Fantasy Nightmare Hunter (closed)

[JadeGreen17]

Spoiler: The Basics

Welcome to the dark, mysterious and bizzare world of Nightmare Hunter; 'That Story I've been working on since the eighth grade'. This is an urban fantasy/supernatural/alternate history- it's a lot of things. Your character will be offered to join the Nightmare Hunter order, a secret ancient order led by a powerful, yet eccentric being known as the Blindfolded Man. Your character will take the book of trials; which will award them a weapon and the full title of Nightmare Hunter, and then proceed to go on missions with the other characters in the group to defeat various monsters. Though not all monsters are evil through and through; some can be pacified.

I will be "GMing", playing the role of the monsters and the secondary characters. Once you have your characters in you can start them off. They can be literally whatever kind of person you want; so long as they fit into the world presented, perhaps roleplaying a small section of their life to help establish their character. Your characters can start of separate or already knowing one another.

This RP is to be an exercise for myself in worldbuilding and GMing. I have a general idea of what this world is going to be like, but by having some RPers go through, I get to get an idea of how these factors trickle down into a more intimate setting. For that reason this will be very open ended and outside of the opening scenario the story could go any number of ways. For me this is a world-building exercise for a world I eventually intend to use in a book/graphic novel series. By having people roleplay characters that live within the world I am pushed to develop it more deeply than I would otherwise.

This RP is fairly open ended on the part of the player. I encourage you to do things differently, experiment, and try to go off the railroad or simply play a kind of character that you like. Obvious rules apply; this is my realm of power, and I can decide what's lore friendly to or not. Minor lore breaks and inconsistencies are fine; but when something straight up makes no sense or directly contradicts established lore, I'll probably call it out. No Mary Sues, no Godmodding, No killing/maiming player characters without their permission. You can have romance and all that, just remember site rules and cut to black if you have to. I myself am an aro ace, and while I'm not romance adverse, I'm not very interested in or skilled at writing it, so that stands for NPCs. Other player's characters are up to them, talk about it in the OOC. You can play as many characters as you can keep track of.

Also since this story is ongoing, I am willing to allow new characters in mid-rp.

Spoiler: Character Sheet and questionare

-Name:
-Age (atleast 14 to be eligible to be a Nightmare Hunter):
-Human? (Half)Atlantean? Werewolf/Werebear? Vampire:
-Personality, likes, dislikes, hobbies, opinions and the likes:
-Backstory:

-Would your character prefer to play White or Black in a game of chess? Consider that white makes the first move and black gets to make judgement and strategize based on that move.

-Would your character rather be seen by their peers as someone who was overconfident and boisterous or someone who was underconfident and shy?

-Would you consider your character more of a 'Jedi' or a 'Sith' in their philosophy on emotions; in where a Jedi tries to keep themselves calm and free of strong emotions and attachments while a Sith virtually bathes themself in passionate emotions and uses them to fuel their drive towards their goals (Bear in mind this emotion need not be negative)?

-Your character has just gotten a brand new lego set! Do they build it by the instructions or take the parts out and build whatever they want?

-If your character could pick a new name for themselves that wasn't their current name; what would it be?

Nightmare Hunter Characters
Nightmare Hunter OOC
Nightmare Hunter Lore Thread

 

[JadeGreen17]

During Andela's trip across the atlantic:

She is met by a man while alone on the deck of the ship one day. The man is short, almost dwarfish, even with his oversize top hat is only about four feet tall. He has pale, slightly wrinkled skin and a fat face with his hat obscuring his eyes. His figure is chubby and awkward and he wears a long suit coat, partially unbuttoned to reveal a gold and purple undershirt. Andela spots the man staring off the stern of the ship into the wake, and when she notices him things seem to fall silent. Even the gulls that trail the ship seem to have vanished, and all that can be heard is the waves lapping at the iron hull as the ship steams steadily towards Europe.

The man begins to speak, his voice seeming an odd mix of both somber wisdom and giddy excitement. Though he does not turn to face Andela, he is very clearly directing his voice at her.

"Find what you seek, in Arcadia you will not,
for long have the hunters and paladins fought.

Your path is not wrong, continue on fourth.
When you reach the great wall, turn and head north.

Climb the great mountain and enter her mouth.
Upon reaching there; turn and face south."

 

[JadeGreen17]

Meanwhile on Auron's Airship:

The short blind man appears to Auron. Given he is a veteran Nightmare Hunter who is returning, he is probably accustomed to his presence; and would know him by the closest thing he has to a name; the Blindfolded Man. He stands patiently on the outer deck of his airborne yacht, looking out over streaked white clouds below in a very similar vein to his first appearance. Without moving or speaking, he beckons Auron to come onto the deck of his ship.

 

[BlazingSword]

Aurons Airship
(Lady Gauss)

The hiss of steam escaping one of the external exhaust vents snapped Auron out of his daydreaming just in time for him to see the blindfolded man beckoning for him to join him on the deck. With a sigh Auron shook his head muttering to himself. "Whatever that man is he never ceases to amaze me." He made his way from the cockpit towards the main deck assuring his crew they were doing just fine. Upon making it to the main deck he greeted the blindfolded man with a question "what do you think? Just added a new coat of paint and treated the whole deck, a few more touches and she will be up to date... Though I reckon you aren't here to see Lady Gauss in action." He chuckled a bit as he met the blindfolded man on the starboard rail, his usual cocky half smile plastered on his otherwise expressionless face.
​

JadeGreen17

 

[JadeGreen17]

He speaks with a somewhat warmer inflection twoard Auron, as though he were an old friend.

