• Graded • The Maze: The Beginning (At The Heart)

[Pegasus]

How many years can this man exist, before he's allowed to be free?

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind
Yes, 'n' how many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind
Yes, 'n' how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

"Anthropos apteros, perplexed
To know which turning to take next,
Looked up and wished he were a bird
To whom such doubts must seem absurd.”

Anthropos Apteros' was no more.

Because now, he was awake. Awake and being battered, it seemed, on either side. On one side dreams, the other side nightmares.

Hart, Rey'na, Sephira.
"It's the only name I know for him," Karshe replied to Hart, when he asked why that name.

The two shadowy forms looked at Hart and, as the features grew sharper, more clear, Hart saw the Mortalborn he was expecting. He spoke to them and whilst the male simply seemed to grow stronger, darker, the woman however, shook her head, motioning to the dark form of her brother.

"I.. I don't know" Anthropos Apteros said, his words grinding out. "They've been at war so long, I don't remember before. I can't make any more choices. .... " He lifted his hand to his temple and frowned, deeply. As he did, the shadow of the man behind him grew stronger. More solid.

"I might be wrong," Karshe said softly. "But I think they're fighting over him." She glanced at Hart as she said that, obviously not entirely sure.

As for the man at the centre of all this, he looked then, to Sephira, as she asked her questions. Frowning, Anthropos Apteros considered it, but ultimately the battle raging for his sleeping mind, and his waking one, twisted his mind and damaged his soul. His answer was ground out through gritted teeth, but he was trying to answer... to remain lucid. "The maze... the people. All in my dreams," he said, looking at her. "I dreamed of people and animals, and I asked them to help. Need help." She got no more of an answer, yet Sephira made her choice.

Wyn spoke to Sephira softly. "He's dreaming us?"

There was very limited time to answer, however, as Rey'na appeared there, with them. She, in Devin's body, also spoke and her choices were the same as Harts. Almost entirely unanimous, the three of them, there was just one bone of contention.. desire or duty?

"I'll make sure, but you've got to get out," Karshe said.
Eliza & Patrick
Hand in hand they went, the pair of them and they arrived at the centre of the maze. Eliza, for such her name was, spoke to Anthropos Apteros and he nodded his head. To Patrick, also, he nodded, looking at them and seeming to want to speak; to try to communicate. It wasn't that he couldn't hear them, or them hear him in return, but the winged man seemed to be locked in a sort of soundless conversation with the two shadowy beings. Those two beings seemed to be locked in some sort of a tussle and yet, as Eliza and Patrick watched, there seemed to be a shift in the power dynamic.

The woman pushed back against the man who, from their angle, seemed to be winning in the battle for Anthropos Apteros'... soul? But then, the whole world changed, in a blink.

All Five Of You

And so, the mortals made their choices. When they did, their voices echoed in the clearing, reverberating around and they might each notice that there were more voices than there were people here. Other voices, unknown, unrecognised also bounced around the clearing. As that happened, they blinked and there they were. The five of them. Those they knew, those they had seen in mirrors. Yet others who were completely unknown. Five out of all of them had made it here and here? They had choices to make.

Their choices made, a decision had been put before them and, almost unanimously, made. It would have long term implications, that decision. It would shape the Dreamscape for seasons to come, would impact the life of the man Anthropos Apteros once was, and would be again.

Or, more precisely, it would have had implications. But then, one Mortalborn touched another, prompting a series of events, a chain reaction which rippled out throughout the Maze, across Scalvoris.

And, all over Idalos, dreamers trembled and cried out in their sleep.

Anthropos Apteros screamed.

Jesine gasped in amazement as the dreamer, the one whose body had been kept alive and who had been tortured with vision after vision by those who performed their experiments on him, not only screamed but also burst into a ball of blinding white light. Both Jesine and Kielik burst into the same light. As Hart touched the children of Vri, the five mortals and their assorted animals, were knocked clean off their feet as bright light exploded out. The force of it was a physical one, like the shockwave of an explosion.

Which, of course, it was.

And it was an explosion which made Emea tremble.

As the blast rippled out through the Maze, those within it were affected in ways both seen and, as yet, unseen. Emea tore as the twins who walked it fell into dreamless sleep. A thousand Nighmares roared and the five there heard their cries echoing in their very souls. Yet the hopeful dreams of a thousand children also fell through the fissure newly created and those tinkling sounds were heard too.

