"Where brilliance is good and madness is better..."
Helovia Info
Helovia opened in February 2012! We are an active fantasy equine RPG
Where once the world narrowed into naught but gray dust and desolation, the gods called for life. Wielding the elements of fire and light, dark and wind, earth and water, spark and time, they have created Helovia. The realm is set within the mythical globe of Loorien, a planet rich with all variety of creatures and blessed with all manner of magic. Originally populated by nomadic, tribal characters, they've since grown into massive empires saturated with culture and history. Separated into four distinct segments of Helovia, called "The Regions," each band of horse strong enough and capable enough, took up the power and responsibility of leadership. Unicorns, old, wise and mysterious, took to the north, hidden in forests of mists and shadows and rarely making themselves known beyond their cliffs of the World's Edge. Equines, vast, organized and militaristic, split into two, one group went north to the Windtossed Foothills and the other group went south to the Dragon's Throat. Pegasus remained nomadic, making their homes in various parts of The Wilds in a migratory manner. For many generations, the land was peaceful and calm, but peace was never the way of the gods. With a clash of argument, war and bloodshed massacred Helovia, and in the aftermath, the realm was eerily quiet. Now, as newcomers sweep into this land, they are met with the lingering bitterness of the gods and the struggle to reclaim what was lost. Nothing remains safe or certain while sorcerers and soldiers alike brood and bide their time for revenge, honor and glory.
Site Wide Plots
Kaos :: The Beginning of the End ☼ - 6/2017 - Kaos placed Helovia in a time-bubble for a short period of time, but the Helovian gods are fighting back. But Kaos is powerful- far more powerful than anyone thought. This may be the beginning of the end of Helovia as we know it.
Kisamoa :: A New Kind of Kaos ☼ - 3/2017 - Kisamoa asks Helovians to help him restore the Spectral Marsh. Which side will you choose?
Invasions :: All Out War ☼ - 5/2/16 - New layout and the brand new invasion rules are up! Thank you for your patience and we look forward to getting started with this new adventure.
The Rift :: Gods Do Die ☼ - 8/2015 - Helovia Gods are saving the Rift from corrupt gods! Can Helovians band together against these foreign deities?
The Literal Ship ☼ - 2/8/15 - Oh no! You have to pair up for Valentine's day!
Sky Island :: Murder ☼ - 10/25/14 - Vesta has been found dead on the island, and the gods have called to you to solve the murder!
Sky Island :: Peace ☼ - 7/7/14 - An island has appeared in the sky! Clouds carry Helovians from the Veins to the sky.
Restoration :: We Welcome the Dawn ☼ - 9/21/13 - The sun has finally risen on this day, giving the land new light, but the Time God and the Sun God have yet to be seen.
Endless Night :: Broken Magic Plot ☼ - 8/30/13 - The earth god has returned and is walking across Helovia to heal the land. Every area can now be considered lush and prosperous, but the sun has still not risen.
☼ - 7/19/13 - The moon has risen in the sky, heralding the return of the Goddess of the moon. Lamp trees which light the paths have grown brighter, moon flowers which grow in dark places have begun to grow and prosper and the world is brighter, filled with a new hope.
Endless Night :: Dead Magic Plot ☼ - 6/22/13 - The gods of Helovia, in order to protect the world, have disappeared into the rift, leaving the world sunless, moonless and magic-less in their absence. Only the herdlands have a source of light, but lamp-trees with glowing leaves and branches sporadically line the popular roads and paths from place to place.
Doppleganger Plot ☼ - 6/20/13 - The God of Time is still struggling to close the rift though which the dopplegangers have come. He has requested that his brothers and sister assist in closing this hole, but without knowing why it opened, the task is proving difficult. Magic still remains faulty and hard to control, but the herdlands continue to be places of refuge for those who are fortunate enough to call these lands home.
ORANGEMOON cools off the lands with a a viscious force. Colder than normal, a sign of things to come during Frostfall, Helovia is bathed in a rich tropical lushness - albiet a cold one. The coastlines of the Dragon's Throat are pelted constantly by tidal waves, and the desert climate is humid but chilly. Ice begins to form early in the Aurora Basin leaving the winding trails slick and dangerous. The mists of the World's Edge coat everything in a glistening crystalline shine which encourages mould to grow everywhere. The Spectral Marsh is the only area which remains fertile, blissfully temperature and lush.
Cotm
Character of the Month for
June, 2017
WEAVER, Corporal of the Aurora Basin, is a relatively recent addition to Helovia and has taken it by storm. Branded with the seal of Death on her chest, intrigue and interest follow both her past and present. Though she is assuredly beautiful, her sometimes sharp personality reveals that there is more to this uni-peg hybrid than meets the eye. Proving herself able on the battlefield in the Basin’s warrior ranks, we can’t wait to see her test her mettle against the looming Kaos happenings! Congratulations!
Helovia RPG was created by Tamme and Blu and coded by Tamme also known as Schwartze. All coding, palettes and imagery are copyrighted to the website and are not for use outside of Helovia. Thank you to our ServerMaster for hosting Helovia. A special thanks goes to Neo for all of her coding help and fixing Tamme's errors, Boom, for her loyal service and creation of the Time God, and to Ali for her consistent contributions and dedication.
I had found it just outside of Helovia’s borders—the precious egg, large and glistening and gold, bundled by itself in a careful nest of pine needles and leaves. I had known what it was right away: the way it called to me, pulled me. With hardly a second thought (as is my wont) I had snatched it from its cradle of underbrush, far too greedy for my own good, and claimed it as my own—I figure I would have been bombarded by some angry mother dragon by this point, had it not been meant to be.
It’s mine now.
The sky above is dark and ominous, but I’m blissfully unaware of the monster that has been haunting Helovia—last thing I knew was that this weird creature named Kis-something-or-other had come randomly popping out of the ocean. Still, even if I did know, even if I did realize the bloody doom that loomed ahead, I’m not sure that I would even care in this moment. In this moment, my eyes are only for the egg.
It moves—
My muscles seize with excitement, my breath is baited with anticipation, and my yellow eyes are wide as they reflect the royal egg. First one crack appears, a hairline fracture along the gleaming surface, and then it splinters—down the sides the lines run, creating a haphazard webbing of cracks. I feel myself leaning forward, getting impatient (come on, come on!)—and then, clink. With a nearly-soundless thrust from within, the gilded shell goes shattering to the cold ground, falling into a glittering pile around a little gold dragon.
I feel my breath catch in my throat and I hiccup gracelessly, my lips parted in a silent squeal of delight. Eagerly I thrust my head forward, inspecting the young reptile (my huntress) more closely. The golden queen is unimpressed with my intrusion of her space, but being barely a babe, she falls over her legs while licking her forked tongue out in a hiss. I bark a breath of gleeful laughter, barely recognizing the distant screams as hunger suddenly clutches my stomach.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
I’m still on cloud nine when I trapeze ignorantly into the Spectral Marsh, riding the high of my new royal bond. It’s a shock, to say the least, when the scene opens up before me—a disarray of black shadows and bright lights, of death and the bone-curling screams of those left behind. For a long moment I just stare, watching as the crowd moves this way and that, everyone shoving each other, and everyone calling out for someone else. I’m disoriented, confused, and unable to think of anything much more than: “What the damn hell—?”
But I have never been a lady of words.
(Or a lady at all, really.)
With something of a warrior’s cry scraping from my lips, I charge forward. At what, I’m not even sure, but the buzz of battle is electric and contagious. Through my mane, I feel Cutlass dig into the flesh of my neck, trying to hold on as her little body is tossed roughly on my back. I snarl with the pain, gnashing my teeth towards the nearest spit of shadows.
