• Graded • CitW Endgame 4: Oblivion

[Pegasus]

End Game. Oblivion

Dim vales—and shadowy floods—
And cloudy-looking woods,
Whose forms we can’t discover
For the tears that drip all over:
Huge moons there wax and wane—
Again—again—again—
Every moment of the night—
Forever changing places—
And they put out the star-light
With the breath from their pale faces.
About twelve by the moon-dial,
One more filmy than the rest
(A kind which, upon trial,
They have found to be the best)
Comes down—still down—and down
With its centre on the crown
Of a mountain’s eminence,
While its wide circumference
In easy drapery falls
Over hamlets, over halls,
Wherever they may be—
O’er the strange woods—o’er the sea—
Over spirits on the wing—
Over every drowsy thing—
And buries them up quite
In a labyrinth of light—
And then, how, deep! —O, deep,
Is the passion of their sleep.
In the morning they arise,
And their moony covering
Is soaring in the skies,
With the tempests as they toss,
Like—almost any thing—
Or a yellow Albatross.
They use that moon no more
For the same end as before,
Videlicet, a tent—
Which I think extravagant:
Its atomies, however,
Into a shower dissever,
Of which those butterflies
Of Earth, who seek the skies,
And so come down again
(Never-contented things!)
Have brought a specimen
Upon their quivering wings.

~Edgar Allan Poe~

120th Ashan, 719. Midnight

The Moment.

"I'm glad you came here," Insomnia said as Nir'wei joined them. "We should all be together." Why she thought that, she didn't say but when Kes spoke to her, she smiled and placed a gentle hand on his cheek. She said no more, just watched him.

Kes made his sacrifice, the staff which symbolised his mother - and so much more. The King sat and watched him, saying nothing and seeming to pay no heed to the young man's tears. But maybe he was just stoic? Insomnia much less so, as she moved next to him and put a gentle hand on his arm. "Well done," she spoke in a quiet, gentle tone.

All eyes turned to Olu, then, as the oft-afraid hunter made his sacrifice; he gave of his fear and again, the King simply watched. If he had opinions about all the tears which this emotional bunch were shedding, he said nothing, he gave away no inkling of it. As though sensing that he would not like the fuss or attention, Insomnia did not speak to Olu directly but she gave him an encouraging smile.

Nir'wei's sacrifice - or his swearing - caused a raised eyebrow from the King, but still no words. Insomnia, though, looked at him and her gaze was filled with compassion. "That is a big sacrifice, to sacrifice love." She sighed slightly and gave a slight smile. "But if she loves you the way you love her, then it will be alright.".

It was a serious, solemn moment and, as Rabu told his story, that maintained. But at his screeching, was that a smile which lifted the edges of the King's lips? If it was, it was a fleeting thing, but it was there for those with eyes to see. Insomnia immediately moved to comfort the twitchy little Tunawa. "It's gone, shhh, it's gone."

When all of the sacrifices were made, they might notice that they felt no different. But there was a door which opened and the King gestured. Insomnia bowed to him and he nodded to her. They seemed to share a glance, a meaningful one.

Insomnia touched the door and ushered the group through into an identical enormous throne room. The room was huge, high ceilings and massive rafters. At the far end of the room was a throne. Sitting on that , there was a man. His white hair had streaks of black in it and he seemed to be young, barely in his twenties, although his eyes were heavy with age. There was a sword in his hand, a wand lay on the arm of the throne; he was wearing armour. At his feet there was a cauldron

"Welcome travellers," he said. His voice was deep and thoughtful, yet it carried across the space between them. "To the Cathedral of Dreams. The Twins sleep here, but there are rules. The third rule is clear. You have given to my brother and what you give to me must be more. Greater. A sacrifice more profound." His ice blue eyes regarded them. "And the price is once again Water." He smiled at them. "But this time, it must be more. It must be, and then you will be in the final room, facing the fourth rule "

Insomnia looked at them. "And now, I need to make a sacrifice." Insomnia smiled, her eyes dark with compassion. "You will all do so well, I do not doubt it. The next room is the Twins. You can do it." The King of Cups watched and his eyes almost glowed.

And Insomnia fell to dust. With a slight twinkle in his eyes, the King looked at them expectantly

Touch is a language. What it you have to say to me?
Come and talk about it. Tell me where you're locked and where you're free.
Brutality or tenderness, our bodies are exchanged in all eternity,

Objectives & Rules

You all have a coin with a head on one side and a mystical symbol on the other.

!	Message from: MUST DO OBJECTIVES
	You must sacrifice something - you can simply "create" this out of the air. Your sacrifice may be representative, but if so it must be meaningful. Please make sure to explain in your post what you are sacrificing - exactly. You should place your sacrifice in the cauldron and it MUST be more meaningful / a bigger personal sacrifice than before. ....

