the Rift


SWP :: Not without consequences

God of the Moon Posts: 236
Helovian Ancient
Mare :: Hybrid :: 15.2hh :: Ageless
Admin
#1




Life was not without consequences, nor was death. But capitalizing on the minimization of having to deal with consequences was the Goddess' specialty.  

Though at the moment, she was more concerned about leaving this puss-filled, boil-ridden world behind and returning to where she was queen. She had had enough of false idols and pretentious lesser beings who tried to rival her power. They were nothing - but they also weren't worth her breath. She had decided on the labyrinth almost as soon as she had entered this diseased land. The overgrown thistles and ever-winding twists and turns made her soul pulse with expectation. This unfettered maze had so much potential - she could practically already hear their pathetic wails and cries as they lost themselves in the ever arching green.

Later, the maze would be her plaything. For now, it was her escape. 

She could hear one of them behind her - a drooling and slobbering phoney who played the part of God. HAH. She would laugh, if she weren't trying so focused upon her own magic. She wasn't running from this fight: she had already won it. Now all there was left to do was collect her prize.

The labyrinth before her was suddenly enveloped in clouds of silver and black smoke. Thick tendrils, laced with the power to full envelope the labyrinth trickled out from her lithe body and onto all that was around her. The bamboo, the forest, the glittering waters - they were all coming with her. 

"Disgusting.."  She muttered under her breath. The Goddess' normally dulcet tones were laced with frustration and exhaustion. Although she would never admit to it, securing the labyrinth had not been easy. Black and silvery smoke began to wisp upwards from her body - and indeed from everything. No longer were the vibrant verdant stalks of bamboo obscured by her magic. Everything was clear, and beautiful, and most importantly, without disease.







            

Mesec the Nightwind Posts: 476
World's Edge Glazier atk: 5.5 | def: 9 | dam: 5
Stallion :: Tribrid :: 16.3hh :: 7 years old HP: 76 | Buff: NOVICE
Lucius :: Royal Zephyr :: Roc & Lyra :: Common Kitsune :: Dreams Sarah
#2

I'll fight to survive through this thunderous life
without you by my side


Travelling back to the Throat took slower with Najya, but he could not begrudge her that - not when she was such jovial company. Mesec would rather keep an easy pace and get to know this new friend than leave her behind and take to the skies. Lucius preferred land travel as well, as he was still perfecting the art of flying, and even emerged from the shelter of Mesec’s wings to coast alongside the pair for short intervals. He was always careful not to swoop too close to Najya, he wasn’t entirely sure what he thought of the golden girl, but circled them as he tested out those uncertain pairs of wings.

Mesec, even while keeping a careful eye on his companion to make sure the zephyr wasn’t injured, spent most of the walk talking to Najya and telling her about the different lands in Helovia. From the herdlands, which she already knew a fair bit about - no doubt from a stint in the Threshold - all those that surrounded them, from Heavenly Fields up above the clouds to the caves where they had sheltered during the time of plague. It was, overall, a rather complicated and long story, but not so long that it seemed normal for him to look up halfway through and realize that he had no idea where they were. He had noticed that he made a mistake with their direction a little while ago, taking her further east instead of south, but…

“Hold on.” He faltered to a stop, his senses on red alert. “I’ve… never seen this place before.” It felt strange, and he wondered if they had wandered right out of Helovia. No, this was something new. And just as he was trying to place where they were, he spied the black and silvery smoke retreating. His heart did a violent twist - love and terror acting as merciless hot and icy hands on his organs.“Najya, I’m going to fly ahead and see if it’s safe, but I think you should…” He wanted to tell her to turn around because he wasn’t sure what waited there in the depths of this bamboo forest, but the words wouldn’t come. How could he encourage her to run? 

But after his silver eyes lingering on hers for a moment, he took off and searched. Even in this dense green, his mother wasn’t hard to find. Her brilliant violet coat shone like always, the tendrils of smoke fading. When he landed near her, he couldn’t find his voice - barely getting out a soft whicker as a greeting to start. Seeing her sent the confusion into a hurricane within him, both hating her and loving her - and all at once forgiving her? No, he couldn't. The words of the dark feline when he had been gifted Lucius still would not leave his mind, and now was he going to be given the chance to fix things?

His voice wouldn’t bring out anything that he wanted to say to her - as always, it never felt like the right time. So instead he asked something simpler - still apprehensive about the strange forest they were standing in. “Mother, what is this place?”

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Najya Posts: 90
Dragon's Throat Alchemist atk: 7 | def: 10 | dam: 4
Mare :: Equine :: 15.1 :: 7 (Tallsun) HP: 67.5 | Buff: NOVICE
A'mal :: Plain White Dragon :: Shock Breath Kiki
#3
Najya
Oh, the desert dreams of a river that will run down to the sea, like my heart longs for an ocean to wash down over me.


Najya walked quietly next to Mesec, listening as he regaled her with stories about Helovia for a change.  She was excited to start this new chapter in her life and the more he spoke, the more her excitement grew.  How lucky she had been to have run into Mesec (quite literally) in a strange twist of fate.  Perhaps now her history here in Helovia would begin to unfold under her own terms and under her own control.   If only she knew.

