly, a blue light flashed from in front, and behind him. Turning around towards the middle of the room, Ciridan what appeared to be an image of two figures. One was male, and the other female. However, it was far from being a normal image of two people. The male was bound in chains, unable to use his arms; it appeared as he was being forced to kneel before her before he disappeared into a black void.

The blue square’s outlined started to shine as the hammer’s outline started to dim. It showed a huge throne like room. The same male from before, he was no longer wearing chains. Then the image changed, and showed a huge white castle in the center of a mountain chain region. “Could that be the white keep,” Ciridan asked himself.

That image also disappeared, and a new one replaced it. This one had to have come from the zig-zagging lines. It showed something completely different from the other two. There was a three by three square of nine tiles, each with a different marking, switching between each other in what appeared to be a blink of an eye. However, as soon as each had changed position, the image faded, and all the lights dimmed. It was evident that there wouldn’t be another image.

Ciridan did the first thing that came to mind, and drew everything into his book. It was at times like these he was very glad he could draw. He made sure that he had gotten everything down according to memory. Putting his book back into his bag, he stood up. It seemed as if there was nothing more for him to do here. Walking towards the entrance of the chamber, he started to stretch. Once he made it outside, he realized that the stretch would be much needed.

He was on top of what seemed to be a rather huge mountain. Looking around, he took note of what seemed to lie in all directions. To the west, there was a jungle. Ciridan wasn’t too thrilled about that. Moist, hot, absolutely horrid weather… no thanks. To the north was what appeared to be a swamp in the distance. Mosquitoes, damp, hot, horrid weather… absolutely not. To the east, there was a town. It would be very interesting to see what civilization was like in a place like this. He instantly knew the he would be heading out east. However, he glanced at the south, and gasped.

There was nothing, simply put. It was nothing but pitch black darkness. If he went that way, he would fall straight off the edge of the world. “How interesting,” Ciridan muttered. With a smile in his face, and adventure in his mind, he started east. He know knew a few things: He had a general idea where the White Keep was, the man that brought them here (providing his theory was correct) appeared to be tricked, and forced to be where he was at, and that at this very moment, he was walking along the edge of the world.

It’s a grand time to be an adventurer, Ciridan thought as he continued east.
 
If there was a river, Jamie thought to herself, surveying the flattened gentle upward sloping of the land, then the river must have emptied out into a sea. She stuck her thumb out, squinting at the large spherical ball of swirling heat--the Sun that glared down at her. She was eastward, she assumed, and the plains stretched southward from the mountain. And where there was one mountain, she surmised as she glanced at the white snow-crested peak in question, then there must have been a whole chain of them.

As she snacked on the nuts and occasionally fingered the cold untouched metal of her glinting dagger, unadorned and very unimpressive in design, she started to hum to herself. In the years that Jamie had traversed across land and sea she had become accustomed to bein g alone. As a courageous adolescent she had battled the inclement weather to find food, shelter, and civilizations. She had fostered many a temporary friendship with the townspeople she had encountered and it had served to somewhat lower her chances of going mad.

"A girl can't journey alone foreva' a' some point I'll need a companion." She chewed on one of the nuts which was flavored with subtle hints of buttery oiliness and a slight bitter aftertaste.

She'd procured the flask that one of the bakers from the last town she'd resided in had given to her. He'd said it hadn't been much but taking in her dirtied state he'd pitied her. Amused, she remembered how he'd been so abrasive with the rest of his customers. The simple flask covered in cured and cleaned animal hide--possibly equestrian in origin, had cool river water sloshing against the aluminum spherical container. She took a swig from it, guzzling it down greedily and burped in a very unceremonious way.

To the far east about ten paces down from her there were the splintered remains of a charred wooden stable. Several of the support beams had barely withstood what appeared to have been the result of a massive man-made fire. Someone or some people had passed through this area and destroyed it, burning every construction to the ground. A pile of black ash sat atop the remains and a lone horse whinnied at the awestruck teen forlornly from the shaded and secluded shelter of an apple tree. A rusted horseshoe hung precariously from a warped nail, jutting out of one of the sharp pieces of wood.