"Your airship is refreshed as is your soul,
But you seek direction to your next goal.

Head north of Arcadia to the great peak
There I shall assemble the new team that you seek.

Left my fine order, you did not long back
New qualities you have, old flaws that you lack"

There is the slightest hint of irritation in his third verse. The Blindfolded Man was never particularly happy with people who attempted to abandon his order. After all anyone who joins the order is vowed to a lifelong commitment. But it seems as though he thinks Auron simply needed a break and is now ready to return to his duty, and isn't judging him too harshly for it.

"Should you choose to rejoin, you must redo your test
Only then may you get on with the rest."

 

[JadeGreen17]

Andela found Arcadia to be a mixed bag. She found the cheapest place to stay, in a which was still outrageously expensive and extravagant, and her meager funds would not sustain her here for long. Work in the city seemed scant; as there were no openings to become a smith for the paladins. She would later come to learn that this was a highly exclusive position. There were openings for metalworkers; artisans who maintained metal fixtures and statue gardens. Replicas would need to be cast and building fixtures would need to be periodically replaced. But the pay was poor and the work was not suited to her more practical experience with swords.

Regardless, the city was breathtakingly beautiful, pristine and immaculately maintained in stark contrast to the crowded and haphazardly laid out Chespake. An ordinance banned airships flying directly above the city; they were required to dock at a port a few miles out of town, making the city a lot quieter and the skies a lot clearer. She caught glimpses of grounds crews painstakingly trimming hedges and sweeping away litter, but they never seemed to get in the way of the everyday citizen. Some of the older members of Arcadia seemed to react to her with a haughty attitude, occasionally catching them grunting about foreigners and tourists, while others, mainly the younger citizens, were much more kind and accepting.

She would also have many run ins with nexicist monks who would seem to the average outsider to be madly paranoid, blaming even the slightest inconvenience on the doings of nex, and preaching about how one should fear nex, the ultimate and purest evil there was. Thankfully, they seemed to keep their preachings to themselves unless spoken to first.

From her room on the top floor of the temporary residence near the outer wall, Andela could see the very peaks of the northern mountains. It would only be a day or two's trek from the the city to the mountain, less if she could secure a bus or train.

 

[BlazingSword]

Lady Gauss/ Arcadia skyport

Auron stood silent for a moment after listening to the blindfolded man's riddle. As the cathedral tower came into view, Lady Gauss began to slow down. Finally he spoke back " I do apologise for leaving, there were a few things I still needed to learn I suppose. " The mention of the trails caused his thoughts to shift to the silver rod, which sat in his belt pocket hidden from view. " These trails, they will be harder than last time right?" His voice seemed to raise an octave, not out of fear but anticipation.
" Either way wish me luck, I'm gonna finish it in one night, then I'll meet you at the peak the following night." His voice brimmed with confidence as the airship made it's connections with the dock. Without a further word he stepped over the railing of the ship and leapt to the docks a mere six feet below. "And now to the hunters. I wonder if they will still recognize me." He said walking away from the port quickly, leaving his crew to check in with dock security...​

 

[JadeGreen17]

The blindfolded man, still standing on the outer deck of the airship, tips his hat and nods to Auron. A gust of wind blows and he dissolves into black sand that is carried away on the wind.

-+-

Meanwhile in Chespake. Marcus, we could assume is preparing for his own Journey to join the Nightmare Hunter order. You could RP a bit of what he's doing in his attempts to join.

 

[Floodwater31]

Outlying Chespake Trainstation​

Marcus was sitting on a bench, waiting for a train. He'd just met with a man who's wife he'd suspected of being a nightmare hunter, records he'd found in town hall suggested that it was a family tradition, but any attempt to talk to the man had been shut down, tight lipped fella. They're all tight lipped, every lead he'd tracked down gave him the same look and excuses when he began questioning. Thinking about it, he was tracking down people who he suspected of being connected possible hunters, it was a bit- unconventional, but conventional methods had already rejected him. Father and Mother straight up weren't speaking to Marcus unless they started the conversation and he stuck to it, and his brother, while he had confirmed the guest they'd had fourteen years ago was indeed a hunter, wouldn't tell him anymore on the possibility of angering father. The help were in the same vein as his brother, and his former friends wouldn't have anything to do with him after his infection. How do I know he didn't lie to me! How do I know I'm not some crazy person bothering people with fairy tales! Why am I- Calm down. Marcus focused on taking several deep breaths, he couldn't have an accident, he hadn't had one yet and he wasn't going to have one. He just had to try his next lead, that would be the one. He pulled a notebook out of one of his two bags and marked another name and address off of the long list.

 

[BlazingSword]

City of Arcadia

The trek through the streets of Arcadia was a long one. Fortunately Auron knew the way relatively well, despite how long ago he was in the city. His regal walk and the silver embroidery on his clothes were drawing several peoples attention which he remained apparently oblivious to. The smells of nearby restaurants made his mouth water, yet he was more focused on the tasks at hand. Food could come later.

He continued on past a regal looking bar, an expensive and we'll kempt inn, several fancy looking private dwellings, a small open bakery full of people, and a meat market that advertised choice cuts of various beasts , before he came upon the path that lead North up the mountains. "Long time no see..." He muttered under his breath to the narrow trail. Dipping his hand into his belt pocket he gripped the hilt of his first trails reward. Feeling his courage well up again he began the trek up the mountain with a confident stride, his cocky half smile once more adorning his face. ​

 

[JadeGreen17]

The train switched tracks, heading up a slope where it switched to elevated rail and heading deeper into endless rows of brick tenements, which would eventually give way to hundred-story skyscrapers mooring massive airships that made up downtown. Looking up from his notebook; Marcus noted how quiet and empty the train was. He looked around. A homeless man was asleep at the far end of the car, the light above him flickering each time the train hit a bump. The heating fan made a bizarre rattling sound in a strange pattern.