Mesec's words cut off abruptly and Najya looked over in concern.  She followed his gaze to see a strange distortion on the horizon.  It was almost the type of illusion she used to see in the desert on particularly hot days, but the day was not particularly warm.  "What…" she began, trying to make sense of what her eyes were showing her, "What do you think that is?" she asked, but didn't expect him to have an answer.  The swirling smoke and haze seemed to expand before slowly retreating towards a center point.  It was something completely unnatural, but Mesec seemed to recognize something about what was happening by the way he reacted.  It was subtle, but recognition was there. 

She looked over to the silver and black stallion with concern evident in her hazel eyes.  Her gaze flicked to his wings before returning to his silver eyes. 

"Go on.  I'm quick on my feet, remember?" she said, both attempting to lighten the mood and giving him permission all in one go, but she knew there was nothing she could say to chase away the shadows that swirled in his silver gaze.  Something was happening.  Something that Mesec, for one, had no explanation for.   This made her weary, but she chose to follow anyway.  What kind of friend would she be to let him take on the unknown alone? 

And with that she took off after Mesec's shadow - again running headlong into the unknown. 

--- 

She was not sure what she expected to find when she finally caught up to Mesec, but it certainly wasn't this.  "Mesec," she offered, quietly, as she drew to a halt off his flank and just behind where he stood.  She didn't want to intrude, but wanted him to know that she was here, nonetheless.  Was she reckless for following, maybe.  But for Najya there had really only been one option.   

Najya allowed her gaze to wander across this unfamiliar place - beyond Mesec and the Goddess who stood amongst them.  A strange collection of equines was littered around the landscape looking out of place, for lack of a better word.  What had happened here?  What was she now witness to?

"Who are they?" she asked, quietly, to her friend.  But, again, she was not so foolish as to expect an answer. 
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Dvorak Posts: 4
Absent Abyss
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 17.0 hh :: 10
Tamme
#4

How long do we wander in this wasteland? Shadows of our former selves... 

The second he entered this realm, finding his way out had become his singular focus. Honeyed eyes gathered thousands of positions, and he arrived at this exact spot at this exact time. He would say it was fate if he believed in such a thing, but he did not. Steady hooves carried his muscular frame ever onward, gaze intense as always and expression even in planes of barely tempered rage. Those who knew him well called him a devil, evil incarnate, but he was hardly such - just driven and willing to do anything and everything to achieve his goals. 

Smoke enveloped everything, and he came to an abrupt, militaristic halt, knowing that venturing further when he could not even see his hooves would be unwise. Instead, he waited, blinking with steady patience as it lifted, revealing a sight he never thought he would see. This world, so broken and calloused, was not as terrible as perhaps he once thought. Where there had been char and black, there were now vibrant, verdant shades towering toward a night sky. Whatever illness might have been, it had been cleansed. 

Blinking, he watched as a stunning creature exposed herself, coat of lavender and amethyst. Though he found her to be quite attractive, he did not outwardly express such frivolities. Besides, she had a black colt behind her calling her "mother". Interesting. Was she the cause of this sudden change? And why? What reason did anyone have to bring life back into this void? Without hesitation, he approached, dark stripes stretching over his fit frame, hair catching in his curled ram's horns. 

"Why you do 'dis?" he asked, accent thing and voice deep. The question was direct but not rude. His gaze glanced toward the boy, giving a short acknowledgement with an efficient dip of his chin. 

ярость




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
#5
Thranduil

Well, at least it looked a little better now. Moving south through the new land of Blood Falls, the golden had looked about with curiosity at the new plants and landscape. Haldir beside him, having never seen the land before, walked slowly, but with great curiosity. How many ages had it been since the golden had seen something new. Something he never met. It was addictive. The wonder and questioning it awoke in his mind filling him with a wonderful contentment. Even the dull ache of his burn, now only a pale pink scar could not ruin this mood. It mostly lay hidden under the wolf cloak, draped over his shoulders against the cool moisture. The peaceful moment though was ending. A shifting wind rises up from the south, and both creatures pause and look that way. A column of haze was growing and rising. The thin wisps of clouds and smoke curled in familiarity. ”Tolo” The stag did not need the command, both moved further south.

It was dark and full of all manner of even stranger, darker creations. Strangest of all were the walls of vegetation. They rose straight up and were covered in the smoky fog. The hair stood on his back, picking up as the fog brushed over him. Yet, as strange and eerie as this place was, he liked it, and his curiosity held him. The new smells, plants, and sights were so unusual as to pull him in. There was something about this place, its shadows were larger, and deeper. He slipped into their cool embrace with a guilty pleasure. But it also was ill. Every breath held something unnamable that rolled in his lungs and was spit back out. Haldir too held a most pensive face as they moved through this place towards the center of the black wisps.

Voices come from ahead, and the golden pauses a moment. His marked neck rises to listen, but this was not the strange tongues of unknown. No, these voices were very much known. A small curl of his lip comes forward and he walks on in more boldness. Haldir, still slightly confused, trots beside.

Into the scene he comes, with a most agreeable look. The surroundings gain a quick glance, but he quickly looks to the main attraction. The Goddess. She didn’t look half bad. She should try exile more often, it wasn’t a bad look for her. How long had that been now? He still had not quite settled on that moment in time. The whole affair left a rather vile taste in his mouth. Yet, there was always something about that beauty that matched some dark corner of his own soul. It fit. And he liked how it fit. Liked it a lot.