!	Message from: CAN DO OBJECTIVES
	Collect up some Insomnia debris

Dates & Deadlines

I am so very sorry for the delay. I got laid up with the flu bug. However, I'm fighting fit now.
I will post on 10th May.

[Nir'wei]

120th Ashan, 719

Cathedral of Dreams

He couldn't bear to look at Insomnia anymore. For all the compassion she showed, the matronly love of a saint, she did nothing but stand by and watch them hack and carve chunks of their lives, as offerings to creatures they couldn't even understand. He hated her just as much as he hated them all. "There is no 'we', okay? There's no 'all of us', you haven't even told us what you really are. You're not human, are you?" She hadn't entered with the others; she'd been waiting at the cathedral for them in advance. She'd never seen the sacrifices any of them had made to reach this far, she had no right to stand there, acting as if she was any more a part of this than the fucking furniture. He hated her. In fact, he hated them all, but at least the King didn't try to comfort them through the grief like he wasn't the cause for it in the first place. "Just... just shut up."

The others made their sacrifices, some small and some big, all no doubt important and significant, just as the King had requested. At least he wasn't the only one with a few tears still trickling on his cheeks when the final sacrifice was made and the doors opened, leading to... yet another king? Asking... asking for even more water.

"No." Really? REALLY? After all he'd given, they just asked for MORE? "No. No no no no. No. Just... no." Honestly he didn't even believe it. Another sacrifice of water, bigger and even more profound than the one he'd just given. More profound than the love of his sister, the one person he loved more than anyone else in his life? The Twins weren't worth this. They frankly weren't - they could rot in whatever prison they were stashed in right now for the rest of eternity and he wouldn't bat a single eyelash. "This. This is really how it goes, huh. You just want us to keep giving. You want us to keep... keep pulling pieces off ourselves and offering them to you, like it's a FUCKING BUFFET." He threw his sword at the man on the throne with all the strength he had left, but it wobbled awkwardly through the air and clattered to the floor at his feet instead. At this point he couldn't find the will to care. By the end of all this, he'd be dead, or so far gone that he'd wish he was.

He wanted to go home. Spend the last few trials of his life enjoying himself before death, because he already knew what awaited them behind the next door. The same thing that always awaited them, behind every single door. Another torture chamber. Another sacrifice. Another Immortal-designed hellscape made to 'challenge their worth' as if they hadn't already sacrificed enough to-- to do what exactly, they still didn't even know, since nobody had ever had the common sense to just tell them. If anyone had any idea how they were supposed to wake the Twins at the end of all this, he was all ears, because if this amount of sacrifice was just to get into the same room as them, how many more things would there be inside that room, too?

At least Insomnia made her sacrifice this time. He still had no idea what she was even meant to be - what her sacrifice had meant - but he scooped up a handful of her dust and stared into it as if it could provide some answers. It didn't. It just stained his pajamas. But he stared into it all the same, happy for the silence. Happy to just wait. He could wait forever, if that's what it meant. Anything to avoid the two pairs of eyes boring into the back of his skull. No. "It needs to be done," Greyhide answered. No! "It needs to be done." No. He was finished. "If we don't, Faith dies." He wasn't supposed to be able to care about her anymore. Soon it wouldn't matter. "Hey! You don't get to think that way."

"I get to do what the hell I want!" he screamed back, gritting his jaw so hard he felt his teeth might pop out at any second. "I don't care. I don't. I'm done, I... I don't care." Except he did. "I DON'T CARE!" And every time he tried to deny it, it buried itself deeper in his skull. If he didn't, everyone died. If he didn't, the world would cease to exist, everyone he knew and loved, millions of complete strangers would die. He'd be responsible for it. Whether or not he was even alive to see and feel it happen, he'd die knowing that he's taken the entire world with him to the grave, in the most horrifying way imaginable. He cared, whether he liked it or not. The sacrifice had to be made. Whether he liked it or not. But what could possibly be more significant than what he'd already given? His identity? Not good enough, he cared for Faith more. His happiness? Hell, it wasn't like he got much use out of it already, the ability to feel joy felt like a small price to pay at this stage, horrifying as it was to think. His own life? Honestly, he didn't care as much about that as he did Faith either. Staring down inevitable death did that to a person; made them care more about other people than they did themselves, since at least other people had a chance to continue living once they were gone. He'd already given up his connection to Faith, though, and nobody else came remotely close. No other human, anyway.

Greyhide's eyes lifted to meet Nir'weis, and in that brief glimpse there was something unspeakable. A revelation that neither of them wanted to accept. "It's me." The one thing he loved more than Faith.

