Fantasy Duality [Act I: Sealed Demons]

[ReminiscenceOfRegret]

Elian Mercier
Health: 100%
Location: First Temple, Lyra Outskirts
Apparel: A black button up shirt with a white undershirt beneath it. Dark colored slacks, and hardy walking shoes for the journey - even if it was short for him. An umbrella....for shade, protection from rain, and fighting off any wild animals he might find along the way. Also has a bag with a water bottle, a sleeping bag, rope, and some travel food in case he got hungry.
Mood: Overwhelmed
Interactions: Britt-21
Mentions: Everyone (through observation)

Elian had kept an eye on the others ever since he'd made it to the top, not wanting to engage in any chit-chat. He wasn't here to make friends, not when he knew that they would likely only be here long enough to realize that dream meant nothing. Then they would all go home. He felt silly for coming at all, even though he knew he couldn't help it. Like somehow he'd been played by Life, like this was all a big lie. He looked up to the sky briefly and wondered if Life and Death were liars too. But even then, he knew, it didn't matter whether they were truthful entities or not. He rejected truth and lies equally because he was scared of not being sure. He rejected anything before it had the power to reject him.

He kept his eyes out, though, and watched the interactions before him attentively. He would stay until everyone else began to leave, and he didn't mind that. People watching was one of his favorite pastimes, after all. He remained a bit away from the group, keeping a close eye on everyone while he kept his arms crossed over his chest. Some people were more outgoing, while others made little conversation. Some were engaged in talk with people they seemed to recognize or know, which made him a bit uneasy. How did some of them already know each other? Did he miss something in that dream?

What if he didn't have a soulmate? Or what if he had and they died along the way? What if they didn't make it? Sure, he was scared of having a soulmate at all, of having to be completed by someone else, but he was also scared of never being able to know for sure. He thought if he could maybe meet his 'soulmate' then he could decide he didn't want to be a part of this and back out. He felt that if he could brush off his soulmate, that he could prove he was complete by himself. He decided that was his quest for the day, and was firm in sticking to it...until a girl with dark hair materialized in his field of sight.

She had ebony colored locks and amethyst eyes, and although she stood shorter than him she was easily seen. He felt a pang in his chest when he first looked at her eyes, and suddenly he wasn't sure what that meant. He looked away, quickly, and worked to compose himself. Turning back to her with his usual gloomy expression, he gave her a short wave back.

"Dylan...." He mumbled, wondering if he should commit that name to memory. Wondering if it mattered to do so. He decided that being polite wouldn't hurt for the moment. This interaction would be over quickly, as would this trip. Then they would seperate and he didn't have to worry about the feeling that seemed to suddenly pop up in his chest. "I'm...Elian. Elian Mercier, but you don't have to worry about remembering that. No one ever does."

He said this because people usually confused his name for Elliot whenever he said it. He stopped correcting them after a while. He glanced back at her eyes, but the pang remained, and so he tried to focus on something else.

"You don't have to talk to me because you feel pity on me either. Trust me on that." He used her words back at her, and he wanted to see her reaction. Would she brush him off and walk away? Would she be upset he made such a comment? ​

 

[ReminiscenceOfRegret]

Emerson Cerise Wahl
Health: 100%
Location: First Temple
Apparel: Black and white shirt, faded jeans, and black skater shoes. Carrying a backpack with loads of miscellaneous items, such as a flashlight, some matches, a sketchpad, pencil, a canteen for water, and a blanket.
Mood: Curious, Inspired, Impatient
Interactions: Kiroshiven

Upon arriving on the platform Emi had immediately began searching through her bag to get her sketchbook out. With a sight like this, that she may only see once in her lifetime, she wanted to ensure she captured a bit of it for future reference. Thus, she began sketching some of the area around her. Some of them were more detailed than others, and if one looked at the sketchbook then you'd think that it belonged to numerous people. The drawings were almost consistently different from one another, as if she were trying to explore different styles. She made a few little notes on the top corner of the page, stating where she was and what the date was, but most of the page would be filled with sketches. She quickly got to work, moving around while staying away from talking with the growing group of individuals, catching any small details she could.

She noted the growing crowd with a smile, knowing that it meant she wasn't alone in the world. She wasn't the only one that had been tugged here by Life, it seemed, and that reassured her. It made her think they were all tied together in some way, ways she couldn't yet see.

With growing impatience, she tried to distract herself with her sketches some more. She turned the page, rapidly capturing the view of the pool of water below the platform, making more notes along the way. As she drew she could hear chatter around her, but mostly just listened. Their conversation might've been nice, but it would last as long as her drawings would? She thought not.