Marcus sighed and closed his notebook. Before he could return it to its rightful place in its bag he noticed a scrap of paper sticking out from between two of the pages. Confused, he pulled it out and unfolded it. It was a purple card with gold thread embroidering the exterior, and a rhyme written in fancy golden ink.

"Find a Hunter in the city, you will barely,
For tresspass there, our prey does rarely.

To the top of the Hudson building you will go,
What to do next, you will know."

 

[Floodwater31]

Marcus reassessed the the train car before looking back down at the card, no one had entered or left, and he and the homeless man were the only two people here, so when did this get here? He flipped the card over to examine the other side, which was embroidered with golden thread like it's sister, but was other than that it was blank. Returning to the original side he went over the text line by line, the first verse proved that whoever had written this was far better at investigating than himself, then again, it wasn't like he'd been hiding his intentions to anyone. The second verse was more interesting, any building notable enough to have 'the' in it's title was probably an air dock, not too many buildings weren't in Chespake honestly. As for the 'What to do next' part, he had no idea. After internalizing the verses, he slipped the card back into his notebook and the notebook into his bag. As if on cue, Marcus felt the train begin to lose momentum, it seemed he was approaching the station.

...​

Upon opening the door to the roof, the strong wind immediately blew into his eyes, causing him to shield them as he stepped through the doorway. The roof of the Hudson was abuzz with activity, people crammed to and from the several airships and lifts. Marcus had stepped off the lift about halfway up to make room on the journey up, meaning he'd taken the stairs the rest of the trip, which wasn't all bad, considering his equipment bag was noticeably lighter. He'd elected to wear his armor today, both to make himself look more official and out of slight paranoia. It was light as most armors go, more a collection of thin metal plates on his arms and torso than a full suit.
The card said he'd know what to do, but nothing was immediately apparent, he stepped to the side and began surveying the crowd. He'd pass for a militant waiting for a ship, and it wasn't like he couldn't wait awhile up here.

 

[JadeGreen17]

As midnight approached, the crowd began to clear out. Three sleeper ships departed, for Golden Rock, Northwind, and Arcadia in that order. Marcus recognized a few of the more famous businessmen and, some celebrities. There was even a group of paladins on a mission from Arcadia. The conductors gave Marcus a passing glance as they left their posts for the night. The lights on the floor went out and just as Marcus was preparing to give up, he noticed an archaic looking design faintly present in the tiles, mostly worn down by the heavy foot traffic. Nobody would ever notice it in the heavy hustle and bustle of travelers coming and going.

The design seemed to be two hexagonal shapes inset to one another and rotated perpendicularly, but linking one another at the vertices creating a circular web, and bending around one another. Studying the shape closer the whole thing seems to breathe and bend into three-dimensional space, making one feel dizzy. Studying the linework closer reveals a ring of text surrounding the shape. Most of the words have rubbed away from the foot traffic, only one is still legible. Though by the looks of it it is repeated several times at regular intervals amongst the worn-away lettering. It holds no meaning to Marcus:

"TESSERACTUS"

Regardless, he can feel the magic of the rune pulsing about him, almost as though it is obeying him, at a whim ready to act. As though he merely need say the word to continue.

 

[Floodwater31]

Hours had passed since the last ship had lazily drifted off, the last conductor leaving gave Marcus a glance before heading for the stairs, his heels clicked as he closed the door behind him. Marcus was now alone on the windy roof, city noises drifted up from the streets below failing to replace the din of the air dock, making it feel oddly silent. He picked up his bags and headed for the lift, coming to the door he hit the button, no tell tail whiring echoed up the shaft. It seems they shut down the lift for the night, the roof was suddenly drenched in inky blackness, further supporting this theory. He didn't bother walking to the stairs, deep down he knew it wasn't the conductor's heels that clicked when he closed the door.
He turned and began to stroll to the side of the roof, possibly to look down on the city, possibly to see the other building, whatever the reason, something stopped him in his tracks. Illuminated in moonlight on the very ground on which Marcus stood was a crest, two shapes forced together, or pulled from a whole, they seemed ready to rise from the tiles. He set down his bags and bent down to examine the worn shapes, ringing it was perhaps a passage. The text was ground into obscurity, all except one word in several places, each instance of the word seemed to have resisted the feet of travelers with remarkable success. The word felt charged as it rolled off his tongue and collided with the night air, "Tesseractus".

 

[JadeGreen17]

Marcus felt himself pulled sideways- or was it down. The scenery vanished to a blur of colors and distorted images. He felt like he was flattened, seeing nothing but black and a narrow band of cloudy shimmer golden light filled his vision from horizon to horizon. He fell backwards into a lake of quicksilver and plummeted past massive kilometer tall crystals. He fell downward into a massive purple lined opening resembling an eye, that yawned wider as he approached it and in a blinding flash- as soon as it was over. Marcus came to feeling a bit motion sick but none too worse for wear.

