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Tournament of Champions 3 (The game has begun!)
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The day had turned to evening and the moon was shining brightly.
Niran sat on her bed when it finally knocked on the door.
She opened and saw her escort, two soldiers. "It's time to go." they said.
"Okay, let me just get my violin." Niran said as she walked back into the room. She grabbed the violin and stopped for a moment while she looked at the bedside table. "Maybe I shouldn't, but I could just not use them." She thought.
After a short moment she opened the table and took out a pouch, from which she took out two abyssal seeds and put into her pocket before she put the pouch back. "Just in case. Just in case." She repeated in her mind. "Are you finished soon, miss?" One of the soldiers said out loud. "I just got finished." Niran closed the table and walked to the soldiers who would take her to the island.
"What do you mean the match has been cancelled?!" Efilia almost yelled.
"Due to the current conditions in the city, no host can participate nor any other. There won't be a match today." The young soldier, standing outside the room, said.
"Could you at least let me get out then?"
"I cannot, miss. The ehm.... My orders are to inform you and keep you safe. It is dangerous to be outside tonight."
Efilia could see straight through the soldier's lies. It was almost a pity how bad he was at lying. The question still remained, why? What was going on that stopped her from exiting? She might not be able to persuade the soldier but she could easily fool him so she played with him.
"I understand. I'm sorry for doubting, I'm actually happy that you want to protect me." She said with an excessive gratitude. She soldier grew a large boyish smile.
"I shall go to bed then. Would you mind being as quiet as possible, I so easily wake up from noises." Efilia pretended to be tired and put her hand on her head.
"I shall be as quiet as mouse, miss."
"Thank you and good night."
"Good night, miss" the soldier before he turned around to stay guard a little further down the hallway.
Efilia closed the door and put out the candle on her table.
"Something must be going on. I wonder if Niran have received any information. I must ask her." She though as she put her stuff into a pouch and began crawling under the bed. She pushed the wall which moved backwards, revealing a hidden door which she crawled through.
The city streets were rather empty except for a few small groups of people that seemed to be in a hurry. Efilia made her way north towards Medirna fortress when she noticed some people at the docks, two soldiers and a white haired woman. She made her way closer while trying to stay unseen. It was indeed Niran she saw, but why? Why was Niran going to the island but not her? Was it the kid soldier that wanted to keep her out for his own reasons, was he bribed? Efilia got angry by the thought. She had prepared for this match for too long just to lose because some kid got bribed. She saw Efilia and the soldiers row out from the docks towards the island. Efilia, when the coast was clear, quickly ran to a boat and jumped in. She readied the oars and began to row out towards the island.
Niran jumped out of the boat onto the sandy beach.
"Your opponent is in the middle of the island just beneath the outpost tower. The match begins when you reach her." One of the soldiers said.
Niran felt that something was really strange but she decided to not ask about it. Instead she nodded and began to head towards the tower.
Niran's mind was filled with thoughts. She let her hand sip down her pocket to feel the seeds. No hosts, no audience at all. It did not feel at all like a match of the tournament, not that the earlier matches had felt much like it either but this one was even less so.
As she approached the tower, she saw that a man was inside the room at the top of it. The man did not have any lights nor did any sounds come from the room. He was probably there alone. A little later, Niran finally realized who it was. Sir Belisjian.
"No hosts were available tonight. So that was a lie as well."
Belisjian left the window and disappeared.
Before she got to the place where Efilia should have been, she saw another woman. It was the red haired woman with the silver sword who had been at every match as some guard. "So you finally decided to show up." She said.
"Who are you and why is Efilia not here?" Niran asked.
"Efilia won't show up. My name is Irene. I am a kevalerion, a hunter of monster. Monsters such as you." Irene said pointing towards Niran.
"What are you talking ab..."
"You opened the silver door. You took the soul of another contestant. You spread the corruption to the Estina forest. You corrupted the mind of four other contestants. You could been allowed to live if you had stayed in his care, but you broke out!
As a kevalerion it is my duty to destroy any monster, abyssal or alive."
"But wait I am no.."
"You are a monster even if you don't admit it! You have proven it already that if you go unstopped, you will fall in to he abyss and become an even greater threat. I must kill you before that happens.
"No I am no monster!"
Irene drew her white sword made of silver. She held it prepared to attack, and it began to burn in a white flame.
"You'll burn just like the rest of them."
To the east, Efilia was only a few minutes from reaching the island.
"I hope I'm not too late so I get qualified."
(I have a response to this very soon! Hopefully with fewer uncontrolled bad words!!)
Edit: I don't remember editing this at 10:45 pm.
HMMMMMMM.
Good luck to both of you!!
“No.”
Niran stared down the kevalerion, her armor reflecting the brilliant sword held in her grasp. It’s white fire flared zealously, creating an immense flash that was brighter than the sun itself. It emanated a heat far hotter than any mere furnace could make. Yet the flame in Niran’s eyes was far stronger.
“You… You are just like him. You have no compassion for whom you hurt. You fanatically pursue your quest to slay all you deem as a monster, without so much as a hint of empathy. You stand here, accusing me of multiple crimes, many of which I didn't even know happened.
“You say you kill monsters, alive or abyssal, yet you CONDONE the actions of a truly horrible monster! He has caused far more pain and bloodshed than I ever have, but you think I would’ve been better off trapped with him! For one week! For one week I suffered great misery and cruelty from him and his followers.
“And Relvas… He toiled away under Cralmarov’s cruel grip for much, much longer than I. But in spite of his own pain, he endured and helped me escape… even at the cost of his own life,” Niran felt tears well up in her eyes, her voice faltering ever so slightly. Her voice steadied itself once more as a wave of righteous anger washed over her. “But you don’t care! You never cared for those you’ve forced to suffer! For you see yourself as the knight in shining armor, protecting all who is ‘innocent!’ I don’t see that! I see an executioner, a remorseless killer in the name of their ‘justice.’” Niran pulled out a seed from her pocket, cold tendrils writhing violently in the silver light. She was about to put the seed in her mouth, but hesitated as she saw a cloaked figure hiding behind Irene.
It was Bernadette.
She motioned towards Niran, telling her to not eat the seed. But Niran only gave a resigned smile.
I’m sorry. She mouthed to Bernadette. Bernadette stopped, then slumped down, realizing that Niran saw no other choice. Irene looked in the direction where Bernadette was, frantically searching for her all to no avail.
“Face me, you coward! I know there are more of you monsters watching!” Irene spat. Niran’s anger grew far larger, and tossed the seed into her mouth and swallowed it.