And then I see him— “Volterra?” I breathe, stopping suddenly (with a shriek of distaste from my reptilian rider) and focus my attention on the large mammoth of a stallion. He is rounding up others—who exactly, I don’t know (joke’s on me being part of the biggest damn family in the history of ever)—and with a sense of hollow loyalty for this man I hardly know (but still respect?), I follow him. I’m not ready to die—and I might not know much about this situation, but I know the end of the world when I see it. “Hold on!” I growl to my dragon as I feel the portal’s force, gritting my teeth for whatever lies ahead.
I have grown in the last few weeks. I have grown and grown fast. I spend less and less time with my adopted Mama and her family and more with my own. I have come to love them all, to trust them all. Even my brother Brendan, has earned a special place in my little heart. I am glad, I got to know all my family before...
Before it happened.
Today will be the only day I speak of such events, as I do not think I can handle speaking of it ever again.
This darkness came, and of course as I have found my vision is not as good when it is dark. Father gathers us all up, and we go looking for Sansa as we go. She's the only one missing. When we find her, I think everyone can see her sides are swelling with a baby even if she does not want to admit it. So together we walk, for what I now know is the last time as one small family.
When we get to the marsh, I instantly wish we had not come. I do not like it here as it is darker than other places. I need the light to be able to see clearly. I press tight against Father, until the creature Kaos begins to speak. He yells and screams at all of us gathered and those still coming, pushed by some force of his. I feel Father move, and Alanna makes me move backward until I am standing tight against Sansa's flank instead. I look up at the older girl, my cousin. Why would Father put me next to her, when I am sure he is able to protect me. After all, he kept the white witch from killing me...
Then it begins. When we do not do as Kaos wants, he begins to single out and kill those that object. When the ivy marked stallion dies, Sansa screams. I look up at her, my green eyes wide with fear. I do not understand what is happening. She realizes then, that I am there and tells me to look away. To close my eyes and keep tight against her.
I did for a moment, until the bright light breaks into my eyes as it seems to come for us. I feel my cousin press me in tighter, and the gasp of horror and shock. My eyes fly open, the light allowing me to see everything in perfect detail. The light had not touched Sansa or I. Not even Calypso, Sapphia or Ceto.... But it did touch others. I stare in horror, unable to speak as my cousin Farah, my brother Brendan with his bonded Arwen.... And.... "NO!" I scream. "Daddy, please, Daddy, don't leave, Daddy, no, stop it!" I can see the light taking him. I press against Sansa, tears streaming down my face.
More die. More flashes of light. But my eyes remain glued on the place where Daddy had just been standing. No. He'd never leave me. Not willingly. A red heart with a red paw print appears on my shoulder, and I know. Daddy was with me, he'd always be with me.
Sansa nips my rump, Lady is shoving me from behind. Together along with Calypso and Sapphira we go. We run to the portal, leaving my birthplace behind. Leaving everything we have ever known. But most of all, leaving Daddy, Brendan and Farah behind us.
"Typi non habent claritatem insitam; est usus legentis in iis qui facit eorum claritatem."
Ranjiri</style> in this world full of people there's one killing me and if we only die once i wanna die with you</style>
Helovia was nothing but pain. Turmoil. Strife. Grief. Unimaginable pain.
My eyes were wide and I was totally lost for words as I watched the utter chaos of a battle that we had no hope of winning. But if Helovians were anything at all, it was stubborn. There was no way that many of them would just roll over and let Kaos take what was ours. But there was no point in fighting. I could see it. I could feel it in my bones. I had fought against the Rift gods before, but this fight was different. This .... thing was unbeatable. It showed no mercy and no remorse for the lives it took and the bonds it destroyed.
'....Mommy?' The soft, tremulous voice of my daughter pulled my attention down to her. ' Mommy, I'm scared....' She cowered against my side, her eyes shut and her ears back as if that would be enough to block out the screams. "It's okay, baby." I whispered, sounding far more confident than I felt. "We'll be okay." I turned to my other side and brushed muzzle over Gabriel's forehead. "Close your eyes, sweetheart..." My wings expanded then dropped enough to shield my children from the sight of so much death.
They were too young for this.
Our gods were dying. My friends and my family were dying and I didn't know what to do. "Drago...?" I looked to him, hopelessly. "What do we do?" I could feel Requiem trembling against my side, but there was nothing more that I could do besides shield her from the seeing the violence.
"The portal." Dragomir said and I turned and looked toward it, totally unsure of whether or not it was safe. Why would Kaos give us an out? Why would he offer some kind of saving grace? "But..." I started to argue and fell silent when Drago shook his head and I knew what he was thinking. There was no time to argue or think about what could possibly happen.
"You're coming with us, aren't you?" I asked, hoping that he wouldn't be foolish enough to stay and fight or to try and help anyone. He had to think about us, his family, and how much we needed him.
I think it was seeing my mother go through the portal tat strengthened my resolve and made me more confident in the decision. "Come on, we have to go." I said and I used my wings to push my two youngest children forward. "Letha! Geronimo!" I called their names as we headed for the portal. "I'm right behind you." I promised Requiem and Gabriel before they disappeared through the portal. Then I turned to Dragomir. "I love you." I whispered, just in case this portal was just a trick. Then Mara and I followed my children into whatever waited for us on the other side of the portal.
Iona had always known there was something nefarious brewing in Helovia. Perhaps that was just her overall distrust of magic speaking, but she’d arrived here just as the Riftian gods and new lands had been birthed into Helovia, and that’d made quite the impression on the painted pegasus. She’d made a home here, found a place, but she’d never been able to lower her guard. Not entirely. And the arrival of this particular asshole had sent the mare into a downward spiral of paranoia that made a shitstorm like this all but...unsurprising.
She had no way of predicting his methods or his particular means of destruction. But she was certainly impressed by the sheer scope. Kaos destroyed lives, mortal and immortal, like a child stepping on ants. Crushing smaller things just for the sick pleasure of doing so.
“What the fuck” She muttered, as the shadows pressed her ever-closer. Iver flew as close as he could to his bonded, overwhelmed by emotions pouring through the bond. There was fear, of course, but it was saturated with what could only be described as rage.
“Seriously. Fuck this. Fuck all of this.” She muttered through gritted teeth. Her emerald eyes, alight with fury and other unspoken emotions, searched desperately for her sister. It felt selfish, in a way, to prioritize family when people were literally exploding into nothingness. Iona tried not to focus on the familiar shapes, whose lives were snuffed out in nothing but a burst of light and an all consuming shadow. She knew she’d see each and every shape again in her nightmares.
She did, however, see her family - Alysanne, Nae, and the others - making their way towards the portal that the Gods struggled to hold open. Iona hesitated for a moment, wondering how wise it was go to the very place that birthed all this bullshit. But a quick glance over her shoulder seemed to affirm that this was her only option if she’d like to continue breathing. She released a huff and pressed forward, flying over her sister before turning towards the cause of all this, well, chaos.
The painted mare flared her wings, keeping herself in place above her loved ones as they made their way towards what she hoped was safety. “Fuck you.” She seethed, her emerald eyes looking at whatever the hell Kaos had managed to transform himself into. “Fuck this place. I’m done. I’m out.” Her tone was clipped, but the resolve was evident.
And with that fond farewell, the mare turned and dove for the portal, carrying absolutely none of her sister’s faith that this new world held any niceties at all.