Brown wizened eyes chanced a glimpse of her as the horse's injured hoof struggled to stomp the ground, it barely stirred up some dust before its dark russet tail swooshed eagerly. There were three jagged scars, caused by a short sword or a sharp dagger, Jamie assumed. The topmost scar cut into the loin and narrowly curved in a tight arc to sever part of the flank. The bottom two scars were about a hand's breadth apart and cut across sloppily on the shoulder of the animal.

Cautiously approaching it, Jamie lowered her head some, biting her lower lip as her eyes pooled with hot stinging tears. Who could do this to such a majestic creature, it was unthinkable. The animal's warm brown eyes flitted over her tensed form once more in naive curiosity.

The washed out hue of what was once a rich golden brown coat like the color of drizzling honey, was now a faded gold--like the hue of a dying sunflower. Her fingers splayed, she pressed her hand into the fissure of the cut and kept her eyes lowered to the dew streaked grass. You never looked a horse directly into the eyes, it smelled and noted your fear. Show it respect and it would in time respect you. Yet this animal was too injured to do much else save glance at her sparingly so when she locked eyes with it, the sound of its labored whinny startled her somewhat.

Its rear hoofs pawed at the ground nervously and its tail swooshed slowly, brushing against the flannel material of Jamie's loosened pants. She pressed her head against the strong muscles of its back, feeling the corded tendons clench and release underneath her fleshy skin. The warmth of this animal was reassuring, she felt the scars with tentative fingertips and noted that the wounds were superficial, mere surface wounds that could be treated in time.

"It's owna' took some care to clean its wounds off though. Poor thing."

A closer look at the wounds revealed that the hoof had been bandaged with a hastily made tourniquet. Strips of cloth doused in a special salve were wound tightly around the back and across to the other shoulder of the creature.
As if reading her thoughts the horse nuzzled its wet nose against her chin. It was as if it was telling her to cheer up and admonishing her for being so sullen.

A soft smile graced her lips as she settled about exploring the wide stretch of flattened land, the mountain looming over an increasingly darkening indigo sky. The stars glittered like tiny fireflies in the sky, illuminating the area in a glorious ethereal light. The plains were beautiful at night time but Jamie knew she needed to lead this now loyal animal to some sources of food. While she had crossed the land that spanned the wide berth of the river, she discovered that some jumping fish had made their home near what she assumed was father up towards the mouth of the river.

She had taken one of the pieces of wood that was about a foot taller than her and sharpened the end of it to a blunt point, saving the shavings for what little kindle she could use to make a fire. There was flint stone near a rock-face about ten miles from the abandoned and desolate remains of what was once a small farm.

Chipping away at the rock was laborious work but at least, the horse that she had since named 'Chronos' after her former master, had found some wheat growing wild in the fertile land. A family of prairie dogs burrowed into their narrow little havens scattered for miles around the perimeter of the plain and some wild roosters and hens searched for food, probing their little beaks into the grass, pecking at rolled oats and grain.

Jamie wasn't alone after all, yet there was still more to do. If her guess was right then a town shouldn't have lain that far off from where these animals were. The horse trodden after her slowly, careful to not misstep with its injured hoof. She would have to get that checked at some point during the night but for now, they needed to find shelter.
 
From what Rouge had walked through so far, she could see that the Oasis most likely took a good amount of space in the desert. The section that she was currently walking through had blocked most of the sunlight from coming in, and the space was narrow to walk through due to the thickened bushes that grew closely together. Rouge examined every inch of her surroundings, and had already made some discoveries as she was walking northward; there have been variants of plant and animal life that resided in the Oasis, some that she didn't think ever would exist where she used to live. One particular thing that she noticed that was out of the ordinary was a fruit - one that she didn't know the name of, but reaching her hand out to rub the surface of it, she noticed the texture was somewhat rough and the color had changed from orange to bright yellow when looking from its top to the bottom. It was somewhat shaped like a raspberry, only the stem and leaves were a dark red color; somewhat like how her eye color looked in bright light.

