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Post by Ponic on Feb 11, 2015 20:40:33 GMT -5
The parents looked at the baby Keera, the mother clutching the quiet child tightly. The male seemed to find what he was looking for. "Bethelna, look," he said pointing at the child's side. There was an odd combination of markings on Keera's side: three lines that met together in a triangular formation. The mother, Bethelna, looked at the markings on the child and drew in a breath. "That means..." The father nodded.
"Ordius, this is dangerous," she said, although still holding the child. The father, Ordius, nodded slowly. "I know, but it's not as if we are unfamiliar with this. We used a similar power to create the crystals to deal with the Irate infection."
"Yes, but we've never seen a living person with this before," said Bethelna.
"Indeed," answered Ordius, "but who better to take care of her? We don't know where she's from, but there's something else." Bethelna nodded, touching Keera's forehead. "She feels incomplete, something is missing from her..."
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Post by Skylos on Feb 11, 2015 20:51:09 GMT -5
Skylos looked on with genuine interest. The problem was, he really felt out of place in all of this. Seeing Keera with that marking... Like Delta. Skylos idly thought to himself...not that anyone would have been able to have heard him in any case. So they had already done everything by this point in regards to Irates...? But if they had, why hadn't it been cured by this point? Or maybe it wasn't as successful...
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Post by Ponic on Feb 11, 2015 21:04:25 GMT -5
"What's more, the crystal is unstable, we can't use it yet," said Bethelna. "We've held off because of what we discovered of the powers used to create it. Still, Bethelna, we must keep this child safe, if she were to fall into their hands..."
Bethelna held up her hand. "I know, Ordius, I know. I'm not trying to sound callous, you're right, we must take her in."
Ordius nodded slowly and put his hand on the child's head. "She mustn't know who she truly is. To her and anyone else, she will be our daughter. She can't know that she is not ours, we'll call her Keera." Bethelna looked down and kissed Keera on the head. "Keera," she whispered, "come let's return to the village."
The vision then vanished from Skylos' eyes and he would find himself beyond the point in the plains where the field obscured the light. For the most part he seemed to be completely alone, no Hunting Hawk, and at the moment, no Irates. Moreover, now that the vision had vanished, and the light bending effects were behind him, Skylos would sense Ponic and Keera's auras. They were not far from him, just to the east, behind another small hill.
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Post by Skylos on Feb 11, 2015 21:10:14 GMT -5
Once the vision faded away, Skylos was left with more questions than answers. And answers that I never knew I needed to know, either. He noticed he was alone, so he looked around, suddenly realizing that it wasn't safe to be alone in the middle of the Shadow Realm. Sensing Keera, and Ponic, he gave a sigh of relief, then quietly traveled closer to them. Because he had been subjected to many oddities since coming to the Shadow Realm, he was being...extra careful.
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Post by Ponic on Feb 11, 2015 21:14:31 GMT -5
Skylos would find Keera and Ponic at the base of the hill. Keera was sitting on the grass sighing deeply with her hand on her forehead, looking quite distressed. Keera ran her hand slowly through her front bangs and didn't look up at Skylos. When Ponic felt Skylos coming and gestured to him to come closer. "Did you see it too?" asked Ponic. Ponic was referring to the vision, clearly he had seen it as well.
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Post by Skylos on Feb 11, 2015 21:22:09 GMT -5
"I saw a vision, whether it was the same 'it' or not remains to be seen." Skylos looked own at Keera and frowned. "But, I have a feeling it must have been..." Skylos knelt down beside Keera and put his hand on her right shoulder, trying to offer some comfort. There wasn't much he could say at this point, but he was thinking about her, all the same. The pain she felt reverberated through his mind.
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Post by Ponic on Feb 11, 2015 21:26:53 GMT -5
Keera wiped a tear from her eye, unable to shake the meaning of what the vision meant. "I'm...I'm not," Keera couldn't even bring herself to say it. She looked up and took a deep breath to compose herself. "These plains, I can see why so many Shadow Wielders stay out of them," she muttered. She felt her like there were spikes in her throat, keeping her tears in at what she had seen. She was not the true child of her parents. There was no way around that! "We should hurry, before the Irates catch up with us." Keera slowly got herself up, "the focal point is close by."
"Are you OK, Keera?" asked Ponic. Keera looked at Ponic, her eyes said it all. "I'm going have to be," she said, turning around and walking in the direction of the focal point.
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Post by Skylos on Feb 11, 2015 21:34:47 GMT -5
Skylos stood back up and looked after her. Would she be OK? Really? He let out a light sigh, then followed her. He opened a Radio Frequency to Ponic. Did anything about that stand out to you, like who her original parents would be?
