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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2017 19:45:27 GMT -6
Hello Starborn, and welcome to Plot 401: To Sleep, To Wake  Team Leader: Voidra Participants: Fletcher, Viktor, Thana, Jocasta (NPC) Please keep the following in mind!- Posts must be a minimum of 175 words. There is no maximum!- No strict order is enforced, but there must be at least two posts between your own character's.- No god-moding or reading characters' minds (unless your pony is a literal telepath, anyway)
- Always get consent before harming another character!- Your team is precious. Try to interact with everyone. <3- Have fun! Even if your pony isn't. 8'DPrompt: Genesis, your faithful Ascendant, is dead. She has been called back to Digend, her duty fulfilled, but has left the Cult without leadership. The Cultists are scattered in camps throughout the Vastlands to avoid being tracked, and lie in wait for a sign from their god. Chaos is rumbling at all corners of Hireath, and you can feel it; surely Digend has grand plans for you and your kind. As you sit around your campfire, you welcome the signs of a gathering storm. The forest around you is almost silent, awaiting the rain, quiet enough for you to hear footsteps approaching. Who would dare invade a cultist's camp on a moonless night? Who could be so foolish? Location:: a Cultist camp, deep in the Vastlands Time of Day: Late evening Current Weather: Blustery, with threats of a thunderstorm on the horizon You do not have to wait for your leader to post!
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Post by SagaWolf on Aug 17, 2017 11:44:22 GMT -6
For someone who enjoyed causing chaos as much as Fletcher did, he was unusually sombre after the loss of Genesis. It wasn't the first time he had experienced the loss of cultist life, hell, it was practically a daily occurrence. However, this was the loss of a leader and Fletcher felt an irritating aching in his bones, wondering how much knowledge she had taken to the grave. Fletcher was a follower and had no intentions of striving higher in life than his current station, that shit got you killed! Without a leader to tell him what to do (in broad strokes, mind you!) he felt a sense of loss and abandonment. What was Digend's plan? This constant promise of something which Genesis had dangled in front of their faces. Bah...
Fletcher gnawed softly on his pipe, lazy smoke curling from the corner of his mouth, the scent sickeningly sweet. It wasn't just tobacco packed into the carved bone, clearly. He'd draped his fur hide on the ground and was lying atop it, close enough to enjoy the heat of the campfire, his other belonging piled close by. He was enjoying the company of fellow Cultists but had been silent for a long time, lost in thoughts while staring at the crackling fire. Now he shifted with a mild grunt, tapped out the spent tobacco and packed in fresh.
One grey ear swirled as he caught something distant and... wrong. Hoofsteps approaching carelessly. His brow furrowed as he lit his pipe, exhaling words and smoke in the same breath:
"Look lively, kids, we have company... "
Fletcher himself didn't move. He wasn't concerned yet, not outward anyway, and his dagger was close enough. He was ready to leap up in a flash, but for now, he simply arched his neck, pinning ears forward at the sound, one eyebrow arching curiously.
Word count: 308 | Post: #1
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Post by FaunaFawn on Aug 17, 2017 16:32:18 GMT -6
 Voidra The Mad DoctorWe'll pay the price with blood and gold
but we never said it'll be our ownDeath comes quickly and suddenly, and perhaps that's why she loved it so. To say the death of Genesis shocked her would be nothing but a lie. They all knew they could die at any time. Was that not the thrill of it? Would it not bring glory to Digend? To die by what their God lives upon? Chaos. Still Voidra wondered what was the meaning of this? Of him taking their leader so quickly? Did their sacrificial equine not serve to the greater good of their God? No it had to be something else, surely it did.
Still she sat there looking into the flames as if it would give her some sign. Some vision, but not it crackled and popped and she wondered if she should have brought her newborn son along? No it was best to hide him, like a doe to a fawn. Within one of her caves tucked awya for mother dearest to return. A faint smirk grew on her lips, was she a terrible mother to be happy to be away from the wretched thing? Probably.
Eyes turned to Fletcher as he spoke of looking alive. "Let them come, surely they would enjoy our company." she grinned all the more. perhaps if they all played their cards right they could sneak in another kill. Let their corpse cook upon the open flames. Eyes Thana she smiled all the more. "Tell me have you been keeping to your works?" she remarked eyeing her student with pride, she should be able to show her own son, but cannot.
"Such a shame about her, you know." she remarked keeping Genesis name unspoken as if the mere mention of her name would bring life back into that broken body. "Wish we could have done something. Odd to not have her around. Makes me wonder what fate has for our futures." she laughed a bit. Trying her hardest to act a bit normal. Maybe lure out the stranger within the shadows if there was even there. Still the cult was leaderless and something needed a leader. The after effect of their dead leader was affecting them all. They needed a sense of purpose, a cause to rally behind. They needed a leader now more then ever. A part of her whispering 'It could be you'
WC: 337 | Post #1 |
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Post by BlueUnicornJ13 on Aug 18, 2017 17:36:32 GMT -6
Thana | Vagabond | Cultist
The death of the Ascendant had been a unexpected one. One moment she was walking among them and in the next she was with Digend, leaving no one for the Cultists to call leader. Thana was basking in all of the worry and confusion buzzing around the Cultist's camp as everyone chatted away at what they were going to do or ponder on who would be the next leader. 'Voidra could certainly do it.' Thana found herself thinking every single time, and she envisioned her leading them to do so many great and awful things. She soon grew bored of it all though and returned to her mentor's side by a camp fire where a few other fellow Cultists sat with them.