Noticing that there were enough of the tiny fruits to be sure that they'd reproduce over time, Rouge had popped one off of one of the stems, seeing that it was about as small as her thumb. She placed it in her mouth and took a slight bite from it, beginning to savor whatever kind of juice it would leak out. To Rouge's surprise, the taste was very strong, and despite how small the fruit was, the flavor was strong enough to make most of the muscles in her mouth tense a little bit. The same feeling had ensued when she swallowed it down, and she noted that it was a taste that she hadn't recognized either. But after a few seconds of lingering, she figured that it wasn't venomous either - so she shouldn't be harmed internally by whatever the fruit was. It was definitely something that she would have to look up whenever she reached a place that had some valuable information.

As Rouge walked further down the route, she noticed that the path had gotten a little wider, and she begin to see large stones that were placed as if someone organized them in a particular fashion. They definitely looked ancient, and when Rouge had stopped to take a closer look at one of them, she thought she saw some indents on the surface - that were most likely not caused by the stone getting thrown around often. She took her hand and rubbed most of the dirt off of the stone, and noticed that there was in fact writing engraved onto the rough surface; and from glancing over at the other stones nearby, she saw that they too look like they've had carved crevices onto them as well.

Interesting . . . She thought to herself. The writing wasn't exactly eligible, nor was it English. Some of the characters on the stones looked more like symbols than letters. She imagined that some kind of past civilization had wandered around these grounds too, but she's only read about so many of them. There was the Rama Empire, the Osrians, the Uiger civilization. . .but Rouge doubted that these were their markings. Her orchid eyes glanced over to a more massive rock that was a few feet away from her, and after walking closely to it she began to rub the dirt off the surface as well. Seeing the top half of the rock, she noticed that the writing was a lot more smaller than the other ones she had looked at, and as she wiped away the sand as she got lower, she noticed that there was some odd shaped indentions in the stone - some that the sand was too stubborn to come off of. Rouge sighed irritatedly and pulled the Snake of Eden out of her belt loop. Despite that she was in a totally different territory, she was glad that she still had her weapons with her, especially the dagger. Compared to the uncomfortable position Rouge found herself in when she had woken up, the dagger looked unaffected by the change of terrain - to much of her relief.

She took the purple tinted dagger and thrust it into the gaps that had dirt had hardened over, eventually scrapping off what her hands couldn't. After a few good minutes of getting the debris out of the way and rubbing off the remnants of dirt, Rouge was puzzled at what she was looking at. The majority of what was carved into the stone was not wording or symbols like the past rock, but of a large design that had enough detail to show that it represented certain locations. The large areas surrounding the center of the artwork Rouge could tell were different terrains. To the lower left of the design were specs, several swirls, and a lone tree - all enough evidence to see that it represented the desert that she was wandering in. There were other carvings in different spots of the design: mountains, rivers, a castle, several birds, and . . . a scorpion? She wasn't expecting that to be in the design, but it could mean anything seeing as how the design was all carved centuries, more likely millenias ago. She immediately figured that the design could be a map of the Oasis and the further reaches of the desert. Whatever this civilization was, Rouge would have had some questions to ask if they were still alive as she was breathing. Did they see the scorpion as an idol? Was it a threat? What was the meaning of the scorpion that was placed near the border of the Oasis?

Rouge knew that she wouldn't be forgetting this anytime soon. This definitely wasn't an ordinary Oasis she was in. The whole desert probably had more secrets in it than this vegetation area, which Rouge had begin to wonder how far the desert reached. She couldn't see the sun through most of the trees that hung over her, so she couldn't tell if it was around twilight currently. She took a brief glance back at the stones before beginning to walk forward again. She was near the end of the route she was walking through, and there was a lot more light shining through the end of it - meaning that there was either another area to explore of the large Oasis or that she would be outside of it facing the desert.

Rouge had finally reached the end of the scenic route only to find that she was indeed within the desert area again - almost as if she chose to take a shortcut without realizing it. She groaned, knowing that there had to be a way to get out of the desert considering that she wasn't exactly adapted to this kind of terrain. She crossed her arms over her chest and let a sharp nailed finger tap her chin repeatedly. She could always go back within the Oasis to search for a way to leave the desert - most likely by checking the stone that had the map of most of the desert region carved out on it. There weren't any sort of vehicles laying around here either - not that Rouge was expecting to see any, but who knew how many days it would take to leave the area.