Everything was dark, and at first, all Marcus could hear was the sound of rushing water. Stars were all around above him, that seemed to shimmer like millions of tiny diamonds. A narrow golden light made its way over the horizon. Marcus walked toward it. Strangely he felt as though he were walking down a slope, yet seemed be maintaining perfect uprightness after violating what should have been about 60 degrees of slope. Once he made his way to the blinding golden light, he could see jagged rock spikes jutting off in at an unnerving angle, and waterfalls flowing upward in line with the spikes to a pool of water at a 45 degree angle above his head.

Looking down he saw that some of the rock was covered in a thin film of water, that seemed to cling to its surface. while other parts protruded a few inches upward above it. Looking around him he mentally traced out the outline of the continent of South America. The continent was covered in runes and scrawling, some of them he recognized and others he did not. Carved the deepest, and inlaid with another type of stone were dozens of tesseract runes; much smaller than the one back in the Hudson building; only big enough for one or two people to fit in at a time.

The pieces began to fall into place for Marcus. He was on a stone ball, suspended in a cave by some unknown force. No matter where he stood on the ball, he felt as though that direction was down. Standing at the south pole put the water in the bottom of the cave just a few meters above his head, while standing at the north pole was the least disorienting and gave him the best view of the cavern. The golden light, which appeared to be some kind of crystal, represented the sun. As it had been past midnight in Chespake, the sun was currently directly above Ridosi, which had its own rune as well. Another stone ball was suspended some ways away, Three quarters illuminated by the golden crystal. The ball was pocked marked with inset 'craters'; the moon. The entire cave wall was covered in diamonds; that shimmered with a cold white light. Marcus could trace out constellations; the stars.

Only one of the runes seemed active though; as he could feel it having the same disorienting pull as the one on the Hudson building. This being the rune slightly north of Arcadia.

 

[Epiphany]

"'Of death I am as certain as any mortal but defeat is certain only in despair'."

The ritual words of the 172nd Psalm were a scarce comfort. Emmaline whispered them to herself as she stood outside city limits. It was a proper city she'd reached at last, though which one was beyond her knowing. Former Knight Commander Duchamps had taken her and her unit at Tournefeuille, bound them all and broken them one by one with his unholy corruptive power. Even now, she could feel it burning in her veins, a sullen evil that nudged what passed for life through her body now. An evil sullen and resentful until it grew hungry, at which point it became an all-consuming fire.

She'd reached city limits an hour ago but the scent of warm human blood on the wind had rendered her nearly insensible with need. For the sake of the humans she might meet and the remnants of her own mortal soul, Emmaline had turned instead to the farmlands on the city's border. As a flock of bats, she easily entered a barn and from there it was only a little difficult to dine. A stabled horse had initially reared at her appearance but slow words and a calm tone did much to settle it down. A mixture of oats to a greedyguts animal like a horse distracted it enough that it barely whinnied when she bit into its neck, just enough to draw a trickle of blood. With long slow strokes, she kept it calm and feeding while she slowly fed until the fiery madness in her had calmed as well.

The horse was left alive, of course, if likely weary in the morning. She might be a monster but she wasn't a monster.

Now she stood outside the city, concealed behind a tree, her sharpened eyes taking in the few people wandering its streets. A dozen steps and she could be among them, distinct only in her Paladin's uniform. No one would know. Arcadian Paladins had dealt with infiltrating vampires for centuries in their cities and, indeed, any number of recently turned vampires could pass rather effectively among the living as long as no one drew too close. And who would draw close to what seemed to be a Paladin in their midst?

It would be all too easy to slip among them and resume a life of sorts. Until evil overwhelmed her. Until it won.

"'Of death I am as certain as any mortal but defeat is certain only in despair'." Her prayer was whispered, and uttered for strength as she prepared to step onto the street.

 

[JadeGreen17]

The Blindfolded man never sought to destroy the Paladins of Arcadia; for that would make his organization no better than theirs. He sought to take Emmaline not out of good will, at least not entirely, but rather to make a statement to the paladins. Deep down he knew Emmaline was not like the others, and she had struggled with this life long enough.

He nearly second guessed this candidate, but couldn't help but pass up her strong spirit and tightly honed combat skills. He felt it difficult to approach a Paladin, a warrior that conflicted so fundamentally with the philosophy of his order. Perhaps it was on his own worry of how she might react to the sight of him, or how other members of the order might react to an Ex-Paladin joining the ranks. Regardless, he knew it best if he go fourth with initiating her. He decided that he would personally transport Emmaline to the temple just to be certain this wasn't some kind of elaborate trap laid by the Paladins.

The Blindfolded Man apparated into the alley behind Emmaline. She could sense his presence. The man spoke more softly, more carefully than he had in his previous appearances to recruit members; choosing his rhymed verses very carefully in an attempt to suade her to his side.

"It is a great tragedy that has befallen you;
know not how you feel, I do through and through.

If you are willing, reconsider your worldview
Join my order, we could sure use you.

Not all those you call nex want to harm man.
Two in this alley, count them you can.

If your answer is no, then that's quite a shame.
If you need time to think, ill return to my name.

But if your answer is yes, then take my small hand.
To travel with me is really quite grand."

 

[Epiphany]

The arrival of the Blindfolded Man in the alley behind her surprised the newly made vampire. Emmaline turned to face the presence more felt than seen, and blinked when her eyes made out that he seemed little more than an unremarkable man wearing a blindfold. His ability to evidently navigate without eyes, to say nothing of his unnoticed entrance, suggested magical abilities, perhaps Nexian contamination. But his words lacked the seductive quality of supernatural evil. Despite the odd rhyming scheme, there was something of sincerity in his voice.