Her eyes were focused on the flashes of lightning she saw in the distance, creating cracks of electricity in the sky before disappearing into the growing darkness. It was beautiful to watch it dance across the sky and spark before vanishing like it had never been there at all, and as she turned her ears to the forest around them, it seemed the entire world around them had stopped and became eerily silent as everything awaited the approaching storm. It was then that she heard a faint sound of someone approaching, and a wicked smile played across her lips. "Oh yes," she purred excitedly. "Maybe they'll want to have a little chat or warm up by the fire for a little while."
The hippocampus mare turned her attention toward her mentor who sat beside her and returned Voidra's prideful smile with one of her own. "Yes, miss Voidra. I'm so thrilled and excited about my experiments and have you to thank for how far they've come." She said with a twinkle of excitement in her eyes at the thought of the work that she helped Voidra with and her own experiments that she had been able to perform. They were doing so well too. It wouldn't be long before it was time to show them to the rest of Hireath!
Thana nodded silently at Voidra's remark. It definitely made her wonder when her time would come. Would it be sooner or later or in a few seconds or be years away? There was no real way to really know what fate had in store for anyone.
Word Count: 388 | Post #1
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Post by brandvandet on Aug 18, 2017 21:51:58 GMT -6
The dusk was gathering itself close as the figure made their way through the landscape. The campfire, so confidently blazing as if to dare any interloper to approach, was their destination. There was danger there but there was danger where they walked as well. A cultist was never truly alone. The group at the campfire would soon learn that. Too long had they scrabbled in spare groups but Digend came with new glory. The memory burned in their mind and drove them forward. Entropy never rested. They heard chatter as they approached but the fact that they were aware did not concern them. They were not expected by these few but the gifts Jocasta bore would ensure their welcome. No doubt snaked in their heart, no worry creased their brow. They breached the circle of light, the shadows sharp on their face. Fear was their tool as well. “I come from your Ascendant.” Then they waited. In a private part of their mind they were amused by the power of just those words. They knew well that the prior Ascendant was dead. They knew well that these they came to knew nothing of the mysteries they were about to unwrap. Words caused so much more chaos than murder even could. Jocasta - Vagabond - Cultist
w | two hundred eleven - p | one |
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Post by Ehrendi on Aug 20, 2017 17:02:23 GMT -6
Viktor | Cultist
Viktor lay in amongst the gathered cultists, enjoying the warmth of the fire and watching the distant storm form. The news of Genesis's death had been shocking, but like most things, Viktor felt nothing. He wasn't surprised by it either, but he had thought for sure it might have triggered even a little bit of sadness or remorse within him. And yet, he felt like an empty shell, the mask upon his face acting the emotions he was sure he was supposed to feel but didn't. He didn't feel scared or lost without direction as the other cultists did, but simply trusted that Digend knew what he was doing. If Digend had called for their Ascendant then perhaps their Ascendant had not been as strong as they had thought. There was no room for weakness in this world, only the strong and the smart survived. If Genesis had even the slightest weakness to exploit then it had been found, he was certain.
Turning his head, he flicked an ear towards Fletcher who announced the arrival of a mysterious someone. Who, he thought, might be brave enough to venture through the forest in the dark? Certainly not a smart equine. Voidra and her student had more to say, hinting at something that could actually be enjoyable. Viktor grinned, his eyes moving to the dark space ahead. Lightning lit up the sky as an unknown unicorn bravely approached the cultist's camp. Viktor was half expecting a lost equine who needed shelter against the on coming storm. What he got was another cultist. Viktor's smile fell, staring at the stranger. His lips twitched at their words. He didn't want to state the obvious, because he was certain that they already knew it, but Viktor was not in the mood for games. "The Ascendant is dead."
Post 1
Word Count: 302
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Post by FaunaFawn on Aug 21, 2017 8:33:08 GMT -6
Voidra The Mad DoctorWe'll pay the price with blood and gold
but we never said it'll be our own
How could one not smile at hearing Thana's reply. "Of course." she purred out the words like she had done to many of her own victims before the final blow. But this was held more of an endearment within it. Lips parted but no wards escaped as the stranger approached saying the hail from the the ascendant. She mused as of no, this stranger may not come from their ascendant, but the stranger could easily follow their path. A last gift for Genesis, this strangers carcass cooking on the pit of the fire. Alive.
Though it seemed Viktor had the first say, well all work and no fun Viktor, surely he must be in a sour mood. "Our Ascendant is dead, he is correct." she remarked brow arose, her curious nature sparking all the more. This stranger was odd different, there was no fear, and she wondered where did they truly hail form. "Who is this Ascendant you speak of?" she asked. Why not allow the stranger humor them. There was four to one, if this stranger began to bore them. It would be easy to have a different sort of fun to him. Voidra did want to to try the flayed angel once on a living victim. She did wonder how it would look on this stranger, bones stretched and organs trailed out. Surely he would be beautiful, and with her own gift, gods the stranger would be so beautiful and lethal. Still Voidra would have to fight the others for the privilege its hard when all were so eager for the taste of blood on their lips.