I am glad, after meeting up with Ilios in the grove that the rest of my family finds me. Lady is full and sleeps content on my armored back. I didn't pull the armor back in, as I have no idea why we are all being pushed to this one place. I spot Ilios from a short distance, with his son tight at his side. I have to admit, I keep an eye on them simply because they will both be family to my child. I need him or her to know them, as it was hard growing up without a ton of family around.
But when I do look away, I look for Mama Alysanne and her family.
Then, all hell breaks loose. My eyes snap back to Ilios as I hear him speaking. I watch, and scream in horror as the father of my child is lifted up and.... is just gone. Nothing but smoke.... I try to find his son in the insanity that ensues, but a smaller frame pushing against me changes that. Uncle Aaron and Alanna pushed Sarai back to me. Why did I need to look after her?! Close you eyes. It's going to be okay. Oh how wrong I was.
I was not expecting the light to come for us, but it did. I watch and wait, tears falling down my cheeks as I get ready to embrace death. But it does not come. I instead gasp as I see Uncle Aaron, Brendan and.... No.... sweet Farah. They gave their lives for us. I look to Calypso, and a wordless understanding passes. Together along with Lady and Daenerys we try to herd the little ones, Sarai, Sapphira and Ceto to the portal. We have to survive. We have to make it. We will not let their deaths be in vein....
I will have time to cry later, for now... I must be the adult. I must protect, my family.
The portal sucks us in, and where it will spit us out I do not know.
Typi non habent claritatem insitam; est usus legentis in iis qui facit eorum claritatem.
Days bled into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years…
The God of the Earth spared his glorious kingdom (which the Gallant had nurtured and loved), from the wrath of ignorant dictators and thus the evergreen jungles and foaming, white waterfalls born from her father’s bones, became home.
Zahra, plagued by the memories of her mother’s brief life, became prisoner together with her sisters, to her own empathy – grief and understanding – finding peace in solitude and friendship in the murmur of Helovia’s remote wilderness (depths into which others seldom delved).
However, the ravenous return of Kaos was brazen and without mercy; darkness leaked through the wilds, draining life from lands that once blossomed with culture, nature, and like countless others, the hermit-mare was driven from the refuge of her chosen isolation.
With them - like sheep, herded towards the eastern coast – the golden-child came upon a sea of chaos, the cataclysm of the world; or so it seemed. The infamous rift god, who many before her had fought in other forms, stood upon the pinnacle of strength and power, a magical throne beside which loomed a glittering void. Stark, brilliant light shed from its presence, drawing them nearer (if not by enigmatic beauty alone), and Zahra was scarcely able to resist.
So cowardly had she become through her time spent alone, that she hid while others fought in vain; while deities bled and their foe reigned supreme.
When at last the climax hit, the end, the last hurrah, the daughter of the Starry-Eyed and the Gallant (her ever-faithful sisters), was swept away easily - from all that was familiar, loathed and painful – through the rabbit hole, presumably into the palm of oblivion…
What a waste.
Permission given for all except death
Please only tag Zahra in openers and spars
The black smoke marks the air, your friend, with a caustic sting. And no matter how hard you try to breach its heavy body – you are choking, drowning, useless in the air as you try to clamber through it. To see the crisp blue skies again, and the breathless expanse that awaits your soul, pulses defiantly in your blood.
You will see them, just not at this moment, as Ru finds herself corralled like some wild game into the very pit of Kaos’ schemes. You are a pawn, drawn like all the others as you hover upon the last remaining bits of air that you can afford.
The warrior quickly realizes the changes in the alter, the vibrations its spreads when it morphs and pools into some hell bent sphere. You hear its voice and its commands.
“DO NOT FIGHT ME.”
The air is harder to navigate, your heart hitches and your blood boils. This is the end, you realize. This is the story you’ve been chasing, the foe you always knew you were meant to conquer to all and every end. Perhaps you wished they would sing songs of your victory, and the monsters you would continue to devour with your tempered will. You would bleed for a righteous cause, after all.
You just wished and hoped it wouldn’t have been so soon.
But the world has never been known for its abundant charity or grace. It forged us all with its perils and spared us no grief.
You hope, with all your wills that the faces you’ve journeyed with are not as foolish. Lyanna, noble and resilient Lyanna; Ros, the only other comrade you could say you truly trusted. Perhaps you even looked up to them, to embody them in strength and power. And your brief encounters with the residents of Helovia, of the World’s Edge – faces you would never get to know.
True to your soul, to your whole body that is covered in a fearful sweat, and a heart that exceeds its rate at a pounding, ringing state, you defy Kaos with your trembling cry. It cracks and pales in comparison to the God’s mighty howls, but it’s all you have – as your place in the world zeros down to the seconds.
You’re consumed like the others. Torn apart and dissolved into nothingness. It hurts, but you can no longer scream with your lungs or brace with your muscles. There is only agony, terrible affliction; nothing has trained you for this moment. When flesh is ripped away from its soul and spirit. Your three selves are torn and cast away in every direction, and you are lost.
It is the familiar scent of air that somehow binds you together again. Where your family, torn by the winds that first brought you to Helovia, have called you back into their arms.
And there is only pure joy. As you find your voice amongst the dead.
It was happening. My worst fears come true. Kaos was forcing us all into one place. Oh dear gods please don't let this be the end. I just found love. I haven't even told him I love him yet. Granted, he marked me and I finished the marking.... So I guess he would know.... But those three words have not left my lips. Not to him at least. The girls, I tell them everyday how much I love them. How much I care for them. They are currently pressed between Brendan and I as we walk, Arwen and Daenerys close behind them.
We arrive along with a ton of others. I see a few faces I know and a ton that I don't. Either way, I have to admit I am only focused on my little family, and my love's family. They are all I have after all.
But then, everything changes.
When I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING. Kaos is angry and begins to kill when we don't all just obey what he says. I hear screaming. It all happens so fast at first. But then, it's like everyone moved in slow motion. I watch as Aaron, Brendan and Farah move out as if they were going to attack. But they never go the chance. I scream as the light comes for us all and close my eyes holding my babies close....
But it doesn't make it.
Why doesn't it make it?
I open my eyes, and I scream again. I am met with a sight I never wanted to see. Aaron, Farah and.... No no no no this can't be happening! BRENDAN! I cry. Sapphira at my side screams for her Daddy. I can hear Sarai screaming too... But it's to late. "It's up to you and Sansa now. Be safe. Never forget.... I love you." His words break my heart. I feel it shatter. I love you too! I sob as I watch him smile and fade into the smokey light. Sansa looks to me, and I to her.
We did not speak, but knew what had to be done. I hear others realizing the same, and together with three little ones, two companions and two adults.... We move and enter the portal.
We move forward, while my heart is screaming for me to stay behind.... Screaming for the love of my life, lost to me forever.
Typi non habent claritatem insitam; est usus legentis in iis qui facit eorum claritatem.
The lamb knows it is over, knows that the end is finally upon them - she watches the shadows loom, curling black mists seeping into Helovia, swallowing entire lands, gluttonous and unsatisfiable as it forces the populous into a place Safiri had not explored. She is faint when she arrives, fatigued but not oblivious to the haunting and ghastly aura blanketing the land, with its tangled roots and dirty water that stains her ivory hide and drowns out Auni. She scoops up the golem and lets it settle with Haki, and she stops, frozen, scared. Her knees are buckling, her eyes are wide and she is shaking and dead still all the same.
