the Rift


[PRIVATE] keep the dogs at bay [quest return, earth]

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
#1


He expected his return to the Veins with his completed quest to be triumphant, the glorious entrance of a man who'd found his task only too easy. He'd expected to waltz in with his head held high, ready to brag to the Earth God about all the wonderful things he'd felt in the name of success.

He could not have been more wrong. There has been no glory in what he has gone through to complete Father Earth's task, no enjoyment in the emotions he's forced himself to feel. He thinks he now knows why he spent all these years channeling anything unfamiliar, anything unwanted, into something he can control. Something like anger, lust, wrath, envy. Volterra wants, needs, control in all aspect of his life, and his emotions are no different.

He's felt, now, and it's been far harder than any battle he's ever competed in. Perhaps that was why it's taken him so long to allow all those different emotions in, to unleash his iron grip on control. Suffering things like grief, fear, and bone-deep hatred has left him feeling raw, as though salt has been rubbed into an stinging, gaping wound. Some things - like pride in his son - made him glow rather than ache, but his memories of the harder emotions will linger for a long time.

It is early evening when he reaches the Veins. He has travelled during the searing heat of the day from the Throat and his body is flecked with travel-dirt and shines with drying sweat. The ascension to the shrines has never felt longer, his weary limbs finally bringing him to a halt in front of the four ruined rocks. He angles himself at the Earth God's, momentarily hypnotised by the glowing blue veins that signify his patron deity.

From his mouth drops the stone given to him by the Earth God a year ago. It lands on the ground by the crumbling altar, wobbling gently to a halt, and the stallion scrutinises it with a hint of anxiety in the pit of his stomach. It looks smooth to him - certainly smoother than it was when he was given it - but will it be smooth enough? The beast retreats a step, his gaze locked on the shrine, and waits.


V O L T E R R A
I'M LIVING LIKE A LANDMINE WAITING TO EXPLODE
I'M TICKING LIKE A TIME BOMB READY TO GO

drawing: chan <3


Vol is handing in his Earth God quest, given here!

'Volterra has been given a rough stone! No need to add this to your item list. Only true/deep/meaningful encounters will cause the stone to become smooth. Deep honestly, vulnerability, altruistic actions, proper restraint etc will cause the stone to gradually become smoother. If you have questions about what will count, PM me. After Volterra has 'smoothed' the stone 5 times, bring it back to the Earth God.'

He chose to try and feel even more than the 5 specified emotions in order to really understand the weight of what he'd been given.

Emotion 1: familial pride

Emotion 2: failure

Emotion 3: altruism

Emotion 4: fear

Emotion 5: grief

Emotion 6: true hate

Emotion 7: regret/guilt

@Mythical Request

[ 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 ]




God of the Earth Posts: 287
Helovian Ancient
Stallion :: Equine :: 22.0hh :: Ageless
Admin
#2
GOD of the EARTH
in wilderness lies hope
Everytime Volterra's stone began to smooth, the God could feel an itch somewhere deep in his soul. It was a message carried to him by the trees and the rocks, by the earthworms buried deep in the soul, and the birds that flew in lazy circles overhead. It was a message, one that was repeating over and over.

He is doing well. He is trying.

And as this message reverberated in the God's bones, he could only smile and wait for the moment when the Indomitable would return. Slowly the stone begins to be absorbed into the earth, like a drop of rain slowly sinking into the soil. As it finally disappears, the earth gives a gentle rumble, and the God of the Earth steps outwards from the rocky shrine he has built himself deep under the ground.

"Volterra." His voice is warm and full of pride. Showing and understanding emotion is certainly not something that the God expected the monochromatic stallion to excel at, and although some of the trials that the stallion underwent fell short of the marker the God had silently set for him in his mind, overall, his dedication and efforts far exceeded the God's expectations.

"You have done well. Have you noticed that the majority of the emotions that smoothed your stone, centered around your family? Your children?"

credits

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
#3


As the earth begins to devour his stone, Volterra's heartbeat increases whilst a small smile slips across his face. He's coming. Father Earth arrives in a growl of the ground, and the Indomitable's skull immediately dips in a respectful nod towards his favoured deity. "Father Earth," he rumbles in return. Despite himself, the butterflies in his stomach turn into dragons, pounding at his sides and sending anxiety spreading through him. What if he's failed? Feeling has never been his strong suit, and whilst he's tried, perhaps he has resisted the allure of emotion too strongly. It fills him with dread at the idea of seeing disappointment etched across the great Earth God's features, a fatherly sense of shame directed towards his possibly most loyal subject.

But the God's next words go some way to assuaging that fear, and the black Sultan unleashes a small breath that he hadn't realised he'd been holding. He gives an eager nod at the God's remark that his emotions have mostly centred around his family, relief gripping him that this fact has been noticed and not ridiculed. The stallion had feared that the fact he only seemed to feel around his children could act as a detriment, but that does not seem to be the case. "Yes, I've noticed. I suppose this is because my children, more than anybody else bar my dragons, are important above and beyond my desire to be seen as emotionless and strong. I would do anything for them, and that is why I usually feel more easily around them." That is how he has defined the logic inside his mind.