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Post by Ponic on Feb 11, 2015 21:54:31 GMT -5
I never met her parents, said Ponic, I don't know what this means beyond that she is not their true daughter. They were mentioning that they seemed to know about her, or something about her before. I'm wondering if what they discovered had something to do with it, clues to the answer may be in their previous work... Ponic decided to try to break the silence as they walked. "These plains, they play such odd tricks on your mind. It's the energies in them, along with how the light interacts with the ground environment," said Ponic.
"I know you are trying to get my mind off it," said Keera, quietly, falling back to walk with Ponic and Skylos. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine...eventually," Keera added at the end. It would be a lie to say she was OK right now. After a few minutes of walking Keera stopped, "it's here," she said kneeling down. At their feet, the tall grass seemed to part in all directions, so it created a narrow circle. At the centre of the circle was stone with odd symbols depicted on it. "A focal point," Keera said, "we'd better do this quickly."
Ponic nodded and commanded the orb closer, "Skylos, could you drop the invsisibility on it? I think I'll need to see this," he said.
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Post by Skylos on Feb 11, 2015 22:04:04 GMT -5
Skylos felt the need to console Keera, but he didn't know how to at this point in time. For now, he'd have to focus on the mission now that they had arrived at their destination. "Right." Neon's Darkness, wrapped around an object, suddenly appeared back into existence. "We need to act fast. I'm not sure how affected the Irates will be by the weirdness of the plains."
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Post by Ponic on Feb 11, 2015 22:12:18 GMT -5
Ponic then produced the crystal from his robes. "Let's do this quickly," he said, holding the crystal up. It pulsed Light and Darkness. Ponic held it near the orb. He was quite nervous about this, pulling away Neon's darkness from an orb that could potentially infect any Shadow Wielder it touches was dangerous. Still Ponic couldn't ask anyone else to do this. "Be careful, we don't want anyone getting infected," Ponic said, quietly. He held the crystal in front of the orb. The darkness in the crystal seemed to recognize Neon's Darkness, and instantly the crystal began to pulsate and Neon's Darkness cage wrapping around the crystal was then pull off, where it moved like a blanket in the air and entered into the crystal. The gemstone pulsed and crackled at this new addition of power.
The orb meanwhile, free from its confines crackled shadow power and small pulses of energy shot around it and back into the orb. As soon as the containment was down, Skylos would feel that presence again, that dead Irate soul was watching and drifting around them completely unseen...
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Post by Skylos on Feb 11, 2015 22:16:40 GMT -5
Skylos shielded himself, just because he was unsure of what would happen once the crystal was unleashed from its bonds. Suddenly, the hair on Skylos' neck stood up as he sensed the dead Irate. "That soul from before is lurking around here. I'm not really sure what that means for us." Skylos called his scythe to him, just in case. Hopefully I won't need it. Skylos remembered that the orb only could affect Shadow Wielders. "Ponic, I'll use the crystal. There's no need to risk it when there is no risk if I use it." He accepted the crystal from Ponic because I've already edited twice due to much confusion from a vague Danny and he used it on the orb. There's no risk, right?
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Post by Ponic on Feb 11, 2015 22:48:43 GMT -5
Skylos died, ha ha I lied!
Ponic looked at Skylos and nodded to him. "Still, be careful Skylos, we'll watch for, whatever that thing is that seems to be lurking." As Skylos stabbed the crystal into the orb, there would be a moment when it seemed like all the sound was sucked out of the air. Then, it all happens at once. There was a loud crack, and the orb pulsed with an immense amount of shadow energy. A loud explosion and pulse would shoot out from the orb, knocking Ponic, Keera, and Skylos back. The focal point they were over would then pulse with power and shoot a pillar of energy into the sky. The crystal that Skylos used would remain in the orb, glowing and pulsing with energy, and seemingly spreading a field of energy over the Irate orb.
There was a loud shout and the plains seemed to manipulate around them, as everything was being bent around them. Shadow energy would expand off the orb and begin to spread everywhere...
"Watch out," shouted Ponic, quickly summoning every shadow that he could still manipulate around them and throwing a sphere of shadow energy over them.
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Post by Skylos on Feb 11, 2015 22:53:59 GMT -5
Skylos could feel the discharge of energy, but then all went silent. It was like everything had stopped, then all at once, came back and blasted him back. He slid on the ground a bit, then the next thing he noticed was Ponic erecting a shield around them. Skylos strengthened the shield with his Light Mirror, causing the Shadow to shimmer mysteriously. That's kind of cool... But had they done it? Was it over?
