the Rift


:: MURDER IN HELOVIA :: CONCLUSION

Official Posts: 847
Administrator
Stallion :: Equine :: ::
Official
#1




Although all of Helovia was tasked by the Earth God to unravel the identity of the murderer responsible for the deaths of so many within Helovia, only one group proved successful. A team of assembled strangers would ultimately prevail in identifying the one responsible for such heinous crimes. Through their reasoning and intellect rather than any past associations with one another, the Strangers have triumphed.

There was no time to call down the Gods - the Strangers could not let him murder again. They had had their suspicions for a while now, but the means by which Circe died solidified their convictions. Gaucho was the murderer. They had seen him on the island after the murder of Pysche but he had been in a group then. At the time, they had thought that perhaps Mauja, Torleik, and Ophelia had similar reservations of the Wildfire, and yet they had all walked away peacefully. Had they been wrong? Deciding to follow Gaucho, they did their best to remain unseen as the Sultan of the Throat went about his business on the Island. They only lost track of him once - but it was in those moments that the body of Circe had been discovered. How he had gotten away from them they didn't know. In one moment he was before them, and in another he was simply gone, as if the very shadows around him had congregated together to hide his massive shape.

Certain of his culpability after discovering the fang marks of a snake and the clear signs of poisoning from Circe's corpse, they continued their search.

"GAUCHO." They called spying the pegasus, banding together against the mass murderer, silently calling for the God of the Earth to descend and dispense judgement upon the culprit. Turning, Gaucho appeared not as he normally did. The flames that normally lined his wings were replaced by tendrils of shadow that distorted his appearance. His eyes, normally a stern blue-gray were completely black, and the markings on his antlers that glowed with the warm light of the Sun had grown dark and faded. His dark lips opened, but the sound that was released seemed surreal and impossible - it was like the predatory scream of some draconian monster. His body turned towards them, spreading his wings and causing a wave of darkness to flow towards his would-be accusers.

"No!" A voice like the low rumble of waves crashing against a shoreline emerged, and suddenly a flash of blue-green appeared midst the darkness.

It was Hototo, the EarthSinger.

With a wicked sneer, Gaucho's wings beat once again - sending a howling wind that seemed to have both the appearance of teeth and viscous claws - to accompany the slow wave of blackness that he had already sent towards the group. Placing himself directly in the path of the magic, Hototo's body absorbed all of it: the tendrils of shadow and biting teeth seemed to disappear inside of the demi-God. The vibrancy of his youthful body pulsed for a moment, before desaturating and distorting. A moan of pain ebbed from his lips, as the Earthsingers knees trembled with the destructive power cast into him. Feathered wings fluttered at his sides, as his body collapsed - knees coming into contact with the ground. The grasses at his sides seemed to stir, as if offering their life to save his, but it was far too late.

"Father..." He whispered as the bright light of his gaze succumbed to the darkness he had taken into his very soul. His body writhed in pain as the enormity of the magic cast into him tore him apart from the inside out. The Strangers would have been obliterated instantly, but Hototo's godly blood allowed him both the ability and misfortune of surviving the blast.

With a sound like the birth of an avalanche the God of the Earth appeared - his body thrusting itself from the Earth. A storm brewed overhead, one that the Island had never before bore witness to. Clouds darkened and circulated, as water poured from the Heavens. The air did not grow cold however, and the drops that fell caused no pain where they struck. In fact, they seemed to rejuvenate and enliven all that they touched: falling upon Gaucho, they caused the air to sputter, like cold water striking a hot surface. Faster and thicker did the rain fall, coating Gaucho. Slowly the wisps of darkness and shadow that lingered on his wings gave way to the ever-burning fire that normally covered them. His large body sunk to its knees, as what appeared to be some ethereal shadow rose from his back, dispersing into the rain. His gaze - no longer blackened - opened once to reveal its normal stoic blue, before closing as the dun passed out.

Pain racked the God of the Earth's rustic features as he moved to his son's side. His bearded muzzle lowered to gently touch the Earthsinger's brow, immediately quieting the compulsions of his body. "You have done well Hototo." He whispered, voice thick with pain and sorrow. He had expected no less from his son, and yet his sacrifice was no more bearable because of it. "Rest now. Be with Israfel." Hototo's body bloomed with light - and his soul rose from his body in a swirl of blue-green mist. Like the shimmer of a waterfall in the sunlight it rose high above - parting the storm clouds. Where the clouds dispersed, a warm ray of light shone downwards, illuminating the area.

"Leave this place." The God instructed, and all who were present found themselves on clouds that slowly lowered them to the Veins. From their positions lower down, they could see that the waterfalls that extended over the edge of the Island had grown bloated by the sudden influx of rain that the God had caused. Water poured over the edge, and yet none of it fell upon them. Instead, the entire Island glistened and shimmered as the water tension finally burst. The Island crumbled high above - an explosion of earth and water. As the destruction fell to the veins, it solidified it would seem, into nine small orbs of water and earth, each humming with life.

Three fell to the veins. Where they touched the hardened ground, trees appeared composed entirely of lava. Roots of heat and magma extended from their bases into the very rocks of the island itself, as branches grew high and majestically into the sky. Every leaf shimmered with blue, the very bark churning like the ground on which it grew. One for Vesta, Psyche, and Circe.

One orb fell into the deep woods. By the endlessly deep pool of water it took root: a great and mighty tree whose branches twisted and covered the reddish pool, and whose roots wrapped around the circumference of the waters. Pink fruit grew upon its brows, sweet and tart in flavor. Its strength and grace reminisce of Ailith.

One orb descended into the Heavenly Fields. A large white tree blossomed immediately, with branches that stretched towards the heavens as if constantly hungering for more: a tribute to Myrddin. Even its leaves were alabaster in color, a gentle blue hue taking over in the fall.

In the frozen arch a large orb fell. Two trees sprouted, and yet their branches became impossibly tangled together as the tree grew, making it appear as if it were one large form the higher one looked. The bark glistened with starsheen beneath a thick layer of ice over the place where Tolio and Phaedra's bodies have been discovered.

In the secret grove a slender and magical tree grew where the orb touched down, its branches circling outwards and creating a secluded and private area for any who might venture to it, in memory of Esther. The serene brows and feminine greens inviting to any lover.

In the endless blue, from the seemingly inhospitable sands roots took hold as a vibrantly youthful tree grew. Its limbs stretched outwards the sea, as if ensuring protection for all who would swim beneath its boughs, growing in the place Skysong had died.

Deep within the caves a blackened structure grew, lined with pulsing veins of redlight. Twisted and gnarled limbs grew upwards and outwards - lining the walls and ceiling of the caves. Crystal fragments dusted the ground and the base of the tree, where Ode had died.



The God of the Earth, now returned to the Thistle Meadow, looked to the sky at the empty space of his creation. His heart ached with his loss, tears like waterfalls humming down his masculine cheeks at the memories of Hototo, his own son. Yet in this mourning grew strength, and he knew the culprit behind it all. Prior to the island collapsing, he had tenderly raised the body of Gaucho to rest on the grass before him, unwilling to let this possessed mortal die so easily. Despite all he had done, he did not deserve to die.

Summoned by the cataclysmic ringing of events through time, the god who controlled the very fabric of reality snapped into being, war written on his features. Crisp, blue eyes snapped to those of his earthen brother, having seen the loss of his son and watching the shadows fade to reveal Gaucho beneath the fold. "Brother..." he rumbled, frowning. "The darkness... did you see it? Do you know that it means?" he asked, voice stern and posture stiff despite his smaller stature.

The God of the Earth nodded once, feeling the rage inside grow like a redwood, thick and firm, resilient against all winds and persevering through the darkest night. "Indeed," he said, frowning. The God of the Sun appeared but moments later, flames blooming from his body as he watched the heartbreak he knew all too well. No words were needed between the two to understand that they were there for one another, despite prior feelings.

"I told you this before, the Sun God hissed, flashing his creamy tail around his hocks in agitation. "She is conniving, a master manipulator, and she has played you all for fools. It's time she was brought down. You cast me out for much less. I demand justice." He stopped a sparking hoof to the ground, crackling of flames announcing his righteous anger.

And for once, the God of the Earth agreed without sigh. Green eyes turned hard as emerald, and he did not wait for the testimony of their sister, such was his pain. "She cost me... everything..." he murmured. The God of Time needed to only nod.