"Don't even think about i--"

"I'm the one that you need to sacrifi--"

"I SAID DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!" For the first time arguing with Greyhide there was real, genuine anger in his voice. "I've already lost her. I've already given up her, if I... no. I can't." Greyhide had become just as much a part of himself as his own soul. To sacrifice that would be committing himself to a life not worth living anymore. Snapping the one thing that had kept him going for so many arcs. Through the thick and thin of brain surgery and family conspiracies, through wild hunts, both as predator and prey. More than a dear friend, the wolf was a part of him. "I can't and I won't. Never. You're one thing I could never live without." As a matter of fact, the only other thing that came close to it was Archailist...

No. "That's not happening." The squirrel-spirit's eyes were a miasma of swirling grey. "You know what happens when you lose me." He knew all too well. He'd seen the effects first-hand of someone losing their spirit companion. Depression. Self-destruction. Suicide. Losing one half of your soul was practically a guaranteed death and a permanent half-life. Something that would haunt him, not just for the rest of this life, but for all lives to come.

An eternal curse, with half his soul wiped from the world. In exchange for one lifetime left with his wolf. Archailist or Greyhide. Of all the sacrifices in the world he could have made, it boiled down to two equally devastating options. An impossible choice.

"You can't ask this of me," he told the king, but he knew he wouldn't get an answer. "You just can't." In a few short ticks he'd gone through everything. Anger. Sadness. Everything between. Every emotion burned from him, one by one, until nothing but exhaustion and weary acceptance remained. "You might as well just ask for my life and take it already. I'd sooner die. I'd sooner... just... die, and get it over with. Because that's what I'll do. I'll end myself, here and now." One way or another, his reincarnated soul would find a way to reunite with them both again, as long as they were somewhere in the world. But he could feel them both watching him, waiting. All three of them knew this wasn't how the game was played.

There was no bigger pain in this world than what he did next. Nothing, now and forever, would be the same... because he knew, forced to choose between the two, he'd choose Greyhide over Archailist. They'd been through more together. They understood more, together. A two-man team that could conquer the world as long as they stayed side-by-side. Sharing in deeper secrets than even the other half of his own soul could know. But Archailist was his soul. A part of himself that he could never discard, ever. Archailist was the only thing that would remain of him, even after death. So... "I..." The wolf lifted his head and for the briefest of moments shared a look. One of understanding, acceptance, and pain. "I... sacrifice Greyhide." A stab of hurt flashed in his eyes, as if even now he couldn't quite believe that he'd been chosen. But the wolf stood strong, even as his body started to tremble.

"It's okay, Nir. It's... it's okay." Despite himself, the wolf's voice began to shake. "We knew this had to happen sooner or later. I'm... I'm just glad that we had such a long time together." The wolf started to rise but Nir'wei grabbed him, wrapping both arms around his neck and squeezing as hard as he could, as if he could anchor him again, just one more time, and hold him in this world. Already he swore he could feel himself unraveling. The edges of his soul fraying like worn rope. For a torturous second, before he frantically blocked it from his memory, they were back on the fields of the dead once more, feeling that horrible, inevitable pull of the soul tornado. "I love you Nir."

But the fraying continued. It wasn't from Greyhide. Archailist had jumped from his shoulder and walked towards the cauldron instead, every step pulling on the spiritual connection that held him together. It manifested as a sound, the grating of broken glass on cobblestone in his ears, filling his skull, drowning his thoughts. "ARCHAILIST, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" he screamed, unaware of the volume of his own voice.

"You think this is about you," he said, turning. Those eyes, those horrible misty eyes staring deep into him with an understanding that he'd never shown before. Though his voice had risen loud enough to cut through the twisted shredding in his ears, it had turned to that soft, calm tone of rebukement he so fondly used in the most inopportune moments. "Even when you sacrifice everyone else around you." He shook his head solemnly. "I'm sorry. But as half of your soul, I have just as much authority in this decision as you do." He blinked, and the grey haze melted from his eyes, revealing pure, unspun gold, sparkling like tiny stars were etched into his corneas, swirling in a dazzling display that bounced within his smoky spirit-form. "It's time I made the choice you just can't on your own."

He tried to move, to stop it, but he simply couldn't. The pain was excruciating. Burying his fingers into Greyhide's neck until he was certain it would draw blood, clinging to the last remaining shred of himself and rocking like a child trying to comfort himself, he watched as the squirrel hopped up and stood on the lip of the cauldron, staring across the room at him with a faint smile. "I sacrifice myself," he said, turning to the second king, "in the place of Greyhide. Half of Nir'wei's soul. And his connection to the Sev'ryn."

"You can't." He was so weak, so stupid. He couldn't even put any force into his words anymore. There was nothing left to give. No strength left to stand on. "You can't. You can't."