Once Knight Banneret, the excommunicated Emmaline Steele approached the man with the blindfold and stopped just outside of reach. He couldn't see her uniform, still keeping its neat folds if not quite as clean as it was a handful of days ago. But the weight of her, her discipline, spirit and strength of will were nearly tangible things. In a voice as soft as his, she said "I've failed my nation, my order and all I believe. But I won't fail my people. If your order will fight to preserve life, then you'll have my strength of arm. But know that if this is a trap, a trick meant to lure me to evil..." She chuckled grimly as she took the man's hand. "Just remember I literally have nothing left to lose."

 

[JadeGreen17]

Traveling with the Blindfolded Man was quite easy, given his expert ability to transport between locations at will and the relatively short distance they must cross. Emmaline felt herself being pulled downwards through the ground, breaking through the ground into the sky. She felt for but a moment they were flying and the next, they had arrived. The two stood in a short an ornate hallway lined with wooden paneling. Though vampires lost most feeling of hot and cold, Emmaline could feel a chill. She also made note of a musical tune. Someone was playing a metallic drum and humming a soft song. Whatever tune it was; Emmaline was unfamiliar, but it was calming.

The Blindfolded Man gestured for Emmaline to smile, sliding a door panel at the end opening into a two-story room carved into a portion of a cave. In the middle of the tiled stone floor was a large semicircular table. Hovering above the center of the table was a blue gemstone emitting a cold glow that illuminated the room. In the rear corners of the room were waterfalls pouring down into multicolored pools. The water gave off an exceptional amount of steam; these falls clearly being fed by an underground hot spring.

Whatever conversation had been going on stopped the moment Emmaline entered the room. The figures turned to look at Emmaline. The humming and gentle drumming; did not stop though its source was now apparent. To the far left, seated on the table cross legged, was a girl. Her right arm was a stump, missing slightly below the shoulder, and her hair was straight and jet black, flowing all the way down her seated figure to the tabletop. She wore only a bandage around her breast and heavy armor and a belt around her waist; being barefoot. She was tall and athletic looking, with a pointed face and Hetrochromia in both eyes that faded from emerald green to blue to purple on the inside.

Though she quieted her tune, and a man at the center of the semicircular table stood. He couldn't have been more opposite to the girl. Where she was everything youthful, delicate and beautiful, this man was old, ugly and beaten. If one's scars could tell a story, then this man's face could fill an entire trilogy, with the most prominent scar, a claw mark running from his chin up to his right eye, which he wore a black eyepatch over. His hair was matted and turned a silver gray, bald on top with a knotted beard and tanned skin. His dark set of hunter armor did little to hide his thick trunkline arms and protruding belly.

The man prepared to say something when the boy next to him, a handsome and well built young man with pale skin and slicked back dark red hair spoke in a snarky tone.

"I didn't know that one of the new initiates was a Paladin; are we just taking in anybody now?"

The burly gray bearded man with a deep scowl; one that spoke only of his thousandth time speaking out of turn.

"That doesn't matter, Repid. She's here now; so she's chosen to leave her old life behind and join us now."
"That is if a stupid paladin like her could even pass the trials."
The bearded man's scowl deepened.
"Do you want to remind me what happened the first time you tried to face the trials-"
The boy turned beet red with embarrassment for but a moment, eventually breaking into a chuckle. "Well at least I wasn't a Paladin who came crawling to the order after turning into a-"
The bearded man's temper finally broke. "CAN'T YOU PUT YOUR PETTY PREJIDUCES BEHIND YOU FOR JUST ONE DAY!?" He bellowed with a voice that echoed through the halls. The seated girl stopped playing and froze. "When you speak like that, you are not disrespecting her (gesturing to Emmaline); you are not disrespecting me, but you are disrespecting yourself and the very order that you devoted your life to. Now, we have an initiate here, and if you ask me you're making a pretty lousy first impression, so you can either shut your yap; or spend the rest of the day cleaning your own blood out of the-"

The blindfolded man lept foreward onto the table with an agility and grace his diminutive stature and odd proportions should not have allowed. He pulled a wooden cane from his hat like a magician and struck both standing hunters in the stomach. Though the hits looked to be relatively light, particularly considering both of them were wearing armor, they both recoiled as though they had just taken a heavy kick to the gut. The red haired Repid sat back down, while the bearded man stayed upright, staggering to regain his composure. The blindfolded man turned to face Emmaline and explained.

"Step out of line, a quick stomach thwack,
I'll discipline you with my favorite attack."

He then vanished into a mist of black sand that swirled through the air.

"Apologies- for losing my temper" the man coughed. "He- reminded me of my duties, and that... Repid should keep his mouth shut and his mind open." The main took a few moments to regain his composure. "I am Natevar, the head of the western Hunter temple. That there is Tuce. (He gestures to the girl sitting on the table, who resumes humming a tune and playing her drum with her one remaining arm. Tuce bows her head slightly.) She is one of the last pureblood atlanteans in the world. Mind not her song, she only plays it to keep the new initiates calm, as some can get rather nervous about the trials."

The man then turned to a large gray wolf with a white chest and chin. It sat upright, humanlike in its chair, wearing the same black padded hunter armor with added provisions for movement and her wide neck. "This here is Thmo'er. She's the temple guard and caretaker. Don't know what she really looks like; nobody's ever seen her change out of her wolf form." Navetar's eyes pass over two empty chairs. "Seated here should be the Khaw twins. They're off somewhere in the tesseract network though, scouting for missions and anomalies."