Her petite heart is thundering in tune to the screams, the awful screams that carry through the gnarled trees, the flashes of teal that swallow entire individuals, that destroy them, erase them from existence. And Safiri stands still, witnessing the deaths of dozens, some she had seen, some she had not, she can see their defiance, their fear, the uncertainty painted across their features before smoke and death consumes them, leaves them gone - and Safiri is sobbing, because she does not know how to handle the sight of so many deaths, too many as her body shakes and she finds herself in a crowd of unfamiliar faces, of panicked strangers scrambling to find their way into some gaping portal, a sanctuary away from this hell.
But the princess is frozen, she's weeping as her heart is pressured to beat faster in accordance to her terror, spring green is reaching, desperate for her mother, for her father, for anyone she knows. There are too many bodies, too much chaos surging around her, she is paralyzed and weeping, shutting her eyes and praying it will all go away. She hears screaming, she hears despair and anguish, there is agony trapped beneath her skin and a plea for freedom, for escape from the pain that blossoms in her chest, that pierces her joints and weighs her down. She is alone, she is alone and afraid and soon enough she thinks she too will be swallowed up by the teal light and black smoke will pour from her lungs and cloud her vision, she will be taken away just like those before - she thinks she'll collapse, that she'll crumple up and get trampled beneath the commotion, ignored and forgotten as the frantic mob surges towards the gaping portal.
She cannot move her feet, she cannot move at all, Haki burying his face into her mane and whimpering, and she closes her eyes, because she's so sorry. She promised she'd be strong, but she was weak, she was weak and scared and this was it for her, for them - "Mom!"
The child stops, she opens her eyes and faces the familiar voice, the light in the dark, the saving grace - she watches him, heartbroken, she watches the bastard son fill with grief, a glimmer of a tear flowering at the corner of gilded eyes. He catches her, approaches with a brisk, determined trot and he had a purpose, he was here to help. She is somehow finding a smile across her face, spreading pink kissed lips and she is so grateful, she can feel the tears brimming and spilling out and over. "Oh Zubari, I'm so sorry - " that's all she can say, leaning against him for support with laboured breaths and panic in her step. She wants to tell him that she can't go, that she must stay and wait for her family, but she is too afraid, she is not strong enough yet. Safiri follows, takes gentle steps towards the portal with Zubari for support, and she pauses before she enters the portal.
She glances to the Marsh and the hell it had descended into, she looks to the families ushered into the portal, the members left behind, the valiant individuals who stay behind, who call to Kaos and who remain vigilant - Safiri cannot see her mother, her father, her family, her stomach is twisting, she is mortified imagining a world without them, stuck between staying behind and going through the portal. Perhaps her family has already gone through, or was coming through now, maybe - no, she shakes her crowned head, she turns to Zubari, who whispers his goodbyes to Helovia, to his mother, he cries and Safiri wants to comfort him, but the portal has them in its grasp and they go together into the unknown.
Hush now…Don’t be scared
Through this tide of darkness….
He was so tired, exhaustion lining under his eyes, and weighing down his small body till his hooves dragged. He heard whispers of what was happening….and he saw the fog. Black and thick it blocked out the sun and chocked any near it. The pale colt had been glad to leave where there was still sun. Yet the thought of leaving the Edge had made him look back…for someone, a red filly. He never did find her. Ma and Da and had been so tense and whispered. Then Da had gone….that’s when the colt knew things were not good. He had returned in the middle of the night, the colt saw him come, much to his happiness….but it hadn’t lasted.
Stumbling along, wearing Da’s cloak again as it seemed to be his own now, nudged by Ma and Da the pale colt and his twin was pulled with the rest of Helovia into the narrow trap. Fear and anxiety leapt across the group, stinging him worse than Castiella’s sparks. “Da…” He tosses his head up to look at the adults, but the gold was standing before him, back turned. The shouting grows. His heart begins to beat faster, but he was used to its thresholds now and pays it no mind…for now…. “Ma?” He tries the other. He had never seen so many horses together…he just wanted to see what was happening. “Ma what’s going on?” Ever an innocent soul, the colt did not understand.
The colt stomps a small hoof at being ignored. He wanted to know! The pale colt was tired of being whispered about, of his parents not telling him everything. He had now travelled across the continent, he’d been wounded, and he had seen death even (though he didn’t care to remember it). What possibly could they be wanting to keep from him? His head shakes, and the horn cuffs, still lite with their small flames, rattle.
Bones are strong. Right. He’d just be strong and find out for himself. With ears flat back like he’d seen Ma do when she’d had enough of Da being…Da, the colt tries to move around his Da’s gold shoulder. The stallion moves, blocking his sight. Frowning as a light flashes and more words shout across the dull crowd noise, the colt tries again. Once more he is blocked by his Da. “Da!” He shouts his frustration. Da was never like this! He always gave in and always listened. It made the colt’s heart sting slightly.
Fine be that way. Using what his Da had taught him, against him, the colt slipped back till he was behind the two and his twin, then came around the otherside till he could se- A dead body hit the earth, black mists oozing from every surface. The pale colt froze rigid. Now he heard the words. Death…laughter at death. Screams. Shouts. Another group charges some large stallion standing by the portal….Dead. Drop dead. The colt begins to shake.
He hears his name. He feels a shove. A push and he’s falling, down. A shadow moves over him, gold shadow, curses,...but dead. Another drops dead. The colt was shaking from ear to hoof. Over and over he saw the smoke pouring from the eyes of horses….like there was nothing there. The child was too young to understand the rest, the sacrifice of the Gods, the words Kaos spoke, or what could possible lay in the swirling portal….he just saw death. Everywhere death….and though fear struck his heart, speeding it…he did not panic in painful fear as before…that is what scared him most. Each falling body he felt himself stink deeper and deeper. It wasn’t the heightened, running around terrified, like he pretended to do in games sometimes. No. It was a weight, a pressing of the world on his small shoulders. He already bore so much though…He was so tired. Sea blue eyes close away, but he can still hear them. Still hear the thud of bodies. His heart wasn’t racing, but a warmth was spreading over him…and he let it. Thud Another falls. Horses he didn’t even know….or…did he? Castiella! He never found her in the-! Sea blue eyes open but its too late, they open to reveal a growing white core.
Heat seared quickly down his spine, eyes close back in pain, and his coat glows brighter and brighter. It wavers in light, shifting, till it is nothing but flames, licking the underside of the gold. It did not lash out as much as before though, instead the flames seem muted…dulled. Then it fades to ashes, before the gold phoenix finally rises. Father had moved. The white bird eyes looks at the sky above and wings lift him up, yet he is so tired…The fire bird catches sight of a rosen back and he mindlessly soars to it, rather clumsily. Wings flap as he gains balance, catching himself. The gold bird looks one…Falling, bodies falling. But there was nothing….Nothing but a numbness. This was even far too much for the phoenix to withstand.
Then his mother was moving. Claws did in slightly to hold on. Voice and shouts merge. The scene blurs and he feels himself pulled….the portal…But white eyes look back, ever looking back on the world he barely knew...the one he was meant, as the son of the Valkyrie and Laurelin, to rule, so he was taught. The world of Helovia was dead…as was his youth’s innocence.
Shadows may roam,
Thunder may march,
But peace will soon prevail
OOC :: Freaks at the action and turns into a pheonix, permission from Brit for him to then fly onto Hotaru's back as Thranduil shoves her toward the portal (coming in the next post, also have permission).
"speech"
The babe, of course, understands very little of the chaos of their crumbling world.