The little squirrel's fists were balled and trembling when he turned back. "I have to. I can see what the loss will do. I can feel it. You know what happens when you lose me." His mother. A mute, a madwoman, a shuddering mess, a burden. "But... I know what happens when you lose him. And it's worse." He smiled sadly. "If you knew what I've done, across your life, across them all. You'd hate me so much. But I always did it because I knew that as long as you could just... make it to the next life, to the next step, that one day you'd find happiness. Real happiness. A family, a place where you belong, a... a life truly worth living. And now you have it. You can't give it up. Even if it means that everything afterwards won't be as bright." His voice grew again, that light in his eyes almost burning hot. "Treasure it, Nir'wei. Treasure this while it lasts. For me."

And then, he dropped into the cauldron.

[Rabu]

Rabu felt no different after his sacrifice and even wondered for the briefest of moments if this was all an exercise in generosity. The tension that could be felt in the room particularly from the man with the squirrel made Rabu think again. The group went into the next room and there was yet another man at a throne room as expected. The tunawa wanted to greet the man with warmth but could only muster the energy to pull the corners of his mouth into a weak smile before staring absently at the ground.

There was a much greater sacrifice that needed to be made and before Rabu could even think of what he would sacrifice, beads of sap formed around his eyes. Even through teary eyes, Rabu noticed Insomnia turning to dust. As Nir’wei was having his debate with his spirit companions Rabu walked over to look at the Dust.
“She’s dead?..” Rabu whispered with a soft melancholy. He knelt down to collect some of the dust and stuffed it in his pocket. “I’ll bring you back to life too.” A single tear dripped down into the dust and sat there.

He turned from the dust, just in time to see a squirrel spirit drop into the cauldron. His eyes bulged in Alarm and he ran to the cauldron. He peeked inside but there was no squirrel to be seen, he turned to Nir’wei but couldn’t look him in the eyes. The tunawa just sighed in melancholy at the loss of yet another potential friend.

“So you just let him go!” Yah appeared from thin air in front of Nir and began shouting. The three eyed purple rabbit head glared at the Sev’ryn with a fiery gaze. The emean creature was so upset her third eye twitched and a visible vein was popping out of her furry forehead.

“That’s enough Yah.” Rabu jumped in. “The choice was made for him.”

“All I can say is you better not be sacrificing me.” Yah shot daggers from her eyes at Rabu.

“Please calm down Yah.” Rabu replied softly. “This is my sacrifice not yours.”

The tunawa approached the cauldron and closed his eyes. He thought of his parents and his friends in Desnind, both the happy and the sad times. His tears grew thicker until he was openly sobbing. The tears rained onto his his open palms and from the sap grew a sprout that quickly bloomed into a flower with rainbow petals.
“I sacrifice… the memories …of my time in Desnind. I’m a traveller now and the memories keep me rooted in the past.” Rabu dropped the flower into the cauldron and tried his hardest to be strong and not become a sobbing mess.

Yah floated over to Rabu and stuck her tongue out at the king when he wasn’t looking. “There there, just let it out dear” The floating head coed like a mother would to her crying child.

Rabu looked to Nir again, he couldn’t help but empathize with the mourning Sev'ryn and even feel guilty that his loss was not nearly as great.

[Kesindir]

120th of Ashan, 719

Location: Cathedral of Dreams

Choices. All meaningful. Each unique to the individual making them, and this place took them with joy. Sacrifices given freely, taken out of necessity, and yet - at least to Kesindir - he felt no different. That time was sure to come, and he wagered it'd be far more devastating than what he had to deal with thus far. Yes, he'd said goodbye to his mother. Given up the one thing he'd sworn to protect because it was hers. He had treasured that staff from the very first day his father had given it to him. Only recently had he begun training with it, and now that drive, that want to become better for her felt distant. No longer something that held on to him and bit at the back of his mind. Was that all this meant? Given the reactions of the others he knew better. They felt the changes already.

So they'd each made their choices, their sacrifices, and they were ushered to the next room. Where another "king" sat. Kesindir was beginning to think they weren't truly kings. Just guardians of rooms in which they were made to suffer in. The Twins were next. The goal in which all of this had been for. Everything they'd fought and sacrificed for. Those that had died to get them here. Memories in a place shaped by their very thoughts. Would it all be worth it? It had to be. The world they knew ... everyone else was asleep, and would continue to be until this task was completed.