Thinking of such things made her lick her lips lightly. The move could have been seductive in different company, but many know this was but a taste of what they all craved. Chaos, Discord and Mayhem. Still Voidra did not stir from where she was but instead awaited, as if asking for the stranger to gather around their fire. The idea made her laugh. why not be more amusing. "Surely you are cold come near the fire." she smirked a bit more. Cone hither stranger, lets pray your words can buy you enough time, she thought with some amusement.
WC: 370| Post #2 |
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Post by SagaWolf on Aug 25, 2017 8:40:03 GMT -6
Fletcher laughed darkly, a haunting rough sound which had smoke spilling from his mouth in waves. So this wandering doe was a cultist too, huh? Or so they would have the small group believe. The chance that they were something else like, ooooh a vindicator trying to lure them to a trap, was much too plausible. Those devils had an uncanny way of following cultist business, and surely they knew of the Ascendant's death by now.
Viktor spoke exactly what was on Fletcher's lips, so the grey stallion watched the newcomer with lazy indifference, puffing away on his pipe. He shifted his weight with a small groan of discomfort, entirely fake, but he liked strangers to view him as old and aching. His greying coat and beard certainly helped to add a few years to his appearance.
Eyes fell on Voidra and Thana briefly as Voidra spoke, and Fletcher caught the brief darting of her tongue. Erotic in a way, but spelling only trouble. Bloodshed... always bloodshed on that pair's mind. It got old fast.
Fletcher took a deep breath, teke pulling the pipe from his lips so he could speak uninhibited. "Yes, come close, join us by the fire. There is plenty of room and a chill in the air. And perhaps in return you will tell us of... your Ascendant? "
Word count: 222 | Post: #2
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Post by brandvandet on Aug 26, 2017 21:05:55 GMT -6
They surveyed the group around the campfire, nursing a smile as they did. Which of these had harbored private thoughts, vicious thoughts of claiming Genesis's fallow title? They knew, implicitly, that ambition was not a virtue foreign to Cultists, bred only secondary to devotion in many. Idle worship did not make for fanatics. It took a measure of ambition if only to depart from the trodden paths of the many with their prayers to their mewling gods. It took a desire to be great to dedicate yourself to Digend. How magnificent was their god! Even now, as they stood among these, they could feel Digend's pull at work. Had he not provided, had he left them squabbling in mere scrabbles in the dirt, they might have fractured permanently. It would have been chaos, true, but a petty kind. Finite. Instead, he had given them an opportunity where there could have been only end. “Do you have that little faith in our lord?” they challenged the group. “As soon as Genesis fell, he raised another in her stead.” They let the pronouncement fall like a gauntlet. A challenge. “I come bearing His gifts.” Jocasta - Vagabond - Cultist
w | one hundred ninety three - p | two |
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Post by BlueUnicornJ13 on Aug 28, 2017 17:12:00 GMT -6
Thana | Vagabond | Cultist
Thana eyed the horse that came into view on the outskirts of the ring of firelight with the keen interest of a scientist looking at a specimen under the microscope. They were a strange thing with peculiar but mesmerizing and beautiful as well. Oh how wonderful those would look on one of her creations~ But she didn't need to be thinking of that just yet. There was still great fun to be had as they tried to figure out of the riddle this stranger seemed to have given them.
They said that they were from their Ascendant, but could that be possible? Had she talked to this unicorn before her demise and appointed her the next Ascendant without giving the Cultists prior knowledge to her decision? No, that couldn't be true. Genesis had died so suddenly that Thana didn't even think that she had had the time to do any sort of appointing. Unless her death had something to do with this stranger. Maybe they had come from murdering their Ascendant? Now that would be quite the interesting plot twist!
The hippocampus mare's ears flicked forward as the unicorn spoke once more. Their voiced was laced with challenge, causing Thana to grin wickedly. She loved a good game. "What are these gifts you speak of? Do they prove your tale of being the heir that Digend has chosen? I am oh so curious~" She purred out, her fiery eyes dancing in the light of the campfire.
Word Count: 446 | Post #2 |
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Post by Ehrendi on Aug 30, 2017 7:56:50 GMT -6
Viktor | Cultist
“Oh please don’t tell us it is you the Lord has chosen.” He jested, shifting his weight as one of his legs began to go numb. With gentle precision he pulled the spotted leg out from under his chest and stretched it out in front of him, resting a ruby hoof by the flickering flames. All the while Viktor never took his eyes off of the stranger. While he doubted that he was wrong in his assumption, cultists were drawn to one another as easily a fly is drawn to a piece of meat, Viktor did not like to take chances.
Especially not in these trying times. Viktor might not have cared that the Ascendant was dead, but that did not mean he wasn’t aware of the implications. There would be many equines crawling out of the wood work to try their hooves at becoming the next leader of the Cult. Just like this one. What perfect timing they had.
Viktor narrowed his gaze. “Yes,” Viktor said, nodding along to what Thana was saying. “Pray tell, what are these gifts?”
