Die Anew

[Walker]

Lifaen turned her head to the side in order to get a better look at them. She stared for the longest time with her unblinking ruby eye. Her nostrils twitched as she tested the scent of the creature. There was some hint of human, but not entirely. So another human soul that had been turned into something different by the Underworld. She felt a brief moment of sadness before brushing it off. They couldn't protect them all, and some insisted upon their stupid stunts. And since it was no longer one of them it was no longer her responsibility.

 

'You cannot scare us; we already face the wrath of the elders,' she told the creature. 'The only ones we are required to let through the gates are the humans; I see no good reason to let you through if you are being troublesome.' She drew back her lips to reveal her teeth for good measure. She was not frightened of this Underworld creature.

[Mousia]

Sirin crossed her arms to get comfortable. Fine, then. I will sit here, then. I can just wait until nighttime to speak to your elders. I have an eternity - just like you. Her eyes were silently defiant and didn't falter. She was dead set on protesting. It didn't matter to her if the guardian creatures were being difficult. A few hours was nothing in comparison to an eternity. She stared straight ahead. She had hoped the creatures would have some sense and leave, but no such luck. Never. It was as if some invisible force was putting obstacles in her path to see when she would crack. When she would shatter and foolishly try to recollect herself. Sirin sat on a bumpy rock to rest her feet. She would need the strength. Stupid dragons. Refusing her entrance into a city that she could destroy by just watching it ruin itself. They needed her. They would need her. The whole Underworld was rising. It was going to destroy itself. The Underworld was going to tear itself apart. The whole universe was going to tear itself apart. It didn't matter. The ignorance of the Nocturnes was going to be their downfall. All the humans they had fought to save would die as well. A pity. What they could have accomplished if it weren't for foolishness.

 

In the pit of her stomach, Sirin knew that she should still help the dragons. What could she do? They wouldn't listen to her before and they would still not listen to her if she tried to help. Why should they have listened? They had been betrayed by their Elders before, so why should they let her in? Even though she was telling the truth they still had nothing to go on to make them trust her. Sirin sighed and realized that the wait would be a long one. All she could do was sit and wait.

[Takhesis]

Cethlenn had drifted far enough that the city walls were no longer visible. She sat on one of the rocks that littered this part of the Underworld. The Underworld was featureless, unless one had sufficent will to make it otherwise - the eclectic city of Lyambo was proof of that.

Even though her mind had faded into insanity, Cethlenn still possesed a measure of will, vague memories of a past existance wafted past her inner sight. A simple task of weaving struck her as an idea to while away the daylight hours. Focussing her will, she manifested a small loom and thread.

There in the middle of a featureless Underword field, an old woman sat on a rock, weaving on a loom. An endless task, for whatever was created by the mind's work could also fade away as the mind wandered.

 

She could still be spotted, should one of the Guardians take to the sky on a patrol flight.

[Walker]

Chaos shifted again, creating another ripple that altered the fabric of the underworld. A new creature sprang from it, clawing it's way out of a volcano. The first thing the multi-headed dragon did was roar his fury for everyone to hear. His breath chilled the very air in front of him, painting the landscape white with frozen moisture for feet in front him. Raging, he pulled himself out of the ground, shaking it with his girth. As an afterthought, he turned one of his heads back and breathed upon the volcano. The lava suddenly chilled and froze, becoming black rock in a single instant.

 

Satisfied, the monster crawled his way through the underworld. He was starving and could smell food up ahead. A lot of it. As he approached the gates of Lyambo, a raucous cry was sounded, the voices of many Guardians calling together and warning of the incoming danger. It made the creature pause for a moment and flare his massive wings, but it didn't stop him. His hunger was too great. On his way, he spotted a lone creature spinning on a loom. A good beginning to his coming feast. Without a second thought, he inched towards it, ready to pounce and devour it.

 

................................................................