G̴̟̪̙̩̹̞̞͇͈̭̊͐o̸̖̻̘̥̹̣̝̲̗̜̖̥̘̗̫͂̈́͐͛̐ỡ̵̧̛̞̭̯̟̫̝͇͎̉̑̾̈́̌͠ḑ̵̹͍̫͓̝̲͔̼̙̗̫̟̯̙̊̏̀͜.̵͉̩̥͍̪̱̭̪̮̎͝
̷̧̧̨̛̜̻͓̯͔͍̆͗́̓͋̿̔̚̕͠ͅŅ̷͈̙̺̠̠͉̘̮͖̐͐o̸̢̢̮̳̻͔̝̲̅̾̅̈͋̈́̽̂̒̚͜͜͝͠w̵̡̛̟̱̜͈̳̘̘̙͛̄̃̇̅͂̂̿́́̈̚͝ ̷͎̜̗̳̰̘̻̅̇͒̋̏̿̕͠ṣ̶̖͕̪̳͓̗͈̺̤͎̯̥͚̩̒̽͆̐̓̇͌̇̔̚͠͠͝ͅh̸̦̙̹͂̔́͂̄̃o̵̢̡͔̠̠͓̣̙͎̭̭͈̻̤̣̽̽̋̈́̋̏̽͜͝w̵͚̱̱͓̤̦͋̑̍̎͗̏̅̐̕͠͠ ̴̣̗͙͍̮͚̥͖̝̖͕͓͑̆͜h̵̨̛͙̠͓̺͍͚͇̙̞͕͈̠͓̝́̾͑̍̔́̇͆̌́̽̕͜͝e̷̢̡̬͙̺̞̟̬̓͒͒̽̆͌̑͒̈́̌̈̊̏̌ŗ̸̧̲̩̭̙͕͗̔̏͑̉̎ ̷̗͕̲͔̉̄̓̂͊̇̀͌̂͆̄̉̂w̵̡̜̯̦̞̄͗̓̀͂͐̌̐̿̊̕͝ͅḥ̶͙̙̈́̈́̈́á̴̢̛̘̯̱̗̼̤̱͚̞̫͍̖͇͖͖̇̓̔̕t̷̨̻̻̖̩͔͕̹̲̝͈́̀͆͑̍́͆͌͘ͅ ̵̖͓͙̯̿̀̀̂͘w̵̧̨͇͕̹̜̬̰̫̪͎͉̔͗́̍̈́̽͂̽͠͠͝ͅĕ̸̲̫̘̟̰̘̤͍͇͚̯͖͇̤̻́̈́ͅ'̸̧̻͇̣͔̣̯̗̲͙͎̠̟̻̺̎̓͗̒ŗ̸̛̖͉͇̠̰̲͙̞͔͆͛̅̊̂̃͑̿̕͘͜e̷͕̦̘̯̺̩̞̥̜̼̰̞̣͒̓̒̿̃̔̃͌̑̋̏̌̉͒̕͠ͅ ̷̗̝̙̝̪̈́̇̓m̴͍̩̈́̈́́͑͛͘a̵̤͍̣̮͇̫̦̫̍̃͐̿͑̒̃—̶̡͕͇̪̖̤̫͓̣̞̯͙̦͑͆̈́̊̊̀͗̓̓͒͜͠
S̸̝͌I̴̠͒̚Ĺ̵͔̝́E̸̥̹̅N̵̹̫͐́C̶̛͍̜͋E̷͍̯͘. The voice in Niran’s head grew quiet as it was overpowered by a new voice, empowered by the seed. It was Niran’s. I̶̼͛͛ ̴̡̏H̵̤̓̀Ạ̷̀̎V̴̧̮̾͋E̶̎ͅ ̶̧͓́͆Ṉ̶͠͠O̵̪̓T̵̟̽ ̵̦͋A̶͇̠͛͌C̷͚͓̀Q̷̺̋̒Ű̵̡̄Ȉ̶̻̩͛R̵̙͔͝E̶̻͂͠D̶͓̓͝ ̷̛͔͈̒T̵̮̓̂H̵̞̽I̷̥̔̑͜S̵̢̭̈ ̸̠̓P̴̨̽̐Õ̴̘̓W̸̺͂͑Ë̶̤́͜Ṛ̸́ ̶͔̒͋S̶͔̄̋͜Ì̴͓͜M̷̨͕̀͠P̵̤͌L̶̻̀Y̶̜̜̽͌ ̵̤͎̀̄T̵͈̫̎Ő̸̞̱ ̸̼̫͛̚B̴̡̉̐E̵͚͈̒͒ ̶͔̯͗̽Ű̸̡̕S̷̖̒É̵̮̠̈́D̵̮̒͒ ̸̯̥̓Ḟ̴̬͍̑O̷̭̿R̷̫̽̇ ̶͓̜̅Y̷̬͕̌O̸̹̿U̷͓͆͝R̵̢̃͌ ̸̼̇͌M̶̖̅̓A̶̠̅C̶̭̏̂H̶̩͒I̵̢̖̒͛N̶̠̺̐͒A̶̤͋̂T̷͙̽͠Ỉ̸̖͝Ǒ̷̖͠N̶̢͉̽S̷͚̽̊.̷͚̹̀ ̶̘̈́͒I̶̥͙͊ ̸̡̡͐W̵͖̅Į̸̍L̵̼̫͂L̵͈͓̈̇ ̷͚̬́U̸̟̜̔S̵̞͑Ȅ̴͇ ̶̻̝̈Í̷̗T̷̤̥͒̃ ̵̭̤̚͝N̵̹̫͌O̶̼͕̔T̶͉̤̅ ̸̮̊̐F̵̪͈̿͠Ö̴̯͉́̕R̷̘̫̒̐ ̵͕̼̕M̸̡͙͌͊E̵̫̦͛̑R̵͙̞͠E̶͔͇̋ ̸͎̦̕S̴̫̝͐̔Ú̶̞R̸̭͠V̴̖͚̌Ḯ̵̼̾V̸͇̪̓A̴̳̞͋Ḷ̷̢͝,̶̮̽ ̷͚̓͜B̸̫̎̽U̷͓͋̇ͅT̵̜̒̄ ̸̧̡̒́F̵̭̣͝O̶̥͊R̵͙͎̅͛ ̶̡͙͊S̶͇̩͌O̸͇̟̿͐M̸̧̙͒É̷͖̲T̴̮̬͆H̵̺͘I̸̦͑̓N̶̝̯̈́̍G̴̤̐̇ ̴͇̓͝F̸͕̝̌Ạ̴̫̃R̸͈̽̚ ̵̱͉́G̵͕͗̔R̴̖͊͆E̸̬͒̈́A̸̧̛̭T̷̡̾̃E̸̡̥͒͑R̸̲͝.̷̴̶̶̸̛͕̯̙̗̘̅̓̽̐͂̽̉ ̸͇͑
Irene’s blade, what had once flared with the rage of a thousand white suns, now sputtered with barely any silvery light. Her conviction was all but washed away by the sudden, draining cold, replaced by an overwhelming feeling of dread. She looked at her target, and was taken aback. What stood in front of her was not the timid, pale haired girl she planned to murder. Instead her hair was as black as the night; her eyes a deep, ominous red; her skin enveloped in shadows. In mere moments Niran had become an eerie sight as she embraced the Abyss.
(Art by FISHIP)
“Thank you, Irene, truly," Niran's voice boomed with the deep, resonating voices of the Abyss itself, creating a cacophony of noise from her mouth. "Had you not interfered I would still be wandering aimlessly. Bernadette is a great friend, but she was never able to find the right way to push me in the direction I was meant for. No, you showed me what my purpose truly is. So long as the world exists, there will be monsters who roam the land, bringing suffering to everything they touch. It is the Abyss’ duty to cleanse the world of this suffering, by unmaking those monsters until there is nothing left.
“Monsters, such as you.”
Nilani opened the door, confused. There was a guard standing outside.
"Nilani," the gruff voice informed, "The match between Niran and Efilia has been cancelled. There is absolutely no need to go to the island. You can rest here as danger is cleared up from the city."
Nilani was baffled by this sudden decision. She nodded and shut the door.
If there was danger in the city, shouldn't I know what's going on?
As soon as the guard's footsteps couldn't be heard, Nilani opened her window. She created a small invocation.
"Go to Kisla Island," Nilani whispered to her invocation, "Stay out of sight, but I want to know what's going on."
The golden figure quickly ran to the island as Nilani commanded it. The enchantress had a golden aura surrounding one hand, and in the other, golden lights formed an image that resembled exactly what the invocation saw.
Nilani's invocation spotted Efilia. She was in a boat and she was by herself. No hosts. Something was wrong. Something was going on and Nilani wanted to know.
Whatever happens, don't interfere. For all I know, there might just be a match going on. Who knows?
Nilani threw on an old traveling cloak and opened her door quietly.
Should I wake Akuma? No. It's fine. I should just keep going.
The enchantress tiptoed down a path. There was a guard in front of her.
If he turns around, I could get in trouble what should I do?