Then, the light dimmed and all was silent. The five of them were scattered around a clearing. With them were their animal companions, equally disoriented and confused. Yet, still able to speak; though mind to mind with their partner. Hart, who had seen and experienced much more, was unconscious at first, although he woke soon, after a few moments.

And there, in the middle of the patch of green was the naked form of an elderly human man. He was quite dead.

Epilogue
He had been a child when they'd taken him.

A young boy. A twin, he and his sister. They'd taken them because they were both born able to walk in dreams. Powerfully so. And so, they had experimented, questioned, probed. At first, that was all they'd done, but then they started to cut, to force ingestion of different poisons, chemicals... as their abductors grew more desperate, so too did the treatment the children received grow more extreme. Should any of the five, and their assorted companions, move forward to examine him, the corpse on the floor, the extent of his mistreatment at anonymous hands was obvious in the scars on his skin.

Above them, the clouds broke and the sun shone on Scalvoris once more. Stray debris blew in the gentle breeze.

But, of course, everything had changed.

If we spirits have offended, think but this and all is mended.....

Ok, so, that is ENTIRELY not the ending I had planned. Well done, Hart, on surprising the beejeebus out of me! This thread has now become a Global Impact thread and those pc's who are in it will have a number of ramifications.

You may all post ONE more time, then I will review. Please note the following:

1. Any and all "weird swapping" has stopped. When she sits up, Rey'na is herself again, for example. Monkeys and lions are back to the right size, etc.
2. Every pc in this group now has the Dreamwalking Skill. I am awarding you each 10XP in it (that's the equivalent of 10 dream threads).
3. Hart. You have just unlocked a new Mortalborn Power. Lets discuss that, shall we?
4. There will be other things. These will become apparent in the review. I will review on the 23rd January. Please post before then.
5. This thread will lead on to an emea-based plot next season. You are all Golden Ticket Holders.

May I just say that, the thing that I love the MOST about modding and storytelling is moments like this. Thanks! Congratulations, you five. You just changed the world.......

[Hart]

"Speaking in Rakahi"
"Speaking in Common"
"Speaking in Common sign"

Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

Anthropos Apteros screamed.
The man burst into light and Hart sought to grab hold of him. He had sensed the man was lonely and desperate and needed a friend --had sensed that he needed to be freed-- and Hart could not leave him. He could not. "No!" he shouted when the man screamed, and Hart fought against that light. But it was too bright. The two shadows burst into light as well and Hart stumbled back a step.

That was when the light exploded.

Hart flew backwards. There was a flash and he saw Karshe tumbling away; saw the others, all of them flung back. He wasn't sure but he thought he smashed into something, or maybe that too was the light-- and then there was a crash-thud of impact and confusion and maybe pain. Then for a while there was nothing. He lay crumpled, unconscious.

When Hart woke it was to birds chirping. He smelled sunlight on grass. He felt the cool of shade-dappled trees. He blinked his eyes slowly open. His head felt heavy, but he did not hurt much. Mostly he was tired. He thought he heard someone speaking, or maybe multiple people. He heard Karshe, who was close to him, and she nuzzled at his face.

With much effort, he managed to pull himself up from the ground so that he was sitting on hands and knees. They were in a pretty, peaceful clearing. He thought if he looked back he could see Scalvoris Town, not far away. There was Sephira and her wolf, a young woman he thought must be Rey'na and her snake, and two new people and their companions.

His heart lurched as he looked at them. There was another young woman he didn't know and there--

There was the man with the crossbow from the labyrinth. The man Hart had had a part in killing.

He was alive.

With shaking hands Hart searched for the shard of mirror he had gotten at the beginning of the maze. If he was able to find it, he would look into it. There was the man, just as he was across the clearing. Hart remembered him being pulled by the labyrinth, pulled in, and Hart had been sure he was dead.

But there he was, and he was okay.

He was okay.

Hart took a shuddering breath and with first one shoulder then the other wiped tears from his eyes. For a moment he could only hang his head and pant, shuddering, shuddering. Overwhelmed. But eventually he looked up again.

And saw the old man, lying naked in the center of the glade.

"No," Hart said. "No."