 

Lifaen settled in to watch the creature. She had time to spare too; if it thought it could outsmart her with such a petty protest.... Her head whipped around at the warning bugle from the other Noctures. Roaring, she joined her voice with theirs. Instinctively, her body tensed for the battle such calls always heralded. All things considered, the almost-human creature now seemed a petty concern.

 

She flared her wings and leaped into the air, soon spotting the incoming threat when she soared over the walls. Fearlessly, she flew towards it. This was the more immediate problem; she could return to the other later. 'Stay or come as you may, but many of us will be needed to drive away this monster,' she called back to Eldunari.

[Shur'turgal]

Eldunari had been laying on her stomach with a smirk on her face when she heard the battle cry. Whipping her head back and forth she tried to spot the danger. All her muscles had bunched and become tense, her wings had flared and she found herself calling with all the other nocturnes. Faintly she heard Lifaen in her head and turned to see that she was gone. Finally she did a full turn and saw the massive threat that was about to reek havoc on Lyambo. Rearing up she ascended an followed Lifaen. Beating her wings harder than she could remember, she was nearly at Lifaen's tail when she asked, 'What is that thing?' Dipping slightly so she could get a closer look she saw that it was nearing an old woman. Fiercely opening her maw she allowed the liquid inferno theat bubbled inside her to seep into her mouth. With a breath she spat the overwhelmingly hot flame at the monster's body, hoping to distract it.

[Takhesis]

((Yey looks like Cethlenn is about to be distracted from her loom..... that was only to kill time...))

 

Cethlenn didn't raise her head at the first roar.... after all the Underworld did have many creatures. However the Nocturnes alarm call did attract her attention - what threat approached that required such a response? She looked up from her weaving in time to see a Nocturne spit fire at some sort of creature.... was that thing a Hydra? Cethlenn had long thought those things had been extinct... even in the furthest reaches of the Underworld.

 

Her distraction was enough that her loom was forgotten and it faded back into the nothingness from which it was formed. As her attention shifted, she recognised the fire-spitting Nocturne as the one that dismissed her earlier.

Even though the dawn-light had taken most of her powers, she was aware that it had something to do with her past - but her memories were so hazy...., she still had a few tricks up her sleeve - all she needed was time and possibly a power conduit. Cethlenn was not as young as she used to be, and her powers seemed to take more and more out of her.

[Mousia]

Sirin rolled her eyes when both of the dragons had taken off. Were they really that stupid? So she stood up and strolled to the gate of Lyambo, only to be stopped by yet another Nocturne. Damn it...I'll have to get sneaky..., she thought, but suddenly scolded herself in her mind for cursing. What kind of lady was she? Apparently one who cursed to herself. It didn't matter. The deed was done. Aren't you going to fight the monster that just erupted out of that volcano? Sirin pointed, but the dragon didn't budge. So Sirin trudged back to her rock and sat down on it again, arms crossed and face deep in a scowl. How dare those stupid dragons? Idiots. They apparently did not understand. They didn't understand anything! Sirin scolded herself again for acting immature. Perhaps their brains were not as advanced as the brains of humans. Having not been well-schooled though, Sirin was not sure. Maybe she was the dunce. Sirin pondered the dilema.

[Walker]

The dragon continued to stalk towards it's prey, ignoring the dragons flying towards it. The moment it opened it's jaws to snap the creature up however, a Nocturne dove down and sank it's fangs into the dragon's neck. Roaring in equal parts fury and agony, the multi-headed dragon reared up and began to bat at the creature on it's neck. The Nocturne held on for an impressively long time, but not even he could resist the attacks of such a large creature for too long. There was an audible snap and the dragon's jaws released, sending him crashing to the ground.

 

Infuriated at being interrupted, the dragon turned to the flock of Nocturnes that had come to stop his advance. Pitiful compared to him both in size in ability. Trying to get rid of the annoyance, he turned one of his heads and breathed right into the midst of them. There was another call of alarm as several Nocturne's wings were coated in a layer of ice. They unlucky creatures, wings now to heavy to flap properly, began to plummet towards the ground.