He them moves to the other side of the table. "This here (he grunts) is Repid. He's the newest member we've got. And I think for his attitude; he's earned the privilege of giving you a tour of the temple..." He continues down the row. "Seings (Gesturing to a wiry looking dark skinned boy with thick round glasses and very short hair. If he is of the age of 14, it is only barely so.) Is our bookkeeper. You need information on anything obscure; need any runes translated, or any alchemy done, anything like that he, he's your guy."

He moved down the table once more. Next in line is an impossibly thin and pale man with obvious canines; another vampire. His hair is long and his armor decorated with too many modifications, buckles and straps to count. Next to him on the table is a small bottle of what seemed to be the blood substitute potion. "Tasrist. I suppose you could call him our weapon guy. If you need something fixed, or just don't like what you get from your first time in the trials, talk to him."

"A few others come through here from time to time, but we've been sorely lacking in field agents. I guess that's what the blind was looking to change around here. Going into the field alone at my age is far from wise. (Navetar lets out a throaty chuckle). So enough about us, come, sit down (he gestures to one of the seats reserved for the Khaw twins), let's hear about you. Why are you here today?"

 

[Floodwater31]

As soon as the word hit the air, Marcus felt himself stretched up and down and every direction at once. The world was squashed and swept from existence. Everything was drenched in pitch black, no, there was a shred of color in the distance on the horizon. He reached towards it, and began to accelerate away, fall was a better term. He twisted to look behind him, only to find himself mere meters from a silver lake. His body went rigid as he flinched, but no impact came, no splash, no pain, on wetness. He opened his to find himself sinking, he wasn't drowning however, he almost traveling as fast as he had been falling earlier. Massive crystals broke up the infinite abyss, their size inspiring. Their were many, but not enough to make each one feel smaller, nor were they close enough to crowd each other. Marcus was so caught up in the crystals, that he didn't notice the iris until it closed on him like a massive jaw.

The sound of running water replaced the gentle din of the city, stars shone clearly were the smog had before obscured them. Marcus was kneeling at the edge of the circle like he had been before, but now the circle was smaller, and was in much better condition, if the light were better he might have read the whole inscription. As he stood he noted the water pooling on the ceiling at an odd angle, it ran up the walls further down. The traveled tile flooring had been replaced with an almost smooth stone. Small flat stalagmites dotted some areas and a section was covered by a thin puddle.

Tracing the puddle he quickly made out the outline of South America, it was covered in scrawlings, some warnings, some places, others bizarre ramblings. As he approached it, the world gave way like he was walking a slope, but he remained upright. He looked up and stopped, the pool of water on the ceiling had moved to a new angle, and was closer. It clicked, he was on a massive globe, somehow he was almost upside down. He scanned the ceilin- floor, and found something he'd missed before, a rocky sphere was floating just out of reach a way aways. If he jumped he may have been able to to grab on, the only thing stopping him was the thought that whatever held him at this odd angle might not work if he left contact with the ground.

He felt a tug, a mental pull, something drew his attention to the horizon, light peaked just around it. He started to approached it, stopping briefly as he stepped into the 'ocean'. It wasn't very deep, the rock would still be somewhat slick, but was easy to navigate. His progress was again halted as light struck his eyes, in the few seconds his eyes adjusted he saw the sun was actually a large crystaline object. It bathed the rest of the globe in light, several runes similar to the one on the Hudson dotted the continents. As he followed the instinctual pull he found himself standing infront of one in particular.

Marcus frowned, Arcadia? No, that's where the paladins are from, they'd just kill me. He doubted this was some sort of paladin trap, they wouldn't need to go to such lengths to kill him. This would be the place for a perfect ambush anyway, just stab him as he appears in the circle. The location was perplexing however, but would he turn back now? Could he turn back now?

He stepped into the circle, and spoke the word. He immediately stiffened, his body awaiting the dizzying drop.

 

[Epiphany]

In her relatively brief but intense career as a Paladin, Emmaline had confronted supernatural powers. Never had she been taken by one, ripped through the world and ground and sky to land in the hallway. She stood there a moment, stunned.

The Blindfolded Man's direction to smile was nonsensical but once he ushered them both into the spacious cave-shaped room, she understood the need for first impressions. So when the room of people appraised her, she appraised them right back. The one-armed woman seemed more dangerous than a cripple should. The old man clearly still had power, even if age had bent him. His protege, Repid, utterly failed to impress, an opinion only cemented once the man opened his mouth.

Emmaline witnessed the rest of the interaction in stoic silence. Such displays would never happen among the Paladins. But that life was now behind her. These people were in front of her. Time to decide what kind of a chapter in 'life' it would be.

"I'm Emmaline Steele," she said, by way of introduction, and she remained standing with her arms folded behind her back as if performing a military inspection. Emmaline didn't bother stating her rank or her past experience. It was obvious all were aware of both. "And I didn't choose to leave my old life behind. It was taken from me, bled away by a Nexian monster and replaced with whatever unholiness passes for the existence I have now. But as Psalm 124 states, 'It's not what we're given but what we're denied that drives us'. My life may be over but the lives of others remain, lives that can be saved. I'm not here to crawl, to beg, nor am I here to praise you for using what powers you have in the ways that power obliges us all to act; for the good of others. I am here to be unleashed as a weapon against the evil of this world. If your order has 'trials' and rituals, put them before me so I can put them behind me. Anything else is a waste of time."

Each word is crisp, each syllable sharply enunciated. Each statement is delivered with the precision of a soldier with nothing to prove. Her face has no expression save for a faint impatience.