Together, they shoved the moon from heaven, sending her ethereal form tumbling to the ground. With a heavy thud and a cloud of black smoke, her lavender form crunched the grass beneath her body, and she gathered her legs beneath her soon after. A snarl twisted her features, staring at her brethren angrily. "So quick to blame now, aren't you," she purred, a shadow falling over her body despite the sun rising on the horizon. "I proved what you all failed to see. The mortals are so easily manipulated by power, so easily claimed by desire and they are weak . Especially your crowned king, brother Sun."

"Cast me away then. I will not be captured on these grounds long. You need me. We are balance. But you will not slight me again, and you will not ignore my words. Consider this your lesson." All of them were fools. Maybe now the God of the Earth would return to reality and the rest of them would actually pay attention. The Goddess turned her back on the united brothers, not giving them a second glance as she walked west to the World's Edge, her home.





Ascended Helovian

Gaucho The Wildfire Posts: 1,004
Deceased atk: 8.5 | def: 11.5 | dam: 8
Stallion :: Pegasus :: 17.2 :: 12 HP: 85 | Buff: PINNACLE
Mara :: Black Mamba Snake :: Paralyze & Vorsa :: Plain Zephyr :: Phoenix Odd
#2



A more articulate creature might have been able to voice the concerns that had plagued Gaucho for the past few weeks. When asked, "How you Gaucho?" he might have replied, "I feel weakened. Thinned. There is a blackness that surrounds everything, and a weight that I can seem to shake." Instead when asked, Gaucho merely responded that he was tired, or didn't respond at all. It was his job to protect his herd - his family - and to fulfill the quest given to him by the God of the Sun. Whatever extreme exhaustion that had settled fixedly upon his back was one that needed to be ignored. It was merely his body arguing against his mind, demanding sleep when there was still too much to be done. And so it had been ignored.

It had been ignored, and the murders had continued.

Whatever had allowed the shadowy tendrils of the Moon Goddess to take root in his mind, Gaucho didn't know and likely never would. He had been in the presence of his beloved deity multiple times during this apparent possession, and neither had been the wiser as to Gaucho's condition.

It wasn't his fault that this had happened. It couldn't have been.

Yet while one weight was lifted from his body as the ensnarement of the Moon Goddess was cast away by the God of the Earth, another descended rapidly and just as maliciously upon his mind.

He had been the tool used to murder nine.

His mind recoiled as his body fought to rise off of the ground where he had been placed by the Earth God. Elsa had told him their names ... and as they flooded back, Gaucho's legs gave out from beneath him.

Vesta. Phaedra. Skysong. All names that had special meaning to him. Was it coincidence that they had been chosen? One of his greatest warriors, the beloved friend of his (once) mate as well as her child? Had the Moon Goddess invaded his thoughts to select them? The others though ... so many he didn't even know. Esther, Ailith, Circe, Pysche, Myrddin. They were nothing to him, and yet they were dead because of him.

Flaming wings flatly hugged the earth, as Gaucho's crowned skull rose once again, seeking out the light of his guiding God.

He still could not see, but through Mara - and now Vorsa's mind - he gazed up at the Sun God.

No words fell from his lips, for how could he even begin? What would he say? Would he defend himself? That he didn't know how this had happened, that the Sun God had appeared before him and never noticed? That he couldn't be culpable of the horrors his body had committed? Would he apologize? Would good would that do? The lives had been lost - forced into the never ending blue skies by his own hooves - apparently arbitrarily.

Horror descended as his gaze rotated slowly. The Earth's own son was dead, and he had been the vessel responsible for the deed. The group who had found him - a tree-like creature and another - were there as well as the three Gods.

Staggering to his knees and then his hooves, Gaucho's large skull dipped low, submissively before the three Godly brethren. "My life for theirs." He murmured, finding his voice to be husky and raspy with emotion. He couldn't begin to understand the emotions that sloshed through him - regret, confusion and unease - but it didn't matter.

He had murdered unjustly, even if it was unknowingly. His life was not worth much, but it was all that he had.

Sorrow and grief seemed to darken his already stormy gaze, as his eyes shut. Gaucho was not one to cry, and yet he felt the painful sting as tears forced themselves into being, squeezing outwards through clenched eyes. His nose fell to the earth, as his flaming wings once again spread themselves against the grass. Gaucho's barred knees touched the soil, as he knelt before the Gods, accepting of whatever fate they would deal him.

Image Credits
Please tag me in every post! Magic/Force is allowed on Gaucho at any time.


Archibald the Dauntless Posts: 386
Absent Abyss atk: 6.0 | def: 9.5 | dam: 8
Stallion :: Equine :: 18.3 hh :: 10 years HP: 80 | Buff: SHIELD
Loretta :: Alaskan Malamute :: Time Slip Time
#3


Rage, absolute and blinding coursed through the stallion's veins. His whole body shook, golden eyes narrowed on Gaucho. Hehad killed her. All of the evidence had pointed to him and Archibald did not break down the Throat's doors, demand Gaucho to be taken hostage. No. No one could have prevented this. This was the dealing of the bitch goddess. Archibald watched as her purple form shifted away--towards the World's Edge--and his immense anger flared only more. He would demolish her, punish her for what she had done to him and to Ktulu. Hototo was gone, the Constrictor's firstborn. His friend would feel agony within her breast, as deep as his own from the death of his lover.

Together, the warriors would mourn.

United, they would take their revenge.

Archibald stepped forward, looking from god to god, his rage apparent, but his eyes questioning. "Yes, his life for theirs." Archibald snarled, remembering the warm embrace of his mate and her beautiful, intense blue eyes. Turning his blazen face towards the pegasus, Archibald lowered his head some, the desire to rip flesh from bones and paint the world in this brute's blood too-tempting. His body continued to tremble with the intensity of his anger as it rushed through his body. Loretta, at her bonded's side, snarled deeply. Her amber eyes were glazed over with nothing but pure hatred. Every hair on her body stood on end, and her lips curled up to reveal her dangerous teeth, ready to rip Gaucho's throat out and eat it.

The pair stayed still, however, waiting for the command of the immortal, all-powerful stallions that commanded the world to speak. As much as Archibald held a grudge against the God of the Sun for burning the Foothills and his herd mates, it was unmatched in the hatred he felt towards the Goddess of the Moon at this point. She had caused Circe to fall, as well as the others, and she walked away unscathed. The fire in Archibald's gut twisted and burned him from the inside out, devouring everything in blackness, anger, hatred, bloodlust.

Where was Ktulu? She had to be here--this was her fight and her business as much as it was his. She needs to help us kill him, too. Loretta told the Dauntless through their bond, he tail sticking straight up in the air as she released another gurgling snarl into the wind.

THE DAUNTLESS
tablebykite [ sharysaogail|sed-rah-stock|lakela|@deviantart.]


[I didn't see any restrictions on posting, and it was not labeled private, so if I need to take this down just let me know ^^; ]


Through the ages of time
I've been known for my hate,
but I'm a dealer of simple choices;
for me it's never too late.


please tag me

Ktulu the Constrictor Posts: 509
Outcast atk: 5.0 | def: 9.5 | dam: 6.5
Mare :: Hybrid :: 16.1 :: 7 HP: 70.5 | Buff: ENDURE
Eytan :: Grizzly Bear :: Terrorize ali
#4
Ktulu</style>
when the sky turns gray and everything is screaming
i will reach inside just to find my heart is beating
</style>


"NO!" The scream that ripped its way from Ktulu's throat raw with her worry and concern as she saw the flash of blue and green that she knew was Hototo. Instinct drove her forward, her hooves pounding against the ground as she raced against time to protect her firstborn, her only son. Her heart pounded painfully against her ribs but she was too slow. With a flap of his wings Gaucho unleashed a dark magic on her son that ripped into him. "HOTOTO!" She screamed her child's name with enough grief and sorrow to last her twenty lifetimes.

"No..." It couldn't be happening. Ktulu stumbled jerkily to a stop and she stood over her son's body, heard his last word father, and it was like a dagger in her heart. What about her? Hadn't she carried him within her until he was ready to be born into the world? Hadn't she protected him when he was a child? Hadn't she given him all of the love that she could gather within herself? Tears made her crimson eyes glassy as she gazed down at her child that she had given so much to. "Why him?" She asked, her gaze raising so she could look at the Earth God. "Why didn't you protect him?" He had been there, had been closer, why couldn't he have done something? Why did he just continue to sit by and watch instead of doing something to help.