 

.................................................

 

'It's a Hydra!' Lifaen replied hurriedly. In all her years, she'd never seen one. The elders had claimed they'd been wiped out long ago and no longer posed a threat. But she knew what they were like from the stories she had heard. It was odd this one should show up, but this was the Underworld. Many creatures thought to have gone extinct were probably still lurking in it's darkest corners. It only went to show that the Elders could be wrong.

 

When the Hydra attacked them with ice, Lifaen barely managed to avoid being hit. The Nocturne next to her screeched and began to plummet towards the ground. In response, she buggled angrily at the hydra and went right for the neck just as the previous Nocturne had done. Battle rage pumped through her veins and she didn't fear dying.

[Takhesis]

Cethlenn gathered what energy she could spare, despite being insane she still liked existing, if she used too much energy her form could break apart completely.

This energy was focused into producing heat... a lot of heat. Part of this heat was used to try to melt the iced over Nocturnes' wings. The rest coalesced into a glowing globe a metre or 2 in front of Cethlenn.

 

 

------

 

 

Celeste heard the alarm call of the Nocturnes, she shivered as she wondered what threat was now approaching. She stayed inside the cottage she woke up in, choosing to do some simple household chores instead of wandering the streets. After all, the Guardians had enough on their plate without having to worry what a Nightwalker could do inside Lyambo.

[Shur'turgal]

A hydra.. she thought to herself, stopping her attack of flames as another dragon fell from the creature. She was making her way back into the air as the hydra spit ice at the raging guardians. She hadn't gotten hit herself, but watched in fear as her companions hurtled toward the ground. Angrier than ever she flared her wings and let out a screech as she dove for the monster. It seemed that everyone was going for the heads, but, as she recalled from the old tales, where one head vanished two more generated. Eldunari swooped down and raked her claws along the creatures back as she made her way to the front of it's faces. Coming up just short of where Lifaen was she spun in the air and found herself right in front of a pair of gnashing jaws. Again she spat fire at the creature, moving her head back and forth in hopes of spraying it's eyes so it would be blinded.

[Walker]

A large swath of the dragons plummeting towards the ground had the ice suddenly melt from their wings. Not stopping to consider why, they flared their wings just feet from the ground and struggled to stay in the air. A few managed to take back to the air, but a fair number crashed into the ground anyways. The rest ignored their close call and aimed at the Hydra again, jaws open and claws outstretched, ready to tear and destroy their enemy.

 

The hydra roared and shook it's multiple heads, infuriated and distracted by the attacks coming at it from all sides. He didn't notice the work of the creature he had just been trying to eat, but he was well aware of the plume of fire that hit his face and scorched one of his eyes. That head now half-blinded, he growled and snapped his massive jaws at the tiny dragon that had dared to attack him.

 

.................................

 

Amun awoke in his usual spot, a temple at the edge of the city of Lyambo. The sounds around him overlapped in a clamor of harmonies. He sighed a little and sat up, letting his eyes drift across the souls surrounding him. They were all caught up in their own little worlds, strumming on foreign instruments and singing in foreign tongues. Many a musician that passed through the gates of Lyambo spent their eternity here, learning the secrets of music they hadn't had the opportunity to in life. And once they tired of the temple, many left to explore the city or left it entirely. He almost never saw them again.

 

Not that it mattered; he didn't attempt to fit in with the dead. Just like the living, he wasn't quite one of them; although, they did not fear him in the way the living did. Instead, he usually just spent his nights here, drinking in the sounds and waiting for life to return.

 

Fear and anxiety clawed at him when he remembered what had happened before passing on for the night. Would someone find them lying dead in their room and destroy them before they could awake? But then... there was nothing he could do about it other than worry. Instead of dwelling on it, he opened his mouth and added to the cacophony, giving voice to his concerns in a sad song he had learned in the land of his mother.