The "King" spoke, told them what was necessary. Another sacrifice. This time, greater than the one prior. More profound. Then Insomnia fell to dust. Kes swallowed hard, as he watched and a tear formed in his eye and fell silently down his cheek. He waited till the Tunawa was done and then he too knelt down next to the dust of Insomnia. "I don't know what this was for, but thank you, Insomnia. Rest now and we will finish what needs to be done. We will wake the twins." The Biqaj closed his eyes for a brief moment, and a small brown pouch with a yellow cord appeared draped around his neck. He gathered a handful of Insomnia's dust and placed it in the pouch, then stood and faced the cauldron.

More profound. What could be more profound than his mother? Living family perhaps? But he didn't even know if they were alive. He did have someone though, that he held even closer than the mother he'd never really known. He shook his head. No. She'd become everything he'd wished he had growing up. Would that be enough in the eyes of the "King"? That didn't really matter to Kesindir, he knew it was enough to him, and it hurt. He was going to wake up from this dream and ... he shook his head again. He could dwell on the what if's that may or may not come. He might not walk out of all of this alive.

In his hand formed a small carved wooden statue. I'm sorry... he ran his fingers across the crudely carved statue and a soft smile passed his lips. "I sacrifice of myself. The memories of those that I love. Those that I call family. The knowledge of who and what they were to me, and who I was to them. Take the love and leave the void. This is a goodbye to those of whom I fight for. Kiralla. Kolrim. Wherever you are, I hope you are happy. Korva ..." He let the statue fall into the cauldron, lost to the void within, with a sigh. "Memories make us who we are. They define our past. Where we were, who we were. Though it was brief, the time we knew each other, you filled a void in me that I didn't know I had. Now I'm giving that up, to take that void again, in hopes of helping save ... everyone. May U'frek guide your sails." His eyes lifted to the King of Cups, "I hope that you find us strong enough for what is to come, for all our sake."

The Biqaj stepped back from the cauldron, and took his place with the others and waited. He'd made his sacrifice, and now it was up to the Fates if it was enough.

[Oluwànjẹ]

➸ Endgame: Oblivion ➸
➸ Mood: Resolute!
➸ Company: Insomnia dust, Naked man, Singing man, & Tunawa boy
➸ Current Thought: I have nothing butt this to offer
➸ Current Theme: Save Me From Myself

➸ There was something so unsettling about all this. How we all had to give something of value in order to save two beings we never even heard of, well at least that I had never heard of. But the world was in peril and that was all I needed to know in order to give my cowardly heart to this king. I didnt feel any different but I was certain once this was all done I would know the effect of my choice.

He seemed pleased with our choices, even though he never spoke, just facial expressions and such. Insomnia was impressed by what we gave, commending us all for our sacrifice. As such we were able to move forward. With one room down, only one more remained in our way, and this king seemed even more terrifying than his brother.

The rules were explained, but an emphasis was made, as we had to give more than we had the last sacrifice. That made my stomach drop. What more could I give? What more could mean more to me than the fear in my heart? As I pondered this, Insomnia spoke stating she too would give of herself and turned to dust.

To say that watching her disintegrate was alarming would have been an understatement, almost cause I think I would have pissed myself. I was in such a state of shock I didnt even realize I had knelt down and scooped her up into my hand, clutching the remains close myself. I said a prayer to Moseke for her and placed the ashes in my pocket as I watched everyone give their sacrifices.

They were all so damn meaningful, giving up memories of places and adventures, people and companions, and it made me wonder what else could I give? What more of myself could I sacrifice in order to save the world? I didnt have much, to be honest, and that truth alone hurt. I hadn't traveled the world, or been on exciting adventures, or had companions that I could live without.

All I had was the aspirations to do those things. Here I was and a critical moment and unable to overcome it. Then it hit me, and standing to my feet I slowly made my way to the cauldron.

As I approached, I stuck my hand out and from it, another hand took hold of it. From that hand grew a figure and once formed that visage was me. It was myself that stood next to me as we approached the king and his pot of sacrifices.

"I'm going to be honest, I gave all I thought I could give to the last guy, but knowing what is at stake I know there is more of me I can offer. Everyone sacrificed memories of loved ones, companions, and things that made them whole. Me? I don't have such things. I have never been outside of Desnind, never went of adventures, or made life long friends and companions. But I always wanted to."

I began, looking to my copy who had begun to cry knowing what was coming.

"So in order to save this world, to save those who have yet to experience life, I give my soul. I know deep down that within my soul is the all the intentions and aspirations, all the dreams and ambitions I was too afraid to chase because of Asiwaju. I know its not as meaningful as what everyone else gave, but its truly all I have left. I won't be missed, I have no family, no friends, and to the people of Desnind I'm just the weird boy who survived a death coma. One soul, to save a world of souls right?"

