Fantasy The Cosmic Circles: Babylon Rising [Open for Signup!]

[Crimson Avenger]

Earth.


A bustling nexus of activity, and home to over seven billion people. For 6,000 years, humanity has looked out at the stars and felt confident that we knew our place in this universe. That we were only a small, humble planet among many others. We were awed and humbled at the vastness of the universe we live in. And we were comfortable in the knowledge that ultimately, despite how complicated our planet and society are, that we are ultimately insignificant in the eyes of the universe.


We had no idea.


Our planet is the battleground for a cosmic war so monumental in scale it would destroy the minds of lesser beings to view it in its full intensity. A conflict of light and darkness centered around our tiny slice of existence, but spanning much more than human minds can comprehend.


The fate of all existence is tied up in the hearts and souls of people, and only a few human beings are destined to witness this fight.


You are those few. Welcome to the Cosmic Circles.

 

[Crimson Avenger]

Spoiler

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Slap. Slap. Slap.





The sound of running footsteps on rain soaked pavement echoed across the street as the two figures ran along the length of the road. Lights flickered and thunder rumbled menacingly, heralding the coming of some great doom. The rain poured down in torrents, soaking the men to the bone. The shorter of the two figures glanced over his shoulder in fear, frantically looking for any sign of their pursuer.


"Professor, I think we lost him!"


"Quiet Samuel. We're not out of the woods yet. These beings cannot be outmaneuvered so easily."


They continued running, weaving through the streets and alleys. The taller man kept his eyes ahead, grimly scanning for any signs of trouble and navigating to their destination. Finally, they came to a stop in the back alley of a large, brick building. A massive iron door to a warehouse loomed in front of them. His hands trembling, the older man drew a wooden box out of his pocket and produced an iron key. He lifted the key to a lock, but at that moment, there was a sound like a parachute opening, and a muffled thud.


"Professor Car--"


"Your'e too late. Drop the key and the blade, or I send your student to his final resting place."


The man slowly turned to see a twelve foot tall man with gray skin and three huge, burnt feathered wings arching over his back. The being was gripping the smaller man by the throat, lifting him eight feet off the ground.


"No! Please let him go! He has nothing to do with this!"


"DROP YOUR WEAPON."


The Professor threw the key and a long silver knife he had drawn from inside his coat onto the ground.


"Very good. Now you will come with me. The Master is waiting for me to... escort you to your cell."


CRACK!

A flash of lightning struck and illuminated the alley for a brief moment, casting glow upon a fourth figure suddenly standing between the gigantic man and the Professor.


"Ramiel! You have no business with this one. He is under the protection of the Host, you cannot have him."


"Ah, if it isn't little Ashael. It seems you've been demoted to acting as a meat shield for lower life forms. How are you liking your new position, 'Guardian Angel?'"


"Enough games! I order you release the human you hold and to leave this place! You cannot touch them!"


"Ah, but you see, I've been transferred. My new supervisor has issued orders to take the Codex by any means necessary. Nyarlathotep will be very upset with me if I come back empty handed."


Ramiel twitched his wrist and snapped the neck of the young man in has grasp, then flung his lifeless body into the street.


"Samuel! No!" The Professor lunged forward to pick up the dropped blade, but the massive being kicked at him. The smaller man flew into the brick wall and slumped unconscious.


Ashael leaped into the air, a flashing white hot sword materializing in his grip, but the larger figure batted him aside and sent him sprawling. He reached over and grabbed the unconscious professor, then leaped into the sky, wings flapping furiously.


The smaller angel picked himself off the ground and walked over to the door. He reached down and picked up the fallen key and blade. Letting out a sigh of regret, he stared into the inky sky, face soaked in the rain.


"What have we done?"


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[Ozerath]

It was a difficult time to be an archetype, Odyssey reflected gloomily. Humans, bustling contradictory children that they were, could be so frustrating, especially these days. On the one hand, they were writing and creating more than ever; epic stories and films full of all kinds of heroes, warriors and thieves and jedi and so on. On the other hand, the heroes they actually BELIEVED in were so...mundane. Firefighters and good citizens who rescued stray cats and all that. So Odyssey found himself brimming with energy and potential, yet held back by a barrier of human beliefs. He sighed. At least people were still reading Homer, he reflected. That should keep him from getting too boring. Even thinking about the literature he’d taken his name from made him nostalgic. The ancient Greeks, now there was a culture that knew how to tell a story. The memories filled him with warmth...no it was more than just the memories, he actually felt hot. Why was that? Oh, right, the building was on fire.


Odyssey calmly returned his thoughts to the present, a little disoriented. Hadn’t he already gotten everyone out of the building? He heard a faint cry from down the smoking hall. Oh yes, the baby. Of course there was a baby. He sighed and nonchalantly walked down the hall, coughing slightly from the thick smoke in the air but otherwise unaffected. He pulled open the nursery door. Naturally, part of the ceiling had collapsed, blocking his path to the squalling infant. Odyssey wasn’t particularly worried. His power worked in subtle ways. He’d just barely be able to remove the heavy obstacle, and the baby would manage to endure the smoke and heat just long enough for Odyssey to rescue him. Something as humdrum as rescuing a baby from a burning house was almost routine for him. He heaved and strained at the collapsed rafters, managing to shift them out of the way quite easily. Even with his superhuman strength, the obstacle should have proved more of a challenge, but fortunately, human society was currently enthralled by the idea of “adrenaline surges”, so Odyssey frequently found himself gaining extra strength when it came to pulling children out of cars or saving puppies from drowning.