Once delivered, she inclined her head respectfully in Natevar's direction...and finally sat in the chair he'd directed her to. "Now that I've said my piece, sir, thank you for the introductions. If you are in command here, I'll heed your orders so long as they are righteous."

With the slightest of smiles, she glanced at the others who she'd now met and turned the question back around. "Why are all of you here?"

 

[JadeGreen17]

Navetar pondered his words for a second; not having anticipated Emmaline's quite so formal ways of meeting. He clasped wrinkled, scarred hands together on the table; missing a fingernail or two and both hands having deep scars on the inside and outside of either palm.

"Pardon me; Seings; Prepare the book of trials." He said, glancing over at the adolescent who scurried out of the room with impatience that nobody would anticipate a quiet bookworm such as him to have.

"Well, first of all. I am the closest thing to a commander this temple has. Hunters have never had the most formal command structure. We don't need to; there being so few of us. Rank or prestige is not taken with us on missions; but seniority, wisdom, and experience are. And by that metric, I am in charge. Not because of my rank; but because everyone in this temple trusts my judgement and my experience.

I have but three things to ask of you then. Not orders; simply requests. One; you are to change out of your paladin garb. I will arrange for temporary clothing to be delivered to your room. I am aware that it must mean a lot to you, and it will not be taken from you; you may store it in your room. While I personally hold no prejudices against the paladins, I simply fear that somebody may see you wandering these temples wearing... that... and...and well they might get the wrong idea about what you're doing here."

Repid rolls his eyes, and crosses both his legs on the table.

"Two" Navetar held up two fingers, his right pointer slightly bent to one side. "You will take the book of trials. Just as we respect your traditions, and will allow you to continue to practice your faith in private, you must respect ours. That expands to your time here. Show the same respect that you see out of us; and there won't be any problems.

Three. The matter of your job. I can see that you more or less wish to skip the how and the why, and get to the part where you're busting open the skulls of the undead. Once you have taken your trial, there will be no shortage of missions for you to undertake, that is a promise.

You told me why you're here so I suppose I should tell you. My family was to sacrificed by a disturbed follower of some ungodly faith. I was tied up with my family, and forced to watch my father's death, followed shortly my mother's... (He pauses, a deep scowl forming on his thick furrowed eyebrows, and a single tear forming in his left eye. His inflection became quiet and somber as he started down at his mangled hands.) If those Paladins had come a minute later, it would have been over for me as well.

It was then that I knew what I wanted to do with my life... who I wanted to be. But the Paladins wouldn't take me, I was was too old, and not of their faith. The blind man found me; initiated me the day I turned fourteen, and the rest is... well it's a very long history. Though to make a long story short and a short story shorter; the paladins saved me, but this order saved me."

A faint echo is heard down the hallway at the back of the room.

"Sounds like the Khaw twins are back. Come; I should introduce you to them."

Navetar leads Emmaline down a short stone hall through the back of the room; between two waterfalls that stink of sulphur down a short, dimly lit passage, lined on either side with crumbling bricks and columns. Scalding water flows down on either side and the to are forced to choose their footing carefully to avoid slipping on the slick cobblestones. At the end of the passage; they open into another cavernous room. In the center of the room is a large circular stone terrace carved directly from the bedrock. Marcus stands here; looking befuddled and just a bit nauseous.

The remainder of the cavern is lit by a hovering lightstone, not unlike the one in the tesseract hovel room. The hot springs pour down where they intermix with another waterfall, this one giving off a cold mist. Most the remainder of the room is flooded with shallow streams and pools of lukewarm water. Ferns, mushrooms and grasses grow freely on the sandy banks surrounding the terraced platform and the walls of the cavern, and small fish swim in the tiny pools and rivers of the room. A cobblestone bridge is built into the marshy ground linking the platform to a crumbling brick platform by the passage entrance.

Navetar looks at Marcus, somewhat confused for a moment; Emmaline could see the gears turning in his head before he finally registered