Suddenly, she heard a twig snap. In a panic, Nilani blasted the guard with golden energy. He was unconscious. Nilani ran away quickly. She glanced down at her hand. Efilia was still rowing the boat by herself. She also noticed that the images from her hand seemed to be coming from a shadowy ball of energy placed in the center of the picture.
What is it with the abyss becoming a part of my magic?
Nilani continued forward. She heard guards and ducked behind a bush as she waited for them to pass. After they did, she continued forward. In a few minutes she had made her way across Kiserova unnoticed - or so she thought...
There were no more boats left for Nilani to ride on and summoning another invocation to get her there would reveal her identity right away. Nilani could vaguely see the shadow of a boat in the distance.
A shadow? That's it!
Nilani touched one hand to her heart.
T̸̚͜h̵̼̾a̷̼͐t̵̛'̴̧̅s̷̥̄ ̶̢̈́r̷̗̉i̸̙̔g̸͍̓h̸t̷͇̐,̸̡̽ ̶̺̈́l̶̲̽i̶͠ͅt̴̠̊t̴l̷̖̋e̶̘͐ ̶g̵̻̍i̷͕̕r̸l̷̩̽,̴̫̒ ̴̹͘us̴̬͠e̵̹̋ ̴͍͝t̶͚̔h̵ẽ̴͚ a̷͇͋b̷y̴̹͑s̵s̸̹͐.̵ ̷͕̋I̸t̴̙̔ ̸̋c̷̠̃o̴u̸͇̎l̷d̷͙̀ ̶͕̈́b̶̦͆ȇ̶ͅ ̸͎͝y̶̢̋o̶ű̵̗r̷s̶̖̋ ̵t̵͙̎o̶ ̸͔̀c̴o̵͇̓n̸ť̷̗r̷ơ̶̜l̴.
Nilani felt odd seeing a shadow come from her own hands.
Am I doing the right thing?
Nilani let the feeling of the abyss fill her again. She jumped on the new invocation, shrouded by shadows created by it. It rose into the air, like a bird, with Nilani on top of it.
Nilani watched as she rose into the dark sky. She saw the island- there was Niran oddly dueling another opponent. Efilia was holding a candle, rowing a boat to get there.
How odd...
Sir Belisjian seemed to be close to the fight, but hidden from Niran's view, as if he had set Niran up in this mess. The city was completely dark too, oddly enough. The only lights were the lanterns held by all of the guards as they patrolled every inch of ground on the city. They looked like fireflies all gathering to light up the midnight sky. They were lights in the endless dark. Like golden light amidst the endless shadow of the abyss.
Don't get involved, Nilani. Niran's probably waiting for Efilia and training, right?
Something still didn't feel right. No hosts. No audience of any sort. Not even a trace of the abyss's touch on the island. Then, Nilani heard a shout of anger. This wasn't a match. There was something going on. However much it pained Nilani, she had to remain and watch.
As Nilani watched the city and the events of what she thought was a "cancelled" match, she had the odd feeling that someone was watching her. Someone powerful.
Was using this shadow invocation a mistake?
N̵̫̔ō̷̪,̷͎͘ ̵̞̑l̸͗ͅį̶̔t̶̝̕t̴͂ͅl̶̠̊ȩ̴̋ ̷͎͒g̸͈̈́ȋ̵͈r̷̝͝l̴̩̐.̶͍͊ ̶͈̚Y̷͙̿ô̴̠u̸͓͛'̴͛͜r̷͚̽e̵̘̓ ̶̜͠o̶̺̓n̵͎̿l̷̙͊y̷̢̕ ̷̦͊ṡ̶̖t̴̘͑ã̴̞r̷͕͑ţ̸́i̶̎ͅn̴̦̓g̴̗͊ ̵̘̃t̵̫͂ó̵̜ ̵̲̈́d̶̖͊ǐ̶̢s̶̉͜ċ̶̠ǫ̷̎v̴̙͋e̷̝̍r̴͉̃ ̸̬̌ț̶̈h̴̡͝è̵̹ ̸̫̐ṱ̶̑r̷̙̚ṳ̵͠e̷̫̋ ̴̈͜e̵̦̅x̸̞͝ț̵̒e̸̪͌n̸̢̛t̵̛̰ ̸̛̼o̷̼͌f̶̰̑ ̸̗̐y̵̝̕ọ̷̓u̸̦͝r̷̢̈́ ̷̡̄p̴͓̈o̶̪͠ẅ̶͍́e̶͚͠r̶̼̈́s̶̱̊.̸͚̀ ̶̧̓D̴̀ͅo̵̭͛n̸̫̚'̴̹͘ẗ̴͎́ ̵̘̑y̵̲̋o̵̩̿ư̶̤ ̷̓ͅw̶̙͆a̴̺͠n̵̩̒t̵̀͜ ̸͙͒t̴̬̾o̴̰͑ ̶̧̄s̶̳͠e̴̙̕e̷̪̐ ̷̟̆m̶̳͐o̶̡͛r̶̗̄ę̶͠?̶̡̏ ̶̛̲Ĩ̸̯s̴̻̓n̴͙͌'̸̱͝ť̸̯ ̸̗̏t̸̢͌h̶̩̚a̴̭̋ṭ̸̈́ ̵̬̓w̵̦̍ḣ̷̦ā̷̰t̵̓͜ ̸͉̉ý̵̙o̴͇̚u̶͖͗ ̴̙̒w̴̖͛a̴̝͊n̷̙̋t̷̬̀?̴̡͊
@MonkeyPirate2002 vs @Lujikul
Flames and smoke were filling the dark sky. The forest had withered and turned grey and black. Burning buildings collapsed over the remains of the dead inhabitants. The last dying screams from the women and children that had taken cover in the central building, had long since been extinguished. Just before the wooden wall behind a bush and some boxes, sat a young eight year old girl. She had cried her eyes dry. She did not dare to make a single sound. She did not dare to move, she did not dare to run. She barely dared to listen, she barely dared to see.
Timber and wooden walls broke as a huge monster moved through the burning village. She opened one eye and saw the black smoke leaving the wet iron hard scales of the black beast. She saw the it move through the flames, searching for any survivor. Now and then she would hear the scream and sound of someone who was ripped into pieces by the monster, before the burning buildings continued to be the only sound in the village. She once again opened one eye and in the flames she saw the monster, facing towards her. Its soulless black eyes, its sharp horns and its blood stained sharp teeth. She closed her eyes again and hoped that the Terror Arkanai had not seen her.
Then she saw a white light from a flame, appear at the broken hole in the wall.
"Monsters, such as you"
The grass around Niran's feet began to wither, turning grey and black as it died.
"You are a selfish child that has never seen the destruction that the monsters formed by the abyss are capable of! You could never even imagine what terrors the Arkanai could bring! You found a source of power and thought of it as a new toy! You are risking the life of everyone around you! Everyone in Kiserova! And for what?! Because you did not want to endure the pain of a pretender of an evil man!
Cralmarov have done terrible things but they don't compare to what you will cause."
Irene retook her stance and the blade returned to its burning glow.
"I have seen people like you before, people who want to end their own suffering so they turn to the abyss. They always end up losing control and turning into monsters, killing those they wanted to protect. I can't risk anyone, just to find out if you would be any different."
Niran starred at Irene with her red eyes as she put the violin against her shoulder and began to play. A dark and cold melody that drew the life-force from the grass and plants close to her, causing them to wither and die. Irene took a breath, and she dashed forward towards Irene. The dark spirit of a bird took physical form above Niran. As Irene came close, the bird attacked her. Irene dodged to the side and slashed the bird at the same time with her burning sword. The bird vanished white flame. The bodies of dead birds fell to the ground from the surrounding trees and soon, a large herd of undead birds left the trees and flew towards Irene. Her left hand began to burn of white flame just like the sword. With her hand she threw a shield-like pulse of flame towards the attacking birds who vanished in the flame.