She looked up from her sketchbook for a moment, trying to make note of what else she should capture in her book. Then her gaze fell on a boy. Of course, there were several boys all around her, but this one was peculiar in her eyes. Something about him was captivating in a way that others weren't, but she didn't really think about that feeling all too much. She decided she could ask for a moment of his time while the group was still waiting for whatever they'd come here for.

Hurrying over to the boy, she stopped a foot or two away from him, grinning. She looked down, a bit surprised that he was shorter than her, but not disappointed.

"Hey, Emerson here! Sorry to bother, but could I sketch you?" The question was innocent enough, and as if to reiterate her point she held up the book in her hands, displaying a blank page. The crazy thing is that she didn't see anything wrong with sketching someone whose name she didn't even know. "It won't take long, I pinkie promise!"

As if to reinforce her point, she held out her hand. ​

 

[Blink]

⇐ KIMBER Q. ⇒
Sets the Scene, Unwittingly

" He sensed there were more than her — his gained height confirmed his suspicion — and Kimber climbed on. The ligneous cadaver merged into some greater structure: columns and ivy; classic antiquity. In the distance, he spied the crests of dragons peaked above the waterfall, decrepit and indifferent. The falls more so leaked, unpurposefully, beauty not a priority. And this entire temple was silently being overtaken: present visitors disregarding, bootprints insinuated disappointed eventures of days past; piles of ordure marked the place as a popular grazing spot; parasitic plant growth climbed the walls and weeds claimed every unpaved inch. "

WORD COUNT: 489
snark: SHE'S DONE IT (IT'S AWFUL ON MOBILE)

ft.

A REDHEAD WITH SHARPENED FEATURES

;; THE IVORY MAIDEN

​

----------He woke with a grin—he felt magical, aloft in pearling waves. White water evanesced in whiter sand, and he was carried closer to that perfect shoreline. Surrounded by coastal clarity unknown to him, he closed his eyes and opened himself to the seagulls’ song and easy tempo of his heartbeat; he opened himself to Her, the ivory maiden rising from the seafoam, colorless and pure amidst the spread of blue sea and sky. But, goodness, she had a tragic lack of chin, didn’t she?
----------Startling awake in adjoined presence, Kimber awaited, obscured in the cast shadow of tree root, with bated breath. The redhead, in her final grunts of effort, slipped past, and he remained unrecognized. This was ideal, Kimber recalled; ordinarily, he would have assured unawareness in the open. Ignorance came easily, and was contagious. But her hair was truly brilliant, wasn’t it? Her haggardness was a shame.
----------Tucked away at the moss-encrusted base of a towering tree, ingrown amongst millennium-old marble and stone; in his immediate area, shallow, pink-tinged water littered with detritus. Kimber Q. could not envision a stranger place to awaken, mostly because he cared not to recall odder instances, of which there were probably many, each with separate context. This temporally-dissociated temple was no different, of course. But he could care less for why he’d traveled out to nowhere.
----------Kimber gazed disappointedly as his sodden pantlegs. He struggled into a sitting position; his button-down felt heavy. He heaved onto his feet, flapping the bottom edge of his shirt in an attempt to dry the ugly red bloodstain on its front. In his fading delirium, Kimber then stumbled onto a glint in the water while pursuing higher ground — a discrete wine bottleneck. The sting was instantaneous; he gave a frightful leap back, but was otherwise unharmed, and feeling fully conscious now, Kimber Q. easily began putting one foot before the other, slinking up the pillar of rooted, rotted wood.
----------He sensed there were more than her — his gained height confirmed his suspicion — and Kimber climbed on. The ligneous cadaver merged into some greater structure: columns and ivy; classic antiquity. In the distance, he spied the crests of dragons peaked above the waterfall, decrepit and indifferent. The falls more so leaked, unpurposefully, beauty not a priority. And this entire temple was silently being overtaken: present visitors disregarding, bootprints insinuated disappointed ventures of days past; piles of ordure marked the place as a popular grazing spot; parasitic plant growth climbed the walls and weeds claimed every unpaved inch.
----------Kimber Q. cringed under the cacophony of high-flying gulls. Beneath that was the monotony of muffled conversation amongst a growing crowd. Over that, the reverberating silence of Life. He finessed comfort upon his tall slope; Kimber crossed his legs and listened.
----------The birds soared through a gap in the canopy, a gash of broken branches still dripping leaves and splinters: the demarcation of a perilous fall.