 

The whole temple fell silent when the warning bugles of the Guardians sounded. Curious heads turned towards the temple entrance, pondering what was happening outside. Some of the newly dead looked terrified, having never experienced an attack before. The ones who had been here longer than Amun could comprehend looked blank, hardly caring about the attack the sound signaled. As for himself, he was somewhere in the middle. He was scared, but he trusted that whatever it was wouldn't breach the walls. The monsters never did.

 

But the battles of the Underworld did bring good inspiration for songs. Along with a few other curious souls, Amun drifted out of the temple and into the streets. Now, he just had to find a good vantage point from which to watch the fight.....

Edited August 4, 2012 by Walker

[Mousia]

Sirin watched as the creature thrashed. Dust settled around her and she became a bit fearful for her life. What if a chunk of debris hit her? What if she was stepped on? Would she cease to exist? Or would she die and join the legions of spirits in Lyambo. Thinking quickly, Sirin slipped past the guard as he looked towards the Hydra, deciding whether or not to join in. Sirin saw a few spirits wandering that appeared to have no reaction to the mess. They must have been mindless. how could they not react? Then Sirin remembered that she was gifted. They did not know; would not know. The Underworld was changing rapidly. Order and unity would be shattered if no one fought for them. The limbo that was the Underworld would become more like Hell and many a spirit and dragon and creature would die or cease to exist. Perhaps even Lyambo was not safe. Perhaps she needed to escape. How? If the Underworld was being affected, the waking world would surely be affected as well. Where could she go? It left her feeling alone and exposed.

The young woman fled into a building that looked to be some sort of shrine or temple. There were horrible and beautiful noises mixed in together and the marrying was very haphazard. The music would have sounded like a symphony if all of it was separate, but no. All of the spirits' music was blended awfully and pitifully. How could they take it? She didn't care though, it was shelter.

Edited August 5, 2012 by Mousia

[Walker]

((Bump o3o))

[Takhesis]

((Considering there's only been one vote..... here goes Cethlenn's energy.))

 

Cethlenn had gathered a large ball of glowing heat in front of her. She struggled to hold it together, but she had to wait for the right opening.

 

Finally, that opening came as a reckless Nocturne severed one of the Hydra's heads in a fast blindside attack. Now normally that would have been a very bad idea, Hydra's regenerate very fast and grow more heads to replace any lost ones.

 

Cethlenn released her restraints on the heat ball and sent it towards the neck. The sheer heat of the ball burnt and sealed the open wound before regrowth could occur. The ball shrank in size as part of its power was used, yet it seemed to be eager to do some more damage to the hydra. It hovered around the hydra's heads as waiting for another opening.

 

((Now for hydra's/ character Nocturne's reactions.... should be interesting.... ))

[Shur'turgal]

Eldunari shot back when the monster snapped at her. Growling she decided she needed another tactic, as there was just too many heads. Stopping her spray of fire she boldly closed her wings and fell to the ground, as if she was hurt. The monster seemed almost dragon, so that meant that is she could get to it's underbelly she could do some damage. Only a few feet from the ground, she opened her wings, throwing up dust as a gust of air slammed the ground. She flapped her wings, flying dangerously close to the ground, almost so that she could trail her claws on the ground. She turned tightly as a massive leg threatened to squish her. Seeing a few nocturnes she signaled them to crawl, if they could, under the beast. She was under it's chest now and it seemed rather vulnerable. Angling herself correctly she flapped her wings so that she flew upside down for a moment. She latched her claws into the beast's belly and began to tear at it. Occasionally she would release some flame, or stab with her horns, but the beast was so big, she did not know what to do.

[Walker]

Lifaen clung to the Hydra's neck for an impressively long time, using her claws to anchor herself. She tore mindlessly with her teeth, ripping out large chunks of flesh at a time. She was a quarter of the way through when he injured leg suddenly buckled and she lost her grasp. Roaring in frustration, she flailed her claws, attempting to dig into the creature's flesh once more, but the blood coating her feet made getting a grip nearly impossible. Within moments, she was plummeting towards the ground.