"Bring him back." She blinked and tears began to roll down her cheeks. "Please, bring him back. Let me die instead. Don't take him." It was useless begging and she knew that it was pointless to ask. She didn't beleive any of the gods were strong enough to bring anyone back from death. What did it hurt to ask? What did it hurt to beg for the Earth God to spare the life of their son and take her's instead?

"Leave this place."

"No...." She didn't want to leave her son's body, but it was already gone, already disappeared and she was being lowered to the ground. As her hooves touched down in the meadow it took all of her strength not to crumple to the ground and cry. She needed to be stronger. She needed to confront Hototo's killer. Judgement needed to be passed.

"My life for theirs."

"Yes, his life for theirs."

"Brother... The darkness... did you see it? Do you know that it means? She is conniving, a master manipulator, and she has played you all for fools. It's time she was brought down. You cast me out for much less. I demand justice. She cost me... everything..."

"So quick to blame now, aren't you? I proved what you all failed to see. The mortals are so easily manipulated by power, so easily claimed by desire and they are weak . Especially your crowned king, brother Sun.

Cast me away then. I will not be captured on these grounds long. You need me. We are balance. But you will not slight me again, and you will not ignore my words. Consider this your lesson."


Archibald.... Ktulu clung to his voice and let it pull her from the misery that she was drowning in. "Archibald...." She turned her head to him then looked at Gaucho, so ready to accept his fate. Death. "A life for theirs..." She finally agreed. "But not his." He was only a mindless puppet, manipulated and used by someone with much more power. "Hers." The Constrictor said as she glared at the harlot that dared to call herself a goddess.

"."

Image Credits

Icon by Tay

Cera the Golden Prince Posts: 419
Outcast atk: 5.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 4.5
Stallion :: Pegasus :: 16.3hh :: 6 Years HP: 65 | Buff: NOVICE
Ilaria :: Red Panda :: Heal Brit
#5





"NO! BROTHER!" His world tumbles down around him, and his wings falter from where he speeds towards the island. His heart seems to sear itself into his ribcage, all the good in the world melting and extinguished before his very eyes to see his brother's life faltering and fading with him as a broken witness. He falls from the sky like a shot bird, and his heart bleeds with the puncture. The landing is harsh, a comet brought to earth, burning with the force of his anguish. All those years of trying to find Hototo, of suffering with loneliness and faded memories. Why had he ever wished to find him? If he hadn't, would such a fate had befallen his beloved brother?

Knees crumple beneath the pain of his own landing, and he stumbles, flails and jolts towards his brother's fallen form. "Hototo!" he screams in anguish, and this time he really does fall, to the ashes of the world that lay in his brother's fallen form. He singes his knees upon those burning memories, a loss his heart cannot handle. A burden that breaks and shatters his shoulders. "Please," he pleads, voice choked and strangled, thin and high. His faith falters beneath the ripping of his platonic soulmate from the energies of his body. A part of him is withering, dying before the vapid eyes of his brother. Tears course down his face, hot and scarring, until his vision swims. Perhaps he can erase the appearance of this with the force of his own agony.

Ktulu is beside him, but he cannot care for her personal space. He leaves her be in his grief, and hopes she will do the same. They both love - loved - Hototo. Perhaps in different ways, but it did not matter, not to Cera. As she moves towards Archibald, he presses the flat of his forehead to the still warm side of his brother. The clouds gathered round him at the Earth's request, and Cera screamed and writhed against it in agony. "NO!" he wailed, but he was helpless in his fight against a being eternally aged, and stronger than his mind could imagine. "I TRUSTED YOU!" he screamed at the blurred figure of the Earth God. Why hadn't he helped Hototo? Why had he taken Hototo away, when Cera had already lost Midas to him?

"I HATE YOU!" And his faith failed beneath the weight of his loss, dropped softly to an earth he didn't want to belong on any longer. He had nothing to live for in that moment, his broken relationship with Ranjiri the only thing he had left to face. And the reminder that Gaucho...that his father, his brother in arms...had killed Hototo. Under the influence of that bitch.

Once upon a time, the earth turtle had told Cera that forgiveness was the only answer. Onni had sworn by the same. Cera had believed them, but not any longer. Hatred festered dark and insidious in his heart, and with a sudden burst of his wings he was airborne, flying recklessly towards the presence of the Gods he could still feel on their plane.

His landing was just as terrible as it had been, but he strode firm and furious across the earth to where Gaucho lay knelt before the Gods. One wing flared open, its expanse shielding the sensitive parts of the warrior. A stone cold face stared down at the gods, disrespectful, hateful. "No." Soft feathers clung to Gaucho's outward wing. Cera had lost too much. They could not take Gaucho, too. And though a part of him wanted to hate Gaucho, he knew the warrior never would have killed Hototo. Killed any of those people. It would be an obstacle they'd have to overcome together, when the blackness of Cera's anger faded. He would not lose anybody else, not to the Earth God's stupidity. Cera would tear their shrines down rock by rock, he would destroy all of Helovia until they would have to ask the citizens to quest to kill him, such a danger he would pose.

And with Ktulu, he agreed.

"Kill the bitch," he spat, uncaring of the fact that he knew it was impossible. "You have taken too much. You took my father, killed my brother. Do something right for once in your fucking immortal life," he hissed, tail a whip against his hocks. The Earth God had so much power. Yet Cera thought of him only as weak.
Image by Alex
Please only tag starting posts, spars, and threads collecting dust!

Megaera the Sunspear Posts: 306
Absent Abyss atk: 6.5 | def: 10.5 | dam: 4.5
Mare :: Pegasus :: 15 h :: 8 [Birdsong] HP: 70 | Buff: NOVICE
Gwaihir :: Golden Eagle :: None Laine
#6
The bay warrior was digging a trench in the sand with her pacing. Back and forth she went across the northern border; waiting, watching, hoping that her Sultan would return. She hadn’t seen him leave the desert, he’d simply been gone, and the slow thrum of nerves that had rung in her mind since her return from the confrontation on Sky Island had swelled to a cacophony of panic. She had patrolled, night and day, waiting for when some vile, bloodthirsty party would come to seize her sultan, but she hadn’t counted on him simply not being there.

She couldn’t wait anymore. There was no power that could make Megaera sit safe at home and do nothing. North! she thought, she had to go north and find him. Black feathered wings stretched, flapped, and the little bay was rocketed into the sky. She few high and she flew fast, crossing back and for the along her path looking for some sign and all the while dreading that she might be too late.

Too late for what? Would they kill him? No, she couldn’t let herself think that. Gaucho was innocent, the stallion she knew was a fighter, certainly, but he was also kind and generous and brave. To Meg, he was the font from which all fortune sprung. The home he had given her, the forgiveness he had shown, was that she had only just started to build her life upon.

It was the voices she heard first. Voiced that carried, that rumbled like the thunder and rang like bells. Voices of the Gods. And there they were. Megaera’s eagle eyes fell upon the scene from a great distance and she could not comprehend what it was that she saw. A lavender shadow disappeared, the three brother titans stood together, and before them a dun with flames upon his wings sunk to the ground.

Megaera’s scream of fury was a wretched sound.

Muscles strained near the breaking point as she aimed for the scene in the meadow downs. Never in her life had she flown like this, and it was possible she never would again if she did what her heart lead her towards. Defiance of the Gods could see her dead, but there was no alternative for her to choose. Vaguely, she heard some words as she neared,

“Consider this your lesson."
“My life for theirs."
“Yes, his life for theirs."
"But not his… Hers”


So this was the strange goddess’ work? A lesson for her brothers played with mortal lives and with a mortal tool. With Gaucho! And then the pale Forger was there. The spark was fanned and flared as she saw Cera move to shield Gaucho from the great black beast that called for his life and from the Gods that stood in judgment. Her herdmate. Her Sultan. Her God. Her life. Nothing could have swayed her from standing in their defense. If there was a place in her mind that said she had no power to win in this fight, she ignored it; surety of victory meant nothing in that moment. Cera spat his final words of defiance at the Three and Meg landed upon the earth.