Interrupting her thoughts and startling her calm demeanor was an ear piercing shriek. Rouge swiftly looked behind her, noticing that it was coming from some part of the Oasis. It was an inhumane cry, but it wasn't the cry of a regular animal that she's heard of either. There was something massive lurking within the Oasis, and from the sound of its voice, it was either discontent or calling out for someone or something. Any other person that heard the shriek would have probably ran away from the Oasis by instinct, but Rouge was different; she wanted to go back in the Oasis to find out what creature sounded the noise. The majority of the animals that Rouge had seen through the trail were small and incapable of making any alarming sounds - that she knew of, but Rouge didn't know what made the outcry, but she wanted to know.

Ignoring the way that she had came out of the Oasis from, she had moved further to her left, eventually seeing a more wider and open path that she could look through. Rouge felt her heart beat a little faster from the excitement she had suddenly felt an immense amount of. She started off to walk slowly towards the alternative entrance, not making any sounds with her boots, and eventually quickened to a small run within the hole - knowing that she was about to encounter something very big.
 
Ciridan continued to walk east until he hit the outskirts of a town. There seemed to be some sort of… farm, if one could call it that. Looking around, he saw what seemed to be large generators of a sort, most of which were broken down. Ciridan knew that it would be best not to touch them, he had no expertise in this matter.

Looking around a bit more, he noticed a small house. He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. However, at times like these, action was called for. He used a small spell to unlock the door, and continued inside. There was a pantry on the inside, and the entrance to what appeared to be a cellar. Opening the pantry, he took out enough canned food to store in his bag. Exploring the cellar, he took two bottles of wine, and left.

It was wrong to steal, but at this moment, he really couldn’t think of much else to do. After all, he had no money, and this was looking to be quite the adventure.

It was then that he wondered if he could still use the powers that the Adraginos had given to him. He immediately attempted to open a dimensional gateway to leave this place, but to no avail. The power that brought him here not only lowered his magical ability, but completely removed others.

With a deep sigh, he continued walking east into the city.
 
Never's sight was blue. With the glasses on he had emerged in a world of sapphire. While opening the tome again he could read something in dark blue letters.He flipped through the tome's pages, looking at foreign symbols, all with a different theme according to the page. What seemed odd to Never was that the symbols were in the same position on every page as if there were a pattern.

"What is this?" Never asked picking up a paper lying beside the ink quill.

It seemed that Someone had already written upon it. Probably with ink from the quill that could only be seen by the glasses. Never then read the words as it had been written in his language.

"...he seemed quite open to talking. It would seem that we have been dragged here for a reason other than was stated. We are his salvation. Yet humanity's greed always wins out.

He spoke of a lens that could be used to discover the location of key. The map however is a different story. Even he knows not where it is though he told me that the lens only unlocked the first guard.

The second required total replacement of perception by the use of sapphires. There were other barriers but it seemed that he knew little of them, never having been very close to egress.

I fear though that I may not have much longer. They're all dead and I think I may be the last one other than him... That foul creature that destroys everything in his path. He waits for me to leave but I shan't give him the pleasure.

 No, I'll sit here and talk to him and figure out as much as I can. Maybe some other group can help him as I could not..."

Never put the paper down. The words were confusing to him. Maybe it was the key for him to win this "game" he was in. He tucked the tome and folded the paper into his cloak pocket. He also took the quill with him and walked north through the library, the glasses still upon his face. Never wanted to find other clues and the glasses had to be some sort of key. Maybe they would allow him to read other hidden texts.
 
Upon walking, Myu-Jishan could feel him stepping on many items, some feeling like weapons. Either way, he continued to walk onward. Eventually, he stepped on a rather hard object that felt like a remain of a human leg. Instantly, he had felt a strong pull to something nearby. Unable to see due to his blindness, he reached in the direction he felt the pulling. The first thing he touched was a human skull, but inside the eye socket was a hard material. Pulling it out, he examined it with his hands. It seemed to be a diamond of the sort.