Odyssey scooped the baby from the crib, holding it low to the ground to avoid the smoke. He quickly moved to the window and began waving a towel to draw the attention of firefighters working to extinguish the blaze. They quickly moved a ladder to the window, and Odyssey handed the baby to the firefighter. As he stepped onto the window ledge, already thinking about how to avoid the media gathering nearby, the floor suddenly gave out beneath him, and Odyssey went tumbling downwards in a shower of debris. He crashed through two floors and smashed into the basement. He grumbled in exasperation. Apparently the heroic sacrifice was coming into play today. How tedious, he thought, as a pile of burning debris crashed down on top of him.


When he woke up, it was dark. Very dark. Odyssey swore. If someone had gone and buried him in again...but no, he was naked, and covered in a sheet. The coroner’s office then. He checked his chest; no stiches, so they hadn’t performed an autopsy thank the Almighty. His insides never felt right after an autopsy, and it lengthened his recovery time. He carefully maneouvered to put his ear to the hatch of his little metal cabinet. He didn’t hear anyone, so he pushed the door open, rolled his table out, kicked off his sheet and hopped down to the floor. He rumaged around for a minute to find some clothing; there were usually plenty of spare scrubs around dead bodies. He found some in a locker by the door, which thankfully also contained some extra shoes. People in this day and age always seemed to pay a lot of attention to anyone not wearing shoes. Odyssey pulled on the scrubs and the shoes, neither of which fit very well but they’d do. He made sure to check himself in a mirror first; he’d once scared a poor security guard half to death because he hadn’t realized half his face was still burnt off. But this time, he looked almost completely recovered, just a few scrapes and minor burns that would only be noticed on close inspection. He decided to double check if any of the clothing he’d arrived in was still around, though it had likely been burnt to a crisp, and sure enough he didn’t find it. He put everything back more or less the way he’d found it, then wandered out the back door of the hospital, just a nurse on a smoke break or something equally unremarkable.


It took Odyssey a few hour to make his way back to the scene of the fire. His ‘67 Mustang was parked a block away, the key secured in a combination lockbox hidden in the back left wheelwell. He pulled a change of clothes out of the trunk, and scrambled into the white tshirt and jeans in the back seat. His wad of cash, mostly singles due to the...exotic nature of his sidejob, was as he’d left it.


He pulled into a nearby McDonalds and wolfed down three BigMacs while mooching off the free wifi to use his laptop. His inbox was full of the usual rejection letters from publishers and film studios, no surprise there. Then Odyssey checked local news outlets; thankfully his heroic rescue and subsequent death hadn’t caught too much attention, and there were no pictures of his face, so he’d be able to stick around a while longer. He lay back in his seat and tried to relax. He was tired of waiting. He didn’t know what exactly he was waiting for, just that it was coming soon. And when it did come...well he’d just have to see.

 

[Kaine]

Colette


The wind whispering through the tops of trees, howling as if it was mother nature herself taking a gander at what the child of man was doing; so small and insignificant was her size in comparison to the larger picture that was the world. Trees standing as tall as a sky scraper, their base and leaves thicker than a vehicle is wide. Some of the largest trees on earth, the Redwood Forest along the Coast of California.


This was one of Colette's favorite places to visit. Her photography was anything but professional, but it was a hobby and one she believed deeply in. The soothing roar of Poseidon spoke sweet nothings against mother natures cheeks of porcelain sand.


Colette giggled as her mind trailed off like a novel again. Clicking the button a few times, her camera silently fluttered an array of photos. Letting it fall to her waist softly grasped by her hand, she clicked it into place with a special device to hold the camera at her waist. Walking around, she admired nature and at times kind of wished she could be a normal fox. Maybe then life would be easier. Life was never easy in this modern world.


After some time finally passed, she made her way back to her car. Its top down, parked in a lot, alone, not even 40 feet from the ocean. She just sat there for awhile. She had been ready to go home, but at this point it was just so relaxing to listen to the soft waves crashing. Before she had even realized it, Colette had fallen asleep in the drivers seat.

 

[JayJay Muse]

She had to keep running, the sirens close behind her as she turned around a corner of a building, people were so annoying! She tripped as she shoved someone out of her way the man throwing curses at her as she barreled forward. Dalla Petrova was running out of energy and her muscles protested in agony as she kept forcing herself to run, she groaned as she turned to look over her shoulder seeing them hot on her heels. Her eyes a deep violet with silver flecks were hidden by shades which helped her hide from the weird glances and stares. She turned around a corner gasping and heaving for air. God she didn't want to run anymore! She just wanted it all to stop! The blaring megaphone brought her attention back to the police pointing a gun at her. "DALLA PETROVA! PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR AND DON'T MOVE!" She stood up slowly, her hands shaking as she felt her heart beat out of her chest. "Go away! Leave me alone!" She screamed. "DON'T MOVE!" The police officer said as his partner started to walk cautiously forward. "I said GO AWAY!" A bolt of purple lightning struck the metal mail box exploding it, sending the papers flying, the police officer's partner ducked behind a car to avoid the lightning.


As soon as he was distracted Dalla was running again, the sound of gunshots echoing in her mind. She was alert, but she tried to calm down her fingers twitching as little sparks emanated from her hands, her eyes widened and she placed them in her lap. It seemed liked everywhere she went she caused trouble, ‘Why is this happening to me? What am I?!’ She thought, while she tried to hide her hands. Her knee bounced up and down nervously, the constant need to move, all the pent up energy, it was honestly too much. However, as a cop car drove past she froze holding in her breath. Dalla counted quietly under her breath "One...two....three...four.." after twenty seconds past she thought she was in the clear. She relaxed in her seat and looked up at the t.v. to see if the ‘scene’ between her and the police showed up. Nope nothing yet. It was only a matter of time though.