The black shadows, when they had arrived, had been almost normal to her innocent eyes, so blissfully ignorant, until the frantic encouragements of her mother had herded her towards the fetid, choking heart of Helovia. She may know little in her newborn mind, but she knows fear, and she knows pain.
(The terrible shrieks of anguish and despair are familiar, bone-curling sounds that had been ripped from her very own lips moments after birth. They haunt her, surround her, scare her.)
The warped tendons in her forelegs scream in protest as she runs forward, stumbling frequently across the frozen ground, while silent tears stream from her wide, shocked eyes. Even so, she dare not slow down—her pale gaze is locked forward on her mother, who guides her through the throng of mayhem. There is only one moment when she pauses—“Arleigh! Mordecai!”—she hears their names, the familiar voice catching her attention for but a second.
But it is a second too long.
When she looks ahead again, her mother is gone. Suddenly very, very afraid, the babe squeals, her little body trembling and her head thrashing from this side to that. She doesn’t even move. (Is this what it’s like to be alone?) But then mother is there. Arleigh feels relief, but her mother is more urgent than over. “Elat!” she says, “Through the portal! Ajjin!” she commands.
The young girl whimpers but doesn’t fight, her head turning back while her mother pushes her through the portal, the final images of a dying Helovia burning into her eyes.
Cera I'm an angel with a shotgun, fighting till the war's won, and I don't care if heaven won't take me back
He has been here since the Gods gave him form and life, breathed a spark into his ribcage and let the embers crackle him to life. He has been a stalwart Prince of the Dragon's Throat, the clay and sands and ocean brine that even now clings to his hide like a second skin. Armor against the darkness that pervades, that crushes, that steals away the light from the only world he has ever known.
Cera stands, a guardian of memory and time, in frozen uselessness as the heavens shake and the screams of deities and damned alike rise in shivering harmony to the tune of defeat. Ilaria is screaming in his head, a cacophony of noise and emotion, but it batters uselessly against the numb silence of his own mind. Green eyes reflect the lightning that sparks across the sky, watching as Gods rise against Titan, the original. The creator. The one they had felled as their compatriots had in the legends of old, seizing the throne with bloodied hands and a sense of righteousness. But the beast, Kaos - Kronos - is not so easily disposed of.
Battle cries ring forth, screaming LIBERTY OR DEATH! But this is the God of Gods, the ruler of the creatures they had slain in the past. Cera cannot speak past the knot in his throat, limbs locked tight. Cowardly. Useless. Until he sees them, riding like valkyries into the shadows, their faith on their shoulders that crumple like broken dolls beneath the easy might of the Reaper. Their struggles are futile, and they burn incandescently in their deaths. Beautiful stars that burn themselves out in the light of their own passion.
Cera moves to join them, to lift his wings to the turbulent skies, to deface the black altar that sucks in every soul that gathers nervous and sheeplike before it. He has nothing but the strength of his own body, has no magic or might to spear into the belly of the demon.
Aithniel. Ilios. Matheo.
A scream bubbles in his throat as he sees the beautiful boy vanish, the last bit of Gaucho Cera ever had left. Eyes wild he races across the marsh, muck splattering against his pristine hide, frantic and shouting commands he doesn't even recognize as they cross his tongue in foreign spurts. Get the foals out first. Don't fight it, don't fight it, wait for the Gods, they wouldn't abandon us. You're a liar, a liar, they're coming, they'll save us. His faith is unwavering, burning bright past the tears that cling to pale lashes.
Until he sees Sohalia and Ampere, gripped tight by the darkness, shattered into oblivion with a thoughtless motion. The scream bubbles free, shredding his throat with the viciousness of his own emotion. Knees crumple into the earth, nearly dislodging Ilaria who clings tight to his mane. They're gone, gone, gone. Everyone he has ever loved, everyone he had left from the days of old when war was the only monster on the horizon that threatened to spirit away loved ones from your side. They slip from his clenching grasp like sand, drifting away in the wind, and no matter how hard he clings to them, they leave him. Grief washes over him, capsizing him, destroying the vessel of hope he clings to. That maybe this time, just fucking once, his family will be spared. But Helovia had cursed him from birth, from the moment his mother left him abandoned on the sands of the Throat. They will always leave you Cera. You will always have to bear witness to their deaths. You will be the last one standing, forever, until you are so shattered there is nothing left to save.
In a lunging motion of desperation he finds his hooves, only to gaze to the sky as the Gods come streaking down, celestial and brilliant. Cera dares to hope, sending his prayers in thoughtless, faithful, unending streams. His God, his Lord, the one who had lifted him time and again from the pits of despair, the one who had blessed him with family and home. The God of the Sun. He streaks across the sky, cloaked in fire and light so bright Cera can hardly bare to witness it. Too late does he realize what is happening, that this isn't the first strike of battle. This is martyrdom. This is a sacrifice.
The scream that comes this time shatters every bone in his body as it drags itself from Cera's soul. It is formless. Perhaps he begs for forgiveness, for salvation, for death. He can't discern his own words in the tempest of loss he feels. His God, gone. The only thing he'd always had, without fail. Snuffed out from the earth and the heavens above in one fell swoop, heroic even in his misunderstood existence.
And a sacrifice it is, as child and parent alike gather in the skies to face the cackling demon that drives them onward like a snapping dog, divine parentage only sealing their fates as sacrificial lambs. Until the Earth God uses the last of his waning strength to let his voice boom across the marshes, securing a passage through the portal. And Cera kneels in the muck and mud, a man of faith brought low by the reality of godlessness, more willing to die in the mire of his shattered world than fight onward for life. What had life ever given him in return?
GET UP GET UP GET UP GET UP GET UP - !!!
Ilaria finally breaks through, screaming into the void of his terror and loss. Forever his guiding light, his pillar, his soulmate. Cera lurches to his hooves, swaying, battered by the winds of his loss. Ilaria clings to the vestiges of his sanity, his attention, and digs into it like a savage dog, wresting Cera's consciousness to the fore of his broken mind.
GO! GET BELLA AND GO! WE WILL NOT DIE HERE!
Her commands light fire beneath his feet, scalding and burning wherever it touches. But it's enough. Cera would rather have laid down to die, but he can't. Not when it will kill Ilaria too. Not when he still has loved ones to protect, to live for even when the Prince cannot live for himself.
Not today. Not today. I will find you in the afterlife, but not today. He lets that prayer escape his bloodied, broken fingers. Sends it to Gaucho, Sohalia, Ampere, Midas, Hototo. Everyone he'd ever lost. He can see them, standing all around him as he watches the world go to ruin. They would welcome him home to their sides if he were to make that choice. But he can't. Not yet.
So he runs. Faster than he ever has before, wings hauling him higher and eyes scanning desperately across the graveyard the marshes had become. Looking for the most familiar of bodies, the angel of his own flesh and blood, his little sun. His daughter. Bella.
When he catches sight of her he dives, ignoring the sharp ache that resonates through his ankles as he lands hard, immediately shoving into her hips to crowd her forward.
"GO! GO! I'M RIGHT BEHIND YOU!" Cera bellows, shoving her forward. There is nothing but death and destruction awaiting them in the shadows that had funneled them to this battlefield. But he trusts the God of the Earth, with what little faith he has left in the wake of their deaths. They have to try. And Cera will spend whatever time left he has on this earth - be it mere moments like Sohalia and Ampere, or undetermined years - ensuring that his daughter lives. That no matter where this portal takes them, he will sacrifice everything if it means her continued existence. Emerald eyes catch a glimpse of black and gold - Ranjiri - and his heart heaves with senseless gratitude. Prays that she and her flock will make it out of this alive as well.