 

[Seraph Darkfire]

Reve Leanaí & Aisling Leanaí

Health: 100%
Location: Lyra Outskirts, First Temple
Apparel: Loose tan shirt and a pair of black pants, a pair of simple gray waders is worn over the pants. Aisling is wearing a simple white dress and a blue and gold "Adventurer's Cloak" that Reve gave her.
Mood (R): Intrigued, Annoyed
Mood (A): Happy, Excited
Mentions:
Interactions: Autumn @Unimaginable_16
​

Reve looked towards the Temple "Well, we are all standing outside of this temple for a reason" he said softly before looking at Aisling "Want to go in?" he asked her.

The little girl smiled widely and nodded before holding out her hand towards Autumn "Come with us...please?" she seemed to add the 'please' as an afterthought but it was still there and Reve smiled slightly.

He did his best to install politeness in his daughter, but at the same time, he did his best to prevent her from letting other people push down her desires. It was a fine line that he walked, between freedom and discipline. Teaching her was one of the few things he didn't leave up to his coin.

He turned his calm eyes towards Autumn. This girl was...strange. She didn't act weird or anything, but being around her made him feel...energized, like all of the world was suddenly fitting together like a puzzle. Reve wondered what all this was about, it wasn't simple coincidence that this many people were directed towards this Temple. As much as he was fond of it, this was no work of Luck or chance.

They were here for a purpose, and it wasn't something he was pleased about. One thing Reve disliked more than anything, was having his actions decided for him. He wanted to go into the temple, possibly because he was being compelled to, but he also wanted to know why.

"It seems as if Aisling has become quite attached to you" he said, it was very interesting to hear amusement from his otherwise expressionless face. While he showed the occasional smile or chuckled, it was never a full on emotion "Care to join us?" he asked.

Coding by @Starfish ​

 

[Aura Of Twilight]

Lilith Featherston, Chaos

Lilith stood there as more and more, some...different, some quiet, people arrived. Normally she would try and go make conversation, but she was oddly lost in her thoughts and only managed to mumble nothing in particular under her breath. Now that she was here, in the first temple, it suddenly occurred to her just how...surreal this all was. Never had she expected after all the trouble she had gotten into would she be in a place like this. Life sure was funny like that. Lilith wondered why she had been chosen, but she wasn't one to question deities, well the one she had met at in her dreams at any rate. At the same time, if Death was the one responsible for all the destruction in the world, she wasn't going to just sit back and watch it happen, as much as she loved sleep. A part of her yearned for the adventure, the thrill of doing something she found worthwhile.

Her lilac eyes flickered over the various different individuals again. Who among them would be her partner, her soulmate? And what powers would they gain together? She believed Life, she truly did, but for all these people...so far, there wasn't one among them that looked like they would be..."partner-y". Well, she would just have to take the initiative to find out.

Before she could do that, among the sea of people she spotted a woman approach her. With shoulder-length dark brown hair and eyes hidden behind glasses, the stranger was rather ordinary looking at first glance, a normal person she might just pass on the street, but...something told Lilith there was more than meets the eye with this girl. The blonde haired woman's eyes narrowed slightly for a moment. She couldn't explain it, but all the sudden she felt an very strong urge, like she was being pulled by invisible strings, to talk to the woman.

Before Lilith could move, the other girl had already was already there introducing herself as Katherine, although looking irritated, her hand extended. Without hesitating, with a warm smile Lilith shook the other girl's hand, which was damp and soft compared one calloused by years. It caused a slight tingling sensation to run up her arms. "Nice to meetcha, Katherine. I'm Lilith. Lilith Featherston." Pulling her hand away she scratched her head somewhat sheepishly. "You look like you had a quite a hike up here just like many of us. I...somehow...managed to get lost a little bit myself. I've never been good at directions." She said with a chuckle.
​

BoilingWriter

 

[littleberry]

Del
CoolGuy

Del laughed again, grinning at Al. “Broad shoulders huh? Now why do you need someone to carry you? Doing things, fighting and taking care of others and yourself, why don’t ya just love the rush?” She smiled and glanced at the people gathering. Sure there was the creepy guy talking to the girl and the pissed off guy talking to someone else, and a kid… hmm quite a group.

“I don’t know… looks like a bunch of people to me. Though I’ve always been bad at the countin’ stuff. ‘Cept if it’s my bullets. Military doesn’t supply much now a days so I gotta be real careful with those.” With a flick of her hand, Del brought out the gun in question, spinning it round once before placing it back safely in it's holster. She cracked her knuckles and motioned for Al to follow her as she began slowly walking, taking in the altar of life. One girl seemed to be worshiping it already.