He was tired, very tired, but he staggered to his feet. He stumbled over to the old man and fell to his knees. There was no doubt that this was Anthropos Apteros. He was old, so old, and he had been hurt so many, many times. And Hart had-- he had put the shadow beings --the mortalborn-- to sleep, and he had thought that that would free the man but here he lay and he was dead.

He had been hurt so many times and Hart, Hart had hurt him. He had hurt him too.

"No," Hart said, trembling. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He hadn't meant to.

Beside him, Karshe pressed her nose to his cheek.

One moment he was kneeling there, and it had happened again. Someone had died, and it was because of Hart, because Hart hadn't known what to do. He knelt there, and then the trembling stopped and he remembered his hands. He remembered how his hands felt when he took away someone's hurt and terror and anger and gave them comfort and bliss. An emotion he didn't understand seemed to gather in his chest and he said, in a voice that was his voice and yet different, powerful, divine, "Not again."

He gathered the old man up in his arms. He held him, and he Wished.

And between one instant and the next the old man had gone and a young boy, maybe five years old, lay in Hart's arms. He was breathing quietly, his hair white and fine, and he was little and safe and unhurt and alive. He was alive.

"It will be okay," Hart told him. He didn't have much with him but he had his bag, and he took out his sweater for the boy.

He was trembling again, and he had to lay the boy down because he was so tired now that he knew he could not carry him. He needed to rest. He felt as he had when his sister Jovy had died, as if there was nothing more in him, as if some part of him had been used up, had gone. Unbeknownst to him, two Fracture scars had appeared on his back where Anthropos Apteros' dreaming wings had been, crossing between his shoulder blades and extending down his back to either hip. They shone a bright silvery-white, bright enough to be seen faintly through his shirt.

In the dark of his hair there was the barest speckling of grey.

But unlike when his sister had died, he felt at peace. He felt, looking at the young boy who would live not as Anthropos Apteros had lived --Anthropos Apteros, who had been stripped of his name and tormented and tortured--

--but who would live better than that, who would not be alone and bound and hurt, but who would be free and have a childhood--

Hart felt glad.

He put a trembling hand on Karshe's side and she said, I think... we got them all. We got all of them out.

And he was just so, so glad.

OOC: Permission from Pegasus to use Hart's new mortalborn power Wish.

[Pegasus]

[/center]

I will try...

When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse
When the tears come streaming down your face
'Cause you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
What could it be worse?
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
But high up above or down below
When you are too in love to let it show
Oh but if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
Tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
oh and tears come streaming down your face
And I
Tears streaming down your face
I promise you I will learn from all my mistakes
oh and the tears streaming down your face
And I
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Epilogue (revised)

He had been a child when they'd taken him.

A young boy. A twin, he and his sister. They'd taken them because they were both born able to walk in dreams. Powerfully so. And so, they had experimented, questioned, probed. At first, that was all they'd done, but then they started to cut, to force ingestion of different poisons, chemicals... as their abductors grew more desperate, so too did the treatment the children received grow more extreme. Should any of the five, and their assorted companions, move forward to examine him, the corpse on the floor, the extent of his mistreatment at anonymous hands was obvious in the scars on his skin.

Above them, the clouds broke and the sun shone on Scalvoris once more. Stray debris blew in the gentle breeze.

But, of course, everything had changed.

The answer blew in on that wind and as Hart gathered the man together, he did the one thing which so many might dream of.

Wish for.

And as Hart gathered up the broken man, he fixed him. Putting him right, igniting his bones perhaps. The sun shone from high above and the child in Hart's arms breathed in and opened his eyes. "What happened?" The child asked, his voice quiet and weak. Then, some kind of realisation or... something dawned and was, as quickly, gone. Unseen, the Immortal of Death who had come to claim the soul his children fought over smiled a rare and gentle smile.

Because he was not just the Immortal of Death. No. He had other Domains.

"I don't remember anything?" The child said and looked at Hart with trusting eyes.

"I think we did," Karshe said, quietly, and moved so that Hart could lean against her.

If we spirits have offended, think but this and all is mended.....

OOC: Carry on. Just wanted to confirm.