I love you, Cera, Ilaria whispers in his head as his wings come forth to envelope Bellanaris, ushering her forward into the void. She wraps herself around his neck, and Cera tucks her beneath his chin, tears falling freely. If these are to be his last words, he will choose them wisely. He will mean them with every broken fiber of his golden soul. I love you too.
I should have known this happiness...this peace wouldn’t last. I knew immediately where the shadows were herding us. I knew who was herding us. It was Kaos. It was always Kaos. Ever since the moment the pretender-god had arrived in Helovia, mistrust had burned hot in my belly.
My family was finally beginning to thread itself back together, only for everything to be torn apart all over again.
I heard the pleading.
The screams.
I saw the explosions of light and could smell the acrid smoke that symbolized another life that Kaos had purged from this place. I felt the burn of the light behind my eyelids even when they were pressed tightly shut. I felt the vibration of Papa’s chest when he screamed for his brother.
I felt everything.
And nothing.
I didn’t scream. I couldn’t. It was like I’d forgotten how to produce sound, or there was no longer enough air in my lungs to do so. I just watched, paralyzed, waiting for some salvation to save those who remained from the encroaching darkness. Everly released a single cry of anguish, speaking for the both of us in this one moment.
My eyes turned skyward - looking for the moon - for the one who held so much strength and so many answers. The moon had promised she would protect us, protect me from this threat. She’d held me in her arms while she promised me this, told me not to worry. I stared as the Gods pulled open the very seams of the Earth, but my eyes were drawn to Grandmama Moon. Is this where she had been? Trying to find a way to save us all? Fighting somewhere we could not see her? Help her?
But it was over soon enough. Vacant eyes watched, disbelieving, as such an integral part of my world simply evaporated in a cloud of light and stardust. Just like that, she was gone. Erased in less than the span of a single heartbeat.
There were voices. Familiar voices. Voices that would be comforting on any other day. I felt my head nodding in response to something that Mama said, felt my feet begin to move. The portal loomed closer, with strange light pouring from the now wavering opening.
Only one coherent thought formed in my head, managing to thread its way through the confusion and the chaos.
Virga. How will he ever find us? With each step, I understood.
“What is this?!” The man growls through bared teeth, his green eyes narrowing dangerously.
He knows nothing of Kaos—he had only known Kisamoa, and even then, the supposedly-well-meaning ocean creature had put him on edge. He hadn’t trusted the monster then, and he most certainly doesn’t trust the monster now. With his newly-hatched companion nestled nervously in the crook of his withers, Rohan watches with utter horror as the end of the world begins to unfold (in bright lights and shadows and death) before his eyes.
Rohan had been a part of the original Rift Wars—but nothing could prepare the battle-worn man for the bloodshed that Kaos wrecks today. He had thought it had been a blood-thirsty war then, but this? This is not a war, this is not a battle—this is a coldblooded massacre.
“Enna—!” He breathes with a hiss, searching for the little woman among the tumultuous crowd of bodies. Despite the anger and pain she had thrown at him with their reunion, despite the words of hate and rebellion she had wedged between them, he lovesher, and he will not see her die today. He cannot see her fall victim to this executioner and his shadows.
Shoving his way roughly through the throng, Rohan only rests when he catches sight of long lilly curls disappearing through the portal. Only then does he turns towards Kaos. “THIS IS NOT A WAR!” He bellows, spittle flying from his bared teeth and fire blazing in his eyes, “THIS IS A MASSACRE!” Only a coward would smite down the weak—only a coward would use injustice as a weapon. He gnashes his jaws, releasing a snarl before he turns himself to the portal, trying not to think of what horrors lie ahead.
Fear was bitter and all consuming as he raced after his father and bonded. He had been scared before, when his father woke him after he had been born, but this was different. This was pure flight instinct and it tore at his heart. He raced blindly after his golden father being guided by the silver wolf at his side. He was older now, more prepared to take care of himself, but unwilling to. In their mad dash a mare joined them one that looked like his father. They greeted each other with tears and warm words. He stood back until they turned to him, Ilios introduced the lady as his granddam. "Hello, I'm Kyros." His smile quivered weakly as he gazed into her rich honey eyes. A falcon fluttered down and landed in front of him cooing warmly. His muzzle reached out and he embraced the mare. She pressed against him while his father pressed on them both. Penna and Isabella joined in adding their own love.
After a moment, a much to short moment they raced on again as the smoke pressed around them. They burst into a clearing filled with strangers. He swallowed hard pressing against his father and wolf. He swallowed his heart hammering as others moved around them. Ilios shoved him back and they all spoke to hi before stepping forward. 'No... NO!' He tried to follow them squealing his fear at being left alone. Isabella blocked his path and Penna landed on his back cooing his feathery body shaking. Both companions knew they were about to die, just as their horses did. The foal came first, before all else, they knew he was what their soulmates wanted them to protect. They had said their farewells already; bid their love and were continuing to do so.
"NO PA!!" Anguish pierced his heart as his father was pulled into the air. Their eyes met one last time and he screamed, "I love you too!" Tears burst from his eyes as he watched them die. His aunt, grandmother, and father all gone. Then he looked to Isabella and Penna. They gave him one last loving touch before their own life was sucked from them. A shrill cry exploded from his lips and he hit his knees his eyes blank and glazed. "No. No. No." He kept mumbling to himself his eyes staring at the ground. He felt as if he had been drained of life and been with with a burning pain.
Someone brushed against him and the boy lifts his ivy marked face wondering if someone had come for him. His heart clenches tighter as he realizes there is no one left. None of these strangers would care about some poor orphan boy. He watched loving mothers shove their babies into the portal ahead of them while they call back to loving fathers making sure they will follow. Black eyes turn away gazing at the fallen around him. So many had died here today, most of them he hadn't even noticed. When his tiny family had vanished so had a part of him. 'Maybe I'll just stay here and die along with my family...' He looks up once more tears rolling down his silvery face pleading etched on his handsome features. Would anyone stop and help pick up a child they didn't know? Surely someone in this mess would have known someone in his family. He struggled to his hooves ready to make the journey on his own, if he had to. He watched everyone race past praying one last time for someone to help him. If nobody stopped he would slip quietly into the portal, completely unprepared for the next life.
"We stand upon the precipice of change. The world fears the inevitable plummet into the abyss. Watch for that moment and when it comes, do not hesitate to leap. It is only when you fall that you learn whether you can fly." -- Flemeth, Dragon Age II
Everything was changing and perhaps if she better understood the potential finality of what could come, she might be more afraid. As it is, though, she is merely cautious, hesitant, and uncertain. Mamae had slipped away again and she still hadn't found any trace of her father but she is ever hopeful. Her soft green gaze is always searching, her young and optimistic heart leading the way and keeping her steps almost absurdly light. Even as the skies began to grow dark and whispered voices spoke of the sudden disappearance of the Gods, she did her best not to fret. She simply followed the crowds, finding the much more condensed space far more convenient for her searching.
Bella continued to come up empty, she didn't see Sikeax's familiar face or find any trace of the Golden Prince. What she found instead was a simple egg tucked away on the edge of the thick black shadows pushing in on Helovia's residents, yellow and warm like the sun. It reminds her of her birth place and it's patron God. She is drawn to it and in knowing how quickly the shadows had begun to close in on them, she felt the need to help it. It wouldn't be long before it, too, would be engulfed in the phantom black stuff and Bella didn't want to find out exactly what that would do to the innocent egg. The yearling moves towards it, turning herself sideways to inch closer to it, lifting one wing to help protect her face. It doesn't work as well as she'd hoped, causing her to cough a few times before she lowers her head to nudge the egg away from the shadows as quickly as she can. She follows it and then continues to nudge it to safety. Bella finds a comfortable space several feet from the darkness before she lies down with the egg resting comfortably between her front legs. "It's alright. You're safe now." she murmurs to it softly, rubbing the smooth shell with her velvety soft nose.