However, it had not stayed in his hand for very long, as it seemed strongly attracted to his mask. His black vision began to see faint light, which was impossible considering his mask and physical blindness. He also could feel a sort of churning in his spiritual being, as if something was changing. Not lightening his grip, the gem along with his hand had made contact to his mask, where his right eye would be. His retaliation was to bend back and continue trying to pull it away. He was unsure of what it was, so he didn't want it doing anything yet. Unfortunately, he could not prevent it from digging deeper into his steel mask.

Everything had stopped. The odd churning feeling was replaced with a feeling of a spiritual difference. He knew something was different, but e could not fathom what happened next. He opened his eyes and he could see. His sight was phenomenal as well, and he could see for amazing distances. His mask wasn't even in the way of his sight. Examining the area around him, he could see the skeleton he took the gem from. It had a spear going through it. This must have been a result of a battle long ago. Shame nobody bothered to deal with the remains.

Glancing over to another body, he could see it was surrounded by arrows. There was also another gem in it's hand, this one was red. He grasped it, and this one reacted the same. His vision became more focused when it reacted, but this time he could see with better depth perception.

The area seemed to be a battle field of the sort with many skeletons. From the looks of it, there was no possibility of any more living inhabitants. As a being that despised the human race, he was relieved. A nearby sword cought his attebtion. It had a clean blade, which was surprising. Picking it up, he looked into it's shockingly wide blade. The reflection showed a maskless Myu-Jishan. This couldn't be right, he could feel that his mask was clearly still on him. However, he was slightly disturbed to see there was something in his forehead. That would explain his inability to remove his mask earlier.

Moving his hand to his face, he could feel the presence of his mask. Testinh himself really quick, he gathered some energy in a ball and shot it in the distance. Upon impact about 60 feet away, it let out a firey explosion. Looking back at his dim reflection, he could see his mask glow in white ever so slightly. It had taken on a new form. So far, it was safe to assume it would become more visible as he released more power. This would enable him to release more un-restricted magic with his total power, but if he went over his limit, his mask would more than likely attack him. He knew his mask well.

Dropping the sword, he now headed in a direction he presumed to be North to see if he could find anything more of use.
 
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Ciridan moved inwards towards the middle of the city. It was rather big, but he noticed that something was gravely wrong here. There was dust, dust everywhere, and there were large contraptions that he hadn’t seen before. They looked to be carriages with wheels, but no evidence of a cart, or any kind of magic to propel them. However, like everything else in the city, they had long sense been abandoned. The buildings were massive, much more massive than any castle in his home world, and there were so many of them.

Made from stone, and covered in windows, how could anyone build so many of these things? Looking around, he noticed that a lot of the windows were broken, and much like everything else, were in ruins. Something must have happened here, something bad. Perhaps a large battle? On that thought, he couldn’t grasp what kind of weapons these people would have used. Their technology was obviously advanced… what kind of monstrosities could they have cooked up with that kind of technology?

As he walked, he started hearing footsteps in the distance. He stopped to make sure they weren’t his. After a few seconds, it was confirmed: The footsteps belonged to someone else. Ciridan looked around looking for whatever was coming, and that’s when he saw a silhouette of a man. (OOC: SCARAMOUCH, SCARAMOUCH , WILL YOU DO THE FANDANGO)

He was dressed oddly, but it looked very refined. He wore a suit of sorts, with a cloth around his neck, and a large hat. It wasn’t a wizards hat, and though it was odd looking, Ciridan couldn’t deny that it looked fancy. In the man’s hand was a cane, large, and metal. However, it didn’t appear to be used for function as much as it did complementary.

Ciridan waved at the man, “Hello!” He was happy to see another person, but he wanted to be cautious. Could this be another player of the game? Ciridan walked toward him slowly. “Good morning. Could you please tell me where I am?”
 
"My friends,

I'd like to play a game. Will it end in defeat for you or will you return home with something new? Its all up to you my friends.

There's quite a number of you scattered around my realm and the goal of this game is to defeat each and every one of them. Kill them if you must but defeat is the only necessity.