[Sephira]

Others has joined them, faces new and familiar. Sephira nodded to Patrick, remembering the Rharnian from the assault of Faldrass. He had fought with she and Rey as the world crumbled around them. They three had stood together against terrible odds when others had failed before them. It was a comfort to see him there, and it made the soldier stand a little steadier in this strange place. If somehow this came to a fight she would be glad to have him by her side again.

However that didn’t seem to be the case. Voices echoed all around them as each person spoke their choice. There was no hesitation in the Element’s voice, her choice was her own and it was her truth. To her duty always came first so long as carrying it out meant the continued safety of others. It was a strange thing to look back on the woman she once was before joining the Scalvoris military That old Sephira shirked responsibility and never took anything seriously, but now everything had changed.

The mage watched warily as Hart reached out toward the entities surrounding the wingless man. He touched them and the entire Maze seemed to shudder just before an incandescent wave of light burst forth knocking Sephira off her feet and flinging everyone back. As her body slammed into the paving stones at the center of the Maze thousands of shrieks howled in the distance around them. They sounded like nightmarish creatures and their hollow voices send a shiver down the Special Assistant’s back.

Sephira rolled to her feet, her eyes darting up to catch the sight of the scarred and elderly corpse ahead of them.

No...

“Wyn!” she shouted as her voice broke. Somehow she knew who that body belonged to, she suddenly realized why Anthropos Apteros had reached out to them. This had been his true form, mangled and warped by a lifetime of hardship and torture.

Whether or not the wolf followed her the soldier sprinted toward the mortalborn with the youthful face. Hart, the one she had switched powers with. She had tasted his divinity and he her magic. He had gathered the body of the old man in his arms, his body trembling as he did so. Sephira knew that look of guilt....he blamed himself for this. He had done something to try and bring an end to Anthropos Apteros torture but he hadn’t expected it to end this way.

Glittering onyx eyes looked down on him with pity as she knelt beside him.

“It’s alright, breathe, just breathe...” Her voice had broken and lacked the hardened edge it always seemed to carry.

“This wasn’t your doing.” The woman spoke softly, placing a gloved hand on his shoulder. With keen eyes the sorceress watched the man, her gaze drifting over his face before she turned toward what was left of the wingless man.

Perhaps in some way...he was free after all. Death in its own way was a form of freedom, the woman thought darkly to herself. After everything the wingless man had suffered...after all the dreams he had dreamed, perhaps this was for the best.

Death sets us all free in the end.

‘Not again.’ The voice broke through her thoughts and Sephira’s eyes narrowed before coming to rest on Hart. That had been his voice...but within it had been something alien and ancient.

His grip tightened on the body of the old man and within the passing of a split trill the body was gone. It had been replaced instead by the quietly breathing form of a boy, no older than perhaps five arcs of age.

The Special Assistant’s eyes flared as she took in the sight.

“What...did you do?” The words left her lips as a whisper as Hart slid the sleeping body of the boy to the ground next to him.

The corners of her lips twitched faintly into a subtle smile that was tinged with disbelief and wonder.

“You saved him.”

Around them soft gray fog of Scalvoris swept across the horizon and Sephira finally realized that they were back in their own world. The whistling of songbirds sang within the trees and the scent of fresh grass surrounded them. In the distance the silhouette of Scalvoris Town rose against the stark sapphire blue of the ocean.

They were home.

Dialogue|Thoughts

[Patrick]

The Maze: The Beginning (At The Heart)

Vhalar 1-3

O

nce again it seemed as though things centered on this one specific moment, but unlike the heated moment spent turning the tides of fate; this carried out into a resolution far differently in comparison. There appeared to be minimal danger in comparison for one, something which Patrick felt relieved over but suddenly wary about also. Sure there were moments that seemed questionable, but then again this whole daydream he'd been stuck in seemed to be so...

Anthropos seemed ready to answer after reciprocating the responses both Patrick and Eliza gave, but something else cut him off entirely as he seemed agonized by it. There were what appeared to be two entities as they struggled for... him? His being? What on Idalos was happening now? For the moment he had to see what went down Patrick took to stand between this and Eliza, determined to make sure nothing would come towards her; without hitting him first and foremost. Luminescence slowly built from this entanglement as Anthropos seemed to roar out, and just as he looked with concern; Patrick noticed the other three that stood a few paces away. Eliza might not have known any of them and if she did Pat wouldn't have been surprised, but of course all three faces were familiar in that moment Patrick glimpsed them.