Post 2
Word Count: 180
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Post by FaunaFawn on Aug 31, 2017 14:52:57 GMT -6
Voidra The Mad DoctorWe'll pay the price with blood and gold
but we never said it'll be our own Little faith? Voidra narrowed her eyes a bit as this stranger dared to say such things to her. As if she had anything, but faith in her lord. Form offer her own creations as a sacrifice to him. Voidra would do anything for her lord Digend. Anything. Nostrils flared a bit as this stranger hit a nerve with her, but others were quick enough to speak. Allowing their words to echo in her mind in hopes to push that one lingering thought away. How dare they...
Many wondered of the gifts, but that wasn't really want Voidra cared for. Voidra raised a brow as Viktor and Thana spoke to the stranger, while turning to cast a glance at Fletcher shrugging at him, as if this all grew a bit boring to her. Which in a way it has, why delay proving they are truly part of the cult hailing from this new Ascendant, unless they had no proof to back it up. Which Voidra was slowly starting to assume. All talk and no action made this a dull affair.
"Well surely you've come all this way for not, let us hear of this new Ascendant. What does the Ascendant have planned for us?" she asked, turning her head curiously to the side. Eyes watching them awaiting for the answers to be revealed.
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Post by brandvandet on Sept 4, 2017 10:05:24 GMT -6
Jocasta surveyed the group letting the questions—meant to be sharp, daunting, challenging—harmlessly fall against silent air. Questions were good, to a point. None of them would be on this path, would be serving their god without a spark of rebellion. They thought they thrived on insubordination. After all, what one of them did not renounce the shackles of society as soon as they pledged themselves to Digend? Chaos was not a petty thing, though. Their internal disorder only influenced the world so much. Tiny eddies of hurt rippled out from the meager deaths they caused. Digend was also a god of imagination, of ambition. To devour the world in entropy, they must ascend. It was a fundamental contradiction (chaos even in the theory of the plan) that to create chaos, large scale chaos, you needed ordered systems. They could take the tools of the world and corrupt them for their own purposes. They would ascend. Jocasta smiled then, a slow smile, a sly smile. They began to speak then but the words were not important. They were strung together in a low, melodic beat of a chant punctuated strikingly by the snaps of the fire. It was a heavy litany, weighing deeply on the mind and the soul and it dragged eyelids down with it. Soon, everyone at this campfire would lay down their heads and sleep. They would not be resting. Jocasta - Vagabond - Cultist
w | two hundred thirty two - p | three |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2017 11:08:13 GMT -6
medulla i'm coming alive, i'm happening now A dream came to them all at once.
It had the smooth, acceptable impossibility of any vivid dreamscape. A corridor of unfathomable height surrounded them, its smooth walls climbing into an infinite atmosphere to be swallowed by stars. Before they could even move their feet, the hallway blurred in sudden movement, sweeping around them so that they seemed to be flying through a dark maze.
The winding hall bent and twisted with barreling speed, the sound of wind loud in the Cultists' ears as a whole labyrinth rushed by them. The stars overhead remained perfectly still. So did the Cultists' hooves.
They hardly had a chance to protest before the moving stopped. The corridor ended before a tall and ornately carved double door that opened into a study inside a house, inside a cave. The infinite space above them was replace by the jagged rock of a natural cavern, but the room was finely furnished, upscale, perfectly organized.
A tall grandfather clock ticked from a wall otherwise comprised entirely of bookshelves; they contained thousands of volumes, arranged with flawless alignment. The dull shine of the perfectly-placed book spines looked like a snake's belly coiling around the room.
The heavy desk in the center of the room held the largest tome of all. A small creature (or contraption?) skittered across its pages. Horse-like in form, it was made of glinting silver and polished wood. Its head was the shape of a fountain pen's nib, and was bent studiously to the page, writing as it walked.
A strange dream, indeed.
A veiled figure, their face dense with bandages, swept briefly past one of the room's low doorways. The light in the room never flickered, remaining dim and constant and wrong-- a reminder to Fletcher, Voidra, Viktor and Thana that they were sleeping. Jocasta was nowhere to be seen.
The Ascendant entered through another door without ceremony, her eyes tight, focused. Her steps were long and measured, and bobbed the fleshy tendrils of the tentacles hanging from her neck. They coiled and uncoiled slowly, like worms suffering in the sun. Her glance over the Cultists was quick but weighing. She did not possess the wild abandon and feral power of Genesis. She was pure control. Medulla took her place at her desk, by the huge book and the scribbling creature, and glanced over the columns of words and figures. She read in silence for several breaths.
"You ask Digend for his gifts," she said finally, looking back up to meet eyes with Thana. "You're not asking the right questions." Medulla laid a long ribbon down in the crease of the giant book's pages, lowered her head to blow gently on the ink before nodding at the pen-headed creature. It marched to a corner of her desk and hunkered down to sleep.
"You should be asking how to deserve them." The book should have slammed shut, but it closed with a gasp. "I'm here to help you in that regard. You see, I belong to Digend."