Her speed sent her into a long skid that she turned into a gallop and in a flash she was at Gaucho’s other side, coming to a halt in a a skid and a stomp of hooves, as powerful and her small frame could manage. Like her Dragon’s Throat brother had done, Megaera stretched out her wings, the front half of her body lifting with the momentum of the act, and all she was, was shining.

Fire and fury inside her, a light that was hers from the God of the Sun, erupted from every part. She had not thought to call it, but it burst from her all the same in her anger and her fear. And for one second, two seconds, three seconds, her sunlight shown upon the meadow before withdrawing back into the little bay mare. “YOU ARE GODS! YOU WOULD SEE US USED LIKE PUPPETS AND THEN SCORN US FOR WEAKNESS!” Her words were fury and grief. She had taken the Sun God into her heart, trusted in his protection and her faith was being shaken, if Gaucho died, it would be shattered. “I THOUGHT YOU PROTECTED US!”

- - -


Notes: Meg accidentally uses her Sunlight Magic, yay!!
FAC FORTIA ET PATERE
be brave and endure
:: permission given for use of magic and force :: please tag Megaera in all posts ::
Ascended Helovian

Ophelia the Amaranthine Posts: 701
Outcast atk: 6.5 | def: 10.5 | dam: 7
Mare :: Hybrid :: 16.0 hh :: 6 Years HP: 77 | Buff: BULK
Tinek :: Royal Silver Dragon :: Frost Breath & Shock Breath Tamme
#7
Ophelia
no words


She didn't want to be right. As she stood, staring, she prayed that she wasn't right. But rarely was she ever wrong. Ophelia watched the fall of Hototo, her nephew, and with each fallen loved one and family member, her heart earned another fissure. She could not hold the pieces together on her own, and if not for the memory of Torleik, she would had collapsed on this day from the weight of her own heart. Death upon death laid their shadows down, and her eyes welled with tears. Her mother. Psyche. Phaedra. Circe. Ailith. Hototo... Family. Loved ones. She knew Ktulu felt it too.

Her heart wanted to hate. The blackness inside needed an object for release, wrath prepared to condemn and judge without reservation. But, as she stared at Gaucho, she knew that the only true healing would come with forgiveness. The fire king had been deceived, played with as a toy, and she knew how that felt. The very god of time had made her a vessel, nothing more than a mortal fit for an end result, and her heart crashed around in his chest at the sight of his blue eyes.

For all her faults, issues, hang-ups and problems, Ophelia was at least loyal. Though that loyalty could even be a fault. She stood shoulder to shoulder with her sister, trying to console her for her loss though no words could ever heal the pain of watching Hototo fall. The pale princess touched her nose to Ktulu's side before striding to where Gaucho stood. She took a deep breath, facing the pain of knowing he had dealt the killing blows. "This changes nothing between us," she said firmly. "The Basin will honor our agreement, and we stand by you." Ophelia glanced at the other gods and those in the gathering before returning to her sister's side.

Affectionately, she rubbed her muzzle through her sister's mane, trying to ground her, keep her hooves firmly set in the dirt as the tide of pain threatened to sweep her away. She knew the feeling. "Ktulu," she murmured softly. "No death can undo what happened." Revenge was a long-waiting knife in the dark, the one that bid its time with a smile and kindness. "Let her go." The words were weighted, holding so much more. She looked to the gods, shackled by their own balance and seeking the gaze of the God of the Sun.

He had been cast out so long ago. She had just barely been a child. Her tempestuous, fiery god was caught in his own trap, demanding she be cast out though she deserved so much more. Ophelia frowned, still tangled in her sister's white locks. She would always be the shoulder her sister could lean on. Always and forever.




Credits: Image by Schwartze @ DA




Undertow has come to take me. Guided by the blazing sun. Look at everything around us. Look at everything we've done.
Please. Anyone. I don't think I can save myself. I'm drowning.


Please tag me in every response!
Ascended Helovian

Midas the Gallant Posts: 1,164
Deceased
Stallion :: Pegasus :: 14.3 hh :: Immortal :: Soul is 7 (FF) Buff: HUNTER
Fina :: Common Zephyr :: Phoenix & Wakiya & Neve :: Common Zephyr :: Arctic Angel
#8
Midas
Just when life had begun to return to some semblance of normal.

During a weekly patrol of territory adjacent to the sea, I heard a sound like dry thunder. Witnessed our sky island tumble, crumble and crack. Like a mighty lion brought low, the great green beast fell to Heloiva. No longer hanging in the sky with its glorious waterfalls and peaceful fields. My heart sank somewhere below. Yar, such a dread filled this body, a mix of awestruck disbelief. There is another great roar. Afterward, tis silent.

Sickening silence.
____

I flew fast, tirelessly racing to the valley where a strong power was pulling upon my soul. Another gathering; the Gods had come again. Upon arrival there is a mass of bodies talking, screaming. I land hard, purposely keeping a wary sway toward the rear. In their mess my eyes catch a glimpse of a pale painted body. Cera, his voice is one I couldn't recognize...even though tis rising above the torrent.

Aimed at Earth.

Bitter, hateful words. These ears catch the last few sentences clearly; they flash thoughtlessly as the lash of a whip did. "Took my father, killed my brother." What did he mean by this? I wouldn't get to stand and ponder, this crowd began to stir; demanding to be paid in blood. Tis then that I notice a great bay mass, his flaming wings tucked and muscled shoulders bowed low. My brother is at the mercy of yon lords. Why?

Overwhelmed and confused.

I turn to a nearby fellow, posing a quiet question for his ears alone.

Hototo dead.

Guacho the murderer.

Moon to blame.

I say nothing. Do nothing. There is no body to grieve over and my place wasn't near Ktulu or Cera. This dark crown falls forward, weighted with private sorrow. Lids shut themselves to drown out their hateful remarks and grief driven shouts. I envision Hototo. Healthy and young, gliding awkwardly down the slope of Thistle mound. His bright eyes shining with laughter and love. I see him grown. Muscled legs no longer gangly, mature feathers carry the Earthsinger high above us all; his gentle song a beautiful reminder that there was hope. A dry sob catches in the tightened fold of my throat.
Some legends are told
Some turn to dust or to gold
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Roskuld the Sparklight Posts: 424
World's Edge General atk: 7.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 6
Mare :: Tribrid :: 15.3 :: 6 HP: 82 | Buff: ENDURE
Zchiraxicon :: Royal Rougarou :: Electric Smithers
#9

I’m not gonna talk about how I got there because it doesn’t matter.

I’m not gonna say what I felt when I saw my Pa, my Ma, all those people there,
because I could feel in my breast what it meant but it doesn’t matter.

We found out who was killin’ all them people and it doesn’t matter.
Pa was right about the Moon Goddess (I was right to call her a bitch) and it doesn’t matter.

It doesn’t matter.

It doesn’t matter.

None of it fucking matters.

(You exist to provide a balance between the mortals and us—)

I knew there was gonna be a loss. I knew it, the rattle somewhere in my bones, this deep sense of discontent that hung over my back and breast and never let up, not when I was freezing, not when I was duking it out and getting my ass handed to me. I knew it and I went to my Ma and I clung to her (and pushed her away) and clung some more because I knew I would end up losing someone and I didn’t think there would be anyone more perfect to lose than my own Ma. Turns out, I didn’t lose my Ma.

I lost.

I lost and it burned my throat so hard that I couldn’t speak.

I lost and it was like I was falling and I saw my Pa and I was falling some more (I tried) and I saw my Ma and there was Auntie and she was screaming (I tried) and crying and keening something horrible and Mr. Archibald was there (he lost his lady) again there was a boy I knew and didn’t know at the same time and there was more words and more shouting (I swear I tried) and I was falling and falling and falling and falling and falling and—

--and—

--and none of it mattered.


(Family is a bond of trust, and I trust you—)

There it was—an anchor to something deep, something behind me that I had clung to for some time, something that I held nearer to me than I originally believed. The cords holding it in place snapped and thrashed around like a thousand sparking serpents, whizzing through the air and starting fires as they went while the thing crashed around me, its noise blazing and blurring into my ears and erasing everything bit by bit, thread by thread, little by little—and suddenly it was nothing and it didn’t matter anymore. There was nothing left; no words in my tongue (because they were shouting them); no thoughts in my mind (because everyone was thinking it); no movement from me, not even a breath (because Big Toto was dead).