Of course they weren’t alone. His attention finally drifts to the few already present, and his smile grows all the more. “Mesec, good to see you again.” Crowned head nods. How did the golden know the creatures name?! They had never met. No…the Laurelin and the Nightwind had never met, but Rohan had. A small matter, but still rather enjoyable. He turned back to the goddess though, his earth eyes sparking with a bright mischief like they had not done in ages. Love what you’ve done with the place m'Lady.”

But they weren’t alone. Another voice breaks and the shadows of creatures strange and ill began to shift through the wilds. Haldir pulls closer to the gold, but the Laurelin only stands taller to look on with a strange pleasant face. He says nothing, only moving silently through the scene to stand in the guard of the lavender god. From there he would watch and listen, like the shadow he longed so much to be these days. A taste of what used to be, when he stood not on the highest rock. Though of course these were unacknowledged thoughts, but the feelings were so strong, even Haldir was affected, and moved about the land more naturally than before.


OOC :: Thranduil speaks and stands with Haldir to the side of the Goddess.
Identities:: Cashmere, Isopia, Erebos
"Speech"

The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the waterspout.
Down came the rain
and washed the spider out.
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Tatiana Posts: N/A
Unregistered
:: :: ::
#6
 "IT IS BETTER TO HAVE DREAMED A THOUSAND DREAMS THAT NEVER WERE THAN TO HAVE NEVER DREAMED AT ALL." - PUSHKIN

Tatiana announced her arrival to Helovia with a truly impressive string of Russian curse words. 
Somewhere, her mother was turning in her frozen grave. 

With a groan, she rolled upright - for she arrived in spectacularly graceful fashion and was sprawled on her side.  It was pitch dark and all she could see was strange smoke that seemed to behave in a fashion far unlike anything she'd ever seen, but what else was new. Nothing in the Rift behaved as expected. 

Tatiana did her best to blink away the smoke and haze that obscured her vision and filled her nose and lungs.  But when the smoke began to clear she was surprised to find that the scent that filled her nostrils was oddly…pleasant.  Something else new and different for the Rift, especially the twisted bamboo forest that had been twisted and putrid only moments before.  She found her feet as the last of the haze began to clear and the picture that solidified around her was hard to process.

It took her a few seconds before she realized…this was not the same place.  This was not the twisted bamboo forest she had grown accustomed to.  But it was?  "What the mother of fuck is going on", she murmured under her breath - in English this time - again making her dead mother proud.

There were others here - she could feel the eyes trying to burn holes in her skin.  It would have made her uncomfortable any other day, but there was too much going on, and Tatiana was determined to get the answers to her questions.  Important questions.  Who? What? How?  The usual.  Only she found it important to add a prepositional phrase of curses to all of her inquiries.  Just because it was one of those days. 

She made her way towards the little gathering, of sorts, that had sprung up.  Great, she thought to herself, as she saw who had arrived first.  Her constant shadow seemed perturbed by recent events and was directing his questions towards the purple mare.   However, Tatiana decided just to direct her questions to the group in general. She didn't particularly care who answered them.

"What the hell happened?"  she asked, bluntly, her voice accented but not completely accusatory.   Eloquent, Tania. Very eloquent.   

TATIANA
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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 the Forsaken

The discomfort she was experiencing was both embarrassing and painful. She hissed in a breath and winced as she moved, some festering sore caught on the inside of her front, left foreleg. Wrinkles of pain curved around her strange, dual colored eyes as she ventured from the Threshold into darker areas of Helovia. Her plan was to stay there until she healed, far too worried about this illness and what others might think. Contrary to her strong appearance, she was rather sensitive, and she could not bear the judging stares, not now at least. 

That was when the smoke appeared, like tendrils of clouds, and she snorted loudly, jumping back in a start. What? Ophelia blinked roughly, looking out beyond to something new... 

Oh no...

Not again. 

What was supposed to be a brief respite of solitude had somehow turned into a gathering involving a goddess she internally loathed. The lavender monster wearing the skin of a beautiful lady was nothing more than a killer - one too powerful and too selfish to dare cross. Carefully, Ophelia schooled her features, not willing to ruin Torleik's relationship with her. But, when she looked upon the Moon Goddess, all she saw were the memories of Hototo being murdered, the bodies she stumbled upon - most of whom were her friends. 

All had been in a state of panic, fighters until the end. 

Yes, Gaucho had been the vessel, but the Goddess was the puppet master, a cruel divinity made of everything foul, and Ophelia forced her jaw to loosen, keeping on the edge of the group and listening to these strangers demand to know what was going on. These two knew each other, it seemed, which was interesting. Tinek tumbled through the trees and landed on her back, the silver dragon massive in his prime and guarding his lady - especially since he was aware that these lands tended to be dangerous. 

"If history should repeat itself," she said quietly, hoping to answer some questions with her soft, chime-like tones, "then you are from a Rift, and the Gods of Helovia have the intention of cleansing your lands." At least that was what the God of Time had claimed. She highly doubted that this goddess would be so altruistic. There was something deeper. Fouler. 




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@Random Event (because of boils)

CONTEST WINNER




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!

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
#8
Ktulu</style>
when the sky turns gray and everything is screaming
i will reach inside just to find my heart is beating
</style>



The fact that Ktulu had stumbled upon this new land was nothing short of an accident. Her patrol of the Thistle Meadow with Parelia had come to an end and she'd bid the mare farewell and set off on her own with Eytan. Her intention had been to circle around through the Threshold as she made her way back to the Falls, but her plans had been cut short by the smoke she'd spotted. Naturally she had to investigate and make sure that it was nothing that posed a threat to her herd and what was left of her family. 