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Efilia was running up the hill from the beach towards the tower. She could hear music from Niran's violin but it sounded cold, terrifying. In the midst of the music she also heard the sound of flame whipping in the air. "What is happening up there?" She thought. Then she saw that someone was standing in the window at the top of the tower. The person seemed to have seen her and ran away from the window.
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Waves of abyssal energy were pulsing in the air. On the ground in front of Niran another small spirit began to take physical form, the form of a goblin. Graagdord was more malformed and hollow than ever, there were barely anything left of him except his size. He just stood there until black glowing strings began to crack into his small body and skull. He shrieked before he almost fell forward. He then raised his head and dashed towards Irene who stood still, looking at him with pity. She slashed him once and Graagdord began to vanish in flame. "Lev' foralt. Be at peace." Irene murmured before she turned back towards Niran with anger in her eyes.
Niran still played her abyssal symphony. The air grew colder and darker. Irene dashed towards Niran and swung her sword with the momentum. Niran dodge the blade, but her side was touched by the flame and her skin was burnt. She fell back and rolled down a slope. When she reached the bottom, she took help of a boulder to raise herself onto her legs again. Niran walked down the slope, and then she stopped and turned around as a girl screamed not far from them.
"Efilia, get away from here!" Belisjian shouted in the distance."
Irene looked back at Niran who had grown a small smile.
Efilia saw flashes of white light through the trees. They appeared for a brief moment before they died out and were replaced by the darkness again and again. An unusual cold had touched her heart so slightly but enough to make even her nervous. A even brighter light of flame appeared behind the trees. She was now so close that she could see what was happening by just moving a few steps to the side. Behind the trees in an opening of the forest, she saw a knight with flaming sword, the burning body of something small and-... Niran, but she did not look like herself anymore. Her hair was no longer white but black. Her skin was grey and her eyes, glowing red. Around her the grass had withered and the air was dancing with abyssal energy to her violin. Efilia jumped back as a branch broke a little further up.
"What are you doing here?" Sir Belisjian came towards her, upset but also worried. "I had to-" She began but was interrupted. "You should go, ran back. You don't want to witness what will happen here." Belisjian took, almost pushed Efilia's shoulder.
"What is happening here?" Efilia took a step back.
Belisjian looked at Efilia, then towards Niran and back at Efilia again.
"We are dealing with a problem we should never have allowed to begin in the first place. We let the wrong people guide our hand."
"The wrong people? You mean like Cralmarov?" Efilia looked back and forth between the fight and Belisjian. Then she felt something, a spirit or a shadow of some kind, taking physical form further down the forest. She felt black smoke touch and wither the trees.
"Not only him. Val-" Efilia heard in Belisjian's voice that he also now was aware of the creature's presence. The sound of trees withering and then breaking as the creature moved almost through them almost echoed as a freezing wind through the mind of Efilia. As the blackness of the forest began to move towards her, she drew her silver rapier and braced herself. Belisjian drew his sword as he looked at Efilia who starred at the blackness. "What are you doing? You can't fight this monster with that." Efilia did not hear or not noticed what Belisjian said."Efilia, get away from here!" He shouted.
The blackness took form of a large black bear with wet fur from which black smoke was sipping. Its arms were long, its legs were strong, its claws and teeth were many and sharp, its eyes were black and hollow. Even though it was not much larger than a bear, this monster was far more dangerous, a lesser Arkanai, a fear Arkanai.
----------------------------------
Niran smiled at Irene who made a quick decision and ran off towards Belisjian and Efilia.
Niran began playing limped towards her violin that lied in a bush a small distance from her. As she reached it, she began playing a faster but still cold and dark symphony.
The grass that Irene ran over began to wither. Then suddenly, a rotten arm reached up from the ground and grabbed her leg. Irene quickly took her sword and pierced the ground with it so the arm began to burn. Horrific birds fell down upon her from the sky and corrupted rats came towards her from within the grass. She could not reach Belisjian and Efilia.
---------------------------------
The Arkani swung its large arm towards Efilia but missed and instead cleaved a tree in half so it almost fell over her. Efilia back away from the monster but she tripped on a stone so she fell onto the ground. The Arkanai approached her. Belisjian moved forward and struck the Arkanai on his arm and his neck. As the Arkanai swung back, Belisjian ducked and struck once and twice against its legs. The monster roared and then struck downwards towards Belisjian who dodged it. As the Arkanai hit the ground, Belisjian lost his balance. The Arkanai swung upwards. Metal broke and blood splattered over the trees as Belisjian was lifted into the air. Efilia watched in horror as the monster had dug its claw inside Belisjian's chest.
Belisjian tried to scream but his lungs were ripped open. The Arkanai pressed its claws together, crushing Belisjian's organs so he spewed blood from his mouth. Belisjian's body was twitching as the Arkanai pressed even more. When he had stopped moving, the Arkanai threw his body to the side.
"Belisjian!! No! No no! Belisjian! You can't die like this! Belisjian!" Irene screamed.
Niran limped her way up the slope. Irene turned around towards her with her eyes burning in fury. She dashed past the birds and rats who were scratching and biting her, with her swords burning brighter than before. Just behind her the Arkanai came running out from among the trees after her. Even though Irene was fast, the Arkanai came up to her before she could reach Niran. Irene stopped in her track and turned her sword. She jumped backwards and pierced the burning blade into the Arkanai's shoulder. She cut backwards out of the back and in almost the same motion, she swung towards the leg. The Arkanai's leg flew off with only a white burning wound remaining.
Niran began to play a screeching melody on the violin that froze the mind of even Efilia who was hiding far from the fight. Irene endured and still approached Niran. Niran tried another song which also caused harm to Efilia but Irene endured. She tried again and the same result. Then she tried another melody, one that did not seem to do anything.
Irene felt the Arkanai move up towards her. She turned around with her sword in ready stance and met a vision of fire as the forest was burning before her. At the edge of the burning forest lied many bodies, some ripped apart and some were almost whole. In the flames a huge shadow made of darkness and smoke sipping from its iron scales starred at her with its abyssal eyes. The Terror Arkanai roared so Irene's bones grew weak.
Then something large pierced her abdomen from behind her. She fell forward, out of the nightmare. She saw the claws of the Arkanai reaching through her body. The Arkanai bit into her shoulder. She dropped the her sword as she was shacking uncontrollably. She screamed as the Arkanai began to pulled her. Before her she saw Niran looking at her with her small smile. The pain overwhelmed her and everything she saw and heard melted together before it all turned black.
"Please save me, Sir Wardnan. I don't want to die. It's so painful to die."
Irene's body was split apart at the abdomen. The arkanai chewed on her for a moment before he threw her flesh to the side as Niran approached him, to pet him.
Efilia ran so fast down towards the beach and the boat that she almost tripped. She could not believe what she had seen, what Niran had done, what the monster had done to Belisjian and Irene. It was not true. It couldn't be true. Murders like these only happened in books and stories, not in real life. This was a nightmare. She would soon wake up by the guard yelling on her for being late to her match. She never woke up. She was not sleeping but it was a real nightmare.
@MonkeyPirate2002
"You ran from monsters, you ran from shackles, you ran from death. Are you a coward? or you are free?"
@Lujikul
If one must always win, one must always lose.
Efilia ran today and thus she lost, but she survived.
Efila was an interesting character but Niran simply had more of most.
It has been very interesting to have Efilia fight in the tournament but is it over now?
Otherwise I hope that you want to stay to continue participate in the game, even if so only to read. The more the merrier.
Thank you!
A letter has arrived.
It is my honor to congratulate you on your recent victory.
I imagine it must have been very stressful to fight for life or death.
I will not try to hide the facts from you.
Kiserova is in trouble, the population is troubled.
The conditions have worsened significantly during the last weeks,
so much that survival is no longer a presumption.