(--Do you trust me?)

No.

(but someone already said that)

What a mess. What an absolu-fuc king-mess this was. A god banished from her skies; three more of them utter fools (--You need me to snoop around for you since you can’t thanks to some holy bullshit--); a mother (another one, another one) keening over her lost boy, her big boy, her Toto; anger and sadness and blame and hate—no, -- and confusion and more anger and this particular hurt that poisoned us all, this thing that tied us all together with the most tortuous of barb-wired chains: we were all still alive.

And I just stood there. Useless as ever. I couldn’t even find a tear to give my big, big cousin (because they were crying them all).

I thought I had forgiven myself already.






WELP.





Please tag ROSKULD in every reply!

Aithniel the Inquisitor Posts: 169
Outcast atk: 6.5 | def: 9.0 | dam: 4.0
Mare :: Tribrid :: 15.0hh :: 4 Years HP: 75 | Buff: NOVICE
Zerachiel :: Royal Griffin :: Molten Dagger tamme
#10
Aithniel


The sky exploded.

The island obliterated into a thousand, tiny pieces, and she watched in horror, eyes falling in the meadow at the sight before her. All the gods had gathered, but her eyes saw only one tragedy above all others. There, the dying form of Hototo lay before he was snuffed out, earth magic of some kind doing something she didn't understand. Aithniel wanted to jump forward, to scream, to shout, to cry, but everything strangled in her throat, heart hammering in her thin, lanky chest. The girl, not yet even a year old, had experienced more death and injustice than most would in her lifetime.

And as she watched the moon goddess waltz out, her cutting words proclaiming some sort of balance, something about manipulating a mortal, Aithniel felt anger. The emotion rose in her chest like steam from a boiling pot, like a bonfire tearing through dry grass, fuming in her soul. She wanted to be set free from the bonds of her youth, tear through the frailness of her body and attack the purple bitch with the strength of a thousand suns.

But here she stood, fettered by childish hooves and weakness. Silver, hard eyes glared at Roskuld, urging her to do something, to act. Wasn't she the one who didn't want her around? Wasn't she the one calling Hototo brother? The giant son of the Earth God had been the only one to pay attention, the only one to give a damn, and now she stood alone, surrounded by faces that meant nothing except the one who wouldn't act. In that moment she vowed she would never be as ineffectual. She vowed that she would act. She vowed that she would get strong, big and brave and face injustice with the cruel hand of righteousness it deserved.

She vowed to obliterate darkness. She vowed to bring criminals to their knees, murderers to their death. If only she would just... grow up. Aithniel willed her bones to grow faster, looking up at her father with hatred, pain and agony of inaction digging into the very flesh of her heart.

The child whispered, horrifying lack of forgiveness in her gunshot eyes as she stared down the Moon Good. "I am coming for you."


I'll go down burning in your embrace


Tabini with many thanks to the amazing Blu

But burn down our home
I won't leave alive


Please tag me in everything!

Ranjiri the GoldenShade Posts: 372
World's Edge Mare atk: 4.5 | def: 8.5 | dam: 6
Mare :: Hybrid :: 16.0 :: 5 HP: 62 | Buff: NOVICE
Mara :: Common Rougarou :: Shadow ali
#11



I saw it all. Everything. I heard everything. I heard my brother's voice, heard Momma scream NO, heard her scream his name. I saw Gaucho possessed. I watched him attack my brother and there was nothing that I could do about it. It felt like time was standing still, each agonizing breath that Hototo took seemed like it took eons. I wanted to run to him but my trembling legs were locked. Cera was there, screaming at the Earth God. Momma asked him why he didn't protect him, begged for her life to be traded for his. Would she do the same for me? I blinked and looked at my Aunt as she arrived to give Momma support. My own father arrived, but he said nothing to Momma. They were as distant now as they had been when I was small.

And there was Gaucho, so ready to accept death for crimes he had committed that weren't his own.

I could not blame him. I would not blame him because it wasn't so long ago that I had been victim to something similar. I couldn't remember how many I had attacked, how many I had hurt, but I carried that burden with me now. I knew Gaucho would carry the same burden with him for the rest of his life. Helovia would remember what he had done but as time passed it would be warped. I could imagine mothers telling their children tales of the murderer that preyed on the unsuspecting. Would anyone remember that it was the dark goddess that was behind it all?

My heart ached and even though the crowd continued to grow I felt so alone. Roskuld was there and I wanted to go to her, to seek out whatever comfort I could get from her, but I didn't because I had hurt her before. The Earth God spoke and I looked in time to see Hototo, my Nuca's body disappear and with it part of my heart.

Faces and bodies began to blur as tears gathered in my eyes. The Earth God was gentle enough to lower us all to the meadow, but he could have thrown me off of the island and I wouldn't have noticed. I blinked, tears fell and my vision cleared for a moment. Only a moment. I turned, my head lowered, and I trudged away, unable to listen to the bickering, the blaming, the crying. I just wanted to be alone.

"."

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Ampere The Mother of Companions Posts: 719
Dragon's Throat Sultana atk: 9 | def: 11 | dam: 4.5
Mare :: Pegasus :: 14 hh :: 6 years HP: 73 | Buff: DANCE
Kygo :: Green Cheek Conure :: None Blu
#12
I'm weak when you miss me.
when you roll me on your tongue

She had left him.
She had jumped off the side of the island to pursue a child that wasn't even hers and she had left him.

When all the dust had settled this thought sprang to her mind and then to her wings in a panic. Ampere launched out of the throat like a bolt of lightning, racing to the island, racing to him. She'd neared in time to witness the events ahead of her, though they must have been too far because they didn't make any damn sense.

Gaucho killed that colt.
He killed him right in front of them all. Then, everything went to shit.

Ampere was thrown back by the powerful blast of the explosion that was the destruction (or rather, the restructuring) of the island. She spun int he air until some trees caught her, and there she swayed like a helpless pigeon as the chunks of rock rained down into the various parts of Helovia. Never mind that she had just witnessed a murder at the hooves of her own Sultan, or that said sultan was potentially obliterated and along with it a good chunk of her heart - all of that paled in comparison to the realization that her son had been on that hunk of rock when it saw fit to tear itself up and go hurtling through the land.

Ampere screamed; a frustrated admittance of confusion and fear and a general WHAT THE FUCK. In one jarring motion she heaved herself from the tree, flying towards the nearest chunk of island with some shred of desperation, because even as she went she knew he wasn't going to be there, and if he was probably not whole. "Sun god damnit all!" she cursed under her breath.

As if he'd been listening a beacon of light pulled Ampere's attention towards the new location of the gathering. She'd already been headed there, but arrived after all had been said, though she could garner enough of it.
Gaucho was kneeling, facing his crimes. Looking back, part of her had thought it was him, but she din't want to believe that it was. All the clues had pointed to him though, or most of them, but it went against everything she knew of him. Something dark, she reminded herself, having seen the darkness which ebbed from him on the floating island, having seen the moon god walk away while the other three stood here. It had been lost in the confusion, but she called it now.

What did it mean?

It meant "he didn't do it." Little more than a whisper to herself, realization like a cold storm passing over her mind. It was relieving, but horrifying. If the Moon God had possessed him, how safe were they from any of the gods? How could they condemn the mortals for a weakness they provided? For the very thing that defined their mortality? Ampere shook her head, anger simmering just beneath her flesh, but something stronger than that too.

Truth.

It's inside of us all. The honesty of that was unavoidable now. What she had said to Mesec that stormy night, it was all here. It strengthened her desire to do what she had promised to the son of the moon, yet could she ever eradicate the internal darkness that rested in all of them? As the gods well knew there was balance, both in the heavens, and on the earth. Still, Ampere would try, even if it was an endless crusade; it could join all her other ones.