She is oddly content there, close enough to the crowd but happily stuck in her own naive bubble. It is then that the egg begins to jiggle and hum. It fidgets between her legs before the cracks begin to form. Soft green eyes watch intently, wonder and curiosity preventing her from witnessing the carnage that had begun near the front of the group. For her, there is merely peace. Innocent, naive peace. Bella's world hasn't come crashing down just yet. Instead, new life pushes itself from the egg, bringing a smile to her face. The creature is small, fluffy, and light with funny little ears that are almost disproportionately large. His colors are warm, reminiscent of the desert sands and bright sunny days. His nose is dark and his eyes are a warm golden brown that almost instantly makes her heart flutter. "Elgar'nan." she whispers, touching her nose to his.
The two share a few moments together before the screams grow too intense to ignore. Her new friend clumsily climbs up her shoulder and onto her back where he settles in between her folded wings. With him safely tucked away, the girl rises and begins to weave curiously through the crowd. That's when she catches a glimpse of the Golden Prince out of the corner of her eye. "DADDY!" she shouts, unabashedly joyful that she'd found him again. She wasn't expecting his urgency, wasn't expecting the anxiety and fear that came next. She is jostled by him, his body urging her forward into the strange thing ahead, but Elgar'nan manages to hold on tight. Bella doesn't resist, instead she throws herself forward, matching his urgency and comforted by the feel of him so near to her again. They are together as they go through the portal and whatever happens now, at least they have each other.
07-12-2017, 11:37 PM (This post was last modified: 07-12-2017, 11:39 PM by Saoirse.)
S A O I R S E
Saoirse had already given up on his mother. When circumstances had all but drawn them together, he had spied her with a young one beside her. Perhaps that was it, the final push to sever what little remained of their bond. Whatever it had been, reduced to thin wisps released and swept further, and further away. Disappeared into the oblivion, into that black and deadly smoke biting at their ankles.
The boy felt hardened, like never before. Immune to his losses, but altogether filled with the fear that was Kaos; striking down the Gods and their children. Families perished and children mewled in terror. Even the adults – shook, and cried out for the ones they lost.
It was magnificent to see. To behold this power, to be so close to death – he could taste it on the air. Even Farah had perished among them, her body a figment of his imagination – sent an uneasy chill through the yearling’s body.
What was he to make of all of this? It was a nightmare; it was the demon that pushed them further into hell. There was no way to deny the monster their authority, for those who had, were no longer breathing in the ash.
The boy swept his head in the direction of the portal. He abandoned the sights behind him, the booming voice of the Earth God, and the Moon who trembled from the sheer weight of Kaos. They bled behind him, as he followed the spiraling crowds – packed and jostled between bellies and shoulders. With limbs that felt like air, and breaths that passed him too quickly.
He would survive. He would find his way, and no one would get in his way. With a frightful yelp, the boy felt the gravity of the light charge his body forwards. Eyes wide, the voices rushing with its force.
Goodbye sandy beaches, and fire burning sun rises. Farewell old pointy man, with his noodle and grungy old scarf. He would miss the church and its cool interiors, the call of the gulls, and the rush of the winds and sea.
Tears welled up at the edges of his eyes. Threatening to burst as he fell down the rabbit hole.
Abigor followed slowly behind his mother watching everyone that raced passed them. Neither mother or son were frightened even as panic filled the air. Zunden turned and smirked down at her child gazing over the items he had found earlier that day. He had his hat pulled low over his wonky eye Elsa's blue feather placed under than band. A smooth black dragon hide cloak rippled softly in the wind. They watched silently as several horses were taken out by Kaos as he roared for them not to fight back. Having never been one to follow orders Zunden turned to her son, "Stay here and see if I make it, if not go through the portal."
He nodded softly and watched her race away only to be struck down shortly after. His head tilted slightly as he stepped towards her fading body. His eyes roved over her horns curiously wondering if he could take them, but he knew they would be to strong for his weak frame to snap off. Instead he inspected her grey spotted body searching for any signs of blood. "How odd." No matter where the day old colt looked her body was spotless. As he looked down at her open dual colored eyes pain swept through him. Without thinking he lowered his muzzle and gently closed her eyes. He felt a flicker of remorse for his powerful mother. He wished she had lived so she could teach him more about his grandsire and how to be strong.
Maybe here passing was the final test of being strong. He turned his eyes to watch others crying and screaming as their families were lost to them forever. Snorting contemptuously he turned and pressed his dark nose to her still warm neck breaking in her scent one final time. "Good bye mother. I will follow in your hoof prints."
----------------------------- Talk
Words :: 326
***
Everyone has that one friend who's perpetually late. Unless, like Ingrid, that person is you. Despite her nature, Ingrid found herself on time to the apocalypse today. How did she do it? With a little help from Advancing Deadly Black Smoke™ . The new device developed by K.A.O.S. Inc. helps people cope with lateness by threatening them with death if they dare to slow down or go back for something they forgot. While the device does come with some risk, most experts agree that K.A.O.S. is still less evil that most pharmaceutical companies. It sure helped Satisfied Customer Ingrid show up just in time for the main event!
*** BOOM!
Ingrid wished she had it in her to look away as a trio of horses levitated into the sky and exploded. Like some kind of horrible firework show, more and more families were quite literally torn apart in mid air. Not even Ingrid could make a joke at that moment. There was nothing she could do to stop the carnage, nor the tears filling her eyes.
The wise cracking Wise One from the Basin Festival fortune telling was there one minute, and the next his head was sliced clean off.
The striking leader of the Dragon's Throat who had appeared at the same event went up in flames too.
Sacre, who had been so patient and kind on her first trip the the Basin, was engulfed in shadow and turned to nothing.
Some were children. Some were so well renowned that Ingrid hadn't dared hope to even meet them. She watched them die.
Suddenly appearing out of a gap in the darkness, three new figures descended. They didn't seem to be quite as combustible. That's when Ingrid realized that they weren't just powerful Helovians, they were the divine. She closed her eyes and bowed her head, knowing everything would be alright. She had faith in the Gods, and in her Lady Moon. When she opened them again, she saw them evaporate.
"No... This isn't how this is supposed to work," she muttered, bewildered. "We're supposed to offer you sacrifices, not the other way around."
Then they were joined by two others. One she didn't recognize, but the other was Isopia. Her lovely former Seer was being ripped apart by divine energy inside her. Ingrid had known Isopia was powerful, but she never would have guessed she was part god. Now she too was giving her life.
The God of The Earth commanded them to go through the portal, and Ingrid, determined to stay true to them, obeyed. The last thing she saw was The Moon, looking more beautiful than ever as she turned to starlight and vanished. Desperately, Ingrid reached out, trying to save her presence. Something on the ground shimmered, and Ingrid snatched it up like something precious, not caring what she was holding onto.
As she fell into the portal, Ingrid did the only thing she could think of: She began to pray, knowing full well that nobody was listening.
07-13-2017, 12:00 AM (This post was last modified: 07-13-2017, 12:36 AM by Thranduil.)