As Ktulu approached the gathering the first one she took notice of was the Moon Goddess, the biggest bitch threat in all of Helovia. Her blood boiled at the very sight of the purple mare and it took every ounce of her strength not to start screaming obscenities and launch an all out attack. The second one that she took notice of was her own sister, who was addressing the others that she had paid much attention to. 

"If history should repeat itself..."

So this had happened before?

Ktulu came to a standstill beside Ophelia, her crimson eyes locked on the Goddess and an ear turned to Phi as she spoke. Cleansing their lands? The dark mare snorted at the thought that the Moon Goddess, a manipulator, a murderer would cleanse another's land while she defiled her own. It took every ounce of her strength to tear her gaze away from the goddess and look, really look at Ophelia. "What happened to you?"

"."

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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
#9
She's mad, but she's magic. There's no lie in her fire.

Lost? The indignity of it rankled more than the bruised that covers Megaera’s body. Underneath the thick leathers, lay a slew of massive welts, but at least they had been well-earned, being lost was just embarrassing. Sore and exhausted, the Sunspear had been trying to get back to the Throat. She needed to get back home but this accursed forrest had beaten her. She’d entered the deep forrest on her way south from the new land where the bloody waterfall flowed hoping to find traces of family member she’d missed there. The little detour she’d taken might have been ill-advised…

After her “friendly” clash with the Dauntless she had tried to continue on her way home only to find herself here, wherever here was. The dark and winding paths of the deep forrest had kept both her and Gwaihir grounded and also, in seemed, had spit them into previously uncharted territory. When the smoke began se had called her companion to her and he assumed his customary place on her withers. What, smoke? he asked, again trying their mental connection and Megaera did not answer right away. The fine winging tendrils of black and silver brought only one thing to mind, and it was enough to have her anger creeping back from where her fight had let it rest.

She feel remembered the day the Goddess had been discovered, and Gaucho, her mentor and her friend, as her unwitting puppet. That bitch! The Sunspear’s blood still ran hot at the though of the purple sorceress’ words, how she had abused her powers, forced Gaucho to kill a slew of innocents, and the condemned them all as weak. The three brothers had banished her, but if it had been up to Meg, she would have died that day…if it were possible to kill a god. Whatever was happening now had something to do with the Moon Goddess, and if the Time God’s recent battle was any indication, it would be trouble, so the pegasus and the eagle followed the winding smoke.

Soon enough it dissipated and the Sunspear realized she had left a black forrest for a green one. Still horrid. There were voices up ahead and soon enough Megaera found there source and stopped in her tracks. There she was, the Moon Goddess and a whole collection of strange creatures that Meg could only assume from what she had been told, that the god had brought along with her. The Sunspear was determined to hate and mistrust every one of them.

There were other faces though, that Meg had seen before, but she and Gwaihir remained on the edge of the scene to watch through angry eyes of black and gold. Ophelia and the dark mare beside her were oddly the most familiar, she remembered both from the day of the Goddesses Judgement and the white queen more from the confrontation on the floating isle. A gold buck paid a greeting to the goddess and stood there with such a nonchalant smirk that meg felt an urge the kick it off his face, The black pegasus, however, was of most concern to her, for she knew his face from her desert home…Mother, he called her…..do we have a moonsnake in the sands?

“.”
FAC FORTIA ET PATERE
be brave and endure
:: permission given for use of magic and force :: please tag Megaera in all posts ::

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
#10


A M P E R E
The silver-forked sky lifts you up like a star

She didn't normally scout around the Threshold, but she found herself near it once more. She tended to be drawn here whenever things got, bad. They had recently, with Mesec, a thought process she'd barely been able to process given the massive fucking bear that showed up in bloodied lands out of the fucking blue not long after, and all the shit that came with it like her injured family and their disease. Not to mention the complications and accusations sailing through the herd, and the disarray befalling the Whatch over which 'side' ought to be helped.

She didn't come here to recruit though, although she often did, which she always took as a sign. She wasn't sure what drove her here when her life got messy, maybe some subconscious desire to run, to leave. It was an instinct that had served her well in her past, something she had steadily outgrown, but like muscle memory still fell into easily enough. It's why whenever she took someone new home instead of leaving, she liked to think fate was kindly telling her to grow the fuck up and deal with her shit.

So then what was this?

While doing it again, flying to nowhere, running, she noticed the mists and the strange landscape she didn't recall seeing before. By the time she got close enough the mists had already cleared and several had already found the same things as interesting as her - including Mesec.
She landed near her sultana, brushing up against her to take comfort in this moment as her eyes flicked uncertainly towards the dark boy. The very sight of him made her chest clench, her heart's splinters managing to renew their sharpness that her flights had tried to dull. Him, him and his bird.

While most here might have their eyes narrowed at the moon goddess, Ampere was doing her best not to have a melt down about her son. The stars had always been more important to Ampere...

Be the lightning in me that strikes r e l e n t l e s s

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@Megaera @Mesec mentioned!

Tag me only if starting a new thread.
Magic or force permitted any time, aside from death.