Gaucho had enough protection, but she lingered, watching him, heart still in turmoil.
Now, where was her son? Blue eyes cast about for him, slipping over her daughter as she departed with the same affirmation of justice rooting in her soul.
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Ryuu Posts: 28
Outcast
Colt :: Unicorn :: 15.1hh :: 1 Year
Mali :: Rough Collie :: None Brit
#13
R
Y
U
U

I don't know what's happening, not really. Death is something I am far too intimate with, too understanding of, and yet so much of me is still blind to the world. To things like half-gods, even to regular gods. But where you go, I eternally follow. And maybe it is cruel of me to be witness to your agony, to force responsibility upon you when you are already broken at the thrones of fate and cruelty. But still, I trailed behind you, not really aware of what was going on. You seemed distant, like there was a big piece of you missing, and it scared me. I'd never seen you with such an expression, and I ducked low and squirmed beneath your wing from behind, pressing close to the softness behind your shoulder.

Uncle Cera was screaming, and I shuddered beneath your wing at the rage I could sense in each syllable. I'd never seen Cera lose his temper, never. And even nice Meg, who I adored for how she'd taken care of me and understood me on our patrol, was shining brilliant with her magic and screaming words of hatred. And Gaucho, knelt on the greenery with a head bowed in defeat like an execution. Grandfather stood apart from them all, and he too looked broken, like he'd lost something very big and very important. The aura was too intense for me, and my eyes were pricking with hot tears that I didn't understand.

"Momma?" I choked, butting my cheek against your shoulder. I just wanted you to look at me, to stop looking so dead and weird. "Momma, what's wrong?" I hiccuped, tears beginning to wet my cheeks and streak slowly down them. I didn't know that I'd never be able to know Hototo, that I, too, had lost something very important today. "Momma, what's going on?" I cried softly, the intensity of my surroundings causing my knees to shake. I didn't like it, and I wanted to go home. Why was everyone so upset? Why was everything so bad? Why couldn't I understand?

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Amani Posts: 99
Deceased atk: 6.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 3.5
Mare :: Pegasus :: 15.3 :: Three Years HP: 60.5 | Buff: NOVICE
Emily
#14
Amani
Just A Picture To Burn

I had followed Cera. I won't shy away from that fact at all. I shouldn't follow him, but something in my gut tells me to do it anyway. Besides, I need his advice since he was once Diviner. Now that I am, I am suddenly nervous of the God I love. What I find when I see Cera... Well I don't think anything could of prepared me for this.... Many have already arrived ahead of me, many from my own herd. The Gods are here to, all of them speaking. The Goddess of the Moon had caused so much damage it seemed. She was behind the one doing all the killings, controling our Sultan. The words sink in as I stare in shock. So many dead, including now the son of the God of the Earth.

But it was Cera who drew my attention. Not even my choosen God of the Sun could draw me from him. It is to Cera that I find my hooves carrying me. It is without thinking that I extend my wing to touch his shoulder if he would allow it. My voice is barely a whisper, unsure if he would welcome my presence or turn from it. "Cera." I know my feelings for him. This confirms it. My heart races as I stand beside him. His voice as he spoke, I guess he did not hear me. "Kill the bitch," We both know they can't, but for him I want to. Whatever has made his voice sound like this I want to kill myself. "You have taken too much. You took my father, killed my brother. Do something right for once in your fucking immortal life," His words were to the Earth God clearly. "Cera." My voice is a bit louder now, still lacking the confidence I should have. But to be honest I don't even know if I belong here.... Most are somehow tied to all the deaths by either the loss of a loved one or the death of the Earth God's son... Even Cera apparently.

I reach out to touch his side again, offering comfort should he want it. I want to be there, for him if for no one else. In fact no one else matters to me right now but him. I just doubt he will ever see me outside of being the little girl he lead home.

"Sed interdum rutrum urna, sed pellentesque sapien tempor in."


x - x

Please Tag Amani in All Posts
Permission granted to use magic or physical force with Amani at any time for any reason to any degree, with the exception of killing her.

Kahlua the Sunshower Posts: 662
Outcast atk: 5.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 4.5
Mare :: Equine :: 15.3hh :: 9 [Orangemoon] HP: 65 | Buff: NOVICE
Khan :: Common Blue Dragon :: Frost Breath Sevin
#15
Her warriors had gone and she had followed, not knowing why she followed exactly. Still, these were evil times that Helovia was living in. A murderer was crawling the land, making everyone watch their back at every turn. Knowing that these two that she trusted so implicitly were concerned enough to leave the Edge meant she was concerned enough to follow. She wished she hadn’t. The chaos was too much for her fragile heart, though she did not break and crumble like she was so apt to do. Instead, she all but froze.

Her mind stopped. There was so much to consider. The death of Hototo. She had known him, would have called him friend even. The moon goddess responsible. The deaths of all the innocent lives before, by Gaucho’s hand. Archibald’s call for vengeance, Ktulu’s death wish upon the patron goddess of their land… She hardly knew how to respond to it all. So many ideas all around her swirled. Ophelia claiming allegiance to Gaucho still. Cera, denouncing the earth god. Snippets all around her, but no understanding of the situation. Many others all around, who seemed to know what their hearts wanted as they voiced their opinions.

What did she want?

The Sunshower watched as her goddess was sent in the direction of the Edge. That woman had given her power and opportunity, but also heartbreak and a shattered soul. But then, the moon goddess had also carried out her darkest moments and somehow found a way to create light out of her shadows. Could Kahlua hate her? She didn’t know. She didn’t know what was right. For now, she just stood there and tried to figure it out. Perhaps her thoughts would come to her in time.


Permission granted to use magic or physical force with Kahlua at any time
for any reason to any degree, with the exception of killing her.

Please do not tag Kahlua unless it is in an opening post

Thranduil the Laurelin Posts: 598
Outcast atk: 5.5 | def: 11 | dam: 6.5
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 16.2 hh :: Eight HP: 77 | Buff: ENDURE
Haldir :: Common Cerndyr :: Dark Mist Hawk
#16

THRANDUIL



(Summary at the bottom.) It had been a pleasant afternoon. Pity. The golden at hearing the sounds coming did as he was now growing more accustomed to, and slipped into invisibility. Holy shit! The scene that unfolded was unlike any that golden son had yet to see on this earth. Rooted where he stood a few yards of the twin horned watched as the Gods discussed a most serious matter. Damn. He had never seen all of them together. Wait, the Moon Goddess was missing…What was going on? And there at the center was Gaucho. Earth eyes flashed with gold. Had the fire bird actually done something wrong? The golden looked ever closer and heard the yells of others gathering. The brilliantly shining Sun God hissed her condemnation and for the first time it all clicked. But oh how he wished it hadn’t.

As they tossed the Goddess of the Moon down from on high the golden stepped back. Her body tosses to the floor, and those invisible eyes of the gold reflect upon her with a cold harshness that was not there in their previous conversations. He was invisible, so it lent him a freer form, but that gold knew he was not invisible from the eyes of the Gods. He didn’t care. His mind completely wrapped up in the happeneings. It was true, every word she said. Those here in Helovia were of easy manipulation (excluding himself of course), but did this mean that she had killed all those souls? As he listened to the whispers a strange feeling grew in the gold as he pieced together the truth…she had killed a demi-god? Her own nephew, before his father?

Harks pin back against his skull, and the golden shifted uneasily. Some defended the fire bird, and the golden, from his hidden place watched with dark cloudy eyes. The Wild fire should of course have resisted. If anyone’s will was strong it was his. Still, if he was incapable, then they all were, and that did not settle easily upon him. So pin pricking were his nerves that he could not stay still. He moved around the gathering, behind the golds and groups, watching the fallen man. No. Gaucho should not die. The golden would admit that, but still, it was not for the golden to decide. It certainly would make his life a lot easier with him gone, but it would also be a lot less fun.

His thoughts could not linger on such a light path long with this dark twisted truth unfolding. Stopping now as the Lady of the Moon sets off the golden watches her.

Yet think of the scam! Think of what she just pulled, tricking all of Helovia, and no less than three Gods. It was amazing, brilliant. The most clever heist ever pulled. He could get behind someone like that. She had such a flare, such a sway over her craft, and he could certainly admire that. It was brilliant. Not to mention she looked damned good doing it. So the gold, with a smirk moves to follow her.

He gets a few paces before he stops. Think of the death. A murder or two, well that’s how the trade went, even the golden’s hands were not the cleanest, but this? Ten murder? And a demi-god no less? Her own kin. The gold’s face fell. Not to mention she had made such a foolish display of getting caught. The gold gave her points for style but, that broke rule number one, and that had consequences.