"And you belong to me." 506 words | post 1 |
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Post by SagaWolf on Sept 7, 2017 6:14:27 GMT -6
He let the younger Cultists speak and challenge the stranger, let them demand answers and proof while he simply lay there, impassive, puffing smoke like a chimney. He had faith and he knew there was another Ascendant somewhere out there, but that didn't make a total stranger's words the golden truth. He wanted proof as much as any, but he was in no hurry to demand it, though now that there was talk of gifts, he arched a dark brow with mild curiosity.
The others huffed and mocked the stranger, making Fletcher feel a curling sneer on his lips, seconds away from snapping at them and demanding some courtesy. They weren't animals, so perhaps, for once, they could have a civil gathering without lusting for blood? Urh... apparently not. Well, if it came to that, if Voidra, Thana and Viktor were to pounce like the hungry dogs they were, Fletcher would watch. The Ascendant could make him kill, the yearly ritual had him eager to kill, but he preferred subtle chaos.
Strange words drew his attention back and he focused on the newcomer. Just as the heaviness began to take hold of his body, Fletcher's mind snapped to realization, and he sneered, struggling to rise. The brief act of rebellion lasted no more than a twitch of his flank, eyes heavy and head sinking down to rest.
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The dream mocked his senses, making it impossible to tell the odd undulating world from reality. He watched with an almost childlike fascination as the world changed, swooshed past and warped, without him taking a single step. It was upon finding himself in a room that seemed almost normal, that Fletcher realized he had been holding his breath. Or had he? Not that it mattered, nothing mattered other than the strange sight before him, the dreamy light and the odd ghostly figure gliding past a doorway.
The others were here too, Viktor, Thana and Voidra, but not a trace of their anonymous stranger. He would have spoken if not for the mare's sudden entry, demanding every fiber of his attention. He took a step forward, or at least thought he did so, awed and drawn in by her energy alone. She didn't name herself, she didn't lay her title before them as proof, but Fletcher knew as she spoke, and the dull flame of devotion in his chest ignited with a roar.
"Ascendant, " he whispered with adoration, slipping into a deep bow, folding one leg. In the dream he believed without question. Only time would tell if his waking mind would be as accepting.
Word count: 431 | Post: #3
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Post by FaunaFawn on Sept 7, 2017 12:56:52 GMT -6
Voidra
A soft sigh escaped her lips as she looked to the others, before her attention turned to the newcomer. Stranger words filled the air, but where they ever words at all. Eyes grew heavy and she oddly had no desire to fight it back. Eyes closed and in seconds she seemed to be thrust into space, before being dropped into a room. The heavy ticking of a clock drew her in, and she blinked a few times and noticed the others where here except that new stranger. Odd, was this perhaps something else? What was truly going on. Before having much time to gather her thoughts someone new was within the room.
The stranger walked towards them with poise and precise movement. Each hoof step seemed to demand her attention, called for respect. Voidra could not pull her eyes away from this one. It was something Voidra had craved in herself, this complete control, the one seemed to enter in with ease move to a desk and seemed to be silent. Voidra found herself almost holding her breath in this quiet moment, before she broke the silence. Voidra was all ears allowing the words she spoke to fill her ears, to echo softly in her mind trying her best to assure she would remember when awakening. For this was not a normal sort of a dream, where all where here except for the one. She only prayed she would not wake with her throat slit.
The strangers last words, made a shiver run down her spine, not of fear but something else that felt quite primal. What did they need to do to earn their worth in the eyes of Digend. Eyes flickered to Fletcher as he whispered out Ascendant. Voidra could accept this she thought easily to herself. For truly this power was nothing she had witnessed before. Digend had choose her, and thus she would lead them to something new. Voidra was quick to follow and felt in her heart, she knew a new era would rise from this.
Voidra nodded, "Tell us what is needed to be done." she remarked gently, her curious manner wanting to rear its ugly head, but she swallowed down the questions that flooded her mind. Now was not the time. They were at this mares bidding. Digend had called up these strangers to find the, for Digend's work was never done. Its been a while since they all held a sense of purpose, this one. This one could grant them what they all seek truly, she thought to herself.
Post 4
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Post by BlueUnicornJ13 on Sept 8, 2017 16:10:56 GMT -6
Thana | Vagabond | Cultist
Thana watched Jocasta closely, intrigued by what they had to say. It wasn't every day that someone strolled into the Cultist camp and said they were from the recently deceased Ascendant... unless what they said was true, and there was another. Digend would not leave them leaderless that was for certain. Chaos was their goal, but the Cultists needed someone to direct them to their ultimate goal, Digend's arrival in Hireath. Without someone close to the god of chaos and destruction, they would only act out of impulse and guess at what they thought he would want them to do.
Her fiery eyes watched the corners of the equine's lips rise in a sly smile as a mumbled, dark chant began to sputter from their lips. As the rhythmic words reached her ears, she felt her eyelids grow heavy and droop, and her head bobbed as she fought the sudden wave of extreme drowsiness that overcame her. What had they done to her? She saw the others around her fall, and her will was soon overpowered as well. Thana was no longer awake even before her head hit the ground with a dull thud.