"Ah, you must be another new initiate." He said in a gravely tone. "Welcome to the western hunter sanctuary. I'm Navetar, and this is another new Initiate, Emmaline, and you are?"

~~~

"I must also apologize on behalf of the Blindfolded man who led you to finding your way here by way of the Tesseract network." Navetar's voice takes on, for the first time, a bit of a humorous tone. "Though if I had done nothing but introduce people into this order for the past thousand years, I'd probably start looking for way to mix things up a bit too. I've always hated traveling via tesseract though, those things make me feel ill."

 

[Epiphany]

Emmaline nodded in solemn attention as Navetar explained his position and his background. The requests were...well, to say they were expected assumed she'd anticipated even being in this place an hour ago. Seeing as that wasn't the case, the vampire simply listened and acknowledged each with another nod of the head.

"Your first request is reasonable. As you wish. I will also take your book of trials. This is your house and I'm the guest. I'll abide by your requirements. As to the nature of the job, I admit I'm unfamiliar with the how and the why. If you'd like to tell me, do so. I have no way of knowing how long I'll stay sane with this infection in me, though, so it may be a better use of your time to just move me along to the part where I'm 'busting open the skulls of the undead'." The last was said with her mimicking the commander's inflection, though it seemed his original observation and remark had amused her. It also suggested she was aware of what a hard ass impression she made.

"As for the Paladins, I make no explanation or excuse for them. They carry out their mission following parameters defined and tested by centuries of experience." She gave Navetar an appraising look and added, "You seem to have prospered without them, so perhaps it all turned out well in the end."

At the mention of the Khaw twins, Emmaline nodded and fell into step behind Navetar, matching his pace with military precision. She allowed herself one brief indulgence; the fanning of her fingers as she passed her hands through banks of steam. Days now, she'd been dead. It'd be days since she felt warmth. It was...pleasant, a nice brief reminder of what she'd been.

Once they were among others again, though, Emmaline was all business. At Navetar's questioning of the other somewhat confused looking man, the vampire tilted her head slightly to consider Marcus but otherwise said nothing. Not her house after all, she was simply the guest.

 

[Floodwater31]

Marcus again found himself standing in a new environment but in the same circle, this time the circle was on an outcropping of rock over a subterranean marsh. The cavern was lit by several floating objects, none of them quite as brilliant as the one near the globe, but each lit up a good chunk of the room. Springs leaked into the room in several places which was the source of the pools below, hot and cold mixed to provide a calm mist rising from the water, it smelled just a hint like sulfur. Grasses and ferns covered the sandy banks, along with an unusual number of mushrooms. A fish swam idly near the surface before submerging deeper into the swamp. Marcus would not have been surprised to see a duck land in the cavern.

His attention was pulled across the crumbling bridge which connected the outcrop to another level of the cavern, distant voices and footsteps echoed from further beyond. Soon enough two figures entered view, the man was definitely not a paladin, the woman definitely was. The man was covered in scars, some of which had ruined his eye, age had stained his hair. His stomach suggested leisure, his arms suggested otherwise. The Woman sported full Paladin attire and held herself with a military pride.

The man seemed to be doing his own mental analysis before he came to a conclusion and greeting Marcus. Marcus took a moment to realize the man, Navetar, was expecting an answer.

"Marcus Neath, sir. It's a pleasure to meet you, can I say I've been searching for this place for a long time".

Marcus took in the new information, Western Sanctuary, Navetar, Emmaline being another initiate. That meant he too was an initiate, he'd passed whatever entrance criteria where in place, or at least qualified for them.

The man continued, apologizing for a 'blindfolded man' who'd led him here through the Tesseract network, a hint of humor sneaking into his voice.

Before he spoke he made a mental note not to say 'tesseractus' while still in the circle. "Don't worry, it made me ill too. I'll be fine if it doesn't get worse than that though", while his stomach wasn't completely settled from ride here, he seemed to have been infected with the man's good mood, besides, trauma is the source of all humor after all.

Marcus crossed the bridge and approached the two, he offered his hand to first the scarred hunter, and then the presumably former paladin. If the man didn't shake his hand, he'd still awkwardly attempt to shake Emmaline's hand, though it seemed more likely she'd turn him down. "It seems I'm not the first one here, I look forward to working with both of you", the first statement was made to Emmaline, the second was to both of them.

 

[JadeGreen17]

"Don't worry, Marcus. Teleportation sickness only lasts a few minutes. Most folks get used to it after a little while, and don't get sick at all. Guess I was one of the unlucky ones."

~

He said. When Marcus offered the handshake, he returned with a single strong shake and a slight smile.

"Werewolf, eh?" He says, reading Marcus like a book. "Don't try and be shy about it. It's nothing to be ashamed of around here." He chuckles.

"Well, you both are young, and will see no need to waste time with the frivolous formalities. Neither do I, so let's get on to your trials."

He then turned and led the trio back up the passage into the main hall. When the arrive, Seigns is near the table. There is a small carving on the seat of the center stool. It has an inset handprint which Seigns places his undersized hand into and turns about nintey degrees counterclockwise. The room lets out a gentle magical hum as the fire goes out, leaving only the dim light leaking in from the tesseract chamber down the passage. The semicircular stone table along with the stools begin to sink into the carved stone floor.

"Marcus, this is Seings." Natevar says, gesturing to the small dark skinned boy draped in a heavy blue cloak. Seings gives a nervous smile and a small bow and manages to stammer out a "Hi, Marcus".

Water from the underground hot spring pools begins to fill in the cracks of the stone floor, tracing complex and sacred geometries inward toward the center of the room. Natevar looks around the room for a moment, before looking back to Seings. He pulls a small book from his cloak, one that is worn with age. It is no larger than a pocket journal; with a large green-blue-purple gemstone inset on the front cover. The book is locked on one side with a series of golden dials. He nervously spins the dials into alignment, then holds the book flat, gemstone side up, and depresses the stone into the book. It clicks slightly deeper into the cover. He then releases the book and it remains floating motionless in the exact spot he was holding it.

A few tens of seconds pass before the book blasts open. Parchment flies everywhere as the inset gemstone breaks free of the cover and hovers above the room, projecting its cold blues and greens about the room as bright as the noontime sun. The parchment begins to orbit the gemstone in several rings, each rotating around the gemstone, opposing the direction of the ones next to it. Shadows cast by the parchment dance across the walls, taking the shapes of great warriors and horrible demons locked in epic battles. Eventually the light dims as most of it focuses down into a spotlight that scans the room. It stops on Seigns, then quickly refocuses to Natevar. Natevar makes a gesture towards the two initiates and the light, as if obeying his gesture, centers itself on Emmaline.

More parchment flutters down from the ring forming a staircase leading from Emmaline up to the gemstone at the center of the room that is now surrounded into a foggy light.

"Looks like you're first, Emmaline. Now, I know you're probably not going to take this to heart but I feel obliged to tell you anyways; becoming a member of the Nightmare Hunter order is a lifelong commitment. If you enter this book, there is no turning back. There is no shame on backing down now, and nobody will think any less of you."