 

Flaring her wings, she attempted to take to the to the air, but there simply wasn't enough time. Her eyes widened and she desperately clawed at the air as the ground rapidly approached, but there was little she could do to stop her descent. A roar of agony escaped her when she smashed into the earth. At best, she would be bruised beyond belief tomorrow. But there was still a battle to be fought. Growling, she struggled to her feet and began to limp back towards the ferociously writhing hydra. On her way, she passed another creature, much smaller but obviously powerful. It had the scent of a human soul, but it had obviously been distorted with time.

 

She watched curiously as the creature seared the neck of the hydra before it could regrow. She pulled her lips back over her fangs, cautious as to why it would be helping them. But they needed it, so she held her peace for now. 'Eldunari,' she said, casting out with her mind for the other dragon. After she found it, she sent a mental image of the creature searing the necks of the hydra. 'You are one of the few of us that can breathe fire; this way, we may be able to defeat the creature. Find her and assist her,' Lifaen ordered.

 

...................................................................

 

Amun noticed someone darting past him into the temple. A new soul, he assumed. The older ones ceased to fear the constant attacks at the gate. The Guardians did their job well and had lulled many of them into a sense of complacency. "Hey, miss," he called back at her, not really looking, his eyes focused on what he could see of the battle. "Calm yourself. There is little a lady like you need fear within the walls of this city."

 

He was speaking out of place perhaps. He usually ignored the souls around him; however, he hated to see a young woman in distress. And he couldn't help but pity someone who had died so young. Not that he was one to speak, but at least he still maintained half-a-life.

Edited August 16, 2012 by Walker

[Shur'turgal]

Eldunari had been ripping away flesh with her teeth and claws when she received Lifaen's message. She dug her hind legs into the creature once more before dropping to the ground. 'On my way Lifaen.' She thought. Eldunari took the quickest route out from under the beast and swung to the side. After a moment of gathering her bearings she spread her wings and soared up the side of the creature. Tilting to the left she headed for the mass of writhing heads. Once above the action she spied the being who had first cauterized a stump. She fell into a pencil dive and split the air like an arrow, landing with a plume of dust beside the human-scented-mystery-creature. She looked at her with a single gleaming eye before taking a battle stance. She closed her eyes and thought out, to all the dragons, 'Do what you can to sever the heads, Lifaen and I have a plan.'

[Takhesis]

Eldunari might recognise the once-human spirit as the one she sent away from the walls of Lyambo not long before the Hydra showed up.

 

Cethlenn didn't react to the Nocturne's landing, she was too busy focussing on her heatball thing. The dust settled on her tattered dress. Having already put the energy that she could spare into her ball, Cethlenn was just waiting for the next neck to be exposed.

 

Considering the size the ball had shrunk after sealing the first, it was probably only good for another one before it petered out of existance. A portion of the heat may still last, but would only be good for melting a block of ice.

 

((Right ball of heat can be used by any Nocturne in the area to seal a neck, without Cethlenn's direct control - its assumed that she's ready for that. ))

[Walker]

The hydra flared it's wings. Blood gushed from a myraid of wounds, and the countless attacks from the little dragons had already deprived it of one of it's heads. It wouldn't stand for this much longer. With strong, sure beats of it's powerful wings, it slowly began to rise into the air. There was a cry of alarm from a few of the Nocturnes when they took notice of the change.

 

Necks, right. After falling to the ground, Lifaen wasn't sure she could fly anymore. Running, she leaped at the dragon and dug her claws in again, gaining a foothold. She just had to hope her leg didn't buckle again or she'd be dead meat. She slowly began to scale the creature's side, digging her teeth into it's flesh and using her powerful neck to drag herself along. Once she found her way to an unsevered neck, she began her vicious tearing, trying to bite her way through it.