In an instant, the hippocampus mare was in an unknown, impossible landscape with a long, seemingly endless corridor with walls that went up into the heavens and could no longer be seen. Almost as soon as she began to get her bearings, she was swept along the hallway at an impossible speed. The wind whistled in her ears with a deafening roar as she and the other Cultists were whipped around corners and down long halls until they were dropped off in an ornately furnished room with a tall grandfather clock ticking on one wall and bookcases filled with books on another. Her gaze settled on a wooden desk that sat in the middle of the room and on it was a strange, tiny horse-like creature that moved about the biggest book in the room that laid open on the desk's surface. This dream was certainly strange, but Thana found herself oddly enjoying the uncertainty of it and adrenaline pumping in her veins. What an exciting turn of events this evening had been!
When a veiled figured emerged from the shadows, Thana felt a shiver run down her spine in awe at the sight before her. The equine had tentacles for hair that bobbed with each calculated step she took. She had an air about her that was cold and controlled and yet Thana could already sense the power that the strange mare had.
Locking eyes with the mare after several moments of silence, Thana felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. She pondered on the mare's words, weighing them in her mind, but Thana didn't need to ask if any of this was proof that her words were true. Digend had chosen a new Ascendant, and with his decision, a new era would arrive for the Cultists.
She looked over at her mentor to see her reaction to all of this, and as Voidra's words were spoken, Thana bowed her head respectfully to the tentacle-haired mare. "I am at your service, Ascendant. Please tell us what it is Digend would like of us."
Word Count: 541 | Post #3 |
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Post by Ehrendi on Sept 10, 2017 22:35:01 GMT -6
Viktor | Cultist
A coy smirk played on his lips, almost mocking as he looked upon the stranger. He didn't believe they had the answers they were claiming to have, not even in the slightest. That smile faltered however as the stranger began to chant, a low methodical tone. His eyelids grew heavy and Viktor opened his mouth to protest but it was impossible to resist. He gave a soft sigh and rested his heavy head against his outstretched leg.
As soon as his eyelids were shut, the dream enveloped him. It was not the same as any dream he had ever had and he knew right away that something about it was different. There was no time to register the place as they were whisked into a blur, bending and twisting down a never ending corridor. He wasn't even moving and yet the world whisked by in a way that, in real life, would have made his stomach churn. It only lasted for a few seconds before they were brought to a sudden, hard stop. Instinctively Viktor braced himself, but it had happened so quickly that they had already stopped long before he'd braced. He took in a sharp breath, his mane falling heavily over his neck and into his eyes as he raised his head to look around.
The room was immaculate. The rows upon rows of bookshelves drew his attention first. There must have been a lot of secrets stored away in those, knowledge that Viktor would love to know. Knowledge, he knew, was power and that was the only way to create the kind of chaos Viktor enjoyed the most.
A clock ticked away the seconds and paired with the scratching of quil on paper were the only sounds in the room. Viktor glanced at the other cultists, curious of their reactions. On occasion entire vision flickered, reminding him of where he was. Inside a dream.
The veiled figure drew his attention, and her gaze held all there needed to know. Viktor felt a flicker of excitement rush through him, but he kept his stance neutral. The hippocampus put on a good show and their motions drew Viktor in. Yes, he thought. That was what he hoped he came across as. Strong and in control. Just because he was not big and did not have the strength of a draft horse didn't mean anything. Viktor relied on his intelligence, his cunning and he could see right away that this one was the same. Perhaps even more so. She was more refined.
Beside him Fletcher bowed, only proving how effective this method was. Both Voidra and Thana were struck by the mare, clearly smitten with their new Ascendant. And sure, Viktor felt himself drawn to her immediately and he knew that this was the new Ascendant that Digend had chosen. Still. "And who are you?" It sounded insolent, but at that moment Viktor didn't care. He wanted to see who this self-proclaimed Ascendant was and what she truly was about. Digend's gifts could wait for the moment.
Post 3
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2017 10:32:30 GMT -6
medulla now you're ravenous, you're champing at the bit
just a cog next to a cog next to a pit The sound of voices summoned the soft steps of the veiled figure again. A bandaged face hovered beyond the doorframe, listening, frozen in fear as the Cultists responded to Medulla's bold statement. Medulla cleared her throat and the slight-flamed figure retreated into darkness, vanishing on quiet hooves.
The Cultists' almost unanimous loyalty received a doubtful expression from the Ascendant. The dream had made them pliable, certainly, but were they so directionless as to throw themselves at her feet? More simply, they were probably all liars. Time would tell. Medulla was in no place to question Digend when he said that these were his loyal disciples. Perhaps their loyalty to the god was unwavering, but Medulla had no interest in trusting their loyalty to her.
Time would bring that, too. It would show them what she was capable of.
"You know that war is coming." It was a statement of fact. The scent was thick all across Hireath's troubled continents. Onea prepared to destroy itself while Hireath's largest army maneuvered to crush the smallest. Breim was a powder keg as Kirins escalated the tension between Generations Old and New. Somewhere in Aquorian jungle, Medulla knew, war had already begun.
"Our god will be stronger than ever, will ride the chaos like a wave. Already his power is growing." She ignored Viktor's question for the moment, pulling a wooden jewelry box to the center of her desk. It was stained black, lacking in any decoration but created from perfect geometry- its edges looked sharp as swords. A tentacle lowered from her withers to touch its lid, but stopped before it opened. "And you can aid him."