Or perhaps you think you can stop the bloodshed by attacking the puppetmaster himself? Fine. Come to me in the White Keep. Try and defeat me if you dare; I shall not run, being bound as I am. You and everyone else shall go home but there will be no wish to grant. Can you win out against your greed?

Let the game begin."

Shadow was not amused. Not in the slightest. Sure he may be a moogle colored like his namesake, and sure he didn't like people. But that didn't mean he needed to kill other people unless provoked. Besides, his greatest desire was for his family to come back.

And that wasn't happening. Not even his necromancy could do it.

Shadow crushed the paper in his hand.

"Piece of crap... not even worth it."

However, the person did have enough power to drag him out of the world he was at -Shadow vaguely remembered a graveyard- to here. Give credit where it's due. Now it was time for Shadow to return home, however, and this guy wasn't going to stop him. Now, with that decided, Shadow actually looked at his surroundings. As he did so, his pom-pom fell into view briefly, and Shadow froze.

There was some kind of bolt through it.

Ok, now Shadow was ticked. NO ONE messed with his body. He poked it, but it didn't seem to be moving. Right...

Returning his attention to his surroundings, Shadow immediately noticed the cold feel of metal where he was. Judging from the interior, it was an airship. Also judging by the lack of noise from the engines, the slight tilt of the ship, and that the scenery wasn't moving, he also judged that it wasn't moving, probably crashed. Shadow got to his feet, stretching, before placing the hilt of his scythe across the back of his neck, blade up.

Somebody needed to get him home.
 
[Ciridan]
At Ciridan's salutation, the man looked about to find where it had come from. Centering on the elf, an unseen smile emerged.

"Well now, quite the surprise this is. I had not been expecting to see another combatant for at least another day or two, yet here you are. Forgive me, good sir, but I'm afraid I must eliminate you; there is simply too much at stake for me. I do hope you will forgive me for ending your dream."

With those words, he bowed to Ciridan. As he straightened back up, he took his cane and brought it with him, leveling it at Ciridan. In and upwards swipe with it, the Earth began to rumble and a single crack began to spread towards Ciridan. Following closely after the crack were large earthen spires that jutted to the heavens, threatening to impale anyone over the cracks.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[Alexander]

Alexander continued his journey through the jungle, his new tiger friend padding silently at his side. In his hand was the pendant. He had suceeded in rubbing off most of the blood and was now looking at it with a puzzled look. He had almost run into a tree multiple times.

Coming to a stream, the tiger sat by it it began to drink. Putting the pendant back in his pocket, he knelt beside the river and cupped his hands to bring a few handfuls of water to his mouth. He took the chance to pull one of the bananas out of his pocket and munched on that as well.

Beside him the tiger looked at him with its green eyes, paitiently awaiting the restart of their journey.

"I don't suppose you've got anything better than a few bananas do you?" Alexander said with a smile.

The tiger sort of rolled its shoulders as if it were shrugging.

"I guess it can't be helped. We will have to find you some food though. somethign large and meaty."

He began to rub the tiger's back. For it being a wild animal, it had a luxurious coat of fur. Fur he wouldn't mind spending an afternoon brushing. He blushed slightly. his older brother was always ragging him about that. Saying its how he should feel to a girl. To be honest, Alexander didn't care for girls, or humans in general.

"Well let's get going again. Let's see... If the sun is moving in that direction then... this way is north," he said, pointing in that direction. "Let's go then."

They started off again. After several hundred yards, Alexander looked to his companion.

"So what should I call you?"

The tiger remained silent.

"How about Sol? You coat does shine like the sun after all."

The tiger began that odd purr again.

"You like that? Then Sol it is."


OOC: For the record the sun works like it does for us, rise in the east, sets in the west.

 
Stepping across a border of some sort, Myu-Jishan let it slip his mind. He saw a path that looked as though someone had burned through, quite literally. Peaking his curiosity, he followed the path going slightly to his right. Anything that may have been living seemed to be turned to ash. He wondered what power could have done this. Then again, what power could have given him a spike that restricted his ability to remove his mask? Not to mention the sight he now had.