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Post by Ponic on Feb 11, 2015 23:01:59 GMT -5
It was not fully over. The shadow energy shot around them, and the massive pulse continued to expand outwards. A large pillar of shadow energy would also shoot up into the sky, darkening the clouds as the energy of the orb along with the crystal increased and spread over the land, amplified by the focal point of that they were standing on. A voice would then be heard, one word, blood hungry, and unmistakably from that dead spirit, "MINE!"
The orb crackled once more, and then it violently exploded, bathing the area in energy, so strong it would likely break through the shield, or at the very least strain it. When everything calmed down, it was quiet, extremely quiet.
Ponic, and Keera got up from the floor. Keera rubbed her head. "Is everyone all right?" she asked. Ponic grunted and held his temples, "I'm fine, Skylos?"
After they got their bearings, they would notice something...the orb was gone...
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Post by Skylos on Feb 11, 2015 23:14:24 GMT -5
Skylos opened his eyes and checked himself. Everything seemed in order...He wasn't impaled by anything...He wasn't sure why he checked for that...but anyways. "I'm fine...Where's the orb? Did it explode into dust...? I wasn't able to see it..." He looked around, haunted by the voice he thought he had heard. "It yelled 'Mine!'. I definitely heard that..." But what did it mean...? What if it had somehow taken it? But it was just a spirit, right?
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Post by Ponic on Feb 11, 2015 23:28:00 GMT -5
Ponic looked around at the complete lack of the orb. "I have no idea what it meant," he said, "but it all feels different..." Ponic extended his sensing self outward. "I think...it worked...the infection it's...I don't think it's corrupting the shadows anymore."
However, that didn't seem to be the end. In front of Ponic, Keera and Skylos, the area seemed to begin to haze again as a new vision slowly began to come to them. This time, however, Ponic, Keera, and Skylos would be aware of each other's presences. "What do you want?" came a voice from the vision, speaking to someone. The voice was female, Skylos would recognize it as the voice of the dead being he had been sensing.
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Post by Skylos on Feb 11, 2015 23:43:53 GMT -5
"Cured...Amazing..." Skylos' eyes widened for a second one the vision had started. This again? He looked at Ponic and Keera. "The voice speaking, it's the same voice I've been hearing; it's the spirit that has been following us."
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Post by Ponic on Feb 12, 2015 19:30:10 GMT -5
The vision continued to unfold going beyond just words into visual. The voice belonged to a woman, an Irate woman with long purple hair and a murderous look in her eyes. "That's Rickta," said Keera, "the...former leader of the Irates." Ponic quickly filled in the blanks, "she was the leader until Neon killed her. This must be what has already passed..." Rickta was sitting in the Irate temple, the sacred Irate orb behind her. Irate shadows crossed around her, like serpents that slithered through the air. She was standing speaking to an unknown figure who was wearing a long robe and hood. She stood with confidence, seemingly unworried about being near Rickta, who was possibly the most bloodthirsty of the Irates. "We need to talk," she said to her. Rickta, appeared quite indignant about this, clasping her dagger. "What is it you want, outsider? The girl knows nothing!" "At the moment, true, but the girl who bares the mark and her husband will be coming soon. They will be looking for information on her parents, and you know what that may soon mean..."
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Post by Skylos on Feb 12, 2015 21:44:41 GMT -5
Skylos couldn't help but look at Ponic and Keera. It was pretty obvious who they were talking about, after all. Skylos waited for more information to come to light before he'd respond.
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Post by Ponic on Feb 12, 2015 22:08:30 GMT -5
Ponic and Keera both looked somewhat uncomfortable at this. Someone knew they were coming and had prepared the Irates?
Rickta looked at this woman. "Talk straight, what do you want?" she demanded in a near snake voice that seemed to indicate she was waiting for an invitation to attack. The woman appeared completely unfazed. "Do you want your race to be wiped out? What I need is personal, what you need is to make sure that they do not get those documents. Right now is your best chance to deal with them and gather the spoils of war from inside the Velut village for your people. If nothing else you'll get a few more Irates out of it."
Rickta appeared to approve of the thought but she was still not completely convinced. "Remember our deal. We keep Keera away from her family's documents and that crystal, then in return-"
The woman held up her hand, "I haven't forgotten," she said in a voice that was on the lower register for a female. It glowed an odd assortment of colours: green, violet, red, and then blue. A stream of power then slowly extended outward and toward Rickta. "To help cement your power so no other Irate can rise against you, I give you the ability of masking." The beam connected with Rickta, who arched her back and shouted out apparently in pain for a moment. The energy wrapped around Rickta, clutching her and then abosrbed into the Irate female's skin.
Rickta panted and then looked up. With a sneer she then had shadows cover her. When they seperated from her she looked completely different, she looked like an Ulter, and then a Velut, and then Keera specifically, and then Ponic! Rickta sneered at the hooded woman, "accepted."