She fixed Viktor in her dark gaze. "My name is Medulla. I am Digend's Ascendant, and leader of his Cult. I have weakened the foundations of this world's empires." She opened the box, and a ripple of force escaped from it, warping the air in the room as it shot quickly outward. When the wave passed through the dreaming Cultists, it left a gentle ache. The box seemed to be inhaling quietly, but they could not yet see what was inside.
"With my guidance, you can topple them. Digend thrives when mortal kings die." She turned the jewelry box around, pushed it towards them on the desk. "Swear to me, to Digend, and I will give you the weapons you need to change the world."
"You have two choices," Medulla said. Four stones pulsed at the bottom of the box. "Me, or mediocrity."
Medulla's Offerings
If you take the stone before you, you will receive the following Blessing: Voidra's Death Sculpting (corrupted variant of Necromancy): The user is able to combine skeletons and corpses, attaching body parts to create a temporary undead abomination of impossible shape and size. [/b] The user is able to meld the parts of up to ten cadavers or skeletons together into one creature, in any shape. The creature will have the combined strength of the bodies it contains, and can be animated for up to two hours a day. The user can only control one undead creature at a time, and may add to or transform it at their will. The components of the creature may be fused together but must be relatively intact (i.e. the user can combine two horses so that the resulting creature has extra pieces, but not simply create a regular-looking horse that is doubled in size)[/font][/ul] Viktor's Phantasmal Recollection (corrupted variant of Memory Manipulation): The user is able to implant spoken words into a listener's head as truth. As soon as the exchange is over, the listener forgets the user and the conversation, but remembers the truths they learned. [/b] The user's words carry unusual strength. If a listener has no prior knowledge or strong belief to contradict what they are hearing, they will believe everything as certain fact. Level 2: The user's lies grow stronger. Their words can overpower a listener's beliefs, even if the listener knows the opposite of what the user says to be true. This belief will last until they are presented with hard proof of the contrary. Level 3: When the user speaks, a listener begins to hold strong convictions that what they hear is true. When asked where they learned this information, they will have trouble remembering. Level 4: A listener enters a somewhat hypnotized state when the user engages their blessing, and fervently insists everything they learn while in this state to be true. They have no recollection of the conversation that occurred in this time. (Similar to Telepathy and regular Memory Manipulation, you must get consent from the listener's roleplayer to impose these effects)[/font][/ul] Fletcher's Unfathomable Form (corrupted variant of Changeling): The user is able to hide their identity by taking an ever-changing form that is terrible to behold. [/b]The user can obscure and "blur" their features at will, so that exact details of their appearance are unable to be seen, for up to an hour at a time. Level 2: The user's blurry form is increasingly ghastly, horse-shaped but mostly faceless. No one could ever recognize them. The user can hold this form for up to two hours at a time. Level 3: The user's voice and body are both constantly-changing, appearing differently to everyone who perceives them. Those who look upon the changing form recognize something that frightens them, but aren't sure what or why. The user can hold this form up to half a day. Level 4: The user is a waking nightmare. The transformation is now incomprehensible, almost impossible to look at, and sometimes appearing to viewers as the equine the viewer fears most. The user can hold this form for an entire day.[/font][/ul] Thana's Dark Instruments (a colorless, vibrating stone): Should Thana choose, she is able to receive a Blessing from any god, and have it receive a corrupting touch.
If you accept this gift,
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Post by FaunaFawn on Sept 14, 2017 17:41:18 GMT -6
Voidra
For her perhaps this all could seem to far fetched to simply accept, but Voidra knew a power player when she met one. one that could change the game, turn the tables. The more this Medulla spoke, the more it confirmed it, the more Voidra knew this one would need allies, and Voidra would hopes to persuade her enough that she too was a worth ally to have in the turning of times. Medulla spoke of war, and how they could aid, but what caught her breath was the gifts. A box was on the table, a choice would be made, either choose to excel with her, or stay the same.
Nothing would prosper remaining the same. Change was happening all around them. so they too must change and adapt. Voidra took a step forwards a smile on her face as she dipped her head to Medulla. "I will follow you, and be steadfast in your ways Medulla." Voidra was the first to make her choice and there was no turning back. To hells, why would she ever turn back? Not when one as powerful as Medulla had come into their lives. Surely the others knew that she was not like the rest, that Digend had chosen this one for a reason. "I accept whatever shall be given to me." she spoke calmly. Her voice did not shake, but a faint shiver ran down her spine. The shiver of excitement, her curious mind twirling and moving as she looked to Medulla, awaiting the commands, awaiting to see what the others would do. Surely if they knew what was best for them all, they would accept. But the choice had to be their own, so Voidra did not look back to them, nor encourage them to make the right choice. Hell if they choose not to accept, pity on the idiots and Voidra only hoped Digend would weed out the week sooner then later.
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Post by SagaWolf on Sept 15, 2017 7:08:06 GMT -6
The wave of unseen force tore through him and stole a gasp from his lungs, leaving behind an ache which was neither comfortable nor unpleasant. It as a sign, a statement more than anything else of the mare's true claim. His sleep-drunk mind attempted to interject that this was a dream, one that was being manipulated no less, and all manner of truths could be presented. But if this was all false, if Medulla was truly playing them all, then what would it hurt to play along. Waking up would clear all misconceptions... unless he woke to a pool of his own blood, slowly dying.