“Oh I hope that’s not my partner.” She paused, looking at Al. “Other side of the law hmm… well we might have a problem there. I don’t have no patience for bullies. Never liked em’ much and those who break the rules just to get what they want from those who are weaker, well that right there is somethin’ I just can’t overlook.”

She playfully punched Al in the shoulder again, raisin an eyebrow. “You scared of an angry goddess? Well I never put much thought in it but heck, I think that any lady wantin’ to beat someone causin’ mishap ain’t that bad.”​

 

[BoilingWriter]

Katherine Kyverski

Health: 100%
Location: Lyra - The Forest - The First Temple
Mood: Irritable... but Curious
Talking To: Aura Of Twilight
​

It was stunning, the moment their hands touched. It wasn't anything uncomfortable, but somehow just the touch made sparks shoot up the entirety of Katherine's arm. It normally would've made her jerk her hand away, but for whatever strange reason Kathy held fast. She shook the girl's hand, going for a firm shake but feeling puny compared to the obvious strength in the stranger's grip.

"Nice to meetcha, Katherine. I'm Lilith. Lilith Featherston." The girl introduced herself. It is a very pretty name, Kathy thought, and responded in turn, "The pleasure is mine." It was automatic, no meaning behind it. But Kathy felt for some reason that it was indeed a pleasure to meet her. Is this what Life meant when she spoke to me about...? No, certainly it couldn't be that easy... The girl pulled her hand away, and Kathy almost didn't want her to let go. What's gotten hold of you? Stop being strange. She chided herself.

"You look like you had quite a hike up here, just like many of us." She must be speaking about my lackluster appearance. Kathy thought, face reddening slightly at the thought of how she must look. Wet hair, glasses smeared with dirty water... She wouldn't be caught dead looking like this in public. She tried not to think too hard about it, or else she would send herself into a panic attack over how unkempt she looked. Luckily Lilith spoke again before Kathy could send herself into a panic attack.

"I... somehow... managed to get lost a little bit myself. I've never been good with directions." She said sheepishly, scratching her head with an embarrassed expression. Kathy's panic seemed to dissipate, looking at the girl's sheepish expression. It's cute... Kathy thought, surprising herself. And I don't find many people to be cute...

"Well, the way was..." She almost said the way was convoluted, but to her it hadn't been. And she didn't want to lie. "The woods can be very confusing." To some, she thought, leaving the last bit off as to not aggravate this new friend. Friend? Don't get ahead of yourself.

"I just want to know what's going to happen now. I assume we all had the same..." Kathy trailed off. She didn't want to sound crazy. "...we all got the same message?" She finished somewhat awkwardly.

​

 

[Britt-21]

***Dylan Truss***
Location: First Temple
Mood: A little hurt.
Mentioned: ReminiscenceOfRegret

Dylan only pouted as he said she didnt have to talk to him because she felt pity on him. Well that wasnt the case at all! "Well that's not very nice..." she muttered "I like your name, Elian...But I wasnt talking to you because I feel pity on you... I just wanted to be friendly and say hello and stuff.." she laced her hands together, looking down at her feet and kicking a loose pebble softly "Im sorry that you feel that way though..." she lifted her eyes and looked at him. Locking her amethyst eyes with green ones, she felt her heart pick up a little and she gave him a soft smile "I want us to be friends, there's nothing wrong with that, right?" she asked. Eli did seem a little on the low end but that was something Dylan could change if she tried hard enough.

"Besides, we're all here for a reason and Im sure you wouldnt want to be awkward with the people around you!" she said, trying to lighten up the atmosphere! "You never know who's going to be your partner so better start making friends so you save yourself the trouble of introducing yourself later." she pulled her bag off her back and opened it up, reaching into it and pulling out a granola bar, handing it to him "Here, Im sure you'll like this. Its not much but its something good to snack on. I know how the journey was coming over here so..you must be a little hungry." she was also gonna have to talk with some others and become friends with them too so she was a step ahead! Dylan was kind and sweet and she planned to stay that way for as long as she could.

"Lets be friends, okay? No strings attatched." the soft smile was still on her face, waiting for Eli's reply. Im still curious about everyone else... There's so many people, how could there not be an odd amount by now? Who is to say if all the people would join up in the adventure? Not many would...but considering the amount of people... she slowly began to turn her head, looking around at all the people in the temple before returning her eyes to Eli.​