Death has begun to crawl into the our land, into Kiserova and the tournament.
It is with heavy grief in my heart that I must inform you that host Sir Belisjian is dead.
Also, the kevalerion knight, Irene, is also dead.
With the current events and everything that is happening.
It is not with joy that I , as the last host of the tournament, must inform you.
The continuation of the tournament of Kiserova has hereby been cancelled.
I wish you the best of fortune in your life, and good bye.
With true intentions
Lady Miljivan
The quarter finals are over.
The tournament held by the hosts is over.
The peace is fragile, the iron is being tempered.
The people are hungry, the people are angry.
Your character will soon be given an important choice.
This choice may affect who she faces in the next fight, how and where.
But first matters first.
The first choice.
*Stay or leave?
- Will your character stay even though the tournament is over and everything that is going on?
- Will she leave and not fight to be the last contestant standing?
(It is assumed that your character stays, unless you or she makes the active decision to leave.)
So cold...
Akuma's eyes snapped open. The sky above her was clear and blue, and the ground beneath her back was hard, and as cold as ice. She sat up slowly, and looked around. She was sitting in the middle of a large stone pillar, about 20 feet in diameter. Concentric polygons started in the center with a circle and moved out to the edge, where a nonagon's corners fell off into the space beyond. She went to look over the edge, and found her feet chained to a small indentation in the center of the circle. Blood slowly dripped down her feet and into the circular trough, but as she struggled against the chains, the flow increased, filling the circle, spilling into the triangle, the square, eventually reaching its way to the nonagon and spilling down the side. She strained against the chains, irrationally desperate to see over the side. No such luck. Suddenly, tendrils of black energy erupted from all sides of her, touching down on the pillar before her and coalescing into... her?
Akuma's breath caught in her throat. It was like looking into a mirror, albeit one that reflected no color. No emotion. Just an empty shell.
T̶̙̻̬͓̠̽̂̇͑̋h̸̛̖̓̇͌̄͝e̵̲̪̼̊̓ͅ ̸̢͑̊͠A̸̧͍̲̱̻͖͗b̸̢̳̤̹̜͓̓̓̃̂ỳ̵̫͎̯̼͚̾s̴͉͖̻͉̼̬͗s̴͙̼̍͐̂́̇̕
Akuma stood up, clenching her hands into fists, and then swinging a wild punch at her abyssal double.
Time... stopped
Her duplicate moved like water and fire, moving behind her before sticking its fist directly through her chest. Time resumed, and Akuma looked down in horror to see an arm sticking through her chest, holding her own heart. She heard the whisper of her duplicate in her ear:
"Everyone in life is given a choice, Akuma..." Akuma tried to scream, but when she opened her mouth, only an inky blackness seeped from it.
"You are either a monster or a slave..." She tried to grasp the abyssal hand, but her body wouldn't move.
"I thought you would be a monster... it is very fitting. But to be my slave... your slave... isn't a path I would have expected you to take" Tears welled up in Akuma's eyes.
"The Abyss defines you now, Akuma. Your fate has been written into your soul..." Inky black letters appeared on her arm, an ancient script she couldn't real, blossoming under the skin, a biting, radiating, searing pain that brought her to her knees.
"You want to save your friend? She's already embraced The Abyss. She understands its true power. And you can too... Just... give in..." The hand clenched around her heart slowly tightened, and memories came flooding back. The silence after an execution. Blade on bone, the dark pain of death. Primal fear. The embrace of a friend..." The hand closed, and Akuma's heart shattered into pieces, releasing the void within and swallowing her whole. She screamed.
A startled cry from Nilani and Akuma goes flying down the hall, hitting her head again a doorframe and dropping her knife to the floor.
Knife?
Nilani ran up to her, bleeding from a small wound in her side. Energy glowed around her hands.
"Nilani!" Akuma reached out a hand to her friend. "Are you al-" She stopped. Blood covered her hands. It was crusted under her fingernails and dripped up her arms.
T̶̙̻̬͓̠̽̂̇͑̋h̸̛̖̓̇͌̄͝e̵̲̪̼̊̓ͅ ̸̢͑̊͠A̸̧͍̲̱̻͖͗b̸̢̳̤̹̜͓̓̓̃̂ỳ̵̫͎̯̼͚̾s̴͉͖̻͉̼̬͗s̴͙̼̍͐̂́̇̕
"Stay away!" Akuma yelled, as Nilani stopped ten feet away.
Nilani took it all in. The knife. The blood. The wound. Akuma...
"Akuma! Are you okay?!" Nilani asked. Akuma pushed further into the door.
"Stay away! You can't trust me!" Nilani hesitated as she saw Akuma's eyes flash black. Akuma scrabbled for the knife again, and held it to her neck with shaking hands. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to uncurl her hand.
"Nilani... please help me..."
Darkness swarmed her vision like a storm of locusts, and the last thing she saw was the fear on her friend's face.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A field this time, blanketed in black flowers.
She was there again.
T̶̙̻̬͓̠̽̂̇͑̋h̸̛̖̓̇͌̄͝e̵̲̪̼̊̓ͅ ̸̢͑̊͠A̸̧͍̲̱̻͖͗b̸̢̳̤̹̜͓̓̓̃̂ỳ̵̫͎̯̼͚̾s̴͉͖̻͉̼̬͗s̴͙̼̍͐̂́̇̕
"I won't let you control me!" Akuma yelled. "These are my dreams! My destiny!"
"Interesting..."
"I'll beat you, and I'll win the tournament!"
"You'll never be able to beat yourself..."
"That's where you're wrong! I learn from every fight I have! I can grow, and change! And most of all?" Akuma's eyes narrowed.
"I won't let myself hurt my friends again." She held out her hand, and Naku Tsuki appeared there, glowing faintly, reflecting the black roses of the field.
"If I can have power over my dreams, I can have power over my destiny!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Akuma! Please wake up! Please!" Akuma's eyes fluttered open. Nilani was looking down at her, cradling her head in her lap.
"N-Nilani? What are you doing! I might... hurt you!"
"For your life, that's a risk I'm willing to take."
Akuma pushed herself away, scared that The Abyss might try to influence her again. But strangely, it wasn't there. Memories of the dream returned. An idea, as an arrow, loosed from a bow of tangled threads of thought, found its mark.
"I think I've figured it out, Nilani. A way to control The Abyss within me. I won't be a slave to it anymore!"
"I sure hope it works..."
"Huh" Akuma asked.
"Akuma, something terrible has happened"
*ominous music crescendos*
Niran looked up. She looked right at Nilani's invocation. For a moment their eyes met. Even through the shadows of Nilani's invocation, Nilani could see something behind Niran's eyes. It seemed like she was pleading for help. Like she was sad about killing the two she had just murdered. For some odd reason, she felt like Niran- the girl who killed her opponent, a knight, and a tournament host was like herself- the purehearted. They stared at each other for a few more second. Nilani even smiled weakly, then the shadows of her own invocation shrouded her from view once more.
So this is the power of the abyss? This is the power I'm embracing? This is what I thought to be calming?
N̴͖̫̊̔͗̚͠o̷̥̓,̷̨̙̭͉̹͋̎̀͆͝ ̴̢̱̩̠̳̂͊̊͠t̴̼̭́̈́̓ẖ̸̈́ï̵͎̺͙s̷̩͂̏͠ ̶̼͍̼̫́i̷̢̢̝̰̓͝s̶͔̟̥͐̆̕̚ ̴̝̮͆t̸̺̃̉͊̕h̷̡̬̽̈́ě̸̬̚ ̶͇̝̃͊ṗ̵̥͚̚ò̶̧̹̥̭̮̔͐w̴̲̤͚̲͔̆̓̽e̷̛̳͍̐͝r̷̢̭͖̘̻͂̀͋̌ ̵̝̣͂̈́͑͠ͅỷ̶̧̱͙̍̇͆o̵̗̅u̴͔͈̚ ̸̡͗c̶̮̀̈̎͑a̴̬͚̻̺̯̽̚n̵̙̈́͝ ̴̧͇͉̍ẃ̶̨̼̯̲̈́ḯ̸̟͋̕͘e̴̙̓̋̔͗͛l̶̥̝̉̄̈́ḑ̵͈͇̱͆.̶̤̠͔̯̙͘
I'm not a murderer!