Yet, just as Voidra felt it, so did Fletcher. There was something about this mare, something that made him want to believe, almost desperately so. His ears perked when the jewelry box was brought out, and a smile tugged at Fletcher's lips while the Ascendant spoke. He wished one of them would refuse the gifts so he could prove his loyalty in a flash of teeth and hooves..
Voidra was the first to react, but Fletcher waited only long enough for her to pledge loyalty before he stepped forward, eyes fixed on Medulla only. The trinkets were interesting, though not as much as the Ascendant herself, and he would not allow himself to be distracted by them. Once more he slipped into a deep bow and spoke: "I swear my loyalty and my life to Digend and to you, my Ascendant, now and forever, always. "
Word count: 250 | Post: #4
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Post by Ehrendi on Sept 19, 2017 22:39:22 GMT -6
Viktor | Cultist
She ignored him.
Viktor tried to keep the annoyance from his face as he listened to her with the curiousity of a cat. In his mind's eye he recalled all the recent news he had gathered off of his own sources and nodded along with what she said. She was right. Hireath was on the brink of war and no doubt it would be the fuel Digend needed to rise. The thought of it sent tremors of excitement through him, but that all stopped when he felt the Ascendant's gaze on him. She had pulled a plain jewellery box out from the desk, one tentacle resting on it's lid. Viktor made sure to look her back in the eye as she finally introduced herself. Medulla.
Satisfied he gave a small nod as she slid open the box. He was sure his sleeping body twitched, and already he could feel the whatever was inside that box calling to him. Viodra wasted no time and neither did Fletcher. Viktor could feel it. Change was in the air and chaos was just around the corner. "Mediocrity is boring." He said, drawing his shoulders up so they were square, he gave that typical smirk of his. "I swore my loyalty to Digend the day I named myself. If Digend has chosen you, then I will swear my loyalty to you as well, Medulla."
Post 4
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Post by BlueUnicornJ13 on Sept 20, 2017 14:44:09 GMT -6
Thana | Vagabond | Cultist
Thana listened to the questions her fellow Cultists asked the tentacle-haired stranger, studying her reactions and answers to figure out where her own loyalties lay. She trusted and would do anything for Digend, but was this mare who she said she was? Was she truly the next Ascendant, chosen by Digend himself? If that were the case, Thana would not hesitate for a moment to follow her and their chaotic god's will. She found herself looking around at the strange dream world that they had been dumped into. It was proof that this mare definitely held some kind of power, some power strong enough to rip them from the waking world and put each of their minds in this peculiar, odd place. It could be the power of some other god though. It could be a god that was trying to win over the Cultists during their moment of vulnerability, but looking at the mare in front of her, Thana had a feeling that she was looking at Digend's chosen one, the bringer of a new era to the Cultists.
Her doubts dissipated as Medulla began to speak. The talk of chaos and war sent Thana's heart racing with excitement, and the thought of Digend being at his strongest made her almost want to grovel at this mare's feet in order to beg her for some idea of how they could give him more power when she continued talking after pulling a wooden box from the large desk and placing it in the center of the table. "And you can aid him." The young Cultist's fiery eyes glistened, never leaving Medulla as she drank in all of this information.
The hippocampus mare felt the fins on her back rise as she peered into the black wooden box and saw the pulsing stones within it. Thana could almost feel the power radiating off of them, feel it seep into her veins to give her the ability to create chaos that she had never even imagined before. As her mentor pledged herself to the new Ascendant, an impish, thrilled smile crept across Thana's face. It was a relief to know that she would still be able to follow her mentor on this new chapter of their lives. "I pledge myself to you, Ascendant Medulla, as well as Digend. I am ready to do your and his bidding." She purred and gave a respectful bow of her head as she felt her curious mind whirl with excitement and exhilaration about what would happen next.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2017 1:03:33 GMT -6
medulla i'm coming alive. im happening now. Medulla heard their oaths of fealty, saw the craving in their eyes as they felt the power of her offering. She did not trust their loyalty, but she trusted their hunger. If her support, her gifts, were conditional upon their compliance, Medulla had a measure of control. It would do, for now.
For their elaborate promises of devotion, they received her hard eyes, and unmoved expression. "Good," she said. True devotion would come later. The world was about to change, and when it did, they would see her truth.
She watched them take the stones, felt the air ripple as as they did. The powerful imbued objects thrummed with latent energy until they touched the skin of their holders. As the stones were pulled to their owner's chests, a bright flash of pain filled them, searing horribly for an instant as the bond to their god was severed.
Somewhere, across the heavens, maybe even a different world, their gods felt the pinpricks of their Blessings being torn away.
Medulla didn't have time to watch them cope with the change. "When the time comes, I'll find you," she promised, and the cultists' vision spotted as the dream began to come apart.
They woke in the dark, beneath a canopy of rainless thunder, each with a stone nestled under their chest.
219 words thank you for the awesome thread everybody!!! very excited for what lies ahead ; ) yall are the best |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2017 8:26:33 GMT -6
congratulations! 20 AP and 20 CS to All Participants |
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