Nuray Posts: N/A
Unregistered
:: :: ::
#11
stars in your multitudes, scarce to be counted. filling the darkness with order and light.
You are the sentinels. silent and sure. keeping watch in the night.
A wandering soul new to this realm was left ignorant to the unnatural changes, unaware that new lands were beginning to dot Helovia. As she stood at the entrance of the labyrinth she knew naught that destiny had a tragic, tragic tale for her to be part of. Only foolish entities stated that ignorance was bliss. When looking back on this fateful day she would curse her lack of knowledge and willingness to explore such a land when she knew something powerful, something magical, lurked within the enchanting maze.

Dark tendrils of shadows beckoned her forward. T'was a sin to give in to succulent temptations but the mare couldn't resist. A sinner she was as she followed the smoke. Like the cheeky will-o-wisps they guided her where they wanted her to go. At that moment she was nothing but a puppet who had fallen to the curse of curiosity.

It wasn't long before she stumbled upon a scene that made a soft gasp escape her mouth. Eyes grew wide and with awe as they caught sight of a beautiful mare. With a coat like the night, Nuray immediately dipped her head in respect. The mare reminded her of her beloved moon and the stars of the night sky. With such a power that surrounded her.. Would it be too quick to assume that she was a goddess? She heard some talk of the rulers of this world. To be blessed with such a presence. Her celestial features were pale in comparison to the powerful being before her. She dipped her head low instinctively and curtsied.

As always the constellations had guided her step and, for her obedience, awarded her with the gift of meeting the one who crafted these very stars. Or so she assumed. Perhaps she was simply starstruck by the hybrid's appearance. Yet it felt so right - that word in her mind. Goddess. "An honor to be blessed by such a presence."

A golden gaze swept over the gathered equines. To say she was surprised would be an understatement. Lurking in the shadows, away from the crowds, she could feel the tension in the air. Mortals were glaring at the graceful mare with such intensity. Had she been incorrect or were these mortals jealous? How peculiar and strange. Where she come from they respected those whose magical presence was undeniable, whom had reached a status of amazing heights. She couldn't help but feel disgusted as she looked around.

It wasn't just this. There were much more oddities to focus on. Horses of such strange coloring were walking around like confused newborns fresh out of their mother's womb. And what in the heavens were these boils, this illness that haunted some of these horses. Questions surged. Nuray wasn't sure what to make of this. Any of this. So instead she stayed silent and away from these unknown sights, content in basking in the moon's glory whilst keeping an ear on the conversations that surrounded her.

"Talk?"
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Volterra the Indomitable Posts: 785
Dragon's Throat Sultan atk: 8.5 | def: 11.5 | dam: 8.5
Stallion :: Equine :: 17'2hh :: 3 HP: 80 | Buff: SENSE
Vérzés :: Common Red Dragon :: Frost Breath & Toxic Breath & Vadir :: Royal Gold Dragon :: Fire Breath & Shock Breath Snow
#12


Again, his hooves tread uncharted turft. Again, Helovia has expanded before his very eyes.

The trees huddle close together, like a maze; the beast can see it would be very easy to get lost here, to wander for eternity. He sends his dragon into the heavens to scan the landscape from above, and the red soon reports back. "Gathering ahead." Immediately the giant's ears flip backwards and his head throws itself upwards in excitement - surely lightning cannot strike twice? Surely another God cannot have plagued Helovia with its wrath? But if it has, Volterra knows what he will do. Crush it, as he had the bear. Admittedly the unsightly boils and the painful bruise that he had been left with could deter a lesser man from jumping into the fray again, but not the black behemoth. It only spurs him on, to dominate his foes whatever the price.

His stride lengthens to a thunderous trot, the earth shaking under the colossal thudding of his hooves. Vérzés swoops to land on his immense flanks, digging his claws in to maintain his balance against the yearling's bumpy trot. Finally they see the gathering, smaller than the one at the Falls - for now - but still consisting of a couple of oddly-marked fellows. The colt flicks his gaze between them, then follows the eyeline of several horses towards a winged, horned mare. Could it be? He has never seen the Goddess of the Moon before, but he remembers Isopia telling him of her crimes. The way the Helovians are glaring at her...could this be the mass-murdering mistress that he had heard about? She doesn't look like much - she is just a mare, after all, but she must be quite fearsome to strike such fear into the hearts of Helovia.

The beast looks away from her, and towards the Rift-horses. Mostly, though, he is on guard; his muscles are tense, bulbous against his ebony pelt, and his eyes flicker madly from side to side. Any minute now, if history is doomed to repeat itself as Ophelia says, then they could be attacked by a vengeful God from through the Rift. Again, Volterra will be prepared to decimate it. And this time, he's going to get a god damned piece of the carcass for his own, even if he has to break it off the corpse himself. ""

YOU'VE GOT THE WORLD ON ITS KNEES, YOU'RE TAKING ALL THAT YOU PLEASE
YOU'RE LIKE THE BURDEN WE BEAR, YOU'RE ALL THE HATE THAT WE SHARE


CONTEST WINNER

[ you can't stray from what you are, you're the closest thing to hell i've seen so far  ]
[ use of force/magic on him is permitted aside from death/maiming ]




Ashamin the Clovenheart Posts: 426
Outcast atk: 8 | def: 11.5 | dam: 5.5
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 15.2 HH :: 5 [Frostfall] HP: 79 | Buff: NUMB
Lochan :: Plain Cerndyr :: Dark Mist & Rakt :: Common Cerndyr :: Starpast Jen
#13




They were just walking, that was all it was. Ashamin with his head low and heart aching, Lochan with his face forward and young ears perked.