A slightly troubled expression flits across his face, a deep sense of what he's learned during the course of this quest. "I have always thought that feeling unwanted emotions is a sign of weakness. I could not have been more wrong - true strength lies in the ability to feel those emotions whether you want to or not, and to survive them. All my life I've channeled anything I don't understand into anger, into lust, because they are emotions that I can control. Relinquishing that control was hard for me, especially when it came to feelings that hurt." His volcanic temper is a defense mechanism, in a way. Rather than face emotions that may cause him pain, he channels them into blind rage, something that he can grip onto and wield like a sword. Perhaps it could be defined as cowardly, although Volterra loathes any notion of that word being applied to him.

"Some, though, came fairly easily, such as pride. My son, Tyrath, and I were talking between ourselves when we were attacked by wolves. I moved to fend them off, but before I could act,Tyrath shifted into a great golden dragon. Oh, he was magnificent, and the way we worked together to defeat our attackers....It was like a flower opening in my chest, that's the only way I can describe it. For the first time I looked at a child of mine and saw not an accidental quirk of nature or something that needs to be defended and nurtured, but a powerful creature in its own right. I saw what he could become, and it was glorious." As he speaks, he realises he's smiling, an utter awestruck facial expression that he's not used to wearing. He will cherish that memory for the rest of his life, he knows it. "I felt as though I was glowing. I realised that I had sired this powerful, beautiful creature, and I've never been so proud about something I've created."

But then the skull-marked face darkens. He'd started with perhaps the only good emotion he'd felt - the others were all difficult for entirely different reasons. "The majority of others were far less enjoyable, like failure. I knew a mare was pregnant with my child, so I diligently followed her to ensure I'd be on hand for the birth. But...I missed it." His expression is anguished as he thinks of Valdis, poor, broken Valdis. "By the time I got there, my daughter was...she'd been maimed, Father Earth, her eyes torn out and her wings ruined. Some foul creature had attacked her whilst her mother was too weak from childbirth to protect her, and I wasn't there. If I'd have been faster, I could have saved her - but I wasn't. My beautiful girl was harmed because of me, and....it is the first time I have ever put my mind to a task and not managed to accomplish it. It was like a pit in my gut, a black hole of failure, and it is not something I readily wish to feel again." Who in their right mind would want to feel such a thing again?

"But the worst by far was...was grief." At this he's forced to look away, choked by the memories that assault him. The body that he thought was Vezér, shattered on the floor; the furnace of sorrow that burnt him to ashes. "I found a body that I thought was my daughter, mangled and murdered by her own mother. It hurt more than anything I've ever felt. It's like the world was suddenly sapped of its light, as though nothing existed anymore but this black hole of misery, this utter sense of hopelessness and all-consuming darkness. I was in an abyss with no way out, because my little girl was gone." His jaw has clenched so hard that his teeth ache; his mammoth hooves press hard into the soil as though Airlia's skull is crushed beneath them. "You...you know more than most what it is like to lose a child, Father Earth." He glances up towards the God, seeking to meet his gaze in a gesture of sympathy, of a sense of brotherhood between two bereaved fathers. "I was not thinking straight, and normally in such a scenario I would default to my favourite setting of blind rage, but...this went past that. I wasn't angry, I was so much more than that. Becoming angry would have demeaned it, made it impure. This was hatred, föld királya, true and utter hatred, and I did what I needed to do to avenge my daughter." He will not go into the details, although barely a sleep passes without bringing him a nightmare of Airlia's crushed, ruined face laughing at him, telling him time and time again that he failed his child.

"Then it transpired that the dead child was not my Vezér, and I was relieved, moreso than I can put into words. I began to regret what I'd done, wondered if I'd been hasty....but then I felt guilty about feeling these things, because even though it wasn't my child she killed, it was still somebody else's. There's still another father out there who has lost his daughter, and for that, her fate was deserved."

He realises he has rambled on far longer than intended, and he silences himself with a slightly self-conscious huff and a sheepish, humourless smile as he gazes upon his beloved God.

V O L T E R R A
I'M LIVING LIKE A LANDMINE WAITING TO EXPLODE
I'M TICKING LIKE A TIME BOMB READY TO GO

drawing: chan <3

[ 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 ]




God of the Earth Posts: 287
Helovian Ancient
Stallion :: Equine :: 22.0hh :: Ageless
Admin
#4
GOD of the EARTH
in wilderness lies hope
The God listened eagerly but with a humble restraint as Volterra spoke of some of the trials that he faced for the sake of his quest. What interested the God the most was how Volterra referred to each of the emotions they felt, how they had arrived within his black breast, and how they had impacted him. For a creature who had appeared before the God not so long ago with only anger and lust under his command, the God was pleasantly surprised at the variety and range of emotions that Volterra's quest had opened up inside of himself.

"I know it was not easy for you, and there are many who would still view emotions as a weakness, or at the very least, something to be exploited. But now that you perhaps know yourself more truly and understand what your heart and soul are capable of feeling, you will better be able to defend yourself against those would use your emotions to their advantage."