With those words, I turned and embraced my clone. We shared a meaningful hug, words whispered between the two, and with a goodbye, I pushed him into the cauldron. With that done, I walked back to where was before and looked into the mirror I was holding, hoping to see something, anything at this point. ➸

"Common Speech"

"Xantheon Speech"

[Pegasus]

We saw the heavens break
And all the world go down to sleep
And rocks on mossy banks
Drip acid rain from craggy steeps.
Saw fiery angels kiss the dawn,
Wish you goodbye till further on,
Will you still be there further on?
And troubled dynasties,
Like legions lost, have blown away.
Hounds hard upon their heels,
Call to their quarry wait and play.
Before the last faint light has gone:
Wish you goodbye till further on,
Will you still be there further on?
The angry waves grow high
Cut icy teeth on northern shores.
Brave fires that flicker, cough
Give way to winds
Through broken doors.
And with the last line almost drawn:
Wish you goodbye till further on.
Will you still be there further on?

120th Ashan, 719. Midnight

The Moment.

This King made no comment as they sacrificed. There was no discussion, not even acknowledgement of what they gave. No, this King simply watched.

And they gave. They gave their soul, their memories, their families and lives. They gave their souls. And the King simply gestured to the now-open door and they found themselves immediately outside the doorway which they saw open.

Outside that door - their sacrifices made and the King seemingly unconcerned by the parts of themselves they had ripped out - they found themselves in a corridor. At the end of the corridor was another door - the fourth and final room, according to the dark King. It might be that their footsteps quickened, or that they approached with trepidation.

But whatever they did, they didn't get there.

Because suddenly the roof tore open and reality ripped clean in half. A deep crimson gash in the world split the Cathedral asunder and then.......

Write! and tell out this bloody tale;
Record this dire eclipse,
This Day of Wrath, this Endless Wail,
This dread Apocalypse!

Objectives & Rules

You all have a coin with a head on one side and a mystical symbol on the other.

!	Message from: MUST DO OBJECTIVES
	Nothing for a moment. When I have the information from the Waiting Place, then I'll post again here. But I wanted you to have the first bit to respond to.

!	Message from: CAN DO OBJECTIVES
	None at the moment.

Dates & Deadlines

I will post again... soon.

[Pegasus]

120th Ashan, 719. Midnight

The Moment.

Because suddenly the roof tore open and reality ripped clean in half. A deep crimson gash in the world split the Cathedral asunder and then.......

Then there were the sounds - the deep rumble which vibrated at their feet as the ground beneath them began to shake, then the high pitched almost-scream like noise as stones and masonry started to fall. That was bad, there was no doubting it, it was bad. But then it began to rain fire and the falling masonry didn't seem so bad. It was, frankly, a nightmare as the world crumbled and fear poured down on them.

It was, unsurprisingly, very like a nightmare and time seemed to move oddly - the wind screamed around them, threatening to blow them off their feet. It was chaos until, finally, the storm settled. When it did they were all covered in small cuts and bruises and were standing on a tiny platform, just big enough for them all to stand. Where they had been heading there was an incredibly thin and very unsafe-looking path to what seemed to be an archway with a portal to... somewhere else.

Bedraggled and battered, scraped and bruised, they stood in this strange place. Each of them barefoot, in a pair of trousers and shirt, without any of their items or possessions, those had been ripped or torn from them in the battering - or they had just plain disappeared. Except those rare things which they had held on to. The plinth they stood on, just wide enough that they had to stand very close together, and the path to the archway which they would have to walk in single file, seemed to be suspended above ... nothing. If they looked down then there was, literally, nothing there. It was hypnotic, seeming to draw them down.... down ever further. If any of them gazed too long, then they would find themselves compelled step closer.. and closer... and closer to the edge.

It was probably best not to look down for too long.

And as they made their way (probably best to do so one at a time, the whole thing looked very dubious, structurally) along the path, they felt the wind buffet them, and they were, each of them alone.

Completely alone.

No familiars. No diris or animal companions. No one. Just themselves.

In the ruins of the Cathedral of dreams. Stripped by wind and rain and fire of their companions, many of their possessions and ... for some... so much more of them, gone.

And the archway? Well that was another leap of faith. A step into the unknown because through it, it was black with stars swirling in the background.

Well it's too late, tonight
To drag the past out into the light
We're one, but we're not the same
We get to carry each other
Carry each other

Objectives & Rules

You all have a coin with a head on one side and a mystical symbol on the other.

!	Message from: MUST DO OBJECTIVES
	You find yourself - as a result of nightmare from the ripping of Emea - in only the clothing described. You have lost everything (including tokens, ribbons, familiars, animals, diris etc) However, you may write in finding two of the things / companions your group has lost (so you can find someone else's animal, for example)

!	Message from: CAN DO OBJECTIVES
	None at the moment.