"Good, see to it that you don't fail," answered the woman.
The vision faded away...
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Post by Skylos on Feb 12, 2015 22:18:08 GMT -5
Skylos pondered what he had seen. "So you got these documents before they did, which led to their undoing...It appears that nothing went according to their plan. I wonder where the mysterious woman is now that everything has fallen apart?" He also wondered who it was, but that was immaterial; that was their enemy.
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Post by Ponic on Feb 12, 2015 22:25:42 GMT -5
Keera nodded slowly, "that's the thing," she said, "people like that rarely let their plans go awry. She gave Rickta the power to change her appearance, whoever that woman was she must be power. Also what she used, I couldn't figure out what power that was."
Ponic had paused and was thinking to himself. "Skylos, you said you heard and felt Rickta before. What do you think that means? Especially what she said at the end, 'mine'?"
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Post by Skylos on Feb 12, 2015 22:29:22 GMT -5
"Well..." Skylos began to think about it logically. "Rickta is dead, and a spirit. What would a spirit want with something that it can't have? We just broke the orb -- or at least I hope that's what happened to it -- so what would that accomplish for Rickta's spirit?" Skylos scratched his chin. "Was there something inside of the infected orb that could have been taken by Rickta?"
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Post by Ponic on Feb 12, 2015 22:33:55 GMT -5
"It's what they were able to use to infect themselves and turn themselves into Irates," said Ponic, thinking about it. Keera went to the focal point and bent down. "What if...we didn't destroy the orb persay?" she muttered. "Energy can be dispersed, but it doesn't just disappear..."
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Post by Skylos on Feb 12, 2015 22:37:03 GMT -5
Skylos nodded his head. "That's why I came to that conclusion." That was unfortunate, though. Where had the energy gone? The easy answer would be to say that Rickta took it. But Rickta was kind of dead...Could something dead take it?
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Post by Ponic on Feb 12, 2015 22:48:52 GMT -5
Ponic looked around and at the sky. "I hope she didn't figure out a way to fuse with that power..." The thought of Rickta, as a spirit with all that energy. To say it was unnerving was an understatement. "I think we should return to the village for now and leave these plains." Keera knelt down and picked up the crystal that was left on the focal point. Amazingly it had survived the destruction of the orb. How had her parents made this. She held the crystal and nodded as Ponic opened their shadows and took them back to the Velut village.
As Ponic had sensed the Irate infection had been purged, at least from here. Their transition was easy and they arrived in the Velut village to see no more Irates. There were a few craters and destroyed areas of the village, but many Veluts were out helping one another. Some were on the floor shaking their heads, clearly drained from the purge that Skylos, Keera, and Ponic had done. There were other Shadow Wielders as well, a mix of Nictucs, Veluts, and Ulters, that were being gathered in the square and bound with shadow. Those must have been the Irates that first attacked the village.
"Of course, there are very few pure Irates. Most of them are from the other races and were infected for a long time," said Ponic when he saw this sight. Seeing the uninfected being arrested like that, however, it didn't completely sit right with him.
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Post by Skylos on Feb 12, 2015 22:52:42 GMT -5
Skylos dreaded what could happen in the future had that have been true. He'd be there to help, of course, should he be needed. Once they arrived back in the village and watched what was happening, Skylos shook his head. "It's true. It doesn't feel right. For most of them, I'm sure they never intended to become what they had become. But..." They still had done horrible things. The horrible things couldn't be rectified so easily, either. Skylos looked away.
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Post by Ponic on Feb 12, 2015 23:05:45 GMT -5
Keera couldn't turn her eyes from it. "They had no idea what they were doing," she said, quietly, "does that mean it's their fault?" Ponic looked there as well, he had no answer. Keera turned and walked away, but she would not be so quick to let this go, Ponic followed her. Once the three of them were a bit of a distance away Ponic nodded to Skylos. "I think Keera and I are nearly done here. We'll stay behind for a bit longer to help with rebuilding efforts and figuring out what the Irates wanted with us, but I don't anticipate it will be much longer," he said. "Thank you for your help, Skylos." Ponic looked in his friend's eyes, "it's thanks to you and everyone that we got through this safely. We'll return home soon, when we have a better idea on what is going on now."
Keera nodded, "I don't think we can just leave our people like this, even with the infection supposedly purged..."
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Post by Skylos on Feb 12, 2015 23:10:25 GMT -5
"Won't it be odd for the Shadow Realm to lose a race after so long?" Skylos rubbed the back of his head. "I'm guessing this will cause some problems for awhile, but I think that we've definitely done the right thing." Skylos smiled, then nodded his head to them. "I'm glad to have been included. If you need any more assistance, I'll be there."
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