The God smiled, shuffling his wings slightly against his flanks. "You have done more than I asked you, and for your dedication and desire to truly better yourself, I am well pleased with you Volterra. I know that this past year has not been easy. You did lose a child, and though I am thankful that you did not lose another, I am sorry that you experienced the threat of it once again. I hear from my brother that he has placed you at the helm of the Dragon's Throat, a position that cannot be easy for you given your past with its former leader, despite the fact that you are a well suited for the task."

He paused, regarding the Indomitable for a moment. There was a time, particularly when Volterra was young and under the manipulative shadow of his twin, that the God thought he might turn out very different. Though it was the Spark's ability to see into the future, nonetheless the God could see the faint shimmer of a heartless warlord, a creature of muscle and malice. That he was now a father to many, a friend, and a deserving leader was the most welcome change to that potential future that the God could have hoped for. 

"The ability you came to me for a year ago, is yours. Now that you can control your emotions, you will not be controlled by the creature that now lives in your bones." A warm wind ruffled Volterra's mane and the feathers lining his large hooves. The earth sung gently, rising and swelling up before dying down all around him, like a wave of growth. "And, for your continued dedication I will give you a gift. Your commitment to me has never wavered, and that is not a fact that I take lightly. To show my appreciation, I also give to you the blessing of the earth-" Another earthly tidal wave rippled across the ground, sliding towards the stallion  and bathing him in an illusory cascade of wind and leaves and the smell of a hurricane. "The powers of the earth shall be dull when turned against you. Those who wield my magic will find their powers less effective should they turn them upon you."



Congratulations! Volterra has been given: 

:: Magic  Dark x Earth | Ability to transform into a Cerberus the same size as his horse form.
:: Restrictions | Transformation is very painful. 


for completing his quest! As well as, 


:: [ Magic: Earth (P) | Resistant to Earth magic ]
:: Restrictions | Resistance diminishes over time


credits

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
#5


His revelations leave him feeling strangely exposed, as though he's standing naked in front of his God - which he is, but that's besides the point. It's raw, open, like he's just taken out his soul and placed it in front of Father Earth's penetrative gaze, exposing these hidden depths that he hadn't know he possessed. But he knows that there is no other man he would have willingly admitted these things to, and in a way it makes him proud to know that he's felt such things in the Earth God's name.

As the God speaks, any sense of embarrassment or self-consciousness fades away, and he finds himself standing taller as though swelling beneath the great man's praise. Although inherently arrogant in nature, Volterra rarely receives such compliments, and somehow these seem to mean more than any superfluous comment about his fighting ability or formidable build. These reach deeper than that, into the very bones of what makes him a man. "Your words honour me, Father Earth," comes the thick baritone of a voice, its tone humble as he absorbs the words like a child accepts the gentle head-pat of a father. Deep inside him, there's that little boy who first met the Earth God during somebody else's quest, who stood in awe before the mammoth tribrid and vowed to worship him for the rest of his days. There's that little boy who held the amulet given to him so tightly, who wore it with pride, who felt that little bit stronger when he had his piece of Earth with him. That little boy sings inside the great bulk of the man he has become, and he knows that the youngster made the correct decision when he chose to follow this God out of all the others.

"I confess that I always imagined myself wearing the crown of the Hidden Falls, but the Throat...I have grown to love it, and I will do everything in my power to protect it and strengthen it in the name of your brother Sun." Such a vow weighs heavy on young shoulders, and it's sometimes easy to forget that Volterra is not even four years of age yet. "But know that whilst the Sun has my undying respect, my devotion will always lie with yourself." Again the admission makes him feel exposed, uncovered, but this time he revels in the sensation. There is no shame in admitting what everybody knows - that Volterra is the Earth's man through and through, and has been ever since that wide-eyed colt first gazed upon the magnificent giant that now stands before him.

The God continues by blessing his promised ability onto the Indomitable, and he feels the magic whistle through him like an errant wind. He wonders what beast he will become; he knows that this new power is lying in hands far more capable than those that first asked for this quest. He is about to utter his thanks, when there's more - earth and wind embraces him and he absorbs the touch like that of a lover, whilst his eyes widen in awestruck surprise and his ears desperately inhale those precious words. A gift - the resistance of his body against forces of earth, a boon that he does not take lightly. "Thank you." He wishes he were a more scholarly man, who could weave his words into something more profound, more poetic, but this act of kindness has left him truly speechless. Mumbling his thanks sounds insufficient compared to what has been given to him, but he knows that he can add another emotion to his completed quest - gratitude, all-consuming awe towards this great man.

The little boy inside him smiles, and says I told you so. Apparently his younger self had had more sense that he'd given him credit for - in choosing the Earth as his patron, he's made one decision that he knows he will never regret.

V O L T E R R A
I'M LIVING LIKE A LANDMINE WAITING TO EXPLODE
I'M TICKING LIKE A TIME BOMB READY TO GO

drawing: chan <3


THANK YOU AKSKDHFHF A MILLION THANK YOUS <3333

[ 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 ]





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