Dates & Deadlines

I will post again Friday 17th May.

[Nir'wei]

120th Ashan, 719

Ruins of the Cathedral of Dreams

There wasn't any energy left in him to argue. Not even with Greyhide, stiff and cold as he watched the squirrel go. Not even with a three-eyed purple rabbit creature that floated nearby - another spirit, he thought dully, not one of his own. "He chose himself. And how could I argue." He'd never know if it was the right choice, really, but it was the one he'd been given. Already the weight was settling on his shoulders as he turned, sharing a brief, mournful glance with the Tunawa who staed up at him, but there weren't any words light enough to lift the heavy silence slowly settling over the group as he turned for the door and stepped through. Vaguely he heard of others sacrificing their memories, their loves, hell even their souls, but he couldn't find himself able to summon empathy right now. This just wasn't the time for it. As long as one person made it to the final room and saved the world, they could all claim their sacrifice, no matter how grand, were worth the trip. At that moment it was all that mattered. Save the world. Save the people. Perhaps if there was time, put a sword through those that were responsible.

In his growing trepidation he'd almost expected yet another door with a sacrifice to be made but it seemed they'd almost reached the end. Just cross a corridor, open a door.

Like it'd ever be that easy.

As the first in, he'd barely made more than a few steps before a horrible rending sound, warbling, both low-pitched and high and constantly swapping back and forth between the two tones, screeched throughout the entire cathedral, coming from a point directly ahead and above them. The air rippled with the sound, until the very ripples themselves distended and stretched, peeling apart before his eyes and exposing a horrid red interior, like the very skin of the universe had been peeled apart to expose its fleshy blood-stained insides. Energy zipped between the folds in the form of red lightning forking into the walls and smashing the stone, sending crumbling mortar zipping past his ears at shocking speeds. "OH, FOR KAREM'S SAKE." All this for nothing. All of everything, for nothing. They'd die anyway, as the cathedral itself began to rip itself apart, for reasons even he couldn't possibly understand. It was like the shadow beasts all over again, a nightmare played out in slow motion before his eyes, more real than it had any right to be. At some point a huge chunk of stone nearly collided with him and Nir'wei fell over backwards, Greyhide huddled over him as if the wolf's body could shield him from the cuts. It didn't work. When the dust finally settled, he couldn't even see the wolf anymore. Couldn't see anything but the tiny plinth they now stood on, big enough to hold them all and barely anything else... hell, he didn't even know how it was holding them.

Immediately he turned. "Grey? Grey!" The wolf wasn't far away, uninjured but certainly startled. They embraced tightly, and once he'd checked the others for their safety, the little rabbit-person, and Kesinder, and whoever the third guy was, he turned back the way they'd come. More rubble. "Is he gone?" What did all of this mean for them? Where was the Cathedral, why... why was it gone? This would have been a time for Arch to berate him for asking stupid questions that weren't important. "... Arch?" Wait. If the Cathedral was gone, that meant the King was probably dead.

He rushed into the rubble and started pulling out chunks, searching. Maybe, just... just maybe he'd find the little squirrel buried under there somewhere under it all. The other half of his soul. His sacrifice, pulled back from the edge. If not, he'd just find his sword, dropped during the commotion... but either way, none of them had time to lament. For the things they'd lost, or saved.

Nir'wei steeled himself at last and faced the final path, what remained of the corridor shredded to a single narrow passageway. Somewhere distant, he felt something he'd never truly felt disappear yet return, with words spoken from a person he didn't know. Faith sprung to his mind in the strangest of ways, the sister-of-his-heart truly in his heart once more, and he knew his sacrifice was no more. "I will, in the future. Thank you." Whole, or as whole as he could be, he smiled a genuine smile. "Thank you." Then, he offered his hands to the others. "Walk with me. We'll make it through this together."

And then he walked forward. "Strength in unity." The words he'd spoken with Faith came unbidden to his mind, and his smile grew. Even in another dimension, at the end of the world, she made him smile. Damn that woman. "For we, as one, are more than the summation of our parts." At one point he'd been scared of heights. Before Volareons and Jacadons, Sohr Khals and Storm Rocs. At one point he'd even been scared of death. Before brain rots, giant shadowhounds, Immortals and... well, every single horrible thing that had happened to them, right up to - and including - this very moment. "Come on, say it with me!" Just another leap of faith. Like all the others. "We can do this. We can end this. It's us now." As they finally approached the door, he threw a glance back, double-checking. Gods, why was he smiling again?

Damnation, Faith. "I'll go first. If you hear a really loud and girly scream? Don't follow me." Then he stepped through the portal.