Then they found this place, new and strange. And though Lochan was too young to have seen as much of Helovia as Ashamin had, and had only travelled through the deep forest as an egg, he knew that the threshold wasn't supposed to end in this.

Ashamin took care with every step. He did not trust this land in the slightest, and its climate was far from suitable to his odd tastes. He wanted cold, this... was greenery. And though it was beautiful it was wet, too, in a way he found humid and uncomfortable. With every step through the winding plant-life, he found his hooves soaked in a puddle.

How in the hell was anyone supposed to find anything in here, let alone themselves?

Were it not for Lochan, who pressed onwards with inexplicable eagerness, the haruspex would perhaps have turned back and left the task of charting this land for another day. He needed his companion to guide him, though, else he'd be lost in an instant with his luck.

But as soon as Ashamin took a turn he saw something that made him want to stay: divinity. There stood a mare, towering above a small gathering of lost souls, painted in deep purples. The haruspex was in awe. He knew little about this mysterious goddess of the edge, only that she had apparently no one to communicate with in her own herd. And he wanted to learn more.

Ashamin would have stood looking up wistfully for hours were it not for his young companion's urging. Not far away stood the golden and his companion, and following Lochan's excitement Ashamin moved to stand beside his lore.

"Thranduil," he greeted quietly, before questioning, "what is this place?"

Beside him, Lochan bounded forth to butt Haldir's side gently. As far as the cerndyr was concerned, this day was only about seeing his friend again in a playground of green.

""
ASHAMIN
image credits


Ashamin has approached @Thranduil and Lochan is trying to play with haldir. Brief bc trying to squeeze stuff in between work and school, apologies.


See Ashamin's profile for more information about Lochan, Rakt, and his various items.
All magic and force allowed, barring death and permanent injury.
Do not tag me, please message on skype instead


Ahvelyn Posts: 44
Outcast atk: 5.5 | def: 9 | dam: 4.5
Mare :: Unicorn :: 16.3 hh :: 13 [Orangemoon] HP: 60 | Buff: NOVICE
Jen
#14
Your sweet memory

To my first child, never known,

Perhaps your brother and sister have told you of my correspondences with them. I write to you now only out of fear that they have, and that you believe yourself to be less loved. Know that this is not so--that perhaps, in the way that the innocent only can, I loved you the most, once.

I had dreams of who you would be and as a child, for I was only a child then and even younger than you are now, and when I grew it became harder to hold onto them. You were the one that got away. You were a lost chance at happiness that will never stop hurting. I don't know your name. I don't know if you are a stallion or a mare, now, as you surely stand tall and grown. I just know that I loved you.

I've told your siblings part of a much larger story and now I must do the same for you, if only so that you can understand the journey I took to get to you.


I was beginning to explore. Unlike most others, I was unaware of the new world about me and did not notice its changes without the aid of my company. Though perhaps to call these strangers that travelled in droves and I happened to follow around company was perhaps foolish of me.

That day, the day I met my second god and cared only because this time she was a goddess, I had wandered into the labyrinth. I gave her my respect immediately upon seeing her for this reason alone. Surely she was forced to deal with that selfish electric stallion on a regular basis and for that she deserved an award of some kind. I had spent one chaotic afternoon with him and had enough.

The land where I found myself, apparently her domain but not unlike that which had been captured by her sibling in that it was riddled with apparent foreigners, was beautiful but eerie. I was thankful for my agile frame and the ability to bob and weave through the tall green stems that filled this forest. I was less thankful for the trouble of untangling my hair from the narrow traps such greenery created.

But somehow I arrived at the center of that gathering with my poise still intact and was able to find myself before her. The Goddess of the Moon.

I think that then, maybe, I was somewhat jealous of her.

""
AHVELYN
image credits


Standing at the edge of the clearing, watching.

Knox Posts: 262
Outcast atk: 4 | def: 7.5 | dam: 6.5
Stallion :: Equine :: 17hh :: 7 Years [Tallsun] HP: 67.5 | Buff: NOVICE
Jen
#15

The best word to describe his hunter and bonded is irritated.

Manhattan, irritated that she must shed her winter coat. Knox, irritated that he has found himself lost, irritated that he cannot tear his brother to shreds and that he must tolerate the abhorrent for the sake of his future daughter's safety, irritated that he is awake, irritated that he must be tasked with the labor of breathing, and... shit.

There's the goddamn fucking Moon Goddess.

She stands there and he feels taunted. He feels rage build up inside him as he cloaks himself in the dappled shadow and light left by this odd canopy and shifts through all maddened forms until he can't stand there as anyone.

Manhattan could care less about her bonded's immature problems. She's always hated those gods, and her most of all. She just keeps scratching, as if covered in fleas, trying to rid herself of the excess black that covered her in winter. The faint breeze carries black, silken tufts across the scene, rolling them towards the crowd, casting them at oozing feet. Some was caught in the odd patches of water about or the odd greenery, spreading and soaking up the liquid. Such clumps would remain, for a time.

Knox is pacing. He is screaming in his head, all the minds are screaming.