B̴̙̻̫͊̀̈́͠ů̸̢͌t̴̨͉̝̖̗́̍͋̈́͂ ̸̠̭̯͉̟̽̋̕ï̸̫̮̘ͅs̵̨̛͕̟̳͔̅̽ ̶̬̮̳̱̋̒t̶͈̙͇̰̂̊ḧ̶̨͖̜̯͍́̇̋̚͝ȇ̵̛̜̮̙̲̭̒͝ ̶͕̦̈́̐̽͌͆Ȧ̸̤͓̿b̵̫͋y̵̨͓͎̟̰̓̇̈̌s̷̤̮̬̥̻͂s̵̼͙̔́͜ ̴̹̺̗̟̖̀̈̽o̵̹͋̔́̎̀ͅn̸͈̈̂e̶̪̒͆̕ ̸̺̒ȁ̴̧̛͍͔͎̲͛͐s̶̗̞̯̱͕͌͒ ̷̲̥̱͋̑ͅw̷̩̣̞̻͌͂̍̕͠e̵̢̱̫̮͉̓̓̍̕͝l̶̹̥̘͛͐͆l̶̛͚͇̃̈́?̵͕̜̲͉͌
Nilani paused. She waved her hand. Golden lights started to burst through her invocation.
I...will...not...embrace...this...power!
The invocation started to glow. Niran could see Nilani clearly now too. All of a sudden, the golden light vanished and died. Oddly enough her shadow-invocation seemed to die with it. Nilani felt herself falling, so she quickly created an invocation. Faster than she had ever done before. A large golden invocation appeared in the water and caught her. the moment she landed on it, it's hands started to turn to smoke and disappeared. Nilani swam to the shore. She created another invocation, creating a golden copy of a bird nearby. Nilani jumped atop it and rode back to her lodgings. Everything was quiet.
———
The next day, Nilani rose early. There was a letter on her door. It read:
I imagine it must have been very stressful to fight for life or death.
I will not try to hide the facts from you.
Kiserova is in trouble, the population is troubled.
The conditions have worsened significantly during the last weeks,
so much that survival is no longer a presumption.
Death has begun to crawl into the our land, into Kiserova and the tournament.
It is with heavy grief in my heart that I must inform you that host Sir Belisjian is dead.
Also, the kevalerion knight, Irene, is also dead.
With the current events and everything that is happening.
It is not with joy that I , as the last host of the tournament, must inform you.
The continuation of the tournament of Kiserova has hereby been cancelled.
I wish you the best of fortune in your life, and good bye.
With true intentions
Lady Miljivan
Nilani was shocked. Everything she had worked for, even suffered for had stopped. She was furious, yet she understood. Nilani had talk to Akuma. The girl ran to Akuma’s room and opened the door.
"Akuma! Please wake up! Please!" Akuma's eyes fluttered open. Nilani was looking down at her, cradling her head in her lap.
"N-Nilani? What are you doing! I might... hurt you!"
"For your life, that's a risk I'm willing to take."
Akuma pushed herself away, scared that The Abyss might try to influence her again. But strangely, it wasn't there. Memories of the dream returned. An idea, as an arrow, loosed from a bow of tangled threads of thought, found its mark.
"I think I've figured it out, Nilani. A way to control The Abyss within me. I won't be a slave to it anymore!"
"I sure hope it works..."
"Huh" Akuma asked.
"Akuma, something terrible has happened,” Nilani pauses to take a breath, “Sir Belisjian is dead. He was killed by Niran after they lured her into a trap instead of a match. Efilia survived, but another knight there was killed too!”
Akuma gasped.
“Then, if things couldn’t get any worse, this happened.” Nilani held up the not angrily.
The tournament was cancelled. Akuma read through the text in disbelief.
“I- I can’t believe it!”
Nilani sat down on Akuma’s bed. “So, what should we do?”
Akuma thought for a little bit. “I’m going to stay.”
Nilani looked a little surprised. “Why isn’t it dangerous here?”
Akuma nodded. “Of course, but the people here need us. We’ve experienced this first hand. We know how to defend ourselves and others! I’ll stay. I was trained to be honorable. Trained to protect. I’ll stay and help everyone...Even if it means my life.”
A voice in her head interrupted her.
T̵̮̭̹͖̯̻̏̍̅̉̔͟͟͠h̢̙̳̩̹͈̻̤̤̆̂̉̅̄͌́̾e̥̮̲̖̲̥̗̅̀̐̓͛̃͜͟ A͔͈̬͎͉̎͆̓̀͘b̷̨̯͓̗̮͗̓͑̒͛̓̓̍y̨̮̗̩͍̲͌̐̅̂̽̀͜s̡̤̠̼̝̦̱͕̅̄̔̈́͆̎͆̓s̞̳̹̲̠̰̀́̄̎͑͢͜ͅ.̥̤̯͙͇̬̝̳̺͈̔̔̑̐͝͞..Ḑ̷̛̖̼͕͕̪̝̜̪͚͆̏͐̏́̐͋̎͘o̫͕̱̥̠̮̹̔̀̓̒̓̀͐̔̚͜ň̴̛̻̥̼̼̟̪̪̖͕̐̈́͌’̵̡̢̜͈̭͎̣̺̾͋̈́̄̏͘͠t͖͈̬͇̩͇̟͊̎̂͐͗̓̚͘̚ ÿ̢̡͔̻̃̅͋̾̆̊͑̆̕͜o̵̮̺̗̻̗͕̳͌̿̔͒̿̄́͟u̝̙̘̙̠͉̓̽̔̕͘ ẅ̡̱̯̩͈́̐̂́̚â̱̼̳͈̘̝͊͒̓͌n̩̫̻̲̳̏̾̆̚͞ṯ̷͉͇̟͔͈͙̇̽̊́͋́͌̔͜͜͡͡ t̢̢̳͙̩̫̫̝̬̎̾̽̈̿̊̄̀̄̊͜ō̵̢̰̳̥͗͑͆͞͡ͅ ķ̷̲͖͈̳̘̖͆̅̆̇̅͒̀͜͞ń̡̡̟͓̲̪̥̜̎͊͊̔͑͑̓͂̚ͅo̵̬̳̗̖̲̔̓͆̐̔̒̆̅̂̀w̷͎̣̖̻͉͈̒̏̐͌̅́̈́͛͠ m̵̟̜̮̗̜̾̈́͌͌̒͗̾̃͡o̵̪͇̫̦̺͙̠̻͍̔̋̈́̂̏̀͗͛r̵̛̜̳͈̼̳̳̙͈̉̂͐̈́͟͡͞͝e̷̛̯̗̻͎̜̠͕͆͗̽̀̑̆́͡ͅ?̫͔͙̺͍̫̣̞̋̐͛̂̀̕͠͞
Akuma asked, “Why?”
“The abyss...it...fascinates me. However much I want to run away from it, I feel like it’s a part of me. Something even tells me that it’s been that way since I was born. I feel like the abyss is connected to the red queen somehow. The magic stone in my city. Everything! Can’t it provide answers? To everything I’ve questioned? For the first time in a while, my life seems like it has become more than protecting others now!”
Akuma sighed. She didn’t seem excited about Nilani’s reason, but she still smiled. “I’m glad you’re staying with me, Nilani! We’ll be there for each other no matter what, right?”
"I promise.”
Nilani smiled and walked out of the room.
So, what shall I do next?