[Rabu]

They were so close, the final room was a simple hop and a skip away but if anything could be learned from this adventure it was that nothing was ever easy. In a flash the walls and ceiling were torn away and the very ground roared beneath them before crumbling to almost nothing. Above them was a deep crimson gash cut into the sky above. A violent gust of wind blew across the group and flung the light weight tunawa into a rock.

The Tunawa woke up with his body feeling sore and covered in many small cuts along his bark. He was unable to open his left eye and when he tried to pick himself up, a pain shot through his arm. If it weren’t for the pain however, rabu might already think he was dead. His mind immediately went to fate of the others and he forced himself up through gritted teeth. He scanned the area to find that almost nothing was left, just a small platform covered in rubble with just enough room to hold them all. All the tall folk seemed to be okay but Rabu couldn’t see Yah and his hand ran to his pockets but there was no sign of the apples. His eyes went wide in panic, he began calling out for Yah while looking for any sign of the green and red of the apples.

A gust of wind blew by and Rabu jumped in the air just in time to catch hold of Yah’s long ear.
“Wake up!” Rabu cried to his unconscious friend.
The rabbit head stirred and groaned before her eyes slowly opened.
“Are you okay?”
“…yes..what happened.”
“I don’t know but we will get through this.”

With Yah cradled in his good arm he continued to look for the apples or for anything else the group may have lost. His eye spotted a bit of green behind a jagged rock there he found the green apple, some how staying perfectly stationary on the ground. He kept looking for the red apple but there was no sight of it.

Nir’wei was the first to go along the path and through the portal. Rabu was about to follow but froze when he made the mistake of looking down. It was only a moment before he tore himself away from the sight but it was enough to get his heart racing and his mind going to places he’d rather not tread. The fear unlocked his power and he ran through the portal like a bolt of lightning.

[Kesindir]

120th Ashan, 719

Location: Cathedral of Dreams, or What's Left of Their Fragile Reality



So this is what it looked like when the literal shit hit the fan. Everything around them had been lost. Destroyed. It seemed the very fabric of their reality was crumbling down around them. At least, to him, to Kes it felt that way. He'd walked through a door in his dreams, been greeted by a caterpillar, broken a globe and thanked for it, sent to his death at the hands of nightmarish creatures, watched another crack and burst into glitter light, another set ablaze. Then upon a path with a tornado at one end, and dead things everywhere else. They'd made a door, he'd used a key, and then he had been greeted by a faceless Doorman. Paid a price, entered the Cathedral and then sacrificed everything for a chance. Just a chance. To save the Twins.

When he thought about it. Each individual event sounded insane. Crazy. Put them all together and it made for a story more wild than any he'd wager any bard could come up with. Yet, that Cathedral he'd sacrificed and fought to reach. That final room. It was right there, and then it wasn't. The roof had been torn asunder. Hell the entire Cathedral had been. Thrown into a world of sound, chaos and fear, his mind reeled at the experience. Blasted by a cacophony of sound and feeling he screamed. Not out of fear, but out of defiance. A sheer refusal to let this be where it ended. To let the void that threatened to consume him know he wouldn't go quietly.

Then it was over. Well, it was at the very least less than it had been, and he stood with the others. A lot of others. Some he'd seen in the Waiting Place, and some he no longer saw. Kesindir wondered, for the briefest of moments his mind gripping at the images of the Mer he'd seen at first, but amongst the faces here, she was not one. She must not have been as strong as he'd thought she was. Or, she met a fate similar to those that had been apart of the Brave, if only briefly.

"I'm not dying here ...."

He spoke to himself, his voice quiet against the buffeting of the wind, as each person made their way forward across the narrow path that led over an unfathomably deep pit of nothing towards the Archway of Stars. He watched as each person retrieved something, or someone in some's case. What had he to retrieve? He came with no one. He fought his way here with nothing. Except ... He patted the clothing that now draped across his body in search of the pouch that had held Insomnia's ashes. It wasn't on him. His heart ached for the briefest of moments before his eyes settled on something under his foot. He'd not noticed standing on top of something because of the calamity, but when he lifted his foot there on the ground was the pouch. He knelt and picked up the pouch and placed it in the pocket of his trousers. Guide me now, Insomnia.

Kesindir stepped forward upon the narrow path, his eyes glancing downwards for only a moment, the nothingness starring back at him, begging him to join, but a nagging voice scratched at the back of his mind. Not here, and the Biqaj shook his head and looked forward toward the archway. Each step felt heavy as he moved, his body showing the fatigue his mind felt over the ordeal this entire experience had become, but he moved, his will pushing him forward. It was that will that had kept him alive here, in this hellscape of dreams. That will would not let him stop, and when he reached the archway he let out a soft chuckle. "So stubborn..." and he stepped through the Archway, his choice made, his goal in mind. It was time to save the twins.