No matter, he still followed. There wasn’t much he feared. As he went down, he could also see there were many flawless sculptures of humans in battle positions made of solid crystal. He imagined that many would try to profit off of this. They looked extremely real and had believable facial expressions.

However, a sight that irked even Myu-Jishan was one specific one he came across after a little bit. Upon walking, there was one crystal sculpture that was half on the path and half off. But what intrigued him was that the half that was not was a skeleton. Seeing the expression of agony that Myu-Jishan couldn’t even imagine slightly brightened his day. As a hater of the human race, to see they were capable of feeling such pain made Myu-Jishan rather excited on the inside. He would continue down the path until the end of it.

______________


Haku

Haku knew more than anyone the troubles of this place. He had seen many of the tiles, and every once in a while he needed to do what he did best. Hide from killers. He was never a really seasoned fighter, but ever since he came here, he’s had to improve his skills. He hadn’t gotten much better unless he were enflamed by the heat of passion.

Today he was in a Marshland tile. Given that the tiles move, he really could have been anywhere. Because of this, there was never any way he could map out the entire maze, but there were a few tiles he had stumbled upon several times that he knew rather well. This was not one of them. In fact, although he knew he’d been on this one before, he did not know much about any that were marshes; he generally tried to avoid these ones.

Picking up his revolver, he put it in its holster. He trusted a small area of water to be rather clean, as it was clear and didn’t seem to be contaminated. Making a cup with his hands, he took a few gulps of the water so to refresh himself. Gazing at the sun for a moment, he could tell it was morning still. Getting back up on two feet, he thought about it. Last time he was here, he didn’t take note of which way he went, but it didn’t really matter given the nature of the place.

Haku also began to think for a moment. Every so often, new people would come. This has happened a rough 90 or so times, but he wasn’t counting. In fact, it was about time that there was a new group coming. He had hoped not to encounter any more people, as they could be lethal. He had seen many frightening people throughout the games, and he wasn’t about to risk finding another one.

Making sure he had his gun one more time, he saw his soulspike…a harsh reminder of where he was and what he had to do to get out. Putting that aside, this was far better from running from demons all ones life. In fact, he’d rather be here. Regardless of the situation, there were still things to see here that were eye pleasing.

He chose to head west today, maybe keep this going, but he wanted to see what was on the next tile first.
 
The first thing Jamie noted upon being roused from her sleep in the small shaded area of a large apple tree, was that the tiles had shifted. The mountain that had loomed overhead now seemed farther east than it did before. To the west shined the large convivial orb of the Sun and before her was her gallant steed, Chronos. The horse snorted gleefully and bowed its head towards her outstretched hand as she fingered a few little nuts she had pocketed. Offering the nuts to her new companion, Jamie smiled as the horse's muzzle tickled her palm lightly.

"Good boy, now 'ow the 'ell are we gonna git' ourselves to a town, hm?" She questioned the air agitatedly. Kicking out at a pebble, Jamie started to wander around the perimeter of the tree, picking a few apples as she went and pocketing them, chucking the rotten ones to the ground. Satisfied with her newly obtained vittles, she continued her trek toward the mountain, noting that the line of apple trees overhead gave way to a dirt path. The path had been freshly trodden upon and as she led her horse upwards, she started to see a few ruined buildings and a splintered sign in the distance.

"Well now, seems like we're wanderin' into a town, hm."

Pumping her fist in victory, Jamie picked up her speed, finally hoping she could at least run into another combatant as fatigue was quickly starting to settle in. About twenty minutes into her trek the mountain once more looked as clear as day to her, the snowy peak very apparent in her line of vision, she huffed sitting in the middle of an abandoned town: in the middle of it there were abandoned buildings with many broken windows, fractured glass, overturned carriages with damaged spokes, and dust lots and lots of dust.
 
Rouge had made. . . a very alarming discovery.

As she stood in a more open area within the Oasis, she stared in awe as she discovered the shrieks were actually coming from a giant scorpion. Even though the type of scorpion seemed recognizable, the size of it was immense - the stinger reaching about 4 extra feet past Rouge's height. The beast was looking around the area frantically, as if it were lost or something had changed in the environment; similar to how Rouge was thinking when she first found out that she was in a large desert. This must have been the scorpion that was symbolized on the obelisk she saw before, but now Rouge was very curious. How old was this thing?