And then the light bursted from the centerfold.

With such an intense blast that rattled his entire being, Patrick used his arms to hide his head for protection; his entire body clenched as means to resist. It was all so much though, far too much for one ordinary individual to withstand. Thus like the others he felt himself thrown back from the surge, as the force which shook the entire world around them demolished every wall of the maze. Things were certainly different now... yet for whatever reason Pat didn't feel afraid of it. He wasn't sure if it were because of his companions he saw just a moment ago, or if it were the result of seeing the turnout of this event.

Initially it hurt for a moment when he felt the impact upon ground, after the disorientation passed Patrick slowly rose to his feet. Total awe had to be his expression as he looked all around, and a sense of relief as well in seeing the others were safe too. "Is it over?!" Ri'ku called out aloud as she fluttered in plain sight for everyone to see, while Lush stood closer to the Rharnian as they both watched Hart now. Patrick didn't know him by name yet but wanted to, since he knew he'd seen that man from before. Fate had a very twisted sense of humor indeed, putting the both of them here in yet another maze.

But seeing him now as he already mourned for the broken form of what had to be Anthropos' remains, Patrick couldn't help but feel a sense of pity over how it'd ended. It even seemed Sephira felt similar as she too stepped forward to try and comfort him, all while Pat could only frown thanks to another loss at the end of the road. "Looks like it is." Lush's voice echoed in his mind as the Rharnian approached slowly, surprised to find that within the moment of a blink's notice; the remains were suddenly turned into that of a boy. A living human boy now stirred in Hart's arms!

Wonder and disbelief filled his eyes as Patrick looked down at them hard, all while Ri swerved around them in the air for joy. As the clouds above them dispersed to reveal sunlight yet again, Pat also couldn't help but look up and admire it all as the rays shone through. Strange how these unusual things kept happening, this time the Rharnian couldn't help but think of the word 'miracle' in this instance. Perhaps because it was in hindsight, and it was because of whatever special gifts Hart had to make it happen. He had always been slightly different from the other combatants in that maze, Patrick knew that well enough from the brief moments spent facing him. Sure enough with the rest of Scalvoris Town in sight, he started off first with one notification declared to the rest of the group.

"Drinks on me later if anyone's interested!"

"Pat", "Ri", "Dom", "Lush", "NPC"

"Whether we can accept them or not, miracles can happen if you make them."

[Eliza Soule]

Three new people who Eliza hadn't met or seen before. She'd looked into the mirror that she'd picked up earlier and had seen an unfamiliar face looking back at her. But that man's face, wasn't any of theirs. They didn't appear to be any sort of threat however. At least not in comparison to the two shadowy figures seeming to play a dark and malicious game of tug of war with the more tragic figure of Anthropos.

The child of Ymiden couldn't say for sure who those two figures were, and she couldn't have known why they did it. She only knew that what they were doing was cruel, lacking in soul, and it struck a very deep chord of outrage within her. Eliza had never met her own father, so far as she knew. Maybe he didn't care, one way or another. But maybe she was her father's own daughter, after all.

"You two should be ashamed of yourselves! Stop it! Let him go!" shouted the small young woman who was currently shielded behind a protective wall, that was a very broad and tall man.

But then one of the owners of one of the new faces reached out to touch one of those figures, and the world flashed so brightly that Eliza had no choice but to throw in a hand to shield her eyes, and brace herself. Patrick, she'd thought, would make a very good anchor. But grabbing hold of him didn't stop her from being lifted off the ground and thrown backwards onto the ground. She took off with a yelp of surprise, and landed with a grunt that knocked the air from her lungs. And then all the world's nightmares and dreams came spilling down on them.

At the end of it, when she climbed to her feet, the two figures were gone. And poor Anthropos was dead. If he'd only been injured, Eliza might have had a trick or two up her sleeve. But he was long past that. And the man named Hart blamed himself. "You only did what you thought was right," she said, when he cursed what he thought he had done. She'd have done the same thing if she'd been in his place, maybe. And maybe in the end, Anthropos had been freed after all.

Except that suddenly, the man in Hart's arms had come back, and had been transformed. Or reborn. And if he didn't remember anything, maybe it was the best thing for him. Eliza smiled and looked on, as the world around them was returned to rights again. Sort of.