[Mousia]

(I assume Amun was speaking to Sirin.)

 

Sirin turned, heart still pumping furiously. Had someone just spoken to her? After a few moments of thought, she worked out a response to what he had probably said. "Well, I guess you could say that I do have need to fear. You see, I...I need you to pass something along for me. I fear the Nocturnes don't listen to me and they need to know. There is more to fear than this Hydra..." Her eyes flitted to and fro, scanning for threats. The dragons were no longer willing to protect her or even be friendly, so she felt even more alone than ever. The nightwalker...he'd have to do for a messanger, since she feared that even the Elders would shun her. Would they regard her as a mere monster and toss her out as well? Sirin couldn't take any risks. She'd have to disappear in the crowds, maybe even travel to the waking world in an attempt to make a crowd of Labyrinthians. No; that was silly. She'd have to find another way...

[Walker]

Amun sighed, shaking his head a little at the girl's reaction. Completely and utterly panicked. Maybe the Underworld had caused her to go insane; it wouldn't be the first or the last time such a thing happened. The Underworld was capable of breaking even the strongest of minds. "Now where did you hear that?" he asked her. "There's more than a fair share of souls wandering around muttering doomsday prophecies to themselves. Best to ignore them; they're simply mad, miss."

 

Although... their mutterings could make good inspiration for songs. He'd done that on more than one occasion, borrowing on the thoughts of the insane to create new and wondrous stories only crazy people could imagine.

 

But she obviously wasn't a new soul, or she wouldn't know about the Guardians. "The elder guardians do not enjoy us Nightwalkers encroaching around their younglings, since the deign not to inform them of our existence. But there's one possible way I could get a message through for you, miss. If it's important enough." He doubted it was; the insane ramblings of a lost soul were of no concern to the guardians, but he'd at least give the girl a chance to explain, if only out of pity. So young to be completely dead....

[Mousia]

"Thank you, sir," she curtsied out of habit and paused. Would she actually say it? Perhaps she could make something up. No. She'd look stupid and insane. Wasn't everyone insane, though? Maybe she turn him...? No; she didn't have the time or means. She'd just have to tell him.

"I wrote a...poem that they need to know about. I think it's a warning but I am only supposed to be a messenger and make sure that they get it...

The two worlds will fall

For the fear of death

and the letting go of all

The man with no breath

shall return

and creatures of both night and day

must fight to wipe out

the man with no heartbeat

and his army of the exploited."

 

(That's from before. I tried to comply with the plot with the Voluntary Nightwalker guy. )

 

[Takhesis]

(Bump)

[Xarria]

Nyx was starting to stir. She felt wind through her fur and finally opened her eyes. She was on top of Grimrr and he was running. "Wha...Where am I?" she mumbled.

[Walker]

Amun smiled pleasantly at her, but inside he was rolling his eyes. That rumor. He'd just written a song about it not too long ago actually. Chilling, really. The living loved it, but he'd heard it one too many times from the proclaimed seers of the Underworld. Quite a few of them hung around the temple, all in different shapes and sizes, but they all claimed to see the future. Most of them were just flat-out liars that had gone insane over the centuries.

 

At least she tried to indulge in the arts though, so she wasn't completely lost. "That's a pretty little poem you've got there, miss," he said.

 

His attention briefly turned back to the fight outside the walls and he frowned a little. "Any attempts to contact the Guardians will have to wait, though. I don't think they'd appreciate us bothering them while they're so busy."

 

He felt a sudden flicker of concern as he watched the Guardians darting about, fighting the hydra. He wondered if HIS guardian was out there, the one who had gifted him life again. It was quite possible. They hadn't met in over a year, and he still somewhat resented the fact he'd been forced into this life, but he couldn't deny the connection he felt. One life given for another. How they could stand making such a sacrifice...

 

((AKA: I'm moved in and back now))