I̵̛͇̖͓̘̟̹̮̻͖͈̎̾̐̂̔̊̐̄s̸̮̗̙̰͎̅̔̏̎̎͜͞ ț̴̢̯̣̇́̒́͐̚ͅh̨͍͚̞̲̩̼̿͆̃̄̓̀̍̒̓̚ͅa̪̝̗͉̠̘͑́̌̃̈́̈́̇͠͝t̩̹̦̝͍̟́͌̑̃͡ e̸̡̡̻̤̝̫͈̪͋̐́͋̿̍̚̕͠͡v̷̱̘͕̹̮̞̣̪̎͋̿̎͆͗ê̷̼͙̹͖̮͈̗̘̊͊̄̎̽̔̊͒͝ņ͕͓̦͇͇̞͐̊̈̉̀͗̿̚͟͡ ȃ̷̡̺̮̦͖̞̼̓̊̔̕ q̵̟̟̭͎̦̻̳̳̻̓͋͗́͋͛̿̑͂ư̢̘̦̜̤̙̙̮͎͉̒͒̓͊̽̈́̕͘͡ẻ̛̯̞͕̲͈̭͍͔̇̀͛̔̂͢͟s̛̭̬͚͈̫̉̃̓͂̋̊̑͒͞ẗ̬͇͍̠̫̖̗́̈́̎̀̈́̓̂͆͟i̫͍̬̜̯̭͉̰̣͌̈̃̋͆̾̔̾ǫ̶̧̨̬̙̮̞̅́͊̀́͟͟ń͈͓̦͉̖̤̀͒͛̓̾͟͞͞,͎̣̞̼̩͖̋̒̈̇͞͠ N̸̢̼̫͙̠͍̖̔͛̉͛̕̕i̡̛̱͇͉̦̯̯̝͆̄̆̀͐͑́̉l̡̧̠͑̊͐̀̓̃̂͢͟ą̷̛͎̥̠̠̿̂́̀͒͑͝ͅn̸͉̘͔͖̜̥̙̄͌̉́͝i̧͖̗̖̿̍̓̎͂̓̆͊͞͝ͅ?̟̣̪̟͑̏̂̆́̎̐͆ͅ
@Jonteman93 I talked to @Usaername and both of us decided that we’re staying in Kiserova.
THE END (for Aeryn)
@Jonteman93 Please correct me if anything I said was wrong. I'm also a little confused by the stay/leave choice, so if there could be any extra clarification, that would be awesome.
CassZero Why would it not make sense?
The question regarding if the character stays or leaves is and should only be based on the cardmsith's wishes to either continue or to leave.
So you could choose to stay but have Aeryn deciding to leave but failing to do so for any reason.
It is kind of how I write the matches where I first decide who will win and then write how they somehow wins. There does not even have to be a fight or it might just be accidental victory or anything like that.
I do not base the winner on the scenario at hand and the characters involved.
So simply, choice what you want to do, not what is logical to do.
Then you can force the scenario to be logical through events and characters.
This is how I manage to make weak characters win over strong characters.
Edit: @Shadow123 is correct. Nothing is over as of now. The tournament of champions 3 is still ongoing, but the story version of the tournament is over since there are no hosts that are able to manage it, plus all other problems going on.
So the future matches will happen but they will be very much affected by the decision you guys make. Also the story before then will take a significant turn which would make it impossible to continue the tournament in Kiserova anyway.
The stay/leave options are for you, more than it is for your character. It is from the perspective of the world just another event of sorts.
So if you want to stay your character can either:
- Stay
or
- Fail to leave, or regret leaving.
If you want to leave your character can either:
- Leave
or
- Fail to stay, die.
Sorry for any misunderstandings.
I will continue the story of the tournament soon and after that, the important choice that your characters need to make. This choice will be given to you either on Friday or on Saturday.
Some of you have probably already found out what kind of choice it is.
Since we are only for contenders, you will have much more influence in when you want the deadline for any changes to be made, to occur. But to have a preliminary deadline, let's say the 11th of September.
THE END (for Aeryn)
New summary
Aeryn woke up with a headache. She was sounding a lot and had had a strange dream. Slowly she positioned herself on the end of the bed.
"Nyrea, what happened yesterday?", Aeryn opened her eyes wider and saw a woman in a red dress holding her sword in an armchair next to the bed.
"You practically set me free"
Aeryn was startled and little by little she remembered everything that happened. The head throbbed a lot.
''You need to rest. The side effect of sharing consciousness is high the first time. Today, if I'm not mistaken, it's that girl's fight ... I think Nilani and that handsome ooze, '' Nyrea looked up in a vaguely passionate tone.
"You are weirder than I remembered, '" replied Aeryn. "I'm feeling better. Let's train."
Even with a headache and reeling, Aeryn went towards Nyrea.
"You are weak, you need to rest ... ''
At that moment Aeryn cut with a "No", and when reaching for the sword Nyrea's astral form disappeared and the sword fell to the ground. Aeryn tried to lift the sword that was reluctant to let it wield it. Aeryn forced herself to fall back onto the bed tired.
"That wasn't cool," said Nyrea.
"What did you do?", Aeryn was tired and her eyes were closed.
'' I cannot prevent the carrier chosen by me from touching the sword, so I disappeared, but, as always, I can use the power of the runes to prevent anyone from wielding it. '' Nyrea appeared again raising the sword. Aeryn felt the strength to try again.
Aeryn staggered to her feet and raises her hand for the sword. When he got close enough, Nyrea's astral form disappeared and the sword fell to the ground almost hitting Aeryn's foot. She fell back on the bed tired.
''Watch out. We need to train this transition, but I have something cool to show, '' Nyrea sat in the armchair and before she disappeared asked Aeryn to wield it again.
Aeryn needed to sleep more and had no strength. She sat in the armchair with the sword in her lap. With her eyes closed she said '' Now what, Nyrea? What do you want to show me?''
A higher-pitched voice came close to Aeryn's ear.
"This is the surprise!", A fairy identifies Nyrea appeared small in front of her. '' Whenever you have the sword, I will have that form ... a form of conscience to facilitate our conversation and strategy. I always show up for the carrier, but I don't need to show up for anyone who touches it. ''
Aeryn snorted almost asleep.
'' So you have three forms? The sword, the astral form and a spiritual conscience? ''
'' More or less. I have ... Aeryn? Are you awake? Well, I'm going to rest too.
Aeryn slept that day and night.
___
At the School of the Knights
In the main hall, there were many curious people around the pillar of the Nyrea sword. Hendriksen quickly made his way among the curious until he reached the scene. The pillar was broken with some old lifeless runes. Something had happened.
'' Aeryn, what did you do? I hope everything is fine with you. '' Hendriksen spoke quietly to himself.
___
Nyrea took advantage of the moment to rediscover the astral consciousness of the sword. After the decoration work, Nyrea had a serious and sad expression. She sat in an armchair next to the cauldron.
The lights slowly started to get darker and the runes in purple and blue tones. The light took over the whole place, mixing with the remains at the end of the corridor. The strange creatures in the background felt the darkness and tried to leave. A shadow that looked like a deformed rat tried to get out and had its paw cut by the darkness made by Nyrea. It was not an abysmal darkness, but a darkness of emotions.
In the darkness her hair straightened and went black. The dress withered and turned black and purple. Nyrea put her hands on her face and started to cry.
___
Mia Lockhart made a tasty honey and chocolate cake. She saw the dawn in front of the school, but she didn't care.
The day was beautiful and she managed to pick fresh flowers and fruit.
A tap on the door.
She did not answer absently with the cake.
Three taps on the door.
Again she did not answer.
The door was broken open.
Mia got scared and went to the entrance. When she saw the man who broke into her house, she was paralyzed.
"Ryan ?!"
Nice cards!