[Rey'na]

Everything in this maze had happened so fast.

One trial in Scalvoris had turned into another, a normal average one becoming something so much more than that. Mute, Devin, Sephira and Hart had all played a part in it, however big and small. But Anthropos Apteros had played more of a part than anyone else. Nothing could have prepared her for what was really happening here. Nothing in Idalos could have prepared her in any way. Anthropos Apteros was a man that suffered trial after trial, over and over again in and out until something had snapped. Anthropos' life had changed forever totrial, Rey had no doubts about it. Perhaps it would be for the better or perhaps it would be for the worse. But at the very least his life had changed. She had no doubt that he wanted nothing more than that.

When Hart reached forward to touch the shadows Rey found herself thrown back, eyes closing and hands weakening her fall as best she could while voices screamed and shrieked around her. It was like nightmares circled in her mind and tore at her, verbally forcing their way deep inside her body - a feeling somewhat familiar. Yet this was different. Something deeper and more powerful surged through her now than it had before. As soon as she found herself launching her hand reached for Maurice and held him close, the snake now somewhat important to her. He was the only companion she had throughout the entire maze. As other people had come and gone the Mamba had sat by her side through it, making small remarks and generally talking to her. Having someone around had helped, even if it was just to talk to through the strangest trial in Scalvoris yet.

After they all hit the floor Rey'na glanced down, finally back in her own body as the group were scattered across the area. Immediately, she brought herself to her knees and glanced down to Maurice. "Are you alright?" she asked, brushing a hand gently over the snake's chin. Maurice slithered beside her before moving up her arm. "I'm fine, don't worry 'bout me. But what about him?" the Mamba asked, causing both heads to turn and glance to Anthropos. Hart kneeled over him and, in the same moment Rey'na felt sad for the dead man, did something spectacular. Where the old man had been lying dead was a young boy, clearly alive and clearly safe.

Rey quickly head to Sephira, moving beside her and the others. "You alright?" she asked, glancing around.

[Pegasus]

Touch my tears, with your lips. touch my world with your fingertips...

There's no time for us
There's no place for us
What is this thing that builds our dreams
Yet slips away from us?
Who wants to live forever?
Who wants to live forever?
There's no chance for us
It's all decided for us
This world has only one
Sweet moment set aside for us
Who wants to live forever?
Who wants to live forever?
Who?
Who dares to love forever
Oh, when love must die?
But touch my tears with your lips
Touch my world with your fingertips
And we can have forever
And we can love forever
Forever is our today
Who wants to live forever?
Who wants to live forever?
Forever is our today
Who waits forever anyway?

Epilogue:
There are moments in your life. Those moments which shape every moment thereafter. Moments which, as they unfold, you know were destined to be from the very first breath you took. Fate, destiny, the forces of light and dark ~ it didn't matter what brought them here, to this place and this time. It was inevitable that here was where they would be. Because here, and now, was when and where it had to happen.

Jesine reached for her brother, as he did for her and wave upon wave of after-effects rippled out into reality. Dreams became nightmares, feeding on dreams. Nightmares transformed into pleasant slumber which grew as it overcame the darkness of night terrors, and Vri came to collect the souls of his children. As he did, each person there knew, as though they had watched it themselves, exactly what had transpired here for each and every other person, as they made their way through the Maze. Whether they had completed the whole thing or not, so long as they had started it, everything done and said in the Maze was known to everyone who had got to this point. Which made any secrets told tricky, of course.

And the child who had been the man who had sat at the middle of all this opened his eyes and looked at Hart in confusion. Then in recognition. "But..I had a nightmare?" He said, his voice the soft and confused sound of a child just woken from slumber. He looked around with growing confusion as he took in the five people there. "It was such a bad nightmare and... you were all there. You saved me?" That was to the group and then, he turned to Hart and he smiled an innocent smile. "And you saved me twice." Behind him, unseen by the child himself, there was a dark swirling vortex where the Immortal of Death came and claimed the souls.

Who waits forever, anyway.....?