Thranduil
The gold had been torn. Ever since meeting Yael and Ki’irha at the altar, the Laurelin had wavered in his usual distance from his family, and his good humor of the situation. It wasn’t just the land the black fog was pressing upon, and though his made a joke now and again, trying to win a smile from his mate, it was clear even he knew this was going to be just another god battle.
He still wasn’t ready for it though. Pressing his sons and Haldir between he and Hotaru best he could, the gold stood slightly in front of them before Kaos. Shielding them. Yet he wasn’t going to go down easy. This dead man was going to be sure to have a few tales to tell. Earth eyes spark with gold, sharp and burning as it looked upon the calling God.
Haldir was not of the same mind. He knew the weight of battles, and unlike his bonded, he remembered more clearly their costs. Usually unintended. So the stag stays close to his bonded, his basic needs taking over.
Then it all changes. He’d been ready for a fight, to tear his own soul from his body in blood, sweat, and strain of one last good row. So ready to leave it all here….but then the bodies begin to fall. The gold was bold, but not usually suicidal. Harks lay flat on his head, but as the body count rises….as faces become familiar, they raise back up in shock.
He feels a movement by his side, Gal- The gold shifts, trying to keep the colt from view of the God before him…and the colt from the death quickly surrounding them. He was not one to soften the truth, but this was more than truth, this was horror. And it grew worse. The gold can only watch though, like a cornered cat he is forced to wait and watch. He hates it. Tasseled tail thrashes his sides. Trapped. Unable to fight, but unable to slip away. There were no shadows here, no dark corner to slip into. The spotlight had turned on all of Helovia, and the weapons of the gold were all stripped from him. Even his precious crown, ever feeling heavy atop his head, felt worthless now…
Tasseled tail hits something. Bared teeth reach back to warn whoever it was to stay back or they would find themsel- Galahad. His face….the look of horror, of future nightmares. Inside the gold drains of his gusto for a moment…fear…he hadn’t felt that in so long. Outside he visibly angers. “Galahad!” It snaps. How dare his son disobey? How dare he look at what he should never have to see? Of the world ending? It wasn’t fair to the colt. The gold snapping his teeth at him wasn’t fair, but he was bitter at his son for drawing that ill feeling into the very depths of his soul. Crowned head snakes out grabbing the scruffy withers of the colt and jerking them towards him. The colt falls, mindless, but also he catches the youth’s eyes….growing white.
“Fuck Galahad.” He groans, forgetting the colt was a babe, forgetting he had no control over his magic. Hips swing around, stepping over the colt. He thinks nothing of it, of that small move. One would simply think it was to shield the colt, but not entirely. It was also to shield the tender Galahad’s deepest fear from the world of monsters.
Earth eyes find Hotaru’s and in his is the strain of it all. How much longer- Another small group falls prey group. Crowned head rises back up as he becomes the sentry for his small group once more. Still ever resistant to moving on.
He didn’t want to leave. Damnit. Look at him. He finally had that perfect life. A mate and foals with a crown and reputation to boot. Helovia, though he could not admit it, gave it all back to him. And now it was falling? Just crumbling like it was nothing? This was supposed to be where the story ended with a happily ever after, where he and Hotaru walked off into some sunset with their sons. They should be playing in the Endless Blue, chasing fireflies in the Heavenly Fields. Not this….not letting this land which had given so much fall in choking suffocation.
Wrapped in his thoughts and warning off any who dared step near in panic or threat the gold did notice at first. Adrenaline was so high…his nerves already so on edge…but it didn’t take long. Suddenly the gold squeals, fire. His underside, up by his chest burned. Galahad! He shifts, earth eyes wincing at the pain of feeling his skin prick and crack. Damnit son. His head swims slightly, as he collects himself again, trying to pull it back together. Haldir, panicking, steps to Galahad, watching over the colt. Then he hears her…
The earth eyes look to Hotaru, his face twisting, then to where she watched. Ru’in A son of Ashamin….and hers. The gold watches with blank face as the colt quickly meets his end. Shit… Even he, in his love for Hotaru, could not be untouched, and an audible groan leaves his lips. But he gives himself no time. Crowned head immediately turns to her. Hotaru…oh god Hotaru…this would destroy her- The gold, grinding his teeth at the small burns, steps in front of the rosen Valkyrie to block her path. The first time he had ever done so.
He had to. Pain, and regret pulled his face low, and he could not look her in the eyes as he stepped in front of her, refusing to let her pass. She could kick. She could bite. She could scream. And she did. Yet he couldn't even wince at the pain. Not even as he felt the blood run down his side. He let her break upon him like waves upon cliffs. For though he knew her love of her children, he knew she’d never let her child fall without bring the pain back ten fold upon the murder. And he knew the punishment Kaos was giving for that. It might be a price she would pay. But he could not. He could loose it all. He could loose Helovia, even his sons....but not her. It would be just as suicidal as stepping up to Kaos. He bears the hurricane of the Valkyrie. His soul burns with her words. No her bites do not wound him, but her hatred does. A he continues to dance with her, keeping her, his head falls into deeper despair. So the Laurelin stands between her and her fallen son, knowing the possible consequences, but willing to take any and all in the ever present love.
The massacre was raging on, but the gold is winded already. The senseless deaths, the gods, his mate….a flash of gold rises to Hotaru’s back and another of red at her side….his sons….Crowned head turns back to Kaos. He had been wrong. Thranduil had been wrong. He thought he’d go to the end of the earth with a smile on his face, so sharp witted humorous tact. Good gods how wrong was he. Yet how could he begin? What honor was in this? What glorious fulfilling death could one be given here? None, nothing. It was the worst weapon Kaos could have ever wielded. Hopelessness.
More familiar faces fell…Mindlessly, the gold curves around his mate. His pain on his underside forgotten in the numbness. “Hotaru…the colts…” There is nothing more here for them. There is nothing more here for us. “Come…” And the gold looks to the portal. As it sparks and the battle begins to show end, the Laurelin pushes his small family and companion towards the dark whole, the only place left. Letting it suck them into its dark folds. Away from the death and fear, away from the crumbling world.
Hooves begin to drag towards it as he is pulled faster, crowned head turns to Hotaru. There’s so much to say, but not time….no place. So he has to say it all in one last attempt to press his crowned head to her. Then he sees Haldir hesitating at the edge… “Tag. You’re it.” Before stepping through. Perhaps he’d cracked and gone mad. Or perhaps even given Kaos’s attempts, there was a bit of hope afterall. Haldir lets some pained smile show, before stepping through after his bonded. Then they’re gone…
Gone to terrorize the villagers of some other world.
OOC ::
"Speech"
The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the waterspout.
Down came the rain
and washed the spider out.
Feel free to use any force/magic on Thranduil, short of killing him.
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.
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![[Image: pixel_i__sabre_by_xxcloudscollide_d9z9zr...9zbmnl.gif]](http://orig07.deviantart.net/ef3c/f/2016/108/d/6/pixel_i__sabre_by_xxcloudscollide_d9z9zri_by_abbie1234-d9zbmnl.gif)
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[SWP] The beginning of the end :: the ending.
![[Image: 5572cb03a0a6c]](http://images.helovia.net/index.php/view/5572cb03a0a6c)
![[Image: 57c5195f31f1b_by_relibelli-db9li1z.png]](http://orig06.deviantart.net/bb9e/f/2017/138/7/1/57c5195f31f1b_by_relibelli-db9li1z.png)
![[Image: 5381546acbe33]](http://images.helovia.net/index.php/view/5381546acbe33)
let's let the stars watch, let them stare 