Calm down, Manhattan tells him as she scratches, her tongue lolling impatiently.
I'm going to kill her, Knox bites back, heart racing, ears pinned.
Not worth it.
I don't care.
Do you ever?
I'M GOING TO KILL HER!

And it is almost too much to keep himself from screaming the words aloud.


""
And I Will Laugh Until I'm Tired
I Will Battle With a Strange Desire
image credits


@Random Event

Manhattan is scratching and shedding fur that is blowing towards everyone/the infected. Some catches in pools of water and on greenery and can remain for other possibly infected to find later.


Knox is cloaked and cannot be seen or heard.

Rexanna Posts: 499
World's Edge Mare atk: 4.5 | def: 8.0 | dam: 5.5
Mare :: Unicorn :: 15hh :: 7 years HP: 61.5 | Buff: NOVICE
Marembo :: Marbled Polecat :: None Skylark
#16

In an attempt to rid my mind of things that were happening back home, I had found my way to the Threshold. After a small amount of time with nothing to return with, I had decided it was more than likely an opportunity to explore a bit more. Wandering within the green walls of trees and bushes, I had a hint of hope hidden in the back of my mind that perhaps this wouldn’t be a lost cause. That’s all I needed was to run off exploring again and yet not come across anything at all, failing in my duties to the herd as I had so much lately in my own little life as well.

But then I heard voices.

As I approached, I noticed that the woodlands were changing, shifting in a strange pattern of greenery. I didn’t remember anything like this from the Threshold before. Especially when everything began turning grayer and more despicable with every hoofstep. I gentle sigh heaved that perhaps this wasn’t the best idea I had come up with, but as I got closer I noticed a being standing at the forefront of the group that had gathered. Some of the creatures were familiar, others were not. Especially the winged ones.

I noticed Thranduil and Ashamin quickly and hoping as to not be seen by this wonderous being, I slinked in to the side of Ashamin, offering him a gentle smile and a slight dip of the head to Thranduil, whether he saw it or not. My crown swiveling to view the creature ahead of me, unsure who this was but gaining the feeling from others that perhaps the area – or the celestial looking beast – was unwelcome. I hadn’t any idea what was going on in the slightest, and I was beginning to wonder if I should have spent some time seeking out those to tell me who was who and perhaps what was going on in Helovia.

the dim lit peacocks in the trees are hiding their eyes and their beauty, like me.



Rexanna
Image Credits!

Rexanna comes up to the side of @Ashamin who is beside @Thranduil. (it's too early to be posting but. must. participate. sorry it's trash xD)
[Image: lovelyskylark.gif?8]
Permission given for moderate power play.
Feel free to use magic/force on Rexanna, without killing her.
Please tag in every post!

Nyx Posts: 292
Deceased atk: 7.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 6.0
Mare :: Unicorn :: 16hh :: 11 HP: 72 | Buff: SWIFT
Dominus :: White Lion :: None Snow
#17


n   y   x

Helovia has expanded again...or has this place always been here and she simply hasn't noticed?

There are trees everywhere, and Nyx has to use every iota of her sense of direction not to get lost amongst the greenery. This is uncharted territory, this is a corner of the map that has, to her knowledge, never been explored before. Like the crimson falls, there is something off about this place, as though it is a wounded animal limping through the undergrowth, waiting to be either killed or cured.

The silver soon comes across a gathering of horses, both Helovian natives and those oddly-marked Rift-creatures that had appeared in the Falls. Following their eyeline, Nyx sees the familiar figure of the Moon Goddess, that merry murderous that had so happily taken up residence in the Edge. Nyx had avoided her like the plague, yet here she is in all her glory. Is it her fault this land has appeared? Or, perhaps, did she create it in order to appeal to the families of those she killed? Is this new patch of forest an apology gift from her? Sorry I went stab-happy, have some shiny new trees.

Somehow, the silver doubts it, and the very thought makes her snort. Dominus prowls towards her, settling down on his haunches to sharpen his claws on a deer's leg-bone that he had caught earlier. The mare's knees still ache from her collision with the blood-soaked ground during the bear battle, but somehow she has a nasty feeling that her military tendencies will be called upon once again fairly soon. Because of course, Helovia can't just have nice things, can it? ""


Other characters have permission to use magic/violence against Nyx at any time.


Maren the Crownless Posts: 264
Outcast atk: 5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 6
Mare :: Pegasus :: 15.0 :: 6 HP: 70 | Buff: NOVICE
Mr. Teatime :: Siberian Tiger :: Sing Yewrezz
#18



Her long ivory tail swayed in irritation from left to right, mirroring the swing of her tiger striped hips as she wandered in a apathetic tread through the jumble of bamboo. Once in a while her eyes scanned the scene again, intrigued by it and updating her possible status on where in heaven she might be. The green stems stretched above her and became her path, became her clouds. The concept was very easy, very straightforward. She liked it.

Clack

The sound of slamming teeth vibrated once again through her body when she had turned her head to bite at the bugs that flew around her brewing hide, bubbling as if it were melting, leaking blood. She wasn’t really familiar with this kind of skin condition. At first she had thought that it was a side-effect of her burns, but as it had also appeared on the right side of her body, it made that possibility illogical. She had never really cared about appearances (as she naturally tended to look neatly groomed), but in combination with the scorched hide and burns, she couldn’t help but conclude she must look like a zombie.

In all seriousness, she was concerned about her own well-being. According to her religion of the Oak she wasn’t even allowed to die yet, as she had not fully found her True and Holy Purpose to rest in peace when the time would come. The thought made her a little bit itchy.