All

1. You all are completely aware of everything that has happened in any and all threads in this event. You don't know what pc's thought, but anything they said or did, you know.
2. You have an invitation to the follow up. This will be a high risk, high reward thread which will be, fundamentally, potentially world changing. There is a chance of PC death, maiming or seriously bad times. There is also a series likelihood of major heroics, weirdness and a chance to making yourself famous. There might even be an armchair.....
3. You all have your animal companions as NPCs. They are just normal examples of their species, except for the fact that they are intelligent and can talk. When they talk, you the PC (and any other PC who completed this event) can hear them. To everyone else, they sound like they're making normal animal noises.
4. If you kept your mirror Next time you look at it, it is shattered into pieces. Yet, the pieces do not come out of the frame. Over the course of the Cycle it will get more and more broken and nothing seems to fix it.
5. Your notebook seems to be just a notebook. Unless any of you throw it into the fire. In which case, you'll find that it's a fireproof notebook. Go figure.
6. The crystal is glass, pretty and shiny and nothing else.
7. Whenever you Dreamwalk, your animal companions are with you.
8. I am aware that I have given all of you Immortal Marks which you may, or may not, want. There is an option to get rid of them in the follow up thread. However, there's just too much energy flowing around for it not to impact you all in some way.

Hart

XP: 20 for the event (some of the individual threads will not have XP)
Renown: 40 (duuuuuude.)
Knowledge: None in this thread.
Items: Well, not an item, but an NPC. You get an NPC child. Roughly 5 - 7 arcs ish old. Feel free to submit him to the PSF but please be aware that, at times, a friendly winged horse might pop in and say things / do things. He has a place to play in this unfolding tale. He is Marked by both Jesine and Kielik, but I'll give you that information when you PSF him. Fundamentally, you come up with the basics / find a picture etc, and mark the PSF for my attention. We'll work him out.
Dreamwalking: Hart is now a Dreamwalker, with 10 XP.
You have also been marked by both Jesine AND Kielik. You have access to the following abilities:
Nyvora: Sanctuary & Dream Seeker.
Nitahi: Sleepless Nights & Stuff of Nightmares (Minor).
As you hold the child who was the Wingless Man, Hart sees the figure of Vri and there is no doubt to Hart who he is. He looks at Hart and nods, just once.
You've gained the mark of Bellinos, from Vri. First three abilities unlocked.
Wish ability unlocked.

Sephira

XP: 20 for the event (some of the individual threads will not have XP)
Renown: 20
Knowledge: None in this thread.
Items: Only those listed above.
Dreamwalking: Sephira is now a Dreamwalker, with 10 XP.
As Hart holds the child who was the Wingless Man, Sephira sees the figure of Vri and there is no doubt who he is. He looks directly at her and his eyes are black swirling pools of grief. He seems to see into her soul before turning his gaze away.
You've gained the mark of Bellinos, from Vri. First three abilities unlocked.

Patrick

XP: 20 for the event (some of the individual threads will not have XP)
Renown: 20
Knowledge: None in this thread.
Items: Only those listed above.
Dreamwalking: Patrick is now a Dreamwalker, with 10 XP.
As Hart holds the child who was the Wingless Man, Patrick sees the figure of Vri and there is no doubt who he is. He looks directly at Pat ~ and his ghostly companions ~ and looks inordinately sad.
You've gained the mark of Bellinos, from Vri. First three abilities unlocked.

Eliza

XP: 20 for the event (some of the individual threads will not have XP)
Renown: 20
Knowledge: None in this thread.
Items: Only those listed above.
Dreamwalking: Eliza is now a Dreamwalker, with 10 XP.
As Hart holds the child who was the Wingless Man, Eliza sees the figure of Vri and there is no doubt who he is. He looks directly at her and he gives a slight smile. She hears one word, echoing into the voice. "Remember"
You've gained the mark of Bellinos, from Vri. First three abilities unlocked.

Rey'na

XP: 20 for the event (some of the individual threads will not have XP)
Renown: 20
Knowledge: None in this thread.
Items: Only those listed above.
Dreamwalking: Rey'na is now a Dreamwalker, with 10 XP.
As Hart holds the child who was the Wingless Man, Rey'na sees the figure of Vri and there is no doubt who he is. He looks directly at her and his eyes are calm. Stoic. Yet, kind. He speaks words which only she hears. "Love conquers, Rey'na. It is always inside you. Remember that."
You've gained the mark of Bellinos, from Vri. First three abilities unlocked.

Well done all! Hope you enjoyed it.

Sign ups for the follow up: here you go!