For the card I took some things into consideration
1. Hexproof for colors that don't show Aeryn's personality. I chose hexproof instead of protection, as it can still be reached (Nyrea)
3. Detach at any time. It would be the opposite of Equip.
4. Blessed referring to a Nyrea card from the past (already shown)
5. It does not replace the old card. It would be a new form of the sword for battle (explored a bit in recent stories). As in Magic, to make progress in the story, a new card is made.
Nilani paced around her room. She thought about her family.
Will I ever be able to see them again? A war...and the abyss. Could anything worse happen?
Nilani remembered the calming feeling of the abyss. How its malevolent power felt almost soothing. Nilani unconsciously created a light in her hand. Something was...different about it though. There were still golden lights, but there was a ball of shadows in the middle.
Ugh! Stop, Nilani! You saw what happened to Niran! The power of the abyss is too much to resist! Only disaster can come from this power.
R̵̳̻̀̌ẻ̴͎͍̉ä̶͎́̐ḽ̴̣͋l̷̫̬̔y̷̻̿̍?̴̧̤̿̒ ̵͙͝I̵̱͓̒s̵̠̕ ̶̟̇͐t̷̼̺̍̑h̵̭̊͘a̸̢͕͊͂t̴̫̜͌́ ̵̻͍̔̄ẃ̴̗h̷̩̙́̓a̸̤̝̋̒t̴̰̾́ ̷̮̻͑y̷̖͂o̵͚͆ú̶͛͜ ̵̮̬̀t̸͖͝h̵̹͈̎͑ì̶͙̫͘n̶̯̯͐k̵̗̊̆?̷̲̆͌
Why? Why do you ask me these questions? Who are you anyways?
Ÿ̸̋͜ǒ̵̹̼ṵ̵̹̔̓'̸̛͓l̶̗̳͛͘ḽ̸͙͠ ̴͇̖͛k̷͔̓͝ṋ̶͇̄͘ǒ̷̯̊w̴̦̑ ̴̻́ȉ̴̢̲n̵̜̳̾ ̴̙̀d̶̡̓ͅű̶̜̩ẻ̸͚ ̵̼̼̋̆t̴̨͙̓̕i̶͉͉͆m̵͈͎̑ë̵̛̬́,̷̝̬̽ ̴͍̂̅N̸̦̱̒i̶̮̤͊l̷͍͚̇̎a̵̙͠n̵̳̘͆͗į̵̖̉̒.̶̡͝
All of this! Why did I have to experience the power of the abyss anyways? I knew...thought..it was evil. But actually feeling its power? It felt serene. I thought maybe they abyss was good until Niran killed two people because of it!
Nilani sighed. "I just don't know anymore. I feel like ever since I fell in that pool of the abyss, I've felt more connected to the abyss. My golden powers show a trace of shadow- the darkness. One of my purely invocations ended up fading on my touch. Why can't there be only light?"
Ḭ̷̋̊t̵͈́ ̵̢̋̅s̶̜͒ẽ̶̢͇e̴̞̅͊m̸̯̬̈̔s̵̜̳͂ ̶̥̱̂I̷͈̩͋̌'̷̫̯̉̚ļ̷̫͑l̴̜̾ͅ ̸̝̲̌̏j̶͔͆̂u̵̩̘̾s̴͚̋t̸̛̫̬̐ ̵̢̩͝ḥ̵̠͂̈́a̶͈̺͋̽v̴͔̈̓e̴̢̍̆ ̵̹̠̓̅t̸̺͎̄̐o̴̗̮͐̌ ̸̺̟̿͘t̷͗͜e̸̞̓̿a̸̧̍c̴̝͈͋h̵͉̘̅̕ ̶̧͌̑ͅÿ̴̝͕̾o̸͍͂̆ṳ̴͗.̷̭͍̀̕.̷̜̦̈́̚.̶̙͝
Nilani was very confused. A moment later, there was a knock on her door. Nilani was very surprised. She readied a spell as she flung open the door. Nilani was about to blast the person in front of her off their feet until she realized who it was.
Akuma. Nilani calmed down. "Sorry about that..."
Akuma smiled, though still a bit concerned. "I was just told to give this to you," Akuma said, "It seemed a little suspicious though, as the lady who gave it to me was cloaked and wouldn't show her face. You think it's safe to open it?"
"I suppose so," Nilani replied. She took the envelope from Nilani's hands. Nilani noticed no signs of magic on it.
As Nilani opened it, she noticed blood on the paper inside.
"What even is this?"
Nilani took it out nervously. It was from her parents, and what she read was even worse.
The message was in her mom's handwriting, but it was written in blood. There were bloodstains all over the paper, and it seemed as though there was blood on the envelope seal. Nilani felt horrible. Was her parents dying? She needed to do something, but what could she do over here?
Suddenly, Nilani remembered a conversation she overheard between The Red Queen and Mystus when she was captured.
"There is a powerful stone hidden beneath its grounds. It increases the power of any magic by an immense amount. It could make me unbeatable. Now it comes to my point, you've failed to create this poison, so you have three more days. Or else, you die," the Red Queen said.
Then, another early memory came to mind. It was a faint one, but she remembered being underground with her mother. There was a stone underground with odd, dark light swirling around it. There was a pool with inky black liquid too, just like the one Nilani had fallen in during her match. Nilani suddenly saw her own small hand, creating a large enchantment. The whole room started to glow with golden power. Golden power seemed to course through the ground and intergrate itself into the leylines of the plane surrounding the city. What shocked Nilani most was the stone. Gold and black magic seemed to dance around the underground room- together.
That was everything.
I did that?
"Nilani, you okay?" Akuma asked.
Nilani's expression was confusing. Akuma could see some sadness, maybe anger, but hope in her face too.
"The Abyss...that could be the answer to everything."
Akuma looked baffled. Nilani grabbed the note and stuffed it in a pocket of her dress. Then she rushed outside.
Many weeks has passed since the tournament was cancelled.
Cold winds comes from the north, autumn will soon come.
The streets of Kiserova has turned more and more silent as many of the inhabitants has left the city to travel further in-land.
Commander Ferrun has departed with her forces and marches towards Ovan Nova, the strongly believed whereabouts of the criminal, Pontiff Cralmarov. a Medirnian nobleman had been hanged in his feet and devoured by crows when his family failed to offer a good enough ransom.
A few weeks after a rumor came to light that a Vosanova town had been burnt to the ground by the army for defending Cralmarov.
The unrest in increasing in Kiserova. The Medirnian garrison no longer travel from their occupied areas or the castle in fear as lethal attacks on soldiers has become common outside of those places.
They have also been busy handling the undead horrors that have awoken from the forest and the sewers.
Even though the undead are too few in numbers to cause any significant harm, they are forcing soldiers out of their regular positions and causing the population to panic.
The Gwendolyn forces that still remain in the city are there more to protect any shipments than to keep order or protection for the inhabitants.
The royal family has not been seen for a long time as they are are kept as prisoners within in their own castle, now especially when the king has been accused of allying with Cralmarov. Something that he denies every time.
The attacks upon the caravans of goods and supplies has risen once again.
Artiem finally decided that enough was enough. Those who had been caught were publicly executed, not for attacking the soldiers and destroying the caravan, but because they were accused of working for Cralmarov.
Soon thereafter, Artiem gave the order that anyone that was supporting Cralmarov would be executed as wall.
The people have cried out for the king but he is powerless.
Only those that are willing to kill or die, now walks the streets at night.
Even the tournament contenders have been thrown out of Medirna fortress for the sake of safety. Though finding a new place to sleep have not bee too difficult with all the empty houses.
At the evening, the last reports from the war in Gwendolyn arrived. Gwendolyn has won the war, but not for long.
Tournament update
The choices will be given to you within 24 hours. As I said earlier, you probably already know what it is. All choice options will be different for each of your characters so these choices will be given in personal messages.
I just need to write what have happened during these weeks and what is going on first.