She looked ahead of where the scorpion was looking around, and saw the possible nest it built. Something had to be wrong if it was screeching like this, however, and she had to be careful if she were to approach it. She figured it could move fast enough, so she may be able to tame it somehow, and give her a lift to whatever resides outside of the desert. Rouge had read about communication with animals, so calming it down probably wouldn't be too hard. She couldn't be too sure though, considering she's never worked with animals that normally aren't supposed to be this big; but it was worth a shot.

Placing both hands behind her back, she had simply kicked a rock into one of the surrounding bushes, and that was enough to get the scorpion's attention. It turned it's full body around, looking as if it was ready to fight off anything that came it's way - but Rouge wasn't looking for a fight. She wanted to think of them as friends. The scorpion hissed when it saw her in a still posture with large black eyes that nearly looked like orbs, and it had taken two large steps towards her, the tail raising slightly and threatening to attack. Rouge's gaze stayed on the large creature as she had brought one of her hands out in front of her with the palm facing outwards, representing that she wasn't a threat.

I'm not going to hurt you. That was the message she had sent to the scorpion's conscience as her blank expression stayed on her face, not shifting at all. The stinger had lowered down slightly and the scorpion had growled once more, and Rouge could detect doubt in the tone. She began taking slow steps backwards while still mentally calming down the beast. Don't be afraid.

Rouge walked backwards, with her front still facing the scorpion as it began to tread slowly towards her, until she had bumped into one of the towering trees that gave a vast amount of shade. Once she had reached that spot, the scorpion wasn't hissing at all, and once it got in about two feet range of her, it examined her from head to toe. Rouge's poker face had eventually shifted into a small grin as her hand lowered until it rested on the thick carapace that was located between the eyes. In response, the creature had only pushed its head up against her hand as she began rubbing it - showing that she meant no harm.

"As much as I'd like to know what was upsetting you, I have a favor to ask of you." She said to it out loud. She wasn't entirely aware if it knew what she was vocally saying, but as she began walking the way she came in the area, the large scorpion began to follow her. Exactly what she wanted it to do. The two lost species had reached the outside of the Oasis, right where Rouge was before she went back to find the mysterious noise. Wind had gotten a little faster the last time she was out in the open desert, and she wondered sandstorms were possible in the region. In that case, she would have to find a way through the desert quickly to avoid any risks.

The scorpion had hissed only a little from behind Rouge, as if it detected her concern. It was a possible instinct, since most animals could detect human emotions in various ways. To confirm it's wonder, Rouge had turned around and gave another message.

Do you know where the outskirts of this desert is?

It gave a low screech in reply, and slowly walked up towards Rouge until it was side to side by her. With a smile, she instantly realized it was offering a ride. Even though she didn't know of any specific way she had to ride it, it knew where it had to go, so it probably didn't matter. She actually had to give herself a little boost to climb up the scorpion's back, and it wasn't the most comfortable thing she has sat on - but now that she was mobile, those were the least of her concerns. The scorpion began walking away from it's home in the Oasis, and headed towards whatever Northward direction led.
​
 
Ciridan was quick to dodge as large spikes drove out of the ground and into the sky. Obviously, this man wasn't kidding around when he said he was going to end his "dream". There wasn't going to be any reasoning with him at all, and Ciridan knew he would be foolish for trying. Once the spires stopped forming from the ground, Ciridan decided to use a little earth magic of his own.

Out of the stranger's spires, Ciridan made his own, jutting out of them horizontally. It would kill anyone that was standing near one, and the stranger had one right next to him. The city was now filled with spires that were forming from the ground, that had, in turn, had spikes coming out of them horizontally.

To avoid his own trap, Ciridan made a large chunk of ground rise below his feet, and carry him into the sky. Using the same idea, he had more large boulders created from the ground hovering around him. Using his fire, he started melting the rock to create magma, ready to throw at the man below him if he managed to dodge the spikes.

Ciridan may have not like the idea of killing for no reason, but he was certainly capable of it. After all, it was self-defense in the purest degree.
 
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