So the gold stood still, unmoving as the shouts from those around the group continued to raise up to the gods. He would be the one shouting and spitting out manipulations. What was the point? No, instead he watched the Goddess continue on her way. His face mixed with clashing emotions. For once in his life the golden was torn.



SUMMARY:: Thranduil was in the meadow where they land, and goes invisible to watch the scene. He circles the group and then moves to follow the Moon Goddess, but stops, torn between the admiration and detestation.
"lieslieslies"

[Image: 5381546acbe33]
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Please tag in every post.
Ask Thranduil any question in the world, he'll be forced to answer on his profile. PM with your question.

Arah Posts: 343
Outcast atk: 7 | def: 10.5 | dam: 3
Mare :: Unicorn :: 15hh :: 5 HP: 65 | Buff: NOVICE
Wynter :: Royal Griffin :: Draining Clutch Frostie
#17
The sound of the world breaking apart caused alarm to rush through her body, it felt as if her blood carried the terror through her body. Wynter screamed from atop her mistress, staring at the world; daring something to come and attack them. Moving quickly through the wild scrub, the swam princess' rushed over to make sure everyone was alight. Their aura was immortal; the closer she got the more clear it became that she was in the presence of the gods. Golden eyes flickered from one to the other, for a moment it felt as if everything had slowed until...sadness. She did not know Hototo but once he had played a song, the music had been from the heart, something so beautiful and sad. Now that he was gone the song would likely haunt her forever.

Another murder.
More pain.
No pity.

"Only time." Her hymn is quiet and terribly sad. Only time would close up the bleeding wound, only time would allow his family to think about the happy memories. "I am so sorry." Who she was apologising to was anyone's guess, perhaps the god or to Hototo's family who would soon learn the crushing news. Closing her eyes Arah hoped for a brighter future, wished that this entire ordeal would be over soon. Yet she did not pray, the gods where right here after all. If she wanted to pray she could step right up and ask them...no doubt they would consider her mortal problems to be of little consequence or matter to them.

Orbs flicked up as the gods seem to finally settle upon a decision. The sliver doe had paid very little attention to what they had been discussing, after all it had been none of her business. They turned and together, they shoved the moon from heaven. Arah's expression remained blank as she watched this display of immense power, inside she was awed. Watching the path of the Moon Goddess ethereal form tumbling to the ground caused a primal satisfaction to fill her. An eye for an eye. This would be the revenge that the entire land was craving. With a heavy thud that caused the doe to smirk, and a cloud of black smoke, the Goddess crushed the grass beneath her body. Here she was in all her glory, scrabbling to righten herself. No less than what to expect from her disgraced form, quick but less than cunning words tumbled from her wicked mouth, the tongue twisted around the vile thoughts she dared to speak out loud.

Watching as The Goddess turned her back on the rest who stood united, not giving them a second glance as she walked west.
Her pale throne empty and her fall from grace is witness by those mere mortals. However worry still gnawed at her stomach, who would hold the world in balance without someone guarding the realms of night? To be honest, Arah was glad to be short of her but it still didn't change the fact that the world would need time to heal and the only way this would happen fully would be through balance. "The moon is only bright when surrounded by darkness." Arah speaks quietly to Wynter, eyes burning with tears of rage. Her eyes flicker from god to god, watching and waiting. "Someone good must because the balance."

Her ears burn with the scream. The scream that mothers and fathers wake up in a cold sweat thinking about. The scream that is so heart wrenching, soul shattering and life ruining that no one wants to think about it. No one believes that it will happen to them.
The scream of a parent loosing their child.
Staring at the dark mare, Arah does not try to hide her tears of pain. They glisten brightly on her cheeks, dripping off her face. Fuck the pretence of being okay, of not caring.
None of this is okay. Banishing her did not put lives back where they belonged! Letting her walk away unscathed did not fix the now shattered lives. The shattered lives that were caused because she wanted to prove a point. More cries now, they call for blood, revenge, hate and murder. It becomes too much for the silver princess.

Shutting her ears she begins to take deep breaths attempting to calm to fluttering heart. A sob of frustration and pain leaves her. Finally her eyes flicker open and they settle on where her form had retreated. Revenge. They all wanted her blood.


Create loud silences, make the world believe in you.

And I ain't afraid to die, I’m afraid of going to hell.

✽ Force and magic permitted. ✽
✽ No fatal or permanent damage. ✽
✽ Please only tag in opening posts. ✽

Fig Posts: 57
Up For Adoption atk: 3.5 | def: 5.5 | dam: 6
Mare :: Hybrid :: 16 :: 20 HP: 56 | Buff: NOVICE
Beluga :: Common Beluga Leviathan :: Bubble Trap Adoptable
#18
Fig
Tentative nostrils lowered to brush the frail wisps of long meadow grass – perhaps just to be certain that she was still secure upon earth’s sound palm. Thick black coat was streaked with sweat, channels of saline stress that pores had purged as frantically as the scene of Sky Island had unfolded; the criminal discovered.

Fig had never in her entire life seen such heartache, and Helovia in a matter of weeks had ruined her naivety entirely. Grim moss-green eyes had witnessed gored flesh, the stench of singed hair and the lifeless gaze of passed souls – all troubled her terribly, and she mourned for them like as if they had been born of her own blood. Such was the nature of the kind-hearted tree girl from Prim’sylva, and she turned her eyes to the foreign heavens of this land in desperate prayer.

Oh Corocottas, Nepenthes! Please help me, hear my prayer!

I cannot stay in this world of cruelty and betrayal – where the Gods have turned on one another and on the mortals who revere them. Have you seen? Lives have been lost here, bodies have been tortured and my heart is heavy with grief. I feel so insecure. Never have these bones found reason to tremble so. If those able to defend themselves die at the hand of such evil, how ever am I going to be able to preserve my dear Soul Plant – I cannot find it, Helovia is far too large, I will be too late...Too late!

Take me home! I beg.... please...

I just want to go home.


Thick skull plunged towards the earth like rotted timber from the sky, and hot tears began to roll from pained eyes. No answer fell upon her faithful ears and her heart sank beneath the weight of abandonment. The Gods of Prim’sylva could not hear her cries and the young tree-girl felt suddenly cold and horribly alone.

Sob after, silent sob wracked her forlorn frame, and the glossy leaves decorating her sprawling canopy wilted sadly.

I don’t want to be here... she whispered into the chill of the dim pre-dawn air.

The wind sighed as it slipped between the branches on her back, and upon its breath was the sound of voices - loud conversation, and her watery eyes opened quickly. She lifted her face, turning towards the hum of sound, and thick legs pulled forward her cumbersome body so that she might find out the source. Skin trembled awfully, nervously, though she knew well that the perpetrator had been caught. Any gathered across Sky Island had been lifted to safety, set down upon the the volcanic peninsula in its shadow, and the phenomenal destruction of rock and water (which she had watched earlier with growing melancholy), had taken her breath away.

Unable to hurry, laden with the weight of her mighty tree, Fig approached the growing hoard of horses apprehensively. So many had gathered that she could not clearly see the Gods at their front - perhaps only the glow of fire - but there was no mistaking the animosity ripe before her. Uncomfortable, but drawn by some internal force nonetheless, the awkward tree girl dithered a safe distance from the sea of torrid bodies and seething cloud of words – there was no place among them for the vulnerable mind of a Lignea.

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#19

The hand of violence bowed before them, wanting his life taken for those he killed. All four of the siblings stopped and stared, but it was the Goddess of the Moon who spoke up first, her expression turning sour as she stomped a hoof angrily into the ground. A pillar of black smoke puffed in front of her features as she moved, the black curling seductively from her nostrils. Silver eyes turned hard, like steel, and she looked between the siblings and her sunny brother's idiot practically laying on the ground like some dog!

"As if you need more proof!" She bellowed, using her delicate nose to indicate his position to her siblings.

"Their nobility is their undoing. We have turned natural, self-reliant creatures into these puppets!" The Goddess turned to leave then, glaring at the gathering crowed and then stopping as a chubby stallion and his bear-loving bitch called for her death. She erupted in black smoke, the magic curling from her body powerful, creating static tension in the air that crackled and smoldered in a cold way - a way that seemed to drain your very will.