From out of her left wing’s armpit she took the vial of blood. Why not believe he had gifted the vials of blood for a reason? With magical ease she removed the button from the glass, watched how the thick substance lazily moved as she held the vial to her lips. The God of the Spark must have known of the sickness, right?

It was a bet she took motivated by the ghostly hug of burning skin, pain and fatigue.

The priestess let some of the blood drip on her tongue. She licked her lips and then put the vial away again. From behind a wall of bamboo canes resounded growing commotion and she couldn’t help moving towards it. There is a stench in the air again.

As soon as she spotted the Godly being, something told her she knew what was going on. Between the beautiful greenery there were colorful creatures; alien, not from this world. On the side she spotted Ashamin with another mare and a golden stallion that she thought to have seen before. But her eyes kept falling back on those that simply didn’t belong.

Then she saw her Sultana, Megaera and Ampere and she joined them in their watching after greeting them with a nod. But from their eyes she couldn't tell on who their judgement lay, as the Diviner knew that the Moon Goddess had left invisible scars on some of the herd. The tigermare, however, had her priorities straight.

More shattered souls. More filth. More illnesses Once again the priestess watched from the shadows with clenched teeth and silent eyes. From her nose came little clouds of mist, evaporating again slowly as the wind of renewal took them away. Helovia was at war and all they did was smile and wave like ignorant penguins.




Talking



image credits


Summary: She drinks a sip of the bear god's blood, hoping the God of the Spark gave it as a cure and then goes stand by @[Ampere] and @[Megaera] to silently judge all the things. @[Random Event]

CONTEST WINNER



@Ampere
@Megaera
@Random Event
@Ampere
@Megaera
Please tag me 

Rikyn the Puppeteer Posts: 549
Aurora Basin Lord atk: 7.5 | def: 11.5 | dam: 4.5
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 16.3 :: 4 HP: 70 | Buff: SWIFT
Duir :: Royal Cerndyr :: Earth Spirit Bunnie
#19


What if this whole crusade's a charade
And behind it all there's a price to be paid

Tendrils of darkness wrap around me, and through the strange blindness the magic creates I catch glimpses of the forest I am supposed to be walking in, and another land, a land that is a forest of strange trees with notches along their length, strange trees like look like giant shafts of sugar cane that are riddled with narrow paths that are dark and terrifying.  

As suddenly as I’m caught in the magic my legs are coming to life, and I’m trying to outrun the clutches of this bizarre mist, not liking it one single bit.  It triggers every instinct I have to get the fuck out before something worse happens than distortions in reality, and I can’t help but worry that I’m going mad…

And then the bamboo forest snaps into permanence, my legs carrying me with full force through a wall of the thick trunks.  They smack into me and each other with rattles and raps that raise small bruises and make me wince, my mouth letting loose a single shout of surprise that the path I’d been trying to run down along the outskirts of the Threshold have so suddenly become a very painful thicket of bamboo.

On the other side of the wall of stalks is a clearing, and in this clearing are many figures – and to my chagrin, many of them I know.  

Trying my best to recover from the bewildered and frightened expression on my face with some dignity, I straighten my stance and lift my head, trying to act as nonchalant as possible though I just made a rather brash entrance into the fold.  I see Thranduil, Ashamin, the dark pelted equine colt, Ophelia – so many that I recognize, and while I don’t see my friends (surely they’ll be here soon), I pick up my step and walk among them, looking with confusion at the boils that lace some of the bodies of those here.

What is this?

My ears fall back in confusion, wondering what they might be and what it might mean, when I notice at last the Goddess who has stolen this land as the Time God stole the land of the red waters from the Bear, suddenly releasing the purpose of all of this and feeling my ears pin back at the sight of her.

She is a being that I hold in little reverence – the woman who let her people be defeated, the woman who killed in the name of peace, a powerful being of the Darkness and of the Wind that was beautiful as the stars but just as treacherous as those cold, unattainable heights.  In all the ways that I believed the God of the Spark would never fail us, I distrusted the indigo Goddess as much as I longed to caress the perfection of her curves.

Oh, how dangerous the power that wreathes them, the Gods of our realm; her power is palpable, the strength of her blood and her being intoxicating, and yet the thrall of her presence is poisoned by the history that she has written among her people.

I note that others glare at her, some with a hatred that is as pungent as the ethereal strength she exudes; I do not hate her, though I do not trust her, either.  

Can anyone truly trust the Darkness?  I think with a smirk.

I take my spot among them all, not really standing with anyone but not apart from the gathering, either (but closest, perhaps, to the colt with the red dragon) my eyes watching, not the Moon, as the other idiots here, but the walls of bamboo about us, the shadows that may hold a threat as great as the Bear had been.

[ OOC:  Stands in the general gathering and listens to what is going on, while watching the borders of the clearing for anything suspicious.

Mentions: Erebos, Aithniel, Thranduil, Ashamin, Ophelia, Volterra ]
For the blood on which we dine
Justified in the name of the Holy and the Divine.





Wishlist - Plots

Force/violence is allowed to be used on Rikyn permitted it does not permanently maim or kill him (PM me!).

Random Event Posts: 1,286
Helovian Ancient
Stallion :: Equine :: ::
#20
The boils do not respond to these attempts of a cure.


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