"You can't kill me, fools," she hissed. Part of her, perhaps, felt for the mother of the earth's boy. But that emotion was fleeting. She should have raised him to be different, stronger and not so impulsive. The goddess paused, her hardened stare churning ever so slightly with what she was feeling deep inside. "Besides. Death is only the beginning." Maybe that would give her some measure of comfort - knowing that here, now, was not the end.

The mare all but ignored the sun's daughter, her tiny, barely year-old form not perturbing in the slightest. She gave the filly a wry smile before making her graceful, shameful exit.

--------------------------

Pain stabbed his heart as he looked upon the prone stallion's face, but the God of the Earth knew that he could not blame this mortal for the actions of his sibling. He had lost so much, cost him so much, and perhaps, in this moment, he understood the anger of the Sun God and the isolation of the Time God. Staying away, staying angry... well... all of those masked the pain of loving and losing. "Rise," he murmured, quiet enough for only him to hear. "You have my forgiveness, Gaucho. I wish this had never happened to you."

The god looked out at the angry, yelling rabble. "This is not the fault of Gaucho." He announced. If he could forgive the king of the the Throat, so should the rest. Ophelia, it seemed, had no problems forgiving, even despite her personal losses at his powers.

He and the God of the Sun watched her as she made it known that Gaucho still had allies, and they hoped that this trend would continue, that Ophelia, who had at first blamed him, was now forgiving. If only she could help her sister feel the same way. The God of Time wondered if it were Roskuld if she would be so forgiving. Still, Hototo was her family too; her nephew. The hearts of mortals were always so unpredictable, but in this case, honorable.

Why could the Earth God not protect his son? That question was difficult to answer, but those who saw knew that everything had happened so quickly. The final blow had been taken, and his son deserved a better life. He had fulfilled his responsibilities and earned his peace. "No, Ktulu," the draft-god rumbled, tragedy etched on his handsome face. "I cannot take you. Your son is... our son is... he is finally at peace, rewarded for his responsibilities and honored for his actions. He will watch over us all from his station at our side," he promised, hoping that his metaphysical glory would help ease the pain of his mortal death.

The god turned his steely, emerald gaze to Cera now, frowning in disappointment. "More death will not avenge Hototo. He is comfortable now, at peace. His energy fills this world with the beauty of his heart. We do not kill and we do not interfere. Your family is free to make their own decisions, as are you." And it was true. The actions of the gods might cause ripples, but none of them directly killed. Even now, the moon god used Gaucho to make a point. Murder happened among mortals.

Ah, but the earth god was far more patient that the god of time. He glared hard at the whining whelps, snorting as a snap of lighting cracked in the sky. "So quick to blame," he growled. "You all had the means and opportunity to stop him. In fact, Ophelia, Megaera, Mauja and Torleik confronted him and did nothing. And you, Cera? What have you done to help your own mortal kind bring justice to this killer? Nothing..."

The God of the Sun shared his sentiments, though he felt compassion for Ophelia. She had tried, where the others had not. "The loss is regrettable, but permanent. You can rebuild your lives, or you can continue to rage against the way of things instead of working to change it. Your choice, really." The God of the Sun wanted nothing more than to take Ophelia and Gaucho beneath his wing and protect them as they walked around from this mob, but he stood fast, unwilling to let his brothers see the two soft spots these mortals had bored into his violence.

"Trees will honor each of the fallen. Each deserves... so much more. Keep their memories strong. Visit their boughs in all seasons. In this way, you can ensure them life." The God of the Earth looked at the tree of his sons, standing in awe and deaf to the world as he meditated on his greatest loss.



Ascended Helovian

Gaucho The Wildfire Posts: 1,004
Deceased atk: 8.5 | def: 11.5 | dam: 8
Stallion :: Pegasus :: 17.2 :: 12 HP: 85 | Buff: PINNACLE
Mara :: Black Mamba Snake :: Paralyze & Vorsa :: Plain Zephyr :: Phoenix Odd
#20



Through Mara's vision he could see Archibald as he arrived with Loretta. Although he did not know the stallion's relationship with Circe, the knowledge wouldn't have changed the heated reaction that the Wildfire felt growing inside of his soul. It was from the Gods that the dun would find his sentencing, not through the impulsive draft. Grinding his teeth Gaucho remained silent. He owed no apology to any but to the Gods before which he knelt. Gaucho had beaten Archibald in combat once before. He shouldn't have won, and yet he did. That was at a time when his strength in these lands was new, his body not hardened to the ways of Helovia. In that moment, had the congregation of Gods not been present he would happily have responded to the heavily feathered warrior in the manner he apparently sought. But of course he would not, he would remain submissive before those who held his life in his hands, ignoring the stallion whose reputation in his mind was not considerably sullied.

As Cera arrived, Gaucho buried his face deeper into the grasses. If his life was to end, he did not want the last thing he saw to be Cera's heartbroken face, eyes full of pain and confusion. Feeling the feathers gently touch his own wing, Gaucho wondered if the golden prince would understand why he had to do this. If one mistakenly stole, once the deed was revealed wouldn't the almost-thief still owe for the things he took? And even if the change in his pocket only covered a fraction of the price, wouldn't it still be handed over? Gaucho's life was not nearly enough to cover those he had murdered, and yet it was all he had to offer. Surely he would understand?

A flare of light and the strong voice of Meg, his most loyal warrior caused his ears to flutter with the force of her words. I thought you protected us! These words resonated deeply within the Sultan - her Khal - wasn't he also meant to protect them? Hadn't he failed in that regard? It was only because of him that they were all here now, and any injury or disgrace that would come from the Gods would ultimately be on his shoulders.

Ophelia's voice was next to interrupt his dizzying thoughts. Her voice was warm - or perhaps he merely imagined in - but it seemed drenched in the light of the blast Meg had just caused. That so many would stand by him - in the face of everything that happened - was slowly beginning to work its way into his thick skull. For so long they had fought with him - his herd had questioned his every decision - and he and Ophelia had come to blows, but physical and verbal, on multiple occasions. That they would now, in the face of the very creators of the lands upon which they lived, stand at his side in the face of the horrors he had unknowingly caused, was heart breaking.

The stallion was sure that he would die here and now, that his measly offering would be accepted if for no other reason than to assuage those gathered like Archibald who would hold him responsible, and this feeling of ... of loyalty would be wasted. He wanted to stand, to tell them all to go, but selfishly he was glad that he wasn't in a position to. He wouldn't admit it aloud, but their fidelity to him - in whatever way it manifested or whatever the cause - filled him with a warmth as bright as Meg's newly found magic. If he was to die, at least he could die with thoughts of their fealty coursing through his mind.

The hissing words of the Goddess caused Gaucho's breath to falter, assuming now that it would be she who was his executioner. Perhaps it would make up for what she had done, or perhaps since her hands were already plenty dirty, it made no difference if she killed one more. But through Mara's eyes he saw her vanish, and it was only then that Gaucho's stormy though useless stare dared to raise even slightly.

Rise, You have my forgiveness, Gaucho. I wish this had never happened to you.

The words were soft, meant only for his ears, and yet as they reverberated through his painted body he thought surely that all must have heard them, as well as the thumping of his heart. Gaucho's antlered crown lifted itself slightly more, as if waiting for his pardon to be taken back.

This is not the fault of Gaucho.

And there it was, for all to hear. The words so many had been thinking, now confirmed by He who had been hurt the most. The God of the Earth's forgiveness rolled over the Wildfire in waves, more cleansing and invigorating than he could have possibly imagined.

The God of the Sun said nothing specifically to the dun, but that was alright. If he had disagreed with his Brother's sentencing surely he would have said so. Still, Gaucho resented the feeling of being used by any of the Gods other than the Sun. It was only to the lord of light that he would allow himself to play the role of pawn, and he felt dirty and disappointed in himself that he had been helpless to stop it.

Rising fully, Gaucho's blind gaze was directed (with Mara's help) to those congregated around him: Cera, Meg, Amani, Ampere - then to Ophelia who had moved back to stand at her sister's side. He had no words for them now, for they had given him the only thing that mattered: loyalty.

There was nothing he wouldn't do to repay them.

Returning his gaze to the Gods, Gaucho's antlered crown lowered as his nose dipped towards his chest. The pain of what had happened had been lessened by the Gods' forgiveness, and yet it would weigh heavily upon him for years to come. That it wasn't his fault didn't change the fact that it had happened by his own hooves and horns.



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